Bicep breaker

Great routine to hit the biceps hard. When doing the standing bicep barbell curls make sure you hold the bar with a shoulder width grip. This routine of lower reps with heavier weight and then light weight with higher reps will lead your muscles into growth.

Standing bicep curl with barbell- 6 reps

SUPER SET WITH

Standing dumbbell hammer curl ( both arms lifted together )-12 reps

Rest 90 seconds and repeat 2-3 more times.

Post turkey fat burner

So you spend all day yesterday sitting around and stuffing your face full of calories. You wake up today feeling fat and bloated. Here is your solution. This workout combines heavy weight low rep super sets which will provide you with the muscle growth you will need to jack up your metabolism and then the high rep high volume super sets for the cardio aspect.

Barbell bench press 6 reps

SUPER SET WITH

Leg press 6 reps

*** These weights should be very heavy so that 6 reps are a struggle

Rest 90 seconds and repeat 2-3 more times.

Lat pulldown 8 reps

SUPER SET WITH

Deadlift 8 reps

***These weight should be very heavy so that 8 reps are a struggle.

Rest 90 seconds and repeat 2-3 more times.

After finishing the last super set from above rest 2 minutes and then do the following:

Medicine ball overhead slams-1o reps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt0VLdpEdts

SUPER SET WITH

Floor jumping jacks ( get into pushup position and then keeping you arms extended simply move your legs in and out as fast as you can)-20reps

SUPER SET WITH

Squat jumps-10 reps

Do not rest at all until you have finished 4-5 rounds straight.

6 reasons why your not gaining muscle

1. You are not eating enough-In order to gain muscle you must eat and eat often! I would try and eat 18-20 times your body weight in calories. Remember that foods are created equally so make sure you are taking in quality and not just quantity.


2. Your intensity sucks-If you are going to weight train you better do it hard! Don't come in the gym and read the morning paper while you lift and expect to get huge. Put on some big boy pants, man up and lift hardcore!!


3. Your not eating enough protein-Try and eat anywhere from 1 gram to 1.5 grams of protein per body weight.


4. You don't drink enough water-Remember you must keep muscle tissue hydrated. Muscles are made up of 60-70% water so drink up!


5. You lack consistency-This is big, you must be consistent with your workouts and stay the course with your workouts.


6. Cardio dominates your workouts-If you are always doing cardio its going to be tough to build muscle. I would only do cardio 1x a week at most if you truly want to build serious muscle. You need the calories to go towards building and not towards your cardio workout.

Tuna salad done right!

Tuna is such a great source of protein but sometimes eating it plain just gets old and boring. Traditional tuna salad calls for that gross product know as mayo, I am not a fan. If you want a healthier version try the recipe below.

Healthy tuna salad

• 1/2 an apple peeled



• Honey mustard-3 big spoon fulls



• Balsamic vinegar-1 spoon full



• Your favorite tuna



• Pepper to taste

Finely dice up an apple and put it in a bowl. Mix together the honey mustard and balsamic and add pepper to your taste. Add in the apple and tuna and mix together. Eat it up or spread in onto whole grain bread. To be honest you might want to mix and match the mustard to vinegar amounts to your liking. Enjoy! I am guessing you will not go back to the white mess again!

Metabolic leg burner

This is a quick and easy way to burn some calories and burn out your legs. I would do this tri-set at the end of your workout. Although this routine wont make your legs huge it will shred them.

Squat jumps 20 seconds as many reps possible
SUPER SET WITH
Body weight speed squats 20 seconds as many reps possible
SUPER SET WITH
Squat isometric hold-hold position at the bottom of the squat for 20 seconds

Rest 90 seconds and repeat 2-3 more times.

E.O.M-Reverse incline hammer curls

The exercise of the month for November is the reverse incline hammer curl which is great for those of you who need some new growth for the arms. Just grab a incline bench and put it at a 60 to 70-degree angle. Face the bench and put your chest up against the pad. Allow your arms to hang straight down and then curl the dumbbells all the way up until they touch your shoulders. Make sure you let your arms totally straighten at the bottom! This exercise hits two often neglected muscles the brachialis and the long head of the biceps.

Chocolate milk to the rescue!

After a hard workout most of us reach for a protein shake or sports drink to refuel our bodies. Has the idea of chocolate milk ever crossed your mind? Studies like the one from the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism have shown that the chocolate drink could be better for you. Chocolate milk has calcium, vitamin D and an optimal ratio of carbs to protein. Even better is the milk contains both casein proteins( which digest slow) and whey proteins ( which digest fast ) to give the body the best of both worlds. The best bet is to buy low fat and low sugar brands.

Questions???

Please write me any questions you would like answered or any feedback you have. Thanks for checking out my blog!

h4training@gmail.com

Chaos Training-Chest and Back

Here is a great fat burner and metabolic routine for those looking to lean up.This routine involves the dumbbell bench press and the dumbbell one arm row. I would highly recommend this being done with a partner. First pick a weight you could bench press for 10 reps and a weight you could row for 10 reps. Begin the workout by doing 10 reps of the bench press and then go immediately into 10 reps on each arm for the row. For every round after drop the weight by 5 lbs per dumbbell on both the press and row and go to failure on each. This routine involves no rest; you should go from bench press to row and then repeat this super set until you have finished 6 drop sets. Below is a sample of how this would look for someone starting with 60 lbs.

Dumbbell bench press 60 lbs-10reps
SUPER SET WITH
Dumbbell one arm row 60 lbs-10reps
SUPER SET WITH
Dumbbell bench press 55 lbs-reps to failure
SUPER SET WITH
Dumbbell one arm row 55 lbs- reps to failure
SUPER SET WITH
Dumbbell bench press 50 lbs- reps to failure
SUPER SET WITH
Dumbbell one arm row 50 lbs- reps to failure

Hopefully you get the idea here; this would be continued all the way to 35 lbs which would be the 6th and final drop set.

Bruising Leg Press

Next time you do legs I want you to give this one a try. This workout comes from a friend of mine in Las Vegas. I did this routine with him once and just about cried. You first want to stack a leg press with anywhere from 6-4 45 pound plates on each side depending on your leg strength and experience. Those who are strong and experienced lifters I would use 6, intermediate I would use 5, and everyone else 4. Keep in mind these are suggestions so try it out yourself and make your own adjustments. So with your first weight stacked go ahead and do 6 reps with a 6 second negative on the way down. After you finish 6 reps, lock up the press and remove 1 plate from each side and repeat the 6 reps for 6 second negative. Repeat this process of removing 1 plate per side and doing 6 reps until you have 2-1 plates left on each side. Good luck walking the next day!


Leg press

Sample

6 plates per side- 6 reps with 6 second negative
REMOVE 1 PLATE EACH SIDE
5 plates per side-6 reps with 6 second negative
REMOVE 1 PLATE EACH SIDE
4 plates per side-6 reps with 6 second negative
REMOVE 1 PLATE EACH SIDE
3 plates per side-6 reps with 6 second negative
REMOVE 1 PLATE EACH SIDE
2 plates per side-6 reps with 6 second negative

Finished!

*** You can also try doing this by going in reverse order, so light to heavy.

Guest trainer workout

This workout comes from a fellow trainer and friend of mine Lucas McEmery. I would not recommend this workout for beginners. If you like Crossfit workouts you will like this one. Enjoy!

Do 3-5 rounds as fast as possible.

• 250 M rower machine


• Burpee pull-ups 10 reps


• Bodyweight squats 20 reps


• Full sit-ups 30 reps

** Burpee pull-ups are done by dropping down into a burpee and then jumping up into a pull-up getting your chin past the bar.

NS routine

The goal on this workout is to hit the upper pec as well as the lower pec. The decline weight should be 5-10 lbs less than you would normally use for this rep range. Here is the workout:

Incline barbell bench press 6-8 reps
SUPER SET WITH
Decline dumbbell press 10-12 reps

Rest 90 seconds and repeat 2-4 more times.

** You can also switch this routine for another day and do the decline for 6-8 reps and the incline for 10-12 reps.

Stud quotes

"Absorb what is useful; reject what is useless."
— Bruce Lee

H4 favorites-#2 Chobani yogurt

Chobani is a staple in my diet. It tastes good and has so many benefits in which you can see below.

• No preservatives


• No artificial flavors


• No synthetic growth hormones


• Includes 5 live & active cultures, including 3 probiotics


• Made with real fruit


• Twice the protein of regular yogurts ( this is very good!!!)


• A good source of bone-building calcium


• All natural

My Favorite Bicep routine

This has to be my favorite bicep routine to do because it hits every aspect of your biceps. The wide grip curls will hit your outer head and the narrow grip curls will hit your inner head. Reverse curls will hit the brachioradialis which will help grow your forearms. Start by doing 10 reps of standing barbell curls with a wide grip. Immediately go right into EZ bar reverse curls ( grip with palm down ) and do 10 reps. Go ahead and rest for 90 seconds and repeat this process, however for this round instead of wide grip curls do narrow grip curls. Finish by doing 1 more cycle of both the wide grip/reverse curl combo and the narrow grip/reverse curl combo.

A) Wide grip barbell curl 10 reps
SUPER SET WITH
Reverse curl 10 reps

Rest 90 seconds.

B) Narrow grip barbell curl 10 reps
SUPER SET WITH
Reverse curl 10 reps

Rest 90 seconds and repeat starting from A and then finishing the workout with B.

Dips hardcore

Try this for your dip routine next time. Do 3 full dips with regular good depth, once you finish your 3rd rep do 3 half reps starting from the bottom and stopping halfway up. Once you finish 3 half reps from the bottom, do 3 more full reps and then finish with 3 half reps starting at the top and going halfway down. The routine will look like this:

• 3 full reps


• 3 half reps starting from the bottom


• 3 full reps


• 3 half reps starting from the top

Rest 1 minute and repeat 2-4 times.

Debunking some exercise myths

1. Myth: Doing cardio is the best way to burn fat.

Verdict: FALSE!

Doing too much cardio will in fact strip the body of its muscle. Losing muscle mass causes your body to become less efficient at burning fat. The more muscle you have the higher your metabolism will be and the more calories you will burn. A cardio workout will burn calories in the now ( the time frame you workout ) whereas Resistance training will burn calories not only in the now but also throughout the whole day. Unless you want to take away your body's best fat burning machine, I suggest doing resistance training.

2. Myth: Women will get muscles as big as a guy if she lifts weights.

Verdict: FALSE

This myth is why most women don't want to touch dumbbells in a gym. But this myth is so wrong. Women only have about 1/3 the testosterone men have, making it difficult to for them to gain muscular size. Unless a woman takes anabolic steroids the chances of her getting really big are slim to none. Doing weight training will help develop lean, strong, tight muscles and therefore should be a part of a women's routine. Muscle is not bulky, but compact.

3. Myth: You can "spot reduce" areas of your body when working out.

Verdict: FALSE

Although this is a popular belief, it has no truth what so ever. Body fat is stored throughout the body as a whole. By doing certain exercises your body will not pick out which area of fat it wants to burn. The real way to lose fat is to increase the calories you burn by doing both resistance and aerobic training and to decrease your calorie intake.

Quick thoughts on P-90X

I know there are a bunch of you out there who often ask me about P-90X and what is my opinion on it. I have watched the entire DVD set of workouts and I really do like the program. It has creative and unique exercises and it is broken up into intense splits. I do also want to say that the P-90x series is not best for the beginner, it is better suited for the intermediate level individual. Listen any workout program that is done with consistency and proper intensity will yield results, so no P-90X is not a miracle workout but just a viable option for those who need structure with their workouts. If you cant afford the DVD's then find a program you like and stick with it for 90 days and I bet you will find changes. My advice......use H4 workouts!

6-12-25

If you want a new way to add gains then try this unique method of training. After completing the first cycle of this routine you will most likely need to drop the weight 10-20% in order to complete cycle 2 fully. Below are some examples for this routine:

For biceps

Incline dumbbell alternate curl 6reps
REST 10 sec
Standing barbell curl 12 reps
REST 10 sec
Standing pulley cable curls 25 reps

Rest 2 minutes and repeat at most 2-3 times.

For triceps

Close grip press 6 reps
REST 10 sec
Tricep extensions 12 reps
REST 10 sec
Standing pushdowns 25 reps

Rest 2 minutes and repeat at most 2-3 times.

Helping to achieve that "V" look

Besides having impressive shoulder width and a small waist, lat width is what will ultimately give you that desirable V shape that most guys wish to achieve. Below is a super set for the lats that will shock them into new growth. Take a weight you could normally dumbbell row for 10 reps and drop it by a good 5 lbs for this routine. I would also suggest dropping your usual weight for the lat pull down for 10 reps by 10 lbs or so.

One arm dumbbell row-10 reps
SUPER SET WITH
Wide grip lat pull down-10 reps

Rest 90 seconds and repeat 2-3 more times.

H4 Fat Burner #2

This routine is pretty tough, I would not suggest this for beginners. Make sure the weight is not too heavy on the row else you will die out fast. You will start with 10 pushups then 10 rows and then 1 jackknife ( burpee ). Every round after the first, the pushups will go down from 10,9,8,7....etc all the way to 1 on the last set. The rows will always be 10 reps and the burpee's will go up from 1,2,3,4....etc to 10. Here is the workout:

Pushups- start at 10 reps finish at 1
SUPER SET WITH
Row- 10 reps
SUPER SET WITH
Jackknife ( burpee )- start at 1 rep end at 10

No rest at all, go through the whole tri-set and then keep repeating.

Tabata Method for fat loss

Named after Japanese researcher Izumi Tabata, this method was discovered as very effective way to burn fat. I would do this at the end of your regular workout since it will drain you pretty bad. Here's how:

• Pick a compound, multi-joint exercise ( like squat press with dumbbells )


• Perform as many reps as you can for 20 seconds


• Rest for 10 seconds


• Repeat 7 more times for a total of eight sets

Chest combo

Use this super set to give your chest some growth. Make sure you use heavy weight on the bench press the 6 reps should be very tough to finish.

Barbell bench press 6 reps
SUPER SET WITH

Dumbbell bench press 12 reps

Rest 90 seconds and repeat 3-4 more times.

Q & A

Please write me any questions you would like answered and I will respond. I will then post the question you have submitted with my best response. Thanks!

3 way

Your delts tend to respond very good to tri-sets and since most never do tri-sets this is a good shock routine for your system. This routine takes you from heavy weight and low reps all the way to low weight and high reps. Here is the workout:

Seated dumbbell shoulder press 6 reps
SUPER SET WITH
Seated dumbbell lateral shoulder raises 12 reps
SUPER SET WITH
Shoulder press machine 20 rep

Rest 90 seconds and repeat 2 more times.

Know this.....

You might have heard that a pound of muscle burns 30 or 40 or 50 calories a day, however most research has proven this to be false. A pound of muscle burns approximately 7-10 calories a day compared to a pound of fat which burns about 2-3 calories. So if you replace a pound of fat with muscle you can burn up to 5 times as many calories a day!

Side Planks

One of the better abdominal exercises that not many people do are side planks. Start by lying on your side, legs together, feet stacked. .Bend your bottom arm and make sure your elbow is underneath your shoulder and place the other hand on your hip. Use your abs to elevate your hips and hold at the top. Start with whatever you can do and work your way up to 1-2 minutes. This is a great exercise to hit your obliques without putting much stress on the spine.

H4 Fat Burner #1

Here is a way to burn fat and calories fast. Make sure you set up all 3 of these exercises near each other for time purposes. The goal of this routine is to get as many rounds as you can in 5 minutes. Move through each exercise at a good pace but still under control.The workout is below:

Seated row 10 reps
SUPER SET WITH
Walking lunges with dumbbells 8 each side
SUPER SET WITH
Pushups 10 reps

Go through this for 5 minutes straight. Rest for 1 minute only and repeat this 2-3 more times. Try and see how many rounds you can do each 5 minute block.

Stuff you should eat-PB

Peanut butter is something you should be eating if your trying to add muscle. It is high in protein, has good fats and will fill you up. Peanut butter on whole wheat, in your shakes, with pretzels or on apples, basically peanut butter on a bumper would be good. Try and buy natural to avoid chemicals and additives.

Death by legs

This is brutal.......nothing else needs to be said. Make sure you have a spotter but if not set the pins so you wont drop the bar. Here is the setup:

Barbell squat ( parallel to the floor ) 15 reps

SUPER SET WITH

Leg Press 15 reps

Rest 2 minutes and repeat 3 more times.

Seriously? Dont.

Load up the bench press bar with more weight than you can just to look big. Your not going to get big by bringing the bar halfway down and back up. You don't look big or strong, just dumb. Leave your ego at the door and do the exercise right.

Killer tricep combo

Dips and close grip bench press are probably the two best exercises you can do for your triceps so why not super set them together for the ultimate workout. The workout is as follows:

Close grip bench press 6-8reps
SUPER SET WITH
Dips 10 reps

Rest 90 seconds and repeat 3-4 more times

GVT- German Volume Training

One of the best ways to grow your biceps is to do GVT training. I find the best method is to use the EZ curl bar ( the one that is curved ) and use it to perform seated preacher curls. You will be using about 50-60% of your 1 rep max. Your goal is to complete 10 sets of 10 reps resting only 1 minute between sets. Do not slack on the rest, 1 minute only! This routine is best done with a partner because if you pick the right weight you should have trouble finishing the last 3 sets or so. Odds are your arms will be sore for 2-3 days with most of the pain towards the bottom end of the bicep. This routine creates heavy damage to your muscle cells so make sure you don't do any back or biceps work till 3 days after this. ENJOY THE PAIN AND THANK THE GERMANS!

H4 Favorites-#1

Mix 1 nutrition drinks are really good! They are 100% natural and they use nothing but the best ingredients. They have 5 different flavors, berry and mango are my favorites. You can find them at Whole Foods, most Jewel-Osco stores and online. Check it out! http://www.mix1life.com/home.aspx

Legendary Lats

Lats are the key to giving you that coveted ''V'' look that every guy strives for. A great combo is supersetting an isometric lat pulldown with a regular lat pulldown. To begin grab the bar and pull it all the way down to the bottom part of the movement. From here hold the bar in place by squeezing your lats and driving your shoulder blades down into the floor. Hold this position for 20 seconds. Once the 20 seconds is up let the bar all the way up and now go ahead and do as many regular reps as you can. The isometric hold at the beginning allows you to hit more muscle fibers, as much as 10% more!

Girls meet weights.....Weights meet girls

Girls if you want a body like Jessica...you need to be lifting weights. I cant tell you how many women say they want to look toned and lean and "just like celebrities''. The most fit women in Hollywood are lifting weights not running on treadmills. Don't worry you wont get big or bulky. If your a women and you are planning on eating boat loads of calories, lifting very very heavy, and taking steroids..well then you might worry about getting big, but I doubt that is any of you out there, it fact I know that is not what any of you are doing. Message here is YOU WONT GET BULKY. Muscle actually takes up less space than fat and is more compact. Its simple, muscle=higher metabolism=toned and lean!!!

Post workout nutrition

This is one of the most important things to be considering! After you complete your workout you have a window of 45 minutes- 1 hour to ingest both protein and carbs. Whey protein is best since it will be digested the quickest and get into your system fast. Don't forget about the carbs, they are equally important if not more so. The carbs will act like a transport device and help deliver nutrients into the muscles. Eating carbs after your workout will also help prevent your body from breaking down existing protein in the body.

Post workout ideas:

1. Protein shake and banana


2. Peanut butter sandwich or turkey sandwich on whole grain


3. Sports drink+ protein mixed in

Big triceps please

Triceps pushdowns, and more triceps pushdowns until your blue in the face wont get you big triceps. To get the most growth out of your triceps you must go with close grip presses. Close grip presses allow you to hit more muscle fibers and therefore stimulate more growth. The key to the exercise is to keep your arms tight to your body and don't let your elbows flare out all which will take the stress off your triceps. So the next time you actually want to get some growth, drop the pushdowns and grab a bar!

1/2 your chest into growth

If your like the rest of the world you mostly do the same bench press routine every time you are at the gym. This is a great technique to blast your chest into new growth! You see the bottom portion of the bench press is when your chest in most activated as you get closer to the lockout position your triceps start to take over. To get a big chest you need to hit the chest and this will hit the bottom portion of the movement extra hard. To execute, begin by taking the bar off the rack and let the bar go all the way down to your chest, from here push the bar half way up and then let it all the way back down to the bottom and then finish the moment by pushing the bar all the way up to the top until your arms are fully extended. This whole sequence is just 1 rep. I would suggest using lighter weight than you would for your normal bench press.

Welcome!

Check out my blog for workout tips, exercises, routines, and nutrition advice and everything in between! Feel free to leave comments and I will respond.