Progress

Almost nothing feels better than when you look in the mirror after going strong for a couple months and see progress. Just think of that word, it truly means you have quit your old ways and have been changed into someone with a goal in mind, and a passion for something. Just that alone can do wonders in life. One of my new years resolutions back in the day was to get a good looking six pack and build mass in my chest. I completely forgot my goal until another new year passed when I realized what my old one was, and once I thought of it I was sooo excited because I had actually done it and not even known it. All you need is a goal and you will have progress! Keep pushing it!!

Relaxing

We all love having days off. That day where we get to just chill, maybe sit back and sip on some good cold water. If you're not taking at least one day off a week, you should. I highly recommend letting your body recover after a good hard week of training. Just as nutrition supplements help your body heal, relaxing does the same. Don't think that your day off means you get to eat or drink anything you want, because that is a big fat NO. Instead eat and drink things that will help your muscles heal so when you wake up the next day you feel great, and ready to take on the day. Also drink lots of water, not just on rest day but every day! Also make sure you are getting enough sleep! I cannot emphasize this enough. You need 8 hours of sleep minimum, otherwise you will not feel good, or heal good. Another thing you need to do is start the day off right with a good breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so take advantage of that. I personally crawl out of bed for the thought of breakfast. Haha

Do you want it?

Anyone can say, "Ya I love working out, it just feels great" But does that really mean that they workout? Do they actually try to improve? This blog is going to be about getting it, ya know, REALLY GETTING IT! What I mean when I say this is, if you want results you have to put the work in, period. And that means going to the gym with no clock, no time limit, and no cap on the possibilites. If you really want to get that strong, healthy body you can't just want it a couple days a week, or a couple hours a day. Now, i'm not saying you have to be training all day everyday, what I am saying is that you have to eat healthy 24/7 if you want to reach your peak. I would suggest creating meals at your house. It's as simple as putting a grocery list together of all the things you want to eat that will help your body through those crazy workouts, foods that will fuel your body and allow it to heal correctly. once you have the foods made up, go to the store and buy them. Come home and put them all together in a delicous recipe, and then EAT THEM! Do not settle for crappy foods becasue you don't have anything healthy. Make your food healthy by food prepping. Another great tip for training is getting a buddy, or someone who has the same goal in mind as you do, you two can push eachother, and sometimes when all you want to do is quit and you look over at your buddy and they are still going strong, you will get pumped up. You will want to compete with that person and TRUST ME if you push yourself you will have no regret. Why pay a monthly fee to the gym if you aren't pushing yourself? That just makes zero sense!

Interesting Facts

Five tips you might not have known about weight training.

Tip #1- Having bigger muscles than someone does not guarantee that you will be stronger than them. It depends on the way that the muscle has been trained, if you train for strength, and natural ability.

#2-Free weights activate muscles much better than machine weights. Obviously you have to stabilize the free weight, where as the machine weights are not going anywhere even if you want them to.

#3- Anabolic steroids are for enhancement of muscle tissue growth and make it possible to train harder and have a quicker recovery. They are still used to train in many sports, and most competetive sports have made them illegal. They act like a male hormone testosterone and can effect the body by, making the body not have to produce hormones because the steroids fill in for their role, they may make male breasts, and shrink the testes. For women they may effect the menstrual cycle.

#4- Eccentric exercise makes you sore - when you lift the weight up, like doing a curl or pushing up on a dip it is a concentric movement. When you slowly lower the bar or dumbell to start another curl or lower yourself to do another dip you are performing a eccentric movement. Muscle specialists believe that this eccentric movement makes you more sore than the concentric movement.

#5- It's difficult to lose weight while building muscle - some think that building muscle while losing weight is something that just happens if you lift. They think that the fat will leave and the muscle will grow, but the best way to do this is to bulk up with weight, even a little fat while still lifting then go on a strict diet and continue to lift to take over the fats place if that makes sense.

http://weighttraining.about.com/od/beginningweighttraining/a/10things0707.htm

Sports

Okay followers, haha see what I did there? Followers? I don't have any! Okay but being serious now, I'm going to talk about getting in shape! There are so many different sports out there I don't even think they have been counted. So this blog is in general to the sport you might play, but by the end will cover all of the basics of what your sport demands. First lets start off with getting tone, ya know getting lean and fast and being able to push your body. Sports which include these attributes are sports similar to swimming, running, dancing, motocross, snowboarding, etc. You want to be able to go for a long period of time while also being ready to explode and put power into it at any time. Training for sports like these includes cardio! You have to be able to last for a long period of time, whether that be 30 minutes, or a couple hours. To do this you will need to train your body in that fashion, and cardio is the perfect way. If you use weights you must use light weight and do more repetitions. 4 sets of 20 would be my suggestion. Also do some circuits with zero weight on a bar or use a light dumb bell. Go for 30 seconds as hard and as fast as you can, the key here is to shape your muscles for the way that they will be used during playing time, or when it comes time to perform. If you're not in shape, trust me you will know it very quickly. You must eat healthy as well. Why put negative foods in your body if you are trying to get positive results? Don't do it! Lets say you don't even play sports anymore or never have you just stumbled across this blog, eating healthy is a great way to live life. You will feel energized and much more ready to handle stressful situations in life if your body isn't being dragged down. Now, you must also remember your body needs to get rest. Sleep when you know you're supposed to. That means eight hours! Also feed your body nutritious foods and it is a good idea to take some protein after a workout. Replenish your body. Now for those of you who play sports such as football, rugby, or even just lift weights and need to build mass you will want to switch the workout up to 4 sets of 8 or 3 sets of 10. Maybe even 3 sets of 5. Cardio is also important in being able to be fast and explosive in the sports you play. If all you do is build mass and build and build you will be slow! You need to be able to move all that mass that you are building. Otherwise you will not be able to perform the way you should. Running is great for cardio, or cycling, even cross fit classes. That will get you in shape like no ones business if you push yourself to keep going. Well thats about all for now. If you have any questions comment on my blog. P.s. I'm not some athletic major either, but this is just what I have learned in my training.