9 Ways to Get Better in the Gym by Dean Somerset

http://www.t-nation.com/training/9-ways-to-get-better-in-the-gym

Quest Nutrition - HIGHLY Recommend

I cannot recommend this company and their products enough......... INCREDIBLE.   

http://www.questnutrition.com/

3 Habits Highly Productive People

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-dipiazza/3-habits-highly-productiv_b_6091850.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living

Cardio ?

2 A Day Training

Training multiple times a day is something I have done off and on in my “fitness” years.    I returned to doing this the past several months and am seeing more gains.     I wanted to share with you why I believe in it.   

Training twice (or multiple) times per day can break through plateaus and allow for more intense workouts.   The shorter sessions allows you to focus on lifting quality (concentrate on every rep).   I don’t do this every day but I do it regularly.    I do same muscle groups in the day.    Compound move in the morning and then auxiliary moves in the afternoon.   So for example, I will do heavy bench day in the morning and then in the afternoon do auxiliary chest moves.    I focus on intensity: Short and intense sessions.    

Even with cardio you can split a 30 minute moderately intense cardio session into two 15-minute sessions.   More calories will be burned with high intensity 15 mins vs. slugging it through a full 30-minutes.

Space out the workouts so you have time to rest and get in good nutrition in between.  You want to attack the sessions with focus.  

The main goal is intensity.    Stay strong !!!

Stay tuned…….. 

 

Program to New MAX Rep

I started a new “program”.  It is a variation of the strategy that Matt "Kroc" Kroczaleski uses.  It is to gain on your one max rep in the 3 powerlifting moves.      The important first step is to know what your actual one max rep is.  The entire program is based on that.  

 

I started a few weeks ago and already can see results.  LOOKING FORWARD to my week 14 and seeing what my new one max rep numbers are.

Week 1: 5 x 5 x 70% (5 sets of 5 reps at 70% of 1RM)

Week 2: 5 x 3 x 75%
Week 3: 5 x 1 x 80%

Week 4: 5 x 5 x 75%

Week 5: 5 x 3 x 80%
Week 6: 5 x 1 x 85%

Week 7: 4 x 5 x 80%
Week 8:  4 x 3 x 85%
Week 9:  4 x 1 x 90%

Week 10: 3 x 5 x 85%
Week 11: 3 x 3 x 90%
Week 12: 3 x 1 x 95%

Week 13:   No bench or dead or squat that week
Week 14: Retest your max  

Good luck and STAY STRONG and FOCUSED. 

 

 

Lever Press (Shoulders)

I wanted to share with you a new exercise move that I recently introduced into my lifting plans. It is for the shoulders but also works the entire body and especially the core. It is called the Lever Press. You use one shoulder at a time with heavy loads. Take a barbell and place on the floor in a corner of the room. Load the opposite end of the barbell with plates. Hold on to the bar at that end (the end with weight). Hold with right hand and stagger your stance with your left leg forward. Then press straight overhead with twisting at the torso to the left. Do 5-8 reps and then switch and use the other side. Great workout working differently the muscles in your body.

Stay tuned…….. Lift strong………

Posture - Back and Core

This weekend I was able to get in a few great hikes. As I was hiking, I became aware of my posture. Then I flashed back to my grandmother. She used to take her middle finger knuckle and if you were slouching, she would dig that knuckle in the center of your back. Trust me – you stood up straight then!!!  I also watch younger folks especially kids. They lay all over the counters, tables, everything and anything. Good posture has sure gone out the window.

Poor posture is caused by both tight and weak muscles. To help with posture, make sure you do plenty of back and core exercises to strength those muscles and hold you straight upright. See previous blog postings for movements/exercises.

It is said that posture has a direct impact on your confidence. So STAND TALL and CONFIDENT. Practice it.

Stay tuned………. Stay strong………..

Maya Angelou - Quote

" love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass." - Maya Angelou

Strong People...........

Quote by Michael P. Watson

GMO - What is it ?

This is an excellent article and GMO is something I feel passionate about. I wanted to share:

What Is A GMO? Genetically Modified Foods Continue To Confuse Consumers

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/09/what-is-a-gmo_n_5295997.html?utm_hp_ref=health-fitness&ir=Health+and+Fitness

Stay strong, focused and stay tuned..........

Steady State Cardio - RETHINK

I love this article and as I have said before...... I could NOT agree more.

https://www.t-nation.com/training/death-of-steady-state-cardio

Stay STRONG and focused.........

YOU ARE............

by JeffMac

KISS Method in Fitness

Those that know me, know that I believe very strongly in KEEP IT SIMPLE. Whether applied in work, lifting, food plan, etc – I really believe in a straight forward and simple approach.

When we all first started lifting, we by nature kept things simple. And we made gains !!! Great gains. Then we all want more. So we start reading more, researching, watching YouTube videos of those we thought knew more than us. And in the quest for “more” we often stray from what was and had been working all along. We start overcomplicating our workouts. We get impatient and we switch it up again for yet another complicated program we “researched” on the web. Our gains become less and less instead of more.

The bottom line………… Keep your lifting program SIMPLE. Simple WORKS.

Stay strong and focused……….

Be Accountable to Yourself

BE ACCOUNTABLE to YOURSELF…………..

This applies to sooo many areas of our lives: Work, family, friends, and yes, your personal fitness plan.

I have been listening to the audiobook of QBQ (Question Behind the Question). It was recommended to me by my boss and good friend. I have listened to it now at least 3 times and every time I pick something else up from it. I plan on listening a few more times.

Being the OCD person I am with a HUGE passion for all forms of “fitness”, I saw how this can also apply to my lifting and fitness plan.

BE ACCOUNTABLE to yourself. No blame, no excuses. Take ownership of your program. Stop blaming your trainer, your lack of sleep, your lack of focus, your lack of time. Ask yourself what you can do to change your results. Learn and apply that learning into action.

YOU are accountable to YOU. Ask yourself what can YOU do to help YOURSELF achieve your goals, get to your next fitness level, apply what you have learned. This “ME” mindset can really develop you into a whole new level of fitness journey.

Stay focused and strong……………

Reverse Grip – Bust Through Plateaus

Changing your grip can add variety and help you bust through plateaus. Changing grip will target muscles from different angles and place different stress on them. If your lifting has hit a plateau, a reverse grip should be considered.

Reverse grip can be used on many key exercises. For example, lat pulldown, bench presses, or barbell rows

Reverse grip does place a greater amount of stress on the wrists compared to other grips. To help with the stress you can when training back or triceps with a reverse grip use the EZ-bar. It reduces the stress on the wrist by positioning the hand with an angled position.

Change your grip and bust through those plataeus.

Stay tuned……….

Food Labels FINALLY Get MakeOver

Hello. I apologize for letting my blog go a month without entry. Work and work travel has gotten in the way of my blog. Never in the way of my lifting (I have actually hit some personal records lately) but has made my blog suffer. Will rectify and get back on course with articles.

Here are the articles I wanted to share. FINALLY - food labels will be updated.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/food-labels-to-get-first-makeover-in-20-years-with-new-emphasis-on-calories-sugar/2014/02/26/c8feeb4c-9f08-11e3-9ba6-800d1192d08b_story.html

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/27/health/nutrition-labels-changes/

Focus will be on calories and sugar. FINALLY !!!!!!

Stay tuned…………. LIFT STRONG………

Consistency in Measuring Progress

TRACK IT……….. The majority of people that have made a commitment to their lifestyle changes for better health and fitness, TRACK. Tracking / logging / recording your “journey” is very important but the key is consistency in the measuring process.

Whether you are tracking steps, miles, weights, # of floors (stairs), etc…. the key is consistency in measuring. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. I highly recommend you track more than one area of your healthy fitness life. I track many areas of my fitness lifestyle. I track # of steps, miles, # of floors, food intake, and of course my weight lifting. I make sure to track my progress that I’m logging exact comparisons. For example, you cannot track progress if you are comparing a standing shoulder press to a seated shoulder press. My sister got me hooked on FitBit Force. So daily I have consistency in comparisons as it is measuring consistently my # of steps, # of miles and # of floors. The only way to improve is to log and see your progress. And consistency is the key .

SIDE NOTE: The point that I always preach is the NUMBER ON THE SCALE DOES NOT DEFINE YOU! When you do “fitness” correctly, you are strength training and eating properly. Your body will keep or even gain muscle while shedding fat. This is NOT reflected on the scales. Many do crash dieting and hours of cardio. This will indeed show on the scales but you will be losing LOTS of muscle as well as the fat.

Stay strong and stay tuned…………..

Start New Year - PATIENCE

Patience. It is one of my biggest weaknesses.

However, as we start a new year, one of my self-improvement goals is to develop more patience.

I believe that patience is a big factor often overlooked in fitness. Fitness and healthy living is NOT measured in days and weeks. Rather it is about months and years. As the cliché goes, “life is a journey."

Whatever your goal is, whether it is muscle-building, strength, endurance, body fat ratio or any combination of these, you should strive for quality and balance for the long term. This requires patience and consistency. At the beginning of the year everyone wants a “quick fix" and then they want to go back to their old ways.

The BIG points to success are exercise selection, intensity, frequency, and volume. AND PATIENCE.

Stay tuned…. Stay STRONG………..