Project Genius of A Schizophrenic

Hi guys,

Today post is not one of my usual fitness posts but instead I guess I am just sharing or hosting a blog post for some one else. This is an entirely new situation for me but I am always happy to help people out there specially if it is for a good cause. Few days ago I been approached by the author of this book on Instagram and asked to be featured, so I thought why not? Please be aware that I am in no way affiliated with the author but just a messenger.

I’m a musician, singer, and songwriter. I currently reside in Austin, Tx. Not that long ago, I walked away from a recording contract with Oscar and Grammy Award Winner, Pharrell Williams, in order to secure my mental faculties after being diagnosed with schizophrenia and depression. I’ve recently written a book about my triumph over the diagnosis. Sprinkled throughout the book are my experiences navigating the music industry and how the diagnosis affected that.

This book is packed with genius insights, as how to produce proper thinking in a vast array of real life scenarios. This book is for entrepreneurs, Millennials, creatives, artists, musicians, the abused in any way, and of course those dealing with mental health disparities.

I’m in need of funds for proper launching and marketing of this unique, exciting, and transformational book.

-Please help support me in my efforts to bring awareness to mental health and suicide prevention through the publication of this book. Anyone who donates any amount whatsoever will receive a copyrited original manuscript of the book.

Grace be with you my friends,

Peace & Love

Follow @Jermaine_Tolbert for more info on how you can support

Here you can donate —-> Link

Why You Should Keep a Fitness Journal

Let’s be honest, I been there as well in the past and I am sure that many of you are doing exactly the same. Wondering around the gym and randomly selecting machines, exercises and weights. After months only we wonder why we haven’t made much progress, this is one of the reasons why we need to keep a Fitness Journal.

If you want to achieve your goal in fitness such as lose weight, gain muscle or simply tone up it is really important to have a plan and track the progress this will also lead you to don’t give up along the way.

But what are the other reasons you should keep a Fitness Journal? I am sure there are plenty but for me, the followings are the most important:

Track the progress
Be able to adjust weights to exceed the previous limit
Increase motivation
Plan rest days in advance
Track your Macros

A Fitness Journal doesn’t need to be anything complicated and my best suggestion is to start with exercise and weight track and macros which I believe are the most important one. It can be on your phone, on an exercise book or on your computer. My Fitness Journal is divided into two parts, for track my macros I use MyFitnessPal App on my iPhone and for exercise tracking, I like to have a small exercise book.

Also you want to track your progress on body weight in this case I use a normal scale and record all in the Health App of my iPhone, however, I will not hide the fact that sooner or later I will love to purchase a Body Analyzer Scale which will give me also some other information such as the Body Fat Percentage, Muscle Mass, Bones Density, Water Weight.

I really hope you guys enjoyed this article and that was of an interest. Please let me know in the comment what are your thought and how you keep track of your Fitness Progress.

My First YouTube Video

This last few days have been a life change game in place. Plenty of things have happened. I have purchased a new desk, received finally my new MacBook Pro which I really wanted and needed since my 10 years old one was on the last restart, purchased a pair of photography lights and started a new project.

Yes… It was about time that my fears were set aside.

I never really felt comfortable to talk to the people, I was and I am always invaded by a mix of feelings such as, insecurity, what the audience will think, how they going to judge me and last but not least why they have to choose me rather than someone else if every one else is better than me?

The take point on all of this is we all are and have something different than someone else, we all have value out there, our words and voice matters and time will make us better – What doesn’t kill, make you stronger.

I remember when I first started this blog I was feeling exactly the same.

Today, February 20th, I uploaded My First YouTube Video, nothing really special to be honest, I have only presented myself and the channel, of course, made some errors along the editing of this first video, but I am really happy to have done this step forward.

If you feel like, please pass by and subscribe, leave a like or a comment I will be extremely happy to see all of you there as well, to support not only me during this Weight Loss Journey but also Who Ever Need Motivation for health first and then vanity ——-> Watch The Video.

A Timeline Of My Weight Loss Story… To Be Continued

After 15 years at sea, November 2016 saw me moving from my home land (Italy) to the States to follow one of my dreams. Working on land and stay with my family without leaving much longer than what I was doing before – months at sea, however, I still had to pay the price of leaving my parents behind.

Since my teenage years, I always had a weight problem, obesity was in my blood and the only way I could control it was of course eat healthy and exercise. The life on board has always had ups and downs, I always found myself in control of what I was eating the first month but then my poor rest time… the long hours of work and stress was kicking in and healthy eating was the last thing in my brain as it was hard to keep following.

The end of April 2017 after me and my wife were settling down in our new city, in our mail inbox a post card promotion was inviting us to have a look to one of our nearby gyms, we both thought why not to pass by and see what they have to offer?

Here we went and as you can imagine my fitness journey begins.

April 2017…

In this first picture, I was a little over 80 kilos, OMG, I very often look at this picture to remember what I looked like but also to see how much I have progressed in these months and how I look now in less than one year. Here is something that I want to say to all of you out there: this process takes time and you guys need to understand that is not an easy fix or something that you can do in couple of months and then be back on what you were doing before. This is a Life Style Change and the earlier you understand this the better it is going to be for your mental health and future results.

JULY 2017…

Three months had passed from that beginning, I had lost about 10 kilos, I was feeling much healthier and I was very happy with my overall progress.

I will not hide that during these three months I had been very disciplined on my diet however some days where more difficult than others.

My secret…….?

…was planning milestones for cheat meals. When I was getting to a certain weight then I would reward myself with a meal that I normally could not have but also I was making sure that before that meal I was doing my workout, if not all of it then at least the cardio – in this way I would not store all those calories as a fat but they will have helped me with the post workout recovery.

Today after 10 months from my weight loss journey beginning, I weigh 65,5 kilos and I know I still have a long way to go but I am at the point where the kilos don’t count that much any more, my body is changing and I like the way it is progressing, the fat is been replaced with lean muscle and the overall process is still in progress.

I have learned a lot until today, from nutrition, new recipes, macros and what to choose in the grocery stores or leave behind. Yes, I am still learning and while doing so I love to share my experience with you all, perhaps some one of you can find the right inspiration for your journey too!

Do I like my new lifestyle after all this time? Yes, definitely and cheat meals taste even better since this is usually the kind of food that you don’t eat every day.

Well, this is my little story so far, but also the story is continuing and I am happy you all are a part of it.

Life Update

This week so far has been hectic, gym class, workout, meal prep for the week, grocery, new haircut, working shifts and engaged on another little extra project which I will talk about later in the days.

The GRIT class on Sunday was fun with these amazing people in the picture since there are not too many people in the class so far the goal at the minute is to focus on achieving a good technique and form, I believe this is the best place to start.

I love to meal prep for the entire week or at least for all the days I know I will be extremely busy. Honestly, if I wouldn’t have this approach, I would not be successful with this lifestyle change.

I couldn’t handle anymore my “long” hair, so I decide to go for a clean and short haircut, I loved the idea to have long hair but every time I was dressing a cup I was feeling messy and couldn’t control it.

As usual, if you like to know anything or wish me to talk about anything in particular make sure to write in the comment.

4 Ways To Manage Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

I know I been there, well actually I have to say I am there too, after an intense workout is inevitable the pain on your muscle which you don’t really feel at the end of your workout but is there ready to hit you the morning later when you wake up for the start of your new day. If you didn’t know this is called delayed onset muscle soreness or abbreviated DOMS and the cause is the micro-trauma we get to our muscle during the workout. This also means that more intense the workout is and more DOMS we will have.

Although there is not a magical cure to avoid the pain, there are for sure some tricks you should know to alleviate the pain and accelerate the recovery.

In the end, always remember that NO PAIN NO GAIN!

Food After Workout

Right, this might be quite obvious, but I can assure you that many still get this wrong. After we damage our muscle, the recovery is very important. A good general rule is to eat a small meal within 30/45 minutes the end of a workout session. All you want is protein and carbs.

Sleep

Most average people need between 7 to 8 hours of sleep. If you exercise regularly try to make this as a habit. Listen to your body and get your sleep, it is during your sleep that the damaged cells are going to be restored. I also make sure to have some high protein food to help the recovery before bed.

Cardio

I am sure that on this one you would say! Are you crazy or what? Especially if the day before it has been a leg day. I know how much is hard to start a cardio session, especially the day after a leg day when you can barely walk, but believe me, after the first 5/8 minutes you will be fine and the day later you will be pleased.

Hot Bath With Epsom Salt

Epsom Salt contains magnesium that can be absorbed through the skin that will help to reduce soreness and improve muscle function. The bath will also help you to relax and sleep better.

How you guys manage DOMS? Do you have another trick to add to the list? Please share in the comment.

1000 Instagram Followers – Men’s Health & Lifestyle

I need to say this, I cannot really control my self from the excitement and happiness all together. Within 24 hours I not only hit the 100 Followers on my Blog but today I have seen 1000 Followers on my Instagram.

I am so happy and I cannot really express how much joy I have for this.

If you have not yet done so don’t forget to follow my Instagram account since my latest inventions on nutrition, news and good vibes are all there first.

100 Followers & Blog Party!

Today, I am here to celebrate my 100 Followers and to say THANKS to each and every one of you. You probably don’t know yet, but you guys are the reason why I keep writing and the motivation for me to do better.

When I started this blog in April 2017, I didn’t really know what I was doing and the start of 2018 saw me having barely 13 followers. I remember I also wrote a post back in the days where my motivation to write was low because I felt that no one was appreciating what I was doing and I was feeling alone in this journey.

Luckily all of this didn’t discourage me. Instead, it was a motivation to change and try to do better.

I guess that I am going somewhere, I guess that I am doing better and that you guys are finding something in what I write and share.

To celebrate this milestone, I have decided to host a Blog Party; every one is invited no matter when you read this post. For those of you that don’t know what a Blog Party is, a Blog Party is where in the comments you present yourself, what you blog about and leave your blog URL, in this way you will discover new blogs and friends.

Here just few rules:

Leave a comment in the comments section below, with a brief description and a link to your blog.
Follow my blog, let’s be friends!
Comment or follow at least 2 or 3 other blogs, after you leave a comment.

New Domain // Why and Which One Is?

Some of you may have realized that something has changed in the header and the website address.

I was talking with an extremely helpful blogger today that open my mind and was completely right about it.
When I first started my blog, the intention was for me to write articles for men and my wife articles for the women, that was the reason behind the name Health & Beauty 4 All!
After almost a year from the start, she never made any article and I think she will never do, the blog, in reality, has always been my thing, my idea.
That’s why today I am here to present Men’s Health & Lifestyle which I think is much more appropriate, my new domain is up and running already and you can find me at https:\\menshealthlifestyle.org

I would love to hear all your comments. Have I made the right move? What you all think? I still need to work on minor adjustments but I hope to have made the correct choice.

One Of My Favorite Snack

Fitness life can be tough at times, sure there are so many healthy choices out there but then we have to watch the macros and let it fit all together for the end of the day.

I enjoy eating and not because I am in my Fitness Journey I am always willing to give up to a great taste, for me all my meals have to be delightful but to achieve that you also need to cook, prepare and taste a different kind of combinations until when you find one that you can write down in your book and keep for life.

Today I want to share with you guys how I prepare one of my afternoon snack that for sure will be part of my book and that lately is my favorite and is worth the try.

You will need:

150g of Fat-Free Greek Yogurt
70g of Blueberries
10g Honey 🍯

What I like to use in this recipe are the frozen blueberries which added to the Yogurt and the Honey will give a kind of ice cream consistency to the entire plate.

All of that may be sound not that exciting but give it a try and let me know how you have found it in the comment. What is your favorite snack worth to try?

First Ever GRIT Class

Today was my first GRIT class and I was really excited about it. I have been waiting this moment for the last 20 days or so. I woke up early this morning or anyway early for my Sunday routine off work and the class was not before 9 am, however, I wanted to start with some of my regular workout routines so I decided to be at the gym by 8 am.

In one of my previous post we have already talked about the benefit but what is my first impression and how it went?

There is only one word that comes out from my mind and that is CHALLENGING! Honestly, by the end, I was so drained that I couldn’t even complete all the exercise but hey this is my first time and I need to build technic and strength on this new routine, overall I am quite satisfied with my performance.

I can already see where I will be in the next few months, the GRIT will help me to burn all the extra calories and fat that I got and increase my strength. I must say that one of the reasons I found it was challenging today is because yesterday was my leg day and this morning I started with my usual routine. I will see next time how it goes but I intend to get a total one day rest before attending the next class in that way I will not have my legs sore, and I will be full of energy and not half drained.

My recommendation at this point is if you don’t have enough time during the week to follow a workout regime than give to the GRIT a try. Of course, we will see the real effects in the next months so I will make sure to keep you guys posted on this.

So fellows what you think about the GRIT? Are you going to give a try? Let me know in the comment.

My First Ever Subscription Box

I have never been really fan of subscription boxes before and I still need to decide if I will be in the future but I wanted to give it a try. Honestly, I didn’t even know that there were all of the sort of boxes around especially when comes to men. The only subscription box I was getting is the GNC Pro Box twice a year and I don’t think either it would classify as subscription box since is not a monthly thing.

Today I am here to present my first ever monthly subscription box, the JackedPack and if after this review you want to know more or you are interested you can simply Click Here!

As a Fitness enthusiast, I figure out that this box would have been a good investment and since I am a new customer, my monthly subscription has been just less than 60$ for 6 months period after this time I will decide if I will be willing to continue or try something different.
I am very excited to open the box for the first time especially because I don’t know what to expect, I have read all the sort of review online and the general public seems to be happy. So I would say let’s go to open it together, shall we?

My first impression is that there is a lot more than I was expecting and this makes me extremely happy 😃since it is my first month the company has sent few extra gift as a welcome so thanks to them.

But what is inside?

Overall I got in total 23 items and here is the breakdown:

1 Protein Shake with Storage
1 MyMix2go
5 Protein Powder
1 Protein Bar
1 Protein Cookie 🍪
5 Pre-Workout
3 Thermogenic
1 Energy Drink
2 BCAA
2 Tea Bag ☕️
1 Tiger Balm Pain Relieving Patch

Honestly is a quite nice list also considering the fact that some of the items have more than 1 serving, in fact, the BCAA from BPI Sport comes with 24 serving (WoW that’s really amazing 😉) never the less in the box there are also few coupons and promotions for some specific items.

I am already looking forward to open the next box! And share my joy with that one as well and the sample selections, so stay tuned for the next review.

Have you guys never had a fitness subscription box? Which one you have tried and recommend? This is not only my first subscription box but also my first review, would you like to know something more and what? As always let me know in the comment.