We will return soon with dieting tips, a plethora of new training ideas from the pro's themselves and coverage of the event itself.
<3
-Pq
Saturday, February 23, 2013
This is a filler article before something bigger.... deal.
We will return soon with dieting tips, a plethora of new training ideas from the pro's themselves and coverage of the event itself.
<3
-Pq
Thursday, February 7, 2013
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).
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
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
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
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. |
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. |
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
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 31, 2013
Hyper Hypertrophy - 3 special sets you're most likely not doing
Everybody that has ever set foot in a gym has done a "set" of something with an X amount of repetitions.... duh. The problem is that people sometimes get too comfortable and adjust to the typical sets with a given rep range. Sometimes this isn't enough and something is further required to really shock your muscles into hypertrophy for more growth. When your workouts are looking prime, your failure points and weights are dialed in it's time to start tweaking your sets into something more savage (yeah we're going there.)
Triple Drop Sets
If anyone has every done Neil Hill's Y3T - 9 Week Trainer then you know all about these but can still be incorporated into your workout to help maximize gains. Well what is a triple drop set? It's much more than your standard 8-12 rep range because it's tripled. How? By lowering the weight each time.
Here's how it breaks down per set for something simply like chest fly's.
1. Pick a weight with for a desired failure point and carry out your set normally until failure
2. Without resting, lower the weight in accordance to fail within the same rep range and work again until failure
3. Drop the weight a final time, without rest, and perform the same rep range.
Hill's program has you go through this with varying rep ranges of 10-12 or 14-16 per drop depending on the workout. I personally find satisfaction in starting this out heavy for a solid 8 reps and gradually increasing the rep target to the 14-16 range if possible. This is definitely something to gear toward the end of your workout and can be combined to enhance endurance and super muscular breakdown of your troubled areas.
Another cool tip for triple drop sets?
Use them on a final set of an exercise. Why stop at the last rep of your leg press? Throw some plates off, bang out another few reps and drop the weight again! It's a last ditch effort to milk each exercise for what it can truly be worth.
Breathing Ladders
Taking a page from The Governator's Blog is something called a Breathing Ladder. This is a sort of pyramid of repetitions that are determined by your breathing; stay with me.
The ladder works out like this (using squats as an example):
1 squat - 1 breath
2 squats - 2 breaths
3 squats - 3 breaths
4 squats - 4 breaths
5 squats - 5 breaths
6 squats - 6 breaths
7 squats - 7 breaths
8 squats - 8 breaths
9 squats – 9 breaths
10 squats - 10 breaths
Each is basically it's own set but rest is determined by your own breathing intervals. When I use these, adjusting the weight accordingly, it can be an helpful tool to incorporate a lot volume into a workout as well as keeping the exercise heavy and proper without beating myself to death.
This is great to throw either in the beginning or middle of a workout and is meant for compound movements after a good warmup. Further isolation really gets the blood flow to all the right spots once you're good and primed after these.
Timed Sets
Sometimes a muscle won't grow, you get mad and need to get savage... it's ok we feel you. Time to let loose and hit up some timed sets and always leads to great experimentation. The basic idea is to set a timer (3-4 minutes can do it for me) and just go.
Had enough of chest day? Hop on a chest press machine and start pressing!
Need to get those abs hurting? Hop on a bench and start crunching!
Legs not busting out of those pants, yet? Grab a squat rack or leg press and get going!
They key is not to go heavy but to pick a weight that the first reps can be obtained relatively easy. After that you still might have another three minutes to go and will have to take pauses and pump out as many as you can before resting. The lighter the weight will yield a higher volume and lower injury chances (which is what I prefer).
3:33 mark shows Antione Vaillant going heavy on deadlifts at the end of his back workout. This is right where the maniacal kind of volume and little rest needs to be. This is a great finisher to those stubborn parts that you're just sick and fucking tired of.
-Pq
Triple Drop Sets
If anyone has every done Neil Hill's Y3T - 9 Week Trainer then you know all about these but can still be incorporated into your workout to help maximize gains. Well what is a triple drop set? It's much more than your standard 8-12 rep range because it's tripled. How? By lowering the weight each time.
Here's how it breaks down per set for something simply like chest fly's.
1. Pick a weight with for a desired failure point and carry out your set normally until failure
2. Without resting, lower the weight in accordance to fail within the same rep range and work again until failure
3. Drop the weight a final time, without rest, and perform the same rep range.
Hill's program has you go through this with varying rep ranges of 10-12 or 14-16 per drop depending on the workout. I personally find satisfaction in starting this out heavy for a solid 8 reps and gradually increasing the rep target to the 14-16 range if possible. This is definitely something to gear toward the end of your workout and can be combined to enhance endurance and super muscular breakdown of your troubled areas.
Another cool tip for triple drop sets?
Use them on a final set of an exercise. Why stop at the last rep of your leg press? Throw some plates off, bang out another few reps and drop the weight again! It's a last ditch effort to milk each exercise for what it can truly be worth.
Breathing Ladders
Taking a page from The Governator's Blog is something called a Breathing Ladder. This is a sort of pyramid of repetitions that are determined by your breathing; stay with me.
The ladder works out like this (using squats as an example):
1 squat - 1 breath
2 squats - 2 breaths
3 squats - 3 breaths
4 squats - 4 breaths
5 squats - 5 breaths
6 squats - 6 breaths
7 squats - 7 breaths
8 squats - 8 breaths
9 squats – 9 breaths
10 squats - 10 breaths
Each is basically it's own set but rest is determined by your own breathing intervals. When I use these, adjusting the weight accordingly, it can be an helpful tool to incorporate a lot volume into a workout as well as keeping the exercise heavy and proper without beating myself to death.
This is great to throw either in the beginning or middle of a workout and is meant for compound movements after a good warmup. Further isolation really gets the blood flow to all the right spots once you're good and primed after these.
Timed Sets
Had enough of chest day? Hop on a chest press machine and start pressing!
Need to get those abs hurting? Hop on a bench and start crunching!
Legs not busting out of those pants, yet? Grab a squat rack or leg press and get going!
They key is not to go heavy but to pick a weight that the first reps can be obtained relatively easy. After that you still might have another three minutes to go and will have to take pauses and pump out as many as you can before resting. The lighter the weight will yield a higher volume and lower injury chances (which is what I prefer).
3:33 mark shows Antione Vaillant going heavy on deadlifts at the end of his back workout. This is right where the maniacal kind of volume and little rest needs to be. This is a great finisher to those stubborn parts that you're just sick and fucking tired of.
-Pq
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.
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| 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.
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| This is a scale..... just in case. |
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| One handed body measuring tape |
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| 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
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Focusing on the Fascia: Opening up for bigger gains
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| Look at this handsome bro. |
Who doesn't love science?
Now you're going to get both!
Check this out!
As we've talked about before (if you paid attention) there are different fibers that make up your muscles but unfortunately there is one more thing we didn't tell you about yet; that's the fascia. Your fascia is almost a sort of webbing that surrounds the muscular fibers, enclosing them and it too can expand, stretch and become damaged just as the type 1 and type 2 muscle fibers would during a workout. This makes the muscle grow over a period of time, cool right? So what do we do about the fascia? Do we just let it sit and have it stretch during the workouts just like and fibers? You can but if you want to be proactive you need to take matters into your own hands and start stretching.
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| This was much more appealing than the old yoga lady. |
1. Manual Stretching
- We've all done it at one point or another and we might have even hated it but this is the most simply way of stretching your muscles. Bend and over touch your toes, do what this chick is doing to the right, arms across your chest, you get it.
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| Even this old bro does it. |
2. Foam Rolling
- A foam what? I know it looks ridiculous but give me a minute. Dropping anywhere between $15+ for a decent foam roller will do wonders for your muscles and general flexibility. Hamstrings, quads, lats and traps; a foam roller allows you to actually roll your body across a round dense piece of madness in order to stretch.
It has its advantages before a workout as it allows you to feel where your muscles are most tense (could even be a patch of built up scar tissue) and "roll" them out until they are loose. While it works great accompanying manual stretching, this massaging tool (yes it's a massaging tool and cheaper than a therapist) can help reduce built up lactic acid on those painful and sore off days allowing for faster recovery. Don't say I didn't warn about pain because it does hurt but you'll be glad you did.
3. Trigger Point Therapy
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| Trigger points and mohawks make you a badass. |
However there are solutions around this as racquet balls are sold in packs and can be bought for a few bucks. Tennis balls may also be beneficial but preferably something with a bit of give and the ability to be rolled into more precise areas. Try a small racquet ball or tennis ball and if you love it, go buy the kit (Kris Gethin did.)
4. Stretch During Your Workout
- All of the previously mentioned methods are great and everything around your workouts but what about during? All of this soft muscle tissue is typically flooded with blood during a workout and sometimes an intense pump gets in the way of stretching the fibers and fascia to their limits. A favorite practice of mine if to stretch in between sets as well as during a set.
Stretching during an exercise, like lat. pulldowns (handing limp and stretching left and right lats), can really help in allowing blood to drain from your muscles for a few seconds before filling them back up. The same principle applies in between sets as well and can help prevent failing prematurely to ensure your optimal rep range has been met.
The ultimate idea here is to allow for maximum blood flow to the muscles and nutrient intake during your workout. You might even find that you are able to make the most out of each repetition as well as prolong the inevitable fatigue.
Besides, nothing looks more menacing than a pumped up bro delicately stretching muscles.
P.s. This is something we will look to get pictures of and explain further in the near future so hang in there.
-Pq
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