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.

Losing Your Man Card

So, I'm a little confused. When did men decide to forfeit their man card and women decide that it is attractive. I was out on a leisurely stroll with the wife one hot summer night getting some ice cream when I noticed these two women holding hands. As the wife and I got closer I realized that one was a man (only biologically). This immediately inflamed me. The lady this man (only biologically) was with was very cute. So I thought, what about this frail, girlesk, feminine body was attractive to this lady? But even more than this, his swagger, if you can call it that, was equally as feminine. Look, I'm not harping on dudes that don't workout. There are plenty of men that display their man cards proudly that have never hit up a gym in their lives. I'm just trying to understand how women find this attractive:



Men, I'm calling all of you to step your game up! When you fall into anti man card category you represent all us men poorly!! I challenge you (first step to being a man, you can never refuse a challenge) to go out to Play It Again Sports (or any athletic sporting goods store) and pick up a 300 lbs. bar and weight set. This will range from $100 - $200. You can afford it, put down the palm aid and blow dryer, sell some of your girly cloths that won't fit after you start eating and lifting appropriately; take the money you have saved and pick up this simple tool. Start lifting and you will soon find the advantages of being a man!

Rest Week!!

Today is my last workout until I take my monthly week off. As mentioned in last post I read Jim Wendler's "5/3/1" book and it has inspired me. The training intensity that I am on right now is awesome, but only for a short amount of time. Wendler emphasizes a life long lifting mentality; not, do something for 90 days and quit. Apart of his program requires me to find my one rep max on Squat, Bench, and Deadlift. It's been about 6 months or so since I did a DL 1RM and performed outstanding, but I don't like doing them very often. It takes A LOT out of you, at least it did for me. The answer; Wendler came up with a simple program of finding a hypothetical 1 RM that is not absolutely accurate but will help you find a good number to start with without actually doing a 1 RM. This is what I did this week with my Squat, Bench, and today Deadlift. After today I will take a week off by performing active rest and then start Wendlers 5/3/1 program the following monday. The program that I made and have been doing the last 6 months has been awesome. I am not psychologically or physically burnt out and my numbers are going up consistently. I don't want to push it to that point where I'm overtrained and have to do longer recovery. So I'm changing it up while I'm still in the green and will hit up 5/3/1 for 6 months or so and see where I'm at.

What I did this week:
Mon.
Squat 270lbs max reps, Got 10
Wen.
Bench 190lbs. max reps, Got 10
Fri.
Deadlift 360lbs. max reps Got 6 (Disappointed with this number, goal was 8)

The knowledge of Jim Wendler

I received Jim Wendlers book "5/3/1" in the mail this weekend and read it through in one day. It's not a very big book but has a lot of good information in it. I would highly recommend anyone looking for a new program or just a well rounded lifting mentality to pick it up. I ordered it from EliteFTS.com and it came with a free "mystery" shirt. Mine just so happened to be a long sleeve shirt in the middle of summer.

What I did:
Squat 270lbs 1 set, max reps. (Goal was 8, I got 10) Really good day!
then
Light conditioning

Wendler is a beast!! You could hide small children in that beard.

Competing

I'm very excited to start looking into Powerlifting Competitions. You can click on this link Powerlifting Comp's to get a list of competitions throughout the nation. I was looking into one that meets Sept. 11 but found that it will not work out unfortunately; but there are plenty of other competitions to choose from. From what I have found there aren't any that are within 4 hours of my home town. This raises the question, how can I bring powerlifting comp's into my town? Most of the gyms in the area are fluff gyms. This does not discourage me from going gym to gym asking if they have thought about or want to look into hosting a PL comp. If you have any suggestions or know of competitions that are closer to Huntsville, AL email mail me at mattpittman75@gmail.com or leave a comment.

The girls that I am training have just finished their first month. I can already see small changes in there strength levels and fine tuning their technique. I do not have any of my clients sign a contract to stay with me X amount of time, but I do ask that they stay a minimum of 3 months in order to see some very clear results.

What the girls did:

Squat 3x5
then
3 pull ups
5 push ups
7 body squats
max rounds in 10 minutes

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.

Traveling/New Program

I've had a really busy month. Graduated from college, traveled to Dallas, Houston and NYC. For some reason everyone I know has decided to get married this summer so I'm hitting up a lot of wedding as well which really equals out to free BBQ and beer. Luckily I have had the opportunity keep lifting as I traveled. The free week gym memberships is a life saver when there is no other option. Globo-Gyms UNITE!! Anyways, I'm really glad to be back in my gym where the only person criticizing me is my own damn thoughts; instead of the guy doing cable cross overs while flexing in the mirror to see his "swol" while Brittany Spears is playing throughout the gym...... including the bathrooms. Glad that headache is done with!! Alright!! Back to death metal and defeating gravity.

New Program time!! Rest is awesome and I've neglected to tackle the idea because I really didn't know how to approach it or how often. Thanks to Tim Favreau at Hybridfitness.blogspot.com taking a rest week once every 3-4 weeks is needed if you are lifting 3-4 times a week. So, once a month take a week off to recover. I am going to incorporate this with a program I made myself and see how I like it and how it progresses my lifts.

After each month take an active week off using 50% of what your work weight would be or enjoy an activity that you have neglected because you are lifting. Example: Biking, swimming, skateboarding, surfing, rock climbing, etc.

MONTH 1:

Mon:
Squat 5 reps 3 sets
then
Conditioning of Choice (COC)

Tue:
Power Cleans 5X3
then
COC

Wen:
OFF

Thur:
Press 5X3
then
COC

Fri:
Deadlift 5X3


MONTH 2:

Mon:
Squat 3 reps 5 sets
then
COC

Tue:
Power Clean 3X5
then
COC

Wen:
OFF

Thur:
Press 3X5
then
COC

Fri:
Deadlift 3X5

MONTH 3:

Mon:
Squat 2X8
then
COC

Tue:
Power Clean 1X5
then
COC

Wen:
OFF

Thur:
Press 2X8
then
COC

Fri:
Deadlift 1X5

This guys is awesome!! Just listen to his grunts!!

Deadlift

Ah, the end of the week. I always like fridays!! I have successfully accomplished all of my lifts and look forward to 2 days off; Eating some good food and looking forward to increasing my lifts the next week. I was at a wedding last weekend and was sent home with 10lbs. of pulled pork. I did my best to eat over a pound of it a day on top of everything else I take in. This week has been amazing. I have about 4lbs. left which should be polished off by Sunday.

Training:
Deadlift 5x1
then
100 rope turns
15 push ups
6 rounds for time

Natural ability + outstanding coaching = This guy


I love seeing a lifter hit a wall were you know it is taking every ounce of concentration to keep good form and press right through it. In this situation, a lot of people I have seen will start hitching to lock out the lift. This is a good example of how to stay focused and keep good form when you hit the crossroads of dropping the weight or hitching to lock it out.

Food!!

"It is important that the total caloric content of the diet be at least equal to, but preferably greater than, the total caloric expenditure of the training day. Matching intake to expenditure will maintain fitness and strength but will not support maximal fitness gain. A caloric surplus is needed to drive progress. If we simply pay back the energy used during exercise and daily activities, we are not providing the extra energy required to homeostatic recovery and adaptation through muscle mass increase. To get stronger and more fit we need to consume somewhere around 200 to 400 calories more energy than we expend. This is a relatively small caloric excess, and much more than this should be avoided, since a huge caloric surplus can and will be stored as fat." (Rippetoe, Kilgore, Pendlay 2008)

I make sure all of my meals consist primarily of protein, and I try to get in as many vegetables as I can. What calories I miss out on at the end of the day are made up for by a big bowl of ice cream before I go to bed, along with a tall glass of whole milk.

Training:
3x3 Power Clean and Jerk
then
4x400 meter sprints
1 minute rest between each sprint

Progress

I have been taught a lot the last 5 years through really good mentoring and personal experience. Out of all that I have learned the hardest and most challenging ability that I am very slowing picking up is teaching others what I have learned. This is a very fine art. This quote posted by Tim Favreau of Hybrid Fitness says a lot.

Mmmmm, Deadlifts

Everyone that has lifted for any amount of time knows that they are better at some lifts then others. Deadlifts are what I'm naturally better at; so today is something that I look forward to every week. It's also the end of the training week. The weekend offers good rest, food, and other activities that I can't fit into my week of training.

Training:
Deadlift 5x1
then
Conditioning of your choice.

I love this crazy Latvian! Notice his deadlifts are not bounced off the ground. He resets, completely decompressed and then DEADlifts the weight back off the ground. At 837.8lbs. that is incredible!!

Summer Time

This is my first year back in Alabama. The weather is outstanding, which makes me want to stay outside all day. This brings me back to some of the activities that I have abandoned the last couple years. Five Fingers Jogging, Mountain Biking, and yes.... Skateboarding. These are all really great conditioning exercises that I will incorporate into my strength training this summer.

The wrong way.


The right way to run barefoot or in your Vibram Five Fingers