I've Got The Shakes That'll Make You Quake, I've Got The Fries That'll Cross Your Eyes, I've Got The Burgers That'll...I Just Got Burgers

Nothing like a good comedic quote from an Adam Sandler movie to start the day. Got to love Cheeseburger Eddie...Nothing a Quarter Pounder can't fix LOL. 

Sometimes we just need a good laugh because in this day and age, we get so fucking caught up in the politics, the drag queens, LGTBQ craziness and anything that puts fear into the minds of everyday people. Don't you just hate the news? Remember that old Mark Twain quote "If you read the newspaper you're misinformed, if you don't read it you're uninformed." Speaks volumes to today's world doesn't it?

When it comes to nutrition, the amount of information on it doesn't utilize simplicity or go into consideration to what is truly needed. There's pyramids (remember that crap in grade school), there's all this stuff about veganism, eggs will kill you, eating meat is bad and fruits and veggies keep getting recalled. Everybody processes food differently and we all won't be able to eat the same things either do to lack of taste, allergies, web MD and/or what we need to do to gain/lose weight. It has become overgeneralized and not about the individual. 

Don't get wrong, I love burgers, fries, crispy chicken oriental salads and a good pizza every now and then but do my best to eat as good as possible and stay away from the 5-6 meals a day thing. Most of my nutrition comes from having a solid source of vitamins and minerals from fruits and veggies, protein from whole milk, eggs and meats and other things. I don't eat sweets very often and when it comes to breads, I either go to Subway or make a mean Grilled Cheese sometimes. I don't eat more than 2 big meals a day if that and go out maybe once a week or every other week with the wife for a date night and grab Red Robin or Panda Express. 

One of my favorite things to make at home is my homemade protein shake that is very simple to conjure up. It consists of whole milk and one raw egg for protein, scoop of Spark (Vitamin B mix) for energy and mental focus, Liquid IV for hydration and plenty of berries for extra vitamins and antioxidants. I stopped doing the protein powders a long time ago because those things can be costly as hell and rather use my money on things that matter. This tastes incredible and gives me that surge of energy for workouts later on along with being able to digest pretty easily. 

I believe in balance in eating and drinking as good as you can but have a little fun every once in a while so you don't deprive yourself. I learned this a little later in life since I use to eat very shitty when I was in my pre teens and teens. I use to eat McDonalds and Donuts a lot during my school years and could drink a whole 2 liter of coke in a sitting, eat a whole pizza by myself and eat enough oreos to make someone sick. Thank the universe I don't do anywhere near that crap now, a couple glasses of coke is probably my limit, 4 slices of pizza (not even huge looking ones) is about all I can handle and haven't had a donut probably in a good few years. I also conditioned my body to not take in sweets so much either so a few cookies here and there is about as much as I'll indulge. I rarely if ever drink at all (I hate beer and the last shot that I could remember taking was to honor Bud Jeffries when he died which was back in Jan of '22) and never smoked a day in my life. 

Health really is wealth and it's important to know that yeah for many of us we did some stupid shit when we were younger and learned from our mistakes. Some never get over their vices and others get so caught up in being healthy that often times it can be overwhelming. Too much of anything is never a good thing. Hell yeah a steak can kill you but so can choking on a banana (I know you got some perverted jokes running in your head right you sick bastards). Just do what's possible for you to keep everything in check. 

It is our responsibility for what we eat but it's also important to help others who may be struggling. Nothing consistently is ever truly easy and yeah there is an obese issue roaming around and we need to do what we can to lessen that. Make better choices, utilize a budget to make those healthy choices and create routes when you shop so you're not tempted to just rush over to the bad shit the moment you walk in the door. I believe in you and you can do it. Be mindful as well. 

Eat good, train well and keep being amazingly awesome.  

The Root Bodybuilders Wish They Knew

I don't know if you knew this but bodybuilders are quite often on the verge of being the cutting edge of Nutrition. They don't just do whatever it takes to get ahead of the game like injecting and pumping themselves full of illegal drugs like synthetic steroids, they're also gunning for what's even better. For those that choose to not go to the dark side it becomes an even greater importance.

If you dig deep enough in the Bodybuilding World, you'll be hearing about all kinds of natural herbs that very powerful effects. One of those mighty herbs is called the Maral Root. Its name comes from a kind of deer called the Maral Deer that feed on it. To be specific, the male would battle another male during the mating season, then it would dig out the roots, eat them and restore its strength. The Locals noticed this odd behavior and started using the roots themselves for the following reasons:

*Recover Optimally
*Heal (Recover) From Various Ailments
*Last Longer In The Sack
*Improve Mild Depression
*Enhance Or Even Increase Memory
*Greater Work Capacity
*Increase Adaptogenic Properties
*Enhance Anabolic Properties

In Russia, it is prescribed to their athletes to aid in recovery from intense training. Many people heard of the Chinese Olympic Athletes such as swimmers and those in track that won a ton of Gold Medals used Cordyceps. This wasn't the ONLY herb that they ingested, they also took in Rhodiola, Eleuthero and of course Maral Root. Now what makes this root so damn POWERFUL?

It has quite a few different natural plant sterols that really do the trick. One such substance is called 20-Hydroxycdysone which increases what are called protein synthesis at the most cellular level in the body. This leads to greater muscle tissue. Maral Root also has what are called ecdysterones, a hormone that is usually found in insects and crustaceans, not usually in us humans. This type of component has been seen to show many Physiological effects and could at least be partially responsible for its anabolic activity.

5 Tips To Help You Gain Muscle

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr. Drew Stegman. I looked over his site and I find him very interesting in his approach to weightlifting, bodybuilding and Nutrition. Its basic, simple and no B.S when it comes to building the muscle you want. Without further ado here is the 5 steps to help those who want to gain muscle fast.....

With everybody these days trying to lose fat, it’s fairly easy to forget about the importance of muscle on your body. Whether you simply want to increase your metabolism or look at yourself in the mirror and know that you’re totally hot and ripped, muscle mass is necessary to do so.

Here are five simple ways to build muscle, rather you’re trying to pack on a few pounds or you want to look like a professional bodybuilder:

1. Cut Back on the Cardio: Doing cardiovascular exercise is fantastic if your goal is weight loss, since it allows you to burn additional calories and gets your heart rate up into its target zone. But if your goal is to gain muscle, I’d recommend cutting back on the cardio a bit. Too much cardio can actually burn muscle, which is the case with the long-distance marathon runner; sure they might be lean and have no fat on their body, but they’re lacking in the muscle department. This doesn't mean that you should ignore cardio completely, but definitely cut back on the long distance stuff. I would limit your cardio to no more than three 30-minute sessions each week and spend the rest of your time and effort focusing on lifting weights.

2. Don't Overdo It: Many bodybuilders, weightlifters, fitness enthusiasts and even average gym goers all make the same mistake – they overtrain. When it comes to most things in life, more is better, but when it comes to building muscle, doing more will simply end in failure. If you overtrain, you’re either going to get injured or simply get burnt out. Whatever the case, you won’t be able to build any muscle and if you get injured, obviously you’ll be out of the gym for weeks or months at a time. So keep your weightlifting sessions under an hour and don’t workout more than 5 days per week. Even with five days per week, you’re still pushing it – I’d even recommend scaling that back to 3-4 days per week.

3. Mix Things Up: Why would you want to do the same thing over and over again anyway? Variety is what keeps people from getting bored in life and when it comes to packing on muscle, things are no different. Your muscles (and body for that matter) all operate under one simple principle. Once they get comfortable with what they’re doing, they stop adapting. And when they stop adapting, they stop growing. Always make sure you’re switching up your workouts every 4-6 weeks, so you can keep your muscles constantly confused and in the state of muscle growth. Trust me, you won’t regret this decision once you finally decide to give it a full-blown shot.

4. Keep Eating: Many people focus on calorie restriction when trying to lose weight, which is completely understandable. But when you’re trying to gain muscle, you need to play by a different set of rules. Quite simply, you have to eat big to get big. If you’re not supplying your body constantly with the nutrients and calories it needs to grow, then don’t expect to get very big. But you can’t eat anything – you need to consume a constant balance of protein, healthy fats, complex carbs and fruits and vegetables as well. If you starve your muscles, they’ll wither away, so don’t let that happen to you.

5. Take a Break: Remember point two. Even if you’re mixing up your workouts and continually confusing your body, you won’t gain much muscle if you workout too much. In fact, you’ll probably find that you gain the most amount of muscle when you’re resting. Many people don’t realize that muscle growth does not occur in the gym; it occurs outside of the gym when you are resting and eating. When you hit the gym, you’re breaking down your muscles and then your body has to go back and rebuild those muscles once you've broken them down. But if you’re always working out, you’re body won’t have enough of an opportunity to rebuild these broken down muscles, so they won’t grow. Every six months or so, take a rest week and you’ll be amazed at the effect it has on your body; not to mention your state of mind. Your mind and body will make a full recovery and you’ll be more than ready to hit the gym once this rest week has ended.

This was an article written by Drew Stegman. For more muscle building tips check out his website: http://how2gainmusclefast.com/