As I sit here writing this update within the comfy confines of my local Barnes and Noble, there is a “peculiar” old woman sitting 3 feet away from me, staring me down like I’ve got flames coming out of my eyes (and newsflash: no flames emanating from my deep blue pupils, just truth).
Kinda weird. Anyways…
Lots has been going on lately that’s prevented me from updating the blog recently, so my bizzad for that. Before you forgive me, let me tell you why, and what’s been going on.
I’ve been super busy with this crazy, but always exciting thing called life (did I pronounce that right? LOL).
Between training in “real life”, my new Platinum Athletic Clients, helping everyone in the Destroy The 40 Program and helping run all the different websites for TAQ, FIF and EBH (my 3 products), I’ve sort of been tied up.
On top of that, I’ve also started writing a book (a REAL book, that is). Very early stages right now, but it actually isn’t just about training or fitness, but about lifestyle, influence, self-help, lots of cool stuff that I’m enormously passionate about, so I’ve been beyond EXCITED about that (and I’ll be sure to keep you guys posted on that).
I’ve also think I’ve put together a good “email update” schedule that should work out well for you and for me…here’s what it looks like:
1. EVERY Monday morning, you’ll get an email from me sending you here, to the Game Speed Insider Blog to a BRAND-NEW blog post that will look a lot like what’s going on below: stories, recaps, new information about training and everything else in between that I’ve come across or that’s been on my mind in the last week.
It will be exactly what you’ve come to expect of me: Entertaining, informative and occasionally ridiculous.
2. During the week, I’m going to be sending you training tips and tricks during the week DIRECTLY TO YOUR EMAIL INBOX.
What I’ve heard from a lot of readers is that they check their emails on their Blackberry’s and IPhones and clicking links can cause trouble for them, so it’d be much easier if I sent you all the tips, tricks and stories directly to YOUR email (instead of putting it here on the blog).
On top of the information, I’ll also continue to recommend to you the BEST products available out there related to whatever the info we’re talking about pertains to, so if you’re looking for more info than what can be offered in a collection of emails, you’ve got the hook up.
Annnnnd, that’s the gist of my super-human “email plan”. Lol.
So, to recap, every MONDAY, click the link in your email to come back here to get the weekly update on the blog (which I’ll have spent all week putting together, so basically, it’ll kick ass).
Then during the week, you’ll get a couple emails from me with new, cutting-edge information, along with the usual tomfoolery and humor I pepper into my email recipes. Sounds cool, right?
Moving on, let’s get to this week’s recap!
1) There is something I’ve drank way too much of the last month of my life (and although there *may* have been a few interspersed nights there of red bull-vodka’s, that’s surprisingly not what I’m referring to). So what is it? Naked Juice.
No, not me standing naked drinking juice (which still obviously looks good), but “Naked Juice“.
About a month ago, I was down in Tampa, Florida, hanging out with my fitness buddies Elliott Hulse and Ryan Magin.
Leaving the gym after a killer workout, we were driving around town thirsty and decided to stop into a 7-Eleven to grab something to drink.
Walking in, I headed back to the refrigerator’s section, probably to get a Gatorade or Powerade (depends on which company wants to sponsor me first).
Ryan was behind me, so I went for my drink first. I figured he was going for the same thing when, shockingly, he instead took a sharp left and opted for the fridge door NEXT to me.
Puzzled, I watched a little more intently to see what kind of mischievousness Magin was up to now…
Reaching out for the TOP shelf, he quickly swooped in and grabbed a drink that I had seen before, but never even thought twice about: A Naked Juice.
Intrigued and curious, I for some reason decided to follow suit. Call it fate, serendipity, just me following my vibes, whatever, but for some unknown reason, I knew at that point in time, I needed to drink a Naked Juice. So that’s what I did.
We waltzed over to the cash register, each paid for our respective NJ’s (his was a Berry Blast, mine a Green Machine) and walked outside under the warm Florida sun.
Taking a seat on a bench near the parking lot, I slowly uncapped my mystery beverage and began to lift the elixir to my lips…
Sip, sip… WOW.
The Green Machine hit me HARD…
You know that feeling when you meet a new person in your life, and you get all giddy thinking about this new crush and everything’s so cool and exciting and you get that butterfly feeling in your stomach? That’s sorta how I felt about my drink (totally normal and not weird at all, right?).
I smoothly finished that one and was instantly hooked.
Doing a little bit more research, I found that Naked Juice is shockingly healthy and equally awesome (according to the label, my drink had 3 apples in it…what up!). Maybe their marketing is a little misleading, but I really don’t care if they misrepresent their ingredients a little bit mainly because every last drop is so damn refreshing.
And since that day, I’ve happily consumed at least one Naked Juice a day and become somewhat of a connoisseur in the process.
You have your Green Machine, Berry Blast, Orange Mango, Just Juice and a bunch of others. My favorite though is the Protein Zone, the protein-infused Naked Juice.
The Awesome.
It’s main protein source is from Whey and it tastes sooooo smooth. If you’ve never been a protein shake drinker, it might make you jump your pants for a second, but it has a kick ass after taste and you’ll feel great (not to mention look like one of the cool kids) sipping on one…perfect for post-workout nutrition too.
One key reminder though: When you’re shaking the bottle before you drink one, don’t just timidly shake it in your hand like everyone else. You may or may not be too young to remember this, but when Snapple drinks first came out years ago, it was cool to smack the bottom of the bottle to mix the ingredients…
…it’s time to bring the same slick move back with Naked Juice.
So, when you pick up your next bottle of the new best stuff on Earth, give that behind a good smack or two…do it loud enough so everyone around you knows that
1) care about your health
2) drink Naked Juice and
3) aren’t afraid to give stuff a little something or someone if they get out of hand, LOL.
Moving on….
2) Spring has moved in and is slowly bringing summer with it.
This is easily my favorite time of year, when you can feel the sun smiling at you and the cool breeze blow behind your ears (females also wear less clothing for all of you pigs out there — shame on you…LOL, wow, I really can’t say that with a straight face).
It also means OUTDOOR WORKOUTS. Sure, the gym is great and maybe even necessary to really develop fully as an athlete, but once in a while, it’s just dope to break up the monotony, get outside and do something new.
I always dig cruising around town, finding open areas of awesomeness to work out on and then, just.. Going. At. It.
I used to bring a lot of implements and stuff with me, like sleds, medicine balls, dumbbells, even The Prowler when I was feeling extra frisky, but lately, I’ve had this urge to go as “au naturale” as possible so it’s just me, maybe some friends and all bodyweight training, using gravity as resistance, and it has been KILLER.
I’ll see if I can get some footage for you soon, but as you guys are aware, there are 2 Bodyweight Programs I highly recommend in case you’re interested in learning more about Bodyweight Training and how to get absolutely ripped and lean using it:
Recommendation 1: Bodyweight Exercise Revolution (from worldwide bodyweight experts and good friends Adam Steer and Ryan Murdock)
Recommendation 2: Turbulence Training For Athletes (cheaper option, bodyweight program from my business mentor and Men’s Health Expert Trainer Craig Ballantyne)
3) I’ve recently taken up a new hobby that may or may not have raised my final score on the awesomeness scale, depending on whether or not you saw me biff last week (biff – to fall HARD).
What’s the new hobby?
Longboarding.
Here’s how it happened...I was driving through town a few weeks ago in the “busy” part of town and there must’ve been 10 or 12 people having the time of their life on their longboards.
Cool…no big deal though, right?
I kept driving through town, back into a nearby neighberhood, and BY GOLLY, what do I see?
More longboarders looking like they just discovered <insert artificial sweetner that’s “in” right now>…forgive me for the poor analogy, lol, just know they looked absolutely JUBILANT.
At that point, the idea of me getting a longboard was slowly starting to creep into my mind, you know, the seeds had been planted, but still, the soil isn’t that good and I figured this is going to take sometime to fully bloom, if it ever does.
Continuing to drive, I hook a left onto the main street from the neighberhoods, and what do I see?
A giant dragon, fire-breathing on oncoming traffic.
OK, what else did I see?
More longboarders.
At that point, I was just s-o-l-d. I stopped whatever it was I planning on doing and drove right over to the nearest skate shop, picked out a longboard and got to it.
That was almost a month ago now, and I have gotten really damn OK at it.
I can get from place to place on it while still maintaining an aura of badassery, and it’s been a really easy way to add some NEPA (non-exercise physical activity) to my daily thang.
Also, I just learned the inspiration for my basketball career, Steve Nash, longboards all the time….not surprised, but certainly ecstatic.
As you probably know, it’s NOT easy to get into The Program, and for those select athletes who made it in, I can’t wait to get some unreal results for each and every one of you. Kewlness.
5) I played in a local 3 on 3 basketball tournament last weekend. As someone who’s played in basketball tournaments for 43.6% of my waking life, I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with the whole process (I’ve also gotten sorta good at winning them).
Moreover, there is always a slew of characters and tantalizing story lines underlying the competition. Here are my 3 favorite:
The Guy Who Won’t Stop Talking
This guy is usually a decent baller. He has a solid jumpshot, good understanding of the game and knows all the nuances of the tournament set-up so as to maximize his squad’s chance. His biggest weakness? His mouth doesn’t stop.
At any given time, you can find him either:
1) Telling you how good he is (which, ironically, is really his insecurities just manifesting themselves as talking a lot, because he needs to hear how good he is from somewhere, and since no one else is saying it, he’s willing to pick up the void <end psychological report>)
-OR-
2) On the sidelines, discussing his squad’s chances with anyone who will listen on the sidelines.
But here’s the thing, you don’t dislike him; to the contrary, you actually kinda dig him, because at least he knows who he is, doesn’t apologize for it and in case you ever find yourself bored or disinterested, you can find someone to entertain you…
…”Talk Too Much Guy”, I salute your indefatigable self.
The Numbers Ninja
Where you can find him? At the scorer’s table.
What’s he doing there? Fixing the brackets, since he’s the only one who understands how to work the tourney, what with the winners and losers brackets, double elimination stuff and other related/complicated 3 on 3 intricacies.
I’m not sure that this guy even plays, but you can be sure the tournament would NOT run as smoothly if not for his statistical acumen.
Note: He may also be the player-coach for his team.
The Ringer Squad
You know this team based on 3 things:
1. They have at least one player that no one in the entire tournament has ever seen or met before.
2. They have at least one player at least 5 inches taller than the 2nd tallest player in the tourney.
3. They cause a stir to start off the tournament, then slowly fade out as it continues (probably due to karma more so than lack of talent/skill).
These guys are usually the favorites early on, but don’t usually end up winning. The best part is that EVERYONE else in the tournament doesn’t care at all that they don’t win; they’re all actually secretly (or publicly) cheering against this team.
MOVING ON, it was an all-day tournament on a Sunday, so I knew I had to make sure I was in tip-top form and fully recovered from all my own personal training by game day.
Quick Training Lesson: When you’re training, you’re basically breaking down your body and nervous system.
Your body then adapts to these stresses, so it can better prepare for them the next time you work out (aka, this is why you get stronger or faster from training).
That time period where your body’s growing back and getting stronger, that’s known as the “recovery period”.
Simple, right? You work out, then take a little time off to let your body recover and grow back stronger, then you do it again…you do it enough, and before you know it, you’re a rockstar.
What you need to know is that, although your body is consistently recovering workout to workout, most athletes don’t allow enough time for FULL recovery.
They get enough so it’s not immediately noticeable, but after a while those little bits of fatigue begin to add up, and soon enough, you’re feeling a little slower, a little weaker and a little more tired than normal. We’ll call that accumulated fatigue.
Accumulated fatigue can come rear it’s unattractive head out of nowhere, especially when you think everything is status quo and cool, and it will latch onto you, slow you down and then not leave you alone (exactly like that girl from the bar last weekend…digressing though).
This is exactly why I almost always recommend athletes take every 4th weeks of training easy (NOT off, but just easy).
Reduced workload, reduced intensity, reduced mental focus…increased food intake, more sleep and more time doing other fun stuff.
So, going to back to me getting ready for this tournament, I knew I was carrying around some accumulated fatigue from my last few months of training, PLUS the obvious fact that I want to PEAK for the tournament and be at my best.
So here’s what my training schedule looked like for the whole week leading up the tournament (tournament was on a Sunday):
Monday – Lower body workout (cut out deadlifts, just used my body weight for glute ham raises, then a series of bodyweight lunge variations, followed by a bunch of hip mobility work and static stretching)
Tuesday – Shot around for 40 minutes
Wednesday – Played pick-up ball for an hour and a half. Upper body lift (Incline Bench Press, Incline Dumbbell Rows, Dumbbell Overhead Press and Barbell Curls).
Thursday – Chilled. Worked. Read. Watched re-runs of Californication.
Friday -Played pick-up for 45 minutes. Did a short full-body, bodyweight workout (tons of variations of pushups, squats and lunges).
Saturday – Shot for 40 minutes, stretched for 20.
Sunday – *Tournament Day*
Woke up feeling kick-ass Sunday, did some bodyweight exercises a few hours before the tourney began to get the body and nervous system “woken up” and then absolutely crushed it at the tournament.
And my team’s prize for winning the whole thing? A gift certificate to Lou and Harry’s, a local food jizzoint and bar…all that work for free food and drinks, S.M.H (shaking my head).
I promise not to spend all of it on alcohol, Mom.
6) The new word of this week is “Don Reddy”.
I won’t take credit for this creative content, mainly because I didn’t come up with it (instead I’ll give some national pub to my buds Blake Rochkind and Ethan David. Now 20,000 more people don’t know which one of you pimpz created the word…nice.).
What’s it mean? It’s more of a comment than an actual word. It simply means “Dude, way to kick ass, way to take charge, that’s killer.”
How do I use “Don Reddy” in my everyday life? E to the Z. Here are some examples:
<guy sets up date with girl he’s been intrigued by for a while>
His friend to him on hearing the news: “Don Reddy.”
<Pilot safely lands airplane>
Stewardess walks into cabin: “Don Reddy.”
<Doctor treats sick patient>
Nurse: “Don Reddy.”
<David beats up Goliath>
David’s Mom: “Don Reddy.”
<you score free tickets to a Trey Songz concert>
The entire universe to you: “Don Reddy.”
<you score free tickets to a Linkin Park concert>
The entire universe to you: “Don Reddy.”
<you score free tickets to a Ke$ha concert>
The entire universe to you: “I no longer have any respect for you.”
Let’s try a couple conversations now…
Bizness Guy 1: I just nailed down the company’s biggest deal of the year. We’re celebrating tonight, getting rowdy. You coming?”
Bizness Guy 2: “Don Reddy.”
—————————————————————
Thomas Edison: “So I invented this thing that lights up whenever you want it to, called a lightbulb. I’ve been able to stay up a lot later with it. It’s kind of dope.”
Henry Ford: “Don to the Reddy. Guess what? I met this chick last night…she seems amazing. She gave me her address, but I think it’d just be easier to close if I could reach her without having to go over there (you know, to keep playing it cool). What do you think I should do?”
Thomas Edison: “I bet if we talked to AGB (Alexander Graham Bell), we could get him to create something for that. I’m meeting him at Starbucks tomorrow, I’ll mention it to him.”
Henry Ford: “Don Reddy.”
7) Here is my favorite training song of the last week. It’s not as new as it once was, but really, what is?
Hope you enjoyed everything above, I *truly* appreciate all of your support and everything you do for me; it’s you that motivates me to continue pushing my creativity and everything I’ve been able to build on the Internet.
NOW, let me know this in the Comments Section: What is your current favorite training song?
We’ll be able to get a good list going of some wicked training songs. And if you do decide to pick a Ke$ha song, I was only kidding above, I won’t lost all respect for you…I think.
Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article
Joshua U
April 26, 2010
Entertaining Alex. I was looking for an excuse to stop reading the entire way, but you held me to the end
I think Ludacris is a bit of a fag, but I actually liked that song! Not bad Alex. As for my training music, anything by Armin Van Buuren and DJ Tiesto. Most songs played to advertise the NBA get me excited (Pavlov Dogs…)
Joseph
April 26, 2010
Love the Quick Training Lesson
Hadi
April 26, 2010
Right now it’s I’ll be in the sky by BOB and Run Rabbit Run by eminem
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I promise not to spend all of it on alcohol, Mom.
and he made me drink way too many while at a certain starbux coffee in Vegas…
