Look, we have a NEWBIE to EL2!

Welcome to the Empowerful Living website, and EL2; formerly known as B4L (body for life). We have a “newbie” joining the workout regime; Russell Brown. RB is a good guy. A dear friend. And about to get his ass kicked. But then, that’s part of the fun, right Chris?

Chris is taking a new job at ELEVATION CHURCH,  Pastored by Steven Furtick (cool cat who is on target for God!), and has relocated his workout to being nearer to his home. I am so proud of you, dude. You are going to make such a positive impact on lives there. Stepping out of your “comfort zone”, huh? Dig it. Stay true. I’ll be sharing in the love via the Uptown Campus at the McGlohon Theatre. 

Chris, I’ll miss you. This past 15 weeks have been one of the BEST things I’ve ever been involved in in my life. I owe it to YOU, DUDE. Oh, and don’t worry, MNF is ON! That’s right, GUYS ONLY every Monday Night Football for the season. Yes, there will be chips and beer, but we’re working hard, and know our limits. Hey, Jesus liked wine; we like beer. I think he would like Pacifico if he were here today. Congrats on your Daniel Fast; that’s AWESOME, and you look GOOOOOOD.

Okay, Russell, here we go. You got the notes. You’ll get the notebook. You’ve seen the diet. You’ll buy the supplements. And….you’ll be there at 6. You won’t whine, and you WILL see results. Plus, along the way, we’ll have fun; believe me.

Now, get ready, set, aim……FIRE!

November 1st, here we come!!

The End…

Well, we’ve reached the end of 15 weeks. Chris and I have both made great strides in our strength, fitness, and weight loss. I’ve lost nearly 10 pounds of fat, and went from a 39 waist to a 35, nearly a 34.

Below, see what one of two rewards were awaiting my devouring.

Cheers to us!

Vacation….

Hello. I’m away for a short, albeit, much-needed vacation. I’ll return on Monday with more. Until then…keep on keeping on.

Thank you. -David

Week 11: David shares a Cooking Lesson.

Watch & Enjoy right here on YouTube, or if you want higher, better quality, by clicking right here on this tiny little blue link.  

For more time-saving & entertaining cooking tips, visit some of our earlier posts, or click the Nutrition Tab.

“Excuse me, Sir; you’ll have to check your guns at the door.”

Yeah, we hear that phrase a lot lately; well, more as voiced towards Chris, rather than myself. Todays workout was a testament that you CAN enjoy lifting AND hurting yourself, simultaneously. It’s called “21s”. They’re my fave. Why? They just flat out WORK! 

Take a curl bar. Load it with enough weight to challenge yourself, but NOT enough that you’ll swing or jerk. No jerking allowed. Here’s the routine:

Start in a standing position, holding either dumbbells or a barbell (we prefer the CURL bar) with a weight that fatigues your muscles by the 21^st repetition; thus, the name. Your elbows should remain against your sides during the entire exercise.

For the first 7 repetitions, begin with your arms fully extended toward your thighs. Then, raise the weight up until your forearms are at a 90-degree angle to your legs (parallel to the floor). Squeeze your biceps. Then lower the weight and repeat. 

For the next 7 reps, begin at that 90-degree position and lift your hands toward your shoulders, squeeze the biceps and then lower to the starting position and repeat.

For the final 7 reps, you’ll do the full range of motion. So, start with your arms fully extended toward your thighs. Then, raise the weight up toward your shoulders, and again squeeze the biceps. Lower and repeat. See how we got that number and we’re not even mathmeticians? 7 x 3 = 21.

Now, be a good boy and go puke.

“Gunter glieben glauchen globen…”

…..Alright……I got something to say………It’s been a burn out……..a fade away…………Man, Def Leppard’s “Rock of Ages” is such a great song…… I was thinking last night about the past ten weeks and a key ingredent that we have not discussed on this site yet…….as I was pondering possible ingredents while working on my iMac…. “Eureka!” it hit me as I was opening up itunes………. one key element to success in your workout program is MUSIC……………Now you may staring at this blog asking the question, “Chris what does music have to do with working out and successful training?”….. I hear you asking that question so I response is,”I’m glad you asked that question, that is a great question!” Music, in my opinion, helps you take your workout to another level….it lifts your thoughts away from the pain and routine torward the beat and rythmn of the music…When I’m working out alone (which I haven’t done in the past 10 weeks…thanks to DT, I have to have my iPod with some Van Halen or POD cranking in my Sennheiser PMX 70 Sport stereo neckband headphones..check them out to take my focus away from my suroundings and zero in on the task at hand……which is proper form and pushing my training to the next level……Now I am fortunate enough to have DT as a partner so we push each other and provide focus but even with DT, on Cardio days (like today) the bottom line is that you are really working out on your own, unless of course you try running on the same treadmill together or using the stairmaster which is a little weird and will cause people to stare, so music helps………..If you haven’t listened to music before while training, I would suggest trying it for a week and seeing if it makes a difference….Make sure your music playlist has some up tempo, fast paced songs that help you push it a bit….a few of my suggested artists are the following: Van Halen, Boston, POD, Linkin Park, The Killers, Foo Fighters….stuff like that….I would also suggest to mix it up every so often by changing your playlist up every two to three weeks to keep it fresh…….You may even want to create a playlist that has changes tempos as you workout intensifys…..start with some slow stuff while warming up and stretching……then some fast paced songs that help you push yourself during the actual workout….then some more slower stuff for cool down…….If you go to itunes and search for Nike in the store section, they have various playlists for interval training and some celebrity playlist if you are tired of the music you currently have……..Sometimes working out is hard enough as it is…music will help make the tough times more enjoyable and keep things fresh to help you break through to reach your training goals…

- CR

Weekend Breakfast

I know; it’s not much different from my weekly breakfast. However, I have tried adding two new protein packed ingredients to this omlette: salmon & some of the yummiest cheese to slide across my taste-buds in some time. It’s Billie’s English Goat Cheddar from Ford Farm and it’s simply terrific. Where did I get it? The same place I got the farm-raised Salmon: Costco. 

Try mixing in the diced salmon pieces; I add just a splash of soy sauce & maple syrup for flavor (only Grade B), some chopped onions and diced red bell peppers in a hot pan of olive oil (always), then stir in your 4 eggs (3 whites/1 yolk), cook as per normal, and when you’re about finished, add some grated cheese on top! I garnish with fresh green seedless grapes, my morning Starbucks and my Daily Power Pack for Men by Arbonne.

Now, there’s a complete breakfast that’s sure to pack on the power!

Nearing the Final 5

Today marks the end of Week 9; Monday begins Week 10 (of 15). This week has been good. I can tell that my body is reaching a sort of crossroads. There is some plateauing, while at the same time it’s approaching some breakthroughs. This is the place where strength, endurance and size happens. Yes, there has been change; especially in the mid-section (fat belly/love handles). The endurance has really strengthened; perhaps that’s primarily from the aspect of waking up at the unholy hour of 5 am and being in the gym sweating by 5:30. Anyhow, anything worth having is worth working for. Keeping the faith, being consistent and going the distance is a great deal of the journey. Cheers to us, Chris!

Poof!!!

Today was a quick day of cardio. I had a 7AM staff meeting to get to so I had to get the most out of my workout, which I accomplished….A quick 10 min. warmup preceeded a hard 20 min. interval speedwork on the treadmill followed by a 2 min. cooldown….. I had my sweet new Asics 2130 strapped on ready to go…. Kept my heart rate within my target zone and burned some fat…..Mission Accomplished.

-CR

Breakfast is the start to any day…

You know, I love eggs. I can eat eggs anytime, anywhere, in any form and in any number. But just once in a while you need to mix it up. And that, I did, this morning. Today? Organically grown almonds, turned into almond butter, shared with natural strawberry jam, on Arnold’s Flax & Fiber wheat bread, along with a small container of Breakstone’s 2% cottage cheese, my daily vitamin pack (thanks to Arbonne), and that’s right, a protein shake. The shake de jour? EAS Vanilla Creme (amazon=good source) with an extra dose of creatine & glutamine from Max Muscle.

This Tuesday Morning Power Breakfast is packed with protein and kickin’ it old school with a new twist on the old, faithful PB&J.