Halloween random thoughts.....

• New take on deviled eggs-A friend of mine Brian Barkely introduced me to his version of this traditional dish. Take hard boiled eggs and remove the yolk just like you would for deviled eggs. Next, spoon in red pepper hummus into the empty eggs and dash on some paprika. It is the red pepper hummus that really does it. Not only is this better for you than the classic deviled egg it can be a great high protein snack.

• When doing straight arm pull downs. try using a V shaped or curved bar to get better activation on the lats.

• Your hamstrings respond best to low reps and your glutes respond best to medium to high reps.

• Want quick advice to drop weight and lean out? Cut out the 3 whites. White bread, white salt and white flour.
  

• Love Emeralds cocoa roast dark chocolate dusted almonds. Taste great and basically no sugar.As always with nuts watch out for the fat and calories of course.

• Some motivation for you- Rocky 4 training montage...might be the best ever

Strip set for the leg press

Most experts believe that the quads need high reps and time under tension to hypertrophy. Strip sets will allow you get a high amount of reps as well as place your muscles under a long period of tension. To start pile on the leg press with a weight you can do 10 reps with while keeping quality form. The 10th rep should be really difficult. Once you finish your 10 reps, have a partner strip off a plate off each side and without rest get as many reps as you can to failure. Next, strip off another plate from each side again and go until failure. Repeat this process until you no longer can finish. Some can get down until you are just pressing the sled itself.

* Notes- If you don't have a partner just strip the plates yourself but make sure to move fast. Remember leg presses in this manner can cause your blood pressure to skyrocket so be careful if you have high blood pressure to begin with.

Quick 3 considerations for fat loss

1) Your workouts need to be frequent- I realize this is obvious but it needs to happen if you want the best results. Working out more frequently will give you a more elevated metabolic rate therefore you will burn more calories.

2) Training sessions need to be under 45 minutes-You have to remember that you will be starting each workout in a energy deficit since you will be cutting your calories on a fat loss plan. The fact that your energy levels will be lower wont allow you to keep up a high intensity workout for anything over 45 minutes or so. I by no means am saying not to push it however! If your workouts are designed well enough then by the 45 minute mark you should be gassed anyways.

3) Center your workouts around exercises that are the most effective for fat loss-Some exercises are just better suited for fat loss more than others are. Any multi-joint exercise will usually reign supreme. Below are some of the money exercises that should be included in any stud fat loss program.

Any variations of the below exercises works of course
*Deadlifts
*Pull-ups ( or any full body pull like inverted rows, chins )
* Push presses, presses in general
* Squats
*Step-ups
* Cleans

GO DOMINATE!

3 rep schemes for new muscle growth!

1. Tempo Contrast -This is when you alternate between fast and slow tempos during one set. This hurts really bad trust me. Example would be doing 8 reps of curls like this:

Rep 1-Lower the weight for 6 seconds, and then lift the weight up with for a 4 second count

Rep2-Lower the weight for 6 seconds, and then lift the weight up with for a 4 second count

Rep 3-Explosive ( fast as you can )

Rep 4-Explosive ( fast as you can )

Rep 5-Lower the weight for 6 seconds, and then lift the weight up with for a 4 second count

Rep 6-Lower the weight for 6 seconds, and then lift the weight up with for a 4 second count

Rep 7-Explosive ( fast as you can )

Rep 8- Explosive ( fast as you can )

**Do about 3-4 sets like this


2. The 8x3 Method-Generally you think heavy weight with low reps is only for strength but you can build muscle with this method as well. The key is the multiple sets. Doing multiple sets with heavy weight targets type IIB muscle fibers which are the ones with the greatest growth potential.Here is how you do it:

* Perform 8 sets of 3 reps with heavy weight
* Don't train to complete failure ( you should be able to do a 4th rep, but you will stop at 3 )
*Keep rest periods at about 1 minute

3.Isometric/Dynamic method-This is when you add a pause into each rep. Isometric contractions can allow you to recruit up to 10% more muscle fibers than dynamic lifts. This really works good with isolation exercises. My favorite is to do this with seated rows. You would perform a regular row and then hold the contraction at the back end and try to squeeze your shoulder blades. Below is how it would look:

Rep 1-10 sec pause
Rep 2-8 sec pause
Rep 3-6 second pause
Rep 4-4 second pause
Rep 5- 2 second pause
Rep 6-no pause

Random thoughts....

• I will give you the biggest secret to getting the best results you have ever seen.....ready..........here it is- WORK HARD, STAY FOCUSED AND KEEP MENTALLY STRONG. That's it, seems really simple and it is, just hard to execute it and that is were people fail.

• Fix your own oatmeal-More and more people seem to be getting their oatmeal from fast food joints and restaurants when it is super simple to do themselves. Buy a quality brand from Whole Foods/Trader Joe's and cook it in the microwave briefly ( I know microwaves are awful but just deal ) and then add sliced almond,dried natural cranberries and top it with some cinnamon. BOOM DONE!

• 2 things to focus on for losing weight and getting lean-VEGGIES and PROTEIN.
  

• Take a break from deadlifting and squatting and start doing single leg versions of both. Start off with body weight of each and work on form. Benefits are less stress on the lumbar spine, improves the musculature around the knee and stability.

• Check out this motivational video-

3 Splits I like for hypertrophy

Here are some of my favorite splits to use when designing your training program with a goal of gaining lean muscle mass. Some these might not be that common but with my clients and myself I have found them to yield good results.

Split A ( this gives really good balance and lets the legs have plenty of recovery time between sessions)


M- Push/Pull ** Always aim for at least 2-1 ratio of pull to push work
T-Legs
W-Arms
Th-Push/Pull
F-Legs
S-Arms
Su-OFF

Split B ( Hit the legs right from the get go. Back gets a second day compared to just one chest day to help and correct typical imbalance between push and pull . The single chest day should be high volume since that is all you will do for the week)

M-Legs
T-Bi/Back
W-Tri/Chest
Th-Legs
F-Bi/Back ( biceps/triceps can be interchangeable depending on your weak area ) S-OFF
Su-OFF


Split C ( Here I pair lesser common groupings of biceps with chest and triceps with back. Thought is that you get more workload since these pairings don't effect one another. Every other week you can shift which pairing you do twice. Week 1-Back/Tri 2x......Week 2 Chest/Bi 2x )

M-Back/Tri
T-Legs
W-Chest/Bi
Th-Legs
F-Back/Tri
S-OFF
Su-OFF

H4 Fat Burner # 17- Simple 6 exercise routine

Get your dynamic warm up in before starting this
A1) Barbell twist shoulder press ( watch the third exercise in the below video )-8 reps per arm
*http://www.youtube.com/user/H4training#p/u/16/ZoOmokj-t5A
A2) Kettlebell or Dumbbell deadlift-10 reps

Do 4 straight rounds without rest then move into B

B1) Inverted row-10 reps
B2) Cable rope backward "sled drags " ( Put the cable pulley at the very bottom and attach a rope. Facing the cable grab the rope and keeping your arms straight with a slight bend walk backwards away from the cable trying to push through the floor. Walk as far back as the weight stack allows before you walk slowly back in. This would equal 1 rep)-4 reps

Do 4 straight rounds without rest then move into C

C1) Rear foot elevated spilt squat ( elevate the back foot on a bench and place your front foot out in front of you. Start in the bottom position with your back knee on the ground and under your hip. Grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them on your side while you stand up to a tall position)-8 reps per side
C2) Cable standing chops ( put the cable at just below chest height and keeping hips and lower body locked )-15 reps each side

Do 4 straight rounds without rest


Now go back and do 3 rounds of each of the 3 combinations. Then go back and do 2 rounds of each, then go and do 1 round of each.

** You could also start at 3 and work your way down to 1 instead of starting with 4 sets.

Eat better at work-7 strategies

1) Load up on healthy foods over the weekend- if you have it in your house you will have no excuse not to have food around to bring the next day. Odds are you might not have time to run back and forth to the store so get your food in one shot.

2) Make extra-When you cook dinner, cook extra for yourself to bring the next day. Not only will you save money by not eating out but you will save some extra pounds of your body.

3) Keep healthy snacks-Don't load up your desk with candy and chips, but instead with nuts, string cheese, healthy bars, yogurt and so on. What is in reach will be what you eat.

4) Look ahead when you eat out-If you must go out to eat then do your research ahead of time. Everyone has that bit of time at work when they read Facebook and other sites, so instead read the menus of local places and figure out your healthiest options. Look for:

* Lean meats
* Broth-based soups
* Greens with olive oil and vinegar dressings

5) Eat away from your desk-It has been shown people eat more when they sit down and eat at their desk. Eating at your desk will lead you to ignore fullness signals from your body making it easier to overeat.

6) Set a goal-How often will you bring your lunch is a good starting goal.

7) Eat breakfast! This is the start of your work day. Eat breakfast and you eat less throughout the day end of story.

Quick giant set bicep routine

This routine goes from heavy weight and low reps to lighter weight and higher reps and ends with an isometric hold. The goal is to stress the biceps at every rep range. If done correctly and at the right weight and intensity 1 set should be plenty since it adds to 45 total reps. Go 2 rounds if you dare.

A1)Lying Bicep curls ( set up low cable pulley at the bottom and attach a straight bar. Lying on your back on the floor perform a curl)-8 reps with heavy weight

A2) Standing barbell curl with wide grip-10 reps

A3) Seated alternating bicep curls with dumbbells-12 reps each arm

A4) Standing band curls ( place a band under your feet and curl for speed )-15 reps **this will be tough trust me

A5) Chin-up isometric hold ( get into the top position of the chin-up and squeeze and hold until you can't hold on ) Done!