Weight Lifting and Bodybuilding for Normal People

Calorie Counting Doesn't Work!

2008-06-04T16:05:00.001-04:00

That's right, calorie counting doesn't work, especially for bodybuilders. I've reviewed alot of well know bodybuilding websites and when I come to the part where they get to nutrition they all have a list of desired foods you should eat with a breakdown of how many calories you should take in for each meal, when to eat them, and in what proportions. By the end of the day, they say, you should have such and such a percentage of protein, carbs, and fat. Do this everyday and you'll be on your way to gaining lean muscle mass and igniting a fat burning machine, that is, they say it should happen.

Goal Setting for Bodybuilding....or whatever!

2008-05-29T19:14:00.007-04:00

The world we live in is full of distractions, especially those that keep us away from the gym and working out, in other words, that keep us away from our true passion in life. To many, weight lifters and bodybuilders are someone they aspire to become, a fleeting daydream in a day that is full of many responsibilities and obligations - school, work, family, personal hygiene, etc. We're so caught up in making our livings that we never truly feel satisfied like after a good hard workout. Wouldn't it be great if everything we did in life energized us as much as our training does??? But for many an aspiring weight lifter/bodybuilder, that dream will remain elusive throughout their lives, until one day they finally wake up to their true calling in life and make the development of a physique their priority. Of course, don't quit your day job, just shuffle your priorities around. One of my favorite motivational speakers is Jim Rohn. Mr. Rohn was 26 years old, broke, with a family to support, when one day he went to work for someone who will end up changing his life. That man was Earl Shoaff, a self-made millionaire. Mr. Shoaff imparted upon Jim one valuable lesson and that was to set goals. At 26, Jim was struggling to support his family, and had not a penny to show for his previous seven years of work. However, through goal setting, Jim was a millionaire by the age of 31. Highly unlikely? Not at all once you understand the power of goal setting. Think about all the things you've accomplished in your life up to this point. You may have a nice list of all the things you're proud to have, to be, to have done. But did you ever write them down and make a conscious decision to move towards them??? Probably not. If you're like me you reacted to events in life and adapted to circumstances that were integral in sort of channeling you to where you are in life today. For me, I was a college grad working in a factory assembly line for two years. I had no idea where I was going in life, I was too busy working, and too tired to care afterwards. Then one day I decided to go back to school for a masters degree. Then, I graduated and went to work again at a job I didn't really care for. I reacted to my situation in the factory as motivation to go back to school. However, I'm very proud of my degrees. But I accomplished that feat without ever writing it down beforehand. Imagine what I could be doing now if I had wrote down exactly what I wanted to do in life rather than let circumstance be the guiding force? Although I thought it a great achievement and myself fortunate to have been able to return to school, I think I could have carved out a better present life for myself had I written down my goals.

That leads me to the practical, more useful section of this posting, as you will never accomplish anything listening to me just blather on. So, without further ado, here's what you have to do if you truly want to build the body you've always wanted. It goes beyond pumping the iron, pounding the pavement, and chugging down protein shakes till your kidneys bleed. It's about making a roadmap! Now, you can use the following steps as a guideline to achieving in other areas of your life too. It's a great exercise and shouldn't be restricted to just physical goals.

Step 1: Decide exactly what you want. This is the obvious first step in goal setting. Ask yourself simple questions like what am I trying to accomplish through my workout routines? Am I working on getting my fat down to a certain percentage? Do I want to gain 3 or 4 inches on my arms? Am I working towards a certain poundage on a certain lift? You need to ask yourself specific questions on where you want your training to take you in the short, medium, and long-term. Once you've got a rough idea of where you want to be move on to step 2.

Step 2: Get out a sheet of paper and list your top 10 goals. List in no particular order 10 things you want to accomplish through your workouts. They are the answers to the questions you asked yourself in Step 1. Write them in the present tense as if you already have achieved them. For example, I have 5% bodyfat, I weigh 200 pounds, I bench press 300 pounds, etc. This simple act will activate your subconscious mind to go to work on making them a reality. You need to write them as if you already have them because your subconscious only understands positive commands.

Step 3: Put a deadline next to each of the 10 goals. This will help to organize and prioritize the goals you should be focusing on in the immediate term. And it will help to get you motivated because the longer term goals will then naturally and more easily come as you progress past the initial, shorter-term goals. Put an actual date next to the goal.

Step 4: On 10 separate sheets of paper list each goal at the top of each sheet. Then start with the goal with the closest deadline, moving onto the goal with the next closest deadline, and list all of the possible ways in which you can start to work on each goal. Listing all ideas that come into your head will act to break down the goal into little goals or baby steps. You will soon begin to convince yourself that it will be easy to achieve that particular goal. Say you only have to do two things to achieve that goal. Well, that's not so bad. By listing all the things you can think of you will now have a roadmap for each goal.

Step 5: Take Action!!! Get out and work on your first goal and the other goals simultaneously if you can. If you want to start by working on one goal at a time then by all means do it. Just do something every day. Even if it's just a little thing do it, get it out of the way. You'll feel better about yourself and obtain a sense of accomplishment.

Step 6: Get Motivated!!! Staying motivated is tough especially when you have a goal that's way in the distant future, like, say, to place 1st at the Mr. Olympia. It's so far out and too vague as to what you need to even get started. So, working on little goals with the intent to have them stack upon each other and benefit you down the road to the attainment of that Mr. Olympia stage will help to keep you focused. Going to the gym when all your friends are partying is tough. I know. I'm in the gym every Friday night working my ass off while everyone's out having fun. But I am doing it out of respect for myself. You have to lead a disciplined life if you want to build a champion physique. You can't cut corners and rip yourself off. Seek out motivational tapes and CDs. Play them in your car on the way to the gym or during your commute. Become a student of those people. Learn from them. Apply what you learn. Work hard, but more importantly, work smart by training your mind too.

Deadlifting For Maximum Gains

2008-05-25T15:18:00.009-04:00

Wanna build your entire body all at once without having to labor through monotonous sets of biceps curls, shrugs, standing calf raises, etc. - efforts that provide minimal gains relative to the amount of effort put into doing them? Then try deadlifting!

The Deadlift.

Beware....You're going to pack on the muscle and leave the wannabes in the dust. Instead of being like one of those guys who wears the weight belt for every single exercise and thinks that by wearing it it absolves him from having to do real work, because you know, see I'm wearing a weight belt; therefore, I must be big man...haha. Well, you can show them the truth by leading by example. Do the deadlifts and make it a grueling workout. In fact, set aside one day to do them and nothing else. Then mark your progress in your journal.

The deadlift requires nothing but a good olympic style barbell and a flat ground surface. You'll also want to prepare your gym attire appropriately to guard against the thigh and shin rubbing/scraping that usually occurs while doing deadlifts.

You'll be working almost every single muscle in your body. Although you'll first notice the results in you back and thighs simply because that's where a lot of the muscle power comes from, you'll begin to see mass and definition changes in other areas.

This is not for wussies who plan to get big by doing endless sets of bench press and lat pulldowns - it's for lifting purest like you. I chose this exercise as only a lifting purest would do as it's simple but highly effective as you will soon find out. This lift will cause your body to produce increased amounts of testosterone, which is a powerful anabolic substance. This will result in a new, total body size and strength gains. In turn, you will be aiding in vaulting your other lifts to new heights. After a few months of heavy deadlifting (about one time per week) you will be able to lift more in your other compound lifts such as bench press and squat.

So how do you do it???
There are two main methods for deadlifting: The standard bent legged version and the Sumo Deadlift which I will not cover here and personally feel is not as effective as what I'm about to discuss.

Position your feet about shoulder-width apart and grip the bar with your hands just outside your legs. Grip the bar with an alternating grip: left or right palm facing you with the other hand facing away from you. Gripping with both palms facing the same direction will feel weird and unnatural. Staggering your grip has been proven to be more efficient and you'll be able to lift more weight to failure without sacrificing your grip strength. You'll want to invest in a good pair of wrist wraps too so you're not concentrating too much on keeping your grip while performing the exercise.

Start the movement in a squatted position with the bar two or three inches in front of your shins. Don't let the bar touch your shins and don't let it stick out in front of you beyond 4 or 5 inches or when you lift you'll round your back, which is not good. Stick your ass out like in a squat, arch your back, look straight ahead, preferably into a mirror, and suck your abs in. Lift the weight off of the ground by driving upward with your legs intending to stand up tall and straight. As you stand up your legs will work most of the initial lift with the back taking over as you straighten up. Pull the weight up until you are in a standing position. Now lower the weight back down by following the same path as when you lifted it. When lowering the bar keep it snug to your body and let it rub against your thighs and shins. Not too much on the shins though or you'll be bleeding.

Touch the plates to the ground for a sec, take a deep breath, and pull the weight back up again, exhaling while you complete the lift. Continue the lift until your legs reach muscular failure or until your form starts to slip. NEVER ROUND THE BACK!!! If you feel you're starting to, then drop the weight immediately!

Practice this lift with light weight in order to get the form down before you start going heavy.

Do about 4 sets with around 8-10 reps per each. If you go heavier do as many as you can till failure or until your form deteriorates.

Wanna see how it's done??? Check out these videos. Also, if you're not comfortable in trying on your own for the first time get a professional trainer to watch your form and correct your mistakes. Enjoy!

Good Deadlifting Instruction

Another Example from Another Angle...Notice how the bar contacts the body as its pulled and let down....Good.

Bodybuilding Supplements Made Easy

2008-05-24T22:17:00.022-04:00

Hello everyone and welcome back. I was recently looking at my supplement stash and realized I hardly have anything. I mean, here's what I've got: Vanilla Creme Muscle Milk, Vanilla Whey protein powder, Creatine, Glutamine, Vitamin D, Fish Oil, and CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid). After I was shocked by how little in the way of supplementation I had (I don't even take a multi-vitamin or fat burner like all the muscle mag bodybuilding shills tell me to). Quite simply, though, what I've got is all I need. While I pondered upon that I got to remembering how I never used to be a purest, meaning I used to have all kinds of supplements that I'd try. I wouldn't even research before I bought. I'd read in a bodybuilding forum or website that such and such will do wonders for gains, or here's what you can look like after taking such and such for this short period of time. I'd be seduced by the before and after shots of guys who supposedly took this such and such supplement. I was training hard but, of course, I was looking for help in achieving more gains. I'd go out to the popular vitamin store chains looking for the latest and greatest supplement, buy it, try it, and then read, oh, it even works better if you stack it with this other supplement, which by the way, we also manufacture. So, I'd get on a supplement buying binge and then $200 or $300 later I'd find out that, yeah I maybe did make some progress but maybe I could have made those gains simply through doing what I've always been doing - training heavy and hard and going all out in the gym.

Pick up any muscle magazine at your local bookstore and count how many pages are devoted to supplement ads, and then compare that number to the number of actual training articles (minus the stupid female bodybuilder/swimsuit articles and centerfold pull outs they now insert to get guys to buy this crap). I'll bet you will have counted more advertisements than actual helpful, relevant articles. Why would the magazines carry all those advertisements??? Obviously, to seduce you into buying their crappy magazine, crappy and expensive supplements, and to make you poor! Yep, the magazine publishers make most of their magazine revenue by selling advertising space, not from you buying the magazine. And, another thing. Take a look at the articles they publish. If you have some magazines handy you might want to do a little comparison among a few of them. Can you identify a common theme??? I certainly can. They tend to all have the same types of articles from one issue to the next. You might see cover page headlines like: 'Build Massive Quads', 'Huge Arm Training', 'Get Ripped For The Summer', or some derivation thereof. These, of course, are to get you to buy the magazine. You could read every article published in today's issues of the latest muscle mags on the market and pretty much find that information in past issues of the same magazine (or for free on the internet). I mean, come on, how many articles does it take to tell you how to grow your biceps??? So, don't waste anymore of your money enriching the lives of the magazine publishing families.

Ok, back to my main point of how to become a supplement purest. As I mentioned in my story above I wasn't always a purest in this regard. I tried a lot of supplements, but they were just that, a replacement for hard work in the gym - A crutch to rely on thinking I could slack off in the gym as long as I have my full range of vitamins, pills, whatever. You want to have your basics like those I listed in the beginning of this post. You'll want creatine for muscular energy and explosive power, glutamine for faster recovery and energy, vitamin D (check out here for the wonderful benefits of Vitamin D), CLA for fat burning acceleration, muscle mass building and retention, and fish oil for, again, muscle building and retention and fat loss. You may already have these, may need to get some, or have your own set of supplements that you feel are tried and trued according to your standards and results achieved. If so, by all means continue doing what you're doing if its working for you and you're not going broke trying to keep up with the latest product to hit the market. The point is to get the maximum amount of results with whatever supplements you feel work for you. I find these, in combination, work the best for me. I hope they do the same for you.

Just Do Squat!!!

2008-05-21T14:50:00.007-04:00

Well, not literally. Doing nothing will get you nowhere and doing only squats (the exercise) does not constitute a comprehensive weight lifting regimen. However, if you only do one exercise it should be the squat, and for many obvious reasons, and for many more you might not have thought about before. Aside from squats being a great leg builder because they’re a compound exercise (working the quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, rhomboids, traps, hip flexors, groin, spinal erectors, and knee ligature) they work to bring out systemic changes within your body on so many levels. Yes! Doing squats can make you bigger and stronger, in more ways than one, in other parts of your body. As one example, they strengthen the heart muscle by forcing the quadriceps to forcefully contract, thereby constricting the leg arteries, acting as a muscular pump to push blood through your system. Obviously, in order to make maximal gains, however, you will use squats as only one component of your complete workout routine. There are three main points I'd like to touch upon.

First, leg training, in my humble opinion, provides the foundation upon which the rest of your weight training / bodybuilding system should be based. Without it, you'll look like those goofy stick legged guys you see every time at the gym who it seems only know how to bench press! I've seen enough of them and have noticed how they train. Ok, here comes another rant...lol. Whenever I see these guys (the ones with the huge upper bodies and no legs) I feel pity for them because they don't know what they're missing. They're in the gym pumping out set after set of bench presses (bench pressing by the way, is an inferior mode of chest development training...which I'll touch upon in a later post). What they get are fat pecs and nothing else. When you look at them their bodies are shaped to where your eye gradually is drawn downward towards their legs. So what you notice are their skinny legs and not their bulging upper body. They just look plain silly and they hide their legs with long sweats or long shorts because they know they look foolish. What I'm getting at here is, take a look at professional bodybuilders. Their bodies are built in such a way that your eye is drawn towards the middle (V-shaped upper body and big legs tapering together to meet in the middle at the slimmed waist). They have the complete physique.

Second, what's the proper way to squat? Well, there are variations from back squat (barbell resting on upper back), front squat (barbell resting on front deltoids), hack squats (hack squat machine), sissy squats (bodyweight assisted). My preference is for the back squat which I do on a Smith Machine. You may have a favorite already or may develop a liking for one over the other in the near future. I like doing them on a Smith Machine because I like the way the rack stabilizes the weight so I can do more of it and can concentrate on my form. I never liked doing free standing back squats because I don't have enough flexibility in my hip to allow me to get that deep bend while, at the same time, controlling and stabilizing the weight. Here's a great video tutorial that shows you the proper way to do squats. It's not on a Smith Machine but you'll get the general idea.

If you're new to squats you might want to try them out on a Smith Machine just to get the form right and to build some strength in your legs and back and to allow your knees and hips to get accustomed to the deep bend stretching. Before you get the form down you might not be able to do alot of weight. Like me, I'm 6'4" and have a far distance to push the weight up. According to my workout log in my journal I didn't really start training with squats until December 2007. At that time I started out with only 95 lbs. (the smith machine bar plus one 25 lb. plate on either side). As of May 18, 2008 my heavist workout weight was 185 lbs. for about 3 sets/8 reps each. That's a gain of 90 lbs., or 95%. Be patient, though. Allow your body to get used to the movement before really getting into heavier weights. Start off with light weights and get your form down and build strength in the joints. Then gradually build up. You'll notice that you'll go up quickly in weight.

Remember when I talked about how squats can help you acheive a level of fitness beyond just developing huge, ripped quads? Well, here's what I'm talking about....

Squats (especially done with heavy weight for 8-10 reps) releases huge amounts of testosterone and growth hormone. In doing so, the hormonal release, in combination with compound movements indicative of squatting, is such that the rest of your body will benefit from it. So, if you only did squats you'd see overall growth in the other muscles of your body, albeit to a smaller extent than if you had also trained those areas. However, it follows that squatting, by releasing muscle building compounds, will help in making your bench press stronger, your biceps curls more explosive, etc.

Third, squats help to give you more energy, boost cardio output, and boost your immune system. This is just my opinion, but one backed up from sound experience. Why did I pick squats and not any other exercise or the total workout regimen as the reasons for the aforementioned benefits. Because, and this is only my opinion, I never saw those benefits before integrating squats into my workout. It's true and it may work for you. Try this out and use your journal. Every time you do your leg workout make note of what you feel like after each set. I'll bet you'll notice that when you start out for the first few months you'll be huffing and puffing feeling like you might not be able to catch your breathe after a heavy squat set. However, as I've noticed over the past few months I still do breathe heavy, which is natural, but I "catch my breathe" after a shorter period of time after the set and my breathing begins to normalize in a faster.

One more thing, squats will help to boost your immune system. I keep a pretty hectic business schedule and only get about 6 hours of sleep every night (not the ideal 8-10 hours), even when lifting heavy. Before I incorporated squats into my routine I would get sick with colds and sore throats regularly 3 or 4 times a year. Been squating for almost 7 months and went the whole winter on 6 hours a sleep a night and not one sniffle. Try it out. Until we meet again, good lifting!

Wanna lift heavy? Try these things

2008-05-16T10:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome back, and for the first timers....thanks for checking out the blog. For most of you it'll be your first time seeing this blog as it's less than a week old and this is only my second posting. I have alot of ideas and its getting them all down in a timely fashion that will require some work on my part. I'll try my best....

For now, let's start with some tips I've got that'll help you stay focused and lifting heavy each and every time you hit the gym. If you've been working out for a while then you're probably already lifting heavy and seeing results. Or, maybe you're not and you're looking for some guidance. If you're just starting out, take it slowly at first and work your way up to the heavy stuff. No stupid stunts to impress the hot chick/guy working out next to you or your friends. Believe me! I've been there, done that. I didn't like visiting the ortho for knees problems I got from that stupid heavy set of leg extensions...lol. By the way, NO LEGS EXTENSIONS, OK???? Please do yourself a favor and stay away from them. They put tremendous amounts of sheering forces upon your patella(kneecap) and do nothing to build mass for your quads. Stick to the many variations of squats and leg presses. Ok, without further ado, on to my tips...

Tip #1: Lift Heavy!
Well, obviously, right? You want maximal gains. However, you want them in the shortest period of time, right, so you can show off your hard work this summer to the people at the beach, not to the people in the gym, right? Well, that leads me to tip #2.

Tip #2: Get in and Get out
Doesn't it annoy the hell out of you when you're in the gym and someone's hogging the Smith machine (or any other machine for that matter)??? I know it pisses me off. You see some scrawny guy doing some exercise you've never seen done before because he's botching up a perfectly good routine that he's trying to duplicate from the latest issue of whatever steroid pumped muscle mag he picked up while on lunch break. Then on top of that he's doing 10 mediocre sets and taking 5 minute breaks in between, pretending to be working hard...But I digress. Well actually, this is the point I'm trying to make. We've all got busy schedules and we're not trust fund babies who can hang out at the gym and sip banana strawberry protein foo foo smoothies all day long. We're in there to get in and get the hell out as quickly as possible. The point is to head into the gym with a timing goal in mind. For example, if I'm doing legs I say I'm going to spend only 45 minutes in this gym and not a second more. That means if I want to make my leg workout count I've got to hit the heavy weights (after sufficient warm ups of course), or else I leave feeling unfufilled, like I didn't try as hard as I could have. I can't waste time doing half-hearted, mediocre sets. No, I've got to do heavy weights with less sets. By setting a timetable you immediately put yourself into the top echelon of weight lifters. Not only will a timetable force your to be efficient but it'll make you lift heavier. You don't have two hours to kill in the gym to do endless warm up sets. You have a finite amount of time to get the work done. Try this: Set aside 45 minutes as your limit. It's not too short and not too long, right in the middle. You'll only be able to take it easy for maybe one or two sets then will have to start lifting progressively heavier because you'll want to make sure you leave the gym knowing you worked hard and have the pump to show for it. By not setting a timetable you allow yourself to drift off and get distracted or take too many breaks. Remember, your body will respond only if it's challenged. So that means limiting the number of sets you do to more quality, heavy ones, and less quantity, and less rest time in between sets. Limit yourself to 40 seconds of rest between sets. That way when you go onto the next set it's heavy, but its also harder to complete because you're body is not rested enough, yet it's not too worn out from the previous set that you can't finish off another good set.

Tip#3: Keep a journal
I know this one sounds simple and maybe you're already keeping one. If so, that's great. If not, go buy a journal, now! This has to be one of the most overlooked and underutilized piece of advice there is about progressive weight training. I think I'm one of maybe two people in my whole gym who keep a journal. I mean, how can anyone expect to progress to the next level, beyond a plateau, beyond their previous limits, etc., without having a track record of where they were before? Is my memory that bad and everyone else's that good? I've been bringing a journal with me to the gym for years and it's helped to keep me on track. The name of the game is progressive resistance training. If you're not keeping a journal you'll have no clue what you did the last workout. Don't rely on memory to get you through. It doesn't work. You'll be doing only what feels right to you, not going above and beyond what you did previously. Don't get too scientific here. Just buy one of those dollar store composition books. You're going to be sweating all over it so don't get anything that you don't want ruined. The journal is your daily workout bible. It's your memory, friend, and training partner. It'll remind you of what you did in your last workout and will motivate you to greater intensity in the next. All you do is write down the exercise performed, the number of sets, and the number of reps you did, and that's it. Sometimes I throw in commentary if I feel I went a bit too heavy, felt some joint/muscle pain during a set, or want to note what felt good/bad about a certain exercise. Whatever you want to write is your business. Don't worry, no one is going to think you're geeky writing down your routine. Just think, with this knowledge in hand every time you head to the gym you'll be sure to rise above the others who are fine with settling for mediocrity. Don't worry about what to write, just write...

Tip #4: Stop talking!
That's right...If you want to be a lifting purest you've got to act like one. That's why you leave your mouth at the front desk. Talking while working out is a waste of time and distracts your mind from what you need to accomplish. You can't lift with high intensity if you're thinking of what to say to him or her after/before you pump out this or that set. I never talk to anyone when I'm in the gym. If someone starts talking to me I walk away or pretend I don't hear them. You're not there to socialize, you're there to work. Remember tip #2? You want to stay focused, stimulate enough muscle fibers for growth and leave ASAP. Think of the gym as a conduit through which you must pass in order to achieve your weight training/bodybuilding goals....

....Ponder upon these tips if you will...there are more to come. Please feel free to comment and add your own ideas to the blog. I'm interested in hearing what some of the more experienced lifters have to say. If I can learn from you I would sincerely appreciate it and it would mean this blog was worthwhile. Be in touch again soon:)

Welcome to my Blog!!!

2008-05-11T14:00:00.003-04:00

Hello and welcome to my blog. If you're interested in learning about and sharing ideas about weight lifting and bodybuilding, and are not interested in the latest fitness fad or mass-marketed supplement you find shoved down your throats on a daily basis by the corporate owned magazines then you've come to the right place my friend. I didn't name my blog "The Lifting Purest" for nothing. This is a place where you get unabashed and uncensored information on how to build your body through lifting heavy weights, pure and simple. It's for men and women who are die hard, hardcore weight lifters looking to cut through the corporatized whitewashes of training information and get right down to the nitty-gritty of what it means to be a lifting purest. I intend to make regular posts to this blog highlighting mostly training and diet information. With that said, please feel free to submit suggestions and commentary you feel would be beneficial to progressively moving this site forward.
Thank you and good training!