When the weekend hits, Part 2

Woah! Before reading check out part 1 down below! 1. You’re going to get the results that you’ve been after because you haven’t broken up your efforts. 2. Another thing that’s going to happen is that you’ve now created separation between the pattern and your consciousness; you’ve now taken back control of your behaviour. The going out and getting trashed has been separated from your behaviour and you can now see it as an external entity. So now you can decide whether or not you’re going to participate or not, it does not own you. See right now, the weekends own you that pattern own’s you but when you break the pattern and you can see it as a separate entity you can now decide if you wish to partake. What you’re going to recognise at the end of that 30 days is that you’re going to say “I really don’t miss drinking that much, that’s kind of odd and strange. I’m not hankering for it, I’m not longing for it” like you were one month ago. Now you have the opportunity to choose, it’s not completely unconscious and you’re not just getting carried away with the pattern. And that’s how you empower yourself. That’s how you break these habitual patterns that damage our results in every area of our life.

When the weekend hits, Part 1

Once more I will be tackling a viewer’s question in regards to the weekend. My classmate says: “During the week I’m doing 100%. My diet is fine my routine is great, I’m focused on my bodybuilding goals but as soon as the weekend comes I throw it all away, I get wasted with my friends, wake up with a hangover and don’t eat for a full day. What should I do?” So I want to let you know that I can relate to you. Not that I get wasted every weekend but I’m more relaxed, I wake up later. Sometimes I go out it friends or I visit family and eat too many goodies. So the weekends are a time where your entire schedule is thrown off. What I propose is to give yourself one month, I always say give yourself a thirty day challenge when trying to get a grasp on your life. What’s happening right now is that you have no control over what’s going on. The weekend comes and it’s almost automatic to go out and suck a bottle. It’s like the steering wheel is out of your hand and the car is on cruise control and every single weekend this is happening. It’s become an unconscious behaviour; it’s a part of your pattern. So what you must do is interrupt the pattern, you need a complete 100% pattern interrupt. First off when starting this challenge it is important to set yourself up for success. So tell your friends let everyone know, and a good tip would be to hold off until after the holidays. Basically, for these 30 days you’re going to quit cold turkey, you’re not going to embark on any getting trashed adventures. You’re going to stick to your bodybuilding and when the weekend comes, you already told your friends “guys, its just 4 weeks, its only 4 weekends”. Keep on reminding yourself that “it’s only thirty days, its only thirty days” it’s going to tick down and it’s going to go away. In the grand scheme of things 30 days is nothing, one month is nothing. That being said what is going to happen are two things: (view part 2)

Why does it work for him but not me?

Recently I’ve been going over questions that various members of the lifting community have asked and I will be doing my part in attempting to answer them. So I received a question from a dear friend of mine who would like to know; “Why is it that no matter how much cross fitting I do, (I’ve been doing for years by the way) and no matter how much I follow all the principles and palio diets and use the supplements that I still look ordinary? How is it that guys like Rich Fronning can have such swole and strong physiques and I still look regular? Why is it that some of our elite athletes, elite cross fit athletes look better than some of our aesthetics bodybuilders? Does cross fit build bodies like that and if so how am I missing out? Why don’t I look like Rich Fronning?” First and foremost one the first things you must understand is that athletes that are word class athletes look like world class athletes in spite of being world class athletes. So what that means, is that Rich Fronning is going to be and look like Rich Fronning regardless if he did cross fit or power lifting, Olympic lifting, basketball or baseball, he is still going to look the same way. Rich:

The answer to why Rich Fronning looks the way he does can be explained in one simple word: genetics. Genetics dictates the form/shape of the body will take and Rich happens to take that form and do cross fit. Look at myself for example, I don’t have to do anything magical, I’m always going to be jacked, as I am genetically inclined to have muscle even since the age 6 I’ve had a six pack. This is the form of Ryan (myself) and that form is not related to what I do. No matter what I do I will have muscle. Me at 14 : Those guys in the cross fit games would look like and be as magnificent in whatever they do regardless of what they chose to do. Now you can’t do the thing that they’re doing and expect the same results. Why? Because you’re not them, you don’t have their genetics. You’re different, we’re all different. Simply stop looking at other people and wondering why is it that they have a particular result that you don’t have and then copying them as if you will achieve the same thing. This is why I despise those who purchase workout programs in hopes of transforming into the person on the cover. That person on the cover is going to look that way regardless of what he does. Don’t get me wrong, getting advice from people who are ahead of you is a good idea but expecting the same result, especially physically is insanity.

The gym's closed..

We’ve all had it happen to us before, getting pumped to go shred some hammer curls at the gym and then suddenly the stairway to heaven reads closed. This is where swole sharks shine, no matter what a swole shark will get its pump if it’s the last thing it does. Many people feel limited to the confines of a gym to seek exercise, in other words the people who drive to the gym to run on the treadmill. With a little creativity and understanding on how the body works the walls of the gym soon fall and the world becomes our gym. I myself usually have approximately 3 outdoor workouts a week. There is a wide range of exercises and locations the world has to offer. My favorite place to go is the park next to my house. It offered a jungle gym where I would perform a wide range of calisthenics and body weights exercises. All it takes is some motivation and initiative to get your pump on.

I ran into another experience this past summer while away on military training. While I was on basics there were no workout materials for us to use, so I along with my temporary swole mate devised a strategy to get a pump on. We used sand bags as dumbbells, dead lifted fallen trees, did endless amounts of pull-ups along with pushups. We had the drive and initiative and we gained from it. At the end of basics I was able to do a push up, tap my chest, clap behind my back then clap in front of me again before catching myself on the ground to do 20 more. This is living proof that if you work at something results will follow. There is a man who is famous for getting swole without a gym and shares a quite remarkable story. I invite you to check out Kali muscle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzNb6KCok9o

Can't have one without the other

Good day, and salutations Today's topic will revolve around dieting, bulking, and the common misconseptios and "brosience" revolving around these subjects. I believe that in order to achieve remarkable progress in swolness, aesthetics, strength and power there are 3 main pillars that come into play in this chronological order (most important to least important): Workout flex, diet and maintenance, and genetics. This being said just going to the gym and working out will not get you anywhere, that is only half the battle. You must put the same effort in nutrition that you do in the gym, only then will you reach your true potential to make gains. That being said I am not saying begin dieting, however what one should be doing is becoming informed and know what you are putting into your body. You see the body is somewhat like an engine, you get what you put in. If you put low quality fuel into your engine you will get low quality results and in the body's case food is the fuel. Now, I usually go by a rule to at least consume 1.5grams of protein for every pound of body weight (excluding protein shakes). The reason for that is that protein is necessary for the development and growth of muscle. It is key to note that one must change their fuel depending on what their goals are. If you are trying to bulk (build muscle and fat) then greater quantities of fat, calories and carbs will be needed. The benefit of bulking is that though you are putting on fat it is easier to put on muscle at the same time as fat. All in all, it is not important to diet but to know what you are putting in your body. I strongly recommend taking the time to research nutrition for athletes or even taking a class, after all knowledge is power. I’m not sure if many of you had heard of “brosience” before? If not let me tell you : it is when someone usually a “bro” makes certain claims without any logic or facts. Example: a bro walks up to you while you’re benching and says “you should put your feet in the air when you bench because it increases testosterone flow to your chest”. That statement was completely wrong and illogical. If you didn’t notice I didn’t touch on one of the pillars in the previous and that would be ginetics. Good genetics is something you either have or don’t, fortunately I have been blessed with very good muscle developing genetics making life easier. I did not touch on it because it is a invariable factor, something we cannot change. One cannot improve their genetics but their exercise and nutrition is something you have control over so focus on that.

heres the perfect video reguarding broscience

Growth Hormone..

Leg day… The day of the week that separates the men from the boys, dreaded by many yet embraced by few. Leg day hurts the most, requires the most energy and conditions must be just right in order for me to go into the gym and man up to the squat rack. I prefer back day, ab day, arm day chest day to leg day. I always have to pick a time of the week for my leg workouts where I know that I will not be on my feet for an extensive amount time for the days following leg day. Although there is much pain, it must be done. There is nothing worse than a guy whose arms are bigger than his legs. That right there is person who takes the easy way and who probably wears pants to the beach. Legs are a very demanding portion of the body to train as they contain the biggest muscles of the body.

If you can take the pain there is a great reward for you. Because the muscles of the leg are so big when you workout them out your body secretes more growth hormone compared to when you work out any other part of your body. If you are smart and would like to capitalize on this opportunity then take a good look at yourself and figure out what small detail about yourself could use work. What I mean by this is look for a small muscle group that seems to be slacking in the growth department, for me it’s my traps. Now I say small because working out two main muscle groups in one day (chest legs) may be a bit too much. Because of the large flux of growth hormone on leg day hitting a trap workout with it will greatly help my chances of further muscle development in my traps. The growth hormone will help them grow more on that day than any other day.

Swole mates

When in the gym do you ever wish you had somebody to help you get that extra rep, to swoop in just as the guillotine of death otherwise known as the decline bench press is about to be off with your head and save you? Somebody that will motivate you and coach you on your form? Many of you may be thinking that I’m making reference to a personal trainer of sorts, if so you are sadly mistaken. What I am making reference to is possibly the most valuable investment a gym member can make. What I am speaking of is a swole mate, a swole mate is somebody whose muscles and heart have coincided with yours and together you both seek to reach your true swole potential. Becoming swole mates is a true commitment that goes deeper than any friendship, gym and even the fabric of the lift protein continuum. Choosing a swole mate may be difficult at times. In the gym just as anywhere knowledge is power which is a key quality to look for. With knowledge the swole mate may be able to coach you on your form, diet, and workout which will help you get the most out of your lifting experience. Next quality I would look for is the ability to separate work from play. Of course you and your swole will have good times together but when in the gym it is the wrong place to be playing around, you are there to work. Finally the last and possibly the most important quality is chemistry, it’s either there or it isn’t. After all swole mates make the commitment of camaraderie, they make going to the gym something to look forward to on a Friday night because it’s just like hanging out with one of the bros. I have been very fortunate with my swole mate as we happen to be best friends. He keeps me committed to the gym because we never hit a workout without each other so if I cheat a workout I cheat my swole mate and I would never cheat on my swole mate. We have a unique connection and when in the gym we can communicate without words.

Overall swole mates are two people who have realized the need to lift and united to better themselves and each other. They lift together, sweat together and may sometimes cry together. They will always have each other’s backs in and out of the gym. Something like a two man wolfpack.