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How can you say no to young-Matt?!

Todays Workout - A little bit of everything!

100 Skips,
10 Push Ups,
10 Sandbag Deadlifts,
5 Pull Ups,
5 Toes-to-Bar.

Complete 10 rounds as fast as possible.

Record your score.

Train hard!

Optimizing Muscle Building and Diet - A Guest Post by Examine.Com

I regularly get emails from people asking about specific dietary practices when trying to build muscle. Well, I asked the guys at Examine.Com to share their most current knowledge on the topic - here it is!

Optimizing Muscle Building and Diet

To ensure optimum muscle growth, a caloric excess is vital. Theoretically, it is possible to build muscle on a mild caloric deficit, but an excess makes the process go much smoother. It doesn�t matter where your calories come from, assuming you�ve hit your protein targets, but �healthier� food tends to be the better option.

Protein targets are in the range of 1.5-2.2g per kilogram of bodyweight (.7-1g per pound) for non-obese people. If you are obese, calculate your protein needs based on your height, while substituting an overweight or normal BMI to avoid the overconsumption of protein. Too much protein isn�t a bad thing from a health standpoint, but it is unnecessary.

Pre-workout nutrition

Regardless of what you eat during the day, you should aim to exert maximal power during your workout. A pre-workout meal, snack or supplement protocol is essential for hitting that max.

When determining your ideal pre-workout nutrition, keep in mind:

• Carbohydrates, protein and creatine should be present in your blood, in elevated levels, during your workout.
• Take care to avoid upsetting your stomach or inducing nausea, as this will impede your workout.

Fatty acids are not an important part of pre-workout nutrition. If you have stomach issues, take care to determine the best way to consume protein before your workout. Everyone is different, but a good way to determine your ideal protocol is:

1. Take about half of your sugar before your workout (Gatorade is a great option), and sip on the rest during your workout.
2. If sugar didn�t cause any stomach issues, add a little bit of protein (about 6-12 grams) to your pre-workout mix. If Gatorade and protein taste awful to you, consider swapping it for table sugar or blending fruit into the protein.
3. If step 2 causes stomach problems, consider experimenting with isolated BCAAs or hydrolyzed protein sources. They are easier to digest.
4. Once you have a mixture of glucose and amino acids that works for you, use the same mix for a week and track your performance. If performance is good, increase your dosage and continue tracking your performance.
5. Eventually, increasing your dosage will not improve your workouts or your recovery. When that happens, record your ideal mix. Congratulations, you have determined your ideal pre-workout shake.

The average person will have an optimal shake of 80g of carbohydrates and 20g of amino acids, meant for an hour-long workout. Find out what works for you!

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If you want to learn more about supplementation and stay up to date with the very latest research then I can highly recommend the Examine.Com Supplement Goals Reference Guide - a huge, evidence based reference that tells you exactly what the research says about hundreds of supplements. And all this without any marketing hype or spin. Plus, until Midnight Friday you can get it for $10 off. 

Click here to find out more

MY STRENGTH IS OUTTA CONTROL AND I�M HARDLY TRYING

BY LAUREN BROOKS, SENIOR SFG

Over the last few months I have performed some lifts that I previously didn�t think could be done by a gal my size. After exchanging some emails with Pavel, he has asked me to write about how I made this happen. I was very honest with him and told him that I didn�t train for it or even try very hard. In fact, the path I took was quite boring. Then I remembered I�m writing for a population that likes �boring� programs. Not boring in our eyes, but it would be as boring as it comes for the mainstream fitness buff.

I discovered that strength can work in very mysterious ways. Living with toxic stress and/or poisonous people can weigh you down in all aspects of life. There�s only so much one body and mind can take. I�ve found for both my students and me, stress takes your strength away and makes all lifts feel heavy. You find yourself training harder during the times you are stressed and risk getting weaker or injured in the process. Letting go of the energy vampires and truly owning the path you take in life is much easier said than done. If everyone could take charge of their own life, we�d have a lot of powerful happy people. Personally I�ve released some very heavy things from my life over the last year. I will admit, it was the hardest thing I�ve ever done. On the flip side, once I got through the thick of it and began to have clarity, it allowed me to conquer almost anything that came my way.

Back to physical strength: I currently weigh between 112 and 114 pounds. In the last several months, with minimal training, I achieved a 62 pound Get Up, 13 Ring Pull-ups, 140 pound Single Leg Dead Lifts and a Ring Pull-up with 53 pounds hanging from my feet. So how did this happen?  ....

VIEW ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Todays Workout - Stir It Up

5 Heavy Sandbag Thrusters,
5 Chin Ups,
5 Heavy Sandbag Cleans,
5 Box Jumps.

5 rounds as fast as possible.

Record your time.

Train hard!

And here's some fantastic 80's pop:

Todays Workout - Grip It

100 Skips
10 Chin Ups
10 Heavy Sandbag Overhead Presses
10 Toes-to-Bar

5 rounds as fast as possible.

Record your time.

Train hard!

Stronger and Better after 50 thanks to Kettlebells!

Martha at 53 years old shares her motivating story of what it takes to be strong and feel good in your 50's. I met Martha through the private Be SLAM group we have for all the people using the program.  When she volunteered to share with us her success with the program and DVD's, I asked her if she can submit some pictures.  I'm blown away by her beauty within and out.  What an amazing role model that can inspire us all.  Thank you Martha for sharing and in response your last line, you are most welcome!

"At 53, I like this better and stronger version of myself!" says Martha

Kettlebells have truly changed my life and I'm excited to share my fitness journey with you. My interest in kettlebells and training with Lauren was a very happy accident. About 2 years ago was looking to try something new in fitness. I was always pretty active but was growing a little bored with traditional weight training.

As a cyclist I was looking for a full-body workout that would be less time-consuming than riding. I also wanted to gain strength, get toned and lose a few lbs. In 2011, I asked for and received a kettlebell as a gift for Christmas. I didn't really know how to work out with it, so I searched online for kettlebell DVDs, and I stumbled on Lauren's website. After reading some very positive reviews I ordered her DVD, "The Ultimate Body Sculpt and Conditioning with Kettlebells." I was very impressed with Lauren and her workouts, in addition to her choice of Robin Duncan as her workout partner. Robin was also beautiful, strong, and looked incredible for a woman of ANY age (she also happened to be in her fifties as I am). So Robin (and of course, Lauren) became my new fitness role models!

I also ordered Lauren's other DVDs and enjoyed working with them for another year or so, but what really took my training to the next level was joining the 12-week workout program Be SLAM. Prior to that I was never one to follow programs or schedules, but joining Be SLAM showed me I could push past self-made boundaries and get even stronger.
  
Through the encouragement of the other ladies on the Be SLAM facebook page and working at my own pace, I was able to increase my weights and move up gradually. Everyone in the group was so positive and helpful and we really encouraged each other, which was a huge motivating factor. The other women were great teachers too, since they had tons of experience to share. During the program I saw tremendous strength gains and also body composition changes that I didn't think were possible 'for someone my age. I was also inspired to clean up my diet and get honest with myself about what I was actually putting in my mouth! I still enjoy an occasional treat but I try to eat mainly fresh, unprocessed whole foods with a focus on vegetables, lean proteins, and good fats. The combination of consistent good eating and kettlebell training is a real powerhouse combination in getting lean and maintaining it! 
 

I am still a work in progress, but I'm interested to see where this kettlebell journey takes me. I also continue to cycle, ski, hike, and do anything outdoors. I really enjoy the quick, hard-hitting, no-nonsense kettlebell workouts, and getting my strength back has been a real confidence-booster. At 53, I like this better and stronger version of myself! Thank you so much Lauren, for designing these great programs that are truly life changing. Keep the great workouts coming!!

p.s. To continue her training Martha is now participating in the new online streaming classes which has courses for beginners to advanced levels. You can learn more about Lauren's Playground here.