Monday:

ATT Coconut Creek

• After-School Program from 2:45-4:15

ATT Pompano Beach

• No-Gi Jiu Jitsu from 6:30-7:30
• MMA from 7:30-8:30

Tuesday

ATT Coconut Creek

• After-School Program from 2:45-4:15

Mossoro is in Northeastern Brazil. I will be staying there from March 3rd – March 10th. They are going to be putting us up in Hotel Thermas Resort, which is the largest thermal water park in Brazil. Here is a link to the hotel. The organization is also flying down our teammate Ailton Barbosa to corner us. Ailton is from Brazil and speaks very good English and Portuguese, so he will be translating and keeping me out of trouble. UFC and American Top Team fighter Gleison Tibau is from Mossoro and will be helping promote the event. This is a big fight for me and I am very excited to have the opportunity to fight in Brazil. It has always been a dream of mine! I am currently accepting sponsorship requests. Please contact me if you are interested.

In an early catchweight contest, UFC and Bellator Fighting Championships Ryan Thomas (14-7) earned an impressive submission victory over “The Ultimate Fighter 6″ cast member John Kolosci (15-9). Thomas missed an initial attempt at a first-round rear-naked choke but quickly maneuvered himself into a triangle choke while on Kolosci’s back. The tap came shortly after, as Kolosci struggled to find an escape.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/26363/xfc-15-results.mma

Apple Cinnamon Protein Pancakes

• 1/3 cup quinoa flakes (or quick oats)
• 8 oz. egg whites
• 1 diced fuji apple (or 4 ounces of no sugar added apple sauce)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• Sugar free pancake syrup (I like Walden Farms brand)

Directions:

Blend all ingredients except for the diced apple. Then stir in the diced apple until it is mixed in the batter. Next, coat the skillet with coconut oil and add the pancake batter. The fats contained in coconut oil may help to boost thermogenesis and/or fat burning in the body. The fats in coconut oil are also highly resistant to heat. When the batter starts to bubble then you know its time to flip them. I ate a couple Brazil nuts with the pancake.

Muay thai practice was awesome, just as I expected. Master Katel taught some advanced techniques, but thats the way we like it. I was partnered up with Nicholae Cury. He is a BJJ black belt but also a great striker. He is a great training partner for me because we push each other hard but train safe at the same time.

After muay thai practice I mixed some Nurtilite Quick Recover Drink Mix into a shaker to sip on while weight training. It gave me some carbs to restore my glycogen stores after muay thai so I would have fuel to push through the strength and conditioning workout. The BCAA, glutamine and 16g of protein will help ensure muscle building, anti-catabolic muscle support, energy production and recovery. You can purchase it here.

Below I have included the circuit that Caleb Williams and myself did. I would lift and then Caleb would lift. The only rest we got was while the other one was lifting the weights.

• Squat 3×15
• Wide grip lat pulldowns 3×15
• Dumbbell bench press 3×15
• Leg curls 3×15
• Leg extension 3×15
• Close grip pull ups 3×15
• Dumbbell incline bench press 3×15
• Abs 3×30
• Versa climber 4 sets of 30 seconds sprints

After weight training, I came home and had my berry protein ice cream. The recipe is in a previous blog if you would like to try it. Its pretty awesome. I added unflavored creatine and glutamine to it. About 2 hours later I had a Scooby Poo Bars. Yeah it sounds pretty gross and doesn’t look any better. I made a dozen of them last week and froze them for a quick and healthy meal replacement to have on hand. Here is a youtube link on how to make them. The meathead from the video is kinda a clown. His name is Scooby and makes a bunch of healthy videos with his shirt off. He is actually very intelligent at nutrition and weight training. He is my hero! Not really.

Today I taught the after-school program some basic striking techniques. The kids are looking tough! They could have beaten the crap out of me when I was their age. They are good kids and wouldn’t have done that though.

Later, I made a chicken parmesan using spaghetti squash, healthy tomato sauce, mushrooms, chicken breast, and fat free mozzarella. Its only the 3rd time I have cooked spaghetti squash. Its got to be on of the coolest things ever. If you haven’t tried spaghetti squash before then you HAVE to give it a try. It tastes and looks just like spaghetti. I was stuffed after eating a bowl of the healthy chicken parmesan and it was under 500 calories. My roommate, Caleb Williams, gave it a try a few hours later and he thought it was really neat too. Its was his first time eating spaghetti squash. He is stealing all of my recipes. Even though I was stuffed, I wanted something sweet for a snack. I had a Philly Swirl. Its a 14 calorie popsicle. I can’t count how many times I have ate one of these to keep me from sabotaging my diet. Walmart sells them.

For dinner, I had a salad and used Maple Grove Farms Fat Free Balsamic Vinaigrette. This brand tastes really good and is only 15 calories for 2 tbsp. I like to keep my salads healthy so I don’t add high calorie dressings. With the salad, I had my last zucchini turkey burger. I made a bunch of them and then froze some so that I would have quick and healthy meals at my disposal. I put the burger on a ezekiel english muffin with lettuce, tomato, onion, spicy mustard, and Heinz reduced sugar ketchup. I like using a lot of ketchup so this kind is good for me because normal ketchup is 20 calories for only a 1 tbsp. I use WAY more than 1 tbsp. The reduced ketchup kind is only 5 calories and I can’t taste the difference.

The final thing I ate for the night was half of a pumpkin pie. This was a healthy version though. I got it from Lean Body Lifestyle. the entire half pumpkin pie was under 200 calories, 18g protein, 2g fat, 21g carbs, 9g fiber. It tasted just like an ordinary pumpkin pie without the crust. Its easy to make too. Click here to watch the video on how to make it.

J.P.  was the first fight of the night. He dominated for the entire fight with powerful takedowns and top position skills. Soldado was up next and he didn’t disappoint either. He landed some big shots in what ended up being one of the best fights of the night. Soldado is a beast. I know this personally because he slammed me in January and displaced one of my ribs 30 days before I fought TUF veteran Daniel Head. I didn’t wanna pull out of the fight because I was the main event. Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t pull out of the fight because I choked out Dan Head before he had a chance to hit me in the rib.

Ailton made quick work of his opponent. He pulled half guard only to immediately take the guys back and finish the fight with a Rear Naked Choke. It was actually pretty slick. Look out for these guys in the near future!

Protein Pumpkin Pancakes

• 1/3 cup quinoa flakes (or quick oats)
• 8 oz. egg whites
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin (make sure its just pumpkin. Not pumpkin pie mix with added sugars)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1 oz. walnuts

Directions:

Blend all ingredients except for the walnuts in a blender until nice and smooth because who wants lumpy pancakes, right? Then add the walnuts but do not blend them. Just stir them in until they are mixed in the batter. Next, spray olive oil on a pan and add the pancake batter. When the batter starts to bubble then you know its time to flip them. I like to add sugar free pancake syrup on top of mine. My favorite kind is made by Walden Farms. I like this brand because it doesn’t have aspartame or sugar alcohols. I just make one gigantic pancake so I don’t have to wait for all the pancakes to cook, you’re probably more patient than me though.

Why is this healthy?

• The quinoa or quick oats will give me come complex carbs to help fuel me though my workout.
• The egg whites are a lean protein source that will provide my muscles with the amino acids and protein they need to keep my muscles from breaking down.
• Canned pumpkin is high in fiber and beta-carotene.
• The walnuts are a healthy fat and natural fat burner when you eat them before training.

After a hearty breakfast I was ready for muay thai practice. Master Katel Kubis and Vagner Tiburcio taught the practice today. These are two of the baddest dudes I know. We worked on a lot of faking with either an inside leg kick or a front kick and then when your opponent drops his hands or tries to counter the front kick, you finish with a jab cross or just a cross. It was something new that I had not worked on before. Good stuff!

After muay thai practice I did a strength and conditioning circuit with Rafael Dias and Caleb Williams. Stefane Dias M.Ed. Strength & Conditioning Coach for American Top Team put us through the circuit. Today we did higher reps and included some practical mma training. Here is part of the workout;

• 3×15 bench press with 135lb which was super setted with 30 second flurries on the heavy bag.
• 3×15 one arm rows with 60lb dumbbell which was super setted with 30 seconds ground and pound on the body opponent bag.
• Three sets of 20 yard walking lunges with 40lb dumbbells which was super setted with 20 fast kicks and 10 power kicks each leg on the heavy bag.

I had protein ice cream for my post workout snack. Here is the recipe.

Berry Good Protein Ice Cream

• 1 cup pasteurized egg whites (Please don’t eat raw eggs)
• 1 cup frozen mixed berries
• 1 frozen banana (peel it before you freeze it)
• 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (I like to use Nutrilite brand. You can purchase it here)
• 1/2 tbsp stevia. (This is a natural zero calorie sweetener)

Directions:

• Throw it all in a blender until its smooth like ice cream

Why is this healthy?

• The egg and whey protein will provide me with all the lean protein and amino acids my muscles need to recover post-workout.
• The fruit will help restore my glycogen stores. If your body is a car, your glycogen stores are the gas tank.
• I avoid eating any fats post-workout because my body needs protein and simple carbs immediately. Fat slows down digestion.

In the afternoon I taught the after school program at American Top Team. I took the kids from the classroom to the mats. They bowed before they walked onto the mats to show respect. Then they all lined up and we bowed together. We stretched and did a warm-up activity. The warm-up involved skipping, galloping, bear crawls, duck walks, crab walks, ect. I also yelled out a number and the kids have to quickly gather into groups of that number. After the kids were warmed up, we reviewed the scissor sweep. This is their favorite sweep and they have pretty much mastered it. We will move onto a takedown or a new strike or something next time. After technique, we played a game. For todays game I had all the kids tuck a piece of cloth into the back of their shorts. The object of the game was to try and pull out the other kid’s tails. They have to be quick and it involves a little wrestling so its good for them. After a few games, my assistant and I played with them. We  played instructors vs students. The kids love when we participate in the games with them. Its was about 20 kids against Caleb Williams and myself. They won two games and we won two games. We had to listen to the kids smack talk about beating us. We’ll get them next time though.

After training the kids I had a spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette and a healthy low carb pizza that I learned from Lean Body Lifestyle. I get a lot of my recipes from Lean Body Lifestyle. It allows me to have a variety of healthy food options in my diet so I don’t get sick of eating the same thing every day. I can have pumpkin pie, pizza, pancakes, cheesecake or whatever. I just have to make healthy alternatives to the real thing. Subscribe to his youtube channel. Lean Body Lifestyle makes a chicken pizza with tomato sauce. My favorite pizza is BBQ chicken so I altered his recipe. Try his recipe or plug in my ingredients to try mine. Let us know what you think. Here are the ingredients I used;

BBQ Chicken Pizza

• 8 oz cauliflower
• 4 tbsp. Stubbs BBQ sauce (I like the low sugar and taste of this sauce)
• Stevia (add a bit into the BBQ sauce to make it sweeter)
• 1/4 small onion
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash tomato, basil, & garlic blend
• 1 whole organic egg
• 1.5 ounces grilled chicken
• 1/2 cup shredded fat free mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese

Nutrition Facts:

• Calories: 390
• Protein: 50g
• Carbs: 33g
• Fat: 6g
• Fiber: 7g
• Sugar: 13g

Personally, I like to have a majority of my carbs for breakfast, pre-workout, and post-workout. I lay off the carbs at night time because I dont need the energy before bed. My training has already been completed for the day. I usually have higher protein and healthy fats at night. I decided to have Emerald Balance green drink and some low-carb & high-protein apple cinnamon crepes for dinner tonight. This is another really easy recipe that I learned from Lean Body Lifestyle. Click here to watch his video on how to make them. I made mine just like he did except I added 1 ounce of walnuts, 5 calorie Reddi-wip, and Walden Farms sugar free pancake syrup.

I absolutely love peanut butter! Peanut butter is very calorie dense though. It doesn’t take much of it to blow your diet for the day. Luckily, I discovered PB2 a few weeks ago. PB2 is powdered natural peanut butter has has 85% of the fat removed. Its only 45 calories for two tablespoons. Peanut butter is made with healthy fats which are good for you in moderation. I have a problem with moderation when it comes to peanut butter though. I guess PB2 has been around for a while but I just found out about it. Although it sounds disgusting, its actually very good. You just mix it with a little water. Tonight I dipped celery in it.

Well, thats pretty much my day in a nutshell. Leave a comment and let me know what you liked and what you didn’t like. Feel free to ask me questions. Also, let me know what other stuff you would like me to blog about. I’m gonna start blogging as much as I can. Thanks for reading.