At Home Workout Plan continued...

Hey everyone as promised I am going to try and keep some at home workout idea's coming for you all. Right now I am going to post up a routine that is for the upper body. It is very basic and very effective!

100 pull-ups: Does not matter if you do them one at a time or ten sets of ten etc etc as long as they are done!









Switch up the grips on the pull-ups to work the different muscles in the back. Use this diagram as an example.


Now only one more exercise!

100 push-ups: Same rules apply as the pull ups.

























Try doing this 2-3 times a week and see if you notice a change in your body within a couple weeks. Remember to eat an hour or two before working out and remain hydrated all day long. This will aid in your overall weight loss!

Breakfast Time!!!

Looks good right!! Try this recipe out in the morning on those days where you may be tempted to eat something bad (pancakes etc etc).  Keep in mind this recipe is a batch of anywhere from 8-14 tortillas full depending on how big of tortillas you use. 

3/4 lb. of chicken breast (dice it or shred it up once it is cooked)

1 can black beans (make sure to drain and rinse them)

4 egg whites

5 whole eggs
salt and pepper for flavor
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (if you want to get reduced fat that is okay!)
8-14 flour tortillas (I recommend whole grain and lo-carb)

Cook Your chicken breast up first. Cook it in a pan and once the chicken is done cooking add in your egg white/whole egg mixture. While this is cooking make the black beans as well. I heat up my tortillas in the microwave for a couple seconds covered by paper towels. Put your tortilla on a plate and add your egg/chicken mixture. Top this with the black beans and cheese. Salt and pepper can be used to add a little bit of flavor (I use sea salt). Enjoy!

I will post  a picture of the tortilla's I use as well:

Carbs At Night

Hey all it's BigBen here:

      Most of us love carbs! I do not believe that carbs are bad at all as a matter of fact quite the opposite. Carbs are a good thing to incorporate into your day-to-day diet but timing is very important.

Tip #2

Don't eat carbs at night! Eat your carbs earlier in the day when your body will be able to use them as fuel. When you eat carbs at night you spike your blood sugar and store your food into fat. At night people tend to get a lot of cravings. Keep to proteins, veggies and maybe a little bit of fat. Carbohydrates cause the body to retain water as well. By cutting your carbs at night you will also lose more water weight which will help you look even better!


As always post up any questions you may have I would love to help all of you meet your weight loss goals!

At Home Workout Plan

Hey guys its BigBen:
I know that many of you fall into a category of people who do not have access to a gym membership. It is much harder to lose weight without being physically active! What are some things that can be done at home so that you reach your weight loss goals? I want to post up one helpful tip as close to everyday as possible and see if this works for you!

Tip #1

Walk!! Do not worry about going outside and running to start your weight loss program. Every morning as soon as you wake up (and I mean as soon as you wake up!) roll out of bed put your shoes on and grab your iPod. Go outside and walk at a brisk pace for 30 minutes. Do not eat prior to this!! Do a little walk on an empty stomach everyday and watch the weight fall off!


Why this works:

If you were to eat prior to doing this cardio what would your body use as fuel? The food that you ate! If we do this on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and keep the heart rate low (under 140) your body will use fat as fuel! Your bodyfat at that! It will also give you more energy throughout the day and give you time to meditate before your day begins. There are a plethora of health benefits from a morning walk. Wake up, put on your shoes and watch the weight fall off!

A little about me!

This blog is still new and you may want to know a little bit more about me. I found this and thought it would be fun to post up for you all!'

A.   Age: 22
B.    Bed size:  Queen works for me!
C.   Chore you hate: I do NOT like to dust haha! Anything but that.
D.   Dogs: I don't have one but I do like them. I have a cat though :)
E.    Essential start to your day: Coffee is a must for me in the morning. After I do that then my world begins
F.  Favorite color:  Blue and Red
G.  Gold or silver: I think gold makes a lot of $$$ so gold!
H.  Height: I am 5'9
I.   Instruments you play: It's been a while but I can play guitar, bass guitar and drums. No one wants to live with a drummer though haha
J.   Job title: Personal Trainer
K.  Kids: I have no kids but maybe somewhere down the road

L.  Live: Ft.Myers, FL
M. Mom’s name: Peggy
N.  Nicknames: People have always called me BigBen so I go with that. Turns out my name can leads to a lot of nicknames though so I will respond to almost anything haha
O.  Overnight hospital stays: 3 nights I believe...not a fun place to be!
P.  Pet peeve: Drives me crazy when you are upset about something and someone tells me to calm down! We are allowed to feel emotions don't tell me to calm down haha!!
Q.  Quote from a movie: Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm a schizophrenic and so am I - Bill Murray in What about Bob
R.  Righty or Lefty: I write with my left hand but I play sports with my right
S.   Siblings: 3 older brothers (my mom is a saint)
T.   Time you wake up: Everyday is different for me. Depends on when I have clients.
U.   Underwear: Got some white boxers with blue and green stripes right now
V.    Vegetables you dislike: Beets...Maybe I have never had them the right way?
W.   What makes you run late: Showers and brushing my teeth :(
X.    X-rays you’ve had: No clue but hopefully none more anytime soon!
Y.    Yummy food you make: I make good pan-fried chicken! I also have a chocolate peanut butter protein pudding I love!
Z.     Zoo animal favorite: Monkeys!


That's some information on me. I would like to hear about you all so feel free to fill it out and post it!

Cardio Last!!!

Hey guys its BigBen! Got a tip for the day. It's Sunday and most of us who workout will more than likely find ourselves in the gym tomorrow. I love sunday's because it is a new week and a good day to plan for the week. How can you meet your fitness goals this week? When I am working at the gym it almost never fails. The guys come in and go straight to the weight room. The ladies come in and go straight for the cardio. Who is right? When you enter the gym one of the first things on your agenda should be to warm up on a piece of cardio equipment. I like to do five minutes on the treadmill walking at a decent pace. You don't want to sweat and pant this is just a warm up! Then go do your weight training or resistance exercise. Then when you are done with that go back to the cardio section and do your real cardio session! Why do we do this? When you go to the gym you should have eaten. Do you want to burn all of your food off doing cardio? No! This would cause you to weight train on an empty stomach. When you weight train on an empty stomach the body is going to use muscle for fuel and not your bodyfat. If you waste all of your food energy on weight training and do LOW intensity cardio on an empty stomach the body responds differently. It will use bodyfat for fuel at this point and spare the muscle. Do your cardio last and you will have more muscle and less fat!

Ben's rant against Flour!

Why You Should Exclude FLOUR From Your Diet

Bread's primary ingredient is flour. The problem with flour is that it lacks much nutritional value. Most store bought breads offer little in the way of nutrients. It does not aid in digestion and slows down the bodies metabolism This is why:
Generally refined white flour is produced from the whole wheat grain and then goes on to the refining process which removes all of the husk, or bran and leaves you with no nutritional value. It then is bleached using chemicals which contain chlorine and is then dried in kilns at high temperature which kills off anything beneficial. They then add gluten, which is a product that an increasing number of people are building allergies to. This helps to produce a more evenly risen and air filled loaf. A standard loaf of bread also has sugar added to it which adds more calories and damages the body. Salt is also added to check the progress of the yeast and prevent the loaf from rising too much, or over-proving. In turn adding to one's overall sodium consumption.
Eating mass produced bread has no health benefits whatsoever. Small bakery bread and home made loaves usually taste a little better but because flour is used in their production, there is still no health benefit.

Today's Healthy Dessert

Healthy dessert - strawberry, raspberry with chocolate waffles and yogurt. Isolated on white.

The reason I like this dessert is because it is full of flavor while still staying low on calories. I do not encourage eating dessert frequently but sometimes we all need to give in and enjoy food a little. This way you can have dessert and not spend five days trying to work it off!

Introduction

Hello all:
     
My name is BigBen and I am a personal trainer, nutritionist and bodybuilder. I'm writing this blog in order to help teenagers with weight loss. I was overweight as a child all the way into my teens. From my first hand experience I know the pains and struggles that a teen goes through when they are overweight. Weight loss is a confusing subject for everyone...especially teenagers. I will be addressing things from diet and training to proper supplementation and lifestyle. The journey to be in shape is a lifestyle and it is not an easy one to jump into. People need direction while they are trying to obtain their goals. I am here to discuss things that I have learned through schooling, research and first hand experience. I welcome everyone to feel free to ask any questions in here. The goal is to help everyone reach their peak physical shape the easiest way possible!