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Saturday Sharing MeMe: #9

July 6, 2013 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT 1 Comment

Saturday Sharing

Today I’d like to share with you my 5 questions about metabolism from your perspective. Your job is to answer the questions in the comments or on your own blog that relate to the topic this week. If you decide to put the list on your own blog, be sure to leave a comment with a link to your blog. Please note that permission is NOT granted top copy the question to a forum or message board for the purpose of having the readers participate in the answering of the topic.

 

 

Topic for Saturday, July 6, 2013: Your thoughts on metabolism.

  1. Do you believe it is possible to eat 3100 calories and maintain your weight and also eat 4000 calories and still maintain your weight?
  2. Is an hour a day of cardio too much?
  3. Do you do cardio twice a day?
  4. Is how you eat going to modify your metabolism?
  5. 1100 calories and 2 hours daily of cardio will peel off the fat fast: true or false?

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Filed Under: Featured, Training

How an Old Guy Stays Motivated

July 2, 2013 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT 0 Comments

motivationSome (not me) would consider me, at age 48, an “old guy” so I figured I would share with you how i stay motivated to train and do so hard. There are tips in here that can be used at any age, but some of it I aim at the older crowd on purpose.

Goals

The first thing that keeps me motivated is goal setting. However, I have learned something important. The main reason people fail with their long term goals is that they expect perfection immediately. I am willing to take small victories and claim them. For instance, if I am going into a cutting cycle and planning to carb cycle and do cardio on certain days, I look for the successes as I go forward. If I miss a cardio workout, but have a perfect day of eating I celebrate that. I then focus on making sure I rack up another perfect day of eating along with my scheduled cardio workout the next time. This attitude is a building block approach. I don't expect to be victorious at every level right away. I know that I am reestablishing a discipline and so it takes a little bit of time to build momentum. I keep moving forward and eventually the momentum becomes unstoppable.

Pictures – Self

I like to take pictures of my physique and compare them to past pictures. It makes me want to work harder because I can visually see the changes that are happening. Seeing that my hard work is paying off just makes me work even harder. I learned this when I was preparing for my first contest. The better I looked the better I wanted to look.

Pictures – Professionals

I have a picture in my iPhone of Troy Alves that is motivation for me because he just looks incredible in the pic.

Troy Alves - 2013 Europa Show of Champions
Troy Alves – 2013 Europa Show of Champions'

I love how symmetrical his physique is in this pic. I am striving to build a similar body (I know, I know, tons of work!) because of how awesome it looks. However, keeping this photo handy motivates me to work harder. While I am completely aware that I will probably never have a physique like this, it doesn't stop me from being motivated by the picture.

It takes great dedication and hard work to get to this level. He didn't get here overnight. I admire the physiques of the professionals because I know what they've gone through to get there.

Use pictures like this to motivate you. Find someone who looks the way you'd like to look. Don't editorialize and decide not to use a certain picture because you could “never look like that.” Dreams are called dreams because they are sometimes impossible. They can still motivate us to great things if we use them properly.

Troy Alves is one of my favorite bodybuilders in large part because of this picture. He has impressed me in the past, but this time he motivated me. That's why i save the picture to my phone. I've been asked why I have it and this is always the explanation I give — “It is motivating to see a guy who can look that good!”

Training Articles

When I am feeling stale in the gym I read training articles with new angles on training. I study them and try to come up with a routine that utilizes the techniques the article discusses. This gives me extra motivation because every article promises something (“Big Biceps in 2 Weeks”, “Huge Quads in 6 Weeks”, etc.) and that motivates me.

Training Partner

I got myself a training partner this year and he motivates me. Even thought we've both gone through back to back injuries and haven't trained together in a month, knowing he is expecting me to hit it hard makes me do it. I am grateful for his friendship and motivation. He pushes me harder than I can push myself.

Get yourself a training partner. It will make your gym trips more consistent and you will work harder while you are there.

Conclusion

There are many ways to stay motivated. Try these on for size and let me know how they work for you.

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Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured

Monday Madness: Full Body Workout #1

July 1, 2013 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT 0 Comments

HIT-Book_coverI am a big believer in full body workouts. Yes, if you want to get really huge then a body part split of some sort is going to work the best for you, but when you just want to get into great shape a full body workout is going to do the trick. When you do a full body workout you are able to play with the rest period and give yourself a cardio effect. At the same time you hit the various body parts more often and force them to change. There are some rules to full body workouts.

How often to train

Full body workouts should be done on a 3 day a week schedule, every other day with two days off after the last workout before starting the next week. I suggest working out Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Take Saturday and Sunday off completely.

Recovery issues

Pay attention to the numbers on the exercises you are doing. If you begin to struggle then cut a day out of the schedule. That's right, I said cut down to 2 days a week. With a full body workout you will still get good results. I have gone through this before and it really does continue to work well. Just keep a close eye on recovery.

HIT Style – Wikipedia

Wikipedia tells us about HIT (High Intensity Training):

“High Intensity Training (HIT) is a form of strength training popularized in the 1970s by Arthur Jones, the founder of nautilus. The training focuses on performing quality weight training repetitions to the point of momentary muscular failure. The training takes into account the number of repetitions, the amount of weight, and the amount of time the muscle is exposed to tension in order to maximize the amount of muscle fiber recruitment.

The fundamental principles of High Intensity Training (HIT) are that exercise should be brief, infrequent, and intense. Exercises are performed with a high level of effort, or intensity, where it is thought that it will stimulate the body to produce an increase in muscular strength and size. Advocates of HIT believe that this method is superior for strength and size building to most other methods which, for example, may stress lower weights with larger volume (sets x reps).
As strength increases, HIT techniques will have the weight/resistance increased progressively where it is thought that it will provide the muscles with adequate overload to stimulate further improvements. There is an inverse relationship between how intensely and how long one can exercise. As a result, high intensity workouts are generally kept brief. After a High Intensity workout, as with any workout, the body requires time to recover and produce the responses stimulated during the workout, so there is more emphasis on rest and recovery in the HIT philosophy than in most other weight training methods. In any workout, not just HIT, training schedules should allow adequate time between workouts for recovery (and adaptation).

While many typical HIT programs comprise a single-set per exercise, tri-weekly, full-body workout, many variations exist in specific recommendations of set and exercise number, workout routines, volume and frequency of training. The common thread is an emphasis on a high level of effort, relatively brief and infrequent (i.e. not daily) training, and the cadence of a lift, which will be very slow compared to a non-HIT weight training routine.

Most HIT advocates stress the use of controlled lifting speeds and strict form, with special attention paid to avoiding any bouncing, jerking, or yanking of the weight or machine movement arm during exercise. Technical HIT advice varies from lifting the weights smoothly and at a natural pace, to timing the lifts, peaking at hold and descent. In extreme cases, it may take up to 30 seconds to complete a single repetition. While high intensity training is strongly associated with Nautilus exercise equipment, advocates vary in their equipment recommendations.

Also emphasized when near exhaustion in order to further exhaust the muscle or muscles exercised: doing static holds for periods of time, and negative reps (lowering the weight). This will stimulate further growth and strength because muscles are weakest in positive/contracting movements (sometimes referred to as first stage failure of a muscle). Although you may not be able to lift a weight for another rep you will almost certainly be able to hold it statically for a further period (second stage of failure) and finally lower a weight at a slow controlled speed (third stage of failure). Until all three (lifting, holding and lowering) parts of an exercise can no longer be completed in a controlled manner a muscle cannot be considered thoroughly exhausted/exercised.”

HIT Style – Fitness Expose

I truly believe in the HIT style of training and I use it on many of my clients who are looking to lose fat and get in better shape. Not everyone wants to be a bodybuilder and this style  of training gets it done. In the workout today you will do one warm up set per body part and one working set to failure per exercise. That's it.

The Workout

Exercise Sets Reps
Hammer Pull over* 1 10-12
Flat BB Bench Press* 1 8-10
Lat pull down 1 10-12
OH Press* 1 8-10
Cable row 1 10-12
Dip 1 8-10
Scott Curls* 1 10-12
French Press* 1 8-10
Front Laterals 1 10-12
Shrug 1 10-12
Squat* 1 10-12
Standing Calf 1 12-15
Standing Calf 1 12-15
Stiff Legged Deadlift 1 12-15
Deadlift 1 8-10

* indicates the point where you will do a warm up set. It exists at the first exercise for each body part.

Execution of the Workout

You will note that there is a single set of each exercise. You will also note there is a repetition range. You will be taking these single sets to complete failure. When picking a weight you will aim for a weight that will bring you to failure at the bottom part of the repetition range. Each time you train you wll try to get at least one more repetition before failing. When you can exceed the top range of the repetition range you will add weight on the next training session and start over again. This will force a natural progression to your workout.

My Explanation of the Workout

I used this exact workout for a 4 week period in 2010. Below is an actual screen capture of my training spreadsheet from that period. You will note the tremendous increase in the weight during that time period.

full_body_workout

Notice that all weights increased during this time period.

Give this full body workout a spin. You will see major gains in your strength and major changes in your body. To learn more about High Intensity Training get the Mike Mentzer book pictured above.

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Filed Under: Featured, Training

Where is your heart?

June 30, 2013 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

heart-icon

Have you bothered to consider where your heart is? Are you training because you love it or at least because you want it or are you doing it for someone else? I think this is an important distinction and not many people bother to make the distinction. I see people who train because their doctor says they need to lose weight. I've seen people who train because their spouse is worried about them. I have seen people who train because they want to do it. The first two never listen to advice while the third can never get enough advice.

Where Is Your Heart?

For me I do this because I love it. I devour information about bodybuilding like it is candy. I get excited to try new techniques that I learn. I have an urge to hit the gym. It is amazing really. I would go so far as to say that I am addicted to training and that it makes me feel better.

Why Should You Do It?

Training is something that you need to be consistent with. This is why you need to do it for yourself. You can't do it because of someone else's desire for you. That will just result in you making excuses to skip workouts. Ultimately you will sabotage your own efforts.

Do this because you want it. Do it because you love it. Learn about bodybuilding by reading everything you can find. It will change your attitude for the better and the time you spend in the gym will become much more useful.

Why You Must Do It?

Weight training is essential for a healthy body. You can do all the cardio you want, but if you don't include weight training you will not reap maximum benefits from it. Get under the iron and lift. Hit it hard. Don't ever let someone ask if you even lift. Make it clear from how you look that you train.

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  • Monday Madness: Ab Altering Moves
  • What Makes the Biggest Difference to Your Training?
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  • Operation Get Swole!

Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured

Saturday Sharing MeMe: #8

June 29, 2013 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT 0 Comments

Saturday Sharing

Today I’d like to share with you my 5 questions about accountability from your perspective. Your job is to answer the questions in the comments or on your own blog that relate to the topic this week. If you decide to put the list on your own blog, be sure to leave a comment with a link to your blog. Please note that permission is NOT granted top copy the question to a forum or message board for the purpose of having the readers participate in the answering of the topic.

 

 

Topic for Saturday, June 29, 2013: Accountability.

  1. Do you blog for accountability?
  2. Do you publicly publish your stats (weight, fat %)?
  3. Do you post pictures of your progress?
  4. Do you hide anything from your accountability partner?
  5. Social media is a great tool for accountability: true or false?

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Filed Under: Featured

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