As an exponent of the hip-hop/highlife movement, Chinedu Okoli aka Flavour N'abania is a force to be reckoned with in the Nigerian music industry. However, our interest in this talented superstar lies in his transfiguration from skinny musician to musical Sex symbol.
"Construction" was a widely despised punishment during my secondary school days, along with squats, isometric arm holds, and a gauntlet of as many sadistic exercises and positions as could be imagined by the human mind.
Looking back, as much as we hated the punishments, we were very strong, we would be woken from bed to run about 10 Km (with the threat of being whipped if you didn't keep pace), and our injuries healed faster. Apparently, what couldn't kill us made us stronger!
This exercise basically involves sitting with your back against a wall in a squat position, or for the more adept, performing the position in mid air and simply holding the position for as long as you can. It is important that the legs are at a 90 degree angle. Apparently you are not supposed to rest your hands on your thighs, but instead to hold them above your head or even in front of you to work your shoulders. The exercise builds isometric strength as well as endurance in the quads and glutes – a favorite exercise to perform for the running season, or if you're interested in the martial arts.
This is one exercise you can perform just about anywhere, with no need for gym equipment. With practice, you should be able to increase your muscular endurance and hold on for longer times. My longest time was above 5 hours ( I had a sadistic prefect standing over me with a belt!!). I wasn't smiling at the end, I assure you.
I hate Leg training, but I know that if I don't train my legs as hard as possible, I'll have a fantastic upper body and spindly legs.
This workout starts with Heavy Volume Sumo Deadlifts. Sumo deadlifts incorporate your legs and your back. Stop each set when you can't exert anymore, or when you feel like that next rep might put you in a precarious position to injure yourself. Put the bar down and take your rest, and then resume the attack.
You have to perform 100 heavy reps in as few sets as possible. This of course implies that you may have to go easy on the weight, lifting only as much weight as your body can handle for such an extreme repetition range.
easy
Hard
Heavy Leg Press
After exhausting your lower body with the deadlifts, move over to the leg press machine and crank out 100 heavy reps, using as much weight as you can manage. Start with the heaviest load you can take and reduce the weight when you can't do one more rep at the set level.
Weighted Lunges
At this point, your legs must be shaking, but it's not over yet. Your next action is to pick up the heavy dumbells and crank out some weighted lunges. Your aim should be to deliver 100 repetitions per side. This exercise hits the quadriceps, calves and hamstrings at once.
Bodyweight Squat Jumps.
The Squat Jump works your lower body and burns major calories. squat jumps offer a new take on the traditional — one that you're definitely going to feel in your quads and your deep glutes. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and slightly turned out, arms resting on your hips. Bend your knees and plié, then jump up explosively. Keep your core engaged. Land with control, lowering your body back into the squat position to complete one rep. Do 50 reps.
A lot of people have asked me about the benefits or otherwise of taking supplements. As a general rule, I do not push supplements as they can be easily abused, with dire consequence.
Supplements are becoming extremely popular in the fitness industry and
much of the public are being misled by what certain supplements can do.
Nutrition will always come first and give far greater results than any
array of supplements ever could. Supplements are given their name
because they do just that: supplement an already well put together
nutrition plan.
However, it is not always possible to get all the nutrients you require only by eating and if you're the busy kind, you may find it difficult to eat a meal every few hours. In such a situation, smartly selected supplements may be beneficial to keep your metabolism going, it'll help you build muscle, and help you fight fat. Supplements are also beneficial to people who find it hard to build muscle; for such people, supplements can provide a source of valuable protein.
So my advice is to look honestly at your goals and ask yourself whether you need to supplement your diet. If you believe you need a supplement, look for one that closely matches your fitness goals. But be careful not to take too much within a day, as the long term abuse of supplements may cause damage to your kidneys. Remember that supplements are just that, they are meant to supplement your diet and should not act as substitutes for a good diet.
The term 'shadowboxing' comes from a training method that boxers use where they pretend to box their shadow on a wall, although more commonly they use a mirror. Shadowboxing basically has you punching the air and moving around practicing your drills and pretending to defend against an attacker.
Shadowboxing is the most cost effective boxing training method you can use to improve your boxing skills. If you think about it, shadowboxing requires absolutely no equipment, and you can do it anywhere and nearly anytime.
You can use shadowboxing a number of different ways to improve your boxing skills. It is not necessarily just random punching and moving, although it could be. Here are a few shadowboxing drills for you to incorporate into your workouts:
1. Movement Shadowboxing. This is where you develop some agility and light footwork. Your goal here is to concentrate on how you are moving around in your boxing stance. Move forwards, backwards, side to side, pivot, hop, pendulum step, etc Once you get comfortable with the movement, add in some punches, but the focus is still on the movement. Visualize how your feet are turning and moving in relation to the punches you are throwing.
2. Pivot and T Frame Shadowboxing. In this round, while you shadowbox, your focus is on maintaining the T Frame, keeping your shoulders above your knees and pivoting correctly while throwing your punches. You can move around all you want, throw whatever you want, but at all times, your focus is on the pivot and T-Frame.
3. Shadowboxing Combinations. For this drill I recommend that you start out doing a round of movement shadowboxing followed by a couple more rounds of specific combinations. For instance, one entire round, you can do shadowbox jabs alone. They can be single jabs, double jabs, triple jabs, jabs to body then to head, and so on. But, the focus is the jab. The next round, the focus may switch to the 1-2 in which case you will spend the entire round throwing technically correct jabs followed by straight rights (or lefts for the southpaws). The next round they may do 1-2-3 combinations and so on. The key is to focus on drilling a specific combination for the entire round.
4. Shadowboxing for Speed. This is quite fun and introduces a little bit of competition into the mix. Shadowboxing for speed means the boxer will throw as many punches as he can in the span of the round. They should still be throwing technically correct punches, but the real aim is to let their hands fly and count how many punches they can throw in three minutes. It's best to track this so the boxer can attempt to beat whatever he did last time. Being able to throw 250-300 punches in three minutes is a good goal to work towards. One can also introduce constraints into this, for instance, throw as many jabs as you can in three minutes, etc... to mix it up and keep yourself from getting bored.
5. Shadowboxing an Opponent. The opponent is yourself and this is where a mirror is really handy. Having the boxer box himself will show him where his weaknesses are. He can see when he leaves his head open or if his punches are off target. He can see if he is bending his knees fully when going down for a body punch or if his slips are crisp, clean, and fast. It may seem vain to an outsider, but boxing in a mirror will show you what your opponent sees and therefore what you need to fix before getting in the ring.
6. Shadowboxing Free For Alls. Anything goes. Picture an opponent and move, punch, and defend against what he is doing to you. Takes an imagination, but if you can picture yourself hitting someone and then reacting to whatever they do, you'll engrave it in your head that much quicker. This is where the real implantation happens from learning a skill to putting it in your arsenal. When you can visualize a scenario in vivid detail and respond with zero hesitation, you'll have that skill with you in the ring. It's kind of like learning a second language. Experts say that once you begin dreaming in that language, you're well on your way to becoming fluent in it.
7. Slow Motion Shadowboxing. Do everything deliberately in slow motion concentrating on perfect technique. This will show you the mechanics behind a certain combination or punch and allow you to correct the little things - foot off center, not enough pivot, weight distributed slightly wrong, etc.
8. Shadowboxing with Weights. Start small, holding small dumbells or weights in either hand as you shadowbox. The added weight will not only aid in simulating a ring situation as you put on 10-16oz gloves, but the increased weight will help strengthen and develop your shoulders and possibly help your speed when you aren't holding the weights.
There are so many ways to enrich your exercise repertoire; don't get stuck in a rut doing stuff that bores you, switch up your workouts from time to time in order to challenge your body and shock it into weight loss.
To schedule a training session with me, send an email to legallymuscledfitness@yahoo.com stating your name, age, sex, location and telephone number.
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