Coulee Region Bootcamps

2010 is just over 5% completed.

It may not seem like much, but it will slip away before you know it. 

The question is are you 5% closer to your goals? 

If you wanted to read 20 books in 2010, do you have one done already?  If your goal was to drop 30lbs of fat are you down 1.5lbs? 

This isn’t about making you feel bad if you are falling short.  The point is ARE YOU TRACKING YOUR PROGRESS?  If you are not, then how do you know if you are achieving your goal?  How do you know if you are heading in the right direction?

WHAT GETS MEASURED, GETS DONE

When you track your goals set up intermediate milestones to measure your progress.  If you are on track, then great keep doing what you are doing.  If you are falling behind, now is the time to take action and get back on the train.

The key is to take ACTION.  Don’t think about what to do for weeks on end.  If what you are doing currently is not working, then change your behavior. 

Hopefully you are well on your way to results.

It’s about that time of year again, when that big old bird comes out of the oven for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving dinner is usually associated with sinful excess and horrible holiday weight gain. Now you can blame stuffing, mashed potatoes with loads of butter and gravy, and pumpkin pie for that, but please don’t badmouth the turkey! After all, turkey is loaded with lean protein that simultaneously elevates metabolism and promotes fat burning and lean muscle growth. It is also a lean protein, meaning there is very little fat in it, as long as you remove the skin.

 

Protein is the sole macronutrient responsible for building and repairing your body’s tissue stores (fat and carbs simply provide energy). More specifically, regular protein intake is vital in accelerating the repair of muscle damage from high-intensity activities like strength training and cardio interval training. In addition, adequate protein intake every two to four hours is essential in maintaining your current levels of lean muscle mass. This is important because the more muscle you have the larger your metabolic engine, thus the more calories (and fat) you burn on a daily basis since muscle tissue requires lot of energy to sustain itself. Protein is also the least likely macronutrient to be stored as body fat and the mere act of digesting protein requires more than double the energy to digest than carbohydrate and dietary fat. So, if there is any food choice that you can truly get away with overeating this holiday season, it will be turkey.

 

Another benefit to eating turkey is that it is easy to prepare in bulk and will save you much needed time in meal planning and preparation during the busy holiday season as well as be easy on the wallet. You can roast a big old turkey and then have tons of meal options for days. Just think of what you can do with all those awesome Thanksgiving leftovers! To inspire your turkey consumption efforts we’ve put together some awesome better body recipes that you can create with turkey as your lean protein foundation. Enjoy!

 

Turkey Salad

 

Ingredients:

 

- 6-8 oz. Turkey Breast chopped into small cubes

- 1⁄4 red bell pepper

- 1⁄4 green bell pepper

- 1⁄4 red onion

- 2 Tbsp canola or olive oil mayo

 

Directions:

 

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy over a bed of greens.

 

Makes one male serving and two female servings.

 

 

Turkey Cranberry Cream Cheese Roll-up

 

Ingredients:

 

- 6-8 oz. Sliced Turkey

- 1 Tbsp Fat Free Cream Cheese

- 1 Tbsp Dried Cranberries 1⁄2 Clove of Roasted Garlic Salt and Pepper to taste

- 2 Whole Grain Tortillas

 

Directions:

 

Soak cranberries in water for 20 minutes or microwave until soft if you are short on time. Mash the 1⁄2 clove of garlic. Mix cranberries, garlic, and cream cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread the mixture into the inside of the tortilla(s). Add turkey breast. Fold up sides, roll up, and enjoy!

 

Makes one male serving and two female servings.

 

 

Turkey Medallions With Cranberry Glaze

 

Turkey Medallions:

- 6-8 oz. Turkey

- Non-stick spray Turkey Seasoning

 

Cut Turkey Breasts into small medallions, sprinkle lightly with seasoning. Reheat in a pan sprayed with non-stick oil on medium heat until lightly browned on both sides. Drip Cranberry glaze (below) over the medallions.

 

Cranberry Glaze:

- 1 Cups Dry white wine      

- Turkey or chicken stock, as needed

- 1 1⁄2  Cups Dried cranberries       

- 1⁄4 Cup of Pine nuts, toasted          

- Pinch of Salt      

 

Add 1⁄2 cup of white wine and 1⁄2 cup of turkey stock to pan. Add other 1⁄2 cup of turkey stock, cranberries, pine nuts and pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat until reduced in volume by half, about 4 cups.

 

Makes one male serving and two female servings.

 

 

Turkey Shepherds Pie

 

Ingredients:

 

- 2 cups cubed cooked turkey

- 3⁄4 cup turkey gravy

- 1 small can whole kernel corn

- drained 1 cup of chicken stock

- 1 cup of water

- 3 cups steamed cauliflower

- 2 cups celery, chopped 2 carrots

- chopped 1 onion chopped 2 cloves garlic

- minced 1 bell pepper, any color

- chopped Salt and pepper

 

Directions:

 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. First you must make the gravy. Take the garlic, 1 cup of celery, carrots, onion, bell pepper, chicken stock, water, vegetables, salt and pepper to taste. Add to a pot, boil until vegetables are soft and blend in a blender or food processor.

 

Next, you will take the steamed cauliflower and mash it, or place it in a food processor until the consistency is like that of mashed potatoes.

 

Next, in a baking dish, layer the turkey, gravy, corn, remaining celery and mashed cauliflower. Bake, uncovered at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

 

Makes 2 male servings and one female serving.

 

 

Turkey Florentine

 

Ingredients:

 

- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach

- 2 tablespoons smart butter

- 1 cup cooked whole grain fettuccine

- 2 cups diced, cooked turkey

- 1 cup turkey or chicken stock 1

- (8 ounce) package fat free sour cream and onion dip

- 1⁄2 teaspoon onion salt

- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

- Non-stick cooking spray

 

Directions:

 

Cook spinach according to package directions; drain. Stir in smart butter. Place noodles in a non-stick sprayed baking dish; top with spinach. Combine turkey, stock, onion dip and onion salt and spoon over spinach. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees F for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

 

 

Turkey Green Bean Casserole

 

Ingredients:

 

- 1 bag of frozen green beans

- 6-8 oz. of cubed cooked turkey breast

- 1 can of organic cream of mushroom soup

- 2 cups Kraft all natural fat free cheese

- Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients into a casserole dish and bake for about 30 minutes or until completely hot. Makes one male serving and two female servings.

 

 

 

Have a great Thanksgiving!!

 

CouleeRegionBootCamps.com

Ok, I don’t mean to get too scientific, but this is super important. You see, while busting the belly flab does take effort, it’s not nearly as hard as people make it out to be.

Seriously, the most important part of the process is arming yourself with the CORRECT knowledge. If you know how your body works…why it stores belly flab…what actually causes it to burn off…you’re a whole lot better off.

Now, I know there are a ton of so-called experts out there that are confusing the heck out of you. I know a lot of people tell you different things.  It can be as frustrating as all get out. But if you follow these simple rules and burn them into your brain things will be a lot different.

Anyway, let’s get to today’s easy lesson. Check this out:

- Increased Protein intake triggers the hormone Glucagon.

- This, in turn, prevents the spiking of your Insulin (which is also a hormone) levels.

- Which simply means you minimize the chance of storing blood sugar as fat.

In other words, eat more protein and you bust the belly flab. Sure, there’s more to it than that, but that is the crux of it. And so long as you understand the basics you can KEEP the belly flab from coming back.

When you only eat carbs your Insulin levels go through the roof. And all that blood sugar (that’s what the carbs turn into after you’ve eaten them) which isn’t needed by your body MUST go somewhere. Yup, it goes to your belly; or your butt; or your hips; or your thighs…

The best part is, it’s not very hard to consume more protein. In fact, it’s pretty darn easy. A high quality protein powder will do just the trick.

As you’ve probably heard, my buddies over at Prograde Nutrition have launched their new Prograde Protein powder this week. I wanted to be sure you knew today is the last day you can get it at 10% off. Yeah, they were offering a discount on it just this week to celebrate it’s arrival. But the offer ends TONIGHT at 11:59pm EST so hurry over to http://couleeregionbootcamps.getprograde.com/protein-powder.html to take advantage of it.

Yours in health,

Anthony

PS – I cannot recommend Prograde Protein (hyperlink to http://couleeregionbootcamps.getprograde.com/protein-powder.html)  highly enough. These guys create the highest quality products out there. Save 10% by getting yours right NOW before you forget

Milk has been consumed by humans for centuries.  Recently though, people have been making claims that the benefits of milk are just propoganda from the dairy industry.  That dairy contains dangerous hormones that can negatively affect our health. 

So which side is right?  Men’s Health recently shared some research results that show milk it the power house food many of us have known.

http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/dairy_products/?cm_mmc=DosefNL-_-2009_10_12-_-HTML-_-dek

So is Men’s Health speaking the truth, or are they drinking the milk kool-aid?  I believe milk is one of nature’s finest food. It is a great source of protein and calcium.  But I grew up on a dairy farm so maybe I am biased.

Anyways… what about all the millions of people that are lactose intolerant.  They say our bodies are not made to digest milk.  True, SOME people may not be able to digest milk properly.  However, those  people are having trouble digesting pasteurized, homogenized milk.  Studies have shown that people who are lactose intolerant can comsume and digest milk that has not been pasteurized (raw milk) much easier.  So maybe its not milk, but pasteurization that is the problem.  Pasteurization kills most of the bacteria that is in milk.  This is done to protect against certain diseases that are caused by bacteria that can very rarely be found in milk.  The interest fact is The US has more cases of these diseases than other countries that do not pasteurize.  

I am starting to ramble, but the point is this.  Milk is very beneficial for your body.  For healthy bones, strong muscles and to lose fat.  Raw milk is even more beneficial to your body as it is easier to digest for lactose intolerant individuals.  Raw milk has contains many beneficial bacteria that would otherwise be killed during pasteurization.  This beneficial bacteria (probiotics) is essential to proper intestinal and gut health.  When you consider that over 75% of your immune system is in your digestive tract, this seems like a good thing.

But Anthony, where do I get raw milk? I thought it was illegal to buy & sell in most states?

Glad you asked.  It is illegal to buy and sell raw milk in Wisconsin and most other states in the US.  However, many farms allow you to become members of their “coop” for a small fee and that gives you the right to purchase rights to their milk.  That is perfectly legal.  So it you live in the La Crosse area I suggest checking out St. Brigid’s Meadow.  We purchase raw milk from them and it is phenomenal!!  They are also certified organic.  So go to their website http://www.stbrigidsmeadows.com/ and check them out.  They are more than happy to have vistitors and show you around the farm.  It’s what farms should be like.   If you do happen to decide to purchase product from them, tell them Anthony Dix sent you.  I don’t know if it will do any good, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

Traditional resistance training workout specify one exercise at a time.  We call this “straight sets”.  Your start with one exercise and perform a certain number of reps and then rest for a certain amount of time depending on your goals. Rest periods are shorter for fat loss and longer for building strength and/or power. Then repeat the process for that exercise and move to another and do the same thing.

You might say “What wrong with that?”  Well, straight sets are simple to understand and have been utilized for many years by some very strong people.  However, they are very inefficient.  If you walk into any commercial gym on Monday (international chest day), you’ll see someone perform three sets of 10 reps on the bench press.  They do their 10 reps, go to the water fountain, check themselves out in the mirror, pretend to watch Sportcenter highlights while trying to get the attention of that cardiobunny on the treadmill, and then finally wander back to do another 10 reps.  This takes 3-5 minutes each time meaning 3 sets might take up to 15 minutes.  This is only one movement.  Performing four movements take an entire hour! 

Using alternating sets would make this workout more effective and efficient.  Perform one exercise, take a short rest, perform a different exercise that is non-competing with the first, rest again and repeat.  By working two different areas of your body, you are allowing for proper rest between sets and increasing your workload.  As a results you get increased training economy and density.  Increasing the training density allows you to perform more work in less time and is crucial to any fat loss program.  Alternating sets can be structures as shown below:

 1.)     Supersets: Alternate between two different non-competing exercises (e.g. upper body and lower body such as pull-up and squats)

 2.)     Trisets: Alternate between three different exercises (e.g. push, pull, and lower body such as push-ups, rows, and lunges)

 3.)     Circuits: Alternate between four or more different exercises

Supersets and trisets are great options, but I believe that circuits are the most effective option every time. To demonstrate, let’s examine one of my favorite circuit training templates using timed set intervals:

The 50-10 Five Exercise Circuit: You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for all five exercises in the following 5-minute circuit:

Exercise#1- Squats

Exercise#2- Dips

Exercise#3- Single-Leg Hip Extensions

Exercise#4- Pull-ups

Exercise#5- Leg Raises

Perform this circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.

So instead of only completing the bench press in 15 minutes, you performed three sets of five exercises!  The intensity stayed high due to getting 4 minutes before repeating an exercise.

The key for fat loss is to create the optimal hormonal environment.  This is done by performing high intensity exercises with minimal rest in order to get as much work done is as little time as possible.  The best way to accomplish this is with circuit training.  It stand alone for gaining lean mass and maximizing fat loss.  Use the following template I use with my boot camps for some killer, yet simple fat loss circuits:

Exercise#1- Double-Leg

Exercise#2- Push

Exercise#3- Single-Leg

Exercise#4- Pull

Exercise#5- Core

I’ll be sharing some great circuit training workouts from my boot camps in the weeks to come

 Anthony