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!
Monday
*Variety in your training can be beneficial. It’s good to vary your volume, intensity, rep ranges, etc.
We tend to get caught up in extremes:, never doing the big three lifts, only doing the big three lifts, always chasing one rep maxes, too much accessory work, no accessory work, endless amounts of warming up, doing no warm-up, etc.
The answer often lies somewhere in the middle.
Tuesday
*Quick tip for staying tight and upright during a squat.
Your upper body should be try to go up the whole time during a squat. Whether you are going up or you’re descending, your upper body is driving into the bar trying to go up.
Brace and get tall into the bar. Drive your upper back as hard as you can into the bar!
Try to break the bar over you back, pull the bar in tight and pull your elbows to your lats. While doing this, pull your chin and your upper back through the bar.
This will make the weight feel lighter and create a tremendous amount of tension allowing you to stay extremely tight and upright during the squat.
Wednesday
*Today’s sample upper body [bench emphasis] workout. All you need is a barbell, a rack, weights and a bench.
Pick weights you know you will hit!
[Sets x Reps]
1. Bench Press 4 X 4
2. Paused bench 2 X 5
3. CGBP 1 X 12
4. Barbell rows 3 X 6
5a. Inverted rows 3 X 12
5b. Barbell Curls 3 X 10
Thursday
*Have a routine for success.
Mental preparation is a huge part of being successful. If you want to go into the gym and hit PR’s, get in the habit of doing things you know will aid your success.
Get enough sleep the night before.
Eat the pre-workout meal you really like.
Listen to the playlist that gets you fired up.
Wear the shirt that makes you look jacked.
Everyone has their own positive habits that when performed enable them to be successful.
These habits will make you more confident and set you up on the path to success. Start your routine that sets you up for success!
Friday
“A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.”
Article(s) by Adam
4 Tips You Need to Know for a Bigger Bench Press
Recommended Reading
1) Are You a G.A.M.E.R via Joe DeFranco
2) The Alactic System Revisited via Mike Perry
3) Do I need to eat six times a day to keep my metabolism high? via Examine.com
4) The Best Lesson You’ll Ever Learn via Dan John
5) Fear Mongering Nutrition Advice via James Fell
6) Fundamental Principles Versus Minor Details via Lyle McDonald
7) Long, Lean Muscles: Oh, the Irony via Bret Contreras
8) 5 Things We Can All Learn from Derek Jeter via Mike Reinold
9) What is the fiber type of different muscle groups? via Chris Beardsley
10) How Top Fitness Pro’s Coach Leg Position on Pull-ups via Travis Pollen
11) Cueing Posterior Pelvic Tilt When Squatting and Deadlifting? Have I Gone Mad? via Tony Gentilcore
12) How Can Pitchers Ever Be “Elite” If They Take Time Off from Throwing? via Eric Cressey
13) The Lack of Time Excuse via Ross Enamait
14) Clean Your Plate Syndrome via Sohee Lee
15) 5 Thoughts on Sprinting via Mike Robertson
