Muscle Maker Grill

I was driving today when a huge blow up balloon of a hulkish looking bodybuilder caught my eye. It was out front of a restaurant called the Muscle Maker Grill, if the big muscled up balloon guy wasn't enticing enough the name of the place surely is; I had to try it out. I was surprised though when I walked in a lot of the menu items are actually lower in calories, and low in carbs; I had originally walked in expecting this place to be more so of a bodybuilder café with huge portions of food like beef burgers, steak, chicken, rice, pastas etc. They did have some of these things but each item had only around 400-600 calories, which is great for most people, very portion controlled, but if you're looking for a dense meal loaded with calories something like Chipotle will better suit you for the same price.

This place is still really good though, I got a burger that had turkey bacon and cheese on it with a side of potato's, it was the thing with the highest amount of calories that I could see on the menu. I also got a chocolate protein shake on the side which was 6 dollars; the most expensive protein shake I've ever had! The food was all really good though, it's all cooked right in front of you, it comes out fast only about a 5 minute wait time! The downside to this place, or at least this location was that it is small inside not a lot of seating, and the parking lot which has also got to be the smallest I have ever seen is a nightmare to navigate through. The parking lot is so bad that it could actually deter me from returning just knowing that I'd have to try and deal with it. Take that away though and I like this place a lot, I'd definitely recommend it! I went to the one on...


195 Walt Whitman Road
Huntington Station, NY 11746
Phone: 631-319-1568

Just look for the giant juice head blow up guy!

Have Fun with Your Workouts!

Sometimes when you're in the gym you just need to take the time to have fun, mess around, and enjoy your workout. I know when I workout I'm always pushing myself 110% always trying to go as hard as I can, and I'll find myself disappointed when I'm not making progress. Things shouldn't always be like that otherwise you could end up getting burned out and bored; don't be afraid to step out of your normal routine and experiment with exercises and equipment that you haven't tried before.
Just the other day I was having a bad workout, I wasn't feeling well and it had me frustrated. I was going to leave the gym when I started to talking to some buddies and messing around on a bosu ball. I ended up doing a whole workout with the bosu ball and had a lot of fun! Don't be afraid to stray from the beaten path.

Breakfast Should Look a Little Something Like This!

A question I get a lot is, "What should I eat for breakfast?" Being that breakfast is considered to be the most important meal of day you definitely need to know what you should be eating... This picture of my breakfast is a pretty good example. As you can see we have a big portion of lean protein (2 whole eggs, 4 egg whites, and shrimp omelet with spinach), then we have two small pieces of sprouted grains toast which is very low on the glycemic index giving you longer sustained energy and feeling of satiety. Next we got a little green drink loaded with veggies made in the NutriBullet, and a cup of your favorite fruit for some immediate energy to break the fast; the fruit can be optional depending on how hard you're dieting trying to lose that little pudge around your belly. Last but not least I have my cup of black coffee, not always, but whenever I'm feeling like I need a little boost of energy. The caffeine from the coffee is going to help spike your metabolism and digest the meal better; also don't forget your water!

Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex Weight Gainer Protein Review

If you're trying to put on size, in terms of lean mass while minimizing the amount of fat and bloat you gain as well, then Pro Complex Gainer by ON is for you! While the majority of my clients all see me because they're trying to lose weight, I do have a very select few, both men and women looking to add a little size onto their frames. Now the generic rule of thumb if you're trying to lose weight you eat less, and conversely if you are trying to gain weight you eat more; now with either one you have to be careful. Eating too less of an amount of food can halt weight loss, whereas eating too much can make you put on too much excessive fat.

One thing people don't realize though when it comes to gaining weight, especially for those who are ectomorphs or "hardgainers" like my clients, is not only do you have to train the proper way for adding size, you also have to eat a ton. This is where ON's Pro Complex Gainer comes into play. It makes it easy to get in those crucial extra calories, but it's specially formulated with the right amount of ingredients and macronutrients so that you don't blow up into a chubby, bloated person that you don't recognize in the mirror every morning. With Pro Complex Gainer you'll put on lean mass with minimal fat gain as long as you are dieting the right way, and giving yourself proper rest and recovery time. I just finished my first tub in efforts to help me try and put on clean, lean, mass. I had 2-3 servings a day, each one being around 600 calories, on top of eating loads of food, and getting 8 hours of sleep every night, and training hard for strength and muscular hypertrophy. I put on 10lbs in a month! Not saying that it was solid muscle, I'm not even saying it was solid mass; if I had to guess at least 5lbs of that weight had to be water and food I was holding in my intestines. If 1-2lbs of that weight though could be muscle then that is still an amazing gain for someone in my shoes in just a time span of a month. Not only that I actually had clients telling me I was looking a lot bigger!

I had the chocolate flavor, it tasted great! Not too expensive at my gym at all, the only downside is each tub only has 14 servings or so they say... The scooper in these things is huge it looks like an old school laundry detergent scoop! I feel like mine lasted a lot longer then just 14 servings though so that's good. I usually had a serving after breakfast and before lunch, after a workout, and before bed every night. I'd definitely 100% recommend this product to anyone looking for some extra help in adding clean mass... Take a look at some of the pictures to learn a little more about it.

The Power of Supplementing with Aminos and The Recovery Benefits You'll Receive!

So you all have read the reviews of mine on various amino drinks, Amino Energy and Aminolast and know that I do like them, but if you were to ever ask me what the exact purpose of each and every amino acid was, and what roll they played in the body I wouldn't be able to tell you... What I would be able to tell you from my own experience though is that without a doubt supplementing with amino acids will help you recovery a lot faster! For about 2-3 months I was taking various amino drinks (the one's I've reviewed on here) before, after, and always during my workouts, but it wasn't until I stopped taking them that I truly realized their benefits and their power.

Sure if someone asked me why I would take them or why they were good I would tell them because they help aid in recovery, to prevent the breaking down of muscle tissue, and in the case of Optimum Nutrition's Amino Energy, for an extra boost due to the caffeine in it. Like I said though I didn't really think much of them other then as a tasty way to flavor my water with possible benefits to help recovery and they are cheap, win win... Well it has been about 6 weeks since I've taken any amino supplements, but it hasn't been until recently that I noticed ever since I stopped taking them that not only has my workout intensity dropped somewhat, but more importantly that I'm getting sore after workouts now. Especially when I train legs heavy, I'll be sore for 3-4 days after.

I never really thought anything of it, or saw the possible correlation between taking aminos and being sore until a couple of days ago I had two different clients tell me that when they don't take their Amino Energy they notice that they get sore for the next couple of days after a workout! Not only that but they also said they feel like they just don't have the same intensity when they're working out either, coincidence? I think not! So because of this I decided to try supping with amino acids again to see if taking them was what was preventing me from getting as sore after my workouts. I bought some Amino Capsules from Optimum Nutrition, the same maker of the great Amino Energy because sometimes I don't want to have to make a drink with the powder; with the caps you can just pop them before and after you workout! I have yet to try them, I'm waiting for my leg day to come up before I start using them again, but without a doubt I definitely think I'm going to find that I'm not as sore afterwards; I'll keep you all posted...

Now for those of you interested more about amino acids and their functions I found a great article by Ben Green, which goes on to explain exactly what they do without being boring and making you want to fall asleep while you're reading... Definitely take a look!

http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2011/04/do-amino-acids-really-help-you-exercise-or-are-nutrition-supplement-companies-pulling-a-fast-one-on-you-part-1/ 

Make it Routine... a Part of Your Life.

The other day I was on Instagram looking at various and famous fitness enthusiasts profiles. One thing that they all had in common was that in their pics or in their captions there was always some motivational quote or jargon; most of them seemed pretty over dramatic and cheesy but there were a few good ones don't get me wrong.  I realized that when it comes to fitness there's so much motivational and inspirational media and marketing out there. I'm not saying it's a bad thing at all, but whatever your goal may be exercising, getting in shape, building muscle, etc. it's like it almost sets up everything to be this huge, dramatic, daunting, journey, where you'll suffer, and want to quit, but you'll have to prevail against all odds if you're going to reach your goals; it reminds me a lot of Lord of The Rings!

Now motivation is good, but don't fool yourself right out the gate, see what you're doing for what it really is! Yes it's going to be tough, yes you're going to put in a lot of work, yes you may want to give up at times, but if you look at it in that way then you have already failed at reaching your goals in my opinion. You shouldn't hate coming to the gym, exercising, dieting, and whatever else your goals entail; it shouldn't be seen as a huge hurdle that you have to get over... All you simply have to do is make it routine. give yourself 1 hour for 5 days where you bust your ass exercising and that's it; there's nothing more to it, it's not a Hollywood drama movie production! Take a little extra time to clean up your diet, and prep your meals, it really isn't hard! Bottom line if you really want it, whatever your goal may be, you're going to be wanting to bust your butt in the gym, wanting to eat the right foods, and not looking for outside motivation from pictures or videos, which makes the task at hand seem so much more dramatic.

Basically my reasoning for writing this entry was because I came across a quote by a guy who went by the name Zyzz, who has since sadly passed away, but he was an inspiration to millions of fitness enthusiasts across the globe... Now you'll notice this isn't your typical "inspirational" or "motivational" quote... There's no corny lines like "fight through the pain when you feel like giving up", or "no pain no gain" and so on. He simply states it for what it is...

"I wouldn't even use the word motivation. I don't need motivation now, as training is a necessity in my life. It's all a part of my lifestyle, and I couldn't imagine any other life than the gym/training/dieting lifestyle, as it is rewarding physically and mentally in ways beyond measure, you would have to experience it yourself."

Now I don't want to contradict myself here, but I guess the point I'm trying to get at is a spade is a spade, call it for what it is. Reaching your goals is only hard if you make it hard, if it's your passion then virtually nothing will get in your way; if it's your passion it will become routine, apart of your life.

FINAFLEX Ignite 2 - Best Pre-Workout Supp I've Tried in a Minute!!

Got a bunch of free samples of this stuff at work the other day and I was eager to try it. Usually I don't like pre-workouts, especially in today's market I think they're just a bunch of crap with a bunch of caffeine to get you cracked out. Finaflex brand products on the other hand I have always wanted to try but I just never had the opportunity to before. Usually the ingredients on all of their supplements sound so crazy and sketchy, but in a good way. It's all stuff that sounds like it's going to be banned any day now, but it's also stuff that's really going to do what the product was made for. Then again for all I know it could all be a load of crap and marketing tactics, but lets talk about the actual product now...

Right off the bat I'll give you some my favorite things about Ignite 2, the first was that you can drink this and start your workout within 5-15 minutes right after, it kicks in so fast, and you will feel it. Most other pre-workouts direct you to drink them 30-45 min before which can suck a lot of the time in my opinion. The second highlight for me was the insane pumps I got from it; I haven't had pumps like this in a long time! The ones where it literally feels like your skin is tearing with each rep, your veins are bulging out, and there's heat radiating from your muscles. It makes you feel dense and very tight, one of the best supplements I've used for getting a great pump and I love it for that; it gets so much blood to the muscles that from training arms I actually have new stretch marks forming on my biceps! The third and final thing I liked about it was that it got me focused and energized, but not cracked out! I can't tell you how many times I've taken a pre-workout supplement and felt like I was going to have a heart attack mid workout, or how many times I've taken one and felt like crap, weak, and shaky. Finaflex got the formula down perfect for this one so that I didn't experience any of that.

Those were the 3 main things I love most about this product; now for the people out there who care about taste, it does taste overly sweet like most other similar supplements out there but it's not a deal breaker. As for the mixability it mixes really easily in a glass or bottle. Also just to compare it to another product for those of you who are curious; I've tried C4 by Cellucor many times and have hated it every single time, so if you feel the same way then you may just love Ignite 2 as well!

Overall I'll give this product a 5/5 because it delivered exactly what it was supposed to do, along with extra goodies like Aminosterone and Crea-Trona which you can see about in the pictures. You definitely have to try this product!