How to become a pushup pro in 6 short weeks!

 Step#1- Find your current Push-up Total

 Assuming a regular floor push-up position, perform as many reps as possible (AMRAP) with perfect form and technique in 60 seconds. Be sure to place a tennis ball or yoga brick on the floor- your chest must make contact with this object to count as a full rep. Record your rep total and then take 60 seconds of rest (no longer). Repeat by performing one more set of AMRAP in 60 seconds and then record your second set total. Add both your set one and set two totals and then divide by two. This is your current push-up total.

 Step#2- Follow the custom push-up mastery program based on your current push-up total:

 The following program will systematically take you from level I to level IV six weeks at a time (not including a week of rest between levels). It is important to note that you must be following the appropriate fat loss training (total body strength circuits and cardio interval training) and nutrition plan to lose unwanted body fat that is weighing you down and literally halting your push-up totals in its tracks. In addition, be sure to change up the selected push-up variation at each and every strength workout to best prevent training plateaus. Here’s an example of how to switch things up for one week of training:

 Day1- Close-Grip Push-up Variation (to emphasize the triceps and front shoulders to improve push-up lockout)

 Day2- Loaded/Band-Resisted Push-up Variation (to improve strength and thus make it easier to perform body weight push-ups)

 Day3- Stability Ball Push-up Variation- Hands Ball (to build trunk and scapular strength stability to prevent injury and maximize force output)

 Remember, the better you get at every push-up variation the better you will get at regular push-ups. Once you achieve a current push-up total of 30 reps or more, you will notice the focus now will be on getting stronger by mastering the 1-arm push-up. Improving maximum strength automatically improves your muscular endurance, though it doesn’t work the same the other way around.

 Please note that you should only follow this program if you have healthy shoulders. In addition, since you will be performing extra pushing movements, it is critical to add in some scapular retraction and depression work to prevent unwanted strength imbalances. Please note the addition of a certain amount of reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats following each set of push-ups for your “Extra Push-up Work” to achieve this end. The Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squat was selected because it simultaneously works your upper back and opens up your chest while working your lower body to boost metabolism. Plus, it’s an exercise you can do anywhere. Lastly, the “Extra Push-up Work” is best performed throughout the day to be fresh and allow for full recovery.

 Step#3- Re-Test Your Current Push-up Total

 At the end of each 6-week training block, take 5 full days of rest before re-testing your new push-up total exactly as previously outlined in step one. Record your new push-up total and then take the rest of the week off for recovery before moving on to the next level of push-up boot camp.

 Well, you now know everything you need to know to safely and effectively perform more push-ups than 99+% of the world. Remember, the leaner you are the better you will be at push-ups and the more push-ups you can do, the better you will look- time to master the push-up!

Stuffed Mushrooms:

•  24 large button mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed, reserving stems

• 2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped

• 1/4 cup celery, finely chopped

• 1/4 cup unsalted organic butter

• 2 cups bread crumbs (whole wheat)

• Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)

• 2 tablespoons dry sherry (or substitute apple juice)

• 2 teaspoons dried parsley

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Arrange mushrooms, cavity facing upwards, on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Set aside.  Finely chop the reserved mushroom stems. Heat a small frying pan over medium heat; melt butter and sauté the mushroom stems, onion, and celery until soft, about 3 minutes.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine breadcrumbs, lemon juice, sherry, parsley, garlic powder, salt, basil, oregano, pepper, and 1/2 cup Parmesan. Mix well. Add sautéed vegetables and mix well to combine.

 4. Using a small spoon, stuff the prepared mushrooms. Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes, or until stuffing starts to brown.  Remove mushrooms from the oven and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.  Turn the oven to broil and return the mushrooms to the oven, until the cheese has browned nicely.

 Serve warm from the oven. Makes 24.

Herbed Tomato Cheese Spread:

• 1-cup low-fat cream cheese

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon freshly snipped or frozen chives

• 1 tablespoon snipped dill or seasoning

• 4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

 Directions: In a medium bowl, combine cheese, garlic, chives, and dill. Add tomatoes and mix well. Good as a spread for Triscuits or whole grain crackers.

Lemon-Garlic Marinated Shrimp:

• 3 tablespoons minced garlic

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• ¼ cup lemon juice

• ¼ cup minced fresh parsley

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon pepper

• 1 ¼ pounds cooked shrimp

 Directions: Place garlic and oil in a small skillet and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper. Toss with shrimp in a large bowl. Chill until ready to serve.

 Serves 12. Can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 2 hours.

Have fun, be responsible, and go Giants!

Chad smith is a Hagerstown personal trainer, speaker, and Author of “Best Of Fitness Answer Man: Volume One”, a published collection of 43 of his best Herald Mail newspaper column.

"Mmmm, donuts and diabetes...y'all"

This week, TV “Chef” Paula Deen announced that she has been a diabetic for over 3 years, all the while cooking high-calorie, sugar and butter-laden dishes on her popular Food Network show “Paula’s Best Dishes”. Why did she wait so long to make this public?

Pay attention…

She has just  begun a lucrative parnership with a pharmaceutical company, promoting diabetes drugs. Is it just me, or is this reeeeeal ly convenient that she announces this, starts selling diabetes drugs, yet continues to cook the unhealthiest food on the planet?

Here are some her greatest hit:

• Deep Fried Cheese Cake
• Lady’s brunch Burger (bacon cheeseburger with egg, placed between 2 glazed donuts)
• Broccoli Salad (made with 8 slices of bacon, a cup of mayo, 8 oz cheese, and a quarter cup of sugar)
• Twinkie Pie
• Cheesy ham and banana cassarole (a nasty combination of ham, bananas, bacon, cheese, and potato chips between layers of white bread)

Last year she declared butter is still her “must-have” ingredient and her favorite kitchen gadget is a deep-fryer. In fact, she urged other cooks out there who might be remodeling their kitchens to have a deep-fryer installed while they’re at it.  Also last year, her “Paula Deen‘s Southern Cooking Bible” was named one of the Five Worst Cookbooks of 2011 by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The group reserved special mention for her hot buffalo wings — 910 calories and 85 grams of fat in a single serving — and noted that diets heavy in meat raise the risk of obesity.

And obesity, as we know, is a prime risk factor for Type 2 diabetes.

When she announced her condition on the “Today” show Tuesday, Deen explained she kept the diagnosis quiet because she needed time to “figure out things in my own head.”

100% BS

She needed to figure how to spin the info into $$$, pure and simple. Paula Deen is not responsible for her audience’s eating habits, however, she does have a responsibility to BE responsible with her product. This is especially true considering she is diabetic, and has been hiding it for 3 years!

She also has a responsibility to the Southern people she represents. Southern states are the fattest, and least healthy of all the states in the union, and if what she cooks truly is “Southern Food”, I understand why.

Ultimately, we all choose our own nutrition paths. Paula Deen can cook whatever she wants, and you can eat what you want. However, when you have a platform of influence the size and reach of Deen’s, you must bear responsibility for what you put out to the universe. Hiding a diabetic condition when you could easily be a force for change, and selling medication over lifestyle change  is disingenuous, and gets you put in the same fraud file as Jillian Michaels and the people who created the “Shake Weight”.

Day one: *Dumbell Thrusters/Kettlebell swings* Use a dumbbell if no kettlebell is available

Day two: *Jump rope/Medicine Ball slams*

Day three: *Alternating Side Dumbell Lunge with Overhead Press/Single Leg Alternating Dumbell Row

Day four: High Knees/ Skaters

Add these finishers to the end of your workouts for the last 4 days of 2012, and you’ll have a great lead in to 2012!

Chad Smith is a Hagerstown personal trainer, fitness columnist, radio show host, and speaker whose “Metabolic Mayhem” fitness training program was called “One of The Best in The Country” by Emmy Award winning fitness celebrity Rocco Castellano. Find him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/hometeamfitness, or listen to him weekdays at 12pm est on his FTNS radio show “Jump Start With Chad and Kat” on http://www.ftns.co

1. Keep the drinking to a minimum. There are few benefits to alcohol consumption, and non to weekend binging. Keep it to less than 3 per night, and you’ll do minimal damage to your fitness efforts. And if you aren’t already, drink lots of water all day, and between drinks to stay hydrated, and to minimize the buildup of alcohol in your bloddstream.
2. Skip the chips. Party food is the worse! Remember your first priorities are PROTEIN and PRODUCE. Fill up on non-breaded meat and vegetable items, then eat the other stuff. Your waistline will thank you for it.
3. Rest up! Try to get an extra hour or 2 of sleep at night to help your body deal with the added holiday stress. Stress causes fat storage hormones to increase, and noone needs that. Sleep more, dream it all away!
4. Try something new. Train differently than what you normally would. Breaking up the monotany of your usual regimine will remotivate you, plus may produce better results than what you’ve seen for a while.
5. Invite friends to workout with you. Get someone to the gym with you, you’ll not only help start someone on the fitness path, according to research, you’ll also turbo boost your results. Buddy up, and good stuff happens.

What do you think? Got any other ideas for finishing strong in 2011? Leave your comments below!

Chad Smith is a Hagerstown personal trainer, fitness columnist, radio show host, and speaker whose “Metabolic Mayhem” fitness training program was called “One of The Best in The Country” by Emmy Award winning fitness celebrity Rocco Castellano. Find him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/hometeamfitness, or listen to him weekdays at 12pm est on his FTNS radio show “Jump Start With Chad and Kat” on http://www.ftns.co