Health Habits

Almond Crusted Chicken

thehealthyirishman — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:32:35 +0000

Now I know it’s coming up to turkey season with Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner (where’d the year go?) but I get asked a lot of how to spice up boring old chicken.
Previously I made a pecan crusted turkey dish and had some great feedback from that so I decided to do something with it’s step-cousin, chicken. I know you can’t beat a perfectly roasted chicken but here’s a great alternative if you fancy some nuts ‘n’ spice (as the actress said to the bishop).

I love almonds and I snack on them quite a bit so I figured why not try them as a breading. I added some gluten-free breadcrumbs and toasted cumin seeds to the mixture and it turned out quite tasty.

I served the chicken with grilled veg which I tossed with fresh tomatoes then quickly sauteed with freshly chopped oregano, thyme and olive oil–the business!

Continue reading the full recipe here and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the HEALTHY IRISHMAN Newsletter!

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Fueling your body with healthy food. Fueling your mind with the wealth of health.

Fitness Equipment Deathmatch #1

healthhabits — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:29:23 +0000

In the tradition of my Nutrition Deathmatches #1 and #2, today’s post compares and contrasts two different pieces of fitness equipment.

First up, the Wellness Belt

To be completely honest, I had never heard of the Wellness Belt until this morning when I heard a commercial for this product while listening to a radio station marketed towards Zoomers.

I could not believe what I was hearing.

According to the commercial, the Wellness Belt is the health breakthrough that every soon to be senior citizen has been waiting for.

Simply by wearing the ultra-fashionable Wellness Belt throughout your day to day activities, you will experience:

Effortless Weight Loss
The Elimination of Back Pain
A Reversal of Osteoporosis
Improved cardio-vascular fitness, a reduction in cholesterol, high blood pressure and a lowered risk of heart attack
Improved posture, reduced back pain, less intense headaches and migraines, increased neck range of motion and elimination of menstrual cramping. People with scoliosis have reported reduced tightness in the spine.
Increased free time as you never have to exercise ever again

Sounds great!!!

How do I get one?

Well, I’ll tell you.

For a limited time, you can save $30 off the regular price!!!

That’s right. For just $167.97 +s/h & applicable taxes, you too can own your very own Wellness Belt.

OR for less money, I can buy a set of 6 indestructible exercise bands and a single kettlebell.

With this equipment, I can expect to experience:

Actual Fat Loss
Increased Muscle Mass
Increased Strength
Increased Anaerobic Endurance
Improved Body Image
Improved Sex Appeal
An Improvement in many types of Pain (back, head, neck) caused by Muscular Imbalances
A Potential Improvement in Osteoporosis due to increased Osteoblast production caused by longitudinal loading of the long bones of the body.
Improved Cardio-Vascular Fitness
Increased pride as I know that I earned my new and improved body.

What to do, what to do?

On one hand, I have a product that requires no effort, is unlikely to do anything useful and is only being purchased by the self-deluded and extremely dim-witted.

On the other hand, I have a set of products that are going to require time, effort and buckets of sweat. But in return, I am pretty sure to transform my body into something I can be proud of.

Darn it, I cant decide.

What do you think?

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What the Diet Gurus Won’t Tell You

healthhabits — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:59:32 +0000

In under two months time, it’s going to be a brand New Year – 2010.

And a lot of you are going to make that most famous of New Years Resolutions.

I am going to lose weight.

And, most of you are going to fail…miserably.

Here’s why.

There are 3 Main Types of Weight Loss Plans

Eat Less Food
Eat Less of Specific Types of Food (most commonly Carbs or Fat)
Get More Exercise

And of course, most of the so-called “diet-experts” mix and match these three main plans to come up with their proprietary “miracle” weight loss program.

So, how come, year after year, millions of people:

Start a new diet
Quit that diet
Try another diet
Quit that diet
etc, etc, etc…

Don’t they have any will power?

Of course, they have will power. Just as much as anybody else. Just as much as that skinny guy or gal that can’t quit smoking or gambling or watching too much reality tv.

Problem is, will power isn’t enough for most dieters.

Not when you consider the following list of factors that make dieting a can’t-win proposition for most people.

Health Habit’s List of Diet Killers

When dieters eat less food:

Their metabolism slows down
Specific brain chemicals increase appetite
Their “obesity” hormones join with those brain chemicals and appetite becomes an insatiable hunger
Neural pathways created by years of poor eating habits are abandoned (that’s good).
New (diet-friendly) neural pathways are created (once again – good)
Unfortunately, the old pathways are designed like super-highways while the new ones are more like bike trails. One bad meal and the old pathways come back online and the diet is broken.
Psychologically, the elimination of their standard diet results in feelings of loss & punishment.
Emotionally, dieters feel like they are being punished.
Socially, friends & family members often (unconsciously) try to sabotage the diet.

When dieters restrict food groups:

Metabolism may or may not slow down - metabolism is mainly affected by caloric intake and, to some extent, the amount of protein consumed.
The brain chemicals and hormones cry out for the restricted food.
Neural pathways are affected in the same way as above.
Psychologically, we see similar feelings of deprivation.
Same emotional response
Same social response amongst family members.
Amongst casual acquaintances, the social response can be even worse. In social situations (parties, restaurants) dieters who avoid carbs or fats can be perceived by others as being “difficult”
Low-fat dieters can suffer in a myriad number of ways. Impaired hormone production, damaged hair, skin & nails, alleriges, systemic inflammation, etc…
Low-carb dieters often suffer at first from the lack of readily available sugar as a fuel source. Over time, this problem resolves itself.
Unfortunately, the lack of fiber in the low-carb diet often doesn’t resolve itself. And we all know what a lack of fiber can do to a person’s bathroom habits.

When exercise is the sole weight loss method:

Exercise does all sorts of great things for your body – (improves mood, body image, strength, flexibility, general health, etc), but as the saying goes, you can’t out-train a bad diet. It is way too easy to eat 500 calories of delicious chocolate cake than it is to burn off 500 calories of body-fat.
And, to make things worse, studies have shown that exercise increases hunger.

And the problems get even worse for repeat dieters.

After numerous failed attempts at weight loss, these poor souls have created super-thick neural pathways dedicated exclusively to dietary failure.

They just don’t believe they can succeed.

Seems pretty grim, doesn’t it?

So, what are we going to do?

Here’s what I do for my clients.

Choose a diet/meal plan that keeps their metabolism humming along.
Choose a diet/meal plan that meshes well with their personality & their lifestyle
Create an exercise plan that boosts metabolism and makes them fitter, stronger & lighter.
Prepare them mentally and emotionally for the challenge that they face. Let them know that their hormones and neural pathways and brain chemicals want them to stay fat. But that with diet and various psychological tools, they can overcome their physiology.
Help them re-frame how they see their diet. Instead of eating for convenience, they’re eating for nutrition. Instead of missing out on ice cream, they’re upping their sex appeal. Instead of being normal, they’re becoming better – healthier, fitter, stronger, sexier.
Make them understand that this is a challenge that they can win. Others have faced the same challenge and have succeeded. I lend them my confidence. Every day I see people succeed & fail at weight loss. I have built some massive neural pathways when it comes to my belief in successful weight loss. I just need them to believe that I believe. Weird, but true.

So, come this January, what are you going to do?

Buy the latest bestselling diet book?

I know that this post barely scratched the surface of a complex subject. And I am sure that I will be writing more about it in the coming months.

But, if you have any questions, feel free to comment or shoot me an email.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

The No Excuses Workout

healthhabits — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:00:55 +0000

This workout is designed for all of those people who say they would like to exercise, but when push comes to shove:

they don’t have enough money for a gym membership, or
they can’t run because they have bad knees, or
they don’t have enough space in their tiny bachelor apartment.

It’s my No Excuses Workout.

Program Goals:

Improved Aerobic & Anaerobic Fitness
Accelerated Fat Loss
Increased Muscular Strength
Correction of Typical Muscular Imbalances

The workout consists of 2 workouts that can be performed twice per week for a total of 4 workouts

The remaining 3 days of the week can be devoted to the walking program outlined in Boomer Bodyweight Workout #1

WORKOUT #1

Superset #1

Perform the following two exercises back to back for 5 minutes with no rest between sets

Chair Squats – Maximum 20 reps per set
Push-Ups – Maximum 10 reps per set – choose a push-up version that matches your level of fitness

Superset #2

Perform the following two exercises back to back for 5 minutes with no rest between sets

1 Leg Deadlift – Maximum 10 reps per leg
Bodyweight Row using kitchen table – Maximum 20 reps

Superset #3

Perform the following two exercises back to back for 5 minutes with no rest between sets

Shuffle Lunge – Maximum 30 reps total for both legs
Plank – Work up to 60 seconds

Repeat all 3 supersets 2 to 3 times

One complete circuit of all 3 supersets takes 15 minutes + any rest you take between supersets. Two circuits will take 30 min +. Three circuits will take 45 min+

It’s important to keep rest to an absolute minimum. This is how you are getting the aerobic benefit of the workout.

WORKOUT #2

Superset #1

Perform the following two exercises back to back for 5 minutes with no rest between sets

1 or 2 Leg Hip Thrusts – Maximum 20 reps total for both legs

Bodyweight Tricep Extensions – Maximum 10 reps

Superset #2

Perform the following two exercises back to back for 5 minutes with no rest between sets

Bulgarian Split Squats – Maximum 10 reps per leg

Bear Crawls – Crawl 5 yards forward, reverse and crawl 5 yards backward

Superset #3

Perform the following two exercises back to back for 5 minutes with no rest between sets

Reverse Lunges – Maximum 10 reps per leg

Plank – Work up to 60 seconds

Repeat all 3 supersets 2 to 3 times

One complete circuit of all 3 supersets takes 15 minutes + any rest you take between supersets. Two circuits will take 30 min +. Three circuits will take 45 min+

It’s important to keep rest to an absolute minimum. This is how you are getting the aerobic benefit of the workout.

And remember to go at your own pace. The goal is to get healthy.

If you are a beginner, it is most important to learn how to perform the exercise well before picking up the intensity. Use some common sense people.

For advanced trainees, focus on reducing rest time and increasing the difficulty of the exercise.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

Transformation #1 – the Healthy Irishman – Workouts #2 & 3

healthhabits — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:53:14 +0000

The transformation of the Healthy Irishman (and bro) continues

Todays workout is a HIIT session
Tomorrows workout is a resistance training session

And theyre both going to be nasty workouts

Sesame Street v.s. Childhood Obesity

healthhabits — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:22:35 +0000

Sesame Street has joined the battle against childhood obesity.

First, it was Grover getting into the gym and pumping some iron.

Then, it was the Cookie Monster kicking his cookie addiction and switching to a diet heavy on fruits and vegetables.

Things were looking good in this battle between fit and fat.

Unfortunately, not everyone believed in the cause. There were traitors amongst us….

Cookie Monster Defends His Honor Vs. Colbert – Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

But luckily, for every Stephen Colbert, there is a Michelle Obama, willing to stand up against video games and Twinkies and Big Gulps.

On this weeks 40th anniversary show, First Lady Michelle Obama helped a group of children plant a vegetable garden on Sesame Street.

And just like those vegetable seeds will eventually take root and grow into mature plants, let’s hope that the message of eating healthy and exercising daily will take root in the minds of a new generation of Sesame Street viewers.
.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

Transformation #1 – the Healthy Irishman – Workout #1

healthhabits — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:00:53 +0000

Yesterday, I outlined the Irishman’s transformation.

Today, I will post Workout #1….feel free to try it out for yourself

WARM-UP

Goblet Squat (DB) x 8 reps
Push-Up x 8 reps
Body Weight Row x 8 reps
Shuffle Lunge x 30 reps
Ab Wheel Roll-Outs x 8 reps
DB Swings x 20 reps
Hip Flexor Stretch x 8 reps

Repeat as many times as possible in 10 minutes (no rest between exercises – 30 sec. rest between supersets)

Note – You NEED to get through this at least 3 times in 10 min.

By the end of the 10 min. warm-up, the Irishman should be sweating hard and gasping for breath.

WORKOUT

Superset #1

Alternate between exercise #1 and #2 for 10 minutes
No rest between sets

Exercise # 1

Goblet Squat

Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps (doesn’t have to be exact, weight selection will improve with experience)
Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set (at first, this will seem very easy..don’t worry, after 10 minutes you legs will be dying)

Exercise # 2

DB Lateral Raise / DB Bent-Over Lateral Raise

Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps (doesn’t have to be exact, weight selection will improve with experience)
Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set (by the end of 10 min, you may only be getting 1 or 2 reps per set, but remember 100% intensity)
Alternate between shoulder exercises - ie Goblet/Laterals/Goblet/Bent-Over Lateral/Goblet/Lateral/Goblet/ Bent-Over Lateral…

5 Minutes rest between supersets #1 and #2 – Use that time to set up for superset #2

Superset #2

Alternate between exercise #1 and #2 for 10 minutes
No rest between sets

Exercise # 1

Swing Snatch

Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 40 quality reps
Perform a maximum of 20 reps per set

Exercise # 2

Cable Straight Arm Pushdown (aka the Vertical Woodchop or Hi-Lo Slam)

Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps
Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set
Be explosive with these

5 Minutes rest between supersets #2 and #3

Superset #3

Alternate between exercise #1 and #2 for 10 minutes
No rest between sets

Exercise # 1

1 Arm Kneeling Pulldown (or 1 Arm Alternating Standing Pulldown if 1 arm is n/a)

Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps
Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set

Exercise # 2

Shuffle Lunge

Bodyweight
30 reps per set
Focus on speed…shuffle those feet

Go Home…you’re finished

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Exercise Videos

Goblet Squat

Lateral Raises

Bent-Over Lateral Raises

Swing Snatch

Straight Arm Pushdown

Pulldown variations

Shuffle Lunge

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Transformation #1 – the Healthy Irishman – Workout Overview

healthhabits — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:40:44 +0000

The other day on my blog, I introduced you to the Healthy Irishman and his plans to transform his body. Here is a link to that post.

Today, I will be outlining his program.

PROGRAM GOALS

The client want to add approx. 10 lbs of lean muscle.
Improve definition.
Improve fitness
Doesn’t want to look like a bodybuilder…more like LL Cool J or Jason Statham

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

This program is designed to:

provide maximum hypertrophy stimulus, while
supercharging anaerobic fitness and overall athleticism

In short, this program is going to make the Irishman bigger, stronger, faster, more flexible and hopefully reverse some of his dysfunction in his left shoulder.

THE WARM-UP

Unlike most programs, the warm-up doesn’t just get the Irishman ready for the workout, it is part of the workout.

I have designed two separate warm-ups that he will perform on alternate days.

Each warm-up is designed to dynamically stretch his joints, increase muscle temperature & elasticity, prime his anaerobic energy system as well as get his mind laser focused on the remainder of the workout

WARM-UP #1

Barbell Snatch x 8 reps
Barbell Overhead or Front Squat x 8 reps
Back Squat x 8 reps
Barbell Good Morning x 8 reps
Barbell Bent-Over Row x 8 reps
Barbell Deadlift x 8 reps
Hip Flexor Stretch x 8 reps

Repeat as many times as possible in 10 minutes (no rest between exercises – 30 sec. rest between supersets)

Note – You NEED to get through this at least 3 times in 10 min.

WARM-UP #2

Goblet Squat (DB) x 8 reps
Push-Up x 8 reps
Body Weight Row x 8 reps
Shuffle Lunge x 30 reps
Ab Wheel Roll-Outs x 8 reps
DB Swings x 20 reps
Hip Flexor Stretch x 8 reps

Repeat as many times as possible in 10 minutes (no rest between exercises – 30 sec. rest between supersets)

Note – You NEED to get through this at least 3 times in 10 min.

By the end of the 10 min. warm-up, the Irishman should be sweating hard and gasping for breath.

Take 5 min to get ready for the “real” workout

THE WORKOUT

The key to the success of these workouts is intensity.

I don’t care about the amount of weight lifted or how many reps. What I care about is effort. If you push harder than you thought you could ever push yourself, this workout will reward you with truly impressive results

For example, I tried this workout on a personal training client with amazing results

He is/was a tall (6′5″) guys with little muscle

In 9 weeks, he added 13 lbs of muscle and if his impedance scale is accurate, his BF has dropped from 23% to 14%

WORKOUT BASICS

Each workout will consist of 3 supersets
Each superset will consist of 2 exercises
Each superset will last 10 minutes

The reps performed per exercise will be modified by yours truly to maximize results.
The weight selected per exercise will also be modified by yours truly.

Intensity level HAS to be 100%

Simple…but not easy

SAMPLE WORKOUT

Superset #1

Alternate between exercise #1 and #2 for 10 minutes
No rest between sets

Exercise # 1

Goblet Squat

Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps (doesn’t have to be exact, weight selection will improve with experience)
Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set (at first, this will seem very easy..don’t worry, after 10 minutes you legs will be dying)

Exercise # 2

DB Lateral Raise / DB Bent-Over Lateral Raise

Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps (doesn’t have to be exact, weight selection will improve with experience)
Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set (by the end of 10 min, you may only be getting 1 or 2 reps per set, but remember 100% intensity)
Alternate between shoulder exercises - ie Goblet/Laterals/Goblet/Bent-Over Lateral/Goblet/Lateral/Goblet/ Bent-Over Lateral…

5 Minutes rest between supersets #1 and #2 – Use that time to set up for superset #2

Superset #2

Alternate between exercise #1 and #2 for 10 minutes
No rest between sets

Exercise # 1

Swing Snatch

Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 40 quality reps
Perform a maximum of 20 reps per set

Exercise # 2

Cable Straight Arm Pushdown (aka the Vertical Woodchop or Hi-Lo Slam)

Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps
Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set
Be explosive with these

Superset #3

Alternate between exercise #1 and #2 for 10 minutes
No rest between sets

Exercise # 1

1 Arm Kneeling Pulldown (or 1 Arm Alternating Standing Pulldown if 1 arm is n/a)

Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps
Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set

Exercise # 2

Shuffle Lunge

Bodyweight
30 reps per set
Focus on speed…shuffle those feet

Okay, that’s it for this intro post.

Tomorrow, I will be posting the Healthy Irishman’s first workout (just in case anyone wants to join in)
.
Enjoy fellas.

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Rainbow Chard & Leek Saute with….+

thehealthyirishman — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:39:04 +0000

I’m really diggin’ our CSA box delivery service. So far the produce has been great and in order to use it all we’ve had to use our noggins and think outside the box a bit, so to speak! Who said you can’t have looks and brains?

This week our box contained organic Fuji apples, spinach, leeks, rainbow chard, broccoli, Valencia oranges & mixed peppers. I turned to old faithfuls for some of these—I used the oranges for Jerk sauce and the mixed peppers went into a pot o’chili.

Each week when our box arrives there’s a newsletter inside from the farm talking about what’s in season and giving tips and such about the fruit n’ veg. They also give a recipe highlighting one of the veggies. I was intrigued by this particular chard recipe not only because I really like leafy greens but also because it used the entire bunch of chard, stems & all. Usually one would remove the stems and either put them in the stock pot as I do or into the compost heap. Either way they’re getting used but I’d much prefer to eat them. They have a lovely peppery flavour and they add brilliant colour to the sauteed chard. I can’t take any credit for this but it did turn out great and I combined it with a rice recipe which uses up some of the apples. Usin’ my noggin!

Continue reading the full recipe here and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the HEALTHY IRISHMAN Newsletter!

When you do you’ll receive a FREE Entertainment Booklet with recipes and tips for your next dinner party.

Fueling your body with healthy food. Fueling your mind with the wealth of health.

another Health Habits transformation: The Healthy Irishman

healthhabits — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:22:42 +0000

A few weeks ago, the Healthy Irishman asked me to help transform himself from being merely healthy into something super-human.

And, considering how many posts he has written for Health Habits, I figured I owed him.

So, I put together a particularly nasty workout, beta tested it on one of my guinea pigs, and voila…starting Monday, the Irishman and his visiting younger brother will be putting on a freak show at the Venice Beach Gold’s Gym.

I will be posting the workouts here as well as on this Posterous website.

(FYI – with Posterous, The Irishman will be able to view his workouts (with video) off of his smartphone at the gym – just like an iPhone app, except the workout won’t suck)

For those of you who might be interested in following the Irishman’s progress (or joining in), feel free to sign up for email updates. Also, you should probably sign up for the Health Habits feed as well.

Here’s a brief outline of Gavan’s (the Irishman) current fitness routine

he trains 5 x per week
Mon to Fri
at 4:15 am (not a typo)
he workouts at Golds Gym – Venice (so he has access to every workout toy imaginable)

His current workout is based on a 2 exercise/10 set per bodypart workout based on a 5 day split

M- Back/Chest
T- Hamstrings. Calves
W- Shoulders/Abs
T- Bi’s/ Tri”s
F- Deadlifts/Glutes

Sat is off or 30 min cardio
Sun is off

Resistance workouts last 50 min with an additional 10-20 mins cardio after lifting. 1 hr 20 total approx.

His Goals:

He would like to build up maybe add 10 lbs of lean muscle.
Get some definition.
Improve fitness
Doesn’t want to look like a bodybuilder
Wants to look defined & strong…kinda like

LL Cool J

or Jason Statham

His Stats:

Gavan weighs 176 lbs @ 5′11″
He has a chronically injured right shoulder (vertical presses are out)

Here’s his before pics

His Diet:

He eats 5-6 meals a day and gets good quality carbs and protein in each meal.

Carbs: Brown rice, quinoa pasta or gluten free pasta, cous-cous, yams, polenta, oatmeal
Protein: Egg whites, fish, shrimp, tofu, seitan, chicken, turkey

Also, for the next 5 weeks, Gavan’s brother Ross is visiting. This means that the Irishman will have a workout buddy for the first 5 weeks.

Ross’ Pics

In tomorrow’s post, I will outline the workout along with my recommendations for supplementation and diet.

And, on Sunday, I will post the first workout

Enjoy fellas.

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