Supplement Review: Milk Thistle

What is Milk Thistle:

it is a shrub like plant that has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. Milk thistle has been used mainly to promote over all liver health. It is a very powerful antioxidant which helps to remove toxic elements from the body. When the liver is damaged by alcohol consumption, steroid usage, pollutants, or any other environmental factor, milk thistle helps the liver to generate new liver cells.

Milk Thistle for Athletes:

Athletes and bodybuilders can benefit from the use of milk thistle because most typically use many nutritional supplements at one time or another in order to boost performance levels. Using numerous supplements at one time may produce synergism that results in enormous stress being placed upon the liver. After any "cycle" type wether it being; anabolic steroids, pro-hormones, thermogenics, or any other supplement athletes can find it helpful to allow the body to rest from supplementation, to cleanse and detoxify their livers.

Dosage:

Milk Thistle is commonly used in oral form but also can be consumed as a tea. The recommended daily dosage is between 400-600mg which needs to be evenly spaced throughout the day for maximum absorption.

This is just a little information on a great supplement. If you are a drinker, a "GNC Chemist", or a pro bodybuilder Milk Thistle should find it's way into your tool kit. Go ahead and get a little "Thistle" in your life!  

DO YOU

-SideMeat

Concentration is the key to arms but not in the way you're thinking!

Everyone has a body part that stands out. Whether it be killer quads or a massive chest, anyone who works out has that one piece that looks like it sneaks off at night and works out by itself! My part happens to be arms. 

A lot of that part with most people is genetics but, after training with many people and helping them see results, there are some factors that, in my opinion, can really help turn those pea shooters into guns and those guns into cannons! 

First, most people think that to build bigger arms you have to go heavy. This is partially true. You want to go as heavy as you can with good form. Cheating is actually an advanced technique and should only be used sparingly. I see so many guys using heavy weight on arm exercises and they never realize the fatal flaw: your major muscles are doing majority of the work. Take for instance the guys you see leaning forward with the whole stack doing triceps pressdowns. Sure, it looks great to watch the whole stack go up and down but the chest and shoulders are doing majority of the work. Now some of you may think that you have seen bodybuilders lean on the stack and they have amazing triceps. True, however, they are on another level. Their mass and body control and way past the average guy trying to get some good beach arms. 

So, what to do? Try tightening your form on majority of your arm exercises for a couple months and see what happens. Keep your shoulders back and out of the movements, try to keep your elbows between straight down and maybe 10 degrees forward at most. I actually like to do my triceps extensions at 10 degrees and push away from my body!

Second, people rarely prioritize their arms. Everyone has seen the good old Chest/Tri, Back/Bi work out plan. Now, if your arms are lagging, why would you get them tired before you really target them? Your triceps work extremely hard when you work chest and the same can be said for your biceps when you work back. There have been many a time I have had a little bicep soreness after working only back! 

To correct this use the priority principle. I really wouldn't recommend doing them before the major body part but you can do them on their own day! If your arms are really lagging and you hit everything once a week you could try something like this:

Day 1: Chest

Day 2: Back

Day 3: Legs

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Bis/Tris

Day 6: Shoulders

Day 7: Rest

Note the rest day before you do your weakest part! That is something I have incorporated for whatever part I am really focusing on. I always try to do that part after a day off. If you really want to go hard core you can still do the basic Chest/Tri, Back/Bi routine and THEN do them again on day 5!

The third and final tip I have is to make sure you vary your exercises! This can prove difficult for most people as they often select exercises that overlap in purpose and don't get a complete arm workout. Because of this, when people do get a good arm workout and then just continue to do the same exercises repeatedly. It is important to incorporate various exercises into your routine to build quality arms. This will also help keep your arms in shock and, therefore, constantly adapting and growing. 

Well, that's it! Try to incorporate these principles into building those arms up and let us know if it works for you! Need a workout or two to try? Let's us know! 

DO YOU

-SideMeat

Blow that frame up!

Mini-meat with his favorite tank on.

I mentioned in a previous blog that changing your split is a great way to shock the system and continue gains. So, along those lines, here is my current Chest and Back two day split. This week I am working out with the big-little homie, Sean Hansen. He is only 18, fresh out of high school, and recently won his first show with a little assistance from Team SideMeat and a few others. Not bad. He has tree trunks for legs but now he needs to get the upper body to match. Not that the top is bad, but we all have weak areas. So, this is what Sean and I will do today and Friday for Chest and Back:

Day 1: Upper Chest and Pulling Movements for Back
Back
- Wide Grip Pull-ups: 4 x 10-15
- Close Grip Pull-downs: 4 x 10-15
- Cable Front Pull-downs: 4 x 10-15
- Underhand Pull-downs: 3 x 30-36 (these are drop sets with 3 stops)
Chest
- Incline Dumbbell Fly: 2 x 25, 1 x 15
- Incline Hammer: 4 x 10-12
- Incline Dumbbell Press: 4 x 10-12
- Cable Crossovers from bottom: 4 x 12-15
***Incline Machine Press: 7 x 8-12 (FST 7)

 Day 2: Lower Chest and Flat Movements and Rowing Movements for Back
Back
- Parallel Grip Pull-ups: 3 x 10-15
- Seated Cable Rows: 4 x 10-15
- Overhand Barbell Row: 3 x 10-15
- Underhand Barbell Rows: 3 x 10-15
- One-arm Dumbbell Rows: 4 x 8-15

Chest:
- Flat Fly: 2 x 25, 1 x 15
- Bench Press: 4 x 10-12
- Decline Hammer: 4 x 10-12
- Cable Crossover: 3 x 15-20
***Peck Deck Fly: 7 x 8-12 (FST 7)

Hard work pays off. Congrats!

This workout has done very well for me. I have noticed improvement in my back and chest definition. Maybe it is the intensity, maybe it is the fact that, until a few weeks ago, I had never split my chest and back workouts into specified areas. Either way, this is a burner and it is intense. It doesn't matter what you do first, chest or back. It is probably best to go with your weaker area up front.

So, here is another free workout from your boys! Try them out and let us know what you think. If you have any questions please ask!

DO YOU

-SideMeat

No coning allowed!!!! Get those legs right!

Coning (kōn ing)  v. - 1. The physical look created by those at the gym who only do 
upper body 2. Baby legs 

Are you coning? Need to put a blast on those legs? Try this workout from my Monday leg session:

Iso Leg Extension: 2 x 25, 1 x 15

Superset:

 -Dumbbell lunges 4 x 8 each leg

 -Fronts Squats 15, 12, 10, 10

Leg Press: 4 x 10-12 HEAVY!!!

Lying Iso Leg Curl: 2 x 25, 1 x 15

Superset:

 -Standing Leg Curl 15,12,10,10 each

 -Dumbbell Stiff-leg Deadlift: 4 x 12

Squats: 7 x 8-12 (FST 7)

Here are a few specifics to really make it burn.

Leg Extensions: Come down to about 80 degrees and really focus on the lockout and squeezing your quadriceps. 

Front Squats: Try to keep your feet shoulder width apart and really hit the inner quad.

Leg Press: Where you put your feet plays a huge role in which muscle you emphasize. I prefer to place my feet "high" and get it in my quads. The "lower" (think towards your butt) you place your feet the more you hit your quads. 

Leg Curls: I always do some at full extension to ensure I get a full stretch on the muscle and some only going down to about 15 degrees to keep the tension on the hamstrings and glutes. Try doing one leg curl exercise one way and one the other.

Dumbbell Deadlift: If you have heavy dumbbells in your gym try using one dumbbell pointed straight up and holding one end. Try to place the other end between your feet while keeping the legs nearly straight, your chest out and your head up. This will force you to push your butt back and really hit your posterior leg muscles. 

Squats: Since these are at the end I went rather light and put my butt on the floor! This makes it a major exercise for both the quads and hams! Remember FST means that you are using minimal rest between sets. If you have a partner and aren't changing weight by the time he is done you should be right back at it. 

That's it. If you aren't FRIED at the end you didn't go heavy enough and rested too long between sets! 

That was Monday's work. I will be back on them tomorrow.

DO YOU

-SideMeat

Go Grocery Shopping With Me!

So, I just got back to Germany which means I needed to restock the food supply. After a quick leg lift, which I will hopefully put up later today, I hit the grocery store. Quite a few people have asked me what I eat so here is what I picked up:

- A few bags of trail mix (nuts, berries and raisins only)

- Rice cakes

- All natural peanut butter

- Bio all natural cheese

- Various frozen vegetable mixes

- Several packages of frozen broccoli 

- Frozen bio salmon

- Two pre-made mixed green salad with tunafish (those will get knocked out today and tomorrow)

My post workout shake/meal.

- Six different steaks

- Six chicken breasts

- Fresh sliced deli chicken breast

- Fresh sliced deli turkey

Thats it. Now I did have a couple of items at home.

- Brown rice

- Jasmine rice

- Eggs (Man I hope I can still eat these!)

- Green tea

- Coffee

- Protein Powder

- C4 Pre-workout 

That's it. This food should last me somewhere between a week and 10 days on my current intermittent fasting eating plan which consists of two large meals, two protein shakes and constant snacking during my eight hour eating window. 

This type of diet really fits my lifestyle and allows me stay pretty lean year round. Any questions? Just ask.

DO YOU

-SideMeat

Keep Your Split Right!

We haven't done any training plans or articles in a while so it's time to get those rolling again. So, let's talk about that training split.

Many of us start working out with someone who has been at it for a while. We learn what works for them and that becomes our workout law. We tend to stay with working the same groups and even the same exercise on the same days each week. Here is a common body part split we have all seen:

Monday: Chest and Tris "Push"
Tuesday: Back and Bis "Pull"
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Shoulders
Sat& Sun: Rest

Now there is nothing wrong with this split, if it fits your needs. If you have worked out with me before, we may have done this exact split. However, what if you arms are lacking the rest of your body, does it make sense to do them on the end of your workouts?

There are quite few factors to look at when choosing a body part split or any workout plan. Make sure you are using the priority principle, know what other responsibilities you have (kids, work, school, ect) and that you are making sure you get enough rest. Please don't confuse rest with under training. Periods of over training can actually be very beneficial but we will cover that in another post. Here are three splits I have used this year:


SPLIT 1:
Monday: Legs
Tuesday: Upper Chest and Back (pulls only)
Wednesday: Shoulders, Bis, and Tris
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Back (rows only) and Chest (Lower and Flat movements)
Saturday: Rest or Functional Workout
Sunday: Rest

SPLIT 2:
Monday: Chest and Bis
Tuesday: Back and Tris
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Shoulders
Saturday: Legs
Sunday: Rest

SPLIT 3:
Full body 3 - 5 days a week.

***Each split is only the weight training portion of the workout. Cardio varies and is done 3 to 5 days each week.

As you move towards your goals, it will be necessary to make adjustments to your plan. Need help customizing your split? Need exercises for any the splits listed above? Just ask!

DO YOU

-SideMeat

Out of town? Still gotta earn that weekend!

What's going on guys? This is just a quick post. I had a great day yesterday. A little exhausting but still a great day...

I was about an hour away from home with three hours between meetings due to a cancellation. Originally I thought I wouldn't be getting a workout in. As is my custom when away from home, I had a gym bag with me. I followed these four steps and had great results:

1) Google gyms.
2) Go to nearest private gym (no chains)
3) Pay day fee.
4) DO WORK.

Here are my results.....

Now this may not be possible and can be expensive. The most important part is I was ready. I had my stuff and if necessary, I would have found a park, ran and done work with body weight some 20lbs dumbbells (yeah, I roll like that sometimes). It's better than nothing! Your best bet? Get a GOOD set of resistance bands, keep that bag packed and always be ready to DO WORK when time allows!

It's Thursday, you got two days left. EARN that weekend!

DO YOU

-SideMeat