Revive Your Eggs

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Last year I talked about how I got sick of eggs. I’ve been eating at least three eggs a day for about five years, so once I ate six a day in early 2009, it became monotonous. Eggs are a fantastic food complete with necessary protein, fat, and vitamins. They’re pretty cheap and can be prepared in different ways, so you can’t really afford to not eat them.

About a month ago, I watched Chris eat a plateful of plain, scrambled eggs. It was quite a chore. The next week he called me and said, “Dude, I almost threw up eating my eggs.” It kinda sucks eating the same thing every day, but he was plodding on because he knew how beneficial they were.

Well, suffer no more.



You may have tried Tabasco sauce on your eggs, but now you need to try Tabasco Chipotle. The first time I had this stuff, I had it on a 14 inch double meat and double cheese philly cheesesteak. I experimented with it on my eggs, and I was pleasantly surprised. Bland scrambled eggs become wildly delicious and I crave it every morning. I’m surprised at how fast I wolf my eggs down now, especially because I had to force them down until I discovered this gem. If you’re getting sick of eggs, give them a nice dousing with Tabasco Chipotle.
———-

Here’s a shout out to my buddy Ben in Sacramento, CA. We competed at nationals together and he placed sixth overall. He recently competed earlier this month and finished with 138/162. Ben competes with Paul Doherty’s Hassle Free weightlifting team. In this video, he snatches 145kg and clean and jerks 165kg. Nice. I’m hoping to train with Ben when AC and I are out in California in a couple weeks.


44 thoughts on “Revive Your Eggs”

  1. This guy is pretty impressive – how much does he weigh?

    This brings up another question on snatches:

    At which point should one ‘shoot the hips’??

    In one of bill starr’s articles, he advocates, when the bar is at mid-thigh?

    I noticed one of brent’s vids, he shot his hips as soon as the bar was above his knees?

    Is it basically when you have extended your knees as much as possible, and your shoulders are still in front of the bar, then you shoot your hips, causing your shoulders to move behind the bar?

    many thanks!

    Worrying about this little minute detail is only going to complicate things. Don’t worry about it. “Speed after the knees” is a good cue to initiate the jump after the bar passes the knees, but if you’re thinking about little things like this as a beginner, you’re just over analyzing unnecessarily.

    –Justin

  3. I’m gonna have to try that sauce although I have been eating 5 slices of bacon and 5 eggs every morning for some time now. I have to take a bite of eggs with some bacon because I hate the plain taste of eggs, it works really well though. Also cooking eggs in your bacon grease is great.

    —–
    Cook the bacon. Dump the grease (but don’t clean the skillet). Scramble the eggs in the bacon grease and add the crumbled bacon back in.

    I forgot what eggs taste like plain.

    -Gant

  4. Justin, what are your thoughts regarding a T-bone steak, gravy, noodles, and an egg before training?

    For every PR I set in July, this is what I ate.

    Cheese, specifically Pepper Jack, and peppers make scrambled eggs much better.

    Eating raw eggs is…. stupid.

    —–
    Is this a serious question, or did you just want to announce PRs?

    Some people respond very well to a pre-workout protein. Whatever floats your boat. I’ve trained fasted for 23 hours. And last week, I trained right after eating an entire Pizza Hut pizza. Whatever works.

    -Gant

    PS Eating quesadillas in between sets of heavy front squats (with a belt) is a bad idea.

  5. hey guys, this past weekend kind of opened my eyes. it was 100 degrees here in NY so it was obviously a pool weekend. 3 people said to me “why are you getting fat? you work out every day how can you not be ripped by now” pretty much putting me down and making me feel like shit.

    i used this as motivation to want to add some kind of conditioning to my training regiment. currently im doing 5/3/1 with assistance movements as well as c+j on squat day and snatch on overhead press days.

    any advice would be great. im working out in a global gym so i dont have much in terms of equipment.

    —–
    Leanness is 98% diet (I increase this number every time I write it). You can’t outwork a poor plan.

    If you’re running 5/3/1 and want to lean out, cut the assistance and add 2-3 days of conditioning in. If you like the Olympic lifts, do one of them on press days. On bench day, do the other one for conditioning, e.g. one clean on the minute for 10-15 minutes. Then switch it up. Add a day of sprints and a day of LSD for your other sessions.

    -Gant

    Did the opinion of these people even matter? I guess it’s hard to have a group of friends that have the same training mindset as you.

    –Justin

  6. Awesome lifts and great music selection; I have not heard that song in a long time. That might be my favorite video off this site so far.

    SMC I use the crossfit football metcons, they are usually short and heavy, with an emphasis on sprint work

  7. @ High Voltage
    Well just call me “Stupid Iron Stomach Ryan”, because I’ve been eating raw eggs everyday for quite some time now with no ill effects. I enjoy the hell out of cooked eggs as well. Some days I eat as many as a dozen.

  8. SMC – You could always take Wendler’s advice and just do hill sprints. No special equipment needed, no cost, and fool proof programming.

  10. Two words to solve all your egg issues:

    Sour Cream

    Justin, any comment on the slight bent arm pulling that Ben was doing on his snatches?

  11. @Paul

    thats actually not a bad idea. I toyed around today with HIIT on the treadmill to get me started

    @Ryan

    yea they were family and friends. they are under the assumption that everyone who works out should be shredded and lean like a A&F model. its somewhat disheartening. my fiancee comes to my rescue and says “he’s not fat, hes 70s big!”

    but the truth is, im not FAT like a whale. Im 218 and carrying some extra. I’m ok with that, I’ve never been lean.

    I’ve been making steady progress in weight int he gym and becoming stronger than ever because of this site, so im excited about that.

    and i do think a dietary modification may be in order.

    Gold star for fiance.

    –Justin

  12. This video is just silly. Hope Ben realizes how many Supercuts he just put out of business as everyone on here starts growing out their Samson-locks. First AC, now Ben – who’s next, Chris with an afro?

  16. @SMC, I commented in your earlier post.

    This post makes me sad. Eggs are filler, just a vehicle for easy protein and fat.

    Base: tortilla, toast, pita, or some other bread.

    Meat: brisket, pulled pork, chorizo (this is awesome), bacon, ham, barbacoa, and steak. I’ve heard of some commie California-types put fish on eggs. Whatever.

    Toppings: cheese, pico, salsa, sour cream, potatoes, refried beans (this is surprisingly good with bacon in a burrito), onions, hot peppers, gravy.

    If anyone tells you that eggs are boring, tell them they’re not trying hard enough.

    Haha, that’s the point, there are some people that get sick of eggs and are not trying hard enough to make them better. You also have to remember the monetary limitations of younger guys, especially the ones in school. That’s who I was directing this at, because I was that guy.

    –Justin

  17. Gant – I hate stinky hippies as much as the next guy, but if you haven’t had a smoked salmon egg scramble with cream cheese, I don’t know what to tell ya. Also, there should probably be a post dedicated to chorizo and/or bean/bacon tacos. Or barbacoa. Damn, I’m hungry again.

    I don’t think I’ve had chorizo or barbacoa with eggs. Did you eat the salmon thing in the north west? Why don’t you Texans show us some proper meat stuffs.

    –Justin

  18. Forgot to say this last week. Congratulations to Brent, Chris, Mike, and A.C.! Your performances at the USAPL nationals were outstanding. Way to lead from the front for us. I look forward to see more great things in the future. And Justin it looked and read like you did a great job coaching. Your self-criticism alone is worth some hardware.

  20. Hi, I’m ben from the video. I usually weigh around 106kgs. I havn’t max Backsquatted or deadlifted in quite a while, but I did do a set of 4 RDLs with 190kgs the other day. Earlier this year, I squatted 180kgs for a set of 16.

    He’s also overhead squatted 190kg. That’s a lot of weight. I’ll post the video on here sometime soon.

    –Justin

  22. @ Justin

    The opinions only matter because its family. Friends i dont care so much about, but when its family, kind of hits a nerve. But maybe they are right? Maybe i’m getting softer (even though im getting strong). Maybe i need to re-evaluate my strategy.

    Roger. Nothing wrong with cleaning up a diet down the stretch. Get a surplus of protein whatever you do.

    –Justin

    —–

    Adjust your strategy for what? If it’s getting stronger, and you’re on linear progression, you might get a touch soft. If you explain what your goals are and that your idea of strength and fitness doesn’t include looking like Justin Bieber, they might be a little more understanding.

    You CAN gain lean mass while losing fat. But your diet is far more important than any conditioning. Try skipping breakfast for two weeks. Redistribute those calories among the rest of your daily consumption (you’ll be eating the same amount, just in a smaller window of time). You’ll like what you find.

    -Gant

  23. @Gant

    Yeah, it’s a serious question. I never seem to lift well on an empty stomach, but some people do. Perhaps it’s more of a big picture, “what you eat during the week” thing rather than what you eat before training.

    I’m not sure I’d eat that before running hill sprints though.

    —–
    I don’t care if it’s a pre-workout meal, a lucky shirt, or dredging your gonads in the chalk bucket before a heavy clean…if you’re getting good results then keep doing what you’re doing.

    I prefer to eat something before I lift. Some like training on an empty stomach. There’s one lumberjack looking dude at the WFAC who sits in his truck for twenty minutes and drinks a couple beers before lifting. Whatever works, man.

    -Gant

  24. I forgot about good ol’ Tobasco. I used to put that shit on everything. I like throwing garlic powder on my eggs while cooking them…makes them delicious.

    I haven’t done garlic in a while. Might try it now.

    –Justin

  25. Thanks for the advice guys. Really appreciate it.

    Gant, you mention skipping breakfast. I workout early in the morning, like 7:30, is it better to train on an empty stomach? I usually have eggs with a slice of toast with PB and coffee, but today i just had a muscle milk shake. felt good and didnt have a drain of energy like i thought i would.

  27. Ben and the Hassle Free crew are crazy strong. There are plenty more lifts to come from Ben and Hassle Free. Camilo from Midtown Strength and Conditioning. Justin keep up the great work on 70’s Big.

    Thanks, and I may see you soon.

    –Justin

  30. As much as I love a smokey taste to go with eggs, I would never use a smoky sauce on my eggs.

    Encona Hot Sauce is King.

    (carribean Scotch bonnet & mustard)

    The smokey taste can come from meat/fish.

  31. Eggs with Sriracha is great. Lately, I’ve been scrambling my eggs with American cheese (the perfect egg cheese) and a handful of sliced jalapenos. The key to consistent egg eating is changing it up all the time.

  34. Whoops, published my above post before finishing…

    @Gant:
    a)In your post about skipping breakfast, you confused me a bit. I personally feel that the vast majority of people place far too much emphasis on meal timing, and I thought that this was the 70s Big mindset as well…why would eating your meals in a smaller window of time keep your metabolism going longer?
    b)That lumberjack sounds like one of the coolest men alive (assuming he actually lifts effectively).
    c) Correct about the quesadillas (or any food in between sets of Front Squats–even too much water occasionally gives me problems on this lift).

    @SMC:
    Your fiancé is awesome. My brother is getting married in a couple weeks, I can only hope that his wife-to-be is that understanding/cool.

    ***I think the next question to all you 70’s Big followers should be…what is YOUR favorite way to eat eggs (some people have given some pretty good advice so far)?

  35. My fellow mo f’s… I have to give credit to my Albanian crew… but the cure to bland eggs is a scoop of ricotta cheese and salt n pepper to the maximus.

  37. @SMC

    I’ve been getting comments from family and friends from the more polite “being thicker” to the “fatass” comments too. I live about 1000 miles from family and visit maybe about once a year. As a former high school cross country runner at 140 pounds six years ago, there have been drastic differences. I’m now close to 195 pounds at 5’7”. My midsection is a bit soft looking; however, underneath the layer of fat is some rock hard muscle built from heavy squats and deadlifts. I really don’t care what other people say since I know that I am stronger than ever.

    ————————–
    On a completely different note, it isn’t Friday but food is today’s topic and I did a food PR for lunch today. A local hotdog restaurant has two challenges. One is the Dogzilla challenge which is a 2 lbs hot dog and cannoli in 12 minutes. I did that one in May. The Dogzilla challenge is the prerequisite for the Bearinator challenge which is a 4 lbs hot dog which I ate today. I’ve eaten the Bearinator in the fastest time so far according to the restaurant staff in around 30 minutes. If you ever visit wonderful Great Falls, MT and go to this restaurant, you will see my picture up on the wall of fame.

  38. Eggs are excellent with chorizo, barbacoa, or carnitas all wrapped up in a tortilla with a mild verde sauce. If you can get some real barbacoa (face meat, more specifically, cheek) then you are in for a real treat. It is one of the best parts of the animal.

    Any good butcher can make a mean chorizo for you. If you are in Dallas, Hirsch’s or Kuby’s are good places to get some great sausage. Weiss wurst with eggs is freaking awesome, if you dig veal. Veal and bacon, how much better does it get?

    Another quick way to modify eggs is go to Costco and get some salmon burgers. Thaw a patty and mash it with a few eggs. Cook the mash with some cajun spices and enjoy a quick breakfast.

    Delish.

  39. I eat about 4 eggs everyday. I started out scrambling them, but got tired of that so I started hard boiling them (out of convenience too) and that got tiring, especially the peeling process when I was really hungry. Now I am making them over easy and on occasion I make a veggie or meaty frittata when I have extra time. The good thing about frittata’s is that it’s easy to make, can be eaten hot or cold, and is a great vehicle for leftover veggies and meats. Just gotta change up the texture every so often but always turns out egg-cellent!

  42. >>from domjo54:

    >>@Gant:
    a)In your post about skipping breakfast, you confused me a bit. I personally feel that the vast majority of people place far too much emphasis on meal timing, and I thought that this was the 70s Big mindset as well…why would eating your meals in a smaller window of time keep your metabolism going longer?

    You are correct that timing (and macros, and ratios, etc.) are often overemphasized. I actually wrote this about three weeks ago in the Grandma food post.

    This is one recommendation to one person in one specific situation.

    You guys can’t selectively lift one item out of its context and try to square it with all the advice on this site or any other site.

  44. @Gant:

    I read that article about Grandma’s home cooking the day you posted it, it was a great post. I guess what I was confused by was the fact that I thought you were suggesting that eating the same amount of cals over a smaller window would ALWAYS help one lean out (I didn’t realize that this was just directed toward that one guy’s specific situation). My bad, Gant, and thanks to you and Justin for all the helpful posts.

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