I recently arrived back from London and Paris, stayed healthy and had a great time.
The last time I was in London I was competing in the Mr. Universe, trying to sweat off all the water I had accumulated on a 40 hour flight from Australia that included 5 stops and one overnight in Karachi (plane needed servicing) in which we all pigged out on 5 star plush hotel cuisine.
Anyways, London has obviously changed but I was able to stay crazy lean by following this somewhat unorthodox routine:
1. Eat Bread.
Your gonna think I’m crazy for suggesting this but if you get your daily (or every other daily) dose of a French Panini with ham, lettuce and tomato or a gyros with chicken and yogurt sauce (quite popular in Paris) for lunch, you won’t crave those starchy’s for dinner. Remember French bread is very light and crusty, contains less sugar and salt than what you’re use to, and is easy on the stomach. In London they offer many gluten and wheat free sandwich alternatives (check out the eatery ‘EAT’ by London eye).
2. WALK, WAlk and walk.
Lets face it you’ll be busy checking out the major landmarks of these fabulous cities and if its Paris, London or NYC the best way to sight see is by hitting the pavement.
If you can notch up 2-3 hours of walking a day that’s over 1500 calories burnt right there entitling you to an all natural gelato. Walking keeps you super lean because is engages your whole body especially when your climbing stairs - two at a time of course.
3. Don’t TRAIN Legs!
If you are going to hit the gym, perform a total upper body workout. No need to train legs, because you’ll be working them while walking, climbing stairs and riding. On that note, Paris have bike racks you can rent bikes at from only one Euro a day. And you can drop them off anywhere in the city where there are bike rack stations. Check out my video. I rode to the Eiffel tower. It was about a 15 minute bike ride from where we were staying in the Latin Quarter.
4. Don’t Hit the Gym.
In my recent experience most of the people working at hotels don’t know where the basic gyms are so you may be wasting precious sightseeing time searching for centers that don’t suit your needs. In London I was directed to a Sauna and in Paris a Pilates studio which opened midday. Instead perform various pushups and crunches throughout the day. Powerpose® while in the bathroom mirror before a shower (contact me for these routines) and for a more comprehensive whole body, gym free workout, use playground equipment. In London we stayed near the London eye which has a playground behind it. Twice I use it and performed modified pull-ups off bars and ropes, pushups off ropes creating that unstable surface/grip for extra core engagement, and crunches and leg raises on a very narrow bench -again challenging my ability to balance therefore engaging more of my core.
5. Eat Yogurt
France is well known for yogurt and in Paris I was able to get some great varieties with a high lactobacillus content. Because you may be eating different and exotic foods it’s always a good idea to start or finish the day off with yogurt which will keep your gut healthy by fighting bacteria and ease any stomach ailments you may have. I saved a packet for breakfast by buying packs of 6 for no more than 2 Euro’s. Combined with a low sugar all natural granola it makes for a very healthy brekky and helps you lose weight.
6. Eat small and keep it at 3.
Your mind will be so occupied on sightseeing , shopping and just enjoying the cultural environment you wont really have the time nor should you have the desire to eat BIG at each meal. Keep your servings small to moderate and don’t go back for seconds unless its fresh fruit or straight protein. I found that by just eating 3 main meals each day with coffee and tea as my snacks I was able to stay super lean and enjoy my crepes and occasional ice cream at the same time.
I was watching ‘Blaine’s Low Carb Kitchen’ tonight and noticed that although he does use low carb ingredients he adds unnecessary saturated fats in to a lot of his recipes. Heavy creams, cheese and bacon are a common ingredient which I find unhealthy and quite frankly nutritionally useless. Although I do find his recipes creative and his cooking skills entertaining, he has inspired me to develop this recipe which has no bad fat, moderate in good fat, high in protein and fiber, and has a generous amount of great tasting low starch veggies.
INGREDIENTS
One pound of organic or hormone free ground turkey breast
12 ounces of parboiled mixed frozen organic peas, corn carrots and beans
1 diced onion
4 tablespoons of homemade or precooked Neapolitan (pomodoro) sauce with garlic
A shake of black pepper, garlic powder, and mixed Italian herbs
2 tablespoons of organic psyllium husk
1 whole organic egg
2 tablespoons of organic raisins (sultana’s for you Aussies)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Technique:
Mix up all the ingredients by hand or spoon in a large glass bowl until all foods have been incorporated nicely.
Shape in to an ‘Ayers rock’ formation in a large Pyrex tray (which has been greased with a tablespoon of olive oil) and oven for 30 minutes on 400 f.
Enjoy with your favorite glass of red (like I did) and thank your heart and your health that you’re having one of the best meals for your body and your mind you will every taste!
Will love to know how it turned out.
Mangia Bene!
Gennaro
Hi Gennaro,
I would like to know at what age can my son start using weights. He is 15 and plays Australian Rules Football at a junior club in Victoria, Australia. He plays with boys that are turning 16 this year and he only turned 15 in Jan 2010. Thank you for your time and hope to hear from you soon.
Pat
Hi Pat,
Your son can start weight training now with light weights and basic exercises. I would also suggest you combine his dumbell work with some body resistance exercises. I recommend that you also increase his total caloric intake and have him eat regularly throughout the day.
A common myth is that if you weight train alone you will get bigger and stronger, but without increasing calories (and as aerobically active as he must be) your son will not get bigger or stronger. The bottom line is, he has to be eating more quality calories than he is burning in order to put on size and strength.
I wish I had of known (or been more conscious) when I was a teen that it was OK to weight train and eat more, as I also played Aussie rules and was a very skinny kid. Although skillful I could have used an extra 10lbs for extra hip and shoulder nudge. Because Aussie Rules Football is a very physical sport and requires (among other things) power, endurance, and strength, basic weight training and calisthenics will be great for him.
Here is a guideline routine he can perform every day or 2nd day depending on how he recuperates from each session.
Warm up:
Arm circles
Body weight squats
Routine:
Pushups 3 x 15-20 ( very slow and controlled)
Dumbell flys 3 x 12
Pullups/Chinups 3 x 8-12
Dumbell single arm rows (with knee and hand on bench for support) 3 x 10-12
Hanging leg raises (abs) 3 x 15-20
Swiss ball crunches or Situps 3 x 20
Dumbell squats (holding dumbells by side progressively increasing load over sets and or sessions) 3 x 12-15
Single dumbell calf raises 3 x 12-15
Dumbell side raises 3 x 8-10-12
10 minute Warm down:
Stretch hamstrings, glutes, quads, calves, and upperbody. Refer to his coach or a good stretch book for specifics on stretching technique.
Let me know how he goes with it and keep in touch!
Gennaro
Hi Gennaro
I’m working on adding muscle, but as a vegetarian who is wary of whey protein am concerned that my nutrition isn’t helping me grow enough. I use hemp powder. Can you recommend any books / meal plan suggestions in more detail?
Ed
Ed,
You should eat most types of beans every day. In particular fava, red kidney, black, chickpeas, lentils and cannellini as these are high in protein and will support muscle growth. Edamame are high in protein but because of their higher estrogen content, consume them every 2nd or 3rd day. Make sure the quantity of beans amount to at least 20 grams of protein and eat at least 20-30 grams of protein per meal every 3 hours over 6 meals. Combine these beans with brown rice or sweet potato with two or three cruciferous vegetables like Swiss chard (silverbeet), broccoli, spinach or asparagus.
But do not eat beans after 5pm as they are still high in carbs and will result in body fat storage if not utilized.
If you are able to eat eggs I would suggest an assorted (garlic, onion, pepper, mushroom and zucchini) vegetable 8 organic egg-white omelet for dinner. I also suggest you add egg whites or a high quality (bovine free) whey protein powder with your oatmeal or cream of buckwheat cereal in the morning. A high quality natural whey protein for a mid-afternoon meal with raw nuts is also ideal.
Taking an L-Glutamine supplement and branch chain aminos for extra protein will make up for the lack of meat and fish protein and help you build muscle.
I have quite a few high protein vegetarian recipes on this blog at www.ferrafitness.com/www you should look at.
Other great resources are books: The Perricone Promise, Ultra-Metabolism and The Pump Energy Food cook book.
If you remain consistent with my recommendations you will add quality muscle to your physique and have more energy and strength to perform your workouts with greater intensity and focus.
Let me know how you progress.
Best,
Gennaro
The great weather is just around the corner ladies and gents so bring your friends, your kids, and moms for this totally unique and exhilirating weights free total body workout routine based on graceful movement through space combined with artistic isometric poses.
Classes start in April so check back for the weekly schedule.