Piss Pucks in Party Town

I used to be pretty good a snowboarding. Good enough to make my paycheck by teaching kids how to ride a half pipe and giving mountain tours at Lake Louise.

How does this tie into piss pucks? What in the hell does any of it have to do with training?

I once read an interview article in a snowboarding magazine about a Canadian guy who had run the ranks of pro snowboarding and had become an action film maker. He was widely known for being a total loose cannon and his party stunts such as breaking beer bottles over his own head.

Something that stood out in that article and has always stayed with me was his piss puck analogy.

"There are two types of people, givers and takers. Givers always contribute something beneficial to others around them throughout their lives and when they die, givers go to party town to spend the rest of eternity. Takers on the other hand, never contribute and are only out to satisfy their own selfish needs. When takers die, the also go to party town. But they go as a piss puck. All the givers get to spend eternity drinking their face off and pissing on the takers"

So now, how does this tie into your training?

Well have you ever trained in a group or with a training partner?

If you have it doesn't take long to identify the givers and the takers. Givers are contributing to the improvement of the group by helping in whatever way is best suited to their individual abilities. The new guy loads plates and helps spot, the veterans are always coaching and teaching the new guys. The givers work for the best interest of the group which in the end helps them achieve success too.

Takers usually don't contribute much to a training group. They bring a poor or negative attitude, they always seem busy or in a hurry to leave when someone else needs help or it's time to clean up. And they usually don't have much good advice or coaching cues to offer the other lifters in the group. Ultimately they may benefit short term from the coaching and labour of the givers but in the end they hold back the progress of the group and themselves.

What are you contributing to the people around you?

Wild Weekend

Yeah, what makes for a crazy weekend for me may have most people snorring due to boring. This weekend we left the house early and headed for Toronto in a rented box truck.

I was on a mission to deliver a shiny new pair of Prowlers to the brand new athletic facility at Upper Canada College. Now you are probably scratching your head and thinking, "never heard of that college before", and that's because it's a private boarding school for high schoolers. I'm not sure how long it's been around for but I saw team pictures on the wall dating back to the 40's.

Anyways, the important thing is that the athletic department now has 2 prowlers that will be helping them get their athletes in peak condition like never before.

When we arrived a couple of the coaches from the school wanted to have a prowler session to try them out and asked us to join them. Of course it was pouring rain. No problem they have a bubble that covers half of their turf football field. unfourtunately for us the weekend security gaurd couldn't access the light switches so the bubble was out. We sucked it up and did a bunch of pushing pulling and suicides in the rain.

It was a great prowler session despite the cold soaker we were experiencing.

Here's what I did on the prowler:

Thick rope hand over hand pulls (100') into a low handle sprint (100') X3

15yd suicides (high/low handles)

1 suicide race against one guys training with us. (Yes I won, and my prowler had an extra 50lbs on it)

Tonnes of fun and a long late drive home.

The Aftermath (Recovering from the Safety Squat Bar)

Well, just as I expected the Safety Squat Bar blasted the crap out of my back, hips and quads.

Sometime around 3pm yesterday things really started to tighten up. The penguin walk was starting to develop from some seriously tight legs and man was my upper back tight.

Obviously if you want to get the most out of the next training session, not to mention be able to function at work the next day, you need to take some action on the recovery front.

Drum Roll Please!



If you haven't heard or used a foam roll, check it out here.


Now that we are on the same page, let me tell you why I feel the foam roll is so damn important to a quick recovery.

Because I've used it many times and it works!......DONE DEAL

I rolled out my quads (or I.T. Bands for those of you that like to get technical), my groin, my upper and lower back, I even rolled way up onto the traps. Standing up after the 10 minutes of restorative work, I can immediately feel the difference. My legs are still tender but I can move very freely and even drop into a deep oly squat position with ease.


So why are you still limping around for 2 days after your crazy squat session?

Grab a foam roll, recover faster and keep moving forward in the quest to be BIGGER AND STRONGER. (or in the case of most ladies just stronger and sexy looking)

The Safety Squat Bar

If you've never seen one in the gym than you probably don't know what your missing. And yes I am talking about the safety squat Bar.

This bar is fresh on my mind this morning because it was loaded on my back last night. I can already feel the stiffness coming. It will soon take over my posterior chain (from the back of my knees and in this case to the bottom of my neck).

Simply put the safety squat bar blast you pretty much from head to toe.

So for eveyone that has squatted with this bar, I know you are feeling a slight bit of sympathy for me and maybe a bit of jealousy if you don't have regular access to one yourself.


Why is this bar so different?

Whay makes it blast the back differently that a regular bar?

It's so simple that you may almost miss it. It's the offset position of where the plates are loaded in relation to the bar that sits on your back. The offset causes the bar to almost always try and twist itself true. And that my friends is why it you feel it in the back.

There is no substitute for this bar. It should be in the toolbox of every serious lifter or athlete looking to perform better.

I build 'em and sell 'em here.

I gaurantee it will drive up your squat, deadlift and overall performace.

The Ultimate SupersetTraining Workout For Fat Loss

Until recently, the cornerstone of most resistance training workouts has been performing exercises in a straight set format. Essentially, this means you perform a certain number of reps for a chosen exercise and then you rest anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes based on your training goals before repeating this set a certain number of times based on your goals (Generally 3 sets of 10 is common). For more of a fat loss and lean muscle gain emphasis shorter rest periods are ideal. For more of a strength or power emphasis, longer rest periods are prescribed.

So, what’s the problem with this format? Well, though straight sets are extremely easy to digest for people new to fitness, they are also an extremely inefficient way to organize your training. In most commercial gyms you’ll typically see someone perform three sets of 10 reps for let’s say the bench press. They pump out 10 reps, go to the water fountain, talk with some buddies, watch a couple of highlights on TSN, and then make their way back to the bench to hit up their second set. In general, most people, guys in particular, tend to take about 3-5 minutes between sets. In the case of three sets of 10 on the bench that means it would take up to 15 minutes to complete only one exercise. That means you’d need at least in hour to perform four different exercises! This is pure bullshit. If you need more than 1-2 minutes rest, we better have a talk about conditioning.

A much more effective and time saving method to ordering your exercises is using the alternating set format. Here you’ll perform one exercise, rest for a short period of time, then perform another non-competing exercise, rest for a short period of time, and so forth. Alternating sets allow you to work different areas of your body when you would otherwise be resting with the straight set format. Plus, by working another area of your body with a non-competing exercise you allow your body to recover from the previous exercise(s). The result is more work accomplished in less time, the cornerstone of any sound fat loss program. There are several ways to perform alternating sets outlined below:

1.) Supersets: Alternate between two different non-competing exercises (e.g. upper body and lower body such as push-ups and lunges)

2.) Trisets: Alternate between three different exercises (e.g. push, pull, and lower body such as push-ups, rows, and lunges)

3.) Circuits: Alternate between four or more different exercises

Though circuits and trisets are excellent alternating set options, I believe superset training is by the far the best option time and time again.

Here is an example of some superset training we use in our

Ultimate Fat Loss Boot Camp:

Exercise#1a- Squats

Exercise#1b- Dips

Bridge: 100 jump Ropes

Exercise#2a- Pull-ups

Exercise#2b- Leg Raises

Bridge: Jogging Burpees

Perform each superset up to four times for total body fat burning workout.

Basically, in the same 15 minutes that it took to get in three sets on the bench you could have gotten in three sets of two different exercise for a staggering total of 15 work sets! Plus, the intensity on each exercise will be just as high as in the straight set format because in this five exercise circuit you will have full recovery with over four minutes before you return to any given exercise (just as you did with the straight set format described earlier).

To recap, the key to creating the optimal hormonal environment for fat loss is to perform each exercise with maximal intensity while separated by brief rest periods in order to accumulate a high volume of total body work in the shortest amount of time possible. Circuit training provides for the best of both worlds and is thus simply unmatched for simultaneously maximizing fat loss and lean muscle gain. Use the following template I use with my many boot camp clients for some killer, yet simple fat loss circuits:

Exercise#1- Double-Leg

Exercise#2- Push

Exercise#3- Single-Leg

Exercise#4- Pull

Exercise#5- Core



I’ll be sharing some more great circuit training workouts from my boot camps in the weeks to come.

Stay Strong

Paulv

www.ultimatefitnessgyms.com

Shut up and Train

Sometimes we don't need to think about it, talk about it, worry about it, or whatever.

We just need to shut up and lift.

How do you make this happen?

Plan your work-out the day before, write it down in your training journal and be ready for battle when you get to the gym.

Plain and Simple.

Here's my plan for tomorow night.

Safety Squat Bar Box Squats-(using the 5/3/1 method, this is the "3" week)

GHR-4 sets of 15-20

DB lunges-3 sets of 100' (turn @ 50')

GHR sit-ups with a mini band-3-4 sets of 20

Prowler-3 dubs with +180lbs (minimum)

My Supplement Staples

Supplements have been around for a long time. They work great but you've got to remember that they are a SUPPLEMENT to your nutrition plan and not a magic pill or potion.

It suprises me that there is still so much confusion surrounding supplement use and what supps are required for an individuals needs.

Here's and example of my current supplement use:

Protein Powder- I go through a 5 pounder of Whey Fusion in about 2 weeks. I use it in breakfast shakes when I'm running late. I drink it pre and post training, and I also drink a big 3 scooper in the middle of the night when I wake up to take a leak.

Waxy Maise-This supplement has been around for a while and used to go by the name Vextrago. It is a high molecular weight carbohydrate. So what the hell does that mean?
It passes the stomach very quickly and it pulls water and other nutrients with it. It is unmatched as post training carb source. It's also an easy way to get a lot of carbs in if you are trying to gain mass.
I take 1 scoop pre training, 1 scoop during training, and 3 scoops post training.

Beta-Alanine- This amino acid is cheap and easy to add to your supplement regime. This amino helps you build new muscle proteins. Which means a leaner more muscular body. It also helps your muscular endurance. I've broken more rep records in my training than ever before using beta.
I take 1 tsp pre-training, and 1 tsp post-training.

Creatine- If you haven't heard about the strength and endurance gains that creatine help you get, then you better stop living in your cave. It's been around for a long long long time. It is NOT steroids. It will NOT make your balls shrink, it will NOT cause water retention. Wake the hell up.
I use CX-3. I take 3 caps pre-training, 3 caps post-training and 3 caps with breakfast on non-training days.

Z-test- This is THEE ulitmate MAN supplement. It is a Zinc, Magnesium, vitamin B6 complex and tribulus. Tribulus is a herb that tells your body to produce more of it's own natural testosterone. I always feel well rested, have crazy vivid dreams and fell frisky as hell with my Z-test. It's very popular for older guys too. It helps you feel the "love" again. If you know what I'm sayin'
I take 6 caps before bed. I live on this stuff.

Neo-Lean Fat Burner- As I'm ramping up my nutrition and trying to be a lean 240lbs for the LW worlds, I've been adding in some extra morning cardio and Neo-lean is my fatburner. Its strong enough to keep me feeling alert and energized on the stair climber at 5:30am and I can also notice that I stay warm and sweat a little bit all morning.
I take 2 caps before my morining cardio with a double espresso, and I take 2 caps in the afternoon when I start to feel lazy.

And last but definately not least.....

L-Leucine- This is the most important of the BCAA's (Branched Chain amino acids) It helps keep your body in an anabolic state. This is important if you are trying to gain muscle, deal with a lot of stress and/or do a lot of endurance training.
I take 5g pre-training, 5g during training (with my waxy) and 5g post training.

It seems like alot, but let me tell you I'm progressing forward like never before, I'm lean and I feel unstopable under stress.