Hi Gennaro,
I’m really interested to learn how to shop for healthy foods - there are Whole Foods Markets in Canada too. I’ve done competition diets but think there is a better way to shop for foods and stay as lean as possible year round. You’re amazingly lean. How do you maintain that? Steve Reeves was a great power walker too .
Please drop me line.
Regards,
Dustin
Dustin,
Thanks for your positive feedback. Competition diets are too strict I agree but the concept of adhering to 5-6 small consistent meals a day taken from the bodybuilding school of thought is what has kept me consistently lean over 20 years since winning the Mr. Australia. This will also work for you if you’re consistent and can incorporate enough cardio and resistance training in to your lifestyle program.
WholeFoods/Wholebody is an excellent place to shop and has everything you need. Here is an example of my nutrition program. Using this as a guideline will help you attain that lean look year round.
Breakfast 7am
1 cup of organic oatmeal or cream of buckwheat (1/3 cup) with 2 scoops of Whey Protein Concentrate (non bovine and or hormone free) mixed with 10 ounces of organic almond milk
Mid-Morning 10am
6 organic egg white scrambled or omelet (1 yolk) with 1 cup of cooked organic brown rice or brown rice cereal or 2 small slices of organic German 100% rye bread. Toast bread and top with 1/4 of organic avocado.
Lunch 1pm
Grilled or oven roasted turkey breast (6 ounces) or ground turkey breast burgers (no breadcrumbs) with a 6 ounce baked sweet potato and side of low sodium pure lentil soup (1 cup)
Mid-afternoon 4pm
Isopure zero carb protein shake or homemade shake (as above) with spring water and a tablespoon of organic almond butter
1 banana
Dinner 7pm
Lean organic lamb, chicken, beef or wild salmon (6 ounces) with one 16 ounce frozen bag of Wholefoods organic Asian stir fry steamed veggies.
Supper 10pm (optional - if up past midnight)
6-8 organic scrambled egg whites
* Drink 3 litres/quarts of water a day
* Supplement with L-Carnitine liquid, L-Glutamine and a Multivitamin/mineral
* Eat fresh organic fruit between meals if hungry.
Let me know how you go with it mate!
Gennaro
Gennaro,
I was a vegetarian up until recently because I found that doing the whole 6 meals a day diet with high protein intake was really upsetting my gut and all the chicken, steak and tuna wasn’t digesting in my stomach, it felt like a rock, so I couldn’t sleep and then had no energy for my workouts. I was so very hungry after each meal as I found the protein made me very hungry ( I know protein is supposed to fill you up, but not in my case).
However I have found that being on the vego diet which made me feel less hungry and filled me up for many hours, made me lose my hard earned muscle, so I have gone back to eating meat but will try to eat a small amount at each meal to see if I can cut up and retain my muscle.
I work out 5 times a week and sometimes do cardio for 40 minutes, but weights I do religiously. Wondering if you deal with vegetarian diets (with small amounts of meat) to lose body fat but put on muscle at the same time. I am still going to the gym but I am 45 now and put on fat much quicker than ever. I would like to see my abs again. I look forward to your response. Thankyou,
Walter.
Walter,
I have and still do train quite a few vegetarians. In fact one of my vegetarian clients packed on 15 pounds of muscle and lost 8% body fat at 52 years of age (See client Richard Glasgow on my success story page).
Vegetarian diets can be very healthy but if your goal is to build a lean, muscular and athletic physique with a well defined mid-section, you need to start incorporating quality protein in to your nutrition plan.
Here is what I propose:
Even before you eat breakfast begin your day with two glasses of water. Then go off on 45 minutes of outdoor Power-walking or an intensive indoor cardio session combining 12 minutes of each of elliptical, stationary upright bike and treadmill, constantly varying the level and speed. Eat a banana or apple immediately after your cardio session, and shortly thereafter have your traditional oatmeal and whey protein shake, or 6-8 egg white omelet (with1 yolk), and brown rice cream hot cereal. Weight train either after breakfast or later in the day for 45 minutes to one hour with intensity and complete your routine with 15 minutes of Powerpose®. Resistance training and Powerpose should be performed at least 4 - 5 days per week and cardio at least 5 days per week. Train your abs in fast circuit formation every other day 3 days a week for no more than 15 minutes each session, and vary your workouts.
Make sure each meal contains a complete protein . A complete protein is a source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of all of the essential amino acids for your growth needs. This does not mean you have to eat huge amounts of meat or fish at each meal. However, moderate amounts of lean, organic protein need to be present in meals and snack. Don’t feel you have to eat red meat or chicken every day to grow either. These sources of protein do take longer to digest and can cause bloating for some. You can build a great body just as effectively by eating a variety of fish, eggs and whey protein concentrate or Isolate, which all have very high biological values and are digested and assimilated in the body easier.
Do not consume chocolate coated protein bars, sugary drinks or packaged meals no matter how healthy (the producers) say they are. Stick with whole foods. Fresh fruits, raw nuts, dark chocolate, and brown rice cakes are great snacks, but limit your portion size and frequency.
Do not consume any starchy carbohydrates after 5 pm and supplement your nutrition program with L- carnitine which you can have before your cardio sessions on an empty stomach. You can also energize your mornings with some green tea or yerba mate.
Mid-morning should be a whey protein shake with almond milk or water and a tablespoon of organic raw almond butter.
For lunch you can eat lean grilled chicken breast or a turkey patty with sweet potato or brown rice and 2 green veggies. Mid-morning - 3 bean salad with 2 boiled eggs. Finally, for dinner treat yourself to organic and/or wild salmon with cruciferous vegetables.
Record all your meals in a food journal and eat them diligently every 3 hours. Drink 3 to 4 quarts or litres of water daily and limit alcohol content to 1 unit per week. Eat at home as often as you can as you’ll be better able to control your portion sizes, and additional fat, salt and sugar, that restaurants often add in to foods to make them tastier.
Most importantly, without consistently adhering to these guidelines over a period of months, and ideally incorporating them as part of your lifestyle, the results you seek will not be evident.
Start today and continue for life, and I know you will see your abs soon and experience life changing results!
Keep me posted and have fun with it!
Gennaro
Turkey Bean Bolognese
This meal will take you about 10 minutes to cook unless you have ground turkey leftovers in the fridge in which case it will take 3-5 minutes.
Heat a wok or fry pan with a teaspoon of olive oil. Add 8 ounces of ground turkey and stir to break down the meat. Once the turkey is fully cooked, pour in 1/2 a jar of precooked Wholefoods (fat free) organic marinara pasta sauce (25 oz jar). Then add a 1/2 can or jar of organic cannellini beans (which should be rinsed and drained). Stir for an additional 3 minutes.
Plate and enjoy this high protein and low glycemic carb packed delicious meal.
Optional: Is great with a slice of slightly toasted 100% organic rye bread to soak up the sauce!
Don’t stop at the Top
For maximum feel and effect when performing an exercise like push-ups, dumbell curls or squats, try not fully resting (and in the case of squats locking out ) at the top of each movement.
This will place the muscles being worked under greater tension, thereby increasing your training effect and enable you to further connect with that particular body-part. In this case less is more because you don’t need to perform as many repetitions and workout for as long. Short, sharp and intense workouts are the key to productive sessions when adopting this training strategy. These are also known as partial repetitions but remember, you don’t want to limit your range too much to the point where you aren’t establishing a ‘muscle pump’ ie., that great localized burning feeling in the muscle.
Examples of exercises you can perform my ’Don’t stop at the Top’ techniques include:
1. The leg press machine and the freestanding squat - not fully extending the legs, thereby keeping the thigh/quad muscles contracted at all times.
2. Dumbell flat bench fly’s - By not touching the dumbells at the top of the movement you keep your pecks constantly flexed! When flying the weights inwards keep the dumbells a good 3 inches apart before flying the dumbells back out again.
3. Lat pulldowns - Extending the arms fully at the top of this exercise can not only cause serious rotater cuff injuries, but will diminish the objective of attempting to feel and sculpt your ‘lats’. These are the muscles that give you that elegant V-taper.
4. There are numerous exercises and routines you can use my D.S.A.T.T. technique including calisthenics, power plyometric drills and Powerpose. Drop me your list of exercises!
Enjoy these workout tips and let me know how you go with it!
Gennaro
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