Useful Information on ways to get Bigger Muscles

There are whole lots of methods that you could apply to attempt increase your muscle size, nonetheless some are a lot more effective than others. The part of your body that has to be trained right at the beginning is your head. This is due to the fact that the proper expertise will make an unbelievable difference on the outcomes that you will accomplish. The following pointers will help you to start outlining what will get you the very best results.


A lot of people that are bodybuilding use protein shakes. These are fine to utilize. You get different kinds of protein which are excellent for building and fixing muscle tissue. If you are not consuming adequate carbohydrates your body will break down the muscles for energy and this must be avoided. Fat is needed in the entire muscle building process as much as protein is.

Excellent kinds of complex carbs are entire grain breads and other whole grains such as oatmeal and quinoa. It is more suitable to eat natural grains because the outer husks are also consumed and it is best if they have not come into contact with chemicals.

Avoid chemical supplements, too. Whey protein is fine and also some other natural supplements but stay clear of hormones and chemicals as it is not worth risking your overall health. Also nowadays a great deal has actually been learned about nutrition. The results that could be accomplished by eating healthily and utilizing natural supplements beats the results that once were gotten via the usage of steroids.

It is extremely important to consume enough water before and after training. Drink at least 80 ounces of water a day to keep your body in optimum form.

When you are really committed to your muscle building program you could possibly be very tempted to over train. Avoid this at all costs because too much training could in fact bring about muscle breakdown rather than muscle buildup. If you get to the end of a 50 minute training session and you still have the strength to keep going you have to increase the weights during the next session. The objective is to get to the end of an exercise session without strength left. When working out do so at differing speeds as this will strengthen the 3 kinds of fibers that make up the muscle. The recovery period is just as essential as the training itself and you ought to give yourself a full 48 hours in between sessions. An exception can be made if you train your lower body on the first day and upper body on day two. Your exercises ought to be intense with extremely brief breaks between reps. Allow individuals that train with you to comprehend that you don't like stopping and talking in the middle of your training session. Be talkative and friendly before and after your exercise routine but during your session stay completely focused.

As you can see there is a great deal to understand and a great deal of diversity between methods. Some work a great deal better than others and give you better results for less effort. Now that you understand these professional tips you can stop wasting your time on techniques that are not going to work.

A Road Map On How To Build Chest Muscle Fast

Every several years or so there seems to be new super heroes that comic books and cartoon programs churn out. They may have different color costumes or brooding personalities; but one thing they all have in common-they were all strapping champions out to save the day. Whether we admit it or not, we still want to be a hero once in a while; and who knows maybe someday we will be. In the meantime, while waiting for the next global crisis to hit the earth, let's use the time wisely and look the part by learning how to build chest muscle fast


Alright, maybe the mission is a little less pressing than world peace but everybody has to start somewhere right? Concentrate on building your knowledge on how to build muscle the right way, other super qualities you can learn as you go on.

To effectively build chest muscle fast you need to understand the workouts that will work in the specific areas in your chest. The incline barbell bench for instance will target the upper chest muscles. Use slow and purposeful movements and feel the burn when you do. Don't let the bar touch your chest because this will remove from the stress you want to put on the chest also putting strain on your shoulder joints as well.

Make use of the decline dumbbell fly and decline barbell bench press to work your lower chest muscles. Keep in mind though that the angle you are positioning yourself in is a little tricky and will require assistance from a professional instructor or a spotter.

And finally, develop your inner and outer chest muscles through performing the flat bench dumbbell fly. Again, make sure you keep the correct form when you execute this workout. Keep your shoulders steady when you push the weight back to its starting position. Pushing them forward will put undue stress on the shoulders. In working out, doing the drills properly is more important that completing the sets just for the sake of completing it.

If you are a beginner and have attempted to blaze through these training sessions, chances are you will feel extreme soreness running through your body. Don't worry, you will gain the endurance for it soon enough. After several weeks of gaining strength, try to carry out these exercises to failure. This means to train the muscles targeted to its maximum tolerance level. You will find that muscles develop really fast this way. When you attempt to do this, make sure that there is a professional trainer nearby to assist you.

Include more exercises into your workout program. Change it up every four to six weeks because your body needs to be challenged every so often; switching up the weight loads and drills will keep your body guessing. Target the serratus anterior (muscle between the chest and back) with pullovers. Build up your chest even more with dumbbell flyes.

Build chest muscles fast by adhering to these tips as outlined above. So what if you don't have Superman's S clad costume-rip that shirt off anyway; with your new rock-hard chest, everybody will be asking for it.

Enhance Your Forearms

A challenge that many people encounter is increasing their forearm proportions to equal their biceps and triceps. It can be a real battle to not only get them big, but also proportional to the remainder of your arm. However, it is completely normal for one arm to be a little bigger than the other because of the usage from the principal hand on a day to day basis.


Workout routines for Developing your Forearms

The first exercise is behind your back barbell curls. You should use either a barbell rack, or fixed weight barbells for this exercise. For example purposes you will be at the barbell rack. Try not to use the smith machine for this exercise except if you are short on time and need to make use of the only piece of equipment accessible. Set yourself so that the bar is positioned beneath your waistline, so you have to bend over at the knees to grab the weight. Add the weight you want (preferably just the bar until after a practice set) and then bend down and grab the bar as if you were going to do behind the back shrugs. Press your arms against your own body and curl upwards as far as you can making certain you are using only your forearms. Roll the bar back down and repeat. You need to be aiming for 3 sets of 10-15 reps for this exercise.

Next you can try the rotating hand movements. Grab a couple of low weight dumbbells that you can do x25 repetitions of. Start with your arms bent at 90 degree and your forearms parallel to the floor. From here, rotate your wrists inwards and outwards whilst holding the dumbbells. Whilst rotating, gently contract your biceps up and down, just like doing a bicep curl. By doing this, you are hitting all the muscles in your forearms and getting a real burn!

The final exercise is a reverse curl with dumbbells. You will need medium weighted dumbbells, and then basically perform a bicep curl with your hands facing the opposite way. Reverse curls also help build the forearms greatly whilst reaching the brachialis, which is the muscle group which is located under your biceps.

Take advantage of Supersets for further Gain

Supersets are basically doing one exercise after another without rest. With this example you could perform conventional bicep curls, followed straight away by one of the forearm exercises listed above. Grab a barbell and place an almost heavy weight amount and perform the curls correctly. This means no using the back or legs to help you lift the weight. Immediately afterwards perform a set of side dumbbell wrist curls. This will ensure a great work out routine which will leave you with a good feeling the following day.

Make Certain You Stretch!

Your arms are clearly very valuable to you and you don't want to hurt or injure them. There are many muscle heads and tendons located on your arms that need stretching, and your biceps and forearms are the easiest to injure without stretching. Also make sure that you keep your wrists mobile by rotating and stretching out the joint. Keep your posture and form correct, and make sure you use the same weight on both arms to prevent unbalanced development. Poor technique can certainly contribute to under development, or even injury on your non-dominant arm.

Body Building Tips on How to Build Muscle

If you want to learn how to build muscle in order to have a great body, there are some basic precautions you should take to get the best results and avoid injury.

Here are the top ten body building tips for your workout.


1. Lift Heavier - Weight lifting helps increase muscle mass, and heavier weights do more. Lifting weights that are overly light for your workout reduces its effectiveness and is better for people who want to stick to toning.

2. Use The Right Technique - Weight lifting is pointless if you're using poor technique. Doing your weight lifting routine incorrectly could also result in some serious injuries if you're using large weights. Make sure you have the right technique and take your time to get the best results.

3. Take It Slow - While repetitions can get boring fast, don't fall prey to the temptation to rush through, the way most people do. Taking your time and doing each lift steadily and slowly will give you the opportunity to build a lot of mass very quickly.

4. Do The Right Number Of Sets And Reps - If you're working on your body building, you should never skip sets or cut your repetitions short. That'll reduce your workout's effectiveness. On the other hand, you should avoid doing too many sets to try to speed things up. Don't go overboard, or you'll get an injury.

5. Train Intensely- Make sure your sessions are all intense. While following your workout and doing the right number of sets and reps is important, there's no point in stopping at seven reps if you're able to do ten without a problem. Work hard at every set, doing as many as you can while still retaining good technique.

6. Limit Cardio - Keep cardio sessions to a minimum, since they burn calories you'll need to build muscle. Too much cardio will cause you to lose weight, not gain muscle mass.

7. Keep Hydration Levels High - Water is extremely important if you're body building, as well. Make sure to drink a lot of water daily to keep yourself hydrated and flush toxins out of your body. It'll also help you increase the body's circulation.

8. Build By Section - It is not a good idea to do a workout for your whole body all on the same day. Instead, try to focus on different areas on different days. Work your shoulders and arms one day, and your legs another. That allows muscles to recover between workouts and gives you the maximum benefit from your lifting.

9. What To Eat - Keep track of what you're eating to be sure you're taking in foods that promote the growth of muscle. Look for healthy foods that are high in carbohydrates, like rice, potatoes, oats, bananas and apples. They supply the energy you need to keep a high intensity workout going.

Lean proteins, including fish and chicken, are also excellent for building muscle. One popular choice is tuna, since it's low in fat and carbohydrates, costs very little, and has a lot of protein. It's great for any body building plan.

10. Get Enough Sleep - Building muscle requires you to let your body recover after a workout. That means resting and getting plenty of sleep so you'll get your strength back before your next workout.

Endless angles

I picked up the suction cup mount for my GoPro, It mounts real tight to smooth surfaces like your car or motorcycle for some high speed fun or in this case weightlifting machinery and mirrors

Monday’s chest, dumbbells, inclines and flats, straight bar inclines, flies, incline, flats and dumbbell pullovers

Wednesdays we did dead lifts, 5 sets, up to 5 plates. Somehow I stopped the recording when I thought I was starting it. I know this, because I caught about 5 seconds of Jon dead lifting 225. Today was the first day having the suction cup and I like it! 

Friday, shoulders and triceps and the new suction cup, where angles become endless

For some reason I can not get this video to attach to the blog... here is the link to the video GoPro 5-3-13 Shoulders and Triceps

please feel free to follow "tapboxer" on YouTube for more great GoPro workout videos

Saturday legs. I was pressed for time, so we did a quick but effective workout. Started with seated calves, donkeys, lying down leg curls, stiff legs, extensions and ending everything on the press machine... 4 plates, 6 plates, 8 plates, 10 plates (that all she holds) for 3 sets, last set for 25 reps and Alex tops me with 31 reps... until next time!

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Joby's Gorillapod

Yes, you guessed it, another mounting option for the GoPro Hero3. My training partners make fun of me and laugh because it seems like every other day I'm coming in with a different mounting setup. This ones a pretty cool little tripod that has strong flexible legs with strong magnets on the ends. It is nice for tight angles and holds the Hero3 well, using the adaptor for a tripod. It does bounce when on a machine that shakes, but it holds on tight and hasn't falling off, mounted upside or sideways. 

Monday: Chest and Biceps.It was Jon and I against Alex and Donnie. "Its not about who goes the fastest, it's not a race, said the Lobster." "You're right, but when its comes down to only one bench available when you need two, it's nice to have finished first" said the Tin-man. All in fun! Monday nights, so busy for training chest... who does chest on a Monday night?

Wednesday; Back and Traps, me and Alex, Jon and Donnie, starting with barbell shrugs, then wide grip pulldowns, reverse grip bent overs rows, (they were nice, haven't done them in a while), seated wide grip low rows and reverse grip pulldowns end the back!

Friday it was just Donnie and I for some Shoulders and Triceps:  seated barbell presses, uprights, machine side and rear laterals to finish off shoulders. Skull crushers, seated crooked bar French curls and finishing with, going back and forth between rope and straight bar pushdowns. Seated wrist curls and the gripper takes care of the forearms

Today, Sunday, was legs this week and it was just Jon and I,  Squats, barbell hacks (off the floor), Jeffersons, extensions, barbell stiff legs, lying legs curls, seated leg curls, standing calves, seated calves, done!

Of Course I have one video that doesn't want to load... Here is the link to GoPro 5-12-13 Legs Issue #10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaTTCzOkXyg

Subscribe to Tapboxer on YouTube to get these GoPro workout Issues early. I usually get the video on line the following day (off day) 

It doesn't end in the gym!

sB

Some comic relief

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Monday night Alex came up with a great idea, to use pieces of paper with numbers on them counting to 4, evens one team, odds the other. Before this, we would sometimes buck up a half dozen to a dozen times before we created teams; it would become very comical.

Donnie and I this time around, we started with flat bench. He’s one strong mother, working his way up to 365. I went to 275. From there came incline dumbbells. I think he ended with 125’s. Incline dumbbell flies, machine flies (changing the grip around each set) and ending chest with dumbbell pullovers. Biceps went: crooked bar standing curls, seated preacher curls (same bar) and bent over one arms (Arnold's style). Straight bar off the end of the bench for wrist curls and reverse wrist curls ends forearms.

We ditched the little pieces of paper to pick teams and went back to bucking up. We could use a little comic relief. This time it only took two attempts and it was Donnie and I again.

Back and Traps: I'm a stronger puller than a pushers, so I was able to hold my own with the big weights Donnie throws around.

Dead lifts were on the menu this week for back and I broke my only personal record once again: 5 plates for 5 reps! This has been my goal ever since the first time I got 5 plates for 2 reps, which was about a year ago. I think dead lifting every other week made the difference and gave me the strength to reach my goal. Also the fact that I'm learning how to relax more and slow down while doing the set, instead of getting excited and trying to rush through it which seems to exhaust me more.

From there, seated dumbbell shrugs, wide grip pull downs, barbell bent over rows, close grip rows on the free weight machine and ending with close grip pull downs. Great back workout! Really got a lot of blood pumping throughout my whole back!

Shoulders: there were three of us. We used the preacher curl bench to do dumbbell shoulder presses. Then onto some uprights and machine side and rear laterals for a nice quick pump!

I wanted to give my elbow a rest and suggested sticking to cable work. We did four exercises, going back and forth between two for 4 sets. Behind the neck (french curl) with a rope and straight bar reverse grip push downs, then push downs with a rope and bent forward over the head push-outs.

Saturday 10am comes early when you just trained your ass off the night before. We all stay together on legs. We started with seated calves and then donkeys, lying down leg curls, seated leg curls, leg extensions, leg presses where we went 4/6/8/10 plates for 3 sets. We made a “bragging rights challenge” to see who could do the most reps combining all 3 sets of 10 plates. The deal was not to count, but give it all you got for all 3 sets and not to set a number in your head. We let the video tape do the counting. Alex won 76 total reps. After that my legs were pumped jack!  From there old school hacks, (had to do them again) then we ended on stiff legs

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Building Muscle Mass Like You Mean It

Ask most little boys and they'll tell you they want to look like their superhero one day-were you one of them? Building muscle mass is what you need to realizing this boyhood dream. It matters little that you've always been kind of thin; with discipline and perseverance, you too can build chest muscles like that of champions.


If you're planning to get massive, you need to increase the food you are taking each day. Your goal should be at around 3,000 to 6,000 calories a day. This seems like a lot but really, the first step to a bulky and muscular physique is to gain enough weight so you have something to work with when you hit the gym. Get your calories from healthy sources and that means loading up on lean meat, chicken and fish.

If you are on your way to building muscle mass, your calorie ratio should be as follows: 50% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 20% fat. Keep in mind that a gram of fat is equivalent to nine calories while a gram of both protein and carbohydrates are equivalent to four calories.

Once you've got your food plan checked, it's time to devote our time to the equally important task of putting together your best workout strategy. Before starting, you will need to warm up and stretch well first. Also, observe how wide and strong swimmers' chests are. You would do well in incorporating swimming into your program.

Here is a program you can use to bulk up your chest: Begin with the bench press using 40 lbs (3 sets, 12 reps); dumbbell flyes using 10 lbs (3 sets, 12 reps); dumbbell pullovers using 20 lbs (3 sets, 12 reps). In a few weeks, you will be ready to add the following: incline bench press using 30 lbs (3 sets, 12 reps); and decline bench press using 20 lbs (3 sets, 12 reps). As you progress, monitor the development of your strength because you will soon be lifting higher weights, even if the reps are lowered.

Keep your body challenged to perform its best by altering your workout program every few weeks. Train your chest muscles using different angles (flat, incline, decline) to give it a better burn. Dumbbell flyes isolate the pecs effectively so always have a variation of this in your routine.

Observe that you do not risk under training your other body parts even if your main objective is to build chest muscles. You don't want to be the man with a barrel chest walking around in chopsticks legs right? Set aside two to three days training the other muscle groups.

Concentrate on building muscle mass, have a healthy diet and perform the exercises in the right form and position-you will soon achieve that wide, muscled chest everybody wants. One last thing you should never forget-- enjoy! A great workout is a rewarding experience for those who keep on until they see the results. Work hard and don't give up, you won't regret it.

Your Best Body Now ? An Excellent Weight Lifting Program

Every massive, rock-hard physique out there can owe its thanks to a sound weight lifting program that translates your body?s weight to big muscles and solid strength. What are the things one needs to know what makes effective bodybuilding workouts? These workouts are intense, varied and customized to meet the needs of a specific body type.


A high-intensity workout is great for those who are planning to add on a lot of body mass in a relatively short period of time. Other people prefer to build up over a span of two to three months. The best approach is to combine both methods and find the blocks that work best for your own body specifically. The most important thing in this is that you give each session your best effort.

Even if you are in a hurry to get big, refrain from the urge to train every single day for a few weeks?this will do you more harm than good. You need to get quality sleep between the days you workout so your body can repair the muscle tissues torn during exercise. With proper rest, these will develop into bigger and much stronger muscles. An effective strategy is to split your weight lifting program into muscle groups that you can work on specific days.

This is an example of a three day split workout: Day one ? chest, arms and abs Day two ? back, shoulders and abs Day three ? legs Another example is a five day split workout: Day one ? legs Day two ? shoulders Day three ? back and abs Day four ? shoulders and arms Day five ? chest and abs Make sure you get a lot of good food and rest especially in the days between your training.

You can use many kinds of exercises for different muscle groups. Squats for the legs and crunches for the stomach are some of the best ones that will always work for people. Even so, make sure you change them up every week or so to keep your body guessing, pushing it to its physical endurance limits. Fancy machines are fine but even without them you can train effectively. If all you have are dumbbells, cables and a bench; you already have a repertoire of workouts at your disposal. Some of these are bicep curls, dumbbell shrugs, bench press, triceps kickbacks for the upper body; and lunges, leg raises, squats and crunches for the lower body.

When you start training, you will initially use lower weights. As your strength grows, so will the weight loads that you will be lifting?this will ensure that your muscles are consistently challenged, thus develop faster. For bodybuilding objectives, use weights that will enable you to do 7 to 12 repetitions until failure.

Finally, always remember to stretch properly before, during and after workout sessions. Doing so raises your body?s temperature and makes you more limber to perform your exercises better.

Only the persevering and patient individual can see his bodybuilding workouts come to fruition. Exercise care in your training even as you give it all you?ve got. There is no room for less for the champion that is inside you.

Is it Monday yet?

I like Monday's especially when it's over and I had a great workout. Its a nice way to kick off the week!

Chest and biceps was the damage last night. I try to never repeat a workout and last night was no different. We started with flat bench. I'm having an elbow issue and it’s preventing me from some movements and this is usually one of them, but it wasn't feeling too bad, so I took advantage of situation and banged out 5 sets before moving to inclines on the smith machine. I watched a u-tube video not too long ago of Dennis James doing these pause sets at the end. Dennis would bring up the stoppers, so that the bar would rest on them right at the point of the full stretch and when he couldn't do any more reps, he would rest the bar on the stoppers for a second, then do another rep, again and again. It’s was a lot harder than he made them look in the video, but I'm always looking for ways to shock the muscle and that’s just another way.

After those we hit flies, flats and inclines. I would have liked to end chest with dumbbell pullovers, because I believe this movement is a staple and should be done every week or at very least every other, but because of my elbow being fucked at the moment, I had to pass on that for yet another week. Off came the compression sleeve and we started standing crooked bar curls, then preachers, followed by dumbbell hammers and ended on seated calves

That’s all she wrote today, looking forward to dead lift Wednesday!

p.s. those pictures where taken a few weeks back, I’ll try to be more current going forward.

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Wait for it...

5:30 comes across the phone, a text from big Jon telling all of us what time we are training. I looked forward to this every time. For the most part we all are pretty flexible, after 5 and no later than 6, if we can help it (with a 15 minute grace period for those who are late). Big Jon is our team doctor, no really, he is a NP (Nurse Practitioner) and as much as we would like too, we can't have him telling his last patient of the day, to come back in the morning, to finish the stitches, nor can he be rushed to make mistakes. So we let Jon tell us what time we are training.

Once I see the time over the phone, it is game on and knowing I probably already thought about my workout the day before or even after the last workout, It's on my mind again and I can't wait to get to the gym.  

Next to legs day comes dead lift day. I get pretty pumped up for both. We do legs on Saturdays and do dead lifts on Wednesday, mid week, just barely enough time for your legs to heal.  But it's not just dead lifts, its traps and back too! 

We start with dead lifts, 1 plate, 2 plates, 3 plates, 4 plates 5 plates. I was feeling a little stronger today than last week and was able to grab 4 reps of 5 plates, this time around, last week I don't think I got 2.

Next were barbell shrugs for 5 sets and after that we start back. 4 wide grip pull downs, 4 machine bent overs (free weights).

 

Dave our team handyman hooks up the Gold’s Gym with one of those t-bar mounting brackets you screw down to the ground and stick a Olympic bar in. Yes, this brings back memories from when I was a kid in my bedroom, sticking a pillow in the corner to protect the wall, stacking up my cement weights onto one end of the bar for t-rows. Needless to say, we broke that in last night, started with 3- 35lbs plates and worked our way up to 7. Then came reverse grip pull downs and we ended everything on the donkey machine

I can't wait to get that text come tomorrow for Shoulders and Triceps!

  

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Just another weekend

Friday night shoulders and triceps followed by Saturday morning legs!

We started with standing shoulder presses alternating from behind the neck to in-fronts, 5 sets, 2 sets 25's (warm ups), then 45's, then 45 with a 25 (185lbs) too heavy for me, so back down to 45's for the last one. Then we did 4 sets dumbbell side laterals, climbing up from 25's to 45's super setting them with standing behind the neck presses using 25's. This really put my shoulders on fire. Machine rear laterals and then some dumbbell front raises for me and they all did seated straight bar front raises.

Triceps were all cable work for me, having my elbow the way it is right now, it's easier if I break away from the pack at this point and do my own thing, straight bar push downs, rope from the bottom (like a French curl) straight bar kick outs while leaning forward and reverse grip push downs.

I need to use real light weight and just go for volume. My elbow is in need of a scoping, unfortunately, I have some loose fragments, one as big as 8mm. Hoping to have this done soon.

We ended on the end of a bench doing wrist curls and doing a super set with the gripper. Not sure if your gym has one or you have ever seen one, but it is as it’s called. You basically bring two parts together by way of your hand squeezing and you use free weights to make it harder. It really puts some blood into your forearms. Especially used with a wrist curl movement


No picture this time for Fridays shoulders and triceps, but I got some nice footage for legs!

Let’s start today’s workout with squats and let’s do 5 sets and crawl our way up to 315

4 sets of hacks, 2 plates, 3 plates, 4 plates and 5 plates

Leg extension, leg curls, stiff legged dead lifts and ended it all with seated leg curls super-setting with donkeys

3 sets of crunches and we are done!

Self recording...

And it's always nice to see Hassan and Kristin Terry making a appearance here at the Gold's gym in Natick... good people!




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GoPro or GoHome

type='html'>Is the attitude you need when hitting the weights hard and its a great blog title when you want to show off your new toy, the GoPro Hero3.

It's a mini video camera that has a waterproof housing, can shoot at wide angles, (like a fish bowl effect) and can mount to a bunch of harnesses. One for your head, your chest, your bike, your surf board, to name a few. I have a chest mount and I thought it would be a great idea to show our workouts from a slightly different perspective.

Monday we trained Chest/Biceps/Forearms/Calves, but I had the resolution too high at 1440 and all I got was sound.

Wednesday we trained Dead-lifts/Traps/Back, but again I had the resolution too high at 1080, this time I got a video picture, but no movement

The camera does not come with a display, you can by a LCD back for it, (which is coming) so you don't know what you have until you plug into a computer or hook it up to a TV with an HDMI cable (which is coming)

3 times a charm

Yesterday (Friday) we trained Shoulders/Triceps/Forearms, check it out...

Notice at the end, Alex is doing his new exercise to help balance out his quads, his quads are getting so big, they cause him to fall forward when he walks

Today was legs...

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There is a saying...

You should eat for what your are going to do, not for what you have done. This explains why the gym was so busy last night.
 
That did not stop us from having a kick ass work out as usual!
 
Chest/Biceps/Calves was the damage. We started with the incline barbell bench for 5 sets, then flat dumbbells presses, incline dumbbell flies, flat dumbbell flies and dumbbell pullovers. Yes, finally, after just about a month my elbow felt good enough for them. I didn't go too heavy-80's, I just needed the movement and they felt great!
 
We started biceps with straight bar standing curls, then crooked bar preacher curls, superset the last 2 with French hammer curls, ending with French hammer curls for 2 more (4 total) 5 sets of Donkeys calls it a night
 
I bought an LCD touch screen for my GoPro Hero3 and decide to used it last night, the camera didn't even make it past chest before the new add on killed the battery. I won't be using that LCD for these filming's
 
I still got some cool footage...

 


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No dead lifts for me tonight

As much as I love dead lifting, I can usually only do them 3 weeks in a row. After that,
not only do I start getting weaker, but my back and hips start to feeling more tired and I
can tell. I'm more prone to hurting myself and I know it's time to skip a week.

Normally, when we start with dead lifts, I like to follow them up with shrugs, because
shrugs feel great after having your traps stretched to hell from the heavy dead lifts

So this time we saved shrugs for last (and we remembered to do them too!) It wouldn't
be the first time I/we forgot to do them.

Wide grip lat pull downs for 5 sets (The Rooster did Pull-ups instead) and from there
we did barbell bent-over rows off the floor, then to t-bar rows with our new contraption,
ending back with reverse grip pull downs, 21 sets total for back. Then we did 4 sets of smith machine shrugs, superset with seated dumbbell shrugs
We took wrist curls off the end of a bench, the gripper and seated calves raises and
went around them 4 times, going from one to the next

That’s all she wrote!

Check out some cool footage, we got some pretty bad ass angles

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Hitting the angles

Starting to get the hang of this GoPro Hero 3. I'm using the display mount that came with it. It's basically a flat 3" square plastic piece that accepts the camera mounts. So I glued some magnets on the bottom and you can only imagine the possibilities.

Friday night starts Shoulder/Triceps/Forearms/Calves

Shoulders started with, standing barbell front presses, barbell uprights, seated side barbell laterals and machine rear delts.

Close grip bench press, scull crushers, were the the first two exercises for triceps and we ended doing cable pushdowns, taking the rope and 2 straight bars (hands both ways), and circling around them 4 times, non stop.

Forearms, we took a 2 straight bars and the gripper (its nice on friday nights, being so slow, we can use 2 benches for forearms. Only in america!) We did wrist curls, reverse wrist curls and the gripper and went around 4 times non stop, ending everything over at the donkeys for 4.

Let us not forget about 3 sets of crunches after every workout, although hardly mentioned, they are hardly ever forgotten (felt like a good place to add)

enjoy the video

Saturday morning legs we went straight forward, squats, presses, hacks, legs extensions, stiff legs, legs curls (back and forth between seated and lying) ending on standing calves,

Let the video say the rest..

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One, Two, Three... Shoot!

I need to train Monday through Thursday this week; have something to do this weekend.

Training is going to be a little tough: four days in a row can be a little brutal, especially when legs is your last day!

Monday night there were three of us and the pace was almost perfect. It has been a long time since I've trained with only three of us. We had a nice pace going and with that less rest. I got a huge pump!

Last night, it was just Alex and I. It felt like old times. This is where it started over 3 years ago. Then came Big John 3 months later and not until just these last 4 months, we added Dave and Donnie

Talk about a fast pace! Right off the bat I knew what I was missing! It has been about 4 month of training, 4 or 5 guys deep and you get used to it and you don't know what you are missing until you go back to what brings you to the gym every day... The pump!. I said it once before and I'll say it again, it's all about the pump! The bigger the better and frankly you can not get the biggest pump possible if your rest is too long; it just isn't going to happen.

We decided, starting next Monday, when I'm back, to split up into teams. Every workout we will buck up into 2 or 3 per team and run parallel to each other. We will all get the same workout, but with a lot less rest and a much bigger pump and a short training time. It's a win win situation.

To further our efforts to grow!

Enjoy Monday night video. Chest/Biceps//Calves

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Stick to plan

Monday night, chest and biceps and it felt like old times again. Minimal rest, heart racing, working up a sweat, fighting hard on each set just to get enough reps, as the weight goes up and the pump increases and you get deeper and deeper into the muscle.

It’s 5:15 and there were five of us, one, two, three...shoot, we all throw in one or two fingers. It’s Jon Dave and me on one team and Alex and Donnie on the other.

We ran side by side through flat bench, incline dumbbell, incline flies, flat flies and dumbbell pullovers

For Biceps, we started with preacher curls and they started with incline dumbbell curls (haven't done them in years) then we switched and ended over on the donkeys for calves

Nice and fast, huge pump! Couldn't ask for more!

Wednesday Dead lift, it was time! (Back and Traps too)

No show from Slim, down to 4 of us.

After we decided it would be a good idea to just stay together doing dead lifts, we chose to finish the whole work out that way. The thing about Back, because it’s usually high rep movements, you can still get a really nice pump with 4 deep, as long as you keep moving.

I broke a personal record last night dead lifting 550. I had it on my mind all day and it went as planned. 1 plate for 5 reps, 2 plates for 5, 3 plates for 5, 4 plates for 5, 5 plates for 3 and 5 plates and a quarter for 1.

I tried this weight before a few months back and I couldn't even get it off the floor. I knew after having a few weeks off from dead lifting this was going to be my chance. I knew if I could get it off the floor, I would be able to close out my hips and stand up and I did!

Traps for 5 sets, Lat pull downs, machine free weighted bent over rows, low rows (camera dies here) and reverse grip pull downs destroys the rest of the back.

Wrist curls, the hand gripper and seated calves, we circled around them non stop for 4 sets

Check out the the angles!

                           

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GoPro Shoulders/Triceps

Shoulders/Triceps/Forearms/Calves
and catching
Donnie aka the Rooster,  banging out a set of squats at the end

                                               





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GoPro Chest/Biceps

Chest/Biceps

Flat Bench

Incline dumbbell 

Incline Fly

Flat Fly

Pullovers

Alex was at a game and Donnie came late and trained solo

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GoPro Back/Forearms/Calves

Back/Forearms/Calves

Wide grip pull ups

superset with

Wide grip cable pull downs

Bent over rows

Reverse grip machine rows

Reverse grip chin ups

superset with

Close grip pull downs

Seated wrist curls

superset

the Gripper

superset

Seat calf raises

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Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Try out this awesome recipe. Its great for post workout! Extremely low in carbs. Also feel free to add whatever toppings you like.

You will need:
1 Head of Cauliflower
1 whole egg
Italian Spices
1/4 cup Mozarella Cheese
Tomato Sauce

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Remove the leaves and hard center core of the cauliflower.  Cut into florets.  Wash and then allow the cauliflower to dry completely.  (You want the cauliflower completely dry and you will NOT be adding any water when cooking, this helps to cut down on the boiled cauliflower taste and smell.)  Once dry, fill the bowl of a food processor about half full and using the chopping blade and the pulse action, process the cauliflower until it looks like the size of grains of rice.  Add the processed cauliflower to a microwave safe bowl and repeat with the remaining cauliflower.  Once all the Cauliflower has been processed and added to the microwave safe bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a lid.  Microwave on high for 7 minutes.
3. Place the cooked Cauli-Rice on a tea towel and roll it up then squeeze out as much of the water as possible…and I mean really, really squeeze as you want it as dry as possible.
4. Spread the cauli crust onto a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. I just used a pizza stone though.
5. I kept the crust pretty thin, about 1/4-inch thick.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until the crust is firm and golden brown.  Remove the pan from the oven and turn off the oven and turn on the broiler and move the rack to up close to the broiler.
6. Top the cooked crust with sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice.  Place under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and melted

The Cauliflower rice recipe is also great as an alternative  to actual rice. Some of my friends have even used it to make sushi! Try it out for yourself and let us know what you think!

Protein Muffin in a Mug

Here is a super simple recipe that me and Nate love! Its really awesome as a late night snack when your craving something sweet. Or even as a perfect breakfast or post workout meal. Feel free to experiment yourselves with this recipe by adding oats, flax, pumpkin, the list goes on!

You will need two the basic ingredients:

1- 1 1/2 scoops whey protein power (any flavor of your choice for this recipe I used vanilla)
2 egg whites or 3 tablespoons egg beaters egg whites (just enough for the protein to be saturated)

Optional: You can experiment by adding any of these fun ideas:
1/2 cup oats
Flax seed
Chia Seeds
Peanut butter
Almond butter
Cinnamon
Stevia (to make it a little sweeter)
Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin puree
Cocoa Powder
Raisins
Chocolate Chips :)

First add your whey protein into a mug or microwaveable bowl. Then add your egg whites. Microwave for no more than 45 seconds (longer then that will dry out the protein and make it really hard to eat) And thats it! Play around and add any of the ingredients above to make your own protein muffin creation!

My favorite protein muffin is the one that I made here using: vanilla protein powder, raisins, peanut butter, and pumpkin spice!

And some other protein muffin choices are: chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder, stevia, peanut butter, and chocolate chips!

Be sure show us your recipes! And let us know what you think!

Anabolic Leg Workout!

Legworkout with powerlifter Andrew Jones and bodybuilder Massimo Del Sordi.
Warm-upwith stretching and some leg extensions. Bands used are Elite Fitness Bands short and long.
Lift 1 Barbell Squats10x 13510x 2255x 315Light OrangeBands Aided8x 3656x 4053x 4955x 4555x 405
(Drop sets are without bands and without rest)Dropset 315 to failureDropto 225 to failureDropto 135 to failure
Lift 2 Leg Press (close feet and knees)12x 4 plates Light Orangeshort bands resistance 10x 4 plates10x 5 plates 10x 5 plates (10 partials them 1 full press)(redshort band around knees for the last set)
Lift 3 Hamstring Single Leg (most setsto failure them partial reps)10x 6010x 7510x 80
DymatizeRecoup BCAA

Transform your dreams into a Reality

Hi everyone!

I want to adress something I have been meaning to do for a while. In fact, it was the sole reason I created the blog.

I was hired this fall as a personal trainer. I was very excited to start working with all my new clients. I wanted to inspire and motivate them, but I never imagined I could have been this successful in my efforts.

My first client stepped into the doors with a goal to merely shed 2 or 3 lbs of body fat. She had a small frame to begin with, but she wanted a trainer who could push her outside of her comfort zone. Little did she know, that I had my own goals for her. I wanted her to achieve this aesthetic goal, however, I also wanted her to learn more about traditional weightlifting. I wanted her to gain the confidence to be able to walk into any weight room and not be afraid to lift heavy weight, in fear of getting "big". I also wanted to give her the knowledge that my trainers gave to me. The power that living a healthy style truly has. (We'll get into that later)

We started the 3 month program with a bang! She was incredibly willing and excited for any challenge I threw her way. Some workouts she crushed, while others she relied on me to push her through. There were times when she would call be crazy and say that she can't do this! I would tell her," You can do anything for 30 seconds". The sessions progressed and her weights and abilities increased. With this, we began discussing diet. I am not a nutritionist, however, I did suggest that she eat "clean", meaning staying away from processed foods. At the end of our 3 months together, we did a body fat measurement and compared it with the results from the first day. Here they are:

The results were incredible! She lost nearly 5 lbs of body fat and gained 1 lb of lean muscle. I cannot express how happy we both were in this moment! Not only did she do that, she also adopted  the "eat clean" lifestyle and has more energy then ever! She is also comfortable with all the equipement in the weight room, and is able to conduct a full workout on her own.  

She is a true example of why we do what we do! We want to empower and motivate others to achieve their fitness and health goals. Even though we both enjoy competing in bodybuilding, I want you to know that you do not have to be a bodybuilder in order to see changes in your body. As long as you set a goal you can do it! Dream big and don't forget to write it down. Set up checks for yourslef to make sure your the right path towards your goal. 

More importantly, I want you all to understand that this does not just apply to fitness or health goals, it also applies to all aspects in life. This is certainly what attracted me to fitness in the first place. It is extremely empowering when you are able to set a goal, and have the ability to transform it into a reality. 

I hope I can give you all the gift of health and fitness this Christmas. And I hope you all can experience its empowering effects in all aspects of your life!