Usually I write helpful (and might I add “witty”) articles on exercise, nutrition and supplements. Today will be a bit different. Today I’ll write about my personal exercise and nutrition routine. Generally speaking, I hate, absolutely hate talking about myself. I don’t think I’m all that interesting. But apparently you do. More and more of my subscribers have been asking me about my personal routine, and I’ve been putting off writing about that for months, but after getting a few dozen questions, about that, I guess I’ll cover that in this article.
Plus, hey, you and I are good friends (aren’t we?), so I figure you should probably get to know me a bit. You already know that I like funky 1980s and 1990s European pop, like Modern Talking (AKA the greatest band in the history of time. Yes, better than the Beatles. Yes, better than the Eagles. And yes, better than the Backstreet Boys).
Original source: here.
And you already know that I have a politically-incorrect sense of humor (it gets even more politically incorrect if we’re hanging out face-to-face). And you probably already know that I’m a big fan of Liam Neeson, Jackie Chan and Sylvester Stallone movies (I think that if all 3 were in the same movie, my head would explode). In fact, through my educational newsletters, you probably have been educated that Rocky 4 is the best movie of all time. Yes, better than the Godfather. Yes, better than Star Wars. And yes, much better than the Notebook. Trust me on this one.
Original source: here.
But you probably don’t know much about my exercise, nutrition or daily regimen. I’ll give you a glimpse into that right here.
My Exercise
It’s no secret that I’m a competitive powerlifter. Currently, my best lifts are a bench press of 242.5 lbs., squat of 380 lbs., and deadlift of 407 pounds, all at a bodyweight of 138 lbs. And somehow, it’s never enough. So in my next competition, I hope to beat that.
I also like to do funky bodyweight exercises, like these ones.
How do I train for that? Here’s how I do it currently (remember, my exercise program changes once it’s no longer effective, which is about every 2-4 months in my case. For you, it may be different):
Monday: Bench Press and Front Lever Day
After the warm up sets, I do the bench press for 3 sets of 3-4 reps, with 5 minute rest intervals. In my last workout, I did that with 230 lbs., but that fluctuates, and over time, hopefully goes up.
After those 3 sets, I drop the weight to 190-195, and I do another 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps, with 5 minute rest intervals.
After that, I move on to front levers. I can’t do a full front lever yet, but I’m working towards it. Here’s what a front lever looks like. How do I train for it?
I hold a position that’s just shy of parallel to the ground. I hold that position for 6 seconds, and I do 10 sets of that with 1 minute rest intervals.
Tuesday: Day Off
Wednesday: Squat/Deadlift Day
This is by far my toughest workout of the week. I alternate squats with deadlifts. One week, I squat, and one week, I deadlift.
It’s the same routine as the bench press: 3-4 sets of 3 reps, with 5 minute rest intervals, followed by another 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps with 5 minute rest intervals.
Then, I hop in my wheelchair, because my legs no longer work.
Thursday: Cardio
Usually, since my legs are so jello after yesterday’s workout, I do a simple 30 minutes at a steady pace, keeping my heart rate between 120-140 beats per minute.
I do either the elliptical, or the treadmill, or if it’s nice outside, I walk.
Friday: Weighted Dips and Front Lever
Same protocol as the bench press, but I do weighted dips. Currently, I’m doing the first 3 sets of dips with an additional 160 lbs. This tends to have a very nice carryover to the bench press.
I then repeat the exact same front lever routine as on Monday.
Saturday: Gymnastics Strength Elements
This is my “fun day.” This is when I work on funky gymnastics strength elements, as you saw in my earlier video. Except, I’m never quite satisfied with what I can do, so I keep training for harder and harder elements.
Right now, I’m working on the iron cross, the full planche, and the manna. Can’t do them yet, but once I can, you can bet that I’ll film a video. In 2 years. The stuff you saw in the first video took 4-6 years to make that look easy.
Sunday: Cardio
On this day, I do intervals. After a 3-5 minute warm-up, I sprint as fast as I can for 1 minute, and then walk for 2 minutes. I repeat that for 6 cycles.
The following workout, I will sprint for 1 minute, and then walk for 1:50. After that, sprint for 1 minute, walk for 1:40, and I take 10 seconds off my walk, until I reach a rest interval of 1:30, at which point, I raise my speed by 0.2 mph, and increase the walk back up to 2 minutes, and repeat.
My Nutrition
I hate to cook, but I like to eat. So being a single guy (applications for a girlfriend are welcome haha), I keep my meals simple. Here they are:
Breakfast
For breakfast, I typically eat a high-fibre, whole grain bagel, pita or bread with some sort of nut butter (almond butter, cashew butter, hazelnut butter, etc.). Along with that, I have a whey protein shake.
Lunch
Half of my plate will consist of vegetables (my favourites are broccoli, asparagus and mushrooms), a quarter of my plate will consist of meat, fish or seafood (it’s different every week. Some weeks it’s chicken and tilapia. Some weeks it’s pork and turkey, etc.), and the remaining quarter of my plate will be either cheese, nuts (I mix it up. Sometimes it’s almond, sometimes cashews, sometimes Brazil nuts, etc.) or avocado.
Dinner
Dinner usually comes immediately after my workout, so here’s what it looks like: half of my plate will be a starch (like beans, peas, sweet potatoes or white potatoes). A quarter of my plate will be some veggies, and the remaining quarter is meat, fish or seafood.
Cheat Meals
Very important to include. Lest you think that I have some iron discipline, I don’t. I look forward to my “cheat meals” just as much as anyone. That’s the stuff that’s not good for me. And I know it’s not good for me. But it’s sooooo good. So I have it 1-2 times per week. I find for me that that’s how often I can have a bad meal before paying the price with higher body fat.
So what are my favourite cheat meals? Drumroll, please.
Well, like a nice Jewish boy, I go and visit my parents every Saturday evening (I’d do it on Friday, but I’m working Friday evenings). And what do I like to eat when I’m there? Spaghetti and meatballs. And for dessert: either cheesecake, chocolate cake, some kind of pie, or chocolate chip cookies or oreos (not all in one day, of course). Yummy!
Other than that, favourite cheat meals include the grilled cheese and bacon panini from Tim Hortons (lie a not-so-nice Jewish boy), and by far, my favourite cheat meal: Hawaiian pizza. Yeah, that’s the one with pineapples, ham and bacon. I think God is sending me straight to hell. If I believed in God. So I guess I’m not such a good Jewish boy after all.
Supplements
The only supplements I take are a multivitamin (I alternate between Multigenics and Phytomulti by Metagenics), and some sort of a Greens powder (I alternate between a bunch of different companies, like Progressive, Genuine Health, and others). Oh, and a whey protein shake (I alternate companies here as well, between Diesel, Perfect Whey, New Zealand Whey, and others).
On the occasions that I’m injured or about to catch a cold, I take a few others, but those aren’t part of my regular routine.
So now that we’re good friends, wanna go for some Hawaiian pizza? 😉
