Trust Me I'm a Personal Trainer

We all know that guy or maybe even those couple of guys that can't go 10 seconds in the gym without  throwing out random and useless advice at others. As you read the last sentence you know that you instantly though of "that guy". He will stare you don't watching your every move as you complete your set in whatever exercise you're doing. Then, as soon as your done he makes his way over to tell you that if you turn your feet out 45 degrees on your deadliest or look at the ceiling when you squat you are guaranteed to push more weight and make more gains bro. But the most important characteristic of this person is 9 times out of 10 they are the smallest guy in the gym.

Not Eating Fats Makes Me Healthier?

This is false! Many people are quick to assume that by cutting fats out of their diet it makes them healthier. Just because you skipped out on your pizza, brownies, and cupcakes doesn't make you all that much healthier. Well the truth is cutting all fat from your diet is doing you more harm than good. By doing this you are actually back tracking your diet. Cutting fats from your diet is costing you fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients. Healthy fats from foods such as avocados and nuts actually help your body absorb vitamins A, D, E, K and other healthy nutrients.

Athletes and Alcohol

Being in college for some people is like being in a non stop party and most of these students don't know how alcohol is really affecting their bodies. Athletes that are trying to do big and important things in their college career can potentially be throwing away their chances with excessive amounts of drinking. Alcohol can significantly affect the focus, performance, recovery, and rebuilding of athletes. As alcohol can linger around for up to a few days this means an athlete with not be at their top performance for days. Decreased strength, reaction time, and hand/eye coordination can be affected up to 48 hours after the consumption of alcohol. The affects of alcohol go much further than these few key points but for an athlete these few points can make a huge difference in their performance.

I have always wondered why someone would work so hard all week, pushing themselves to the absolute limits, to better themselves would throw all that hard work away when the weekend comes along. In my opinion I would question why an athlete would even bother training all week if they were going to just drink away their accomplishments come the weekend. Life is all about doing what you love and having fun by why ruin what you have worked so hard for by over consuming alcohol.

Glaceau Vitamin Water

It is becoming more and more common to seed flavored water drinks being available to purchase in store now. But not all of these flavored waters are a suitable replacement for normal unflavored water.    In particular Glaceau's Vitamin Water is a prime example of why these flavored waters are anything but healthy for you. You might think that you are choosing a healthy drink because of the name "vitamin water" and the fancy list of all the vitamins that are included in it but if you look closely at the nutrition facts you'll find other wise. Each bottle of this Vitamin Water has around 30g of sugar in it! At this rate you might as well grab yourself a candy bar to eat. This does not only occur in Vitamin Water and other flavored water drinks but lots of other drinks like artificial juices and sports drinks have the same problem. So be warned these drinks labeled as healthy and vitamin-rich may not be all that healthy for you.

Hyphy Mud

Hyhpy Mud is a new phenomenon hitting the supplement industry. I myself wouldn't necessarily consider it a "supplement" but the creator Kali Muscle is currently working on making it into an already made pre packaged "supplement" for consumers to buy. If you want to use it for your pre workout I can reassure you it will get you goin'! Hyphy Mud is a simple mixture of Pepsi Cola and instant coffee. You can go ahead and guess why it gets you up and moving. Thats right the caffeine. I know you are probably sitting there thinking of how disgusting this sounds to consume but in all honesty it doesn't taste all that bad. The majority of the taste is really only the Pepsi. The only think I did not like about Hyphy Mud was the coffee taste that was left in my shaker bottle for a bout 3 days. Overall its a pretty decent pre workout if you don't mind caffeine and the taste of coffee.

IIFYM

IIFYM or "if it fits your macros" dieting has brought a new concept to the way that you can diet. IIFYM states that you can eat what every you want as long as it fits your daily macronutrients. I can never decide if I actually agree with this or not. Eating whatever I want as long as it fits my macros seems a tittle too good to be true but after all it does make sense. I just can't bring myself to think if I am low on my carbs and fats for the day that I can just go demolish what ever fits those macros and everything will be okay. I try to incorporate both and IIFYM diet and a strict diet into my life. For the most part I like to eat as clean as possible but if there is an instance where my macronutrients are low that day I may take a bit less healthy alternative and consume it but as ling as it fits my macros. In the end I don't think there will be a clear winner on which form of dieting is correct and more beneficial but I encourage you to try both and see which one works for you better.

Preacher Curls

Everyone wants big biceps...right? My personal favorite bicep workout is the preacher curl. The isolation of this movement maximizes the use of your bicep allowing optimal growth. After a long arm work out I always like to finish of my biceps with numerous sets of these bicep killers. Preacher curls are a very simple movement done by placing your arm against the pad as show above and slowly letting the weight fall. Before your arm reaches its full extension, stop and contract your bicep bringing the weight back up. Make sure to squeeze your bicep during the whole motion. To make it a little harder don't allow your arm to rest at the bottom fully extended or at the top fully contracted. Keep the range of motion in-between the two resting points to really put some strain on those biceps! And if you have every seen any CT Fletcher (pictured above) videos you know what I mean when I say you look at your biceps and tell them "I COMMAND YOU TO GROW!!"

If you've never seen this video I recommend you watch it in the link below. (be warned there is explicit language) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHiKDa4ip_Q

Deadlifts

Deadlifts are not only a great exercise for your back but they are also arguably the most beneficial full body exercise. The deadlift has been shown to activate the most muscles to complete the movement than any other exercise. That makes this extremely important when it comes to strengthening your entire body! But deadlifts can be very dangerous. The name explains itself you are lifting up dead weight. This can be very harmful to many aspects of your body including your spine. It is very important to have proper form when performing a deadlift. It can be rather difficult to explain all the important parts of doing a proper deadlift, especially in writing, so I chose one of the better videos I could find to help and explain how to deadlift with proper form.

Seated Cable Row

Seated cable rows are essential in getting a thick and wide back. The key to targeting thickness verses width is the grip you chose. To maximize thickness in your back the V-bar attachment is your best choice. If you are looking for more width a straight bar or straight bar with handles will do you best. 

A common problem that occurs while doing this movement is the use of the bicep muscle. This defeats the whole purpose. To correctly perform this movement you want to back straight as possible and pull and squeeze your lats. When you reach the full contraction hold it for a second before releasing to maximize the effect of the exercise.

Muscle Pharm Combat Powder

Muscle Pharms combat protein powder has been taking the supplement world by storm as many athletes are now using this as their primary protein powder. What makes MP combat special is their unique blend of 5 different protein sources in one powder. The five include: whey protein hydrolysate, whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, egg albumin, micellar casein. This particular blend claims to slowly release protein over and 8 hour period for maximum results. I would have to say that this protein blends with water better than nearly every other protein I've tried. MP combat is easily my second favorite protein powder right underneath MTS whey. 

Do You Even Lift?

The most common question asked by meatheads... "Do you even lift?". This Phrase is beyond stupid to me because of the stereotype it has been developed with. By asking the question it is stating that you are questioning whether or not this person "lifts" aka looks big. But this is where the question falls through in my opinion. To "lift'' does not mean that you have to be 240lbs of straight raw muscle. Of course the majority of those who "lift" is to get bigger and gain muscle mass, but we all have slightly different goals. One may have the goal of just toning up their muscles while someone else may be just lifting weights to get in shape and physically better themselves. Not everyone wants the be a huge scary bodybuilder. I am not denying the fact that I have never asked that question before because I have. At times I am your typical "bro" when I'm in the gym. I am just trying to point out this stereotype that has developed along side this question. So try not to be so quick to ask "Do you even lift?" the next time you see someone in the gym.

Slamming Weights Does Not Make You Look Bigger!

Okay, Let's be honest, we all know that one guy in the gym that picks up the 30lb dumbbells for chest press and slams them to the ground screaming when he's finished like he just put a small car on his chest and repped it out for a full set. I don't like to be that guy that calls people out but this is my biggest pet peeve in the gym. Now I'm not saying if you are putting up some heavy weight not to slam it. Nothing feels better than slamming down some heavy weight in the gym but if you are doing it with light weight expecting people to believe this illusion you're creating to make us think you're  "big" than you here's a rude awakening... it doesn't work! The gym is all about swallowing your pride and working out to benefit yourself, not trying to impress everyone else. So, DON'T be that guy!

More Meals = Weight Loss?

Those individuals out there who are seeking to loose some weight might be quick to jump on the "more meals a day" plan thinking that it will speed up their metabolism. While this trick may help certain individuals achieve weight loss it is not because of a metabolism boost. Your metabolism spike after eating is directly related to the amount of calories you consume during that meal.  Which means if you eat more you are going to burn more and vise versa. What's important to realize if your calories are the same when you eat 6 meals a day as when you only eat 3 meals a day your metabolism is not going to have a drastic change resulting in weight loss. The key to weight control all comes in calorie control. If you are at a caloric deficit compared to your average calorie intake on a daily basis you are going to loose weight. Of course theres more to weight loss than calorie control but that is the main component.

Barbell Squat

Squats are easily the most important part of your leg workout. In my personal experience the most growth I have seen in my legs has come with large amounts of squatting.  Squatting is such a great compound movement for muscle development. By squats being a "compound'' movement it means that many other muscles come into play than just your legs. If you have ever had an extensive squat session you know that you start to feel it working out your lower back and abdominal muscles. Not only is squatting beneficial to other muscle groups than your legs but it also has been proven to increase your explosive energy which is very important to many athletes that partake in sports that require that sort of short bursts of energy. Legs being the most large muscle group in the body means you are going to get a larger increase in testosterone exercising legs than any other muscle group. Therefore your entire body will benefit from this testosterone increase. But don't just take my word for it bodybuilder and iron addict Mike Rashid clear states his view on squats in the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nobhjXh4KdU
And remember...DON'T SKIP LEG DAY!!