Grocery List Part 1: Protein!

Protein:

The ultimate building block for muscle. The recommended intake of protein for adults is 0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight. Aerobic endurance athletes should consume 0.8-1.4 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. The reason for this is due to the increased use of protein as a fuel source during exercise. Heavy Resistance Training athletes can increase their protein to 1.7 grams per pound of bodyweight.  General recommendation for athletes could be anywhere from 1.5-2.0 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight depending on activity level and demands for your sport.

What’s On Your Grocery List?

  Hope everyone is doing well and dominating their workweek and training schedule. Don’t ever let a day go to waste! I’m going to begin a four-part series of articles to help you guys with your grocery list. There is going to be plenty of food listed to help you reach your goals. If your goal is to add lean muscle to that frame of yours, GET EXCITED. This four-part series is going to be broken down into:

1. Protein

2. Fruits and Vegetables

3. Grains, Nuts, and Seeds

4. Dairy, Oils, Fats, and Drinks

There is going to be a basic template of foods to pick up next time you go to the grocery store to make sure your body is properly fueled for success.

Something I want you to remember is:

Your training takes about 1 hour, it’s what you are doing with that other 23 hours of your day that will determine your success.

Some basic information::

First and foremost calculate your total caloric intake per day. You can do this by multiplying your body weight by 17 or visiting

www.swole.me for a more in-depth look at your caloric intake.

Protein:

Aim to consume 1 gram of protein for every pound of bodyweight.

Hard gainers should consume about 1.25 grams to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Each gram of protein is 4 calories

Typically 30%-35% of your diet should come from protein

Calculating your protein needs can be done by:

1. Weight in Pounds divided by 2.2= weight in KG

2. Weight in kg x 0.8-1.8/kg = protein grams

depending on your activity level and goals, determine your protein intake (e.g. use 1.2-1.5 for a very active individual or an athlete)

Carbohydrates:

Each gram is 4 calories.

45%-65% of diet should come from carbs

Fats:

About 20% of your diet should come from fats if you’re trying to get lean.

One gram of fat is 9 calories.

Now that you have a basic understanding on your daily needs, stay tuned for parts 1-4.

Hustle

Weekly Motivation: Tough As Nails

Wow, am I fired up! I don’t know if it’s the cup of coffee I just drank or the fact I have Ray Lewis motivational speeches playing in the background. Or could it be the fact that I’m motivated and inspired to better myself each and everyday. Whether it be in the weight room, the classroom, or in the game we call life, I want you guys to never give up on something that you love and strive to be GREAT.  Find your passion and do whatever it takes. Whatever your fire burns for, nobody can stop you but you!! But before you do it, you gotta have one thing.

Read along to find out what that one thing is….

This past weekend, I had the honor to talk to my high school strength coach, Coach Gore.

Saturday workout. Get Better Today

Hey guys…sorry I’ve been gone for a little bit, I promise I won’t leave you anymore. I’m gonna get myself back on track and try to get you guys 1-2 posts a week. To set it off, here’s a Saturday workout for you to have fun with.

-Foam Roll
-Dynamic Warm up
-Mobility Drills

Heavy Bench Press- work up to a max set of 3-5 reps

Weighted Pull-Ups- 100 in the least amount of sets possible.

Weighted Dips- 150 in the least amount of sets possible.

(superset the next 3 exercises.) 3×8
Lateral raise
Front raise
Upright row

Ab Circuit- 200 reps

I will go more in depth regarding the ab circuit, warm up, and mobility drills in future posts.

Til then, get out there and Get Better!

Believe in Yourself

Believe

This past weekend, I graduated from Western Illinois University with a degree in Exercise Science and a minor in Business Management. Although this is just a stepping stone to the Ultimate Goal, it is a big step forward. Everything couldn’t have been done without the word believe. Thanks to everyone who believed in me has had an influence in my life, from my family, friends teammates, coaches, professors, classmates and everyone else.

From the football field to the classroom to those nights out, every memory will be cherished and never forgotten.

 Believe in yourself and you can achieve anything. Buy into yourself and strive for success in everything that you do. The word believe got me to where I am today, and will continue to get me through life. No matter what happens in life, believe that you will make it through it.Fight through adversity in life, because it will do nothing but make you stronger.

Step out of your comfort zone, be comfortable being uncomfortable. The most progress is made when you believe in yourself and step out of your comfort zone.

The past four and a half years have helped me grow and learn a lot about myself. Nothing can be accomplished in life if you don’t believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will, and nothing will be accomplished. Set your goals, and do whatever it takes to achieve them. Believe that it will be done. No Matter What, No Excuses. You have to have that mentality.

Keep raising the bar each and every day, in every aspect of life.

Get Better and Stay Motivated.

 Leatherneck for life,

Anthony D’Astice

Related articles

• How to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone (lamystiquesmind.com)
• Comfort Zone (positivethoughtequalspositiveresults.wordpress.com)
• Your Comfort Zone (anempowerednewyou.wordpress.com)

Believe in Yourself

Believe

This past weekend, I graduated from Western Illinois University with a degree in Exercise Science and a minor in Business Management. Although this is just a stepping stone to the Ultimate Goal, it is a big step forward. Everything couldn’t have been done without the word believe. Thanks to everyone who believed in me has had an influence in my life, from my family, friends teammates, coaches, professors, classmates and everyone else.

From the football field to the classroom to those nights out, every memory will be cherished and never forgotten.

 Believe in yourself and you can achieve anything. Buy into yourself and strive for success in everything that you do. The word believe got me to where I am today, and will continue to get me through life. No matter what happens in life, believe that you will make it through it.Fight through adversity in life, because it will do nothing but make you stronger.

Step out of your comfort zone, be comfortable being uncomfortable. The most progress is made when you believe in yourself and step out of your comfort zone.

The past four and a half years have helped me grow and learn a lot about myself. Nothing can be accomplished in life if you don’t believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will, and nothing will be accomplished. Set your goals, and do whatever it takes to achieve them. Believe that it will be done. No Matter What, No Excuses. You have to have that mentality.

Keep raising the bar each and every day, in every aspect of life.

Get Better and Stay Motivated.

 Leatherneck for life,

Anthony D’Astice

Related articles

• How to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone (lamystiquesmind.com)
• Comfort Zone (positivethoughtequalspositiveresults.wordpress.com)
• Your Comfort Zone (anempowerednewyou.wordpress.com)

Follow Your Dreams

Dreams. Whats your dream? For the group of guys I worked with in Atlanta, the answer to that question was all the same. To play football in the NFL. These guys earned it, they went out every day with the mentality that they were going to get better every day. It was such an honor to say that I worked with these guys in preparation for the NFL. I witnessed each and every one of these guys put in the work necessary to get on an NFL team. Every running session, every lifting session, every stretching session, these guys did whatever it takes and more to prove that they deserve a shot to play in the NFL. From early in the morning to late at night, in the weight room and outside of the weight room, they put in the work. The work isn’t over yet, it has only just begun. I know every one of these guys has the work ethic and mentality to prove that they deserve this opportunity. Congratulations to each and every one of these guys, proud of you all!

Remember one thing:

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS

Bernard Pierce-3rd Round to the Balitmore Ravens
Dom Joseph-Free Agent to the Green Bay Packers
Du’ane Bennett-Free Agent to the Green Bay Packers
King Keith Brown-Free Agent to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jason Foster-Free Agent to the Indianapolis Colts
Carmelo Messina-Free Agent to Detroit Lions
Josh Samuda-Free Agent to the Miami Dolphins
Tiree Eure-Free Agent to the Minnesota Vikings
Jake Anderson-Free Agent to the Cleveland Browns
Marcus Temple-Free Agent to the Jacksonville Jaguars

6 Simple Injury Prevention Tips

Having been involved in sports since I was little, I have had my fair share of injuries. From head to toe, the list goes on. They say that experience is the best teacher, so here is a list of five simple things I have found to work wonders in my injury prevention. I recommend any athlete or even non-athlete to incorporate these tips into their training.

7 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Workout

These 7 ways will help you get the most out of your workout. They may be common sense to some of you, but using them will definitely be beneficial for your success in the gym. It is important to have the exercise order correspond to your specific training goals.  The order of exercises will greatly affect the quality and focus of the workout.

I was in the gym today and someone told me that they were hitting a plateau, and they asked me if changing up their exercise order would help put them past that plateau. They wanted to train their smaller muscle groups first, then build up to their bigger, compound lifts. That question led me to want to help every one out and provide them with 7 ways to get the most out of your workout.

1. Train large muscle group before training your smaller muscle groups.
2. Multijoint exercises before single-joint exercises.
3. Alternate Push/Pull exercises when training total body sessions.
4. Alternate upper/lower body exercises when training total body.
5. Explosive/Power lifts such as Olympic lifts, plyometric exercises before basic strength and single-joint exercises.
6. Focus on improving weak areas before exercises focusing on stronger muscles. (Turn your weaknesses into your strengths.)
7. Most intense exercises before least intense. 

Follow these simple 7 steps when working out and you will definitely get the most out of you workout. You know what happens when you consistently get the most out of your workout?

You get RESULTS

The Big 3

Dead-lift, Squat, Bench Press.

The big three exercises that most everyone uses in their sports training. Are you training to get stronger, and more explosive? Or are you training to be a power-lifter or bodybuilder instead of preparing for your sport. People get it mixed up, it’s not the guy who has the highest bench or squat that is the best on the field.

Your not training to set World Records in the weight room, your training to put the ball in the endzone, your training to sack the Quarterback, your training to out jump your opponent, your training to outrun your opponent, your training to run over your opponent.

And by running over, I literally mean running over—->