Garlic. It's What's For Dinner

If you remember a few months ago, I told you about my venture into Community-Supported Agriculture. Well this past weekend, the Garden of Eve farm, out in Riverhead, had their 5th Annual Garlic Festival, and it was awesome.

Not only did I get to take a walking tour of the fields that grow the food I've been eating, but the highlight of the day was finally trying garlic ice cream.

This questionably curious culinary creation has been on my mind since first reading about it in a random magazine article years ago. When I arrived at the garlic festival, I made a bee-line right for the table with the bright yellow "Garlic Ice Cream Here" sign.

It was... alright. Imagine a half-cup of rich creamy vanilla ice cream, with a half-clove of raw garlic finely diced and mixed in like something you'd find at a Transylvanian Cold Stone Creamery.

It wasn't pungent or overpowering by any means, and if it weren't for the occasional tiny bit of crunchy raw garlic per spoonful, you almost wouldn't know what it was.

If something that "non-traditional" doesn't quite perk you up, here's a garlic recipe you might want to try instead.

Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 teaspoons flour
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon butter

Directions
Flatten chicken slightly. Dust with flour, salt, and pepper. Heat oil on high, cook chicken for 5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan. To pan add broth, garlic, lemon juice, and butter. Cook two minutes. Pour over chicken.

Don't Believe the Hype. HFCS Sucks.

This tv commercial has been popping up recently. It's some damage control that high fructose corn syrup manufacturers are trying to spread.



The HFCS sellers say: It's made from corn.

So is moonshine. Their point is what, that only healthful and nutritious products can come from corn?

The HFCS sellers say: It has the same calories as sugar or honey.

True enough. But sugar and honey aren't completely manufactured and highly processed like HFCS.

The HFCS sellers say: It's fine in moderation.

Here's a little homework assignment for you. Next time you're in the supermarket, grab a hand basket and go up and down the aisles trying to fill it with food that doesn't list high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient. You'll have a heck of a time.

The stuff is so absurdly prevalent that "moderation" quickly becomes an all-or-none situation. In this case, it's in your best interest to lean towards none.

And, one note for that dopey guy who stammered when he had no comeback regarding "what they say about HFCS."

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study in 2004 which demonstrated a connection between an increased consumption of refined carbohydrates (such as HFCS) and type 2 diabetes.

Neat-o graph #1:

Prevalence of diabetes in the US (the dots) and corn syrup intake (the bars).

Neat-o graph #2:

Intake of processed cereals, which contain HFCS, (the dots) and the prevalence of diabetes in the US (the bars).

There you go, popsicle lady. HFCS is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and obesity. If you still want to share that popsicle, then you really must not love me. I am heartbroken.

A Dose of Motivation

Whatever you want to do, you can.

Fifty-Plus and Faaaaabulous

Okay, so maybe that title channeled my inner Carson Kressley, but I just got done reading the second installment of an awesome article series about training and nutrition for ladies in the 50+ age bracket.

Part 1: The Secrets of Fabulously Fit Fifty-Somethings

Part 2: Slim, Strong, Sexy, and Over Fifty: Case Studies

They were written for FigureAthlete.com by Krista Schaus, who's a total rockstar. She's an internationally-successful strength coach, as well as a champion powerlifter, and top-ranked bodybuilder.

If you know a great gal who's trying to "get in shape", do her a favor and send her links to these articles. Her health, fitness, and physique will take a quick turn for the better.

'Ya Don't Gotta Get Fancy

If you're looking to build muscle or get crazy-strong, you do not need a gym membership or a triple-digit spending spree at the supplement store each month.

For proof of that, turn back your clocks almost a century...


Ernest Cadine - Olympic weightlifter, won the gold medal in 1920.



Alfred Moss - Strongman, bodybuilder, and gymnast from the early 1900's.



Bobby Pandour - Bodybuilder and Vaudeville performer from the early 1900's.


Each of these guys built their bodies before the first GNC ever opened, and before 24-Hour Fitness was around to supply them with treadmills, a leg press, or a cable pulldown machine.

They got strong, large, and lean with consistent, smart training and eating. If any part of you aspires to be big, strong, and ripped, make sure you're doing likewise.

Prioritize a well-designed training program and a nutrition plan based on real food. Gadgets in gyms and supplements-of-the-month can be useful, but they need to be further down your list of concerns.

Exercise Spotlight: Triceps Kickbacks

If you remember back to my first Exercise Spotlight post, I mentioned that "I'll be explaining, dissecting, (occasionally lambasting), and detailing a variety of exercises to introduce into your workouts." Well, let the lambasting begin.

Triceps kickbacks might be one of the most popular, yet least efficient, movements to ever be performed in the history of recorded exercise. It's got so much going against it, it's a wonder why people still do it on a regular basis.

Actually, strike that, reverse it. It's not so much of a mystery. It's one of the exercises that looks like you're doing a lot of work. You're bent over a bench, with dumbbell in hand, heaving it to and fro.

Maybe you're also doing some grunting or sweating, and the exercise can make you decently sore. And as we all know, you've gotta get sore to get results, right? Um, no, wrong. But that's a whole 'nother topic.

The How-To: The most common method is to kneel with one leg on a flat bench (also place the same side hand on the bench for support). Using the free hand, bring a dumbbell to the "start position" with the arm bent and the elbow in the same plane as the shoulder (the upper arm is parallel to the ground and the forearm is pointed directly down).

From here, keep the palm facing your body and straighten the arm until your wrist is in the same plane as your shoulder, and the entire arm is parallel to the ground. At this point, the triceps are maximally contracted.

Keep the spine straight and flat, not curved or hunched, while also keeping the head and neck neutral (not looking up at the mirror, nor looking back at the dumbbell as it moves).

Return to the start position, bending the arm until the hand is pointed directly down. It's unnecessary to bring the arm any closer to your head. This doesn't work the triceps any better, but 95% of people still do it.


Wrong-o.

Main Muscles Involved: The triceps of the one working arm. That's it.

Common Variations: People sometimes do the exercise while standing completely upright. This warps the exercise even more, makes it even less effective at training the triceps (it's actually closer to being a biceps exercise), and actually exposes the shoulders to unnecessary stress.


Standing Wrong-o

Best Suited For: Moderate to high reps (10-20 reps per set). Going too heavy makes it too tempting to short-change the range of motion and use momentum to move the weight. You end up looking like a total dingbat, like this dude.

Contraindications/Who Should NOT Perform This Exercise: People who are not at least 90% towards their physique goal.

This exercise is so specialized (working the triceps of one arm and nothing else) that if you're not already very close to your goal, it's a waste of precious training time and energy to do this when there are more effective, more versatile exercises you could use instead.

Fun Fact: When I first started lifting weights, many, many moons ago, I was training in my garage with my buddy Sam. Misguided youths that we were, it was arm day and we were doing triceps kickbacks.

Anyhow, I was halfway through my set and Sam was watching my exquisite form when he said, "You know, from this angle, it kinda looks like you're jerking off an elephant when you do that." I nearly dropped the dumbbell on my foot from laughing so hard. And to this day, anytime triceps kickbacks are mentioned, I think of Sam.

The Urban Legend of Net Carbs

You know how they say that kid Mikey, from the old Life cereal commercials, ate Pop Rocks and drank a Pepsi at the same time, and then his stomach blew up? Well, that didn't really happen.

I heard the real truth... that he ate a low-carb wrap with grilled chicken, but realized that the "net carb" amount listed on the package wasn't accurate, and then his stomach blew up. Honest. At least, that's the story my cousin's girlfriend's roommate's kid brother once told me.

Unfortunately, just like poor 'lil Mikey, most people don't realize that the phrase "net carbs" is 100% marketing, with absolutely no legally-agreed upon definition. Even the Food and Drug Administration recognizes that the reasons for listing a product's "net carbs" can vary from company to company. For years, they've been trying (ever-so-slowly) to change that, and apply some type of universal standards.

As a perfect example, let's check out the O.G. of diet plans, Slim-Fast. They (of course) have hopped on the recent low-carb wave and produce a line of low-carb products, including these bars.



Notice that it states, in bright red and yellow, that the bars have "2 grams of net carbs per serving."

But let's flip the box over and look at the actual nutrition label.

- - - - - - - - - -

Calories per Serving: 120

Total Fat: 4.5

Total Carbohydrates: 21

Dietary Fiber: 1

Sugar: <1

Sugar Alcohols: 18

Other Carbohydrate: 2

Protein: 1

- - - - - - - - - -

I'll give you a second to pick your jaw up off the floor, because you did read that correctly. This "low carb snack" has 21 grams of carbs. That means that nearly 70% of the total calories come from carbohydrates. Are they mothertrucking kidding me? If that qualifies as low carb, I'm a pretty ballerina.

Now, some nutritionists calculate the "net carbs" by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carb content. In this case, that would be 21 - 1 - 18 = 2. So, with that thought process, the math adds up.

But the problem is that plenty of nutritionists also suggest that you do count the calories from sugar alcohols (and sometimes fiber, too. As with most nutrition theories, it's debatable.) It's just a matter of selective hearing, as far as whose advice Slim-Fast (and other companies) decide to listen to.

The lesson of the day is this... "net carbs" are not an officially-recognized phrase that any decent fitness or diet professional is going to use, it's a phrase used by marketing executives to convince you to open your wallet.

You'd be much better served if you pretended not to even notice that kind of advertising, and instead, evaluate your foods on good, old fashioned label reading.

Now Is The Time To Attack

"My center is giving way, my right is in retreat; situation excellent. I shall attack."
- Ferdinand Foch, World War I General


Sometimes, whether we like it our not, our schedules can get busier than a one-legged cat in a litter box. Especially now that school's back in session. Maybe you've got a few hours of classes during the day, or you're transporting the kiddos back and forth to school; maybe your office is hitting the busy season.

There's also the mandatory weekend errands, daily homework, cleaning around the house, food shopping, meal prep, catching the latest episode of Shear Genius, and getting a few hours of sleep.

What's missing from that list? I'll give you a sec to re-read it.

...

...

It rhymes with shmecksersize.

...

...

You got it. Exercise is one of the first pieces of calendar cargo to be jettisoned when things get hairy, but it doesn't need to be. I've touched on this in a previous post, but a smart program, regardless of your goal, doesn't have to take more than 30-40 minutes, three times a week.

For example, most of the workouts that Jason Ferruggia recommends revolve around good old hard work, done briefly and intensely. That's all it takes.

My Back to School workout from the other day is another example of this. Run through that 39-minute workout and you'll whoop your own butt in no time.

As the saying goes, you can train hard or you can train long, but you can't train very hard for very long. If your days and nights are filling up fast, grab the opportunity to begin some brief, but seriously intense, workouts.

For extra incentive, remember that numerous studies have shown the stress-relieving and depression-fighting benefits of regular exercise. So, it'll do you even more good to lift that heavy dumbbell in the gym if you have to deal with too many dumbbells during the day. (Wow that pun was too easy, I just couldn't resist.)

The Back to School Workout

(PG-13 for Language)


Back in my day, high school classes were 39 minutes long, but I could've sworn that Sequential Math 3 defied the standard laws of space and time and somehow lasted two hours per class.

With that in mind - the 39 minutes, not the torturous math lessons - give this ass-kicking, fat-burning workout a shot. It should take you just under 39 minutes to complete.


Warm-up: Reverse lunge with reach 1x8, plank 1x10, cat/camel 1x5, prisoner squat 1x5

A1) Dumbbell cheat curl and press 4x12

A2) Dumbbell squat 4x12

A3) Bent-over 2-dumbbell row 4x12

A4) Dumbbell Romanian deadlift 4x12

B1) Reverse lunge 3x8

B2) Push-up 3x8

Perform the "A" exercises in immediate sequence, resting about 1 minute at the end of each circuit, and rest 1 minute between each set of "B" exercises.

If you have any questions about the exercises, shoot me an e-mail and I can clarify them.

The End of Summer, The Beginning of What?

It's Labor Day. The end of summer. Let's have a moment of silence for beach days and barbecues... ... ... ... ... ... okay, then.

If you're like most folks, you probably spent most of the summer trying to get ripped and ready for all those beach trips.

Well, whether your plan worked or not (and if it didn't, you should've e-mailed me sooner, ya dope), it's time to do something a little different.

Strength coach Dan John wrote The Ten Commandments of Fitness, and it's full of great advice. Specifically, I'm referring to tip #1: Adapt your training program to the season of the year.

You can't stick to the exact same workout plan for 52 weeks straight and still be successful. So now's the time to switch gears and maybe try to add some muscle, switch to a different fat loss plan, or maybe even start a new hobby.

If you want to see some serious results by the end of the year, now's the time to choose your next plan of action.