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Agonist-Antagonist Circuit

One of the most balanced and effective workout circuit I have have ever experienced is the agonist-antagonist circuit. It creates an amazing pump because they not only drive blood into one muscle group but also into the opposing muscle group increasing blood flow into both opposing muscle groups. With AA circuits it is like you are performing a movement pattern then immediately following the set/exercise you are backing it up with the opposing movement pattern. For instance, you perform an upper-body pulling progression like a pull-up or bent row followed by a upper body pushing-progression.

It’s always effective to break out of same old training rituals since shocking the body will always stimulate change. To avoid plateauing I would often recommend a great agonist – antagonist circuit. Personally, I enjoy bodyweight AA circuits. Bodyweight circuits incorporate multiple muscle groups that will allow you to really challenge your cardiovascular threshold to keep the fire burning.

Here is a great body-weight AA circuit you can perform outdoors in a park.

210 Total Reps: (7 Rounds)
5 Pull-ups
15 Push-ups
5 L Chin-ups (basically combines the chin up and hanging leg raise all-into-one)
5 Horizontal Bar Dips

If you really want to challenge yourself try to increase to Total Reps to: 300 (10 Rounds) Trust me, this one will get you gassed…

©2013 | Christopher Vlaun

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Power Breakfast Shake

The fast pace lifestyle of our society has driven many of us to fall in the bad habit of skipping breakfast. If you skip breakfast and your first meal is lunch and you ate last time for dinner you probably have been around 18 hours without eating. This scenario leads to sugar cravings and mood swing due to low blood sugars, increased body fat due to starvation, low energy or the necessity to have a coffee to start the day and of course nutritional deficiencies. Even for the busiest person it is possible to have a nutritious breakfast combining whole foods and high quality supplements. Below you will see the ingredients to do a Power Breakfast Shake that we suggest to our patients, active people and athletes which do not have the time to cook in the morning and to make sure that they get the appropriate nutrients without skipping the most important meal of the day.The ingredients in the Power Breakfast Shake vary depending where you live and amounts have to be adapted based on your current health status, age, weight, gender and activity level. 
It can also be used by those trying to increase muscle mass for added calories.

Power Breakfast Shake Ingredients:
• Raw whole Cream from 100% grass fed animals or Organic unsweetened coconut Milk

• Grass fed proserum whey protein concentrate powder and organic pea protein powder

• Egg yolks from pasture fed chickens

• Organic mixed berries powder
• Organic mixed vegetables and algae powder
• Organic extra virgin cold pressed raw coconut oil
• Organic extra virgin cold pressed olive oil
• Organic cold pressed flax seed oil
• Gelatin
• Organic berries

Let’s see why we use each ingredient and its benefits in brief:

Raw Cream
If you find raw whole cream from animals on pasture in your area it is the best choice even if you are lactose intolerant while if you find only regular whole cream or organic whole cream but is pasteurized then your best choice is organic unsweetened coconut milk.
Raw cream is a predigested food which then does not require digestion and is particularly dense in fat soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K) as well as conjugated linoleic acid, omega fatty acids in perfect ratio, Glutathione, vitamin C, many bioavailable minerals and even coenzyme Q10. Fresh, raw cream is a living food. It contains beneficial bacteria and enzymes which are otherwise destroyed during pasteurization and it is precisely these components of living foods that make them so valuable to our overall health. These enzymes enable better digestion of macronutrients and better absorption of micronutrients while the beneficial bacteria promote intestinal health and a well-functioning immune system.


Grass fed proserum whey protein concentrate powder and organic pea protein powder
Whey protein powder from grass fed milk has all the healthy benefits of raw milk thanks to proserum which employ a very delicate process of heating that preserve all the nutrients without using any filtration process.This also guarantees that the whey is not extracted from the milk of animals injected with hormones, antibiotics or fed improperly as well as that no hidden MSG, sugars, hydrogenated fats, synthetic vitamins and minerals, acids, heavy metals and other unhealthy ingredients commonly hidden in protein powder are added.

The isolate / hydrolysate protein powders has had all the beneficial nutritional co-factors REMOVED (the lactoferrins and immunoglobulins to help support your immune system and minerals (such as calcium and potassium that nourish your muscles) just so the label can list a few extra grams of protein per serving.

If you are lactose intolerant then organic pea protein is your choice


Egg yolks from pasture fed chickens
Raw egg yolks from chicken on pasture versus conventional, organic or free range offer the highest level of nutrition such as fat soluble vitamins, antioxidants such as licopene, lecithin and omega fatty acids in perfect ratio. When using raw eggs it is important to not using the whites since when not cooked cause low biotin levels.

Organic mixed berries powder
A concentration of different kind of organic berries is particularly rich in fiber, enzymes and antioxidants

Organic mixed vegetables and algae powder
A concentration of different kind of organic vegetables and algae is particularly rich in fiber, enzymes and compound that support the liver.


Organic extra virgin cold pressed raw coconut oil
The benefits of coconut oil include: improving the heart health, boost the thyroid, increasing metabolism, promoting fat loss and supporting the immune system.
Nearly 50 percent of the fat in coconut oil is of a type rarely found in nature called lauric acid, a “miracle” compound because of its unique health promoting properties. Your body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-protozoa properties.
Coconut oil is also nature’s richest source of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs. By contrast, most common vegetable or seed oils are comprised of long chain fatty acids (LCFAs), also known as long-chain triglycerides or LCTs.
LCTs are large molecules, so they are difficult for your body to break down and are predominantly stored as fat.
But MCTs , being smaller, are easily digested and immediately burned by your liver for energy — like carbohydrates, but without the insulin spike. MCTs actually boost your metabolism and help your body use fat for energy, as opposed to storing it, so it can actually help you become leaner.


Organic extra virgin cold pressed olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil is particularly rich in vitamin E and antioxidants


Organic cold pressed flax seed oil
Extra virgin flax seed oil is particularly rich in Omega 3 and antioxidants


Gelatin
In the past muscle meat was given to animals because was not considered particularly rich in nutrients. All the parts of the animals were consumed especially the organs, glands and the gelatinous parts which were helping us to keep our skin, gut, joints, tendons and ligaments strong. In modern ages we have moved to consuming mainly muscle meats and stop eating organs, glands and gelatinous parts but our body needs for these foods has not changed.
It is possible to find gelatin in form of supplement from grass fed animals without any sugar or filler added. Of essential importance is for people engaging in physical activities to avoid injuries.


Organic berries
Organic berries have a low glycemic index and are particularly rich in fiber and antioxidants. In addition they do give a nice and fresh flavor to the shake.

You can use this recipe as a base and add different kind of fruits for your taste but it is important that you keep the high quality foods and supplements outlined here because otherwise instead of becoming something nutritious it will turn out in something damaging your health and wellness goals and symptoms as bloating, gas, belching, flatulence, diarrhea and bad breath will arise.

The Fat Loss Solution

If I was asked to place a number on the average amount of weight our clients lose I would be hard pressed to give you an answer. Why is this true? It’s not because I don’t see dramatic results, but because my program is designed for the individual – for you. Your weight loss will be unique to you and not to a million other people who are nothing like you. Read more