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Posts written by Michael J. Mahony

The following posts have all been authored by Michael Mahony

MAX Muscle: Phase 1

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max-muscleSome time ago I used a full body workout routine and loved it. My body responded quite well and it gave me flexibility to make some major adjustments if and when needed. When I heard that someone I have a lot of respect for was using The Max Muscle Plan by Brad Scheonfeld I got intrigued, so I looked it up.

Periodization

Periodization is the systematic planning of athletic or physical training. The aim is to reach the best possible performance in the most important competition of the year. It involves progressive cycling of various aspects of a training program during a specific period.

Dr. Schoenfeld has designed a periodized program that aims to keep your body guessing. He has carefully crafted the program into four different phases–Break-in Phase, Strength Phase, Metabolic Phase and Muscle Phase. I am currently in the Strength Phase. Now, because the details of this plan are the meat of Dr. Schoenfeld's book, I am not going to give you details, but I will give you the general idea of how this program has worked for me.

Strength Phase

After completing the Break-in Phase I jumped straight into the Strength Phase. It is very well programmed. I have been able to make continual progress on the amount of weight I am using. My body is responding positively to the program. My strength is going up and that necessarily means my muscles are growing. I am pushing as hard as I can. When I did full body workouts previously I was using the HIT style and while MAX Muscle is not HIT, it comes close to that.

Cardio

Dr. Schoenfeld definitely recommends doing cardio on the off days. This is the one place I have adjusted just a little. I do the cardio on the off days, but I also insert a little trick I learned when doing contest preparation. After each weight training session I insert a 10 minute HIIT session. I use a 30 second high intensity interval followed by a 30 second low intensity interval.  I found that this approach burns the maximum amount of fat, hence the adjustment to the plan here.

Why Adjust the Plan?

I am a big believer that there is no cookie cutter approach to work for everyone. I believe that Dr. Schoenfeld has come up with an ingenious plan and it will work exactly as laid out, but as an individual you need to exercise the Experiment of One. You have to find out what works for your body and then adjust things to meet  your own body's needs. It is that simple. Do this very cautiously. Make sure that your adjustment doesn't derail the plan. In my case I added a small HIIT session after each weight training session. That will not drastically change the overall program so I felt safe making that adjustment.

My Recommendation

The MAX Muscle Plan by Dr. Brad Schoenfeld is available in a paperback version or a Kindle version from Amazon.com. I believe that you should add this weapon to your arsenal. It works quite well and is a complete program that lasts many months. By grabbing a copy of this book you will be given workouts for the next 6 months that will continually make your body guess at what is coming next.

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Saturday Sharing: How to Have the Time to Train

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time-to-train

Time…it is the one excuse I don't like hearing from people. We make time for what is important to us, so if training is important you will make the time. So how do I have time to train? I put training first. What do I mean? Allow me to explain!

Get It Done!

To me there are so many things that can get in the way of training. Even though it may not be the most optimal time to train, I train early in the morning so that I can't make excuses later in the day. This literally makes it so nothing gets in the way! This is why I am able to get it done!

Be Consistent

Treat training like an appointment with someone very important. This will develop a consistency that others will respect. People will know that you train at a certain time each day and will not expect anything from you at that time. It is very important to eliminate distractions and being consistent with when you train will help with that.

Be Persistent

Don't quit no matter how tempted you might be. Keep at it because the longer you do something the more of a habit it becomes. Stick to it and it will stick to you!

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Optimum Nutrition’s Amino Energy Reviewed

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amino-energy

I am a huge believer in using BCAAs during a workout. I started doing this with Scivation Xtend and the results I got were simply amazing. However, the cost of Xtend quickly became prohibitive for me when my business fell on some tough times. I decided to give Optimum Nutrition's Amino Energy a try because it claims to give you energy during your workout and it has BCAAs loaded in it.

Taste

I tried the grape flavor. The taste is good. It isn't great. On a scale of 1 to 5 I would give it a 3. It has a bit of an aftertaste, but that didn't bother me at all. It definitely tasted like grape and that's something not every other product can claim–accurate flavor.

Effectiveness

When i was using Xtend I found that my muscles were not as sore. With this Amino Energy product I saw similar, though not quite as effective, results. I enjoyed less muscle soreness after an intense training session, but I could still feel it. With Xtend it was nothing at all…no discomfort. As for energy during a workout, I didn't really notice anything. Perhaps it could just be because I always get pumped for my training sessions?

Value

I would say that the price to effectiveness ratio makes this a product you are going to want to try. As I said at the start, I think BCAAs should be consumed during training sessions to get better results. This product serves that need and it does it quite well.

Recommendation

I would recommend using this product. It tastes good and performs as advertised. I saw nothing negative at all about it.

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Why I Got My CPT

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why-cpt

After my back surgery 10 years ago I struggled to get rid of the weight I gained. All my life I had never had trouble, but the back surgery came in my late 30s and my body wouldn't let go of the weight I gained. I struggled tremendously. Then I met Chris Albert and he changed that for me. He taught me how to take off the fat and how important a consistent plan was to doing that.

Working with Chris motivated me to get my personal trainer certification.

Helping Others Like Me

My main motivation was to be able to help other people in the same boat I was in. I wanted to take what I learned in my own journey and help others apply a fix to their lives. I could have done that without a certification, but I wanted to show that I put some effort into it.

Adding to the Reputable Few

I have a group I keep on Twitter called the Reputable Few. It is all about the few people in the fitness industry who I find to be reputable based on long-term behaviors. I wanted to be a part of that list. I could have done training without certification, but to be reputable the certification was required. The work wasn't easy, but it wasn't hard either. I had a passion for learning and then applied it to getting my certification.

Love of Bodybuilding

I eventually want to be heavily involved in the bodybuilding preparation field. As a result, getting a certification was my first step in that process. I love bodybuilding as a sport. I want to help bodybuilders do their best. I am currently using myself as a test subject for the ideas that I have. Some work and some do not work. What matters is that I am giving it a try before hitting someone else up with my ideas.

The Feeling of Accomplishment

It feels great to help other people reach their goals. I started this website with that in mind. I have many ideas that will be forthcoming, but I will always feel a sense of accomplishment for all the help I have given to others. Hopefully you are on that list!

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How to Set Goals That Keep You Motivated

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goals-motivated

Motivation is a problem for many people. I know it has been in the past for me. The key here is that my motivation problems are now a thing of the past. We often hear that we should set goals using the S.M.A.R.T. method to stay motivated. While I mostly agree with the S.M.A.R.T. approach, I believe that things should be handled one bite at a time.

Keep It Small

Most people go wrong right at the start. They set a goal to lose 50 pounds. While that's an admirable goal to have, it is impossible to stick to because you won't be tracking real progress. Instead, have the main goal be to lose 50 pounds and then break that goal into smaller pieces. By doing that you will have multiple smaller goals that you can measure progress against. By achieving those smaller goals you are going to be more motivated.

A Little Bit Each Day

I also strongly believe in small daily goals. By setting a goal to drink 2 gallons of water today you can be focused on achieving that goal. Each little daily goal you accomplish creates momentum.  That momentum is going to continue to build daily.

The age old question is how to go about eating a frog. The answer to that question is simple…one bite at a time. You don't take the entire frog and try to swallow it. Goals should be the same. You take bite sized pieces each day until you reach the ultimate goal.

Follow the Approach Strictly

Don't be tempted to set huge goals. Follow the approach I've listed above. Take small steps towards the bigger goal and you can't really lose.

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