UNLEASH YOUR INNER BARBARIAN

Conan the Barbarian ...... the very word conjures an image of muscular perfection, athleticism and male virility. Conan has been acted by two seriously built and ripped men, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jason Mormoa ( who also acted the part of Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones). 

 

 

The thing about Conan's body is that it combines a highly developed and defined physique with athleticism and cardiovascular endurance (try swinging a 10 pound sword at 100 people!). This kind of body requires not only an intense and highly specific training, but also a clean and protein rich diet.

I have been researching the various workouts used by high performance athletes to build and maintain muscle mass and definition without sacrificing flexibility and agility.  In this article, you will find a workout designed to build you into a high performance behemoth like our man Conan.

The workout is meant to be performed 3 days a week with about 25% of your body weight or as much as you can handle without sacrificing good form. The remainder of the week should be devoted to rest and recovery. This is because if performed properly, each workout will break down your muscles to the point of growth. Rest for about 2 mins between sets so that you can push each set to the maximum. Try keeping each workout within 90 mins so as to reduce the probability of overtraining. You will notice that I included 30 mins of cardio; this will help build your heart and give you the cardiovascular endurance required to actually use the body you have built effectively.

Day 1: Monday

30 mins of Cardio

25 pull ups

Seated Military pulls   4x10

Squats                            4x10 

Dumbell Bench press   4x10

50 Ab Crunches

25 Pull ups                    4x10

50 Pushups

Day 2: Wednesday

30 mins

Lat Pulldowns ( various grips)   4x10

Rope pushdowns                          4x10

Bulgarian Split Squats                 4x10

Barbell shrugs                              4x10

50 Ab Crunches   

100 pushups

Day 3: Friday

25 Pull Ups

Dumbell Flyes                     4x10

Barbell bent over rows        4x10

Deadlifts                              4x10

25 Box Jumps

Barbell Bench press            4x 10

Increase your weights with each workout; as a rule of thumb I normally start a workout from the weight level where I stopped at the last workout. this keeps my muscles challenged and growing. Make sure you fuel your body with good clean food before and after working out. Failure to eat before working out could lead to loss of strength and even fainting. 

cHEERS

Cheers,

GOT YOUR BACK? Exercise to build a strong back

Stiff Legged Barbell Good Mornings:

This works your lower back, giving your spine the stability required to move heavy loads without sustaining injury
 

This exercise is best performed inside a squat rack for safety purposes. To begin, first set the bar on a rack that best matches your height. Once the correct height is chosen and the bar is loaded, step under the bar and place the back of your shoulders (slightly below the neck) across it.

Hold on to the bar using both arms at each side and lift it off the rack by first pushing with your legs and at the same time straightening your torso.

Step away from the rack and position your legs using a shoulder width medium stance. Keep your head up at all times as looking down will get you off balance and also maintain a straight back. This will be your starting position.

Keeping your legs stationary, move your torso forward by bending at the hips while inhaling. Lower your torso until it is parallel with the floor.

Begin to raise the bar as you exhale by elevating your torso back to the starting position.

Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
 

Caution: This is not an exercise to be taken lightly. Be cautious with the weight used; in case of doubt, use less weight rather than more. The stiff-legged barbell good morning is a very safe exercise but only if performed properly.

SECRETS FOR A BETTER BENCH

First of all, I apologize for my long absence, I was really swamped by academic work. It's really funny how difficult it is to get used to the academic grind after leaving the four walls of a university. 

Good news, I was just selected to join the University weightlifting society. This means I will start training as an Olympic weightlifter from this Saturday. I initially wanted to join the powerlifting team, but according to the coaches, it's rare to find a person who combines muscle mass, strength, power, and flexibility in one package. Therefore it was the weightlifting team for me. This is proof that I practice what I preach, and if you follow the Legally Muscled way of life, you are destined to live your life at your best.

The Bench Press is the popularly accepted test of Muscle strength, stability and endurance. It's not an uncommon sight to see many guys in the gym spending the bulk of their time on the bench trying to build their pectoral and allied muscles.

For today's article, I lifted a particularly interesting post I found on Men's Fitness website. In this article, Charles Poliquin gives advise on how to improve your bench press in order to gain that impressive chest and shoulder that many of us seek.

The bench press is an invaluable exercise for developing strength and size in the chest, shoulders and arms. Because it uses so many muscle groups, it allows you to use a lot of weight – elite powerlifters have bench pressed over 320kg without assistive gear and 450kg with it.

In most gyms you’ll perform the standard bench press on a flat bench, but for maximum muscle size and strength you should do several variations of this exercise. First, let me make it clear what I consider the proper grip for a standard bench press: placing the hands so the index fingers are at biacromial width (the proper name for a shoulder-width grip). Wider or narrower grips are not worth considering because they place too much stress on the shoulders.

You’ll notice that there’s no place for Smith machine bench presses in my recommendations. These are also too stressful on your joints thanks to the restriction on how the bar moves, and neither do they work any of your small but important stabilising muscles. Besides this, numerous studies have found they don’t work the target muscles as thoroughly as barbell benching. The only thing I ever use a Smith machine for is for hanging up my jacket on the way to the weights.

 Reverse-grip bench press
This variation is performed with a supinated grip (palms facing you). It is generally easier on the shoulder joints and increases the emphasis on the triceps. However, it can feel a bit awkward at first so start with a lighter weight than you’d usually expect to lift. You will also require a spotter to hand you the bar and help return it to the rack.

California press
This move is called something different every place I go, but the movement stays the same. It’s a hybrid move – a cross between a close-grip bench press and a lying triceps extension, so you lower the bar towards your Adam’s apple rather than over your nipples. It’s a great move to increase triceps mass, but again you may need to start with a lighter weight to get used to the new movement pattern.

Partial-range bench press
I don’t prescribe this often but it has its value, especially in powerlifting or in grappling sports such as judo, when you need to keep an opponent at arm’s length. Limiting the range of motion by using pins in a power rack allows to lift heavier where you 
are strongest – at the top of the move.

Bench press with chains
Chains provide an even increase in resistance as the barbell is pressed off the chest, which enables the resistance curve to more closely match an individual’s strength curve. Chains are great for squats too and can help you smash a strength plateau. If your gym does not have chains, it’s time to change gyms.

SEXY MAMA PT 2: SUPER FIT FIRST TRIMESTER

Being pregnant is often a very vulnerable time for a woman, especially as her body grows with the pregnancy. It is easy for her to become overwhelmed by the awesome, and sometimes uncomfortable changes going on in her body as well the more complex changes going on in her life. 

Imagine, just days or weeks ago you saw the results of the pregnancy test which showed you you were going to be a mother and immediately your world changed. Chances are that you were thrilled to find out you were pregnant, but at the same time you were scared about what the future holds and its effect on your body.

During the first trimester your body works overtime to build the baby and you may experience tiredness and nausea from the hormonal surge. Getting yourself to the gym may take an extra dose of motivation, but the payoff is huge. Consistent exercise during pregnancy can minimize aches and constipation, help you sleep better, and lower your risk of gestational diabetes and depression. You may even end up having a shorter, less complicated labor. Developing good workout habits during pregnancy will help you get your body back faster after delivery too.

When a woman becomes pregnant, her body starts to undergo certain changes; she may gain up to 5 pounds in weight, especially around her breasts, she will also feel some twinges of pain at her sides because of the growth of her womb and she will also start to pee more often due to the compression of her bladder by her growing uterus. And she may also get some gas.

While you should keep yourself fit, your first trimester isn't the time to start any high intensity exercise, fast interval training, or fast paced aerobics. Refrain from any exercises that are likely to cause abdominal trauma. Stick with 30 mins or more of low intensity exercise like walking, ellipticals and low impact aerobics, and low speed stationary bike work. Stop exercising when you feel fatigued, and NEVER exercise when you are exhausted.

Never forget that pregnancy is a time to get to know your body more intimately; love yourself and the changes that are happening in your body.

If you want to know how about weight loss after pregnancy, you can read my earlier article on the subject.


 
   

 

SEXY MAMA Pt 1: KEEPING FIT DURING PREGNANCY

 

If you’re concerned about the best way to keep your body and baby healthy during pregnancy—or how you’ll ever lose the excess weight afterward—you’re not alone.

Many women dread pregnancy; it is a well known fact that most women feel uncomfortable, bloated, emotional during pregnancy. Unfortunately, not many trainers know how to work with mums-to-be, thereby worsening an already difficult situation. 

I embarked upon research on how pregnant women can keep themselves fit, healthy and happy throughout the pregnancy and I realised that pregnancy need not be a miserable period, it is a beautiful time in the life of a woman. Being a mum does not mean you have to be uncomfortable in your own skin; you need to create a plan for yourself which will fit into your often unpredictable life and the life of your baby.

I looked through the internet and I found this really nice Baby Bump Fitness system, which is an exercise and fitness programme designed for the pregnant woman. click ----->>>Here<<<------

to find out more about this programme.

Here are some tips I found in my research.

• The extra 300 calories a day you are supposed to eat during pregnancy for the development of your baby should not consist of nutritionally empty and unhealthy foods.

• It is important to keep your body fit and strong during pregnancy by exercising through each trimester; however you must ensure that your training program is tailored to your trimester.

• The extra weight you will gain during pregnancy will not just slip off after the baby is born, you have to go the extra mile to make it go away.

• To lose weight effectively, your workout should be broken into short, manageable chunks of exercise which will recruit as many muscles as possible at once. This of course means you have to think outside the box.

•  Your cravings will not go away, you need to find a nutrition plan, foods and recipes which will satisfy all your cravings in a healthy way while allowing you get back into your favourite jeans after pregnancy. 

•  Being proactive is the best way to get back in control of your body.

I truly believe all women should be fit, strong,healthy and confident during their pregnancy. Exercising and eating right during pregnancy is much more than getting you into your slim jeans, its about keeping you and your baby healthy during the process.

Be Proactive- fight the bulge!!!

BUILDING BOYKA: THE UNDISPUTED WORKOUT

I guess many of us have watched the movie 'Undisputed 2 & 3'. If you have, then you'll probably be familiar with the character of Yuri Boyka  played Scott Adkins. Adkins holds multiple black belts in taekwondo and kickboxing. If you haven't watched the movie, click here to go to my last post which contains the final fight between Boyka and the Brazilian fighter (Lateef Crowder) .

 As you can see below, not only does the man have an incredibly lean and muscular physique, he also has the real life performance to back that up, which is something most Hollywood actors lack in. And if you’ve seen any of his movies, then you know how crazy his fight scenes can get.

 

Scott Adkins

 As you can imagine, Yuri Boyka had to possess strength, speed, acrobatic ability, and immense cardiovascular and muscular endurance. Therefore the training regime required to create Boyka had to reflect those attributes. I was able to compile some of the training techniques which enabled him to pack on the muscle for the movie. 

As you can see from the video, some of the training techniques are quite advanced as Scott is an experienced and trained fighter, so I would advise that you take your time and work with the more basic techniques before taking on the more advanced ones. I have outlined a programme which will help you pack on muscle like Scott, while building crazy endurance and agility.

• Run on the Treadmill for 20 mins or Skip for 20 mins at medium to high intensity
• 50 Push ups
• Flat bench press – 3 x 6 reps
•  Rowing movement (dumbbell, barbell, cable) – 3 x 6 reps
• Dumbbell military press – 2 x 6 reps
• Chin ups – 2 x 10 reps
• Tricep extension (with rope or dumbbell) – 3 x 5 reps
• Dumbbell curl (with dumbbell or barbell) – 3 x 5 reps
• Front squat – 3 x 5 reps
• Deadlift – 3 x 6 reps
• Leg press – 2 x 12 reps
• Seated calf raise – 2 x 12 reps
• Standing calf raise – 2 x 12 reps