Bake's Blog

Welcome!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 21:16:00 +0000

I have been trying to get this blog started off and on for years now. I feel like it is finally time to get my shit together, and put some information out there. There are so many fitness blogs that my head is is beginning to spin. Many of my ideas aren't original and I have to be honest with you, so much of what I do comes from someone else. I believe that there are people out there much smarter than I am, and I hope one day to feel I am on the same level. I do my best to put all the information that I get into this nice little package that people will essentially pay for. And thus far it seems to be working, I'm always digging for new information, new ideas, etc. I'm always trying to educate myself, and educate my clients with what I'm learning. I realize that not everybody reads every blog, or article, or study and I hope that this blog connects people with the information that I'm receiving and trying to understand on a daily basis.

I'm also hoping to get my thoughts and ideas down on paper, to keep record on how my ideas have grown since I became a trainer. Hopefully, these thoughts become a point of refrence for people to use in their own journey to a fitter body and physique.
With all that being said, enjoy the blog, always ask questions, and feel free to share the information that I'm sending to you.

Exercises you should be doing...Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

I am going to begin another one of my many series', one of these days I'll actually finish one. LIFTS YOU SHOULD BE DOING...will be a collection of exercises that you should be doing at least twice a week. These lifts are the most basic of lifts, but also the most powerful as far as changing your body, performance, and strength is concerned. So stay tuned.

The first lift in the series is the MOST basic of lifts. It's something we did as babies, teenagers, and possibly in high school. It is physically and metabolically challenging, and if I were to vote on the best exercise of all-time it would be. (DRUM ROLL PLEASE!). The SQUAT. That's right folks. The squat is the best exercise, and it is simply the most basic of all exercises.

Wait! What's that I hear? But Michael, squats are bad for your knees! They make my back hurt! My doctor told me not to do them! I don't like to be really sore, can't we do chest?"

BULLSHIT!! Squats aren't bad for your knees, but what YOU are doing is bad for your knees. And I can gurantee you aren't doing squats. Squats are a perfect total body exercise, but like any lift if done incorrectly you can get or feel pain. On top of that if our mobility, or ability to move your joints, is bad then squats can bother the knees or the back. Mobility in the hip joint often contributes to these two problems. So if you don't have mobility in your hips, then you will get lumbar flexion, and even knee pain from your knees shooting over your toes.

Error #1- I see when squatting is not sitting the but back. So when beginning the movement, the first the to move is your knees, and not your bum.
Error #2- is letting the knees cave in, instead of pusing your knees out in the same direction as your toes.
Error #3- is not keeping your back nice and flat the entire squat. In this kind of squat, people are extremely rounded over at the bottom of the squat. This lumbar flexion will cause back pain. A lot of the time this will happen because we use too much weight too fast.

So instead of showing examples of all this crappy form, I'm going to show you a video of good frm from TheVideoFitcast. Notice how the squatter is not doing any of the above errors. This is what a good squat should look like, and in most cases it will not cause any back or knee pain. Don't rush to conslusion and decide you are one of the "special people" and squatting isn't for you. Try it first, get it critiqued by a fitness professional, but don't knock it 'till you try it.

Like I said earlier, lack of mobility can cause problems with the squat, so stretching the hips, calves, quats, and activating

the glutes will go a long way in making your a world class squatter, well at least you will squat more than all those panzies on the leg press machine.

Here is a great mobility exercise you should do as a warmup, or even on your off days.

Rules #5-#8 of Fat Loss

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

#5 Eat whole natural foods as much as possible.

To make this as simple as possible if a caveman couldn't eat it, neither should you. So fruits and veggies good, breads and cookies bad. Lean meat good, Double Stacks bad! Nuts and beans good, hostess coffee cakes Bad. Easy enough?

#6 Take a multivitamin and Omega 3 Supplement

A multivitamin just ensures that you are getting all the vitamins and nutrients that you need on a daily basis. It's very difficult to get all these vitamins and nutrients from food alone and that is wear the multivitamin comes into play. Make sure the multivitamin is a quality one, you will get what you pay for. I firmly believe that Centrum, costco, walgreens, and wal mart are all awful multivitamins. So don't take them.

Omega 3s have been huge in recent years as a great "bang for your buck" supplement. It is a very easy way to get good fats at every meal, which is RULE #3 They do so many different things from weight loss, to cholesterol control, to joint and inflmation reduction. Just take the damn things. You can be a little cheaper with these, so walgreens or walmart brands are okay. To reduce the fish burps take them with a full meal. 1-4 pills a day will do wonders for your body.

#7 Keep a food Journal

Weigh, weigh, weigh. Weigh your food, stop guestimating. You have been doing that for the last _____ years, and look where it has gotten you. Unless you can be 100% sure of how much food you are eating, you will never know what kind of defecit you are putting your body into. You don't have to do it forever, but 2-4 weeks will do wonders for your weight loss. Once you weigh your food write it down in a journal on a daily basis and proceed to Rule #8.

#8 Track your calories with calorieking.com

Take your food journal, type your foods you have eaten into calorieking.com and get an idea of how many calories you take in on a daily basis, you should also track the amount of proteins, carbs, and fats you eat everyday as well. Typically a 50% carb, 30% protein, and 20% fat diet will do really well to start your fat loss program.

Rules #4 and #5 of Fat Loss

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Rule #4-Eat 25-35 grams of fiber a day

Eating fiber, or fibrous vegetables will help with satiety between meals. If you find that 25-35 grams is hard to get, then a fiber supplements like glucomannan, Granny's metamucil, or fiber chewable will give you a little help. Glucomannan is an interesting little supplement, and is grat for weight loss. It is a soluble fiber made from the cognac plant, that when consumed thickens and expands helping your body feel fuller, for a longer period of time. You can find it here or in the noodle form here. All three fiber supplements above are important because they slow the release of food from your stomach helping you feel a little less miserable between meals while you are in your calorie defecit.

Rule #5-Drink .6-.7 ounces of water per pound of body weight

Drinking enough water will ensure that you are getting enough fluid for your workouts, and it will also help with hunger pangs that you may get from time to time throughout the day. People will sometimes hold onto water because they don't get enough on a daily basis. So you could lose some water weight, by drinking more water. Isn't that ironic?

Rules #2 and #3 of Fat Loss

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Las Thursday I posted the first rule of Fat Loss, and that was to have well defined, and clear goals that you want to accomplish you can see that post here. Below are the 2nd, and 3rd rules. Give them a try for a week and let me know how it works out in the comments section!

#2 Eat Every 2-3 Hours

Eating every 2-3 hours will reduce the chances of you binge eating, or cheating from your diet. If you know that you will eat in a couple hours you won't over eat, or run to the snack machine between meals. Now these "meals" aren't your normal 3-course meal, they can also be a snack of some kind. Just keep "pumping gas into your tank" and your energy will be much better throughout the day. Here are a few snacks that would be awesome between your big meals. Make sure you measure all the items so you get an idea of how many calories you are consuming using calorieking.com

Raw unsalted nuts (cashews, almonds) and an orange
A bananna and protein powder
Greek Yogurt and berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries)
An apple and natural peanut butter
Peaches, nectarines, dates, figs, melons, grapefruit, etc.
Be creative

#3 Eat a Protein, Carb, and Fat at every meal

Eating a protein, carb, and fat at every meal ensures you are getting in all the macronutrients, and that you will maintain your energy throughout the day. It also ensures that you stay full in between meals. Here's a newsflash: Carbs are good for you and so are fats. So stop the low carb and low fat dieting. It's worthless. What you need to do is eliminate processed carbs, breads, candy, cookies, etc. Your carbs should come primarily from fruits, and vegetables. If you are going to eat bread make it whole grain, but even that should be limited as much as possible. These diets that tell you that you can't eat fruits, because they have natural sugars are bullshit. Oh yeah! And stop listening to your doctor. I know I know, but they have a degree. Well to get their degree they take very few nutritional courses, if any! Just make sure you are getting a protein carb and fat at every meal and your body will thank you, and let go of the insulation your storing around your midsection. Sample foods with each macro can be found below. Eat a large variety of these foods, and your diet will never get boring.

Complex Carbs and Vegetables

Beans

Brown Rice

EzekialBread

Oats/Oatmal

Quinoa

Wild Rice

Yams/Sweet Potatoes

AlfafaSprouts

Artichoke Hearts

Alfalfa Sprouts
Artichoke Hearts
Arugula
Asparagus
Bamboo Shoots
Beet Greens
Bock Choy
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Chicory
Chives
Collard Greens
Cucumbers
Endive
Escarole
Fennel
Jicama
Kale
Leeks
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Onion
Peppers
Radicchio
Radishes
Rhubarb
Sauerkraut
Scallions
Spinach
Water Chestnuts
Zucchini

Lean Protein

Whey Powder

Bass
Bison
Chicken Breasts
Cod
Crab (try canned, instead of tuna!)
Egg Whites (boxed work well)
Elk
Flounder
Extra Lean Ground Turkey, Chicken, or Beef (at least 95% lean)
Haddock
Halibut
Orange Roughy
Ostrich
Perch
Tilapia
Shrimp
Snapper
Tuna
Turkey Breasts

Healthy Fats

Almonds
Avocados
Coconut Oil
Flameout (personal favorite)
Flax Seeds
Flax Oil
Grapeseed Oil
Herring
Macadamia Nuts
Mackerel
Natural Peanut Butter (no oil added)
Olive Oil
Pecans
Pumpkin Seeds
Salmon
Sardines
Sunflower Seeds
Walnuts

NEW ATHLETE WORKOUTS BLOG and tip of the day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

I'm not liking how the blog is moving forward so what I will be doing is moving the athlete blog posts (workouts, notes, etc.) to another address http://bakershoopschool.blogspot.com/. I am going to keep the personal training related content here at Blogginwithbaker.

With all that being said I would like to offer a lifting tip of the day.

When doing any row pattern (seated, chest supported, inverted) make sure to retract your scapulae before each rep. To do this think of putting your shoulder blades in your back pocket, by pulling them back and down. Another way to help with this is to push your chest out as far forward as you can. With any exercise you do you should think to pull your scapulae into this position. In a society where everyone sits at the computer hours, our scapulae become protracted and winged forward causing shoulder tension, pain, and even headaches. Our posture is downright awful, and getting worse. So the next time you are in the gym think about pulling your shoulder blades back and down, and you will be on you way to a healthier you.

Here is perfect seated row form by Tony Gentilcore of The Fitcast....Notice in the back view how his shirt bunches up on his back. That is from him pulling his shoulder blades back and down

Add scap pushups to your dynamic warmup at the beggining of your training session and get a feel for the movement of your scaps.

Questions and Answers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 03:18:00 +0000

I hope the young lady who asked these questions doesn't mind that I answered these questions on the blog but I think they are good questions the other people may have.

Question: Which is better; weigh fruits, veggies, etc. foods or use the suggested serving size?

Answer: I would say to weigh and measure your food, and then use a website like calorieking.com or fitday to calculate the calories, protein, carbs, fats, etc. that you are getting in each food

Question: Should you weigh meats prior to cooking? I assume yes, but wanted to be sure.

Answer: With calorieking.com you can get the counts for both cooked and uncooked meats. I I would suggest you weigh before you cook it but do what is easiest. Like I said you can do both with calorieking.com

Question: What are your thoughts about Juicing and the diet 'Eat Right 4 Your Type'?

Answer: I do not know too much about either of these option so I don't really know too much about it. I have always wanted to try the juicing but I haven't had a chance to get into it. I would think that it is a good concept. You can never get enough fruit or vegetables so I would give it a shot. It'll help you get all the good stuff that is in the fruits and veggies.

Question: Where can you buy Bison here in the valley?? I really want to try the 'Badass Bison' burger.

Answer: I would say your best bet is Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's has a lot of great stuff from the Bison, to Greek yogurt which you should take a look at as well. Greek yogurt is great because it has a ton of protein, and good fat's as well. It tastes pretty good with frozen fruit.

Rule #1 of Fat Loss-

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

I have been dealing with a lot of people at work, and the more people I see and speak to the more I realize that 80+ percent want to lose weight in some way, shape, or form. So what I am going to do over the next few posts is discuss certain rules of fat loss. Now this is by no means a dietary plan, but more or less dietary guidlines that I think everyone should follow. I think that a lot of people have heard the rules over their years of trying to "diet down" and lose but for some reason nobody really does them. They continually look for quick fixes that for some reason are never that quick, or they are so quick that once they stop doing the diet, they baloon right back to where their impatient asses started. So here we go.

Rule #1-Have clear, defined, and measureable goals

Simple enough right? Well whats the problem people? Why are do so many of you not have clear and defined goals on why you are doing whatever it is you are donig? Why when I ask you what your goals are do you tell me "tone up", "get in shape", "lose weight". Those are too broad, and for the most part unmeasurable. If you weigh 200, and tomorrow you weigh 199! Ta da you have lost weight, but how the hell am I supposed to know if that is enough if you tell me, "I want to tone up! or Lose weight". How do I know when you will be happy? I won't! Give yourself a date, a time period, a number, make a long term goal, a short term, and everything in between goal. Because otherwise you'll spin your wheels jumping from diet to diet, frustrated. Then that's when you come to me, lost and confused. So start today! Labor day is coming soon I think it's a little less than 2 months away. That's 8 weeks. At 1.5-2 pounds a week you should be down 12-16 pounds. There you go I started you off, now you finish. Make some measurable, achievable goals, and follow through with them. It'll Make a world of difference.

"I ________ will be ____ pounds lighter by Labor Day weekend!"

The Hierarcy of Fat Loss

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:15:00 +0000

http://sbcoachescollege.com/articles/SmartCardiotoBurnFat.html

Yet another vote for interval training. In the article linked above, Dr. Perry Nickelston states that intervals are more efficient at burning fat than long steady state cardio. Why? Because steady state cardio eats all that precious muscle you want to hold onto. You see when we are dieting or even training for sports, we want to have as much muscle as we possibly can, it helps to burn more calories throughout the day, and ramps up our metabolisms. So all that hard work we have done in the weight room is now wasted because of what we do after or even worse BEFORE we train hard.

Dr. Nickelston also states that there is a hierarcy of energy usage, and to train smart and get to #4 we must plan our workouts in a certain order, and it works as follows.

1. Muscle glycogen

2. Liver glycogen

3. Blood Borne Amino Acids

4. Fat Stores

When we train cardio first and it is long steady state cardio, we use up 1-3 and finally get to #4. 1-3 are what fuel our STRENGTH TRAINING. So will our strength training be the best it can be after we have done 30 minutes on that damn treadmill?

HELLLLL NO! Because we won't have any energy left. The smarter way to do it, and I use it with all my clients, and anyone else I see that tells me cardio burns more fat, is I strength train first, and do my interval/cardio second. It just makes more sense, if you are dog tired after running for a half hour chances are you are going to not lift optimally, or you are just going to skip it all together.

Weight lifting and interval training helps us to maintain and increase that lean body mass (muscle), and gives the tone and definition that all women want. It helps burn more calories THROUGHOUT the entire day, and possibly 2-3 days after you lift. Whereas, long cardio only helps you burn more calories for the time you are on the bike, treadmill, or that dumbass eliptical.

MAKE SENSE?

Read the article above, and have a good one folks.

Workouts for the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:10:00 +0000

Your workouts will be the same for Monday and Tuesday as they were last week, however this week for Thursday and Friday you will complete the workouts that were posted today for Thursday and Friday. Let me know if you have any questions. WORK HARD! Summer is over in 6 weeks and we will be testing the first day of school.

Thursday's Workout

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:10:00 +0000

1 Arm Snatch 3*6

Weighted Pullup 3*4

Reverse Lunge 3*6

Inverted Row 3*8-12

Prone Trap Raise 3*12

Side Bridge 3*30 seconds

Friday's Workout

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:06:00 +0000

Pushups 3*max reps

Pull Throughs 3*8-10

DB Military Press 3*6

Hamstring Curl 3*6

Barbell Rollout/Ab wheel rollout 3*30seconds

Day 2 of New Athlete Workouts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:52:00 +0000

Bench Press 3*6

Single Leg Deadlift 3*6/side

Standing Barbell Military Press 3*6

SHELC 3*12

Paloff Press 3*12/side

Wall Ankle Mobilizations 3*12

Athlete Summer Workout: New Phase

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:00:00 +0000

To all my followers its new workout time. I don't have to time to post all the days so what you are going to have to do is check back tomorrow for the days lift. Hopefully all of you are continuting to work hard and get stronger. I want most of you to start getting some running in. Basically, striders to so go to a field and run at about 80% for full field. I want you to begin building up your conditioning before school starts. I want you guys to do this 2-3 times this week. Next week I will get some more conditioning up for you. Without further adieu, here is today/tomorrow's lift. I really want you to step out of your comfort zone and add some weight to these which is why the reps are low.

Warmup as you have been normally doing. Make sure it is a dynamic warmup like I have always had you do.

1 Arm Snatch 3*3/side

Squats 3*6

Chin Ups 3*6

Walking Lunges 3*6/side

Seated Row 3*6

Face Pulls 3*12

Reverse Crunches 3*12

Doug P's New Workout

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:42:00 +0000

Here it is Doug! Always make sure you are trying to add weight and push yourself and you will always progress. This will help you add some muscle, get your Metabolism fired up, and move you closer to your goal. For Workout B I have put links so that you can see what the exercises look like. If you have any questions just post them to the comments section or shoot me an email. Hope all goes well. You'll have to excuse the videos, none of them are mine.

Workout A

Light Warmup for 5 minutes on bike or LifeFitness

Goblet Squats 3 sets of 12 reps

Split Squats 3 sets of 12 reps

RDL 3 sets of 12 reps

Push Up 2 sets of 12 reps

Row 2 sets of 12 reps

Planks 2 sets of as long as possible

Workout B (the numbers next to the exercise is the machine number). Most of these are machine exercises.

Light warmup on bike or lifefitness cycle

Chest Press (L26) 3*12

Military Press (L4) 3*12

Lat Pulldown (L2) 3*12

Leg Extension (L12) 2*15

Leg Curl (L14) 2*15

Side Planks 2 sets on each side for as long as possible

Blogs I'm Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:09:00 +0000

Here are a few blog posts from a couple of guys I follow that really know what they are talking about check them out. Learn Something!

Joe Hashey Blog Post.....Go ahead and click the link to the left.

This is a really good post from Joe Hashey. Are you feeling tired today? As Willie James Huff would say," WAAAAAAH SHUT UP!!!"

A great trainer from Edison, NJ not to far from my school sounds off and all panzies!!!!

Zach Even-Esh

New monthly "Get In Shape" workout plan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:41:00 +0000

This will be the new workout for the month for D. Meleis, and anyone else that would like to change it up a bit. I will be posting the second day of the workout when I have the time. Key points to this are really amping up the intensity and trying to up your weight every workout. If you are using a weight today, and 8 workouts from now you are using the same weight, you are just spinning your wheels and not accomplishing anything. The best way to track this is write it down, everyone should have a notebook with their workouts and notes in them. Get on it, and enjoy.

1A. Front Squat/Push Press 2*10 with 75 sec. rest

2A. Step Up 2*10 with 75 sec. rest

Basic Step Up here, the higher the step the harder it will be so challenge yourself.

2B. Dumbell 1 Pt Row 2*10 with 75 sec. rest

3A. Bulgarian Split Squats 2*10 with 75 sec. rest

Make sure you are holding some type of weight. Don't do so much that you are wobbling all over the place

3B. Push Ups 2*10 with 75 sec. rest

If you can progress to the floor

4A. Plank 2*60 sec. with 75 sec. Rest

If the floor is too easy for 60 seconds try these.

4B. Cable Horizontal Woodchip 2*10 with 75 sec Rest

*****Thank you Scott White whoever you are for your video demonstration, and Women's Health for the Picture***

New Workouts for Isa and Jill

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:32:00 +0000

There will be new workouts for the two of you. I will post them on the day I want you to do them so check back with the blog every day.

Conditioing Session

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:17:00 +0000

Hey Isa here is a little something for you today....

If you can get to Stevens I want you to use the field, if the field isn't open you can use that soccer field down near the river or any field about the length of a football field.

I want you to start very slow and we will progress as you get a little better.

Warmup
30 Jumping Jacks
10 Bodyweight Lunges- Make sure you hold the stretch for a little time in between to stretch your hip flexors.
10/leg Walking Knee Hugs
10/leg Walking Quad Stretch
10 Inchworms
10 Spiderman's

After the warmup we are going to do some sprinting. I want you guys to be conditioned but I want you to wait for that until the end of this session. You are going to do short sprints. If you are at the school do them from the end line to the top of the goalie box it would be about 20 yards, or 60 feet. You are going to go as hard as you can for the sprints, and I want you to have a COMPLETE rest in between each sprint. Catch your breath, let your heart rate go down completely so you can really get all out efforts in. The rest is the key to this entire thing so don't cut it short. Take your time and do it right. So you will do 10 Sprints*20 yards with a complete rest probably 90 seconds or so. After you do these you are going to do what are called strides.

Strides are going to help you really work on your runnning form and give you the oppurtunity to get a little conditioning in. You will stride full field and a steady pace. A stride is somewhere between a jog and a full out sprint, if tha makes sense. We are going to start slow and you will do 5 today. Again these are nice and easy, you will give yourself quite a bit of a break for these as well. Catch your breath and go again.

So the workout will look something like this...........

Warmup
Sprints 10*20 yards with COMPLETE REST
Striders 5*100 yards with almost complete REST.

You will do this in addition to your workout. Do the sprints first then the lifting.

Have fun.

5 More Random Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:44:00 +0000

Simplified Weight Loss-

After sitting in a certification orientation all day today I realized that weight loss may be more simple than I recently considered it to be. At the end of the day, if calories that you eat are lower than calories that you burn you will lose weight. I am by no means telling people who barely eat to eat even less, but just be conscience of the amount of calories you take in on a daily basis. If you have eaten 2000 calories in the past and you eat 1500 calories for a few weeks you will lose weight. Even if that 1500 calories is big macs (3 big macs is about 1700 calories), you would still lose weight. However, chances are with the big macs your bodyfat % would go up making you look even fatter than you did before you started dieting. So in the end eating quality food, and less calories is your best route to the body you want. However, if you have been on calorie restriction, or low calorie diets for a long time, in my research I have found its best to eat more, as well as more often to give yourself the energy to complete your lifting programs

Why 4-6 meals a day

I am sure a lot of people have heard eat 6 small meals a day as opposed to 3 large meals when dieting. I think a lot of people follow it blindly without really knowing the reason why. This diet advice to eat small more frequent meals is another very simple change to your diet to maintain your daily energy, and help you lose bodyfat. Your body adapts to what you do on a daily basis very quickly. Our ancestors were built to survive long periods of time between meals, since it was so hard to get food in the stone age. Their bodies adapted by storing body fat which gave their bodies energy in between bouts of taking down a wooly mammoth for food. Because this is engrained in our DNA our bodies do the same thing, so when we eat 3 large meals a day, in between those meals our brain tells our body to store bodyfat because it doesn't "know" when it is going to eat again. When nutritionists tell us to eat small meals every few hours, we are telling our brain that, "it's ok you are going to eat again soon". Which our brain then tells our body that it doesn't have to store the bodyfat, like our cavemen cousins did.

Machine Exercises-

I am a "functional training" type of guy. I believe that most exercises should be done standing, you should be doing heavy lifting, etc. I also believe that free weights are far superior to machine exercises. I have believed that for a while now. I say that they are far superior, however when I look at the big picture not everyone I will train in my lifetime is going to be an athlete, young, healthy, or a lifting veteran. So in some situations, I think machines will be something that I use for people who have just started training, or just getting back into lifting again. I know in the future I may regret saying it, but it may be something that I use in the future just to give my clients a training effect while I slowly teach them the free weight exercises that I will use to take them to the next level. Never, will I tell an athlete to use a machine unless it is a row, or face pull like exercises. So for the athletes that may read this, disregard this message.

Progressive Overload-

Change up your workout/cardio/diet routine. I said above your body gets used to what you do, and eventually what you are doing stops working. If it ever worked in the first place! So depending on your goals you should change your routine up a bit. You can change it up in a few simple ways. You can do more sets and reps, but the real change will come when you add weight, or change your rest periods. So if you have been doing 2 sets of 15 reps of an exercise for a set, with 40 pounds. Next time you workout try dropping the weight to 8-10 reps, and lift 50-60 pounds for the sets. The stronger you are, the faster your metabolism will be from the new muscle you have added, the more weight you will lose/gain. By changing your rest periods from 2 minutes to 1 minute, you will be doing more work in a smaller amount of time, again increasing your metabolism. This is why complexes, and supersets are becoming popular in today's weight training programs.

Crunches Suck-

Your lumbar spine (lower back) was made to be in a stable, neutral position. Not in flexion. Our core was built to stablize our lumbar spine, and maintain its neutral position. When many get back pain, trainers that really know what they are doing will never have them do crunches because it puts even more pressure on their lower backs. So when people first thought of doing crunches to get a six pack they had it all wrong. Crunches shorten our Rectus Abdominus (abs), pulling us into a hunchback position, and putting more undue stress on our lower backs

Not attractive.

Because our core was built to stabilize our spine, which will reduce our back pain, replace your cruches, with planks.

***Images courtesy of Nick Tumminello, and Geico.com***

5-18 Workout

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 May 2009 07:39:00 +0000

Here are your workouts for May 18. It is the first official lifting day of the summer make it a good one.

Warm Up- Everyone will do this warm up

Foam Roll-5 minutes. Roll what hurts, if it isnt sore skip it. Make sure you are rolling the whole 5 minutes even if it is on one spot. Click on the exercises for videos. If you don't have a roller just make sure you really warm up.

Birddog*10/side

Ankle Mobility *10/side

Scap Pushups on Elbows*15- You are going to try and squeeze your shoulder blades together on the way down

Squat to Reach *5/side

Spiderman Walks *5/side

Make sure you stick every landing. You will do 3 sets of 5 jumps per leg. If you are having knee issues you will not jump just go to the first exercise.

A1. Bench Press 3*5-

Use a weight that will not allow you to do 5. So go heavy, if the first set was too light move up. If it was too heavy move down.

B1. Push Ups 3*10-

Use the bar height that will barely allow you to do 10. You can find these in the second video if you are unclear of what they are. If you can do 10 on the floor, elevate your feet, at about 1 minute into the first video you'll see the foot elevated version.

B2. Inverted Rows 3*10

C. Face Pulls 3*12

D. Planks 3*40 seconds-

Your goal here is 40 seconds. Go as long as you can.

****Video were provided by Joe Trinsey of Prepperformance.net****

Make sure you rss the page. Or become a follower, you'll see a link to that down at the bottom

Athlete Summer Workout Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:16:00 +0000

Summer Workouts

I haven't had the opportunity to add new content to the blog this week, I'm in the process of moving as most of you know so I won't be able to do any of this stuff for this week. From here on out we will be repeating the workouts from last week, unless otherwise stated. Here are the old workouts to make it a little easier.

For all of these workouts I want to emphasize that as, you get stronger your weights should go up. Push yourselves, as I can't do it for you anymore. If a set is easy, the next set add weight. If you find your last set is too easy, make a note, in the notebooks I know you all have, and the next time you do that workout use more weight. Start from there. Now, every workout isn't going to be perfect, but you always want to strive to move up. I will give you updates to the workouts periodically so stay tuned to the blog

Workouts/Week

If you are having a hard time getting to your workouts 4 times a week, let me know as soon as you can, and I'll put something together for you that will have you lifting 3 times a week, or even two if need be.

Prioritize

To get the most out of your training, you might want to rethink how much basketball you play for the summer. I understand that your coaches want you playing, but in order to maximize your work in the weight room you need adequate rest between workouts, summer league games, and individual workouts. So NEVER, do two weight room workouts in one day. NEVER. I don't care if you missed a day. Just do the day you missed and continue the week as you normally would.
Work on your games. Don't forget that we aren't weight lifters, we are basketball players. So that means you need to be working on your skills. By working on your skills I don't mean crap summer league games. In my opinion I think they are worthless as far as your game is concerned, unless you are really using the time to work on things that you need to work on. I think improving your game comes from deliberate practice, not 5 on 5 open gym. We as basketball players are weak, we play pickup year round thinking we are improving ourselves, when we are really just putting ourselves open to overuse injuries. That "tendinitis", jumpers knee, ankle pain, back pain, is all because we are mis-priortizing whats important.

If I were you, and you need help organizing your time here is what I would do:

Strength and Conditioning-weight room, sprints, etc.
Skill Work-1 on 1, 2 on 2, form shooting, ball handling. Whatever weakness you have! I'll also post some drills and things for you guys as well.
Rest-This is as important as anything else.
Open gyms/summer league

The first three could all be in first, but I wanted to show that open gyms and games really should be far down the list. REALLY FAR. Just prioritize, lift, rest, work on your games and you will be better by next year.

Conditioning

As far as conditioning is concerned, do not get caught up in trying to stay in game shape over the summer. We will worry about that as the summer moves on. If you have the time to get extra workouts in like a sprint, or agility workout then let me know and I will get them to you. Otherwise don't go conditioning until it gets closer to August. By no means run long distances. No 1, 2, or 3 mile runs, EVER. But like I said I will put conditioning up as the summer goes on, but don't expect any until late July, Early August. I want you to focus on your skills, and strength.

RSS

The best way to do that is through the rss feeds if you know how to use them. Otherwise just bookmark the page. I'm out of here, and I'll see you in August.

Work Hard

Shocking Fat loss Revealation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 May 2009 00:48:00 +0000

If you haven't been measuring your food, and you trying to lose weight, it might be time to do so. The same goes for weight gain too, in a way. Make sure you watch the video if nothing else. The video is courtesy of Leigh Peele, she's a well known fat loss expert. If you are taking your weight seriously, read it.

http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2008/12/the_measure_of_your_fat_loss_s.php

The Puke Award!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 11 May 2009 05:34:00 +0000

So, I have decided I will make my very own award. The Puke Award. Now let me explain. The more I train by myself in the Varsity weight room, the more I am shielded from the absolute morons that work out in the "regular" weight room we have on Stevens fine campus. I usually go down there, and lucky for me I am the only one. However, when someone else is down there, the stupid things being done aren't quite as bad as the "cardio" room we have going on at the 3rd floor. Now don't get me wrong, a lot of the athletes do a lot of stupid things themselves and some of their habits could earn them a Puke Award in the future. But lucky for them not this week. When I happen to venture upstairs when Vanessa and I go train, I get in the pissiest mood. There are all types of dummies up there, using 5 lb weights, doing all types of bench presses, and generally just making an ass of themselves trying to heave up weight they are too puney to handle. So I am going to make an award specifically dedicated to you jackasses, and all jackasses who do things that either piss me off, make me feel bad for you, or make me laugh. Basically, the Puke Award encompasses dumb ass things that people do while they are working out, that make me want to PUKE. I will do my best to make this a weekly thing, but I have enough ammo to last me a decade, so who knows how many I hand out. Let's get on to business.

The 1st ever Puke Award winner is........(imagine a drum roll)!

The "I text on my phone in between every set of every exercise I ever do" Guy

You know who you all are. "Oh man that was a tough set, let me text Becky and find out if we can like, hook up later". I mean seriously man, is your phone that damn important that you can't leave it outside. There is only one squat rack in here, and you are taking 10 minutes of rest while you text in between your sets of 3 at 135 pounds.

1. Get off your damn phone

2. Quit being a wuss. and add some weight, wuss.

Leave the phone outside, the place is only so big, I don't want to hear your conversation of how much you drank last night. What your bench was, or where you and Jill are going in the City. And girls you aren't off the hook either because you do it too, in between your 2 hour intense bouts of cardio. If you are on a cardio machine, and have enough strength or ability to text someone, read a book, read a magazine, talk to your friend. WHATEVER. Up the damn speed, your huge ass, and those of us who have to look at it will thank you. So there you have it.

Please, next time you lift whether you are in the Varsity Weight room, or upstairs in the cardio gym, please leave your phone alone. If you are there to train, train and get the hell out of the gym. Your workouts wouldn't be 2 hours long if you stopped talking between sets. Plus, 1 hour away from your precious friends will do you some good.

Until next time, PEACE

5 Random Sunday Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:23:00 +0000

I'm bored so I'm posting some random thoughts for you guys.

1. Gaining weight isn't always the answer. A lot of male athletes want to gain weight because they feel it will help their athletic goals, more often than not its because they want to look good with their shirt off. But that's another day. All that is fine, but let's look at the problem without such a narrow scope. Getting stronger is not as good as getting stronger in relation to your body weight. A guy at 200 that can squat 400, is in my opinion better than a guy at 215 that can squat 400. It's simple math, our 200 lb athlete, is stronger in relation to his bodyweight than our 215 lb athlete. This is why I've ditched body building, "look strong" "get big" program, and done more lifting for strength and power. I don't want to gain weight, as much as I want to get strong as hell at my current 200 lbs.

2. If gaining weight is still your goal, because some athletes still need to, whether it be football athletes who just need the extra "meat" to pad themselves from falls and running over guys, or basketball players who need some extra weight to finish in the paint, or hold off an opposing big. (cough cough Franklin, Mcnay). Eating More is the key. I've said it before, and I will say it again because for some reason Skinny Bastards don't seem to listen. EAT MORE, EAT MORE, EAT MORE. If you aren't gaining weight, then you aren't eating enough. Plain and simple. You may be eating more than a normal person, but you aren't a normal person. You are trying to gain weight and you must eat accordingly. During days you are playing, you have to eat more than you would on a day off. If you aren't as active then you can get away with eating less. The easiest way to figure out how many calories you are eating is to really measure what you eat as much as you can. Eat more protein, eat more carbs, eat more fats. Be systematic, and eat as clean as possible because we want to gain lean body mass (muscle), not fat. Start off eating about 3000 calories a day, after your first week add an extra 500 calories a day every week until you start gaining weight. We want to eat lean meat, protein shakes, vegetables, rice, beans, etc. The less processed the food the better. What do I mean by processed? Cookies, cake, McDonald's. You want limit this crap food as much as you can. I understand sometimes it may be all you can get your hands on, but your 3000 calories shouldn't come from entire days of eating this crap. So your eating schedule would look like this:

Week 1: 2500 calories/day

Week 2: 3000 calories/day

Week 3: 3500 calories/day and so on. More than likely you will see weight gain at 3000-3500 calories a day, because your body hasn't taken in this much food in a while if not ever. Once you start seeing weight gain don't up the calories anymore, it'll start turning into fat, which like I said before we don't want. So to sum it up, add 500 calories a day each week until you see weight gain, once you see steady weight gain after a week, stay at that calorie count until you stop gaining or you get to your goal weight. Let me know how it goes, good luck.

3. Finding an extra 500 calories in a day isn't tough, one normal size chicken breast is about 200 calories. You do the math.

4. Shoot for 1-1.25 grams of protein for every pound of body weight you have. So for a 200lb person, thats about 200-250 grams of protein a day. Protein will help you gain weight, lose weight, and help you recover from exercise. EAT IT. Protein has about 4 calories/gram. So if I consume 200 grams of protein, that's 800 calories from protein. You always want to maximize the amount of protein you eat because it helps you in so many ways. In general both men and women don't get enough protein, but my guess is with the way I see women eat these days they are a lot worse off. SO eat a protein shake or something, JESUS!

5. Girls if you want to look like this....Read #4. And train hard. No matter how much you cardio bunnies run and how much fat you lose, if you don't have any muscles, you'll just be a skinnier saggier version of your heavier self. Simple. If that is what you want more power to you. Fortunately, some women are figuring this out. But for those that haven't figured it out. Lift Weights, Lift Heavy, Lift like "a man". You won't get big and muscular, you'll look better. Possibly closer to Jessica Biel, and not like the walking skeleton Madonna (I need to take a puke break). Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Cindy Crawford, they all train with weights. Don't be afraid of them, embrace them, you'll look better for it

5. Eat Breakfast. If so many people have heard eat breakfast, and how good it is for you, EVERYBODY F*ING skips it. WHY? What part of eat breakfast don't people understand.
"I want to lose weight", "I want to gain weight", "I'm tired at noon". My answer to all these gripes are, EAT Beakfast. It kick starts your day and your metabolism to keep you awake. If you are gaining, losing, or maintaining your weight. Skipping breakfast is not an option. EVER, so eat it and stop complaining.

PEACE