Stop the rear delt madness!

One of things that I can not wrap my head around is the overemphasizing of small muscle groups. Every day, you see people in gyms all across America pounding away with countless sets of curls, when they can not perform one proper pull up.
Do you really believe your arms will magically grow from the 17th set of 20 lbs curls?
In fact, I am going out on a limb here by saying that there is no shortage of curls in gyms worldwide.
The other idiocy, often re-inforced by trainers , is to excessively train the rear delt muscles. Now, there are people that need to pay attention to their rear delt. Category A: people with a rotator cuff injury, category B: athletes with high demands on their shoulders, throwers, tennis players etc and C: competitive bodybuilders.
40 lbs+ overweight people do NOT need 6 sets of rear delt training, it is simply that their trainers are lazy and want to kill 15 minutes of the session.
Worry about your squat, dead lift, overhead press and rows, eat your 7 meals a day. If you have done this for 15 months, you can start worry about auxiliary training.
Train hard
Maik

Bowling Party the Second!

This past Tuesday, we had our second annual Adler Training Bowling party and I am pleased to report that it was a great success. To my great pleasure, many of my clients braved the NYC November weather and found their way to Bowlmor in the village.

Everyone seemed to have a great time, highly important individuals even delayed business trips so they could be there. As for the bowling itself, the age old question Andy vs Tim was settled ( Andy does have braggin rights now).

I hope to see you all again next year!

Maik

Muscles Do Not Make You Superman- A Tribute To Robert Enke

This will be a more somber post, so be warned.

The very tragic suicide of Robert Enke has shocked the country of Germany and the rest of the sports world. There you have a very accomplished athlete, predestined to be the goalie for Germany at the World Cup 2010, married, well respected within his community, who still felt that there was simply no way out for him. Why would someone, who is seemingly on top of the world choose such drastic action?

I am afraid there is no good answer, but I have met many guys with fantastic physiques who were deeply unhappy due to their inability to disconnect their sport and life as such.

Let's face it, many of us train to feel better, look better and improve their standing with the opposite (or same) sex. And that is certainly fine, as long as you don't develop an obsession and start abusing the sport and your body as a protection for some deeper issues.

(To be fair, in order to develop an outstanding physique you need to be somewhat obsessed with training and dieting.)

The problem arises, when athletes lose touch with reality and start to think that a better physique and athletic success is the solution to all of life's challenges. It is not.

Bodybuilding is extremely helpful in giving you structure, discipline and the feeling of accomplishment which then spills over in the rest of your life. This, however, requires that you have a life outside the gym. When I hear competitors talking about eating 11 meals and working out 4 hours a day, I can't help but wonder: " What else are these guys doing?"

Don't isolate yourself, participate in other people's ( non-bodybuilders) lives, develop some interests outside the gym. Bodybuilding is a part of life, but it is not all there is.

Train hard,

Maik

Do you really want it?

One of the greatest things about creating a great physique is that you have something everyone wants, but 95% of all people simply lack the will power to achieve.

Many people want to be "in shape" or "look good" but is that really true? Do they really want it?

Honestly, I don't think so. Here are the top 5 excuses I hear from people who fail.

1. I don't have the time/too busy.

Michelle Obama works out 4 times a week, has two kids and that little side job, being the First Lady of the United States. Are you really that busy?

What's the catch? She trains at 4:30 am.

2. I can't afford it because the economy is difficult/I lost my job.

Gyms cost around 30$ a month, so that should be doable. If the diet is an issue, get a card for Costco or Sam's Club where you get all your bodybuilding staples at wholesale prices.

Besides, you can easily drop $50 when going out, so don't tell me money is all that tight.

If you are recently unemployed, you should be even more interested in working out since it will be easier to land a job if your level of fitness is higher. Plus, the better you feel about yourself, the more confidence you have. Fitness should be on top of your priority list.

3. I don't have the genetics.
Google Frank Zane or see my August 10, 2008 post.

4. I need to take steroids to look like...

For the n-th time, steroids will not make you a champion if you do not already look great.

Three things matter in bodybuilding: training, eating and sleeping. Most people have an ok training program, a mediocre rest pattern and a horrible diet. Taking (illegal and dangerous) chemicals to screw with your body's hormonal mechanism is not going to help you, if you eat junk at 2 am or exaggerate your alcohol consumption.

Clean up your diet and life style, you will be surprised how far you can go.

5. It is simply too hard.

Take it step by step. Establish 5 healthy meals a day and 3 good workouts per week. Try to improve every week, do not over complicate things.

So, do you really want it?

Till next time

Maik

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