Albert K. Park

                 After a couple days of research, eating with a woman and reading about women’s diets I have compiled a list of awesome foods. This isn’t a list for a hardcore diet or a body builders meal plan. These are foods for real women who live in a real world and want to see real results. It’s not all about “skinny bitch” starve my ass off diets or 40 day grape fruit juice cleanses. It’s about educating yourself on healthier choices and improving the quality of your life.

            So, the next time you swerve into a drive through or reach for those chips, think about your next workout. Your nutrition can directly influence your performance in your workout. Every training session is an opportunity to make yourself better and every time you eat can control the quality of that training session. Read through this pile and know what your going to eat before the next time you go workout.

                        Not all fat is bad and if you want to burn fat, you have to eat some quality fat. Try this cholesterol lowering power monounsaturated fat in order keep your body strong and pain-free. Studies have found that low fat diets weaken muscles and joints so try eating just a few slices a day to boost fat for you.

                        Carbs? Yes, carbs. With protein focused diets flooding the diet scene people forget that when you eat can be just as important as what you eat. Take in this complex carb prior to an intense training session. The complex grain will provide you with a slow digesting steady flow of energy instead of a one-punch sprint.

                        Remember when your mom told you to eat a banana for potassium and to prevent cramping, well she was right! Bananas are packed with nearly 400 miligrams of potassium and can help with muscle cramping. You can also eat a banana to load up on carb-fueled energy, a banana can contain up to 20 grams of carbs, which is as much as 2 slices of whole wheat bread.

                        This is a great way to get in some energy, protein, and keep the stomach feeling easy. Have you every skipped out on a meal before working out in fear of getting an upset stomach? Yogurt digests quickly and can offer you that quick punch of energy.            

                        Raw carrots pack a huge punch as an ideal snack. These complex carbs have the ability to provide energy to muscles and potassium to control blood pressure. Best thing is that a half-cup is only 35 calories.

                        Cereal is not just for breakfast anymore! Researchers have found that consuming a bowl of this complex carb mix with nonfat milk 60 minutes prior to working out has the ability to provide you with the perfect exercise fuel. Look for cereals containing muscle building protein and complex carb energy.

                        Low levels of iron and zinc will lead to a zap in your energy. Chicken or turkey has the ability to deliver both of these vital elements into your system. They are a low fat option to get iron, zinc, and b vitamins that women need in their diets.

                        Albert, did you say chocolate milk? Yes I did! Milk is a lot more than just calcium and strong bones. It has the ability to give you a lot of energy while keeping the calories low. Chocolate milk has a unique ability to deliver calcium, vitamins, and minerals just as well as a post workout shake. Drink this yummy drink to help replenish muscles.

                        If you’re big on texture like me, this one may be challenging but there are too many benefits to ignore this power food. For a ½ cup serving, low fat cottage cheese can contain up to 14 grams of protein, 75 milligrams of calcium and 5 grams of carbs. If you need a protein boost, this is the perfect snack.            

                        Urinary tract infections don’t stand a chance if your consuming the proanthocyanin packed fruit. Consume these dried before or after your workout to aid with energy and recovery.

                        Egg yolks are packed with lecithin, which is crucial for brain health. Make sure to gets these protein packed items in early in the morning too boost brain function when you need it.

                        Digestive problems call for fiber and Flaxseeds are there to deliver. Try ground flaxseeds to regulate your digestion and keep you healthy. They contain both soluble and insoluble fiber that will continue to keep you from running to the bathroom during your workouts. That just sounds like it sucks.

                        Hummus is no longer for hipsters, go green activists, and sorority girls. This is a protein rich, complex carb, and unsaturated fat that packs a mean punch for staying healthy. The fact that it is usually made with olive oil, which contains vital fats for fighting breast cancer and weight gain, also helps. Time to jump on the hummus bandwagon.

                        My mom preached about vitamin c day in and day out. Well, she was right again. Thanks mom. 1 orange contains 75 milligrams of vitamin c, more than enough for what a women needs each day. Plus, they are easy to carry around and smell good when you peel them. Sorry, I am all about the small details.

                        Help spare your glycogen stores during a workout by snacking on some peanuts before training. The fats from this small snack will help fuel you with high energy so you can put forth a 100 percent effort when your training. Take advantage of the fact that they also contain high amounts of protein as well!

                        When I say potatoes, I mean baked or sweet potatoes. Not mashed potatoes smothered in gravy. If you are looking to make sure your muscles perform properly and you are able to stay hydrated, try taking in this electrolyte balancing food. It is loaded with potassium and sodium that will maintain fluid balance. Skip the gravy.   

                        Have you ever complained about your midsection and how that is the only place you can’t lose weight. Look no further! Recent studies have shown that the monounsaturated fats and omega 3 fats found in salmon help lessen abdominal fat. Damn, I think it’s time to start eating more salmon.

                        If you are looking to gain lean muscle and tighten everything up, this needs to be on your list. This actually should be number 1 on your list. Whey protein is packed with amino acids that play a crucial role in building and recovering muscle. Also it digests fast and gets to muscles fairly fast, allowing you to recover and go hard again the next workout. 

                  I truly believe that I have an innate ability for direction and refuse to use navigation systems and GPS applications. Give me the directions and I am going to find it. I’m sure most of you men out there will share this mentality with me. In our heads we are all Bear Grylls, in reality, well fu*k reality I want to be Bear. Unfortunately, when it comes to locating “baby showers” my powers are thrown off and wrong turns happen.

                        While I was navigating dark residential streets desperately hoping for a main road I couldn’t help but think how much getting off track sucked. You lose time, motivation, and it’s a little bit embarrassing especially for a self-proclaimed navigational expert. Even with the small goal of attending an event, not knowing where the hell I was had my mind running down a list of doubts.

                        Wrong turns on the road are one thing but wrong turns in life can make you want to give up. Giving up has never been in my vocabulary I didn’t say it when I was a kid, I didn’t say it when I had a final the next day and didn’t go to class even once or buy the book, and I won’t say it now. Your success depends on your perseverance and ability to navigate back to the path you were once steam-rolling on towards results.

                        For any individual who has ever tried to get in shape, Nutrition is war. It is a relentless battle that never goes away and will always be ready to attack when you are weak. The truth is you can’t always be strong. Understanding that you will fail every once in awhile is important. So don’t go drink yourself into obliteration because you ate a slice of pizza. Just get back on track with your goals.

                        If you really want to think about it, your chances for wrong turns with nutrition are quite high. They are even higher if you have a lot of friends. Consider what you and your friends usually do when you get together. Eat? Drink? Happy Hour? All of the above? See, there will be casualties in this war. Will power isn’t enough because friends are too damn good with peer pressure and it’s so hard to pass up a good time. What you need to do is strategize.

                        Strategies can win wars. Instead of going out with your friends 3-4 times out of your week for happy hour, limit yourself to 1. Invite them over to your place so you can control what is available to eat and drink. Strategies will always be more effective then will power. Also, drop the friend who has convinced himself that he is the next roommate on jersey shore.

                        The main problem I have seen with training is a lack there of. For 2 or 3 weeks you go 110% because you are excited about the goals you have set for yourself. By week 4 you start trading training days for other things. Your friend is having a birthday, you need to go grocery shopping, and whatever else you can think of. You have to realize that training for goals is not a sprint; it is a long and testing marathon run. Consistency will prove to be your best friend but wrong turns can trigger a barrage of other problems with training, the main one being not training at all.

                        Anyone who trains at Hocevar Performance, has heard me say “How bad do you want it?” once in their life if not a 1,000 times. It’s simple but honest and real. This is why I love saying it. How bad do you want to see your results and watch your quality of life improve?

                        It won’t take Sherlock to figure this wrong turn out. If you’ve stopped training get back on the road the gym and start getting active.

                        A great thing about life is that nothing is for certain. You can sit and plan all you want but there is no guarantee it’s going to happen that way. Odds are they won’t. When you get thrown a curveball, adjusting and adapting is what makes the process truly an art. It’s not about going by the book and following instructions; it’s about carving your own damn path. If you know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you don’t give up on the way.

                        I remember in college I was registering for classes online and I couldn’t get into a class I wanted. I emailed the professor, updated the registry page in hopes of someone dropping, and even got onto the waiting list. Getting into this class became an obsession. It wasn’t because the professor was great or the class was interesting, it was because I didn’t want to stray off my path! (Someone has to do seriously do something about this registration process, ridiculous!)

                        I never got into the class but ended up taking the same class with a different professor at a different time. The professor ended up being awesome and I was 1 of 3 guys in a class filled with 40 girls! Nice! Even though I strayed off my path, I took the opportunity and made the most of it. Turned out to be a pretty good opportunity.

                        After reassuring people on the phone that I wasn’t lost, even though I was, I finally made it to the baby shower. Wrong turns and all, I finally made it. The Baby Shower was executed perfectly and I had a great time. I never knew how much society instills color preferences between genders until now. Fu*kin Pink, no comment. In all seriousness, I was thankful for the wrong turns I took on the way because it reminded me of how things don’t always go according to plan and how we respond to these situations will ultimately determine our ability to achieve goals.

                        Oh yeah, I got lost on the way home too. Lesson learned again.

As much as it hurts, people want to feel the “burn”. Are we all just crazy? We all complain about being sore but complain even more when we’re not. Clients come back like addicts to the gym looking for another ass kicking workout. Is this a phenomenon or just plain insanity?

            We identify being sore and feeling the “burn” with evidence of hard work. It’s like a pat on the back for working out and without it, sometimes we get down on ourselves. Have you ever thought that you didn’t workout hard enough if you weren’t sore the next day? Okay, so you know what I’m talking about. When your not sore it doesn’t mean that you didn’t train hard by any means but I have a workout for you to make sure that you feel a burn.

            After being hounded by clients for an ab workout, I finally gave in. I guess front squats weren’t emphasizing the abs enough. The ab workout comes in the form of a “finisher” (finisher = to end a client’s session with immense muscle burning) and the best thing is it only takes 2 minutes.

Directions: Perform as many reps with good form as possible in the 30 seconds for each exercise. Do not rest until you finish all the exercise. Perform 1-3 sets if desired. 1 will be enough.

            At first glance this doesn’t even look like much of a challenge. Well check yo’self before you wreck yo’self. This workout will only give back as much as you put in. This means that if you are slacking in form or intensity, you won’t get shit from the workout. On the other hand, if you push yourself to blow past your pain threshold and dig out reps until you start seeing a bright little light, you will be well on your way.