Squat Personal Record

Squat from: 135kg - 2 reps

To: 140kg - 1 reps

@ 24/05/11, 72kg, 4+ months training.

Deadlift Personal Record

Deadlift from: 160kg - 1 reps

To: 180kg - 1 reps

I started my back workout with deadlifts today, and on my 4th set I was able to do 4 reps of 160kg so with some confidence i tried 180kg. I gave myself a good 5 minutes to get ready and i managed to lift it with good form and relative ease :). Pretty happy with that, it felt good, all the way from the ground to standing. 

@ 19/05/11, 72kg, 4+ months training.

Exams and balance

Advice on Exams

So it’s exam season, the period where students get incredibly worried and anxious, not only about their important exams, but about their bodies. It’s general practice for students to worry about failing their exams which as a result causes stress levels to rocket and affects their health. It requires a certain skill to balance your Health & fitness with your exams, to maintain a good body weight, while still getting excellent exam results. 

Exams are important!

I hope you recognise that your exams are very important, even more important than becoming ripped, because these exams are important for your future, doing well in these exams and getting high scores will dictate whether you get into a good college or university which will then lead to increased chances of you getting a good job! Not everyone can make money singing, dancing or drawing, so why not help secure yourself a good job by working hard in school and applying yourself to your studies? I doubt everyone is satisfied with becoming a stripper haha!

Maintaining balance

So how do balance the maintenance of my body weight and stress levels while attaining good grades? 

Well it mostly lies in what I do in my spare time; the time outside of lessons, and outside of the gym. In my spare time I don't play video games, and i don't watch a lot of TV, I use my spare time to make progress academically. Every day, other than Fridays and Saturdays I try to do at least 1-2 hours of studying. What i study each day depends on which subject I feel I'm weakest in. By doing at least 1-2 hours of studying a day, it allows me to be prepared for my exams months in advance, this way I can iron out any problems I may be experiencing in class, and in the weeks leading up to my exams I can use the time to become 100% confident before entering the exam room. This way I experience less stress before my exams due to the numerous hours I spend studying my subjects in advance, and because my time consumed in study is spread evenly, it gives me enough time to go to the gym regularly all year round.

Time management

This is a very useful skill, by dedicating a little time a day to study, you eliminate the need for you to experience the high levels of exam stress, and the long hours of incessant cramming sessions the days before your exam. So the way I try to succeed in my exams while maintaining strong progression in my health & fitness is by planning my time well, and balancing my work and play well.

Example

I go to school, then I go to the gym for about an hour, after that I get home, eat and study, and by the time I’ve satisfied my daily allotted time for studying it’s about 7:00-7:30, so I relax for the rest of the night, chat to some friends, or watch a movie. Swap this for 3 weeks of horrible cramming and worrying, and your exams will go more smoothly, with less stress and hopefully better results. I must note that I do have ‘private study’ periods during school, which I use for very light reading. I don’t usually do any heavy revision during these periods, as to prevent myself burning out before important lessons where I learn important facts and data.

Studying

I find that the shorter study sessions of 1-2 hours are more helpful, because since it’s only a short period of time, I’m able to learn more due to that fact that I can remain focused without getting extremely tired. During long sessions of studying I get tired, and as I get tired I lose focus which leads to a huge decrease in efficiency, resulting in less learning per unit of time. So by increasing the amount of sessions, but decreasing the time for each session I find that efficiency increases.

Evaluation and assessment

It may be helpful for you to develop the skills of scrutiny and evaluation, these skills can help you review and assess yourself to identify what your weaknesses are, perhaps in your physique or in your education. In my opinion this can aid in boundless progress and development, to make you a better, more successful individual.

Education is like an enhancement to your life

You may argue that life isn’t all about education, and it isn’t. Although in these modern times it can help you make your life fulfilling, or be the difference between you becoming a cleaner or a successful lawyer. These days if you don’t get a good education or if you don’t try hard enough at school you are more than likely to be forced to work in a low level job like McDonalds for example; stuck in a dead-end job because you didn’t care at school. What sort of an end is that? Is that what you want? Would you be satisfied with this end? Because I wouldn’t be.

Going through higher education is like a doorway, a bypass out of the boundaries of societies limits due to education; which can lead you to a better end, a more fulfilling, rewarding and prosperous life, and where you can live more happily with more potential to flourish. So you might as well try hard while you’re young, you don’t want to mess it up and diminish in an alley as a prostitute or something…

Conclusion

In conclusion, balance your work with your play, but remember, being successful requires effort which may inhibit the amount of free time you have to play with, but no one should work without any breaks, because humans are robots; if you work too hard you will burn out, so don’t hurt yourself, but I encourage you to identify your limits and wherever you can, push past them.

Manage your time well, and plan well in advance for important events, you don’t want to be stuck in a position which will raise your stress levels unnecessarily; it can all be avoided with good planning.

Try to evaluate yourself to identify your weakness, and then build on them. This is an unquestionable way to make progress and to become a better person.

Finally, work hard now, don’t quit! And do it for yourself, because I’m sure you’d like to have a brighter future, and grow into what you wish to become.  You weren’t created to diminish, you’re like a star, so make like a star and burn brightly while you can, and let everyone see.

Good luck with all your exams everyone, 

I wish you all the best!

Here's a silly photo of me to prove it :)

Back Workout Routine

This is one of my back (plus biceps un-specifically)

In brackets I have put the weights I did for this workout recently (date of post, 10/05/11).

Warming up:

To get that blood flowing to reduce injury, you can do a few minutes of running, cycling or a few push-ups and squats. Anything that works for you, for this back workout you want to make sure your blood is pumping and you stretch your leg muscles and lower back out.

1st Exercise: Dead lifts

Introduction:

This is one of my favourite exercises, anyone isn’t doing deadlifts, should do so, because this exercise recruits a great number of muscles, which constitutes to huge gains if done often, using a good routine and perfect form.

How to:

Basically you’re lifting a bar from the ground at a deep-squat position up to your hips at a standing position.

Preparation:

Get in a deep-squat position with feet shoulder width pointing out very slightly, with the bar very close to your shins. Using a power-grip, grip the bar at shoulder width.

 

Execution:

1.)    Gripping the bar tightly, GET YOUR PELVIC TILT ON!

2.)    Pull straight upwards, and straighten up at the top, as if you’re curling with your lower back.

3.)    Pull your shoulders back and puff your chest out, shrug the weight if you have trouble locking out.

4.)    Slowly lower the bar with control, maintaining your pelvic tilt until you touch the floor with the weights. Bend your knees slightly if necessary.

5.)    Repeat.

This is a good guide, but I don’t have the bar flush to my shins, because rubbing the bar up against your leg makes it easier, and it is also really painful haha! Anyways, with a good form the bar shouldn’t touch your legs until you finish the movement.

Form:

Maintaining a strong pelvic tilt is important, otherwise you may pull a muscle and eventually you may even slip a disc in your spine, if you continue with bad form.

Tips:

Doing the pelvic tilt for a beginner is sometimes hard to perfect (especially for men), but the way I teach it to people is, stick your bum out, and curve your back lower back inwards, in an attempt to pivot your buttocks towards the ceiling. Having a strong pelvic tilt can prevent your lower back bending or curving outwards which can lead to serious injury.

Target Muscles:

This exercise works many muscles; the main muscle is the Erector Spinae, your lower back muscle, which extends all the way up your spine, so it's great to have it well developed. It also exercises your glutes and hamstrings effectively, even more so if you're doing stiff legged dead lifts, along with many other stabilising muscles. That’s why deadlifts can help people to increase their overall strength.

Workout Routine:

Warm up set 1 - 12 reps, Light weight (60kg)

Warm up set 2 – 12 reps, Light weight (60kg)

Working set 1 - 10 reps, Medium to high weight (100kg)

Working set 2 - 8 reps, Heavier (110kg)

Working set 3 - 8-6 reps, Heavy weight (120kg)

Working set 4 - 6 reps, 90% of 1 rep max (140kg)

Working set 5 - 1 rep max (160-170kg)

Note:

For my last 2 sets i use lifting straps to help with my grip, and for my final set i always try to lift a personal record weight, because progression is imperative for me to achieve my goals.

2nd Exercise: Weighted Wide grip/Normal pull-ups

Introduction:

This is arguably the best exercise building your latisimuss dorsi, also known as your lats, the largest muscle on your body which gives you the well sought after V-tapered body.

 I do weighted pull ups using a dip belt which you can attach plates to; I use the one at my gym. I start with wide grip, because they're said to be most effective when exercise your lats, then move onto normal pull-ups as it gets too heavy for wide grip.

How to:

Basically you grip a bar which is about 7-8ft tall and you pull up. This can be performed with various grips for various results, and may be performed with weights using a dip belt.

Preparation:

Do some mobilisations, to loosen up the joints in your arms.

When going for weighted pull-ups, put on a weight belt which has a chain to attach weights.

Execution:

1.)    Jump up and grip the bar (Wide, then shoulder width)

2.)    Pull body up, till your neck is level with the bar, or your chin is above it.

3.)    Slowly let yourself down for 2-3 seconds

4.)    Repeat

Target Muscles:

The wide grip pull-ups target mostly the Latissimus Dorsi, but also exercise the biceps and rhomboids. Standard pull-ups also target the Latissimus Dorsi, but it exercises biceps a little more.

Tips:

When I do pull-ups I try to touch my chest to the bar, because when I pull straight up it’s quite rough on my joints, especially on my shoulders. So I do some stretches and mobilisations along with trying to touch my chest to the bar to prevent damage to my shoulders.

If you’re unable to do any pull-ups, do negative pull-ups by jumping up to the bar and letting yourself down as slowly as you can.

Don’t go too wide, this will reduce the range of motion and decreases how much you activate your target muscles.

Workout Routine:

Warm up set 1 - 10-12 reps, (body weight, wide)

Working set 1 - 10-12 reps, (body weight +10kg, wide)

Working set 2 - 8-10 reps, (body weight +15kg, normal)

Working set 3 - 6-8 reps (body weight + 15kg, normal)

Working set 4 - Till failure (body weight +20, normal)

Note:

You should try to do a full pull-up, don't skimp out on form if you can. I know it's quite a hard exercise for beginners, but try because it will work your muscles more effectively, and improve the results. So that means pull-up so your head is over the bar, and let yourself down slowly with control for about 2 seconds, Form and control usually outweighs quantity in association to gains.

3rd Exercise: Dumbbell Bent over row

Introduction:

I’m generally not completely dead after the weighted pull-ups so I do some heavy dumbbell bent over rows, which help build mass in the whole back area, so I don’t miss any muscles. Dumbbell exercises also promotes evenness in your muscles, which I like because my left lat is smaller than my right,

How to:

Basically you use a bench to rest on, and using a dumbbell you pull it up using your back muscles.

Preparation:

 

If you’re exercising your right arm, place your left leg with your foot hanging off the end of the bench, with your left arm at the top of the bench for support to maintain a straight back, put your right foot on the floor slightly further back than your knee, and from this position grab the dumbbell.

Execution:

1.)    Get into the preparation position

2.)    Grab the dumbbell off the floor

3.)    Lift the dumbbell up until your back is straight, with your arm extended

4.)    Pull the dumbbell up to your hip, keeping your fist running up your thigh, ending with a 90 degree angle in your arm at your hip.

5.)    Slowly let the weight down until your arm is fully extended.

6.)    Repeat

Target muscles:

This is a good exercise to develop the latissimus dorsi, but this exercise also works most of the muscles in your upper back, including your rhomboids, trapeziums and the back of your shoulders. 

Tips:

If you’re doing very heavy weights you might want to do this standing up propped onto something, but make sure you try to keep your torso horizontal or parallel to the floor to get the best results.

You don’t want to be using lifting straps for this exercise as it can help to increase your grip strength, but if your forearms are dead from pull-ups and deadlifts you may use them for your last sets.

While performing this exercise doesn’t rotate your torso to try and get some momentum, skimping on form on this exercise is pointless, and may cause uneven muscle growth. If you can’t get your upper arm at least to parallel to your torso, the weight is too heavy, drop down. You also look silly doing bent over rows without a nice straight back.

Workout Routine:

Working set 1 - 12 reps, Medium weight (20kg)

Working set 2 - 10 reps, Medium (25kg)

Working set 3 - 8 reps, Heavy weight (27.5kg)

Working set 4 - 8 reps, Heavy weight (30kg)

Working set 5 - 6 reps or till failure, Heavier weight (35kg)

Note:

Grip the dumbbells tight to recruit more muscles in stabilisations and exercise your forearms a little more to increase your grip strength.

4th Exercise: Burnout, Neutral grip pull ups

Introduction:

I do a burnout because I feel that it induces a lot of soreness, because it’s a bit of a shock to the system, and it completes my workout nicely by leaving me weak and tired, which I like because it means I’ve done a good workout. For this routine I do neutral grip pull ups for 3 sets.

I choose to do this instead of normal pull ups because by the end of this workout my grip is a bit weak, and neutral grip pull ups seem easier.

How to:

Neutral grip pull ups are the same as normal pull ups, but your palms are facing each other.

Preparation, Execution and Target muscles:

Same as a generic pull-up

Workout routine:

3 sets, reps till failure, body weight.

Note:  

Do some good negative pull ups to really tire your muscles out. If you can’t do any pull ups, use a narrow grip attachment and do pull downs on a machine.

Finish

Get that protein, drink that water, eat that food and get some sleep. The workout isn't the sole factor in muscle growth or strength progression. You have to eat well, sleep lots and drink enough water or else your body won't get enough nutrients, to build muscle and sustain your internal systems, and enough rest for your body to fully recover before your next workout.

Stretch

Lats/Upper back muscles:

I usually grab the base of a machine with both hand and pull your body out with your arms extended. This stretches my back really nicely.

Lower back:

During deadlifts I stretch my lower back by bending over, grabbing my calves and arching my lower back outwards. You may also grip a bar to stretch your lower back.

Progress

Deadlifts are one of my exercises which I gauge my strength progress with, because it’s such a powerful movement, and since it uses so many muscles it’s good for measuring overall strength.

Similarly to bench press, every week I try to do personal records lift, to increase my strength and make progress.

Before performing my personal best lifts I give myself about 5 minutes to get into the ‘zone’, because your mental focus can make huge difference.

Squat Personal Record!

Squat from: 130kg - 2 reps


To: 135kg - 2 reps


Since i wasn't fully recovered due to loss of sleep I didn't go for 140kg, instead i did 2 reps of 135kg :), if I'm feeling good next week I'll go for 145kg!


@ 08/05/11, 71-72kg, 4+ months training.

Chest Workout Routine

This is one of my chest workouts, I like to change my routine every 2 weeks, so that my body doesn't get used to my workouts. This is to help avoid strength plateaus. I personally feel that whenever I change my workout, the soreness the day after is generally much more intense compared to the weeks before, which in my mind means that changing my workout is working.

Basically it's like the first few weeks of you joining the gym, remember these weeks you experience the most INTENSE soreness, and also experience the most gains in muscle and strength, because it's a huge difference on your body (at least in most cases), by switching my workouts up every so often, I hope to maintain these great gains, by means of shocking my system.

In brackets I have put the weights I did for this workout recently (date of post, 07/05/11).

Warming up:

It's important for you to warm up before lifting heavy weights, as it reduces the chance of injury because it increases the flexibility of the muscle fibres. So you should get the blood flowing with some light exercise or even better a few minutes of running, rowing or cycling to get your heart rate up then a few warm-up sets to get blood pumping to the muscles you'll be working.

So get a good warm up and stretch your muscles, which helps the circulation of blood which can also reduces the amount of soreness you experience after your workout. I also like to stretch to feel the muscle I'm working, which helps me maintain focus during the exercises I perform. I start out with light stretches in the beginning and after getting into my heavier sets I get some seriously deep stretches, and hold them for about a minute.

I do a lot of stretches between sets, in my opinion increases the time it takes for my muscle to become tight and numb, when they get tight and numb I generally call it a day,.

1st Exercise: Flat Dumbbell Chest Press

One of my staple exercises for my chest, an exercise which encourages balance in your pectoral muscles, due to the equal amount of weight being pushed in each hand (as long as your form stays solid). This exercise also works your triceps. This exercise works the whole pec, so it is a good mass builder like the typical flat bench press.

Warm up - 2 sets of 12 reps, Light weight (12.5kg)
Working set 1 - 10 reps, Medium to high weight (27.5kg)
Working set 2 - 8 reps, Heavier (30kg)
Working set 3 - 8-6 reps, Heavy weight (32.5kg)
Working set 4 - Till failure, I aim for 6 (35kg)

Note: Get into position, push the weight up, and control it down for about 2 seconds, then push the weight back up for about 1 second. I let them go all the way down for a nice stretch. Try to have the dumbbells to the side of you, like a wide grip bench to utilise your chest muscle more.

Don't be the guy who needs help lifting up 1 of your dumbbells while you get into position (well i guess it's not embarrassing if the weight is above 35kg), learn how to kick up the weights.

I try to use this on my heavier sets

This method is also good, but rarely seen :P

(images from http://www.exrx.net)

2nd Exercise: Barbell Incline chest press

I normally incorporate an incline chest exercise to work the upper pectoral more specifically, because most people lack mass in their upper chest. In most good gyms you'll find a solid incline bench with the 30 degree incline for an optimal upper chest workout.

No warm-up set, sufficiently warmed up from dumbbells.
Working set 1 - 10 reps, Medium weight (40kg)
Working set 2 - 8 reps, Medium - Heavy weight (50kg)
Working set 3 - 8-6 reps, Heavy weight (60kg)
Working set 4 - Till failure I aim for 6, Heavy weight (70kg)

Note: While performing the exercise keep your back firmly on the bench, and bring the bar down to your upper chest, making sure you don't bounce it on your chest, you should always control the weight down anyway. Once down to your upper chest push it back up vertically, trying to keep the bar directly above your upper chest, and keeping the bar at equilibrium, good form induces the most muscle growth and balance in the size of your muscles.

You want tog rip the bar near the guide lines on the Olympic bar or slightly wider, too wide reduces the range of motion, and too narrow will be working your triceps more, in general the wider you go, the more it works your chest.

3rd Exercise: Standing Cable fly's

Working set 1 - 12 reps, Medium weight (15kg each side)
Working set 2 - 10 reps, Medium - Heavy weight (20kg)
Working set 3 - 8 reps, Heavy weight (25kg)
Working set 4 - Till failure I aim for 6, Heavy weight (30-35kg)

Note: This is an isolation exercise, similar to machine fly's an dumbbell fly's, but i prefer to use the cables because unlike dumbbells tension remains in the movement throughout, and unlike machine fly's it's not forcing you through a motion with fixed axis's, so it works more than only your chest muscles, it works the muscles you are using to keep your body stable. On cables you can also alternate  the type of chest fly, but i just go with the typical chest fly which is straight in front of the body, because i like that it seems to work the whole pec, and I feel it much more. 

Keep your arms slightly bent and lock them in that position trying to only use your chest muscles, at the end of the movement squeeze the muscle for a great pump. 

In my opinion you shouldn't cross your fists, or make them cross over each other because if you do that, the pecs are going through different movements, and the angle are different, which can cause muscle imbalance. So I just press my fists together. 

4th Exercise: Burnout, push-ups with supersets of wide machine dips. 

3 sets, as many reps as possible each time, low-medium weight on machine dips. 

Note: This burnout is killer, after the first 3 exercises sometimes i can't even do a push-up since I've gotten so numb. That's just a sign that you've had a good workout, or that the rest periods were too long, but I'd go for the Former.

Finish

Get that protein, drink that water, eat that food and get some sleep. The workout isn't the sole factor in muscle growth or strength progression. You have to eat well, sleep lots and drink enough water or else your body won't get enough nutrients, to build muscle and sustain your internal systems, and enough rest for your body to fully recover before your next workout.

Progress:

For my last 2 working sets I have my partner spot me. Don't give up if you feel that the weight isn't going up, keep pushing and don't be quick to release pressure/tension! And after a period of straining your spotter may give you a little assistance to help you get them last reps in, these can be important for your strength gains and contribute to large amounts of muscle development, think of it like a static hold lol...

Once you're hitting your last working set for a good 6 reps, it is a good time to go heavier, I personally like to try heavier weights in most of my sessions if I'm feeling strong. It's good to try new weights as you''ll get a general feel of the pressure being exerted on your body, and the effort it may require to lift them, so even if you fail to lift them on your first attempt, later you'll have an idea of when your body is ready to do it.

Try to get a spotter for when you attempt to lift weights you've never tried before to be safe, don't be afraid to ask people at your gym for help, they may look threatening but I'm sure they'd be more than willing to lend a hand, because after all they all started somewhere and its likely that they've been through a position where they needed a spotter and some kind soul gladly obliged. This way you can also meet a lot of new people, maybe get some advice. Going to a gym full of people you know and can chat to is really nice, and it can help keep you going back.

These 2 big-ass Asian guys are one of the many reasons I started working out, they're just awesome! Here's a video of one of the chest workouts they do, I've done their workout a few times, it's really good. 

May Progress

Thought I'd be a douche and add some poses :P. I'm much happier with the lighting though, the pictures are much better :). Do you like them? 

Statistics at the time: 

Measurements:

Age: 17

Height: 171 cm (5'6)

Weight: 71 kg (156.5 lbs)

Arm: 33.7 cm (13.3")

Leg (Quad): 55 cm (21.7")

Leg (Calf): 40 cm (15.7")

Chest: 98.4 cm (38.7")

I think I gotten slightly smaller :P (or I measured wrong the first time)

Personal Best Lifts:

Flat Bench Press: 85kg (187.4 lbs) - 1 reps, 27/04/2011

Dumbbell Bench Press: 35 kg (77.2 lbs) - 6 reps, 27/04/2011

Squat: - 130 kg (286.6 lbs) - 2 reps, 03/05/2011

Dead lift: 160 kg (352.7 lbs) - 1 reps, 27/04/2011

Dumbbell Shoulder Press: - 25 kg (55.1 lbs) - 4 reps, 28/04/2011

Military Press: - (Not performed)

I added the dates achieved. 

Progress:

The past couple of weeks i've not been able to sleep very well, getting at most 3 hours of sleep a night... I'm not sure what the reasons for the loss of sleep are, possibly stress, but it's really limiting how hard i can push myself in the gym, and i can definetly feel that my body is tired and less energetic... this is just evidence that getting enough sleep is very important when building muscle and strength, not only is sleep important to help recover and grow, but also the rest is important for your brain, because if psychologically you aren't feeling 100%, you're not goint to get yourself an excellent workout and you're going to find it hard to push yourself, especially if you have a splitting headache or you're finding it hard to stay awake.

Since I've been feeling shit I haven't been getting the best workouts, with no rest my whole body is very sore, especially my legs (walking with a limp lol), and I'm finding it hard to get into the zone before lifting my heavier sets. This resulted in me failing a PR attempt on my dead lift. Just saying, you gotta get a good 8 hours of sleep or you're going to lose out on gains in muscle and strength.

This past month I've also hit a strength plateau in my dumbbell chest press, a month ago i did a good set of 35kg dumbbells, lately i've even been struggling with 32.5kg dumbbells... to try and leap over this plateau I've been trying different routines to try and shock my system into getting stronger, my body may have gotten used to the same routine over the past 2-3 months. 

Have you hit any strength plateaus? How did you conquer them? 

And how do you think i'm progressing :)? I'd love to see some feed back.