Calories, Carbs, & Alcohol Percentage in Your Favorite Beers

I'm pretty sure most people have one "go-to" beer they love, live by, and enjoy whenever it's available. For me it's Guinness....mmmmmm. I love Guinness because it's got a really creamy, rich taste with hints of chocolate and coffee. It's so freaking delicious! To be honest though, I think what I love even more about Guinness is that it has more flavor than any regular beer I've ever tasted, yet it only has a few more calories than most light beers. 125 calories per bottle...that's it. I'm glad to say I've found a healthier-ish beer that I really love. Check out the list below for the calories, carbs, and alcohol percentage in your own personal favorite beer, as well as a few of my recommended "lean" beers. Oh....and remember this, one beer every once in a while can actually help lower your LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) and have a positive impact on your health, so enjoy. Keep it to two or fewer though--drinking three of more beers diminishes the cholesterol lowering effects and promotes obesity, diabetes, cancer, and of course body fat gain.

All nutrition facts are per 12 oz. (standard bottle). Beers with a great combination of taste and low calories/carbs, aka lean beers, are highlighted in yellow.

• Amstel Light: 95 cals, 5g carbs, 3.5% ABV (alcohol by volume)
• Beck's Dark: 142 cals, 10g carbs, 4.8% ABV
• Beck's Oktoberfest: 135 cals, 8g carbs, 5% ABV
• Beck's Pilsner: 138 cals, 9g carbs, 5% ABV
• Beck's Premier Light: 63 cals, 3.8g carbs, 2.3% ABV
• Blue Moon Belgian White: 171 cals, 13g carbs, 5.4% ABV
• Blue Moon Nut Brown Ale: 169 cals, 13.5g carbs, 5.4% ABV
• Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale: 182 cals, 17.7g carbs, 5.8% ABV
• Budweiser: 145 cals, 10.6g carbs, 5% ABV
• Bud Ice: 148 cals, 8.9g carbs, 5.5% ABV
• Bud Ice Light: 110 cals, 6.5g carbs, 4.1% ABV
• Bud Light: 110 cals, 6.6g carbs, 4.2% ABV
• Bud Light Lime: 116 cals, 8g carbs, 4.2% ABV
• Bud Select: 99 cals, 3.1g carbs, 4.3% ABV
• Bud Select 55: 55 cals, 1.9g carbs, 2.4% ABV
• Busch: 133 cals, 10.2g carbs, 4.6% ABV
• Busch Light: 95 cals, 3.2g carbs, 4.1% ABV
• Colt 45 Canada: 223 cals, 14.5g carbs, 8.1% ABV
• Colt 45 Malt Liquor: 157 cals, 10.8g carbs, 5.6% ABV
• Coors Light: 102 cals, 5g carbs, 4.2% ABV
• Coors: 142 cals, 10.6g carbs, 5% ABV
• Corona Extra: 148 cals, 13g carbs, 4.6% ABV
• Corona Light: 106 cals, 5g carbs, 4.5% ABV
• Dos Equis XX Amber: 146 cals, 11.6g carbs, 4.8% ABV
• Dos Equis XX Large: 142 cals, 10.5g carbs, 4.8% ABV
• Foster's: 144 cals, 11.2g carbs, 5% ABV
• Guinness Draught: 126 cals, 10g carbs, 4% ABV
• Guinness Extra Stout: 176 cals, 14g carbs, 6% ABV
• Harp: 151 cals, 12.8g carbs, 5% ABV
• Heineken: 166 cals, 9.8g carbs, 5.4% ABV
• Heineken Light: 99 cals, 6.8g carbs, 3.5% ABV
• Icehouse: 132 cals, 8.7g carbs, 5% ABV
• Icehouse Light: 103 cals, 5.5g carbs, 4.1% ABV
• Killian's Irish Red: 163 cals, 14.4g carbs, 4.9% ABV
• Keystone Ice: 143 cals, 6.6g carbs, 5.9% ABV
• Keystone Light: 104 cals, 5.1g carbs, 4.2% ABV
• Magic Hat Beer #9: 153 cals, 14.2g carbs, 4.6% ABV
• Michelob Amber: 114 cals, 3.7g carbs, 5% ABV
• Michel Amber Boch: 166 cals, 15g carbs, 5.2% ABV
• Michelob Lager: 155 cals, 13.3g carbs, 5% ABV
• Michelob Light: 123 cals, 8.8g carbs, 4.3% ABV
• Michelob Ultra: 95 cals, 2.6g carbs, 4.2% ABV
• MGD 64: 64 cals, 2.4g carbs, 2.8% ABV
• Miller Chill: 110 cals, 6.5g carbs, 4.2% ABV
• Miller Genuine Draft: 143 cals, 13.1g carbs, 4.7% ABV
• Miller Genuine Draft Light: 110 cals, 7g carbs, 4.2% ABV
• Miller Lite: 96 cals, 3.2g carbs, 4.2% ABV
• Milwaukee's Best: 128 cals, 11.4g carbs, 4.3% ABV
• Milwaukee's Best Ice: 144 cals, 7.3g carbs, 5.9% ABV
• Milwaukee's Best Light: 98 cals, 3.5g carbs, 4.2% ABV
• Milwaukee's Best Premium: 128 cals, 11.4g carbs, 4.3% ABV
• Natural Ice: 157 cals, 8.9g carbs, 5.9% ABV
• Natural Light: 95 cals, 3.2g carbs, 4.2% ABV
• Newcastle Brown Ale: 138 cals, 12.8g carbs, 4.5% ABV
• Pabst Blue Ribbon: 153 cals, 12g carbs, 5% ABV
• Peroni: 150 cals, 11.4g carbs, 5% ABV
• Red Stripe: 153 cals, 14g carbs, 5% ABV
• Rolling Rock: 132 cals, 10g carbs, 4.5% ABV
• Sam Adams Boston Lager: 175 cals, 18g carbs, 4.9% ABV
• Sam Adams Cherry Wheat: 176 cals, 16.9g carbs, 5.3% ABV
• Sam Adams Cherry Stout: 195 cals, 24g carbs, 4.7% ABV
• Sam Adams Imperial Stout: 307 cals, 9.2% ABV
• Sam Adams Light: 119 cals, 9.7g carbs, 4.1% ABV
• Sam Adams Octoberfest: 183 cals, 19g carbs, 5.3% ABV
• Sam Adams Old Fezziwig Ale: 213 cals, 5.8% ABV
• Sam Adams Summer Ale: 162 cals, 10g carbs, 5.3% ABV
• Sam Adams White Ale: 166 cals, 17g carbs, 5.3% ABV
• Sam Adams Winter Lager: 200 cals, 20g carbs, 5.6% ABV
• Sapporo Premium: 140 cals, 10.3g carbs, 4.9% ABV
• Sol Cerveza: 143 cals, 11g carbs, 4.8% ABV
• Sierra Nevada Bigfoot: 330 cals, 30.3g carbs, 9.9% ABV
• Stella Artois: 154 cals, 11.6g carbs, 5.2% ABV
• Tecate: 142 cals, 12g carbs, 4.5% ABV
• Yuengling Ale: 145 cals, 10g carbs, 5% ABV
• Yuengling Premium: 135 cals, 12g carbs, 4.4% ABV
• Yuengling Light: 98 cals, 6.6g carbs, 3.8% ABV

If your favorite beer isn't here let me know and I'll get you the facts!

The Complete Guide to Red Bull Ingredients, Monster Ingredients

Surprising Fact of the Day: Last year 3.9 BILLION cans of Red Bull were consumed worldwide. 

That's pretty astonishing. I always knew Red Bull was popular...but that popular? Really? If you look around it's actually pretty interesting just how common it is to see someone drinking a Red Bull, Monster, or whatever other energy drink. If not that then it's one of those doofy looking Red Bull cars.

It's crazy just how frequently people rely on energy drinks to provide an extra boost of energy. What the majority of people don't realize though is that these drinks actually have a ton of other effects on the body other than providing an extra surge of energy. If you've ever taken the time to read the can you'll see ingredients like caffeine, taurine, l-carnitine, guarana, glucuronolactone, and a bunch of other ridiculous names. I'm pretty sure everyone's aware of caffeine's role in increasing alertness, attentiveness, and speeding up the heart and metabolism (click here for a detailed description of what caffeine does and how it works), but I really doubt that the ordinary consumer knows what l-carnitine or any of the other ingredients do. Well, voila...I have the answers! For every ingredient.

Monster

• Glucose and Sucrose - Quite simply...sugar. 
• Sodium Citrate - Used as a preservative and adds a sour/acidic taste. Responsible for the 200mg of sodium. Nothing too important.
• Taurine - Nonessential amino acid that plays a major role in brain tissue and nervous system function. Taurine is an incredibly strong antioxidant, acts as a blood thinner (reduces blood clots), and has been shown to decrease numerous risk factors for heart disease, such as LDL cholesterol (the bad kind), triglycerides, and blood pressure. It also acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter, which may help reduce the jitters associated with the high caffeine content. Taurine is NOT a stimulant. It's interesting, but taurine is most likely included to offset the rise in blood pressure and the jitters caused by the caffeine content. Thumbs up.
• Glucuronolactone - a metabolite produced by the body that boosts energy, increases the feeling of well-being, reduces drowsiness, and increases attentiveness/reaction time. Glucuronolactone also has a detoxifying effect on the liver and can help spare glycogen stores--stored carbohydrates that supply muscles with energy during intense workouts. Glucuronolactone = muscular endurance.
• Caffeine - Increases alertness, attentiveness, reaction time, heart rate, and metabolism, as well as the % of body fat burned (compared to carbs). It can also cause jitters and raise blood pressure. Monster contains 10mg caffeine/oz, so about 160mg per can. Red Bull contains 9.5mg caffeine/oz, so about 80mg per 8.4oz can (small).
• Inositol - Although it's not officially a part of the B-vitamin group, it's recognized as Vitamin B8. Inositol plays a major role in the formation of cell membranes, regulates proper fat and carb metabolism, and also helps prevent excess fat buildup in the liver. Inositol combines with choline to form a compound called lecithin, which helps reduce cholesterol levels. Interestingly, inositol is vital for proper hair growth and can help prevent constipation. Inositol has also been shown to improve mood and has been used in the treatment of depression and bi-polar disorder. Powerful stuff.
• Niacinamide (aka niacin/B3) - Niacin is an essential vitamin that's used for the metabolism of fats and carbohydrates, as well as fatty acid synthesis. It's also used to treat high cholesterol and certain skin conditions. 
• Calcium Pantothenate (aka Pantothenic Acid/B5) - Helps release energy from carbs and fat. Yay for energy production.
• Pyridoxine HCL (aka B6) - Important for amino acid/protein metabolism. B6 is especially important for people that eat high amounts of protein. Interestingly, B6 has been shown to increase the amount of growth hormone released as a result of exercise...phenomenal for anyone trying to put on muscle mass. 
• Vitamin B12 - Major source of energy for the body, supports new cell growth, and helps with the production of red blood cells. B12 is commonly used by athletes to boost energy production and increase power. 
• Guarana - Guarana is basically herbal caffeine. This stuff is potent. Guarana seeds contain 3x the amount of caffeine as coffee. Needless to say, guarana is a major stimulant and produces the same effects as caffeine. One important thing to note about guarana is that its caffeine content doesn't have to be included on the label, which results in higher than labeled amounts of caffeine. Drinks that combine guarana and caffeine, like Monster, are basically powerful "mega-stimulants."
• L-carnitine - I LOVE carnitine. Carnitine is a naturally occurring substance that helps release stored body fat (triglycerides) into the bloodstream to be used as energy. Physiologically, carnitine helps transfer long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria for energy production. What does all that mean? FAT BURNING!! Not only does carnitine help increase the rate of fat loss, but it has also been shown to increase muscular strength and endurance, increase energy levels, reduce muscular soreness, decrease appetite, and reduce the amount of amino acids used for energy, thus preserving muscle mass. Carnitine has also been proven to benefit cardiovascular health by improving blood flow. Carnitine is a phenomenal ingredient with a ton of beneficial effects...Monster did well with this one.
• Maltodextrin - Food additive that digests really quickly. Maltodextrin is an unhealthy additive because of its ability to quickly spike blood sugar levels, increase insulin levels, and increase the storage of body fat. Yuck...

Go ahead, enjoy an occasional Red Bull or Monster if you need that extra boost of energy, but don't overdo it. I also only support the low carb/low sugar varieties...the regular versions have absurdly high levels of sugar and are pretty high in calories...not good for staying lean and mean. 

Secret Superfood: Cinnamon

For some weird reason cinnamon has turned into the sidekick of about every baked dessert on earth. When you think about cinnamon what pops into your head? Cinnamon buns, cinnamon raisin bagels, apple-cinnamon pie, egg nog with cinnamon, yada yada yada...what the hell is going on!! No doubt cinnamon tastes absolutely phenomenal when paired with sweet, fatty, sugary deliciousness, but did you know that cinnamon is in fact one of the healthiest foods on earth? It's pretty incredible that a little sprinkle of brown, sweet-smelling, flavor-packed ground cinnamon can have so many potential health benefits. Here's to cinnamon and recreating its image as a health food. 

The Many Health Benefits of Cinnamon:

• Extremely high antioxidant content: Statistically, on a gram by gram basis, cinnamon has the third highest antioxidant content of any food or spice on earth. That's some powerful stuff. The high antioxidant content helps protect against early aging, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, inflammation, and a boatload of other health conditions (click here if you want the full story on antioxidants).
• Prevents excess blood clotting: The cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon prevents platelets from clumping up excessively, which can cause blockages and restrict blood flow. 
• Prevents inflammation and reduces arthritis pain: Cinnamon inhibits the body's release of arachidonic acid, a fatty acid that causes excessive inflammation in the body. Inflammation is most notably known for causing the pain that goes along with arthritis, but it also causes heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other health conditions.
• Kills bacteria and serves as a natural preservative: The oil in cinnamon can help kill many species of harmful bacteria, as well as prevent the growth of fungi. Not only does this kill nasty foodborne pathogens that often make people sick, but it also prevents foods from spoiling.
• Controls blood sugar, prevents type-2 diabetes, and reduces the storage of body fat: Cinnamon slows the rate at which carbs leave the stomach and reduces how fast blood sugar levels rise after you eat a meal. This is extremely beneficial because it helps minimize spikes in insulin levels, which reduces the potential for your body to store carbs as body fat. Keeping blood sugar levels under control also helps prevent the development of type-2 diabetes and decreases appetite. It's interesting to think about, but this is probably one of the reasons why sugary baked goods are so often made with cinnamon.
• Helps with weight management: Via controlled blood sugar levels, which reduces the storage of body fat and helps regulate hunger levels.
• Increases insulin sensitivity: Cinnamon helps improve the body's ability to respond to insulin. When the body begins to lose its ability to react to insulin, the product of repeatedly spiking blood sugar levels and releasing excess insulin, it embarks on the path towards type-2 diabetes. Cinnamon can help reduce this insulin resistance (aka increases the body's sensitivity to insulin). Considering just how fast the prevalence of diabetes is rising in the US, I think cinnamon should officially be added to all processed carbohydrates, sugary foods, cereals, and baked goods. Just saying.
• In people with type-2 diabetes, cinnamon has been shown to reduce levels of triglycerides, LDL cholesterol (bad) and total cholesterol, all of which are major risk factors for coronary heart disease: In 2003, the medical journal Diabetes Care conducted a study to test the effects of cinnamon supplementation on 60 type-2 diabetes patients. After 40 days the cinnamon group showed a 23-30% decrease in triglycerides, 12-26% decrease in total cholesterol, 7-27% decrease in LDL cholesterol, and a 18-29% reduction in blood sugar, while the control group showed no noticeable health improvements. That's a pretty incredible reduction for a short two month period.
• Lowers LDL cholesterol (bad) in all people
• Effective remedy for migraines and headaches
• Alleviates toothache pain
• No calories
• Adds a lot of flavor without any extra fat, sugar, or calories
• Great source of manganese (enzyme) and dietary fiber

The Turkey Tryptophan Myth...Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I think it's time to finally disprove the whole turkey-tryptophan myth. For some ridiculous reason turkey has developed the rep of being extremely high in tryptophan, which is thought to be the reason why most of America gets so sleepy after a huge Thanksgiving meal. Tryptophan, one of the 20 essential amino acids, is responsible for the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin, a substance that regulates appetite, sleep patterns, and mood. In some ways the myth is true...turkey does have tryptophan, about 350mg per 200 calorie serving. The reason why this whole notion is a myth is because the tryptophan content in turkey is basically identical to that of other types of meat and poultry, including pork, chicken, beef, salmon, and lamb. I don't see people falling asleep on the couch every time they eat chicken or a hamburger. And really if you think about it, most people don't eat a lot of turkey on Thanksgiving...we mange out on the sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and all of those other calorically dense foods. We get tired and sleepy because we eat so much in one sitting, and as a result our body has to spend the majority of it's energy burning off those calories, carbs, fats, and sugars. So, from now on, whenever Thanksgiving rolls around stop hating on all of the Turkeys...it's not their fault we're falling asleep.

Workout Playlist V2

Here are a bunch of awesome songs for your workout playlist. They'll definitely get your blood pumping and put you in the zone. Pump, pump, pump it upppppp!!!

Flo Rida - Turn Around (5,4,3,2,1)


Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers


Tiesto feat. Dizzee Rascal - Bad Behavior


DJ Fresh - Hypercaine


Akon ft. David Guetta - Once Radio


Chris Brown - Yeah 3X


Mille - Crysteena (Fear of Tigers Remix)


Fear of Tigers - I Can Make the Pain Disappear


Taio Cruz - Dynamite (Stonebridge Remix)


Pitbull - Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor) Mike Cole Remix


Ke$ha - We R Who We R (Justin Sane Remix)


Example - Last Ones Standing (Benny Benassi Remix)


Loona - Vamos a La Playa


Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On


The Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit)


Picco - Venga (DJs From Mars Club Remix)


Calvin Harris - You Used to Hold Me


Philipp Ray VS. Adagio Lovers - Summermelody (DJs From Mars Club Remix)

Cholesterol Levels, Triglycerides, and Other Important Health Ratios

Going to the doctor's office can be a stupidly confusing experience. I can't even tell you how many times I've gone in for an exam and the doctor would start throwing around words like triglycerides, blood pressure, or HDL/LDL cholesterol, and then tag on some magical ratio or number as a measurement...come on, is that number really supposed to mean anything to the average person?? He'd say something like "your LDL-to-HDL ratio is 95/60 mg/dl and your triglycerides are 145 mg/dl, you're perfectly healthy." Great...I'm glad the doctor says that I'm healthy, but I'd love to know what those numbers rmean and HOW good they really are. Here's your guide to the numbers/ratios doctors use to determine how healthy a person is, what these numbers measure, and what numbers to shoot for.

Cholesterol - When cholesterol levels are too high the excess begins to stick to arterial walls, which increases the risk of coronary heart disease. There are two types, HDL/"good" cholesterol, and LDL/"bad" cholesterol. LDL builds up on arterial walls and causes plaque to accumulate, HDL helps clean arterial walls of that plaque.

• Total Cholesterol:
• Good - < 200 mg/dl (mg per deciliter of blood)
• Elevated - 200-239 mg/dl
• High - >= 240 mg/dl
• LDL Cholesterol:
• Good - < 100 mg/dl
• Pretty good - 100-129 mg/dl
• Elevated - 130-159 mg/dl
• High - 160-189 mg/dl
• Very High 0 >= 190 mg/dl
• HDL Cholesterol:
• Low - < 40 mg/dl
• High - >= 60 mg/dl

Triglycerides - Triglycerides are excess fat circulating through the blood stream. High levels are a primary cause of coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis.

• Good - < 150 mg/dl
• Elevated - 150-199 mg/dl
• High - 200-499 mg/dl
• Very High - > 500 mg/dl

C-Reactive Protein (CRP) - CRP is produced by the body in response to inflammation/infection, a main cause of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease (CHD). The CRP tests for inflammation of the blood vessels and is used to assess the risk of CHD.

• Low Risk of CHD - < 1.0 mg/dl
• Moderate CHD Risk - 1.0-3.0 mg/dl
• High CHD Risk - > 3.0 mg/dl

Body Pressure - The pressure on arterial walls as the heart pumps blood. Systolic refers to the maximum blood pressure or the pressure when the heart is beating, diastolic refers to the minimum pressure or the pressure when the heart is at rest. High blood pressure/Hypertension is a major risk factor for CHD, stroke, and heart attack. Blood pressure readings are measured by a sphygmomanometer (the squeezy cuff thing), and are given as systolic/diastolic (e.g. 120/80).

• Good - < 120 mm HG/ < 80 mm HG
• Pre-Hypertension - 120-139/80-89
• Stage 1 Hypertension - 140-159/90-99
• Stage 2 Hypertension - >= 160/>= 100

Fasting Blood Glucose - Measures the amount of sugar in the blood as a test for diabetes.

• Good - < 100 mg/dl
• Pre-Diabetes - 100-125 mg/dl
• Diabetes - >= 126 mg/dl

Practice Safe Sex with The Situation!

The golden rule (or one of them): Practice safe sex! Maybe The Situation can help nail that concept home haha. Video's hilarious!

Video: Proper Bench Press Form

Every time I'm in the gym I see people bench pressing incorrectly...and it sucks because they're cheating themselves out of getting the best chest workout possible. Not only does bad form reduce the amount of stimulation on the chest muscles, but it also puts excessive stress on the shoulder girdle and/or arms. By doing this you risk injuring the shoulders, lose a lot of power, and insufficiently work the chest muscles. If you dumbbell/barbell bench press regularly, watch this video and make sure your form matches up. A little change can make a HUGE difference.

Cough Drop Warning

I was at CVS yesterday looking for a bag of cough drops and I was pretty amazed by the colorful collection of cough drops. I doubt many people even think about reading the ingredients or nutrition facts on cough drops...typically you wouldn't think of them as "food," but as medicine. After all, medicine's supposed to be good for your health, right? Do me a favor, the next time you're looking for cough drops check the label. It's amazing how much crap they pack into a small, seemingly healthy cough drop. Each drop is about 15 calories, all of which are derived from sugar. If you're sick and popping drop after drop, those calories can quickly pile up. What's worse is that all of the sugar can quickly spike your blood sugar, send insulin spiraling through your body, and ultimately cause the majority to be stored as body fat. Yuck!

I think what surprised me most was that some brands, most notably Halls Breezers (which taste delicious, kinda like candy...I guess that's because they pretty much are), are loaded with artifical colors, artifical sweeteners, and even trans fats!!! I can tolerate minimal artifical colors/sweeteners for the sake of soothing my throat, but trans fats ("partially hydrogenated oils" on nutrition labels) are a huge no-no. I'm not about to sacrifice my heart health and cholesterol levels, it's not worth it in the long run. The next time you're sick choose a healthier option to alleviate the pain...drink a cup of green tea with honey, or look for brands of cough drops that are "natural" or "organic." Those brands, such as Halls Naturals, are made only with natural flavors and no chemicals whatsoever. They even have a drop with real honey in the center. Honey's loaded with disease/cold fighting antioxidants and the fructose content helps minimize any spikes in blood sugar. It's a great, healthy, and tasty way to fight the worst colds.

Use This Routine to Increase Your Vertical Leap and GET UP!

Here's a promise for ya...if you follow this routine I guarantee that you'll be able to develop ups like Adrian Wilson (Arizona Cardinals).

Ok, so I lied...maybe not that high, Adrian Wilson's vertical leap is freakishly ridiculous. What I can promise you though is that if you follow this routine once, or better yet twice a week in place of your leg workout, it'll help you develop lower body power, explosiveness, and flexibility that'll translate into a higher vertical leap. I've used this for about three months now and I've added over a foot to my vertical. A few months back I could barely touch the bottom of the backboard, now I can hit rim. Another three months and I'll be dunking!

The Routine

Flexibility!


The first major component of my vertical leap routine is developing lower body flexibility. This means opening up your hip flexors, lengthening your hamstrings, and further developing the range of motion of your quads, glutes, and calves. When your range of motion is limited, especially in the hips, it limits the amount of power and force that you can generate with your lower body. Think about it, if you wanted to punch something as hard as humanly possible, I'm talking an angry punch, would you bend your arm only slightly and punch, or cock your elbow all the way back past your chest and explode forwards? I think the latter. It'd probably hurt a lot more. By increasing the flexibility of your lower body it'll increase your range of motion, let you squat lower, and ultimately enable you to more powerfully explode upward.

As a means of increasing flexibility, I'm a big fan of using both static stretching and dynamic stretching. Static stretching is simply when you stretch a muscle and hold that stretch for 20-60 seconds, think a typical quad stretch. This type of stretching is really advantageous in the long run because it allows muscles to elongate plastically, or stay stretched/lengthened permanently. Static stretching is ideal right after your workout because of that fact that the core temperature of muscles is elevated, which allows them to more effectively become stretched permanently. Not only that, but static stretching post-workout can help decrease soreness. Static stretching is also the ideal way to increase flexibility when you're not working out (i.e. in your home).

Dynamic stretching is often known as an active warm-up, which involves short bursts of deep stretches that temporarily expand the body's range of motion (e.g. high knees or walking lunges). Dynamic stretching is ideal as a warm-up pre-workout because it helps decrease the risk of injury and increases the strength of muscular contractions. One noted study at Wichita State University concluded that dynamic stretching allowed athletes to jump significantly higher than those who stretched statically before their workout. On average participants jumped 56.70 cm when they stretched statically, whereas they jumped 61.48cm when they stretched dynamically. That's pretty ridiculous...athletes jumped 8.5% higher just by changing the way they stretched!

The Stetching Plan!

• Pre-workout Dynamic Stretching (this should only take about 5 minutes)
• High Knee Hugs - 60 seconds 
• Walking Heel to Butt - 20 per side
• Leg Cradle Walks - 20 per side
• Spiderman Stretch - 10 per side
• Inchworms - 10 reps
• Post-Workout & Off Day Static Stretching (Do this after your leg routine, and as many days as possible separate from your workouts)
• Standing Quad Stretch - 2x per leg, hold for 30s (Image)
• Standing Hamstring Stretch - 2x per leg, hold for 30s (Image)
• Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch - 2x per leg, hold for 40s (Image)
• Lying Glute Stretch - 2x per leg, hold for 30s (Image)

Strength-Training + Plyometrics

If you wanna jump like MJ, developing explosive power is critical. One of the best ways to do that is through a combination of intense, heavy strength training and plyometrics. I'm sure you're familiar with strength-training, but plyometrics is a less well-known training technique. Plyometrics, also known as "jump-training," is a popular method of training primarily used to improve sports performance, especially in basketball, soccer, and track & field, which focuses on developing power, explosiveness, and acceleration. Plyometric training is based off of the idea that muscles that are stretched immediately before they contract concentrically (flexing a muscle is considered a concentric contraction, e.g. curling a dumbbell) will contract faster and with more force. Think of it like a spring, if you push a spring down as far as possible it's gonna explode upwards with tremendous force and velocity...now apply that principle to your legs. By squatting down and immediately jumping up as high as possible, again and again, you generate a ton of force. 

As for the strength training component, all of the exercises should be done at low reps (4-8) with heavy loads. Lifting heavier weights for fewer reps is the primary way of increasing muscular power, strength, and explosiveness. Here goes, get ready, it's intense!

1. Barbell Squats - 1x8 reps, 2x6 reps, 1x4 reps. Lower slowly, explode upwards quickly.
2. Romanian Deadlifts - 4x6 reps. Make sure your knees are bent slightly, don't let your back arch.
3. Weighted Wall Squats w. Ball- 2x8 reps. Hold dumbbells in your hands, your lower back should touch the exercise ball. Go parallel to the ground, get low!!
4. Standing Calf Raises - 2x8reps, 1x6 reps, 1x4 reps
5. Leg Press - 2x6 reps. Don't lock your knees.
6. Weighted Plyometric Jump Squats - 3x10 reps. Start with no weights until you learn the form, gradually make it more difficult by holding dumbbells and jumping.
7. Box/Step Jumps - 3x10 reps. If you have Step equipment start by raising the step up to a comfortable height. The goal is to keep progressing by gradually making the step higher and higher. If you don't have access to a Step equipment you can use a bench or box (the step equipment is the colorful boxes + platform in the video below).
8. Lateral Box Jumps - 1x8 reps per side. Use a low step or box and move quickly from side to side.

Your legs might hate you after this, but trust me, you'll be well on your way to jumping much higher than you've ever been able to before. Even if you don't care about increasing your vertical leap, this is still a kick-ass leg workout that'll build your quads, hamstrings, calves, and butt, increase your flexibility, and shred off a ton of body fat.

What's Hot: Neuro Drinks

Whenever I think about sports performance drinks, Vitaminwater is always one of the first brands to pop into my head. I love the stuff, especially the zero-cal version. Interestingly though, just a few years ago Vitaminwater was a relatively unknown brand that was giving out free samples just to gain visibility and acceptance. Look how much it's exploded since then...it's already entered the top-5 selling sports performance drinks worldwide. Lets be serious, you know you're popular as hell when you're using The Situation in your commercials (if you haven't seen it yet click to watch the commercial here). Looking back at Vitaminwater's ascension to the top of the sports drink world, its one of those things that you look at and tell yourself: "man, why didn't I jump on board sooner."


With Vitaminwater's explosion in mind, I think I've found the next HUGE drink on the market. If you've never had a Neuro, or don't know what Neuro is, keep listening. This stuff is going to blow up, and it's going to blow up in a big, big way.

Neuro Drinks is a new line of low-calorie, lightly carbonated, functional drinks that serve to elicit a wide range of effects, including heightened mental functioning, sexual performance, and better sleep. I LOVEEEEEE me some Neuro. Not only are there only 35 calories per bottle, but the stuff tastes incredible with only a minimal amount of added sugar. More importantly, Neuro works for each of its intended functions. I can't think of another product that so perfectly blends low calories, amazing and unique taste, and such powerful functional performance...it's pretty magical. Neuro's cool, really different and unique from other drinks available, and the bottle's straight up awesome. The fact that they're using JT, Amanda Beard, and Lady Gaga to embody the essence of their brand is just too cool, literally. 

Neuro currently comes in 7 flavors, each of which has its own unique blend of scientifically-backed ingredients to produce a very different functional benefit. The flavors include: Bliss, Gasm, Sonic, Aqua, Sport, Sleep, and Trim.

• NeuroBliss: Bliss does what it's name says...it promotes happiness, relaxation, and stress reduction. It contains hydroxytryptophan (tryptophan's in turkey, which is why eating it at Thanksgiving always makes you drowsy) and L-theanine, amino acids that promote relaxation and a calm feeling. I've used Bliss before big presentations to chill out and relax, it's definitely helped me present in a more calm, more controlled way.
• NeuroGasm: Gasm promotes better sexual health, but it also supports better circulation and blood flow. In effect, Gasm is basically a less intense pre-workout drink. It has l-arginine, l-citrulline, and l-norvaline which all enhance blood flow, as well as caffeine and l-carnitine to boost energy levels. Carnitine also increases lipolysis, which helps your body burn more calories from fat. Gasm's a great option before a killer workout to increase strength and endurance. Oh yeah, it's good before sex too...can someone say liquid viagra? Stuff works well. 
• NeuroSonic: Sonic is probably my favorite Neuro, it's so functional and works incredibly well. It's intended to boost memory, concentration, cognitive performance, and attention. Sonic contains taurine, caffeine, carnitine, and theanine for enhanced mental function, as well as resveratrol for heart health (it's one of the antioxidants in wine). It's basically a less intense energy drink, but with the same effects and no crash. I've used Sonic a lot to study for tests, to enhance focus during a workout, or just as a pick-me-up...it's powerful and puts you IN THE ZONE. It really makes you feel incredible. 
• NeuroSleep: Sleep promotes better sleep quality. In my experience, Sleep knocks you the hell out and you stay out. Sleep contains magnesium, hydroxytryptophan, theanine, and melatonin--four powerful ingredients that increase relaxation, sleep quality, and normalize sleep cycles. If you're having problem sleeping, NeuroSleep is definitely worth a shot.
• NeuroTrim: Trim is designed as a solution for healthy weight loss. It works by significantly curbing appetite, revving up metabolism, blocking the absorption of sugar into fat cells, and increasing the usage of body fat for energy. Drinking Trim before meals is a great way to reduce the amount of calories you eat.
• NeuroAqua: I've never had Aqua, so I can't comment on its flavor, but for the most part it seems like purified water.
• NeuroSport: Sport is Neuro's version of Gatorade. Sport has the ideal level of sugar for an intra-workout drink, plus it contains the electrolytes calcium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, and potassium, which help support healthy fluid balance and hydration. Interestingly, Sport also has calcium which can help increase the strength of muscle contractions. Sport's great for anyone who participates in athletics and wants that extra burst of energy, an extra bit of strength, or the hydration to keep you going and going. 

Whether you're trying to get pumped up for a kickass workout, studying endlessly for a test, trying to get a good nights sleep,  or just want a delcious, low-cal drink, Neuro is the way to go. Go pick up a Neuro and join the phenomenon that's about to hit the nation, if not the world, hard.


You can get more info about Neuro at their site, http://drinkneuro.com. Amazon also sells Neuro cheap here.

Do You REALLY Know What You're Eating At These Popular Restaurants??

It's pretty amazing how little people know about what they're eating at fast food places, chain restaurants, and other popular places to eat. Although certain restaurants have started to list calorie counts on their menus, the majority keep all of their nutritional info a well-kept secret. Honestly, if restaurants were required to list calories, fat, trans fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium next to each menu item, I really think most of them would be out of business. So many of the foods Americans buy from restaurants are ridiculously awful for you...and the sad part is that they probably wouldn't eat them if they were aware of what the hell was in them. A large popcorn at AMC/Loews has 1,160 calories, 60 grams of fat, and over 1,500mg of sodium. Really...we're eating that? Might as well rename it heart attack in a tub. Here's a list of the worst foods I've seen at popular restaurants and other places. It might surprise you. 

Starbucks - Thought coffee was harmless? Eh...not so much. Instead of coffee you're basically getting a fat-filled, sugary dessert. 


Adding Whipped Cream: 70 calories, 7g fat
Grande White Hot Chocolate: 490 calories, 19g fat
Grande Caffe Mocha: 330 calories, 15g fat
Iced Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha: 520 calories, 20g fat
Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino: 640 calories, 22g fat (34% DV), 100g carbs


PF Chang's China Bistro - Chinese food is notorious for obnoxiously high levels of sodium, PF Chang's isn't any exception. The seared ahi tuna appetizer has 860 mg of sodium...are you kidding me??? That's over 1/3 of your total daily intake in a 160 calorie appetizer! And tuna's supposed to be healthy...

Appetizers: 
Crab Wontons w. Spicy Plum Sauce: 363 calories, 10g fat, 4g sat fat, 1,763mg sodium (73% DV)
Egg Rolls: 174 calories, 8g fat, 1g sat fat, 673mg sodium
Hot and Sour Soup (cup): 80 calories, 3g fat, 1,000mg sodium (42% DV)


Entrees:
Almond & Cashew Chicken on brown rice: 535 calories, 22g fat, 4g sat fat, 2,085mg sodium (87% DV)
Mu Shu Pork w. Hoisin Sauce: 530 calories, 31g fat, 7g sat fat, 3,425mg sodium (143% DV!!!!)
Cantonese Chow Fun w. Chicken: 790 calories, 20g fat, 4g sat fat, 1,615mg sodium (67% DV)
Coconut Curry Vegetables: 510 calories, 36g fat, 12g sat fat, 650 mg sodium (27%)

Outback Steakhouse - Outback's home to probably the WORLD'S most unhealthy food...the treacherous Bloomin' Onion. Whoever created this is gonna go to hell someday.


Bloomin' Onion: 1552 calories, 83g fat (128% DV), 32g sat fat (1.5 days worth), 5508mg sodium (230% DV)...WOW!
Bacon Cheese Burger & Aussie Fries: 1625 calories, 114g fat (175% DV!), 47g sat fat (~2.5 days worth), 2418mg sodium (1 whole days worth)
14 oz. Rib Eye: 1193 calories, 99g fat (152% DV), 43g sat fat (2 days worth), 689mg sodium (29% DV)
Alice Springs Chicken: 1327 calories, 92g fat (142% DV), 41g sat fat (2 days worth), 2115mg sodium (88% DV)

Olive Garden - Free salad and breadsticks! That's a great bang for your buck, not so much for your waist.


1 Breadstick: 150 calories, 2g fat, 400mg sodium
Garden Salad w. dressing (1 serving): 350 calories, 26 fat, 4.5g sat fat, 1930mg sodium (81% DV)
Calamari: 890 calories, 54g fat, 5g sat fat, 2340mg sodium (1 days worth)
Fettuccine Alfredo: 1220 calories, 75g fat, 47g sat fat, 1350mg sodium (56% DV)
Chicken & Shrimp Carbonara: 1440 calories, 88g fat, 38g sat fat, 3000mg sodium (125% DV
Pork Milanese: 1510 calories, 87 g fat, 37g sat fat, 3100mg sodium (129% DV)

Fast Food Restaurants - I've scoured the fast food kingdom to come up with the collective list of the worst foods from America's most unhealthy restaurants. I don't even know why they're called restaurants at this point. Sooooo much fat, trans fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium...it's out of control. Keep in mind there's NO daily value for trans fat, even .10g can have a significant impact on your heart health and cholesterol levels. Imagine what 10g from 3 White Castle mozzarella sticks is gonna do.


McDonald's
Angus Bacon & Cheese Deluxe Cheeseburger: 790 calories, 39g fat, 17g sat fat, 2g trans fat, 2070mg sodium
12 oz. McFlurry w. M&Ms: 710 calories, 25g fat, 16g sat fat, 1g trans fat, 97g sugar!!
Burger King
Double Whopper: 900 calories, 57g fat, 19g sat fat, 1.5g trans fat
Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich: 800 calories, 46g fat, 8g sat fat, 1g trans fat
Wendy's
Baconator Double: 980 calories, 63g fat, 27g sat fat, 2.5g trans fat, 1830mg sodium
Taco Bell
Volcano Nachos: 1000 calories, 62g fat, 9g sat fat, 1g trans fat, 1930mg sodium
Cheesy Gordita Crunch: 500 calories, 28g fat, 10g sat fat, .5g trans fat, 880mg sodium
Cheese Quesadilla: 470 calories, 26g fat, 11g sat fat, .5g trans fat, 1120mg sodium
Crunchwrap Supreme: 540 calories, 21g fat, 7g sat fat, 1400mg sodium
White Castle - so much artery-clogging trans fat
Hash Rounds (Sack): 1440 calories, 110g fat, 14g sat fat, 10g trans fat!!!!
Chicken Rings, 9 rings: 790 calories, 71g fat, 14g sat fat, 7g trans fat!
Mozzarella Sticks, 3 sticks: 33g fat, 8g sat fat, 10g trans fat!!
Chicken Breast Sandwich w. cheese: 390 calories, 28g fat, 5g sat fat, 3.5g trans fat
IHOP
Chicken Fajita Omelette: 960 calories, 65g fat, 26g sat fat, .5g trans fat, 915mg cholesterol, 1850mg sodium 
Colorado Omelette: 1120 calories, 82g fat, 33g sat fat, 910mg cholesterol, 2240mg sodium
Chorizo & Eggs: 1400 calories, 82g fat, 25g sat fat, 1.5g trans fat, 770mg cholesterol, 3160mg sodium
South-of-the-Border Burrito: 1380 calories, 74g fat, 29g sat fat, 1g trans fat, 3330mg sodium


Hopefully you got a sense for just how bad the food at most chain restaurants and fast food places really is. The fact that ONE meal can have over a days worth of fat, saturated fat, and sodium is absolutely absurd. Try your best to stay away from these places as much as possible, most of the food available is a bad bet.

The Best Oblique Workout to Get Ripped Up Abs

If you're looking to build up your obliques or get that sexy, deep v-cut, start adding these three exercises into your ab routine. Often times people focus primarily on the rectus abdominis, aka the 6-pack muscles, but they totally neglect the obliques. Because they lack an emphasis on their obliques they develop a core that's imbalanced and looks like it lacks width. 

What's great about the combination of these three exercises is that they use a variety of angles, motions, and contractions to really shock your core into new growth. I guarantee that if you start doing these exercises regularly, on top of following a healthy, nutritious diet, you'll start seeing a shredded, powerful pair of obliques begin to develop.

Exercise 1 - Weighted Oblique Static Holds

Lay on one side of your body and slowly crunch your legs and torso towards each other. Really squeeze your side/obliques. At the peak contraction point, or the point where you're squeezing the hardest, hold it there for 45 seconds. Don't worry if you're unable to get 45 seconds right away, hold it for as long as you can and slowly build up to 45 seconds over time. Repeat for the other side.

Once you're able to do 45 seconds comfortably, add a light dumbbell between your feet. Start with 5 pounds and continue to progress as it gets easier and easier.

Easy - No weight, hold for 45 seconds

Medium - 5 pound dumbbell, hold for 45 seconds

Hard - 10 pound dumbbell, hold for 45 seconds

Pro - 12 pound dumbbell, hold for 60 seconds

Exercise 2 - Side Planks With Knee Pull

Start by propping your body up on one arm, while raising the other arm straight up in the air. By raising the opposite arm you're stretching out and isolating the obliques. Stagger your feet so that the top foot is on top/in front of your bottom foot. While keeping your body perfectly straight, bring your bottom foot as far into your chest as possible. Hold your knee in your chest for 1 second and repeat the motion.

Do 15 reps per side, or as many as you can. Make sure to keep your body straight!!! As this starts to get too easy try to hold your knee into your chest for longer than 1 second. 

Easy - 10 reps per side, hold for .5 second

Medium - 15 reps per side, hold for .5 second

Hard - 15 reps per side, hold for 1 second

Pro - 15 reps per side, hold for 2 seconds

Exercise 3 - Decline Russian Twists


Find an ab bench and set it to a 45 degree decline. Lean back, tighten your core, and make sure to maintain good posture. Don't arch your back!! A great way to check your form is to puff out your chest and squeeze your lower back. Once in position extend your arms straight out in front of you and slowly rotate back and forth from the left to the right.  


Aim for a total of 20 twists. Once this gets too easy, make it harder by holding a weight plate or medicine ball in your hand.


Easy - 10 twists, no weight
Medium - 20 twists, no weight
Hard - 20 twists, 10 pounds
Pro - 20 twists, 20 pounds

Product Spotlight: Naturally More Peanut Butter

If I were ever to have a love affair with a food, I think Naturally More would probably be one of my top choices. This stuff is HOT baby!

Choosing a healthy, but delicious peanut butter is a really sticky topic. Most processed PBs like JIF and Skippy are loaded with added sugars and partially hydrogenated oils (aka trans fats), but they taste ridiculously good and are easy to spread. Adding all that crap is a great way to turn an extremely heart-healthy food into a dessert. On the other hand, If you're trying to be healthy and go for the natural kind you often have to deal with an oily mess that doesn't taste all that great. What's a PB connoisseur supposed to do? 

BAM...enter Naturally More. Not only is this stuff uber healthy, even more so than completely natural PB, it's probably the best tasting PB I've ever tried...even better than the sugary, processed brands.

Normally, PB is a fantastic source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and fiber (complements of the peanuts). Naturally More takes heart health to a new level by adding in my favorite food...dun dun dun...flaxseeds! (If you don't know much about flaxseeds or why I absolutely love them you can check out my post about them here). Flaxseeds contribute high fiber content, disease-fighting antioxidants, and really high levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids--fatty acids that lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), raise HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), and lower blood pressure. They're best known for their high levels in salmon and oily fish.

I also love how egg whites and wheat germ are a part of the ingredient blend. What a unique combo. The egg whites bump up the protein content to 10g per serving!! That's almost double the amount of protein in typical peanut butter brands. Additionally, wheat germ provides over 50% of the DV for folic acid, which is critical to new cell development and growth. 

All in all Naturally More is as good as it's gonna get when it comes to peanut butter. Not only does it have powerful omega-3s + 6s, antioxidants, fiber, folic acid, and a ton of muscle building protein, but it also tastes awesome. It's got a hearty, smooth, lightly sweet taste with a delicate crunch. It's pretty much perfection in a jar.

If there was one problem with Naturally More it would be that it's a little tricky to find. Some supermarkets carry it and others don't, I really can't figure it out. Look in the PB aisle of random supermarkets and you'll find it eventually. If you happen to come across it magically, take it as a sign from me and pick up a jar.