Do what the box says!

My wife and I went on Saturday night to see Bill Cosby perform live in NYC. While the first half hour was so-so, he did deliver some pearls of wisdom.

One that Iliked in particular was about some guy named Phil in Pennsylvania, who apparently makes the best Thanksgiving stuffing on the face of the Earth. Bill finally sits him down and asks for the recipe, so Phil says: "I take Stove Top stuffing." Bill: "And?" Phil: "Nothing. I do what the box says. People always add things to the stuffing that simply do not belong there. Just do what the box says."

Stick to the basics! The same applies to weight training and getting shape. Do not do any crazy diets, take 2-hour cardio classes, or use insane amounts of drugs.

Do what the box says, stick to the basics, keep it reasonable.

1. Have a plan. Why do you workout? Where do you want to be in 3 months?

2. Do your compound exercises such as the squat, dead lift, military press, pull up and rows. Strive to improve every week.

3. Eat your protein, 1.5 grams per lbs of body weight for men, women a little less (I know that the RDA by the FDA is lower but they also want you to eat starches 5 x a day).

4. Get your rest. Eight hours of sleep is a minimum.

5. Cut the junk food to once a week. You are a bodybuilder, not a competitive eater.

6. BE PROUD. Bodybuilding is one of the most rewarding things you can do, do not deny it to yourself. Enjoy the journey, be helpful to others in the gym and outside.

Forward, always forward
Maik

Progress

so it is getting colder, leaves are falling ... perfect time to put on some quality weight or "bulking". Bulking seems to be a mystery to most people, there are basically 2 camps in every gym: perma-bulkers and perma -dieters. The first group is simply fat with some muscle underneath, the later group is lean but never makes any real progress out of fear to put on an ounce of fat. Now, one of the unfortunate truths is that to gain muscle, you will have to gain some bodyfat with that. But it can be minimzed if the diet and training protocol are done correctly. How so?

Bulking does not mean: eat everything in sight, keep you foods clean. It is called body-building, not belly building!!

Add some low-carb days during the week, so your body keeps on guessing. Structure the workouts around heavy compound movements and strive to get stronger every week. Put an all-out effort into the sets that matter, and get the rest you need once you are away from the gym.

 One of my " disciples" is up 5 lbs in only a few short weeks, following a simple 4 days a week lifting program with a basic diet, with only marginal fat gain.

So, don't kid yourself, if you can't flex it, don't build it!

till next time

maik

Why bodybuild?

The sport of bodybuilding is one of the most difficult endeavors there is. Unlike any other athletic activity, it requires a 24/7 following. In most other sports, you have a certain amount of practice time and then some time off. Here there is no such thing; on the contrary, the time spent away from the gym is even more critical than the actual training time. It is during that time when you are supposed to recover and cook you meals. Muscle grows outside the gym, not inside.

But back to topic. Why should anyone in the right mind pick up this sport? OK, so there are the obvious health benefits, you lose weight, look better, attract more sex partners, live longer etc.

But that is not it. The true benefit of bodybuilding is what I call empowerment. Once you start training successfully, you will realize that out of a sudden you are in charge of your physique. You are the one modeling it to your liking, no one else. No one can be blamed for success or failure but you. You are in control.

This feeling of control can then be applied to other aspects of your life, be it work or a relationship. This is , what I believe, the greatest gift bodybuilding has to give.

Till next time

Maik

A new disciple

Over the last couple weeks, we had a new addition to the Adlertraining family, Davis. This young lifter has been chasing me for weeks at Midcity Gym, trying to get some help with his training and diet. Once I realized how serious he was , I agreed to coach him for the next couple weeks, making it very clear that this would not be an easy road.

With only 8 month of training on his own under his belt, he managed to built a decent upper body. Lower body, that's a different story....needless to say, he came to right place. So far he managed to make it through a couple leg workouts, including the dreaded 100s and barbell lunges.

His goal is to be a lean 190 lbs by Christmas (current weight 176 lbs),drug free of course, which I believe is very doable. So far, he has shown great enthusiasm and an excellent work ethic. During the next couple weeks, I will post updates and pictures as to his progress and development.

Stay tuned

Maik

Daily Rant-Read With Caution!

Today I worked out in a more commercial gym, due to the Labor Day Holiday. Most of my training grounds are more on the hardcore side; I am not exposed that much to what goes on in Gym America. This is probably for the better, since it would drive me insane otherwise.

Exhibit A: Clients "working out" with a trainer, doing the same workout every time. Why would your body change if it is not challenged?!!! This is just a case of the trainer being lazy and the client complacent.

Very often, these people do countless sets of abs to get lean. It won't work if your diet is out of whack. All the ab work won't get you lean, you'd be better off squatting, dead lifting etc..but that is hard work, so rather stay away from it.

As for cardio and fat loss, don't get me started....

B: Using a weight belt when doing rear delt flyes! You must be joking! The belt is there to protect your core during heavy sets of deads and squats. Most people will never have to worry about that since their intensity in the gym matches a turtle on Valium.

C: As I was rowing 275 for my fourth set, a trainer comes over and asks me if I was sure about that rep speed. Rep speed? I am trying to get the &$#@% weight up!

If you are on the US Olympic weightlifting team, rep speed is important. If you are not, just keep lifting. Most people over complicate everything within their workouts and forget about intensity. If you do not get stronger, you will not get better. It is that simple.

OK, now I feel better.

Thanks for reading,

Maik

Glengarry Glen Ross- or why I bodybuild!

Anyone who has ever seen the above movie will never forget Alec Baldwin's performance when he gives the motivational speech to the brokers. During that, he makes fun of Ed Harris : "Yes, you are going to end up in a bar, talking to a friend, yeah, I was a salesman once, it's a tough racket. So I quit"

That is pretty much what happens to 95% of all gym goers: "Yeah I work out but I just can't stick to it and I struggle with the diet. It's too hard!"

Don't be Ed Harries ! (no offense) If you spend the time in gym, go all the way. Stick to your diet, get your rest, keep track of your progress. Otherwise there won't be any. To go back to a young and slim Alec Baldwin - AIDA.

Attention: Do I have your attention now? Interest:Are you interested in a better body? Of course you are. Decision: Have you made your decision already? Action: then go out there and get the body you want.

Forward, always forward.

Maik

The value of a training partner

After a long period of hitting the iron by myself, I recently took on a a consistent training partner, and it made a world of difference. I was having a hard time to find someone who could train with me on a regular basis due to my difficult schedule but luckily, Brian works similar hours. So for the past 3 months we have been pushing ourselves rather hard and the results have been phenomenal. For the first time during a diet, my strength has not decreased and haven't lost any muscle which I attribute to the extra effort I put in at the gym.

A good training partner is much more than a spotter, a real training partner shares your enthusiasm for the sport of bodybuilding and will push you on your down days. He will help you keep a positive outlook , even during the most demanding workouts. The most famous example would be Arnold and Franco, who won a combined 9 (!) Mr. Olympia's. Franco had a stronger lower body, whereas Arnold could out power him in the 10-12 rep range. Together, they pushed each other to be their absolute best.

Forward, always forward!

Maik

The heat is on!

Finally summer in NYC, and it's not even September. Actually, these days are almost too much for a middle European like myself. I don't do that well with humidity but I still embrace the heat, after all it will be cold soon enough. ( it also helps with the diet, since my appetite is almost completely gone). It is also the time of the year, when you can present what you have worked for so hard.

So if you are in shape, show off the fruit of your hard work!  If not, you know what to do..the gym has AC , on a side note. A lot of people stop training in the summer, since it is easier to get side tracked. This never made a lot of sense to me, after all why would you skip a quarter of the year?

Not to mention going to the beach with a huge pump. So I ll still be downstairs in the basement at MidCity Gm, toiling away, set after set.

Hope to see you there and wishing everybody a great couple weeks before it is back to work!

till next time

Maik

Der Alte-Konrad Adenauer

A client of mine recently brought up Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of West Germany after WW II. That got me thinking that this would be a good topic. For those of my esteemed readers, who don't know him, here is a brief list of his accomplishments: After being incarcerated during the Third Reich he became Mayor of Cologne and was elected Chancellor in 1949. His politics helped to rebuild Germany from the ashes of the war, integrated it into NATO, and he managed to get the last German POW's released from the USSR in 1955.

He was certainly a character, never one to mince words. Not exactly an easy fellow, but the right man for a difficult time. One of the things he said was: "Make yourself unpopular, then you will be taken seriously."

I could not agree more - sometimes political correctness does more harm than good. If you truly want to change things or help others, you will have take an unpopular stance once in a while.

"Adipose tissue " is still fat, a "core class" will not get you shredded and doing "a couple sets of leg extensions" will not build legs. Certain things are just stupid or ineffective and should be called for what they are.

Day in and day out, the fitness industry is overloading people with new hype programs, fads and gimmicks. Don't fall for it, be like Adenauer and stay the course, it pays off the the long run.

Till next time!

Maik

5 things that make me want to eat a 45 lbs plate!

Everybody who has ever set foot into a gym, knows that there are some things people do  that can make you want to imitate that chimp in CT not so long ago.

Here are my top 5 nuisances, in no particular order:

1 . Beginners who curl at the squat rack!! Go away, do you really think someone build this enormous cage so you can curl 45 lbs with your 12" arms?? Try a pull up instead, and eat something.

2. Doing cardio in a fasted state. It makes NO difference in regards to your fat loss, your intensity will drop since you don't have nutrients and you stand a bigger chance of losing muscle. Don't get me started on the fat burning zone. There are fat people finishing the NYC marathon, because cardio is not very effective at burning body fat. But that's another article....

3. People bothering with supplements or steroids after 3 months of training. If you can not even  eat 4 healthy meals in a row, sleep well for 2 consecutive  nights and do a single pull up; do you really believe these substances will make an iota of a difference in your physique?

Try again after 3-4 years of training.

4. Doing 1000s of crunches. In short, you have to be lean. Otherwise you are wasting your time

5. Following a routine from a magazine. Unless you are a pharmaceutical enhanced genetic freak, these routines will do nothing for you. Split routines became popular with the advent of dianabol...hmmmm I wonder. The VAST majority of trainees would look better if they split their workouts in upper/lower body or do whole body workouts altogether.

That's it I guess.

I you feel I have forgotten something, feel free to post or email me

Maik