Keep It Moving: A Must-Read Book

Just the other day, we were reflecting on how often the solution to a major problem is so painfully simple. Sometimes, it could just be the flip of a switch to give power to a whole building when a surge turns off everyone’s lights all of a sudden. Someone knows where that switch is, but if that someone isn’t around or hasn’t shared that knowledge, how does that help us as a community?

Carl Bresk has over thirty years of experience in the field of health and wellness. For those three decades, Carl has taken a formal education (and degree) in kinesiology (anatomy, exercise science, etc.), the experiences of an elite athlete (as a competitive rower), and specialized training from working at a fitness facility where he teaches classes and clients, in order to find some part of the fountain of youth. Carl shares his secrets in his book “Keep It Moving” because he sincerely wants everyone to achieve a greater level of health and wellness.

Aug182016

ON BCAAs: The Gold Standard Continues

Gold Standard Whey. Men’s Multi. Casein. Serious Mass. Amino Energy. Platinum Preworkout.

Optimum Nutrition is one of those supplement companies you actually get a little frustrated with because it always seems like they don’t want your money. That’s almost never the case with other companies that create ten different pre-workout supplements with different levels of effectiveness for different people. That shouldn’t be the case since it’s the same substances that will provide every human the boost that they need. For years and years, people have been waiting for BCAAs (brain chain amino acids) from ON and now they don’t have to wait any longer.

Aug172016

Muscle Egg: Pure Protein

I have to start by apologizing to both all of you and Muscle Egg for taking so long to get this out to you. This company has beyond top-tier customer service. When I reached out to them, they were timely and professional. When I continued to reach out to them, they were quick to respond and efficient. You can’t ask for more and you can tell from the picture below that they value getting their high-quality to their customers. I could count on one hand how many times I’ve received a product packaged as thoughtfully as Muscle Egg. It was like opening a Christmas or birthday present, in the best way possible.

Part of the reason they are so mindful in their packaging is the nature of the product. The Muscle Egg containers (pictured below) is frozen when you receive it. You can choose to keep it frozen or throw it right in the fridge. If frozen, it stays for quite some time but once you refrigerate it and open it, its shelf life decreases significantly. Remember, it’s essentially egg whites so think about proper keeping of dairy products when you’re considering how you want to use it. We found our three go-to ways of using Muscle Egg.

Aug162016

Buff Bake: Nut Butter With a Purpose

Recently, we (might have) introduced you to a product called PB Crave that offered one of the best-tasting peanut butters we ever consumed. While the focus of the product seems to be tasting good, using natural ingredients, and something even greater, it isn’t a revolution in the field of healthy peanut butters (for the body). Buff Bake has created a line of products that is trying to accomplish that level of maintaining the joy of consuming peanut-butter-like substances while increasing the level of nutrition at the same time. The result? That’s up to your taste buds.

Buff Bake 3 Cookie Sample Pack (2.8 oz. each)

Aug092016

Highlights from Men’s Health July/August 2016

2007 was a huge year for me. I graduated high school, entered college, and started a quick transition from being more than an athlete that grew up in a gym. While I loved Arnold in my youth (mostly thanks to Conan the Barbarian), I was instantly attracted to Muscle Magazines that featured him. With the challenges of being a college student, I wanted something more lifestyle based and to make a long story short, I became a monthly subscriber to Men’s Health. I think I’ve received every issue since 2007 in the mail and while it’s hard to continue to crank out new material, they do so in a way that attracts your average Joe that wants to make a change.

I’m going to give you my highlights on the magazine released the month before the new release. For example, September is now on sale, so I’m going to share what sparked my interest in the July/August issue. I don’t want to take any business away from them, but this might help you highlight some of the really unique material being released. After nearly a decade of subscription, I’ve seen a lot of recycled material, so for the first time, here you are.

Image source

Aug072016

Top 10 Workout Songs in August 2016

Collaborations and remixes reign in this month’s top 10 list—with all but one of the tracks being credited to multiple artists. In the mix, you’ll find an unlikely pairing between country superstar Brad Paisley and pop siren Demi Lovato. Equally unusual is a club cut featuring Bright Light Bright Light and Sir Elton John. Lastly, there’s a Top 40 hit featuring festival giants Major Lazer, Danish songstress MØ, and Justin Bieber.

On the remix front, you’ll find an ode to weekend featuring Flo Rida and Jason Derulo and an uptempo version of the rap anthem “All the Way Up.” In addition, there’s a song that Alan Walker released as in instrumental dance cut in 2014, which was re-released with vocals in 2015, and is back on the charts in 2016—after being reworked by Tungevaag & Raaban. For all of these tunes and more, check out the full top 10 list—according to the votes logged on workout music site Run Hundred.

Aug062016

Why Cross Training is Important

Switching up your workouts is key for surpassing plateaus, getting stronger, and better at the physical activity you do. The body is constantly trying to find homeostasis and when you make a routine that you follow daily, weekly, monthly, etc., it’s not as hard for your body to reach towards homeostasis. However, if you throw your body curveballs by doing different workouts, you’ll be doing muscle confusion. For example, my week looks something like this: rest, boxing, muay thai, home circuit, traditional strength training, and hiking. I’m getting hard workouts in, but they are different. My body doesn’t have a chance to get used to any exercise because I’m pushing it to do different movements to challenge strength, speed, flexibility, and more. We wanted to share an awesome infographic brought you by Ghergich and Clubwoodside. Enjoy below:

Do cross training stay hungry and fit!

Aug022016

5 Hard and Fast Rules for Morning Workouts

Please enjoy a guest post from James McDuffy of Muscle Growth Expert.

Experts seem to be adamant that working out in the morning is probably the best part of the day to do so. Not only do morning workouts incinerate body fat much quicker, they also get the blood flowing, so you’re ready for what the day has in store for you. In reality, all this is a bit of a Utopian dream because many people and I include myself in this bracket…HATE MORNING WORKOUTS! The moment my alarm clock starts going berserk, the torment begins…that noise seems louder than it actually is, ringing through my ears like there’s no tomorrow. Quite often this leaves me in a bad mood if I’m honest. Quite often, it’s the girlfriend who tells me I’m in a grumpy mood, because I don’t realize it myself.

In actual fact, things don’t necessarily have to start out this way. The long and short of it is…how you start the day pretty much sets the precedent for the rest of the day, and this can include what you eat and how effectively you work out. If you get out on the wrong side of the bed, you’re increasing the chances of raiding the fridge and reaching for all the comfort foods you can, followed by a rushed half- assed gym session because you’re running late! Just to reiterate, a bad morning usually means a terrible day! To avoid being an ogre in the mornings, there are steps you can take to get your mojo back so your:

mood is better
metabolism works like clockwork
body is optimized to maximize fat-burn and build lean muscle
buzzing with energy.

A few simple steps that take no longer than a few short minutes are suffice for all of the above. So here goes…

Jul232016

Pokemon GO

Despite everything else going on in the United States (election, mass murders, etc.) and the World (lack of elections, mass murders, etc.), Pokemon Go has been one of the most prominent staples in news feeds, Facebook posts, and gossip. Whether you’re a player discussing your experience with other players or a critic, everyone wants to, or at least is talking about Pokemon as if it was 1998 again. The mobile game released on July 6th by Niantic and The Pokemon Company has led to Nintendo’s most significant stock growth in years and millions of dollars of in-app purchases.

Jul202016

A New Way to Get Plant-Based Nutrition

If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you may have trouble getting enough protein in your diet each day. You have to be very thoughtful and meticulous in order to even get the minimum! Protein is important, it helps our muscles stay healthy and get stronger, it helps us stay full, helps to build and repair tissue, and it also helps create enzymes, hormones, and more. Does that sound important yet?

We’ve talked about Sunwarrior before here and that’s because they have solid ingredients and feed us protein without all the meat. This time, I’d like to talk about “Illumin8.” Sounds exciting. You’re probably wondering what the heck it is! Well, let’s find out from an excerpt of their news release: