Josh Henkin continues to come up with cool, innovative exercises and training methods. He’s one of the guys whose videos I make sure I don’t miss whenever I see them come out. Check out this video for some really cool, unique exercises and exercise variations from Josh using the Ultimate Sandbag and the TRX Suspension Trainer.
I see a lot of exercises done incorrectly in the gym. When I see people do pullups (which is rare enough as is) I often see them done with poor form. Among the two biggest issues I see with them are low range of motion and kicking with the legs to get the movement. It’s a terrible thing because pullups/chinups are one of the best exercises you can do for building a big, strong back. Next time you are in the gym, look around and see how many guys are doing real pullups versus how many are doing crappy lat pulldowns (also with terrible form!).
I like to tell guys (only part jokingly) that if you can’t do at least 5 pullups with your own bodyweight using good form then you have no business devoting an entire day to “arms”. Just a thought.
Below is a quick video from Joe showing you how to do proper chinups/pullups in 30 seconds. It’s worth watching.
Learn how to build real work, functional strength with Joe’s Bull Strength Manual
Odd object training has become very popular recently, and for good reason. Odd objects like sandbags challenge your body in a way that regular free weights just don’t. Since they aren’t of a uniform shape they’re often more difficult to grasp and manuever. Sandbags especially tend to shift around and almost “fight back” as you life them, making them a great tool for wrestlers and mixed martial artists.
Here Jedd Johnson from Diesel Crew shows some cool variations on normal exercises using a heavy bag. All of these movements could easily be replicated with a sandbag or loaded duffel bag. Jedd has lots of other great videos over on his YouTube Page here.
If you are interested in incorporating some odd object training into your program, check out Josh Henkin’s Ultimate Sandbag. I use it all the time and I can tell you that it creates a totally unique workout experience.
Coach Jerry Shreck from over at VarietyTrainer.com recently posted a great video showing you how to make your own Tire Dragging Sled. Sled dragging is a great method of conditioning and is very versatile.
Here Coach Shreck shows you how to make a sled for around $7, instead of spending more than $100 on sleds you can buy on the internet. Check out the video and leave some comments below.
Want to see more ways you can use sled dragging in your strength and conditioning program? Check out Joe Hashey’s Bull Strength Conditioning E-Manual. It’s loaded with some great conditioning workouts designed to help you burn fat and get in shape.
For many people the most difficult part of a fitness lifestyle is eating well. Lots of people set goals that include some form of body composition change, and a big part of achieving that change is eating right. Whether you are trying to build muscle or burn fat, what you eat has a tremendous impact on reaching (or not reaching) that goal.
Just eating right can be a difficult thing to do, especially if you’re busy. Even more difficult, however, is knowing whether or not you’re eating what you should be eating throughout the day. Sure, it’s easy to estimate or guess, but doing that means you never really know whether or not you’re getting the kind of nutrition you need. If you’re trying to gain muscle, knowing whether you’re getting enough calories is vital. Same goes for burning fat.
So what’s the solution?
Keep a food journal. Over the years I have stressed the importance of keeping a training journal to many people. As it turns out, if you’re having trouble reaching your body composition goals, keeping a food journal could be just the thing you need. Many people out there who are trying to gain muscle or lose fat are often convinced that they are eating the right amount of calories. When they start keeping track of what they eat, however, lots of people are shocked to see that they aren’t actually getting the right amount.
Recently, I began keeping my own food journal, and I can tell you that it has made a big difference in how I eat throughout the day. Now I have a hard copy so I know if how much I’ve actually eaten and how to modify my diet as necessary.
Now I’m not going to tell you that you need to get X amount of calories or grams of certain macronutrients in order to reach your goals, and that you should strive to reach those numbers in your journal. But I will suggest trying this:
Keep your food journal for a few weeks and monitor your progress towards your goal. If you are making minimal or no progress, or heading in the wrong direction, you now have a record of what you’ve been doing and know how to modify your diet. Simple enough, right?
Inevitably the big problem that most people have with keeping a food journal is how time intensive they can be, and I agree. Looking up the nutrition profile of everything you eat can be daunting. But there is a solution to that, too!
When I started keeping my food journal I looked around to see if I could find something to make my life easier. Excel spreadsheets, computer programs, whatever. I ended up finding something very helpful, though.
FatSecret.com is a website where you can keep an online food journal with access to a HUGE database of nutrition profiles. I’m talking huge. You can look up almost any food and get the info instantly and have it automatically added to your food journal. You have to do no math at all. Just search and enter. The database includes basic foods (e.g. grilled chicken, whole grain bread, etc.) and even pulls up the info for name brand foods and restaurant menus! The website is free so you can sign up and start keeping your journal right away.
Oh, and it gets better. For those of you with smart phones (Blackberry, iPhone, Android) there is a mobile application for FatSecret. Personally, this is where I keep all my food journal info because I can enter it in right when I eat so I don’t forget. If you have a FatSecret.com account, you can even sync it with the application on your phone. If you don’t have a smart phone, just write down what you ate and add it in online later. It’s really as simple as that.
So there you have it. For those of you who have trouble reaching your body composition goals, this may be just the thing you need. With the technology out there, there are really no excuses anymore. While I happened to find FatSecret, and have been using it myself, I’m sure there are plenty of other sites and applications out there if you want to try something different. Try it out and let me know how it works for you!
There are a lot of people out there who never see the results they want from exercise. Lots of guys head into the gym and never get any bigger or stronger and can never figure out why. So here are some of the most common reasons why you may not have gained as much muscle as you could have.
Probably the number 1 reason why guys looking to get bigger and stronger don’t get bigger and stronger is poor nutrition. Gaining muscle isn’t as simple as just lifting weights and eating. You need to eat a lot, and you need to eat well. I have to admit, this is something I’ve had a problem with myself. I’m not saying you need to go out and drink 10 ‘mega gainer’ weight gain shakes a day like some people do, but you need to eat enough calories to add some mass.
While we’re on the subject, you need to eat clean, too! Don’t listen to the people who think that in order to put on muscle you need to put on pounds of fat too. That’s crap. Don’t go out and eat an entire pizza and a ton of fried chicken because you’re “bulking”.
Here’s a little example to help you get the idea. 1 lb of muscle is equal to approximately 2500 calories. So in order to put on a pound of muscle you need to consume 2500 calories over your normal caloric requirement. For those who are doing the math, 2500 calories is equal to 625 g of protein. Something to think about.
The second reason lots of guys don’t gain muscle is that, quite simply, they don’t work hard enough! I watch people day in and day out who head into the gym and just go through the motions. They lift the same weight for the same reps and set with no change and no plan on improvement. “Maintaining” is bullshit. You are either working towards a goal or you’re not. If you’re not trying to make some kind of improvement each workout, whether it’s intensity, volume, density or otherwise, then you probably aren’t going to see results.
Another big mistake a lot of guys make is not letting their bodies recover from the work in the gym. Here’s exercise science 101 for you: you break down muscle in the gym, you build it at home when you rest and recover. If you’re not getting enough sleep and proper nutrition, you’re never going to recover fully and get stronger and bigger.
Also, don’t decimate your body all the time. You can’t (and shouldn’t) hit the gym with high intensity all the time. Yeah, it may work in the short term, but after a while you will burn out. It’s always a good idea to schedule a deload in your training every so often.
This is something I see all the time. Guys who head into the gym and start their workout with curls or kickbacks and other isolation movements that are ineffective or inefficient. Focus on big, multi-joint, compound exercises that give you the most bang for your buck and you’ll see far more results. A few examples are squats, deadlifts, bench presses, overhead presses, rows and pullups. Focus your priorities on those movements and then, if you have time and energy left, throw in some isolation movements.
Here is a cool video I saw over at Fitness Anywhere. I’m a big fan of the TRX Suspension Trainer and I use it almost every day with my clients or in my own training.
The 10/10/10 Challenge is the creation of TRX Master Trainer Jonathan Ross. To do the 10/10/10 Challenge, you set up the TRX in single handle mode and perform 10 reps of each exercise with 10 second transitions between them. Rest 60 seconds and then perform it again with the other foot in the TRX.
The three exercises in the challenge are:
You can see the workout in the video below:
Don’t have a TRX? Pick one up HERE. Trust me, it’s worth the investment. Buy through my affiliate link and send me a message letting me know that you did and I’ll hook you up with a bonus as a thank you!
Just wanted to drop a post here and let everyone know that an article of mine was just published on Elite Fitness Systems.
The article includes lots of tips and advice on preparing for your first raw powerlifting meet. You can check it out here:
http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/powerlifting-articles/tips-for-your-first-raw-powerlifting-meet/
I’ve been doing a lot of work with the Ultimate Sandbag System lately. Josh Henkin continues to put out great information. He has a strong emphasis on athletic movements and rotational power, something that a lot of coaches often leave out. Here is a video from Josh’s blog over at Henkin Fitness Systems showing 3 innovative exercise variations that can easily be placed into an exercise progression.
I know a lot of you guys out there are regular Kettlebell and TRX users and I just wanted to let everyone know (if you haven’t heard already) that Fitness Anywhere, the makers of the TRX Suspension Trainer, just released a new DVD using the TRX and Kettlebells together.
The DVD includes:
Here is a video preview of the product.
And yes, that is Pavel Tsatsouline doing the Kettlebell instruction.
