Turning Hesitation into Meditation into Inspiration: An Email From Gregg Avedon

Awhile back I decided to reach out to Gregg Avedon, one of the guys who inspired me to, well, become awesome.

I sent him an email with all the usual fanboy stuff, telling him how much of an inspiration he's been to me, how he's pretty much got the life I want, I imagine his face on women's bodies when I have sex, blah blah blah, you know how it is.

(Okay, okay.  Not the last one.  Not all the time, anyway.)

I ended the email with two questions:

"When you were first starting out, did you ever doubt yourself or your
ability to achieve your goals? If so, how did you quash those doubts?"

The next morning I checked my email and discovered Gregg had not only replied to my email, but had put an almost overwhelming amount of thought and detail into his response:

Matt,


First of all, I appreciate the kind words and it's great to hear that you're striving to achieve your goals and working to get better every day! As for your question, sure. What you're feeling is very normal. EVERYONE has self doubt at some level, no matter what they seem like on the outside, there's always that small voice inside trying to cast doubt over you. Some people are much better at controlling that voice inside. Their drive for success outweighs everything else. But the truth is that not everyone is built this way.


One thing that you can do is to start working on how you see yourself, how you speak to yourself (inside your head), and start to truly believe that you have the power within to accomplish your goals. You've got to believe it because you can't count on anyone else to do it for you. When we're younger we tend to think that we can do or be anything and then life happens and we become conditioned to think that there are limititations to what we can do, who we can become, and that ultimately effects the person that we become.


I've always said this and it's so true...that we spend the first quarter of our lives putting up walls and the rest of our lives trying to take them down. Things that happen in your life will create that self doubt in you and in how you view your personal ability to accomplish things.


I suggest that you spend some time alone and somewhere quiet outside where you can really connect to your higher self. I know this can sound odd if you're not used to doing this, but it will help. While outside and quiet begin to just concentrate on your breathing...in and out, in and out, your stomach rising and falling, your chest rising and falling. This will help you clear your mind and begin to center yourself. Start to notice everything around you...the trees, the leaves, the wind, the birds...everything. Begin to realize that you're a part of everything around you. Start to see your authentic self and feel your own power within. Know that the possibilities are endless. Know that you are unlimited potential. Keep breathing and allowing yourself to feel this power move through you. Know that you have full control over your actions.


Do this every day...it only takes 10 minutes and you will begin to feel more and more connected to yourself and everything around you. You will begin to realize that you have the power to achieve your goals. Don't let anyone take that power away from you...with their words or actions. In fact, don't even talk to others that you can't trust with your feelings and dreams who may cast any doubt in the fact that you can accomplish them. You will become a walking example of accomplising exactly what you set out to do and people will see it. People will want a piece of that and those same people who might doubt you will now be asking you what it is that you do to stay so fit, to accomplish your goals...they will want to be more like you!


I hope that doesn't sound WAY OUT THERE for you. The bottom line is that I want to see you take your own power and make it happen for yourself, because you hold all the cards...you've just got to believe.


All the best Matt,


Gregg

What a guy.

Unfortunately he made these suggestions to me during the dead of winter, but I let it slide as he lives in Florida and I'm assuming it's easy to forget the rest of the country is snowed-in when you're laying out on the beach.

Gregg is most definitely the real deal, and, as lame as it sounds, him and his website will always hold a special place in my heart (stop giggling) because his diet advice and the workouts on his site (for lack of a better term) changed my life.

He also released a book a couple of years back with some pretty sweet recipes called Muscle Chow.

To learn more about Gregg Avedon click here.

Honestly, the videos on his Home page crack me up.

I'm Back, Baby!

It's been a good week.

And not just because last night some sort of genetically-modified super-cougar raised her glass to mine and said, "To you and me and the prospect of a good fuck sometime."

It was just as awkward as it was flattering.

No, I'm talking about fitness.  Last week I covered exactly what I had been doing for the last three weeks in order to get completely off-track and gain 4 lbs. of pure, squishy fatness.  I ate a shit-ton of delicious ice cream, only trained about once a week and adopted an extremely negative attitude.  I was tired, bloated and depressed.

No more.


Starting Monday, I jumped back on track and stayed there.  I started The Superhero Workout, and only ate good, wholesome food, keeping the carbs low at all times other than breakfast and post-workout.  I've already lost a few pounds of fat, water and various body garbage, and that makes me all the more excited to keep this going and share my experience with others.  In fact, I checked myself out in a public bathroom last night and (through the reclaiming of my self image) popped a boner.

There I was, standing in the middle of the men's bathroom at Brewski's, staring at the shiny golden god in my reflection with only a thin layer of denim restraining my erection.

And so I decided to take pictures of everything I ate over the course of one day, to provide an example of what I might eat throughout the day, and to answer the "What do you eat?" question I've gotten from a few readers.


9:50 a.m.

A tall glass of ice-cold water, first thing.  Crisp.

10:05 a.m.

Smoothie and organic coffee sweetened with vanilla creme-flavored liquid stevia.

Smoothie recipe:

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 tbsp. ground flaxseed
1 scoop greens/superfood powder
1 1/2 scoops strawberry-flavored protein powder
Handful of ice.

Blend it, drink it, thank me.

10:15 a.m.

Supplements.
Since the greens were in the smoothie, I didn't take any more.

2:00 p.m.

Post-workout shake.
(Sorry, I chugged some of it before realizing I hadn't taken a picture yet.)

Post-workout shake recipe:

10-12 oz. water
25g strawberry whey isolate
40-50g dextrose
5g creatine
5g glutamine
Ice.

4:00 p.m.

Scrambled eggs with 1 whole egg and 1/2 cup of liquid egg whites, with garlic.
Usually I'd add a vegetable like spinach or broccoli, but I was all out.

7:45

Beef stew, recipe courtesy of strength coach Dan John:

1 can tomato soup
1 can french onion soup
1-2 lbs. stew beef
Bag of frozen stew veggies
Olive oil (I used coconut)
Pepper

1.  Heat oil in big pot
2.  Brown meat in oil, pepper it
3.  Throw in soups and veggies
4.  Simmer until meat is tender.

Done and done.

10:00 p.m.

Protein pudding

1 cup low fat grass-fed milk
2 cups fat free cottage cheese
1 pkg. Sugar free instant pudding mix

Blend milk and cottage cheese until completely smooth, then  whisk in pudding mix and stick in the fridge for 5 minutes.
I won't lie, it's delicious with some sugar-free Cool Whip on top.

Later on that night I had a bowl of Greek yogurt, which I failed to take a picture of.  Sorry.

Oh, and I'm including these because during the Summer months my sweet tooth is as strong as ever:

It's things like this that keep me sane when I'm dieting.

Was this a perfect day of eating?  Maybe, maybe not.  That's probably a subject for debate.  The point is that I took in a lot of decent food and had all the right macro-nutrients at the right times, without lowering caloric intake too much and keeping the protein high.  I'll most likely have a cheat meal once or twice a week to keep leptin levels high, depending on how much of a deficit I'm in.

Have any questions?  Had trouble seeing something in the photos?  Think the stew looks awful?  


Comment!

How to Get Out of Shape, or, What I've Been Doing the Last Three Weeks

So I hopped on the scale today and found that in the last three weeks or so, I've gained about 4 lbs. of fat.

It's about damned time.

You see, about a month ago I woke up, walked over to my mirror and took a long, hard look at myself wearing just a pair of boxer briefs.  My arms and legs looked powerful, my shoulders resembled cannonballs and a six-pack was actually peeking through. In short, I was starting to look way too fucking sexy.

"This can't be!" I screamed at the shimmering, golden barbarian that stood before me.

That's when I realized something had to be done; I couldn't let my body be sculpted into this...this god.

And so, through great effort, I've managed to convert myself into a lazy, unmotivated shell of a man in just 3 short weeks.

Here are a few tips on how to let go and finally become that worthless slob you've always dreamed of being, along with warnings as to what you should not be doing:

1.  Eat ice cream after every meal.  Seriously.

I went to the grocery store simply for the purpose of buying ice cream just so I'd have something to munch on while watching My Name is Earl on Netflix.  They had a 2 for $7 deal on Edy's, so I stocked up on Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup and Thin Mint (That's right, chocolate ice cream with chunks of the Girl Scouts' Thin Mint cookies.  It's awesome).  There were days when I would eat this stuff after breakfast, lunch and dinner, and sometimes as a post-midnight snack.

What not to do:

Only eat ice cream and other sweet treats on weekly or bi-weekly cheat days or cheat meals, following the principles of leptin expert Joel Marion and fitness king John Romaniello.

2.  Make breads and pasta a staple of your diet, and take in massive amounts of carbs with every meal.

After a personal experiment where I severely limited gluten in my diet, I was feeling fantastic.  My energy levels went up, my brain fog lifted and I just had a general feeling of well-being along with extremely healthy digestion.  My poops were awesome.  All but eliminating gluten was obviously a very, very bad choice, so I started devouring sandwiches as if there were a chance a coupon for one night with Jessica Biel was hidden in between the slices of delicious blood sugar-raising refined grains.

What not to do:

Limit intake of gluten-containing products and carbs in general, keeping majority of carb intake during breakfast and peri-workout.  Make any pre-bed meals based on fat instead of carbs, because carbs are fuel for high-intensity activity, and since you're about to lay down for 8 hours, they'll likely get stored.  Dietary fat is primarily what is burned during sleep, so keep that in mind.

3.  Find any reason to skip a workout, no matter how small.

This isn't difficult to do once your diet is in shambles and you don't have the energy to clip your toenails, let alone move iron.  I'd use every excuse from "I feel a headache coming on" to "I need to finish this mission in Grand Theft Auto IV!" to not train.  I haven't felt a good pump in weeks, and I'm feeling as feeble and inadequate as ever.  Score!

What not to do:

Develop a "No excuses" mindset.  Unless it's an emergency, under no circumstances are you to refrain from training.  It doesn't matter if your favorite rerun of Friends is on tv (I know the monkey is adorable, but this is what DVDs and Netflix are for) or if your buddies want to go out to the bar.  It's okay if you're a little late; they'll forgive you.

4.  Hang on to every word your critics say.

Ya know those people who talk shit behind your back, tell you you'll fail at every opportunity and seem to revel in taking a dump on other people's dreams and goals?  They're usually right.  Chances are, you never will lose that fat, get your dream job, or meet the "one".

Just give up.

What not to do:

Eject these toxic, poisonous pieces of human garbage from your life.  They're so disgusted with themselves and their own lack of control when it comes to their own lives that they try to convince you you're just as weak as they are.  Find people who are willing to identify their goals and take action, and listen to what they have to say; there's a good chance they've had to overcome many of the same trials you have, and are happy to offer kind words and advice.  Believe in yourself.

So there it is.  Following these four simple rules should get you well on your way to becoming sad, pathetic and pudgy.

Go get 'em, tiger.





Have anything to add that will help others get out of shape?  Comment!

Welcome to Subshack, Vol. 3: The Old Man

Unsure of what his birth name is, we just call him The Old Man.  He's been employed at Subshack since it was opened, but how long he's actually been working on the piece of land on which the building was raised has yet to be determined.  We've heard tales of him pumping gas in that very spot back in the 1940's when it was a gas station, and rumors of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics of him hunting families of sasquatch have been floating around since I was hired.

The Old Man is also one of the angriest bastards you'll ever come across.  The smallest of errors may send him into a blind rage full of screaming and ranting.  Working harder and being productive will do the same.  The most you can do to avoid being ripped to shreds by his razor sharp claws (his nails haven't been trimmed since 1936, when a whip-wielding archeologist trapped him in a cave and filed them down in an effort to render him harmless) is stand completely still until called upon to do his bidding.

In 2007, Subshack veteran Michael Tejeda discovered a way to soothe The Old Man's madness.  Albeit only a temporary solution, it is an often-used tactic to get through a long shift with important limbs intact:

You've got to rub his belly.

This sends him into a state of short-lived serenity, where he reflects on his past and tells tales of valor, terror and battles long-forgotten by anyone else.

Many have attempted to slay the beast, yet none have succeeded.  It is said that he draws strength from his age and that the devouring of processed meats and grains only amplifies his power.  Taking into account his place of employment and unknown origins, he very well may be unstoppable.  This is proven by his trophy wall; a wall adorned with the heads of fallen heroes who once stood against him.

Should you venture into Subshack in an effort to quell your hunger, heed my words and proceed with great caution.

Ancient texts have prophecied a great hero that will take up arms against the one known as The Old Man and succeed where others have failed.  A hero of humble upbringing and great strength, accompanied by a group of like-minded allies the likes of which have never been seen.

My time will come.

Remember my story.

The Closest Thing To Superpowers We'll Ever Get

Testosterone.  

For some people it has become a sort of four-letter word; they associate it with anger, or with sexism, or with (gasp!) steroids.  These people imagine a muscle-bound jackass in a wifebeater flexing his delts in front of a mirror at the gym, or a greasy truck driver in the bathroom of a diner, getting pleasured by a cheap hooker while he eats a corndog and threatens to beat his wife over the phone.

My point is, that if you bring up the T-word in public, chances are you're going to be confronted by a lot of the negativity surrounding it these days.

That's Lame.

The truth is, testosterone plays a major role in the quality of human life (yes, even for women!).  Having normal/high T levels can keep you energetic and motivated.  It's highly anti-inflammatory and is, contrary to what your mama says, great for heart health.  It also helps you get lean and stay that way, along with promoting muscle growth.

Oh, and this is perhaps the best of all...

It raises libido.  Big time.

That's right, without it you'd have a hard time stepping up to the plate...with your penis.

It's the same with women.  If she's not in the mood, like, ever, there is a chance it's a hormonal imbalance.  That's what I've always found amazing about birth control pills: Women take them because they want to have passionate, mind-blowing, monkey-shit-fight-at-the-zoo sex with a man without the horrible burden of having to raise his child.  Unfortunately, the hormones that are in The Pill that prevent pregnancy also cause a drop in T production, which will lower your libido faster than seeing Ernest Borgnine in a pink Speedo.

"Testicularity is the last vanguard of civilization; what ties us to nature, what makes us want to excel, what makes us want to discover, invent, and conquer. Don't let your balls go the way of the appendix."

-From the book Atomic Dog: The Testosterone Principles by TC Luoma

Testosterone is an unstoppable hammer-wielding barbarian in the fight against mediocrity.  Why don't you want more of it?

One night when I was at a bar with my buddies, the subject of marijuana came up in conversation.  I won't get too much into what was said, but I did mention at some point that it might lower T levels.  The data is conflicting right now, but I basically said that there's a chance it might affect hormones in a measurable way.  One of my friends didn't find it concerning.  His response?

"Why would you want more testosterone, anyway?"

I let the comment slide and chose not to respond, as I felt I needed to reflect on that question a bit.  Why would you want more?  Well, I suppose it has to do with knowing what it is, what it can do, and who it can help you to become.  I also came to the conclusion that having low T-levels might actually result in a lack of concern regarding the bettering of self.

It's like in Supernatural when Sam lost his soul, and decided he didn't want it back.  You see, he didn't want his soul back because he didn't have one; when you're completely content with that fact that you don't care about anything, the thought of suddenly caring about everything and enabling yourself to feel doesn't seem like a great idea.

Kind of a lame analogy, I know, but my point remains the same:

If you don't want it, it might be because you don't have it.

Let's get some.

Dine Like a Prince, Spend like a Pauper: Quick Tips for Muscle-building & Fat Loss on a Budget

So umm...I'm kinda poor.

I'm not saying that I'm living on the streets, blogging on my laptop from a dark alley somewhere downtown, eating the freshly discarded half of a bearclaw in a fort made of cardboard and a cloak made of pigeon feathers; just that I work in a sandwich shop and have no other source of income at the moment.

"I'll do anything for a an electrical outlet.  Anything!"

I make slightly more than minimum wage and as you probably very well know, living a healthy lifestyle and having the goal of becoming simultaneously fit, strong and incredibly hawt has its price, both psychologically and financially.  In the past I made the mistake of living far beyond my means.  I bought supplements that were both unnecessary and ineffective, and I bought carts full of expensive groceries without realizing there was a better way to go about things.

It's absolutely possible to eat like a king (a healthy, awesome-looking one) and not break the bank, and here are a few tips to help you get started so you don't make the same mistakes I made:

1.  Buy meats & veggies in bulk.

I buy somewhat large amounts of chicken breasts, seal them in individual freezer bags and keep them in the freezer.  It's possibly the most versatile food on the planet, so you can just defrost a couple of them overnight and use them to make dinner the next day.  I also buy ground sirloin in large quantities for burgers.  Just mix in your seasonings and whatnot, form them into burgers, and seal them in individual baggies (just like the chicken breasts) and freeze them.  You can defrost them in the microwave and cook them up whenever you want in a jiffy, which works really well for a quick lunch or dinner.

For vegetables, I usually just buy big bags of things like frozen broccoli and cauliflower, which work great on the side of your burgers.  Just steam, season with lemon juice and sea salt, and you're golden, Pony Boy.

2.  Don't buy a bunch of supplements that you don't need.

Pretty early on after I was bitten by the fitness bug, I thought that a massive pile of pills would solve all my problems.  I didn't bther to realize that supplements are just that: supplements.  They're for supplementing what should already be a fairly solid diet; they won't make you lean and strong when you're scarfing down Snickers and Golden Grahams all day.

Also, don't get caught up in the hype of certain "wonder" pills.  Acai extract won't help you lose fat any more than banging your best friend's mother will, and spending $30 on a bottle of mangosteen juice will only result in giving you permission to be slapped in the back of the head.

(On second thought, banging Mrs. Anderson would probably be condusive to fat loss.  Especially when you're on the run while being hunted down like a dog by your best friend.)

As far as I'm concerned (and people far more qualified than me will back me up on this), the supplement staples are:

Fish oil

Greens/superfood

A good multivitamin

Vitamin D (normally the multi won't have nearly enough)

I also take zinc because most people (especially athletes and people who work out intensely) are generally pretty deficient unless they're eating a lot of organic nuts and oysters and such.

I consider protein powder to be more of a food than a supplement, so that's why I didn't include it in the list.

I do take more than what is listed depending on the situation, but I'm only listing the supplements I take every day no matter what.  I might blog about everything I take in the future, but for the purpose of this post, these are what's important.

So there you have it.  Two tips to help you get fit, tough and further out of debt if you're financially challenged  like I am.

Any advice to give on how to get muscle on a budget?  Comment!

To Arms! Let's Defeat Childhood Cancer.

When I was 12 years old, I lost my older brother to cancer.

(Awesome way to start a blog post, I know.)

Somewhere around 9 p.m. in the September of 1995, my brother Jason and I had climbed into our respective bunk beds (I was on bottom) and began chatting about sign language.  Jason had been taking a sign language class in high school because it counted for his language credit and it seemed easier than going with Spanish or French.  He tought me how to sign a few words and promised to teach me more the next day when he had his textbook handy.  Of course I can't remember if I was genuinely interested in sign language or if I was just excited about the prospect of doing something with my older brother that didn't involve a black eye or hurtful insults, but I was looking forward to it nonetheless.  To have such a civil discussion that lasted more than two minutes was a somewhat rare occurence in that point in our "brothership."

We went to sleep.

A few hours later at around 4 or 5 a.m., I awoke to the sound of something thrashing around on the top bunk.  I didn't know what was going on, so I immediately jumped out of bed and climbed up to see what my brother was doing.  His back was arched, his arms flailed and he was grunting as if he was in pain, though he didn't seem conscious.  Assuming he was just having a terrible dream, I tried hitting him and shaking him to wake him up, which in retrospect wasn't the best idea.

I ran to my parents' room and woke my mother, telling her there was something wrong with Jason.  It wasn't long after that he snapped out of it and we got him down from the bed and into the kitchen.  My mom called my dad, who was at work at the time, to tell him what had happened and to come home right away.  As we waited for my father to get there, my brother (who was aware he wouldn't be going to school that day) went into the livingroom and sat down at our then-brand-spanking-new Acer computer. 

As Jason sat at the computer, suddenly he collapsed.  His head fell forward and hit the wooden desk with a loud bang.  I pulled him back to the sitting position in the chair and he then realized he had trouble moving his right arm.  If there was ever a time during this morning to panic, this was it.  My mom called 911 and the ambulence arrived minutes later.  My dad still hadn't made it home yet and because the ambulence couldn't fit both my mom and I, we had to let them go without us and go to the hospital when my dad got home.

Thus began the most difficult 11 months any of us would ever endure.

On August 7th, 1996, after nearly a year of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and several surgeries, after a year of training myself to become almost completely emotionally detached, after 11 months of fighting the angry bitch that is Cancer with everything he had, my brother died at the age of 16.

No one should have to go through what he did, and that's why I'm asking for your help.

While I don't have the means or the knowledge to seek out new, more effective ways to treat cancer in children, the St. Baldrick's foundation does.

From their website:

"The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives."

Now that's something I can get behind.

For more info, visit www.stbaldricks.org.

You don't have to shave your head.  In fact, my favorite fitness guy, John Romaniello, has organized an effort to raise $10,000 for St. Baldrick's.  All you have to do is follow the link below and hit the donate button near the bottom of the post.  There is no minimum or maximum donation, but anything over $15 gets you a bunch of free workouts by some of the best trainers in all the land.

http://www.romanfitnesssystems.com/blog/baring-it-all-for-charity-help-me-fight-childhood-cancer

Read the post, watch the video, and please donate what you can.  Whether it's $1 or a million, everything helps.