adbramsay’s BodyBlog

well i am 2 months into my new workout and it seems as though it is far more stressful on my body than first thought.  niggling little things are really starting to hinder my progress.  for the first couple of weeks the strength gains i was making were quite good, i went from a 315×3 bench to a 315×5 bench.  but alas all good things come with a hitch it seems.  my left elbow really started to bother me.  its right on the outside in between the actual elbow joint.  the gym owner (a liscenced masuese, nutritionist and personal trainer) seems to think that its just tendonitits and i should go get a shot for it.  however, from the description i gave to my physio (over the phone) she thinks its an actual partial tear.  basically what she said was she thinks its the tendon tearing off the bone.  i bought a sleeve for it and it feels much better but i am still worried.  on top of all this i am getting pain in my knees, on all things the leg press.  now i admit i do a full range of motion all the way down.  but i dont get this pain when i squat, which is akward cause i do atg squats (bellow parrellell).  everything else seems to be fine for now (knock wood).  sorry i just feel like i cant win sometimes.  anyway to hell with the pain.  i am gonna just keep pushing on and get stronger!!!

Well lets start off with the reason why I am writing this.  I cant get to the gym as often as I want.  With my work schedule, my girlfriend, my family, and everything else I am barely making it 3 times a week!  This is so frustrating as I am really want to train hard again this year and make even more progress.  I am finding time every once and a while but its still a pain is the @$$ not being able to get there.  What is compounding my frustration even more is the time that I am getting to the gym these days, EVENINGS.  Now I know this seems odd to most people but here in this country the evening seems to be a social gathering at the gym rather than a workout time.  So does anyone have advice on how to get in a few serious power exercises at home?

Time?  How much time should we spend in the gym?  30mins?  1hour?  2 hours?  I personally have a problem with people spending hours in the gym.  It is my opinion that you shouldn’t stay more than a hour.  Now let me clarify that statement, I think that if you are doing an hour of cardio thats fine, but to then follow that with an hour of weights is just too much for your body to take.  Now I am not saying that this is correct or that I am right because we are all different.  If you wish to do both of those I would suggest in breaking them up into 2 seperate workouts.  1 in the morning and 1 at afternoon/night.  I am in the firm belief that you will get the best results from this exercise breakdown.  I also think that by spending too much time in the gym actually has negative effects on your muscle.  I have done some research and it is the consenus that your body remains in an anabolic state for about 45mins, after that the lactic acid builds up and it actually has negative effects.  my workouts take anywhere from 40-50mins depending on the intensity.  Anyway i would love to hear your feedback on this subject!!!

Knowledge is power when it comes to bodybuilding, literally.  Its unfortunate but I still see people come to the gym and workout and have no real clue what they are doing.  My suggestion is to buy 1 publication a month, Muscular Development, Flex, Men’s Fitness, something and read it.  It may seem inconsequential but trust me after about 3 months you will be amazed how much you have learned.  Also, don’t be afraid to ask someone who is experienced, most of the time you will find that people are more than willing to help.  Think about this all those people in the gym had to learn from somewhere, and I bet you they learnt quite a bit from asking questions and reading articles in magazines.  Take this information with you on your next assult on the gym.

I have a question.  My gym has a class for kids, with weight training.  This class has aerobic training as well as weight training.  I have no problem with the aerobic training, I am pretty sure we all did something like riding your bike and running.  Now I may be mistaken but I always thought it wasn’t a good thing for kids to start lifting weights in a gym, as they dont have the necessary muscle maturity or the necessary physical developments to be doing this.  Of course the weights used are very light even by children standards and not very stressfull, but I have heard of stunted growth, and serious injury due to the lack of core muscles.  Tell me please if it is just paranoid delisions or if I do have something to worry about.

Hey sorry for taking so long to write a new post but my rugby team were making the run-in to the playoffs,  I also started a new job so it has been interesting recently. 

At my gym I have a problem with some of the more experienced members.  We have a wide variety of people from the usual fitness folks to the gym rats(myself included), hell we even have kids workout classes at my gym(not sure how safe that is I will adress that in a different blog).  We have several kids who are in the gym attempting to train for swiming, track, rugby, and of course bodybuilding and powerlifting; however none of the more experienced members seem to care that these kids are doing exercises incorrectly that could seriously injure themselves. 

Now maybe I was just lucky, but I want to thank the people who helped me when I first started out as a bright-eyed 14 year old kid trying to get in better shape for a track meet where I was doing shot put and discus.  Now those people were Ron Rogers, Jay Darling, Taino, and Joel Stubbs.  Yes I was fortunate enough to work out at Golds Gym Nassau, Bahamas where Joel Stubbs(IFBB Pro) and Jay Darling(current Mr Bahamas) used to workout before the gym closed.  Both of these men were extremely helpful and kind and have been this way since I have known them.  Of course I cannot forget the other 2 gentlemen as they were just as influental, Ron wherever you are in Canada now I hope all is well. 

I loved Golds for that reson, it was a family, everyone took care of everyone else and the more experienced members were great at helping and assisting the younger generation.  May it Rest In Peace. 

Back to the point I am trying to make, guys remember that these kids are the future, the way foward and if we see them do something wrong dont just stand there, go over and help.  It may disrupt your workout for a minute or 2 but it could change someones life forever. 

what is the deal with the 1 rep max?  why do we all attempt this?  i mean i understand the theory and i understand the training method behind it is very well thought through and planned out.  but it seems almost infintile.  similar to the school ground arguments of "oh yeah, well my dad is stronger than yours"  yet i still do it, i still try and see how much i can push myself.  i have no idea why but i love the test of seeing how much my body is capable of i think its more a test of us as humans, our will against the laws of gravity.  i dont know but i love it.  tell me what you think.

i love rugby, next to the gym it is my largest passion.  during the course of the season i will usually drop anywhere form 10-15lbs, most of it fat.  it is great for my physique and terrible for my body.  the extra poundage that i carry with me helps me when i get hit.  it adds a thin layer of "padding" and somewhat protects me.  it tears up my joints and muscles.  but at the end of the season i usually come out stronger than before, mainly in the legs i will gain quite a bit of strength and endurance.  in a sense it almost balances me out (unlike last season when i injured my knee), it keeps my lagging lower body from being left in the dust by my upper body that just seems to grow.  however this season i am taking extra precautions and i will work harder than ever in the gym to maintain and even improve my physique through out the whole season.  this is my promise i will post pics as to my current status and my points throughout the season.  wish me luck.

i have had a fairly uneventful past couple of days so i would like to share a story of inspiration with you guys.  this incident happened about a a month or two ago.  i am not arrogant or egotistical, but i do know that i am quite strong.  yet that day i felt like a child.  i was in the gym doing my usual shoulder workout, and the owner was working out at the same time.  now i am sure alot of you have probably never heard of him, but here in the bahamas he is somewhat well known; his name is joel stubbs.  and we both happened to be doing shoulders.  now me thinking that my shoulders are fairly strong i will be at least able to stay within a reasonable range of this monster.  i will not bore you with the whole workout but just the part that amazed me the most.  we were both doing seated dumbell military press.  i started on my usual (for that time, i have since become stronger since then), 85lb dumbells, and i got 8 reps.  he grabs the same dumbells and thumps out 12 reps.  i did another set on the same weight same reps.  he grabs the 105lb dumbells and gets a solid and fairly easy 10 reps.  i again repeat what i had done the previous set.  he then grabs the 125lb dumbells and i look at him and say "joel, are you crazy man those are 125lb dumbells?"  with which i got the response "ok fine you’re right i’ll get the 130’s".  he gets the 130lb dumbells and then looks at me and says "how many reps you want?"  with which i respond "5"  he chuckles and says "gimme a spot".  so as i go to spot i count out his reps so he can hear "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9"  i think to myself damn he just did 9 reps (and excellent form too) on 130lb dumbells.  it gave me the motivation to comtinue to grow and continue to develop my physique.  that is a memory that will live with me for a long, long time.  it may have only been insignificant at the time, but it made an impression on me.  whenever i think i am strong i always know that there is joel right there.  to me he is a visible target, something that i can aspire to.  anyway i used that motivation on monday when i just couldnt find the energy i thought of that incident and it pushed me through.  i hope you guys can use it too.

well its kinda funny how during the week monday thru thursday alot of people are at the gym.  spin class, yoga, and even some light circuit training.  on monday the gym is filled with hoardes of people who feel guilty about what they did on the weekend and think that one or two days in the gym can replace all the sin that they comitted on the weekend.  on monday there are people aplenty but when thusday reaches only a few can be found.  upon fridays arrivals when everyone else is out planning and/or doing debauchary a few people are there.  from friday till monday starts again you only see the true gym rats.  the dedicated few who no matter what time of day and year or what the weather; they are there day in, day out.  these are the days when i am there with about 4 other people.  we all know each other, and yet we have very little to say to each other.  its all spoken in our actions, with sweat dripping from our soaked clothes we manhandle the iron that lies around us like victims that we have just laid waste to.  to all of you out there like me, i salute you; to my compatriots in my gym have a good weekend, i am sure that i will see you at some point whether it be doing some light cardio like my self or hitting the iron; you deserved it.  rest up till monday when we can start this onslaught again.