To My Followers...

Hey there guys.

Due to Facebook no longer allowing me to post this blog on Facebook, I've unfortunately had to change the address.  Now it's http://jmlworkouts.blogspot.com/

Feel free to follow!  Just posted a new Motivational Monday!

Check Out My New Blog!

http://jmlworkouts.blogspot.com/

New Workout: A White Lie Workout: Phase 1

Hey there everybody!  The workout blog is back!  Since it's the new year, it's gonna be a new workout routine.
Here's the skinny: I am currently working on a movie called A White Lie, which takes place in the bodybuilding and fitness world, and focuses on an aspiring bodybuildier, Garrett, who must make peace with his gay twin brother while dealing with a stalker.  He also finds love in a girl named Helen.  It's a pretty wild ride.
My character is Andrew, who is both trained by Garrett as a bodybuilder, and by Helen, who runs a dance studio.  Thus, my character is a blend of both the bodybuilding and dance world; two places that value physical perfection.
How do I do this?  By kicking my own ass.  By the beginning of March, my director, Curtis James Salt, wants me to gain about 10-15 pounds of muscles, with most of that being in my upper body (arms and chest in particular).  In addition, I will most likely have to be doing lifts and I may have a shirtless scene or two, so I have to get well-defined.
Challenge?  You bet.
I say bring it on.
But first, let's check out some stats.  The goal is to gain about 10-15 pounds of muscle by the second week of March of this year, and to try and cut down to (minimally) 5% body fat.  These stats are to check my progress.  I am also taking stats based off of what I know for bodybuilding, so symmetry is also key.  Let's check them out:

Height - 6'2

Weight – 166 pounds 

Body Fat Percentage: 6.5%

Neck: 16 inches 

Shoulders: 47.5 inches

Chest: 40.5 inches

Waist above navel: 31.25 inches

Waist at navel: 32 inches

Waist at widest hip: 39.25 inches

Right Leg at Widest Point: 23 inches

Left Leg at Widest Point: 23 inches

Right Calf at Widest Point: 15.5 inches

Left Calf at Widest Point: 15.5 inches

Right Bicep Unflexed: 13 inches

Right Bicep Flexed: 15 inches

Left Bicep Unflexed: 13 inches

Left Bicep Flexed: 15 inches

Right Forearm at Widest Point: 12.5 inches

Left Forearm at Widest Point: 12.75 inches

Overall, not bad.  Now since I have to build my upper body, I'm doing a variation of a workout I did a few months back, called the Functional Fight Club Workout.  However, this workout is geared towards gaining functional weight, so I had to up the weight and lower the reps to gain the size needed.  Here's the result.  There are four circuits, each working on a specific part of the upper body: chest; triceps; back and biceps; shoulders.  Each of these circuits are done 3 times through, with little to no rest.  After each circuit is completed, you jump rope for 1 minute, followed by about a minute rest, to transition and set everything else up.  Let's check it out on paper!
A White Lie Workout: Phase 1: Upper Body and Core

Circuit 1: Chest: 3 times through, no rest

• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3x6: 50 pound dumbbells
• Pushup: 3xAMAP: 15/15/15
• Bent Arm Dumbbell Pullover: 3x6: 40 pounds
• Cable Flys: 3x6: 50 pounds/55 pounds x2

Rest: Jump rope for 1 minute

Circuit 2: Triceps: 3 times through, no rest

• Dips: 3x AMAP: 11/11/9
• Triceps Rope Extension with Flare: 3x6: 80 pounds/85 pounds/85 pounds
• TRX Triceps Extension: 3x6

Rest: Jump rope for 1 minute

Circuit 3: Back/Biceps: 3 times through, no rest

• Pull Ups: 3x AMAP: 6/5/5
• V-Handle Pulldown: 3x6: 100 pounds/105 pounds/105 pounds
• TRX Row: 3x6
• Dumbbell Clean and Press: 3x6/side: 35 pound dumbbell

Rest: Jump rope 1 minute

Circuit 4: Shoulders: 3 times through, no rest

• TRX Inverted Press: 3x6/side
• Thrusters: 3x6: 35 pound dumbbells
• Single Arm Dumbbell Snatch: 3x6/side: 40 pound dumbbell
• Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 3x6: 12 pound dumbbells

Rest: Jump rope for 1 minute

Overall, I'm pretty pleased.  In the coming weeks, I'll start posting photos of these exercises.  For now, check out a photo of me showing off my physique and check out the link below for our website, as well as our fundraising campaign for indiegogo!

You know you wanna fund this ;)

New Year Motivational Monday: Seize the Day!

Motivational Monday 2012 is back and in style!
You know those New Year's Resolutions?  Well, now might be a good time to start those things.  Don't wait until tomorrow to start them; do them today, or at least take steps to do so.  Carpe Diem, as they say (for those of you who don't know that saying, that means "Seize the Day."
Me?  I'm starting a new training routine for building up muscle for a role I'm doing (more on that in a later post) so I'm gonna be hitting the weights and the kitchen hard! 
Enjoy today and every day, and let's start 2012 off right!

Stretched Out!

NYRs, Consistency and Patience

It's almost 2012, and, like clockwork, everyone is gearing up for their New Year's Resolutions.  Yes, New Year's Resolutions always creep up around this time of year like clockwork or that buddy who always "forgets their wallet" when you go out to lunch. 
Many people do the typical New Year's Resolutions: they toss out the potato chips, join a gym or start scratching items off of their Bucket List, and dive head first into the deep end, without water wings or even a wetsuit.
Well, it gets cold in the pool if you haven't warmed up to it, and you'll soon jump out of the water, convinced you'll never do that again.  It's the same thing with the resolutions (or NYR as I call them).  You go balls to the wall, never thinking about the consequences...or planning...or really, with any sense at all.  That's why about 3 out of 4 people don't keep with their NYRs after a few weeks.  You've got to have a plan.
That's why I have my three big NYRs, complete with plans.  Read for them?  Here we go:
1.) Cook More Often.  I used to be very into cooking (used to be pretty good at it too), but during college that fell by the wayside, and I forgot a lot that I knew.  I started getting back into it several months ago, but my culinary skills still need some refreshing.  So here's my outline for cooking:

• Cook dinner for myself at least once a week
• Plan what I'm cooking for before I head out to the grocery store
• Find recipes that I can manage within my time frame (about an hour; more or less depending on the week) First food item on the list: fruited chicken thighs, combining some of my favorite items to eat: chicken and fruit, yum!
• Write out a grocery list!  This should go without saying. 

2.) Be More Organized.  This one I've always struggled with.  Having grown up in a messy household, and being ADHD on top of it, organization has never been a strong suit of mine.  While I've gotten gradually better over the years, I want to get even better.  Here's my stuff to do:

• Clean for about 10 minutes a day, more when I get the chance.
• Get something to keep all my daily to-do items handy (if you have an iPhone, iPod touch or an iPad, I recommend either the "Reminders" section that comes with the latest software update, or this little app called organize; the best part?  It's free!)
• Keep on top of things; if I can find time to do something, do it NOW, not tomorrow.

3.) Stay Disciplined.  This means in all aspects: work, acting, training, etc.  I've been pretty good about it; now I want to get better.  Much better.  Dare to strive for greatness even. 

• Practice consistency.  Get into a routine.  Don't upset the routine (or upset it as minimally as possible)
• Have someone hold me accoutable who will actually hold me accountable!  Sorry best friends, but you won't do; I need someone tough, who will force me to hold myself to an almost unattainable standard.  Any takers?
• Work before pleasure.  That should go without saying as well, but you'd be surprised how many people don't do that.  Especially me.

Take some time off to recharge.  Little vacations if you will.  If going to California has taught me anything about my life, it's that I need to do "working vacations:" little things a couple of times a year where I get to "work" (do some acting connections, work out), but also know how to have fun.  I'm a work-a-holic, so this last one might prove a bit of a challenge.
The key to this list is not nessecarily being perfect at it from the get go; it is being consistent and doing the best you can each day.  It is not perfection that makes us perfect; it's the journey towards improving ourselves that we become better people.  So do I have to do everything perfectly right from the word "go?"  Absolutely not.  But I have to improve myself a bit at at time, and keeping building upon that. 
So, each day, strive to be a little bit better.  Sit a bit taller.  Work out a little bit harder.  Read a bit of a book.  Do something each day, and keep at it.  If you're patient and consistent, great rewards await you.

Motivational Monday: Time Off to Refresh

Well ladies and gentlemen, I'm back in full swing, and boy do I feel pumped!  I took a few weeks off of blogging every day to relax and really enjoy my vacation, as well as gear up for the holiday season.  Sometimes you have to treat yourself with the respect that you deserve.  Make sure that you take care of yourself because if you don't look after yourself, then how are you able to help others?
Me?  I'm working, then working out hardcore; after a couple of weeks of "me" time, I am back and better than ever!
So let's get things moving this week with a quote that I love:

It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, "Always do what you are afraid to do."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Workout Wednesday: Abs, Abs, Abs

While I'm not fully back yet with my daily workout posts (that's coming next week), I am starting to throw up some random posts.  It's good to change it up every once in a while, and those posts are coming as soon as I get a bit of time!
Here's my Workout Wednesday this week: an ab routine that will destory your abdominals, but make them rock hard, just in time for the holiday season.
Check out the video:

Abs of Steel Baby!

Motivational Monday on a Tuesday

So I've been gone for quite some time (away on vacation) but I'm back (sort of).  Apparently I got slammed with a lot of stuff to do when I got back; who knew?

Anyways, I wanted to show you guys this.  It's a great little video of a member at my gym who takes it upon himself to try and complete my challenge.  He's doing the last component, full burpees (burpees with a pushup) and he threw in a jump and an extra one just for good measure: 10% more as he said.  He was enthused to try to challenge and really went for it every day in the training phase.

Less than a minute before this video was taken he had just powered out 20 pushups, 30 squats and a 1minute plank hold one right after the other.

One more thing: this guy is in his early to mid-sixties.  I wanna be like him when I get to my there.

Enjoy!

This man is an inspiration to me.

Daily Workout: Short Bridges and Headstands and Tai Chi

Here was my workout today!
-Short Bridges: 3 sets of 60
-Headstands: 3 sets of 2 minutes
-And some bonus stuff!

Beginning...

Ending!

Hold it!

In addition, I did some clean and presses with my carry-on bag and pushups in Dallas, and did a bit of Tai Chi at the Santa Monica Pier.

In tight pants too!

Now I'm off to bed...zzzzz.....

Three In One Challenge, Week 5, Day 1: Changing It Up

After about 2 weeks of weird and funky stuff with my blog, I'm back baby (hopefully for good this time).

Without any further to do, let's check out some stat work:

Neck: 16"

Shoulders: 47.5"

Chest: 40.5"

Waist 3 inches above your belly button: 32.5"

Waist at your belly button: 32"

Waist 3 inches below your belly button: 34"

Hips at their widest point: 39.5"

Thigh 9 inches above the top of your kneecap: 23"

Thigh 6 inches above the top of your kneecap: 21"

Thigh 3 inches above the top of your kneecap: 17"

Calf at its widest point: 16"

Bicep (flexed) measure the widest point: 15"

Forearm at its widest point: 12.75"

Weight: 166 pounds

Body Fat Percentage: 5.1%

Gotta love that lighting

Thoughts: How do I keep adding weight, yet stay around the same body fat percentage?  I don't get it.  Ah well, who cares...

Today, I decided to completely change it up, and do a bodyweight "split style" routine.  A split style, for those of you who don't know, means working on one or two body parts a day, which allows for maximum muscle growth and strength.  I'm doing a routine that's based largely off of this book, entitled "Convict Conditioning."

Sexy photo

You might ask why I'm changing things up?  Well for a couple of reasons:

1.) I'm bored with my current routine.

2.) I'm in a movie!  I'm currently training for a movie called "A White Lie," which is currently in development.  For my part of the film, I have to be equally adept in the gym and on the dance floor.  For this role, I am gaining 10-15 pounds of functional, strong, dense muscle.  It's a good time.  For more information, please either message me or check out this website: http://www.sbfilms.webs.com/
Also, check out the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SBFilms?sk=info
So for this, I'm doing a bodyweight training routine.  Because of this, I'm starting out slow, so I can help adapt my joints to the rigorous pounding that my body is going to endure through all of my training, which I'm insanely excited about.  Today's workout: back and legs

Here it is:

Vertical Pulls: 3 sets: 50/71/50

Shoulderstand Squats: 3 sets: 60/62/60

Various Grip Work

Here was my other workout: 3 circuits, focusing on form.  Each exercise, when applicable, was done with a count of 2 seconds up, pause, then 2 seconds down.  When I felt the form start to deteriorate, I stopped.  

Circuit 1:

Rack Row: 8/8/8

26" Box Jump: 8/8/7 (keep in mind that these were done from a full squat, or a squat where your butt is right up against your calves).

Circuit 2:

Wide Grip Pull Up: 5/5/5

Single-Leg Bench Squat: 5/5 : 5/5 : 6/6

Circuit 3:

TRX Row: 6/7/7

TRX Lunge: 8/8 : 8/8 : 8/8

Thoughts:

Vertical Pulls:

This is a preliminary exercise meant to get the back and biceps ready for the ultimate back exercise: the one-armed pull up.

Beginning...

Ending

Shoulderstand Squat: This exercise puts more emphasis on the upper body than the lower body.  However, this exercise is meant to focus on range of motion, or ROM of the legs, as with many functional moves (such as jumps or leaps) you have to go from a full squatted position.

I'm laughing at my pain!

Don't hit yourself!

Until tomorrow!

Motivational Monday: Change it Up!

This week's M and M: change it up.  If you don't like how things are going in your life, make changes in your life.  They don't need to be big, gigantic changes; just a small change will be enough.  I did a different workout routine today; radically different than what I'm used to.  And you know what, it works (I'm gonna write about it in a bit).  Whatever kind of change you do, make sure it's purposeful, and that you learn from it, whether it works or not.  You'll be surprised what you can learn.
Enjoy today and everyday.

Workout Wednesday: Street Performers Are Jacked

Workout Wednesday coming at ya!
Here's a video demonstrated why you don't need weights to be ripped.  These guys do street shows for a living, and make good money at it by the looks of it.  Every single one of these guys is just ripped, strong, flexible and powerful.  Check it out.

For the namesake of this video, go to 6:39 and check it out.  Also, I love the guy doing the handstand pushup work. 

Three In One Challenge Week 4 Day 2: Lower Body and Sprints

Ok, so remember yesterday's post when I talked about a split routine?  Well, today was my lower body day.  Now since I can do a lot more leg work in a shorter amount of time, I decided to throw in some sprint work as well.
I did a few supersets (one exercise one right after the other) and gave myself very little rest.
Circuit 1 (Done 4 Times):
Deadlift: 10 reps @ 165 pounds
Jump Tucks: 20
Circuit 2 (Done 4 Times):
TRX Lunge Hop: 10 reps each side
TRX Hip Press: 10
Then to finish off, I did some High Intensity Interval Training on the rowing machine (which is an amazing device for getting jacked by the way):
30 seconds hard, 60 seconds easy...5 times through.
Sound easy?  Try it: you may not think so after doing it.  My legs felt like jelly after this.
Here's to tomorrow, and a day of work, filming, fasting and working out!

Three In One Challenge Week 4 Day 1: I Kick Things Up a Notch...

I'm back baby!  But rather than being all sentimental, let's get some stats in, since I was a week off.
Please keep in mind that these stats are over a course of two weeks, so there's a bit of inaccuracy.

Neck Measurement: 16”

Shoulders at their widest point: 47.5”

Chest (measuring tape right across your nipples and under your arms): 40.5” +0.25 inches

Waist 3 inches above your bellybutton: 31.5

Waist at your belly button: 31.75”

Waist 3 inches below your belly button: 34.75"

Hips at their widest point: 39”

Thigh 9 inches above the top of your kneecap: 23"

Thigh 6 inches above the top of your kneecap: 21.5"

Thigh 3 inches above the top of your kneecap: 18"

Calf at its widest point: 16"

Bicep (flexed) measure the widest point: 14.75"

Forearm at its widest point: 12.75"

Weight: 167 pounds +3.3 pounds

Body Fat Percentage: 4.8% +0.1%

Beats Per Minute: 60

Terrible lighting...

This time I'm surprised by my weight; I usually don't gain weight very well, but this made me a little happy, especially because the body fat percentage was so low.  Let's hope it stays that way.  
For my workout this week, I decided to do a bit of a split routine.  For those of you that don't know what a split routine is, a quick way of thinking about it is that you work on specific body parts on a particular day.  So if we did a three day split, it might look something like this:
Monday: Chest and Triceps
Tuesday: Abs and Cardio
Wednesday: Back and Biceps
Thurday: Abs and Cardio
Friday: Shoulders and Legs
You can use whatever kind of split system you want.
Me?  I decided to go more general, and do an upper body/lower body split.  Monday was upper body.  Here's the breakdown: I did 4 circuits, with each circuit focusing on a couple of body parts (chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps, back).  A lot of these exercises used many different muscles, so in a way, it's not exclusive...either way, you'll see.
Each circuit was done 3 times through without resting.  After each circuit was done, I did one minute of jump rope.
Let's check it out:
Circuit 1 (Chest Emphasis):
Incline Dumbbell Press: 15, 10, 6 @ 45, 50, 55 pounds
TRX Atomic Pushup: 10
TRX Pushup: 15
Circuit 2 (Triceps Emphasis):

Close-Grip Bench Press: 8 reps @ 115 pounds
Rope Pulldown: 8 reps @ 85 pounds
TRX Triceps Extension: 8 reps 
Circuit 3 (Back and Biceps Emphasis):
Pull Up: 6 reps
TRX Row: 15, 10, 6
TRX Swimmers Pull: 8 reps
TRX Biceps Curl: 8 reps
Circuit 4 (Shoulder Emphasis):
TRX Incline Press: 8 reps/side
Thrusters: 8 reps @ 30 pounds
TRX I/Y/T: 5 reps each
TRX Split Fly: 5 each side
After that was done, I stretched for a good 15 minutes, mostly my hips and legs, but some shoulder work as well.  
If this photo is any indicator of my workout, I'm in for a good time come challenge day; it's two weeks away, I can't wait!

Tickets to the gun show?

Motivational Monday: Be Patient and Find the Good in Everything

I'm back!
So excited; I got an email last night around 2:30 am that said my account was fine and I was able to start posting again.  Best thing of all: no one got anything in my account.  Huzzah!
This ties directly into my M and M posting: even though I was initially frustrated about this whole "not being able to post" thing, but it gave me the opportunity to completely re-tool my workout plan for this latest challenge I'm doing.  Not only that, but I was able to take care of a lot of things that were important to me, all the while helping out friends and getting a lot of things done or on the road to being done.  So the moral of the story is: stay patient; something that you initially think is a setback could be a great opportunity.

Motivational Monday: Keep Going!

So for today's Motivational Monday, let's look at what happened yesterday: Daylight Savings Time.  Our clocks were pushed back an hour.  That throws a lot of people off, including yours truly.  I did a marathon filming session yesterday (about 10 hours), then drove home from New Jersey (about a 4 hour drive).  And on Saturday, I was going from about 7 am till about 2:30 am.  So needless to say, I'm a wee bit tired.
But regardless of that, you've got to keep going.  Did I get a bit of a slow start this morning?  Sure, but that doesn't mean that I should stop.  After a bit more sleep than normal, I got myself moving, went to work, worked out, and now I'm about to head of to a personal training session.
Bottom line: get things moving, even if you don't want to get up.

Three In One Challenge Week 2 Recap

Hey guy.  Sorry I haven't been on the ball the past few days, but I've pulled one hell of a marathon weekend.  Video below to explain.

I'm so tired!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to pass out...zzzz....

Three In One Challenge Week 2, Day 4: Spartacus 1.5 and I Talk a Bit About Form

Ok, so another quick blog entry; it's been a pretty hectic week, and it's only going to get worse as the week continues.
But that doesn't mean that I'm gonna get down on a workout!  It was a bit warmer today, so I decided to work out outside and give the Spartacus 1.5 Workout another go.
Here you go:

Power!

Keep in mind that this is an advanced workout, and the reason why I created this workout was that the regular Spartacus Workout wasn't doing it to me anymore.

That being said, I decided to try and slow down and really pay attention to my form: improve my range of motion; regulate my breathing; make sure I was taking care of my shoulders.

What was the result of doing this pain-in-the-ass training?  A sweat inducing workout that had me exhausted both physically and mentally, but leaving me spiritually refreshed.

Here's to tomorrow, and the weekend of hell.

Three In One Challenge Week 2, Day 2 and 3: Double-Whammy!

So because I was restructuring things a bit with how I'm doing the workouts.  Currently everything is still in the works; tomorrow I'll have some time, so I'll be able to dabble a bit into the suggestions that y'all presented to me.  But for tonight, with a lack of time and me possibly having an ridiculously insane weekend, I'm gonna get right to it, and make it short and sweet and to the point.  But don't worry: I'll give you some eye candy very soon ;-)
Tuesday: I did my Spartacus 1.5 workout AKA Functional Spartacus Workout.  For those of you just tuning in, here's the skinny: each exercise lasts 60 seconds, with 15 seconds rest in between each one.  Once you do all 10 exercises once, rest for a couple of minutes, then go through it twice more.  Pick a moderate to light weight for your dumbbells.
Check it:

I am Spartacus!

If you feel like going for a full minute is too hard, that's fine: start with 30 seconds per exercise.  If you need to stop (as I sometimes do), feel free to take a couple of seconds to catch your breath.  This is an advanced exercise routine, so start slow.

Now for Wednesday:

I did my little TRX killer workout.  I'm starting to build up my muscle and cardiovascular endurance while allowing myself a bit more rest.  Here's what I did, 4 times:

TRX Hamstring Curl: 20

TRX Low Row: 20

TRX Lunge (Left): 20

TRX Lunge (Right): 20

TRX Pushup with a Pike: 20

The hardest art: the Pushup.  My arms, legs and core were quivering.  It was also the only exercise where I had to take some rest during my repetitions.  Not ok.  Tomorrow I'm really going to work on TRX form to see what kind of pushup would work best for me in the TRX.  This workout is also highly advanced, and if you haven't worked with someone who's a TRX Trainer, find one; they'll help you get the most out of this device.  Or you can talk to me, as I'm a certified TRX Trainer.  No really, it's true...why are you all laughing at me?

Anyway, enjoy this video of the exercises:

I'm such a cute lil' host :-)

That's all until tomorrow, when I'll hopefully have some time!  Wish me luck; I began fasting #2 tonight; hopefully it will go better than the last one!  Time will tell...

Workout Wednesday: A Man After My Own Heart!

People are copying me!
Well, not really.  But what I want you guys to check out for this edition of Workout Wednesday is what this guys does for his pushups.

I like the "Around the World"

Don't some of this look familiar...oh wait a second!

Hey I'm doing the same thing!

I have also done the side-to-side pushups, but have not recorded them.  Never tried the "Around the World" push up, but it looks interesting; very similar to the kind of stuff I do when break dancing, just a little, well, goofy.  I'll give them a shot though and let you know what I think of them.

The point is: I'm on the right track, cause others are doing the same things I am.  That makes me feel really good.  

In the meantime, enjoy!  I didn't do my Three in One Challenge blog posting yesterday, but that's because I was re-vamping it a bit.  

Stay tuned!