Small Steps Lead to BIG GAINS

So I figured i would give my trainer Gary Schulman props here.  I started working with GAry 2.5 years ago and we went from trainer/client to friends.  GAry has worked with me to craft a multi year game plan that has progressed to to where I am today and i must thank him for that.  Gary also publishes his newsletter through my www.bFit247.com sites newsletter campaign.

Gary is 47 years old and in damned good shape.. look at those abs..and he just ate an ice-cream sundae!  Gary specializes in weight loss, private & group instruction (on and off-site training).  Anyway, we agree on most things and share the same vision for fitness and how to deliver to the people that need it.

So PROPS to GARY.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

changed up my cardio a little today because my trainer and I got a little bored of what we were doing… here ya go.

1. warm up
2. jump rope - 1 minute
3. left/right combo punches on the bag - 1 minute
4. jump rope  - 1 minute
5. right roundhouse kick - 1minute
6. left roundhouse kick - 1 minute
7. jump rope - 1 minute
8. left/right/left, right roundhouse kick  1 minute
9. jump rope  - 1 minute
10. right/left/right, left roundhouse kick - 1 minute
11. jump rope  - 1 minute
12. Burpee into pushup into right/left right combo, left roundhouse kick 10 reps
13. Jump Rope 1 minute
14. burpee into pushup into left/righ/left combo, right roundhouse kick 10 reps
15. jump rope - 1 minute
16. 5 minutes of plyometric abs work with medicine ball

Try to minimize rest between steps.. only to grab a little water or if you cannot breath.  It is a fairly intense 25 minute workout, definitely gets anaerobic during the burpee movements..30 including warmup

Some of you know I was on the road all week, in fact I’ll begin my return trip soon and it will be 5 days hard driving when all is said and done.  Trying to stick with my routine (week 6 of 16 weeks) was virtually impossible, but I think I was able to keep some forward momentum.  I was able to get a workout in at Gold’s Gym in Lynchburg… I’ll be looking to do the same on the return trip.  I hope to get 3 workouts in during the trip(including 1 body weight type workout because I was living in a WalMart Parking lot).

  Nutrition is another difficult thing on the road.  On the first leg nutrition was not so bad as I was in an RV and stocked the fridge with egg whites, organic PB, oatmeal, flax oil,  protein drinks, etc… I probably had a better diet that being at home.  The return trip, in a car, will be quite different.  So I’ll use the modified trucker diet of Jerky(great protein and almost no fat..but dang that sodium), and I’ll drink plenty of water to offset that jerky sodium, protein bars and fiber bars… oh yeah.. lots of COFFEE.

I want to thank all the bodyspace people that checked in on me while I travelled and hope I get to see some of you along the way!  ALL OF YOU THANKS!

the BUCKLE is looking to workout with BodySpace people whileon the road.. drop me a line here and we’ll make it happen!

All the Best!

First let me say, yes, I do dress this way virtually every day and I do wear the BUCKLE.

Some of you know I was on the road all week, in fact I’ll begin my return trip soon and it will be 5 days hard driving when all is said and done.  Trying to stick with my routine (week 6 of 16 weeks) was virtually impossible, but I think I was able to keep some forward momentum.  I was able to get a workout in at Gold’s Gym in Lynchburg… I’ll be looking to do the same on the return trip.  I hope to get 3 workouts in during the trip(including 1 body weight type workout because I was living in a WalMart Parking lot).

  Nutrition is another difficult thing on the road.  On the first leg nutrition was not so bad as I was in an RV and stocked the fridge with egg whites, organic PB, oatmeal, flax oil,  protein drinks, etc… I probably had a better diet that being at home.  The return trip, in a car, will be quite different.  So I’ll use the modified trucker diet of Jerky(great protein and almost no fat..but dang that sodium), and I’ll drink plenty of water to offset that jerky sodium, protein bars and fiber bars… oh yeah.. lots of COFFEE.

I want to thank all the bodyspace people that checked in on me while I travelled and hope I get to see some of you along the way!  ALL OF YOU THANKS!

the BUCKLE is looking to workout with BodySpace people  the road.. drop me a line here and we’ll make it happen!

All the Best!

ok.. so last week I mentioned the 3 circuit routine I was doing…one day we measured how many pounds I pushed in the 50 minutes it took me to finish the circuit 3 times. In 50 minutes I pushed 59,800 pounds, or 1,196 pounds per minutes.  I weigh 230 pounds, so another calculation tells you I pushed my body weight 5.2 times per minutes (59,800lbs / 50 min/ 230 lbs).

ok.. big deal.. how does THE BUCKLE tie into this?  Well, I know exactly what the BUCKLE  weighs in at.  I want to know HOW MANY BUCKLES  did I push per minutes based on the above info and your best guess as to what THE BUCKLE weighs????

I’ll pick a winner later tonight… Closest answer GETS A REALLY COOL WORKOUT SHIRT  as seen on THE BUCKLE, paintedgrrl, ChickenTuna and other cool and powerful bodyspace rockstars!

and by the way… this type of training is awesome for anyone looking to build muscle endurance and burn fat… it will transform your body.  I refer to it as volume training and it is all about intensity.

don’t forget to sign up for my FREE fitness/nutrition newsletter at

All the Best!

jeff

This week was weight training Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with Tues,Thursday and Saturday being interval cardio training finishing with abs.

The weight sessions were the same 10 movements from last week done in circuit fashion again…had to choose weight to maintain 20 reps again also, only this week was 3 circuits back to back, as quickly as possible.  I think the best I did was 40-45 minutes to finish. 

This pushes you to the edge of being sick if you are not properly rested, hydrated and nurished.  I don’t think those interested in body building would care much for this routine, but those interested in building endurance, Lactic threshold workouts and cranking up metabolism and turning on the fat burning machine may want to look at this.  In fact, last night I was so revved up i could not fall asleep..i had to get up at 2 a.m. to eat a few slices of turkey…then I fell asleep.  So obviously my system was revved up and unfortunately i probably did not eat enough during the day and i also struggled today because of lack of sleep.

The crazy thing about this workout is it messes with your head…for example, if you are capable of doing one-arm dumbbell rows with 80 pounds for 20 reps you tend to want to start with that, but by the time you get to it in the 2nd circuit you probably cannot do the 20 reps…and forget about the third.  So you have to suck it up, go down in weight to be sure to get the reps out and finish the 3 circuits..no matter what.  Guess what?  I did curls with 25 pounders in my last circuit!  I could barely move..  my entire body was pumped.. I had veins in my arms!!!!  I never had that in my entire life! 

Next week is yet another version of the same movements but 3 sets same body part in a row.. we’ll see if that is even more difficult yet!

…..Remember..small steps lead to BIG GAINS!

….It does not matter whether you are the lion or the gazelle.  When the sun rises, you better be running!

All the Best,

jeff… THE BUCKLE

ok, so I mentioned this week I started a new routine that’ll take me through the end of the year.  This week is setting me up for the next progression.  I am only 3 days into it and it feels good.. I will probably want to eat about 4500 calories tomorrow.  Anyway, here is whatI  am doing for 6 days in a row, which sets me up for next week.

warmup (as long as it takes)

complete the following moves as quickly as possible choosing a weight that I can get 20 reps with.  If I fall short /over on reps weight is adjusted the next day.  Complete withing 30 minutes, then stretch. (cardio not included here)

1. dumbbell squats -  20 reps / 70 lb dumbbells
2. deadlift                  20 reps/ 70 lb dumbbells
3. 1 arm row(on stability ball)  20 reps/ 70 lb dumbbell
4. shrugs                   20 reps / 60 lb dumbbell
5. Chest Press (on stability ball) 20 reps / 70 lb dumbell
6. upright rows          20 reps/ 35 lb dumbbells
7. Shoulder press(seated on stability ball)   20 reps/ 30 lb dumbbells
8. bicep curls (seated on ball)  20 reps/ 30lb dumbbell
9. tricep kickback (1 arm at a time leaning on ball)-  20 reps/ 35 lbs dumbbell
10. calf raise   20 reps/ body weight (1 at a time)

heart rate is way up and I am dripping sweat at this point… I had about 5 minutes left.. next few moves go for 45 seconds each

1. squat-hammer curl-shoulder press move with dumbbells
2. bent over flies(work shoulders/delts.  seated on ball)
3. decline pushup using ball
4. raise hip using stability ball(lying on floor, feet on ball.  works back of leg)
5. hook ball under leg and do reverse crunch on floor
6. oblique crunch

stretch.

This was an intense workout .  3 more days of it, then a day of rest and onto the next progression!

All the Best!

Jeff

www.bFit247.com

I recently had my vo2max tested on a treadmill with the breathing apparatus attached to a laptop with analysis software.  Although I was a bit over-trained that week I came out with an impressive 43.9 score for vo2max, which was great for a 41 year old.  More important than that single number was the analysis of my heart rate training zones and the point at which my fat-to-carb(or glycogen)usage started to decline.  So I bought a book by Joe Friel on heart rate training… turns out I learned something.

You can also over-train on cardio, especially when doing interval training .

Long story short, I will do more steady state cardio at the high end of my heart rate zone 2 (for me it is around 150 bpm).. and I will consider the next 1-2 months base building.  By training here I should force my body to ADAPT and become better at burning fat for energy at this level…then I can start working in  the intervals again to try and push my anearobic threshold highr and improve my vo2max.

I would like to think I can get it to 50.. damned good for my age…  heck, good for a 20 year old also.

 All the Best!

Jeff, www.bFit247.com

started 16 week routine this month.  Also started Aplodan , as well as nano vapor pre-workout and cell-tech post workout. 
I’ll try to keep you posted along the way with any significant comments on the MuscleTech products.

I am actually itching to workout RIGHT NOW.. i think NanoVapor is kicking in!!!!!!

remember to visit me at www.bFit247.com

August 28, 2007 - Tuesday

Hiking Acadia N.P./ Bar HArbor, ME.. and other stories Category: Travel and Places   Getting out of the gym and outside is a great way to cross train.  Here I am partially decended on Cadillac Mt. in Acadia National Park, on Mt. Dessert Island near Bar HArbor, ME.  The mountains meet the sea here and in addition to a great leag/cardio workout it was good for the spirit and mind.  The views are incredible and the park/town runs free shuttles from everuwhere to everywhere…so you can park your car and start a one way hike and take a shuttle back to your car.  I opted to hike off Cadillac Mt. directly into a ‘bar’ in Bah-hah-bah… immediately negating any health benefit I gained from the hike! To see my most recent bFit247.com blog on “Dark Tales from Atop the Scale” Click HERE you can also see my blogs at my Body Space http://blog.bodybuilding.com/wallyj