Pro Athlete Body

Volim23 contacted me with this follow up question:

“Thank you very much what kind of foods should i be eating after a workout like this?”

Answer:

Eat 5-6 smaller meals a day with protein. Eat within 2-3 hours of waking. Try to eat a meal or snack every 2-3 hours throughout your day. This will increase your metabolism greatly. In school it’s a little difficult to eat every 2-3 hrs.

Save one of your snacks for pre-workout (15 min to 60 min before) and have another snack (with protein and simple sugar like juice)immediately or within 15 mins afterward.

The 2 snacks pre and post workout are very important as is eating evry 2-3 hours.

Posted by Bob Thomson

I recently received the following question from a 14 year old boy via YouTube, nickname Volim23:

“Hi Bob, I’m 14 and i really want to get my arms and abs ripped is there a way to get this quickly?”

My Answer:

Hi Volim23,

Thank you for your kind comments. I appreciate your interest. Since you are 14 years old you still have a lot of growing to do! I didn’t start weight training until about 15 or 16 years old. Someone your age should NOT push too hard or be too concerned with getting big or ultra ripped for example. Are you involved with school sports? If so, using basic weight training to help you perform better during sports will help you get thicker and defined.

Unless your metabolism is unusually low for a 14 year old, the cuts and definition should come from your increased exercise activity.

Whatever your activity level, if you are not well defined at this point don’t worry! At 14, you’re body is approaching the heights of its development. Hormones are coursing through your body like a runaway freight train. Pushing too hard as a teenager could be counter-productive at this point.

For anyone, the quickest way to get ripped is to do INTERVAL Training combined with good eating. Wind sprints are a great example — I used to do them each season when getting ready for wrestling, track and baseball.

Do interval training 2-3 times per week max for 20 minutes each session. Why? Because sprinting burns fat better and longer than moderate or low intensity traditional cardio like jogging.

Regarding my abs training I spend about 30-45 minutes per week on them. I like to do superset circuits with rest for abs. For example:

Example Circuit:

Lying Bent Knee Leg Lifts - Lying on back, hands and arms out resting on floor, raise your knees & thighs perpendicular to the floor with calfs/shins parallel . Do a set of 15-20 reps of lowering your legs and raising them slowly (count of 3 up and count of 3 down). Rest 45-60 seconds…. and then immediately do…

Reaching Situps - Lay on your back with feet planted firmly in front of you and knees bent pointing up toward the ceiling. That’s the starting position. Next do a slow, deliberate situp with your arms and hands reaching 45 degrees towards the ceiling. Sit up so your torso is perpendicular to floor. Then immediately go back down to starting position. 3 count on the way up. 3 count on the way down. The reaching part of this exercise places extra resistance on your upper abs. Rest for 45-60 seconds. Then do…

Bicycle Kick Situps - Lay on your back, body flat on the ground. Tuck your hands just behind your ears. Pull your knees and legs up so your thighs are perpendicular and lower legs are parallel to the floor. Raise your shoulder blades off the floor a little and begin by touching your right elbow to your left knee while extending your right leg out, followed by touching your left elbow to your right knee while extending your left leg out.
When doing this exercise correctly, you will look like you are riding a bike flat on the floor and at the same time twisting your torso up to touch your opposite elbow to your knee. do 15 Reps and Rest 1 Minute before doing a second and final circuit.

Do this circuit TWICE each session, 2-3 times per week and your abs will “pop” I assure you!

Posted by: Bob Thomson

Here is my first YouTube video post…many more to come.

Abs Core Workout Exercise

Here at ProAthleteBody.com we totally appreciate the athleticism and physiques of mixed martial artists. In fact, these guys are arguably the fittest men on the planet. I’ve trained in Combat Jiu Jitsu myself and it’s some of the toughest exercise I’ve ever performed. Lactic acid training at it’s toughest. Pure hell.

When I set up this web site I wanted to reinforce the idea that the new “physique role models” of the world that wannabe muscle builders should be aspiring to were Pro Athletes, NOT bodybuilders! … MMA fighters, Pro Football players and even Pro Basketball players. These are the physiques I aspire to have… because they not only look great, but they are functional!

To see what I mean, check out the Physique of Sean Sherk in this UFC 84 event promo:

BJ Penn vs Sean Sherk Promo

Actually, BJ Penn is one of my favorite MMA fighters but Sean Sherk’s physique is something I really aspire to… the guy is built like a fire hydrant with muscles. His nickname is “the muscle shark”.

If you don’t want to know how the fight ended, don’t read the rest of this commentary….

Fight Summary:

The first 2 and 3/4 rounds were pretty uneventful…all standup boxing. BJ Penn slowly started landing jabs and eventually peppered Sherk’s face to a bloody mess. Some were concerned the referee or the ring doctor might stop the fight.

Not to worry, in the last 15 seconds of Round 3 BJ landed 2 grazing punches, a left uppercut and right cross which setup a brutal left knee kick to Sean Sherk’s face. Ouch!!

Just as the bell was ringing ending Round 3, Sean Sherk was unable to get off the mat to return to his corner, so the fight was stopped. BJ Penn won by technical knockout.

To be honest, the fight was boring until the knockout. Sherk and Penn were respecting each other too much for the fight to be exciting.

So, BJ Penn holds on to the UFC Lightweight Title. You’re the frickin’ man BJ, the baddest man on the planet at 155 lbs!!

Posted By: Bob Thomson

Wow..I must admit, I’m very impressed with the statistics of my first video post on YouTube. In less than 3 weeks with just ONE video posting about building ab muscles and firming up your core, I have 850 views, 13 subscribers, 5 comments and 4 ratings.

To be honest I didn’t expect such a great response. I am thrilled to say the least.

More muscle building and fat loss videos to come…

- Bob Thomson