Protein is always talked about differently. Some people say its good for you, others say its bad. No matter what, it BUILDS MUSCLE!

So the other day I get approached by a 200 lbs guy who is pretty muscular. He starts asking me about protein and whats my take on it. He told me he picked up his protein intake to 500 grams a day (his carbs were at about 450 grams a day). But for some reason he started gaining pudgy weight as well as muscle. So I asked him why did he pick it up so high. Well he read on a musclemag that one of his favorite bodybuilders has been getting amazing results with 500-600 grams of protein a day, so he did it.

I hated to do it but I had to tell him the truth about it all. You cant copy what these guys do because they got great results from it. The truth is protein is KING  for building lean muscle but just like anything else, eating too much of it could spill over to fat. But why is the bodybuilder I like still real lean? he asked. Well the bodybuilder is weighing about 275 lbs and on top of that has a nasty little secret. Well now a days its no secret, the guys on steroids. Steroid hormones work by stimulation of receptor molecules in muscle cells, which activate specific genes to produce proteins . They also affect the activation rate of enzyme systems involved in protein metabolism, thus enhancing protein synthesis and inhibiting protein degradation (called an anti-catabolic effect). So in a nutshell this guys body can use alot more protein than you can. Opened his eyes a bit.

Truth is protein is good for you but there are alot of ways people eat too much without even realizing it. What most people dont know is that there are tons of other foods that have great protein sources in it. Trust me when I realized it, it made me glad I didnt have to eat 9 eggs anymore. Cut it down to about 6 . So say a person tries to eat 20 grams of protein in a meal. Well if they have quinoa (yummy stuff, full of complete protein, great carb source) and some almond butter, a serving of each of that comes out to about 12 grams of protein. So instead of eating 5 egg whites along with that, they would need just 2. But when you dont realize it all, youll take in about 32 grams and another 60 grams of carbs, an awesome meal for the skinny guy trying to bulk up, not so awesome for the person looking for fat loss.

Now it depends on your body type wether your a hardgainer (just like it sounds, its hard for you to build muscle) or someone who gains bodyweight easily. But the general rule is 1 gram of protein per pound in men, and .85 per pound for women. Now some women who workout intensley or compete in figure or sports can go up to 1 or 1.5 per pound. If your looking to build shoot for around 1.5 and an awesome thing for all the skinny guys is they can shoot for up to 2! An advantage of being a hardgainer is getting to eat tons of food Protein shakes are awesome because they can replace meals and also if you are serious about losing weight and building lean muscle YOU NEED IT! Quality shakes absorb faster and help your muscles recover faster. Thats why I prefer before and after a workout. Before to fuel your muscles to get ready for a workout, and after to repair them.

When your looking for a shake you need to look for quality, dont buy into those 5 gallons of protein for 30 bucks! If you buy it, hate to break it to ya but you just bought 5 gallons of crap! Go to the family owned G.N.C’s and ask them which would be best for you. If you get a chance, ask for Hugo. Really friendly guy that always wants to help. Im a big research guy and im really picky about what I eat or take, well so is Hugo. So if he recommends me something then I wont hesitate because I know I dont have to worry about being sold crap!

An awesome thing he told me is that they came out with a new line of supplements just for women. And the great thing is its perfect for ACTIVE women. Women who seriously workout! Got some of my campers on it already and they love it. The line is called BE-ENHANCED. And I think its the next best thing since rib-eye steaks! SERIOUSLY!

And for you fellas dont think they forgot about you. Like I said im really picky on what I eat or take and extra picky about my supplements. I used to actually buy 3 seperate proteins and each from different places and costing about 50 bucks! So in total id spend about 150 bucks for just a MONTHS supply! CRAZY! But it was an awesome combo! Well Hugo got me onto Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60. Its basically all the 3 things id mix together but its a crapload cheaper (seriously), and tastes alot better. Been getting great recovery and great results from it.

Next time ill go in deeper about extra ways to make your protein work even harder for you

If you have any questions about any of this leave me a comment here. I love questions

P.S. Camps are starting up again July first with 6 spots left. It wont be like that for long though

P.S.S. An ineresting point: 30 days from now youll either be a month older and possibly a few pounds heavier, or, you can be a 5-10 pounds lighter and 30 days closer to a sexier you. You decide which one you would rather be one month from now. Make sure to make the right choice and call 210-627-0217 or visit www.getsexysanantonio.com

Alright so we covered about working on the inside. Now its time to get the body. Its no secret, most people workout to look better naked, and theres nothing wrong with that. When you take care of your outside, you make your inside healthier.

So one of the biggest secrets that gets my clients amazing results is our workouts. Our workouts are full body interval workouts which burn 9x more fat than standard training in less the time. Who wants to be there for 2-3 hours. The reason we do full body is to get optimum fat loss while toning muscle. Intervals are shorter but more intense and are FUN. Alot of my clients already know once I say todays gonna be FUN, then it means its gonna be a tough and awesome workout. But then again, I say that everyday

This is one of our beginner workouts. I call it my rookie blitz

The great thing is they are designed for any fitness level. If I write more than one excercise on one line it means you can choose which one you wanna do depending on what level you are.

Warmup:20 seconds on 10 seconds off, rest 1 min then repeat for another round

• Jump clap
• kneeling pushup, pushup
• hip extension
• plank

phase 1: 20 seconds on 10 seconds off, rest a minute then repeat again

• kneeling pushup, pushup, plank to pushup (remember choose what fitness level you are)
• stationary lunge (3o seconds per leg)
• mountain climbers

Phase 2: jumbo 5! 30 seconds on 10 seconds off, take a minute rest then repeat again

• prisoner squat ( A squat with hands behind your head)
• plank
• cross crawl ( just standing and touching your opposite elbow to opposite knee, then alternate)
• 1 leg hip extension (30 seconds per leg)
• side plank (30 seconds per side)

All in all this workout should last you a good 30 min. Remember shorter more intense workouts are key

Nobody wants to be a cardio junky and stay on the eliptical for 2 hours. Or the worst thing ever invented, THE GAZELLE! (other than the Snakes on A Plane movie and the snuggie)

Now since ive been getting great feedback on this miniseries im putting up a challenge. The only way ill post part 3 is if I get at least 20 comments on this post. And trust me part 3 is gonna be a good one

Just a quick update as Im super busy today! Got a lot of things in store for you these next couple of months!

But first a fishing weekend and then a birthday next week! Mine! Im not real excited about it like everyone sais I should be, I dont feel any different. Ill finally be a big boy though . Even though ill turn 21 Ill probably still be the only guy at a party or a bar with a protein shake instead of a beer! Its funny after all these years ill still head to chuck e cheese for my birthday!

On another note im getting ready for a big fitness presentation for the Texas Center for Infectious Disease’s wellness program. Should be fun

Camps are going awesome and the results were getting is AMAZING!!!!!! Excited to open the floodgates and let new people in the camps for our new july session

Well thats all for now, im off to a couple of client coaching calls then my day really starts! Have a great weekend

This topic has been bugging me for a while. I get people telling me all the time, oh why do you drink tap water its gross and full of germs!

Ok tap water isnt the best water out there, but I think we all need a little rocket fuel once in a while. Itll add a little pep to your step

I cant count how many times I see people head to sams and buy like 15 cases of bottled water every month. Wow! The funny thing is people think its healthier and cleaner getting bottled water when in reality, your much better off drinking tap water.

Ok let me give you the run down. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) did a four year study on the bottled water industry including its bacterial and contamination problems. What they found opens up your eyes. A big thing that caught my eye right away was FDA rules on bottled water are generally less strict than tap water rules. FDA’s head bottled water regulator estimates that FDA has just one half of a person (full-time equivalent or FTE) per year dedicated to bottled water regulation. Similarly, bottled water compliance is a low priority for FDA, so specific figures are not kept for resources dedicated to ensuring it meets standards.

Check out some of the contaminants the study found in these “pure bottled water companies”.

Arsenic

Chloroform

Nitrate

Feces

Insect parts

The list goes on. Whats even crazier is that there is some contaminants that are by law monitored in tap water but not required to by bottled water.

To top it off some people actually go broke just to buy some bottled water. Americans spent 15billion dollars on tap water. Thats more than they spent on Ipods!

Ill stick with my tap water. But if you have to drink pure water ill give you my best tip. GET A WATER PURIFIER! Its about a 30-40 dollar investment. I say investment because it lasts you about 2-3 months before you have to change the filter. If you spend about 40-50 bucks a month on bottled water, doesnt it make more sense to pay 30 dollars and have an extra 50 bucks a month to use on other things?

Think about it

So unlike people think, getting sexy is an art! Your not born with it! It doesnt take alot of time to master this art but the main thing is to focus on your 3 parts!

Theres 3 stages. Inner, body, and outer.

Inner is the way you feel about yourself. If you think you look like shit, then your gonna give off that vibe. Sorry but its true. No matter what you gotta work on the inside if your ever gonna be comfortable with your outside.

Dont worry about those 80lbs models on tv. The point is to have some sexy lean muscle. Whats so sexy about being able to see your backbone! Just think of this equation, MUSCLE=SEXY / GRIM REAPER BONY=SCARY

So dont get caught up in all the model hype, curves are good. Its all about how you see yourself.

Call me crazy but I have a mexican guy with a real heavy accent say Jonathan is #1, his muscles are #1 about 100 times before I start my day ( just like ramses in nacho libre before a fight)

Ok  the guy with the real heavy accent saying that is actually me in front of the mirror but its all the same. Point is a little bit of affirmations go far. The best blog I go to learn more about improving myself is Randy Gage’s blog. Google him, youll learn alot about yourself.

Once you take care of your inner self, step 2 is body

So right off the bat I gotta tell ya prevention is the best way to get rid of a cold! Get all your vitamins and antioxidants so your immune system is in high gear!

Well the other day I woke up sick. Like someone just stuck a lit match down my throat! I didnt think anything of it, maybe just allergies or something. Ive been real busy getting alot of my new projects off the ground that I didnt pay attention to the rest of the symptoms. My energy was real low so I ate alot more carbs thinking the extra 5lbs of muscle I gained caused me to use more energy. Then my nose was runny so I blamed it on the cayenne pepper and humidity outside( like if that has anything to do with it). So the next morning sure enough I woke up full blown sick!

I felt like this guy was having a better day than me!

From my experience the only way to get through a cold is to pamper yourself! Yes pamper yourself. Relax, take hot baths, eat good tasting food( Dont worry youll burn it off when you get better and hit your workouts 10x harder, or maybe thats just me), watch movies, laugh as much as you can, lay around on the couch!

I ate some cracker barrel steak and veggies which was actually pretty healthy so I guess this cold isnt as bad. Then I sat around and brainstormed of new things to do. Create an E-book for all the people not able to my camps, Work on a youtube channel of workouts, Work on a partnership with a chef, See how many spins my cat can do before he runs into a wall, Throw an egg at my neighbors car, you know the usual stuff.

I saw the new movie the hangover! It was awesome! Couldnt stop laughing through the whole movie! I say go watch it! Even if your not sick.

Ok so the real way to get rid of a cold quick is simple. Its helped me get over a cold plenty of times. I learned this from a good friend of mine Hugo from the family owned GNC’s here in SA. Real smart guy, if you get a chance stop by one of the family owned GNC’s and ask for him, pick his brain a bit hell be happy to help. Anyways a good trick he taught me was double or even triple up on your multivitamins. You should already be taking your multi’s but as soon as you even get the slightest hint of feeling sick start doubling up on it. If you take it once a day( which you shouldnt, theres no such thing as taking a one a day) then take it twice, or if you take 2 a day then take it 3 times. It gives your body an abundance of vitamins that give your immune system a supercharge! Also try to keep your diet on track so if you cant eat whole foods, drink meal replacement shakes. And tons of tea. Either green tea or white tea whatever choice you like, it helps give you the extra antioxidants you need.

Now im no doctor so dont come asking me “How do I cure this  lump on my arm?” Ill probably tell you to rub some protein powder on it and ask your doctor!

Hope this helps!

“Im not a crunch kinda guy, but todays a crunch kinda day!”  Those are the exact words I said to my 6am bootcamp.

Its true! I dont like crunches and everything you heard about getting abs with crunches is a myth! You can get sexy abs without doing crunches at all! That doesnt mean you dont do anything for your core, just not goofy crunches. I had a client come to me a long time ago asking me why he cant get abs but his cousin can and miraculously lose 10lbs after doing 200 crunches a night. First of all your cousin is lying! Sorry to break it to ya but he probably does our camps second of all you dont lose bodyfat by doing crunches. I can go on and on about how to get abs without cruches but I did that earlier so you can check that out here.

Well even though im not a big fan of crunches, there are sometimes that I do use them with my workouts to give a different stimulus. But even then these arent your average crunches

So heres what you do. This is a circuit of 4 of the most effective crunch like ab exercises. Shoot for 20 reps of each move, the thing is they are circuits so each move as to be back to back bam bam bam! If 20 reps is alot shoot for 12-15 till your body get pretty good at them

First move is a basic crunch

Then Side to Side MB Floor Touch (Im sure everyones tried these at least once)

Next we have Windshiel Wipers (Its exactly how it sounds, feet in the air and do a windshield wiper motion. Go as far as you comfortably can before going to the other side)

And the last one is V-Sit Backward Arm Circles (Basically you start off seated like this, and stay seated like this. The only thing that moves is your arms. While seated this way do big arm circles but backwards in a clockwise motion. Each rotation counts as one.)

Remember though, the key is to do these exercises back to back! No breaks in between. When your done with the final exercise then you can take a minute break!

Add these to your routine and see how you feel the next day

P.S. If you really want an effective crunch exercise that works you out in just one move let me know down here on the comment box, Its a secret

I had a great weekend! I went down to my hometown to see my little bro graduate. Finally hes a big boy! It was great because I got to sit back and relax for a bit. Been so busy getting all these new things goin that I havent gotten a chance to just kick back. It was great!

Sometimes you dont realize how much you need rest. Time to recharge your batteries. It makes me wanna come back and hit the ground running! Same thing with your workouts, you need rest days. If your always beating up your body then how is it supposed to recover and repair. Remember you dont change your body while your working out, thats where the damage and stress gets done. While your resting is when your body is changing, repairing muscles and all the good stuff.

More is not always better. Think about it, if your working out hardcore 7 days a week, when is your rest time? And then you wonder why your body isnt changing, your not giving it time to change!

Well this weekend Im getting ready to head to Austin to hang out with a good friend of mine. Monica Brant-Peckham. If you dont know her shes one of the most famous fitness/figure competitors in the world. So I decided that while im hanging out with her, maybe some of yall had any questions to ask her.

So this is your chance to ask the most important woman in womens fitness anything you want.

So leave your questions down here on this comment box and let me know whats on your mind.

Thanks everyone

Hey everybody! Getting ready for some early morning cardio after camp. Yeah I said cardio. If you really know me youll know that I HATE cardio! I like that I do high intensity interval cardio cause it works and is only 20 min long at the most. But it is one of those tasks that has to be done. Kinda like washing dishes, throwing out the trash, cutting grass, and all the other chores you had to do when you were little. For me it was more like feed the goats, pick up pipes, help build fences, feed the horses and cows, and last but not least stop throwing rocks at the chickens.

So I wanted to give yall something real special today! Something really valuable. And what better to give than my fat loss in a nutshell guide! It is a set of rules to follow that will instantly start shedding fat faster than my cat sheds his hair! Poor guy, hes balding, I wonder if its all the stress from having a pink collar with a pink bell. No wonder hes angry.

This is a quick guide to follow that will get you on track fast, even if you dont have a plan.

1. Eat every 3-4 hours. Im sure youve heard it everywhere. But do you actually do it? I mean seriously stick to it. If your doing it right, you should be hungry by the time 2 hours hits, Well I know I am at least. Im not giving you a magic number or a made up one, heres why its 3-4 hours. Your body digests food and uses is it as fuel in about 3 hours, after that it needs to get refueled kinda like a car. So by feeding it you boost your metabolism and keep your body fueled. Let me give you a scenario. If your stranded on an Island, and I feed you at 8am, then dont feed you till 9am, then the next day when I feed you at 8am what are you gonna do with some of the food? Your gonna save some right, cause you dont know when your next meal is gonna be. Well your body is the same way, if you dont feed it regularly then it doesnt know when its next meal is coming so it starts storing fat for energy. Can you blame it?
2. Eat protein! Youve gotta eat protein every 3-4 hours. Reason is your body needs protein to build and maintain muscle and to keep a positive nitrogen balance. If you dont feed it protein then your body pulls nitrogen out of your own muscles by breaking them down. Basically all that hard work you did in the gym gets taken away! Your body doesnt care about muscle, it sees it as a liability so thats the first thing that goes. The bastard!
3. The 90/10 rule. Basically if you eat clean 90% of the time then you can afford to mess up 10% of the time. So if you eat 6 meals a day 7 days a week. Then 10% equals to about 4 meals. But only 4 meals, dont let it start turning to 5 and 6. One important thing, let me tell you what counts as cheating, and unplanned meal or skipping a meal. So really I mean 90%!
4. Set a goal with a DEADLINE! I made this mistake for years. Id have tons of goals but never deadlines so my goals were never reached. Id always say one day, one day. Then one day turned into, man I shoulda done this or that. Setting a deadline tricks your mind into making it 100x more important and 100x more likely to reach it.
5. Track your progress. I mean if you dont know what your starting point is how are you gonna know if you got to your ending point. Personally I like using pictures as progress. Those damn cameras dont lie, they tell it like it is. Another way is measurements and clothes sizes. Dont rely on the scale too much.
6. Surround yourself with support! Surround yourself with like minded people or people who accomplished what you want to. This is one of the main reason why my campers have great success
7. Make it fun! Fitness and nutrition should be fun! Isnt it exciting to see your body change and look better naked! Dont turn it into a chore.
8. And last is DO IT! Just get out there and go! Be active, start a program or a bootcamp . Nothing is ever perfect, so if your waiting to exercise because you want it to be perfect then nothings gonna happen!

That is the simplest way I can put it and it is one of the most effective! Not just cause I wrote it, but Ive used it countless times with myself and clients for awesome results!

P.S. The coolest thing happened to me the other day. I was walking to my car and this huge like 6 foot guy comes walking straight towards me and fast. So im thinking great this guys gonna come and stomp on me or something. So right once he gets close he starts picking up his hand, and when finally gets to me it looks like the guy was about slap me on the top of my head! It wasnt till He stopped it at the top that I realized oh this guys just giving me a high five! Then he yelled thanks man! My wifes in your bootcamp and she looks awesome! So I jumped up and gave him a high five and he walked away! It was the coolest and funniest thing.

So I just got back from my weekend in my home town and I almost got caught in a massive storm!

This is gonna be a quick one today, been real busy with the new boerne camps and the starting of the new sessions in my SA ones. So right now im making all my food for the week and getting some last minute things ready for tomorrow.

Ok so the other day I was talking to a good friend of mine and he’s a really cool guy so we have alot of interesting conversations. We got to talking about goals and things we would like to accomplish. So I said the usual you know keep getting my clients awesome results, Keep my own workouts awesome, world domination, you know the usual.

Well he just hit me with this question that left me speechless. For those of you that know me I talk alot. And his question got me thinking and opened my mind a little bit. Im really curious though. Im curious to know what is yall’s answer to this question.

You ready, here it is:

If you couldn’t fail at anything, what would you do?

A simple question right. Until you really think about it. Now the witty sophisticated guy that I am, my first answer was I would join a food eating contest, or I’d be a superhero. Until I started thinking about it. It put me in a whole new mindset and made me think of the outcome instead of the task to get to the outcome and suddenly things seemed alot easier. Crazy huh.

Well what would you do? Let me know, post your comments down here, I’d love to hear what yall would do.

P.S. New camps are starting and its gonna be awesome, new things in store!