Dad Fitness » Men S Health

How to get tight abs AND eat chocolate

Sean Barker — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:53:39 +0000

Everyone wants TIGHT lean abs…and

Everyone wants to eat CHOCOLATE…especially today

(except our little daughter Matea who wanted her heart shaped candy lolipop for breakfast!)

But you can have your chocolate and abs too…here’s how…

Stick to a piece of antioxidant rich DARK chocolate that contains 80-90% cocoa.

I usually have a piece of 90% dark chocolate for a healthy dessert 3-4 days a week after supper with a glass of blueberry wine or a cup of peppermint tea.

As for the abs, you are luck, cause it’s Ballantyne’s Day!

Everyone’s favorite holiday, right? Exactly.
That means a big Ballantyne’s Day SALE is necessary, and fitness expert Craig Ballantyne is giving you huge savings on one of his best products…

…so for the next 3 days you’ll get access to the complete 12-Week TT for Abs DVD follow-along workout program, PLUS all of the bonus DVDs & manuals for only $97. That’s $200 off the regular price.

And not only that, but you get free shipping ANYWHERE in the world!

Here’s what you’ll receive shipped right to your doorstep:

1) Full body metabolic resistance training workouts for fat loss
2) The scientifically proven best abdominal exercises
3) The Simple Nutrition Fat Loss manual & DVD (filmed in my kitchen!)

Here’s the link to save over $200 off the TT for Abs DVDs:

=>http://www.TTWorkoutDvds.com

But the sale ends on Wednesday of this week.

And here’s what you won’t get: Useless exercises like crunches or dangerous situps or rotational exercises.

As Men’s Health magazine recently reported, your abs are designed to resist motion, not create it. Therefore, you MUST avoid bending or twisting your spine. That means eliminating crunches, situps, and russian twists for good. That’s why those exercises are not in the TT For Abs DVDs.

Here’s the link to save over $200 off the TT for Abs DVDs:

=> http://www.TTWorkoutDvds.com

And of course, you have Craig Ballantyne’s Canadian-Strength, Gold-Medal guarantee that you’ll love these workouts.

If you don’t, just send Craig an email and he’ll refund your $97 investment immediately.

Looking forward to hearing about your improved ab workouts.

Get ready to workout with Craig in the comfort of your own home,

=> http://www.TTWorkoutDvds.com

PS. Hope you have a great VALENTINES Day with whoever you wish to spend it with. I am taking my wife out to dinner, then we are going to see The Goo Goo Dolls perform live here in town!

Enjoy your abs AND chocolate!

=> http://www.TTWorkoutDvds.com

The 10 Best Weight Loss Tips

Sean Barker — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 01:26:16 +0000

I was recently talking to my buddy and fitness expert Craig Ballantyne as he was asked by Men’s Health magazine for his 10 best weight loss tips…

So I asked him to share them with you before it appears in the magazine;-)

The 10 Best Weight Loss Tips
by Craig Ballantyne

You’re about to discover the most important weight loss and body transformation tips I’ve ever put together.

Over the holidays I spent 16 hours reviewing every article I’d ever written
and I’ve extracted these tips as the best ones to help you lose fat and get lean in 2011.

10 Weight Loss Tips for Success

1. Sit down and plan out your complete body transformation.

Plan everything from end goals, to getting started with nutrition changes, to overcoming all of the obstacles in your way. Sit and daydream about this for 15-30 minutes.

2. Clean out your pantry.

Listen, one of the best fat loss tips is simply, “If you don’t have it in the house, you won’t eat it!”

So get rid of as much junk food as you can – and avoid bringing more into the house. Simply cutting back on junk can help you lose fat fast.

3. Get social support in-person and online (research proven to help)

Surround yourself with people who are smarter and fitter than you. Talk to them EVERY day – both in person and online.

Scientific research proves that you will lose more fat if you have social support, both in “real life” and on the internet. So hook up with friends who are going to help you reach your goal.

I recommend getting started with Turbulence Training here and using the Turbulence Training forum to connect with people just like you who also want to lose fat.

4. Use a food journal.

Write down what you eat. This is another research proven tip to help you lose fat faster. Write down everything you eat. It will help you eat better.

5. Use a professionally designed workout program.

With a program from a pro – like Turbulence Training – you’ll save time when you do fat burning exercises. One of the biggest mistakes people make is not having a plan and that wastes time and you won’t get the results you deserve.

6. Change Your Mind.

No matter what you struggle with, you must change your mindset to be a successful transformation. You must go from a person who “can’t resist cookies” to the type of person that “doesn’t eat cookies unless they are part of a planned reward meal”. That is how you win transformation contests!

7. Stop doing slow boring cardio and switch to interval training.

Research shows that it takes up to 50 hours of cardio just to lose one pound of bodyweight. Who has that kind of time? No one!

Additional research studies show that interval training burns belly fat while slow cardio doesn’t. So skip the insanely boring cardio and start getting results with interval training (as you’ll find in the Turbulence Training workouts).

Research shows that resistance training and interval training can help you gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Plus, you can burn belly fat AND boost your post-exercise metabolism. You MUST use this type of workout for guaranteed results.

8. You must be in the correct state of change.

The truth is that even the best transformation contest winners don’t lose 30 pounds of fat on their first try. They start, they stop. They begin, they give up. It happens. And it’s okay.

But when they get in the right state of change, that is when they finally breakthrough and transform! And that’s where you have to be.

9. Plan, shop, and prepare your food.

Take an hour or two on the weekend to go to the grocery store and buy all the whole, natural foods you need for the week ahead. Go home and prepare as many lunches and snacks as possible so you have the right food to eat while at work. This is a proven strategy to help you lose fat and avoid temptation!

10. Join a Transformation Contest

The deadline, social support, proven training program, and goal setting that go along with a Transformation Contest are all proven to help you lose weight.

If you want to lose fat and gain lean, sculpted muscle at the same time, there is nothing better to get you motivated and committed than a 12-week Body Transformation Contest.

But this week is the LAST CALL for you to enter the 10th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest. The last day to begin is Saturday, January 15th.

Not only can you dramatically change your body, but you can also win $1000 just for losing belly fat. At least, you can when you join the Turbulence Training Transformation Contest.

All you have to do is take your before photo, and start using Turbulence Training today.

But how do you enter?

After 12 weeks, simply email us your before and after photos along with a 300-word essay about your transformation and tell us your results and the programs you used. That’s all you have to do to enter.

It’s that simple.

Now let’s get started,

=> Start with the TT for Fat Loss program here.

PS. This is the final week for you to enter the 10th TT Transformation Contest,where you can win $1000 prize just for losing belly fat.

=> See $1000 Transformation Winners here

The #1 DIET Tip To Get Lean

Sean Barker — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 00:30:13 +0000

I am here looking at the left over turkey and veggies left over in our fridge from Canadian Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, (which was even better finished off with a small slice of my wife’s Pumpkin Cheesecake;-)

It got me thinking of how many guys will feel guilty after eating a big dinner of their favorite foods…not a fun way to live!

I also just finished reading an awesome book that follows the same guidelines as my #1 diet tip for getting lean while still eating REAL tasty food.

The Future of Food is The Past

The more I read up and research the ideas behind the Paleo way of eating the more I believe the future of food is in the past. After seeing how fast I could lean out this summer by adopting a more primal or paleo way of eating which includes lean meats, natural healthy fats, (including saturated fats), fruits and veggies, and no grains such as breads and pastas I know I am not the only one who feels better and looks better by eating the foods we were designed to eat by evolution…

I read the Paleo Diet this summer and now just finished reading the Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf, a super smart dude who was a vegan as well as a scientist who turned his lab coat in for lifting heavy weights and eating meat as well as turning his health around and thousands of others by running one of the top 30 gyms in the US according to Men’s Health.

In the Paleo Solution Robb breaks down the science and the reason’s why eating the way humans ALWAYS ate before processed food and known diseases is still the way to eat to perform better and look good in the process. Robb also does it with humor and wit which makes anyone not interested in the science keep reading until the meat of the book…no pun intended.

Rob also has an AWESOME podcast called The Paleo Solution on iTunes which I highly recommend you load up on your ipod to listen to him answer questions from the many readers and listeners which he helps with almost magical results.

To make The Paleo Diet not a diet just make it super simple and eat lean grass fed meats, chicken, wild seafood, organic fruits and veggies and ditch the man made breads, grains and pastas for 30 days and see how much better you FEEL and how LOOK. Add in some heavy lifting with some Dad Fitness workouts a few times a week and stay active with your family and you will be the fittest caveman…I mean dad on the block!

Keep the cheats and treats for a special dinner or occasion and you don’t have to worry about perfection just progress…

How to Burn MORE Calories

Sean Barker — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:47:30 +0000

I admit, I never was an Einstein when it came to Math. The only time I enjoy counting numbers is in the gym or at the bank.

So when it comes to keeping my bodyfat around 10% year round I am not a guy to count calories or have a cardio crush on the treadmill display (which studies show are inaccurate anyway).

Despite what you may have heard in the gym, muscle does not WEIGH more than fat. A pound is a pound despite what’s being weighed. But muscle is more DENSE, meaning 5lbs of muscle takes up less space than 5lbs of fat (and makes you look a hell of a lot better!) Plus muscle is metabolically active unlike fat which just hangs around for the ride and makes chinups that much harder.

But on page 46 in the September issue of Men’s Health, I noticed a chart showing the estimated calories burned not by hitting the gym but by doing “manly” around the house activities. Remember, muscles are made for movements not mirrors.

Average number of calories an 180lb man burns in an hour of…
(I currently weigh 175lbs, close enough)

Chopping and splitting wood, 491
Cleaning gutters, 409
Mowing grass (pushing by hand), 491
Painting outside, 409
Planting trees, 368
Raking, 352
Trimming trees, 286
Carpentry, 245
Papering or Plastering, 245
Sanding, 368
Wiring and Plumbing, 245
General cleaning, 245

So after a busy and productive morning off yesterday where I “prepared” dinner before breakfast (by throwing a roast in the crockpot), headed to the gym for a quick Dad Fitness workout, mowed and raked the front and back lawn,then cleaned up around the house all before lunch, it made me break out the calculator.

Calorie Countdown Calculator

Dad Fitness Workout (45 mins)- 362 calories

Mowing Grass (30 mins) – 245 calories

Raking Grass (30 mins) – 176 calories

House Cleanup (30 mins) – 122 calories

The total caloric burn from just these 4 activities alone comes to 905 calories!

Provided you eat REAL food that was made by Mother Nature and not Man, like is found in the Dad Fitness Meal Plans, you can eat great tasting food and not have to worry about dieting and counting calories.

So the next time your wife gives you the dreaded “to-do” list think about all the extra calories you are going to burn by mowing the lawn or painting the deck.

Thankfully, from now on, counting calories will be one chore that you won’t have to think about…

5 Tips To Stay Fit While Traveling

Sean Barker — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:36:45 +0000

I just spent an awesome 5 days in Tampa Florida attending fitness seminars with all the best fitness experts in the world.

No matter what level of fitness knowledge you think you may have, you always need to look and learn from other trainers and coaches to improve your mind and body. As the author of Dad Fitness, I still strive to learn and improve my knowledge to help others get the fastest results possible.

After spending 5 days hanging out with guys like Craig Ballantyne of Men’s Health and fitness icon Shawn Phillips, I started to pick up on some of the secrets these guys use to stay in awesome shape even while traveling.

So here are 5 Tips To Stay Fit While Traveling.

1. Workout No Matter What. After a busy 5 days of sitting on my butt in meetings and seminars I still managed to workout 4 out of the 5 days while in Florida. Which is even more than I workout at home!

The first day I got together with Rommel Acda of FitInAHurry.com, and Deb Froehlich of CelluiteCircuits.com and we trained together in the hotel gym. It wasn’t very big but had enough to get a great workout using our bodyweight and a few dumbbells.

Then the next day along with Craig Ballantyne of Turbulence Training we all headed to the local Powerhouse gym to get a great workout in a more upbeat gym atmosphere.

Wether it’s a quick hotel room bodyweight workout, a hotel gym workout or a Powerhouse gym workout, just make sure you do some exercise while traveling to offset all the sitting down on airplanes and in meetings.

2. All You Can Eat. The great thing about travelling to new cities is experiencing new places to eat. But if you’re not careful you could be paying the airlines extra weight on the way home, and I am not talking about your luggage…

So do what all the fit trainers did every morning to start their day off right; eat a nutritious breakfast. Even though our hotel served a FREE buffet breakfast every morning, most everyone who is in great shape skipped the bacon and breads and had a huge freshly prepared omelet stuffed with veggies with a little fruit on the side, me included. Keep lunch small with a salad or whole grain wrap so you don’t get sleepy during the afternoon meetings, and enjoy a nice dinner with some lean meat and veggies and even a glass of wine.

3. Drink Up. I don’t mean spend your nights at the hotel bar getting sloshed. I mean drink lots of cold refreshing water. It will keep you full and focused and your mind off the donuts and croissants sitting across the conference table.

It’s really easy to drink lots of H2O during these hotel conferences as they usually serve you pitchers of water in your meeting rooms and in the big conference rooms. Just to be sure you always have water on hand, pick up a couple of litres of spring water at the hotel gift shop and keep on ice in your room.

4. Ditch the Cab. If you are up for some sight seeing or heading to a nearby restaurant for dinner, ditch the cab fare, get some directions and walk there instead. Google Maps on your smart phone works great for this! Walking is a great way to see a new city and burn some calories. Strolling back to the hotel after dinner is a great way to end the evening and ease the guilt from that decadent dessert.

You can also try to find a park or gym a couple miles away and walk or run there to get your heart pumping and your warmup out of the way.

5. Recharge. If you’re traveling solo, staying at a hotel is a great way to get some extra rest and relaxation. You get the bed to yourself, and you have no worries of the kids jumping in the bed at the wee hours of the morning.

It’s also a great time to catch up on some work or read that book you have been trying to get through. A dip in the hotel pool and a hot sauna afterwards might be just what you need to recharge your batteries before you get back on the road.

So there you have it, 5 Travel Tips To Stay Fit so you’re wife still recognizes you when you get home…

How do YOU stay fit on the road? Let me know and leave a comment below.

Interview With Best Selling Fitness Author: Lou Schuler

Sean Barker — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:25:32 +0000

I am really excited to share with you a Dad Fitness exclusive interview with best selling fitness author, Lou Schuler.

As a fitness book worm I personally get every book Lou puts out because they are always top notch and full of the latest information in regards to effective workouts and healthy eating.

Lou has been in the game a long time and seen a lot of the fitness fads come and go.

So I asked him to give me his thoughts on fitness, family and fatherhood…

SB. For people who don’t know, tell us a little about yourself Lou, and how you got started in the fitness industry?

LS. I’m a journalist who’s also a fitness professional. Before I started at Men’s Fitness in 1992, I’d had a fairly conventional journalism career, working at daily and weekly newspapers and regional magazines. I worked at MF for six years, the last three as fitness editor, and then moved to Men’s Health for the next six years, first as fitness editor, then as fitness director.

The Testosterone Advantage Plan, my first book as an author, came out in December 2001. That was followed by Home Workout Bible, Book of Muscle, The New Rules of Lifting, and The New Rules of Lifting for Women. The third book in the New Rules of Lifting series will come out in January 2011.

SB. I hear you are also a busy dad and husband as well. How many kids do you have and what is your favorite part of being a dad?

LS. I have three kids, who are 13, 11, and 9. My favorite part of being a dad is not being anything like my own dad, who was a wreck physically and disengaged emotionally.

SB. Lou, how did your fitness philosophy change once you became a father?

LS. Most of the changes in my approach came about because of the research I was doing for the books I wrote. My diet changed from low-fat to one with balanced macronutrients while writing Testosterone Advantage Plan. I also got my CSCS in 2001, and that coincided with more of an emphasis on training for strength and performance. Coincidentally, I found it was more efficient to train that way.

SB. As a fitness author, what are the 3 biggest mistakes you see busy dads trying to staying fit make with their workouts?

LS. I can’t really say what other guys do or don’t do. I really just see the guys in my own gym, and most of them seem to have pretty solid workout programs. And I also hate to criticize the minority of adults who’re actually making an effort to stay in shape. I could find ways to improve most of the routines I see, but I’m sure at least a few of those guys are thinking the same thing about my workouts.

SB. What do your workouts currently look like?

LS. I do full-body workouts every time in the gym, so if I have to miss a workout because of an unforeseen problem, I don’t have to worry about unbalanced training.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, I’ll start with a lower-body exercise — a squat variation one workout, a deadlift variation the next, and a lunge variation the next. My upper-body work alternates between bilateral and unilateral movements. I like to do almost every exercise from a standing or kneeling position, to keep the core muscles engaged.

I also move pretty quickly from one exercise to the next. I’m not trying to add size — in fact, I’ve lost a few pounds in the past year — so I minimize rest periods and aim for more of a conditioning effect.

SB. What are some of your favorite healthy meals and snacks?

LS. My favorite is one I got from TC Luoma of TMUSCLE: natural peanut butter mixed in a bowl with low-carb chocolate protein powder and low-fat milk. Really hits the spot, and satisfies my hunger for hours.

SB. Why do you think it’s important for us dads to stay fit?

LS. Our kids should see that fitness is a lifelong pursuit. If they see us make time for it, and invest energy in it, they’ll understand that it’s an important part of life.

In our parents’ generation, there wasn’t much of an organized structure for fitness activities. You played outside as a kid, then maybe you played on sports teams through high school or even college, if you were one of the lucky ones. Many of our dads also did physical training in the military, where it was used as a punishment as much as a tool for activity-specific performance. Once you were out of the military, and presumably finished with sports, there wasn’t really any structure in place to encourage lifelong fitness.

But with our kids, everything is structured. There’s almost no such thing as backyard sports, or neighborhood games. If you play something, you play it on a team. If you do pure exercise, it happens in gym class. So it’s important for them to see their parents using those same structures to pursue lifelong fitness, and doing it voluntarily.

We all know as parents how important it is to read to our kids, and to have lots of books around the house. But it’s also important for kids to see their parents reading books for pleasure. That helps them understand that they aren’t just reading because adults say they have to. They’re reading because it’s such an important part of a fulfilling life.

Now we apply that to sports and fitness. At a certain point, I think kids start to ask themselves if they’re playing sports because they enjoy it, or because their parents expect them to play. If Dad is still playing something in middle age — golf, bowling, slow-pitch softball, or anything else that involves competition and some degree of coordination and focus — it reinforces the idea that sports are something you do for yourself.

If they understand that Dad goes to the gym three times a week because he enjoys it and considers it important, it sends the message that structured exercise isn’t just something you do in gym class because the school says you have to.

SB. Anything you would like to add? Any favorite tips you learned from other experts over the years?

One thing I’ve learned from experience is that you have to place as much importance on your wife’s fitness program as you do on your own. That is, you make sure she has as much opportunity to get to the gym or get outside for a run as you do. You can’t pressure her to train if she doesn’t want to — I think that’s obvious. But you have to make sure there’s equal opportunity within your household. Sometimes that means skipping your own workout when something comes up, rather than forcing her to miss hers.

During those times when you simply need to train more often than she needs or wants to train, you have to negotiate the opportunity to do that, rather than just assuming you deserve it by virtue of the fact you’re more ambitious or disciplined.

The benefits come back to you in two major ways. First, of course, is the health and stability of your relationship. You don’t want your wife resenting your desire to be healthy and fit, or to see it as a wedge you use to shift the priorities of the marriage in your direction. Second, your kids see that fitness isn’t just a priority for one individual in their house, but for everyone. If Mom and Dad have fitness pursuits that make them happier, that’s the most positive message we could possibly send to our kids.

SB. Where can people find out more about you and your books?

Website: www.louschuler.com

New Rules of Lifting Books

http://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Women-Goddess/dp/1583333398/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

http://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Maximum-Muscle/dp/158333338X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

SB.Thanks Lou for showing us that as a busy dad and fitness author you also practice what you preach!

LS. My pleasure.

Lou Schuler is an award-winning journalist, certified strength and conditioning specialist, author or coauthor of many popular books about diet and strength training. His books include The New Rules of Lifting for Women (with coauthors Cassandra Forsythe and Alwyn Cosgrove), The New Rules of Lifting (with Alwyn Cosgrove), The Book of Muscle (with Ian King), The Home Workout Bible (with Mike Mejia and many other contributors), and The Testosterone Advantage Plan (with Jeff Volek, Mike Mejia, and Adam Campbell).

Would you like to see more interviews like this? Let me know who you would like to see by leaving a comment below!

5 Tips To Get More Energy

Sean Barker — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:33:09 +0000

September seems to be a busy month for everyone. Back to school, back to work and back to some serious workouts!

After talking with my buddy Craig Ballantyne of Men’s Health magazine I asked him to share his 5 best tips to help you guys get more energy to get through the busy fall season and here is what he had to say.

1) Go to bed and get up at the same time everyday.

2) Get 30-minutes of activity everyday.

3) Eliminate all added sugar from your diet.

4) Eat more fruits and vegetables and drink more water.

5) Drop the mega-caffeine coffee and switch to Green Tea.

Sounds simple eh? But it works!

So use those tips and have more energy….

PS.Craig Ballantyne and my buddy Chris Lopez just released a new Kettlebell Fat Loss home workout program called Kettlebell Revolution. I can’t recommend Kettlebell workouts enough if you want to get bodysculpting results in 10-20 minutes per day.

So don’t miss your chance on these powerful new home workouts – heck, you can even do them at the park.

Get your Kettlebell workouts here:

=> Kettlebell Fat Loss Workouts

Time to fight the fat this fall!

Do you have any other tips you would like to share to get more energy?

Post them by leaving a comment below.

Tacos and Training

Sean Barker — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:17:29 +0000

Last night my wife and I decided to stay in for our date night and rent a couple movies. Finally seen Slumdog Millionaire which lived up to the hype and then finished off the night with a good scare with The Haunting in Connecticut.

For dinner we made Charred Chicken Tacos from the July/August issue of Men’s Health.

Here is the recipe from Men’s Health online.

Char Chicken Tacos

12 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs (breasts work, too)
1 ripe avocado, peeled and pit removed
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
2 limes (1 quartered)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder or 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 jalapeno peppers
1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rings

1. First, make the guacamole: In a mixing bowl, combine the avocado, garlic, cilantro, and juice of one lime. Mix thoroughly and season with salt and pepper.

2. Preheat a grill on medium high. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the chicken pieces and then rub them with the cumin, and chili powder or cayenne. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Add the chicken, whole jalapenos, and onion rings to the grill. Cook the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes on each side until it’s lightly charred and firm to the touch. Cook the jalapenos and onions for the same amount of time, turning them to make sure they caramelize evenly.

3. Serve the grilled chicken with the guac, grilled vegetables, hunks of fresh lime, and more cilantro.

Eat with warm corn tortillas and black beans. Makes 2 servings

Per serving 490 calories, 35 grams (g) protein, 24 g carbohydrates (10 g fiber), 30 g fat, 120 milligrams sodium

=============================================

Our town had a scheduled power outage from 4am this morning until 12pm. So when the lights came back I headed to the gym for a workout.

Today I started a new Dad Fitness workout routine based on the Push-Pull workout method.

But this workout may look opposite to what you see with most weight training programs.

Usually the most common workouts involves exercises where you do 3 sets of 8-10 reps.

A much better way to change up your routine and spark new gains in lean muscle is to turn your workout upside and do 8 sets of 3 reps instead.

This allows you to focus on the perfect performance of only 3 reps per set instead of pumping away until your muscles go to failure.

For greater gains in muscle with your busy dad workouts focus more on PERFORMANCE with your reps than FATIGUE.

Here was my workout of the day.

A1 Barbell Deadlifts, 8 sets of 3

A2 Supported Dumbbell Curls Leaning Against Post, 8 sets of 3

B1 Wide Grip Pullups, 8 sets of 3

B2 Stiff Leg Deadlifts, 8 sets of 3

C Serratus Crunch (holding dumbbells straight up over shoulders while you crunch)

I rested 60 seconds between sets as I rotated back and forth from A1, A2, B1, B2

It took me a little over an hour because of loading and unloading all the weight plates which seemed to be a workout in itself!

Planning on getting to the gym for Day 2 tomorrow…

Perfect Penne Pasta

smbarker — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 13:12:00 +0000

Today I was planning on heading to the gym for one last workout before I take a week off from my workout routine.

But I seem to have caught a head cold the last few days and I am not really feeling 100%, sniff..sniff…cough..cough.. Seeing as my last workout was Thursday I won’t head back to the gym until this Thursday.

Every 8 weeks I try to take a recovery week off from my intense workouts but I have now gone over 10 weeks without a break and I guess I am starting to wear myself down.

I will still try and remain active during this week but won’t be doing my intense Dad Fitness weight training workouts.

I am not the only one in our house feeling under the weather as our 9 month old daughter has it as well. I feel bad for her as she keeps waking herself up during the night coughing. But at that age they recommend that you give them nothing, and let it take its course.

She’s tough like her dad but we have a humidifier going in her room during the night to help her congestion.

Shirt reads: “There is Snowone Like Dad”

Despite us battling the sniffles we had our in-laws over for dinner last night and I made a delicious new recipe from the April issue of Men’s Health Magazine.

Savory Seafood Penne

This turned out awesome as I even made the power side salad as well,
Arugula and Parmesan Salad

The only changes I made was I used Spring Mix instead of Arugula and garlic goat cheese instead of Gorgonzola as I could not find it at my local supermarket.

The whole meal was super easy to prepare and we all REALLY loved it. The pesto and garlic goat cheese gave it amazing flavor!

I upped the ingredients to make enough for 4 with a little leftovers.

Savory Seafood Penne

1 box of whole wheat penne pasta
2 bags of frozen cooked shrimp
1 small cub of garlic goat cheese crumbled
3 cups of baby spinach
2 tomatoes chopped
2 tsp walnuts chopped 3 tsp of ready made pesto

Defrost shrimp under running water for 5 mins.
Cook pasta according to directions.
Transfer pasta to large bowl, add shrimp, cheese, spinach, tomato, walnuts and pesto.
Stir well to combined ingredients.

Another healthy meal in minutes for you and your family that will fill you up without filling you out!

Bedazzled Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

4 Interval Workouts That Burn Fat

smbarker — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:42:00 +0000

If you are struggling to lose fat with cardio, I have great news for you. Men’s Health expert trainer Craig Ballantyne sent me these 4 interval training workouts to help you burn fat!

There are all types of ways to do interval training, and research hasn’t shown us a best way yet. There is NO best interval training workout for fat loss, however, some of my favorites are:

a) 1 minute on, 1-2 minutes off, repeat 6 times.

b) 30 seconds on, 90 seconds off, repeat 6 times.

c) 45 seconds on, 90 seconds off, repeat 6 times.

d) 20 seconds on, 40 seconds off, repeat up to 8 times.

Make sure to include a warm-up and cool-down after each.

And remember, you can use all types of interval training methods for these workouts.

You can do treadmill running, hill walking, stationary cycling, sprinting outside (if you do extra warm-up), kettlebell swings, medicine ball power woodchoppers, rope jumping, rowing, swimming, or even the elliptical machine (if you think it works).

One research study even used 8 seconds on, 12 seconds off for a total of 20 minutes, but these short intervals are almost impossible to do on regular gym equipment.

For more in-depth, step-by-step fat burning plans, visit:

==>TurbulenceTraining.com

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose That Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com