Thanks to the older bro for sending this my way. A great article on pin pointing the flaws in your dead lift. You might struggle getting it past the knees or with the lock out at the top. This could shed some light on how to fix it....
Quick update for everyone keen to know how Rach is getting on. A few competitions on the horizon at the end of this month and a comp in Sept should see her with a few more personal bests under the belt. Today she was a bit sore but had a go at a 90kg squat....
This guy went to my school and I have crossed paths with him in different gyms over the years. A genetically gifted individual who makes heavy weights seem like painted polystyrene discs! Check out this 345kg Dead lift which he pulls relatively easy. (Brian has previously competed against the likes of Marius Pud. and Jesse Marunde in the Worlds Strongest Man...
RING TRAININGI would love to have a go on these bad boys. Basically its the rings you see gymnasts perform amazing stuff on. When I was doing the videos for MH I included one of the many possible moves that could be performed although I myself have yet to try it out.When looking at any ring related site the 'muscle up' seems to be the main move and without a doubt it looks hard as feck - an unstable chin and dip all in one go!For more info check out these sites . .RING TRAININGTRAINING...
Tom Platz . . he laughs in the face of disco muscle workouts.Before I went away I had nailed 150kg on the front squat which was always a bit of a goal. This time around I plan to drop the weight a touch in the pursuit of 4 x 8. Here's a look at what I did today.Front Squats.60 x 880 x 8100 x 8110 x 5Stiff Leg Dead lifts.55 x 1275 x 1295 x 12105 x 7Split Squats with back foot raised (also known as Bulgarian split squats.)Held 8kg dbells x 15 each leg.I stayed on 8's and did one more set but I do plan to add an extra set and more weight next time.Leg Curls.40 x 1545 x 1550 x 11Pumped out on calves and leg ext for fun to finish off. Good workout and a great pump at the end. Again its different to my last routine so I plan to give this a go for a month or so.(My last leg workout had heavy...
Day 2 of my new split ended up going like this . . .Weighted Chins.bodyweight + 10kg x 8+ 15kg x 8+ 20kg x 8+ 30kg x 4 1/2Preacher Curls (I don't count the weight of the EZ bar, just whats on it)20kg x 1225kg x 1230kg x 525kg x 11Face Pulls. (On a seated row with a rope attachment you pull towards the face)42 x 1549 x 1556 x 9Dbell Curls.16's x 1018's x 1020's x 10Straight arm pulldowns for fun to finish.Really good pump today and the biceps work was great as I don't do a lot of arm stuff these days. I plan to do a leg workout on Sun or Mon and again I will add it to the blog for you guys to have a...
No matter how ugly you are there is always hope that you could create a solid physique !I hit the gym today to try my new plan which I mentioned briefly in my last post. Today I worked my chest and shoulders - tomorrow its back and bis and a bit of legs the following day before returning to chest. Heres what I ended up going for today.Incline Dbell bench press.32.5's x 840's x 845's x 850's x 9Clean press from the waist.45 x 855 x 865 x 875 x 3Weighted dips.bodyweight x 1210kg added x 1220kg added x 1230kg added x 10Side raises.12.5's x 1217.5's x 1220's x 10Cable crossovers for fun to finish.So after a fortnight off I felt pretty strong but gassed out on the clean presses. I ended up just staying with light to heavy on everything which is something I never used to do. I either picked a...
When Kettlebells came along, as with most gimmicks (bosu ball cough cough) I was quick to say nah, not my thing. But they have stuck around and after closer examination seem to be ideal for many guys and girls looking to get buff.A kettlebell is basically a cast iron bowing ball with a handle.Don't get me wrong. I won't be putting an end to dead lifts or squats in place of these bad boys but I will look at some of their pro's -* Not everyone has the time to get to the gym and home gym kit can eat up space and money if you want to buy the proper kit (power racks etc).* The kettlebell introduces variety to any workout which is always a bonus and unlike many fads out there you have room for overload and progression - vital for gains.* Unlike exercises which target the chest or back, the...
Gymnasts always impress me. Gymnasts that haven't yet discovered acne and chicks. Even more impressive!MORE VIDEOS FROM THESE CRAZY...
I am loving this sexy super set at the mo. A barbell preacher curl to start and straight away switch to the tricep overhead ext. I simply spin around in the preacher bench and use the arm support as a back support. The pictures may not be great but hopefully you get the jist of this arm busting gun blaster! (Best placed at the end of a Full Body or Upper Body...
I love how he spends time on the grip and checking his hands. Should have dropped the arse more though and made more of a...
Mens Health Magazine has been working on a new addition to the website known simply as MH TV. It is still early days and there are lots of small glitches to be ironed out I think it will be a great tool when finished.Keep an eye on it and I will give it a bump on here when everything is up and running 100%Mens Health...
Rach and I got a few shots taken earlier to help promote Boditronics and their dogs balls range of supplements.Here's just three pics that got uploaded before the internet decided to...
So much better than that tit in the previous video. I would love to try out this killer...
If I ever own my own gym / personal training facility it will be a lot like this. Strongman kit and plenty of hard core weight lifting toys and gizmos . . lovely...
One of my favourite exercises at the moment. A great isolation move for the guns and with the incline back support you minimize cheating and keep maximum tension on the biceps. Often when guys train full body or an upper lower split they complain about missing the localised pump often found with split routines. This exercise can be supersetted with incline chest press and then when doing some lat pulldowns you could switch to the tricep pushdown. Chest back and guns worked in quick succession - try it...
Fed up with standard chins and dips? Need some extra moves to add to your home gym toolbox? Just wanna show off in the gym with one arm dips? (Do not try one arm dips!)Then check this site / forum out!Body Weight...
Anyone gonna buy this bad boy and Ebay the weights they got for crimbo? Snowboarding and footie looked pretty good. What will they think of...
I still have to get the videos from the powerlifting event but until then check this out. Rach weighing 55kg and bench pressing 60kg! This is more than she lifted in competition just weeks...
The recent Back N Bi's post generated a bit of interest so I thought you may like this Chest N tri's combo! Again go for an isolation of the arms first before moving onto the more compound move to bring the chest and tris into play.Here you have the skull crusher - the dogs balls for the triceps.After 10 of those bad boys switch to 20 reps on your next lift - in this case the close grip bench press.With the Close Grip Bench I prefer to touch the belly button and push away -...
Many of you will have used a back and biceps routine. Many of you will also be on a push / pull routine or full body. This combination of two great exercises is one of my current favourites when working back and arms and can be incorporated into your routine regardless of which split you use. Full body guys can also benefit from doubling up exercises like this to squeeze some arm work in between their compound moves.Start with a Barbell Curl.Curl the weight up and down for a solid 10 repetitions. Use a pretty heavy weight which would make it difficult to get 11 or 12 reps with good form.Then, without rest, keep an UNDERHAND grip and go to a Bent Over Barbell Row for 20 reps.(This guy is dropping a bit too low and is using an overhand grip. Aim to keep technique a bit tighter)There is...
Andy Bolton deadlifting 1003lbsfeck!Great site for anyone looking to get strong - lots of article there from the top guys in the strength training arena - Check it out!WEST SIDE...
After having a grapple with a mate yesterday and severely kicking his ass I decided to stick a blog post up for those interested in training for Mixed Martial Arts. Although my friend does a lot of cardio and I do none (no shit Neil, you never said) he found he was busted before I was -Why was he busted? Steady state cardio such as running on a treadmill for 50 minutes in a straight line has very little cross over to sparring and grappling.Chad Waterbury -"When someone mentions endurance training, what comes to mind? Most of you would probably first think of running or jogging. Sure, those are acceptable activities to build endurance, but they sure as hell aren't the best methods to increase MMA-specific endurance! If MMA events consisted of nothing more than running in a straight...
I found this old site which I hadn't seen in a while.Has anyone tried H.S.T?Hypertrophy basically means growth so this program is designed to help you pack on mass, obviously the diet needs to be spot on too but I would be interested to see what results people get.Might even have a bash myself for some thing different down the line - Remember - try something new and varied, form an experienced opinion and move onto the next program. When you return to the program, make improvements and aim for greater improvements.Hypertrophy Specific...
I feel strong again. I'm up to 90kg and have seen my lifts return, almost to where they were at the start of the year before I started cutting up. I recently benched 150kg and after this 180 kg squat I did a 220kg dead lift without straps and I had only started dead lifting again on Tuesday.Still plan to keep the bodyweight up until after crimbo and go for a cut next year to get the body fat down a touch. When I'm big I want to be leaner and when I'm lean I want to be bigger - never fecking happy!...
If you look closely you will notice that this guys uses a 'thumb less grip'.Instead of bringing the thumb around to meet the fingers as he holds the bar he tucks the thumb behind the bar. Hard to explain but if you watch the video you will see what I mean.Moral of the story - When Bench Pressing a heavy weight, use a proper grip unless you have a shit hot...
I will be heading to my first core stability class today :-)Who's with...
This post is more of an expansion on my previous post detailing my weekly plan. Fitness First Newtownabbey has just received some great new kit which I want to throw into my new routine. Today I got to try this leg press machine which is great for something different on legs day.Also new - a 'free bar preacher bench' which is probably one of my all time favourite exercises. The gym has a machine preacher bench but, as with most machines, the fixed pivots just make it too awkward to use so I very rarely bothered with it.Finally - a decline bench press which is something I have only tried maybe once or twice. As with many people I have put a step under a bench to make a decline for dbell use but to have a proper place for them is excellent.In my routine I had planned to bench press on tue /...
I saw this posted recently on the Men's Health forums. A kid using too much weight and filming it for Youtube - I wish I knew why !After watching this video it reminded me of a few older blog posts you guys might want to check - especially if thats you in the video either 'spotting' or actually 'trying' to lift the weight !A Good SpotterLeave Your Ego At...
I get quite a lot of emails from guys who have designed their own workouts and want me to have a quick nosey and provide some input. Just because you have been in the gym it doesn't mean you can design a workout. I have been on lots of planes but it doesn't mean I can fly the fecking things !Please seek professional help before you get hurt.Common mistakes you might be making -Poor Mentors - The biggest guy in the gym may be a drugged up genetic freak with 20 years experience and every injury under the sun - Will his advice / program work for you - Probably not. You may make some gains at the start then ultimately be left burnt out and injured.Poor exercise selection - You need compound lifts. Full Stop. Also check this old post that covers exercises I don't like.Ignoring the basic...