Here is a quick 5 block meal.

For protein and fat I took 5 oz of leftover steak, added about a tablespoon of real mayo with some mustard for taste. For carbs, I took 21 cherries (3 blocks) and an orange (2 blocks).

Presto, lunch is served.

Instead of writing my own piece here, I’m just going to link a great blog that covers what to look for when buying any health supplement.

The writers (Dallas and Melissa I believe) are very smart and know their stuff.

Enjoy:

http://whole9life.com/2010/08/whole9-supplement-evaluation-checklist/

Here is a breakfast that I will occasionally have. I know it is not ideal, but I need to mix it up.

It’s 40g of Raisin Bran (yes I know there are starches and milk, but I’m not 100% Paleo), which is about 4 blocks of carbs. There is 4 whole eggs with some salsa for 4 blocks of protein and fat and a glass of skim milk for 1 block of protein and 1 block of carbs.

This applies to work and personal life, just as much as at the gym – you know where this is going.

It can happen for one of a million reasons, just remember that it’s only one day/workout out of thousands.

So, the question remains “what to do about it?”

First off, IT’S OK TO HAVE A BAD DAY!!!! You’re not perfect and neither is anyone else. If it’s at work or school or at home, then try to remove yourself from whoever/whatever is bothering you. This is not always an option, but it should be where you start.

Once you get home, then do something fun. Read a book, watch a movie, walk the dog, hit the gym, go for a jog, etc. Don’t dwell on it.

If it’s in the gym, just remember it’s OK to be off once in a while. You’re not always going to be setting PR’s (personal records) for individual lifts or single exercises. So you kept missing that 225 clean and jerk today, but did it easily last week. IT’S OK!!!!!

The worse thing to do is to keep at it if you know you’re off. Maybe you didn’t sleep much the night before or maybe you had too much pizza and beer for dinner. Whatever the reason, nothing is worse than causing an injury because of being stubborn when you know you’re off.

Bottom line: Have your bad day, get over it, and get on with your life.

Unfortunately there is no easy answer to this question. Do you have an iron deficiency? Low bone density? etc

First thing I want to say is that you shouldn’t always believe the hype – blindly that is. There are a few items out there that do wonders for us, and tons that don’t. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is….

If you live in the U.S., then it’s even worse, as there is not regulatory body that controls what supplement companies can claim. Is the FDA wants to remove your product, then they have the obligation to disprove what you are claiming. Maybe it’s just me, but that is backwards…

There is a great clip below from the documentary Bigger Stronger Faster about supplements in the U.S. (the documentary is a MUST see in my opinion).

Here is what I personally take:

- Whey Protein Powder – I buy a combination isolate and concentrate because it is easier on the wallet and there is little difference between a blend (with isolate as the main ingredient) and pure isolate.

- Multi-Vitamin/Mineral – I do not buy a multi from the drug store or pharmacy due to the fact that they usually add fillers and dyes. I go to a natural health food store to buy it.

- Fish Oil – I take a liquid right now because it was on sale and gave me the best bang for my buck. I will go with either liquid or capsules, but the important thing to remember is that it needs to be a high quality fish oil (I’ll post an article soon on what to look for). Once you buy fish oil, a quick dosing calculator can be found here.

I may start taking vitamin D over the upcoming winter, but as of now, that’s it. Like I have said in earlier posts, I have taken dozens of different supplements over the years and this is what I have found that actually gives me benefits.

Note: I also think that using creatine can achieve great results without side effects if you are dosing correctly, as hundreds of trials have shown, I just don’t use it.

How easy is it to make and sell supplements in the USA? Check the video to see. The answer may shock you…..

That being said, it is my opinion that people who do not exercise or eat properly, should use BMI as ONE tool in their toolbox of keeping an eye on health, but not one I would use as a primary indicator.

On the other hand, if you exercise and eat right, BMI goes out of the window and should not be used. Ever.

So, what is BMI? It is supposed to let an individual know if they are overweight or not. It is calculated by dividing someone’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters. BMI of 18.5  – 24.9 is considered ‘healthy’, BMI of 25-29.9 is considered ‘overweight’ and those of 30 or more are considered ‘obese’.

Example: So if you weigh 160 lbs and are 5′ 10″ then that is 72.7 kg and 1.778 m. This would give you a BMI of 23 (72.7/1.778²). This is considered normal. What if your body fat percentage is 35% at that weight and height? I would say that it is not normal and something needs to be done about that.

What about a guy who is 195 lbs (88.6 kg), 5′ 11″ (1.8 m) and 14% body fat? Their BMI would be 27.3 which is clearly overweight by the standards of BMI, but I would consider that person healthy and fit.

Bottom line is that their are a number of other methods and indications of health and that you should never get stuck up on something like BMI.

Here is a great chart to check your BMI at a glance.

All I did here was take 4 oz’s of leftover chicken (4 blocks protein) and add a tablespoon of bbq sauce (1 block carbs) on the chicken and a tablespoon of real mayo on the side (5-6 blocks of fat).

I added 2 cups strawberries and a peach (3 blocks of carbs) and a multi-vitamin and fish oil capsules.

For those who are unfamiliar with Zone Blocks, I’ve explained them here:http://becomeanathlete.ca/2010/08/10/zone-blocks-explained/

Bon Appetit

This includes bodybuilding magazines and websites. More often than not, then rule of thumb is 1.5-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. That means a 200 lb individual should be taking 300-400 grams of protein per day?!?!? That’s just absurd for the regular individual who is not on steroids.

For those of you who are naive, yes 99% of your favorite bodybuilders are taking steroids. Its part of the game.

I have followed the bodybuilding way for a few years and let me tell you first hand: THEY NEED TO SELL SUPPLEMENTS!!!!! Browse through any muscle mag and count the number of supplement ads. Case in point.

And this is not to say that I don’t take supplements or that I’m against them, but don’t be disillusioned as to what and how much you need. I used to take lots of powders – pre workout, post workout, bedtime, etc. Plus many pills per day – vitamin pack (9 pills), creatine (8 pills), hydrolyzed protein (9 pills), vitamin c, vitamin e, ginko, ginseng, green tea capsules, etc. At one point I was taking around 30-35 pills per day and 4-5 shakes per day.

Now I take whey protein after a workout and sometimes in a morning shake if I am rushing out the door. But do I need to be taking one in the morning, one before my workout, one after the workout, one in the evening and one before bed like they want me to? Hell no!!!! Stop wasting your money on things you don’t need!

What about creatine? – I will save that for another post, but in short – Yes it does work, but not everyone needs it.

Back to the point at hand…. SO HOW MUCH PROTEIN DO YOU REALLY NEED?!?

After reading a number of articles that were published comparing amounts of protein given to weightlifters, swimmers, etc it turns out that you don’t need all that much.

Dr. Barry Sears has come up with a way to figure it out (and coincidently that is how to calculate how many blocks you need to eat to stay in the Zone).

HERE IT IS:

Simply take your lean body mass (total mass – body fat) and multiply it by your activity level. This give you a protein requirement and divide by 7 to get your block requirement.

Here is a body fat calculator that only requires you to input a few measurements. Using calipers is also acceptable. I would stay away from cheap digital scales that read bf% as they are terrible and not consistent. There are exceptions if you have a high quality scale.

Example: If you weight 150 lbs, and your body fat percentage is 20%, that is 30 lbs. That means your lean body mass is 150 minus 30, which is 120 lbs.

What about activity level?

Here is a quick recipe for salmon and veggies.

I bought a fresh salmon fillet from the market. All I added was some dill and cracked pepper. I pan fried it for 5 minutes on the skin side, then about 3-4 minutes on the other.

While that was cooking I took out about 2 cups of frozen veggies and boiled/steamed them on the stove for about 5 blocks of carbs.

I weighed out 7.5 oz’s of the salmon for 5 blocks of protein.

I added some lemon juice to the veggies and fish and about a tablespoon of real mayo on the fish for 5-6 blocks of fat.

For those who are unfamiliar with Zone Blocks, I’ve explained them here: http://becomeanathlete.ca/2010/08/10/zone-blocks-explained/

Bon Appetit

So how does sleep work exactly? Well here’s sleep 101 from Dr. Nicholas Sita:

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I have also read that because our sleep cycles are in 90 minute intervals, then our sleep amount should be divisible by 90 so that it does not disrupt a cycle and have us feeling lethargic. This means we should be sleeping either 4.5, 6, 7.5 or 9 hours per night/sleep and not a number in between like 8, as you will be more tired than if you slept 7.5 hours.

How does sleep affect athletic performance in a actual trial? I’m glad you asked…

Here is a excerpt from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/110191.php

“Getting extra sleep over an extended period of time improves athletic performance, mood and alertness, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday at the SLEEP 2008 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) in Baltimore, Md.

Participants in this ongoing study were five healthy students on the Stanford University men’s and women’s swimming teams. For the first two weeks of the study, the students maintained their usual sleep-wake pattern. The athletes then extended their sleep to 10 hours per day for six to seven weeks.

Athletic performance was assessed after each regularly scheduled swim practice. After obtaining extra sleep, athletes swam a 15-meter meter sprint 0.51 seconds faster, reacted 0.15 seconds quicker off the blocks, improved turn time by 0.10 seconds and increased kick strokes by 5.0 kicks.”

How much sleep do YOU get?!?