More Muscle Magic!!

Lets see...... muscle burns fat, revs your metabolism, increases your testosterone levels (which keeps you younger and stokes your sex drive), protects you from heart disease, back pain, arthritis and depression! what isn't there to like? (lol)  First let me explain what this word metabolism is (Greek for change/transformation)... its the amount of energy or
calories your body burns to maintain vital functions 24/7 ( sleeping, at work, exercising etc) so its constantly using what you feed it for fuel and repair. So without saying more muscle the better, hence why i preach weightlifting to everyone. Research shows one training session can raise your calorie burn up to 35+ hrs after you lift and not even counting the energy you use during that exercise. Also the more muscle you have the better the body uses the nutrients you eat and less likely to be stored as fat.....i will explain. Your muscles store calories (energy) in the form of glycogen, when you workout your muscle uses that fuel for training, after you exercise any carbs you eat will replenish that open/empty store and not to your fat cells. Bonus time folks!! if you train hard enough, your body will use for hours afterward your fat for energy to keep all the vital organs going as it wont touch the muscle stored glycogen.....sweet music! The breakdown for metabolism is as follows....60-75% resting rate ( what is burned for your heart, lungs, cells dividing etc) 10% digestive (breaking up your food- carbs to sugar and protein to amino acids) 15-30% any form of exercise. So no more excuses peeps, see you in the weight room!

Gluten....The Facts

Here is a reality check for you followers, you can train all you want but if your putting the wrong food/fuel back into your body your just wasting your time. Think of your car and filling it up with the wrong gasoline as it sputters down the highway, so one of those irritants could be gluten ( Latin meaning glue and is the protein found in wheat, barley, triticale (cross of wheat/rye) and rye) as it has been linked to over 55 diseases, some of that list includes; Celiac disease (autoimmune disorder) this being the most extreme, also leads to poor nutrient absorption,  you hold water which in turn makes you not drink any, your tired all the time, ( no wonder....no fuel, no energy)  hormone imbalance, (think weight gain here!) migraines, mood swings etc. But also bloggers in your grocery store, wheat is under numerous other names as its added to many products so when shopping  do look for these on the labels;  Bulgur, Durum Flour, Fatina, Graham Flour, Kamut, Semolina and Spelt. My answer to the problem?....avoid most of the middle aisles of the supermarket and look for the naturally gluten-free foods such as beans, seeds/nuts, (natural unprocessed form) fresh eggs, meat, poultry, (goes without saying...not breaded, batter coated or marinated) most dairy products and also the ever expanding gluten-free list of foods available now. So in my humble opinion i think everyone should avoid gluten as you can see why and how it can effect not only your training but health, so be diligent in what goes into your body and it will reward you as the mirror doesn't lie

Improve Strength/Size of Chest

Ok from our previous blog we had how to improve our flat bench technique which intern shapes our chest. I remember back in the day playing pickup basketball and if chosen for the skins side, would suddenly develop an illness or injury as i was scared about being teased about my chest or lack there of lol. So guys, try this routine and be proud to go topless whenever the occasion arises!  Start by knowing what your max weight you can lift 6x.....then do this 5 set routine, resting 2 mins between sets. A) Set 1;  10 reps of half your max weight. B) Set 2;  repeat Set1  C) Set 3;  6 reps of 75% of your max weight   D) Set 4; as many reps that you can lift with your max weight   E) Set 5;  depending of how many reps you completed during Set4.....if 5-7 reps, then repeat Set4 max weight, if only 0-2 reps, decrease 10% and do as many reps as possible, if 8-12 reps increase the weight by 10% and do as many reps as you can.  For the next chest day  (at least 3 days rest) whatever the weight was for the 5th set....this will be your new/old max weight to start of with during Set
1.

Core Strengthening

Sticking Point Solutions For Bench & Squat

Improve your squat and bench

Everyone has weak bodyparts that just do not seem to respond to any form of training. Well in some cases it might be because your doing it wrong or taking shortcuts. For example with chest, how many times have you seen someone bounce the barbell off their body to get past the sticking point, then to have the arms straighten  or lock out  to finish off the rep. Or with legs and doing the squat, to use their back to start the movement and again pass the sticking point of the exercise. Well folks here is my Christmas gift to you and the best part?... you can use it for a lifetime, haha. We will use the same apparatus to eliminate those sticking points for each bodypart.... its called a power rack/cage. For the chest; set the side rails so your arms are in a "L" shape as your lying on the flat bench inside the rack. Have the barbell resting on the rails and take the wide grip and push off  then return the weight in a controlled manner back to the rails and repeat ( take note, you let the bar sit and no bouncing) and this will strengthen the lower half of the pushoff and will improve your bench after you do this training for approx. a month. Same idea with squats, set the side rails so your just above the sitting position and then start the movement on the bottom end and remember to keep the head up ( keeps the back straight) and to push off with your heels and not your toes. So after completing one rep allow the bar to rest on the rails and squat up again.  As with chest, do the leg routine for about four weeks then go back to your regular training and be amazed what a difference there is as you have strengthened the lower half of both bodyparts!!

Having carbohyrates as an ally

Carbs, love or hate them?  Too many and we will have spillage that is stored as fat, not enough and the body cannibalizes your hard earned muscle for energy, so what to do?  But of course lets use them for our advantage....so grab a seat on the Keys Express and learn how we will have this food group in your corner! So if your goal is fat loss and your workout few times a week multiply your target weight by 1 ( ie 180lbs = 180 grams of carbs per day)  If your above average gym exerciser (5 or 6 visits per week) and train 1hr plus per session you should be 2x your carbs per goal weight ( ie 180lbs= 360 grams of carbs per day) and finally for the competitive athletes out there you will be 3x your ideal bodyweight ( ie 180= 540 grams of carbs per day)  Another method is to fluctuate the intake of carbohydrates over a five day period (again using the 180lb example) So first our protein amount is 150 grams per day over 4-5 meals then for Day1; 180 grams of carbs per day,  Day 2; 150 grams per day,  Day 3; 120 grams per day,  Day 4; 90 grams per day,  Day 5; back to 180 grams per day etc.

The beauty of this plan is days 1 and 2 you use carbs for energy and days 3 and 4 fat is your fuel because of the low carb count and just when the brain picks up on the lack of calories and will ramp down the metabolism..... day 5 appears ( back to the normal levels of Day 1) plus with the protein counts up you feel full and also muscle is not used for energy.  So i told you Mr. Carb was not a bad guy, just had to learn about him and how to use him in our fitness and nutrition goals.