It was a bit after 5:00pm and the evening rush started to come in. Leaning on my elbows against the stationary bike, they quivered, my arms too weak to support myself upright. My shoe laces whipped my screamingly sore legs with each pedal, untied from an innumerable amount of calf raises, as I watched the gym floor become flooded with its after-work patrons. They shuffled in one by one, in pairs, or in groups; some coming across familiar faces and other seeking solitude to venture solo. Pedaling on, nobody dilly dallied, everybody was doing something. Footsteps fell heavy in the aerobics room, cables ran smoothly across pulleys, barbells and dumbbells came crashing down to the ground, and sweat fell onto the belts of the treadmills. Split tank tops, yoga pants, heavy hoodies, running shoes, straps, wraps, and belts; we were all equipped to go to work. There is something deeper than the face value.
The test wasn't good enough, my classmates and I had been shut down saying our grades were not perfect enough and would have to retake out Kanji test. The day before was a letdown as my marketing test was not as stupendous as it was hoped. The day before that I was trembling in my shoes proposing an argument of an essay to a leader in the field of modern Chinese history that may have been swatted down.
But it didn't matter.
I had 250lbs on the bar and another 200lbs in bands attached sitting my my back as I was going down for the tenth rep, and damned if it wasn't coming back up. I had 500lbs on the floor, the bar and my palms dusted in magnesium carbonate, belt snugged, and only focused on ripping the weight off the face of the floor. I had 280lbs in my hands over my neck, lowering the bar, and making its only objective to come back up or face otherwise. There is only ever one focus.
This world is full of everything from the bad luck, the accidental, the unfortunate, and the dreadful. The small things build in the form of annoyances, turning into stress, adding to the tragedy we may call our lives and it's never ideal.
The car you fixed came back broken down, your boss gave you shit for not making that sale, your teacher hated your thesis, your dog shit on the carpet, you package didn't get delivered on time, you woke up late and started your day off wrong, spouse is fighting with you, death in the family, missed a bill. There's a lot in life we cannot control.
Maybe an hour or maybe two hours there is complete control and clear objectives. There is no failure because there is always success in even trying. Everything is something to be proud of whether it be five more pounds to your max lift, another rep with a weight you've been working at, a faster mile run, another centimeter to your arms, that extra pound lost; there is no failure in even the smallest accomplishment regardless of me being the biggest or the baddest or not.
It's a "lift life", a "swole life", the "fit life"; all the same.
Humans all have a desire to better themselves in one way or another and
this has never let me down. Everything I do is in my control whether
it's moving a max weight, or making sure my inner traps come to meet my
rear delts, it's all the same.
There's sweat, tears, and sometimes blood and pain, but there's is always an improvement and solitude. There's always satisfaction in knowing that although sometimes I can't give my all, I came in and tried. The shaking in my arms, the swelling in my legs, and the nagging shoe laces whipping against my ankles were a sign of something greater and reaffirm me of a feeling, a feeling nobody wouldn't want even if they tried to ignore it.
-Pq
Showing posts with label College. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College. Show all posts
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
Trying to be the big man on your college campus?
Every student in college, that is attempting to be a bodybuilder, wants to be the biggest and strongest person in the gym in college. Well a great man named Steve Cook has the answer. You may have seen him on Bodybuilding.com once or twice. Cook is a Bodybuilding.com spokes model, Optimum Nutrition athlete and IFBB Pro Men's Physique Competitor. Cook took time out of his busy life to compose this great training program.
(The man himself (Steve Cook), just chillin')
I have seen outstanding results in just 6 weeks of the 12 week trainer. I have also seen other people in my gym doing the same routine and have heard nothing but great things.
Being a college graduate Cook understands this is an exciting and new area to explore in a young adult's life. Naturally this program is called Big Man on Campus, because it is directed toward a college students, and has so much insight to offer. First of all there is five sections: nutrition, supplementation, goal setting, time management and life style. The five sections are meant to break down the complicated life of a college student. Cook discusses in short videos (6-10 minutes) what you can expect being a college student and building muscle.
As I am currently enrolled in college, I thought to myself, "eh...I am on campus, why not try and be the big man?"
The first week I was sore, very sore. I introduced my body to something I have done before but haven't done in a while, dropsets. A drop set is, using heavier weight to get to a point of failure, then picking up a lighter weight, and doing the same exercise to failure. For example, you are doing an incline dumbell press with 70 pound dumbells, you get to 10 reps and you can't do any more. Here is where the fun starts, pick up a weight that is 30-50 percent lighter, so lets say 45 pound dumbells and try to match that rep range immediately after you put down the 70's. Sound easy right?
The idea is simple, just keep going. One thing I want to stress is form. You can do dropsets till your arms fall off, but if your not hitting the muscles the right way you won't see a change or feel the pump where you want. Remember from before, the strech, then a contraction? Keep that in mind and have that mind muscle connection on the specific muscle group.
There is more to this program and all you need to do it take the time and watch the videos it's a lot to write out and explain. Cook does a great job of stressing the importance that this is a lifestyle change and everything needs to be in check. From your nutrition, training, supplementation, time management and life choices, Cook understands the college life and makes it all clear and easy to follow.
I have taken tips from this that I will alway remember as a progress further not only into the sport of bodybuilding, but in life.
(The man himself (Steve Cook), just chillin')
I have seen outstanding results in just 6 weeks of the 12 week trainer. I have also seen other people in my gym doing the same routine and have heard nothing but great things.
Being a college graduate Cook understands this is an exciting and new area to explore in a young adult's life. Naturally this program is called Big Man on Campus, because it is directed toward a college students, and has so much insight to offer. First of all there is five sections: nutrition, supplementation, goal setting, time management and life style. The five sections are meant to break down the complicated life of a college student. Cook discusses in short videos (6-10 minutes) what you can expect being a college student and building muscle.
As I am currently enrolled in college, I thought to myself, "eh...I am on campus, why not try and be the big man?"
The first week I was sore, very sore. I introduced my body to something I have done before but haven't done in a while, dropsets. A drop set is, using heavier weight to get to a point of failure, then picking up a lighter weight, and doing the same exercise to failure. For example, you are doing an incline dumbell press with 70 pound dumbells, you get to 10 reps and you can't do any more. Here is where the fun starts, pick up a weight that is 30-50 percent lighter, so lets say 45 pound dumbells and try to match that rep range immediately after you put down the 70's. Sound easy right?
The idea is simple, just keep going. One thing I want to stress is form. You can do dropsets till your arms fall off, but if your not hitting the muscles the right way you won't see a change or feel the pump where you want. Remember from before, the strech, then a contraction? Keep that in mind and have that mind muscle connection on the specific muscle group.
There is more to this program and all you need to do it take the time and watch the videos it's a lot to write out and explain. Cook does a great job of stressing the importance that this is a lifestyle change and everything needs to be in check. From your nutrition, training, supplementation, time management and life choices, Cook understands the college life and makes it all clear and easy to follow.
I have taken tips from this that I will alway remember as a progress further not only into the sport of bodybuilding, but in life.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Building Your Wingsuit: My Biggest Tips for Your Biggest Back
It's not touched often, it isn't touched hard and its something that can be accomplished alone; of course I'm talking about your back. Overshadowed by the biggest "Bro exercises" such as the flat "Bro" bench, "Bro" shrugs and "Bro" dumbell curls it seems overshadowed what a big back can do for the rest of your routine. While "Bro" shrugs can help get you decent traps it takes more to build your Trapezius (traps) and Latissmus dorsi (lats) muscles.
Keeping in mind that the back muscles (when used correctly) are also incorporated into solid benching and chest training. For myself it has also generated a very strong core and provided a basis for not only busting any moderately fitting dress shirt but granted the ability to carry through many exercises that are heavy on core stabilization (big squats anyone?)
While I admit it might be one of my favorite muscle groups to train, because of its strength I have been able to breeze other muscle groups up with greater confidence and encourage others to do the same for their backs. I have my reasons for this and here are some tips to keep in mind.
Don't Be Afraid
This is the most important in my book and should be top for everyone else as well. It is easy to keep in mind that any type of back work should be kept fearless. What does that mean? The majority of the exercises going into building your lats and traps are a type of pulling or rowing exercise in which the weight is pulled toward you. Whereas most exercises are pressed away and might require a spotter (or serious balls if you want to do it on your own), exercises like squats or chest pressing can be intimidating and worrisome when trying to work to your limits.
Most negative motion of back work is typically falling away from you making it easy to stick with limit smashing lifts or endure longer repetitions without being afraid. The same goes for incorporating your biceps into a routine; the weight is generally pulled toward you and leaves little room for dropping it on yourself. While none of this isn't meant to forget about muscle contractions and form it is certainly a key element in telling your mind to shut up and let you lift.
Getting A Grip
One of the biggest hurdles to overcome while building your back is your grip. The muscles in your forearms will let your grip fail way before your desired rep range for working your back; unless you have forearms bigger than your biceps then maybe. The best way to work around this is to invest in some decent lifting straps.
They can be had for under $10, or even free when shopping with some sites, and will drastically improve your back game. Mostly made of padded neoprene they can wrap around any bar giving your grip a better chance of hanging on while moving through your routine.
Don't just limit it to dead lifting either. Rows, pulldowns, pullups and even moves like romanian dead lifts (for legs) will help you up the weight and use your target weight. Personally I've even gone so far as to keep them on for heavy curls or even high rep curls, once fatigue starts setting in, as my biceps will outwork my grip any day.
Speaking of grip this is a good place to mention the grip position itself for bar work. Many people go as wide as they possibly can while pulling down or not wide at all. The beauty of working your back is that different grips will have different effects but so long as they make the contraction in the desired muscle groups. If it's too far and you can's completely contract your back, ditch it and go narrow. If you're not squeezing you're not gaining.
Working With Your Elbows
Wait.... what?
You heard me..... I said ELBOWS. In between sets I people watch and one of the biggest flaws I see while performing exercises such as the pulldown or any kind of row is there people put their hands. The majority of the time is spend trying to push their hands farther down than their chest or ram them into their stomach. Watching this makes my shoulder hurt as well as pains me to see people take the load off of their backs and transfers it to well.... I don't want to know.
The best bet is to start focusing on how deep your elbows go through the movement and how hard the contraction is rather than how far the bar can be pulled. I've found by bringing my elbows next to my lats (on any pulling or rowing motion), sticking my chest out and contracting my back (squeezing traps and widening lats if possible) gives me the best possible contraction.
Do It One Handed ;)
This one speaks for itself. By using one arm for the same exercises you can help focus each side when you might be prone to giving a certain arm the favorite treatment (we're all guilty of it at times). Not only will this knock your pride down a bit into focusing on the contractions than weight but can also serve to pre-fatigue.
Focusing on one arm at a time for the first two sets can really work your back early. Following this up with an additional one or two sets with both arms involved will help push each side past their failure points. It's kind of like productive cheating....
A good dual pulley lat pullown machine, hammer high/low row or even single pulley can be improvised with the right handle. Don't forget to look for plenty of dumbell work as well as one handed pullups for the daring.
Bring The Gun Show
Through these motions you are using a good amount of bicep effort to help power the weight around making this a prime opportunity to hit them at the end of your back routine. Warm-up will be minimal as they are already heated from your back workout and can easily be fatigued in as little as two exercises long as the motion is full and the contraction is proper.
With being said, this is a sample workout of what I've been using to shock myself out of Y3T and get my heart rate higher and will be part of my new secret split (coming pretty soon.) Everything can be substituted for another piece of equipment and yes, there will be pre-fatiguing. Give it a try if you dare ;)
-Pq
Keeping in mind that the back muscles (when used correctly) are also incorporated into solid benching and chest training. For myself it has also generated a very strong core and provided a basis for not only busting any moderately fitting dress shirt but granted the ability to carry through many exercises that are heavy on core stabilization (big squats anyone?)While I admit it might be one of my favorite muscle groups to train, because of its strength I have been able to breeze other muscle groups up with greater confidence and encourage others to do the same for their backs. I have my reasons for this and here are some tips to keep in mind.
Don't Be Afraid
This is the most important in my book and should be top for everyone else as well. It is easy to keep in mind that any type of back work should be kept fearless. What does that mean? The majority of the exercises going into building your lats and traps are a type of pulling or rowing exercise in which the weight is pulled toward you. Whereas most exercises are pressed away and might require a spotter (or serious balls if you want to do it on your own), exercises like squats or chest pressing can be intimidating and worrisome when trying to work to your limits.
Most negative motion of back work is typically falling away from you making it easy to stick with limit smashing lifts or endure longer repetitions without being afraid. The same goes for incorporating your biceps into a routine; the weight is generally pulled toward you and leaves little room for dropping it on yourself. While none of this isn't meant to forget about muscle contractions and form it is certainly a key element in telling your mind to shut up and let you lift.
Getting A Grip
 |
| Antoine Vaillant uses em... like a boss. |
They can be had for under $10, or even free when shopping with some sites, and will drastically improve your back game. Mostly made of padded neoprene they can wrap around any bar giving your grip a better chance of hanging on while moving through your routine.
Don't just limit it to dead lifting either. Rows, pulldowns, pullups and even moves like romanian dead lifts (for legs) will help you up the weight and use your target weight. Personally I've even gone so far as to keep them on for heavy curls or even high rep curls, once fatigue starts setting in, as my biceps will outwork my grip any day.
Speaking of grip this is a good place to mention the grip position itself for bar work. Many people go as wide as they possibly can while pulling down or not wide at all. The beauty of working your back is that different grips will have different effects but so long as they make the contraction in the desired muscle groups. If it's too far and you can's completely contract your back, ditch it and go narrow. If you're not squeezing you're not gaining.
Working With Your Elbows
Wait.... what?
You heard me..... I said ELBOWS. In between sets I people watch and one of the biggest flaws I see while performing exercises such as the pulldown or any kind of row is there people put their hands. The majority of the time is spend trying to push their hands farther down than their chest or ram them into their stomach. Watching this makes my shoulder hurt as well as pains me to see people take the load off of their backs and transfers it to well.... I don't want to know.
The best bet is to start focusing on how deep your elbows go through the movement and how hard the contraction is rather than how far the bar can be pulled. I've found by bringing my elbows next to my lats (on any pulling or rowing motion), sticking my chest out and contracting my back (squeezing traps and widening lats if possible) gives me the best possible contraction.
Do It One Handed ;)
Focusing on one arm at a time for the first two sets can really work your back early. Following this up with an additional one or two sets with both arms involved will help push each side past their failure points. It's kind of like productive cheating....
A good dual pulley lat pullown machine, hammer high/low row or even single pulley can be improvised with the right handle. Don't forget to look for plenty of dumbell work as well as one handed pullups for the daring.
Bring The Gun Show
Through these motions you are using a good amount of bicep effort to help power the weight around making this a prime opportunity to hit them at the end of your back routine. Warm-up will be minimal as they are already heated from your back workout and can easily be fatigued in as little as two exercises long as the motion is full and the contraction is proper.
With being said, this is a sample workout of what I've been using to shock myself out of Y3T and get my heart rate higher and will be part of my new secret split (coming pretty soon.) Everything can be substituted for another piece of equipment and yes, there will be pre-fatiguing. Give it a try if you dare ;)
-Pq
- 4-5 minutes of foam rolling
- T-Bar Row (substitute low pulley row)
- 2-3 warm-up sets
- 3 working sets reaching failure between 8-12
- Lat pulldown (everyone has this)
- 3 Working sets of 15-20
- Low hammer row (substitute bent over dumbell rows)
- 2 working sets 20-25
- Focus on 1 arm at a time
- Pullups (keep rest short; appx 30-45 seconds)
- 3 sets until failure changing grip each time
- Wide, medium/neutral and then narrow
- Pullup assist can be used so shoot for 10-12 reps with adjusted weight
- Bicep curl machine
- 2 Warm-up Sets
- 2 Working Sets of triple drop sets
- each drop should achieve between 12-16 repetitions
- Dumbell Curls (the big finish!)
- 3 working sets of 18-20 reps per arm
- Note: I sometimes cut this down to two sets and go for two sets of spider barbell curls depending on my mood :)
- Finish strong with 3 sets of oblique work (twisting situps rock or weighted side bends)
- 7-10 Rounds of Hiit cardio
Monday, December 17, 2012
Swoldier Starter Steps: What you need to know about getting started and motivated!
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| This article needed clipart in the beginning so here's Godzilla v.s. King Kong. |
Fortunately we're here to help take some time and extinguish any of the anxieties associated with this task and give a strong foundation to help get started ,practically, with your goals.
 |
| YOU GUYS LOVE GODZILLA SO HERE HE IS AGAIN |
Well in case you might not have guessed it it's pretty important but is the most crucial and demands caps lock and big bold foul language. This means to take a look at where you are currently and decide where you want to be in the future. Deciding to lose fat versus gain muscle will determine your workout routines and diets so this is important to figure out which path you will take before starting off on it.
START MEASURING STUFF
Regardless of where you want to go you need to figure out where you are. Establishing a baseline of your current body stats will help you determine where you are going and if your current plan is productive enough. Start with the basics like a scale, body measuring tape and a body fat caliper. This way you will know how much you weigh, how big certain body parts are (I lol'd too) and how much body fat is on your frame.
 |
| This is a scale..... just in case. |
 |
| One handed body measuring tape |
 |
| Body fat caliper. |
The cool part about these things? You can typically get the body tape and a caliper as a FREE gift from bodybuilding.com with certain orders over a certain amount.
TAKE NOTE AND KEEP TRACK
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| Plus Steve Cook is there; What a hunk. |
Taking pictures is also a great way to keep progress in check as well and see how far you've come. These don't have to be plastered all over the internet but use them as a tool of progress and motivation.
GETTING PUMPED TO PUMP
You know this is something you want to do but just need a bit of a push. I say watch a few movies! Sit on the couch after reading this and curl up with something you know gets your blood flowing. A good action movie, maybe a romance movie with that "hot" guy you would want to impress or even some sports to keep inspired of what you would like to be like.
For some people the hardest part is getting into the gym. The new year is coming up and it's prime time to make a resolution for change. You can say that a gym discount will get you in there or "going with a friend" will help you out a bit more to be motivated but the real motivation comes from within. If you aren't ready to take yourself there and get the job done, there is no true motivation.
Start with these simple building blocks and get going! This is a long journey for someone trying to just get in shape or perfect and sculpt with plenty of time to changes along the way. Just remember to not lose true sight of what you came here for.
-Pq
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Heavy Ego? Take a load off.
Reminiscing about the first time I entered the gym, (and really took it serious) I imagined the videos you see on YouTube. Being a big dude just throwing weights around yelling, "Light weight!" "Nothin' but a peanut," but little did I know it’s not that simple. This long and hard road that you're about to embark on, so start with getting your ego in check!
Ego can be defined as, "reactions to the outside world and thus mediates between the primitive drive of an individual’s identity and the demands of the social and physical environment surrounding them" (dictionary.com).
Now, how does this relate to the gym? Take a look around the next time you enter the gym. Are there people that are bigger, stronger, and more ripped than you? Of course! How you take that into consideration is what will help you achieve your personal goals. You identify as being someone that is larger even though you are not quite there yet. Then take into consideration of your environment as you try and stack up, trying the same weight they use, or trying more, just to show them up. It would be great if it was that easy, but it isn't.
So STOP, right here. Think about this, do you want to be someone else or are you doing this for you? Who cares how much you bench? Who cares if you can squat 1000 pounds? It would be awesome to say you can do that but how practical is that for you?
Starting out for me, in a college gym, it was all about the numbers. I thought that that was what bodybuilding was all about, but quickly I found out I was wrong. I wasted a solid three months of my time (and supplements) trying to use momentum to move weights, rather than using proper form and stretching and contacting my muscles to build consistent strength and size. For example, I would try to bench more than I could handle, banging weight off my chest trying to get anything going so I could get the weight up. Not knowing that I could just have easily brought the amount weight down and slowly controlled the weight and lightly touch my chest then push it back to the starting position and see greater results.
With that being said, here are three main things you need to focus on:
Proper Form:
This will prevent injury, have a better transfer of power and hit the correct muscle you are trying to target. I never learned correct form until I got injured, don't wait, ask someone for help!
Full Range of Motion:
Full range of motion will make sure all of the muscle fibers are being activated and not just half of the muscle, or even the wrong muscle.
Mind Muscle Connection:
When you work on a specific muscle you need to squeeze that muscle and be sure you’re thinking in your head that specific body part. For example, if you're doing chest think about streching your Pecs as you come down and then squeezing your Pecs together has you come to the top of a fly or press.
It's not about the weight, it’s about the resistance. A bodybuilder uses resistance and is not concerned about the weight rather than the contractions within the muscle they are working. Eventually this resistance will need to be greater because your body will adapt.
Lifting heavy doesn't focus on the contraction and tearing of muscular fibers that will cause your body to create tears in your muscle that can then be rebuilt to be stronger and larger. Don't get me wrong it will create tears in your muscle and you will get stronger but, there is a far greater risk of injury. There is a difference between weightlifting and bodybuilding (I will write more about in another post).
Lifting heavy, I suffered multiple shoulder injuries as well as causing harm to my lower back from heavy improper squats. I also found out, from taking before and after pictures, my body composition didn't change, not even a little bit.
Dropping the weight down I have seen the most growth, and so have the pros.
Here is a video that sticks with me whenever I work out:
In order to grow, sculpt and change your physique your muscle needs to "stretch and it needs to contract," just like Kai said it’s not about the weight "I will never be a weightlifter." Full range of motion, like I said earlier, is the key to really getting the muscle fibers to tear and creating tears those tears your body will naturally rebuild those fibers. This also causes your body to adapt to the resistance calling for more resistance to get the same effect. It looks impressive when people fling their body back as they do bicep curls, but are they working their biceps? There are exceptions to this, like negative reps, but that is for another post.
Ask Yourself:
Do I want to move around as much as I can and try to be a power lifter? Or do I want to build muscle and try to sculpt my body the way I want?
The choice is yours, but ultimately, bodybuilding is a lifestyle and is a huge commitment. This is a sport that does not bring you instant satisfaction. These things take time, strength will come, size will come, and you need to be patient. Put that Ego aside and get contracting at whatever weight that may be as long as you perform the exercises properly there is no reason why you should be embarrassed or feel self conscious.
I hate to do it but, Tony Horton once said, "do your best and forget the rest." Live by this, because all you really can do is what your body and mind will allow at first. But don't be afraid to break free of that after you have your form and start building some muscle, that’s when the real fun comes in.
-NC
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