Author Archives: Man Bicep
In case you’ve missed these….
So I’ve done a few posts over at Redefining Strength, which I think are pretty helpful….
In case you didn’t see them (and in case they will help you since I know they answered a number of questions I’ve received recently), I’ve posted them below!
This first post “10 Hanging Core Exercises” is because I get asked for “ab exercises” all the time and honestly crunches really give you very little bang for your buck.
Hanging core exercises on the other hand work on your grip strength, lat strength and core strength. They can help you work toward all sorts of exercises such as pull ups, L-sits and front levers.
They are a compound movement and have some functional benefit…unlike crunches.
For 10 of the Hanging Core Exercises I use most often, check these out!
And while we are discussing core strength, I think it is important that we cover BACK PAIN. One of the best tools to alleviate back, hip, neck and shoulder pain is the PEANUT.
The Peanut is a cheap, homemade tool made out of athletic tape and tennis balls. Here are instructions on how to make and use the Peanut to alleviate your pain! (Can I also just say…It isn’t freaking easy to use spray paint!?!)
And the last two posts I want to point out are on Rotational Exercises and the Dip.
The 10 Rotational Exercises post came up because all too often people are only training in one plane of motion…And then they wonder why they get injured lifting something in everyday life. It is because in everyday life we lift awkward crap in every plane of motion. And if we want to remain injury free, our workouts need to reflect that. (Plus…still on my whole “strengthen your core thing” rotational exercises are great core moves!)
And the Dip post is for all of you women out there asking me how to get sexy arms for tank top, strapless dress and bikini season. The Dip can be a great compound movement to strengthen and tone your entire upper body. Don’t waste your time with isolated movements like the tricep extension! Work numerous muscles at once. And if you are already doing push ups, the Dip is a great vertical push exercise to include in your routines!
And if you can’t do a full dip, the post has some great ways to regress the movement!
Taking It Slow – Why not going all out may lead to better results
It can be very hard to hold yourself back when you feel like you could do more….when you have done more before.
But just because you CAN do something, just because you’ve even done it in the past, doesn’t mean your body is ready to handle it right now.
For instance, I was gym-less for about a month and, on top of that, I’d been focusing on breathing squats and upping my weights with that. I hadn’t done any type of deadlift but supplemental single leg deadlifts for numerous months.
While I’d been working on leg and glute strength, I hadn’t done any conventional deadlifts for a very long time.
So yesterday when I decided to do conventional barbell deadlifts for the first time in many months, I knew I had to take my time and start with less weight than I wanted.
Even when the weight felt easy, I knew I had to take things slowly.
Because while my muscles may have been strong enough and I had even lifted double the weight I was using for double the reps, it really won’t benefit me to just drastic increase the weight after not having done much weight or even that specific movement for a few months.
My body needed time to readjust to the movement. (Plus what would be the point of making myself so sore I threw off my other workouts that week and then couldn’t go harder the next week?!?)
And I considered all of this and chose to use lighter weight even though I’d been doing heavy lifts so my connective tissue was prepared to handle heavy loads.
I took it slow. Because there is no point to push too far too fast.
So just imagine if you hadn’t ever lifted before and you jumped straight into heavy weight.
While your muscles may be able to lift the weight, your body, your connective tissues, may not be ready to handle the load.
And pushing too far too fast will only lead to injury.
So why not take it slow and be able to build up with no setbacks!?!
Is being able to think you are gnarly cause you lifted a ton on your first attempt really worth it?
Or is it more worth it to remain injury free and end up being able to lift even heavier weights in the long run?
I think lifting more weight in the long run and remaining injury free is worth the wait. I think it is worth taking things slowly and not giving into pride.
But maybe that is just me…..
Next time you feel the urge to do more, think about why you really want to do more.
Is it because of pride? Is it because you don’t feel tired enough right then and there and have to “feel” like you did enough?
Is it because you are more focused on being sore than on progression?
Because the thing is…Small incremental changes over time will lead to bigger and better LASTING RESULTS.
Do you find you struggle with being patient and taking things slow?
Find Your Strong – Happy Fourth of July!
I think every holiday should be celebrated with a special workout…And of course food…But definitely a special workout.
Ryan and I every Fourth of July have gone out and done workouts outside at playgrounds.
This year we had our own indoor playground as well as a ton of friends around to play with us!
Celebrate your fourth in style and try our 4th of July Team Workout Challenge!
TEAM WORKOUT CHALLENGE
Set a timer for 5 minutes. Complete as many rounds of the exercise as possible in the 5 minutes. Try to get a team of 3-5 so that you can alternate turns during the 5 minutes. Only one team member may work at a time. Record your score.
#1:
5 minute Rower (record meters completed by team)
#2:
5 minute Bag Pulls (record number of pulls…This can also be back rows)
#3:
5 minutes Stagecoach Battling Rope Waves (record the number of waves that go all the way down)
#4:
5 minutes Partner Sled Pull (your partner stands on slider and you walk backward pulling them. Each 50ft length is one rep)
#5:
5 minutes Monkey Bars (every length you complete is a rep. You can also replace this with a hanging ab exercise or even an inverted row.)
#6:
5 minutes Slam Bagz Burpees (every burpee is a rep…Press the bag overhead then bring it down to the ground and jump back then jump back up and press overhead)
#7:
5 minutes Sledgehammer (count the number of slams…Can also be med ball slams if you don’t have a hammer)
How’d you do!?! Share your scores below!
Here are our scores:
1st Place Team USA with 2,079.5 points
2nd Place Team Cougars with 2,019.5
3rd Place Team Musketeers 1,868
4th Place Team Giraffes 1,845
5th Place Team Pup ‘n Suds 1,639
And I’m also proud to announce that one of my good friends has joined me at Redefining Strength. Jeff has launched his own training program The Resistance Training!
He is absolutely amazing and I can’t be happier for him. I’ve never had someone smile so nicely at me as I just wanted to roll over on the ground and not move for the next hour.
He tailors all of his workouts to meet your specific needs and he knows how to push you just the right amount to get results.
So if you have a chance, check him out!
Man Bicep’s New Home – The Redefining Strength Studio!
This month has been a whirlwind – A crazy, hectic, AMAZING time that hasn’t left me near as much time to post as I would usually like. And I’m sorry if I’ve been a little MIA and slow to respond.
But I’m excited and proud to announce that I’m officially opening The Redefining Strength Fitness Studio in Costa Mesa, California!
Before I say any more about the studio, I need to first thank all of the WONDERFUL and AMAZING people who I have in my life who’ve supported me on this new journey.
When going after your dreams, you know there are going to be people who will put you down and try to hold you back.
And you can’t let yourself listen to them. You can’t let the doubts creep in.
Going after your dreams is going to be hard. It’s going to be stressful. There will be setbacks and days you want to quit.
But no matter what, you can’t give up.
And there will be those amazing friends and family members around you to help keep you moving forward. They will question you. They will force you to work.
They will not blindly follow and agree…And that is what makes them so amazing and supportive.
They will be pushing you forward and making you better.
So before I say anything more about the studio, I want to thank all of you amazing people. I couldn’t have done this without all of your enthusiasm, encouragement and love.
SO THANK YOU!
AND NOW….The Redefining Strength Fitness Studio!
On this wonderful Monday on the last day of June, we are officially open for business! We offer both in-person small group and personal training sessions as well as online training.
We use battling ropes, sandbags, slam bagz, monkey bars, climbing ropes, sledgehammers, tires, kettlebells, sliders, slide boards, rowers, pulley systems, resistance bands, barbells, landmines, dip bars, pull up bars, sleds….And so much more in our training.
If you are looking for a personal trainer in Orange County (or small group training!), check out Redefining Strength! I can guarantee you’ll love it…Not only because I’m amazing, but because the people that I work with are the most friendly/supportive/amazing/hardworking/WONDERFUL people in the world. 😛
I’m so excited for Man Bicep’s new home and all of the great information and posts I can now provide all of you Man Bicepers with!
Why being SORE is overrated
I was talking to Shannon the other day about soreness and what being sore really means.
Because currently SORENESS is the measure of whether or not your workout was tough enough. It’s like soreness has become the GOAL of the workout…not deadlifting more or doing more push ups.
While these are funny…And yes occasionally being sore is not only ok but good, this shouldn’t be your goal after every leg workout!
If people don’t get sore after a workout, they all too often think it wasn’t hard enough. That they needed to work harder or do more.
But that just isn’t true.
Honestly, you SHOULD NOT be sore after every single workout.
Because soreness doesn’t truly measure how TOUGH the workout was or even how beneficial it was. (And every workout SHOULD NOT be the toughest thing you’ve ever done anyway!)
I believe that soreness has become a measure for how good our workout is because we don’t track or progress our workouts.
When we don’t have a clear progression and track our results, we don’t have any idea of whether or not our workouts are working.
So we figure that, if we aren’t sore, we didn’t push hard enough that day because we don’t truly know what HARD ENOUGH is.
HARD ENOUGH is getting results.
Are we constantly moving forward?
Soreness doesn’t mean we are moving forward, but in many cases it is the only measurement we have.
And the problem with that is, soreness doesn’t equal growth. It doesn’t mean we are getting closer to our goals.
It just means we did something that broke our body down.
It could mean the workout was super hard. Or it could simply mean that the workout was different. It could also mean that your recovery (nutrition, sleep and such) aren’t on point making you more sore for longer.
So while it could mean we are moving forward, it doesn’t have to mean that.
Soreness isn’t progress. Recovering from the breakdown is what leads to results.
Hard workouts without recovery mean you are constantly breaking your body down without ever letting it grow and repair so it can become stronger.
STRENGTH COMES FROM RECOVERY NOT FROM SORENESS.
SORENESS DOES NOT EQUAL PROGRESS.
It just means you did something to break your body down.
It isn’t a measure of success. It doesn’t mean you are gnarly. It doesn’t even mean your workouts are WORKING.
It just means you did something to make yourself sore.
And if you don’t recover, if you don’t have a clear program, all that hard work that made you “sore” will be for nothing more than to feel sore.
So stop thinking of soreness as a sign of success. Stop focusing on making yourself sore from every single workout.
Stop freaking out the next day that you didn’t work hard enough because you aren’t sore!
SORENESS IS NOT A GOAL!
Track actual results and seek to grow better with each workout NOT just simply get sore.
If you want to get sore, just go out and do the hardest moves you can every day in random order, never repeating the same workout twice. Then you can always be sore and never get anywhere!
Stop Judging YOURSELF
So I’ve eaten meals with a number of clients recently and all of them have said basically the same thing to me:
“Don’t look at what I’m eating!!”
My answer is usually, “I don’t care! I’m not judging.”
Because it’s true. I’m NOT JUDGING.
You can eat whatever you want.
The only time I’m going to care or comment is if you ask me a question or ask me for help reaching a specific goal. (And yes, if you ask for my help and then complain that you aren’t reaching your goal when you aren’t truly following my advice…Then yes…I may be judging you…)
Otherwise it is your life and lots of different things work for lots of different people!
They say it in a joking manner…But there is an insecurity behind it. And, all of these clients who think they are worried about what I’m thinking are actually more insecure because of how they are judging THEMSELVES.
How much of that fear of judgement comes from the fact that we are judging ourselves and not happy with the verdict?
We often make excuses for our behavior if we think those around us won’t approve instead of just going about our business because it is how we do things and how we want to live our lives.
We don’t want them to judge us because that would only reinforce what we are thinking.
By excusing our behavior, we think that, to some extent, we will prevent judgement.
But while we “think” we are trying to prevent judgement from others, we are actually trying to quiet down our own internal judge.
Because let’s face it most people don’t care about anyone but themselves….And I don’t mean this in a negative narcissistic way…I just mean that the little flaws we see, the judgements we are making about ourselves, no one else even cares about because they are more focused on themselves and their life!
So the question then is….Why are you judging yourself?
If you don’t like your decisions, why are you making them?
We should feel confident and support our own decisions.
If I want to eat bad, even if no one else is, I’m going to eat bad! And I’m not going to excuse it or feel guilty about it.
I’m going to enjoy it!
And if I’m going to feel guilty about it, why would I do it?!
Because my guilt is truly what I’m excusing…I’m trying to make myself feel ‘ok’ about the decision almost by getting support from those around me and reassurance that they aren’t judging.
If they aren’t judging, maybe I don’t need to judge myself, right?!?
WRONG!
No one can reassure you but you.
And when you start realizing that the judgement of others isn’t what you truly fear, you can start to analyze why you are judging yourself.
So next time you feel like you need to excuse your behavior to someone, think about it first.
Do you really need their approval?
Why are you excusing the behavior? Do you fear judgement? Or do feel guilty and are truly judging yourself?
And if you are judging yourself, how are you going to change your behaviors so you don’t feel guilty…So that you can love yourself and feel comfortable in your own skin?
Slosh Pipe Workout
The other day I made a slosh pipe and of course I was then dying to use it with everyone! (If you don’t know how to make one, check out these instructions!)
Here is a great slosh pipe workout to try once you make yours for under $10!
Slosh Pipe Workout
WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Quads
Hamstrings
Hips/Glutes
Back
Chest
WORKOUT
Set a timer for 30 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest. Move from one exercise to another and do work the entire 30 seconds followed by the 15 second transition time. After completing a round of all 5 exercises, rest for about 1 minute then repeat. Complete 5-8 rounds of the circuit!
CIRCUIT:
30 seconds Lunge with Rotation
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Low To High Choppers
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Squat to Alternating Overhead Press
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Duck Under Squat
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Russian Twists
1 minute Rest
COOL DOWN
Let your heart rate come down while walking around then stretch and roll out!
Have you ever used a slosh pipe? What are your favorite exercises?
P.S. For instructions on these moves and more, check out these 10 Slosh Pipe Exercises.
Eating Well Isn’t Only About Cutting Out…
I think all too often we think that to eat well means to CUT OUT foods.
And this attitude is what causes many people to never want to make dietary changes.
And I don’t blame them!
Who wants to think that eating well means cutting out tons of calories or the foods they love?
NO ONE!
But eating well isn’t about cutting out…It can actually be about adding in, making swaps and FINDING BALANCE.
The focus on CUTTING OUT is what gets us into trouble. It is what makes us feel deprived. It is what makes us not want to stick to our program. It even can hinder us from getting the results we want.
This focus on cutting out is what makes people think that eating well means suffering.
It leads people to never want to commit to a lifestyle change because eating well is too difficult and doesn’t even get them the results they want.
Sometimes this belief that eating well is just about cutting out leads to people cutting out too much.
For instance, while cutting calories is necessary if your goal is weight loss, there is such a thing as cutting out too many calories. Cutting out too many calories can slow your metabolism and stall your weight loss.
Sometimes by actually ADDING IN higher calorie days, especially on days when you are more active, you can keep your metabolism running strong.
Also, sometimes by ADDING IN those foods you love on a cheat day or in moderation a couple of times a week can keep you on track. They can keep you moving forward toward your goals.
Sometimes if you don’t add in any indulgences, you feel deprived and those feelings of deprivation may lead to an all out binge that will completely derail your progress.
Basically what all this means is that if you restrict yourself too much, if you cut out too much, you are going to stall, and maybe even derail, your progress.
Also people think that with eating well they have to cut out all of the food they love and that just isn’t true!
Ever heard the quote “Strive for progress NOT perfection?”
Well that is exactly what you need to do. It’s all about the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of the time you eat what your body needs, 20% you indulge in what your mind wants!
Start making small changes, don’t just cut out everything at once.
Those foods that you love, that you feel you can’t live without, SHOULD NOT be the first foods you remove from your diet.
And on top of that, you aren’t simply cutting out foods, you are swapping them for healthier variations.
If you enjoy french fries, you don’t have to cut them out completely! Either you can choose to indulge in them as part of your 20% OR you can find a HEALTHIER VARIATION.
For instance, you could BAKE fries in your oven!
If you don’t find ways that you can ENJOY eating well, you aren’t going to stick with the lifestyle change.
AKA YOU CAN’T SIMPLY CUT THINGS OUT!
You need to find BALANCE with eating well and indulging. You need to find HEALTHY SWAPS for those foods you love the most.
And you need to make slow steady changes so that each change becomes habit before you start working on something else.
Eating well doesn’t have to feel like punishment and it most definitely isn’t only about cutting things out!
The Share Something Inspiring Challenge
At the end of May, I got an email from Fit Approach about a challenging they were doing with Lorna Jane as part of their Sweat Pink Movement – The Share Something Inspiring Challenge.
I figured why not join! I already try to share motivating and inspiring things so why not just try to do it even more often. And it will make me seek out even more amazing, motivational and funny quotes to share!
I thought, “Oh this is great…Offering even more motivation to my clients! A challenge that makes me an even better motivator for the people I care about…HECK YES!”
HOWEVER, the one thing I didn’t expect was that finding all of these extra motivational things to share would affect my own attitude.
I consider myself, in general, to be a very happy, energetic and optimistic person…sarcastic and realistic also but truly optimistic. And driven…most definitely driven….
But I felt myself perk up every time I looked for motivational things to share. There was something about the added extra “positiveness” in my daily routine that made me feel even more upbeat and even more determined to reach my goals.
And it wasn’t that every quote I used resonated with how I was feeling….It was the fact that the extra positive thoughts made me think even more positively.
Which makes sense…Positive thoughts (aka thinking about motivational stuff) mean a positive attitude. And a positive attitude and thoughts mean positive actions.
What that means is every NEGATIVE thought we indulge in about ourselves, our looks, our lives, our goals…..Negatively affects our attitude and, more importantly, our actions.
Even though it wasn’t me consciously thinking positively, the positive environment and positive “thinking” affected my attitude.
That led me to what I wanted to write about today, which is the fact that every time we put ourselves down, every time we read negative things or say negative things, it affects our attitude and our thoughts.
And those thoughts and attitudes, be they positive or negative, are what shape our actions.
So whether you realize it or not, whether you are being “serious” or not, whether you are consciously or unconsciously thinking it, your brain hears everything that you say and think, good or bad.
And those thoughts affect our attitudes even if we don’t realize they are there.
So as obvious as this may sound, you need to surround yourself with the attitude you want to have. Because that attitude will affect every other aspect of your life.
And the more you can immerse yourself in those surroundings, the better off you are going to be.
Because positivity breeds more positivity EVEN if you don’t think those positive things are affecting you, THEY ARE!
Don’t let your attitude hold you back from accomplishing great things!
Injury Prevention – Don’t Skip Your Warm Up
I’ve written a number of articles about injury prevention and the importance of following these four steps:
1. Foam Rolling (Self-Myofascial Release or SMR)
2. Stretching
3. Activation
4. Strengthening (The “workout”)
These four steps help prevent imbalances and make sure you have good movement patterns.
However, most people skip the first three steps and go right to the fourth step because the fourth step is fun and they see the most direct results from it (aka weight loss, strength, endurance).
What they don’t realize though is that without the first three steps, without a well-balanced program, they risk having all that work they put in at the gym to lose weight and get stronger, backfire on them.
Because jumping right into your work out after you’ve been sitting all day doesn’t make for good movement patterns.
Why doesn’t it make for good movement patterns?
Because you are sitting at a computer all day typing, which isn’t a natural position for us!
Which one are you guilty of?
And sitting in that unnatural position for 9 hours a day means that you are going to have created imbalances – imbalances that won’t truly allow you to do all of your exercise movements correctly.
So if you always just jump right into your workouts and do nothing to reverse the effects of sitting at your desk all day, you are probably going to get injured.
You can’t skip your “warm up!” Because your warm up is when you begin to reverse all those negative effects from sitting all day!
You need to WARM UP your body and ready it for the more intense movements it’s going to do. You need to loosen up tight muscles, return them to their proper length-tension relationships and then you need to get those underactive muscles active and ready to do the work they should be doing.
Here are some great guidelines to follow for a proper warm up.
Also, when it comes to warming up, I often find that people do know a variety of stretches to do. They even more often know what activation moves to do than they do foam rolling techniques to use.
Foam rolling is still one of those things that isn’t as widely known or as widely used.
That is why I put together a Foam Rolling Course to Alleviate Aches and Pains…Because all too often people don’t know how to target specific areas of pain.
This course has 33 videos showing you how to roll out common areas of tightness throughout your body. It also does have stretching, activation and strengthening moves included for common aches, pains and injuries.
So don’t skip your warm up and jump right to step four. If you want to prevent injury, you need to warm up properly and foam rolling, stretch and activate!
P.S. Here is also a great basic full body warm up I use!
Man Bicep 