Zen My Fitness – Linking Muscle and Mind

Posts Tagged ‘weight lifting’

At times I feel like I have reached my maximal weightlifting limit and any progression stops or only increases at a snail’s pace which you could say is a weightlifting plateau.

It's Not All About Lifting Heavier and Heavier

There are a number of causes why plateaus happen and I will identify one of the most frequently occurring causes and offer 4 methods which helps me to break through this plateau.

I don’t like to change my current workout at a whim so by using these few simple tactics gives me enough ‘kick along’ to get out of a ‘rut’ and keep my progression moving forward, whilst still being able to use my existing program.

REASONS FOR PLATEAUS Read the rest of this entry »

Do women go for a Body Builder or Yoga Master? Pavement Pounders or Mountain Climbers?

A survey done by Quirkology.com found that the highest rated male activity that attracts females are climbing, extreme sports and soccer!

The bottom three are body building, golf and aerobics.

I guess if you are training to be the next Jay Cutler and on the prowl for that some one special you might have to reconsider your type of fitness hobby! … Not a chance?  so don’t drop that dumb bell yet!

Fortunately my Eastern European buddy Vaclav Gregor, the Founder of Muscle Pyramid supplied this guest article for me on that exact topic on how to get a lean, dominate and masculine body whilst still hitting the weights.

Over to you Vaclav! Read the rest of this entry »

Most people only think of stretching routines as a method for increasing flexibility.

Recently I wrote about how stretching effects your GTOs (Golgi Tendon Organs) which helps you to lift heavier, and lifting heavier means you grow more!

But I want you to know about this other secret tip on how to “increase muscle size” by stretching during your work out when timed correctly.

It’s called fascia stretching.

Don’t mix this up for facial stretching, the “Celebrity Botox” kind.

I mean fascia, its a dense type of connective tissue, all of the muscle in your body is enclosed in this fascia.

The job of fascia is to help protect muscles and allow them to maintain their position throughout the body.

By stretching your fascia you can actually allow for more muscle growth to occur. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the best ways to develop overall functional fitness is to adopt methods used by MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighters.       

BJ Penn Underwater Training

 Using these methods you will be able to tweak your current routine into a very effective total body conditioning workout.       

Top class fighters like BJ Penn, Sean Sherk, Rich Franklin and Georges St Pierre all develop explosive power, speed and strength by using fight specific non stop metabolic circuit training.       

In the off season they work on their techniques, learning new styles of fighting and the weaknesses of others then adding in typical gym training to build muscular strength.       

During fight season, leading up to their event these warriors start moving into weighted high repetition functional exercises increasing their anaerobic fitness so they can sustain high levels of intensity for the duration of a match.       

“In a fight, if you are too tired to hold your hands up or unable to escape a submission … See Ya Later!”    Read the rest of this entry »

This is a training plan based on what program Hugh Jackman and Robert Downey Jr would follow to build the rock-hard physiques; needed to play the blade-fisted Wolverine and ultra cool Ironman.

How do actors (especially over 40s) like Robert Downey Jr and Hugh Jackman make it look so easy to get ripped, when it isn’t?

Actors get ultra fit and athletic looking for Hollywood movies very quickly!… ” but it’s all in a days work”.

Having personal trainers and staff watching them every minute, they are told what to eat, how to train, when to wake up and anything else that it takes to get ready for the movie.

I’ll out-line a program based on their training methodology.

To stimulate your body, I’d recommend incorporate this into your own training for 6 weeks and then go back to your current program and you will get the similar result, be just like Wolverine or Ironman!

Mike Ryan is Hugh Jackman’s personal trainer and he devised a workout and eating plan to meet movie requirements, and it’s deadline.

He helped over 40 y/o Hugh Jackman to get an amazingly built frame packed with hard muscle mass.

Jackman’s movie career is flourishing in many areas so he has to try and fit his training in where he can. Early morning starts are needed so they start at the crack of dawn.

‘We have a philosophy of training first thing in the morning,’ says Ryan.

Research suggests that people who train in the afternoons consistently do workouts of far less intensity than those who do train in the morning.

Read the rest of this entry »