Do more pull-ups, stop being a wuss!
Apr/100
Ok nerds, listen up! <Steals your beach ball and takes your girl>…
There are several things you should be able to do as a human, one of the most essential is to pull your bodyweight. In todays society this doesn’t hold much weight, we no longer have to escape from many things, we don’t have to track and hunt our prey. However, this should be no excuse for not being able to pull your own body weight! Anyone familiar with my training techniques will no that bodyweight always comes first! If you can’t do 10 pull-ups you have no business doing dumbbell curls (sorry frat boys). So what can you do about it? Well, lets start bydoing more pull-ups, all kinds of pull-ups.
Here are some programs to help increase your natural bodyweight strength. Be sure to try different variations of grip and tempo as you go.
21′s:
- Grab a 15lb and a 10 lb dumbbell and tuck it between your legs…
- Do 7 pullups with the 15
- Do 7 pullups with the 10
- Do 7 pullups at body weight
- Repeat for 3 sets of 21.
Creatine: It Works!
Jul/090
I don’t use too many supplements these days, it’s easy to believe the hype and spend loads of money on supplements that don’t really produce results. However there are a few that are definitely worth your hard earned money, Creatine is one of them. Take a look at this study:
Creatine Prevents Losses In Strength And Muscle Size During Immobilization:
Muscle mass, strength and endurance decrease rapidly during immobilization following an injury or surgery. Creatine monohydrate boosts muscle size and strength in athletes, older adults and people suffering from degenerative diseases. Canadian researchers, led by Adam Johnson, found that creatine supplements (5 grams, four times per day) prevented muscle deterioration in young men with arms immobilized in plaster casts for two seven-day periods. Casting without creatine caused a 3.7 percent decrease in muscle mass, a 21.5 percent decrease in strength and a 43 percent decrease in muscle endurance. During creatine supplementation, muscle mass actually increased slightly, while strength and muscle endurance decreased by only 4.1 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively. Creatine monohydrate supplements prevent large losses in muscle mass, strength, and endurance in cast-immobilized limbs in young men. (Journal Strength Conditioning Research, in press; published online in January 2009)
Now you can bank on those kind of results! Don’t bother wasting your money on the expensive stuff loaded with sugar either, a 500g tub should only cost you $15 bucks or so.
100 pushup challenge
Jun/090
I am a huge advocate for natural body weight training, and there is no exercise better than the push-up. This movement works so much more than just your chest. It’s compound, utilizing muscles from your back, arms, chest, and core. I like to start everyday out with a quick set of push-ups to get your blood moving and your mindset right (see my AM Workout). For those of you who are looking to increase your strength quickly and efficiently I recommend trying the 100 push-up challenge.
This site gives a very straight forward way to increase your strength by outlining a plan of increasing reps each day until you reach 100 consecutive push-ups. There are two main reasons why I like this approach. The first is because its simple, wake up do your routine and go (takes 10-15 minutes tops).
This routine looks like this and varies every day, details are on the site:
- Set 1: 10
- Set 2: 12
- Set 3: 7
- Set 4: 7
- Set 5: Max Reps (at least 9)
The instructions are very clear and easy to follow. The second reason I like this approach is because it drive results based on goal. I believe the only way to really get the results you want are by setting achievable goals for yourself, like doing 100 push-ups in a row! Try this routine, I guarantee you will see results in strength and definition in your chest.
Now go do your push-ups!
