Did you know that delicious Venti Dark Berry frappuccino from Starbucks you enjoy every monring weighs in at 561 calories? That’s almost 1/4 of your daily caloric intake and it’s coming from one beverage. It’s pretty crazy to think about, but many of these early morning treats are what is preventing you from losing any weight.

An article from WebMD reports that the beloved beverage has been known to prevent many diseases.  It is said that individuals that regularly drink coffee are less likely to develop diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and colon cancer.

So the moral of the story…steer clear of those sugary, highly fattening iced coffee drinks.  If you need a boost, go for an unsweetened Cup o’ Joe.

Coffee: The New Health Food?

Iced Coffees Can Pack As Many Calories As a Meal

So the weekend is here and you have already completed your workout for the week.  When you wake up saturday morning regretting that late night street meat (among other things), theres no better time to hit the gym and sweat everything out.  Since you have already hit everything for the week, try something a little different.  A 100 rep workout is a great way to do this and it’s a workout that has helped shred T.O. when he’s not working out in his driveway.   Because you’re body is not used to doing such a high-rep set, it also helps stimulate new muscle growth.  The basis of the program is to pick one basic exercise per bodypart that you will do 100 reps of.  The weight you use is up to you but try to stay around 30% of your 10 rep max.  All you do is do as many reps as you can, rest for 10-30 seconds, and continue this process until you have hit 100 no matter how long this takes.  You’ll leave the gym feeling refreshed and with a great workout ready to do it all again.

If you grew up with GI Joes then this movie could knock your socks off.

If you’ve been hitting the gym on autopilot, doing the same 45 minutes on your favorite cardio machine, chances are you haven’t seen the results you want.  This is most likely because your body has adapted and isn’t getting the intensity it needs to get the true training effect.  To shake things up, try high-intensity interval training or HIIT.  The great thing about this is while it is very effective at burning fat, you don’t have to spend hours in the gym.  This style of training can be done on any piece of cardio equipment and consists of a 5 minute warm up, 20 minutes of HIIT and then a 5 minute cooldown.  For the 20 minute HIIT session, beginners should use a 1:1 work rest ration.  Meaning, 1 minute of very fast pace, followed by one minute of a recovery period.  As your fitness level progresses, try increasing the work pace to 1.5-2 minutes and the recovery to just 30 seconds.  Mix this training in with your normal cardio 2-4 times a week.

If you’ve ever left one of your dirty workout shirts in the laundry bag a little too long, you know how difficult it can be to get the smell out.  This problem can be about ten times as bad if it is a micro fiber shirts such as Under Armour, Nike Dri Fit, etc.  These micro fibers are notorious for trapping in sweat and in turn bacteria.  Even after washing several times, a hint of the odor may remain.  That’s where WIN comes in.  WIN sport detergent uses a special technology that specifically targets the micro fibers to eliminate the bacteria.  After just one wash, you may be able to save your favorite t shirt from the trash.  At just $7 a bottle it may be well worth it.

You may have noticed a new channel on your HD cable lineup called MavTv.  MavTv is supposed to be a channel for guys and shows everything from sports, comedies and gaming and a few shows that just feature hot chicks.  One of these shows is called Fitness Beauties and is basically just sexy girls working out.  If you have ever been caught staring at a hot girl in the gym, this show is for y0u.  While there isn’t anything too creative about this show, don’t be surprised if you land on this while channel surfing and end up watching for a few minutes. 

A lot of people believe their diet is helping them to get ready for pool season when in reality they aren’t even close.  The sample diet below is similarly structured to the Eating Full Circle meal plan in the May M&F.  The basis of the diet is keeping protein high and keeping carbs and fat low.  Follow this plan and watch your body fat disappear.

 Breakfast

4 Large whole eggs

2 Large egg whites

1 cup oatmeal

Late-Morning Snack

2 scoops whey protein

1 Tbsp. peanut butter

Lunch

8 oz. extra-lean ground beef

2 cups mixed greens salad

1 Tbsp. olive oil/vinegar dressing

Preworkout snack

1 scoop whey protein

1 banana

Postworkout snack

1 scoop whey protein

1 scoop casein protein

12 oz. Gatorade

Dinner

8 oz. chicken breast

1 cup broccoli

2 cups mixed greens salad

1 Tbsp. olive oil/vinegar dressing

Nighttime snack

1 scoop casein protein

A supplement that many are aware of but is often overlooked is caffeine.  Taken pre-workout, aside from the added energy boost, caffeine has been shown to increase overall strength, stamina and aid in fat-burning.  In fact, almost all commercial fat burners on the market contain some level of caffeine.  Some studies have shown that taking caffeine pre-workout has also shown to decrease muscle soreness.   On training days, try taking 200-400mg about 30-60 minutes before exercising.

Phil Ivey is known as the Tiger Woods of poker

After 6494 poker players put up the $10,000 buy in for the World Series of Poker, only 9 remain to compete for poker’s top prize.  Along with the bracelet that comes with the title, the eventual champion will take home $8.5 Million while all 9 players are guaranteed atleast $1.26 Million.  Among the nine that will return is Phil Ivey, one of the biggest stars in the game.  Unfortunately, Kara Scott did not make the final.  The November 9 as they are known, return to Las Vegas November 7th to play out the final.

At the recent UFC Fan Expo that ended last weekend, Maxim and the UFC teamed up to find the next octagon girl.  A total of 40 women entered but only one was picked as the winner.  Just hours before UFC 100 kicked off, Natasha Wicks was selected.  Along with the UFC deal, she will also receive a spread in Maxim and on the website.  Wicks is a 24 year old model and was a cross country runner at Northern Arizona.  Look for her at UFC 101 when Anderson Silva will take on Forrest Griffin.