Why I lift and maybe why you should start...

     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

Bro Habits - Part 1

Time and time again we frequent the gym and do things that we typically would not do on a day-to-day basis.  On the other hand, we also see things that other people do and frequently judge them.  No matter what skill level they are, or even yourself, we still find a way to point out those things that "that douche" does or even "that chick" (to be fair to both sides).  We're now going to explore a few gym pet peeves otherwise overlooked by the majority of the fitness community that often give real athletes and bodybuilders an embarrassing aura.  These are Buff-U's Bro Habits Part 1

Yoga Pants
Now as any real member of the male community will proudly admit, we can appreciate a decent pair of yoga pants.  Not only are they functional for exercising in the gym but are greatly appreciated by the male population for a woman being able to pull these off going out to the bars and strolling around campus when there is little time to prepare a decent outfit for the day (yup we appreciate that).

This is not ok...

 










Unfortunately with every upside to a fad like this, there is a downside and it strikes with a furious vengeance.

 The real issue is not that larger women wear these in public (you can do whatever you want, I'm sure there's a market for it) but the fact that they become labored with holding in, well, yourself, that the wearer's skin tone becomes apparent.  Knowing how white a white girl is and how black a black girl is only exacerbates how vulgar wearing a pair of pants can be.  Please stop this.  I admire you're willing to sweat in these for further self improvement but there has to be a limit and courtesy for anything living around you must be considered.

That Stupid Half Shirt Thing

Sick kutz, brah.

 I'll admit that I don't know the name for it and really hope there isn't a technical one.  From my early high school gym adventures there were always a group of guys who had the urge to butcher their favorite athletic oriented shirt in an effort to modify it into the worst looking tank top on the face of the planet.  Not only that, the majority of the guys who do this are nowhere accredited enough in their physique of lifting credentials to warrant showing off their "sick cuts, brah."



Brah quite frankly, if there's a need to modify a shirt to accentuate how "jack3d" you really are then the fashion should be the least of your concerns.  Sometimes a tank top is acceptable, a wife beater is pushing it,  but this is just too much.  I hate this and I hate you for doing it.

Curling In Front Of The Mirror

The more you watch yourself, the more anabolic...it's science.

Every single gym I know has a mirror and every single gym that has a mirror has their typical set of dumbbell racks.  Now directly in front of every single dumbbell rack in every single gym is a set of egotistical dirt bags checking out their pump in the mirror while doing half-assed bicep curls.  

I'll admit to doing this because of purposes of form but it's done about ten feet away from the dumbbell racks and away from any walking zone of high traffic.  Understandably it's ok to watch form and sometimes you want to check out progress, we understand, but get the hell out of the way.

With love,

-Pq

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.

Swoldier Starter Steps: What you need to know about getting started and motivated!

This article needed clipart in the beginning
so here's Godzilla v.s. King Kong.

One of the biggest questions I am asked surrounding fitness is "wtf how do I get started?"  For anyone who is athletically inexperienced it sucks, it's overwhelming and incredibly intimidating given the general nature of a gym.  It's full of heavy things, sweaty men, people grunting/screaming and it hurts like hell. 

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

MAKE SOME GODDAMN GOALS
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.

This is something you should also be checking up on periodically to see how your progress is and what changes you should be making.  Personally a month is how often I check up on things in order to make adjustments and to compensate for the more immediate causes of body composition change (like a big poop or something.) 

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

Plus Steve Cook is there; What a hunk.

Keeping track of your statistics is the most important thing you can do as well.  While many of you might think this a plug for bodybuilding.com (maybe.....) I have to note that their Body Space is a great resource for getting your goals straight.  It's like Facebook but it allows you to update your body composition, lifting benchmarks as well as setting a goal.  There is also a mobile app as version as well that also includes workouts and videos (god this is so easy.)

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.  

Personally a favorite of mine, and many others, is the 1977 documentary classic Pumping Iron .  This is the movie that not only make names like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferigno a household name but it's the movie that put weight training and bodybuilding onto the center stage and out of the side-shows.  While the focus is on the creating of a body into a work of art this film is loaded with heartfelt moments and is often quite humorous. 


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