Post-Workout Shake- The Orange Dreamcicle

You’re going to think this is gross—but just try it out.

Orange Gatorade + vanilla protein powder.

I thought it sounded awful until I was finally convinced to try it; and it is delicious. Taste-wise it’s the perfect combination of refreshing and filling after a workout.

In terms of nutrition, it provides the quick digesting sugar needed immediately following a heavy, cardio-intensive workout, with protein to build muscle.

Here’s my recipe. Mix together in shaker:

- 4 oz cold water
- 12 oz orange Gatorade
- 2 scoops vanilla whey

Hitting the Weights

It’s been nearly a week since I’ve hopped back into working out and I’ve learned one thing: I will never go two weeks without doing some cardio ever again. Seriously. 

And since even running just a few sets of stairs leaves me heaving, I have put my focus into maintaining my strength through lifting. Here was today’s session, which makes for a full body workout

Repeat each set 3 times with needed rest in between. 

Set 1 (Back and Legs)

- Deadlifts (225 lbs x 10 reps)

- Squats (225 lbs x 10 reps)

- Lat Pull Down (150 lbs x 10 reps)

- Running Stairs (2 min)

Set 2 (Chest, Bicep, Tricep)

- Chest Press Drop Set (155 lbs x 7), (145 lbs x 7), (135 lbs x 7)

- Bicep Barbel Curls (65 lbs x 10)

- Tricep Extension (x10)

Set 3 (Shoulder, Chest, Traps)

- Shoulder Press Barbell (80 lbs x 10)

- Barbell Shoulder Shrugs (150 lbs x 15)

- Chest Fly (100 lbs x 10)

Set 4 (Core and Cardio)

- Ball Crunches (x20)

- Leg Raises with weighted ball (x10)

- Russian Twists (x10)

- Bike (1 min) 

Hopefully I won’t be too sore tomorrow for when I run my first 5K in two weeks. Wish me luck….

- Not-So-Big Joe

Eight Months in 10 Seconds

As I begin part two of my health initiative, I thought it would be nice to reflect on how far I've come in the last eight months. So, with a little photoshop and morphing magic, check out how 95 pounds disappears. Abracadabra! 

100 Pounds Later...

There are some moments that are wake-up calls--and being told you are technically "obese" is certainly one of them.

That's exactly what happened when I went to have my fitness evaluation at my local gym last year. After playing three varsity sports in high school and being a generally adventuresome kind of guy, it was a shock to weigh in at 285 lbs. at 6-feet-tall. 

That was 8 months ago--eight long months! Since then I've hit the gym hard and stopped eating my weight in pizza and have lost nearly 100 pounds. You might be thinking, "Why the heck did he start a wight loss blog after losing more than one-third of his body weight?" The truth is that I've come to realize that my weight is not a diet or series of workout routines--It's going to have to be a lifestyle.

And with this blog, I hope to share how I've maintained this lifestyle for the last 8 months and for many more years to come. I'll there will be killer workouts and yummy, healthy recipes. And there there will also be bumps and bruises along the way. For that final result, we will just have to weight and see.

-Not So Big Joe