The deal on protein

So you always here about high protein diets,  protein drinks and shakes, and how protein ‘helps build muscle’.  But what exactly IS protein and why do I need it?!

Plain and simple, protein is one of the most basic building blocks of the human body. Protein is actually about 16 percent of our total body weight, sometimes it can be even more.  Proteins are made from amino acids; aminos usually are referred to as the ‘basic building blocks of protein’.  And protein can come from both PLANT and ANIMAL resources. Although our bodies are usually good at ‘recycling’ protein, we use protein constantly, so it is important to continually replace it. That is why it is SO important to replenish protein by having a shake or a hearty meal AFTER you work out to replace the depletion and re-build the broken down muscles from lifting weights.

So, why do I need protein? 

• Build Muscle: Like I said before, muscles get broken down from workouts and lifts, therefore you need protein to build up muscle, eating enough protein will ensure your body has what it needs to build new one.
• Maintain Muscle. Getting your body the protein it needs will help improve muscle recovery and prevent muscle breakdown when you exercise.
• Fat Loss. Protein has an extremely thermic effect: your body burns more calories digesting proteins than it does burning carbs or fat. And another perk, you feel full longer after eating a protein-rich meal! 🙂 TOTAL bonus!

Protein is fairly easy to come by.  Meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, legumes, and nuts all have substantial amounts of protein.

Here are some of my favs!

Hamburger patty, 4 oz – about 26 grams protein

Steak, 6 oz – about 40 grams

Chicken breast, 4 oz. – about 30 grams protein (dice it up and eat it cold/in a ziploc)

Tuna, 6 oz can – about 40 grams of protein (super easy to carry!)

Egg, large – 6 grams protein (try hard boiled!)

Peanut butter, 2 Tablespoons – about 8 grams protein (try to get LOW SUGAR, or NATURAL!)

Almonds, 1/4 cup- about 8 grams  (great to pack in your bag or purse!)

Now that you know a little more about what protein exactly is, and how to get it, how much do you need?

For general strength gains and muscle increase, you should aim for 1.0-1.6 grams per pound of body weight.  For those that are dieting, .4-1.0 grams per pound of body weight.  This again is a GENERAL rule, for those that are seriously dieting or competing, it is best to add in other factors such as weight, age, workout routines, etc.
My favorite protein shake, which I had mentioned in a previous post, is ‘Jay Robb’ brand whey protein.  It’s all natural, great tasting, and you can make your own recipes and get creative with it. It comes in 5 different flavors.  Chocolate and Vanilla are staples in my kitchen. My favorite one is the dreamsicle flavored protein mixed with almond milk and a dash or orange juice.  SO GOOD!! 🙂

Olympic Bar Workout

A great and challenging workout that can be done with minimal equipment is what I call the “Olympic Bar Workout”.  All you need is either a barbell (if you are a teenager, a female, or anyone new to weightlifting) or an Olympic bar.  An Olympic bar is the bar that you commonly see on a bench press or squat rack and it weighs 45 pounds.  If the Olympic bar is a little heavy for you, grab a 20 or 30 pound barbell (not dumbbell!) and use that until you can complete the workout with the true Olympic bar.  From the Olympic bar, you can add plates onto each side once you improve.

The workout is as follows:

*20 deadlifts

*20 squats

*20 Split Lunges

*20 upright rows

*20 shoulder presses

It doesn’t seem too challenging, but the goal is to complete these 100 repetitions as quickly as possible, but remembering to have a controlled motion with every rep.

Go through each of these 5 exercises, 3 times to start, working your way up to 5 full circuits. Keep track of your times and see if you can repeat each circuit within a fairly close time of one another.  As for rest time, aim for 60-90 seconds in between each full circuit.

The reason why this workout is so effective is because the smaller muscle groups often act as synergists or assisting muscles for the larger muscle groups during certain exercises. Therefore, if the smaller muscles get fatigued first, when you perform the exercises for the larger muscle groups later in the workout, those exercises are likely to be less effective.  So in this workout we concentrate on the bigger muscle groups of the body.  They also tend to burn more calories and are good for increasing your heart rate.

R.o.W.

Okay people! Here is my next recipe for ya!!  Healthy, full of protein, and again, easy to transport and can be eaten cold or hot!! This recipe will usually make about 15-20 medium sized meatballs.

No excuses for you not to eat healthily!! 🙂

Chesapeake Turkey Meatballs

½ pound of lean ground turkey (you can also use beef or chicken!)

1 beaten egg
1 tablespoon diced minced onion (fresh is the best!)
1-2 tablespoons of old bay seasoning (depending on your taste!)
1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (Gant and Safeway have them!, check by the spices)
2 tablespoons low fat or fat free milk
salt and pepper to taste
dash or two of hot sauce (if so desired!)
Mold together, bake on 425 for 15 minutes.  DONE!!  Super easy to make!  I eat them as a snack as well- not just for a  meal.

 

This is one of my favorite recipes to make.  Easy, full of protein, and tastes great.

Pair with a bowl of broccoli or a veggie of your choice and you have a dinner ready in less than 20 minutes.

Let me know what you think! 🙂  Enjoy!

Cardio!

Anyone that personal trains with me, or has gotten any sort of fitness and training advice from me now knows that my favorite piece of equipment in the cardio area is the……STAIRMILL!!  The Stairmill burns more calories because you’re actually lifting your body weight up as if you were on a real staircase! There is a huge cheat factor though- those handrails! Grab the handrails lightly, as if to just maintain balance and let your lower body do the work. Maybe you won’t be able to go quite as long as when you hang onto those handrails, but that means you are getting an almost equal workout in less time (never thought of that benefit, did you, huh?!)

Here is a breakdown of some of the basic pieces of cardio equipment that you can find at your gym.

• Stairmill :): This machine hits just about every single muscle in your lower body; even after continued use, you will feel the benefit of this equipment. Focus on squeezing your booty and hamstrings with each single step. You can also change your body positions in order to target certain areas. Step facing forward, sideways, and also change your stride length!  There are always things on this machine you can do to keep it fresh and new.
• Treadmill with an incline: Walking alone is a great cardiovascular exercise BUT when you set the treadmill at an incline, you are going to get more bang for your buck. By doing this, you are forcing your lower body to work much harder. Set the machine as high as you can tolerate and at a speed that you can maintain without holding on.  Just like the stairmill, stay away from the handles!!  When first starting out, this might seem super difficult and challenging, but work towards a goal in small steps. Just like I wrote about in my previous blog, set SMALL and ATTAINABLE goals.
• Elliptical: This piece of equipment is definitely going to make you work hard.  The main perk I like about this piece of machinery is that it is much easier on the joints than running and will help you to reach your physique goals by constantly challenging almost every inch of your body. You can use this machine and stay at a steady state pace or even throw some intervals into your routine.

Keep it fun! Cardio is important, but so is weight training.  You can and will not get the physique you want if you do not do a combination of these two crucial elements (and of course diet!).  Not to mention, cardiovascular training keeps your heart healthy and strong, lowers your risk of heart disease and stress, and has been proven to lower anxiety and even feelings of depression.

Supplementation

With so many supplements on the market, it can be quite over whelming on where to begin- or IF to begin- taking any sort of supplements and adding it to your diet and workout regimen.
So I am going to share with you what I USE, this way you can get an idea of what might help you reach your goals.  It will also give you an idea of what all those crazy big jars you see at the gym and vitamin stores really are.

First and foremost- Protein Powder.  My favorite (and what I ‘prescribe’ to all my personal training clients!) is ‘Jay Robb Whey Protein’.  Not only is it low calorie, and low fat, it contains no sugar while supplying your body with 25 grams of protein per scoop!  And it TASTES GOOD!! My favorite (at the moment!) is the ‘dreamsicle’ flavored protein made with vanilla light soy milk, or almond milk.  DELICIOUS!!  You don’t even need a blender, just grab a shaker, add 8-10 oz. of milk or water (or both!) and you are good to go!!  Another great thing about this product, you can buy single serving packages at most vitamin stores in order to try each of the flavors before committing to a big jug!

And WHY should I be taking this stuff?! Some benefits include

• Increase in lean muscle mass
• Enhances immune function
• Increases muscle recovery
• Improves fat oxidation and produces energy in the body

 

Moving on- Branched Chain Amino Acids. These can come in pill form, powder, or even sweet tart like candies.  If you get the powder, it can even be added into your shakes!  I just started taking these consistently about 1 month ago.  BCAA’s are mostly known for one thing, to stimulate protein synthesis. BCAAs by themselves have been shown to independently stimulate muscle protein synthesis. In other words, they have shown the ability to induce muscle gains, even in the absence of weight training! Next comes an increase in endurance. Supplementing with BCAAs may enable you to maintain your training intensity and endurance as energy normally provided by your diet decreases. Anyone who has ever been on a very low carb or low calorie diet for extended periods can definitely appreciate this!   And one final perk it that it may stimulate fat loss. Supplementation of BCAAs has been shown to trigger significant loss of visceral body fat. Visceral fat is located in the deeper layers of tissue and sometimes can be stubborn and resistant to your normal dieting and is hard to lose.

Next Up- Glucosamine.   Glucosamine and chondroitin are important for joint strength, lubrication in those joints and for flexibility. Together, these two remarkable compounds work together to provide awesome joint support, helping to strengthen, nourish and lubricate your connective tissues and cartilage.  I highly recommend this supplement not only to to prevent injuries, but to help any previous in juries heal more quickly and to the fullest extent.  Again these can be found in a powder form or pill form, but I usually just add a lil’ teaspoon of powder to my protein shakes.

I could go on and on and ON about all the supplements that are on the market, as well as all the supplements I have TRIED that are on the market.  It can be a lot to take in! But when push comes to shove, these are the top 3 supplements that I consistently use, and will continue to use, as well as suggest for people to add into their daily regimen.

Not setting yourself up for failure.

One of the biggest hardships that you can face in life is failure.  Whether it’s with a relationship, school, learning a new hobby, exercising, or dieting, they can all have points of failure.  But it’s not necessarily the fact of failure, it’s how you can bounce back and prevent failure from even being an option in the first place- because it shouldn’t be!!

I may not be able to give many words of wisdom on everything, but I do know that many people set themselves up for failure when they set their weight- loss and fitness goals ‘too high’.  I appreciate the energy that people have, and the willingness to learn and try, but when you have 4 kids, your going on vacation for 10 days, and you eat out 4 nights a week, it WILL be hard to lose 10 pounds in 4 weeks.  Again- not say that it can’t happen, but setting a REALISTIC goal is so much more important that just setting a goal for the sake of setting a goal.  By setting small and feasible goals, you are more likely to succeed.  When you set huge long term goals with no ‘smaller’ or more attainable goals in between those two points, it’s hard to stay motivated when you are not seeing results.

Start with simple things.  For instance: going out to eat only 2 times  a week with the family, coming to the gym 4 days a week opposed to just on your 2 days you come to spin class.  Losing inches or body fat opposed to pounds.

Get in the habit of making your own meals. I usually spend my Sunday’s making meals for the week because there are days that I am at Ivey League in the morning, at my trainer in Baltimore after that, driving straight to work, then BACK to Ivey League. It makes for a long day, but when I have my food readily available, it makes everything much easier. Make sure that you eat unprocessed quality carbohydrates, and also that you get enough protein and healthy fats. The majority of the time you should eat slightly less then what you expend per day. That way you will still have energy and can lose weight.

Far too many times I have seen people who do their 45 minute cardio session and then 15 minutes of abs because they ‘want a flat stomach’.  Please, please, PLEASE strength train your whole body!  The most efficient way to do this is using complex movements.  A simple definition if a complex movement is an exercise that spans across multiple joints.  A squat is one of the most well known complex movements out there.  Not only are they a great movement, they are functional movement because you do squats several times a day! Your quadriceps work in a kinetic chain with assisting muscle groups, such as your hamstrings. A full squat will work all of your leg muscles, all of your abdominal muscles and even into your back. Talk about a great exercise! You will burn more calories as well as increasing your metabolic rate .

Don’t be afraid to take that step and set a goal. Goal setting is something that isused by top-level athletes, successful business-people and achievers in all fields. Setting goals gives you not only a long-term vision but also serves as short-term motivation.  By setting these goals, you can measure and take pride  in your achievement of these goals, and more importantly, you’ll see forward progress in what previously might have seemed almost pointless.  Make it happen!

 

Success!

Upon joining Ivey League MMA in May of 209, I have met a ton amazing of people.  Some that are serious about training, some that compete, some that just do it for fitness and are tired of heading to the gym everyday and this brings a new element to their life.

One person that I have worked with on the mats a lot, is Mike Murphy.  Every Monday and Wednesday morning, Mike is there with me, learning the ropes of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  Mike is not only there early, but count on him to stay after class and practice a thing or two more.  And not only that, Mike is just getting OFF work at 7 am after a long night of work and comes straight to class.  He always has a smile on his face.  But the real success of Mike Murphy comes from his weight loss.  He has lost over 60 pounds since he began training at Ivey  League MMA in March of 2010! He was 39 years old and hadn’t done anything athletic in 20 years. What an accomplishment and an amazing role model.  His son, Holden, trains with us at Ivey League as well.  So no excuses for either of them to not have a training partner, right!? 🙂
Please join my friend a teammate Mike on his journey to his 100 pound weight loss! He has a blog that he updates on a regular basis with his success  stories, struggles and fights, and how he is learning to over-come them.

You can also follow mike on his quest at http://mmurph71.wordpress.com/

Why am I not losing weight!? Part II

I realize there are people out there who  are constantly dieting, exercising on a regular basis and have tried every trick in the book.  Yet, lo and behold, they STILL are not losing any weight.

There are many factors within our bodies that are out of our control that can trigger weight gain as well. Simple things such as stress, high blood pressure, and depression, are all common diseases that can trigger weight gain and/or prevent your body from losing weight.  Along with these problems, certain drug prescriptions can also be a trigger to weight gain.

Chronic stress. When you live with anxiety and stress, your body tends to produce a chemical substance — like the hormone cortisol — that makes your body more likely to store fat.

Cushing’s Syndrome. This is what happens when the adrenal glands produce too much cortisol, which leads to a buildup of fat in the face, upper back, and abdomen.

Under active thyroid or Hypothyroidism. If your thyroid is underactive, your body may not produce enough thyroid hormone to help burn stored fat. With that, your metabolism is much slower and you will be storing more fat than you burn.

Insulin Resistance. When your body is resistant to the hormone insulin, other hormones that help control your metabolism don’t work as well.

Depression. Many people who are depressed turn to eating to ease their emotional distress.

And on a final note, drinking alcohol on a regular or everyday basis can, and WILL, sabotage your efforts to lose weight. Alcohol (not just liquor but also beer and wine!) is a refined carbohydrate, similar to sugar, candy, and white flour.  Everyone knows candy and fats are bad for you, but people tend to ‘overlook’ alcohol. Besides just adding simple calories, alcohol may raise blood sugar and insulin levels, which, as we learned from above, can contribute greatly to weight gain.

DO NOT GIVE UP! Although it is difficult to lose weight gained because of a medical condition that is out of your control or medication that you have to take, it is not an impossible task! And with a good support network of family and friends, a consistent workout regimen, and a healthy moderate diet, you too can make it happen!

Why am I not losing weight?!

That’s the number 1 ‘quote’ that I hear at the gym all the time.  And for the most part, it all boils down to one of three things:

1. Your not working hard enough, or putting the time in at the gym or into your exercise program.

2. Your not eating properly.

3. A combo of both.

Usually it ends up being number 3.  Did you really just have ONE glass of wine each night this week? (which by the way one serving is 5 ounces! not 12!) Or did it ‘one’ glass turn into two glasses? (which really equates to 4-5 servings!) Or how about your turkey sandwich you had for lunch? That’s at LEAST two servings of your daily carbohydrates just in the bread, all things considering, and if you used a hefty sub roll or that nice thick bread from the deli down the street- your probably looking into 3-5 servings.

How about your workouts? Did you do what your trainer told you to throughout the week? Or did you get caught up at work and put off the gym? ‘I’ll do cardio tomorrow’, or ‘I walked a lot today’.  OR did you really get the hard 45 minute interval session in on the stairmaster with your girlfriend, or were you guys talking about the latest gossip on TMZ?

Those are the questions you need to sit back and ask yourself.  Are you doing EVERYTHING in your power and utilizing all the tools you have to make yourself successful??

I know you have all probably heard it before but…keep track of your food intake. If you’re really serious about losing weight, you need to get serious about your eating.  I tell all my clients; diet is 60-70% of weight loss and leaning out.we Start by keeping a detailed food journal for one week, without changing any of your eating habits. And be as specific, really measure it all out, and add up your calories for each day. You’ll be surprised how those calories can sneak up on you when you’re not keeping track!

I could go on and on forever about dieting and exercise.  And I will.  This topic will be a continuation for the next few threads I will write about.

Maybe it’s time to switch up your routine.  Maybe it’s time to find time for yourself to just put in your head phones and not think about work or family for an hour.  Maybe it’s time to get a personal trainer.  Many people believe personal trainers are just for those that are overweight or a professional athlete of some-sort.  NOT TRUE!  I use a trainer myself!  Why?! Because he holds me Accountable to my workouts, he Motivates me to get better and to push myself harder than I can personally and individually, and continues to Educate me in so many different aspects.  A.M.E. I can guarantee that you fit into one of those three categories (accountability, education and motivation) if not two or all three of them.

Bad excuses are worse than none.  Make it happen.

New Website Up!

So I finally got my very own website established and up-n-running!! I am still finishing up the ‘media’ page where you will be able to see personal training tips, mma training videos, and much more!  I wanted to have a ‘go-to’ site that my personal training clients, promoters, coaches, and fans can go to for a one stop view of Cammie J! I look forward to adding more content in the days and weeks to come, so be sure to follow for updates.   Let me know what you think!

Cammie J Fitness and MMA

 
I am also now on Twitter so you can follow my own personal training goals, and my journey through the world of MMA. I have a big couple months coming up! So stayed tuned in. . . .

Follow me @cammiejmma!