My Personal Meal Plan

Sorry for the lack of updates but I am back. Recently, a lot of you guys have been asking me what to eat, what I eat, or what should I eat. Well I thought, it would be a good idea to show you guys what my weekly meal plan is like. You don't have to follow it but just to give you guys the idea.

Pick one from each category.

Gym Days (3 days)

Breakfast

• Whole Grain Cereal w/ fruit
• Oatmeal w/walnuts, almond butter or peanut butter or

*mashed banana, hard to do but definitely worth it

Lunch

• Turkey/Lettuce/Tomato/Low-Fat Cheese on Whole Wheat, Orange
• Sweet Potato, turkey

Snack

• Granola Bar
• Fruit w/ Peanut Butter

Preworkout

• Apple, Protein Shake
• Apple, Protein Bar

Postworkout

• Protein Shake, Strawberries (or any fruit)

Dinner

• Grilled Chicken Breast, Steamed Veggies, Brown Rice
• Steak, Beans
• Grilled Salmon, Steamed Veggies, Brown Rice
• Salmon/Olive Oil Sandwich, Orange

Bedtime Snack

• Casein, Walnuts

Home Workout Days (3 days)

Breakfast

• Whole Grain Cereal w/ fruit
• Oatmeal w/walnuts, almond butter or peanut butter
• Egg white/chicken/spinach omelette

Lunch

• Turkey/Lettuce/Tomato/Low-Fat Cheese on Whole Wheat, Orange
• Sweet Potato, turkey

Snack

• Fruit, nuts
• Whole Grain Crackers or Cookies, dried fruit (no added sugar)

 Preworkout

• Whole Grain Cereal w/ peanut butter and nuts, milk on the side
• Dried fruit (no added sugar) ,nuts

Dinner

• Grilled Chicken Breast, Steamed Veggies, Brown Rice
• Steak, Beans
• Grilled Salmon, Steamed Veggies, Brown Rice
• Salmon/Olive Oil Sandwich, Orange

Bedtime Snack

• Cottage Cheese w/ walnuts, low-fat granola

Rest Day 

Freestyle It

*Doesn't mean go gorge on cake, cookies, soda and chips.

If you cheat, you're only cheating yourself.

For portion size, just refer to the size of your fist for each item. If you feel full after each "meal" then you've eaten too much.

Big Triceps Big Arms

After you're done with your biceps, time to build the real bulk of your arm. People only flex their biceps these days. The tricep accounts for 60% of your arm's size and it takes most of the load as well, don't take my word for it, check out Mr. Olympia's arms.

Equipment:
Chair
Fitness Ball
Adjustable Dumbbells

Day 1
Push-Up 3X10
Kickback 3X10
Dumbbell Extension 3X10

Day 2
Lockout Push-Up 3X10
Dip 3X10
Overhead Extension 3X10
Day 3
Kickback 3X10
Overhead Extension 3X10
Dumbbell Extension 3X10

How to:

Push-Up
Setup: Get into the push-up position with your feet shoulder width apart and place hands on ball.
Execution: Perform the push-up.

Kickback
Setup: Face a chair with dumbbell in one hand and bend elbow to 90 degrees, place other hand on chair.
Execution: Extend the dumbbell.

Dumbbell Extension
Setup: Lie on fitness ball with both dumbbells in hand and place feet shoulder width apart, press weights over chest.
Execution: Bend elbows and bring dumbbells close to ears.

Lockout Push-Up
Setup: Get into push-up position with feet on ball and place hands to form a slight triangle.
Execution: Perform the push-up.

Dip
Setup: Sit on chair, place feet on ball then roll out till supported by hands.
Execution: Bend until elbows form 90 degrees angle.

Overhead Extension
Setup: Sit upright in chair with dumbbell in one hand, extend arm straight up.
Execution:Bend elbow till it forms a 90 degree angle.

Next time someone asks you to flex, show them your new monster triceps.

Get Bigger Guns!

Who doesn’t want bigger biceps? Even though biceps don’t tell how strong someone is, it’s the first thing anyone looks at so build them up and become well armed.

Equipment:
Chair
Towel/Shirt
Fitness Ball
Adjustable Dumbbells

For each workout, choose weight that allows you to complete entire set, don’t worry, if you have to start light, start light, we’re building to get bigger.

Day 1
Cross Hammer Curls 3X10
Incline Curls 3X10
Seated Curls 3X10

Day 2
Reverse Grip Curl 3X10
Towel Grip Curl 3X10
One Arm Preacher 3X10

Day 3
Cross Hammer Curl 3X10
Towel Grip Curl 3X10
Incline Curl 3X10

How to:

Cross Hammer Curl
Setup: Stand straight with dumbbells in each hand at side.
Execution: Curl one dumbbell at a time to opposite pec.

Incline Curl
Setup: Lie on back on fitness ball with dumbbells at your sides.
Execution: Curl both dumbbells up to shoulders.

 Seated Curl
Setup: Sit up on chair, leaning slightly forward with dumbbell in each hand.
Execution: Curl one dumbbell at a time to shoulder.

Reverse Grip Curl
Setup: Stand straight and hold dumbbells in front of you, palms facing thighs.
Execution: Curl both dumbbells towards chest.

Towel Grip Curl
Setup: Fold towel around one dumbbell, grab towel and stand straight.
Execution: Curl your hands towards shoulders.

One Arm Preacher
Setup: Kneel and lie stomach down on ball, grab dumbbell and rest tricep on ball.
Execution: Curl the dumbbell towards shoulder.

What’s Whole?

How do you know something is whole wheat? How do you know the label isn’t lying to you?

Well let me explain what is “whole wheat” and by the time you finish reading this article, you should have a sense how to choose your whole wheat products.

Whole wheat simply means the entire grain. Lately, the government has begun to place these “whole grain” labels on cereals such as Froot Loops, Cocoa Puffs and etc. The Whole Grains Council (yeah they have a council for this stuff) decided that the whole grain label can be stamped on foods that have a minimal of 8 grams per serving and foods that have 16 grams per serving get the 100% whole grain label. Again, those labels are just there to confuse you, it’s all based on the food pyramid serving size baloney. The recommended amount of whole grains per day would be six full servings, now that is way too much if you are trying to get lean, if you are trying to gain mass then you can attempt the six servings. However, the whole grain cereals are better then non-whole grain cereals.

When choosing whole grain products, look for the terms whole grain, whole wheat, stone ground wheat, brown rice and oats, those terms mean you’re getting the real deal. Ingredients such as wheat flour, durum wheat, organic flour, multigrain, or semolina are unclear as to what they actually mean whole grain wise. Avoid ingredients such as wheat germ, bran, or enriched flour, those terms never mean whole grain.

Don't be Food Fooled

People today are always finding another reason to rule out another food. Enough with those lies, I’m going to reveal the truth about some of those unappreciated foods.

1.Egg Yolks
Yolks are good for you, plain and simple. Don’t toss them, eat them.

2.A Day's Water
Research shows 8 cups is not enough for the average man, we need 16 cups a day including the water in the food we eat. But don’t overdose on water, just as you wouldn’t overdose on protein.

3.Raw vegetables
Doctors are recommending to eat your veggies raw but scientist find that the cooking process makes the veggies absorb antioxidants easier. Spinach and carrots have more carotene and tomatoes have more lycopene when cooked. But don't overdo it as well.

4.Dark Chicken Meat
Breast is better, but dark meat doesn’t have as much fat as everyone claims. The dark meat has about the same amount of protein and calories but with a bonus, more testosterone boosting zinc, also dark meat is cheaper.

5.Super Salmon
Salmon has always been the underwater center of attention, there are other fish in the sea you know. Other fish such as herring, mackerel, and sardines all contain the same amount of protein and omega 3 as salmon at a way lower price.

6.Complex Carbs
Complex carbs are not meant to be taken after a workout, they contain slow releasing glucose but some have maltodextrin, a short glucose chain that can be released into the blood quickly, sending your blood sugar levels on a roller coaster ride. Instead you should save the complex carbs for solving hunger and fatigue but use simple carbs for a post workout recovery.

7.Potatoes
Don’t shun white potatoes; the white spuds are great fast digesting carbohydrates, which is perfect for a post workout snack.

8.Goji Berries
The common belief that goji berries, acai berries, or whatever berries contain the maximum amount of antioxidants has no solid evidence. Go for locally grown blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, and strawberries, they work just as well.

9.Fat Free Dairy
Fat free milk, fat free yogurt and fat free cheese, all those things have one thing in common, CLA free. When you choose to go fat free, you eliminate the CLA (conujugated linoleic acid), which has been found to protect the heart and increase overall fat burning activity. When you go fat free, you're actually going the opposite way, so choose low fat as opposed to fat free.

Eat Your Yolks

More and more often nowadays, people strain from eating egg yolks because of the high cholesterol. Shameless to say, I was once one of those people. However recently, I discovered that egg yolks are not nearly as bad as people have perceived it to be.

Although egg yolks don't contain much protein, it contains most of the egg’s nutrients such as Vitamins from A to D, and it contains choline which is key to a neurotransmitter that helps increase strength, just the strength part alone was enough to get me eating egg yolks. Nonetheless, the yolk contains all the fats, the healthy saturated kind along with old misunderstood cholesterol. The saturated fats in the yolks helps make you feel more satiated and the cholesterol is useful for guys because it aides in the production of the male hormone testosterone and you all know why that’s important. Also the cholesterol from egg yolks aren’t associated with the blood cholesterol levels, rather it is associated with an increase in lean muscle.

So think twice before giving your yolks to someone else, you could be giving them your lean muscle growth.

Watermelon and Amino Acids?

Many of you are probably doubting how such a delicious and simple fruit can even have the potential of increasing muscle mass. Watermelon contains the amino acid citrulline which boosts the levels of arginine and Nitric Oxide. Yep, Nitric Oxide in watermelon, a tasty and cheap muscle mass gainer. Aside from that, watermelon is rich in many other vitamins and antioxidants like lycopene and beta-carotene. But remember to store your watermelon at room temperature, it preserves the effectiveness of the natural nutrients within.