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Thursday, January 2, 2014

Strengthetics the new age of bodybuilding



Introducing Strengthetics,  the ultimate combination of strength and aethetics for the modern bodybuilder


The most important thing in your entire world right now is the V taper!! Forget about eating sleeping drinking, if you don’t have the v taper you might as well pack it in because your life has just lost all meaning.  Maybe you haven’t heard aesthetics is the new big, nobody goes around talking about how big anyone is anymore, It’s all about the, oh damn that guys aesthetic as fuck.
 So you want to be aesthetic do ya?  Well that’s nice and all but all you pretty little guys have got to learn how to be strong and look good, these are the new rules of fitness and its called “Strengthetic”.  Yea you can walk around with a good physique and let everyone around you be mirin but if you don’t have what it takes to back it up we’re going to call you out on it.
Rule number one of “strengthetics” is, it’s all about the abs baby!  If you’ve got a big thick waist line it’s time to trim it down.  Shoulder to waist ratio is like Hollywood magic, the bigger the ratio the better you look.  I know you think you know everything there is to know about abs.  I’d even bet you spend hours every day doing crunches then staring in the mirror wondering when you’re keg will turn into a six pack.
Here’s the first thing you are never ever going to do again.  Don’t ever do a crunch or sit up, did I just blow your mind?  Well if I did, do not ever let me see you doing a side bend with a dumb bell because I might just lose all sanity I ever had. Worst exercise ever! One of the biggest problems in society is caused by everyone sitting on their ass so much.  This causes a shortening of the hips flexors and increased pelvic tilt leading to serious back problems, and adding more stress by doing sit ups or crunches won’t help.
Do you seriously think that your body evolved the way it has so that you could lay down on the floor and curl up into a fetal position repetitively in order to get a six pack!?!?!  Your abs are built to stabilize your body through isometric, eccentric, concentric and rotational contraction, in an upright position. Stop lying down on the job.

Let’s first state the obvious and most important portion of ab work, standing compound movements.  That means lifting things while standing up, such as standing press, squats, front squats etc.  This means you are actually working out your entire core while working out other muscles and it does not take any extra time.  So instead of doing all your shoulder presses seated you can add in some standing press work and although you may have to take the weight back a bit, you will be engaging a whole lot of other muscles. If you doubt the ability to work your abs in this manner unrack a heavy load in the front squat position and you will quickly realize how much work your abdominals are doing,
There are a few mandatory exercise for increasing your abdominal strength.
Cable twists:
These can be done from 3 different positions, low middle and high.  I suggest some mixture of all 3.  From the top it should mimic a sledge hammer motion, the middle feet planted firmly wide and making sure to only move the upper body,  bottom will mimic  a bad golf swing.  These are all rotational concentric ab work that engage that entire midsection of the body including the obliques. 2 sets at each height,  keep the reps above 12 and make the movement fast and powerful, this is a speed movement.
Mandatory isometric work should include different forms of planking .  During each training session the goal should be to increase the time of the hold and once that time become more then 20 seconds have a partner assist by either pushing you down or placing plates on your back. 2 sets flat planks 2 sets on each side
Eccentric work will include a few different exercises depending on skill level.  An advanced athlete can perform dragon flyes but a newbie wont.  The ab wheel is a good tool to use that can be scaled to skill level. Starting from your knees you can limit amount of extension, as strength increases  to a full extension and eventually doing the exercise from a standing position. This form of work concentrates strongly on resistance to eccentric contraction.  The extension portion should be slow and very controlled. 3 sets of amrap
I like to finish off abs with overhead medicine ball smashes.  This is a full body movement that generates its power from the core.  Use a smash ball raise it above your head, with both arms  throw it down as hard as you can into the ground.  Pick it up and repeat until fully exhausted, each rep should be maximum effort. 3 sets to failure
These are a few exercises that will keep your core nice and tight without getting overly wide and without affecting the hip flexors.  Remember to keep these workouts short sweet and to the point, we want to keep our midsection slim and trim so keep that volume down and strength up!

Monday, November 4, 2013

American Weakness



The pussification of americans, training and why competition and motivation is important.


We have all seen the massive epidemic sweeping our nation.  Whether we choose to admit it or not we are turning our nation into a bunch of whining pacifists who think everyone is a winner. This malicious infection is now invading our gyms, well there aren’t many gyms left, most are “fitness centers”.
It is my believe that this virus was born from the same breed of character that forbids kids from keeping score at youth baseball games so no one gets upset when they lose.

When I was growing up my parents would through me out of the house and we went and played ball until it was too dark to see anymore.  We came home bloodied bruised tired, and sometimes pissed because we lost. That’s right we competed in street football or baseball or whatever it was with the intentions of winning, of beating our friends. Oh and in gym class when we played dodge ball and we intentionally nailed the opposing team in the balls with a hard rubber ball, no one got in trouble, you got up and walked it off.  If you think that  Im kidding, Im not, I have a friend with only one testicle to prove it.

My point in telling you this, is that competition is a natural part of life and in fact its very healthy. From the very bottom of the animal kingdom to the top there is competition every day to survive. The top of the food chain in the our species wants to use you abuse you and eat you up just as much as any lion out there and you better start believing it.  There is a whole lot of BS going around talking about how you shouldn’t compare yourself to others and that your only competition is the mirror.  Well I call bullshit, I call it loud and clear from the tops of every building. BULLSHIT 

The importance of competition should not be ignored in attaining your desired physique.  When I first began training my goals were on my walls of my bedroom, in the form of huge posters of Arnold and Flex Wheeler.  I saw these guys and I said, damn that’s what I want to look like. When I went to the gym and I saw the guys around me lifting more weight or looking bigger than me I was envious.  I did not stop, turn around look in the mirror and say “well I look better then I did last week”.  I was not satisfied with what I saw because I felt as if I could be just as good as anyone else or even better.
Now we have “GYMS” handing out tootsie rolls bagels and pizza and telling people not to judge?? Wait what… so you’re saying its not ok to want to exceed your expectations?  

The greatest athletes in the world are born in the fires of competition and adversity.  If you notice when you bring a group of elite athletes together they all get better.  This is directly proportional to the level of competition.  They can be best of friends but you better believe when its time to train they compete with one and the other.  This competition is what drives them to become better and this is what makes each generation grow and achieve what others before have not. Don’t fear your inner competitive nature, embrace it and foster it to become better at what you do. Stop being so satisfied go out and eat something bigger then you.


Thursday, June 27, 2013

If it fits your macros!?!?!

Yo bro whats your macros look like!?
Excuse me?
Your macros bro Protein Carbs and Fats...
So you think if you take in the same macro nutrients that I do you will have the same results as I do?
Yea bro its all about If It fits your Macros...IIFYM
My mind just exploded!!!!

I've seen thousands of people go on discussion boards and ask these same questions over and over and over again.  Not only is this one of the stupidest new fads in fitness but its straight out wrong.  For years the world of sports science has been studying nutrition and the best formulas for getting athletes to perform their best, and then all of a sudden you have this new cult of IIFYM.  This is absolute broscience simplified to the point of stupidity.
Now here is where it gets really stupid.  These bro's actually believe that if they eat something like the mcdonalds meal above and it doesn't surpass their macro nutrient requirement for the day they will continue to be successful in their fitness goals. WHAT!?!?!  Not only this but they have a complete disregard for micronutrients such as vitamins minerals amino acids antioxidants...This is nutrition simplified to the point of stupidity.
What I believe and have seen improve my physique beyond anything I have ever done is proper nutritional timing, taking in the proper amounts of macro and micro-nutrients at the time my body needs them. Now this is going to vary by each person and the goal they are trying to achieve.  I have my athletes on diets richer in complex carbohydrates then my physique and bodybuilder clients.  All the diets I create are centered around activity levels for the day.  When creating a diet we need to know that the energy we are putting into the body in forms of carbohydrates proteins and fats are going to be used most effectively.  For example if I have a client that performs a heavy exercise program at 10am I am centering his higher glycemic carbs prior to his workout and post workout.  The one thing I insist from every person regardless of who they are is the importance of proper nutrition at breakfast.  When you wake up your body is in an extremely stressful state regulating its hormones and recovering from around 8 hours of inactivity and fasting.  Without exception I insist that everyone takes in a quick digesting protein, either whey or egg and some carbohydrates in the form of fruits and berries.


 We all know the importance of taking in whey protein for building muscle because of its quick absorption time and the ease of digestion.  Not all whey proteins are created equal, read the labels and look for protein isolates not concentrates.  Although there is nothing truly wrong with a concentrate you will be getting a less pure product and usually a lot of by products that go along with it.
 BCAA's are the building blocks of our muscles and essential to the proper function growth and creation of an anabolic environment. Any good BCAA supplement will be sold in a 2:1:1 ratio. Leucine:Isoleucine:Valine this is the most effective ratio for your bodies absorption.  I suggest to my clients to use this both as an intra workout supplement for those who have longer workouts and as something to take in throughout the day. For endurance athletes I often add bcaas to their sugar free electrolytes sports drink during their long training periods. By doing this the get all the benefits of replenishing their electrolytes along with the anabolic response from the BCAA powder. The results are better longer harder workouts.

There is something truely magical about the numbers 2:1:! and thats what makes this post workout drink so amazing.  We have discussed the importance of whey and bcaas and to some extent carbs.   This product from ON takes all the thinking out of post workout nutrition.  It is geared specifically towards athletes who need the proper post workout nutrition.  It combines both quick and slow digesting proteins from multiple sources.  Two we discussed EGG and WHEY and a third CASEIN...casein is a anticatabolic protein that will actually slow the body from going into a catabolic state. It also contains both fast and slow digesting carbs to replenish glycogen levels and spike insulin levels post workout.  This creates an anabolic environment to create muscle growth recovery and deliver the proper micronutrients to the muscle cells.

Beta-Alanine is one of the most overlooked supplements on the market and its possibilities for athletes is tremendous.  It offers the body away to buffer ammonia created from lactic acid build up.  If you dont know what lactic acid is, its that buring feeling that leads to nausea and an inability to continue going during a run or sporting event.  Some people get a slight feeling of tingling or numbness from taking the powder, most will get used to it, some enjoy it and some people cant stand it.  I recommend it to anyone who is interested in increasing performance.


My night time recommendation for nutrient timing that is hugely overlooked is Casein protein.  This protein is not anabolic so it will not build muscle but what it does do is prevent a catabolic state.  It will actually prevent the breakdown of cellular structure due to nutrient deficiencies while you sleep.  This is tremendously important as we have already spoken about the stresses put on the body during waking.  This will help alleviate a lot of those stresses.




If you still think that IIFYM has any validity what so ever, your costing yourself dearly.  Its a fad diet plan come up with by those who want you to believe everything is really just that simple.  The truth is simple, create a calorie deficit and you will lose weight but the point here is not to lose weight it is to perform optimally.  You will never feel, look or perform your best by following a simple plan, after all if it was that simple everyone would do it.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Get Big Arms: Noah Siegel’s Sleeve-Busting Workout

Get the horseshoe triceps, baseball biceps, and hulking forearms you always wanted. This short, high-intensity workout will show you the way!
I've seen countless people come into the gym and throw dumbbells around like potato sacks. They act wild, scream and grunt like gorillas in heat, and then spend their rest periods flexing in the mirror. Although these dudes seem hard-core, they're actually putting a lot of energy into something that won't garner results. They must learn to train smarter.
Many people fail to realize that they already train their arms multiple times per week, without ever doing any direct arm work. Every time we do a pressing movement, we use our triceps.
Every time we pull, we use our biceps and forearms. Because our biceps and triceps get a lot of work during compound movements, it's important to limit the number of sets during isolation work. With dedicated arm training, keep the sets low and the intensity high.
An even bigger problem is that most people don't understand anatomy well enough to train their biceps and triceps effectively. So to build big arms, we need to start by using our head.
How Your Arms Work ///
The major action of the biceps brachii is elbow flexion and forearm rotation. The name—biceps—means that the muscle is made of two heads, a long and a short. These muscle heads have two different origins but come together to form one tendon, which attaches to the radius.
You can feel your biceps working if you put your left and on your right biceps muscle and then rotate your forearm from a pronated (palm down) to a supinated (palm up) position. You can also feel your biceps participate if you put your left hand on your right biceps and flex your elbow.
Your biceps can fatigue easily, and thus relies on your front deltoid and brachioradialis (anterior forearm muscle) for aid. To get the most out of your biceps training, you need movements that include both flexion and supination.

The triceps brachii is named similarly because of its three heads. The triceps is a slightly larger portion of the arm and just as complex as the biceps. The triceps main function is to extend the elbow. To feel your triceps, place your left hand on the back of your right arm and then extend your right arm until it is completely straight. The long and lateral heads of the triceps create the "horseshoe" shape everyone is gunning for. The medial head is a "deep" muscle.
Not all three heads originate at the same place, but they all insert into the elbow. The long head of the triceps originates at the scapula. To isolate it, your elbow must be over your head.
Sleeve-Busting Arms Workout
    Now that I dropped some knowledge bombs, let's blow those arms up! Do this workout once per week on any day you choose. Generally, I do an abs/arms/forearms day later in the week after I've already worked my larger muscle groups.

    BICEPS

  • Spider Curl Spider Curl

    Spider Curl

    4 sets: 12, 8, 6, 15 reps
  • Incline Dumbbell Curl Incline Dumbbell Curl

    Incline Dumbbell Curl

    3 sets: 8, 8, 6 reps
  • Barbell Curl Barbell Curl

    Barbell Curl

    3 sets: 8, 8, 12 reps
  • Preacher Curl Preacher Curl

    Preacher Curl

    Dropset to failure
  • TRICEPS

  • Triceps Pushdown Triceps Pushdown

    Cable Push-Down with Bar

    4 sets: 12, 8, 8, 8 reps
  • Seated Triceps Press Seated Triceps Press

    Seated Triceps Press

    3 sets: 10, 8, 8 reps
  • Low Cable Triceps Extension Low Cable Triceps Extension

    Low Cable Triceps Extension

    3 sets: 12, 12, 15 reps
  • Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension

    Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension

    3 sets: 15, 15, 20 reps
  • FOREARMS

  • Seated Palms-Down Barbell Wrist Curl Seated Palms-Down Barbell Wrist Curl

    Seated Palms-Down Barbell Wrist Curl

    4 sets of 25 reps
  • Standing Palms-Up Barbell Behind The Back Wrist Curl Standing Palms-Up Barbell Behind The Back Wrist Curl

    Standing Palms-Up Barbell Behind The Back Wrist Curl

    3 sets: 15 reps
  • Reverse Barbell Curl Reverse Barbell Curl

    Reverse Barbell Curl

    3 sets: 15 reps
  • Hammer Curls Hammer Curls

    Hammer Curls (Optional finisher)

    1-2 sets: failure

This workout provides more than sufficient arm work. Make sure to keep the intensity high and the pace quick. Hit them hard, hit them fast, and watch 'em grow!

Best Chest: Noah Siegel's Pec-Building Workout

Nothing drops jaws like a big, thick chest. Not sure how to get one? You need these workouts!
The first thing that everyone notices on a great male physique is a big, thick, round chest. It doesn't matter whether the guy is in a bar or at the gym, when his muscle-bound chest goes by, everyone takes a peek. If you already are that guy, congratulations—you can celebrate a set of primo pectorals. If you're not there yet, then you did the right thing by clicking on this article. I am going to let you in on a few secrets to developing the chest you always wanted.
There are no two ways about it, if you want a big chest, you better get ready to lift big. The biggest mistake I see in the gym is the rookie 17-year-old doing endless sets of cable flyes. Everyone seems to worry about the small details before they even have the muscle to make those details stand out.

Keep It Simple

For a big chest, the best things you can do are heavy compound (multi-joint) movements. No matter if you're hitting a flat bench or an incline bench with dumbbells, you have to put extreme stress on the muscle fibers to make them grow.
Generally, this happens best in the six-rep range. Now, I know every bodybuilding book you have ever read says to do 12 reps, but in my experience that number isn't enough to stimulate the proper motor units and fast-twitch muscle fibers.
You need to do heavier sets. Teach the central nervous system to fire more motor units at the same time, and muscles can contract faster, tighter, and harder.
But we're not done yet! Even after we have taught more muscle fibers to fire more effectively, we need to cause hypertrophy to get that muscle to blow up.
The most effective way to do this is by training your chest twice per week, every week.

The Big Chest Breakdown

Your split for chest should comprise two days. The first chest day will be low-volume, high- intensity training. Even though you only do six reps, the weight should be heavy enough that you reach failure on that sixth rep. You'll do 10 total sets in the 6-rep range over three different movements. Give your chest at least 72 hours of rest before you hit it again.
The second day will consist of higher-volume, lower-intensity work. Notice, I didn't say "low intensity"—I said "lower." For this workout, you do 15 total sets in the 12-30 range over four different movements.

Better Chest Moves

What separates the big boys from the rest of the crowd is that nice V-shaped notch of muscle right by the clavicle. No one respects droopy-looking pecs—they just look weird and weak. Here are some effective moves you can implement for a bigger, badder chest.

1. Incline Bench Press
The most common exercise to create that upper chest is the incline bench. And while it's effective, guys tend to cheat by lowering the angle so it's almost like a flat bench. If you choose to do incline, use strict form and remember to contract your chest; do not rely on your shoulders.
2. Barbell Neck (Barbell Guillotine) Press
Set up the flat bench on the Smith machine for safety and align the bar so it will come down right below your Adam's apple. Begin with light weight and do the movement slowly. Make sure you are not overly externally rotating your shoulders and that you come down as close as you can to your neck without pain.
You'll feel a big stretch across the top of your chest and should get a dramatic feeling of contraction along the clavicle. Remember to concentrate on squeezing your chest. You don't need to lift a ton of weight.
3. Modified Incline Dumbbell Flye
Do this movement on a 45-degree incline bench. Start with your hands supinated at hip level with a moderately light dumbbell in each hand. Arch your back, keep your chest high, and scoop the weights up across the body in a hugging motion until they reach face level. You should feel a contraction in the top of the chest and also in the front deltoid.
This will give you that great chest/deltoid tie-in that everyone wants. Concentrate on the contraction of your chest—not how much weight you can do. For an added burn, follow this movement with normal incline flyes until failure.

Sample Workouts

Chest Day 1: Heavy
Chest Day 2: Lighter