Building bigger shoulders!!!!

Building bigger shoulders!!

Shoulders have always been a weakness of mine when it comes to size and strength. So many of the top guys in the industry have huge shoulders and it makes you look so much more imposing. Big shoulders also means a stronger bench press and will allow for more growth on your arms. This is therefore my new goal. Below are a few steps are going to follow to help me with this.

1) Breaking up my shoulder routine into two workouts on different days. Working front and lateral heads together, then rear and traps in the next workout. A pressing workout and a pulling workout in its simplistic form. 

2) Training them both for strength and hypertrophy. Currently I'm training in a 2 week split of strength week A and hypertrophy week B. This applies to all workouts, just keeps the body guessing. Week A my rep range is 5-8 with week B bumping the range up to 8-15. 

3) Compound exercises!! I know this might sound simple but shoulders are recruited in all upper body exercises. Bench press for example works the anterior delt, don't however let your elbows come out at 90 degrees, this will put added unwanted pressure on the shoulders. Elbows pulled tight in will prevent this. Deadlifts are also great for the posterior chain hitting the rear delts and traps. Include these are the start of your workout and your shoulders will be getting an additional workout. 

4) Don't go to heavy on isolation exercises!!! Frontal, lateral and rear delt flies is where you always see this. They're an isolation exercise, therefore focus on the concentration of the muscle. Add a few heavy sets, but always make sure you're feeling a concentration. Drop sets are always great to add in as well.

So if you're really looking to add size and strength then follow the steps above. Always focus on the muscle with compound exercises then isolation exercises to exhaust the target area. I'll keep you updated of my progress.

Jack

Beat the post summer blues with four easy steps!!!

Now everyone's summer holidays have ended, so does their time in the gym. There has been a report published that shows the months when gym memberships fall. These are September and February, after they have come back from summer holiday or attempted to get rid of their extra weight from Christmas binge. This is such a waste as they've put so much work in just to have to start all over again. The following few steps will be able to stay on track.

1) Post summer holiday set yourself another goal!! Throughout the autumn months there are many 10k runs and mini triathlons. Team events like Tough Mudder or the Rat race which when working as a team will motivate you more to keep it up. 

2) Try something different!!! If you've been slogging away on the treadmill then try adding a circuit or some weights into your routine. If you've been hitting the weights try a different variations of training. German volume training, improving strength gains all can be structure into your programme. Even focusing on a body part (except arms!!) or a particular exercise. Mine is the push press and shoulders, so two goals combined. 

3) Reduce the amount of sessions but up the intensity. As people go back to work the gym moves to the bottom of the list of priorities however, you can still fit it in. Instead of doing maybe the four sessions you were doing, bring this down to three but up the intensity. Less talking at the water fountain and more sprinting on the treadmill. Use intervals for cardio and swap straight sets for supersets when it comes to the weights. Dedicate one of the sessions to just a circuit, therefore you get two workouts in one.

4) Make fitness part of your daily routine. If you don't have the time or motivation then this is a must. Instead of grabbing the tube or bus to work run in every other day!! If you've got a long lunch hour, grab you running trainers and go on a quick jog before you eat lunch. Walk to work as oppose to driving. Little things that can just keep you active and elevate your heart rate, building a higher metabolic rate. 

So there you have it, four easy steps to keep fitness at the top of the agenda. The most important which I haven't included is you must enjoy it. If you don't enjoy going to the gym then a play sport. Just stay active, eat clean and you'll stay in shape.

Jack 

Leg Workout 26th August

Today was legs and it's a day I always look forward to. The problem with legs is you either have an amazing workout or a really lacking one. Today was one of those amazing ones. 

I've recently started my leg workouts with a barbell hack squat to warm up the legs, into 5  increasing working sets of front squat then moving onto 5x5 of back squat. Seems to really work. I managed to max out at 150kg for 5 reps which with my weight currently at 86kg, I'm really pleased with. I believe this is all down to the hack/front squat prior which ensures my body is fully warmed up. I then move into more isolation of the legs with a much higher intensity, my workout is as follows.

Warm up

10 minutes cross trainer

Thera-band kicks both frontal and lateral. 

Hip bridges. 

1) Barbell Hack Squat 3x20 reps. Lower the weight slowly under control. 

2) Front squat 5x10. Increasing the weight by 20% each set.

3) Back squat 5x5. Focus on power out of the movement.

4) Walking Barbell Lunges, 5x50m. Increasing weight each set.

5) Own bodyweight legs curls superset leg extension. 6x12. 

6) Leg Press 50 reps superset DB Romania Deadlifts 20 reps. 3 sets. 

My legs were on fire after this, concentrate on:

- Tempo of each rep.

- Contraction and stretch (especially hamstrings).

-  Power on compound exercises. 

So there you have it, my leg workout. Give it a go and let me know what you think!!! 

Jack 

Two must buys!!!

Back to London from my summer holidays which can only mean one thing, back on the bulk!! 

Now the only problem I have with this is my wardrobe which is slowly diminishing due to the fact I just can't fit in certain clothes anymore. The biggest problems i encounter is with shirts. The sleeves end up being to tight and then when you do go up a size the rest of the shirt is so loose you look square.  Plus I can't fit in any jeans due to the size of my upper legs, let alone try and put anything in my pockets. However don't worry, I have come up with solutions. 

Hollister have solved the problem of shirts for me. Now I have to go for a large in everything here, but it always fits!!! They have a tailored fill to them and always seem fit me perfectly. The material is always only the best which means they don't end up shrinking in the wash, which has happened to me so many of mine. The best thing of all is you get all of this for such a good price. The shirt pictured I picked up on Oxford Street for only £29 which is a bargain, plus they currently have free delivery online so hurry up and get shopping. I wore this out with chinos and boots for a smart casual look however you could put it with shorts or even chuck a blazer on and it wouldn't look out of place. A must buy!!!!

http://www.hollisterco.com/shop/uk/guys-tops-oxford-shirts/-5324073_02

Now my legs just never seem to stop growing which means I go through jeans like no tomorrow however Nudie Jeans are different. Their denim is of the highest quality and no matter what environment you wear them they just keep on going and going. I've had one pair for over four years!!! They fit perfectly depending on what cut you choose and have a slight stretch to them which is perfect for anyone with big thighs. With so many other jeans I have to go up on waist size by up to four inches but with these they always fit. They have a great repair and recycle policy which I always like. The last thing to sway you is they recommend you wear the jeans for 6 months to break them in!!!! This shows the quality, longevity and confidence they have in their product!!!  

http://www.nudiejeans.com

So there who have it, a few must buys. I'll be posting up what I'm changing in my training and nutrition with the change in my goal to putting on more size and building on strength. 

Jack

Swimming!!!!!

I'm just on my travels back to London after two weeks at home over the summer. Being at home however didn't mean training stopped, I managed to get a membership for a local gym. Compared to the normal gym I got to this is on a different level, catering more for every kind of individual and their training needs. There were classes that you could attend, badminton courts, a cardio suite and and weights area. However, the main reason I'm writing this blog is because of the swimming pool it offered. 

Now recently I've been picking up a few little injuries, nothing serious just in the over used areas such as shoulders. Before I do any kind of training I always insure that my shoulders are throughly warmed up with particular attention paid to rotator cuff. With the increased volume of heaving pressing movements that I've brought into my routine, this was going to have a impact on my shoulders. I therefore decided when I had this opportunity of using a bit of swimming in my programme I should seize it. 

Swimming is a great all round way to exercise. It's very low impact, cheap and you can train at some many different intensities. Plus some many different workouts to do:

1) Interval Workout - 5x50m max intensity, rest 20 seconds

                               - 5x100m max intensity, rest 40-60 seconds

2) Distance Swims - make sure you record a time for each and try to beat it. I like to aim for 1200m, 1500m and 2400m. All of which can push you hard enough  to get a good workout or post cardio workout completed.

3) Circuits

  - 50m swim, jump out, 10 press ups, 20 squats. 12 rounds.

  - 50m swim, 20 pool muscles ups. (Lower yourself under water, pull up into a dip this counts as one). 12 rounds

  -  100m swim, jump out, 5 pull ups, 10 press ups, 15 squats.  

So there you have it a few swimming workouts you can include in your routine. I personally love swimming. I find it really relaxing and I was using it a lot early morning in a fasted state as I felt I could still push myself, unlike if I was running or another kind of cardio in that state. Even if you just swap in it for a run which you would normally do it will test you in a different way, but more importantly not make your workout routine boring. 

The water is great for anyone coming back from injury and for stretching. If your looking to strengthen an area of weakness, try doing the exercise in the pool before heading back to the weights room, for example lateral raises. These are made difficult by the friction of the water and will allow your body to move on the plane of movement you want it to, not what a machine may dictate. Give it a try and let me know how you get in. 

Jack

                          

Powerlifitng - Mike O'Hearn and Rob Riches

Its Monday which can only mean one thing, CHEST DAY!!! All the benches will be rammed with other gym goers, all with the same goal, to get a huge chest!! I will be one of these people trying to improve my bench press. 

Now recently I’ve really been trying to focus on going a lot heavier than I normally would with all movements, with new goals in mind for the big three. 

Bench Press - 1 rep at 1.5 BW = 145kg

Squat - 1 rep at 2 BW = 180kg 

Deadlift - 1 reps at = 230kg.

You may as why? Well certainly Deadlifts and Bench Press I have neglected recently, focusing more on the body building way of training in the hypertrophy range, with more isolated exercises. Recently however I was inspired when scrolling through youtube by a video with Mike O’Hearn and Rob Riches, two people who have totally different ways and ethos to training. See the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8x-Te2J8Ao

Now both guys are huge in the fitness world, with Mike being of this new way of training through the use of powerlifting. Rob adopts more of a bodybuilding based programme. This video however totally changes his way of thinking. It thus inspired me to look more into this type of training and include it more into my programme, always great to mix things up to. 

I shall leave the Deadlift and squat for now and focus on the bench press. Now points that I picked up which really helped me in the following session are as follows:

1. Keep feet planted at all times, attempting to push through these on the movement.
2. Try and bend the bar, keeping your elbows tucked in. (This also prevents shoulder injury).
3. Thumbs around the bar!!!!
4. Think of the chest pulling together on the concentric, (pushing) phase of the movement. 
5. Lower the bar under control, breathing in. Explode up, breathing out. 
6. Keep you body tight!! Your breathing will aid this. 

I put this all into practice and it aided me so much. Bench is one of my weaker areas so I really want to focus on this into the future. I warmed up all my shoulder area and slowly worked my way up to 130kg where I managed to get two reps out, the second one needing a slight assistance. I then attempted 140kg, but just didn’t have the power to get a clean rep out. Below is a video of me doing 130kg for one after as I decided to work in a slight pyramid fashion. Here hopefully you can see everything I have listed above put into practice. 

https://instagram.com/p/6XiCy_HOGp/?taken-by=jacksfitnessforyou

So there you have it, have a look at the video I have linked and check this new way of training through the use of powerlifting. Lets face it if Mike O’Hearn uses it in his programmes it must be good!!!

Jack

3 Fitness Gurus to check out!!!!!

The fitness industry is evolving at such a rapid rate, this being mainly down to the growth in social media. For all those of you who are looking to improve your fitness then social media is an excellent way to go. Top fitness individuals are always posting useful tips up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and snapchat, all to help you!! I use all of these sources, but I find the best is YouTube and these fitness gurus are who you should take a look at.

Steve Cook is a great guy to check out. He was pushed to stardom when he won the 2010 Bodybuilding.com Fit Body Competition and has gone onto reach 5th at the Olympia. This year that will be a first!!!! He is now a professional physique competitor and along with being an Optimum Nutrition athlete. This involves Steve traveling loads around the world, which he often makes vlogs from. This is a great way to see how he trains, eats and has just an amazing time whilst on the move, plus meeting loads of celebrities!!!! He is also a huge ambassador for Bodybuilding.com, gym sharks, Nike, basically everything. Check him out, you won't be disappointed. 

Bradley Martyn is a beast!! 6'3 and 260lbs!! Who would not want a body like that!!! He is a huge inspiration to people who are inspiring to look like him, always giving you tips to help you out. He gives you full workout videos on YouTube explaining every detail that you need to yield results. He is the owner of BMFIT which if you're serious about training you defiantly need to check out. I've got a few tops from there and they're so good, couldn't recommend them more. The best thing of all is he is the most approachable on social media, regularly doing Q&A's over snap chat and will always answer your questions on Twitter, so defiantly get following this man!!!

Now after two Americans I've got to include an English man who comes in the form of Ryan Terry. This man just gets so shredded, it's insane!!! He is known for winning 

Mister International 2010. He is a spokesman for USN and regularly appears as underwear model for Calvin Klein. He started training from the age of 15 and ever since then has just built an incredible physique, especially his shoulders. He again gives a lot to fans, regularly updating social media with what he is up to, along with his website where he posts all of his training gearing up for the 2015 Olympia. (www.ryanterry.co.uk). Where else would you find the workouts that a soon to be Mr Olympia is using, you'd be insane not to take advantage of this resource. So Good Luck Ryan at the Olympia, 38 days and counting!!!

So there you have it three guys you need to check out on social media which will give you all little tips to push you even further and reach the goals you've always wanted.

Jack