The Spartan Warrior

Oklahoma Tornado Relief Assistance

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:30:14 -0500

Are you looking to donate to assistance groups to help with the recovery in Oklahoma? Several links...

Video I live in Oklahoma. I am located not 15 miles from where...

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:42:00 -0500

I live in Oklahoma.

I am located not 15 miles from where this storm took place today. Back in 1999 on May 3rd a violent tornado ripped through the EXACT areas that the one today did and took 36 lives on that date in 1999.

All of my family members are accounted for, but there are many, many people in my state without homes, power, transportation, or anything that they’ve known for their entire lives. They are missing their own family and friends.

Moore, OK looks like an apocalyptic style warzone.

I hope that any of my followers out there that live here in Oklahoma are safe and well. These tornado outbreaks have also ripped through some of Texas and Kansas, so again for all of you living in those areas as well I hope that you and your family are safe and sound.

This tornado today, what they are saying is the worst one in history, ripped through neighborhoods, elementary schools, hospitals, businesses, and farms. The devastation here is unreal. There are so many children and people still missing.

Now, the point of this post. I am asking for help for my state. Please help. Not for me, but for my neighbors, friends, and for people who are in desperate need. Please.

The best way to assist families is to make a donation to http://www.redcross.org/okc or http://www.redcross.org or by texting REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. If you’d like to donate to Salvation Army instead you can text STORM to 80888.

I don’t really self-post much anymore, but today, well,...

Sat, 11 May 2013 13:25:00 -0500

I don’t really self-post much anymore, but today, well, today is my birthday.

Currently, I have a pulled left calf muscle, I’ve been sick for five days, I just finished finals (which I aced them all, another 4.0 semester since returning to school), I haven’t lifted in weeks due to the previous three reasons, and I haven’t pulled over 350lbs in something like six months because of a previously herniated disk.

Blah, blah. blah.

It doesn’t matter. Even with all of those things going on I still took care of my business in the gym this week and set PRs for my bench (+40lbs) and deadlift (+45lbs) at the end of my first cycle of The Cube Method. I didn’t test squat due to my calf and I will guarantee you now that I pull 500+ in two months.

Oh, that is also a PR on my beard up there and yes, that is a “Ponies Forever” t-shirt. Both increase pounds on your total. Guaranteed. Oh, and pop-tarts helped too.

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more..."

Thu, 09 May 2013 20:03:00 -0500

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is...

Powerlifting: The Mentality Mark Bell & Brandon Lilly talk...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:31:15 -0500

Powerlifting: The Mentality

Mark Bell & Brandon Lilly talk about the mindset of a lifter and savagery ensues.

Pop-tart Ice Cream Sandwich Is this real life? I need...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:00:00 -0500

Pop-tart Ice Cream Sandwich

Is this real life? I need this.

Thanks to Sara for e-mailing me this.

Photo

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:17:00 -0500

Caitlyn Trout at the 2013 SPF Women’s...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 21:10:04 -0500

Caitlyn Trout at the 2013 SPF Women’s Pro/Am

121lbs
350(WR)/160/365
875 Total (WR)

Incredible performance. Way to go Caitlyn and Berea Barbell!

12 Steps to Getting Big via EliteFTS

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:27:38 -0500

12 Steps to Getting Big via EliteFTS: Ask any big guy how he got to be 250 pounds or more and I...

Calorie Detective by Casey Neistat Diet programs revolve around...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:54:46 -0500

Calorie Detective by Casey Neistat

Diet programs revolve around a proven principle: if you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. The calorie is the defining metric. And so, in the interest of public health, the Food and Drug Administration requires most packaged foods to list their calories, among other data, on labels. To help combat obesity in New York City, the Department of Health requires most chain restaurants to post calorie content on their menus and fines those who don’t comply. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, a national program will soon follow.

In theory, this is a valuable reform. But there’s one glaring problem. According to the F.D.A. and the city’s health department, no one verifies the accuracy of these calorie listings. The system essentially runs on an honor system. Food vendors can list whatever numbers they want, until someone (somehow) catches a problem and files a complaint. So, as an obsessive calorie counter myself, I wanted to find out: how accurate are these labels?

Let me try to explain my philosophy on eating out when trying to count calories or macronutrients in order to be accurate with your daily intake. It should be done sparingly, limited primarily to special occasions or social events. Whether the restaurant (or eatery) puts up the caloric content hardly matters as they are always, always, always inaccurate. There is always a margin of error, but just how big is the margin of error is really the question.

The best way to more precise with your daily intake is to prepare your food at home. This allows you the ability to weigh (by far the most accurate method) and control the exact portions. Now, I’m not saying that you have to be a religious in weighing your food, in fact, I hope that you wouldn’t ever feel like you always have to. However, you should try it out for a minimum of a few weeks to get an idea of the portion sizes that you should be consuming and the caloric content of those portions.

My last thought is that if you’ve never counted your calories, weighed your food, and prepared it yourself then you really have never known in a given day how much you’ve eaten. How could you? I talk a lot to people that are frustrated with being overweight, yet they don’t count their calories. When I ask why they will swear up and down that they “don’t eat that much” each day. Typically what I find out is that after having the person track their caloric intake for two weeks to a month that these same people come to realize that they truly had no idea how much they were eating each day and it’s usually a bit too much. Oftentimes this is due to what I call “mindless eating” or eating out of boredom and is easily corrected when you realize you’re doing it.

Resources on how to track calories and macronutrients? Check out this page.

Debunking the Paleo Diet Christina Warinner is an expert on...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:10:49 -0500

Debunking the Paleo Diet

Christina Warinner is an expert on ancient diets. So how much of the diet fad the “Paleo Diet” is based on an actual Paleolithic diet? The answer is not really any of it.

Dr. Christina Warinner has excavated around the world, from the Maya jungles of Belize to the Himalayan mountains of Nepal, and she is pioneering the biomolecular investigation of archaeological dental calculus (tartar) to study long-term trends in human health and diet. She is a 2012 TED Fellow, and her work has been featured in Wired UK, the Observer, CNN.com, Der Freitag, and Sveriges TV. She obtained her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2010, specializing in ancient DNA analysis and paleodietary reconstruction.

Which Training Program Works Better?

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:22:00 -0500

All training programs work.. to an extent. Let’s not forget that there is this little thing...

Motivation Monday - 03/25/13

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 07:55:44 -0500

Motivation Monday - 03/25/13

Nutristrength: An Objective Look at Organic Foods

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:28:00 -0500

Nutristrength: An Objective Look at Organic Foods: Ask anyone around you and I’m willing to...

The myth that women shouldn't lift heavy is only perpetuated by women who fear hard work and men who fear strong women.

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 21:10:00 -0600

Interview with The Spartan Warrior

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:58:00 -0600

I was asked to do an interview through an e-mail exchange a few months back for an individual that...

Photo

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:31:30 -0600

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly. Beyonce...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:28:21 -0600

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly. Beyonce wants to know…

Do you even lift?

Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window?: post-exercise nutrient timing - by Alan Aragon and Brad Schoenfeld

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:21:00 -0600

Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window?: post-exercise nutrient timing...

More isn't better. Better is better.

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 20:38:31 -0600