Christmas Round-up

Well, it's been a bit crazy lately, but I'm finally posting again. I had a terrific Christmas in Arizona with some family. How was yours?

Remember my ideal Christmas wish list? Well, I think my family has been reading my blog.

Among my gifts were:

- Gucci by Gucci
- A one year subscription to Men's Health
- A Samsung digital camcorder
- And a scuba certification course of my choosing!

A terrific score, I'd have to say.

How'd you make out?

The 0, 1, 2, 3 Alcohol Consumption Plan

As we learned in my Alcohol and Weight Training post earlier this month, there's no getting around the fact that alcohol and bodybuilding do not mix. It retards muscle growth, dehydrates your muscle cells, blocks the absorption of many important nutrients, and actually lowers testosterone.

I'm realist, however, and know that not many guys -- if any -- are going to stop drinking alcohol for the sake of muscle development. Subsequently, quite a few of you have written me in response to my post and asked for a responsible plan for consuming alcohol.

Here's what I suggest: 0, 1, 2, 3.

The 0, 1, 2, 3 Alcohol Consumption Plan, as I call it, is an easy way to remember how to drink responsibly.

Here's how it works:

0 - You can always choose to not drink at all. Be the DD and your buddies will owe you one. Be the mysteriously sexy guy at the bar sipping ice water, maintaining your composure with the ladies while your buddies play drunken grab@$$ in the corner. We're not teenagers any more, gents. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the evening with a clear mind.

1 - Drink no more than one alcoholic beverage per hour. This allows your liver to more efficiently process the alcohol.

2 - Drink no more than two nights a week.

3 - Drink no more than three alcoholic beverages in a given evening.

Prime example? Last night I went out to dinner at STK in West Hollywood with my corporate cohorts. Upon arrival, I partook in a bottle of Stella Artois with my office workout partner, and with my fillet I enjoyed a half glass of Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon. Two drinks in four hours.

A few of my associates were surprised to see the 'health guru' drinking alcohol -- considering my self-imposed health standards. But I see nothing wrong with a drink here and there. Like most things related to health (as you have seen from my theory of competing theories), I find the truth is somewhere in the middle. Excessive drinking is dumb, but one would also be remiss to believe that having a drink now and again can't be beneficial.

If you think the 0, 1, 2, 3 plan this is too strict, consider that most credible research I've seen shows us that the benefits of alcohol end after one drink.

If you're looking to get smashed, I can't help you. Be on your way.

But if you're looking to partake in a responsible social drinking regimen (so as to not hinder your exercise regimen), I highly recommend the 0, 1, 2, 3 plan.

Try it out for a few weekends. Let me know what you think.

The 300 Workout (Video Added)

I love the movie 300. Absolutely love it. It's a brilliantly different kind of movie experience, and intense beyond belief.

Truly a man's movie.

If you haven't seen it (WTF?), I highly recommend you do so. In fact, at the time of this post, 300 is probably my third favorite movie of all time -- behind Gladiator and The Departed (also movies you MUST see).

Any way, I found this great article on the now famous 300 workout that really peaked my curiosity. One of these months I'll dedicate some time to building up to and taking the 300 test.

The workout gets its name from the total number of repetitions. But those 300 reps weren't done daily, as some media accounts report, Twight says. Rather, the 300 workout was the finale of months of training, a kind of graduation test, after actors had weight lifted and trained with tools such as medicine balls and Kettlebells (cast iron weights with handles).

It's daunting, and includes these weight-training moves:

* 25 pull-ups
* 50 deadlifts at 135 pounds
* 50 push-ups
* 50 box jumps with a 24-inch box
* 50 "floor wipers" (a core and shoulders exercise at 135 pounds)
* 50 "clean and press" at 36 pounds (a weight-lifting exercise)
* 25 more pull-ups -- for a total of 300 reps

There's no rest between movements and the score is based on total time, Twight says.

Behind-the-Scenes Work
But before that graduation test, Twight says, there were months of work, transforming the actors and stuntmen not just physically but mentally, he notes. "Zack [Snyder, the director,] wanted the Spartans to appear as though they had been fighting together since they were children," he says.

Continue reading...

That's motivating.

Anyone out there done the 300 Workout?

Oh, and no post about the movie 300 would be complete without a shot of the queen herself, Lena Headey.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Cheers.

UPDATE 12/17/2008: A buddy of mine at work sent me this video. Dude's almost 40 years old and did the 300 Workout in 24:50.



Just makes me want to do it more.