Getting In shape for a Naija Beach Party

The flyer

The Western conception of hanging out at the beach usually involves you getting no more physical exertion than lounging on the beach with a case of beers, a coterie of friends and maybe a book.  

The Naija concept of a trip to the beach is far more decadent. For us,  an average beach party involves hot girls, skimpy outfits (for the ladies at least), copious amounts of alcohol, lots of food, a bad a** DeeJay, and vigorous dancing till the sun goes down. 

Damgerous!!!

The Hot Ladies

You need Lots of Energy to do this!!!

Crazy friends

Suya...An Absolute Necessity

End of Discussion

Dance

To prepare yourself for a naija beach party, quickly execute the following workout.

• 25 Jumping Jacks
• 10 Push Ups
• 20 Squats
• 10 Sit Ups
• 10 shoulder push-ups: Bend down like you're picking something up off the ground and support yourself with your hands like a tripod. Do a push-up, trying to touch your nose to the sand. Repeat
• Stretch
• Dance with the hottest dancer in the party
• Make sure you drink lots of water!!! It's easy to get dehydrated during a beach party
  

300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE---I AM NOT A SPECTATOR!!!

"I never believed I'd have a six-pack, especially not at 35 years old," says Sullivan Stapleton, star of 300: Rise of an Empire. "I always thought it was a genetic blessing. It's not. You just have to be willing to do what it takes." In 12 weeks, Stapleton managed to shed 25 pounds of fat.

 The human body was never created to seat behind a desk, or in front of a television. It was created to climb mountains, swim rivers and lift obstacles.  Few movies resonate with the male psyche as effectively as '300' and its sequel '300: Rise of an Empire." 

 

With a bit of digging, I was able to unearth the workouts that turned these 'farmhands' into bad ass warriors.

 

 1. Warm up by rowing 500m in less than 1 minute 30 seconds. This could be performed on an automatic or manual rowing exerciser.

2. Perform 4 Sets of Goblet squats, using either dumbbells or kettlebells. Use as much weight as you can without sacrificing good form, reducing the weight by 2kg after each set.

Goblet Squats

3.  Drop down and deliver 100 - 200 pushups, You're going to need the strength to wield your swords. use as many sets as necessary, but get it done. Strive to reduce the number of sets required to reach 200 reps.

4. Deadlifts- you can't build a respectable body without them. Go heavy, and get bigger. perform 4 sets of 12,10,8,6 reps respectively.

 

Build your destiny!!!!

10 REASONS TO HIT THE GYM.... HARD

THIS IS WHAT IT TAKES!!!!

I was blown away by a post I read on Cordell Parvins blog titled 'Want to know what it takes, Here is a Great example". In the article he talks about his daughter Jill, a Jiu Jitsu practitioner who seeks to become the best Jiu jitsu player she possibly can be. I can scarcely add anything, as it fully encapsulates the attitude, focus and drive required by any person interested in achieving the highest levels of fitness, or any other life goals.

     

 

"Today, I want to share with you a concrete example. My daughter Jill posted something on Facebook that made clear to me she paid great attention to what I was teaching her when she was growing up.

 

I am very proud of Jill. I also feel she has expressed what I hope lawyers I coach take away from our work together. I asked if I could share what she wrote with you and she gave me permission.

 

 

 

I earned two stripes on my belt at jiu jitsu today. I was a little upset because my knee is messed up and I couldn’t roll. I just keep telling myself that God did not grant me with natural athletic ability so I have to work harder than most of the guys. I will show up and train every day no matter how tired I am. My goal is not to earn a black belt (although I believe that will happen) or win any tournaments ( got to enter them first), but to be better than the jiu jitsu player I was yesterday. I am not competing against other guys but against myself and my own self doubt and my fear of failure. I can’t bench press as much as Réne (her husband) and I do not have the skill of more seasoned players, but I will win in the long run because I am going to work harder through the tears, blood and sweat and I believe my passion will help me to overcome my physical short comings. I will be the best I can be. No excuses! I will be better than I was yesterday. It’s me vs. me.

 

I will leave you with a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln:

"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle."

DAMAGE YOUR BACK WITH BAD SQUATS!!!

 

 

I culled this excerpt from an article I read

 

An all too common scene at the gym

 

A guy approaches an Olympic bar on a power rack. He slaps on a few plates on either side and proceeds to back squat. His warm-up sets don't look bad; his body stays more or less upright, he's got good depth, and the grunting is kept to a minimum. As I watch his first heavy set unfold, however, I start to think I should have my phone ready to dial 9-1-1.

 

He drops down to a half-squat with wobbly knees; he's somehow convinced that the weight on his shoulders is not 50 pounds too heavy. On his way back up, he begins to lean forward, and I start wondering if he's doing a good morning instead of a squat. Where'd that hip hinge come from? I debate what to call this new movement (Back-morning? Good-squat? Definitely not the latter!) while his back flirts with the idea of snapping clean in half.

 

One, two, three ... that's three too many seconds he's been stuck in that same position without moving. His grunts start to echo across the gym and threaten to shatter windows, break mirrors, and awaken hibernating bears. Finally, an excruciating six seconds later, he climbs his way back up to a standing position. I gasp for air as I realize I've been holding my breath the entire time. I'm curious whose heart is racing faster at this point, his or mine. Nevertheless, I'm relieved that he finishes the movement and will rack the weight soon.

 

But no. Just as I'm about to turn away and continue on with my own workout, I see in the corner of my eye that he's going down for another rep.

 

This time, I can't look.

 

 

 

A perfect Squat

Hold a weight against the chest. If you have a kettlebell, grab it by the horns; with a dumbbell, hold one of the heads up vertically between your palms.

Position your feet so your stance is a smidge outside shoulder-width, with your toes pointed slightly out. If you're taller, you may need to widen the stance a little more.

Drop it like it's hot. That is, sit back and down between the knees, keeping your chest up the whole time. Make sure you're not falling forward or rounding your back.

Go down as low as you can while keeping your feet flat on the floor. If your heels come up, your stance is still too narrow.

At the bottom, brush your elbows down the inside of your legs and push your knees out. This is what makes the goblet squat so special, so let me say that again: knees out, knees out, knees out.

 

Shoot back up and stand tall at the top.

 

IT TOOK AN INVESTMENT BANK INTERN'S DEATH FOR BANKS TO REALISE THEY WERE WORKING THEIR STAFF TO DEATH

(Culled from The Wall Street Executive)

 

It only took an investment banking intern’s death for banks to realize that they are working interns to death.

 

Credit Suisse yesterday became the latest investment bank to tell its interns and junior employees to take more time out of the office, after increased worries that young staff are pushing themselves dangerously hard. The giant Swiss bank has told junior staff they should try not to come into work on Saturday, in an effort to give them some time off.

 

The wave of new guidelines sweeping the industry marks a sharp change of practice for the sector where young employees expect to work long hours and take few days off.

 

 Competition typically begins with internships where students work all hours over their summer breaks in a bid to impress bosses and get taken on as full time staff. There is no let up after that stage as analysts and associates – typically the bottom rungs of the career ladder – again have to get ahead by working harder than colleagues. The new staff also want to impress clients both to stop them leaving for rival banks and to make sure they get to work on the biggest deals.

 

 

To reduce some of the pressure of this constant race between young staff, some of the biggest names in the City and on Wall Street have introduced new guidelines.

 

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has told interns to take at least four weekend days off each month. Analysts and associates are also being required to use up their full holiday allowances each year.

 

Goldman Sachs’ boss Lloyd Blankfein has told junior staff to take more time off.

 

Deutsche Bank is also thought to be working on a similar plan.

 

JP Morgan is hiring more interns and junior staff to spread the workload further, an idea also understood to be under consideration at Barclays’ investment banking arm.- See more at:

 

 

http://thewallstreetexecutive.tumblr.com/post/73859413276/it-only-took-an-investment-banking-interns-death#sthash.fVhqYp0j.dpuf

CAUGHT UNDER A BARBELL? DO THE ROLL OF SHAME

 

Todays post is motivated by something which happened to me yesterday evening.

 

 

I had taken an 8-month break from lifting free weights; it's something I do from time to time in order to let my muscles rest while focusing on bodyweight exercises to build muscle density and definition.  I normally experience an increase in strength when I return to lifting weights after such a break.

 

Now I was back in the gym and ready to rock, expecting my muscles to give their best after a well earned holiday. I commenced the day's training with  a 10 minute spin on the Stairmaster, after which I dragged my exhausted self to the weight bench to crank out some bench presses.

 

 

I normally train in reps of 10 with very little rest periods between in order to improve muscle endurance.  I started out with 70kg,  before moving up to 80 kg, and 90kg afterwards. Feeling very optimistic  about the benefits of my rest break, I decided to up the ante and lift 120kg. WRONG IDEA!!! I had lifted the weight off the rack when I felt the fibers within my shoulders and triceps quiver with fatigue as they strained to lift the weight to no avail.

 

 

 

Many an experienced bodybuilder has undergone this experience at least once, unless they never bench beyond their comfort zone. It is sometimes advised to avoid training to failure; although this is a safe method, it usually leads to the builder training at lower intensity and making slower gains.

 

In this situation, most inexperienced builders either yell for help, thereby exhausting their oxygen supply; others risk serious injury to themselves and others by trying to tilt the bar and throw off the weight. As attractive as these options may seem, the best thing to do is keep calm and assess your environment before you act.  This prevents you from causing grievous harm to others around.

 

The method I adopted was the "Roll of Shame". The roll of shame is when you admit a rep isn’t going to happen, lower the bar to your chest and roll it to your waist. Then you sit up, lift the bar and set it on the floor. It can be painful and it’s definitely embarrassing in a crowded gym, but it can also stop you doing yourself serious damage. 

 

I once read that every bodybuilder and fitness enthusiast has an inner demon that relentlessly drives the person to push themselves beyond their comfort zone. Although this demon can be the bodybuilders greatest friend and mightiest ally, it could also be his worst enemy, as it compels him to take risks which could lead to debilitating injury. Know yourself, and observe whenever your muscles feel exhausted, this knowledge will help you forestall unnecesary injury and work towards consistent gains.