Bicep Training Video

Hope that you enjoy this video.

Tom

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Benefits of Massage

Brookstone Massage Therapy

 

Who doesn't love getting a good massage?  The fact that there are many tangible benefits to massage makes you feel even better about investing in this treatment.

 

 

Increased Lymphatic Return

 

Lymphatic system is sort of like the body's sewage system.  Lymph is extra-cellular fluid that would build up in your limbs and elsewhere if it didn't get re-cycled and processed.  Massage is one means of encouraging the healthy flow of lymph.



 

Combat Stress

Massage will help you to relax.  Relaxation means that you're combating stress.  Stress attacks your immune system and leaves you susceptible to illness.  Get a massage.  Relax.  Stay well.

Loosen Tight Muscles

Tight, restrictive muscles will cause painful imbalances and interfere will your everyday activities.  Those aches and pains that creep up on you may be easily remedied on a Massage Therapist's table.  One treatment can loosen a tight muscle which may be causing you a lot of pain.

Book a massage soon for all that it can do for you.

Tom

Hate Me Now - Thank Me Later

www.brookstonemassagetherapy.com

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Hockey Season - Get Ready Now

This is a repost from a couple of years ago.  A timely re-read.

 

 

 

Ahhh...Summertime.  The hockey gear is all stuffed into the bag and fermenting in the garage.  The legs are getting mushy.  Abs are getting slack.  Cardio is dropping.  Summer is either and excuse to get soft and flabby or an opportunity to build-up your sharp end-of-season conditioning to a new zenith.  Here are a few exercises to get you started on your off-season.  I'll follow-up with more in August when its time to really amp-up for go-time!

Box Jumps

Box Jumps are an excellent exercise for glutes and quads.  These are prime skating muscles that you need to develop over the summer.  Stand in front of a knee-high box or platform, bend at the knees and waist, swing your arms and leap up onto the box.  Jump back down and do it again.  Aim for 20.  Each workout - add two more.

Running

Yeah, I know.  You hate running.  Too bad.  Its a great cardio-vascular exercise.  It keeps heart, lungs and legs in top order.  If you're lucky enough to live near a beach - run on the sand.  The soft sand creates a wicked workout for your calves too.  Run at least twice per week.  Aim for 5km each time.

Core Strength

Get ready for the Windshield Wiper.  This gut wrenching core workout will make you a monster on ice next fall.  Hang from a chin-up bar.  Hoist both feet up to the level of the bar.  Let them drop down to one side.  Crank them back to the other.  As fast as you can.  Try for about 20.

Upper Body

The Pull-Up is a great upper-body exercise.  You can do this at home or in the playground or at the gym.  I know - its tough.  Some guys can't even do one pull-up.  Keep trying.  Jump up into the up position and hold it as long as you can.  This will strengthen those muscles. Pull-ups work lats, biceps and strengthen grip (which is super important in hockey).

Stay focussed in the off-season and get ready to dominate the ice during try-outs.

Tom

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Training for Your First Bench Press Competition

Bench Press is one of the timeless tests of shear brute strength.  Entering a Bench Press competition in a Powerlifting competition is a great motivator to train and test yourself.

Rules

Check the local association's handbook for specific technical rules but here is a list of the more common basic rules that you should know.  Following these rules in your training will prevent bad surprises on the big day of the competition:

1.  Head and buttocks must stay the bench throughout the lift;

2.  Feet must stay flat on the floor throughout the lift;

3.  Spotters can help you get the bar off the rack;

4.  Referee will say "Start" when the bar is off the rack and steady at arms' length;

5.  When bar is still on chest/abdomen the Referee will say "Press";

6.  When you get it to full extension the Referee will say "Rack";

7.  Thumbs must be hooked around bar;

8.  There are specific technical rules for clothing and wraps (do your research);

9.  You can't lower the bar in the middle of your press;

10.  Typically, you will get 3 lifts several minutes apart.  Best one counts.


Training

Starting about 2 months out, really start to focus on your bench work.  You will do two Bench Press workouts per week, with at least 3 days in between to recover.  Day 1 is pure, technically-correct Bench Pressing with heavy weight.  Day 2 features lighter chest work with the exercises described below:

Floor Press

Set up the lower safety bars on the squat rack so that your arms are at approximately 90 degrees when you grasp the bar.  From there, press the bar to full extension.  Because this is not a full range of motion, it can help you work on your lockout. 

Chains

If you're lucky enough to find a pair of these chains in your gym you can use them to work on your bench press.  They just slip right onto the ends of the bar.

Benching with the chains is really cool.  When the bar is down low on your chest, there are lots of individual links resting on the floor.  As you raise the bar, with every inch or so, another link comes up off the floor, increasing the load you have to push.  The higher your bar goes, the heavier it gets.  Noisy fun.

Bands

Bands work sort of the same way as chains.  Rig up bands to some heavy dumbbells on the floor.  Loop the other end to the racked barbell.  You might have to play with different configurations to get the tension you need.

Bands will apply minimal tension when the bar is down on your chest but the higher you press, the more tension will be applied.  The dumbbells should be heavy enough that they don't move.  Band bench press is good for your lockout. 

Heavy Strict Bench Day (Day 1)

This is your heavy day when you use proper competition technique.
Get your training partners to spot you on this day if you can. 

Work on the fundamentals: 

1.  Pull shoulder blades together;

2.  Feet back tight but flat;

3.  Settle the bar for a couple of seconds on your chest;

4.  Wicked arch in your back;

5.  Pull elbows in as tight as you can;

6.  Visualize "bending the bar" toward your head;

7.  Press it up to full extension.

Nutrition

Keep your diet clean but generous.  Eat lots of complex carbs (ie oatmeal, veggies) alongside lean protein (ie chicken breast, beef).  Healthy fats also (ie nuts and seeds and cold water fish). Eat modest portions frequently through the day.  This isn't an excuse to get fat though.  There will be a weigh-in at the competition and generally the higher the weight category; the stronger your competition will be.  Protein and creatine supplements, as directed, will be fine during this program also.  Step on the scales every couple of days and wrap a measuring tape around your waist once a week to make sure that your gains are in  muscle, not fat.

Friends Don't Let Friends Skip Leg Day

Keep up with training the rest of your body while ramping-up for the bench press competition.  You may need to go a little lighter on non-bench days in order to focus your energy and recovery on your bench press progress.

Day 1 (The Heavy Day)

On Day 1, you'll do some decent warm-up sets like 3 sets of 8 with 40% of your max, then you will do one big nasty lift at approximately 90 - 102% of your max.  After that, you will do 5 sets of 3 with approximately 80 - 90% of your max.  You will go for a new max lift at Week 7 and then repeat the 7 Week cycle all over again with your new max if your competition is still in the future.  Here is a simple 7 week plan for build up for a competition:

Week 1  90% of max (1x1) then 80% of max (5x3)
Week 2  92% of max (1x1) then 82% of max (5x3)
Week 3  95% of max (1x1) then 85% of max (5x3)
Week 4  97% of max (1x1) then 90% of max (5x3)
Week 5  100% of max (1x1) then 85% of max (5x3)
Week 6  95% of max (1x1) then 85% of max (5x3)
Week 7 102% of max (1x1) then 80% of max (5x3)

Take 3-4 days off of bench work after this heavy Day 1.  Work on legs or back.  After 3-4 days you will be ready for Day 2 - the Light Chest Day:

Day 2 (Light Day)

On Day 2 you will do a good warm-up like you did on Day 1 but now you will do some other forms of bench pressing as follows:

Week 1  60% of max Floor Press (2x8)
Week 2  65% of max Chain or Band Bench Press (3x6)
Week 3  75% of max regular Bench Press (5x5)
Week 4  Incline Bench Press with Dumbbells (6x6)
Week 5  60% of max Floor Press (3x8)
Week 6  75% of max Chain/Band Bench Press (4x6)
Week 7  Incline Bench Press with Dumbbells (8x8)

The Taper

Give yourself about 4 days at least to rest and recover before the competition day.  You can you some really light maintenance work on legs or abs but rest your chest and delts and triceps before the competition.  Eat a good steady amount of carbs but go easy on salt since salt will make you retain water at the weigh-in.

Injuries

If you feel a muscle strain during your workout (feels like a sharp stabbing pain) stop immediately.  Ice the affected area as soon as possible (ice on for 5 mins, off for two mins for about 30 mins a couple of times a day for 2 days).  Rest that muscle completely for a week and then slowly get back into the training program.  Make sure you get thorough warm-ups.

LIFT IS GOOD!

Good luck Spencer

Hate Me Now - Thank Me Later

Tom

www.facebook.com\FEATTraining

Benefits of Massage

 

Who doesn't love getting a good massage?  The fact that there are many tangible benefits to massage makes you feel even better about investing in this treatment.

 

 

Increased Lymphatic Return

 

Lymphatic system is sort of like the body's sewage system.  Lymph is extra-cellular fluid that would build up in your limbs and elsewhere if it didn't get re-cycled and processed.  Massage is one means of encouraging the healthy flow of lymph.



 

Combat Stress

Massage will help you to relax.  Relaxation means that you're combating stress.  Stress attacks your immune system and leaves you susceptible to illness.  Get a massage.  Relax.  Stay well.

Loosen Tight Muscles

Tight, restrictive muscles will cause painful imbalances and interfere will your everyday activities.  Those aches and pains that creep up on you may be easily remedied on a Massage Therapist's table.  One treatment can loosen a tight muscle which may be causing you a lot of pain.

Book a massage soon for all that it can do for you.

Tom

Hate Me Now - Thank Me Later

www.brookstonemassagetherapy.com

www.facebook.com\FEATTraining

Single Handed Tricep Pulldown

 

This exercise is excellent for developing triceps.  Set a cable-pull on a light to medium weight and grab the handle with an underhanded grip.

 

 

 

Lock your active elbow to the side of your body and pull down until your arm is fully extended.  Hold for a second and slowly release it to the starting position.

 





I like to do this exercise at the end of a full tricep routine as a finisher.  Go for 4 sets of 12 for each arm.

Tom

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Inguinal Crease

The Money Maker

Let me introduce you to the newest "Gotta Have It" muscle...which isn't a muscle at all.  It goes by many names (Love-Line, Marky's Mark, Adonis Muscle...) but is properly called the "Inguinal Crease".  Its actually connective tissue.  It becomes visible when body fat gets low.  Genetics will ultimately determine how much it pops but you won't know until you really try.

Own the Beach

Be the reason that boyfriends suddenly yank their honeys off the beach.  "Hey - my eyes are up here sweetheart!  LOL".  The crease takes hard work and discipline.  Those are the two essential ingredients.

Hard Work

Knees to Elbows

Knees to Elbows is a great abdominal exercise.  Hang from a bar.  Pull your knees up to touch your elbows.  Very intense and very effective.  Go for your max number of reps and strive to add one more rep each week.

Low Plank Leg Raise

Adopt the Low Plank position.

Now...raise one leg.  Then lower it and raise the other leg.

Low Plank Leg Raise is an excellent core workout which will hit the lower abs.  Holding the Low Plank position is tough but then lifting a leg will freak your core out.  Go for a total of ten each side.

 

Side Plank

Side Plank is nasty; so you know its good!  Lay on your side like you're about to read a good magazine.  Now lift your whole body off the floor.  Hold it for a second.  Relax back down and then repeat.  This exercise works your obliques - the core muscles at the sides of your waist.

 

Tummy Suck

 

The girl in the photo is probably doing a yoga pose called Cat but its still a good picture for describing an exercise I call Tummy Suck.  Get on your hands and knees and then pretend that you're trying to touch your spine with your belly-button.  If you feel a little sick to the stomach - you're doing it right.  This exercise works a muscle called Transverse Abdominis.  This muscle holds your guts in place and is key to developing the "Adonis Muscle".  This exercise will evoke memories of dry-heaving during your last bout with undercooked fiddleheads.  Do ten good hard Tummy Sucks at the end of your ab workout.

 

Discipline

 

The Enemy

 

You must carefully consider everything you stuff into your gob if you hope to dazzle your wife/GF with your scintillating "Love-Line".  You have to eat super-clean.  You need to get your body fat levels down to about 7%.  Here is what you should eat:

 

Breakfast

 

Oatmeal is great for breakfast.  Slow-burning complex carbs to power you through the morning.  Its not that tasty but who cares?  It'll be worth it when you smirk into the mirror with smug satisfaction as the crease appears.

 

Morning Snack

Eat a piece of fruit for your mid-morning snack.  For example...bananas or...kiwis. 

 

Lunch

 

Re-fry a couple of small juicy pieces of steak in a cast-iron pan with some tomato and maybe sprinkle with cayenne.  Protein, iron, vitamins, flavour.

 

Mid-Afternoon Snack

 

Have a handful of blueberries.  Or raspberries etc.  But...nothing that comes in a bag that crinkles or contains ingredients that your children can't pronounce.

 

Supper

Treat yourself to a nice grilled chicken breast for supper.  If it tastes dry and boring...sprinkle lemon juice on it.  Have some spinach and kale on the side.  Drink lots of water with supper.

 

Evening Snack

 

If you absolutely must nibble in the evening...try sunflower seeds.  These little beasts contain healthy fats and fibre.  Way better than chips or cookies.

 

Tom

 

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Leg Routine

Here's a really good leg workout which will hit all the major leg muscles:

Tom

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Bentover Dumbbell Raises

Great shoulders look fantastic from any angle.  Shoulders are comprised of Frontal, Medial and Rear Deltoids.  Bentover Dumbbell Raises work the Rear Deltoids.  These are the muscles that give your shoulders a full appearance from the side and back.

Start by sitting on the end of a flat bench with your feet planted well out front and knees bent at 90 degrees.  Grab a pair of dumbbells.  Bend over onto your thighs and hold the dumbbells together underneath your hamstrings.

Now, raise the dumbbells up as high as you can. Leave a slight bend in your elbows.  Try to bring your hands forward as you raise the dumbbells.  This exercise mostly hits posterior or rear deltoids but also works Rhomboids and Traps to a lesser extent.  Go for 3 sets of 12 reps.  This exercise can be part of your overall shoulder routine.

Tom

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Wife Carrying

So, you think you're pretty tough?  At your Crossfit club you do "Fran" in 3 minutes you say?  Why don't you try carrying "Fran" through 253 metres of hell instead?  All 175lbs of her!

Originating in Finland this sport is locally known as Eukonkanto.  Its origins are as murky as the sport itself but many believe that it originated in the practice of stealing wives from neighbouring villages.  It has now developed into an internationally recognized sport.

There are a few rules.  The course is about 253 metres long and must feature two dry obstacles (like fences) and a water obstacle (approx 1 metre deep).  You can carry your wife any way you like but she may not touch the ground at any point in the race.

Training for the Wife Carry

You need powerful legs and back to survive the wife carry.  This means Barbell Squat.

Its best to use a squat rack to do the barbell squat.  The rack helps you load the bar onto your shoulders safely.  Feet wide apart.  Heels planted.  Back straight.  Knees out.  Sink down under control and come to a full rest at the bottom (don't bounce Tigger!).  Press slowly upward until your knees lock at the top.  Go for 3 sets of 12.

Deadlift

The Deadlift is a great exercise for developing overall power.  This will work glutes and back muscles.  Just what you need to haul your bride over the gruelling Wife Carry course.  Load the bar up with a humble weight for a set of warm-up lifts and then start stacking the iron on.  Feet wide apart.  Overhand or alternating hand grip on the bar.  Heels planted. Back straight.  Chest up and out.  Now press your feet into the floor until you're standing upright.  Finish the lift by pushing your pelvis forward.  Finally, slowly lower the bar to the floor.  Do 4 working sets of 15.

Cardio

Since you will be doing a lot of running during the Wife Carry.  You need to run in your training.  Run 5 km 3 times a week.  Try to get some hills into your route to beast your glutes and calves.

Burpee Pull-Ups

I'd like to meet the evil genius who invented these.  The cruel offspring of burpee and pull-up.  Its simple:  do a Burpee.  But, as you pop up from your Burpee, grab the pull-up bar and do a pull-up...before dropping back down to do another Burpee...and...just keep going.  This punishment will pay-off as you collect your Wife Carry grand prize.

Technique Training.

Nothing can substitute for the practicality of lugging the Mrs around in training.  This is really what its all about.  She has to work on her gripping technique also.  The most popular carry now a days is "Estonian Style" - head-down, arms wrapped around waist.  Start with short walks around the neighbourhood and work your way up to full 300 metre runs.  Eventually, work some stair training into the routine.  You should do one good wife carry workout per week.

The Prize

The winner gets his wife's weight in beer.  In this photo you can see the proud victor watching as his wife's equal in beer is tallied.

Tom

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