Discipline is just choosing between what you want now and what you want most.

Rant and Tip for March 12, 2012

Quote: “Discipline is just choosing between what you want now and what you want most.”  Unknown Author

               

Many times what we want now is in direct conflict with what we truly want for ourselves. You may want that donut now but it is not going to get you to what you want the most. This truly is discipline or will power to achieve your goals. Have the discipline to achieve the goals you desire most.

For those of you struggling with your diet take a moment and think about this quote today. Focus on the big picture not what you want right now. We all fall into that trap. I will sometimes look at a bagel and think to myself “Oh it can’t hurt if I eat just one” or I will think I have plenty of time to get down to meet weight. Whatever the reason is that I desire that bagel at that time, I remind myself what my true goals are. I tell myself that it is just a want and not a need. For me I need to be fit and healthy. Heck how can I help you get there if I cannot stay there myself. You can make the right choices with proper planning and a little discipline.

Training went alright yesterday and I am adopting a new philosophy today. Every training session I will shoot for a new PR. This new PR may not be a new One Max Rep however it might me hitting an extra rep on a weight or even hitting a set that is only one pound heavier. Who knows maybe I increase my OMR by a pound a week and just continue to improve pushing my body to its limits. Raw bench was the call of the day yesterday and today I will be hitting my squats. My last set today will be a PR in some way shape or form. It is time to get my squat.

Have a great workout!

TIP: Sharpening brainpower. The same endorphins that make you feel better when you exercise,  also help you concentrate and feel mentally sharp for tasks at hand. Exercise also stimulates the growth of new brain cells and helps prevent age-related decline.

Set your expectations and expect that they be followed

Rant and Tip for March 9, 2012

Quote: “Set your expectations and expect that they be followed”

Many managers of business live by this creed. I like to apply this to myself. I set my own expectations and I expect that I follow them. To many times we tell ourselves we want something and we expect that we should do things in a specific manor to get there, but fail to follow through. Tell yourself that this is the expectation,  and you are your own boss. Since you truly are the boss of yourself, do not disappoint this boss. They are with you the rest of your life and they can make it miserable for you if you do not follow up on the expectations.

So many people today use trainers. However, I find many times that a client will fail on their end of the bargain, as often as the trainer does. We talking to a potential trainer be sure to be specific on how the trainer can help you. State clearly and directly what your expectations are. Be prepared for the training to tell you whether or not the goal is achievable or not. Once a clear direction is set when things get tough the trainer can remind you what you are training for. The next step is to recognize your own short comings. If you were out on the night before and came home at 2 AM and ate the piece of cake sitting on the counter, let your trainer know, they may bump up your cardio that session to help burn it off.

Everyone wants immediate results, however it takes time for nutrition and exercise to transform a body into the lean machine you want it to be. Don’t get frustrated if you are not where you want to be overnight. Remember you are in it for the long haul. The same goes for your eating habits, do not beat yourself up over an unplanned cheat on your diet plan. The release of the stress hormone will just make it more difficult to lose weight. Just reapply yourself and set your expectation and expect that you will follow it.

Deadlifts today! I have not worked my deadlifts in a while because I have been concentrating on the world BP meet coming in May. However today I am going to hit some high reps with perfect form. Well at least I hope with perfect form. I think I will video the lifts if the gym will allow me to. This way I can have a couple of friends critique my lifts.

Talking about friends did you know that having a workout partner can actually help you get a better workout. A study in New Zealand, men generated 3% more power while hearing comments on how well they were performing an exercise. “It is easy to lose focus and motivation when lifting, and that can decrease performance.” Stated lead study author Christos Argus, PH.D. “We believe providing feedback keeps people on track” I whole heartily agree. The past few weeks I have see the same thing happen to me. My workout partner for during my lunches has been nursing an injury. Yesterday was his first day in the gym in a long time. I got one of the best shoulder workouts I have had in a very long time.

Have a great workout!

Tip: Choose a trainer wisely. Ask them a lot of questions and get to know their personality. Make sure your personality can jive with theirs. You do not want to choose a trainer that you are not going to enjoy working with.

No man can be wise on an empty Stomach

Rant and Tip for March 8, 2012

Quote: “No man can be wise on an empty Stomach”  George Eliot

This is why it is important to make sure you eat and not just try to starve yourself by lowering merely lowering calories to an obscenely low amount. You cannot think straight because your brain is not getting the fuel it needs to survive. Food becomes an obsession then. This is why it is important to eat the right foods throughout the day not only will you lose the weight but you will feel good while doing it.

One food that can actually help your body fight the hunger blues is cheese. That is right cheese. According to a Danish study a daily dose cheese does not raise your cholesterol levels and will keep satiated for a longer period of time after eating it. Do not go with the low fat variety, choose good full fat real cheese. It is the fat that will help you stay satiated. Now I am not saying that you go out and eat unlimited amounts of cheese. I am not saying that at all. What I am say is to allow yourself to have cheese as one of your snacks at one of your small meals.

Did you know at one time doctors would tell guy with high blood pressure to stay out of the gym? Well that is another myth debunked by science. A recent study out of Brazil had a group of men with hypertension stop taking their meds and lift weights 3 days a week for 12 weeks, their blood pressure dropped a little less than 12%. Lifting weight increases blood vessel function and or nervous system function. Here is something I didn’t expect to read, when they stopped the training sessions their BP stayed lowered for another 4 weeks. Not if the does not inspire you to start lifting I am not sure what will. Exercise has been proven time and time again to be the best medicine on the market today and if you do it at home with some dumbbells (ladies stop thinking about your husbands) it can be the least expensive.

I did get to train yesterday. I did squats. One of the new things I am attempting is after my workout I am over loading the bar with a weight about 50 to 60 pounds more than I can actually squat at this point in time. I then squat that amount down the safety pins at a height I know I can get it back up at. I hit that for 2 and then lower the safety pins by another inch or 2 and hit it again. This taxes the central nervous system and gets my body use to heavier weights. I am hoping for a 400 squat by August by doing this weekly. Each week I will try to get the bar lower and lower for 2.

Have a great workout!

Tip: Barbell Curl Mistakes

This is usually seen when guys are trying to lift too heavy a weight that is not within their ability. They will start curling the weight up and finish by using the momentum of their upper body to fully curl the bar to the finish point.

When this occurs, a great deal of stress is placed on the lower back and shoulder joints, as it is no longer the muscles that are pulling the weight up, but the speed of the movement.

The thinking behind this is that by using a heavier weight you will help to further push your muscles (after all, muscle growth is the result of overload); however, when the weight gets too high and this begins happening, the biceps aren't really even working anymore so no positive benefits will result.

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable

Rant and Tip for March 7, 2012

Quote:  “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower 

I like presidential quotes. This one I found this morning and could really relate to it. I cannot tell you how many times I have made plans but for some reason or another Plan A just did not pan out. Planning your diet schedule is vitally important. You cannot just fly by the seat of your pants and expect everything to fall into place. You will not succeed without proper planning. However rest assured something will happen that will try to pull you off course. Whatever the diversion try to get back to the plan as soon as possible, and make sure the steps you take outside of your plan are still in the direction of achieving your goal.

Training went well last night. I have to say though that I may need to get another Super Katana Bench Shirt. I was able to almost get my size 42 on by myself last night. I believe that is not a good thing. My new schedule will be top end work on Sundays and on Tuesday shirt work. I will start hitting weight for reps in the shirt to make sure I can touch with a good opening weight and hopefully get to the point of hitting over 400 with touch/pause and go.

10 more weeks left until the big show in the Czech Republic.

Have a great workout!

Tip: Be prepared for the unexpected!

Presume not that I am the thing I was

Rant and Tip for March 6, 2012

Quote; “Presume not that I am the thing I was.” ― William Shakespeare

“Presume not that I am the thing I was”. Say this out loud to yourself. Now Say it to yourself. As you embark on a new training schedule do not allow yourself to presume you are who you were. You are a stronger willed and if you are hitting the weights stronger in general. One of the things I hear from others who have been successful in their weight loss and body transformation is they sometimes have to catch themselves and stop looking at themselves the way they were. Sometimes it is the simple things like going to the rack with the larger clothes instinctively. Other times it is more dramatic, such as self esteem. It used to really bother me when someone would call me fat and other names around that type of notion. Even after I lost the weight, there was a person who would try to continue to say these nasty things. Finally one day I, looked at this person and said to them is that all you got, really you are going to call me fat, I said I am far from fat! I had to remember I was not the thing I was!

Today I will be training in the bench shirt. I believe my workout will be with about 450 lbs on the bar. I am getting more and more use to the bench shirt and looking forward to the big numbers that are right around the corner. As far as my body weight for the meet in May, I am 166 lbs. Only 3 pounds to go and really if I wanted I could just stay right here and cut down the water weight the day before the meet. The human body is amazing.

I had to great cardio session yesterday and today I will have a session at noon. I am using the stationary bike with the tension up high. This should assist in my squat numbers as well as I am pushing with great intensity and this will help build more blood vessels in the muscle to fuel the muscle better. With the additional blood flow I should see some gains in strength as I increase my squat workouts.

Have a great workout!

Tip: When performing your cardio remember it is suppose to be a sweat inducing session and if you are only to the point where you can walk then you should not be able to sing while you are walking. If you can sing you need to move faster to the point where you can talk but not sing. 

“Even if you stumble, you’re still moving forward.”

Rant and Tip for March, 5 2012

Quote: “Even if you stumble, you’re still moving forward.” Unknown

I am not sure if I have used this quote before or not but thought I would put it out there today anyway. Many times people will attempt to do something new. Whether it be changing the way they eat or starting a new exercise program. With either one there will be times where you stumble in your attempts. There will be times when you fail in following your diet, and there will definitely be times where you do not hit a lift you wanted to get up. When you do stumble like that, keep in mind you are still moving forward. If you were not moving forward you would not have stumbled in the first place.

I thought I would take a different path on my blog for the next few weeks. Based on my calculations I have about 11 weeks of training left before the World Bench Press meet in the Czech Republic. I plan on working my bench twice a week and with my one training partner away for the next month I will be training at Cutting Edge Sport Sciences. The owner is Dyke Naughton he has experience in bench shirts, and has trained professional athletes.

I had a good workout yesterday and recorded my session with the help of Carol, my new videographer. LOL Carol is a strong woman and benches on Sunday’s as well. I worked with bands and chains yesterday. Working with bands and chains helps a lifter get stronger with their lockout at the top of the lift. This will help me meet my maximum potential when using the bench shirt.

My warm up was:

The bar for a set of 10

135 for 10

185 for 10

225 for 5

255 for 1

Now for the Chain and Band work:

The bar is set up with a 33 band that is choked 3 times ( I am still learning what that means)

Bar weight                             Band                                      Chains

136                                         33                                           38 lbs

178                                         33                                           74 lbs

218                                         33                                           112 lbs

196                                         33                                           112 lbs  

The last set is a close grip set about 4 fingers in from my competition grip

Some shots of the Cutting Edge Gym

“Exercise to stimulate, not to annihilate. The world wasn't formed in a day, and neither were we.

Rant and Tip for March 2, 2012

Quote: “Exercise to stimulate, not to annihilate. The world wasn't formed in a day, and neither were we. Set small goals and build upon them.”   Lee Haney

First let me apologize for not writing yesterday. I was way too busy and the day just got away from me.

Lee has hit the nail on the head with this statement. Many of us that want to lose weight and or get fit want that quick fix. Human beings want the magic pill that will make something happen overnight. The proof is in the fact that there are so many diet pills and different exercise equipment and videos out there. It amazes me how often the manufacturers come up some new machine to get you fit. Most of them are really just fun little tools that may work you body a little but not enough to give you the sculpted arms you want. If you think for one minute the guy using the shake weight got that way by using this silly contraption you are sadly mistaken. Now with that said if you are using the shake weight just to get yourself started that is fine and it will help for the extreme beginner, just don’t expect the results you see on TV. It takes time to lose the body fat and get fit. It does not happen overnight. It takes time and some serious planning.

One of the things I use to drink a lot of was milk. I would drink 16 oz of milk a night easily. Heck of course I was thinking I needed the vitamin D. However had you read the label on milk. There Carbohydrates in milk are all sugar. So now comes the challenge of where to get your vitamin D is you do not drink milk. I know I need vitamin D and during the winter months it is very difficult to get it from the sun. This is my preferred source. I truly enjoy being outside but as I get older and leaner I find I am starting to strongly dislike the cold. You can get plenty of vitamin D from most fish. This is good news for me because I love fish. However if you are allergic to fish and fish products then you need an alternative. Mushrooms are a great source of Vitamin D as are cheeses as well as eggs. I know you are thinking that cheese is bad for you but if you are eating low carb you do not need to worry about the fat. You actually need it as fuel. Even a lot of your meats contain some vitamin D including chicken. I personally eat a lot of chicken and fish and have no worries on whether I am getting enough vitamin D.

Training is going well and my weight is good. 168 and dropping. I will hit 165 easily by the end of March and then by may I will be a solid 163 for the world meet. Raising of funds is still very slow but I am hopeful to get things really rolling by the end of April.

Have a great workout!

Tip: Deadlifts

Rounded back. Start with a lower back arch and try not to round your back when deadlifting.

No jerking. The best way to prevent the strain from jerking is to make sure your arms are completely locked when starting the deadlift. If they are not, a chain reaction will ensue resulting in bad form.

Raising hips. Concentrate on keeping your hips in the same position as you deadlift. Many deadlifters have a tendency of lifting their hips after initially jerking the weight off the floor. Raising the hips turns the deadlift into a lower back lift.

Heels. As you lift, press down with your heels. Do not deadlift from the balls of your feet.

Fall back. As you lift the weight, concentrate on falling back and/or pulling the bar back.

Knees. Try to keep your knees in the same position as you lift. Do not move them in or out.

Head. Do not look to the left or right when deadlifting. Messing around like this can result in a bad neck strain.

Shoes. Wear Chuck Taylor’s.(Converse All Stars) or Deadlift slippers,  No thick bottom exercise shoes, or running shoes. You need a thin, flat shoe for deadlifting.

Brian Espino