The Root Hog Sled - A Beast

I had a great workout today. Went into the gym and did a few movements that I haven’t done in quite awhile. The first being a seated leg curl using the Keiser Functional Trainer and a Valslide. That really hit the hamstrings great. I rest-paused all the reps and aimed to get 30 total across 3 attempts a leg. I fell a bit short, somewhere between 20-25 reps for each leg. This will allow me to attempt the same weight next time in aims of increasing repetitions. Remember, progression is key! If your using the same weight or getting the same amount of repetitions – that is not progression, that’s stagnation.

I then ended up doing some single leg stepup’s onto a high plyometric box. Ended up using 160lbs and scratched out around 6 reps per each leg, and then I dropped to 120lbs and aimed to get 20 each leg, but I actually only got around 9 each. I fell quite short and will drop the weight significantly next time around. I was just eye balling the weight since I haven’t done these movements since I started the “Shred Down”.

My last movement was a calf raise utilizing a leg press machine. I only aim for 12 repetitions for this movement but it’s really the TUT (Time Under Tension) that gets this workout. I perform a 1 sec concentric, a 5 second eccentric, and a 15 second stretch at the bottom of the movement with my foot in dorsiflexion. After 4 minutes (12 repetitions), your calves will be on fire.

It's a love/hate relationship

Finally, to finish the session with the cardiovascular component, I wanted to do something a bit different than my LSD (Long Slow Distance) runs lasting an hour. I set a goal to do 30 minutes of what I coined “Prowler Cardio”.

I set my watch to 30 seconds of “work time” and 15 seconds of “rest time”. I actually only loaded the horns with 45lb plates on each (totaling 90lbs) and it still is one hell of a workout. Truth me honest, I didn’t just do prowler the whole time, as I am fortunate to have a bunch of other tools at my reach.

I also ended up using the new sled, The Root Hog for a variety of pushes, pulls, and drags. I would alternate between either the prowler, or the root hog, or a kettlebell swing. None of this work was intended to “build muscle”, rather it was simply used in order for me to increase my heart rate, and keep me moving. It was one hell of a workout, let me tell you.

Cereal - The Whole Reason I Train

In the end, I reached 30 minutes of hard interval cardio and got to walk out the gym beat up from all the pushing, pulling, lifting, and swinging. If your looking to mix up your workout, start thinking about how you can use the weights around you (in a cardiovascular fashion). Don’t be so constraint to just running, or biking for your cardio. There is plenty of things a person could do to gain anaerobic/aerobic fitness. Sprinting, Hill Running, Tossing heavy objects. Who knows – Be Creative!

Lastly, a perfect post workout nutritional meal. 40 grams of whey isolate and 93 grams (75 grams of carbohydrates) of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I end up mixing my protein with water. I know a lot of people who complain about that and say water + protein is disgusting, but I’ve never drank my protein shakes with milk so I’m not missing out on anything. Until next time people!!

Arnold Schwarzenegger - A True Champion

As I’ve blogged about before, I was in the process of cutting down and getting my ass in shape. While my weight loss goals started as an endeavour to simply “lose weight” – they shortly become a quest to stand on stage & compete in my first local bodybuilding show. The fire was sparked. I started in February weighing near 215lbs and a chubby little lifter. Six months later I’m weighing 173lbs today with abdominals showing. I cannot say it was completely easy but I will say I had a burning desire to compete and to prove to myself that I could. It was never my goal to win, however, my only goal was TO COMPETE.  However, there were personal circumstances that kept me from competing this weekend, none of my choosing.

So now I’m left in this conundrum of selecting new goals. After six months of not missing a workout, meal, or cardio session – I can tell you a little two week vacation away from the gym is going to be WELL DESERVED & LOOK FORWARDED TO.  So what are my plans now? Like any bodybuilder I’m going to try to improve on my weaknesses. I’m going to do everything in my power to stay as lean as am now while trying to add and improve my physique. Maybe down the road when the time is right, I’ll be able to compete in my first local bodybuilding show.

So… In the next few weeks you will start to see some new goals coming from me other than six pack abs. They’ve been a great goal and I have loved striving for them. I’m a bit lost right now on exactly WHAT my new goals are, but I have a few in mind. I think after this little hiatus away from the gym, I’ll come back refreshed, engaged and ready to make some awesome gains in the 09/10 year.

“You don’t realize how important Family/Peer support is until you don’t have it.”

It's important to get everyone on the same page to support your goals.

Just a short blurb for today discussing how important a support structure is for your weight loss nutritional goals. Dieting and weight loss is hard enough to do alone but it becomes even more of a difficult task when you don’t have somebody supporting or believing in you along the way. It requires a lot of determination and sacrifice to make smart nutritional choices. if you surround yourself with people who share a similar vision and goal as you, it makes the process all the easier.

But just as a good support team can help lift you, a negative team can easily bring you down. If your surrounded with individuals, family members, spouses, etc. that encourage you to stray from your diet, drink alcohol, go out to eat often, and pressure/guilt you into decisions… Your in for a lot of work. That doesn’t mean that your dietary goals cannot be accomplished, trust me, they can. All it means is that you have to have crystal clear goals and vision in order to obtain your results. Don’t let others stand in your way and stop you from what YOU want. The moment you do your live in world of resentment.