All know the way; few actually walk it. ~Bodhidharma

Rant and Tip for January 22, 2012

Quote All know the way; few actually walk it.  ~Bodhidharma

We have all been told or read all the different thoughts on diet and exercise. With the internet there really is little that you cannot educate yourself on. So what this brings to mind is this, we know or can learn, the way to a healthy fit body. The challenge will be to take that information and walk or in my case run with it. Some of you just starting you exercise regimen will be walking others may be running. In either case you are implementing the knowledge you have learned whether you learned it here or someplace else it does not matter. Taking those first steps is a huge step forward for the rest of your life. I commend you.

There is something to look out for though and being prepared for it mentally will be key to your future success. Many people will fall off the exercise or diet plan at some point in the future. It has happened to me and will happen to you. One of two things need to takes place at this point. You either come back with a vengeance realizing that we all fall off the wagon at some point or another and there is no shame is getting back on course after a brief unplanned break in you will. The other thing that happens to many people is that they will get a guilty feeling about not being in the gym or not following their diet plan. They then get into a malaise and think it is to late to get back on track, they get depressed in their thoughts and decide whether consciously or subconsciously that they just cannot do it.
Do not let this happen to you. You are better than that and so deserve to get to where you want to be. Do not be the second kind of person that just gives up. Even if you have put another 20-pounds on and feel to embarrassed to get in the gym get there anyway. Put on a big sweatshirt and get to work, get back to tracking your meals and pull all the key points together.

I have changed my workout schedule around so I can get to a bigger gym that has more equipment for my powerlifting goals. I now lift Sundays and getting in my deadlifts and then some raw benching will have to let you know how this all works out. I would prefer to get to this gym on Tuesday nights but with family obligations that has not worked out yet. Last Wednesday night I tweaked my shoulder and it was bothersome when I deadlift. It will be fine in another week. I have loose joints when it concerns my shoulder blades. This is why it is so important to not let the bench shirt pull my shoulders out. When I bench raw I do not have a problem because as I go heavier my shoulders simply stay tighter. As I first started benching my shoulder felt a little tight but not a sharp pain or anything that would cause me concern. So I just made sure to warm up nicely. Once I was warmed up I tried something-new called drop weight sets. This is a little tough to explain, but I will try to anyway. You load the bar with a weight you can press with confidence and power. Then you hang these hooks on the bar that are loaded with more weight. What this does is allow you to handle much more weight when lowering the bar to the chest and at the bottom the weights on the hooks drop off this lightening the load. This loads the muscle on the way down and you explode in to the lift at the bottom.

Have a great workout!

Tip:   Always believe in yourself. If you start doubting yourself you workout will not be effective. You attitude can make or break you. Once you attitude changes everything changes. I remember the last competition I entered after my second lift I was pumped and had a great attitude regarding my third and final lift. I knew the weight was going up.

Too many times have I heard people say, "Why do you go to the gym so much, you don't need that" or "Why you building all the muscle for? It’s all a waste of time and besides, all those guys are on steroids",

I ignore these people with their negative attitude. I consider negativity to be a disease and if you hang around with people with negative attitudes you will catch it as well. Ignore them or replace them in this portion of your life.