2 Reasons the average gym goer doesn’t need to isolate the front deltoid

It’s common place to see people doing front raises in the gym, even though for them it’s essentially a pointless exercise.

I’m not saying it’s a bad exercise, far from it, some top lifters need it as an assistance movement for what ever specific reason, however the average gym goer who has a program heavily biased towards pressing and anterior chain movements DOES NOT need to be doing front raises.

Before we go on let us have a look at some of the exercises that recruit the front deltoid.

• Presses (pretty much all of them)
• Bear crawls
• Planks
• Sled pushing

The main function of the anterior deltoid is shoulder flexion — lifting your arm up and to the front of your body. So any movement that involves this hits it, make a note.

That’s the first reason you don’t need to isolate this muscle.

The second is because daily life is heavily anterior chain dominant, here is a short list of daily living movements that cause a short/tight/over worked front delt and also high pecs too.

• Sitting at a desk
• Eating
• Driving
• Playing computer games
• Putting things on shelves

You get the idea. Life is heavily biased towards overworking what are known as ‘tonic muscles’ of the body and rarely have you stimulating the phasic ones (posterior chain).

For the average person Id recommend having some form of reverse fly in every session and perhaps a lateral raise movement in each pressing session, I can’t remember the exact studies, I apologise, however on average the lateral delt has 2/3 the development of the front and the rear was barely scraping 1/3 of the front delts growth.

You’d also do well to chuck in face pulls, bat wings (isometric holds) and resistance band pull apart drills in your daily life (say 50 pull-aparts per hour and 60 seconds bat wing).

This simple information will help you balance the entire shoulder, it will also help improve your posture and look 100% better, no one likes a round shouldered look, its weak and prone to injury.

Enjoy,

Ross

Lift, Lift, LIFT!

“I want to be big and strong”

 

^^ A sentence many a man has said over the years and continues to say to this day.

 

“I want to be lean and strong”

 

^^ Something I’m pleased to announce more women are saying, it seems there has been a shift in them saying ‘I just want to be skinny’ to now learning the benefit of being lean and strong, it’s great to see.

 

While it is only my opinion, I feel everybody should be strong.

 

I’m not talking about record breaking strong, just strong enough to stay healthy and stave off the effects of ageing on the body.

 

These sports all centre around lifting:

 

– Weightlifting (olympic lifting)

– Body Building

– Powerlifting

– Strongman

– CrossFit (some may not like this one)

 

Did you know lifting weights can have the following positive effects on the body:

 

– Improved bone density

– Ligament/tendon health

– Delayed sarcopenia

– Hormonal benefits: Higher testosterone, better insulin regulation, more growth hormone, lower cortisol to name a few

– Lowers body fat (great for improving health)

– A higher TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, more calories burnt in a day)

– Increased strength for sport/daily life

– A boost in confidence

– Looking better naked (the most important benefit, obviously)

 

Those are only some of the benefits, there are numerous more.

 

Personally I’d say the mental improvement is the pivotal one as this can have the biggest impact on a persons life in a very positive way.

 

However….

 

If you’re not an athlete and lift for health/confidence you should do it because you enjoy it, not because you feel you have to, that’s the secret to balance and long term sustainability.

 

Don’t eat yourself up if you miss a session, chalk it up to life and sue it as a rest day, that way you’ll be more motivated when you get to go in, excited to train in fact. Keep this in mind and you’ll find you don’t fall out of love with training.

 

What if lifting isn’t for you?

 

That’s cool, find soothing you do enjoy, here are some other options for improving strength and all achieving all the other benefits mentioned above:

 

– Calisthenics: bodyweight/movement training, loads of fun

– Martial Arts

– Gym Classes

– Track & field

– Kettlebells (sport or hard style)

– Climbing/outdoor sports

 

There are almost endless options.

 

Find something you enjoy, training shouldn’t be a chore.

 

Now go, have fun and make progress.

 

Ross.

2 Gems of Wisdom

I was reading ‘can you go’ by Dan John last night.

 

It’s not a bad read, some nice simple advice and it also gives you a way to see things in a broader perspective when it comes to fitness/nutrition and goal setting.

 

Two things in particular have stood from the pages turned last night.

 

The first point:

 

– If you only had 3 slots of 15min to work out each week to help you achieve your goal, what would you do?

 

A very interesting point to make.

 

The premise behind it was to help people see what was not only necessary but more importantly essential to achieving success.

 

Now you will get a lot of people who immediately jump up and down saying things like “I can;t even warm up in that time.” or “I’d do nothing, it wouldn’t be worth it.” – both of which are actually valid points, however that’s not the purpose of the question.

 

The purpose is one of gaining clarity and prioritising what a person NEEDS to do sos that they actually improve, over what they WANT to do.

 

So who would you use those three 15min slots?

 

For me it would be something like this:

 

Workout 1:

A1 – Squat

A2 – Kettlebell Clean & Press with Load Carry walk

 

Workout 2:

A1 – Deadlift

A2 – Weighted Dip

 

 

Workout 3:

A1 – Clean & Jerk

A2 – Weighted Pull Up

 

1-6 reps depending on the how I felt and crack out as many rounds of each pairing as possible in those 15min.

 

A follow-up from the above.

 

Given what you have just written down, are you doing those things and if not, why not?

 

Surely you should be doing them if they are that important, right…

 

The second point is a nice simple one.

 

– The first step to success is showing up. The second is continuing to show up.

 

A humble lesson in consistency.

 

Let’s say, like above, you can only do 3x15min sessions, if you kept showing up for all of them for an extended period of time you’d get better results in the long run than someone who train intermittently and you’d immediately get better results than those who never start.

 

As a species we are actually quite lazy, don’t worry though, it’s a survival mechanism. We always look to find an easier more productive way to do something, so it’s not all bad because it’s helped us survive over the years.

 

When it comes to the journey of lifting, life & nutrition however, you need to have absolute adherence and plan the coming days accordingly.

 

So tell me, what would you do in your 3x15min sessions a week?

 

Enjoy,

Ross

More Energy in 2 Easy Tips

Typically when people feel lethargic they will jack up on things such as coffee, red bull or other forms or energy drink/supplement, however we will give you two tips that will not only perk you up but also reduce your need for the standard crutches.

 

It’s also worth remembering that energy drinks especially can contain a massive amount of excess calories that you and your waistline don’t need in your life.

 

1 – Drink More Water, adding in a dissolvable multivitamin is a good idea as well. Some ice cold water will also perk you up as well.

 

2 – Take 10second Breaths – in/out – remember to breath right tint o the depths of your diaphragm. This will help wake you up and also energise you in a surprising way, try it and be amazed.

 

Bouns – Eat less high sugar/low fibre foods. The typical high sugar snack for a quick perk of energy will leave you crashing with in the hour and seeking out more snack of the same kin, which also means more excess calories you don’t need.

Well Wouldn’t You Know…

Nutriton…

What people think it is:

– Strict 1000 Calorie Diets of Chicken, Broccoli and Rice everyday.
– Only Filled by ‘Good’ Foods….
– No Social Life. 

What it actually is:

– Specific to your individual goal (required Calories/Macros).
– Specific to your needs as an individual (As above).
– Filled with any food you choose*

*Unless you have a specific allergy or intolerance, then probably best avoid those. Remember, food being good or bad is subjective. Too much of anything can be bad just like too little of anything can also be bad.).

Why do body builders, athletes and alike eat super strict? (except for refeed days) Because it’s specific to their goal at that specific time, they don’t live like this.

If you don’t enjoy your nutrition and it hampers your life then chances are it’s not right for you.

Context is the key.

Ross

Start Behaving

Morning All, 

 

If you want to make a change then the first thing you need to do is look at what behaviour caused to to be in your current situation and sort that first.

 

Behaviour is a key component of change, in fact having the right behaviour will make all the difference because without it you’re essentially wasting your time.

 

If we were to say that your goal is to become accomplished in bouldering, how would you do it? It’s pretty obvious, you would start learning the skills required and begin practicing several times per week perhaps building up to even a daily basis. Why would you do this? That’s easy, without practice you wouldn’t get any better.

 

The same it true for building towards a promotion at work, you will do more of what you need to do so that you can succeed. Given that simple logic, why isn’t fitness/heath seen the same way?

 

Baffling, ins’t it.

 

The secret to achieving anything isn’t really a secret, it’s common sense. Change the way you behave and you will change the results you get. Simple.

 

Now you know what to do, grab a piece of paper and write in 250 words or less what behaviour you NEED to help you achieve your goal and how you will make the necessary changes required.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

Setting Up to Fail

“Is getting results really as hard as you’re making out or are you just setting up your excuses for failure because you don’t want to do what needs to be done and make a lifestyle change?”

A good quote. Sadly it is very true and a lot of people will make their excuses before any real effort has been put in so that when they fail they have valid reasons as to why it wasn’t their fault. Now don’t get me wrong, there are times where people do find themselves pushing a boulder up hill, here are a few:

• Genuine Medical/Genetic/Debilitating conditions
• Severe injury from an accident or illness
• Life falls apart because your significant other runs off with their receptionist while simultaneously clearing out your bank accounts, while you also become jobless, homeless and living with hyenas

Apart form those reasons the reason typically is people don’t want to make the changes they need to make, along with having the wrong attitude. Harsh but true.

If you want results that will last follow these simple tips:

• Change your mindset
• Accept life will change (for the better)
• Be consistent

Change is never easy but you’ll often find it’s necessary.

Enjoy, Ross.

Start Behaving.

Self Coaching.

Did you know that there is technically no need to hire a coach, although t’s highly recommended. You can in fact be your own coach, all you need is the right tools, knowledge and application of them to make the life style changes you need.

There will be 3 things covered in the next few posts to help you achieve this, be sure to check back for more. We all know that there must be a goal but often the means of HOW to achieve this goal are not really taken in to account, this is where our first strategy comes in to play.

1 – Outcome & Behaviour Setting

The title might seem confusing but the overall premise and application are quite easy. First up you need to set your outcome, then the behaviours you will undergo that week to achieve said outcome. Now this will be done on multiple endeavours each week, however you also make this a long term goal setting process as well.

– Outcome: Lose 10% Body Fat – Write specific date to accomplish task, this is the end game.

Behaviours:
– This Month I will: Attend the gym consistently, Track my calories accurately, Keep a consistent diary.

– This Week I will: Do 2 Strength Sessions, 2 CV sessions, achieve a 3500-5000 calorie deficit, track my progress.

– Today I will: Update my nutrition calorie tracking and achieve a 350-500 calorie deficit through food, perform 60minute of productive exercise in the gym and track the estimate effort and caller expenditure, eat 4 meals consisting of whole foods.

The structure is simple, as you can see. All you need do is write your Outcome followed by the 3 actions for behaviour – Month/Week/Day and stick to them. Take some time and write out the first desired outcome, then update the monthly/weekly/daily behaviour as needed.

Enjoy, Ross

Sunken Cost

Morning Guys,

 

    Do you fall victim to the time you’ve invested in something? You know, like a personal project, business acquisition, unprogressive exercise program or expensive fad diet?

 

    I have, as have many others like me and it took a while to admit it but once that step was taken there was nowhere left to hide and accepting the mistake of investing too much time in something that is going nowhere.

 

    It’s common place to see people cling on to things they’ve invested time, effort, money and emotion in because to let such a thing go would cause the ego to receive a fairly hefty blow, but sometimes you need to let go of things that are doomed. After all, how many times have you, yourself, invested in something that has failed dramatically and refused to let it go? More than once I am willing to bet.

 

    The technical term for this is ‘Sunken Cost Fallacy’ and if you look around you will see it claims many a victim because of ego & pride. I am not saying you shouldn’t give new ventures, workouts or nutrition protocols a chance, far from it. I am saying you will simply need to be ready and willing to let one of them go if they are yielding demonising returns, which you should be able to see by the tracking systems you have in places to monitor your progression, obviously.

 

    Take a look at your current lifestyle and see if you can spot any particular endeavours that need to be removed from the fray and get rid of them for something more lucrative. I promise you will become more productive and far less stressed if you do.

 

Enjoy, Ross

You’re Not Alone

Body Confidence Issues…

Have you or are you plagued by them?

These issues are becoming more and more common, or at least more openly spoken about because they’re more accepted in our modern times.

    It can be hard to accept that we are not the people we once were and as a result we need to let go of certain demons that we have held onto so that we can move forwards to a better place.

Nutrition often plays a large part when it comes to body confidence issues, usually because people have come from a place (being overweight for example) and stripped out lots of foods and perhaps lost a large amount of weight in what is a less than optimal way. These people then become enamoured with fear because they don’t want to go backwards, thus developing a negative association with food. Not to mention they still seem themselves as they always did or they still have the negative words from people floating around (bullying is often common), the can’t shake the image of what they were, even if they are now what they desired to be initially.

When it comes to a negative self image we are sorry to say that there is no magic pill that we can offer. You have to find it in yourself to let go of the negative thoughts and learn to be happy for what you have achieved, even if people who once told you you weight too much and to lose weight are now saying your too thin and to gain weight, just ignore them. You must love you for who you are and be happy for yourself. Stop letting the influence of others (positive or negative) have so much hold over you, accept the positive, dismiss the negative to jealousy and never forget that how you look, what you do or what others think do not define you as a person. Be proud of your achievements.

Mental health and how it is affected is not spoken about enough in the realms of fitness, or that’s how many feel anyway. Fitness is like a pendulum, it starts one end and swings right tot he other, it’s different for everyone but just remember that it will level out eventually. This post is not to ‘cure’ this problem because it will be done differently for each individual, it’s simply want to make you aware that you’re not alone because lots of people feel the same and we understand you. The next time you feel alone, just remember you’re not and if needed you can always find someone to share your burden and listen, like me, I’m just like you :).

Stop trying to please everyone else, be selfish and be happy for you. Im the words of Ralph:

“I’m bad, and that’s good. I will never be good, and that’s not bad. There’s no one I’d rather be then me.”

Enjoy, Ross.