Accepting Online Clients

I am now accepting online clients again.  If you are interested email me at [email protected] Here is a rundown of the new programs I'm offering.

Nutritional Regimen
$200.00 (program only)

* Personalized Nutritional regimen (6 week plan)
* Grocery List
* Custom made  for each individual client (once a week emails to monitor progress along with digital pictures)
* Regimen based specifically on client’s goals, stats and preferences

Training Program
$200.00 (program only)

* Personalized Training program (6 week plan)
* Custom-made for each individual client (once a week emails to monitor progress along with digital pictures)
* Program based specifically on client’s goals, stats, experience and ability level.

Nutritional Regimen, Training Program + 10 weeks Online Training
$550.00

* Personalized Nutritional regimen and Training program
* Grocery List
* Custom made for each individual client
*  Supplementation Guidance
* 10 weeks unlimited email access to me for questions, concerns and minor changes to optimize results.
* Fitness Coaching

Weekly Progression Update

Another great week of workouts.  Today I'm taking off and getting some rest and relaxation in.  I'm happy with this week's progress even though it's nothing drastic I'm still tightening up in certain areas.  I still have fat to lose around my lower back (that I've never gotten rid of) around my abs, and lower pec area around the arm pit.  This week I'll be making a few changes on my nutrition menu.  I'll be switching the broccoli to baby leaf spinach and today is my last day of chicken thigh meat   Also, I got my Karbolyne in the mail yesterday so I'll be supplementing that for a post workout immediate carbohydrate. This will be week 3 with this nutrition plan but only the second full week of no cheat meals.  I have to say this is the first time EVER that I feel that I have my nutrition on point.  Every time in the past I would feel so depleted and sick that I convinced myself I needed lots of junk food every weekend to make me feel better.  In turn it did nothing but slow me down. This time around my body is working properly and I'm excited to keep progressing!   When your on your own journey of progression remember to be patient.  Rome wasn't built over night.  I know at times it can be frustrating and it's a hell of a lot easier to say screw it but TRUST ME it's worth it to stick it out and keep working hard.  If it were easy everyone would have amazing physiques. I hope everyone had a awesome week and are having a fun and safe weekend.

HAPPY JULY 4TH!!

First off I want to say Happy 4th of July everyone.  I hope that everyone is enjoying themselves and living life to the fullest! Quick tip if your going to drink make sure to stick with a zero calorie beverage.  Clear liquors w/diet soda or other zero calorie mixers are a good choice.  One thing that has held me up in the past is drinking then late night eating.

July/3/2011 - Nashville,TN

Just remember that late night drunken junk food eating will lead to FAT GAIN and slow your progress as it has done to me.  Also a couple pointers about my nutrition plan.  I weigh my red meats before cooking.  So it is 6oz uncooked.  My chicken and turkey are weighed cooked. Tonight my drink of choice is Ciroc Vodka with Diet Coke & Lime.  We are all headed to a block party here in East Nashville.  Everyone have a great and safe July 4th weekend!!  NEVER GIVE UP FOR WHAT YOU STRIVE FOR!

Here is a picture I took today.  Getting closer to where I want to be.  Still have some more fat to drop.

If it’s not BROKE don’t FIX it…

December 1 2010

At the beginning of January if you followed my website you would see that I started experimenting with a lot of different varieties of foods and nutrition plans.  I even convinced myself that fasting was the best thing since sliced bread.  Through all of my experimentation, about a week ago I made the decision to go back to what I KNOW works best for my body and what has given me the best results.  After going back on my website and looking at my old progress pictures from right before I left for NYC to shoot in the first week of December, it was very clear to me that all the other bullshit that I'd been trying was not working.  I'm a firm believer in experimenting and trying new methods as long as you're documenting your progress with pictures and writing stuff down so at times like this you can go back and realize where you were and what you did to get there.  In a nut shell, I know I said I was tired of measuring out everything and the smaller meals led to more cravings but I've learned that I never was taking in the correct amount of nutrients.  Deprivation is what leads me to the cravings and feeling like shit.  Now I'm not knocking down Lean Gains because I still think it's a great approach but I built my physique over the past 7 years with basic bodybuilding nutrition.  That's why I say if it's not broke don't fix it!

LeanGains Results

As I stated in a previous post I wanted to post a before and after picture of what the lean gains diet approach has done for me.  I'm still experimenting with different amounts of food.  My advice would be to do the same for yourself if your giving this diet approach a try.  I suggest to maximize results carbohydrate cycling is still a absolute must.  I never weighed anything out getting ready for this except measuring my oats and rice.  I'm going to continue to get leaner as I'm still not happy where I'm at but using the Lean Gains diet approach has definitely been the best discovery for myself.

May 15 2011 - 216lb

June 11 2011 - 200lb

Bodybuilding.com’s Fit Body Competition & Expo Weekend

June 11 2011 - Boise,ID

The days leading up to Friday June 10th and over the weekend I had a lot of time to reflect on the past couple of years and the progression of my life.  This time two years ago I was moving up to NYC with one goal in mind, to get signed with a top 10 agency and I figured all of my problems would be solved.  Little did I know at the time that was just the beginning of my ultimate downfall and throughout that year would be the lowest point of my life.  Fast forward to around this time last year and I was just getting out of my funk and was planning on going back to school because I figured that was the best solution for my perplexed way of thinking at the time.

June 11 in hotel room

A year later  I never would have thought that through my trials and tribulations that I would be able to be an inspiration to so many people from all over the world.  Within a short amount of time I got back to my passion which is the fitness lifestyle and started personal training people again and started this blog in November 2010.  So all of this being said, being a part of Bodybuilding.com's Fit Body Competition was a great experience for me as well as a reminder that I'm moving in the right direction.

June 11 2011 - Boise,ID

It was great meeting everyone and seeing friends within the fitness industry.  Congratulations to Scott Dorn for winning.  This was the first time I'd met him and he's an awesome person and was in insane shape. After the competition Suzanne and I found a pizza place and managed to spend 90$ on two pizzas and three deserts.  I had a couple of beers myself and we went back to the room full and sleepy.  The next day we went to Gold's Gym and I hit some chest and biceps.  I got one of the best pumps I had gotten in a while from the extra food.  So up next  for me is June 24th weekend photographer Paul Reitz is coming down to Nashville to shoot me for a couple of days.  I'm very excited and looking forward to getting back in front of the camera.

Quick Update

I entered a Men's Health online Fittest Friends on Facebook competition this morning so when you get a chance please VOTE and remember you can vote once a day. Check it out here

Also I just found out this morning that I'm considered one of the top 10 most inspirational physiques on the top fitness site Simply Shredded.  Make sure to check that out here

News Update 5/29/2011

It's been about 2 full weeks of taking on the leangains approach and only about one full week of eating extremely clean. My body is changing daily and I'm finally getting rid of my stubborn lower abdominal and lower back body fat.  I've never been able to achieve the condition of a complete six pack and I can tell I'm well on my way with this approach.  Someone commented on my video from yesterday saying that they don't think this diet is working for me that I don't look as ripped.  My response is to be patient. Just two weeks ago I was on a seefood diet.  Anything I would see I would eat lol (for my one meal warrior's diet).  I usually enjoy going out every weekend and having drinks and restaurant food.  This has been the first weekend I have not done that.  I am confident that in 15 days I will be in best condition I've ever been in.  Shortly after the Fit Body competition I might be going to Universe Weekend in Miami,FL June 18th weekend to host.  The reason it's still a might because it hasn't been confirmed yet.  June 24th weekend photographer Paul Reitz that I've shot with 2 times in NYC is coming down to Nashville to shoot me for two days. Here is picture I took yesterday at the gym.  I'm weighing 207lb on an empty stomach.

May 28 - Gym 5, Nashville TN

Bodybuilding.com’s Fit Body Competition

I just found out yesterday that I'm one of the 20 finalists (10 men,10 women) to compete in person on June 11 in Boise,Idaho.  This will be a great opportunity for me and I'm very excited.  In the email they said there was close to 300 people from all over the world that entered.  This has given me a whole new motivation to workout even harder. Click here for complete details about the show!

New approach to eating…

Over the past couple of weeks a friend of mine Kenton, also a trainer, has been doing the Warrior diet and he kept telling me I should give it a try.  Just like most people would be I was very skeptical and figured there's no way in hell that I would be able to eat one large meal and get into top shape while maintaining my muscle mass.  After reading about it and really just being in need of a breath of fresh air to try something different, I took the plunge to give it a shot.  I tried it out for four days.   In a nutshell, the Warrior Diet is controlled fasting with just eating one large meal a day.   During the day I was having blueberries, blackberries, grapefruit, and 1-2 protein shakes.  At night time for my large meal on Thursday, I had 5-6 chicken parmesan breasts and 2 sweet potatoes. Friday I went out to eat at a sushi restaurant and had 4 sushi rolls and 2 house salads and when I got home I made some protein pancakes. Saturday night I had a half of a large pizza and a rack of baby back ribs. And finally, last night (my last night of warrior diet) I had homemade baked ziti.   After doing a lot of research over the weekend, I've decided to go with the Lean Gains approach of eating and lifestyle. The reason why I've done a complete switch up in my style of eating is because I'm burnt out on the traditional "bodybuilding/fitness" style of dieting and having to weigh my food out all the time.  Eating several small meals a day lead me to have more cravings, shitty workouts when feeling depleted from low carbs, and always wanting more food.  This to me is not a way to live life and it's something that I don't want to deal with for the rest of mine.  Will eating that way get your in shape? Yes, but as I stated before it would always lead me to overeating (and cravings) once I got my bodyfat down to a certain point.  Getting there is not the issue for me. Maintaining on a constant basis without driving myself crazy is.  The Leangains approach is intermittent fasting. It's 16 hours of fasting followed by an 8 hour eating window which will work out for me to eat about 3 meals a day.  My largest meal will be post workout with 2 smaller meals later on in the day.  I will be posting more information on this tomorrow along with my new food log and progress pictures every week so you can decide if this is something you would like to try too.  I'm excited to see if this will allow me to get to and stay at 5-6 percent bodyfat year round.