The Year of The Monster Is Coming

Disclaimer: If you have an aversion to colorful language and straight talk this may not be the article for you. If you are easily offended or disturbed this most likely is not the article for you. This article does not refer to all gym goers and fitness enthusiast but does refer to a good portion of you. Many of you go out there and do the dam thing right. Others of you are bringing us down but most importantly you’re bringing yourselves down. If you’re offended by anything that is going to be said most likely you are one of the people I am referring to. If nothing about to be said pertains to you then keep doing what you’re doing and keep it up but if anything upcoming does “Get your **** together!!!”

Usually when I write something I’m talking about diet practices or training methods. The one aspect I realize I don’t touch on a lot is the mental aspect of fitness. I guess I don’t speak on it a lot because it’s an area I can’t talk about without getting all fired up. I think the one thing people don’t realize about fitness is it is 50% mental, 30%nutrition, and 20% training. You can have a great training regiment and poor diet and not get to far fitness wise. You can have a great nutritional plan and not so good exercise routine and get pretty far fitness wise. The one thing however, if you do not have a good mental focus no matter how good your training and nutritional plans are you’re as hopeless as a two legged turtle racing a cheetah.

Eastern Philosophy says “Where the mind goes the body will follow.” In other words the way you focus your energy is the way you will react to a situation. Ever notice when your focused you can get a lot more done than when you have little focus. One of the main problems with so fitness enthusiast is their mental aspect of things. Their way of looking at things is just F#@%ed up. Here is where we stop being so informative and start to get real.

• Be a leader not a bitch!!!
  

You know who is annoying? People who bitch about the way something is but want things to magically change for them. People who bitch about their fitness but refuse to do anything about it are a general waste of time. If you do not like something you have to be the one to change it and not wait for it to change itself.
Worlds and people change thru actions not inactions. If you don’t like your fitness but am not willing to do anything about it at least don’t bitch cause people don’t want to hear it. As the saying goes “**** in one hand and want in the other and see what you get first!”
 

• “This is just too hard!”
  

You know why things are hard because you’re a weak minded fool. Here is the thing, things get hard and that is perfectly fine. There is nothing wrong with saying something is hard. The problem arises when you say something is too hard. You automatically put yourself in a mental state of failure. How you think is how you react, if mentally things are too hard physically the body will make things even harder. The first times you counted to 10, learned your ABC’s, rode a bike, asked a girl or guy out, or drove a car probably were not the easiest things in the world but you did them. Perseverance and dedication surpasses all obstacles. Things can be hard they just can not ever be too hard.
 

• “I don’t have time. I’m overwhelmed!”
  

This is one of my favorite excuses that people use. You’re not overwhelmed, you’re under organized. People waste more time and effort because they are not organized. Do things in advanced, have a plan, and then have a backup plan. Years ago I used to have a friend that told me once I had kids I would never have time to go to the gym again ever. The funny part was she had a live in Nanny and did not work, yet she never had time to go to the gym but constantly bitched about how out of shape she had become. Years later I have two boys now, work full time, do all the dad stuff and am probably more organized in my gym and eating routines than I was before I had kids. As for my friend, she is still short on time and can’t make the gym.
 

• Stop making excuses for crap!
  

“I can’t because..”
“That wont be me because…”
“I’m just going to take it easy because…”
Making excuses for everything equals two things. They equal a lot of non progress and they equal a lot of fear. Most of the time people make a lot of excuses not because they can’t do something but because they are afraid. Most people don’t like being out of their comfort zone. It takes a lot of guts to do things that your not 100 percent comfortable with and most people do not have that. Don’t talk ****! Do ****!!!
 

• Failure doesn’t make you a loser, not trying makes you a loser!!!
  

Nothing is more irritating to me than when someone is a straight up pussy (I warned you guys about the language beforehand). Never be afraid to try in life. When you don’t try you don’t give yourself opportunity. People are so afraid to fail in life it keeps them from doing so many things. How many of you know people who are at  the same dead end job for years being miserable because they are afraid to try something else. If you try new things yes you may fail but you may also be successful but without giving yourself the opportunity you’ll never be anything more than a gutless person who was too afraid to give themselves a chance at something.
 

• Success does not make a person, adversity does!
  

Anyone can smell like a bed of roses when they are successful. The true measure of a person however is how some reacts when they get their ass kicked. Life can be hard and rough your ass up. You can do one of two things though continue to let things beat on you or pick yourself up and continue on. Instant success in life is rare even among the greats. What made a lot of the greats great was their refusal to give up in the face of adversity.  Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Ronnie Coleman was a journeyman before he went on to win 8 Mr. Olympia contest. Jay Cutler placed last in his very first Mr. Olympia contest. Tom Brady was the 199^th overall pick in the NFL draft and fourth string Patriots quarterback, Three Super Bowl rings later look at him. The one thing all these champions had in common was adversity was not a negative factor in their success but most likely help propel them further.

• Learn to gut **** out!
  

You go to the gym for three months and half ass it don’t be confused as to why you don’t look like someone who bust their ass week after week, month after month, year after year. I love when someone comes up to you and says “So and so looks great! What can I do to look like that?”

You explain what need to be done and they respond by saying “Is there an easier way?”

Yeah there is, they are just working hard to fool you! Hard work plus time equals dividends. That is an equation for business and the same for life. What you’re most likely trying to do is not easy and if it is not easy it is going to take time and effort. The more intense your fitness goal the time and effort your going to have to put into it. Quick fixes and fads are like the New Years crowd at the gym, they are there for a little bit but they do not last.

• Stop Bull****ting yourself and others!!!
  

This means taking accountability for your actions. A prime example is just because you go to the gym 5 days a week does not mean your training. If you are at the gym 2 hours a day but your jaw muscles are getting more exercise than any other muscles, then don’t wonder why you are not making progress. Don’t bust your ass in the gym and then go home, eat two gallons of ice cream and then wonder why your weight is messed up. Don’t put more weight on a bar have someone else do most of the work and wonder why your muscles are not growing. Get your thought process right, check your ego, and show a little discipline in the end you’re only lying to yourself. Be accountable for your actions and be honest enough with yourself to know when you’re not working to the best you.

• Learn to listen to everything and not what you want to hear!
  

Part of good mental focus is learning to listen. If you ask someone for advice and they tell you something, listen. If you feel this person is knowledgeable….L-I-S-T-E-N!!!! If a person truly is advising you for your benefit, you may not always hear what you want to hear but you will hear good information. Just because a person does not always agree with you or tells you what you want to hear does not mean there is a malicious intent. Sometimes simply put the truth hurts. The worst thing you can do is pick out the parts you want to hear and work with them. If you do this you are not going to progress because you are only doing what you want and not always what is best. Be sure not to pick out the parts you do not want to hear and make things into someone is trying to hurt you. With good sometimes comes bad, most likely if you are asking their advise your doing something wrong and if a person is not pointing that out also they truly are not helping you.

• Say Thank You clown!!!
  

So what does being courteous have to do with a good mental focus. A positive mind is a productive mind. Be willing to help others. Be willing to share equipment in the gym. One of the main things missing from society today is simple common courtesy. Please and Thank You go a long way! There is nothing worst than when you or someone spends time and effort on something for someone and you do not even get a simple “Thanks!” Why should you be courteous if no one else is doing it? How about leading by example, someone has to get the positive ball rolling and it’s good for your mind.

Your mind will always be your strongest weapon in the gym and in life, how you use it is ultimately going to determine your successes and failures. If you are doing any of the things I mentioned earlier your holding yourself back from success. If your serious about improving yourself, take a good honest look at how you are  approaching things with your fitness mentality. If your doing a lot of the things I mentioned, don’t try and change everything at once small constant changes go a long way over time.

You can find more helpful articles like this one at Taylorednutrition.tripod.com.

The Deadlift- The King of kings as far as compound exercises is concerned. The deadlift is the true measure of pure strength because it uses almost all your muscles in your body. The major muscles worked by the deadlift are the quads, hamstrings, butt, abs, erectors, lats, traps, biceps, triceps, delts, and a whole bunch of other little stabilizer muscles. The deadlift works the joints of the ankles, knees, hips, vertebrae, shoulders, wrist, and fingers.This is an exercise every man, woman, and or beast should have in their workout. Gorillas are even known to perform a move similar to the deadlift, when moving trees in the wild. There is no one exercise that is more taxing on the body due to the amount of muscles used to perform it.
 For men Deadlifts are great because it is the fastest way to build muscle mass and raw strength. Deadlifts, because they are so taxing they release a lot of growth hormone and testosterone in the body. Deadlifts are big and brutish but can also have a gentler side for the ladies. Traditionally women tend to be less flexible in the hamstrings than men. Women also tend to have weaker hamstrings. Deadlifts can help with both of these problems. Deadlifts can also lift and firm a woman’s butt because you use a lot of glute muscles when you deadlift.
The Deadlift is a great all around strength builder in both sexes. It will build not only raw power but explosive strength also. The Deadlift is great for teaching balance and coordination because it has so many multi plain and multi joint movements to it. Deadlifts also burn a lot of calories so they are beneficial for fat burning.
 

Performing the Deadlift
Beginning position

1. Feet should be flat on the floor about shoulder width apart in the conventional style and slightly farther apart in the sumo style.
   
2. Grip bar with a closed, alternate grip (one palm facing you the other away from you).
   
3. Knees should be flexed as in a full squat position.
   
4. Bar should be as close to the shins as possible.
   
5. Back should be flat.
   
6. Head should be up or in a neutral position.
   

Upward movement

1. Begin pull by extending at the hips and knees, such that the hips and shoulders move at the same rate, keeping the back flat, with the shoulders above or slightly in front of bar.
   
2. As the bar passes your knees, thrust hips forwards and your shoulders back.
   
3. The hips and knees should be fully extended, and your shoulders back (as opposed to rounded forward).
   

Downward Movement

1. In the downward phase, release the tension in your muscles so that gravity alone allows the bar to descend to the floor.
   
2. Do not attempt to lower the bar at an extremely slow rate, as the eccentric stress is taxing and causes undue micro trauma and vertebral stress.
   
3. The lift ends when the bar is motionless on the floor in front of you.
   

A few things to remember about the Deadlift:

• Your back should be flat throughout the movement.
  
• At no portion of the lift should your back or shoulders be rounded  keep the bar as close to the shins as possible during the initial pull, and as close to your thighs as possible after the bar passes your knees.
  
• Feet should always be flat on the floor, with your center of gravity over the back half of your feet.
  
• Exhale through the sticking point of the pull (some lifters find it advantageous to exhale forcefully as in screaming).
  
• Do not jerk the bar off the floor. The pull should be a smooth, max effort from the beginning.
  
• Pay attention to good form. If your technique begins to break down from the sheer weight on the bar, you predispose yourself to injury. Rounding of your back, knees buckling inward and initiating the pull with your back instead of legs and hips are examples of common technique errors that are potentially damaging.
  
• Because of the many muscles involved in the lift, you may require more rest between sets than normal.
  

Once you master the “Big Three” your overall fitness will improve a great deal. Can you go beyond the best exercises for even better fitness improvements? Coming up soon, we will look at variations of the “Big Three” to target more specific muscle groups.
You can find more helpful articles like this one at TayloredNutrition.tripod.com.