Saturday, April 30, 2011

The 30-Day Diet.

Healthy Veggies.
I have maintained a very good diet for the past 1 year - ever since I got serious about my fitness. This, in turn, has translated into a fit and trim body. There is still a bit of fat in the mid-section that I am sure will disappear in the coming months - as long as I stick to my current diet and exercise.

However, I have lately started feeling that the gains (in terms of muscle-building and/or fat-loss) have ground to a halt. Since my workouts are pretty intense, I believe the lack of gains is due to the food. Even though I am careful in what I eat, I do tend to indulge now and then, but since I don't keep track of these "indulgences", I believe the calories are creeping in unchecked.

That's why I came up with this idea of a 30-day strict diet regimen. During the next 30 days, there will be no more indulgences, no more cheat meals. This is what my daily diet is going to be:

Breakfast: An omelet made of 4 Egg whites plus 1 glass of low-fat milk.
Mid-Morning Snack: 1 fruit.
Lunch: Green Leafy salad with grilled chicken.
Pre-Workout: A serving of nuts
Post-Workout: Smoothie with Whey Protein + 1 glass low-fat milk.
Dinner: Green leafy salad with grilled fish.
Plus Multi-Vitamins to keep things in check and plenty of water.

The workouts will remain more or less the same. If I see any results after 30 days, I will know the result is due to the food. I can accordingly set my future goals based on this experiment.

I just finished day 1 and already I am craving for fat and greasy food. Not sure I can keep this up for another 29 days.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Kettlebells for intense workouts.

Kettle bells

I am a big fan of CrossFit training. One of the key component of any CrossFit exercise is a set of Kettle bells. Up till now, I had been unable to locate Kettle bells in local sports shops. Even my well-equipped gym does not have any Kettle bells.

Last week, I was at Muthana Complex in downtown Kuwait and passed by Orient Sports shop. I was pleasantly surprised to find a range of Kettle bells. I picked up 2 medium-sized ones to try them out, and incorporate into my daily workout.

Kettle bells provide several benefits over traditional weights. Due to the explosive range of motions used in Kettle bell workouts, they provide a full body workout and combine both cardio and resistance into a single workout, targeting multiple muscle groups at the same time.

To learn more about the benefits of working out with Kettle bells, read this article.

I've started working with Kettle bells on alternate days, and so far, I am enjoying the hard workouts. I am using this "300" workout as a starting point. As of now, I am unable to complete the full workout with my puny 7 Kg Kettle bell. The guy in the video is doing it with a 24 Kg monster!!.