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Posts written by Michael J. Mahony

The following posts have all been authored by Michael Mahony

How to Survive Halloween

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Halloween is a time where many people fall off the wagon when it comes to their diet. As I have mentioned regarding the holidays (12 Tips for Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain) it is all about having a strategy in advance. You see anything relating to diet and nutrition is all about planning ahead. Failing to plan is planning to fail — cliche I know, but completely true. Let's have a look at the strategies you can use to survive Halloween without falling off the wagon.

The first suggestion I have is allow yourself to indulge in moderation. We have a tendency to binge when we are overly restrictive about things. This is in relation to anything we do. If we overdo trips to the gym we wind up skipping a bunch of sessions. If we restrict carbs too low and for too long we wind up binging. Halloween is no different.

Allow yourself to eat some candy, but limit how much you eat. Try not to keep candy around for too long. Be sure to ration it out each day that it does exist in your home. If you are at work and there is an influx of candy offerings feel free to partake of a particular candy dish just one time. That's right! Once you've taken one piece of candy from Sally's desk do not allow yourself to go back for another one at any point. By following this advice you can't overdo it.

If you have children let them know that you are trying not to eat too much candy. Children will work very hard to keep their parents on track. They love you and want you to succeed. Have them hold you accountable.

The main thing here is to have will power. Don't give up. Remember that you have worked hard to get to where you are, so don't allow yourself to just simply fall off the wagon because of a holiday. I strongly suggest reading my article 12 Tips for Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain to get an even better perspective of how to handle this situation. Plan ahead and you will stay ahead.

 

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Mr. Olympia Analysis, Part 5

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Men's Open Division Review

The Men's Open division was fun at the top. Phil Heath successfully defended his title and is now a 4 time Mr. Olympia. He received a special solid gold Sandow due to this being the 50th anniversary of Mr. Olympia. The finish was a little controversial as many thought Kai Greene should have taken the title. My review of the Top 6 follows.

1. Phil Heath – Phil was tight and looked good aesthetically, but he didn't look sharp in the mid-section. it was an extremely close competition between Heath and Green with Heath just managing to hold on.

2. Kai Greene – Greene brought amazing conditioning to the show. He was the leanest competitor on the stage by far. He received the nod from the Fan's Choice Award by a large margin. Watch for Greene next year as well.

3. Shawn Rhoden – Rhoden came in bigger, fuller and more defined than ever before. He looked his best but it was just not enough to beat Heath and Greene.

4. Dennis Wolf – There is a rivalry developing between Wolf and Rhoden. Wolf was large and defined. He seemed truly disappointed in his 4th place finish.

5. Dextser Jackson – Dex looked amazing. He was conditioned and had amazing symmetry. He has been in the Olympia Top 6 since 2001.

6. Branch Warren – After a 9th place finish in 2013, many felt Warren was done. He proved them all wrong with a Top 6 finish. He had amazing conditioning and came in with some tremendous size on his frame. Warren is another of my favorite bodybuilders and I was very proud to see the package he brought to the stage.

Honestly, I felt that Kai Greene just edged Phil Heath in this competition. What are your thoughts? Share them in the comments below.

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My Training Methods, Part 1

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Over the years I have evolved my training methods based upon things I have learned about my body. As I find things that work I try to further refine the techniques to see if I can squeeze even more out of them. I work on things not only with weight training, but cardio as well.

Some things I have taken away from my experiments are that you must change things up regularly and you must push yoMike Mahony doing a hack squaturself harder than you think you can be pushed. This is a key because most of us don't push ourselves as hard as we can possibly be pushed. You would be surprised how many times you've quit a set before you actually failed. This is just a simple fact. We won't push ourselves as hard as someone else will.

Right now I am focused on some Chad Waterbury principles. I periodize by changing up the repetition scheme on each workout. It keeps my body guessing and so far it is working. As for cardio, I have come up with several ways to change up the intensity. I obviously use HIIT for my mainstay of cardio and just change machines to keep things interesting. However, I also use incline as a means for inducing intensity. I use Tabata sessions to get some fast but intense cardio in. I have also introduced a weekly 5k run into my plan. All of it seems to be working well.

My workout strategy has changed a little in terms of frequency. I am now lifting 4 days a week and doing cardio 4 days a week. The major difference is that I only do 10 minute HIIT cardio on days I lift and I never do cardio on leg day. It really works as well. I have been able to up the intensity of my workouts by handling them like this. It is especially important as we get older to have strategies like this in place.

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My Favourite Exercises – The List

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I was thinking about the type of information I provide and realized that a lot of it is theoretical. I wanted to give you some insight into my own training techniques. Going forward I will be writing an article a week about my personal approach to training. I want you to get a feel for who I am and what I am doing. Today I am going to start the trend by discussing a list of my favourite exercises for each body part.

Body Part Favourite Exercise
Biceps Barbell Curl
Shoulders Arnold Press
Triceps Rope Pushdown
Back Deadlifts
Legs Squats
Chest Pec Dec Flyes
Hamstrings Stiff Leg Deadlifts

My Explanation

  • Biceps Curl. I love this exercise because I can change the width of my grip and hit the biceps in a different way (see my article 5 Ways to Build Better Biceps)
  • Arnold Press. This exercise can be done on a bench or standing with your back pushed against the wall. When done correctly it gives your shoulders a major burn.
  • Rope Pushdown. This one is never done correctly by anyone I've seen do it at the gym. I love this because I have a constant burn in my triceps while executing this.
  • Deadlifts. This is my favourite exercise of all of them. It hits multiple muscle groups. It makes you feel like superman!
  • Squats. Again, another exercise that increases hGH and hits your body hard.
  • Stiff Leg Deadlifts. This hinge movement is very tough to execute. I love the stretch I get in my hamstrings while doing this lift.

What are your favourite exercises? Let me know in the comments below.

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Monday Madness: Protein Shakes for the Win

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Trying to eat clean and gain mass is a difficult proposition. To gain mass requires an increase in calories, but you aim to keep fat increase to a minimum, so the calories you add need to be clean. Have you ever tried to consume 3600 calories of chicken, lean beef, veggies, oatmeal and other “good for you” foods? It isn't easy. However, with a little thought you can make this happen.

When I want to boost my calories and keep it clean I insert protein shakes into my nutrtional plan. They add at least 200 calories and usually more depending upon what you put in them. I don't need lots of variety, so I do my protein shakes about the same way every single time. However, I add or remove ingredients depending upon my personal needs at that point of the day.

A typical shake upon waking up would include the following ingredients:

1 scoop of whey protein
1 cup of frozen berries
1/2 cup of oatmeal
Tablespoon of MCT Oil
1 cup of Greek yogurt
Water

I blend this all up until I can drink everything down smoothly.

Later in the day I may need a boost in calories so I will modify the same shake. I will make one with the following ingredients:

1 scoop of whey protein
1/2 cup of oatmeal
1 cup of Greek yogurt
Water

This amounts to a smaller amount of calories.

Immediately after a workout I will have the following protein shake:

2 scoops of whey protein
1 tablespoon of maledextrin
Water

The point is that protein shakes bring the win. You can add calories safely and keep your protein intake high at the same time. You can control what's in the shake and in doing so, make it extremely nutritious. It is really a wonderful addition to your diet and fat loss regimen.

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