“Eating crappy food isn't a reward -- it's a punishment.”

Rant and Tip for October 11, 2012

Quote: “Eating crappy food isn't a reward -- it's a punishment.” ― Drew Carey

This quote is a concept we can all learn from. In the past on a day of a meet, I would splurge and enjoy foods that I normally would not. I usually end up paying for this. I end up coming back home heavier than I want to be and then diet it back down. Sometimes this is harder than others. It is typically only like 5 pounds but enough to make me a head case. I have punished myself for following a proper diet with a splurge that has caused me to wish I had not splurged. This happens all the time to people who are trying to watch their weight. They call it a cheat day or a reward for doing well. This is kind of like building a house and then when you are done or even halfway done, taking a wall down and replacing it with rotted wood. Yeah you can fix the wall again, but it is a waste of time and effort.

Last night was squat night and my trainee and I were working on what our lifts will be the day of the meet October 27^th. This will be my first full power meet in the USAPL federation. I am very excited about it and look forward to a good meet. My third lift went up very nicely and I probably had more in me. I really just want to hit all three lifts at depth.

Today will be core or shoulders, not sure which yet. It will depend on how our shoulders feel later today from having the bar on them last night. I will also be doing a lot of stretching over the next 2 weeks. I want to keep my hip flexers stretched and my back and sternum flexible. All of these things help when it comes time for big lifts.

My diet is tight right now and I am staying focused on maintaining my protein levels for muscle repair and fat loss. There is a fine line between your body going catabolic and staying anabolic. The last thing I want is muscle loss before a meet. I want to be at my peak for October 27^th.

Have a great workout!

Tip:     Green tea.

Green tea acts like diet drug in a mug, but without the negative side effect. There was a recent study that indicated that sipping green tea can help you lose fat. This weight loss is the result of EGCG, a compound known to reduce fat absorption, green tea also increases the amount of fat that your body eliminates. The study was overseen by Joshua D. Lambert, PhD, A professor at Penn State.  So think about trading your usual afternoon java for green tea instead.