Tag Archive for: gain muscle fast

One way to force yourself to succeed

Hello fitness friends, here’s a unique and effective way to force yourself to succeed with your fitness goals.

You’ve probably tried telling yourself that you need to lose a certain amount of weight by a certain date, or you will go to the gym every day, or you will stop eating sugars. How is that going? Hopefully well, but the reality is that for most of us, life gets in the way, we’re interrupted by a sudden event or some days we simply feel too tired to workout.

The problem is that, while we have good intentions, talking to ourselves does not work very well. Simply saying to yourself that you are going to do something is a good start, but in order to really succeed and feel the fire under your butt, you must have an external obligation. What I mean by that is that you need to make your goal public in some way that you will not want to fail. This doesn’t mean that you are going to repeatedly impose your personal goals to your friends and annoy them along the way. I have a more original method.

Hit yourself where it hurts

groinHitI am not suggesting you get a close friend to kick you in the family jewels or take an elbow to the boob. I’m talking about your wallet.

Make a bet with friends that you are gong to be at a certain weight or a certain waist size, or your arms will grow to a certain size by a certain date. Then GIVE THEM THE  MONEY. Yep, give them the money first and if you don’t reach your goal, they keep it. This way you know you’re serious and it’s up to you to get it back. Now it has to be a good amount that will actually hurt. Try $100 or more if that might not do it. If you fail they keep it. If you win they give you a mere 10% extra meaning that you will get your $100 back + $10. They get the chance to win $100 but only lose $10. You deserve to make something for your hard work, right?

Now it has to be a realistic goal. Smaller goals are better because you will be encouraged to do it again and keep reaching these goals until they combine to form a big goal. For example, my 10in30 Lose plan shows you how to lose 10 pounds in a month. This is a big goal. Possible, but big. You can do the plan but bet on losing 5 pounds to allow for life’s little interruptions. You never know, you might end up surpassing this making the extra $10 and be super-stoked to do it again next month!

Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever done something like this and what you think. Gonna try it? Wahtsamatter—scurred? 😛

cheers
– bum

/by

3 fitness products currently on the shelves!

If you’re into fitness, chances are you might be aware of the ton of fitness products on the market. Most are hacks, some are good, and very few are great. Either way, a lot of people are making a lot of money in the fitness products industry. I’m pushing a few products myself, and therefore, I am always on the lookout to see what’s selling, what new products are hitting the shelves, how they’re marketing them, etc.

Here are some products I’ve recently noticed out there.

You know how I really like those Bowflex adjustable dumbbells? I’ve tried the few other competitors and feel strongly that the Bowflex are the only ones to get because of their great design, smooth operation and ease of use.

But now, Weider has introduced the Speed Weight 100’s. They are a pair of 50 lb. dumbbells that adjust even quicker and easier than the Bowflex, just like their name indicates! You simply turn the handle itself once the dumbbell is in its caddy. Very smooth operation, it never got caught or stuck when I tried all of the different weights.

They sell for $499, while the Bowflex 552,s are selling for $399 at the moment (they used to be more expensive). But they only go up to 50 lb, very close to the Bowflex 52 pounders.

The Bowflex beat it by a tiny 2 lb for $100 less. Now, like I’ve mentioned before, I would not get the 552’s anyway—I would get the 1090’s (10-90 lbs – $599) since I’m not going to do much with 5 lb weights anyway. And 52 lbs is not enough for bent over rows or bench press unless you’re a girl and/or just starting out, in which case the 552’s might suffice, but if you have the money, just go for the bigger ones.

 

As for which of the smaller dumbbells to get—Bowflex 552’s or Weider Speed Weight 100’s—I’d say, try them out and see if Weider’s smooth and simpler adjustment mechanism warrants the extra $100. It might! (they’re pretty damn smooth)

 

You may have heard of TheRack or seen it on TV. This senior walker look-alike is actually pretty useful for some exercises but definitely not everything they claim or demonstrate.

Great for dips, deep pushups, handstand pushups, elevated feet pushups, body rows (haha they call them “extreme pullups”), ab roller (has wheels) and reverse ab roller (lower abs, knees to chest).

Retarded for their claims of shoulder press, bicep curls and specially retarded for “power squats”. Really, “POWER” squats with a 23 lb weight? Your leg itself weighs more than that!

But again, it might be worth it if you don’t have anywhere else to do dips. I also like the body rows capabilities and the rolling capabilities is what took it to the “might” category for me.

You can get TheRack here for $129.

We all know that Jillian Michaels is a household name in fitness for women, and I’m sure you’ve seen mma champ, George St. Pierre’s RUSHFIT advertised all over the place as well, right?

Well, they’ve teamed up to sell even more product. Best of both worlds, right? Dudes wanting to get a body like a UFC fighter so they can impress the ladies, as well as the ladies who idolize Jillian will totally pee their pants when they see this. Just imagine all of that pee all over the Target isles.

I don’t care for the DVD’s, but this product is basically another suspension system like the Jungle Gym which I own and love. Target sells Rip:60 for $99 or you can get it sent to your home for practically the same price. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE in the rip:60 is its rotational function. The strap is basically threaded through a pulley at the top instead of being stuck up there so you can smoothly pull one strap to raise the other, or pull both at the same time like the other suspensions systems. See the pic of George doing that pulling move on the box up there? That’s what he’s doing; pulling one handle while retracting the other. Also good for doing that pull/retract thing with the legs as you can see in their demo vids.

But I’d just get the Jungle Gym for half the price unless you’re interested in some nice beer coasters that resemble DVD’s for another $50.

So there you go. Some good stuff, some ok stuff, some funny stuff. “Power Pullups”. Seriously.

If you see another product that just hit the market, let me know!

– Your friendly neighborhood BUM.

 

 

/by

Not the Shake Weight—the Shake Weight DVD!

The Shake Weight might not be on your wish list for Santa, but perhaps you’d like to order this DVD instead:

/by

CHEST & ARMS BOMB!

deltoids "rotator cuff"

Today, was Chest and Arms, with a hint of Rear Delts and Rotator Cuffs as pictured above. Have I mentioned that it’s a good idea to do some opposite sets when you’re targeting a specific body part? For example, today was Chest, but to be well balanced and not start looking all lopsided with the chest curling in, I did some light upper back and delt work. Not to mention; I don’t want a shoulder injury from too much pressing like I had before.

This is also beneficial to the targeted body part itself. Apparently, the chest will get a bigger pump and will therefore perform better when you complement it with some back work. You can easily see that on the upper arms if you’re doing my GAIN 10lbs Friday Arms workout where you follow an intense shoulder workout with super drop sets of biceps, then immediately go to triceps.

Don’t believe me? Ask Arnold. Go ahead call him.

Here’s my workout for today:

INCLINE BENCH: X3
COMPLIMENTED WITH LIGHT WEIGHT BENT-OVER REAR DELT EXTENSIONS

INCLINE HAMMER PRESS: X4
COMPLIMENTED WITH BODY ROWS ON HORIZONTAL BAR

STRAIGHT HAMMER PRESS: X4
MORE BODY ROWS/DELT EXTENSIONS

ROTATOR CUFF EXTENSIONS, SIDES: X2
ROTATOR CUFF EXTENSIONS, TOP: X2

BAR BICEP CURLS WITH BOMBER:
SUPERSET: UNILAT CABLE CURLS 16 REPS. X3

TRICEP PRESS DOWNS V-BAR WITH BOMBER
SUPERSET: UNILAT CABLE PRESS DOWNS WITH BOMBER X2

REVERSE-GRIP BICEP CURLS WITH EZ BAR. NO BOMBER. “TWENTY-ONES”: 7, 7, 7!

FOREARM CURLS BEHIND THE BACK
FOREARM REVERSE CURLS ON PREACHER
FOREARM CURLS FRONT OF BODY

biceps bomber

I love the Bicep Bomber for really isolating the biceps. It also works great for the tri’s during press downs, both unilateral and bilateral because it makes sure your upper arms are not rotating at the shoulder. Be sure to adjust the height so your elbows are a little below the bottom edge of the Blaster, and press it to your body when curling or doing tricep-press downs.

I had a few guys ask me about it at the gym and one dude tried it, and really dug it. At $29, it’s an inexpensive new gadget to get you excited for arms day again.

THEMS Rotator Cuff Extensions are fucking-fantastic for making your rear delts explode!

deltoids "rotator cuff"

You do them enough and you’ll quickly see that little bump behind your shoulder that you hadn’t noticed before. Gives your shoulders a much more massive appearance since there’s an additional muscle taking care of the rear shoulders. Since the delts and especially the rotator cuffs are pretty fragile, be sure to use light weight, high reps. I did 12 reps each set.

ALSO, don’t forget to vary your grip on barbell curls. The additional cable curls will help you out with that, but it’s still good to do 1 set of straight barbell curls, 1 set of wide grip, and one of narrow or EZ bar.

____ SEE YA AT THE GYM _____

/by

Consistency rules.

front abs biceps

front abs bicepsIf you are new to working out regularly, there is something you should be aware of. These workouts are pretty tough. They are long. And with only 6-8 reps, you’re lifting a lot of weight.

Because of the heavy workouts, I don’t want you to burn out in the first week or two. That’s a problem many bodybuilders fall into. They start off very enthusiastically and do way too much exercise. You know the type, they keep mentioning how they’re “so soar” and they can barely lift their arms. This is what happens when you haven’t worked out in a long time, then go really hard. If you’re working out regularly, you won’t be as soar on a regular basis. Of course, the non-soarness can also be a sign that you’re plateauing and it’s time to change things up.

You might want to go a little easier on the first week of 10 in 30. Try 10-12 reps instead of 6-8. Hopefully you know that it should always be ’til failure, so the lower the reps means the higher the weight. Also try only 2 sets instead of 3. On week 2, you can go with 3 sets, but still 10 – 12 reps each. Then on week 3, you can go with the program as is.

I know you might not want to do this, but this is a long term endeavor you’ve got yourself into. You’re not going to work out for only the 30 days, and then stop because you “got too busy”. Bullshit! It only takes one hour max per 24 hour day. You can fit it in. This is important too. In fact, it can be argued that this is more important. Sure, you have a career, kids, household duties and whatnot. But if you really want to change your physique and your health, I’m sure you can fit in one measly hour. There will always be chores. The one hour workout is not going to mess up hours of work, hours of chores, and ruin your life. In fact, it’s going to enhance it and you know that.

You’ll feel like a million bucks after your workout, and the results you see in the mirror will motivate you as a nice reward for your hard work. Not to mention the compliments from the girls you’ll receive. (I’m assuming most readers of this site are men) People will notice. There’s no way they will not. I’m telling you, I’ve gotten so many compliments after I met my goal that a week couldn’t go by without at least one person saying I “look bigger” or “your arms. wow” or like I mentioned earlier, the department boss embarrassing me in one of the meetings, haha. And I haven’t reached my “ultimate goal” yet. I still consider myself a bit skinny and will gain another 10 pounds after my fat-cutting program.

I’ve been consistent since around February with different plans. I had done a few other methods of working out before switching to the 10 in 30 in August. Don’t make it hard for yourself. Make sure it’s easy to go to the gym, or if you’re using your home gym, even better. Make sure there are no distractions and nothing will get in your way. Leave the hard work for the actual lifting, not getting to the gym.

The bottom line: A half-ass workout done 3-4 days a week, consistently for 6 months is WAY better than 4 kick-ass workouts done in a month, and maybe two more next month, none on month 3, etc.

cheers, and drink up!

____

/by