Today at CrossFit Langley, Darren and I set out to perform some higher rep Bench Pressing, basically 205 pounds on the bar times 4 rounds hitting max reps for each set.
I generally don't record higher rep PR's but a while back when I hosted a YouTube Contest with Mark Macqueen where we had to bench our body weight for max reps. At that time I was pretty lean weighing in at 194 pounds so my bar weight ended up being 195 pounds. I managed 18 clean reps for that contest.
Skip ahead to today's morning workout and at 199 pounds body wight with a bar weight of 205 pounds I managed to bench press 20 clean reps. So 10 pounds more on the bar with 2 extra reps. Small gains perhaps but I have been nursing some slight shoulder and chest injuries which have held me back a little bit.
Things are feeling pretty good in general and I even managed to get an additional 19 reps on my second set, 16 reps on my third set and I finished off with 14 reps on my forth set for a total of 69 reps with 205 pounds on the bar.
After a few weeks of playing testing out the JLAB EPIC Bluetooth Premium Wireless Earbuds I have to say they are the best sounding earbuds I have ever owned to tested out, they really do have a lot going for them, they are competitively priced, have great battery life, some of the largest drivers in their class, they are super light weight and are sweat and water resistant.
Before you go off an buy a pair let me tell you just exactly what I thought of them...
First off the sound quality is excellent! The most important consideration to this is making sure you get the right fit in your ears as the rubber ear buds need to completely seal in order to deliver the full sound experience from the 8mm drivers. I did have to play around with mine and try some of the different sized rubber ear buds and also a few different angles to get mine to fit perfect but in the end found just the right combination. Even so I did find that my JLAB EPIC Bluetooth Premium Wireless Earbuds would over time work themselves out a bit and require me to adjust them back into position.
In terms of battery life, 10 hours is fantastic. I am not sure if I really got exactly 10 ours out of mine but I do like my volume pretty loud and that will reduce the overall time a little bit. That said I was able to use mine for an entire week before I needed to charge them again, I would say that worked out for me to at least 6-7 1 hour workouts. An added bonus at least when using an iPhone is that there is a little Bluetooth batter gauge within your iPhone menu bar that will let you know just exactly how much battery life is left in the JLAB EPIC Bluetooth Premium Wireless Earbuds.
When you pickup the JLAB EPIC Bluetooth Premium Wireless Earbuds, they feel almost weightless, for their size you would think they should be much heavier but this is not the case and its is a good thing since heavier headphones will get more tiring the longer you wear them. Even though the JLAB EPIC Bluetooth Premium Wireless Earbuds are light weight, they use quality high grade materials so I did not feel that they where delicate in any way and I had no problems with their build quality at all.
Being made specifically for the athlete, the JLAB EPIC Bluetooth Premium Wireless Earbuds are not only made to withstand some physical abuse but also moisture, I did not personally get mine all that wet but it was good to know that even if I got caught in some rain while out and about or perhaps was a heavy sweater, this would not effect the JLAB EPIC Bluetooth Premium Wireless Earbuds at all.
Quality sport Bluetooth Earbuds can set you back a couple hundred dollars, so it was nice to find out the price point for the JLAB EPIC Bluetooth Premium Wireless Earbuds is very competitive at right around $99 making them very affordable for people looking for great sounding quality wireless sport earbuds.
Even though I did like so many things about the JLAB EPIC Bluetooth Premium Wireless Earbuds, I was not able to personally get that perfect fit that allowed me to set and forget them in my ears. It may be the shape of my ears specifically but I do have to mention it in this review. Even with this small complaint, it was not a deal breaker for me, I simply have to readjust them every once in a while or I lose some of the base response.
Here are some of the JLAB EPIC Bluetooth Premium Wireless Earbuds Specifications and Features:
Best in class Lithium Ion 10+ hour battery life.
C3 (Crystal Clear Clarity) with best in class 8mm drivers.
Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX Technology
Sweat & Waterproof IPX4 rating.
Built-in Memory Wire Earhooks for an unmatched epic fit.
Neoprene case for phone included.
Six sets of silicone extra soft gel tips.
Lightweight - Only 15 grams.
Watch my YouTube Video Review for the JLAB EPIC Bluetooth Premium Wireless Earbuds:
An underwear review may seem like an unlikely topic for a fitness channel but when you think about it, there is a reason why guys are always adjusting themselves not just in the gym but pretty anytime and anywhere. And if you think it's uncomfortable for the person watching, it's even way more uncomfortable for the person making the adjustments. So why not avoid this situation for all parties involved and take a look at 2UNDR...
That's where 2UNDR comes in with their Patent-Pending Joey Pouch designed to keep your bits and pieces exactly where they need to be! The Joey Pouch is like a mono-bra for a mans most important assets, why would you allow something so essential to your manhood so much freedom, you know that freedom is only going to get you in trouble when you least expect it too :(
I think you all get my point, keeping your junk in place is way better than having it end up here there and everywhere.
My experience wearing my 2UNDR GEARSHIFT Men's Underwear with Joey Pouch has been a very pleasant one. At first I wondered if having my privates segregated from the rest of "me" was going to feel invasive or uncomfortable but to be honest, after about 5 minutes or so I didn't notice anything different, which is exactly what you want. The only difference was no more need to make constant adjustments. The pair I received from 2UNDR was the GEARSHIFT Boxer Brief version which is geared towards the athlete and has a compression like feel with quick dry materials. I did find my 2UNDR GEARSHIFTs to be very comfortable and they definitely kept me dry while training.
The Joey Pouch™ is a soft and comfortable environment for your most valuable assets. Constructed with premium fabrics, the pouch delivers the perfect fit while preventing unwanted skin contact (Patent-Pending).
THE STITCHING
The Stitching provides the highest quality finish with a seamless look and feel. Our flatlocked stitching and construction seams are intelligently designed to avoid potential rub zones.
THE NO-DRIP-TIP
The No-Drip-Tip™ moisture control layer is designed to wick away unwanted wetness for a faster drying garment that provides a soft, cool, and dry feeling each and every time they are worn.
THE FABRIC - SWING SHIFT
The 2UNDR™ ‘Swing Shift’ garments use an unique blend of 95% Modal | 5% Spandex for the best fit and feel. Modal is a type of Rayon that is smooth, soft and breathes extremely well. Our blend is formulated to be cool to the touch, absorbent and similar in texture to Silk or Cotton. Unlike Cotton, however, it is resistant to shrinkage and less likely to fade or pill from friction. The smoothness of the fabric also rejects hard water deposits, allowing it to stay soft through repeated wash cycles.
THE BAND
A good band can make all the difference. 2UNDR™ uses the highest quality yarn in our roll-resistant waistbands. The comfort is undeniably soft and reinforced, to guarantee flexibility and feel.
THE FABRIC - GEAR SHIFT & POWER SHIFT
The 2UNDR™ Gear Shift uses a compression-fit blend of Polyester | Spandex, ideal for any activity, from Mountain biking or Moto to team sports or working out in the gym. Our blend dries quickly, stays tight to the thigh, and keeps its form when wet due to its moisture wicking properties. In essence, the Gear Shift has all the quick-dry and compression characteristics of a truly remarkable athletic undergarment.
COLDSKIN™ BY GARMATEX
Coldskin™ by Garmatex™ is a high performance thermal reduction fabric that promotes extra cooling where excess heat builds up. This can reduce the body temperature by 3 to 6 degrees.
"The technology used in ColdSkin™ creates a high performance fabric that can absorb a certain amount of heat from key areas and dissipate it to the outer atmosphere. The combination of the fast drying microfiber filaments and the 100% all natural mineral embedded within the filaments helps the body’s own natural air conditioning system regulate these key heat sensitive zones" - This is why we've used this material to line the Joey Pouch™ in Gearshift.
My son Gabriel tested for his Advanced Purple Belt at CMA Martial Arts in Langley. He is halfway to getting his black belt now and has worked really hard over the past year and a half to get to where he is now. I am very proud of his hard work and dedication to the sport!
Testing involves demonstrating some punching and kicking combinations, breaking boards, sparring and grappling with opponents. It is really cool to see the boys putting everything together now when they spar and grapple together, it's really entertaining to watch :)
Sadly my $1200 Sony RX100 IV camera has been giving me some issues with the occasional video file and it corrupted the final video which was of the boys receiving their belts :(
Congratulations to all the boys for their hard work, commitment and for earning their new belts!
How I eat depends on what I am trying to achieve, I generally eat pretty much the same foods every day, just a little more or less depending on if I am maintaining, cutting or bulking, but my Macros stay pretty consistent. The only acceptation to this is when I do contest prep since I have to eat supper clean starting about 3 weeks out from competition day.
How many Calories I burn each day:
My base metabolic rate is around 2200-2300 calories per day, add in about 1000-1300 addition activity calories which includes my basic moving around and programmed workouts, and that give me about 3000-3500 calories per day that I burn.
My Macros each day:
I try to hit my body weight in grams of protein so around 200 grams of protein which equals 800 calories.
I set myself a base carbohydrate total of 150 grams of carbs and then top that up depending on how much exercise I do each day. So if I burn 1000 calories during my workouts then I eat back an additional 250 grams of carbs so in this example I would be eating 400 grams of carbs or 1600 calories worth of carbs based on 1000 calories of additional daily activity.
In terms of fats, I try to stay under 100 grams each day which will equals about 800 calories from fats.
So during a typical day I would eat around 3200 calories which is pretty close to what I burn most days.
At the end of the day I adjust my late night snack accordingly to count for any extra calories I need to eat and also change the food up to hit my target Macros. Generally a try to eat a lot of proteins in the evening and avoid loading up on carbs.
What works for me:
I like to start off the early part of my day fairly light or low in calories since I am not as hungry during Breakfast and Lunch eating times.
Breakfasts:
Breakfast can be as simple as a mixed protein shake (berries, 1/2 banana, low cal almond milk, peanut butter, protein powder, creatine) with an espresso. Usually around 400 calories.
I sometimes have a slice of low calories bread with a little bit of peanut butter and jam along with a simple protein drink and my espresso. Again usually around 400 calories.
Lunch:
Lunch will depend a lot on if I am maintaining, cutting or bulking. If I am cutting then lunch may be as simple as a protein bar and another espresso or perhaps a bowl of cottage cheese with a low calorie fruit cup added to it.
If I am maintaining, I will add in a bit more food at lunch. Sometimes a tuna or sardine sandwich with low calorie bread, or I will just add some items like turkey pepperoni or another quick protein drink.
Lunches can be anywhere from 200 calories up to 500 calories depending on how many calories I am shooting for that day.
Dinner:
Dinner is the hardest meal for me to control since I eat whatever the family is eating. But in general our dinners would go something like this. Chicken or fish of some sort, vegetables, rice, sweet potatoes or yams, and usually a salad. I might even have a low calorie beer with dinner. If we eat out I still do my best to eat responsibly or it will effect what I can eat for my evening snack and I enjoy that too much to completely blow my dinner macros and calorie allotment.
My dinners will generally be around 1000 calories.
Evening Snack:
I really enjoy evening snacks so no matter what I am eating for, I always leave at least 500 calories left over for a snack before bed. I will often have to top up by eating 1000+ calories in an evening snack especially if I did a lot of extra activities or I am bulking at that time.
Evening snacks usually consist of a healthy raisin bran cereal (1 cup) with low calorie almond milk, a cup of cottage cheese again with a low calorie fruit cup in it, possibly some protein powder mixed with water and then pretty much just about anything I feel like to top up my calories for the day as required for my current eating goals.
Some of my daily Supplements and Vitamins:
Protein powder, creatine powder, BCAA's, fish oil pills, joint support vitamins, calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin B and D, a multivitamin pack and some vitamin C and electrolyte tablets.
Friday, October 9, 2015 at 3:53PM ;)
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