If you’re keeping it LEAN and CLEAN this Thanksgiving, but still want to “fit in” at the family dinner table. Then try out this quick and delicious recipe from Scottie from the Body Systems In Cambridge. It’s a delicious Sweet Potato Pumpkin Pie!

We all get busy, and we all have lives, so finding the time to eat right can be tough with a full schedule. However, frequent feedings throughout the day are crucial for optimal metabolism and fat loss. So here are some ideas for different high protein snacks that you can include between meals, whether on the go, or lounging around the pool.

1. Fruity Cottage Cheese

-Fat Free Cottage Cheese
-Fresh Fruit (pineapple, blueberries, or banana)
-Pinch of Cinnamon
-Pinch of Splenda

You can vary the amount of cottage cheese and fruit depending on your caloric needs. Just stir it all up, and enjoy!

2. Greek Dip

-Greek Yogurt
-Fresh Garlic and Dill
-Assorted Veggies for Dipping (Carrots, Cucumber, Celery)

3. PB and Choc Oats

Microwave up your oats, but leave them a bit “runny.” Then mix in a scoop of chocolate Iso-Smooth protein and a tbsp of natural PB. The combination really tastes good, and very high in fibre and complex carbs.

4. Banana Pudding

-Greek Yogurt
-Fat Free Sour Cream
-Vanilla Iso-Smooth
-Banana
-Pinch of Splenda
-Drop of Vanilla Extract

Take about 3/4 a cup of the yogurt and mix it with 1 tsp of the sour cream, a half serving of the protein powder, 1 banana and the splenda and vanilla. Stir it up and you’re good to go!

So there you have it. Some snacks you can try to avoid munching on chips or chocolate. What’s your favourite snack??

They are the biggest muscle group on your body and if trained properly should knock you on your butt huffing and puffing! I say “should” knock you on your butt… but you rarely see that anymore when it comes to training legs, a lot of people hate training them so they avoid them at all costs… and other people train their egos and lower back more than their quad. Remember its not how much you lift but how you lift it, and how hard you train! These are 3 leg exercises that I see butchered the most in the gym when training for development.

1) Squats: Not going deep enough. Full squats are tough and should leave you very winded. Full range of motion is very important, ass to the grass as I like to say if you want to fully activate all the muscle fibers. I always hear that people are afraid to do squats because they think they will get a big butt, not true…if you do them properly. There are 2 different styles to squatting, a bodybuilding style which should be used if you’re interested in fully developing your quads and keeping a tight butt and midsection and a powerlifting squat which puts more emphasis on your hips and lower back . Squatting with heavy weight like this and keeping your legs ans feet set wide puts way more stress on these areas and causes wide hips, butt and waist and a sore lower back. Bodybuilding squats are done by taking a narrow foot stance, like a little inside shoulder width, and keeping your back straight you want to basically imagine like you’re trying to sit on your heels. Descend with your knees first not your hips. The best thing to do is practice on a smith machine until you really get the movement and range of motion down without leaning forward and working your lower back more than your quads. Also forget about the weight, I can probably count on one hand the amount of people I’ve seen squat big weight with proper form, most barely move the bar 6 inches and they’re not even out of breath after a set which is a big warning sign right there that something isn’t right with intensity or technique.

2) Leg press: Going too deep. This is where it usually gets mixed up, most don’t go deep enough on squats and too deep on leg press. The way your body is positioned in the leg press when you lower the weight to far into your body your butt will start to roll up and your hips will round and the stress is transferred here and to your lower back, not very productive if you’re after quad development. The best way to approach it is to again keep your feet no more than shoulder width apart and slowly lower the weight into your body. When you start to feel your butt coming off the seat and curling up you want to press the weight back up but NEVER to a full lockout. Only raise the weight as far as you can extend your legs without the knees locking. This keeps constant tension on your quad muscles.

3) Calf raises: Too much weight and poor range of motion. The thing about calves is they are a very genetically predisposed muscle. Anyone I know who has wicked calf development doesn’t even train them! That’s not to say one can’t improve them by training them properly. Calves share the same insertion points as your quads and hams, so by training these muscles properly through a full range of motion you are going to activate the calves. The calves also contain high amounts of mitochondria meaning they’re slower to fatigue and can take a higher volume of work. The best way to approach them is to really focus on going slow for both the positive and negative movement. Also, choose a weight that allows you to go up as high as you can on your tippy toes and slowly lower the weight and stretch your heels as far down as they will go. Aim for high reps like 15+ and really burn them good!

So there you have it, I hope you enjoyed these 3 common pitfalls to properly targeting your legs. Now get in the gym and try them out!

When it comes to arm training most people tend to focus on their biceps, lets face it how many times has someone asked you to flex your triceps for them? However the tricep is actually a bigger muscle belly than the bicep and when properly trained can add inches to your arm size.

When I say properly trained most people tend to go through the motions when training them, no intensity, no range of motion, no form, no results!

In order to fully activate the triceps, like any muscle group its best worked through a variety of exercises with different planes and ranges of motion. The biggest thing to remember with triceps and this is what separates them from any other muscle group is to fully lockout and push at the end of the movement. Yes lockout, push and squeeze, locking out the triceps muscle does not take tension off the muscle like locking out with other muscle groups would.

So say you’re doing a set of pushdowns; you want to actually push the bar down as you normally would and as your arms straighten and lock you want to push the bar down and squeeze them, imagine you’re trying to push the bar into the ground. Same thing on overhead or extension exercises whenever your arm or arms if working both at the same time straighten you want to lockout and push the weight. I guarantee you will feel it way more and will have to use less weight as you will fatigue much faster and activate way more muscle fibers in the process, which means bigger triceps over time!

So next time you train triceps remember the 3 main components of training the muscle properly, no matter what exercise you’re doing you have to

Practice with light weights without going to failure to get the movement down as it should be one smooth motion while incorporating all 3 aspects.

What a great weekend!! As the Arnold Classic comes to an end, all of us gym warriors, health nuts, and enthusiasts (what ever you want to call us) make our way back to our own corners of the world. Like many, on the drive home, my friends and I talked about our favorite moments during the weekend and reflected on everything we did and saw. Some major highlights for myself were seeing Arnold up close, chatting with legend Ed Corney, watching the men’s bodybuilding show, seeing all the supplement companies, people watching at the Expo, eating at my favorite restaurant (Chipotle Mexican Grill), and bumping into friends within the industry.

The Men’s bodybuilding show was awesome, these aren’t just Pro bodybuilders, these are some of the best Pro bodybuilders in the world and to see them up on stage gives you a whole new respect for the sport! The fans were absolutely crazy this year, screaming and cheering on their favorite bodybuilders! Here are the Arnold Classic Men’s final results:

Canadians Ben and Fouad did awesome this year, this show is invite only so to even be invited to this caliber of show is an honor in its self, so Ben placing 10th is huge! Watch out for these two guys as the keep climbing up the pro ranks!

I highly suggest to anyone reading this that has yet to attend the Arnold Classic to start making plans to go next year!! Just do it! Every year I talk to soo many people that simply “talk about going” and never follow through. Its so worth it, it’s a short drive down there, it’s only $15 to attend the Expo where you’ll get to meet ALL the top pro bodybuilders, WWE stars and UFC athletes. You’ll end up with tons of free samples from all the supplement companies and you’ll come back with enough motivation to last a year. Personally, after the Arnold Classic weekend I kick it up a notch in the gym and stick to my diet even more so.

Until next time, keep killing it in the gym,
Aaron

How many times have you heard “I hate cardio, its so boring!” Well I would have to say sitting on a bike and pedaling to no where or walking on a treadmill and staring at yourself in the mirror would be pretty boring to me as well! Not to mention that traditional steady state cardio over time is not very effective for fat loss.

Regular cardio (going at the same steady pace) over time will actually allow your body to adjust to it and become more efficient, meaning you BURN LESS calories!

Your body is built for survival. It doesn’t want to use up all its energy reserves (your body fat) if it doesn’t need to. Not to mention it creates little to no metabolic demand so basically its not going to speed up your metabolism. I don’t think any exercise you can do while reading or watching t.v. is going to do that. Steady pace cardio can have its place but not the way most people do it.

So whats the solution? Sprint intervals and circuit training with weighted and body weight exercises. Instead of just doing your 30 minutes at the same steady, boring pace… start incorporating full out sprints from 15 seconds up to 1 minute and then go back to your regular pace until you somewhat catch your breath… and then crank it back up again and do another one. Ease into it though, if you’ve never done them before you need to take it slow at first and allow your conditioning to get better. This type of training creates huge oxygen debt and you burn way more calories during and after when you’re no longer even at the gym.

Same thing can be incorporated into your body part workouts. Instead of training abs one exercise, one set at a time, create a fun circuit that forces you to keep working and not talking to other people in the gym. Jump from one exercise to another without resting, and you can do this with any body part really. Keep it moving, sweat and be out of breath. Those are the best signs that you are creating metabolic demand and ripping through more calories during your workout… and will be long after your workout is over.

So forget the book and t.v and start mixing up your traditional workouts to start seeing better cosmetic results.

Ok, here’s Part 2 of 2, Of the Late Night Arm Blast with Allan Hauck….

What were you doing late last night?? Remember, Sure it’s cold out, but if you want to be Ripped and Ready for the Beach, then now is the time to get off the couch and hit the gym ! Take Action.

Here’s a Re-Cap of the Workout:

Biceps:
Seated Alternating Dumbell Curls 4 Sets / 8-10 Reps
Standing Barbell Curls, 4 Sets / 12 Reps
Reverse Incline Bench DB Curls, 4 Sets / 8-10 Reps

Triceps:
Close Grip Bench Press 4 Sets
Tricep Cable Pushdowns 4 Sets
Lying Alternating Dumbell Extensions 4 Sets