Deadlift

I love the deadlift. It is a very good power movement that builds the trainees confidence. Most everybody that I have run into or trained can lift the most with this movement. I have also seen peoples eyes get bigger then there strength. You will see this in most gyms. Guys will load up the bar, regardless of strength level, lift it up looking like a question mark (back rounded putting all the pressure on the lower back), and then say they lifted..... Primary example of the eyes bigger then the strength syndrome combined with lack of education, or the "trainer" is allowing them to do WAY more then they should be which in turn means that the trainer and trainee are both lacking in education (not trainees fault, that's why they pay the trainer). This motivates me to educate myself very well in the primary barbell movements. When a client comes to me with lifting goals I will put them down the right track and educate them on how to perform the movement properly, using the right amount of weight. I do not care about the numbers that come out of my gym, I care about getting my clients to achieving there goals.

What the girls did:

Deadlift 5x3
then
30 second Mountain Climbers
30 second Jumping Jacks
30 second Sit ups
30 second Burpies
30 second Swings
1 minute break
4 rounds

This is a really good example of very strong women that do not look manly. They are in the 52kg category (114 lbs.). The whole video is a good example, make sure to look at minute 13:50, she lifts 413.4lbs!!

Personal Training

I am officially a Nationally Certified Personal Trainer through International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA). I planned on taking out a good 3 to 4 months of studying for the final but my motivation pushed me to complete it in 7 days. This is the power of motivation. When you combine that with your passion the sky is the limit. I woke up about 7 each day and had my nose in the book till about 9 that night. I have officially had an information overload but pulled out a 93% on the final. After testing for 12 hours in an open book test my brain was gone. I dreamed that night that I made a 23%, it was horrible. The next morning I received the good news. Anybody that is serious about become a quality certified personal trainer I would definitely recommend going through ISSA. It teaches the body on a cellular level, how we create movement, anatomy, how to handle injury, kinesiology, nutrition, body fat calculations, and a lot more. What they lacked in was the actual biomechanics of basic movements that every trainer should know. For example, squat, press, bench, and deadlift. These are the primary barbell movements that every trainer should have an in depth knowledge about and how to train them. There is no test at the end of it but if you want to be a better trainer read Mark Rippetoe's books "Starting Strength" and "Practical Programing"; and if you have the opportunity, go to one of his seminars. At the least look up his educational videos on YouTube or buy them as a part of this "Starting Strength" book combo. Lacking in either book or biomechanics knowledge will always leave the trainee out to suffer and ultimately tarnish your name as a trainer.

Yesterday July 26th

What the girls did:

Squat 5x3
then
5 pull ups
10 push ups
5 bent rows
10 push press
3 rounds for time

Today July 27th:

Press 5x3
then
Run 400 meters
15 Body Squats
4 rounds for time

Body weight 116lbs Clean and Jerk 231.48 lbs. Increadible. I love finding example like this to show that women do not turn into men when they get stronger. Each female trainee that I have train Squat, Press, and Deadlift with low reps high weight then paired with conditioning.

What The Girls Did

This finishes week three of the two new clients I have been training. They have no lifting background but are picking up very fast. It has only been 3 weeks but I can already see improvement in there form and strength.

Deadlift 5 x 3
then
Burpies
Bent Rows
21, 15, 9
for Time

She Clean and Jerks 96 kg/211.64lbs at Body Weight of 47.88kg./105.6lbs!! Increadible!!

My Rest Week

I am glad that all I have to look forward to this week is mountain biking and body weight exercises. It is tough for me to stay away from the weights. Probably around Wen. I will be itching to lift something heavy. After a rest week like this I always some back to the gym motivated and completely rested ready to go at it. When I start back I will be restarting my mesocycle of 3 months lifting a lighter weight at 5 reps 3 sets. As you all know I definitely promote 70'sBig.com. I had some lifting goals and they helped me break out of eating like a bird, lifting little bird weight. In about a 3 month time frame I put on 35lbs. body weight. My stomach went from flat abs to rounded keg and my lifts started growing ridiculous amounts. As I grew I accepted that I would put on some body fat. When I was small with a diet consistent of cottage cheese and almonds (bird food) I weighed in at 165lbs. My body fat % was around 12%. After growing my BF% went up to 14%. 2% for 35 pounds!! that is 70% muscle gain which means that out of 35lbs, 24.5lbs was muscle! Right now I'm at 200lbs and 14% Body Fat. This is a perfect place for me to stay for a while and see what I can do with it.

What I did today:
Eat, write this post, study ISSA Cert.

What the girls did:
Squat 5x3
then
500 Rope Turns
Every miss is 7 Hanging Leg Raises

Pushing Limits

This was the last week of the third month with the lifting cycle of 2 reps 8 sets. It will now start over after a week of rest going lighter with 5 reps 3 sets. I learned a lot this last month. Lifting heavy for a month straight is ridiculously hard. It has taught me how to judge what percentage of weight I should used based off my 1 rep max. I has seen suggestions of doing 85% of your 1RM but I would recommend working with 90-92%. Remember the last month is a very heavy month but don't push it too far. I pushed myself too far and tried to work about 96% of my 1RM. Lesson learned.

What I did:
Deadlift 1x5

What the girls did:
Deadlift 5x3
then
400M run
1 minute push up plank
4 rounds for time.

This dude cracks me up every time.

ISSA Certification

Time to take the next step in my education. International Sport Science Association (ISSA) has some of the best education for starting out in a personal training career. I have been self educated for the last year, but my basis of knowledge come from Tim Favreau at Hybrid Fitness. He has lead me down the right path since I started lifting. If it wasn't for that guidance then I would probably be like a lot of other trainers out there that only care about the numbers there "trainees" lift without caring about the trainee. I am here to help people and change lives not break them.

What I did:
Bench 2x8
then
Barbell Complex 95lbs (as Prescribed by Tim Favreau)
Power Clean x5
Front Squat x5
Push Press x5
Romanian Deadlift x5
Bent Rows x5
5 Rounds for Time

What the girls did:
Press 5x3
then
7 swings
7 push ups
7 pull ups
4 rounds for time

This guy is only 17 throwing 443lbs overhead!!

The Bench Press

I am pro home gym as you all should know by now. I just recently picked up a free bench that is old school and solid as a rock. This excites me because I can now move into programing a movement that I have neglected. Most people in gyms these days place the bench press as the cornerstone of strength. I would challenge anyone to go ask a friend or someone you know that works out in a gym and ask them how there lifts are going. First to come out of there mouth is what there bench press is. Don't really know why this is but it is. If you dive deep enough you will also see that there weakest is typically deadlift, if they do it at all. This is because there is really no way you can cheat a deadlift. The person can do it with horrible form or hitch it up the thigh, but the weight will still have to be lifted off the ground. Unlike the bench, squat, or press; they all can be cut short and then the person can brag about how amazingly "strong" they are.

Tuesday's Power Cleans will be replaced with Bench Press, and PC will be placed before Deadlift on friday.

What I did today:
Squat 2x8 295lbs.
then
Conditioning

I recently started training 3 new girls in the gym. I will be posting there workouts.

What the girls did today:
Squat 5x3
then
Jumping Lunges
Push ups
21, 15, 9

Good example of strong women who don't have beastly man bodies. A lot of women are afraid of developing this body type when they start strength training.