Beer Review for February 2013: Franziskaner Weissbier

You may be wondering why there is a beer review on a blog dedicated to fitness, diet, and health. I've loved beer and trying new brews for a long time and if I'm going to expend some of my precious daily calories on beer I want to make sure that it is worth it. I've nobly decided to share my experiences with you so you can make an informed decision about your precious calories. I don't have a refined set of beer tasting skills so, I won't be going on about bouquet and mouth feel. I may make a formal rating system at some point but for now I'll just go with my gut. Just because I like to exercise doesn't mean I have to stop liking beer!

Here is a murky delicious hefeweizen. Living in Germany, as I do currently, you would think that there would be endless amounts and selection of great beer available. Although there are endless amounts it is difficult to find much in the way of selection without spending some time and going out of your way for it. That has helped to make this widely available beer one of my favorite German beers and in my top three favorite hefeweizens that I've tried.

This beer is hazy with a great orange color. The head is prominent, white, and lasting. The taste has some banana with an enjoyable spiciness. There is also some maltiness which helps to round it out. I definitely like this beer and if it wasn't for one small issue I would drink much more often.

I'm not sure if you have had many unfiltered beers before but that means that the yeast is still in there. Although this doesn't happen to everyone, some of us (ahem) have lingering after effects from drinking unfiltered beer. To put it more bluntly I've been amazed and horrified at the pungency and amount of horseradishy/ wasabi-ishy/spicy gas that can be produced. If you want to do some further reading on the subject you can look here and here.

Despite some of the interesting side affects, I do find this beer delicious and I highly recommend it (unless you are looking for romance).

9/10

This guy definitely likes it too!

Exercise Progress Update - February 2013 Edition

This month I've been doing a P90X and Insanity hybrid. I previously completed P90X and then I did P90X2 so I was looking for a new challenge. I knew from watching the Insanity videos that I didn't want to exclusively do the program because it is very thin on resistance training and very heavy on the cardio but I did want to up the intensity of my HIT workouts. Overall I've been happy with the hybrid program and my results but sometimes I feel like I might benefit from exercising just a little less. I have to modify some of the moves in Insanity since they involve so many push up variations and I don't want to do push ups two days consecutively. I will publish a review of P90X, P90X2, Insanity, and my hybrid program in the coming months.

Since I have felt at times like I was possibly over training I decided to eliminate some of the arm work from my resistance days. Although I don't have a problem with some isolation work I do feel that the P90X program actually wastes time with so much of an emphasis on just working the biceps and triceps. I'm pleased with how it has been working and my arm strength and size haven't decreased. I'm also still on a diet where I'm switching between low and moderate carb depending on my activity level so I'm glad that I'm not losing muscle. I do feel after completing P90X/P90X2 and now going back through a modified P90X that I am ready for a change and hope to get a gym membership soon so I can get back to lifting weights and get away from some of the body weight training. Since I might not get a gym membership I've also been designing a body weight routine which I may use.

Next month I'll be back in the United States for a few weeks so I'll be doing an experimental workout routine using the very small amount of weights I have at home. I will be utilizing the scenic beauty of West Virginia to do some hiking and will probably not be doing much if any HIT cardio. I'll post more about my experiment next month.

The Most Essential Tool for Improving your Fitness

What if I told you that one item can help improve both your weight training and your cardio? This item is simple, small, and affordable and if you haven't been using it you may very well have been holding yourself back. So are you wondering what innovation, method, or routine can transform your workouts?

The exercise journal!

If you haven't been keeping track of your progress and your routines I implore that the next time you are out  buy a small notebook to start keeping track of your workouts. For a few dollars you can track your progress and see if you are actually improving. Another great aspect of the exercise journal is that if you aren't making progress you now have a record to look back and see when your improvement stopped. There are so many similar numbers week to week it is virtually impossible to keep track without writing it down. Can you actually remember all the weights you used and reps you did last week? Is it time to take a week off from training? No more guessing if you are in week ten or eleven of your routine.

An exercise journal just doesn't have to include the number of sets of squats and rows you performed or your resistance and time on the stationary bike. It is helpful to write down how you are feeling before and after your workouts. Has your shoulder been sore? An exercise journal is the perfect place to record this information so if you are wondering why your reps on the military press went down you can look back and see that it could be related to a strain or not enough recovery time between workouts. Did you complete your sets of sprints just a little slower a few weeks back because of your sore knee? Now you can look and know for certain. To get in better shape we have to push past what we were capable of before and an exercise journal is the first step to being able to do this.

Quick Body Weight Circuit

One of the biggest obstacles to working out for most people is time. Just changing and driving over the gym often seems to take more time then we think it will. Another obstacle for some people is access to a gym. The last time I moved and didn't have access to a gym I found this body weight routine very helpful.

Quick Body Weight Circuit

It consists of doing eight moves without resting in between them. If you don't have any exercise equipment to work with then this is great and quick way to stay in shape. If you have a pull up bar adding in a ninth move consisting of pull ups will  help to up the intensity level and add in some back work.

Do you have a quick body weight routine you'd like to share in the comments?