Friday 19 June 2009

WARM UP AND COOL DOWN

You have to do this. i am living proof that you cant get away with not stretching before and after doing a circuit, or any sort of training.
I started my weights circuit yesterday and i went straight to the gym and straight onto the weights without a second thought to a warm up, this is probably due to my half hearted efforts in the past, so it hasn't effected me so much. but after a good old session of beasting myself doing back and shoulders, by six o'clock last night i was in agony, my chest burned, my shoulders were tight and my back kept clicking when i stretched it out. not good......

the benefits of stretching and a good warm up is that it increases blood saturation in your muscles, tendons and ligaments which in turn increases the elasticity. This has two benefits it allows you to sleep comfortably at night, and allows you to be able to get a backpack on without the aid of another person, seriously i was thrashing around like an idiot, trying to get my backpack on. but seriously it also allows you to do your workout with more efficiency and power.
It also wakes up your nerve impulses, this improves your co-ordination, which is vital when your doing free weights.

the cool down is just as important as the warm up, believe me all i want to do after a workout is lie in a big snotty heap on the floor for half an hour then have somebody place me on my sofa at home turn on the TV and bring me a brew.
the cool down encourages increased circulation in the muscles you've been working. this increases the oxygen in your bloodstream and breaks down the lactic acid.
so take the time to do a full warm up and cool down as it is defiantly worth it, i wont be missing one again

Wednesday 17 June 2009

THE RIGHT KIT




Have you ever felt a bit out of place at the gym, i know i used to. i used to be the guy wearing the baggy Led Zepplin tshirt, with the tracksuit bottoms that are covered in paint from when you redecorated last year, but who cares its the gym...right?? But its amazing what wearing the right kit can do for your confidence and your performance. i always thought that the people who had all the gear were posers and only wore it because it was expected, i held out for as long as possible but eventually gave in and bought some real training gear. It didnt cost a fortune and this might sound a bit stupid but when you put it on it feels like your ready for the gym and not something you would wear whilst lying on the sofa watching the football on a sunday. It actually makes you believe you should be there and want to be there, as you dont look like some vagrant who has wondered in by mistake.


so i cant recommend more that you invest in some real training gear because it does give you a added push when your trying to motivate your self to go to the gym....and to be honest if your anything like me every little bit helps


and this is what its all about little hints and tips that any of us can think of that can help us along our way to our goals.

i found www.sportsdirect.com to be really good value for money

Chris Ryan's SAS Fitness Book


I have had this book for ages now, it was given to me whilst i was in the Navy by a shipmate, who had obviously never used it, and either have i until now. i have taken the split weight circuit out of the book and i am going to use this three times a week.

its split up into three sections for each of the three days. and it is all split up into 4 sets of ten reps each.


MONDAY: chest, arms and abs

WEDNESDAY: legs and abs

FRIDAY: back, shoulders and abs


CHEST: Bench press

Incline bench press

Dumb-bell flyes

ARMS: Standing cable curls

Incline cable curls

Cable rope push downs

Tricep Kickbacks

LEGS: Smith machine squats

Leg extension

Lying leg curls

BACK: Wipe grip pull downs

One arm dumbell rows

Seated cable rows

SHOULDERS: Seated dumbell press

Lateral raise

Bent over Laterals

ABS: Sit ups

Leg Raises

Do 4 sets of maximum reps you can do with the abdominals.
check out tommorrow to find out how much my back and shoulders hurt....and to see why the right kit makes a difference

THE ROUTINE

Starting as of yesterday i made up a new routine.You gotta have a routine. What i have come to realise is that you need to be organised, you need to have rules and routines and a plan to get anywhere in training. otherwise you end up doing the same thing i have done so many times before, wandering around the gym doing a few reps on the weights machine you like and can do, then getting bored and moving on to the treadmill and doing ten minutes, before you get bored of that. So you have a paper triangle full of water, wander to the sauna then go home...
Then tell everyone you have been going to the gym for weeks and cant understand why you look exactly the same.
you need to feel like you are about to be visited by the grim reaper when you finish, like your legs are about to fall off and your arms ache like hell, what im trying to say is that you need to push yourself to get or see any results. It might be me being a bit sadistic but i like that feeling of absolute exhaustion because it feels like i have actually done something, this is good but finding the motivation is the difficult part.
i have started writing everything down, the routine, how much weight i am lifting, the amout of reps and sets. lets see how it goes. ill post the split weight routine im doing at the moment next.

THE REASON


My name is Tom or Nobby from my days in the Royal Navy.Im the one with a can of lager on the right of the photo. The purpose behind this blog is to try and get fit. My desire to do this blog isnt to pass on my expertise or to give you any quick get fit tips, its to get myself fit and hopefully you will join me. im going to be honest with you right from the start, im no expert im a normal bloke just most probably like yourself. I am reasonably fit and always have been, sort of.....but never totally happy, never looked like the guy off the front of Mens Health or been anywhere close. I can fluctuate from a moob to a pec and have never been anywhere near the elusive six pack.

What i aim to do, is to keep and up to date journal of my training and progression from erratic gym user to hopefully the fit, toned guy i keep promising myself i will be. I will be doing alot of research on different training methods, techniques, diets, nutrition, equipment and fitness clubs.

Hopefully what this blog will enable us to do is to share our training techniques and goals and stories, to motivate each other and to keep each other going. What i am trying to do is to create the biggest group of training partners anybody has ever had.

So join me on this quest that i have set out for myself.....come on it will be alright!!!