Ty Ferrell's List of Foods You Can't Afford Not To Buy

I get a lot of questions about different foods that I eat. Soooo... I decided to compose a quick list of foods that everyone will need to support a healthy lifestyle.

1. Whey Protein Supplement:
I do not know one person that can not use this valuable asset in a diet. Some would argue it's not a whole food source and therefore is not a good choice. So what... It is a supplement to substitute for a whole protein when you are on the go. A decent source will still supply quality protein the body needs. There are many times when I am between clients and do not have time to munch down a turkey drumstick. Sometimes I need fast and efficient and this definitely fits the bill.

2. Green's Plus Supplement:
For the same reason as above. A person needs vegetation in every meal. Chewing on a lettuce head while training a client isn't exactly appropriate.

3. Frozen fruit and vegetables:
Fresh fruit will put a big hole in your wallet, these days. Frozen goods make it easy to toss a protein shake together in a blender, and have it fortified with super berries like blueberries and strawberries. Also, frozen vegetables defrosted in put into an omelet are very nice.

4. Fish oil:
Besides giving me extra calories when needed. Fish oil is high in omega 3. A healthy diet should be higher in omega 3 than monounsaturated fats and saturated fats. Not only this fish oil generally has more antioxidant power than your typical multivitamin.

5. dried fruit and mixed nuts
Dried fruits like prunes, raisins, and cranberries are my favorites. Any nut but a peanut is a good candidate to mix. With this you can mix up a healthy snack when on the go.

There you have it. At just about any given time these foods are in my fridge and cupboard.

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What Are Fitness Boot Camps For??

I have spent seven years in the U.S. Navy and Army. When I think of a fitness boot camp, it sometimes has the same characteristics as a real bootcamp. A BUDs (Navy Seal) instructor once told me you don't do the training because it is healthy or safe, you do it because it prepares you for the stress and needs of your job in the military. I think he was right on the money. The things we did during training were not necessarily healthy or the best choices to promote muscle or get you "tone". The exercises were simply created to get the soldier or sailor ready for the mission.

So I think it is laughable to think fitness boot camps are anywhere near a one stop solution for fitness. Like military bootcamps they possess basic elements that make them specific to certain areas of fitness. Below I have gone through the basic elements of bootcamps and what they truly promote:

1. FBC (Fitness Boot Camps) will promote endurance strength. This is the major strength that a FBC will allow to progress. Other strength qualities become more specific to the individual. For instance, speed strength can be increased to a point but the individual will most likely need more customized attention to develop higher levels of speed.

2. FBC will promote primal movements. I should say SHOULD promote primal movements. Unless the FBC is addressing athletes of higher motor skill level it should not push more explosive and multi-plane (multiple direction) training. This would just lead to bad habits and injuries. The primal movements like pushups, chinups, dips, squats,deadlifts and lunges should be the major movements used in an FBC for the average joe and jane. Variations should be made from these movements to enforce good habits, joint stability and later joint mobility. Also, primal movements allow for the greatest amount of joints to be used in one exercise, which brings me to my next point...

3. FBC will promote muscle co-contraction and fat loss. Muscles are functionally designed to work together and not isolated. Also when more muscles are used in one exercise you use more calories per exercise and have a greater EPOC response (layman- EPOC allows you to burn calories for hours after training stops). Also, becoming efficient with the movements means they will be safer. Safety allows for increase of load (weight), decrease of rest breaks and overall increase of volume.

4. FBC is a stepping stone for those looking to go into more advanced training periodizations. I have to be honest here, FBC will never be able to address a person's every need. Not only this, a person will eventually grow beyond the vague scopes of even an advanced form of FBC. For example, if a person wants to develop more maximal strength he or she will need to go into a max strength training periodization. Usually max strength training needs higher levels of rest that could not be facilitated in a FBC. Another example, is if someone has special needs to promote more fatloss and is slowed because of the lack of advanced motor skills. Well, this person will need to be given special attention to increasing motor skill, that others in the FBC may or may not need.

As you can see, FBCs have their specific goals which are fatloss, increase in edurance strength and hopefully increase ability to utilize primal movements. Other than that, I am hard press to find any FBC than can promote anything more.

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Off Topic Banter part 1

Sometimes to unwind my insane membrane I watch the craziest stuff. This is one of my favorites:

Don't Let Them Get You With The Jedi Mind Trick

I sat in on a semi-conference a little while ago. It was interesting because it was filled with new and veteran entrepreneurs. Everyone socializing and networking. I would say it was a smart thing to do with this economy. Why not help other small and large businesses get an edge while they help you?

Anyway to get back to my story, these business types I figured for being very smart and able to look underneath the superficial layer of hype and marketing. Well they were smart in their crafts but not so much when it came to looking past marketing and seeing the true product or service for what it is. To my surprise many of them who I thought were rock solid in the common sense department were easily swayed to the darker side of the force. It was as if Darth Vader came in the room and grasp the attention of many of the business professionals with his death choke grip. Now, I have to admit there were some who didn't budge when a rep from a weight loss clinic started pitching out his marketing. Good for them for not falling for the old Jedi mind trick.

Now, for most of the populace in the US I expect to see a large amount fall for hype. Well, now I must report that even the best hustlers can be hustled. So I'm putting this warning out there for all who are wise enough to listen. Heed my words young Skywalker:

- If a sales person says his supplement or methods are backed by doctors, don't fall for it. The thing is many fitness related things are backed by quacks. Infomercials usually have some Doctor Dumbass that they paid off to come out and speak of the awesome power of whatever they are selling. I have news for you, doctors are not always correct. Doctors are not always healthy. Doctors are not always good liars.

- If a sales person gives you a testimonial about how fast a system works, don't fall for it. Many systems are out there that reduce weight fast. The key word is WEIGHT. Want to lose weight quickly, lock yourself in the closet for a day with no food or water, come out and weigh yourself....Presto! Magic for a moron. People can easily lose weight, the hard part is reducing fat while sustaining muscles and metabolism. That is where these "weight loss doctor enforced clinics" fail and pro trainers such as the guys and gals at The Fitness Road bring you success. Be smart young Jedi. Losing "weight" quickly without respect for metabolism and muscle leads to flabby skin and gaining it back before you can shoot another B12 syringe in your ass.

- If a sales person talks about data and research and blood work, they better be a doctor themselves. Only an idiot would let anyone but a doctor or nurse draw blood and attempt to analyze. If they start talking about triglyceride, glucose, and cholesterol levels dropping in the blood results, ANYTIME YOU LOSE WEIGHT THESE LEVELS DROP! Simply because there is less mass to you. Young Skywalker you need to be active daily to get the same results. Want to see rapid action on this, EAT RIGHT!

Now I have given you the power to see past the Jedi mind trick. Go and teach others who are ready to truly be fit and not just lose weight today and gain it back tomorrow.

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Good and Bad Side of Personal Training

The battle rages on about what makes a good trainer and what makes a turd. I've been in the industry long enough to see many good trainers and even more turds that call themselves trainers. To make this easy to understand, I'll illustrate what I mean with an example of a good personal trainer and bad personal trainer. This should remind you of the filmstrips played in elementary school on topics such as good hygiene/ bad hygiene.

Good Trainer: Will greet you and assess your goals, general health, and ability to get to that goal. As a bonus more knowledgeable trainers will be able to take an in depth look at your posture, daily good and bad habits, and your current fitness level.

Bad Trainer: Will greet you and attempt to go right into a training session without any knowledge of your abilities, goals and health risk factors. This trainer uses phrases like "did you feel that?", "are your abs sore yet?", and "gimme two more whatever your name is?" This turd like any other simply tries to make your muscles burn without knowing that any chimpanzee can make anyones muscles burn. Only an idiot would choose a trainer because their abs hurt or biceps burn. This bozo will also try to sell you by throwing in foolish philosophies: "You have to do situps on a ball to get a sixpack", "Warmup on a treadmill for 5 minutes and then come over to me so I can make you do bicep curls", "You have to eat lower than 1200 calories to lose weight" and the list goes on.


Good Trainer: Introduces his or her solution for you to achieve your goals. There may be many options available but the prices for the solutions are not up for bid. This trainer knows his or her worth and that the quality and value of the training can not be under minded by amateur discounts or freebie sessions.

Bad Trainer: Cheap in both price and quality. You are just another dollar in this turd's pocket. This hustler will probably use adjectives such us "instant", "ripped", "maximum calorie burn" , and "totally awesome...". No quality and little value. More discounts and free sessions than you can imagine if you just sign the contract.


Good Trainer: Keeps an accurate journal of your training and body composition. This trainer knows without collected data there is no progression, at least not for long. This trainer is able to assess any problems that may arise with your health and is not afraid to refer to another professional (such as doctor or physical therapist) if something is out of his scope. Results are guaranteed to happen after following the customized protocols.

Bad Trainer: Can give a rat's ass what you want or need. Either he will follow a silly muscle mag cookie cut workout or listen to some crap another turd told him. Probably have you do an extreme diet without any idea of what he is doing. Training is just what he or she feels like watching you do. Today may be the worthless butt blaster and tomorrow the worthless shoulder press machine. No care for form or muscle and nervous system recovery, just hurry up and lets go to the next machine. This turd judges you strictly from your weight on the scale not knowing weight can fluctuate greatly and is deceptional when used alone. Your weights up, so now you have to go on the elliptical for two hours today or something stupid like that.


Oh I can go on and on. I imagine you get the scoop from these examples. Make sure you seek out a good, high quality and knowledgeable trainer and leave the turds in the toilet.

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