Wear your MuscleTalk T-shirt this summer!
Articles can be found here and in past editions of The MuscleTalker
UKBFF North-East Championships in association with FLEX magazine will be in Leeds Town Hall on September 8th. The event is supported by MuscleTalk - the main web partner for the event. Read more here.
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*** Bodybuilders Budget Diet ***
By Eddie aka theiOpener, MuscleTalk Pro-Member
Since I joined MuscleTalk back in January, one thing has always kept playing on my mind; the lack of a budget diet that incorporates healthy mono, poly and omeag3 fats, lean protein, variety, taste, fruit, vegetables and fibre that also costs under £4 a day whether you're cutting or bulking. We all know the bodybuilder lifestyle is not one to be taken lightly in any sense; most importantly the wallet may get somewhat lighter. Those buy 1 get 1 free offers on the pepperoni trans fat laden pizzas, or the sugar coma inducing 3 for 2 on your favourite Cadbury chocolate bars will not be on the menu anymore!
Sure it's easy to eat nothing but bland tuna, chicken, rice and some veg, but where is the fun in that? This is the reason most people fall off the deep end and give up the lifestyle because there isn't much variety in what they eat. Food is not enjoyed anymore so it has become a tool to what you want to look like, this is not the way I am afraid. So I decided to use my training as a chef and understanding of nutrition to develop a budget bodybuilding diet, suitable for the masses which have taste, clean nutritious calories and most importantly won't break the bank! I would even be so bold as to say you will eat cheaper on this plan than you would with all of those 'buy one get one free' offers on the pizzas that are now consigned to Room 101.
So without further delay I present to you my Bodybuilders Budget Meal Plan for the bulkers out there, (cutting version soon to come!). (Prices are in UK£/p Sterling).
- Protein Pancakes:
200g Cottage Cheese, 100g oat powder, 100ml skimmed milk and 2 tbsp sweetener blended up and made into protein pancakes
Cost: 23p Cottage Cheese, oats 5p, Milk 6p. Total 34p
(Oat powder is just economy oats ground up in a blender)
557 kcal; 71g carbs; 43g pro; 11g fat; 9g fibre
- Turkey Bolognese:
70g wholemeal pasta, 200g passata, 150g turkey mince, 1 onion, 2 mushrooms
Cost: 40p turkey mince, 11p passata, pasta 6p, two mushrooms 12p, onion 8p. Total 77p
542 kcal; 69g carbs; 43g pro; 10g fat; 10g fibre
- iOpener's Bulking Shake:
200g cottage cheese, 80g oat powder, 15g ASDA crunchy peanut butter, 10g cocoa powder with sweetener. Put all in blender with water and mix well.
Cost: cottage cheese 23p, oats 5p, peanut butter 2p, cocoa powder with sweetener 3p. Total 33p
580 kcal; 58g carbs; 43g pro; 19g fat; 10g fibre
- Pre Workout:
100g mince turkey, 1 whole egg, 100g oats, 250g green beans. Make into burgers and grill.
Cost: green beans 20p, oats 5p, turkey 30p, eggs 6p. Total 61p
558 kcal; 17g fat; 61g carbs; 36g pro; 8.5g fibre
- PWO (post workout)
40g whey in water, 50g oat powder, 1 banana
Cost: whey 32p, oat powder 3p, banana 15p. Total 50p
30g pro; 60g carbs; 4g fat 360
- PPWO (post post workout) Pilchards Bolognese
200g pilchards in tomato sauce, 100g pasta, 3 mushrooms, 1 onion
Cost: pilchards 25p, pasta 6p, onion 8p, mushrooms 10p. Total 49p
551 kcal; 11g fat; 67g carbs; 46g pro; 9g fibre;
- Pre bed
200g cottage cheese, 15g peanut butter, 10g cocoa with sweetener
Cost: peanut butter 2p, cottage cheese 23p, cocoa powder with sweetener 3p. Total 28p
292 Kcal; 13g fat; 10g carbs; 35g pro; 3g fibre
Total nutritional value: 3440kcal; 400g carbs; 280g protein; 85g fat
Total cost for the day : £3.32
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**
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*** A Tricep Workout ***
By James Collier - Nutrition Consultant and MuscleTalk Co-Owner
This is a one session per week tricep workout designed to be easy to follow and quick to perform; but you must still train intensely. You can easily do this after training another body part. All exercises should be performed with correct form, using weight you can comfortably manage. Try it for 8-10 weeks and see how you get on.
- Close grip bench press 2 sets of warm up followed by 3 sets of 8-10 reps to failure
- Dips (weighted if need) 3 sets to failure
- Tricep pushdowns 3sets of 8-10 reps to failure
In between each set, flex and squeeze the triceps hard and remember to mentally focus on the muscles you are training.
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*** Food of the Month - Alfalfa Sprouts ***
By Big Les - Nutrition Consultant and MuscleTalk Moderator
The sprouting seeds of the Medicago sativa, also known as Chilean clover in goldrush California, are little known and nutrient packed. When it comes to sprouts most of us know a bean sprout and a brussel sprout; however the sprout of the alfalfa, meaning 'father of all foods' in Arabic, is somewhat less famous.
Alfalfa sprouts are light on calories with only 29 kcal per 100g (and 100g is a lot of sprouts!), and unlike many veggies they also pack the protein with 4g per 100g, sporting all the essential amino acids. They are also high fibre with two of their 4g of carbohydrates being dietary fibre and no sugars. Not surprisingly alfalfa sprouts also contain a good spread of vitamins and minerals, with B vitamins, K, D, E, calcium and zinc all being found. However, alfalfa sprouts are particularly rich in potassium, vitamin C, iron and folate and are a powerful anti-oxidant. In addition, alfalfa sprouts boast the benefits of carotenes and phyto-oestrogens.
If this wasn't enough, alfalfa spouts score highly in tests measuring cholesterol lowering ability, and are rich in sulforaphanes which have been linked to lowering cancer risks and boosting the body's ability to fight cancer.
This powerful nutrient profile leads to the question: what do you do with an alfalfa sprout? Alfalfa sprouts can be used anywhere you would use cress, so as a salad garnish or mixed into egg mayo. Personally I like to mix the alfalfa sprout in to tuna with fat free vinaigrette to add texture and taste, and they also make a tasty addition to a stir fry. I also like to add sprouts of alfalfa and other beans to garnish risottos where they add a texture and crunch. Because they add texture and have a very mild flavour they are great for experimenting with.
Convinced to buy? If you are then look for sprouts that have been refrigerated only, they should be crisp and have the bud attached. If they are dark, smelly or slimy looking, leave well alone. Once home keep in the fridge at less than 4°. Always, and I mean always, wash alfalfa sprouts because they are grown in humid conditions that are also perfect for bacterial growth and are like any food eaten raw - easily contaminated.
Les is available for tailored nutrition programs see: www.muscletalk.co.uk/fb.asp?m=1104321
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** Informed Bodybuilding Nutrition eBook by James Collier - the ULTIMATE nutrition bible for bodybuilding.
For more information click here:
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*** MT Powerlifting Totals Competition ***
By boar - MuscleTalk Pro-Member
See: www.muscletalk.co.uk/fb.asp?m=1083082
Greetings fellow MT power enthusiasts! Over the last month the MT powerlifting totals have been ticking over nicely.
Senior member iaink got two nice raw PBs, 150kg on the bench and 220kg squat - excellent work from Iain who qualified to compete in September's BWLA British Unequipped Powerlifting Championships in the 90kg category - keep going mate!
Pro-member Cliff_vtr pulled an impressive 187.5kg dead lift in the BWLA SW Unequipped - at 73kg bodyweight, he's well on the way to a 3 x bodyweight lift!
World class lifter Ian Rutherford also joined the forum and earned the second place in the heavyweight category with lifts of 365 / 240 / 325 - second only to Delroy McQueen who is the current 125kg BPC British champion.
The time has come for tony1blue and I to head south and compete in the BPC British Powerlifting Championships - both in the 110kg category, the prestigious second to last place is up for grabs! Tony is online for a 300kg deadlift and I have recently broke PBs across the board with lifts of 290 / 200 / 255, so I am looking to better them down in Bournemouth on the 15th July; the crowning glory being a 30kg squat - the nerves are jangling for sure.
MuscleTalk member and current squat and deadlift world record holder Andy Bolton will attempt to break his own dead lift record (currently at 455kg) at the BPC British with a pull of 460kg!
Wish us all luck guys! Keep pounding n posting
Boar
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*** Recipe - French Toast ***
By Nicole Bremner, Recipe Consultant and MT Moderator
Taken from Muscle Menus 2
** Ingredients
2 slices wholegrain bread
3 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp sugar replacement
** Method
Preheat non-stick frying pay. Whip together egg whites, vanilla and cinnamon. Dip each slice of bread into the mixture and fry in pan until browned. Then flip over to brown other side of bread. Serve with natural yoghurt, fresh fruit and sugar free maple syrup if desired.
** Information
Serves 1. Per serve: 187kcal, 16g protein, 27g carbs, 2g fat. Suitable for vegetarians.
More great bodybuilding recipes can be found in the eBooks 'Muscle Menus', 'Muscle Menus 2', 'Muscle Menus Vegetarian' and Muscle Menus Shakes, Bars and Smoothies
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*** DVD Review - The Real Workout - Andreas Munzer ***
Review by Review by Big Les - Nutrition Consultant and MuscleTalk Moderator
Available here
I couldn't start this review without mentioning that Andy died in March 1996, and since that very day the cause and nature of that death have been discussed ad-nauseum. This is a shame because both Andy the person and Andy the bodybuilder were great people. Andy was a friendly and very likable man, and gave his time freely; he was the IFBB resident computer expert, glued to his laptop smiling away. As a bodybuilder he introduced a level of conditioning that has never been matched let alone surpassed. In the dictionary under 'shredded' Andy's picture is right there.
From Austria, Andy idolized Arnold, and was based at Albert Busek's gym in Germany; the very same Albert Busek that helped a young Arnold. This Video filmed at the Busek gym not long before Andy's death gives us a look at the awesome physique, and an appreciation that Andy was no dumb meathead, but very much an intelligent and articulate ambassador.
On to the DVD itself. First you have to transport yourself back to the mid 90s when this was filmed; Blood and Guts wasn't even released, so this is what a workout video was like those days. This is an instructional; as such you get segments on the major body parts and the exercises, demonstrated by Andy with him talking you through them. I was slightly disappointed by this because Andy put his phenomenal conditioning down not only to his diet, which in his own words at the time was nothing remarkable, but to his training. He claimed that if you trained like him you too would have the same condition when your body fat was low. No mention of these training techniques is made; instead it is very much for the beginner. We also get a great cardio section where we get advice on oxygen therapy, a dodo of the bodybuilding world and an historical oddity; it was fun to be reminded about that. As an extra we get Andy talking about nutrition, and all these years on, yes we could pull it to pieces, but if you did as Andy says in this segment you would actually do quite well and get more than a decent physique out of it. So, for the beginner, to whom this is all aimed, it's good instruction.
Overall this is an oddity. For the beginner its good stuff, but somehow I can't see a beginner being interested in it, and those who are old enough to remember Andy's competitive days aren't likely to be beginners. I watched it to see Andy's condition, which when seen in movement is even more phenomenal than it is in photographs - you name it, its shredded - even his lats - and Andy isn't even in contest condition!
The real workout is a collector's piece, and I am glad to own it, both to remember Andy and to be reminded of just how awesome his condition really was.
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The articles in The MuscleTalker are for information purposes only and are the sole expressions of the individual authors opinion and are those not necessarily shared by the owners of www.MuscleTalk.co.uk