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You are here: Home / Archives for Experiment of One

Monday Madness: Go Beyond!

May 8, 2017 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

Go Beyond

My mentor, Carlos DeJesus, always says “Go beyond” when asked how to train. Carlos has explained that this means knowing the difference between discomfort and pain. He instructs that too many people stop a set because of discomfort. This is a bad approach. Yes, if you are feeling actual pain, it is time to stop, but if it is merely discomfort you must go beyond.

All muscle groups can benefit from this approach, but some benefit more than others. I will discuss below what this go beyond approach works best for.

Go Beyond for Calves

Anyone who has trained their calves with intensity knows that discomfort rapidly builds up in your calves. I see so many who stop their set as soon as the discomfort starts. Instead, push past. Go beyond the discomfort. You will  notice rapid changes in your calves if you do this every single time. What you are feeling is lactic acid. Please be sure to know the difference between discomfort and pain and you're good to go.

Go Beyond for Biceps

Biceps are a small muscle and they tend to feel very sore very fast. Like the calves, this is just discomfort and should be treated as such. Go beyond the discomfort. Push those biceps to their ultimate failure. Don't be scared into stopping just because of some discomfort.

Go Beyond for Good Results

The most successful bodybuilders and gym goers are those who are in tune with their body. By listening to what your body says, you will achieve amazing results by applying the go beyond principle. You will also experience a massive pump by using the go beyond principle.

Have you ever gone beyond? Tell us your experience in the comments below.

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Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured

Monday Madness: Stretching Like Gumby

March 20, 2017 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

flexibility

Today's Monday Madness is aimed at helping you get flexible and fast without spending hours a day stretching. The way you are going to accomplish this is by following the four steps I outline below.

Determine Your Flexibility Needs

You first need to determine why you need to be more flexible. Some common reasons are listed directly below.

  • Decrease muscle soreness after a workout
  • Decrease the risk of injury
  • Improve performance
  • Improve range of motion
  • Reduce pain

Find your personal reason for needing more flexibility and you will more likely stick to it.

Find What's Holding You Back

Once you have a goal in mind your next step is to determine what is stopping you from achieving it.You may have a difficult time bending forward to touch your toes, and that would naturally make you think that your hamstrings are too tight but there are quite a few other things that could be restrictors as well, such as your low back, hip flexors, glutes, etc.

You will need a good way to quickly assess what is specifically binding up your movement.

The best way I’ve found to do that is to go through a targeted series of positions that tests your whole body, and to note where you feel most restricted.

  • Squat
  • Cross legged sitting
  • Hip flexion
  • Knee flexion
  • Neck motions

Once you complete these movements you will have a good idea of where to focus your stretching time.

Slow Down to Reach Flexibility Faster

This is where patience comes into play. You have to take your time when stretching. Don't overdo it. By taking your time you will accomplish your goals in a shorter amount of time.

Be as Consistent as Possible with Your Plan

At this point you have everything in place and just need to do the work. Be consistent. Consistency is the key to all things.

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Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured

How to Change Your Mindset

March 10, 2017 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

Developing the right mindset is crucial for succeeding at anything in life. Bodybuilding and fitness are no different. You need to change your mindset in order to succeed.

What is Mindset Anyway?

Your mindset is the sum of all your knowledge. It includes beliefs and thoughts about the world and where you fit in it. It is your filter you use for information both in and out. Mindset determines how you receive and process information.

It’s often used for a specific part in your life, as in “the mindset of a champion” or “the growth mindset”. Having the right mindset for what you go for is often the biggest factor in whether or not you succeed.

Developing the right mindset is the way of learning something new and stripping out the most relevant information. You develop the beliefs that are most helpful for where you want to go or how you want to be. This belief-system is called your mindset.

A good mindset will reflect reality and will help you, but not in that order. I think the order has to be like this:

Find the beliefs that are most supportive
Check if the beliefs are in harmony with (a potential) reality
You want to use your mindset to make a positive change. That’s why your beliefs don’t necessarily have to reflect your current reality. But of course the reality you believe in should be possible. That’s like a catch-22, but not really.

If you believe “I am a successful bodybuilder”, you will act in that way.
If you believe “I want to be a successful bodybuilder”, you will act in this way too: like you are NOT a successful bodybuilder.

I personally found adopting beliefs that seem slightly out of reach is very powerful. It changes your mindset and therefore how you behave. It let’s you grow.

How Do You Change Your Mindset?

  1. Get Only the Best Information. Your job is to find the best information about what you want to accomplish and then focus on learning only that information.
  2. Use Only the Best People as Role Models. Find the best people in the are you want to accomplish things and model your behavior after their behavior.
  3. Take a Close Look at Your Current Beliefs. You have to determine what changes are required. You do this by taking a critical look at your current beliefs. Look for and change self-limiting beliefs.
  4. Shape Your Mindset with Vision and Goals. Create a vision that describes your end result. Once you have that, break your vision into goals. Now go to work achieving those goals.
  5. Protect Your Mindset. Don't allow other people to shake your confidence. Protect your belief system from the negative people in this world.

Changing your mindset will help you lose weight, gain muscle, get stronger, etc. It works. Give it a shot!

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Competing for Yourself

March 8, 2017 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

Competing for yourself is the only way to even think of competing. Competition preparation can be a grueling process and if you are not doing it for you and only you, the failure rate is extremely high. This is important to remember. In keeping with this concept, here are some tips for getting ready for a competition.

Focus on Your Actions, Results Will Follow

Do not focus on what you will get or where you will end up. Focus yourself on daily actions you can take and the results will follow. This is guaranteed.

Practice Perfectly

I have seen so many competitors practice posing, but do it wrong. They continue to practice wrong and all that does is create problems. Don't just practice, but practice perfectly. This touches on all areas of bodybuilding–training, nutrition, posing, etc. If you are unsure of something, ask someone who has more knowledge than you.

Follow Those Who Came Before You

Do not try to reinvent the wheel. There are coaches available who can properly guide you through contest preparation. Take advantage of this by hiring one. Yes, you can probably get there yourself, but you will go crazy trying to decide what the right choices are. Let a professional coach help you and that problem is solved.

Be Grateful for What You Have Accomplished

It is very easy to be negative when preparing for a contest. Instead, focus on what you are grateful for. This will cause your mindset to be more positive. Write down everything you are grateful for. Remind yourself that there are positive things to strive for during preparation.

You are going to learn a lot of things during prep. Make sure you note those things that you learn. They will go a long way in helping you in future preparation cycles. Never discount anything you learn. This is how we get better and better–learning.

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Filed Under: Contest Preparation, Experiment of One

Monday Madness: My New Strategies

March 6, 2017 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

As I've learned more and more about training I have been able to do a better job conducting the Experiment of One and the stragtegies required. I have learned the things that work well and the things that don't work as well–all personalized to how my own body responds.

It came time for me to start Mission Lifesaver and I carefully examined the options available to me. I analyzed what my goals were and how to accomplish them. The analysis brought me places that ultimately enabled me to get the plan in place.

I immediately knew that a big part of my problem is my failure to get the cardio work done. No matter how diligent I am about it, I always let cardio slip by without getting done. I knew that I had to change this as fat loss was a major goal for this mission. I also knew that eating too many carbs immediately adds fat to my frame, making it counter-productive to what my goals ultimately are.

Upon making these two realizations I was able to make some plans that work. The first thing I did was choose the program Shortcut to Shred by Jim Stoppani. This program consisted of a weight training plan coupled with cardio during the workout. It was a 6 week plan, so the program would take up half of the mission. For the second half of the mission I decided to start lifting heavy weights, going back to the basics. I also decided to do a low carb eating style.

By taking the time to analyze my goals and come up with a strategy that would help me achieve them, I ultimately saved a lot of time. I didn't have to worry about the outcome. I knew the approaches I picked would work. So far, so good.

In the first half of the mission I lost 14 pounds and dropped about 4% body fat. In the first few days of the second half of the mission I have already dropped 4.5 pounds. The strategies are working!

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