Fixing Yourself 101 - Self Myofascial Release

So essential but so often neglected. Self myofascial release is one of the best ways to keep your body mobile, assist in recovery, and aid in injury prevention. It will free up tight, knotted areas in your muscles, all while increasing blood flow, and restoring range of motion. 

A fitness enthusiast's holy grail. The foam roller. The number one self myofascial release tool. Too often as lifters do we bang ourselves up in the gym and take no heed to the damage we've inflicted on ourselves. Our recovery from our workouts deserve just as much attention.

Just a couple of minutes rolling out everyday can make a world of difference. You should be in this game for LONGEVITY. Keep up with your body's maintenance, and become optimal.

Squatz and Whatnot Pt. II - Dat Squat Booty

Question among female lifters (and quite a few male lifters) everywhere. Will squats help you develop an attractive backside? Will they give you the glutes of an Olympian? Will they have you looking like Kim Kardashian??

Well if I may offer my testimonial ;) Yes squats indeed develop your butt in a major way. To what extent? Well that detail solely relies on your genetics, but all glute muscles have the potential to be properly developed through squats.

The key you might ask to putting some 'Mass on dat Ass', is moderate to heavy deep squat training. Yes that will inevitably include you using weights and a wee bit of exertion. Most importantly it will also include some know-how. MUCH TOO OFTEN do I see the squat performed horrifically. These people will never truly see the endless benefits of squatting. Depth is more than often the main fault I witness. This is absolutely crucial for 'dat squat booty'. Having your hips past parallel on the squat is what enables your glutes and hamstrings to become engaged.

More importantly than shaping the butt, the squat will effectively hit the most muscles within your body than any other movement. Therefore this essential exercise reigns king. Yes going deep may be uncomfortable and difficult at first, but you can't outweigh the benefits. Plus going Ass to Grass will make you look like a badass since nobody else in commercial gyms do it :p .


P.S.

And no LADIES  weighted movements will not make you "bulky". Let's face it, your half-assed bodyweight squats in your bedroom have not gotten you any closer to looking like Nicki Minaj than it would me.

Free Weights VS. Machines?

So which one are you married to? The great debate rages on free weights versus the machines. Are either one necessary to build an impressive and proportional physique? When and how should I incorporate them?

Well... In my most honest and humble opinion, free weights will always trump the machine. Ofcourse machines may allow you to toss around more weight, be safer, and give you less regard to proper form to incite muscle stimulation... but it still loses. Free weights encourage the lifter to use a boatload of more muscle fibers in order to stabilize and control the weight. Also the functionality and efficiency of free weight movements are unrivaled compared to machines.

Do machines even have a place in a gym routine? Sure. It can be used in moments where the feel and contraction of the muscle is the main ideal, and should be used to further fatigue (or burn out) the muscle (IMO). They are also a main go to for when you are injured. Pretty much 90% of all machines are just recreations of free weight exercises.  So long as your body is healthy enough for it, free weights should always be the bread and butter.

Let me know YOUR opinions.

The Most Optimal Program!

You wake up in the a.m., get dressed, take your pre-workout, drive to the gym, and then... Well now what? What is a gym-goer without a program? Without the proper instruction and itinerary, they simple trot adrift from exercise to exercise. Gains are lost to this person. Are you this lifter? ----- Joking. Some simple gym humor.

In all seriousness their truly is no optimal program. They most certainly won't make or break your lifting career, but can definitely attribute to your progress. I've seen many lifters train instinctively and by feel, and make notable progress. Some reach the level in which they make their own optimal program.

What (good) programs essentially provide a lifter is a template or guideline in which one could follow for linear progression. They enable you to track your progress from the start and consistently add more weight/repetitions in order to build upon. The way in which a program will do this is sequentially loading more intensity over time in order for your body to adapt. Programs may or may not provide specific exercises, but this feature is usually customizable by the lifter.

As previously said this clearly isn't necessary for anyone to achieve their goals, but it does provide many with focus, a schedule, and clear cut goals. It will pretty much require the average gym goer to stop dicking around with the weights and do the work assigned for the day.

The best tip I can give to anyone on a program who intends to see optimal gains from it, is to FOLLOW THE PROGRAM. Too many people feel they can outsmart a program or take it upon themselves to further customize the mandatory protocols. It was built that way for a reason. Leave it alone, and follow it for an extended amount of time to judge if it is truly working for you.


Some great lifting programs include:

Upper/Lower Power/Hypertrophy - My current split :)

Legs/Push/Pull

Stronglifts 5x5 - built in with linear progression

Jim Wendler's 531 - built in with linear progression

Thank me for the links later ;)

Remember the best training split is the one that YOU enjoy to do!

Practice AND Progress makes Perfect

In search of the results of your hard labor in the mirror every morning? Skeptical as to why your physique is resistant to change? Before you run to the nearest supplement store or do something totally irrational to your diet, more often than not, you can find the answer in your training. Everyone and their mother wants to claim they're bustin' ass in the gym and moving all kinds of weight. The peculiar part of it is I'd say more than half of the population of your average gym goer looks the exact same year in, year out. SOMEBODY IS LYING. 

Guys it honestly pains me to see so many people fall prey, and worst when I see them in their own deluded "making gains fantasy". People ignore the essential basic principle of Progressive Overload.Your body must be introduced to new levels of stress over time in order for your body to adapt (grow) and change. Jumping onto your favorite bench every week and banging out sets of 10 with 135 won't allow you to look like Arnold any sooner than the next guy. Neither will hopping on the elliptical for an hour on the 1st level and consistently burning a hundred or so calories.

Whether it is muscle gain or weight loss, you will need to progress. Bodies are just smart like that :).

Slave to the Scale!

One of the most prevalent "no-no's" that I see amongst fitness enthusiast desperate to alter their physiques. It all comes down to that sweet goal, "I need to get up to 200 lbs by next year, I'll be massive", or, "I could look like Beyonce if I just get down to 110 before summer". Taking the right path with the wrong means of transportation could land you even farther from your end goal.

The first blatant issue with this goal-setting approach is that 9 times out of 10 it reminds us of how classically unrealistic we are. Yes, setting a goal to gain more muscle in an allotted amount of time is great, but that jump from 150 to 200 by the end of the year (quality size) is a tad bit far-reaching my friend. Assuming you want to look remotely good for the ladies and not more so, "Do you even lift", correct?

The second issue derives from solely obeying the mighty law of The Scale. This more than often leads innocent people in a perpetual downhill spiral. Dropping 30 lbs for the summer could be an awesome investment within your fitness journey, but are you sure you want to drop all 30? Not to point fingers, but it is often women who fall into this weight trap. Pounds may not be the enemy here, but more so your body fat. In conjunction to dropping the fat and gaining muscle, you may not get to your goal weight but look vastly more shapely at the end. Dropping quality weight won't be nearly as appealing.

Sidenote: MUSCLE IS SEXY ON THE LADIES. (That's a whole other blog post.)

The idea here guys is that whatever the end goal, it will take TIME. Setting these weight goals and enslaving yourself to the scale will tend to make you rush this and lead you astray. The mirror and progress pictures tend to be better friends anyway. :)

The Secret of the Six Pack

What is truly the appeal of the symmetrical slabs of muscle, embodying our core that permits such attention? It is hailed as the standard of peak physical fitness amongst any circle, including male and female. The abdominals are themselves a symbol of attractiveness within our society, giving them value amongst any other muscle group, thus making it marketable. Yes people, we have successfully made a muscle group its own market.

Countless workout plans, upon myths and yet to this day many still question the secret to the almighty six pack. Fitness instructors and trainers thrive on the innocently unknowing consumer who will pay any halfwit with a decent physique or backwater certification to design a workout program or diet plan to save them from their deep desparity of their lack of abs.

When did the abdominals suddenly not become an actual muscle anymore? The Truth is that it indeed is an actual muscle and should be trained as such. 1-2 times a week, with moderate to high resistance. A gazillion and 3 crunches won't get you any farther then the average gym rat. 1 to 2 different exercises will surely suffice. Any exercise where you can get a decent contraction of the muscle. Some of my personal favorites include, if I may:

Cable Crunch:




Hanging Leg Raises:



The actual visibility of said abdominals will come in result to reduction of body fat. And there you have it! Sorry to disappoint those in search of a super top secret ab formula, but as everything else in fitness, it comes down to science. Work them and they shall develop my friend.

P.S.

Don't you dare forget those compound movements either, i.e. your squats and deadlifts! Critical in core development. :)