Utterly Confused by the "Gym Mentality"

I have been working out at the same Planet Fitness for over two years now. They boast that they don't judge, which in the case of my gym is true. I don't even think the "Lunk Alarm" actually works. I am actually okay with that. For grown adults to have to patrol grown adults seems immature to me.

The rub though is that in those two years, I have seen the need for such a device. Personally, I go to the gym to get fit. I want to put on a lot of muscle and shed my fat. Sounds about average right? My goals though are above average in my gym. I want to be able to leg press more than 1,000 lbs. I want a bench press over 350. I don't want to get huge, but I do want to be that freakish monster in the gym that is incredibly strong. But that is my journey.

The gym should be a personal journey with the support of a community. Everyday that I step through those doors I am making the statement that I am going to change. I want to be healthier. However for some, it seems their statement is "I am here to lift weights, posture and judge people like an elitist douchebag."

I started noticing this more after watching a video on YouTube that was a rant by a well known bodybuilder. I won't name names because I don't like to put negative on people. (If he reads this and has a change of heart, awesome. I doubt he will read this but who knows.) In his video he was going off about a guy who jumped in to do a set and didn't know what he was doing. Rant, rant, rant and it boiled down to him saying that if you don't know what you are doing you should get a trainer. I don't disagree there.

What I have issue with, is that this person, who has a wealth of knowledge made it sound like he allowed the person to do the exercise wrong and possibly get injured. That is not community to me and this unfortunately is not a localized event.

I have seen on numerous occasions boys who are younger (teens to early twenties) who openly mock other gym goers because they don't understand what the others are doing. They then turn around and do their set and end up doing their routine wrong. I have stepped in and helped a few fix what was wrong with their routines but most I try to stay away from. I have also been approached by an older gym goer and asked about my routine. I gave constructive advice on exercises because he said he suffered from lower back pains. I do this because I realize we are all in the gym for the same reason. Fitness.

When we start making people feel inadequate in the gym, that is the moment we start them down the road of giving up. Whether you do so in person or in an open public forum. So I put a challenge out to those who read my blog. If you are in the gym, and you see someone doing something that could potentially hurt them, help them don't mock them. Let that person know. Give them some tips and point them in the direction of good consultation if needed. Don't be the catalyst for someone's failure.

My Story on Cellucor C4 and NO3

*** Unsolicited review of Cellucor C4 and NO3 ***

I have been working out seriously for about two years. My first goal was to lose weight. I ended up dropping 70 lbs before our wedding in 2011 and put on about 9 right before we said our vows. At 219 I got a suit as a gift from my tuxedo rental company. After our honeymoon I came back 6 lbs fatter from the food and drink in New Orleans. This led me to say screw it to the gym and my training was very sporadic for a while. I never wore the suit from fear that it would not fit.

After a while I started messing around with supplements for the gym to try to shed the fat. I focused only on cardio and was getting nowhere. I then switched things up and focused on weight lifting and my weight went up and down quite a bit.  Frustrated I started investigating and I stumbled across Cellucor. I had seen their product at my local GNC but never gave it a shot. I tried C4 and I felt the surge in the gym. I was seeing gains in my strength and I was seeing my fat shed off.

After my first tub of C4 I felt that I needed something stronger and tried GNC’s Amp Muscle Igniter. I found the taste to be terrible and the results to be non-existent. In an effort to feel something from this pre-workout I tried their NO Maxertion as well and was left wanting. I cleansed my system and then tried again. I picked up C4 again and tried it.  This time I hit my tolerance at week 4. I stuck with it and when I got my second tub of C4 I also picked up their NO3. The gains and the pumps were incredible.

Around the middle of week 5, my wife and I had a benefit dinner to attend. I was back at 219 and ready to try the suit on. While I was the same weight as I had been when I got the suit, it turned out that I was now 219 with a lot more muscle and a lot less fat. The suit was a half size too big.

I am still using C4 with the NO3 stack and will be off it in 2 weeks to end my cycle on it to start a 4 week cleanse. When I go into my next hypertrophy session in 16 weeks after than, I will be welcoming C4 back into my routine with open arms. In the meantime I will be using Cellucor’s BCAAs and SuperHD for my strength and cutting session.

Changing Self Perception is One of the Most Difficult Challenges

You go to the gym, you step on the scale and the number doesn't change. You try on your clothes and they are getting bigger. You step on the scale and the number doesn't change. You start to think why am I trying so hard and seeing no results...

I am sure we have all faced this wall. Our doctors and society have placed so much emphasis on a number. The BMI. You are a certain height so you should be a certain weight or you are labeled obese. So you get hung up on a number, a arbitrary definition of what "healthy" is.

I hit this wall about five weeks ago. I was in a hypertrophy routine, getting my muscles bigger. I was seeing lines where my muscles were bulging and I was happy. Until I stepped on the scale and saw that I had gained ten pounds. I had worked so hard, how could I have gotten fat? This was my folly. I equated weight gain to fat gain. I have been obese most of my life. I hit 180 lbs at the age of 12, at the time it was a blessing and saved my life. As I got older the extra weight became a burden. The I had difficulty breathing while tying my shoes type of burden.

So when I got down to 215 and then bulked up to 225, I felt like I was backsliding. Everything else was telling me differently, I had to donate a pair of my pants because they were too big for me. I bought some thermals and the first was an XL, which was too big so I bought a large and I was shocked at how good it looked on me. But the scale, that piece of machinery that reported how "healthy" I was kept nagging at me. Betraying my training by giving me the perception that I was fat.

My turning point hit when I was watching a video on YouTube. I seriously suggest anyone who is having issues with this to watch StrengthCamp's video on this topic. In the video Elliott Hulse talks about change, how you have to make a decision in what you want to see. Do you want to be tiny and lean? Do you want to be bigger and a bodybuilder? What you want to be is up to you.

At this point I decided that the scale was no longer my enemy, instead I turned it on itself. I am currently in a hybrid strength/hypertrophy session. I am at week 6 of my training and I gain weight, I also lose weight but that is not what I judge my progress by. I step on the scale and will sometimes be frustrated, but not because I gained weight. The opposite effect has happened, I get frustrated because I haven't gained as much weight as I wanted. I have a new perception of what I am trying to do.

In 6 weeks my hybrid session will be over. (I took a picture at my second week so I can see my progress. I guess I will see if I will post the picture from week 12 along side week 2. Along with a start and end weight of what I put up on which exercises.) I will then be moving into a 12 week strength and cut mode and my number will drop on the scale, but that will no longer define my health. My health is completely defined on how I feel, how my clothes are fitting, how much weight I put up and the progression I make.

Don't let the scale define who you are. Don't let it become a roadblock to your goals.

Whew!

So we have 2 weeks to go before my wife and I head off to Vegas and since the last posting I shredded through about 6 lbs. This weekend will be another round of kickboxing. I think we have this one and one more left, which if memory serves correctly we are going to save until after Vegas. Gotta work off all those frozen drinks some how. During that time I have incorporated a few things from the kickboxing class into my gym routine and cut out my cardio except on my core days. I know what a lot of trainers would say. "Wha? You NEED to have cardio."

However I am going to say that with what I am doing right now, cardio is the last thing that I am going to want to add in to a heavy weight and plyometric routine. Besides if I wanted to run or climb stairs after blasting my arms I will go hit a trail or run the stairs at Red Rocks, not turn myself into a zombie staring at the OWN channel. Actually I would never stare at the OWN channel. Mother Fu**in SPORTS!

With that being said I am going to throw at you a core routine that I picked up from Men's Fitness, it's circuit one of a 2 circuit ab routine that Ryan Reynolds used to develop his core for the Blade movie.

Don't let this deceive you, because I did. It looks easy at first but once you hit round three of the circuit you are going to wish there wasn't a fourth round. With that being said, let's move on.

First you are going to start off at the cable machines, lower the cable link to hip level. We are going to start with wood choppers. Set the weight to where you can do 15 to 20 reps. Do not change the weight as you progress, the goal is to push yourself and burn yourself out. Scott Herman Fitness has a good video on how to properly execute these on YouTube here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAplQXk3dkU).

Next, you are going to go to a decline bench and bust out 15 to 20 reps of decline situps. If these are easy for you put a weight on your chest and up the level of difficulty.

Finally, you are going to either lay on the ground and do leg lifts or use a leg lift rack often used for captains chair lifts. Same reps (15 to 20).

Rinse and repeat until you have gone through 4 sets. That's it. Seems pretty easy huh? Give it a try on your off days and you will start to see a nice tapering in and engaging of your core like you haven't seen before.

I kept my ear

Last year I went all gun-ho on exercise. I was, and still am, obsessed with dropping weight and putting on muscle. So when a Groupon came around for yoga I bought it, then something that I have wanted to try for a long time came around...kickboxing. Not only kickboxing, a location just down the street from our home! Awesome!

Today, my wife and I took advantage of that Groupon. (We never did get around to the yoga) Upon entering we were met by smiling faces and warm greetings. I felt as though I was home walking into a dojo again. Justin our instructor had us start out with warm ups, jogging, high-knees, etc. Then the rope ladder came out and we were doing footwork exercises at which point I rolled my right ankle. Yay! Did that stop me? Only for a moment. I got back up and pushed myself, and pushed myself...looking back, I pushed too hard.

Kicking, punching, panting and sweating. I felt like I was in a romantic interlude with Mike Tyson and I was just hoping that I wouldn't die or get my ear bitten off. My wife went at her own pace as we were instructed to do, I went as hard as I could. I still need to work on my form and I have to remember not to drop my hands from guard position. By the end I felt used up, drained and both us were hating arm circles, but good overall.When we got home we both stepped on the scale and saw that we each lost about 2 lbs. just from this workout.

Looking back on our first experience, I am glad we took advantage of this offer. We not only are receiving 4 classes but also a pair of light boxing gloves each. As I sit here with an ice pack on my ankle all I can think about is how much I can't wait for my ankle to heal so I can go back in there and do it again.

If you would like to look into kickboxing as an extra boost to your regular work out routine ilovekickboxing.com has a really good introductory offer on their website. The class can be intimidating, but the participants who have been there for a while are willing to jump in to help out beginners.

Supersets and You

There are a couple of Superset exercises that I have tried lately that I found put an extra kick in my routine. The three I am going to outline are the front to lateral and back again raise with the Rocky/Bradford press, Underhand Front Raises with push-up, and a Skull Crusher with a Overhead Pullover.

Laterals with Rocky/Bradford press (Warning these hurt)

My shoulders are not the strongest so I go low weight for this routine.I really do hate these but they work. I have seen extra definition in my shoulders, not to mention the way my shirts hang is a lot more flattering than it was before.

Lateral Raises: Lift the weight from your thighs straight up and out in front of you(palms facing down, move your arms back to the raised position of a side lateral raise. Next, lower your arms to your sides, pause then raise your arms to a side lateral, move your arms to your front and lower the front lateral. (That was one rep)

Rocky/Bradford Press: Start low on this exercise hurting your rotator cuff is not worth the ego boost of pushing heavy weight. First start with the bar in the rack position mid chest height. With a grip palms facing out lift the weight up over your head in front of you, then down behind your head. (Squeeze your back muscles for a little more from this exercise.) Now lift the bar back up behind your head then lower back in front of you. (That was one rep)

I tend to do 3 sets of 10. Today I bumped up the weight and have changed my routine, so I was not able to do 3 straight sets of 10. Listen to your body and if you push yourself then make sure you are doing it wisely.

Underhand Front Raise with Push-up

I find that this routine is really good for a warm up before a chest day. Mix this in before a drop set on bench to get a real good workout. Start with a cable machine that allows you to attach a grip near the floor. With the grip in your hand stand with your back to the machine and raise your arms in front of you like you are lifting Simba out in front of you (sorry for the Lion King reference). Then lower back down.

If your gym doesn't have the machines to do these side by side, then I recommend doing one side at a time. You don't get as good balance as doing both at the same time, but doing one side then the other will also engage your core. Whenever you do an asymmetrical workout, your core will engage to help balance. Watch your weight so that way you don't find yourself too off-balance.

After your first set drop into a push-up aim for between ten and twelve push-ups.

After your second set of raises do another set of push-ups, this time try to lift yourself off the ground when you push.

On your third and final set half way through your ten set push yourself up off the ground and move your hands into a diamond push-up to target your interior pectoral muscle as well as your triceps.

Skull Crusher with Overhead Pullover

I love my triceps; I also love from time to time to run them all sorts of ragged until lifting my arms are a near impossibility. This is a good way to start that punishment.

Skull Crusher: Laying flat on a bench with a cambered bar extended in front of you like the top point of a bench press but with your hands about 8 inches apart (weighted or not depending on your level of experience). Bend your arms down so you have about a 90 degree angle at your elbow. Push back up to the extended position. The movement should look like you are trying to smash the bar into your forehead. Don't smash the bar into your forehead though as this hurts...a lot.

Next, with the bar up at 90 degree angle (half way position of the Skull Crusher), lower the bar in an arc back behind your head below the bench. Next arc back up so you are back in the position where we left the Skull Crusher. Extend your arms back out in front of you then repeat. Do this for three sets of ten.

So those are the three supersets that I am sharing with you today. If you have any supersets that you enjoy feel free to comment and I will try them out.

The joys and pains of towel pull ups

The maximum amount of pull-ups I could do was absolutely zero before I started hitting the gym. Initially, these bastards were the bane of my existence…not literally. The pain to worth ratio just wasn’t there, plus I felt like there was no isolation type of routines with this exercise. And how I was wrong. I am still using the assisted lift machine with the towel routine simply because my lats are not strong enough to do this without assistance…one day.

So while searching through some YouTube videos about battling ropes I saw a warm up with towel pull-ups. There are 3 variations that I use. The close grip, regular grip and a one hand regular grip pull up. I am using two kitchen towels bought at a big box store. Just remember to use a towel you can get a good grip on.

Close Grip

This is a good in between major exercises routine.  On my chest day, I will run this after my bench press and triceps press burnout. To perform, put the towels about eight inches apart on the bar and grip with palms facing inward. As you pull yourself upwards, turn your hand and wrist inwards (the motion similar to the pump at the end of a bicep curl). Aim for a set of ten at least three times during your entire routine.

This will put one big hurt on your forearms and wrists. If you suffer from weak wrists that become sore after Skull Crushers then I would highly recommend giving these a shot to prevent that strain on your wrist.

Regular Grip

I was having a tough time seeing any changes with my pull-up routine. Finally I had reached my goal of my own body weight and to be honest I saw no change and really felt no change in my back. Now there is a huge difference. This is a great exercise to hit the muscles in between your shoulder blades, side lats rounding around to your seratius muscle. To perform, put the towels on the bar shoulder length apart.  Pull yourself up using a grip with palms facing inward. Regular routine would be three sets of ten.

On the assisted lift machine I am currently working my way up from the easiest setting to the hardest. If you are using this method, to kick the routine up a bit I would start your base weight and do the first set of ten.

Then for the second set I would  bump it up to the a slightly more difficult wieght and push myself to make it to ten, repeat for set three and then I push a set four that is back to the original weight to go as far as possible. If you do this then on the next gym day skip running through this exercise.

One Hand Regular Grip

A strong word of warning, take this slow. If you feel any pulling or pain then stop. If on an assist machine then start at the lowest level until you are absolutely sure you can move up in weight.

These are ridiculously addictive. I found myself last night doing a burn out set on these and my biceps, and serratus muscles are so very sore. Keep the towels on the bar, push one aside and use a regular grip on the bar, then use the other to grab the towel. The goal is to not use the bar hand and only the towel hand, this is hard to do so don’t beat yourself up if you can’t attain that at first. As you pull with your towel hand you will notice a lot of strain on the bicep and if you are doing it right you will feel your core engage a bit in the upper oblique. Repeat for the left side. Three sets of ten on each side.

This one will burn you out. I normally run this between my running circuit or sit-up routine.

Just remember to go slow especially if this is new territory for you. There is nothing more deterring to the gym as a pulled muscle; even cardio can be a chore. So go slow and listen to when your body is saying to push a little bit harder.