“Gaining Strength vs. Getting Ripped”
By · CommentsSo a week or two ago I was a bit curious so I decided to post a simple little question on facebook
“Which would you rather be, strong or ripped if you had to choose one?” and I have to say I was very surprised by the responses.
2 would rather be ripped.
12 would rather be strong.
I really thought it was going to be the other way around and I was very surprised that a lot of the girls wanted to be strong. I get a lot of email from people that are asking me how I got ripped abs. Lately I have been posting some of my strength stunts where I just turn on the camera and try and do something I haven’t really done before that requires a bit of strength. I tend to get a lot of positive feedback from that but nobody really asking me how (well to be honest some of them are strength coaches that already know the answer).
Now even though the question required that you choose one I have good news for you and no I didn’t save a ton of money on car insurance by switching to Geico. The good news is you don’t have to choose one and if you did in fact prefer to get ripped you should choose both. To get ripped you should strength train.
Take a look at the muscular definition of the weak man.
Now take a look at the muscular definition of this old time strongman Eugen Sandow.
Which has better definition?
“To get strong I must do things that require strength. To get ripped I must eat healthy nutritious food.” Say that out loud to yourself ten times in a row, memorize them and get the best of both worlds.
Time to hear your comments.
The Biggest Loser Strength Kit. Are you kidding me?
By · CommentsSo today I was sitting on my bed jammin a little bit on my guitar because I couldn’t think of anything to write about on this here blog you are reading. As I am playing I am also glancing around the room searching for my muse and noticed that my t-shirt drawer was open. Standing out of my shirts was a shirt that some of my friends had given me as a present/joke which I sometimes where to fitness seminars just for a laugh. It said “I workout everyday” and has a picture of a WiiMote.
Then I realized “Wii have a problem.”
You see just as I saw that I had a bit of a flash back to when I was Christmas Shopping at Best Buy and found an ingenious item for sale called The Biggest Loser Strength Kit for the Nintendo Wii.
Biggest Loser Strength Kit, complete with 5lb dumbbells
Are you kidding me? First thing, if you want to be strong you have to do things that require strength. 5lb dumbbells won’t require strength unless you are just waking up from a hospital bed after a long time in a coma or are just getting out of a full body cast. Hopefully you aren’t.
Now second if you want to change your fitness levels and change your body don’t use video games to do that. Chances are video games are what got you there in the first place so don’t expect them to get you out no matter how bad you want them to. Get up off your ass and get outside train hard and train consistent and do things that require strength (even if strength isn’t your goal).
Now I know you got some thoughts floating around your head. Let me hear them.
The cold hard reality of one way thinking
By · CommentsA couple of weeks ago I received an email in my inbox that kind of set off an alarm. This “guy” (could be a he/she, the world will never know) emailed me and told me his name was Mr. Thadeus. For one thing having a name like Mr. Thadeus sounds kind of like a Bond villain name (Mr. Thadeus, show them what it is you do) but no the alarm didn’t go off because of an enemy of 007 but because I had seen similar scams in the past. What this guy would do was inquire about booking me for 50 sessions and for some reason its always his daughter or son or some relative coming from outside the country and wanting to learn how to train with kettlebells. They would send a check exceeding the price quote you give them and ask to be refunded the excess and then the check would bounce.
Mr. Thadeus, show them what it is you do.
Now I was venting to my friend and sometimes training partner about this because this really pisses me off. For one thing doing what I do for a living even though I love it is tough. I find myself running down my gas mileage, eating cold chicken in my car between appointments, dealing with cancellations and excuses in a down economy all while trying to earn an honest buck. So this douchebag tries to take my money by scamming me. Luckily my gut told me this guy was full of crap. Unfortunately not everybody can discern that.
As I am telling my friend about all this he was telling me about a guy that was on that show “intervention” who had sent money to scammers in another country over a similar scam. You have probably found out that you somehow had a relative in some African country that died and left you a big inheritance but they need your account number to wire you the funds. Well this guy had fallen for that, and kept paying these people even though his friends and family were telling them not to. He had to remortgage his house and sell a bunch of his valuables because somehow in his head he believed he was going to get a lot of money sent to him.
So in other words he had invested so much into his belief that he would profit from this that he was unable to face the reality that it was all a bunch of crap.
And yet I see the same thing all the time when it comes to people trying to transform themselves. They have been bombarded so much into believing that doing ab exercises will magically shrink the midsection and aerobics/cardio is the best way to lose fat, that confusing the muscle is necessary for change, and that they need to have thousands of dollars in different kinds of supplements to gain muscle that presenting them with the truth is to painful to face. They would rather waste their money and time staying in their comfort zone (because that is what they are used to.) then to buckle down to what really brings results because it might be different then what they took as gospel.
It’s sad really. I believe that people could be a lot better off if they just took a long hard look at what they are doing and assessing if it is really in their best interest to continue to do it.
So let me ask you something. Have you invested so much of your time and energy chasing results without them ever able to appear that it is impossible to bring you back to reality? Be honest now.
I just discovered this report but haven’t had much of a chance to look into it. Apparently some of the more popular protein and meal replacement supplements contain some heavy metals (not the cool stuff like Judas Priest, Ozzy, Overlorde, Iron Maiden and Metallica but lead and cadmium) and other toxic substances like arsenic. Admittedly the studies need to be checked out to make sure they were legit studies but in the mean time I would suggest laying off of Muscle Milk, Myoplex, Synthesix, Nitrotech and a couple others, at least until they have had a chance to clear their name. You want a little more info watch the video.
If you still need some protein supplements probably the cleanest one out there (at least that I have found) is called Prograde Nutrition. You can only buy it online since it is not sold in stores (maybe thats why it doesn’t contain all that crap thats bad for you)
Memorial Day
By · CommentsWell today is Memorial day.
Ya know just like anything people take something good, and slowly it becomes something it was never intended to be. In case you aren’t aware you have the freedom today to enjoy your 3 day weekend by boozing it up and partying your ass off but please try to remember why you are able to do these things. Memorial day is about remembering the soldiers that gave their lives (most of them younger then me and I am a mere 28 years old) to give you the freedom that we all share over here in the United States.
You are probably going to have a barbecue, or are going to a barbecue so you can eat some burned meat and drink beer and possibly go swimming. I will be but I know its the freedom I had given to me by our men in uniform. Not all of them can be here today…and for that I thank them.
Remember who gave you this day.
I stole this from Dave Whitley’s blog which he got from someone else.
“Today, in the United States of America, we celebrate the 142nd Annual Memorial Day. It is a day to reflect on the memory of those in our Armed Forces who, through their bravery, paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the true meaning and traditions of Memorial Day.
At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored or neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country.
To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the National Moment of Remembrance resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to Taps.”
so yes enjoy your day but please remember who gave this day to you to enjoy.
