Monthly Archives: September 2014

Good Fitness Reads 9/28/2014

I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Time to catch up on some fitness reading.

This week’s edition will catch you up to speed with strength tips, articles, and footage from my deadlift training.

Enjoy!

Strength Tips

Monday

*Break down your seemingly overwhelming goals into smaller tasks.

Losing 30 pounds may SOUND like an impossible task.

It’s not!

While losing 30 pounds sounds like a lot, losing 1 to 2 pounds a week seems very manageable.

Begin by breaking down your initial weight loss goal into simple, practical tasks. Focus on tackling the first task in your process towards achieving your goal.

Take small steps to building better habits that will last the rest of your life.

Tuesday
*Quick tip on how to use leg drive in the bench pressThe bench press is not just an upper body movement. If your goal is to move as much weight as possible, learn to use your entire body!Start by jamming your toes into the front of your shoes and driving your heels through the floor.Flex your quads as hard as you can.Push your knees out and squeeze your glutes together hard while keeping them on the bench. After doing this it should be very difficult for someone to move your legs.

You should be trying to push your head back into the wall behind you. You won’t actually move anywhere. Instead, you will be pushing your traps even harder into the bench, creating more tension.

If your goal is to push as much weight as possible, be as stable as possible. Learn to use leg drive and create as much tension as you can during your bench setup.

Wednesday
*Today’s sample lower body is my [deadlift emphasis] workout from Monday.Pick weights you know you will hit.[Sets x Reps]1. Conventional Deadlift X 5, X 7
2. Sumo Deadlift 2 X 5
3a. RDL 3 X 12-15
3b. Plank
Thursday
*Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.Set some time aside in your training to try different techniques.For example, if you’ve only done conventional deadlifts, try sumo.Find a way to incorporate them into your training and give yourself enough time to feel comfortable with the technique. You never know, but after some practice you might be a better sumo puller.If it turns out you’re still better conventional, no big deal. Now you’ve become proficient in both techniques.

This can be applied to a variety of exercises. Squats: low bar vs. high bar, bench with different grips, deadlift: sumo vs. conventional, etc.

This doesn’t mean you should constantly be searching for different techniques in hopes that you just haven’t found your right one yet, but do set aside some time during your training career to experiment with different techniques.

Friday
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

Adam’s Training Video(s)

Deadlift – 517 X 7 beltless

Recommended Reading

  1. Do You Need to Warm-up Before Lifting? via Brad Schoenfeld
  2. A Woman’s Worth via Molly Galbraith
  3. How do conventional and sumo deadlifts differ? via Chris Beardsley
  4. Carbohydrate tolerance: Is your ability to eat carbs determined by your genes? via Helen Kollias
  5. 9 Training Concepts That Suck via Ben Bruno
  6. The easiest thing to do. via Nate Green
  7. The Pyramid of Strength via Chad Wesley Smith
  8. Fitness & menstrual health: How to stay lean, healthy, and fit while maintaining your period. via Spencer Nadolsky
  9. Pick Your Passion via Ross Enamait
  10. The Ten Worst Types of Personal Trainers via Bret Contreras
  11. Minimalist Muscle Building: Simple Training For Athletic Muscle via Erich Bach
  12. The Fitness Passion Test via Bryan Krahn
  13. Random Thoughts on Sports Performance Training: Installment 6 via Eric Cressey
  14. You NEED Long Duration, Low Intensity Cardio via Mike Robertson
  15. Do You Need to Be Strong to Be a Strength Coach? via Jordan Syatt

Thanks for reading! If you want a weekly update sign up for my newsletter on the sidebar. Mobile users enter your email at the bottom of the site.

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Good Fitness Reads 9/21/2014

I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Time to catch up on some fitness reading.

This week’s edition will  include five strength tips, fifteen recommended  fitness readings and an interview with one of the all-time greatest bench pressers, Kirill Sarychev.

Enjoy!

Strength Tips

*Monday

There are helpful takeaways from both good and bad training sessions.

It’s easy to take successful days for granted. Instead, consider what you did well so you can repeat it.

Bad days also provide great insight. They let us know what we need to work on. Instead of worrying about a bad day, learn from it and improve next time.

* Tuesday

3 simple tips for the plank.

Rather than holding a plank for several minutes, try an efficient high tension plank.

1) Straighten your legs as hard as possible and flex your quads.

2) Squeeze your glutes together as hard as possible like you’re trying to crack a walnut between your butt cheeks.

3) Pull your elbows to your toes and toes to your elbows. Your elbows and toes will be planted into the floor so they won’t actually move.

Create as much tension as possible through your entire body! Turn yourself into an immovable object. When done properly, holding for 10 seconds will be challenging.

*Wednesday

Today’s sample lower body [squat emphasis] workout.

Pick weights you know you will hit.

[Sets x Reps]

1. Squat 4 X 4
2. Front Squat 2 X 10
3. Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat (RFESS) 3 X 8
4. High Tension Plank 3 X 10 seconds

*Thursday

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”

Don’t be afraid to grind!

Lifters are too quick to quit on lifts. People give up as soon as the bar slows and they hit their sticking point.

Don’t bail when things get tough!

It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, you always want to train safely and remain injury free. Learn how to grind through heavy weight while keeping good form. This doesn’t mean you should be constantly battling through all your reps to finish your sets.

You want your reps to be FAST!

Keep in mind that every rep of every set won’t always look like speed work. You have to be prepared to grind – especially if you’re a competitive lifter.

Do some rep work and practice grinding through some tough reps!

*Friday

“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.”

 

Recommended Reading

  1. How Does Usain Bolt Train? via Bret Contreras
  2. “Form Running” for Non-Track Athletes: Important or Waste of Time? via Joe DeFranco
  3. Don’t break the first promise of the day via Nate Green
  4. A grain of truth: Should you avoid grains? via Ryan Andrews
  5. 5 Questions with Alex Viada via Alex Viada
  6. So You Want to Start Sprinting? via Eric Cressey
  7. You Are Not Overtrained via Mike Tuchscherer
  8. 4 Reasons You’re Not Gaining Muscle via Brad Schoenfeld
  9. 57 Random Thoughts on Athletic Training & Coaching via Mike Robertson
  10. All Diets Work: The Importance of Calories via Lyle McDonald
  11. The Tabata Delusion via Tony Gentilcore
  12. Are Fad Diets Killing You? via Pat Koch
  13. A Musclehead’s Guide to Alcohol via Alan Aragon
  14. The Truth About Supplements via Sol Orwell
  15. The Nocebo Effect: How Your Power of Suggestion May Harm Your Clients via Jonathan Fass and Matthew Danziger

Thanks for reading! If you want a weekly update sign up for my newsletter on the sidebar. Mobile users enter your email at the bottom of the site.

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Good Fitness Reads for the Week: (9/14/2014)

Good Reads 9/15/2014

I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Time to catch up on some fitness reading.

This week’s edition will catch you up to speed with strength tips and articles by myself and others.

Enjoy!

 

Strength Tips

*Here’s a quick tip to help with pull-ups.

Think about pulling with your elbows.

Pull-ups primarily target the lats, so you should feel the lats doing a majority of the work. Pull-ups also target the biceps along with many other muscles, but that doesn’t mean you should feel like you did a set of biceps curls after every set of pull-ups.

Think of your hands like hooks. They are only there to attach you to the pull-up bar, so grip it as tight as possible.

Pull your elbows into your lats, pulling your chest to the bar. This will help you initiate the movement with your back.

Be careful not to pull your elbows behind your body. If someone was standing behind you while you’re doing pull-ups, you should not elbow them in the head.

Pulling with your elbows can help you perform pull-ups and many other pull-up/chin-up variations more efficiently.

 

*Work out of the day time!

It’s Wednesday, today’s sample workout is upper body [bench emphasis] workout.
Pick weights you know you will hit!

1. Bench 3 X 5
2. Close grip Bench press 2-3 X 10
3. Weighted Chin ups 3 X 6
4a. Facepull w/ 1 second Iso-hold 3 X 15
4b. Rope pushdown 3 X 15
4c. Hammer curls 3 X 12

 

*Do you ever have trouble picking your assistance work?

What is the last thing you want to do?
[ That is what you should be doing. ]

Do what you suck at and get good at it. Bring up your weaknesses and
drive through those sticking points!

 

*”The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”


Article(s) by Adam

3 Tips For a Bigger Deadlift

 

Good Fitness Reads

  1. Why the lats are so important in the Bench Press via Tim Henriques
  2. Training Women via Bret Contreras
  3. I know what to do! So why am i still not in shape? via Nate Green
  4. Detox diets. Juice cleanses. Could they be making you more toxic? via Ryan Andrews
  5. Is diet soda bad for you? via Examine.com
  6. Butt Wink Is Not About The Hamstrings via Dean Somerset
  7. My Top 5 Moves for Athletic Strength via Mike Robertson
  8. Your career in fitness: A success guide for personal trainers & coaches. via Nate Green
  9. How Chronic, Prolonged Sitting Impacts Your Body – and What to Do About It via Eric Cressey
  10. Does stretching actually change muscle length? via Chris Beardsley
  11. How I Really Train via Dan John
  12. Fitness Myths that NEED to Die: The “Right” Way to Kettlebell Swing via Jordan Syatt
  13. Is Saturated Fat Intake Associated with Heart Disease? via Brad Schoenfeld
  14. Does Bad Posture Cause Back Pain? via Todd Hargrove     
  15. Earn Your Moderation via Bryan Krahn
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