Recent Posts
Posted by Joel Marion on August 13, 2009
139 Comments
Over the weekend I had the pleasure of training with my great friend, fitness model, and New York personal trainer John Romaniello.
For 30 minutes, he punished me with non-stop movement, compound exercises, calisthenics, and VERY little rest.
Think 30 minutes isn’t long enough to get an incredibly challenging workout in? Try working out with this guy for a half hour. Brutal.
But that’s John, and you gotta love the guy. And I do, in a totally non-gay way.
I digress.
So after our workout, one of the female members of John’s gym came up to us and asked us what we were drinking while we were working out.
My response: “The most important meal of the day.”
Clearly, by the look on her face, that didn’t quite register with her. So, I went on to explain.
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Posted by Joel Marion on August 3, 2009
69 Comments
Alright, I’m addicted to these things, and I just HAVE to share the recipe with you (mostly because I want to make myself feel better about my addiction by knowing that “lots of other people are doing it”, too).
No, seriously. Denzel Washington and Blue Magic would have been straight up OUT OF BUSINESS if these bad boys were being peddled on the streets back in the 70’s.
Enjoy!
Banana Maple Protein Snack Wraps
Ingredients:
-1 8″ 100% Whole Wheat Tortilla
-1 medium banana
-2 tablespoons of all natural peanut butter (or almond butter)
-1 tablespoon of slivered almonds
-1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
-1-2 tablespoons of sugar free maple syrup
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Posted by Joel Marion on July 26, 2009
39 Comments
As I write this newsletter, I’m doing a little late night snacking on a batch of organic cucumbers (marinated in vinegar, yummmmm) from my local CSA.
Now, you’ve probably heard that there are benefits to eating organic, but if you’re like most people, you’re may still be a tad confused about the whole “organic” thing (as is proved by all the organic-related emails that regularly come through my inbox).
Perhaps you’ve wondered, what exactly makes something “organic” and why is it better than the regular stuff? Or maybe, what makes organic produce so darned expensive, and is there any way to enjoy it without burning a hole in my wallet?
Joel to the rescue.
We’ll start with some boring (yet helpful) definitions.
For a food to be certified organic, it must meet certain USDA’s criteria. For produce, this means that the produce must be grown without using most conventional pesticides, fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering, or ionizing radiation.
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Posted by Joel Marion on July 24, 2009
135 Comments
Being the resident fitness guru, I’m always being asked questions by my friends and family about diet and exercise.
And every once in a while, against my better judgment, I agree to help a friend or family member out by designing them a diet and/or exercise program (knowing fully well that, at best, they will stick with it for a week, maybe two).
But, still, I do it…because hey, I’m a nice guy.
Well, just last week I decided to help my buddy Mark out with a program per his request. He’s a pretty disciplined dude (ex-army guy), so I figured he might actually follow through. And if he does, that’ll make it worth it.
In the meantime, however, I’m sure he’ll be giving me some ideas for blog content based on the questions I’m being bombarded with as he begins the program, like yesterday’s question about whether he should be mixing his protein shakes with milk or water.
So, let’s say you’re getting ready to mix up some protein, which should you go with?
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Posted by Joel Marion on July 19, 2009
81 Comments
Last week I hit you up with 3 time-saving workout strategies, including antagonistic supersets, big-money exercises, and strategic overlap.
Today, I’m back with the full workout program I promised combining all three.
Each of these workouts takes less than a half hour to complete, all while instantaneously increasing strength and stimulating each muscle group multiple times per week.
Enjoy!
Monday (Horizontal Upper Body)
A1) Dumbbell Bench Press
A2) Seated Rows
Tuesday (Quad Dominant Lower Body)
A1) Back Squats
A2) Lying Leg Curls
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Posted by Joel Marion on July 15, 2009
57 Comments
Boom-shaka-laka! I’m back!
Yesterday I hit you up with a killer technique for saving time in the gym while enhancing the effectiveness of your workouts (see antagonistic supersets), and today, as promised, I’ve got two more time-saving, results-boosting strategies for you.
Here they be:
1. Utilize “Big Money” Exercises – Big Money Exercises (aka compound movements) are exercises which cross multiple joints and recruit multiple muscle groups simultaneously, making their use an extremely efficient way to train.
Take for example the bench press.
Bench pressing, be it with dumbbells or a barbell, works the chest, triceps, and anterior deltoids (front of the shoulder). Five sets of 10 repetitions of the bench press at a moderate tempo may take somewhere around 12 minutes to complete.
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Posted by Joel Marion on July 14, 2009
157 Comments
After hitting snooze about five times yesterday morning (nothing like starting the day off with 45 minutes of procrastination), I quickly realized that a trip to the gym prior to my 10 a.m. appointment simply wasn’t going to happen.
No worries, though, I gots my trusty Powerblocks® here at the house and very rarely do my workouts run longer than a half hour anyway.
You see, I’m able to get killer workouts done in just 30 minutes for a number of reasons, one of which is a technique called antagonistic supersets.
Let’s break down the term.
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Posted by Joel Marion on July 10, 2009
40 Comments
On Wednesday, I shared three ways to get more veggies in your daily diet, and today I’m back as promised with three more:
The 5-lb Frozen Veggie Method – I’ve personally used this method often and absolutely love it. Every week, just break open a 5-lb bag of frozen veggies and by the end of the week make sure it’s gone. Extremely simple, exceptionally accountable, and it works!
Juice it Up – On a similar note, here’s another quick way sneak in more veggies, especially for those who absolutely can’t stand ‘em! Juice ‘em! Even the strongest “veggie” tastes can be disguised in juice form with an apple or pear base. So much so, that apart from the color, you may not even realize they’re in there.
Fill Your Plate Half with Veggies – This one is for those who enjoy vegetables, yet still struggle to get the recommended number of servings each day. Try filling your dinner plate half with veggies from now on. You’ll get a good 3 servings of fibrous vegetables while lightening the overall caloric load of your meal. Great for health, and even better for fat loss.
Now, if you didn’t share Wednesday, we want to know! Do you have another tip or trick that you use to increase your daily veggie intake? Did you try any of the tips from Wednesday’s post? Let us know by commenting below!
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
Posted by Joel Marion on July 8, 2009
85 Comments
Tuesday’s rock.
Why?
Because Tuesday is the day each week that I get to stock my fridge to the brim with fresh produce and spend time with one of my favorite people.
You see, about a month ago my über friend Mimi and I bought a “share” of the summer harvest at a local CSA (community supported agriculture) farm, and every Tuesday we get to go pick up our share of what’s “in season” and even do a little picking to boot.
Yesterday’s “picking” crops were raspberries, green beans, and cucumbers, although I think more raspberries probably went in our mouths than in the container :-)
Needless to say, I’ve now got veggies galore sitting on my counter and in my fridge—and that’s what everyone’s house should look like as far as I’m concerned.
At the same time, I’m a realist, and know that if I’m going to get the recommended 8-10 servings of fruit and veggies each day, it’s going to require me getting a little creative.
And perhaps you’ve found yourself in a similar situation, having a desire to eat more veggies (for their million and one health benefits), but struggling to do so.
Well, that’s what today’s blog post is all about, my friend! Three simple, creative ways to get more veggies in and boost the healthfulness of your diet:
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Posted by Joel Marion on July 6, 2009
239 Comments
I think I may have had the worst seat on the plane yesterday.
You see, I flew Southwest, which means I didn’t have an assigned seat, only a boarding “zone” (which didn’t matter anyway because I was very, very late getting on the plane).
Why?
Well, as I sat there at the airport bar, history was unfolding before my very eyes.
I sat there watching as Roger Federer and Andy Roddick battled it out in what will be remembered as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time—the 2009 Wimbledon Men’s Final.
140+ mph serves, smashing forehands, slicing backhands, and oh yeah, a five-set grueling back and forth match which set the all-time record for most games played in a 5th set (it took THIRTY games for someone to finally “win by two”, as is required).
But that wasn’t the only record that was set. Ultimately, “the greatest”, Roger Federer pulled out the win, pushing him above Pete Sampras for the most career grand slam titles of all-time with 15. A new all-time record, a new champion, a phenomenal record-breaking match.
Like I said, history in the making.
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...