Try this awesome easy recipe for breakfast OR preworkout!

Ok, so I think it's safe to say that we all know that the "instant" oatmeal in packets contains a lot of refined sugar. I believe in one packet there is at least like 15 g of sugar, and come on, one packet is NEVER enough to fill us up. So already, 2 packets of oatmeal can already add up to almost a can of soda! Gross!

The solution. Grab a high powered food processor or blender (hint hint buy a VITAMIX) :)
Blend your favorite berries (I like plain old strawberries...and add some stevia to the mix to sweeten it up)

And bam...a lovely breakfast and super ultra healthy for you too! (I also like to throw my protein powder in my oatmeal (something like a nice chocolate strawberry oatmeal-if I had chocolate protein powder)

Try it out!!!

Remember 9/11 and be grateful...

Now, I know I normally obviously blog about training, nutrition and things relating to health. But instead of health in terms of those above things, lets remember how healthy it is to maintain important relationships with the ones you love. It's a day like today that reminds us to keep in touch with those closest to us...whether it be through phone, email, text, it doesn't matter.

The window of life can close SO quickly and in the grand scheme of things, things like competing in fitness shows etc are so small and insignificant. I've got to remind myself a lot of times to make that phone call to a loved one, because you just never know. Life is so unpredictable. Don't have any regrets.

In addition, a day like today, although sad, tells us all to get busy LIVING. There must be a fine balance of work and play in life. Now, I know too many people that play entirely way too much, never accomplishing what they so called really "aspire" or "dream" of doing. Other people work a lot, (myself included) and dont' spend enough time enjoying life and soaking up all the wonderful things it involves. Have that balance. Live with no regrets, and do what feels right and stay close to the ones that mean the most.

Be you, be true. And never forget 9/11/2001

Drink your way to better health!!! One of my favorite preworkout drinks while in a precontest diet.

As a personal trainer, I'm constantly on the go. Not only am I constantly on the go, but I am even MORE stressed (well, I don't get too stressed but more rushed to get things done I should say) when I am getting ready for a show. Sometimes food can get realllllly boring while in competition prep, and I'm okay with that. But you can still make things interesting it is all about experimentation and finding the right way and things to blend together. Well, you have GOT to try this one as this will take your health and energy to a whole new level preworkout. You can call it whatever you want...green goodness, the HULK, whatever, but it's green. WHY? Because it has greens in it, yet tastes nothing like veggies. Ok, lets get to the good stuff...

The recipe:

1/4 cup almond milk
water(however much you want-depends on what consistency you like)
cup or so of ice cubes
handful of kale
handful of spinach
whole organic apple (seeds/stem and all-I have a Vitamix blender-pulverizes everything)
banana flavored protein powder
small handful walnuts (optional)

Blend on high for 20-30 seconds until smooth and creamy.

This is really good as the apple/banana flavor really comes out and you get all the health benefits!!! Low carb, high protein, all the flavor and nutrition!!!

Enjoy!

On your way to a thinner, happier, healthier YOU with 2 great recipes!

As a fitness and health professional, and while studying toward my certification as a certified health coach with the holistic nutritional school of Integrative Nutrition, I would like to take this time and share a few recipes that can REALLY go a long way with making veggies and other foods that are calorically dense EASIER to eat. One of my favorite salad dressings that I make is made up of primarily 2 or 3 ingredients, your call. All you need is a high powered blender(preferably the VITAMIX), about one cup of cashews, 2 peeled oranges, and optional tbsp. of balsamic vinegarette. Throw all those in the blender and turn on high for about 15-20 seconds or until nice and liquidy. You can add half an orange if you like it a little runnier. I use this on salads, dip cucumbers and things in it. It is AMAZING and cuts down on all the calories added by store salad dressings and you can feel good about the 2 ingredients you are making it with!

One of my other favorites is very simple and a great way to start breakfast. I take 2 plain pieces of Ezekiel bread and toast them. Then, I scramble some egg whites with about one yolk and cut it in half. Next, take avacado and spread on top and top it off with some hot sauce or small bit of lower sugar ketchup. So good!!! Try these recipes out and let me know what you think. I know you will love them!

In The Kitchen: Bored with Breakfast?

I'll be the first one to admit...as a fitness competitor the same old foods just don't fly ALL the time. Now, don't get me wrong, I do like what I eat every day even though 99% of the time it's the same stuff over in over again, just slightly tweaked a bit here and there. Breakfast can be one of the most repetitive meals for me especially, reverting to the classic eggs and oatmeal, only putting hot sauce or sugar free ketchup on my eggs and cinnamon and maybe a small number of blueberries on my oatmeal. This does get pretty darn boring day in and day out...and sometimes it leaves me craving something like pancakes, but HEALTHY pancakes. So, therefore I leave you one of my favorite recipes that you can really play with to suit your favorite taste/flavor.

I just combine egg whites and wheat flour/oats in a blender...I use a high powered blender so it really blends together well. To make the pancake more moist...I like to add about half banana into the blender. Spray the pan/griddle and then let it heat on med-high heat. After, I top with some sugar free cool whip (I like to keep it frozen I don't know why) and then also some walden farms sugar free chocolate syrup. I use all the sugar free stuff sparingly as I don't like to have too many things like that in my diet...but I do use it on occassion especially when craving something while on a contest diet.

Try it out and let me know what you think. Get creative with it!

Don't be THAT guy! (or girl) Train your midsection PROPERLY!

I often am in the gym looking around, especially viewing things from a trainer's perspective...so many exercises for the core/midsection that people are doing TOTALLY wrong and can actually make the physique look worse. Here I am going to break down a few of the exercises that are commonly butchered at the gym, making me grimace and just shake my head in dissatisfaction.

In no specific order:

1) Hanging leg raises: Often I see people just see people hanging loosely from the ab straps or even if hanging on to bar with their hands they are simply hanging freely and then proceeding to swing. This, my friends, is only working your hip flexors more than anything believe it or not.

Correction: If in the ab straps, do what I like to call a "scapula pullup" (scapula being one of the 3 major shoulder movers) and hold that position while doing your knee ups/leg raises. This makes things a bit more difficult, however, eliminates the hip flexor essentially by limiting swinging if done under control, engaging your lower abs throughout the movement. Try about 12-15 of these and you definitely will feel it!

2) V-ups: Another term people might be more familiar with is "knee in's.." How many times do you see someone on a flat bench with their legs up just simply bringing their knee's into their chest and back in a super quick fashion? Again, NOT engaging your abs like it should. Hip flexors will give out way before your abs ever will.

Correction: With your butt/glutes (however you want to be politically correct) on the edge of a bench and slight bend in the knee's, bring your legs up and crunch with your abs at the same time, basically creating a "V" with your body. This will really hit the abs without a lot of hit flexor. Pointing the toes down also eliminates a lot of quad/hip flexor strain. If you get strong with this exercise try putting a small dumbell between the toes.

3) Side bends: This is probably my biggest pet peeve. I see guys doing these ALL the time with HEAVY weight! Dude, what are you doing? If you want the appearance of love handles with low bodyfat be my guest. What I mean here is that when you do those side bends with heavy weight...that is muscle you are working! You are essentially building the sides which creates the illusion of a thick waist. And aren't we going for a smaller waist/V taper look?

Correction: Just DON'T use weight and know what you are working! You can still do these without weight, there's just no need to bulk that area up!

There you have it...my top 3 abdominal/core mistakes I see people making in the gym. Let me know if you have any questions about anything!!!

Progress pictures: They REALLY are important!

WOW, just tonight I was on my computer after getting home from training & massage therapy clients and I sat down and was scrolling through old photos of me & also now the new photos. After looking at them, I cannot stress the importance of taking progress pictures and photos every 3 to 4 weeks to see the changes. Time goes SO FAST I feel like. Especially since I am in my late 20's now, I feel like the days just fly by sometimes. The scale does not tell us what we always want. You literally can stay the same weight but lose a few percentage points of bodyfat but you cannot tell BECAUSE you didn't take any pictures. These are the best judgement of if you are on the right track or not. Only here you can analyze if your hips got smaller, arms got more toned, etc. You get the point. Just look at the difference in me when I was 19-20. I'm glad I entered the bodybuilding.com teen of the week that year. Because if I hadn't I wouldn't have any pictures of me without my shirt on when I was 19. Almost 10 years ago! That's hard to believe. But look at my progress since. I'm not gonna lie. I'm proud of myself and who I've become. So why shouldn't you start changing the way you look at yourself and create YOUR TRANSFORMATION. Start taking pictures and hold yourself accountable!!!

DAIRY: IS IT REALLY NECESSARY???

IN THE KITCHEN w/ Dave Shutler:


I don’t know about all of you, but when I was younger we always had milk or
some sort of dairy in the house. “Milk is good for bones and teeth etc etc” mom used to
say. Well, as I’ve gotten older and wiser, milk, at least in my opinion has been WORSE
for my body than good for it. Milk and dairy from my experience has caused me bloating
and sometimes an upset stomach, along with an unnecessary amount of sugar
or “lactose.” I still am amazed when talking to someone when they tell me what they are
eating during the day and they are drinking tons of milk, wondering why they aren’t
dropping a significant amount more weight than they have been. People are often so
misconstrued about milk and how we need it to fight osteoporosis and have strong
healthy bones. HERE’S SOME NEWS. Asian countries, who drink little to NO milk at
all, have less osteoporosis rates than Americans who drink a TON of milk. Amazed?
Don’t be. Asian countries load up on their green veggies like Kale, packing a ton of
calcium and other nutrients that are much better than the ol’ milk and dairy. So to keep it
simple, try making small changes in regards to dairy products. Your body and gut will
thank you in the long run.