UNPRODUCTIVE GYM HABITS

I see this happen everyday, a lady comes into the gym and walks straight to the elliptical. She spends 30 minutes in half hearted work whilst chatting with her friend who is on the next machine, gossiping on her smartphone (and taking a few selfies while at it).

 

 

REALLY???

 After this, she packs up her stuff and moves to the treadmill where she strolls  at a leisurely pace while chatting on her phone and scoping out the hot guy in the room.

 

Then they wonder why they don't see any tangible results....

 

 

 

 

HOW TO EAT FOR MAXIMUM GROWTH

You need to eat to grow, bla bla bla ....yeah we all know that!!!

The problem is, how do I fit 5-6 meals a day into my busy schedule. Add to this the difficulty in finding healthy food around my office and the cost of eating that many meals per day  and you will get a picture of how hard it is to eat enough to maintain my body weight, talk less increase mass.

Having suffered through this conundrum for the past few months, I experimented with different food sources to determine which foods would help me generate the greatest amount of mass in the quickest time.

 

This post is the outcome of my experiments; please feel free to try this at home :).

 

Morning: I mixed up a muscle shake made up on 2 cups of raw oatmeal, 20cl of milk, 1 banana, 1 avocado, 4 egg whites, 3 tbsp Peanut butter and 3 teaspoons of honey for taste. Blend these ingredients together and drink it up at once. without pausing for breath. This shake represents a balanced diet of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and oils, fibre and water and it should keep hunger at bay for the next few hours at least.

Breakfast: This needs to be quick because you'll be rushing out the door as you chomp. I rustled up a  sandwich from wheat bread, lots of peanut butter and boiled eggs. I wash this down with a mug of  chocolate, and I'm good to start the day.

Lunch: I'm normally at the office at this time, so I quickly order a plate of white/jollof/fried rice with beef/chicken and plantains. I usually eat whilst working, so I avoid any foods that are liable to stain.

Pre-Workout: I usually get back from work by about 7pm and immediately get ready to hit the gym. I usually would grab anything I found in the fridge e.g a banana, apple, biscuit.  However, I recently discovered a phenomenal pre workout meal in 'gari' (coarse ground cassava flour), soaked in water, generously sprinkled with peanuts. I also add milk to increase the protein content. The high carbohydrate content gives me that 'kick' needed to move my weight lifting to the next level.

Dinner: This is usually eba/pounded yam with any soup available at the time. The meat contained in the soup/stew (however you all it) provides protein, whilst the eba is pure carbs. On a workout day however, I usually dine on a plate of beans. This source of pure protein helps rebuild the muscles destroyed during the course of training, helping me develop maximum muscle in minimum time.

 

 

 

 

A BODY THAT PERFORMS

To the ancient Greeks the ideal male form—as imagined in sculptures, paintings, and drawings— was usually made with a wide chest, broad shoulders, and a thick back placed upon a slim waist. The legs were muscular, but not overly huge. Everything was balanced and proportionate. The Greeks believed in these proportions for three reasons: to perform athletically and in battle, to live a long time with good health, and to be attractive in order to pass along genetics.. 

 

The Greeks didn't have health clubs with fancy machines. Although there is debate whether they actually invented the barbell, plenty of evidence has been found that ancient Greeks picked up heavy objects and walked or ran with them, and even threw them.

 

You don't have to walk around with a giant rock to attain the Greek ideal. Instead, make big compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, presses, pulls, and weighted lifts the backbone of your training program. Those movements are designed to improve your size, strength, symmetry, and overall function.

Think back to the last time you did a workout. Did you really give it your all? Many people hit the gym and just go through the motions. They may spend more time taking selfies, texting, or finding the right music than actually lifting. You can't expect great results if you half-ass your workout.



The next time you have a date with the iron, dial it in and focus. Feel your muscles squeezing at the top of each rep. Extra focus can increase your intensity and mean the difference between mediocre and superior results.

 

 

SHOCK THERAPY 2: LEGS OF STEEL

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.

 

The End Result? See for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHOCK THERAPY 1: TRAIN INSANE OR REMAIN THE SAME!!!

ARMS

 

Many of us fail to push our arms to the limit. This workout will destroy every muscle fibre in your arms, forcing your body to develop a whole new set of triceps, biceps and deltoid (shoulder) muscles.

 

There are few sensations that even approach the feeling of pushing yourself beyond THAT point you felt you could not reach. You'll feel it today as you feel your muscles push beyond what you thought was there capacity. During this workout, most of the exercises will be carried out till failure, this means the point where you are physically incapable of carrying out one more rep. At this point, you can rest for 10 seconds and drink some water.

 

Warm up:

 

To fully enjoy the benefits of this workout, you will have to start from a point of muscle exhaustion. Therefore, the warmup will consist of the following:

 

10 Sets of 10 Tricep Pushdowns

10 Sets of 10 Bicep Curls

 

 

This 200 rep will leave your arms weeping for mercy, but remember this is just a warm up, the aim to break through your mental barriers and access that reserve of strength and endurance that lies within you.

 

Now we go into the workout proper:

 One arm dumbell preacher curl (2 sets working till failure): This isolates the biceps for a kick ass pump. Make sure you place your feet square on the ground, avoiding the temptation to use your body to heft the weight.

 

 

French Curl (2 Sets working till failure): This will set your already exhausted triceps on fire. Grip one heavy dumbbell behind your head using both of your hands. Lower the weight behind you, until your forearm is parallel to the floor, and then heave it up using the meaty muscles of your triceps.

 

 

T-Curl: This is a merger between the dumbell flye and the dumbell curl. This workout lengthens your biceps, whilst pumping blood into each fiber. Crank out 2 sets, going till failure on each one and having no mercy on your body.

 

 

Dumbell Kickback: You'll carry out 2 sets of 40 reps per arm. By now, I guess you're crying with pain, but remember that your body can take anything, it's your mind that needs to adapt to the pain. This exercise hits the triceps head directly, turning your arms into molten lead.

 

 

 

Pull Ups: Perform a chin-up in three positions: wide grip, normal grip, and close grip. Make sure your palms face toward you to emphasize the biceps. Perform 10 reps for each position, totaling 30 reps.

 

If you get to this point in the workout, you'll probably feel like your arms have been injected with sulphuric acid. That's good, it means you've moved to the next level. Make sure you hydrate properly throughout the workout and consume a lot of protein to help rebuild the  muscle fibers you've just destroyed.

 

Get ready for muscle annihilation!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





FITNESS MOTIVATION PINS

Source: Pinterest.com
 

SUMMER MOTIVATION

In the world of iron, there are no achievements that come without great sacrifice and exertion. It takes the deepest kind of commitment, self-knowledge, and hard work to wholeheartedly pursue peak fitness, supreme athletic performance, and to transform the human physique into an arresting sculpture hewn in adamantine muscle.

 

Pursuing your iron goals can be the most gratifying experience you have, but it can also be a lonely business.However, with Summer around the corner and beach parties coming up, all the hard work you've put in all year to achieve well developed pectorals, massive shoulders, trucker traps and bulging biceps will come to fruition and hopefully everyone will see the results you worked so hard to attain.