The Gym is more that just a place to workout for many

Catching my breath in between sets, in front of the fan. It was hot and humid. Yet I was able to pull off a decent slingshot bench press workout. It was a 4 sets of 4 reps night. So I managed 135x10, 225x4, 235x4, 245x4, 255x4.

It’s usually nighttime when I workout, when everyone else is asleep. And I’m always alone, except for Jesus, who is my spotter, and Joey, the cat, who is my strength coach. 

The gym is peaceful and calming. Like my survival site, the gym is one of my safe spaces where it doubles as a church, a sanctuary, a place of therapy, and as a place of challenge. 

I’ve always preferred small or private gyms to the big, crowded, noisy franchise gyms. I’ve spent a lifetime in both settings as a trainer and a trainee, depending on the time and place throughout the ages. 

My first gym was a room down in the cellar of my family’s house. My Dad rebuilt it and helped me create a gym / martial arts dojo. Yard sale weight sets and exercise gear with heavy bags, mats and old boxing gear started the journey of a lifetime. 

I started fitness training when I was ten. I started martial arts training when I was 11. I ran my first training class when I was 12, as an apprentice/intern assistant instructor. 

The first training experience came early. 

I started training the tiny dragons and little tigers kids (ages 5-7) class. That would progress over the years until I was running almost all of the classes for youth, teens, and adults. 

At 17, I was selected to become the head instructor of the Kenpo Karate school that I had attended daily from the age of 11. 

Then I joined the Army instead and went in a very different direction. But of course, fitness and martial arts where always with me during that 20 year adventure. 

For the past 15 years, the Iron Garage has been my main gym despite working simultaneously at several other gyms and locations over the years. 

One of the biggest and simplest takeaways that I can give you is this: you must conquer your mind and emotions in order to play the long game in fitness and health. 

Nobody cares so work harder. There is no excuse. You either benefit or suffer from what you choose to do. You reap what you sew. You and only you are responsible for all that you do or fail to do. 

So with that being said let’s go hit the weights!

Biweekly Performance Biorhythm in Fitness

Biweekly performance biorhythm.

It’s a strange thing but it actually happens. 

The Iron Garage has been my science lab for the last 15 years. 

It’s amazing what you can learn when you track data. 

Watch the video below and see if you have ever experienced this.

Pickle Juice and Yellow Mustard for Muscle Cramps

The heat wave has cranked up muscle cramps after workouts. Once again I used my proven instant cramp relief items (pickle juice and yellow mustard). They still work great and I recommend everyone who suffers from cramps to give it a try. 

Why does mustard and pickle juice work to instantly relieve cramps? Some say vinegar, electrolytes, or turmeric are the reason. 

Scientific research has shown that acetic acid may be the reason. Acetic acid is postulated to mitigate cramping by decreasing alpha motor neuron activity through oropharyngeal stimulation and inhibitory neurotransmitter production, while aiding in the role acetylcholine plays in muscle contraction and relaxation. 

Here is a link to a research study: 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32459412/

Regardless of why it works, the point is that it does work. Give it a try.

Why Warmups are even more important as we get older

As we get older our joints and connective tissue become more vulnerable to injury before the muscles do. 

The joints and connective tissue require extra attention in order to facilitate the stress of lifting heavier weights. 

Warming up the joints with a set of light weights and higher repetitions will increase heat, blood flow, and synovial fluid. 

This will aid in preventing injury and facilitate the transition to moving heavier weights during your workout. 

5 Tips to Help You With the Bench Press

Mud stomping a hole in Monday’s attempt to bring me down. 255lbs on the bench is probably light work for you, but it’s heavy for me. 

So getting 5 good controlled reps without ripping or breaking anything in my body is an accomplishment for my dinosaur butt. 

Here are 5 key points I teach / follow on the bench press are:

1. Proper grip, not too wide, not too narrow. Knuckles face the ceiling as you try to crush and pull the bar apart.

2. Body alignment on the bench, eyes under the bar, shoulder blades even on the bench, slight arch in the lower back, butt remains in contact with the bench, legs squeeze into the bench as heels drive into the floor. 

3. Lower the bar at a controlled pace to touch your shirt, never bounce the bar off your chest. Then explode in the push or concentric phase to get the bar up twice as fast as it came down ( in your mind anyway).

4. Inhale on the way down, hold and brace during the transition and then vigorously exhale on the push. Animal screams are authorized and encouraged.

5. Keep your core and legs braced and solid. Don’t let your body move under the weight. Drive the legs into the floor. Keep your butt on the bench. If a foot raises off the floor or your butt raises off the bench even for a second you are a no-go on that rep. 

My bench tutorial goes on but that is what people pay me for. I’ve had dozens of clients raise their one rep max by up to 25lbs just by receiving my class and implementing the instructions. 

Education and experience matter. My two key learning points that I teach are that 1. People think they know and 2. People don’t know what they don’t know. Always be open to learning from someone even if you think you know it all cause 1. You don’t know and 2. You’d be surprised at what you could learn. 

I’ve had the most problems/ resistance to learning over the decades from military clients and former athletes. 2 type A groups who definitely think they know. Then I teach them something they didn’t even know existed (so how could they possibly know that they didn’t know it?) and their minds get blown. 

And yeah I was that guy too until I learned stuff that I didn’t even know existed. Now I learn everyday because I’m acutely aware that I don’t know! Go learn something and hit the weights!

Do you feel some anxiety and fear before the next set of your workout?

When you are in the iron arena facing the beast and your next set is rapidly approaching, it’s normal for there to be a little anxiety, fear, and dread. 

It’s purely a mental battle but you still have to address it and drive on to the next set. A simple technique I use to overcome the mental battle is by using timed rest periods between sets. 

The general rule of thumb is heavy sets require longer rest periods, lighter sets require shorter rest periods. A lot of it has to do with ATP cycle rejuvenation. 

If you don’t experience this mental battle, then you should reevaluate the level of challenge and intensity of your workouts. 

An age old saying is “if you aren’t scared of your next set, then you aren’t working hard enough”. There is a lot of simple truth in that concept. Now on to the next set!

Intermittent Fasting doesn’t mean starvation

Post fasting meal: sirloin steak, smokehouse almonds, sweet potato, and red grapes. 

After my daily fasting window ends, I’m ready to eat! I use the 16/8 method daily. The fasting window is 16 hours and the feeding window is 8 hours. I usually have 4-6 smaller meals during my 8 hour feeding window. 

Based upon the best fit for me, I picked this fasting protocol after testing the most common 4 methods over a span of 8 months beginning in 2011. 

I tested these methods again in 2012 and decided to stick with the 16/8 protocol. 

There are many different fasting protocols. Use the one that fits your daily routine the best. 

One of the common flaws that occur with people who try to lose weight with intermittent fasting is that they do not eat the required amount of food in the proper macronutrient ratio. 

Intermittent Fasting (IF) is not about starving. It is simply a more disciplined and structured schedule of eating and not eating. 

The goal for body composition change is to lose fat while maintaining or building muscle and lean body mass. The number on a scale is irrelevant. The process has to be done correctly for optimal results. 

Most people can benefit from Intermittent Fasting. But it takes some learning, knowledge, and experience to do it right.

I have a package deal of 4 digital books on Intermittent Fasting which take you through all of the relevant information needed to be successful with IF. 

Right now this IF package is on sale for a ridiculously low price. 

I’ve made these books in PDF format so you can immediately download them and start reading. 

If you are interested in learning more about Intermittent Fasting and how to successfully implement it into your lifestyle, 

visit my online book store IF direct link here:

https://payhip.com/b/6oOK

https://payhip.com/b/6oOK