Unevenness

Unevenness

            Do you feel bad that one of your arms is stronger than the other?  Do you hate it when you are doing bench press and one side always seems heavier than the other?  Do you look in the mirror and see that you are more defined in one area than the other?  Do you feel like a loser because of this?  DON’T BE!  You are just experiencing unevenness and it happens to all of us.  No, you’re not a loser because one arm can curl 50 and the other can only curl 45.  All this means is that one of your arms is stronger than the other and it’s probably because when you first started lifting you would put more pressure on that arm.  Or maybe when you first started lifting you would curl till you couldn’t curl anymore with that arm, that’s ok but it has now caused you to become uneven in your lifting. 

            It is very easy for you to fix this simple problem by just doing the same lifts that you were doing before.  All you have to do is figure out which arm (or leg or chest or shoulder or whatever) is weaker than the other.  Then you have to find a weight that is comfortable for you to do with that weak arm, do your regular amount of reps that you usually would with the weak arm first, then whatever the amount of reps you did with the weak arm, do the same amount with the strong arm.  Even though you know that you could do so many more reps with that strong arm, only do what you did with the weak arm.  Do the same for any other muscle unevenness you may have.

            What this does is it lowers the strength of your strong arm just a little bit, but at the same time it strengthens you weak arm to the point that it becomes even with the other arm.  Do this for every exercise on that muscle group till you feel that your two arms (or whatever) are even in strength. 

            A good way to prevent something like this from happening is to make sure that no matter what you always do the same amount of reps for both extremities.  If you feel that you are uneven in your bench press it may have happened when you were trying to do your normal sets and when you are getting tired and weaker you push your body to the side that you feel is weaker, this is ok for a few times if you just really need to finish sets.  Although if you continue to do this then you are just using your body to help one side press the weight up and this will cause the side that was already weak to become even weaker because it doesn’t have to work nearly as hard because it’s so used to having you body push itself up. 

            Unevenness SUCKS, and I hope this post helped you in your constant battle with unevenness.  If you want help with your battle COMMENT! Remember, we’re all in this together, keep your stick on the ice.

Dieting, the Suckiest, But Most Important Thing in Lifting

Dieting, the Suckiest, But Most Important Thing in Lifting

            There are many diets that people have tried over the years to lose weight, fat, or create figure.  These are a couple of the most effective diets used with weightlifters that I personally have tried and seen results with.

            The most common diet used is the low calories diet.  Just like the name implies, you have to watch all the calories you eat within a day and try to cut it.  The average person eats about 2000 to 2500 calories a day.  A good start would to try to only eat 1500 calories a day, along with your normal exercise.  Working out will also burn many calories causing fat loss.  This diet is more for people with a higher body fat percentage than most elite athletes.

            The best diet to use if you are trying to cut fat is the no carb diet.  Also like the name implies you have to try to eat the least amount of carbs you possibly can, serious athletes only eat about one or two carbohydrates a day.  This works and is used by bodybuilders because carbs carry a lot of fat.  The only bad thing about this diet is that it may cause you to feel tired and have little energy at times.  This is a diet best used for athletes that only have little fat that they are trying to burn.

            Diets suck but these are some of the best, I urge you to try one of them for at least a couple weeks.  Remember, we’re all in this together, keep your stick on the ice.  

Hydration

Hydration

            Of course everyone knows that hydration is essential in all types of physical activity and especially in weightlifting.  Although there are many different ways to hydrate yourself and it’s important to know these different ways so you can make a plan depending on what your goals are.  Something as simple as what your drink, how your drink it and how much you drink it can make a big difference in your weightlifting gains. 

            Water is always the best choice when weightlifting or doing any strenuous activity because it gives back your body all of the water it is losing due to sweat and heat, and it also has no sugar and calories to worry about.  Because of the lack of calories and sugars it is the best liquid to drink if you are trying to lose weight.  Although the bad thing about water is that because it has no calories, you have the risk of losing muscle mass to all the energy being lost through heat.  One drastic and extreme method to lose weight really fast is to work out really hard and try to drink the least amount of water your can, this will make your lose all of your water weight because of sweat and them you don’t gain water weight back.  This can be very dangerous and should only be tried in desperate situations, because this has a high chance of dehydration and unconsciousness. 

            Gatorade and Powerade are better for people who are trying more to gain muscle mass and are not too worried about losing weight or fat.  Gatorade and Powerade is both full of sugars, potassium, calories, and carbohydrates, which are all vital ingredients for muscle growth and recovery of the muscles.  All of the sugars you lose to the burn in your muscles can be replaced by drinking Gatorade.  These sports drinks are good for work and sweat but can be very unhealthy if you haven’t been sweating a lot, working, or intense training, because of all the sugars and calories.

            Some liquids, should never be drank while or before a workout.  Soda, coffee, energy drinks, milk, and most fruit juices are very bad to drink before your workout because of the condition it puts you in.  Soda and energy drinks, obviously, are loaded with sugars and carbs that cause you to be tired and out of breath quicker while you are lifting.  Even diet soda or diet energy drinks can do this, believe me I’ve tried drinking soda before a workout and I just about puked and felt so tired and weak.  Coffee is a big one to look out for, because lots of people workout early in the morning and drink coffee beforehand to wake up.  This is one of the worst things to do because of the simple fact that coffee soaks up moisture and actually dehydrates you as you drink it, so you are already dehydrated before you even start to lift.  The best advice I can give for this, is to wait at least an hour after you drink coffee to start lifting.  Again, trust me I once drank some coffee, worked out, and when I was done, I became extremely jittery because of the burning of sugar and I was this close to passing out.  Milk, is a thicker liquid than most and ferments after a while, we all know this, so if you drink milk before you lift, the milk will curdle in your stomach and cause a high risk of vomiting.  Although, drinking milk, especially chocolate milk, AFTER a workout can be one of the best things for you because of the sugars and natural proteins in it.

            I hope this post has helping you in your understanding of hydration.  Remember, we’re all in this together, keep your stick on the ice.       

Get Rid Of Your Fat (Fatty)

Get Rid Of Your Fat (Fatty)

            Getting rid of fat can become the worst thing ever when exercising, especially since we are in America, where it’s so easy to get fat.  So I will tell you a great workout I’ve created to help get rid of lower stomach fat.  Also I will tell you a great diet that professional bodybuilders use to cut off fat and get extremely lean.  It’s like two awesome tips, in one post, boom boom.

            First all you need is space and if you have one a treadmill and either a bench press or a vertical bench press.  If you don’t have either of these then I can give you some substitutions that you can use to get the same results.  Start out with sprinting a quarter of a mile, as fast as you can, this will get the sweat going.  Then you can rest for a little bit, but instead of just resting, you will be doing either vertical or regular bench press for ten reps with a challenging but comfortable weight.  Then again without resting too long, sprint another quarter mile as fast as you can.  Then again bench press ten reps, and repeat this process for four to five times.  But, no you’re not done yet, then you have to jog at a moderate but steady pace for at least a half a mile more, then you are done.  If you don’t feel the burn after that, there is something majorly wrong with you.

            If you don’t have a bench press or a treadmill, you can replace the quarter mile of running, with thirty seconds of burpees, and replace the bench press with ten to fifteen pushups.  This should give you close to the same results.

            Now, a great diet that many bodybuilders use to lose fat is a no carb diet.  It sounds just like what you would think, try to eat the least amount of carbohydrates that you can each day for about three to four weeks.  It sucks cause that means no, pastas, starches, and red meats, but it really works.

            Now if you have another diet that you heard works great for cutting fat, or another fat losing workout, COMMENT.  Remember, we’re all in this together, keep your stick on the ice.

 

Forearms

Forearms

            Forearms are the main muscle that helps your wrists and control; it is great for almost all sports, to help in effectiveness, flexibility, and structure.  Martial arts, boxing, wrestling, golf, and pure awesomeness, are all things that use your forearms as a vital muscle.  A few exercises can help in focusing on your forearm muscles, but mainly doing bicep exercises and gaining weight on exercises will naturally get gains of your forearms because of the constant pressure on your hands and wrists.

·         Reverse Curls – Just like doing a regular barbell curl for you biceps but this time reverse your grip in the bar with your knuckles pointing towards you.  When doing this exercise be sure to keep your wrists locked in a certain position to avoid pulling something or turning the reverse curl into a hang clean.  The reverse curl works the top strip of muscle on your forearms.

·         Reverse Barbell Wrist Curls – Probably the most effective exercise for forearms are the reverse barbell wrist curls.  Stand with a barbell behind your back and your grip with your fingers pointing away from you.  Then just simply bend your wrists up lifting the weight with it.  When doing this exercise be sure to stand still and not use your body to gain momentum on the exercise.  This works the back of your forearms which is used more in your forearm than the top.

·         Seated Dumbbell Wrist Curls – With this exercise use just one dumbbell while seated on a bench.  Then, rest the middle of your forearm on your thigh while holding the dumbbell in a reverse grip and curl your wrist up along with the dumbbell.   

·         Hand Grippers – Just about every hand exercise will also naturally work your forearms, you can use store bought spring grippers for your hands or most gyms have some sort of machine to help work your hands.

These are about all of the forearm exercises I know, if you know more, or you want me to add something more that I didn’t cover, COMMENT! Remember, we’re all in this together, keep your stick on the ice.