Friday, January 11, 2013
Ah- Nold
The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain no matter what happens. - Arnold Schwarzenegger
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Ancient Wisdom
Kia Kaha-Translation =Forever Strong/Stay Strong
Sometimes it really helps to have a motto to live by or a mantra to repeat when times get stressful. This is mine, so what is yours?
Sometimes it really helps to have a motto to live by or a mantra to repeat when times get stressful. This is mine, so what is yours?
Monday, January 7, 2013
So tell me...
The Shark is confused....
I would like to know what ya'll would like to see from this Blog, there is a lovely little comment section at the end of each post or on each individual page. Please give me your feedback folks, this Blog is not just a way for me to blow off my steam, it is to share knowledge and advice for YOU...the people!! So please give me some feedback, tweet at me, facebook me, email me, or just post it here. I want to know what YOU want.
And remember folks....fins up...
The Greatest of All Time
Ray Lewis will go down as arguably the greatest Linebacker of all time and one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history. This is largely do to a lifetime dedication to fitness and scientific nutrition. Ray has long been known to have one of the most intense and vigorous workout routines in the NFL. But over time the workouts are not about extreme intensity and heavy weight, they are about working out smart and catering your workouts to your body and your specific needs. After 17 seasons in the NFL(especially as a linebacker) your body is going to be pretty damn banged up. One of the main reasons that Ray has been able to remain relatively injury free, and come back from his most recent triceps injury, beating the odds is because of his intelligent workouts. Ray has toned backed the psychotic intensity and focused more on reps and contractions, instead of intense weight.
Moral of the story, as you age remember your body is not always going to be able to handle what it could in your younger years, you have to evolve to take the best care of your body and it will ultimately last much longer down the home stretch.
Now another thing that I would like to talk about in regards to #52 is mindset. Not only is Ray a workout fanatic and a natural athlete, but he has perhaps the best mentality of anyone in any sport. He knows he is a champion, he knows he is the greatest, he firmly believes that he is a grown man playing against smaller lesser men. This is not necessarily cockiness, but it is simply a dominant winners mindset. This is often times what separates the men from the boys, you can have all of the strength and all of the skill in the world, but if you do not believe that you are the greatest...you never will be.
Fins Up...#52
Best of Luck to you next week Mr. Lewis.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Quote of the day!
"I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match."-Mia Hamm
Friday, January 4, 2013
Brace yourselves......
Well folks....the new year has come and that means an excessive amount of gym crowdage. Yes that is now a word. Now for most of us who are a bit more experienced or serious lifters, this time of year is an absolute nightmare. Roughly three weeks of feeling like a canned sardine every time I want to get a workout in, trying to bench on a Monday between 2pm and 8pm....fuggetabboutit. I could seriously go on and on discussing my frustrations with this time of year, instead however I am going to offer some advice to all of ya'll new years resolutioners! I want to see you guys succeed and stick with it so here it goes!!
I am sure that all of you, if not many of you are familiar with S.M.A.R.T goals, now I know many of you are saying really Zach?? That's just some %#$^ we learned in school, well ya'll they really do work. So let's review
S-Specific
M-Measurable
A-Attainable
R-Realistic
T-Time bound
Here we go, Specific: Set very specific goals..not just " I want to lose weight" , how about I want to lose 15 pounds, this is also measurable because well it's 15 pounds, you are literally determining that by stepping on the scale and seeing how much weight you have lost. Attainable: is this attainable? Absolutely as long as you are allowing yourself and ample amount of time to do so, and yes 15 is a reasonable number for starters, 100 on the other hand is quite a stretch . This is where it is important to set short-term and long-term goals. 100 pounds is a great goal, but do not make that your goal out of the gate, make that an ULTIMATE goal, set little stepping stone goals on your way there to keep you focused and motivated. Realistic: 15 pounds as I said before is definitely realistic especially if you make it time bound, lets say 15 pounds in 2 months. This is now bound by a specific amount of time and that amount of time has also made this goal realistic because the length of time is 2 months....not something silly like 2 days.
Make sense?? Now that we all have the proper knowledge, let's go into the gym this new year with SPECIFIC goals and be smart about it, don't just wander around aimlessly taking up space. If you are going to go into the gym have a plan and please plan to stick to it...don't just give up after three weeks or so. I know often times it is easier to just quit than keep fighting and working your ass off, but at the end of the day it is so freaking worth it. So to help you guys out , starting this Monday I will be posting a workout of the day to help give you guys some clear direction when you walk through those doors(This will be located under the workouts page). As I said before, as frustrating as the large crowds can be...I want ya'll to stick with it and be successful, let's kick 2013 off right,with our fins up!!
I am sure that all of you, if not many of you are familiar with S.M.A.R.T goals, now I know many of you are saying really Zach?? That's just some %#$^ we learned in school, well ya'll they really do work. So let's review
S-Specific
M-Measurable
A-Attainable
R-Realistic
T-Time bound
Here we go, Specific: Set very specific goals..not just " I want to lose weight" , how about I want to lose 15 pounds, this is also measurable because well it's 15 pounds, you are literally determining that by stepping on the scale and seeing how much weight you have lost. Attainable: is this attainable? Absolutely as long as you are allowing yourself and ample amount of time to do so, and yes 15 is a reasonable number for starters, 100 on the other hand is quite a stretch . This is where it is important to set short-term and long-term goals. 100 pounds is a great goal, but do not make that your goal out of the gate, make that an ULTIMATE goal, set little stepping stone goals on your way there to keep you focused and motivated. Realistic: 15 pounds as I said before is definitely realistic especially if you make it time bound, lets say 15 pounds in 2 months. This is now bound by a specific amount of time and that amount of time has also made this goal realistic because the length of time is 2 months....not something silly like 2 days.
Make sense?? Now that we all have the proper knowledge, let's go into the gym this new year with SPECIFIC goals and be smart about it, don't just wander around aimlessly taking up space. If you are going to go into the gym have a plan and please plan to stick to it...don't just give up after three weeks or so. I know often times it is easier to just quit than keep fighting and working your ass off, but at the end of the day it is so freaking worth it. So to help you guys out , starting this Monday I will be posting a workout of the day to help give you guys some clear direction when you walk through those doors(This will be located under the workouts page). As I said before, as frustrating as the large crowds can be...I want ya'll to stick with it and be successful, let's kick 2013 off right,with our fins up!!
Motivational Quote of the Day!!
"Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward."- Victor Kiam
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Excited?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqON85lnJyM
I cannot even begin to express how I excited I am for this film. Get your Y-Back tanks and your Zubaz pants ready folks.
I cannot even begin to express how I excited I am for this film. Get your Y-Back tanks and your Zubaz pants ready folks.
Hope for the Holidays 6- Go Heavy...or Go Home
I learned quite a few things from my first ever Strongman competition, some good and some bad. For starters, cutting weight freaking sucks...for any of you out there who have never had to cut weight for anything, you are very lucky people. I have never been so cranky in my entire life. As someone who regularly puts down over a gallon of water a day as well as nearly 4,000 calories a day it is very hard to limit my caloric and liquid intake. In fact it was just downright miserable, especially for someone who has had the consistent goal for over six of years of trying to put on weight. I began my cut process on my way back home to St. Louis from Fort Worth Texas, that is a 10 hour car ride in which I seriously cut back on food and water. I came home on Thursday at a body weight of 183lbs and had to be 175lbs by Friday afternoon, ya that was really fun. Friday morning and early afternoon was quite possibly the most sluggish morning of my entire life. After a day of probably about 16 oz of water, 2 cans of tuna in water 2 handfuls of spinach and only 6 egg whites..(how I survived I will never know) I finally weighed in and I was actually below 175!! On one side I was happy that I had made weight and on the other side I was having a total gainers panic attack, luckily I sprinted back to my car which had a banana a protein shake with a scoop of BCAAS and Carbohydrates and 3 liters of water. I immediately began my rebuilding phase.
Finally Saturday morning had arrived and it was time to compete, and if I wanted to lift big I knew that I would have to eat big,just like any good Bullshark so I started off my morning with 5 whole eggs 4 egg whites, 1 cup of spinach, 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese, 3 strips of delicious fatty bacon and a bowl full of berries and a banana. I then packed up all of my supplements and snacks for a long strenuous day. That composed of a pre workout cocktail of 55grams of carbohydrates and 6.5 grams of AA's. An intra workout of a gallon of water and a 2 cup mixture of almonds and blueberries. Post workout was 30grams of whey protein, 55 grams of carbohydrates, 6.5 grams of AA's and 5 grams of creatine monohydrate.
The First thing that I noticed upon arriving at the competition was..THANK GOD for weight classes, seriously I felt like a gold fish in a shark tank. Eventually some of the other dudes in my weight class started to show up which then made me feel like a goldfish surrounded by larger more freakish goldfish.
As I have said in my previous posts this competition was to be a one rep max Axle clean and press and a 1 rep max deadlift from the floor. Well unfortunately I never had the opportunity to train with an axle and when warming up with this implement I found it to be very challenging, so I actually opted out of doing the axle press and instead just competed in the deadlift.
Finally it came my turn to lift, and I will have to admit that I was getting some funny stares seeing as I was one of the very few who was not using a belt or a suit to deadlift.
I wound up taking 3rd overall for my weight class after pulling 485lbs which was 20lb PR...sadly I felt as though this was too easy and that I should have and could have gone heavier. My progression was 425, 455, 485. Instead I should have done 455, 485, and then 505, but that is all a part of the process. This was a great learning experience and my training definitely paid off. I cannot wait to enter my next competition but for the mean time I am focusing on a bodybuilding routine designed to add on some good size and strength before I start training for my next contest.
Finally Saturday morning had arrived and it was time to compete, and if I wanted to lift big I knew that I would have to eat big,just like any good Bullshark so I started off my morning with 5 whole eggs 4 egg whites, 1 cup of spinach, 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese, 3 strips of delicious fatty bacon and a bowl full of berries and a banana. I then packed up all of my supplements and snacks for a long strenuous day. That composed of a pre workout cocktail of 55grams of carbohydrates and 6.5 grams of AA's. An intra workout of a gallon of water and a 2 cup mixture of almonds and blueberries. Post workout was 30grams of whey protein, 55 grams of carbohydrates, 6.5 grams of AA's and 5 grams of creatine monohydrate.
The First thing that I noticed upon arriving at the competition was..THANK GOD for weight classes, seriously I felt like a gold fish in a shark tank. Eventually some of the other dudes in my weight class started to show up which then made me feel like a goldfish surrounded by larger more freakish goldfish.
As I have said in my previous posts this competition was to be a one rep max Axle clean and press and a 1 rep max deadlift from the floor. Well unfortunately I never had the opportunity to train with an axle and when warming up with this implement I found it to be very challenging, so I actually opted out of doing the axle press and instead just competed in the deadlift.
Finally it came my turn to lift, and I will have to admit that I was getting some funny stares seeing as I was one of the very few who was not using a belt or a suit to deadlift.
I wound up taking 3rd overall for my weight class after pulling 485lbs which was 20lb PR...sadly I felt as though this was too easy and that I should have and could have gone heavier. My progression was 425, 455, 485. Instead I should have done 455, 485, and then 505, but that is all a part of the process. This was a great learning experience and my training definitely paid off. I cannot wait to enter my next competition but for the mean time I am focusing on a bodybuilding routine designed to add on some good size and strength before I start training for my next contest.
Supplementation Pt. 2 Intra Workout
Alright you beautiful people, just as I promised. Sorry that I have not gotten anything up here in a while, been a hell of a last couple of weeks. I promise I will be getting more regular with my posts, both on the home page and all of my sub pages.
On a lighter note, it is time to talk about intra workout nutrition...or what you should take during your workout. The two primary supplements that we will be discussing here are going to be your Branched Chain Amino Acids(BCAAS) and your fast digesting Carbohydrates. One of these is going to keep the muscles going and essentially prevent muscle breakdown during a longer bout of intense exercise, while the other is going to keep the body fueled and keep energy levels high to prevent too much fatigue during an exercise bout. Now let's look at these two products individually and break down exactly how they work at keeping the body going during your weight room session.
An article from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research expresses the result of a study performed where 10 resistance trained male participants were given carbohydrates in addition to(in combination with) BCAAS during their workouts. After a bout of resistance training it is very common for REE(Resting Energy Expenditure) to increase and RER(Respiratory Exchange Ratio) to decrease. REE is the amount of calories required by the body for a 24 hour period at resting conditions and RER is the ratio between the amount of CO2 exhaled and O2 inhaled in each breath. After a seven day trial of six grams of Amino Acids and 58 grams of Carbohydrates with three sets of 6 reps at 75% of of a 1 rep Max lift, with splits of upper body and lower body days it was determined that an amino acid and carbohydrate combination was far more effective than just a carbohydrate supplement. When the amino acids were combined with the carbohydrates REE was increased by roughly 7% more than when just carbohydrates were used.
Basically what this article is stating is that when amino acids are used in conjunction with the carbohydrate supplement the result may be a noticeable increase in energy utilization during the post exercise period. Because of an increase in energy utilization post exercise this could consequently result in the decrease of overall body fat composition. So for those of you who are wishing to continue to push harder throughout your workouts and to continue burning fat and expending energy even when your workout is over I would highly recommend taking a BCAA supplement with a Carbohydrate supplement during your resistance routines. These products are generally sold separately and are either flavorless so you can add them to any drink or they may come in a fruit punch or orange flavor so just add to some water. They are very easy to drink and are easily digestible. They are also pretty easy on your pocket book at about $15 a piece. These are some of the cheapest and most effective supplements you can buy. So go get em!!
FINS UP!!
On a lighter note, it is time to talk about intra workout nutrition...or what you should take during your workout. The two primary supplements that we will be discussing here are going to be your Branched Chain Amino Acids(BCAAS) and your fast digesting Carbohydrates. One of these is going to keep the muscles going and essentially prevent muscle breakdown during a longer bout of intense exercise, while the other is going to keep the body fueled and keep energy levels high to prevent too much fatigue during an exercise bout. Now let's look at these two products individually and break down exactly how they work at keeping the body going during your weight room session.
An article from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research expresses the result of a study performed where 10 resistance trained male participants were given carbohydrates in addition to(in combination with) BCAAS during their workouts. After a bout of resistance training it is very common for REE(Resting Energy Expenditure) to increase and RER(Respiratory Exchange Ratio) to decrease. REE is the amount of calories required by the body for a 24 hour period at resting conditions and RER is the ratio between the amount of CO2 exhaled and O2 inhaled in each breath. After a seven day trial of six grams of Amino Acids and 58 grams of Carbohydrates with three sets of 6 reps at 75% of of a 1 rep Max lift, with splits of upper body and lower body days it was determined that an amino acid and carbohydrate combination was far more effective than just a carbohydrate supplement. When the amino acids were combined with the carbohydrates REE was increased by roughly 7% more than when just carbohydrates were used.
Basically what this article is stating is that when amino acids are used in conjunction with the carbohydrate supplement the result may be a noticeable increase in energy utilization during the post exercise period. Because of an increase in energy utilization post exercise this could consequently result in the decrease of overall body fat composition. So for those of you who are wishing to continue to push harder throughout your workouts and to continue burning fat and expending energy even when your workout is over I would highly recommend taking a BCAA supplement with a Carbohydrate supplement during your resistance routines. These products are generally sold separately and are either flavorless so you can add them to any drink or they may come in a fruit punch or orange flavor so just add to some water. They are very easy to drink and are easily digestible. They are also pretty easy on your pocket book at about $15 a piece. These are some of the cheapest and most effective supplements you can buy. So go get em!!
FINS UP!!
BACK AT IT!
Well hello there my finned faithful. I would like to apologize for the long absence, but I am now back and promise to keep bringing regular posts to ya'll. It has been a busy last month for me as I was finishing up finals week, then had my competition and also took a nice long vacation down in Florida. I will be delivering some great posts about my competition, nutrition, my new training program, my vacation time and also new years resolutions to all of you over the next week. Get excited ya'll and remember , Fins Up!!.
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