Friday

Somedays when you are feeling run down or something is just "off" that day, it's best to get into the gym and do the important work. After get home and recovering, the gym will always be there.

Training:
Squat 5x3
Bench 5x3
Chin ups 3x8


Thats what I call a dumbbell. It weighs 300 lbs.

Wednesday

Summer is coming and I train seasonally.

Training:
Squat 5x3
Press 5x3
Power clean 3x5

Monday

Last week so please finish it strong.

Training:
Squat 5x3
Bench 5x3
Pull-ups 3x10

Friday

“At the peak of tremendous and victorious effort, while the blood is pounding in your head, all suddenly becomes quiet within you. Everything seems clearer and whiter than ever before, as if great spotlights had been turned on. At that moment, you have the conviction that you contain all the power in the world, that you are capable of everything, that you have wings. There is no more precious moment in life than this, the white moment, and you will work very hard for years just to taste it again.”

- Yuri Vlasov, Soviet Weightlifter

Training:
Deadlift 3x3
Rest 5-10 minutes
Run 6x400 meters
Rest 2 minutes between intervals

Thursday

This is my 450th post of this blog, this equates to almost 450 workouts, I'm sure I had some random posts in the beginning a couple of years ago. What I have come to learn about health and fitness is that deep down it's about much more. I firmly believe that to live life fully, growth mentally, spiritually, and physically must be ongoing. What is the preferred method for this? In my humble opinion the vehicle to drive this is fitness. Goals are easily set within the context of fitness but will certainly be very challenging. When we meet and over come challenges and achieve goals, we grow, inside and out. There is no end to how far we can take ourselves. Smashing goals and overcoming set backs will certainly make life easier and more fulfilling. Thank you for following the blog, I hope you get as much out of it as I have.

Training:
Squat 5x3
Bench 5x3

Tuesday

There is some confusion regarding what high intensity interval training (HIIT) is and how it is different than high intensity circuit training. HIIT constitutes a intense period of exercise followed by a rest period to allow some recover to occur. During a high intensity circuit the goal is to bomb through the circuit as fast as possible. Due to the rest in the HIIT workout the intensity can be maintained throughout the training session or at least very close, whereas during a circuit, intensity will start to take noticeable drops until completed. Both are beneficial in a training program, just program well enough that intensity remains high in either case.

Training:
Power clean 3x5
Rest 5- 10 minutes
5 swings left arm
5 swings right arm
5 snatches left arm
5 snatches right arm
10 burpees
Rest 1 minute
5 rounds for time

Monday

A month into this strength block and everyone should still be rocking and rolling and adding weight every time they get under the bar. One principle, out of the many I have, is to start light. This tends to freak some people out as they feel they will become weaker. However most people have been spinning their wheels in the weight room and not making gains at all anyway so setting them up for success is easy when we start light. This leaves ample time to get strong, whereas if they start too heavy they will stall and regress sooner than later. Other trainers call it an "ego check", I call it training smart.

Training:
Squat 5x3
Press 5x3
Pull-ups 3 x 8

Friday

Keep a training journal. In order to track progress accurately, weights, reps and sets will need to be recorded along with the date the training was performed. Most people have a hard time remembering all their weights and in lots of cases end up repeating the same workouts over and over again. As we know once the body has adapted to a stimulus, a new stimulus needs to be introduced before gains in fitness occur. A properly updated journal can also give insights as to where a athlete started and how far they have come. I like to look through my old workouts to see what I did and how well it may or may not of worked. I have a journal that goes back to 2005 and there is some very valuable information for me to dig through. It's a cheap but effective tool.

Training:
Squat 5x3
Press 5x3
Chin-ups 3 x max reps


I met her at my job in the Military, gave her a tour and later found out who she is.

Wednesday

There is no "perfect" workout program, we cannot improve every aspect of our fitness and body at the same time. No matter what a website or magazine tells us, the fact will remain that in order to greatly improve one aspect of fitness, something will suffer. This is fine, too many people get into a big rush about wanting to improve massively and be awesome at everything right now. There are an infinite amount of programs that promise huge gains in 2-6 weeks, what about 2-6 years? Why not look at training as a career that spans years and decades and not weeks and months. Patience is a virtue.

Training:
Squat 5x3
Bench 5x3
Deadlift 5x1

Monday

A sound mind in a sound body. Numerous studies show that diet and exercise relieve stress and help to build confidence and self esteem. These studies were done with a basic diet and exercise program and mostly did not delve deep into a more structured and effective approach. I fully agree with these studies and have seen with my own eyes the transformation someone will go through when properly coached and supported. The devil is in the details here, my clients always set their own short, medium and long term goals and I have general goals for everyone I train. As a trainer I know that my clients do need to be at a certain point physically to achieve their goals, it just helps the process move smoother and quicker. When clients start achieving these goals their confidence grows and the belief in themselves begin to solidify. I am often known to say to my clients, "You may not think you can do it, but I know you can." That is just part of the support I use to guide them to their personal goals. I don't judge other trainers by what they can do physically, but what they have helped their clients achieve.

Training:
Squat 5x3
Press 5x3
Pull-ups 3 x max reps

Friday

"Make do" -- the Legion. Train with what you have, consistency and patience will trump the most "advanced" training program.

Training:
Deadlift 5x1
Rest 5-10 minutes
5x400 meter run
Rest 2 minutes between intervals

Thursday

Building the muscle. This past week or so I have posted information as to why the everyday person would benefit from building muscle and strength. With this always comes the question "Will I get fat eating to get big and strong?" The answer is no, with a small caveat. The caveat is yes fat gain will happen when a serious bulking endeavour is taken. However the fat gain will be small compared to the muscle built. This advice is for the guys reading, ladies I feel you should eat to recover and build muscle, but ladies need to be a little more careful as fat gain can happen very quickly. The pic of me is weighing about 212 lbs, I wouldn't say I'm fat.

Training:
Squat 5x3
Bench 5x3

Tuesday

Power is the rate that one can exert force. It relates to muscle size, the rate the nervous system can activate the muscles, muscle coordination, and how well chemical factors within the muscles withstand the onset of fatigue.

Training:
Power clean 3x5
Rest 5-10 minutes
50 swings
50 push-ups
50 sit-ups
50 squats
Fast as possible

Monday

Bones. Bone is a connective tissue, it's made up of both organic and inorganic tissue. Bones, like all the other systems in the human body, react and adapt to exercise. Multi-joint, compound movements such as squats and bench press's put stress on bones and when allowed to recover, they grow denser and stronger. Stronger bones heal quicker and stay healthier into old age. The media says to drink milk for strong bones and I'm saying to do your squats for even stronger bones.

Training:
Squat 5x3
Press 5x3
Pull-ups 3 x max reps



P.S. Keep drinking that whole milk