Today I have another guest post from personal trainer Mike Anderson. He did such a good job with his last installment, that I invited him back for round two.
This time around, he’s kinda angry (and I like it!)
We’ve all heard it a million times; hell, most of us have said it that many times. I just can’t do that!
As a trainer, I hear this way more than I’d like to admit to.
I just can’t do another rep!
A 7 a.m. session? I can’t wake up that early!
Stop eating muffins and eat more meat?? I just can’t!
The more I hear it, the more I want to drop a kettlebell on my own balls. Is it really something you can’t do? Or is it something that you’re not willing to do?
This is really frustrating to hear because people come to me to get results. Nobody pays a trainer to stay exactly the same; everybody wants to improve something. Whether it’s to get rid of their low back pain, get stronger or get abZ you can bounce a quarter off, of people want results.
Why, then, are you not willing to do what it takes to get those results?
Get your ass out of bed and go to the gym. Go for a walk – do something! I don’t care. The extra hour of sleep in the morning isn’t going to make a difference anyway; if you’re that tired, go to bed earlier.
Dan John always says that the hours of sleep you get before midnight are more important than the ones after midnight. (There’s no science to that, but if Coach John says it, it’s got to be true.)
Note(s) from TG:
1. For those who aren’t familiar with Dan John (shame on you), HERE’s a post I wrote a while back highlighting some of his more memorable quotes from his book Never Let Go – which is required reading for ANY fitness professional (or anyone remotely interested in fitness for that matter).
2. There actually is some solid research backing the whole notion of getting more sleep BEFORE the hours of midnight as opposed to after. While I don’t have any studies to link to offhand, myself, Eric Cressey, Dan John, and a host of other coaches often state to our athletes and clients that one hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours after.
Of course this isn’t to say that this applies to everyone, and maybe even more pertinent to the conversation is that it’s more important to go to bed and wake at the same time each and every day depending on body’s “internal clock.”
They say that variety is spice of life. If you’re taking cooking classes or practicing the Kama Sutra, this is true. BOM CHICKA BOM BOM. Sooooooooooo, true.
With regards to sleep, however, you’re much better off staying the course and being consistent with your sleep patterns than to throw your body a curveball and head to bed and wake up at different hours throughout the week.
Okay, enough with me, lets get back to Mike’s epic rant.
Just work hard! Your trainer should know your limits and the right way to push you; if he or she doesn’t get a new trainer.
Another option would be to find a good training partner, because, you know, training on your own kind of sucks.
A good training partner can make a world of difference in the way you work out.
Stop eating like a child – eat like a grown up! Seriously, if there’s anything that makes me want to jump off a cliff more it’s when I hear a client say this: “I just don’t have the time to cook”
This a total bullshit excuse. Everybody is busy (yet we somehow manage to find an average of 4.5 hours PER DAY to sit in front of the television). Everyone has friends, family and a career to deal with. If your goal is to lose weight or gain muscle, you must find the time to spend in the kitchen cooking your meals. You don’t have to be Julia Childs either; every meal doesn’t have to be five courses. Make something simple that tastes good and fuels your body.
Try. Just try! The worst is when someone says “I can’t do that” without even trying. How do you know what you can or cannot do? The limits to what you can do are set only by your mind; if you just try I bet you’ll surprise yourself with what you’re actually capable of.
Have a great day, and go lift something heavy!
Author Bio: Mike is a Boston area personal trainer and currently interning with Boston University Strength and Conditioning. Mike is also finishing his degree in Exercise and Health Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He loves bacon, beer and his 7 year old pit bull Lexi. You can reach him with any questions, comments or notes of affection at [email protected]. You can also visit his website: http://commercialgymtrainer.blogspot.com/
Happy belated Columbus Day everyone!!! Or, if you’re Canadian – happy belated Thanksgiving. Or, if you’re located somewhere else in the world and you don’t celebrate those two – happy belated Whatever It Is You Celebrate on October 8th!!!!
I hope whatever it was, it was awesome.
As you probably realized, I took the day off from blogging yesterday because both Lisa and I were away for a brief Columbus Day Weekend getaway. Well, to be more specific, Lisa surprised me with a weekend getaway. Earlier in the week she emailed me from her work and all it said was “you have plans this weekend.” And she reminded me to pick up some toilet paper on the way home, but that’s besides the point.
So, all last week she was stoked about going away and teasing me with hints about where our mystery journey was going to take us.
To my knowledge there was no Star Wars convention within a 200 mile radius of Boston, and I’m pretty sure Alicia Keys hadn’t started some super secret concert tour or anything. Soooooooo, I honestly had no clue.
As it turned out – Lisa planned a completely Autumnal extravaganza complete with apple picking, raspberry picking, goat farm touring (including cheese sampling – YUM!), and of course, pumpkin deadlifting (see photo above).
To top things off, she also booked a room at this wonderful bed-and-breakfast in Wakefield, NH – The Wakefield Inn – that was about as quiet, charming, and colonial as they come.
Too, we ate at this restaurant (appropriately called The Restaurant) that had a burger called The Elvis.
What’s The Elvis you ask? Well, it’s a 1/2 lb of beef with bacon and peanut butter – arguably three of my most favorite things combined.
Honestly, though, it wasn’t as epic as I thought it was going to be, but I was glad I ordered off principle alone.
All in all it was an amazing weekend filled with lots of laughs, LOTS of food, and some cool new memories. But now it’s back to the grind.
However, before I get to the Stuff You Should Read I first want to note that, unbeknownst to myself until after the fact, last Friday’s post was my 1,000 post of all time.
Holy shit nuts!!!!
I just wanted to take a few seconds to thank EVERYONE for reading all my articles and for all the support throughout the years.
It’s surreal to think that a blog that I originally started back in 2006 on a whim (which I aptly titled “The G-Spot.” No, I’m not kidding. Sorry mom) which then led to the Step-Up blog on the Boston Herald, which then grew into the current TonyGentilcore.com, would turn out to be as successful as it’s been.
I’m humbled – and immensely grateful – that so many people visit on a daily basis and don’t think I suck. Well, I’m sure there are more than a few who do think I suck, but such is life. All I have to say to these people is: thanks for the traffic!
Thanks again everyone – here’s hoping for another 1,000 posts!
Nate Green is one crazy bastard. Just for the fun of it he did this experiment where he gained 20 lbs in four weeks, lost it all in five days, and then gained it back in 24 hours.
And he documented EVERYTHING along the way. Don’t worry, he had some pretty smart dudes monitoring every crumb eaten and weight lifted – Martin Rooney and Dr. John Berardi. N0 big deal.
It’s a FREE e-book chock full of insights and details behind the experiment.
Anyone interested in weight manipulation should check this out. It’s a real quick read (less than an hour), and written in Nate’s signature witty style.
It seems everyone is intermittent fasting nowadays – *raises hand* – yet many don’t really know what to expect before embarking on their little adventure. Will you feel hungry all the time? What foods should you focus on? How do you go about structuring your feeding schedule? And, maybe even more important, if done long-term, does one run the risk of growing a third nipple?
Here, Anthony sheds some light on a few topics that many people don’t necessarily touch on, including a really funny anecdote on how people can be a little bit too anal about whether or not it’s okay to break the fasting window by a few minutes
This was an EXCELLENT article by Coach Hamer that I feel every coach should take the time to read. The point that resonated with me the most?
#9. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know.”
What a profound statement to make, and something I feel many, many coaches are afraid to do. I know there’s a huge sense of machismo and bravado in the strength and conditioning community, and it’s often seen as a “weakness” to admit when you don’t the answer to something.
Listen, we can’t all be Gandalf or Gray Cook. You can’t expect to know everything and anything….it’s impossible.
There’s a lot to be gained from admitting you don’t know something. And a lot to be lost when – and granted this is a worse case scenario – you give someone the wrong information and they end up hurting themselves.
People love their core exercises (and for some reason Honey Boo Boo, but I’ll save that train wreck for another time). No matter who you are or how long you’ve been an avid gym junkie, most will inevitably reach a point where they’ll seek out the latest and greatest exercise that targets the mid-section.
There’s certainly no shortage of people trying to fill the gap. If you don’t believe me, just stay up past midnight and watch all those cheesy infomercials on television. People are crunching, twisting, turning, and contorting their bodies into all sorts of positions in an effort to reach Adonis status and to be able to walk down the beach proudly. Or maybe it’s just to be able squeeze into their “skinny” jeans.
Either way, it can be done all for only three monthly payments of $19.99!
Obviously my tone is a bit tongue-in-cheek as I feel most (actually, all) of those silly gadgets are a waste of money. Then again, this is coming from a guy who’s bought every special edition of Star Wars from VHS to Blu-Ray and has easily contributed a small fortune to George Lucas’s mortgage payment.
So take that for what it’s worth.
That notwithstanding, even I wasn’t impervious to getting suckered and buying into the hype at one point in my life. Back in the day, I did buy a Jason Sehorn (Remember that guy? Of New York Giants fame?) Dynamic Workout System…..SWISS ball and all.
Don’t judge me! I was an impressionable 20 something year old kid, and well, just look at him…….
Sehorn was (and probably still is) one “abby” son-of-a-bitch! And he managed to marry Angie Harmon, soooooo, he’s pretty much a baller.
Okay, so what’s all of this have to do with today’s exercise you should be doing?
Well for starters, 99.99% of those thingamabobbers you see on tv don’t necessarily train the “core” in a way its actually designed to be trained.
If you’re a geek and you read the likes of Dr. Stuart McGill, Dr. Craig Liebenson, or several other people who are way smarter than all of us combined (even Skynet!), you’ll know that repetitive flexion (and rotation) can be problematic for a lot people out there who don’t move well and aren’t physically prepared for it.
I don’t want to get into a “is flexion bad/all of our spines are going to spontaneously explode” debate here. I like to think I’m a middle of the road kind of guy and don’t like to pigeon hole myself into one corner with any modality or train of thought.
But, when it comes to core training, I lean much more towards the camp that prefers to train people in a anti-flexion/extension/rotation as well as rotary stability fashion.
I think it was Mike Robertson who I first heard this from and it’s always sticked with me: if our abs were just meant for flexion (which is how most people tend to train them performing countless repetitions of sit-ups and crunches), we’d call them hamstrings.
If you look at the actual anatomy of our midsection, you’ll invariably notice that it looks much more like an inter-connected “webbing,” with varying muscle fiber orientation, designed to prevent (unwanted) motion.
While I understand that this is an overly simplistic explanation, and that flexion (especially un-loaded) IS okay and won’t cause the world to end, my own personal opinion is that most people don’t need to go out of their way to add MORE flexion into their daily movement diet.
To that end, here’s today’s exercise you should be doing.
What Does It Do: I LOVE the Rip Trainer version, but since many people may not have access to that particular piece of equipment, I figured out a way to easily incorporate this exercise in a commercial gym setting.
As alluded to above, this is an exercise that focuses more on PREVENTING unwanted motion, and really forcing people to lock their ribcage in and stay as stable as possible.
Again, just to be clear: this doesn’t mean that I am adamantly opposed to using exercises that promote extension, flexion, or rotation. Want to know what I AM adamantly opposed to? Justin Bieber!
I just feel that many trainees aren’t able to get into those positions in a safe manner and are better served sticking with exercises like the one described here which forces them to learn how to stabilize.
Specifically, what we’re trying to accomplish with this exercise is anti-extension, as well as anti-rotation.
Key Coaching Cues: Setting up with a low cable systme, grab a rope (like the one people use to perform tricep pressdowns) and make sure that you maintain tension in it the entire time (don’t let it go slack). Step to the side a step or two so that the cable isn’t rubbing up against your arm.
Assuming an “athletic” position and while bracing your abs, slowly lift the cable up above your head in a controlled fashion making sure not to allow your rib cage to flair out and your lower back to hyperextend. As you lift above your head, the goal is to stay as upright and still as possible – preventing the weight from extending you back and rotating you to one side.
Trust me, it’s harder than it looks.
Perform 6-8 reps with the cable on one side, and then switch and perform the same number on the other.
In addition, for those who need more upper trap work, you have the option of including a shrug at the top of the movement (which I demonstrate in the latter portion of the video).
And that’s it! Try it out today and let me know what you think!
NOTE: Yes, for those wondering, that is country music playing in the background. And yes, I appropriately set my face on fire once I was done filming the video.
Today’s post comes to you from personal trainer, Michael Anderson*. I first met Mike a little over a year ago when, after exchanging a number of emails back and forth, he reached out and invited me to train at the gym where he works which happened to be in the same neighborhood where I had just moved.
So, in a way, he was stalking me…..;o)
Okay, not really. But in the year or so since, he and I have developed a friendship and he’s definitely someone whom I feel “gets it.” He loves to help people, is constantly learning and trying to make himself better, and he loves to lift heavy stuff.
He’s good people in my book. In this post he delves into what choices we make and how they dictate our results.
Enjoy!
As a personal trainer almost every client I see is trying to make a change in his or her life. Whether that change is more exercise, nutritional changes or how to incorporate more Jay-Z lyrics into their daily life, everybody has changes to make.
Dealing with these changes is a tricky issue. After all, in a commercial gym setting I’m dealing with adults with careers and families. It’s not always as easy as saying “get over it and do it”, unfortunately.
One approach that I like to take with my clients is an idea I got from Jim Wendler. I want my clients to “win every play”. You make a ton of decisions over the course of the day, just like there are a ton of plays within a football game. If you focus on winning every play instead of the game, the end result will be a victory. If you focus on making every choice a good choice over the course of the day, you’ll end up with a pretty good day.
With that being said, if you focus on having more good days than bad days, you’ll have a good week. More good weeks than bad weeks, and you’ll have a good month. Can you smell what I’m cooking here?
Your choices start first thing in the morning. The first choice you’re faced with is if you should wake up on time or hit snooze for another 25 minutes. That right there sets up the tone for the rest of your day.
If you sleep later than you’re supposed to, you won’t have time to make your breakfast. That means you’re either going to skip it or get some crappy breakfast sandwich at Dunk’s or Starbucks. This sets you up to continue making poor choices throughout the day.
You’d be more likely to eat pizza for lunch, skip the gym and go to happy hour after work where you will probably get drunk and cheat on your significant other your co-worker. Don’t be that person!
If you woke up on time, though, you would have time to make your bacon and eggs breakfast. You’d get to work early and your boss would notice.
They would take you out for lunch and offer you a promotion. Then you’d go to the gym, deadlift 500 pounds and go home where your significant other would be waiting with a grass-fed sirloin, The Shawshank Redemption on TV, and some naked-time. Boom goes the dynamite!
Don’t get caught up in how “good” your day was (in terms of nutrition and exercise), just consider how good each play is.
Those of us who aren’t elite athletes or celebrities have real lives and real problems. No matter how good your intentions are things are going to come up. You will have to go to a business lunch sometimes; if your breakfast and dinner are on point then you can get away with one “not great” meal.
Your significant other may want a date night when you had a workout planned; if you made sure all your other workouts were on point then you can miss one without any real consequences (just don’t make it a habit).
To sum it up, I want you all to remember that each decision you make throughout the day counts. Whatever your best option is, choose it. It may not always be the best choice in the world, but it’s the best choice you can make at the time. If you get stuck going to the business lunch, make sure that whatever you order off of that menu is the best choice possible. Don’t say “screw it, I’m going to have the pasta with alfredo sauce” just because you can’t eat your normal lunchtime meal. On the contrary, if you do make a bad decision, remember that it doesn’t ruin your whole day or week. Make sure your next choice is the right one.
Have a great day and go lift something heavy!
Author Bio: Mike is a Boston area personal trainer and currently interning with Boston University Strength and Conditioning. Mike is also finishing his degree in Exercise and Health Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He loves bacon, beer and his 7 year old pit bull Lexi. You can reach him with any questions, comments or notes of affection at [email protected]. You can also visit his website: http://commercialgymtrainer.blogspot.com/
* Anderson = For full effect you need to say Anderson in a slow, drawn out tone, like “Mr. Annnnderson.” You know, like Agent Smith in The Matrix when he walks up to Neo.
NOTE: I have to keep this one brief today because I’m about 20 minutes away from heading into a CPR/AED course that I’m as excited about as passing a kidney stone.
Today’s more of an “opinion” piece, but something I feel is relavent to many who read this site on a daily basis.
Many of our clients here at Cressey Performance train at other gyms throughout the week. For most, they’ll train at their local commercial gym 2-3x per week, and then travel out to Hudson, MA to train with us, and to presumably increase the general level of badassery.
I also like to think that some make the trip out solely to hang out with me, talk about Star Wars, and to partake in Techno/Trance/Tiesto Tuesdays – but that’s probably not the case.
Whatevs.
Anyways, I was talking with one of our clients not too long ago – who’s a trainer herself – and she mentioned to me how, while working out at her other gym, she overheard a discussion another trainer had with his client to the effect where the trainer admitted that he doesn’t workout himself anymore. Or, at least he rarely does because he never has the time.
She (my client) also added that this particular trainer doesn’t remotely look fit, which I guess isn’t surprising given he never has “time” to be physically active.
And that’s not the point. I don’t necessarily feel that trainers or coaches HAVE to look a certain way. I know plenty of very smart, competent, and very successful coaches who don’t fall into some societal “norm” of what a fitness professional should look like.
If clients are getting results and if athletes dominate on the field does it really matter whether or not their coach can cut diamonds with his pecs?
Sure, looking the part is never a bad thing, but just because someone has six pack abzzzzz, or has biceps the size of Arkansas, or looks as if they belong on the cover of a fitness magazine doesn’t mean they know their ass from their acetabulum.
As as aside, this is a topic that my friend, Jon Goodman, wrote about last year, and I highly encourage you to check out this post he wrote: Should All Personal Trainers Have 6-Pack Abs?
My main beef was the notion that this particular trainer didn’t workout. Like, at all. Even worse, he mentioned this to his client of all people.
This is analogous to your lawyer admitting that he never took the bar exam, or that your financial planner just filed for bankruptcy, or that Mark Zuckerberg uses MySpace.
In either scenario you’d think it was blasphemous, no?
I don’t even care that the dude doesn’t workout. Maybe he has a legitimate excuse. But I find it pretty hypocritical that he’d admit to a PAYING client, who’s looking to him for expertise and advice, that he doesn’t workout himself.
What’s that say to the client? F*** all if you ask me.
Maybe it’s just me, but no matter how busy I am writing programs, articles, assessing clients, running a gym, running an online business, rescuing kittens from trees, you name it….I find time to train.
Always.
As much as we may or may not realize it, as fitness professionals, we ARE walking advertisements. Everything from how we appear (and this doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with abs), and to a larger degree, what we do and say, matters.
Have a clue, will ya!?!?!
What is everyone else’s thoughts on this? I’d definitely be curious if my thought process is on par with what everyone else thinks.
1. This is very last minute on my end, and really only pertains to those reading who live in the Metrowest area of Boston, but starting this Wednesday (October 3rd), Cressey Performance will be hosting our own Excellence Bootcamps.
As is the case with most bootcamps, these classes are geared towards those individuals who, you know, work and stuff, have a busy schedule, and who need a quick ass-kicking pick-me-up to start their day.
Now, this isn’t going to be your run-of-the-mill bootcamp where the trainers do something lame like dress up like Sgt. Slaughter, yell at the top of their lungs, and then take everyone through some haphazard session where the exercises and movements performed have no rhyme or reason and serve no purpose other than to make you “tired” and hate life.
Anyone with a clipboard, whistle, and weekend certification can do that.
No, this bootcamp will be a little different in that the coaches running it are routinely featured in magazines like Men’s Health, Women’s Health, and many other reputable fitness publications and actually know how to cater programming towards the needs, goals, and limitations of each individual.
In short, you’ll actually get coached.
What’s more, you’ll be doing this in a state of the art facility with some of the best equipment at your finger tips.
Classes will be held at 5:30, 6:30, 7:30, and 9:30 every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning and we’re offering a special rate of $99 to try it out for the first month ($179 for each month thereafter).
For anyone interested or looking for more information, please contact Pete Dupuis at 978-212-2688, or email him at [email protected].
2. For those who missed it last week, ESPN Films released a new 30 for 30 short documentary on Arnold Schwarzenegger titled Arnold’s Blueprint(<—link takes you to ESPN), which details his life as a teenager and how his service in the military played a critical role in his fame.
Unfortunately it’s only like 13 minutes long, and I’m REALLY hoping they decide to do a full-length cut down the road because it would be awwwwwwwwesome.
Along the same lines, Arnold also released his new memoir, Total Recall, today and I’ve already got it cued up in my Audible.com account to listen to in my car.
Say what you will, but the man has had an unbelievably remarkable life; not only changing the world of bodybuilding and making it mainstream, but also going on to become the world’s most recognizable movie star (Commando, Predator, and Terminator 2 changed my life), and the freakin governor of California to boot.
Amazing.
If only I had one ounce of his self confidence back in high school. I totally would have kissed a girl or maybe stayed up past midnight or something.
3. Funny personal trainer story – and I’m actually contemplating making this into a series that I’m going to tentatively title, “Um, no, you’re an idiot!”
My girlfriend was working out last week doing some bench pressing, and on her last set (135 lbs for a triple, thank you very much) a random trainer at the gym approached her and asked whether or not she wanted a spot.
“Absolutely,” she said.
She cranked out her three reps, and after she racked the weight the trainer ask, “so, why do you have such a big arch in your back when you bench?”
“It’s how I was taught,” she responded. “And besides, why does it matter, don’t we have a natural arch in our lower back anyways?”
“Well yeah,” he replied, “but if you really want to target your chest more, you should try to flatten your back out.”
When she told me this story I couldn’t help but roll my eyes (and frankly, was surprised he didn’t suggest she put her feet in the air. You know to really pulverize those pecs!).
For starters – and maybe someone else out there can elucidate a little more than myself – how in the hell does flattening your back out inherently target the pecs more when bench pressing?
I’ve heard the argument that when someone has a cranky lower back it’s advantageous to tone down the arch in order to make the movement more comfortable, but I’ve never heard of how flattening the back will target the chest muscles more. Especially since, you know, the pecs don’t even attach to the spine itself.
FOR THE RECORD: It’s false to think that having an excessive arch in your lower back when benching is bad. Assuming someone is healthy and doesn’t have a history of low back issues, having an arch in your back is perfectly fine. Where people often make the mistake is thinking that having an arch is synonymous with the butt coming of the bench. The former is fine. The latter, however, causes more instability (and basically makes the movement a DECLINE bench), and is wrong.
Secondly, if she flattened her back out, she more than likely wouldn’t be able to use as much weight because she’d increase the distance the bar has to travel. If you’re in the business of going out of your way to make people weaker, then you’d be onto something!
Lastly, if anything, I’d argue that the bench press in general IS NOT a great exercise for pec/chest development. Sure it allows you to utilize the most weight and is a superb upper body exercise – I’m not debating that point. But if you really wanted to “isolate” the pecs you’d stick to dumbbell exercises like DB presses or DB flies which allow you to adduct the humerus more.
So whoever that trainer was who said flattening your back helps you isolate your chest more, “Um, no, you’re an idiot.”
4. A reader recently sent me this cool video on “What’s the Single Best Thing We Can Do For Our Health?”which coincidentally inspired THIS post I wrote last week.
So, what IS the best thing you can do for your health? Watch the short video below and find out:
5. The guys over at WeightTraining.com reached out to me and asked if I’d be willing to promote a really cool “battle” they’re running along with the peeps over at Greatist.com and the American Heart Association on who can do the most total # of push-ups in a week.
It’s for a great charity, and it will undoubtedly give those looking for a nice challenge or jolt in their training something to strive for. Or, if you’re like me, make it a game and bust out some push-ups at the most random times just to mess with people.
Waiting in line at the grocery store? Drop down and give me ten!
Hell, make it like a drinking game. Every time someone sneezes or whenever Tom Cruise says something bat shit crazy, perform ten push-ups. You’ll win, easy.
6. Just like most people reading, I LOVE Sunday brunch. Each Sunday I make a ginormous omelet with a stack of bacon that could feed a small army (and provide enough grease that could fuel a rocket ship) and go to town.
Yesterday, though, was a bit of a change of pace because Lisa and I were expecting company – two of her friends from Florida – both of which were vegetarians.
Ahhhhhhhhh, what do do? I certainly couldn’t expect them to indulge in my carnivorous ways.
Luckily I remembered I train a client – Cara Lyons – who runs a very successful blog dedicated to those of us who are a little more health conscious with the foods we eat.
After doing a quick search on her blog “people who don’t eat dead animals make me sad” “protein pancakes,” I found this doozy.
Thankfully, our guests were fine with dairy (so the whey protein powder was perfect!).
High Fiber & Protein Pumpkin Pancakes
1/4 cup (15gm) Fiber One Bran Cereal
1/2 cup (120gm) liquid egg substitute or egg whites
1/4 cup (60gm) pumpkin puree
1 scoop (25gm) vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup (20gm) oats
1 packet of Truvia Natural Sweetener, or other sweetener to taste
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
dash of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
Heat a nonstick griddle over medium heat.
Place the Fiber One cereal in a small bowl and cover with warm water. Let sit for a few minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a blender. Drain the cereal and add to the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth.
Pour the batter in 1/4-1/3 cup portions onto the skillet and cook until small bubbles have risen to the top and the bottoms are set and lightly browned. Flip and continue cooking on other side for about about 3 more minutes, until cooked through.
Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 285.3
Total Fat: 2.8 g
Cholesterol: 25.0 mg
Sodium: 537.4 mg
Total Carbs: 35.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 10.9 g
Protein: 36.8 g
NOTE: I replaced the Fiber One cereal with ground flax seeds and omitted the Truvia, and they tasted fantastic! So much in fact, that I made ANOTHER round later on in the day for dinner. BOOM!
7. And finally, fitness extraordinaire Rob King made a cameo appearance at Cressey Performance last Friday, and he was kind enough to write THIS blog post detailing his experience. Rob is one of the more passionate fitness professionals I have ever met, and he puts out a TON of great information on his website. If you’ve never checked out his stuff you’re missing out, and now’s your chance to catch up!
And that’s it for today. I’m off to BU to go get my squatting on. Speaking of which, I’m going to be working on my next article for T-Nation on my 4x per week squatting experiment I’m currently doing. It should be pretty baller/win me a Pulitzer. Stay tuned……
