Steve's Recipes #1

It's taken a fair amount of trial and error, but I thought I'd share two of my principle meal creations with you all. The first is my 'Morning Power Smoothie'. If you've never tried creating your own smoothie in the morning you've been missing out, and my own modest little concoction is gaurenteed to set you on the right path for your day ahead, regardless of what time your alarm goes off.

The second recipe I'd like to share is a fantastic lunch/afternoon snack that is highly nutritious and tastes fantastic. The great thing about my 'Salmon & Mixed Bean Salad' is that it derives it's protein content from fish and vegetable-based sources. This makes a well-balanced addition to a primarily whey or meat-based protein intake

'Steve's Morning Power Smoothie'

Ingredients:

(4) Organic Weetabix
(100g, 1 mug) Organic Oatmeal
(2 scoops) Protein Powder of your choice
(2) Medium Organic Bananas
(1 tspn) Organic Honey
(21 oz) Organic Water

and of course...a decent blender.

You may of noticed that I use organic ingredients wherever possible. Despite the debate over the greater health and nutritional value of organic produce, I firmly endorse organic produce - in my mind, the lack of pesticides, herbicides, anti-biotics, growth hormones etc can only be a positive for my body and well-being. The price increase is relatively negligible, as far as I'm concerned, and well worth the extra expense if you can afford it. So, here's how you do it:

1. Take your four Weetabix biscuits, break them in two and add them first. As unnecessary as it may appear, there is an order to adding the ingredients that will make the mixing of your smoothie much easier and simpler. Trust me, it's science. The Weetabix creates a great base for your smoothie and provides slower-release carbs to your beverage.
   
2. Add 21 oz of water. The amount of water you add depends on both the strength of your blender and the thickness preference of your smoothie. Trial and error showed that 21-220z of cold water strikes an ideal balance between thickness and ease of mixing. (N.B.) You may use milk instead of water (I'd reccommed skimmed if you do), but remember that the milk will retard the assimilation of the protein into your system. This may be useful on non-training days, but remember you've fasted for 6-8 hours - get that protein into your system asap, especially if you train in the mornings.


3. Add your protein. For me, MuscleTech Nitro-Tech Hardcore Pro Series is my weapon of choice, and vanila, chocolate and banana-creme make excellent choices in a smoothie.


4. Add 2 chopped bananas. If you don't like bananas, feel free to add a fruit of your choice. The good thing about bananas is that they're high in fibre, add to the thickness of the smoothie and can be used for both weight-gaining and weight-loss diet plans...that and they taste great!


5. Add one teaspoon of honey. This is a luxury, I admit, and if your protein powder has a lot of sugar or has an already overly sweet taste, then don't bother. However, I've found this delicious organic forest honey that I've become quite hooked on. Besides, despite the sugar, natural honey has many proven health advantages, especially over the artifical sweetners found in your protein powder.


6. Blend. You should find this mixes very quickly and easily. If you get some protein sticking on the sides, just use a knife to scrap and stir in.


7. Now add your oats. The best way is to add a little at a time, pulse-blending your smoothie to make sure the oats are getting blended. I found that my blender struggled to mix my smoothie if I added the oats all at once, especially together with the other ingredients.

Of course, the unspoken 'Man Rule' (that I will now speak of) demands that no glass be used - this will only waste already valuable mixture and add to washing-up. Instead, place one hand on your hip, grab the blender jar with one hand and savour the liquid righteousness

'Steve's Salmon & Mixed Bean Salad'

Ingredients: (makes 2 servings)

(1 can) Boneless, Skinless Wild Salmon
(1/2 can, 125g) Organic Lentils
(1/2 can, 115g) Organic Black Beans
(1/2 can, 120g) Organic Chick Peas
(1 packet, 80g) Edamame Beans
(1 serving, 32.5g) Omega Seed Mix
(80g) Organic Quinoa
(60g) >3% Fat, Balsamic Italian Dressing
(2 tspn) Organic Curry Powder

Take a small sauce pan, add water and bring to the boil. Add the Edamame beans, bring back to the boil, then cover and simmer for 5 minutes. I have only just discovered this magical little bean, but it's a great addition to any meal plan. Green in colour, they have a nutty taste to them, and a firm, although not crunchy texture. Edamame beans are basically young Soy beans, but their nutritional value is exceptional. Click here to learn about the Edamame bean.

1. In a large mixing bowl, add your seeds, salmon and beans. I buy Food Doctor's Essential Omega Seed Mix (including pumpkin, sunflower, soya and pine nuts). Click here to learn about why these seeds are important. One can of wild salmon provides a tremendous protein component to your sald, at no carbs, and providing a great serving of EFA's (Essential Fatty Acids) that are found in oily fish. Remember - these are 'good' fats that help your body in many ways, from your heart's health to your joints. The beans I have selected have specific, desireable properties that make them excellent additions to your salad. Click here for Black Bean info. Click here for Chick Pea info
2. Using a sieve, wash and drain 80g of Quinoa, the add to a saucepan along with 1 mug of water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Again, I have only recently discovered the benefits of using Quinoa over the classic brown rice, but in nearly every department, Quinoa out-performs old school. Click here to learn more about the benefits of Quinoa.
3. Add your curry powder (at your preference) and salad dressing. Remember, the pitfall of many a healthy-seeming salad is the dressing. Often they are loaded in fats, carbs and sugars that off-set the nutritional value of having the salad at all. Choose a low fat dressing but it helps to choose one with a little thickness - it will help to combine the ingredients together.
4. Once everything is combined, mix thoroughly. You now have 2 servings of this salad, and is an excellent meal to take on the go, before or after a work out.

Very Important. When choosing canned vegetables, make sure that they are in water only, with NO ADDED SALT. Also, on less important note, if your guts are anything like mine, this meal may make you quite flatulent, an inherent quality of the beans I'm afraid. Make sure you are in a well-ventilated area, by yourself, or with a very understanding partner. ENJOY!

"Not Everyone can be the best, but Everyone can be the best that they can be"

Product Review #1

Ladies and Gentlemen, say hello to the sports-supplements that I consider to be my essential foundation for intensive training:

• MuscleTech Nitro-Tech Hardcore Pro Series
• MuscleTech Cell-Tech Hardcore Pro Series
• Sci-Mx L-Glutamine
• Sci-Mx Omega Lean CLA
• Animal Pak

Nitro-Tech Hardcore Pro Series

I feel like a grizzled veteran when I say that I have utilised and stayed with this advanced whey-based protein throughout its evolution - from the original Nitro-Tech, to Hardcore, and now to the Pro Series range. At the age of 20, when I moved to the States to begin my wrestling training, I was completely ignorant of sports-supplementation and unaware to the myriad array of products available. Luckily, I befriended a Welsh former NABBA Body-building judge who suggested I try MuscleTech's Nitro-Tech protein, and I've been hooked ever since.

There's a lot of hype and false promises in the sports-supplement industry, and unfortunately there will always be 'cowboy' companies that guarantee that their products are better than others. There are good points and bad points to any supplement available, and the bottom line is that when the science is equal, opinion takes over. I choose MuscleTech products because it's a simple case of "If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it" - I have made consistant gains using Nitro-Tech, the flavours have improved in quality over the course of it's evolution, and it is still regarded by many to be the premier protein supplement to take for dedicated athletes.

Of course, the Achilles heel to the MuscleTech range has always been price - MT's products are some of the highest priced supplements available. However, in light of present-day economics, there are a couple of important factors to consider before this turns you away:

1. There are a growing number of inferior quality companies and products that promise the most at the lowest price. However, they nearly all deliver the least. Be weary of fancy labels and bold claims - always check the basics: available protein content, carbs, fat, sugar and sodium. The Internet makes comparing nutritional contents easy, and if a product can't provide these details then that's another warning light.
2. Body-building is just that: You are building your body. Personally, be it in my whole food diet or the supplements I take, I want the highest quality products available as the building blocks for my physique. MuscleTech is regarded as one of (if not, the No.1) sports-supplement company. Whenever possible, go with well-established, results-driven companies.
3. If anyone is training under any kind of anti-drug wellness policy, I used MT products throughout my wrestling career. I was blood and urine tested on a monthly basis, and never once did I have any problems - contamination of supplements with banned substances is the number one concern among the industry, and could potentially lead to massive changes in the market place in the years to come

On a less serious note, the available flavours for Nitro-Tech HC/PS at Explosive Nutrition include: Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, Banana Cream and Cookies and Cream. Banana is by far my best choice - not too sweet, yet very delicious. Vanilla and Chocolate are classics that you can't go wrong with. Personally, I find the Strawberry flavour a little too sweet for my taste, and with no disrespect to MT, I wouldn't touch Cookies and Cream with a 10-foot barge pole!

Cell-Tech Hardcore Pro Series

Again, I have used this creatine product throughout the course of it's evolution. My biggest complaint when I began using this product was the harshness, the acidity of the flavour and the after-taste. Of course, having never used creatine products before, I had no basis for comparison. But I stuck with it because, again, it's MT - I was using a high-quality creatine supplement. I'm happy to say that over time the harshness of Cell-Tech has been greatly diminished, and the current incarnation in the Pro Series range is very easy to drink.

This is an important factor to consider when using Cell-Tech and Nitro-Tech in conjunction with one another (as is the preferred method for greatest results). Why? because:

1. Taking both drinks together can make you feel a little sickly for an hour or two, and you will need to piss like a race horse for a while (plenty of water should be taken regardless of choice). If you are using both together, I suggest staying away from the more sweeter-tasting flavours i.e. strawberry, C n'C.
2. When you go through the loading phase with Cell-Tech (to build up adequate levels of creatine in your system for the first five days), you take this twice a day, morning and post-workout...I've recently begun getting up at 4:30am to start training, and you want to make it as easy on your stomach as possible!

The age-old negative factor to Cell-Tech has been the sugar content that may turn people away. However, if you have performed intensive weight resistance training, your body is in need for quick assimilating carbs post-workout - the kind that Cell-Tech is designed to deliver. Personally, you should always keep your sugar intake to a minimum. With Cell-Tech, I just make the extra effort.

Sci-Mx L-Glutaimine

Many people who are serious about beginning a weight resistance program often ask me the loaded question: "What supplements should I take". This question easily leads to 'information-overload', but my advice has always been to keep it simple, keep it basic. I always suggest a good quality basic whey protein powder, and L-Glutamine. I won't waste time by repeating the science available in the official product description (clink the link at the top of the page), but among other advantages, Glutamine can:

1. Repair muscle tissue, prevent post-workout breakdown
2. Increase natural GH levels resulting in lower levels of fat
3. Enhance strength and sporting performance

Glutamine is neutral tasting and mixes easily. Take 20g a day - personally, I mix 10g with my Cell-Tech to be taken immediately post-workout, and 10g with my Nitro-Tech as my last shake before I go to bed. Glutamine also has the advantage of being relatively inexpensive as a supplement. It is also a 'pure' supplement, meaning that there are no gimmick extras added to it. I choose Sci-Mx, because having done a little research into the company, I found their previous reviews to be solid, and they boasted the purest Glutamine quality available.

Sci-Mx Omega Lean CLA

CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) is a fantastic supplement that I was regrettably unaware of until only a year or so ago. Click the link, check out the science, but again, I consider this to be a foundation supplement for anyone wishing to make significant improvements to their physique. Among other benefits, CLA:

1. Breaks down saturated fat
2. Reduces accumulated fat storage
3. Has a powerful anti-Catabolic property - meaning you lose fat, not muscle

Personally, I take 6 caps a day - morning, afternoon, evening. Of course, the only drawback as I see it is the volume needed compared to the volume sold. Any size less than the 160 caps range is cost ineffective, and to be honest, if another company on Explosive Nutrition's site sold CLA in the 180 caps range, I would go with that product instead (30 days a month, 6 caps a day = 180 caps/month). Still, Sci-Mx is a proven company with a well-established range of high quality products.

Animal Pak

No dedicated athlete, no matter their skill level, should go without a comprehensive, correctly proportioned multi-vitamin. There's a great many to choose from these days, make no mistake about it. The afore-mentioned is perhaps the longest running sports multi-vitamin available, but again - my argument of "if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it" comes in to play. Animal Pak provides everything your body requires to support intensive training in the proportions that your body needs. At 44 paks, you're assured an easy month's supply (although truly intensive workouts may require up to 2 paks a day).

Recently, I had up-graded to MuscleTech's Anabolic Vitakic multi-vitamin, as I consider it an advancement of Animal Pak. However, until this product is soon made available on Explosive Nutrition, go with the Animal.

"Not Everyone can be the best - but everyone can be the best that they can be"

Feeling The Burn - Improving Your Workout Intensity

Let's face it, sooner or later, it happens to us all - we feel like we've hit a wall, a plateau, a slump. Whatever you want to call, you just don't feel like you're getting the results from your workout that you used to. If my experience both inside and outside the gym count for anything, it's that when I undertake something, I seek results.

The harder you work, the more results you will see (assuming that your training methods are as effective as possible.

But at a certain point it becomes very difficult to get more out of your workouts. You're working as heavy as you can, so you can't add more weight. You're already doing as many sets as possible and training as often as you can without over training. So what do you do now?

Answer: You change things up. Getting better results at this point is a matter of increasing your training intensity. Arnold Schwarzenegger defines intensity as "a measure of what you get out of your training, not what you put into it". There are multiple techniques that can be utilised to shock your system, increase your workout intensity, and push past your current limitations. For example:

• add weight to your exercises;
• increase the number of reps in your sets;
• cut down on your rest period between sets
• do two or more in a row of exercises without resting (super sets)

There are also a number of special-intensity training techniques. I have selected 3 such techniques below with a brief description.

FORCED REPS

One method of forcing out extra reps without the need of a workout partner is something called Rest/Pause Training. You use a fairly heavy weight and go to failure in that set. Then you stop, let the weight hang for just a few seconds, and then force out an extra rep. You may release the weight when you pause, but it is essential not to wait to long - you are attempting to recruit new muscle fibres to compensate for the extra work load, not to allow the existing muscles fibres a chance to fully recover.

PARTIAL REPS

A favourite technique of Arnold's - when you are too tired to complete full range of motion repetitions, you achieve partial reps. Partial reps are most effective at the end of sets, when you are almost exhausted. For example, doing preacher curls - have someone help you lift the weight, then lower it a few degrees and lift it as much as possible, if only a few inches. Then lower the weight a little further, and again attempt to lift it as high as possible. Continue this process all the way down and you will feel one hell of a burn!

THE CHEATING METHOD

Not to be used as an excuse for improper form, this method is the exception to the general rule that strict technique is necessary to bodybuilding. It is a method in which you deliberately use other muscles or muscle groups to work in cooperation with the target muscles. This is not something you should do all the time, but it is very useful for achieving certain specific goals. For example, doing heavy barbell curls. When you become too fatigued to perform strict reps, you use your shoulders and back to lift the weight. The trick with this method is to only cheat just enough to perform the lift, but your focus should still be on making your biceps work as hard as possible. By performing an extra one or two reps, you have still placed more stress on the biceps than you would have normally, this way, the target muscle has worked harder, not less. Without the benefit of a training partner, this can prove a very useful technique when not abused.

"Not everyone can be the best, but everyone can be the best that they can be"