Tuesday December 18th 2012

Today was an okay workout, did some back and triceps. Had a lot on my mind, got a couple of new pre workout samples so I'm gonna try them out tomorrow and see how it is :)

Why kettlebells are fun and a fantastic tool at the gym

A kettle bell is a cast iron weight, basically looks like a cannon ball with a handle. These little iron balls are for cardiovascular exercise, strength exercise, and flexibility training. Besides super setting or drop sets these are really the only piece of fitness equipment that's going to do a little bit of everything. Starter kettle bell weights typically go from 5 pounds to 53 pounds. Kettle bells go MUCH heavier but you would have to buy them if you want to go heavier. Gyms typically have kettle bells up to 50 pounds, and sadly a lot of gyms don't have them. Kettle bells are awesome because it all has to do with technique, not just tossing up weights (Even though no matter WHAT you use you SHOULD be focusing on form/technique rather than just throwing up weights). Kettle bells are a lot harder to use than dumbbells because dumbbell weight, the weight is in line with the handle. The kettle bells weight is position away from the handle. So all and all the kettle bell is more challenging to lift and use. People may have different beliefs and think kettle bells aren't worth it. I personally think that kettle bells should be used if your goal is to be more cardiovascular and toned. They will also help a lot with strength, but different strengths like core and flexibility not with your highest 1 rep bench press. Once summer time comes or I just feel like doing something new, I put a kettle bell exercise in at least every body part that can have one. For instance shoulders, chest, back, legs, but doing a kettle bell exercise with biceps or triceps isn't really anything different because there aren't a lot of exercises directed to biceps or triceps with a kettle bell. Let me give you some exercises to put into your workout and see how you like it. Try it out, it couldn't hurt right? I will also put YouTube links for the exercises so you can see exactly what it is.


Chest- Kettle Bell Floor Alternating Chest Press
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Iyjhze_8zg


Shoulders-Kettle bell Shoulder Swing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8TkSD3Gnlk


Back- Kettle bell Renegade Row
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggaj8hB0BUY


Legs-Kettlebell Squat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT6TuJlifto

Monday December 17th 2012

Today I had a pretty good workout, I went back to chest/biceps so I'm hoping that I'm going to start growing again because I been kind of peaked for a few weeks :( I was thinking about starting cardio this week (just power walking) so will see.

December 15th golds!

Saturday December 15th 2012

Hey guys :) Had a pretty good workout today, did some chest and shoulders... at golds! Figured I'd switch it up for the day. Whenever I need a little motivation kicker I go to a different gym for the day just for a change of scenery.

Cellucor shaker!

Friday December 14th 2012

So I did a little back/biceps today, still feeling kind of crappy. Had a pretty decent workout and got a new cellucor shaker which is pretty cool. You get a little motivation from buying new workout stuff :P

Wednesday & Thursday December 12 and 13

Hey everyone, sorry I didn't post yesterday I was actually really sick and didn't end up going to the gym :( How has everyone's week been so far? I did some shoulders/triceps today. Anyone else getting a cold? it sucks!

Tuesday December 11th 2012

Today I worked out and did back/biceps. I went pretty light today and it was only a 45-50 minute work out because I'm not feeling very good. I'm pretty sick :/ Still tried to hit the gym though just to get a decent pump.

Monday December 10th 2012

Today was a pretty good day at the gym :) ended up doing a pretty killer chest/tricep/ab workout. I got a new pair of head phones which was pretty cool, they are skullcandies and sound pretty AWESOME.

Update pic December 10th 2012

What you SHOULD have in your gym

So, January first is right around the corner... and what does that mean? New Year's resolution! A lot of people sign up a the gym for a new years resolution because they want to change their lives. When you go check out gyms what should you look at? What should you look for? Your new to the gym so you'll never know, the only thing that you'll know is what the sales guy is trying to tell you that's good about it. So let me tell you guys what YOU should look for.


Stability balls-Stability balls is pretty much a necessity for new people at the gym. Stability balls allow you to get into fitness the right way, by doing work outs that will work the little muscles and allow you to be more stabilized. When you first start out at the gym your really suppose to be working on things like, instead of bench press do dumbbell bench press on stability ball or instead of stand up dumbbell curls do dumbbell curls on the stability ball. The list goes on and on for exercises that you can do with this, but its an important place to start and an important thing to have in your gym of choice.


Cleanliness-Obvious this is important but, I think its something that you should really be focusing on. I know people who have gotten staff infections from dirty gyms... and that's no joke. Ask them things like "do you have a cleaning crew" "how many times a week does the cleaning crew come in" so they can't lie to you about it. Also make sure the cleanliness is on your part as well, like cleaning machines when your done using them or re-racking your weights.


Hammer Strength-Good gyms will have hammer strength equipment. Hammer strength equipment is really good if you work out by yourself. For instance lets just say your doing chest that day and your doing bench press if you want to go heavy but are scared to put a lot of weight on because you don't have a spotter, you can use the hammer strength bench press which is basically in a nut shell a machine that you put free weights on.


New Cardio Equipment- Make sure that the cardio equipment is up to date, not something old and falling apart. Cardio can be made fun now! Some have IPod plug ins, TV's even mini computers that you can go online or check your facebook. It makes being able to do cardio go a little faster and not be as boring. Also older cardio equipment isn't as accurate as far as knowing how many miles you went or the speed.


Stretching Room/Area- Stretching is very important, its a MUST to prevent injury and to warm up your muscles. Make sure the gym has a little area for you to be able to perform your stretches/warming up.


Juice Bar- People may think "why does a gym need one of those juice/protein bars". I think this is important because, lets just say you have to get to work and you don't have time to go home and make your protein shake, how will you feed your muscles? It would be nice just to get your shake at the gym instead of skipping the meal. The shakes come with all healthy stuff and you can also add things like glutamine and creatine.


Child Care- A lot of gyms do have this now, but make sure its good child care. Make sure you check it out, walk around in it, see the toys, and make sure its clean. Also see the people that are running the child care, you want someone that's nice and friendly not rude.


Your Hours- When you go to sign up, ask for the hours! Would really be terrible if you find out they are not open when you need them to be. All gyms are all different in hours ESPECIALLY on the weekends.


Good Trainers- If your new to the gym and you want a personal trainer, check them out first! Just because they work at a gym doesn't mean they know what they are talking about. I have talked to a lot of trainers that don't know the first thing about starting someone off in the gym, nutrition, or supplements. Tell them if your going to pay you want a portfolio of the trainer to see what he has done, what he specializes in, and to make sure he has a GOOD certificate. Two of the top certificates right now are ACE and NASM so it would be nice to have a trainer with one of them.

Saturday December 8th 2012

Hey guys, had a pretty average work out this morning. Did some light shoulders/chest mainly was a "hang out" session today haha, meaning a lot of my friends were at the gym. Going to go pick up some protein and new head phones today, they have some real nice skull candy ones that I want to try out.

New Workout Split

Monday-Chest/Triceps
Tuesday-Back/Biceps
Wednesday-Legs
Thursday-Shoulders/Triceps
Friday-Back/Biceps
Saturday-Chest/Shoulders


-Not to switched up from last time but, a little bit :) Will see how it goes.

Should I make video segments?

Guys I would LOVE some opinions, because this is all for YOU. Should I continue to write my articles on sundays on here, or should I make a video segment instead? Meaning basically putting my articles on YouTube, having my own channel, and talking on Webcam? What do you guys think?

December 7th 2012

So Friday, what to do what to do? Lift of course :P I hit the gym this morning did some Back/Biceps. I was doing a push/pull like Back/Triceps BUT I switched it up to trick the body a little :P Liking it so far, I'm going to stick with it for a couple weeks and see what happens! It's crazy to see the body change with just a little switch up like from Back/Triceps to Back/Biceps... Just something so simple like that, or a switch up of a protein or a meal, Crazy huh? Got work tonight, and its rainy out so... Curious to see how packed the gym will be at work, will see!

Thursday December 6th 2012

Hey guys! Did some shoulders and triceps today, felt pretty good. I did kickbacks today (tricep workout) the first time in a while and MAN DO YOUR TRICEPS BLOW UP! Friggen crazy. How's everyone's day going so far?

Wednesday December 5th 2012

Today I actually had a good leg day, could it be possible? Am I ACTUALLY starting to like legs? It very well could be possible!ol

Tuesday December 4th 2012

Hey guys, workout went pretty well today. Did some back/biceps which was a switch up. I actually got to help two people out today in the gym which was good, that's why I do all of this right? So it was nice to do some hands on helping.

Monday December 3rd 2012

What's up guys :) Had a good morning at the gym today. Actually decided to switch it up instead of doing chest/biceps back/triceps going to the traditional chest/triceps back/biceps for a week possibly two weeks to switch it up than may go back. Also been doing some new exercises, the kettlebell floor chest press is good. Basically you grab to kettlebells and bench with them on the floor BUT you do it alternating arms, pretty good that's for sure.

What technologies you want for the gym!

So you walk in to the gym, and you see someone with a cool pair of headphones, a cool little gadget in their hands looks like a hardcore timer. What are all of these cool things? I'm about to tell you what it is these people have. What fun things YOU should have for the gym that will make your gym experience ten times better!


Headphones- Headphones are actually pretty important I think. They make the difference between hearing your favorite song and saying "where's the bass" vs. hearing your favorite song and saying "this bass is sick!". Now don't get me wrong, some people don't care about this stuff BUT the music you listen to and how it sounds DOES trigger your brain. I believe that a good pair of headphones are pretty important, at least to me anyways. When I'm in the gym I want to be IN THE GYM not hearing anything else, not thinking about anything, just having some good music going. Even if you like to listening to a radio talk show or something you want headphones that are going to cancel out all of the other noise around you right? Here are some good ones I've picked to show you guys:

• Beats By Dre $199.99
• Audio-Technica ATH-M50 $119.16-159.00
• Bose Quiet Comfort 15 $259.95-299.99
• MEElectronics A151 $59.99-62.18
• Monster iSport $59.99-179.99

Ipod- I think that Ipods are very important, as this generation's CD player they play a vital role in the gym. Now you can do so many things with your Ipod, listen to music, listen to the radio, take pictures, go online, go on your fitness apps like recording your workouts, your calorie monitor, ext. Here are some different Ipods to check out

• IPod Touch $299.99-399.99
• IPod Shuffle $49.99
• IPod Nano $149.00
• IPod Classic $249.00

Stop Watches/Timers-  Very Important if your doing some type of circuit training or super setting. They have ones where you can just put it around your neck like a necklace, which is very convenient. 

• Gym Boss $19.95
• Kwik Goal Universal Stop Watch $16.99

Smart Phone- YES BELIEVE IT OR NOT I feel that a smart phone is important for the gym. You can literally do anything on it. You can time your workouts, you can get apps for your heart rate, your calories burn, listen to music, even an app for different exercises. There is one app called jefit and its awesome it has all the different types of exercises and it has animated animation of how to do it when you click on the app.

• IPhone $100.00-200.00
• Droid $Price Varies

Sunday December 2nd 2012

Hey how are you guys? How was your weekend? I'm just hangin out at work right now I get out in a couple hours. Wanted to just let you all know that I will be writing an article tonight once I get home from work! :)

Saturday December first 2012

Ah Saturday, two things happened today.... I had an awesome chest/shoulders day AND its officially Christmas month! What's the most important part of December? well to me its 3 things. 1. I get to spend time with my family, 2. It's almost a new ear, new beginning  3. For me I'm christian so the fact that it is my savior (Jesus) Birthday. How is everyone's weekends going so far? doing anything good? Just ate my 3rd meal and I'm looking forward to doing some more studying for my NASM version 4 cert. Be prepared for tomorrow guys, will be writing a nice article!