5 Ways NOT to Build Muscle
October 27, 2008
When it comes to the question of how to gain muscle, there are many things you must know and do. But, often times what is more important than what you should do is what you shouldn’t do. With that in mind here are five muscle gaining mistakes you should avoid at all costs. Read more
Becoming Invincible - Part 1 Mental Preparation
October 27, 2008
Feeling like you are invincible is a big part of the answer in actually being invincible. I am going to outline various way to actually become an invincible warrior in your life.
The first thing you need to do is act the part. Here are 9 things you can do in the gym to start your transformation.
1. Go into the gym with 1 or 2 clear purposes. Something simple, but yet effective. Make it a priority-1 goal to set a new personal record in one of your exercises or lifts. One way or another you will do this. Make that decision before you leave for the gym.
2. Get an MP3 player and some extremely motivating, ass-kicking music and make sure it is pumping from start to finish. Music is enormously powerful. Use it.
3. Do not talk to anyone during your training session if possible. Make this a rule. If you must, keep it short and move on. No, you are not being a snob, you are simple keeping focused. People will start to respect you and leave you alone. Focus on what you are doing like you are the only one in the place. Doing this will keep you in the zone and you will start to feel different, like no one can touch you. Use your music to help you here. Crank it, and don’t let anyone in.
4. Perform each rep and set like it is your last. Seriously, make sure each one counts. If you just go through the motions, you are wasting your time, and you will never feel like an ass-kicker. Each rep, and set has to be at full intensity.
5. To go along with number 4, visualize each rep and set before you start. Sit down, crank the music, close your eyes and take about 2 minutes to go through your entire set. See yourself busting through new plateaus and setting new records. Feel yourself doing it. Experience it. As soon as you are finished with the imagery, get to it and do it!!
6. Have fun! Yep, have fun. Be intense, and be focused but have fun doing it. Smile with a “knowing” smile that you are a beast when you train and no one or no thing can stop you, including yourself. Smile with a knowing smile that keeps it fun, but intense. That all-knowing smile borders on confident and cocky!
7. When you are all finished with your planned training for the day, pick one more exercise and destroy it. Do a set of squat jumps, jump rope, medicine ball slams, sprints, anything…just one set, all out, leave it all on the floor. This simple (yet difficult) little addition will make you feel stronger than you ever have before. When you feel hurt, exhausted, burnt out, tired, sore, and unmotivated the last thing you want to do is anything else. By doing something more, that one last thing, you are triggering yourself to be something better and stronger. You will walk out of that gym feeling more like an ass-kicker than you ever have before.
8. Celebrate! Once you are finished, get home, get your post-workout meal in, and feel awesome. Take sometime to reflect on what you did and celebrate it.
9. When you have a training session like this, you should feel awesome and powerful. That is the best time to grab a pad of paper and a pen and write down your goals for your body. When you are feeling pumped up physically and mentally, motivation is running high, and you know you cannot be stopped, start planning your life, one day at a time. Write down everything you want to accomplish in the gym, out of the gym, everywhere. Get it done then. Even if the sweat is still pouring down on your paper, write like crazy. You probably only have a few hours of physical and mental exhilaration pumping through your veins from your training. Use it.
#1 Fat Loss Tip Video
October 25, 2008
Here is a video that has been posted on the site before but I am checking out a new format for videos. This will be available in the podcast section of the itunes music store as well.
Pull-Up Tips
October 25, 2008
I usually don’t blog on the weekends but I wanted you guys to have this. I asked Keith Scott about what I could do to do more pull ups and how he would tweak this program.
This is what he said:
Like anything, the more you do something, the better you will be at doing it.
Doing good pull ups are much more than just doing pull ups. Most people don’t have the core strength to stay still for the reps (body moves too much in the air) so just by controlling that aspect, reps will increase by a lot. I also like to work a lot of different grips with the pull ups to work forearm strength (which is another problem for people as the reps increase), and they will work the muscle groups better
Here is what I do for this very thing:
-Core work: Hanging knee ups – 4 X 12 (knees all the way up) slow reps, under control
Progression – Hanging V ups – 3-4 times a week
-Mixed Grip Pull ups – one hand pronated, one supinated – 2 X 5 – twice a week
-Wide grip Pull ups – 2 X Max – twice a week
-Narrow Grip Chins – 2 X max – twice a week
-Neutral Grip pull ups – 2 X max – twice a week
Mix these into the progressions they give if you want. Maybe do them at the beginning and at the end of the week.
I hope this helps you with your journey to win the pull up contest.
No Gym, No Problem - New Featured Area
October 25, 2008
No Gym, No Problem is another new area to the Naked Nutrition Network. This area will be headed up by a great trainer (and friend) - Tom Gifford. The focus of the No Gym, No Problem section is to give you options for fat loss, fitness, and metabolic training that are not limited to just being in a gym. These workouts will involve your bodyweight, kettlebells, bands, and all kinds of great stuff. I wanted to add this area to the site because I love this type of training. It is a great break from the normal “head to the gym to workout” mentality and it is just plain fun. Look for Tom’s first article in the upcoming week.
-Mike
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