Sweet Jeezus! I've had this blog post editor in front of me for about 20mins now and I've still got nothing. I did have a few scraps of ideas but by the time I got logged on, all I could think about was how many bowls of pasta and chicken I've eaten in the past 3 weeks.
I've written many times about gainning weight. I even have an article on my website. HERE
But what I'm dropping on you right now is fresh. Fresh as in, been discovered by me in the last 6 months.
1) Eating to gain weight is WAY EASIER than eating to lose fat. When eating to lose, I've never had to force feed myself bowls of rice to the point of gagging. I've never become so sick of eating that even junk food doesn't get my appetite going., Fuck... a phone call threw me off! Anyways, eating to gain weight is tough.
2) Going through "food cycles" seems to help me get through. For a while I was just raw doggin' the rice and chicken with soya sauce and hot sauce. Things started to grind to a halt. I could barely even look at a bowl of rice. Then I discovered Korean BBQ sauce. It worked wonders, I hit 5th gear again and was pounding meals like a champ. I "cycled" the Korean BBQ for about 8 weeks and then hit the wall. Can't stand it, hate the smell, the taste, the goddamn picture on the bottle.
So now I'm on a hard cycle of pasta and red sauce. It's been going down pretty good. I can even trick myself by swithcing up the shapes of the noodles. This week is bowties. Who knows until I gag at the thought of pasta.
3) Work and other isssues will try and stop you from eating. Fuck that! I take a cooler everywhere and this morning I was shoveling oatmeal into my face while training a client. You do what needs to be done. But just be aware of the pitfalls that try and take you back to skinny land.
4) I'm pretty much out of mojo now.
As always, I will attempt to spruce up my sub-par posts with entertaining videos.
I know Greg enjoys them, as I usually am greeted with a funny quote from the most recent clips.
I want to set this next one up a bit, as I've posted it on other forums and it drew some confusion. It is a parody of a Blink 182 song from a while back. It's performed by band called taintstick. Yes, I said TAINT. The members of taintstick are also the cast of the "Ellismate Show" that I enjoy listening to on Satellite radio. If you've ever followed the "Jason Ellis Show" you will thoroughly enjoy this.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Ultimate Fitness Push/Pull Meet 2009
So the 2009 version of the Ultimate Fitness Bench Press and Deadlift competition was a great success. 17 Lifters participated in the event, that was held at the Ultimate Fitness Arnprior Location.
The thing that has made the biggest impact on me is that we had 11 Ultimate Fitness members lifting in the competition. And to top it off, 8 of the 11 UF lifters were women. That's right, the ladies were out in full force. All of them for the first time in competition. Before I move onto the guys and the stats, I again just want to point out that these girls came out and didn't care whether or not they were "strong enough" for our meet or going to get beat. (which is exactly why we only had 3 guys)
Huge props to our UF ladies.
Jayne Major (Ladies Winner) 95lb bench, 225 D/L
Angie Burgess (2nd) 105 bench, 280 D/L
Tracy Alf (Tie 3rd) 120 bench, 280 D/L
Hilda Siegel (tie 3rd) 105 bench, 225 D/L
Melanie Liard 105 bench, 260 D/L
Kerri Dunsmore 85 bench, 185 D/L
Ellynne Dickson 140 bench, 175 D/L
Kirstin Martel 95 bench, 205 D/L
We had 3 UF men swing the axe on Sunday. David Droeske, Dane Blimkie and Keith Kapow. Dave and Kapowski are seasoned vets but for Dane "Vomit" Blimkie, it was the first time in a meet. The guys represented well putting up some great numbers and getting some PR's in the process. We also had 6 men visiting from outside the walls of Ultimate Fitness.
Here's how the men's side unfolded.
Raw Men
Darren Mallette (Winner) Bench 340, D/L 585
Nick Morneau (2nd) Bench 350, D/L 600
Keith Kapow (3rd) Bench 315, D/L 545
Dan MacDonald Bench 330, D/L 495
Dane Blimkie Bench 215, D/L 455
Jeremy Siegel Bench 140, D/L 235
Dave Droeske Bench 365, D/L 135
Equipped Men
Peter Wagner (winner) Bench 425, D/L 560
Scott MacDiarmid (2nd) Bench 445, D/L 455
All of the winners/placings were determined using the Wilks calculator.
Congrats to ALL the Lifters!
A Huge THANK YOU to Curd Hos, The Bench Freak at NEO-GENIXX, for sponsoring the event and providing the T-shirts and prizes. Curd also threw down a Raw double with 500lbs on the bench press. WITHOUT A WARM-UP! Rediculous.
I had a great time, thanks to all the volunteers that helped out. Shane, Brian and Sarah. (and the nameless kid we called "Florida"
The thing that has made the biggest impact on me is that we had 11 Ultimate Fitness members lifting in the competition. And to top it off, 8 of the 11 UF lifters were women. That's right, the ladies were out in full force. All of them for the first time in competition. Before I move onto the guys and the stats, I again just want to point out that these girls came out and didn't care whether or not they were "strong enough" for our meet or going to get beat. (which is exactly why we only had 3 guys)
Huge props to our UF ladies.
Jayne Major (Ladies Winner) 95lb bench, 225 D/L
Angie Burgess (2nd) 105 bench, 280 D/L
Tracy Alf (Tie 3rd) 120 bench, 280 D/L
Hilda Siegel (tie 3rd) 105 bench, 225 D/L
Melanie Liard 105 bench, 260 D/L
Kerri Dunsmore 85 bench, 185 D/L
Ellynne Dickson 140 bench, 175 D/L
Kirstin Martel 95 bench, 205 D/L
We had 3 UF men swing the axe on Sunday. David Droeske, Dane Blimkie and Keith Kapow. Dave and Kapowski are seasoned vets but for Dane "Vomit" Blimkie, it was the first time in a meet. The guys represented well putting up some great numbers and getting some PR's in the process. We also had 6 men visiting from outside the walls of Ultimate Fitness.
Here's how the men's side unfolded.
Raw Men
Darren Mallette (Winner) Bench 340, D/L 585
Nick Morneau (2nd) Bench 350, D/L 600
Keith Kapow (3rd) Bench 315, D/L 545
Dan MacDonald Bench 330, D/L 495
Dane Blimkie Bench 215, D/L 455
Jeremy Siegel Bench 140, D/L 235
Dave Droeske Bench 365, D/L 135
Equipped Men
Peter Wagner (winner) Bench 425, D/L 560
Scott MacDiarmid (2nd) Bench 445, D/L 455
All of the winners/placings were determined using the Wilks calculator.
Congrats to ALL the Lifters!
A Huge THANK YOU to Curd Hos, The Bench Freak at NEO-GENIXX, for sponsoring the event and providing the T-shirts and prizes. Curd also threw down a Raw double with 500lbs on the bench press. WITHOUT A WARM-UP! Rediculous.
I had a great time, thanks to all the volunteers that helped out. Shane, Brian and Sarah. (and the nameless kid we called "Florida"
Monday, June 8, 2009
I Couldn't Resist
This vid gave me a serious ab work-out, while I laughed hysterically.
Classic Chris Rock.
Classic Chris Rock.
Dirty Word Of the Day
GRIZZLED: (griz-uhld) A bodily/muscular state of discomfort, that often requires soft tissue massage.
Usually caused by intense training or heavy lifting.
Tom trained his biceps with 14 different exercises today, his guns are grizzled.
Frank got so much action this weekend that his package is grizzled.
Watch out for that grizzled, old sea-donkey.
If you don't get grizzled up once in a while, or even once a week, you're probably not working to your full capacity. Hopefully this new dictionary type format will help you better understand the common lingo used in different training circles.
I can't help posting a another music vid. Most often, if the last song playing on the radio before I get out of the car is a good one, I pull up a youtube vid to listen to the end.
This was todays last chance qualifier.
Usually caused by intense training or heavy lifting.
Tom trained his biceps with 14 different exercises today, his guns are grizzled.
Frank got so much action this weekend that his package is grizzled.
Watch out for that grizzled, old sea-donkey.
If you don't get grizzled up once in a while, or even once a week, you're probably not working to your full capacity. Hopefully this new dictionary type format will help you better understand the common lingo used in different training circles.
I can't help posting a another music vid. Most often, if the last song playing on the radio before I get out of the car is a good one, I pull up a youtube vid to listen to the end.
This was todays last chance qualifier.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Locked and Loaded
No, not loaded on the liquor. Loaded on adrenaline. Only a couple weeks out from OSM (Ontario's Strongest Man) The provincial qualifier for open Pro strongman.
All the training I've put in all winter has pretty much been focused on improving on my 2nd place finish at last years OSM. We now have the final details and the hotel rooms are booked. It's go time.
Training is peaking this week and will taper the week after. Timing is pretty important.
Yes, I'm rambling, because I'm FUCKING PUMPED right now.
This event is the climax point of the long hard winter of sore backs and stiff legs. Forcing downs meals that didn't taste good and giving meals that taste great.
Time to get fired up for back to back events training this Saturday and Sunday.
Bob's yer Uncle!
All the training I've put in all winter has pretty much been focused on improving on my 2nd place finish at last years OSM. We now have the final details and the hotel rooms are booked. It's go time.
Training is peaking this week and will taper the week after. Timing is pretty important.
Yes, I'm rambling, because I'm FUCKING PUMPED right now.
This event is the climax point of the long hard winter of sore backs and stiff legs. Forcing downs meals that didn't taste good and giving meals that taste great.
Time to get fired up for back to back events training this Saturday and Sunday.
Bob's yer Uncle!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Hard As F++K!
This is Mark. He is not a gangbanger from South Renfrew. He's an Ultimate Fitness Bootcamper. Although you can hardly tell from this photo, he's got a badly mangled left ankle and he shows up to train with an air cast on his leg. (he trades the air cast for a sneaker to do the work-out).This is the meaning of "getting it". He didn't let a mangled up leg take him out of the game. He simply found a way to work around it. The results he's reaping from busting ass in Bootcamp 2-3 times a week were an easy trade off for some pain and discomfort for this badass.
This is Patti. She tore her calf muscle off the bone and has some yet to be determined knee damage. (we are hoping its not torn ligaments) She, like Mark, is powering through the shit and keeping the bootcamp work-outs going. We obviously have to modify the hell out of the work-outs for her, but she still shows up, and is willing to do whatever she can. She is keeping the focus on the "Can" and not worrying about the "can't".Where most people look to find excuses why not to train, these people have looked for ways to train around the obstacles. And I feel these efforts need to not only be applauded, but we need to learn and apply this type of commitment to our own training and lifestyle.
I also want to note, that both of these Bootcampers mangled themselves playing basketball. WTF? So the final take home message here is; Don't play basketball, and don't be a pussy when its time to train around obstacles.
Nuff Said.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
4 World Records
The UF Crew was down in Toronto this past weekend so Sarah and Shane could compete in the CPO nationls (powerlifting).
This was the first time Sarah has competed in the CPO. Its a different federation than she normally lifts under, but the rules are basically the same. Especially since she was lifting RAW.
She weighed in at 66.8kg (147lbs), and was lifting in the 67.5kilo open womens class.
Here's the lifts she lifted.
Squats: 245lbs, 265lbs, 271lbs (missed the last one)
Bench: 165lbs, 175lbs, 187lbs (187 is a PR)
Deadlift: 321lbs, 335lbs, 341lbs (missed the last attempt)
Total: 787Lbs
All 3 lifts and her total are both Canadian and World Records.
Good Job Sarah! And as usual, she's not satisfied with the squat and dead, due to hitting better numbers in the gym. Now it's time to put a plan into action to get ready for the Ottawa Open in July.
Shane was competing in the 242lbs Men's open Pro class.
He Squatted: 804lbs, 860lbs, 900lbs. (The 900 was a Huge PR and also would've been a Cdn record)
His bench press didn't pan out and he missed all three attempts.
Time to re-fuckulate the carbonator Ricky. He will no doubt get the bench sorted out and be ready to go very soon.
I also want to mention a Douchenstein we call Beartrap. He's part of our strongman training group but also powerlifts with the Capital Barbell club from Ottawa.
He was also lifting in the Mens open Pro @ 242lbs. He had trouble with his squatting, which I thought he got robbed on the judgeing, but I'm not a judge. He's always whining about never getting props on the blog. I wouldn't call this props, since he bombed, but at least you got mentioned, cock-knuckles.
It was a really long meet, but was a good time. I really wish I would've entered and lifted Raw also. Lifting raw looks like a lot of fun.
If you want to lift, come out and lift at our Ultimate Fitness Push/Pull on Sunday June 14th, in Arnprior Ont. Shoot me an email for more details and to register.
paul@ultimatefitnessgyms.com
Last Song I heard before bed last night
Is it fucking good, or what! The guitar gets rediculous around the 5:40 mark.
And Yes, Ozzy is wearing eye liner, you can too, when you start biting the heads off of live birds. (send me the vid and I'll post it up)
This was the first time Sarah has competed in the CPO. Its a different federation than she normally lifts under, but the rules are basically the same. Especially since she was lifting RAW.
She weighed in at 66.8kg (147lbs), and was lifting in the 67.5kilo open womens class.
Here's the lifts she lifted.
Squats: 245lbs, 265lbs, 271lbs (missed the last one)
Bench: 165lbs, 175lbs, 187lbs (187 is a PR)
Deadlift: 321lbs, 335lbs, 341lbs (missed the last attempt)
Total: 787Lbs
All 3 lifts and her total are both Canadian and World Records.
Good Job Sarah! And as usual, she's not satisfied with the squat and dead, due to hitting better numbers in the gym. Now it's time to put a plan into action to get ready for the Ottawa Open in July.
Shane was competing in the 242lbs Men's open Pro class.
He Squatted: 804lbs, 860lbs, 900lbs. (The 900 was a Huge PR and also would've been a Cdn record)
His bench press didn't pan out and he missed all three attempts.
Time to re-fuckulate the carbonator Ricky. He will no doubt get the bench sorted out and be ready to go very soon.
I also want to mention a Douchenstein we call Beartrap. He's part of our strongman training group but also powerlifts with the Capital Barbell club from Ottawa.
He was also lifting in the Mens open Pro @ 242lbs. He had trouble with his squatting, which I thought he got robbed on the judgeing, but I'm not a judge. He's always whining about never getting props on the blog. I wouldn't call this props, since he bombed, but at least you got mentioned, cock-knuckles.
It was a really long meet, but was a good time. I really wish I would've entered and lifted Raw also. Lifting raw looks like a lot of fun.
If you want to lift, come out and lift at our Ultimate Fitness Push/Pull on Sunday June 14th, in Arnprior Ont. Shoot me an email for more details and to register.
paul@ultimatefitnessgyms.com
Last Song I heard before bed last night
Is it fucking good, or what! The guitar gets rediculous around the 5:40 mark.
And Yes, Ozzy is wearing eye liner, you can too, when you start biting the heads off of live birds. (send me the vid and I'll post it up)
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Breakfast Slayer
I am still not giving into the whole twitter fad. I've been advised from a business standpoint, that it's a great way to build relationships and contacts. This I can respect, but I know for sure it would just turn into another shit show of constantly trying to keep up.
This morning while I was making my breakfast, I was pondering what I would post up if I was a part of the twitter community. This was a "come and go" thought that really didn't mean jack shit, but it did inspire me to share with my readers here what I have for breakfast.
On Mon, Wed, and Friday mornings I drink a breakfast shake. The exact recipe has been a work in progress for many months now, but I think I finally have it nailed down.
Here's the recipe;
In a blender,
4 ice cubes
1 cup of liquid egg whites
1 cup of dry oats
some splenda (how much depends on how afraid of artificial sweeteners you are)
2 scoops of Chocolate Whey Fusion
a double shot of espresso (or coffee)
(very important that it is brewed, I used to just put the ground coffee in and that sucked)
1/2 cup of cold water
Blend until smooth
It's a big shake. It is very filling and the espresso gets you going eary in the morning.
(Disclaimer: if you are on a diet to lose fat, this shake may not conform to your programing. If you are creative you can adjust the measures to better reflect the macro nutrient needs of your diet. I will not be held responsible for your retarded behaviour at work due to being jacked up on espresso)
On the drive to work today I also came up with a name for this chocolatey brown bastard of a meal.
"The Breakfast Slayer"
This is the last song I heard on my drive to the office today.
Crank up the speakers and listen to the opening drum track just as it picks up.
This video is a good depiction of what's going on in your belly after you guzz-zizzle a breakfast slayer
This morning while I was making my breakfast, I was pondering what I would post up if I was a part of the twitter community. This was a "come and go" thought that really didn't mean jack shit, but it did inspire me to share with my readers here what I have for breakfast.
On Mon, Wed, and Friday mornings I drink a breakfast shake. The exact recipe has been a work in progress for many months now, but I think I finally have it nailed down.
Here's the recipe;
In a blender,
4 ice cubes
1 cup of liquid egg whites
1 cup of dry oats
some splenda (how much depends on how afraid of artificial sweeteners you are)
2 scoops of Chocolate Whey Fusion
a double shot of espresso (or coffee)
(very important that it is brewed, I used to just put the ground coffee in and that sucked)
1/2 cup of cold water
Blend until smooth
It's a big shake. It is very filling and the espresso gets you going eary in the morning.
(Disclaimer: if you are on a diet to lose fat, this shake may not conform to your programing. If you are creative you can adjust the measures to better reflect the macro nutrient needs of your diet. I will not be held responsible for your retarded behaviour at work due to being jacked up on espresso)
On the drive to work today I also came up with a name for this chocolatey brown bastard of a meal.
"The Breakfast Slayer"
This is the last song I heard on my drive to the office today.
Crank up the speakers and listen to the opening drum track just as it picks up.
This video is a good depiction of what's going on in your belly after you guzz-zizzle a breakfast slayer
Monday, May 25, 2009
Deload Week
This week is a deload week. But not for me.
Its a deload for my wife Sarah and one of my training partners (Shane). They are both lifting at the CPO nationals this weekend in Toronto.
Sarah will be lifting Raw. (meaning without supportive equipment) Just a belt. She's not the only one pumped about a raw meet. Her lifting raw means a pretty easy day for me. Her numbers should be pretty good. I believe her planned openers are:
Squat 245lbs
Bench 165lbs
Dead 315lbs
Shane is not lifting raw. He'll be wrapped up tight in polyester pajamas that are thick enough to support an elephant heard. This is going to be a huge meet for him. He needs to get a good pro total so he can hopefully move onto bigger and further away places in the powerlifting world.
I'm not sure on his openers but I think they are in the neighborhood of:
Squat 800ish
Bench 600ish
Dead 600ish
Either way, its gonna be a pretty good meet. Its a different federation than we are used to. The rules are different. The rules are more conducive to lifting big numbers. I'm looking forward to seeing both our lifters smash some big weights.
Its a deload for my wife Sarah and one of my training partners (Shane). They are both lifting at the CPO nationals this weekend in Toronto.
Sarah will be lifting Raw. (meaning without supportive equipment) Just a belt. She's not the only one pumped about a raw meet. Her lifting raw means a pretty easy day for me. Her numbers should be pretty good. I believe her planned openers are:
Squat 245lbs
Bench 165lbs
Dead 315lbs
Shane is not lifting raw. He'll be wrapped up tight in polyester pajamas that are thick enough to support an elephant heard. This is going to be a huge meet for him. He needs to get a good pro total so he can hopefully move onto bigger and further away places in the powerlifting world.
I'm not sure on his openers but I think they are in the neighborhood of:
Squat 800ish
Bench 600ish
Dead 600ish
Either way, its gonna be a pretty good meet. Its a different federation than we are used to. The rules are different. The rules are more conducive to lifting big numbers. I'm looking forward to seeing both our lifters smash some big weights.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Repair and Replace
Apparently my goddamn copy and paste funtion needed to be re-fuckulated.
Here's the video that supposed to be posted yesterday.
Here's the video that supposed to be posted yesterday.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Lazy Man's Post
This is definately a lazy post on my part, but this video contains some pretty solid info.
Check it out.
Check it out.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Back to the DIRTY JERZ!
Well, I just noticed its been over a week since I posted here. No use crying over it. I'm back.
Back from the Dirty Jerz. On thursday morning, last week, I made a dumb-dumb move and drove to Toronto. (More on why it was dumb later) From Toronto, I jumped aboard what would later be dubbed the "canadianwrestlingbus.com" with a couple of other strength coaches and we made a b-line for New Jersey.
The itinerary for the next three days looked like this:
-Arrive at our hotel in Park Ridge NJ aprox 2am friday morning
-Wake up @ 5am in order to watch a Football team work-out at Bergen Catholic High School
-Visit Defranco's gym to watch an NFL conditioning session at noon, and hit up some strongman training afterwards.
-Leave Defranco's and drive south to Edison to visit Zach Even-Esh's undergroundstrengthgym.com
-Saturday 8am, attend the "All Pro" training seminar. Presenters included: Jerry Palmeiri (NY Giants), Jeff Mangold (NY Yankees), Reg Grant (NY Rangers), Buddy Morris (Pittsburgh University), James Smith (Pittsburgh University), Lon Record (Villanova Basketball)
All I'm going to say about the seminar is that Buddy Morris and James Smith are without a doubt 2 of the best minds in the business. These guys melted our faces off with super solid info and could've went on much longer. And Lon Record was pretty decent too.
And that was it.
-Sunday, wake up and make the extremely long drive back.
We crammed a lot of great stuff into a very short time. It felt like I was gone for a week.
I will be posting up details about each event of the weekend over the next few days.
Stay tuned
Back from the Dirty Jerz. On thursday morning, last week, I made a dumb-dumb move and drove to Toronto. (More on why it was dumb later) From Toronto, I jumped aboard what would later be dubbed the "canadianwrestlingbus.com" with a couple of other strength coaches and we made a b-line for New Jersey.
The itinerary for the next three days looked like this:
-Arrive at our hotel in Park Ridge NJ aprox 2am friday morning
-Wake up @ 5am in order to watch a Football team work-out at Bergen Catholic High School
-Visit Defranco's gym to watch an NFL conditioning session at noon, and hit up some strongman training afterwards.
-Leave Defranco's and drive south to Edison to visit Zach Even-Esh's undergroundstrengthgym.com
-Saturday 8am, attend the "All Pro" training seminar. Presenters included: Jerry Palmeiri (NY Giants), Jeff Mangold (NY Yankees), Reg Grant (NY Rangers), Buddy Morris (Pittsburgh University), James Smith (Pittsburgh University), Lon Record (Villanova Basketball)
All I'm going to say about the seminar is that Buddy Morris and James Smith are without a doubt 2 of the best minds in the business. These guys melted our faces off with super solid info and could've went on much longer. And Lon Record was pretty decent too.
And that was it.
-Sunday, wake up and make the extremely long drive back.
We crammed a lot of great stuff into a very short time. It felt like I was gone for a week.
I will be posting up details about each event of the weekend over the next few days.
Stay tuned
Monday, May 11, 2009
What were they thinking?
I've gotta start this one out with a topic unrelated to training, but more related to the lack common sense.
I got to the gym this morning and started my monday opening routine. Set up the debit machine, check for leaks, check to see if we have any clean towels to put out (usually never), and then head to mens locker room to dump the massive heap of dirt towels that builds up saturday night and sunday. Today was a bit different, before I even went to the change room I noticed that the laundry hamper was out in the hallway. So I expected a pile of dirty towels on the floor.
But thats not what I found. Nope. I found the garbage can to be loaded with dirty towels and garbage. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING? DON'T BE SO GODDAMN LAZY. If you are too tired from your training just throw it on the floor. But the garbage can was loaded.
Very nice.
And moving right along, I want to give a shout out to my training partner Beartrap. He travelled 6 hours to compete in 4 events at the Woodstock Strongman. Every time you compete, you learn many valuable lessons about your skills, your strengths and weaknesses, and how well you prepared for the comp.
I just want to point out to you Trap, that you will shit your pants a few times, but hopefully you've got things figured out now. Saying and doing are 2 entirely different things.
Learn and move forward.
I've got a few good vids that I'm almost done editing and should have up on our website soon. Yes of course I will post them here too.
Especially once I get a hold of the video Shane made this weekend at Montreal Barbell, where he benched 600lbs. Congrats on the 600 club douchenstein. (among other great feats achieved this weekend)
And now it's time to blow my own horn. I bench pressed a PR of 385lbs RAW, on sunday.
That's pretty much it. I'm looking for someone to give me a great performance on the prowler and show us how well they deal with the prowler flu. To sweeten the deal. The first guy to push it till he pukes, will get a free T-shirt from me when we get a new batch.
I got to the gym this morning and started my monday opening routine. Set up the debit machine, check for leaks, check to see if we have any clean towels to put out (usually never), and then head to mens locker room to dump the massive heap of dirt towels that builds up saturday night and sunday. Today was a bit different, before I even went to the change room I noticed that the laundry hamper was out in the hallway. So I expected a pile of dirty towels on the floor.
But thats not what I found. Nope. I found the garbage can to be loaded with dirty towels and garbage. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING? DON'T BE SO GODDAMN LAZY. If you are too tired from your training just throw it on the floor. But the garbage can was loaded.
Very nice.
And moving right along, I want to give a shout out to my training partner Beartrap. He travelled 6 hours to compete in 4 events at the Woodstock Strongman. Every time you compete, you learn many valuable lessons about your skills, your strengths and weaknesses, and how well you prepared for the comp.
I just want to point out to you Trap, that you will shit your pants a few times, but hopefully you've got things figured out now. Saying and doing are 2 entirely different things.
Learn and move forward.
I've got a few good vids that I'm almost done editing and should have up on our website soon. Yes of course I will post them here too.
Especially once I get a hold of the video Shane made this weekend at Montreal Barbell, where he benched 600lbs. Congrats on the 600 club douchenstein. (among other great feats achieved this weekend)
And now it's time to blow my own horn. I bench pressed a PR of 385lbs RAW, on sunday.
That's pretty much it. I'm looking for someone to give me a great performance on the prowler and show us how well they deal with the prowler flu. To sweeten the deal. The first guy to push it till he pukes, will get a free T-shirt from me when we get a new batch.
Friday, May 8, 2009
The Long Haul
How long have you been hitting the iron pile? How long has it been since you seriously began training, with direction and a plan? A plan that has either been well thought out, or built by a fitness professional.
The reason I'm asking, is because lately I've noticed a lot of people in my gyms that are frustrated and dissatisfied with there results after only a month or three.
And these are people that we are working with directly and I know for sure there training is well planned and they are working hard.
Everyone wants to get to there Ultimate goal as fast as possible. I know I do. But the reality is, it often takes much longer than we ever expected. (If they reach the ultimate goal quicky, they've probably set there sights too low and/or have settled for less than desired result)
I've been at this game for over 10 years and I still haven't reached my ultimate goal.
The key is to set that ultimate goal, know exactly what it is, and then work backwards and set many smaller goals that will move you towards the ulitmate goal.
The timeline is different for everyone. How fast things happen depends on YOU. (and don't you ever fucking forget that!)
It depends on how much YOU are willing to sacrifce, how much YOU are willing to listen, who YOU surround yourself with, how strict YOU keep your eating habbits, how often YOU show up for your training sessions.
The speed of your success rests square on YOUR shoulders.
Set a small reachable goal, set a deadline and then do whatever it takes to get that goal completed. Start piling these little goals one on top of the other and over a period of YEARS, you can reach that ultimate goal.
Now that we've got that clear.
Have a great weekend.
The reason I'm asking, is because lately I've noticed a lot of people in my gyms that are frustrated and dissatisfied with there results after only a month or three.
And these are people that we are working with directly and I know for sure there training is well planned and they are working hard.
Everyone wants to get to there Ultimate goal as fast as possible. I know I do. But the reality is, it often takes much longer than we ever expected. (If they reach the ultimate goal quicky, they've probably set there sights too low and/or have settled for less than desired result)
I've been at this game for over 10 years and I still haven't reached my ultimate goal.
The key is to set that ultimate goal, know exactly what it is, and then work backwards and set many smaller goals that will move you towards the ulitmate goal.
The timeline is different for everyone. How fast things happen depends on YOU. (and don't you ever fucking forget that!)
It depends on how much YOU are willing to sacrifce, how much YOU are willing to listen, who YOU surround yourself with, how strict YOU keep your eating habbits, how often YOU show up for your training sessions.
The speed of your success rests square on YOUR shoulders.
Set a small reachable goal, set a deadline and then do whatever it takes to get that goal completed. Start piling these little goals one on top of the other and over a period of YEARS, you can reach that ultimate goal.
Now that we've got that clear.
Have a great weekend.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Prolwer Season
You may remember the end of prowler season last fall. It was a sad affair.
Things are warm and for the most part dry and the prowler has been out a few times already.
I'm going to go on record and say that May will be the official start to the prowler season at Ultimate Fitness.
On a side note, I've been shipping prowlers all over the country, so I'm hoping we will see and hear of the prowler flu from all corners of Canada.
Last night was my 5th prowler session of 09. The first 2 sessions came in march, when the warm and rain cleared up the snow for a couple of days. I was getting pretty bored with the rower and we jumped on the chance to push. I can't remember what the protocol was but it didn't feel too bad.
Sessions # 3&4 came last week. They sucked. I felt like a true beginner. My legs were't co-operating and my lungs burned from start to finish.
I did single plate suicides for both sessions. We push in the one way street beside the gym and I use the parking spaces as markers for the suicides. Roughly 10yds per parking space.
(Suicides means you push to the end of the first parking space and back to the start, then without stopping, to the end of the second space and back, then all the way down (aprox 40yds)
and back.
Last night was the first night I dared to put my hands on the low handles. I did 2 singles (low/high) and 3 double ups (low/high) all with one plate per post.
Here's Sarah hitting a double-up last May at the EFTS compound
Things are coming around.
I noticed that Elitefts has put the call out for the most cases of prowler flu caught on tape. I'm going make sure the camera is out from now on to document our suffering and improvements.
You can buy a Canadian Made prowler HERE
Things are warm and for the most part dry and the prowler has been out a few times already.
I'm going to go on record and say that May will be the official start to the prowler season at Ultimate Fitness.
On a side note, I've been shipping prowlers all over the country, so I'm hoping we will see and hear of the prowler flu from all corners of Canada.
Last night was my 5th prowler session of 09. The first 2 sessions came in march, when the warm and rain cleared up the snow for a couple of days. I was getting pretty bored with the rower and we jumped on the chance to push. I can't remember what the protocol was but it didn't feel too bad.
Sessions # 3&4 came last week. They sucked. I felt like a true beginner. My legs were't co-operating and my lungs burned from start to finish.
I did single plate suicides for both sessions. We push in the one way street beside the gym and I use the parking spaces as markers for the suicides. Roughly 10yds per parking space.
(Suicides means you push to the end of the first parking space and back to the start, then without stopping, to the end of the second space and back, then all the way down (aprox 40yds)
and back.
Last night was the first night I dared to put my hands on the low handles. I did 2 singles (low/high) and 3 double ups (low/high) all with one plate per post.
Here's Sarah hitting a double-up last May at the EFTS compound
Things are coming around.
I noticed that Elitefts has put the call out for the most cases of prowler flu caught on tape. I'm going make sure the camera is out from now on to document our suffering and improvements.
You can buy a Canadian Made prowler HERE
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Shouldering a load
For a lot of you out there, what I'm going to cover here is common knowlegde and pretty much goes without saying.
But for some, this is your wake up call!
Quite often, I have people (mostly men) tell me about how their shoulders are really sore and explain how the pain is near the front of the shoulder, right near the armpit.
My first response is usually a question. "How often do you perform rows, chins and face pulls?"
They answer, "what the hell are face pulls? I just bench 4 times a week and pump my biceps for 1 hour every day."
This is why your shoulders hurt kids. If you bench, a lot, and pump the gun show, you most likely have strong pecs and biceps. These muscles over power the smaller and neglected muscles of the upper back. The shoulders are also going to get a shit kicking from your horrible bench press form. This leads to what the doctors and science people refer to as "shoulder impingement". (They think they're so cool using their big book words)
How do you know if this is your problem?
1, You have a hunch back
2, Your shoulders almost touch together in the front
3, You walk around with imaginary lat syndrome
4, You bench press more than 2 days per week
5, Your upper arms are bigger than your upper legs
6, You always wear long pants to hide your peg like lower legs
7, Okay, I'm getting a little carried away, but I think you get the point.
8, shitty posture throughout the day
But for some, this is your wake up call!
Quite often, I have people (mostly men) tell me about how their shoulders are really sore and explain how the pain is near the front of the shoulder, right near the armpit.
My first response is usually a question. "How often do you perform rows, chins and face pulls?"
They answer, "what the hell are face pulls? I just bench 4 times a week and pump my biceps for 1 hour every day."
This is why your shoulders hurt kids. If you bench, a lot, and pump the gun show, you most likely have strong pecs and biceps. These muscles over power the smaller and neglected muscles of the upper back. The shoulders are also going to get a shit kicking from your horrible bench press form. This leads to what the doctors and science people refer to as "shoulder impingement". (They think they're so cool using their big book words)
How do you know if this is your problem?
1, You have a hunch back
2, Your shoulders almost touch together in the front
3, You walk around with imaginary lat syndrome
4, You bench press more than 2 days per week
5, Your upper arms are bigger than your upper legs
6, You always wear long pants to hide your peg like lower legs
7, Okay, I'm getting a little carried away, but I think you get the point.
8, shitty posture throughout the day
What can you do to avoid or reverse this problem?
-Make sure you do a lot of rows, and chins.
-Chins can be done almost everyday, even if it's just a set or 2.
-Make sure you get as much rowing volume in your upper body day as you can handle.
-Superset all your bench pressing with face pulls.
-Stretch the hell out of your pecs and biceps. Stretching your imaginary lats is probably a good idea too.
-Stop benching so goddamn much and let those sore shoulders heal up.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Playoff Beards
Fuck it, I'm growing a playoff beard. It's a great way to support the most exciting time of year when it comes to hockey. And a great excuse to look like a samsquench for a couple weeks.
As usual it's a mayhem monday. I got the bright idea to do some outdoor barbell lunges on Saturday in lieu of heavy event training at the Garage. I used a 135lb barbell and lunged down and back on the 100' long driveway at Pete's Garage.
Not extremely heavy, so I did 4 trips.
Needless to say I'm walking a little slow today.
The point that I want to convey here is that even though I wasn't able to beat myself to a pulp with the usual flurry of heavy event training, like stone lifting, farmers walks, yoke carry's and tire flipping, I was still able to get some forward progress.
Here's what a typical Saturday would look like:
Warm-up
Log jerks
Farmers walk, working up to a heavy weight (300+lbs per hand) or distance.
Atlas stones, either runs, reps or heavy singles
Tire fliping
This is what I did this Saturday to change gears a bit (mostly because I'm still nursing a fucked up back)
Warm-up
Light log press (no jerk pressing)
Kicked a soccer ball around for about 10mins
Barbell lunges
Arm over arm sled drag
running sled drag for cardio
I know how easy it would've been to just stay at home. But I wanted to show up and help out loading plates and coaching the other guys that train at Pete's Garage.
I ended up having a pretty intense leg session via the lunges and I feel that the movement that I did do has helped me improve my mobility in the tight hips and low back.
Lets review.
Don't be a pussy and stay home, get out and do whatever you can and then go and pat yourself on the back on the internet like any internet tough guy would.
As usual it's a mayhem monday. I got the bright idea to do some outdoor barbell lunges on Saturday in lieu of heavy event training at the Garage. I used a 135lb barbell and lunged down and back on the 100' long driveway at Pete's Garage.
Not extremely heavy, so I did 4 trips.
Needless to say I'm walking a little slow today.
The point that I want to convey here is that even though I wasn't able to beat myself to a pulp with the usual flurry of heavy event training, like stone lifting, farmers walks, yoke carry's and tire flipping, I was still able to get some forward progress.
Here's what a typical Saturday would look like:
Warm-up
Log jerks
Farmers walk, working up to a heavy weight (300+lbs per hand) or distance.
Atlas stones, either runs, reps or heavy singles
Tire fliping
This is what I did this Saturday to change gears a bit (mostly because I'm still nursing a fucked up back)
Warm-up
Light log press (no jerk pressing)
Kicked a soccer ball around for about 10mins
Barbell lunges
Arm over arm sled drag
running sled drag for cardio
I know how easy it would've been to just stay at home. But I wanted to show up and help out loading plates and coaching the other guys that train at Pete's Garage.
I ended up having a pretty intense leg session via the lunges and I feel that the movement that I did do has helped me improve my mobility in the tight hips and low back.
Lets review.
Don't be a pussy and stay home, get out and do whatever you can and then go and pat yourself on the back on the internet like any internet tough guy would.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Powerlifting Criticisms
Okay, most people, by now have heard about my wife and her powerlifting endeavors. She's getting pretty good. She's strong, and just starting to get better with the powerlifting equipment. (most specifically bench shirts)
We traveled to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan way back at the start of April so she could compete at the Canadian Nationals.
If I've discussed the results of this meet with you in person, you already know I was a fair bit dissappointed in her performance. I'm not really going to get into what went wrong (mostly because we are still not 100% sure exactly what the fuck up was on her squats)
What I am going to say is that while everyone thinks that second place is "oh that's great", it's not to Sarah or me. Even if she had won the gold on the lifts that she lifted, she would be pissed off. Powerlifting isn't about beating the other lifters in your weight class (actually it is, but there's more to it) It's about lifting the best lifts you have ever lifted. You can't control what the next person can lift, you can't play defence. All you can do is prepare yourself and lift your ass off on the platform.
Here's a clip of some of her lifts. I'm sorry that it has no sound. The sweet soundtrack that I laid down on this vid was apparently not suitable for Gheytube. Youtube is really outgrowing it's coolness. It's starting to get too scrambled with rules.
We traveled to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan way back at the start of April so she could compete at the Canadian Nationals.
If I've discussed the results of this meet with you in person, you already know I was a fair bit dissappointed in her performance. I'm not really going to get into what went wrong (mostly because we are still not 100% sure exactly what the fuck up was on her squats)
What I am going to say is that while everyone thinks that second place is "oh that's great", it's not to Sarah or me. Even if she had won the gold on the lifts that she lifted, she would be pissed off. Powerlifting isn't about beating the other lifters in your weight class (actually it is, but there's more to it) It's about lifting the best lifts you have ever lifted. You can't control what the next person can lift, you can't play defence. All you can do is prepare yourself and lift your ass off on the platform.
Here's a clip of some of her lifts. I'm sorry that it has no sound. The sweet soundtrack that I laid down on this vid was apparently not suitable for Gheytube. Youtube is really outgrowing it's coolness. It's starting to get too scrambled with rules.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Still Kickin'
So..... I missed just over 1 month of posting here. That kinda sucks ass.
Not that I feel I need to justify myself to anyone but the shit-slide started out due to me not having any creative or productive thoughts to put down on the blog. Then it kind of spiraled further down the pipes as I fell out of the habit of hammering out daily ideas.
This is a good example of how developing good/productive habits is extremely important to becoming and staying succesful.
I broke the morining habit of hammering down my thoughts and the blog went to sleep.
Well this is the post that is proof to say I'm going to bring it back from the dead.
A lot has happened in the past month. It's been a whirlwind of chaos. And I've developed some new views and ideas that I will share here.
I also have a few vids and stories from competitions that occured recently.
So there it is. This is going to mark the beggining of the end of my shitnami of shitacular proportions.
Not that I feel I need to justify myself to anyone but the shit-slide started out due to me not having any creative or productive thoughts to put down on the blog. Then it kind of spiraled further down the pipes as I fell out of the habit of hammering out daily ideas.
This is a good example of how developing good/productive habits is extremely important to becoming and staying succesful.
I broke the morining habit of hammering down my thoughts and the blog went to sleep.
Well this is the post that is proof to say I'm going to bring it back from the dead.
A lot has happened in the past month. It's been a whirlwind of chaos. And I've developed some new views and ideas that I will share here.
I also have a few vids and stories from competitions that occured recently.
So there it is. This is going to mark the beggining of the end of my shitnami of shitacular proportions.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Big Balls`
Well the feedback from the previous post has been just as I intended it. I've heard back from a few good men and women that took the call to action and kicked ass last friday after seeing the video.
One guy got it all the way from India.
Here's a link to his blog post over on Kettlebellplantet.
I really love hearing about it when you get it right. I hope we always have something beneficial to offer.
In the meantime, lets talk about gaining some muscle mass.
My buddy Curd Hos of Neo-Genixx.com and current Ontario Bench press champion stopped by the gym today. He was delivering an order of supplements to me and while we were standing at the counter shootin' the shit, he called out a couple young bucks that were on the bench press.
He told them about a rep scheme that helps add muscle mass, strength endurance and helps you bench more weight for more reps.
Take a weight you can just get 10 good reps with, now try and hit 30 reps in as few sets as possible. If it takes you 7-8 sets and you're down to singles at the end, so be it. But whatever it takes this weekl, is the goal to beat for next week. Example, it takes you 7 sets to hit 30 reps with 225, then next week do whatever it takes to do it in 6 sets.
The young guy on the bench didn't take Curd seriously at first and continued with his usual bullshit routine. Curd then asked him if he would be willing to do the protocol if Curd jumped on the bench and pressed 4 plates (405) without a warm-up. Of course the young lads wanted to see this, and I think they were doubting. Curd took off his watch and smacked 2 reps with 405 without even swinging his arms around for a stretch. Needless to say the young guys did the 30 reps protocol.
Bob's your uncle!
One guy got it all the way from India.
Here's a link to his blog post over on Kettlebellplantet.
I really love hearing about it when you get it right. I hope we always have something beneficial to offer.
In the meantime, lets talk about gaining some muscle mass.
My buddy Curd Hos of Neo-Genixx.com and current Ontario Bench press champion stopped by the gym today. He was delivering an order of supplements to me and while we were standing at the counter shootin' the shit, he called out a couple young bucks that were on the bench press.
He told them about a rep scheme that helps add muscle mass, strength endurance and helps you bench more weight for more reps.
Take a weight you can just get 10 good reps with, now try and hit 30 reps in as few sets as possible. If it takes you 7-8 sets and you're down to singles at the end, so be it. But whatever it takes this weekl, is the goal to beat for next week. Example, it takes you 7 sets to hit 30 reps with 225, then next week do whatever it takes to do it in 6 sets.
The young guy on the bench didn't take Curd seriously at first and continued with his usual bullshit routine. Curd then asked him if he would be willing to do the protocol if Curd jumped on the bench and pressed 4 plates (405) without a warm-up. Of course the young lads wanted to see this, and I think they were doubting. Curd took off his watch and smacked 2 reps with 405 without even swinging his arms around for a stretch. Needless to say the young guys did the 30 reps protocol.
Bob's your uncle!
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