The Brandon Work Out Plan

So, many of you have asked me about my diet and work out plan that helped me get to the point I have reached physically. So here it is.

First, I need you to open Spotify and turn on Kanye West's New Work Out Plan. This is essential. Everyone needs a soundtrack; begin.

So here's the scoop. There is no magical mystical way for you to build the body you want. There are various programs that can teach you how to adjust your portion size and manage the calories you intake, but here is the basic, bottom line: I eat what I want to eat but I eat it in small portions. In general, I have a smoothie for breakfast, I eat a decent lunch (even with take out, which I eat almost every day during the work week, I opt for non-fried options on the Chinese menu but then make sure that I am only eating enough to satiate my hunger and not overeat). For dinner, I try and cook for myself, and, again, eat decent food, not deep fried, but it is the food I want to eat. Rice-a-roni and steak is one of my favorite meals, the key is don't eat everything in the pot or pan.

The basis for my workout is very simple.  It is the 5x5 Strong Lifts philosophy, which you can find laid out on their website. But the basics are these:

1) Until you can squat one and a half times your body weight, you should do full body work outs and not exercises that focus only on one muscle area (for example, you wouldn't do bicep curls but would focus on exercises that work total muscle groups and areas). This is critical as it builds up your complete body strength, develops your muscles naturally and in tandem to one another, and does not lead to overdevelopment.

2) Your lower body is ESSENTIAL. All of your largest muscles are in your lower body. Your glutes being the biggest muscle group. The core of the 5x5 are squats, which if done correctly and with a bar and free weights works ALL OF YOUR MUSCLE GROUPS! This is truly key. You should, as much as possible, avoid using machines to do your exercises....using free weights requires you to keep your body in balance and strengthens muscle groups that are not engaged if you use a machine to balance for you.

3) Five by five is just what it means. You do five sets of five reps each at the highest weight that you can handle. This allows for maximum growth AND also keeps you from plateauing.  There are ten basic exercises that you do split between alternating work outs. Again you can find these on the Strong Lifts website.

4) Once you have built your basic strength, then it becomes essential to mix up your exercises and do a combination of machines, free weights, and cables in order to keep things popping and mixing.  I do the same basic exercises but I do them using different types of weight equipment and this keeps your body guessing and growing.

5) There is only really one ab exercise that you need to do to get decent abs...REVERSE CRUNCHES! Here is a video link to what they look like.

6) Consistency is key. If you really want to transform your body, then commit to the gym five days a week for at least an hour to and hour and half. Thirty minutes should be cardio (of your choice) and the other hour weights. YOU MUST DO CARDIO AND LIFT WEIGHTS! Your body shape won't change just by doing one or the other, in tandem they cut, slim and build. Your heart health is critical and cardio is how you strengthen that muscle.

7) There are natural supplements you can take...and if you are in New York, I would highly suggest taking a trip down to Eva's Natural Foods on 8th street and have a chat with the folks in the supplement section about your weight training goals and they will provide you with the supplies that will help keep your liver and body healthy as well as maximize your work outs.

8) For people living long term with HIV. Go to your doctor and have your testosterone levels checked. HIV inhibits testosterone production and often we have less than necessary. Your doctor can prescribe for you the best way to increase your levels, which could be a gel, patch or, in some cases, injections. It is critical for people living with HIV to increase your lean muscle mass. It helps with white blood cell production and in keeping you healthy.  And exercise also helps control depression and anxiety.

9) Be gentle with yourself and patient. Ignore the mirror and STAY OFF OF THE SCALE! Especially if you are trying to lose weight, your enemy, especially in the first month to six weeks is the scale. It takes at least 30 days of regular exercise to see a change. You will feel a change well before that, but the number on the scale often puts people off...remember muscle weighs more than fat and burns more calories...your body will shift but give it time and know that you are doing right and best by yourself by building muscle. The more you build the more accelerated the weight loss.

10) Do all of this for yourself and for reasons that apply to your life and not what the world and the media will tell you. Love yourself and do this for the right reasons and it will become a lifestyle change that you will enjoy.


That's all I got.

All is Well

Sometimes life sends you test situations, like the one in which I find myself now. The test is not a knowledge test. There isn't a correct answer. If you get it right, you don't get preferred entrance into Harvard. The test is how you comport yourself as you try to come to an understanding and solution to the task or situation at hand, and the prize is a better and deeper understanding of yourself, the things you need to learn, and the ways you have or have not grown.

I was always very good at taking tests. I had some pretty amazing scores on the ACT and the SAT. Sometimes, I wish I could replace these life tests with one of those. I thought they were stressful, but Lord in Heaven they were Cheeze Whiz on a cracker...nasty...but definitely swallowable on a dare.

The cool thing about life tests is that you don't have to take them alone. Over the years, as I have written and blogged, folks have written to me thanking me, yelling at me, or laughing at or with me. But one thing that has always come across is that folks, whether they agree or disagree with my point of view, have expressed that they had perhaps gone through similar experiences, never would have written publicly about them, and were grateful that I had done so.

In addition to wanting folks I care about to know what is going on in Crazyland aka My Head, I also want to share snapshots of my life story in the hopes that it will connect with either the funny bone or a serious moment that someone else has had or is having. One lesson I have learned good and well is that no matter how alone you feel, no matter how isolated you feel, you are never alone. Your Guiding Power is always with you, and though that is less comfort for some than it is for others, unless you are locked in a cage on a mountain in Tibet, you probably are surrounded by people that care about you, care what happens to you, and are there to support you and send you the love and light you need to pass the test at hand.

I know I have those people, and their love is bright and shining and glorious, and I appreciate all of them. From old friends with whom I am practicing an active spiritual path to a new friend that sent a text asking if he could stop by with some rice and beans, I have been blessed with numerous angels in my life.

Some of ya'll have touched base wanting to know if I am ok. I am actually doing just fine. I got my man. I got my health. I just got a paycheck. I got my God. I got clothes and food. And, as of today, I got my health insurance, which means I got a therapist that don't know about me yet.

All is well.

P.S. I almost had to kill me a homosexual at the gym today, though. So, all may not be well with him in the near future. Lord have mercy. Check back for that blog later tonight.

Brandon's Collard Greens Recipe

Last night, I served up a mess of collard greens at my pal Norman's Easter dinner. It was a great crowd...including a Jew, a half Lebanese girl, a Russian gal straight from the gulag and shit, a Malaysian, a me, and a Southerner. It was all diverse and stuff.

Most of the folks in the room had never had greens before (let alone hamhocks). By the end of the night all that remained in the bowl was the skin of one of the hamhocks and there were calls for my recipe. Here it is.

This recipe will cook roughly a half stock pot full once full cooked and boiled down. It will comfortably feed four to six.

Brandon's Hell's Kitchen Collards

4 to 6 bunches of collard greens
1 red onion
1 to 2 jalapenos
Crushed red pepper
3 to 5 garlic cloves
4 smoked hamhocks
salt
black pepper
oregano (dried)

Cooking instructions:

Wash the collard greens and make sure there is no dirt and grit on them. Then, peel the leaf off the stock and away from the center stem. Discard the stalk and stem and set the leafy greens in your stock pot.

Once you have cleaned the greens and placed them in the pot, get your hands way down in there and tear the leaves into smaller pieces.

Add the hamhocks to the pot.

Dice the onion and garlic and jalapenos and place those in the pot as well.

Fill the pot with water leaving about an inch of room at the top of the pot. Then sprinkle in the salt, pepper, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper. If you like your greens hot...use more pepper...if not...use less. Same goes for the jalapeno.

Turn the greens on medium high heat and bring to a low boil. Cover them bad boys up and then let 'em percolate for the next four to six hours. The longer you let them cook, the better the flavor...when you taste the greens...and they melt like butter on your tongue...they are done man. If you are in a hurry, you can eat 'em after about four hours cooking time.

You can do all of this in a crock pot as well.

Also, from time to time add water to the pot--make sure the greens are always covered...and stir occassionally to make sure they don't stick to the bottom of the pot.

For good luck, make you some black eyed peas and rice and serve 'em up with the greens.

And there you have...when folks smack their lips together and are rubbin' their bellies...tell 'em Brandon sent ya.