Fucking red lights everywhere this week.
Anyways this week was kinda shitty, not too shitty, some things went well but kinda shitty. So I really got to get on top of my studying, I am getting somewhat distracted by facebook and other shit, but I can fix that. My youtube is going well, I am at 17 k + hits, and almost all my more recent videos are hitting 1 k + views within a week or so.
I'm losing some motivation with things like school and shit, I feel like I am studying real hard for nothing, I know for a fact that I am most likely not going into sciences yet grade 12 chemistry is one of those courses that I work the most hard in. Also shit like physics is so unnecessary, yes its nice for me to have some common knowledge on how the earth works or whatever but I put so much time into studying to do well, when I can learn other shit like economics and marketing, or simply putting more time into things I enjoy like my youtube or blog.
My diet has been shitty since my week has been shitty, I've been so busy also. I had rugby practice in the morning 3x this week, a basketball practice and game, as well as a full week of classes. I have to wake up before 6:00 A.M. some days, and I am sleeping at 12-1 every night. I'm not complaining, but I always feel so fucking lethargic during the middle of the day at times, I wish I was always so pumped up and hype so that I can always be 100%.
Training has been alright, things are getting much heavier and I am starting to feel it, its good though, here is where I really make the progression. I think its a good thing maybe that my diet is a little shitty, I mean I am really able to get the calories in, I am trying to reach a goal weight of 180 without getting slower or less "athletic". At the weight I will be real good for rugby and I will start to look like I actually lift weights.
But that is enough for now, thanks for reading my rant.
I am uploading a 3 part series in regards to stretching and mobilizing the lower body for those interested.
I will also post up my training from the past week in a bit. Thanks for reading guys,
Good night! :)
Friday, 20 April 2012
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Warming Up Properly
This is a video I did regarding the importance of warm ups, and how to properly warm up before doing any sort of barbell or resistance exercises. What you guys need to remember is that any sort of sudden intense physical activity will make you more susceptible to injuries. Also, proper warm ups will reduce the likelihood of injuries and just get you into the mentality or mind state of hitting PR's and really killing your working sets.
In the video, I am doing front squats, a lot of what I say pertains more to front squats itself, and the movement. I really try to work on sitting back, and exploding out of the hole, the same thing can be said for bench press, really try talking your elbows in and engaging your lats and back into the movement.
As you can see, the warm ups don't actually take that long. Although I did speed some stuff up, the warm ups took me around 10 minutes at most. The key to warming up specifically if you are doing strength specific training, so aiming to hit weight or rep PR's is to keep the volume of the warm ups low, while having the repititions decently high. What I mean is it would be better to do multiple sets of 3-5 for warm ups rather than a large set of 10. As you can see my warm up goes like this:
barx5
barx3
50 kg x 5
70 kg x 3
90 kg x 2
105 kg x 1
And then I did my working sets. It works a lot better than doing say 60 kg for 10, 90 kg for 10 and then doing your working sets or whatever.
Anyways, thanks for watching, remember to do your warm ups properly.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Conditioning (1)
4/15/2012
did a conditioning circuit today
50 med ball slams/50 burpees/ 50 push ups/ 50 russian twists
30 med ball slams/30 burpees/ 30 push ups/ 30 russian twists
10 med ball slams/10 burpees/ 10 push ups/ 10 russian twists'
been pretty tired lately, gonna eat more and resttttttttttttt.....
Basic Protocol
Couple guys at school have been asking me how to workout, what they should do in terms of getting more aesthetic and stronger.
So honestly it comes down to what your goals are, do you want to get bigger? Lose bodyfat? Get stronger? Become more "aesthetic"?
And after you ask yourself this question, you need to ask yourself how much are you willing to change, if you want to change a physical aspect of yourself, you need to be willing to give up your time, and other things such as certain foods. If you know you don't want to change completely, don't count on reaching that goal or standard you set for yourself.
Anyhow, onto actually working out.
Most people want to do 2 basic things: get stronger and attain aesthetics.
As beginners there are a few basic routines I would recommend:
IA's SPBR, and Mark Rippetoe's SS.
SPBR can be found: http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8050
SS can be found: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/The_Starting_Strength_Novice/Beginner_Programs
Any version of each is fine, and will work. Each workout will take between 45 minutes to 90 minutes, depending on what stage you are at. Each routine has a focus of adding weight to the bar while maintaining good form, this means squatting to depth, touching chest on bench, and touching your chest on rows and keeping a straight back during deadlifts. Good form is meant to prevent injury and increase efficiency during the lifts. The main idea of adding weight to the bar is a good indicator for improvement, for most beginners this will be an easy and simple process and won't require too much effort, however after a few months of training, it will begin to get harder, and you will either progress slower or there will be something you need to change (diet, rest, etc.). Remember, if you to change something, your habits need to change.
So lastly, actually working out. So if you look at the prescribed routines, you will notice an exercise and then a rep/set scheme. So for starting strength, you have 3 sets of 5 for most of the exercises. This means 3 sets of 5 "working" sets, not warm up sets. Before you hit your working sets, you should always be warming up. Personally I always start with an empty bar, just to make sure my form is alright, and there is nothing wrong with my body. So, for example, if you are squatting 275 for 3x5 as your working sets you would do your warm ups as:
bar for 2 sets of 5
135x5
175x3
215x2
245x1
You could make bigger jumps or smaller jump accordingly. And see how the reps start to decrease as the weight becomes closer and closer to your working sets? This is to reduce fatigue before your working sets, so you can add weight properly. Doing something like:
barx10
135x10
185x5
225x5
As a warm up this would work, but by the time you hit your working sets your legs will be quite sore and pumped already. With smaller jumps, you also become more accustomed to the weight, and you aren't surprised by a big load or whatever. So during the working sets you need to maintain good form. As for the programs, if you don't like a certain exercise, or you can't do a certain exercise, try your best not to tweak it, these programs are meant for newbs and beginner trainees and have worked - there is a reason why I recommend them.
I'll do another post on diet some other time, but in terms of working out this is it.
If you follow the program, eat/rest properly and stay consistent, you will get strong and aesthetic, and people will be jealous.
So honestly it comes down to what your goals are, do you want to get bigger? Lose bodyfat? Get stronger? Become more "aesthetic"?
And after you ask yourself this question, you need to ask yourself how much are you willing to change, if you want to change a physical aspect of yourself, you need to be willing to give up your time, and other things such as certain foods. If you know you don't want to change completely, don't count on reaching that goal or standard you set for yourself.
Anyhow, onto actually working out.
Most people want to do 2 basic things: get stronger and attain aesthetics.
As beginners there are a few basic routines I would recommend:
IA's SPBR, and Mark Rippetoe's SS.
SPBR can be found: http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8050
SS can be found: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/The_Starting_Strength_Novice/Beginner_Programs
Any version of each is fine, and will work. Each workout will take between 45 minutes to 90 minutes, depending on what stage you are at. Each routine has a focus of adding weight to the bar while maintaining good form, this means squatting to depth, touching chest on bench, and touching your chest on rows and keeping a straight back during deadlifts. Good form is meant to prevent injury and increase efficiency during the lifts. The main idea of adding weight to the bar is a good indicator for improvement, for most beginners this will be an easy and simple process and won't require too much effort, however after a few months of training, it will begin to get harder, and you will either progress slower or there will be something you need to change (diet, rest, etc.). Remember, if you to change something, your habits need to change.
So lastly, actually working out. So if you look at the prescribed routines, you will notice an exercise and then a rep/set scheme. So for starting strength, you have 3 sets of 5 for most of the exercises. This means 3 sets of 5 "working" sets, not warm up sets. Before you hit your working sets, you should always be warming up. Personally I always start with an empty bar, just to make sure my form is alright, and there is nothing wrong with my body. So, for example, if you are squatting 275 for 3x5 as your working sets you would do your warm ups as:
bar for 2 sets of 5
135x5
175x3
215x2
245x1
You could make bigger jumps or smaller jump accordingly. And see how the reps start to decrease as the weight becomes closer and closer to your working sets? This is to reduce fatigue before your working sets, so you can add weight properly. Doing something like:
barx10
135x10
185x5
225x5
As a warm up this would work, but by the time you hit your working sets your legs will be quite sore and pumped already. With smaller jumps, you also become more accustomed to the weight, and you aren't surprised by a big load or whatever. So during the working sets you need to maintain good form. As for the programs, if you don't like a certain exercise, or you can't do a certain exercise, try your best not to tweak it, these programs are meant for newbs and beginner trainees and have worked - there is a reason why I recommend them.
I'll do another post on diet some other time, but in terms of working out this is it.
If you follow the program, eat/rest properly and stay consistent, you will get strong and aesthetic, and people will be jealous.
Saturday, 14 April 2012
Past couple workouts.. (9,10,11)
4/10/2012
back squat - 275 for 3x3, 242x9
press - 115x3x3x6!!, 99x6, 88x5 (paused)
row - 180 for 3x5, 143x20
static holds, tricep work
- was real busy yesterday, didnt have time, uploading video right now
4/12/2012
squatted in oly shoes for the first time
fs - 253x3x2x2 damn, 220x5x5
bench - 185x3x3x6!!154x9
pull ups - bwx10, +35x8, +70x5x5x4, bwx10
dips - x15x15, +35x8
no vid today lol
4/14/2012
good training sesh today
bsquat - 280 for 3x3! 245x10!
press - 120 for 3x3, 100 for 2x6
row - 185 for 3x5, 165x10
static holdz
curlz and tri extensionz
video uploading
Hmmmmmmmm
Hm.
I had a out of the ordinary basketball practice yesterday. I felt like I could go forever, it was a conditioning based workout, so we basically did sprints and burpees and shit for an hour, with a couple of water breaks between. Although I had a long day at school, I felt fine, I wasn't tired until after. The morning after, this morning, I was dead, my lungs were huring - it was hard for me to take a deep breath. I felt fine yesterday though.
I think its the creatine to be honest. Its been working, I am pretty happy that it is, for such a low price, its definitely worth it. I've been stretching and doing mobility work lately, I am going to do a video just to demonstrate what kind of stretching/foam rolling and massage work I do, and how you can do it as well.
I am going to train in half an hour, I am squatting/pressing/rowing. I am going for a all time PR of 280x3x3 for squats, this is going to be interesting. Will have me camera, and I will also show these new squat shoes that I received. The heel on them is raised, which allows me to sit back more effectively, preventing the minor heel lifts that I've had. I am still pretty tired though, so yeah.
In terms of diet, I have been eating a lot of everything lately, I've ditched the low carb diet thing, and am mainly concerned with just getting my protein numbers in and then eating whatever until I am full. I am hoping to bulk until 180ish, and reevaluate then to see what my goals are.
Anyways, I will post in a bit
Also, here's a vid I made from one of my previous training sessions:
I had a out of the ordinary basketball practice yesterday. I felt like I could go forever, it was a conditioning based workout, so we basically did sprints and burpees and shit for an hour, with a couple of water breaks between. Although I had a long day at school, I felt fine, I wasn't tired until after. The morning after, this morning, I was dead, my lungs were huring - it was hard for me to take a deep breath. I felt fine yesterday though.
I think its the creatine to be honest. Its been working, I am pretty happy that it is, for such a low price, its definitely worth it. I've been stretching and doing mobility work lately, I am going to do a video just to demonstrate what kind of stretching/foam rolling and massage work I do, and how you can do it as well.
I am going to train in half an hour, I am squatting/pressing/rowing. I am going for a all time PR of 280x3x3 for squats, this is going to be interesting. Will have me camera, and I will also show these new squat shoes that I received. The heel on them is raised, which allows me to sit back more effectively, preventing the minor heel lifts that I've had. I am still pretty tired though, so yeah.
In terms of diet, I have been eating a lot of everything lately, I've ditched the low carb diet thing, and am mainly concerned with just getting my protein numbers in and then eating whatever until I am full. I am hoping to bulk until 180ish, and reevaluate then to see what my goals are.
Anyways, I will post in a bit
Also, here's a vid I made from one of my previous training sessions:
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