Metabolism

Ok, so check this out!!

"Muscle is the engine for your metabolism. If you gain one pound of muscle, you must consume an extra fifty calories per hour to support it. On a brighter note, for every pound of muscle you build, you can eat an extra fifty calories per hour without gaining fat.
Lifting weights with your PowerBlock increases your bone density therefore decreasing your chances for osteoporosis. You will be stronger to rise from your chair or carry grandchildren. Maintaining muscle speeds up your metabolism and increases the good HDL cholesterol. More muscle helps raise your aerobic capacity and prevent type II diabetes because additional muscle uses more oxygen, and takes up extra sugar." (Seabourne, 2000)

The cool part about this article is that it is talking about the benefits for senior citizens. I don't know about you but if this is something that good ol' Doc Seabourne is preaching to help prevent osteoporosis, type II diabetes, and maintain or increase good HDL cholesterol; just think about the benefits it will have on your young body. Besides all of that (which isn't my main point) strength training builds muscle which in turn increases metabolism.

When someone comes to me that is a male/female, 300+ pounds that wants to lose weight; guess what I'm going to tell them...... Strength training. If someone that wants to get better at...... golf.... guess what, strength training. If a early 20's something women want to get in better shape and look better..... strength training.

I'm not saying that all someone has to do is strength train (build muscle) to achieve their goals. I'm just saying that it should be the base for any good program. After it is achieved then go run around like a crazy person and condition your ass off until you have become satisfied.

What most people do is condition their ass off, eat small amounts (1 maybe 2 times a day) and emaciate themselves until they have reached the body type they want. Guess what..... that screws up your metabolism system (along with other things) so bad that when the person decides that they do want to eat food and not spend 2+ hours on the treadmil they will blow up into a big ballon. I'll give you one guess why....... NO MUSCLE MASS (along with other things, i.e. crap diet, lack of strength training). People can mask a "healthy" body, but when their motivation runs out for eating nothing and over conditioning it will show through.

Conclusion:

If you want to lose fat and find a new found metabolism then you need to strength train. (Lady's.... you wont turn into bulky meat heads.... just very well defined, curvy, appealing women with confidence and the strength to kick most emaciated, over conditioned, under fed men's asses.)

Reference:

Seabourne, T. (2000, March). Lead story: your muscle is the engine for your metabolism.. Retrieved from ://www.betterbodz.com/Tom/metabolism_gaining_muscle.html

This looked like a lot of fun. Unofficial meets take the seriousness out of it but lends the experience to someone that is entering a competitive environment. I like it!

Reaching Goals

I'm hitting a lot of long time goal PR's lately. This is due to diligence, diet, programing, and maintaining good technique. Now that I've reached and exceeded every goal that I set over a year ago; I reset and made new goals. Bench 315, Squat 405, and Deadlift 495. These are long term goals, and by long term I mean years. As it stands right now I'm about 75 pounds from hitting these numbers. Some would say that "if you trained right then you should hit them in less then a year." Yeah maybe if I wanted to take on injury and live in an overtrained world during that time. Even then, due to the insane stress I would be putting on my body, I probably would just shut down and shit myself. Don't lose sight of "LIFE LONG LIFTING". Celebrate achievements (steak, beer, veggies) and move on to the next step. I'm not talking about the newer lifters that are joining this insane world. You need to be hitting the gym every chance you get, practicing technique, and greasing the groove. I'm talking about the fellas and shellas that are taking it to the next level and need to maintain scheduled rest for recovery. Moral of the story...... Set goals.... reach goals.....make new goals. Repeat this cycle until you are dead.

Being Busy Is No Excuse

First I want to say sorry for taking so long to post. I'm sure everyone loved looking at the pictures of those two beautiful male entities for so long!! I've had a very busy last couple months. I got a job after being unemployed for 13 months that has taken some adjusting. Fortunately I started Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program at the same time. Reading through his book helped me to better understand the life long lifting mentality that has been beaten into me ever since I meet Tim Favreau. Wendler's program focuses on the primary barbell movements :Squat, Press, Deadlift, and Bench. If you have time after those are accomplished then work on accessory movements supporting the big movements. It's that simple. Sometimes I work accessory stuff or nothing or something that has nothing to do with the movements. Depends on what mood I'm in. The point is, when life gets tough and schedules are overwhelming don't neglect the gym; make it work for you. This takes evaluating your goals to do successfully. For example, I have a goal of squatting 350 in sets. In a stress free, wide open schedule I would work my squats then work a conditioning set up that would focus on my core, quads, and hammies lasting approximately 10 to 15 minutes long. This would take my time in the gym from about 35 minutes or so to about an hour or so. When time is hard to find you have to evaluate your goals. My goal is to squat 350lbs. The best way to get my squat numbers up is to squat. The accessory work is great but when time is tight what should you cut..... the primary movement that is going to get you to your goal or the accessory work that is supplemental to the goal? This understanding with the life long lifting mentality is going to make a stressful, lack of time schedule seem not so bad. Just get in, get it done, and get out. 35ish minutes later you're done, stronger, and still on the road to achieving your goal.