Monday Motivation

A little Monday motivation. I know all of you have a vision for something. From the time you hit the ground this Monday morning have only one goal: prove to yourself you are a Champion this week.....

DO YOU

-SideMeat

How to navigate the Hater's Ball in 2012

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that."—Mark Twain

Recently I have spoken with many of you who have started to try to make fitness a way of life. Unfortunately, it seems a lot of you have been met with not only a lack of support but actually discouragement from your friends and peers. I talked with a young lady a few days ago who told me that everyone in her office is making fun of her. Luckily, this particular person decided to use this as motivation to do even more to achieve her fitness goals! 

What you have to understand is that achievement of any kind makes those who are complacent in life uncomfortable. You have to remember this to avoid becoming one of life's daily drones that just go through the motions of living instead of pushing the envelope to see what life has to offer. This is true not only in fitness but in business, faith, and any other thing worth doing. That is another reason I love training, the lessons are transcendent! 

Another thing to think about is that majority of the time, if you are doing something positive and improving, you will always have some haters! I will paraphrase comedian Kat Williams: Having haters is a good thing. The more haters you have the better you are doing! For some reason, it is almost excluded from the genetic make up of most people to appreciate the accomplishments of those we feel are on  our "level". Maybe we feel left behind? Maybe it points out some insecurity in ourselves? Who knows? All I know is that it seems to be true. That "gene" if you will is one thing that good trainers, teachers, and coaches have that I truly admore. When your life's passion is help others achieve and exceed you are truly an anomaly and an amazing person!

So what do you do to get past this? Well, I won't say that you should totally agree with Mr.Twain and say you should avoid them as, unfortunately, they are often times friends, family, and co-workers. What I will recommend is that you seek out those who are supportive in your goals. Spend time with them, talk with them about your goals and be supportive of them in return! Secondly, use your haters as fuel. Just like the lady in the first paragraph, every time you get a new neigh-sayer make it even more of a reason to DO YOU. You are the only person who can stop you. It doesn't matter what anyone else says. Hell, it doesn't matter what they think either, because, deep down in side, they really wish they had the drive to do them as much as you... 

DO YOU

-SideMeat

I just grew some new shoulder meat...

I had a great second workout today so I wanted to share it with everyone. If you are looking to hit every fiber of muscle in your shoulders this is bound to get it done! I ran through four giant sets (a giant set is three or more exercises in a row) doing three sets of each. When doing this, jeep the initial weight moderate and take minimal rest between sets. When switching from one giant set to the next only take long enough to set up your next three exercises and then get it going again! If you are ready to do work, here you go:

Giant Set 1:
    -Hammer Strength Iso Lateral Rear Shoulder Press 15, 12, 10 (increase weight)
    -Bent Over Rear Delt Fly 10, 10, 10 (maintain or increase)
    -Incline Rear Delt Raise (arms to front in "Y" shape) 10, 10, 10 (maintain or increase)

Giant Set 2:
    -Dumbbell Shoulder Press (bench at 90 degrees), 12, 12, 10 (increase weight)
    -Dumbbell Lateral Raise 10, 10, 10 (maintain or increase)
    -Wide Grip Cable Upright Row 10, 10, 10 (maintain or increase), pause at the top

Giant Set 3:
    -Hammer Strength Shoulder Press 15, 12, 10 (increase weight)
    -Underhanded Cable Front Raise (cable between the legs) 10, 10, 10 (maintain or increase)
    -Alternating Dumbbell Front Raise 10, 10, 8 (maintain or increase)

Giant Set 4:
    - Dumbbell Shrugs 10, 10, 10
    - Barbell Shrugs (overhand grip) 10, 10, 10
    - Cable Shrugs (face away from the cable, shrug to your rear) 10, 10, 10

I did hit a few supersets for the calves afterwards but this alone was a blast! I think I could see every vein and every muscle in my shoulders when I was done! Please try this at home and let us know what you think! Enjoy the weekend and find yourself some time to ENJOY some training as well! Every time you make YOU better it should be a great time!

DO YOU

-SideMeat

Dumbbell Cardio! DO WORK!

I am gonna double it up this Friday! In addition to my afternoon weight training session I did a bodyweight/dumbbell circuit this morning. I used a 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off split and 10 exercises. I ran through the entire circuit twice, got my heart rate up and it felt great!

Now I know what some of you are thinking: Cardio with dumbbells? It is a common misconception that cardio has to consist of running, biking or many other forms of exercise that many of us consider tedious. That is not true! Cardio is anything that gets your heart rate up! When done correctly, weight training can get your heart rate up and burn more calories than other forms of training! 

Here is the workout I just finished doing. What do you need? Some floor space, a couple of sets of dumbbells, and a mat if you feel so inclined. THAT'S IT! Give this one a try and let me know what you think. 

1) 1-Arm Dumbbell Snatch Left Arm

2) 1-Arm Dumbbell Snatch Right Arm

3) Dumbbell or Bodyweight Squats

4) Push-up Variation

5) 1-Arm Dumbbell Row, Left Arm

6) 1-Arm Dumbbell Row, Right Arm

7) Dumbbell Swings

8) Dumbbell "Shoulder T" (Front Raise then take the dumbbells to the side, lower, side raise, bring to front, lower, repeat)

9) Dumbbell Split Squat, Left Leg Forward

10) Dumbbell Split Squat, Right Leg Forward

11) Stiff-legged Dumbbell Deadlfts

12) Crunch Variation of Choice

13) Reverse Crunch Variation of Choice

14) Side Crunch Left Side

15) Side Crunch Right Side

16) Dumbbell Russian Twist

17) Prone Cobras

18) Plank Variation of Choice

19) Side Plank Left

20) Side Plank Right

Try to do the same number of repetitions with each side on the unilateral exercises even if it means stopping a second early or going a second late on the second side. As far as weight to use, it depends on your strength, conditioning and overall purpose. I try to keep it light when I do these workouts as I know I have a heavy training session this evening. If you want to use this as a part of your strength training work you can very heavy on some of the movements. Typically, I keep the dumbbells under 50lbs. 

There you have it. I hope you enjoy. Can you get two training sessions in today? Here is one you can do in 20 minutes! 

DO YOU

-SideMeat

What does it mean to DO YOU?

Someone once told me the truth of the matter is this: 99.99% of us will never be a world champion, we will never break a world record, hell, we may never win a competitive game of anything. 

I challenge that "truth."

I have always had need to excel, to be the best. I thrive on getting better, working harder, doing more than last time. The real truth of the matter is that I am a world champion, a record setter, the best there ever was, because, when it comes to making me better, I am the only competition. Every time I look in the mirror I feel sorry for the guy looking back at me because, today my friend, you will loose. I will get better, I will achieve more, I will push myself to reach my goals. So tomorrow, you will be distant memory. Another challenger who lost in the quest to see who can make a better me. The best part? There is always a new challenger staring right back at me, trying to take my title. BRING IT. I will win. If not today, I will get you tomorrow.....

I will DO ME.  

All that is left is for you to ask yourself do you want to be a champion? A record breaker? The best that ever was? Will you DO YOU today or loose to the only one who can beat you....YOU? Only you know the answer.....

DO YOU

-SideMeat

Today's quick supplement information: Fenugreek

Fenugreek is a powerful herb traditionally used in flavoring ethnic dishes. Mostly it can be found in Indian, Persian, Eritrean, and Ethiopian cuisine. Recently it has received much attention for its medicinal properties as well. Most of the medicinal benefits seem to be due to the herb's rich levels of alkaloids as well as its ability to balance blood sugar and restore healthy cholesterol levels. 

The Top Benefits of Supplementing Fenugreek Include:

- Strong antioxidant to fight free radicals and boost the immune system 

- Great for digestion: reduces gastric inflammation, acid reflux and heartburn

- Shown to decrease appetite and maintain a healthy metabolism

- Promotes healthy hormone levels in both men and women

- Helpful in treating diabetes and lowering blood sugar levels 

- Helps restore healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels 

- Lessens the side effects of menopause in women

So if you are looking for a new supplement to add to your kit bag this may be the one! For the fellas, need one more reason to guve it a whirl? A June 2011 study at the Australian Centre for Integrative Clinical and Molecular Medicine found that men aged 25 to 52 who took a fenugreek extract twice daily for six weeks scored 25% higher on tests gauging libido levels than those who took a placebo!
DO YOU
-SideMeat

A SideMeat Saturday!

Man this is a Super SideMeat Saturday. I got up this morning and did the following 10 minute calisthenic workout:

Perform each exercise for 20 seconds, rest 10 and move to the next one. Repeat Twice:

1) Burpees

2) Bird Dog Left Knee to Right Elbow

3) Bird Dog Right Knee to Left Elbow

4) Split Squat Right Leg Forward

5) Spiderman Push-ups

6) Squat Jumps

7) Side Plank Right

8) Side Plank Left

9) Plank

10) Supine Bridge

I know the is no back or pulling motions but I just wanted a quick blast without any equipment. Then I got a wild hair and decided to hit a shoulder workout before my training session with my high school wrestlers. Wanna get a burn? Try this one:

1) Lying Side Lateral Raise: 5 x 8 each arm no stopping

2) Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 15, 12, 10, 8 up 10lbs per set as heavy as you can go!

3) Giant Set (Seated, 10 of each x 3):

- Dumbbell Front Raise

- Dumbbell Lateral Raise

- Bent Over Dumbbell Lateral Raise

4) Superset x 3

- Behind the back Cable Laterals (12 each arm)

- Cable High Pulls 12, 10, 8

5) Reverse Hammer Shoulder Press 3 x 10

**To perform this sit on the hammer should press backwards so you push forwards and up. This is great on the front delts! 

6) Machine Shrugs 4 x 12 - 15

After that I waled some of my wresters and a few who wrestled for me last year who are leaving through their off season work out program. I an't give that one away but it is going to make them boys strong!

Now for the rest of my day I get to enjoy sports! The Euro Cup is going on right now and, after the World Cup, it is the greatest soccer event on the planet! Germany plays against Portugal who boasts the best player in the world, Christiano Ronaldo, at 845pm Germany time and I am going to go watch that at an outdoor viewing. 

Tonight Pacman takes on  Timothy Bradley in what I think will be a great fight. Hard to bet against the Pacman though. I expect a great 12 rounder but I have been wrong before. 

Before that though, Game 7, Miami and Boston! After LeBron put a masterpiece last game one has to wonder can he do it again? Does he even need to if Wade and Bosh come to play? Does this generation's original Big 3 have anything left in the tank? Will Rondo take over? Who knows! All I can say is I will be up at 230am my time to watch!

All that being said, how was your Saturday? Make sure you do what you enjoy and try to get a little fitness in as well!

DO YOU

-SideMeat