Catch yourself when a negative thought crosses your mind

Rant and Tip for February 29, 2012

Quote:  “Catch yourself when a negative thought crosses your mind, and cancel it out by purposely replacing it with a positive statement.”
~ Carl Tuchy Palmieri, Satisfying Success

Negative thoughts can destroy any exercise program or diet that you are attempting to follow. You need to push these negative thoughts out or your head as soon as they try to enter. Replace them with a positive thought; imagine yourself pounds lighter or pounds stronger. Either one will take some time but both can be done at any age.

I met some nice people yesterday and we got to talking about diet and exercise. I was in a situation where I was sitting around for a long period of time and so I had gone to my car to get something to read. The only thing I had was the Parrillo Magazine I was in. I brought it in the facility and looked for an article I had not read yet. Some of the people there noticed the magazine and we all got to talking about health, diet and exercise. I was impressed with a statement one of the men had made. This gentleman had stated he had smoked for 19 year. He had trouble walking without getting winded and needed and more importantly wanted to quit. He told me the day his son was born he quit smoking. He now bikes in races and aside from some belly fat is in good shape. Now having quit smoking is a enormous life changing task in itself but how he stated he quit impressed me. He said “I quit 15 minutes at a time.” When he said that I thought to myself when people change their diet if they get a craving and just tell themself, I will wait 15 minutes and most likely the craving will pass. Changing your diet and eating habit or quitting smoking can happen 15 minutes at a time.

My weight is perfect 169 this morning and that puts me 4 pounds from goal for the March 24^th meet. My diet is crisp with no cheating. As far as my training, I am feeling strong and great. My shoulders are feeling pretty good. I have started taking glucosamine with chondroitin, this really seems to help. Today will be a raw bench day and I hope to be doing some board work at Albany Strength tonight.

Have a great workout!

Tip: Lateral Raises is the best exercise to build side deltoids. No other exercise can target side/lateral deltoids like this. 

The key to dumbbell lateral raises is proper form. This means no swinging, no unnecessary movement of elbows and wrist.

Safety and Efficiency Tips

1. Raise the dumbbells to shoulder level only. Avoid raising them overhead . Keep a slight bend in your elbows as it stresses the elbow joints.

2. Always perform the Shoulder Exercises before you perform triceps. This sequence is very important because if you do triceps before shoulders, the triceps will fail early and you cannot lift heavier in shoulder press thus not stimulating delts enough.

Mechanic

Mechanic
Guest post written by Derick Burks
My father in law knows a lot about cars. He grew up working on cars and has taught my husband and his brother a lot about cars too. They own several cars that they bought just to rebuild. They call them “project cars.” They have a huge garage with a lift and so many tools to work on cars. Every time that my car has a problem, I can take it to my father in law to have it fixed, instead of paying to have it fixed. My father in law has recently decided to get his mechanic license so that he can make some money off of his hobby. He decided to start a auto mechanic business in his garage at home. He started by just working on cars of friends, and then started doing a little advertising and now he has a lot of regular customers. He went to www.t1internet.net to set up his phone and internet for the business. I am glad that he has turned something he loves doing into something that helps him make a little extra money. I am also glad that I don’t have to ever worry about where to get my car fixed.

Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.”

Rant and Tip for February 28, 2012

Quote: “Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.” Lao Tzu

I was looking for a quote on being flexible and ran across this one. Water is a very unique element and it is all around us to learn from. It is flexible in its ability to adapt to its environment and yet does not yield to adversity. Just look at the Grand Canyon, carved from water. No matter what form water takes or the course it pursues it is still strong and is always working. Yesterday I had originally planned to do squats. Well things did not work out that way. I ended up having to work my back, middle and lower trapezius and rear deltoids. I had run into a stumbling block and had to be flexible like water and change my routine. Like the water of a river, when it hits a wall it does not just stay there. It finds a way around the challenge and continues moving forward. We need to always keep ourselves fluid in our pursuits of health and fitness. If we come across a challenge that does not allow us to follow a planned routine, giving up is not an option, we need to drive forward and be flexible like water.

Yesterday was a good day as far as my water intake and my meal schedule. Since I am trying to reduce about 5 pounds of fat that is left on my body, I have reduced the number of grams of protein I have been consuming. I increased my dietary fiber through green vegetables and depending on how those pounds come off will be reducing carbs more as needed. My diet is ever changing depending on the event that I have coming up. I like to be a little heavier when I am trying to put on muscle mass and then lean out some for a meet. Tracking my food is very important and getting the proper amount of cardio helps as well.

I already mentioned that I had to change my workout routine yesterday do to some challenges that arose. Today I have a very busy day and probably will not make it to the gym. Although if I plan it right I may get to the training center tonight. Now that would be fantastic. Whatever your workout is today, whether it is going to be a brisk walk or a strength training session give it all you got. Give 100% be like water and be unyielding yet flexible at the same time.

Have a great workout!

Tip: Forward Lunge (http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/fitness/forward-lunge-tips)

Lunges are a great way to get your butt in gear. Since they involve several muscles and joints, lunges are a compound exercise, which means they burn big calories. Lunges get high marks in my book for versatility too. You can do them anywhere, and there are many forms to choose from to make sure you stay challenged. But first things first, let’s learn how to do the basic lunge movement and get those glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves working.

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with your weight on your heels. Pull your abdominals in and stand with your shoulders squarely over your hips.

Lift your left leg, leading with your heel, and step forward in an elongated stride. As your foot touches the floor, bend both knees until your left thigh is parallel to the floor and your right thigh is perpendicular to it. Your right heel will be off the floor. Exhale and press off the ball of your foot, stepping back into the starting position, and repeat, alternating legs.

Make sure that your forward knee never travels past your toes. Keep your eyes focused forward; if you look down, you might lose your balance. Keep your spine straight through the entire movement, with your shoulders always positioned squarely over your hips. And don't forget to keep those abs sucked in the entire time!

Attitude: It is our best friend or our worst enemy.

Rant and Tip for February 27, 2012

Quote: “Attitude: It is our best friend or our worst enemy.” ~John C. Maxwell

Our attitude can make or break us. If we keep telling ourselves that we can’t do something then we never will be able to do it.  Where if we take the time to plan properly and apply the knowledge we have to the goal at hand we can achieve amazing things. Your diet is no different. If you continue to tell yourself that you cannot lose the extra weight you are carrying, then you won’t. You have already defeated yourself without anyone else even saying a word. I know it is not easy. Learning to eat properly after years of indulging in the foods that have added the extra fat pounds to your body takes dedication, but you can do it. One of the things switching to a low carb life style does is give you the, “Oh I can do this: factor early on. This is because in part due to the diuretic effect of the diet. You body will not retain as much water when you switch to low carb. Yes you do lose some fat that first week and will continue to lose fat. However you also lose some water weight without trying. As a matter of fact you will need to make sure to continue to drink copious amounts of water. Anyway this additional lose gives you a substantial weight loss in the beginning, in most cases. This is a huge motivator but can also be discouraging once your body gets use to it and then you do no lose as fast a rate. Grab a hold of that motivation you get in the beginning and use that as your catalyst to that great attitude that is your best friend.

Training is going well and I look forward to putting the bench shirt on again next Sunday. Today is a squat day for me and as long as my legs and back feel good I will attempt a PR of 380 lbs. This is a big deal for me because I think I have finally broken the fear factor. You see a couple of weeks ago I took myself to failure in a squat cage deliberately. I wanted to let my body know it was ok if I did not get the weight back up because I had the safety rails in place. I had for the longest time the fear of getting stuck under some heavy weight on the squat. This is a mind over matter thing that I just had to get over. I am going to push myself to get a 400 squat by August.

Have a great workout!

Tip:  Hear are 10 squat tips from  Chris “OX” Mason from www.EliteFTS.com

Proper Start

When unracking the bar, make sure that your head is up, your chest is up and your stomach is filled with air. Too many times lifters start screaming and grunting and lose I.A.P. This will make you lose tightness in the squat and start you off on the wrong track. This doesn’t mean that you can’t be intense, just learn how to channel it correctly.

Create a Shelf

Try to touch elbows together behind your back during the squat and especially when putting the bar on your back. This keeps your "shelf" tight and creates a large amount of space to put the bar on. Also, keep your elbows close to your body; don’t let them come up. This will cause you to fall forward.

Low Bar

Find a lower bar position. This will give the weight less leverage on you, and you more leverage on the weight. This doesn’t mean that you have to automatically become a low bar squatter, but try to find a slightly lower bar position if you are not already doing so. This will take some time to get used to, so don’t expect to feel comfortable right away.

Sit Back at the Beginning

Sit back as far as you can before you bend your knees. We have all heard the term “sit back” when squatting but it is especially important to start to sit back at the beginning of the squat. This will ensure that you start the lift correctly. The first motion of a good squat is pushing the hips/glutes to the rear, not bending the knees first. This will require that you have strong hips, strong hamstrings and a very strong low back. Remember that if you begin wrong, you will end wrong. If you begin correctly, you give yourself a better chance at ending correctly. Get started on the correct path at the beginning of the lift.

Squat without a Box

You must squat with and without a box. Rotate every 2-3 weeks. I squat with a dip and I can’t train that aspect with the box. This ensures that I improve my squat form and am still comfortable at a meet. But the box makes me work harder and makes me stronger. I believe that you need to practice your full squat form without a box.

Good Mornings

Do your good mornings, helps with #4.

Train your Abs

Train your abs, but don’t train them like a bodybuilder or a “regular” fitness enthusiast. You must train them heavy with sets of 6, 5 or even triples. You must gradually work up to this or you will tear something.

Go Raw

Rotate in a raw cycle. Don’t wear briefs or a belt and do this with and without the box. You will find out how much you rely on your gear. I do this for the 4 weeks prior to a 12 week meet cycle. ( I am a raw lifter for the squat but thought I would leave this one in.)

Move the Head First

When coming out of the hole, the head moves first, up and slightly back. The body follows the head, if the hip/butt comes up first, the head goes forward, then so does you and the weight.

Video Analysis

Make sure that you video your workouts and critique your form as if you were looking at someone else, then make necessary adjustments. Be honest with your training partners. If the squat was high, tell them. Then they will feel comfortable telling you the same. While some of your training partners are friends, you must be comfortable enough to give and get criticism.

Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength

Rant and Tip for February 26, 2012

Quote: “Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.”  Betty Friedan

Aging really is not a lost youth, we can learn so much if we take the time to reflect back on our past. I also do find that it does offer many new opportunities and well as far as strength there is both physical and mental strength that can be gained.

You may know by now that my feeling is that our age should not affect how fit we are. Fitness can be achieved at any age. Now that may be a different type of fit than when we were in our twenties. You many not run as fast or be as physically strong but you can still be fit.

As we get older and health challenges crop up whether due to lack of exercise of just the body breaking down it becomes more important to take the proper precautions. My father is retired now and I often wondered if Medicare Part A and Part B is sufficient enough.  I fear not! This is where advantage plans from the government comes in. Many people that have retired have acquired a supplemental plan and find it to be very beneficial. The rising cost of health care and the reduction of benefits that seems to be hitting all of us are staggering. If you do not have a supplemental plan you may want to look into is.

In doing my research I found the National Institute on Aging to be most helpful. It had a fountain of information and had featured topics that ranged from the food on your plate to an article on Alzheimer’s.  We need to make wise decisions regarding our health and fitness as we get older and getting the information to make those decisions is the first step.

Have a great day!

Tip: The more you read the more informed you will be.

"I am allergic to sugar, it makes me break out in fat"

Rant and Tip for February 24, 2012

Quote: "I am allergic to sugar, it makes me break out in fat" A fellow Atkineer

A friend of mind is assisting me in putting together a Concert Benefit to be held at Trick Shots in Clifton Park. We have a date set and are looking for some local bands that would like to play to assist in the benefit. If interested reach out to me via the email address above. The expenses are piling up for this world meet and representing the USA is looking to be more expensive than I originally thought. If interested in helping out please feel free to email me.


If you have any questions regarding diet and exercise feel free to reach out to me as well.

OK now let’s talk about eating. This can be a scary subject when you are trying to get fit, especially, if you have been over weight for some time. You get in the mindset that “If I eat too much I will not lose the fat I want to lose”. If your goal is to gain strength and build muscle, regardless of age, you need to heat to be successful and see gains.

Here is the thing if you are eating the right foods you will lose weight. Most guys need to consume an additional 2,500 to 3,500 calories a week to gain one pound of muscle. This can only happen if you are still young enough to have the testosterone to build that much muscle. You can pump iron until you're blue in the face, but if you don't augment your training efforts with enough food and fluid, the laws of human biology and simple mathematics dictate that you won't get any bigger. "When it comes to gaining muscle, the most important thing is getting enough calories to fuel both your exercise and the metabolic processes needed to build muscle," says Susan M. Kleiner, Ph.D., R.D., author of Power Eating. Most people who have trouble gaining muscle and strength simply aren't eating enough. Ladies this goes for you to. Again you will not get bulky you do not have the hormones to do so. You can however get that lean toned body that will make people turn heads.

I battle with this myself. It is very hard when you come from being overweight to being fit to realize you have to eat and eat a lot when you are exercising regularly. However, eating a bunch of junk high in sugar will still make you fat. You need to eat properly to lose fat and get fit. There is no substitute for hard work and dedication.

Shoulders and back will be my training today. Yesterday my shoulders were too fatigued to really get a good workout. So instead I added a second leg day. I feel fantastic today and look forward to hitting the gym at noon.


Have a great workout!

Tip of the day:

Here we go again, TRACK YOUR FOOD, if you don’t have a food tracker get online and sign up for one. www.fitday.com or www.fatsecret.com are both helpful tools for tracking your food intake. They will help you track your carbs proteins fats and even alcohol. The rest is up to you. Measure your food; see what a real portion size is. Make sure you are not under estimating the food you are eating. No tracking tool will work if all you do is estimate your food intake.

“By changing nothing, nothing changes.” -Tony Robbins

Rant and tip for February 22, 2012

Quote: “By changing nothing, nothing changes.” -Tony Robbins

This statement is true regarding your diet and your exercise plan. If you hit a stall in you weight loss and I mean a  2 month stall not a plateau that can occur weekly and monthly. When you hit a true stall you need to change things up to get things going in the right direction. My body is so use to the way eat that when I want to lose 5 pounds I have to really change my diet up. The same for my workout schedule. When I hit a stall in my benching I will switch things up to get things moving again.

 

Yesterday was a good squat day. I hit a PR with the free bar of 365 and it went up really smooth. I had someone watch my depth and I could feel when I hit depth and they said now at that point. I truly think I have 380 in the tank and eventually a 400 squat. Little by little I will get there. Not to shabby for a almost 50 year old man.

Tonight I will train in the bench shirt and what I am hoping to do is go heavier and press our some serious weight. I really want to put up 400.

For those of you working out at home here is a chest day schedule you can follow:
Wednesday: Chest
Incline dumbbell press - 4 sets 10
Flat dumbbell press - 4 sets 10
Decline barbell press - 4 sets 10
Dumbbell flies - 4 sets 10

Have a great workout!


Coming soon a page Kippersworkout T shirts. I am having a challenge getting the paypal pieces together but they will be up soon.

 

Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone.

 Rant and Tip for February 21, 2012

Quote: Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone.
Jim Fiebig

I found this quote this and thought it really touches on the fact that age is just a state of mind. Yes as we get older we need to be a little wiser in how we approach things, but that does not mean we should not approach them at all. As we age the worst thing we can do is sit back and let time take over. We need to take control and really push the envelope a little. 

I has someone recently ask me do I think I will still be competing in my sixties and I told them of course and if I can continue to train properly maybe set some records then to. 

Now to my low carb friends I apologize about the ice cream references and promise if I have some ice cream it will be Breyers Low Carb Ice Cream. I have tried and actually think it is creamier than regular ice cream. Yesterday a friend as me for some help with how to get started on the path to losing some body fat. We talked about what to eat and not eat and one of the things that popped up was snacking. Snacking has changed for me. To me  a snack is a scoop or tuna or egg salad. Maybe a chicken leg or two and some fresh veggies. To most people the idea of a snack are chips or some other corn processed snack. I use to be that way as well. To my friends who still believe that low fat is the way to go you can still snack the same way as I have just stated. You will need to hold the mayo though.

Leg day for me and I plan on doing sets of 2 working my way up to a new 2 rep max I hope.

Your leg day would look like this:

 

Squats- 3 sets 10
Calf raises- 3 sets 10
Thigh extensions if doing at home try sitting on a chair with a dumbbell held with your feet
3 sets 10
Lunges - 3 sets of 10

Leg curls - 3 sets of 10

Have a great workout!

Tip: Plan you snacks as you would plan your meals

: Find something you enjoy doing and do it!

Rant and Tip for February 19, 2012

Quote: Find something you enjoy doing and do it!

Well  have given it some thought and the real reason I post here is simply because I like to. I truly enjoy helping and giving motivation to the few people who still come here to read my blog and I do find it helpful for myself as well. I enjoy writing this blog and the more people that take the time to read it the better. However I am not going to stress of losing a some visits.

Just like your training your are going to have up and down days and maybe even weeks in your training. I am not going to let a few poor days let me stop writing.

I trained with my 42 Super Katana today and it felt good. I used releasers with a top weight on the bar of 474 pounds and then a press of 366 which went up easy.

I will train the muscles for more pressing power tomorrow. It is funny after training in the shirt I truly do not feel like I have had a power workout. Maybe that is just the nature of the shirt. Bottom line is though the stronger I am raw the, in my mind the stronger I will be in the shirt. So I train both.

Woke up to a perfect body weight for training and working toward my March goals.

A little advice for you when dieting. Pay attention to your body. Learn the difference between hunger and thirst. Many people do not realize that many times there body is not hungry, it is actually thirsty. I find when I am drinking enough water I definitely eat less. Funny this though I need the fuel. So I have to be careful as well. This is why I stated take the time to get to know your body.

Have a great workout and stay focused on your diet!!!

Tip!!! LISTEN TO THE BODY!!!

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

Quote: Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

Soren Kierkegaard (1813 - 1855)

Good morning everyone. It seems to me that we have to take the time to understand what has happened in our lives to understand where our future can lead. We need to take the lessons learned from our past and apply them to our future. If we do not we are destined to repeat what we should have learned the first time. If eating poorly and not getting enough exercise has put your body in a state where your doctor has stated you need to lose weight or get on medication for some weight related condition, you have a great opportunity to learn from your past. You already know how not to eat. You also already know what not exercising can do to the body. Keep the body moving and choose the right foods for you.

My cardio is done already and breakfast has been finished. I had a good shoulder and back workout yesterday and I am looking forward to working my arms today. Sunday I will be a raw bench day and Wednesday next week will be an equipped day. I look forward to both days. My diet has been tight without any temptations. OK the temptations are all around but I have no desire to hit them.

 I have been following the stats on my blog and have noticed hits are way down. I use to get around 100 to 130 a day and this past week I have been lucky to get over 80 hits. Maybe it is that my writing has become stale or maybe this blog has run its course. I am not sure yet. I am going to take a few days off and I will leave you with my intermediate workout schedule.

I do need to focus on raising money for the World Bench Press meet in May and since this blog is not generating any interest I think my efforts will be better spent hitting the pavement so to speak and working on getting sponsors.

If you would like to see me continue my daily rants and tips please let me know.

Here is the link to the intermediate workout

Have a great workout!

Tips: Dieting is not easy. You need to work at it. At times there will be stalls along the way as well as times you just want to give up. Do not give up. Spend the time working on it and you will be successful.

Looking after my health today gives me a better hope for tomorrow

Rant and Tip for February 16, 2012

Quote: “Looking after my health today gives me a better hope for tomorrow.” Anne Wilson Schaef

Before

After

Good morning everyone, Prior to 2009 I did a very poor job at looking after my health. I didn’t eat right and as much as working around the house and helping family with projects I wasn’t getting enough of the right exercise. It is tough when you sit at a desk for a living to maintain a healthy fit body. While sitting at that desk we tend to eat all the wrong snacks and we opt for the quick and easy simple carbohydrate loaded lunch. I do not care whether you are on a low fat or low carb diet. The simple carbs are not good for you period end of story. Anyway my point here is that I did not take care of myself. I need to start looking after my health. Once I started doing that it gave me hope for a healthier tomorrow. Taking the steps to looking after your health is the wisest thing you can do for you and your family.

Eating right and getting your exercise in is one of the hardest things to do in this country. A food substance is always not too far away. I say food substance because if you actually read the label on some of the processed foods out there you really have to ask you if it is a food. On the other hand when I grab a bunch of asparagus or broccoli, I do not need a nutrition label to tell me what is in it. There are many whole natural foods we can snack on without getting a food substance. Society is such that everything seems to get in the way of getting proper exercise and eating correctly. We work long hours, we have to take our children here and there, and during all this still try to find time for our own mental health and sanity. For me part of the mental sanity is being able to get to the gym and hit the weights hard.

I got my cardio on the bike in this morning and later today am looking forward to working my shoulders and back. I want to strengthen my back more and work on thickening it for a better base to bench from. Yesterday I ended up doing squats and although I had not fueled my body properly had a great workout and then went for a max effort lift of 365. I attempted 375 after that but failed. Failure is a good thing, because squatting, is one of the exercises that I do tend to not work to failure. I get fearful of getting stuck under the weight. However like a friend of mine once said, “Kipper you need to be fearless in the squat”. Thanks Mike I am working on it.

Have a great workout!

Tip: Doing proper shoulder work consistently will also help improve your bench.