First Day of Maximum Strength...Or the Third Day??

Kate and I started our first day of the Maximum Strength program...or was it the third day? You see, during the weekend I pulled my left hamstring at my rec soccer game, and I didn't even score! The first day of each week of the Maximum Strength program starts with a heavy lower body day, so instead of aggravating the hamstring more, we started the week with the heavy upper body day. As long as the hams are back to normal by Wednesday, we'll basically just swap workout days one and three.

First Impressions

As expected, the foam rolling and tennis ball rolling were a bit uncomfortable on some spots. This is no big deal since the pain only lasts a few seconds, is not unbearable, and definitely helps to loosen up those tight parts. The exercises were familiar and laid out in a way that make you utilize the most amount of muscle per exercise in the first few sets, to less intense (but still difficult) exercises later in the workout. I will say that the hardest problem that I had was with the neutral-grip, low-incline dumbbell press. I just seemed to continually rotate my wrists towards pronation (hands pointed towards feet as opposed to facing each other) and didn't keep my scapulae retracted. It just felt funky. Check out this beast pushing 140 lbs in each hand:

Another addition to the workout that I haven't done in a while is steady-state energy work (cardio) for a few minutes after the workout. This was just a great way to end the workout with a little sweat.

Food Selection

A lot of the food selections that my wife and I make are largely based on the Precision Nutrition system, founded by the nutrition guru Dr. John Berardi. This is a killer system that instructs how to achieve the body you want (more muscular, leaner, stronger, whatever) by making the right nutrition choices. On top of that, by following the Precision Nutrition rules, you'll be healthier to boot. With this program, you simply follow the 7 Rules of Good Nutrition and watch your body change right before your eyes. Well, there's a little more work to it, but it's very doable and simple (though not always easy) to follow.

Anyway, as for food intake for the day:

Pre-Workout/During Workout - Gatorade and whey protein

Post-Workout - Surge Recovery

Breakfast - Quinoa, black beans, corn mix with grilled chicken and 1/2 grapefruit

Mid-Morning Snack - Optimum Nutrition Vanilla Casein Protein, 1/4 cup nuts

Lunch - Sirloin strips with cauliflower mash from Precision Nutrition's Gourmet Nutrition cook book, fish oil

Mid-Afternoon Snack - Optimum Nutrition Vanilla Casein Protein, 1/4 cup nuts

Dinner - Ground beef with veggies

Pre-Bed Snack (later) - Cottage cheese, peanut butter, frozen raspberries, fish oil

All in all, it was a good start to the program. We'll see tomorrow if we'll be able to get in the gym for our interval training being that we're supposed to get a ton of snow tonight. And when I say a ton of snow, I mean 1 to 3 inches. Now, before you say anything derogatory because you live in Wisconsin and our weather probably just prompts you to wear a bikini outside, just know that we're in North Carolina, and anytime that there's even a mention of snow, schools are closed, government offices lock the doors, and even gyms close for the day. 

Will keep you posted...