Fitness America Weekend

Hey guys

This past November 20-21 in Las Vegas, our winning team from the Workout Loft, New York competed at the Fitness America Weekend.

The Fitness America Weekend included 600 of the world’s best natural athletes who competed in the Fitness, Ms. Bikini, Figure, Model and Musclemania Divisions. Magazine and television media were there with over 30 photographers and video crews shooting the action all weekend.

We had 3 competitors in the Bodybuilding and Fitness and Figure divisions and two came back with championship titles as we did in the past.

Team Workout Loft is now competing not just at the National Level but we are going on to the World stage. Stay tuned for an exciting 2010!






A big thanks to all of you out there.

Alejandro
New York Muscle™

Workout Loft team dominates Musclemania 2009

Hey guys

To start the new year, I wanted to highlight some of our successes in the past year.  Last year, we brought home to NYC two world champions.

Claudine - Second from the left

Claudine - First from the left the left

Claudine Prowse - Fitness Figure Classics Champion

Marie Manon - Natural bodybuilding champion in Masters Category

Claudine with me, her personal trainer

The Two Champions: Marie Manon and me

Our Workout Loft Team from New York dominates the Fitness America Weekend this year in Las Vegas.
Our team from New York won two world championship titles:
Claudine Prowse won in the Fitness Figure Classics Category and Marie Manon won in the Bodybuilding Division.

The Workout Loft Team is led by Joe DiAngelo and myself, 2008 World Universe Champion.
This is a repeat of our success at the 2008 Musclemania World Universe Weekend.

We competed with 600 of the world’s best natural athletes in Fitness, Figure and Bodybuilding Divisions. Magazine and television media covered the event with over 30 photographers and video crews shooting the action all weekend. With competitors representing over 80 countries, this was a great World Championships for natural fitness athletes around the globe!

We want to thank God for the wisdom, ability and strength to achieve what we have attained. We are deeply humbled and honored. Without God we would not be able to pull this off.

Thanks
Alejandro
New York Muscle™

The Breakfast

A healthy breakfast that includes high-fiber cereal can help you lose weight and keep diabetes, heart disease and stroke at bay.

When you skip breakfast, however, you are likely to become tired when your brain and body run low on fuel. So, by mid-morning, you might grab a cup of coffee or wolf down a sugary candy bar to wake up again. Although this might work for a few minutes, by lunch time you will likely be hungry, crabby and perhaps your mood might make you a little more prone to make unhealthy choices at lunch.

Skipping breakfast is a common strategy for losing weight but not a smart one. Many people believe that they will lose weight if they skip meals but that just isn't true. The fact is, the body expects to be refueled a few times each day—starting with breakfast.

Therefore, eating breakfast is actually good for weight loss. In fact, people who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.

Research suggests that breakfast eaters are leaner than those who skip the morning meal, with one study reporting that missing breakfast was associated with a fourfold increase in the risk of obesity (February issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch). High-fiber cereals are central to breakfast's health benefits and can help men reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and even intestinal polyps and colon cancer.

Look for breakfast cereals that provide at least 6 grams of fiber per serving, suggests Harvard Men's Health Watch, but make sure your choice is low in sugar (less than 10 grams per serving). Add, berries or green apple slices to turn that bowl of fiber into a tasty meal.

For me, the best way to start a great day is to make my own breakfast at home. I wake up 30 min earlier and go straight to my coffee machine. Next, I start cracking the eggs. For guys, I would recommend 6 to 8 egg whites and for ladies, 2 to 4. While the eggs are cooking, I will prepare 1 cup of oats in a bowl with 2 cups of water. (For ladies, half a cup of oats with 1 cup of water will suffice.) Microwave this for about 3 min. That's it! Coffee, eggs and oats all ready...how easy is that?

If you want some additional flavor, you can spice up your oatmeal with some ground cinnamon or a sprinkle of stevia or splenda. So start your kitchen running first thing in the morning!

Thanks again

Alejandro
New York Muscle™

Endives

Endive is a vegetable that looks very much like lettuce. It is also known as escarole or chicory and is very closely related to the dandelion plant. Its taste is rather bitter but it contains a particular compound that may be tremendously helpful for our optic system.

Among all the green vegetables, the endive is one of the richest sources of vitamin A. It is also a good source of vitamin C, calcium, chlorine, iron, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur; and an excellent provider of fiber and carotene. Furthermore, each leave contains only one calorie, so endive is a delight to weight watchers.

Some other potential health benefits include these:

Constipation: The necessary nutrients and fiber in this green salad vegetable helps relieve constipation. You can mix it with apple or carrot juice.

Eye problems: For degenerative eye problems like cataract and glaucoma.

Liver and gall bladder: Endive helps promote the secretion of bile for that extra cleansing so mix some of it with any of your favorite juices.

Weight loss: Its low calorie makes this an excellent food. Juice it or just eat it.

Acne: Regularly drinking endive juice with other juices may help to clear up skin problems like acne.

Asthma: Drink mixed juice containing endive, carrot and celery for best help in reducing asthma attacks.

Anemia: Endive with celery and parsley juice can do wonders for people who are anemic as this combination acts as a powerful blood tonic.

Cancer: As an excellent source of vitamin A, it could be a wonderful prevention for cancers of the rectum, melanoma and bladder.

Personally, I love endives as they taste great...they have that exclusively buttery taste that makes the best salads. And coming soon....don't miss my endive salad recipe.

Thanks guys!

Alejandro
New York Muscle™

Workout Tips for Any Sport, Part 2

Hey guys

Hope those tips from my last post helped. Here is the second part.

1. One set, to failure. Instead of doing 2-3 sets, as many people do, maximize your effectiveness by doing just one, with heavy weights, until you can no longer keep the proper form. Lifting to “failure” doesn’t mean that you should lift the last few times with a wobbly or inefficient form.
   
   
2. Compound exercises. Instead of isolating your muscles with exercises such as the bicep curl, you can maximize the time you spend in a workout by doing exercises that work out multiple muscle groups at once. With just a few exercises, you could get a full-body workout. Another benefit is that your muscles are working together as they do in the real world, rather than alone. Some great compound exercises include squats, deadlifts, good mornings, lunges, pushups, bench presses, military presses, rows, pullups, dips, and more.
   
   
3. Balance lifting. Instead of having exercises where you’re sitting down or holding on to something or otherwise stabilized, it’s more effective to do them standing up, or on one leg, or on a Swiss exercise ball. These types of exercises force you to balance yourself while lifting, which brings your core muscles into play. This gives you a stronger overall body and allows you to lift more over time.
   
   
4. Pick a cardio exercise you enjoy. It’s no fun to exercise if you hate it. And you won’t keep it up for very long. Pick something that’s fun — running, walking, swimming, biking, hiking, rowing, stairmaster, etc. After the initial phase when you’re getting used to exercise, you’ll start to have a blast and look forward to it.
   
   
5. Mix it up. Don’t stick to the same workout routine for too long, or your body will adjust to the stress level and you won’t be getting an effective workout. For strength training, change your routine every few weeks. For cardio, it’s best to cross train rather than, say, to run every time.
   
   
6. Good form. For strength training especially, and swimming, form is very important, but it’s also important for other types of exercise. If you’re strength training, start with lighter weights so you can work on your form. It’s good to have an experienced spotter or trainer who knows good form to help you for the first month or so. Never sacrifice form for heavier weight. For swimming, you’ll need to get a coach to teach you form.
   
   
7. Hills. If you run or bike or walk for cardio, you’ll want to incorporate hills (after the first month or two of doing it at an easy pace on flat ground). These will make you stronger and make your limited workout time even more effective. Take them easy at first, but once you’re used to hills, you can get a good pace going. Either use a hilly route or do repeats on one hill.
   
   
8. Circuits. One mistake that people make is to do multiple sets of the same exercise without rest between the sets. This doesn’t allow your muscles to recover and it’s a waste of your workout. But instead of doing a set, resting, and then doing your second set, it’s more effective to move on to multiple exercises in a circuit, so that you don’t rest between exercises but do rest each muscle group.This will give you a good cardio workout while you do your strength training.

Enjoy your summer and make sure you keep up your water intake

Alejandro
New York Muscle™

Workout Tips for Any Sport, Part 1

Hey guys

Now that summer is finally here and the sun is actually shining in NYC, it's time to really put our workouts into high gear. Regardless of what your preferred sport is this summer, here are some useful tips. I'm going to break this into two parts and here's the first part.

1. Limit your workouts to 30-40 minutes. Though the tendency of some people who really want to get a lot out of their workouts is to spend a lot of time at the gym, the truth is that after 30 or 40 minutes, the benefit isn’t as great. To go that long, you’d have to lower the intensity of the workout, and that means that you’re spending too much time working out. It’s better to work out at a higher intensity for a shorter amount of time.
   
   
2. High-intensity workouts. If you’re just starting out with exercise, it’s best to take it slow. If you’re running or cycling, for example, build up your endurance for at least a month before you get into anything more intense. That means going at a rate where you can easily talk without being out of breath. However, once you have that base of endurance, step up the intensity to step up the effectiveness of the workout.
   
   
3. Protein. Many people don’t pay enough attention to getting the protein their muscles need to rebuild. If you don’t, you are going to get very little out of your workout, as both cardio and strength workouts require protein for building muscles. I recommend either whey or soy protein shakes.
   
   
4. Water. Be sure to hydrate throughout the day. It takes a couple of hours for your body to absorb the water, so you can’t just drink right before exercise. Make it a habit to drink water regularly throughout the day.
   
   
5. Carbs. Although the low-carb craze might say otherwise, carbs are our body’s main source of fuel. If you do intense workouts, you will need carbs, or you won’t have enough energy. If you do a shake, be sure to include carbs — or a banana is a great source of low fiber/high glycemic carbohydrates that you need for exercise.
   
   
6. Shake before and after workout. It’s best to take a protein/carb shake just before your workout and then just after. Taking it before your workout increases the flow of amino acids to your muscles during training, giving them the building blocks they need. After the workout, the shake stimulates muscle growth. Also take a small protein/carb meal 60-90 minutes after a workout — a meal replacement bar would work fine.
   
   
7. Slow lifting. Many people contract their muscles slowly and then release more quickly. But if you lift slowly in both directions, you are maximizing each move. Lift and lower to a 5-second count in each direction.
   
   
8. Heavier weight. When you’re starting out, it’s best to start with lower weights so you can focus on good form. But once you’ve gotten your form down, it’s best to lift the heaviest weights you can lift while still keeping good form. Don’t sacrifice form for heavy weights — that is ineffective. But heavy weights, with good form, can give you better results in a shorter amount of time. Heavy weights are not just for those who want to bulk up — that’s a common misconception.

Have a great start to summer with these tips and I'll be back with Part 2.

Alejandro
New York Muscle™

Summer Strawberry and Spinach Salad

Hey guys

Now that Summer is almost here, I thought I'd share with you an easy recipe that you could whip up any time you need something fresh, tasty and healthy.

Summer Strawberry and Spinach Salad
1 bag of spinach
4 cups of sliced strawberries
1/4 cup of champagne vinegar
1/4 teaspoon of paprika
2 tablespoon of sesame seeds

In a large bowl, toss the spinach with the strawberries. In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, vinegar, paprika and sesame seeds. Pour this mixture over the strawberries and spinach and toss lightly to coat evenly. Serve.

Enjoy this quick and refreshing salad this Summer.

Alejandro
New York Muscle™