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My Focus Journal Entry #5

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I am continuing to improve my lifting numbers. My focus is back in a big way. Having the support of my coach, Ryan Miller, has really helped. He changes up my goal numbers every week and then encourages me to go out and hit them. I am loving the heavy days because that's how I really enjoy training.

Nutrition has been spot on for the most part. I believe I am hitting 85 to 90% healthy meals. I have definitely managed to hit my macros the majority of the time, especially when averaged out over a week.

That's really all I have to report this week.

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My Focus Journal Entry #4

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Another week has gone by and my focus is just getting stronger. I am in my third cycle of Ryan Miller's training program and seeing some good results.

Nutrition Averages

This week my average calories were 2652. This broke down to 32.5% protein, 50.0% carbohydrates and 17.7% fat. Yet again I have hit my macros and feel great. The more interesting thing is that we have also apparently figured out my true maintenance level calories as my body weight stayed exactly the same all week.

Weight Training

This week I worked extremely hard at contracting the muscles with every repetition. I could see a difference between this week and past weeks. My numbers are increasing which means I am getting stronger.

Thoughts This Week

It is so easy to lose focus when busy. I always preach how important it is to plan ahead for nutritional success and now I am starting to see that it applies to training as well. I now sit down each week and plan the days of the week for the following week that I will train. I take into consideration what I have going on that day and as a result I modify the start time of my workouts. It has worked to keep me from missing any workouts.

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Leg Extensions for Quad Growth

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Who deosn't want big legs? Quad growth is a goal for most amateur bodybuilders. The quads can be extremely difficult to force growth because they spend all day carrying us around. It takes some massive stimulation to get amazing quad growth.

Bad Reputation

Leg extensions are a much maligned exercise. Google “why you should do leg extensions” and instead of getting results that show you why you should do this exercise for quad growth you get a long list of articles regarding how they are an exercise to avoid.

why you should do leg extensions - Google Search

If you read these articles they all complain about the potential danger leg extensions can have for your knees. Reading these articles makes me say out loud “any exercise can hurt you when done incorrectly.”

Correctly Doing Leg Extensions for Quad Growth

So how can you achieve quad growth using leg extensions? Perform the exericse correctly. As with any exercise, check your ego at the door and start light. Hold the handles that keep your butt in the seat and explode the weight upward. At the top of the motion squeeze your quads really hard. Now slowly lower the weight back down, but don't go to the point where the machine is supporting the weight. Stop just shy of that point. Repeat this for the recommended number of repetitions. Always keep your legs close together until you have mastered this machine. It is quite elusive.

Using Leg Extensions in a Quad Growth Program

Leg extensions can be a very helpful part of your quad growth program. One idea is to use them at the front end of your workout to pre-exhause the quads. I have been known to do them at the start of a leg session to pre-exhause the quads and then again at the end of the leg session to finish the quads off completely. Another way to use them is to get a nice pump in the legs right before a compound leg movement like a squat. I have done this with great success. The pump is intense and it makes my squats feel like I am in a torture chamber. I love the feeling it gives me.

Take Your Time

Leg extensions appear to be an easy exercise, but most people use them with far too little weight. Instead of settling for light weight, take your time and build up to heavier loads over time. You will see some tremendous improvement in your quad growth if you do this.

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Saturday Sharing: A Rant on Bad Personal Trainers

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Bad personal trainers really get under my skin. Today I am going to get this off my chest because it has bothered me for a long time. I am not going to name the names of these bad trainers or even where they work. I am going to tell you why I think they are horrible and you should stay far away from them. Honestly, the majority of these horrible personal trainers work for large commercial gyms. It makes me wonder about the hiring process for these gyms.

Bad Personal Trainers Can Hurt You

Have a close look at the picture provided with today's post. Can you see a problem with that exercise? Bad personal trainers can definitely hurt you. You hire them to teach you the ropes. As such, you have no reason to question their techniques. However, I am here to tell you that questioning their techniques is not only good, it is required. Don't just accept a new way of doing an exercise as “cool” or “interesting”, make sure to ask the relevant questions. Only when you feel the exercise is safe and makes sense should you begin doing it.

Bad Personal Trainers Use Exercises for No Reason

Personal trainers are supposed to take your goals and then compile a program that helps you get to those goals. This means that everything they have you do should have a reason. Too many times personal trainers do things “because they can” and that's not good enough. I don't have all the time in the world to be at the gym, so my time spent there has to count. Wasting my time will not be appreciated at all.

Bad Personal Trainers Don't Teach

Personal trainers are there to make sure you train hard and that you do things correctly. Most people cannot afford to train with a personal trainer each and every workout. As a result, it is essential that personal trainers teach their clients. I get so fumed watching the personal trainers who just count repetitions and watch while their client does everything with completely terrible form. Take a moment to stop them and correct them. It isn't that hard and it is what you get paid for. Do your job and I wouldn't have a problem with you at all.

Bad Personal Trainers Pay No Attention

Piggy-backing on the last topic, personal trainers are supposed to watch their client at all times while training. It makes me angry when I see them texting or chatting up other people while their client is completing a set. You were not paid for that, so stop it already! Give your client the attention they deserve. Is it really that hard?

My Final Rant

Personal trainers need to live up to their certification. They need to show the world that using a personal trainer is not only a good idea, it is worth every penny you pay for them. I went into the personal training business because I wanted to change lives. How can I do that if I am not present 100% of the time my client is training?

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Why You Need to Lift Heavy

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Training heavy is something that people ask about all the time. It is sometimes a controversial topic. I personally believe that training heavy is essential at times. I am going to give you 5 reasons why training heavy is so essential in my mind.

#1 – You Will Torch Body Fat

Lifting heavy builds mounds of muscle. That muscle works full time to burn fat from your body. In addition, heavy weights get us breathing hard and that increases our heart rate. These things combined will aid in burning fat.

#2 – You Will Get More Shredded

As #1 says, the body fat will come off and the side effect of that is you will look more shredded. People will be in awe of your leannes. All of this comes from pushing around some seriously heavy weight. Training heavy is going to help you get shredded.

#3 – Your Strength Will Increase Faster

Pushing yourself by training heavy will see a faster increase in your strength levels. You will see that from the start of a heavy lifting cycle until the end, strength will increase dramatically.

#4 – You Will Burn More Calories

Training heavy increases post-workout energy consumption tremendously. You are going to see a burn for much longer when you really are training heavy. Again, this is going to help you burn fat faster.

#5 – You Will Be More Consistent

Training heavy will force you to compete with your previous numbers. This constant competition is going to keep you more consistent. Consistency is the key to positive change.

My Conclusion

My conclusion is that training heavy is something everyone needs to include in their training programs. It doesn't need to be all the time. I personally believe in adding a heavy cycle to my training at least 12 weeks a year. It works. It is simple. It is effective.

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