Thoughts from a Demon

Strongman Training: Beneficial for all

2011-12-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

Do you want to have physical and mental toughness? Anaerobic conditioning? Cardiovascular conditioning?
Muscular endurance, strength, and power? Do you want to melt fat and look great?
Well then you need look no further. Strongman style training can give you all of these things and more!
Now before you continue reading this article, I suggest you watch some strongman competitions on Youtube to get a better sense of what I mean. If you have watched these competitions before, then you know what I'm talking about.

Whether you're a man or women, an average person or an elite athlete, I believe that this type of training can be very beneficial. Strongman training builds what is called "functional" strength. Due to the awkwardness of many of the events, you will end up improvising in order to complete it and try to win. This means that the entire body will be worked, and you will work muscles that are nearly impossible to train with traditional weight training.

Think about how many times in sports that a play goes exactly how it was planned? Very rarely is the answer.The same goes for everyday life. Things are never done exactly the same every time. For example, you help a friend move furniture into his new house, and everything is a different weight, size, and has different balance points. This means you will need to be using your muscles in a different way each time, and you may have to walk up or down stairs. You will have to lift, pull, push, and drag many of these items as well. Strongman training is the exact same....except strongman has no furniture moving events.

When most people exercise in the gym, they have a routine with a certain number of sets, repetitions, rest time, weights, and specific exercises. The lifts that people perform are usually done in the same way for every set, making sure to stick tightly to the exercise routine.

"I have to make sure to get 1min rest between my next set, perform 12 reps, and take 2mins rest in between my next exercise"

While this is very beneficial for proper progression and sticking to the scientific ranges for types of training goals such as hypertrophy, strength, endurance and power, this is not how things work in sport. Can you imagine a fighter in a MMA match going full out with punches for 10 seconds, and then saying to his opponent " Can you just wait a few minutes? Cause I need to let my body recharge it's ATP-CP system in order to work in the explosive power range". It would be ridiculous wouldn't it ?

This is why strongman training is such a test of mental and physical toughness. You don't get time to rest because your lungs burn and your legs are sore. You need to work as hard as you can in order to win. So as much as I believe strongman training is beneficial for all, I don't think you should attempt it unless you know that you're ready physically and mentally. If you are one of the few that are brave enough to giver, then I applaud your drive.

The main problem with trying to train for these strongman events is that many of the equipment required is hard to obtain due it's awkwardness and specificity. There are sites you can order from, but the cost can add up quickly. So for many people it's all about improvisation. Things such as big tires are easy to obtain. Just call up a local tire company and they will gladly let you take away their old tires for free. It costs them money to get them disposed of professionally so really, you are doing them a favor. Other things like ropes and heavy chains are easy enough to find too. Just go to your local hardware store and I'm sure you can find a good selection. There are many other items that can be used in your strongman training such as sandbags, empty paint buckets, other people, big rocks, and of course barbells and dumbbells. It's all really about using your brain and being creative.

Now most likely you are wondering what an example of a strongman training program would look like. So I shall give you an idea.

1) Overhead rock toss- 5 tosses. 1 minute rest in between tosses. This is an explosive exercise so you're going to want to start with a rock that is light enough to explosively toss yet heavy enough to provide resistance.
2) Backwards partner pull- 2 sets of 50 yards. 1 minute rest between sets. Get your partner to lay on flat on his stomach and grasp one end of the rope tightly. You grab the other end and pull him as fast as you can for 50 yards.
3) Tire flip- 3 sets of 5 with 3mins rest in between sets. Pretty self explanatory exercise.
4) Farmers walk- 3 sets of 50 yards with 3mins rest in between sets. Use either heavy dumbbells or barbells.

Now this in no way is an in depth program that I meticulously designed. It is just here to provide you with a basic idea of what it would look like. That's not to say that you won't gain anything from it if you do it, because I'm sure your lungs and muscles would burn after performing it ! You may recall how I said having specific times, reps and sets isn't necessary with strongman training, well it still isn't but you do need a general guideline. If you want to work more endurance you can go further distances and take less rest. If you want to train for more power then you can do shorter distances and take a little more rest. It really is dependent on your specific goals.

So if you're wanting to switch up your routine, or just feel like pushing your limits, then give strongman training a try.

Steroids: The Real Facts

2011-12-22T00:46:00.000-07:00

Now I'm sure this article is of interest to many. Not necessarily because everyone wants to go on them, but due to the fact that you want to know the truth. The problem with most of the information out there is that it's from broscience or completely altered in a negative way in the media. I believe the best way to understand things is to look at it from both sides of the coin. Of course if you know me I am somewhat pro-steroids but this in no way means I won't give a fair look at the negative effects. This article will look at the physiology of anabolic steroids, the action of the compounds, benefits, and the known possible side effects.

So as I assume, many of you would like to know what exactly steroids are. The first error that is made by people is classifying all steroids in the same category. Steroids are synthetic versions of hormones, and not all of them have performance enhancing properties. For example, birth control is a steroid and it contains synthetic versions of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. Another example is Cortisol, which tells the body to break down inflammation in the body. The one most people are interested in, due to their performance enhancing properties are anabolic steroids. Also known as anabolic-adrogen steroids (AAS), AAS imitate the effects of the male hormones testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. The main effects from these hormones are the increase of protein synthesis inside cells, which in turn increases cellular anabolism, especially in muscles. AAS also have secondary androgenic effects and virilization, such as the maintance and development of masculine properties. Due to these reasons, women should avoid using anabolic steroids if they want to remain feminine.

AAS are fat-soluble hormones which mean they are membrane permeable and directly exert their effects on the nucleus. Below is a picture of a cell so you know what the membrane and nucleus are, as well as a few of the other cell structures.

The action of AAS begins when the hormone penetrates the membrane of the target cell and binds to an androgen receptor inside the cytoplasm of the cell. Then the compound hormone-receptor diffuses into the nucleus, where it either activates processes that send signals to other parts of the cell, or alters the expression of the genes. Now different types of anabolic compounds bind to the androgen receptors with different effects, depending on their chemical structure. Some compounds bind strongly or weakly to the receptor. The reason for the strength of these bindings is not known.

Now the effects that AAS exert on muscle mass are cased in two ways. Firstly, they increase the production of proteins in the body; secondly, they block the production of cortisol which is a stress hormone which reduces recovery time. This means that catabolism (breakdown) of the muscle is greatly reduced and anabolism (growth) is increased. The theory behind this reduction of muscle breakdown is that AAS inhibit the action of other steroid hormones such as glucocorticoids that promote the breakdown of muscles. Another positive effect is that AAS effect the number of cells that develop into fat storage cells. The final effect they have is the reduction in body fat due to the increase in Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), because the more muscle mass you have, the higher your BMR. Some of the important anabolic effects are: increased protein synthesis, increased appetite, increased bone remodeling and growth, stimulation of bone marrow, red blood cell production, and an increase in skeletal muscle size which in turn increases strength.

In the medical field , AAS have many important uses, and have been used since they were first synthesized in the 1930's. They are used for burn victims, people with muscle wasting, AIDS patients,cancer patients, and even more. So according to the media, steroids kill athletes but heal those who are sick and dying. How does that even make any sense?? Well let me tell you, it doesn't make any damn sense at all if you look at the research out there. Even the American College of Sports Medicine recognizes that under the presence of proper diet, high intensity resistance training, and AAS, a person can increase lean body mass and make gains in muscular strength faster than someone not using AAS. This is why AAS are so widely used by bodybuilders, powerlifters, and any sport where size and strength are important. Although for all the benefits that they bring, there are also a long list of many POTENTIAL side effects.

Now the problem with the available research on anabolic steroids is that much of it is old and outdated, or self reported data due to it being unethical to give people steroids in the name of research. The known side effects that happen when you go on a cycle are: high blood pressure, increase in LDL (bad cholesterol) and decrease in HDL (good cholesterol), possible acne, testicular atrophy, and gynecomastia. The joy about these side effects are that most go away when you come off the sauce. The gynecomastia is the only one that can possibly stick with you due to it being to a permanent growth of breast tissue in relation to too much estrogen. The body likes to maintain homeostasis so when the testosterone increases, the estrogen increases as well. This is why many SMART athletes will use things such Aromatase Inhibitors which block the estrogen from reaching the receptors and blocks the production of estrogen as well.

Some of the POTENTIAL side effects, that have NEVER been proven are: Severe liver damage (mainly from oral steroids), cancer, baldness, heart attacks, stunted growth, prostate enlargement, kidney problems, immune system changes, and sterility. The problem as stated before, is that none of these side effects have been proven in any controlled research setting and have been all been self reported. There are too many other possible variables that aren't counted for in relation to the cause of these issues.

The thing that needs to be considered is the benefit to risk ratio. There is no safe drug on this planet and I highly doubt there ever will be. The more you take of something, the more of a chance that negative side effects will occur. If you drink too much booze you can die. If you smoke too many cigarettes, you can get cancer. If you eat too much fatty food you can have a heart attack. I could go on forever with examples, but I shall not bore you any more. The key to anabolic steroids is to DO YOUR RESEARCH! Don't just purely go off what some guy told you in the gym. Go spend the money on some legit books like the book I bought just about testosterone. It's only $158 now , but was $250 when I bought it 3 years back! You can't get more legit than a book like this. It's compiled with years of past and current research on different testosterone prepartions and is SUPER scientific.

Anyways before I get off track with this article....this article in no way is a complete guide to steroids. There are a couple of sites out there that list all of the compounds, explain their action, physiology, dosages etc etc. I figured I would provide a basic overview to clarify some things, and help people make decisions.

Let me say one thing though...this is NOT AN EASY WAY OUT ! If you think you can pop a few pills, stab yourself with a few needles and become a god, well you need to go do MUCH more research. These things are not magic. You need to have your diet locked down, train your ass off and be completely dedicated mentally to the task at hand. These things HELP you repair faster in order to train more often and more intensely. So these things are for the serious individuals, not for casual users. This is why I will commonly see people who use them, who have no idea what they're doing, and they look like complete shit. Then I see people who are all natural and look amazing. You know why that is? DEDICATION!

So go do some research, dedicate your life, and GET SERIOUS!

Alcohol and Exercise: Why they don't mix

2011-12-18T21:33:00.001-07:00

First let me start off by saying happy holidays. I figured since many of you enjoy the holidays by consuming alcohol in various amounts...usually excessive amounts...that there's no better time than now to discuss the relationship between alcohol and exercise, and why the two don't mix.

I know for many people, especially us Canadians, it seems to be the norm to drink as a hobby, and most of us don't casually drink either. Commonly it turns into nights where items are lost, memories are blurry, mistakes are made, and various alcoholic beverages are consumed. Then the next day you ask your friends what happened, and they proceed to tell you all the stupid shit you did. Instead of using your brains and thinking " wow that was dumb, I need to rethink my life" , you and your friends laugh about it then repeat the cycle the next day. We seem to be a nation that takes pride in binge drinking and acting like morons. I'm sorry but when the most exciting part of your week is drinking so much that you puke your guts out, and end up sleeping with some random nasty ass person, your life is very sad. The icing on the cake is the horrible hangover the next day. Wow, that sounds like so much fun!!!! Oh and for god sakes don't try and think that you are any better than drug users because alcohol IS a drug. If you need drugs to have fun all the time, then you are really missing out on life. If you are ACTUALLY a casual drinker such as drinking at a birthday or wedding or anything similar, then I'm not hating on you. I'm hating on you people that do the same damn thing every weekend, and try to put me down because I choose to do more constructive things other than getting wasted.

Now that my rant about the stupidity of drinking is over...for now.... I shall get to the informative section.
Alcohol is commonly called the anti-nutrient nutrient, and this is due to the fact that alcohol actually prevents proper absorption, storage, and use of many nutrients in the body. Alcohol has 2 classifications; food or drug. As a food, alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. That's 2 calories more than protein or carbs (4g) and only 2 calories less than fat (9g). A typical beer will commonly contain 100-150 calories! So lets say you have just 6 beer, that's 600-900 calories ! Now I know most of you have more like 12 beer, shots, and mixed drinks. A 1.5 ounce shot of vodka contains +65 calories! So it's easy to see how those calories can add up real fast in a night.

This is why I don't want to bother trying to train people for weight loss half the time. " I want to lose (insert weight here) by (insert time frame here) ". Then when I proceed to tell them that if they are serious they need to cut out the booze, they seem to think I'm joking or altogether just don't listen to me. You want to lose weight then you need to CUT CALORIES !!! Look at the god damn calorie content of alcohol you morons! You're gonna stay sad and overweight if you keep binge drinking every weekend. Oh , and don't bullshit me with "my metabolism is fast" crap, because it ain't gonna fly with me.

Alcohol in the classification of a drug, can have many detrimental effects. Sure it makes you feel good and gain a false sense of courage , but really this is just due to alcohol's depressant effects. When you consume a small amount of alcohol it appears to have positive effects such as: improvement in mood and possible euphorria, increased self confidence, and increased sociability. As the drinks continue things can progress to these effects: impaired judgement, impaired fine muscle co-ordination, impaired memory, blurred vision, ataxia, emotional lability, nausea, vomiting, decreased heart rate, and eventually death. That sure sounds like a fun night to me ......

Since alcohol is a type of sugar, it also has the wonderful effect of screwing with your insulin levels by impairing them. In case you didn't know, insulin is used to pull glucose out of the blood, so if your tissues don't respond effectively to insulin, then you have a condition known as insulin resistance. When this happens, your blood glucose levels can become chronically elevated, and can eventually lead to Type 2 Diabetes. It has been shown that moderate amounts of alcohol can actually decrease insulin resistance which is a good thing, but anything more than that and it increases resistance.
Alcohol also inhibits the metabolization of proteins and fats in the liver, as well as impairing the pancreatic enzymes needed for fat metabolism. This leads to the inability to mobilize body fat and an increase in blood lipids.

So I hope it's easy to see why drinking large amounts of alcohol all the time can be very bad for anyone interested in being in elite shape, and how it is just bad in general. I know there are benefits from drinking small amounts of alcohol, but they are very much outweighed by the negative effects. I think many people use these "positive" studies for an excuse to be alcoholics. Now as I always must clarify, these are part facts and part personal opinion. You're not gonna hear me preaching to people in the gym about how bad booze is and how you shouldn't do it. This is just information that you can use to either increase your knowledge, or get pissed off at me. You are all adults and free to enjoy whatever lifestyle choices you want. My choice is to not drink for many various reasons, but mainly because I don't need drugs to enjoy life. Give me a room full of weights, heavy metal blasting, and I'm having the time of my life.

Rant of the day: GPA Whores

2011-12-08T17:35:00.001-07:00

Now if there's one thing that sure drives me insane about post-secondary education it's GPA Whores. You may be wondering "what's a GPA Whore ?" . Well let me explain to you. A GPA Whore is someone who is totally obsessed with their grades and comparing them to others in order to boost their self esteem. These people commonly tell you " I got an A and I didn't really study at all ", then proceed to ask you about your grades. In my case, I usually don't do as well as them. This is due to two things 1) I am horrible at memorization and 2) I just don't care that much to try that hard. I'm getting my degree so I can make more money. I'm not trying to get into some prestigious program after I'm done, nor am going to get my masters degree. I'm just getting through all my classes happily with a B average, in hopes that after 2 years I can be done with school, and work on making something of myself with my career.

This isn't to say that everyone who achieves high grades is a GPA whore. I can respect people who try as hard as they can, get a great grade, and admit that it wasn't easy. They commonly won't try to compare themselves to others either, and they are genuinely excited about actually getting a great grade. But once the tone starts to turn into " Well you tried and didn't do as well as me, and I didn't try at all " , then you are a GPA Whore.

When it comes to the REAL WORLD, then that is the true test of your actual skills. Sure you can memorize things great, and ace tests, but can you actually apply practical skills to your career? Do you have any people skills at all? Yes you know the names of every muscle, but do you know how to design a proper training program for a client?

Students these days seem to get so caught up in achieving the best grades that they commonly forget to develop essential skills for real world application. I can think of many of favorite teachers and when I would ask them what they got in school, they tell me they didn't get A's in every class. Sometimes they would get D's and just scrape by in a course. Surprisingly enough these teachers were my favorite because they had good people skills, good knowledge in their field of study, and could apply these things to real world situations. This is what I am striving to be. I want to be that person that people say " he really knows his shit and is really easy to talk to".

When a perspective client sits down with me for an initial assessment, do you think they care if I got A's in my classes and can name off every muscle in the body for them? NO ! They care if I can help them reach their goals effectively and have a "people person" personality. This is what I achieve with people. Now if you're a physiotherapist and you really need to know all the muscles and such, then yes that will be pretty damn important. If you don't have any people skills however, then you likely will not get as many clients as someone who does.

To clarify everything I said. I'm not putting down people who try to achieve goals because they love to test themselves and it makes them improve their self esteem. I'm not knocking people who try really hard to achieve high grades because they need a certain GPA to get into a program, or get their masters. I'm knocking the people who achieve high grades and compare themselves to others in order to make themselves feel better. This is turn makes the person they are comparing with feel like shit because they tried so hard and didn't do as well. Or in my case, makes me want to knock their teeth into the back of their ego inflated heads.

So please, to all you GPA Whores out there. Just stop now. You're either going to have someone get sick of your shit one day and knock some sense into you, or the person who got C's and B's is going to be your boss because they have real world skills and you have none.

Demon

Diet: Losing, Gaining, Maintaining Weight

2011-12-07T09:47:00.001-07:00

Now one thing that shouldn't surprise me is people’s knowledge on the concept of diet. Now when I say diet, I don't mean stupid shit like "Only eat 1 peanut, and 2 rice cakes a day". Diets such as that are only going to work for a small amount of time and ultimately are awful for your body. The diet I'm talking about is a balanced/healthy diet; a diet where you are getting the proper amount of macronutrients and micronutrients in relation to your energy requirements and weight goals.

From what I have seen/heard recently though in discussions with friends, family, and random people, there still is quite a lack of proper education about these things. Many people still believe in a lot of the myths out there like: " I want to lose weight in just this area so I will do exercises to lose it", "this person I know has a high metabolism so they can eat anything", "doing 100's of crunches will give me abs" and many more.

The thing that gets me pissed off beyond belief is when I try to explain these things to people, and they either 1) Outright tell me I'm wrong and I don't know what I'm talking about, or 2) Tell me "that doesn't make sense because so and so eats whatever they want and doesn't exercise and they have abs...BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH". Now I would have no problem listening to this if they had some scientific reasoning behind these things, but 100% of the time, they really don't. These people usually have fuck all for certification/education in either nutrition or exercise physiology, so it really doesn't help their case when 1) I AM certified, and 2) I AM working in the field of Kinesiology getting my degree. Even the people out there such as bodybuilders who say " I have experience with this" , at least have scientific reasoning as to why they do the things they do.

The people I don't mind are the people who question me with curiosity. These people don't understand but truly want to know why and are willing to listen to what I have to say. This my friends is half of the reason I am writing this article. The other half is for you stubborn assholes who don't listen to me when I'm trying to educate you. This way you can visually see it, and have all the terms explained to you. See I have my friend Mr. Scientific Data. He is what proves if things are right or wrong. He does this thing called research which proves or disproves theories, thus expanding knowledge in the said subject. Unlike you, he does not work on the basis of bro-science or speculative data. So if I haven't pissed you off already, or you are one of the lovely people who are willing to learn, then I shall now give you the rundown of important dietary terms and how to lose, gain, or maintain weight.

1)Daily Energy Requirements (DER)- This is a combination of your BMR and the amount of calories you burn in relation to daily activities.

2) Daily Value (DV) - This is basically the maximum amount of maconutirents and micronutrioents that one should consume in a day, in relation to their Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). So for example, someone one a 2000 kilocalorie diet would have these for their DV:

Total Fat 65g

Saturated Fatty Acids20 g

Cholesterol 300 mg

Sodium 2300 mg

Potassium 4700 mg

Total Carbohydrate 300 g

Fiber 25 g

Protein 50 g

This is the amount of nutrients this person would need to eat in a day in order to maintain their weight. If they wanted to lose weight they would eat less, and if they wanted to gain weight they would eat more. I shall explain those concepts in more detail in a bit.

3) Daily Energy Requirements (DER)- This is a combination of your BMR and the amount of calories you burn in relation to daily activities.

4) Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) - The amount of energy expended at rest. This is the amount energy you burn if you were to do nothing at all. It is the minimum amount of energy required to keep your body functioning. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your BMR will be ! A rough estimation of your BMR can be through an equation using sex, height, age, and weight.

5) Macro nutrients - These are the BIG nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. These provide the bulk of energy in ones diet.

6) Micro nutrients- These are vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes such as, but not limited to: Vitamin B, Iron, and Sodium. You can think of these as support nutrients. They are things that the body cannot produce and requires for important bodily functions/processes.

Ok so there's a nice overview of some important terms required to understand how weight management and healthy diet work. Now it's time for the fun and technical stuff. DIET ! If I'm correct, most of you reading this are interested in how to lose weight. Well thank your lucky stars I am here to explain how to do it correctly. I will go over it as weight management however, because if you understand how to lose it, then you will know how to maintain it, as well as gain it.

Weight Management

I'm gonna use myself for an example so that you can get a good grasp of how this works. I will be using an online DER calculator to explain this, so it is a rough estimation of my actual DER, but will provide a sufficient example for our purposes. The calculator can be found on http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

So here's my stats: I am 23 yrs old, I am a male ..of course..., I'm 5'6", and currently 165lbs. I do 3hrs of moderate exercise (Judo) a week, and 4hrs of heavy exercise ( high intensity weight training) a week. This calculator calculates what you do in a 24hr period, so you need to be able to figure out what you do on an average day. I estimated that I do about 16hrs of resting activity, 1hr of very light, 1 hr of light, 3hrs of moderate, and 3hrs of heavy. So I plugged all that info into the calculator and I got a BMR of 1763kc and 2351kc from activties, which means my DER is 4114kc. This means just to maintain my bodyweight I need to be consuming roughly 4000kc a day. If you multiply that by 7 days, that's 28,000kc.

" Ok that's great so explain how this relates to weight loss! " . Certainly !

Ok so 1lb of fat is equal to 3500kc. That means in order to lose 1lb of fat, you need to expend 3500kc from your weekly caloric requirements. So the options are:

1) Burn 3500kc through activities

2) cut 3500kc from my dietary intake per week

3) A combination of burning more calories through activities as well as cutting back on calories.

If you want my honest opinion, the 3rd option is what I would recommend to most people if you are looking for optimal results. Option 1 isn't usually the easiest for most people because that means you need to exercise more frequently and/or more intensely. Many people don't have the time or willpower to do this, so it is not the best option. Option 2 you run the risk of lacking in certain nutrients because as you know by now, the more you exercise, the more nutrients your body wants.

"Ok now I'm confused, I need to eat more when I train harder, but I need to eat less in order to lose more weight!?!?"

It all comes down to the type of foods you are eating ! You can eat less while still hitting your daily nutritional needs if you eat the right foods. I'm talking about foods that are packed with good nutrients and low in overall calories. This is usually a combination of high protein, moderate fiber, and low carbohydrates. Now I'm definitely not saying the Atkins diet or something stupid like that. I mean healthy proteins like chicken breast, fiber from veggies, and low carbohydrates like that found in sweet potatoes.

If you stuff your body with crap then you will most likely look and feel like crap. If you give your body just what it needs with healthy food, then you will be healthy, and look healthy. There is no secret pill out there that will allow you to eat like shit and still lose weight, so stop searching for it. Below are some basic guidelines that helped me lose weight, and can also be used to maintain weight.

1) Eat 6 smaller meals a day if possible. This will help boost your metabolism and prevent your body from storing excess calories.

2) Make sure to eat a source of protein at every meal. Protein builds muscle and keeps you feeling full. Plus since you will be aiming to eat less, the protein will help spare muscle mass… Very important !

3) Try to stay away from red meats and bad fats. You are trying to lose weight, so obviously a fatty piece of meat, pizza, or anything in butter/cream is gonna pack those calories on quickly.

4) Make 1 meal a day a vegan meal. I discovered this in the past year. For one thing, vegan meals usually are high in fiber and nutrients. They also contain much less calories than a standard “meat and potatoes” meal. My favourite combo is quinoa with any type of beans. I just buy the canned beans and drain them in a strainer.

5) Invest in some protein powder. I already explained the importance of protein, and after a workout it is especially important to help repair those muscles you just destroyed. Try to get a power that has little additives or sugars.

6) Have 1 day a week where you eat more than usual. Now I’m not saying to go out and eat a whole pizza, ice cream and a flat of beer. I’m saying that you should still be eating mainly all healthy food , but in larger portions. Having a bad food like a piece of pizza or a chocolate bar is totally fine, just don’t go overboard. I say you should do this because when you restrict your body so much it tends to want to go into starvation mode and start storing fat, so if you shock it with a high calorie day, then it keeps that metabolism up.

7) Eat more of these foods. Oatmeal, brown rice, ancient grains like quinoa, sweet potatoes, yams, all veggies, fruit, chicken breasts, fish, eggs, low fat dairy products, beans, nuts and seeds, healthy oils like fish oil and olive oil.

8) Eat/Drink less of these. Cheese, red meat, processed food, cereal, pop, juice, high fat dairy products, sugar, white potatoes, white pasta, white rice, high sodium foods.

So now that you hopefully have a decent understanding of how to lose weight. With this knowledge I have now given you, you can also choose to maintain your weight , or gain it depending on your goals. If you want to maintain your bodyweight then just make sure you always hit that DER, and if you want to gain weight then obviously you aim above your DER. If you are really looking for very accurate calculations of your DER, nutritional requirements, and a nutritional program designed specifically for you, then go see a registered dietitian. These people are certified and know their shit ! Make sure you do some background research on them however to make sure they actually are a registered dietitian , and not someone who did a weekend course. I'm not certified in nutrition so that is why I am only giving you guidelines and explaining the science behind things. If you would like to go even more in depth on macro nutrients and micro nutrients, then I strongly suggest buying a book on nutrition. I really don't have the time or desire to go in depth on every nutrient haha.

So I hope this has helped everyone who was genuinely intrigued in learning, and shut up you stubborn minded individuals as well. If this has helped you to figure out your body composition goals, and you need a workout routine to go along with it, then feel free to either e-mail me at brett-andrews@hotmail.com, or message me on FB, and I can design a specific program suited to your needs.

Cheers,

Demon

Realistic Goals+Proper progression= Success

2011-12-01T14:48:00.001-07:00

One big error I notice with many people out there is that they seem to workout without rhyme or reason. If I ask them what their goals are , then I commonly will get very broad answers like " I wanna get bigger" or " I'm trying to tone up" . That's great that you want to do that, but what exactly defines bigger? What is tone up?

In order to progress in the gym or anything in life, you need goals that are measurable. You need numbers applied to the goals. You need realistic time frames So for the guy who wants to get bigger, he should say something similar to : " I would like to gain 10lbs of muscle in 4 months". That is very realistic and time based. If you set your goals too high, then you will ultimately feel let down if you don't hit them. I always feel like it's better to shoot low, and then if you hit that goal before or by the time you want, then you can always modify your goals!

As for the person who wants to "tone up", first of all you beat them in the head until they realize tone is ridiculous word that means nothing. The word most people are likely meaning to say is "define". So the person who wants to define their body should say something similar to this: " In 6 months time I would like decrease my body fat to 8-10%, and also gain 15lbs of muscle mass." Again, this is realistic, specific, and time based.

I know personally I am guilty of getting into these points in my training/life where I forget to actually sit down and think about why I am training. Yes of course I love to train, and I do it to look good as well as the many health benefits, but what are my actual goals? If you train without goals, then how do you know if you've achieved what you want, if you don't even know what it is that you want ? haha.

Today I had a brief discussion about P90X and Crossfit with some of my friends and fellow gym goers. We all seemed to agree that these types of training are not beneficial to athletes. Yes they can get you in shape, but they don't address any skill specifically and there is NO proper periodization or progression. It's all about competition in Crossfit. Some of the shit they have for their daily workouts like " Do 40 reverse burpees and 30 snatches as fast as you can" just blows my mind. What the fuck is the purpose of that? Snatches are a power exercise, not something you would do as fast as you can for high reps. Sorry, but shit like that just drives me off the deep end. Even someone who is highly skilled in Olympic lifts would run the risk of injury at that speed and rep range.

Had to get that mini rant out. I will save the entire Crossfit rant for another article. I'm sure there are some certified Crossfit trainers out there who are smart enough to incorporate some form of proper progression into their workouts, but from what I've seen and researched, it just seems like a big money grab. Some may argue that MMA training is similar to Crossfit as well, but I would have to disagree. If you have a good coach in MMA, they are going to have legit reasons for the type of training you will be doing and make sure you are progressing in a proper manner. Yes MMA athletes have to be well rounded in every aspect of fitness, but they don't train like retards.

What this little article is getting at is that realistic goal setting with proper progression allows the body to achieve those goals in safe and scientific manner. A good trainer/coach should be able to give you reasons for everything that they put into a program, and if they can't, then they aren't doing their fucking job. If you're doing random shit all the time without any purpose then the body has no clue what it is supposed to do and essentially you are just wasting energy for nothing.

So sit down, write out your realistic goals, and train with purpose!

Demon

Short Reflection: Importance of healthy friends

2011-11-17T19:23:00.001-07:00

Compared to most of my posts that I usually write, this one is going to be a little more on the serious side. Now I don't mean that it's gonna be a dull and boring to read, just something that I have been thinking about a lot lately. As I look at my life from where it was and what it has become so far, I've noticed how important the gym has been, which includes everyone that I have chosen to become friends with.

If you don't know me personally or didn't grow up with me as a teenager, then you prolly wouldn't know that I was into quite a bit of drug dealing and heavy drug use. There were times when I thought that I may not wake up the next day due to my lifestyle. However, one thing that always was the shining light in those dark times was the gym. I always felt amazing when I was in there working out and bullshitting with the other people there. I am the kind of guy who feels really guilty about things that I know aren't right, and something inside me was always telling me that I needed to smarten the fuck up and change my lifestyle if I wanted to be truly happy. Now it took me many years, and many relapses along the way to realize that the true happiness I was looking for was always there, I was just too clouded in my mind to notice it.

Even through my years at college I had relapses with booze and drugs, and started losing that passion for exercise and furthering my knowledge. It wasn't until I moved out here to Lethbridge and started attending University that I began gaining that intense passion for becoming the ultimate personal trainer and being the best Brett that I can be. It may seem stupid to many of you, but I have always dealt with issues of doubting myself and constantly doing upward comparison, thus lowering my confidence even more. I've slowly been working on getting rid of these negative psychological habits, and filling them with positive thoughts.

I've also noticed since starting this blog, and even the Demonator group on Facebook, that I am NOT an idiot like I originally thought. I DO know what I am talking about, and others rely on me to give them the straight up facts. Knowing that my story of lifestyle change and current success makes others look up to me , means the world to me. That is the main reason why I have such a passion for this career. I love to help others whether it be through improving their knowledge, sparking a passion inside them, or pushing them past limits that they believed were impossible to beat. Even if 1000 people read one of my articles and only 1 person is positively affected by it, that still makes me feel great.

When I'm in the gym bullshitting with friends, fellow trainers, or just random people, I feel like my true self. Even the random talks with fellow Demonators brings me so much joy. The people in that group are the type of people that I wish to constantly surround myself with because they have the same mindset as me. Constant self improvement and basically being like a family to support each other and push each other in every aspect of life.

I guess what I was really trying to get at with this reflection is that if you want to be the ultimate YOU , then you need to surround yourself with as many people that have the same mindset/passion as you. Whenever I would slip back into bad habits I would be hanging with people that didn't have the same mindset. A real friend that looks out for your best interests will not let you do stupid shit that can cause you to lose the focus and dedication. A real friend will tell you when you are being stupid and help you find a positive solution.

So get rid of those douchebags that aren't actually your friends, and go find as many positive people as you can.

Demon

Myofibrillar hypertrophy vs Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy: Size vs Density/Strength

2011-11-05T17:45:00.003-06:00

Well unless you have ever taken an anatomy or physiology course, you most likely are going "myo and sarco what?" . So I shall give you a very brief A&P lesson in order to have a basic understanding of this article.

Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle
Skeletal muscle tissue is surround by connective tissue(CT). The superficial fascia, also known as the subcutaneous layer, is composed of connective tissue and adipose (fat) tissue., and this what seperates the skeletal muscle from the skin.

Underneath the superficial fascia lies an irregular connective tissue that holds the muscles called the deep fascia.
Now below the deep fascia are 3 layers of CT which strengthen the muscle:
1) Epimysium- Outermost layer which surrounds the entire muscle.
2)Perimysium- Surrounds fascicles, which are groups of muscle fibers.
3)Endomysium- Deepest layer that separates individual muscle fibers.

Muscle Fibers are the individual cells which skeletal muscles are composed of. These muscle fibers are located below a plasma membrane called the sarcolemma. Inside of the sarcolemma is the fibers cytoplasm, called the sarcoplasm. The sarcoplasm holds substances needed for muscle contraction such as glycogen and oxygen.
Each individual fiber is composed of many smaller myofibrils, which are elongated contractile threads. Myofibrils are divided into repeating functional units called sarcomeres. These things are what gives skeletal muscle its striated appearance. The easiest way to think of striation is when you look at an athlete with low body fat, and you can see their "definition". These lines of muscle definition are called striations.Finally, the myofibrils are surrounded by a system of membranous sacs, called the sarcoplasmic reticulum(SR).

Now this in no way fully explains skeletal muscle. I just provided a brief overview of information that is relevant to what I want to teach you. So don't go off on me and say shit like " What about T-tubules, myosin, ATP, Z Line, etc etc?". If you really wanna know that much then go read a damn A&P book.

Ok, so we got the boring stuff out of the way and it's time to learn why the guys that look like Greek gods commonly are lifting weights that are made for mortals, and the guys that looks like average Joes, are lifting 3-4x their body weight. Of course these examples that I used are extremes of what happens with just Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (size) training and Myofibrillar hypertrophy (density, strength). There are many athletes out there that actually use a combination of both types such as MMA athletes, football players, and rugby players. But before I go more in depth about those athletes and training styles, lets take a look at the two types of hypertrophy.

Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy (SH)
Now you know how I just explained what the sarcoplasm is? Well sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is an increase in the volume of the sarcoplasm. 25-30% of a muscles size consists this fluid. Even though the cross sectional area of the muscle increases, the density of muscle fibers decreases, and there is no increase in muscular strength. This is the typical 8-12 rep, 3-4 set, moderate intensity/high volume, "bodybuilder" training. I like to call this aesthetic training. Now there is some scientific evidence that a bigger muscle has a better chance of becoming a stronger muscle once the proper strength training methods are applied. However this type of hypertrophy has very little t do with explosive moments. Hence why bodybuilders are packed with muscle mass, but are not the fastest or the strongest of athletes. So this type of hypertrophy is nice looking, but isn't really functional, unless of course you are a bodybuilder.

Myofibrillar Hypertophy(MH)
Myofibrillar hypertrophy is the total opposite of this. This type of hypertrophy is an actual enlargement of the muscle fiber due to it gaining more myofibrils, which generate tension and contract in the muscle. The density of the myofibrils increases and therefore this a significantly greater ability to exert muscular strength. This is 1-5 reps, 1-10 sets, high intensity/low volume, powerlifter/Olympic lifter training. This is very important to the majority of athletes since most athletic movements are explosive in nature. Besides training the parts of the muscle responsible for explosive contractions, 85-100% 1RM training has the added benefit of training the nervous system. Some of the benefits of training the nervous system, but not limited too, are: decreased inhibition by the protective mechanism of the golgi tendon organ (GTO), increased neural drive to the muscle, increased synchronization of motor units, and increased activation of the contractile apparatus. As you can see, this type of hypertrophy could be termed functional hypertrophy.

PHEW! That was a bit of knowledge to take in. If you had made it this far and not fallen asleep, then you are on your way to becoming a more well rounded athlete.Now is the time to get away from the purely scientific data, and get to my favourite part of every article I write. My opinion !

First off, let me start by saying that depending on what type of athlete you are, you may think SH is better than MH. Being a personal trainer I have tried many different types of training from pure SH to MH, MMA, hybrid SH/MH, bodyweight, bootcamp and many more. I like to try different techniques and styles of training in order to gain a perspective on how different athletes need to be trained, and to why some will swear by certain styles and oppose others. In doing so, I avoid having biased opinions about things. Yes I can have very strong opinions about certain subjects but I will always give legit scientific reasons why things are "good and bad". So what's my opinion about SH and MH? Honestly I believe for overall function and performance, a combination of both types of hypertrophy is the best thing you can do. Bodybuilders can benefit from MH because more strength means that they will be able to lift heavier weights in that hypertrophy range, and powerlifters can benefit from some SH because a bigger muscle can produce more strength when proper strength training is applied.

Now a friend of mine wanted to do a comparison of Crossfit and Bodybuilding/Powerlifting in the areas of athletic performance,hypertrophy, and overall health/fitness benefits. But, to me this is like comparing a car with all the bells and whistles, to a car that is just the base model. I don't mean this in an offensive way either.
It's really a simple answer if you look at what the different training styles incorporate in terms of physical skills\goals.

Cross Fit's belief is that a person who is fit requires proficiency in each of ten general physical skills: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination, and accuracy.

Bodybuilding: size, definition, proportion, symmetry, and stage presence.
Powerlifting: maximum strength

So of course Crossfit is going to have many more benefits compared to the others because of what the goal of it is. Crossfit basically wants you to be an all round healthy person, and I totally agree that everyone should be like this, but if you are a powerlifter or bodybuilder, then all those other physical skills don't apply.
If you want to see some athletes that entail all ten of those physical skills , just watch a couple video clips of world strongman, or the Cross Fit competitions.

Crossfit Athlete

Strongman Athlete

All in all I think that any type of training which makes you work many factors of fitness is obviously the best choice overall, but as I have learned, not everyone likes this type of training. Some people just like bodybuilding, some like powerlifting, and some don't like doing any training. Many people find joy in rock climbing, or hiking a large mountain. So you got to do whatever gives you the most joy. Of course myself and many others would like everyone to be hardcore fitness enthusiasts , but the world just doesn't work that way. Oh well, not everybody can be a Demonator.

Demon

Sexercise ...."What'd you just say!? "

2011-11-04T02:08:00.002-06:00

Now that I have your attention, I shall explain this wonderful new way of working....well it's not really new but I shall outline the exercises/positions that will give you the best BANG for your buck....hahah get it?!!...I said bang, as in sex.....okay it's not that funny, shut up! Anywho... sexercises are exercises that are performed during sex, foreplay, or are performed in preparation for sex that are designed to strengthen, build, and define muscles. Commonly these exercises are performed by people who follow the Sex Diet.

The sex diet is basically a lifestyle which maximizes the many health benefits obtained from regular sex. It is obviously not a diet in like a food based program, but more in the way of a system meant to improve health. When properly performed , sexual activity can actually decrease depression, encourages weight loss, promotes cardiac health, and frequent sex can also improve intimate relationships.

Speaking from experience I can attest to these many benefits, and how it can have such a positive psychological affect on you. Everything in my life just feels soo much better when I have a healthy sexual life. Thankfully I have an amazing girlfriend who also has these beliefs , so were are adamant that we make sure to get a daily serving of sexercise. Now I'm not saying that an entire relationship should be based on sex alone, but I am saying that it really does help increase that intimacy in couples.

A half an hour of sex burns roughly 200 calories. Now you may think that isn't very much, but if you are having 3hrs of sex a day...not necessarily all in one go haha.....for 7 days a week, that's 4200 calories burned!!! That's over 1lb of fat ( 3500 calories)......I just realized now why I managed to lose weight without doing any cardio these past 2 months haha....ahem....anyways..... If you couple that along with a weight training program, cardio, and a healthy diet, then I think you can see how beneficial sex can be !

So you're prolly wondering what these super secret sexercises are? Honestly from what I've read up on it, and can discuss from my own experience, there really is no secret exercises. It really doesn't take a genius to know that a standing sex position where you are supporting your mate, is gonna burn many more calories than the good ol missionary position. Next time you have your woman in doggystyle, pick up both legs and wheelbarrow her. If you don't feel your core and arms getting a good burn after a couple minutes straight of that, then my hat is off to you. As for ladies, if you do a squat over your mans..uhmm..member...and then put your hands anywhere on his body for support so you can move yourself up and down, well you are going to majorly feel that in your entire lower body, and I'm sure your man will be majorly feeling it to. So use that thing called a brain inside of your skull and make things tougher. I believe having a variety of positions and not a pre-determined routine is very essential in having a healthy sex life.

Sexercise is really no different in a training aspect than any other form of exercise. The more muscles you use, the higher the intensity, and longer you go, the more calories you are going to burn. So don't try and "make love" like they do in the movies with it all slow and sensual....GIVER BEEF! literally !

As for any guys out there who have problems...finishing the race early....well I really don't have any great advice for that. I guess the one key factor that I recommend is get down in between her legs and lick her into a state of mind blowing pleasure. Might give you some time calm your nerves and boost that confidence. Plus you will have the bonus of a very nice wet opening. Less friction=less sensation=less chance of you failing. If you do a good enough job down there with your tongue she may even be willing to return the favor. Once that's over you will be very much relaxed , and ready to plow away without the worry of busting early.

Anyways that's enough from me. This supposed to be a health/nutrition blog, not a sex advice column. So ladies and gentlemen , go out and get some daily action. You'll live longer because of it.

Demon

Poem: One More Rep

2011-11-04T00:54:00.001-06:00

I walk into the room, and I go into another world
Of steel, blood, sweat, and shouts of anger
Stress disperses out from my inner soul
Making me forget the worries of everyday life
I just feel the pump of blood flowing through my veins
With each repetition I feel stronger
Each set, I throw on more weight till my legs tremble
Some would call this feeling pain
But pain doesn't exist in this world of man and metal
This pain is more like the warmth of a sunny day
I'm not addicted to this world either; it is a way of life
Always pushing for one more rep, like it’s my last breath

Poem:The Deadlift

2011-11-04T00:51:00.003-06:00

Walk over to the bar, and drop my bucket of chalk

Then crank up the Hatebreed till I can't hear myself breathe, let alone talk

I zone out everyone around me and glare at myself in the mirror

When I'm in this state of mind I've only got one mission and no fears

Slap on some 45's and get the juices flowin, I've gotta get ready for the weight I'll be pullin

Feeling the blood pump through my capilliaries, veins and arteries

I'm not just a warrior, I'm the whole fuckin army

The amount of weight keeps growin and the reps keep lowerin,

the music is cranked so loud till my eardrums are blowin

But this ever increasing pain is unleashing my inner Demon ,

I like this feelin of bein insane till it gets me screaming

Now I'm totally swole and I'm covered in sweat,

feelin as beastly as I do when I'm having intense sex

So I dip my hands into the chalk and give them a clap,

watching the cloud float down all around where I stand

Then I hook grip that bar and drive my feet through the floor,

using all of my strength as I pull this son of a whore

I get it past my knees and lock it out at the top,

and it's the moment right here that makes me remember why I will never stop

Can't afford a gym pass: How to gain without payin

2011-11-04T00:09:00.001-06:00

I know there are many people out there who will use the excuse of not being able to afford a gym pass so therefore they can't workout. Now they are either A) Able to afford it but just don't wanna goto the gym, or B) Legitimately cannot afford it. I have sympathy for people who feel intimidated by the gym atmosphere with all the big muscle guys grunting and the shredded fitness girls strutting their stuff, but what I don't have sympathy for is people who just are too lazy too workout.

"But you need weights and machines to workout!?!"

NO! You are wrong! The weights are your body and the resistance of gravity; and the machine is what your body turns into when you put the effort into training.

I myself used to have the mindset that you could never get a good enough workout to gain muscle without using weights. Once I decided to try out MMA training for a couple months though, I quickly saw that I was very wrong. The bonus about this style of training is that you are usually doing things in a circuit type fashion, so there is very little, if any rest. This means that your heart, lungs, and muscles will all be working together to maintain this intensity. So you are gaining the entire range of health benefits due to conditioning the whole body.

" Ok great Mr. science guy, shut up and tell me how to build mass without the gym!"

Alright, alright people I'll stop yapping and get to the tricks you can use to build mass for free.

1) Speed of reps- Now since you are using bodyweight and gravity as your means of resistance, then you need to find ways to make things harder. One of the best ways is to play around with your rep speed. Now this could either mean going down very slow during a pushup, or jumping as high and as fast as you can during jump knee tucks. Going slow or fast will enable different fiber types and also force your body to use more muscle fibers. Remember that the body likes to adapt to things so playing with the speed will really confuse it, thus disallowing adaptation.

2)Using 1 limb- Now this is pretty self explanatory. The body likes to walk on both legs at once, do pushups with both sides, and pullups with both sides as well. So trying to do the same things using just one side will be much harder for the body. It will cause your body to use fibers that it wouldn't usually use during regular movements, or cause certain fibers to be used to a greater extent. Also since you don't have the other side to stabilize you, you're core will be forced to work harder.

3) Make your own weights- Who in the hell needs dumbells and barbells that weigh exactly a certain amount!? Pffffttt. Gimme a couple of sandbags and throw them over my shoulders and make me squat!
Use soup cans or jam jars ( shout out to Steph Mervyn) . Pick up your grandma and carry her around.
If you got some old tires go flip them around the yard or throw them around.
Get some paint buckets ...clean ones....and fill them up with water. Use them for arms curls or doing a farmers walk. "That's easy" . Well how bout you fill them up until they're close to the top and try going as fast as you can without spilling any? or do that but up a set of stairs.Let me know how that goes for ya....

4) Goto a playground- Now I don't suggest you go there if you have a sleazy looking van, a dirty mustache, overcoat, and dark glasses. Well, now that we cleared that up, lets explain. You ever look at the male gymnasts....and now I don't mean that way you sick minded people! Those guys are compact, defined, and JACKED! Now I can tell you right now that they don't goto the gym and hit up some bench press then do some arm curls to look like that. They do many exercises that involve balance, constant resistance on the muscles/joints, and explosiveness. They do the Still Rings, Floor, Pommel Horse , Vault, Parallel Bars, and High Bar. Now at your typical jungle gym, there are usually monkey bars, rings, and other various bars and poles....lol poles....AHEM....so why not go test your balance on the monkey bars, do dips, do chin ups on the rings, try doing the human flag on the pole....actually maybe don't try that one, you may get hurt. But you get my point!

5) Workout with a friend- I guess this sort of fits in with make your own weights, but I felt like it needed it's own section. If you look online there are many great exercises that can be performed with a partner. Along with that you can obviously modify exercises that you would usually do solo, with the weight of your friend as resistance. For example, the classic piggy back. Try doing squats with someone hanging off your back. It is much harder than having a perfectly straight bar resting nicely on your back. Working out with a friend also is very helpful psychologically. It will motivate you to work harder, and make things more enjoyable if you have great people in your life like I do. Hell you can make a competition out of it if you want, or even have like 2 minute wrestling matches.....and I don't mean busting out a Rock Bottom or Stone Cold stunner.

Now just like in many of my other articles, I am in no way saying that these are the only ways, and that I am some expert in these things. I am speaking from my personal experiences along with my knowledge of Kinesiology. I am also not going to list every single exercise and modification that you can do with just bodyweight and partners. This is the age of the internet and alot of the times there is great information out there for these types of things......along with a steaming heap of bullshit lol. Thankfully if you are following my blog and reading these articles, you should be confident to know that I don't fuck around. I do my research and verify that what I'm saying is true. Hence why I don't hold back from my use of explicit language at times, or show how I truly feel about something.

So get out in your yard, basement, local park, playground, school field, WHEREVER ! Try some of these things out and GET CREATIVE and HAVE FUN!

Demon

Nutrition: To enjoy food or not ?

2011-11-03T12:40:00.002-06:00

Unless you are training for a competition or are severely overweight, I don't think it's psychologically healthy to restrict your diet so much. I know myself I love to cook delicious food and many times that involves some bad fats. Now this is not an excuse for you to think that you can eat pizza and cheeseburgers all the time, and say fuck the healthy food. I believe the majority of ones dietary intake should be comprised of 80% healthy food, and 20% bad food.When I say healthy food, I'm talking about things like chicken breasts, nuts/seeds, veggies/fruits, fish, quinoa, brown rice etc etc. When I say "bad" food, I don't mean food that's spoiled, I mean foods that generally contain higher saturated fats and higher sodium. If you are training your ass off 5-7 days a week with whatever it is you enjoy for exercise, then I think you deserve to enjoy life a little by indulging in some of those "bad" foods.

Now if you want to look like a professional fitness model all the time, male or female, then you should actually be eating just healthy food and say goodbye to those bad foods you love.....if you are doing it naturally. If you are on the sauce (roids) then you can cheat a little more do to the profound positive effects on the body. Of course this still doesn't mean you can eat like a pig and expect results, it just means you can have some bad foods here and there and not have to worry as much as someone who is trying to do things naturally.

I guess what I'm getting at is that depending on what your actual goals are , you should adjust your diet accordingly. I myself don't personally care if I have an 8 pack and am at 8% bodyfat. I'm not training for a bodybuilding comp, or trying to be a magazine cover model. I also don't want to have to restrict my body from enjoying life. Counting calories consumed, macro nutrients, micro nutrients, and counting calories burned is just not my idea of fun. Now I am not trying to insult anyone who is involved in bodybuilding, or fitness/figure. If that's your thing and you love it, then great , I support you all the way and admire your dedication. I just personally don't find enjoyment in that anymore. I would rather train my body for overall practically by doing whole body conditioning. Yes I want to look good, but I also want to be strong, fast, powerful and have endurance. I think doing so will make life more enjoyable and last much longer.

So bottom line: Train your ass off so you can enjoy the pleasures in life !

Demon

Best Butt Ever

2011-11-02T22:49:00.000-06:00

http://swervyn-mervyn.blogspot.com/2011/11/alright-blog-followers-moment-youve-all.html

Check out this article about the secrets to obtaining that ideal ass. My fellow friend/blogger/personal trainer Steph Mervyn finally got around to posting this great article that her,myself, and another friend ,Caitlyn Monaghan wrote.

Yeah that's Steph and I. We are pretty damn awesome.

Tom Platz: Epic Legs

2011-11-02T22:43:00.001-06:00

Tom Platz: Epic Legs

Okay so I've been super busy with school and life in general lately, so I haven't had much time to dedicate to my blog. Hence why this blog is my lazy attempt to post something.

My favourite muscle group to work, and the one I feel that's the most important is legs. So when I think of legs, I always think of the amazing bodybuilder Tom Platz. While most bodybuilders were worried about not having big enough legs, Platz legs were actually too big compared to the rest of his body. His leg workouts were insane, such as doing 225lb squats for 10mins straight, and doing reps up to 60 on leg extensions!!!!!
So suffice to say, Platz was one crazy son of a bitch, and I believe if more people trained with the intensity that he had, there would be alot more people with legs like trees!

So check out the link to simplyshredded.com . It's a great site for everything exercise related.

1st Cooking Video: Coming Saturday...

2011-10-25T10:51:00.002-06:00

So I went and splurged on a shiny new HD camera last night, so of course I would like to start getting my monies worth. I will attempt to do an exercise and a food video every Saturday. Depending on time available I may hafta only do one of them a week.

So my idea for this cooking video is nothing too fancy and pretty healthy. I am going to be showing you how to make BBQ lime and garlic marinated chicken burgers, with homemade guacamole and garlic aoili sauce.
Lemme know what you think.

Demon

Exercise of the day: The Deadlift

2011-10-24T13:33:00.000-06:00

If there is one exercise that I feel everyone should incorporate into their current workout routine is the bad ass Deadlift. This exercise is ultimate because it essentially works the entire body, and greatly increases posterior chain strength.

The posterior chain is basically the calves, glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. A solid posterior chain is essential for squats, deadlifts, and Olympic lifts. It also leads to a better daily life because it helps get rid of low back strain, improves your posture, and improves overall core strength.

So of course the opposing group of muscles is called the anterior chain . The body is a thing of a wonder and it enjoys having balance, so you need to make sure both chains are worked equally. This helps prevent injuries and ensures that proper growth will occur.

Now when most people hear the word deadlift, they think of the standard deadlift ( shown above).
The great thing about the deadlift though, is that there are many different variations. Including:

The Sumo Deadlift

The Romanian Deadlift

The Stiff Legged Deadlift

That's not even all of them either. Just some of the most well known ones. There is obviously many variations of each of these too depending if you use dumbells, bands, one leg at a time etc etc.

Just in case some of you have never performed a standard deadlift before, I shall break it down into steps for you.

1) Place your feet straight and about shoulder width apart, standing close enough to the bar that it actually touches your shins.

2)Grab the bar a little wider than shoulder width apart with your palms facing you. Make sure to wrap your hands around the bar with a hook grip --------------------------------|

3) Next sink your hips down nice and low, while keeping tension in your arms, and placing all your weight into your heels and butt.

4)Fix your gaze straight ahead and keep your back nice and straight. DO NOT ROUND BACK!

5)Slowly pull the weight up using your legs for the majority of the pulling and your upper body is basically just holding on to the bar. Don't use your traps or shoulders to lift it! They are there as assisting/stabilizing muscles, not major movers. The bar should basically be scraping against your shins and legs.

6) Pull the bar up until it is above your knees and your an the locked out position. You may slightly lean back at the top phase of the movement, but do not roll the shoulders back or lift with the traps. You will only be asking for trouble.

7)On the way down you basically want to just reverse everything you did. So carefully lower the bar down while keeping your gaze forward and back straight. Making sure the bar is following your legs down to the starting position. If you are lifting very heavy such as 85-100% of your 1RM however, you don't need to worry so much about slowly lowering the weight. That may actually do more damage than good in reality.

I personally find that sweatpants or track pants are a good choice on Deadlift day. This helps prevent you from scraping your skin off from doing proper Deadlifts. Another thing I never goto the gym without is my big bucket of chalk. Chalk is cheap as hell and if your gym allows it, then use it. Lifting straps are also nice once you get into those serious lifts (1-3RM) and your grip strength will no longer allow you to hold on to the bar, even though your muscles can still keep going.

So give the deadlift a try. Find the right variation for yourself , and make sure to do them PROPERLY ! If you find your form going, lower the weight until you can maintain proper form again. Sure pulling 500+ pounds feels amazing, but if you are an idiot about, you won't be feeling so amazing after.

Happy lifting,

Demon

Rant of the day: University Lectures

2011-10-24T10:58:00.000-06:00

As I sit here outside my classroom I had this thought come to the forefront of my mind. This thought is usually suppressed deep inside my brain in order to prevent constant rage. Now since I've gone from College to University, I have noticed a few big changes that seem to bother me. 1) The increase in cost for courses and everything University entails, and 2) The pathetic amount of teaching in 50% of my classes. I would have no problem paying more money if there was an actual increase in the amount of quality teaching involved , but from what I've seen so far, it's basically "Here's your useless textbook. No I won't do notes. No I wont to do an exam review. No I don't care if you know it." Now this really makes me wonder..Why in the hell do I even need to come to your lectures?

I think they need to either get rid of lectures or make them more like the trades. More practical hands on work where you can actually apply the things you learn, rather than memorizing and regurgitating information that you will most likely never use. That's not to say that there aren't teachers like this, because my Research Methodologies class is all about learning the info and then applying. In general though, there is obviously a more efficient way of doing things and i believe in order for education to move forward, then things must change.

Demon

HD Video Cam

2011-10-24T00:14:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone. It is currently 12:06 AM and I really should be sleeping by now but I am completely engrossed in trying to figure out what brand of camcorder I should buy. Basically looking for the best bang for my buck. I have decided that I'm in need of one because I plan on starting a series of cooking videos and exercise vids for all you wonderful people. Hopefully someone with a good understanding of these damn things can help me make an informed decision. Toss me a message if you feel you can help.

Thanks,

Demon

Rant of the day: The search for the magic supplement

2011-10-23T19:58:00.000-06:00

Well if there's one thing I get tired as hell of hearing is a question that seems to never stop. That question is "What can I take to (get bigger/stronger/lose fat) in a short amount of time?" . Well people there are many things out there that can ASSIST you in any of those things, but unfortunately they are not some magic quick fix. It does not mean you can stuff you face with fatty food and laze around like a hippo in a pond in the Savannah. You actually need to PUSH YOURSELF in the gym, eat fairly HEALTHY, and generally avoid doing BAD things to your body. You'll never reach that beach body you've always dreamed of by going to the gym 3 days awake, doing a half assed workout while you're there, then going home to drink a 6 pack of beer and chowing down on McDick's.

"But what about steroids? You take them and turn into Schwarzenegger!" .....*face palm*..... If you knew anything about physiology of the human body and physiology of anabolic steroids, you would realize that yet again, they aren't a magical fix either. Yes they can do powerful and wonderful things to your body but it doesn't mean you don't hafta workout as hard. In reality, people who are on the juice hafta train even harder than those who aren't. Not gonna get into a whole discussion of roids, I shall save that for another article, but a very brief overview of what they do: Keep your body in an anabolic (muscle building state), decrease healing time, and increases protein synthesis. These are the big things that they do. Think of your body as being a car, and steroids being a stage 2 turbo. If you don't go fast enough the you won't be utilizing the range that the turbo is designed for. Now if you put the pedal to the floor and go fast enough, then that turbo will kick in and you'll be going much faster than if the turbo wasn't installed. If you did not understand that metaphor then TOO BAD lol.

Now I am in no way condoning the use of anabolic steroids or any illegal performance enhancing drugs. I'm just telling you the straight up truth. I don't pussy foot around, so if you don't like my bluntness then please stop reading my blog and go back to living in the land of sunshine and lollipops.

The point I'm getting at is whether you are an all natural athlete or you use performance enhancing substances, the commonality is HARD WORK and DEDICATION. You hafta put the time into eating healthy and planning your meals. Making sure to plan out your workouts and always push yourself. Also trying to get a good sleep every night in order to repair the body. If you want something bad enough then sometimes sacrifices need to be made, whether it be not eating pizza, laying back on the booze or outright quitting, not playing as many video games, or getting up early in the morning because it's the only time you have.

Can you feel the rage? lol

Demon

Quickie post

2011-10-23T19:03:00.000-06:00

Society of Exercise Physiology:Online journals

If you're an exercise nerd like me and want to check out some of the current research going on in the exercise physiology field, take a look at this site. Legit peer reviewed journals and they're all free ! So go read some up and increase that knowledge, because the better understanding you have about the body, the easier it will be to achieve that desired level of fitness.

Rivalus Sports Nutrition: Legit or just another fad?

2011-10-23T16:08:00.000-06:00

This company was brought to my attention by a friend of mine and so I thought why not do a little research about them. Now from what I've seen, Rivalus is a fairly new company on the market, and their market base seems to be aimed at the athletic population. The big thing about them is that their supplements contain no substances that are banned by the IOC and WADA.

The company is headed by Dr. Darren Burke who has a PhD. in Exercise Physiology. Basically this guy has been in over 100 published peer reviewed journals on many things such as supplements, muscle mass, weight loss, anaerobic testing, and resistance training. So long story short, Dr. Burke is a guy who apparently knows his shit and is surrounded by Olympic and Pro athletes. Obviously the smart decision for him was to use all his knowledge and resources to create a supplement brand that is on a whole new level of standards and ethics.

Now since there is so many products by this company, I'm just gonna take a look at one of them quickly. Well the one that would probably get most of you interested would be this one called Anabolic Prescription. This "stack" combines two of their most powerful hormone supplements available: Enpulse and Helix-24. Apparently these two compounds have a synergistic affect that lead to "incredible increases in anabolic hormone levels,gene expression and muscle growth". Now at a price of $174.99 for a 30 day supply, this definitely isn't for your average person. This would be for someone making an athletes salary or if you just have a really good job and like throwing your money away.

Here is a link to the ingredient list http://www.rivalus.net/products/anabolicprescription/#suppfacts

Well the ENPULSE portion of this stack contains many compounds which have been shown to boost testosterone, free bound testosterone and lower/block estrogen. I'm not gonna go in depth about all the compounds involved, there's just too many and they all have similar effects in the body anyways. The HELIX-24 portion contains things that look really fancy like 2 methylguanidino ethanoate, but in reality that is just the scientific name for creatine lol. 2-Amino-3-(3-hydroxyphenyl) is propanoic acid, also known as propane....not sure why in the hell they put a derivitive of propane in there. If someone can find research that deals with propanoic acid and human performance, please send it to me. 2-methyl-4-hydroxybutanoate is a derivitive of HMB. If you read my last article on HMB, you will know that it is a pile of shit compound.

Now as I look over the actual mg's per serving (4 capsules) I really, REALLY, begin to wonder how this shit is supposed to work at all. Most studies I have seen with the listed ingredients use Grams and not mg's. Why do they do that? Because that's how much they needed to use to actual get the ingredients to give results. So the list may look all fancy shmancy with compounds that have been SHOWN to exert certain effects on the body, but I highly doubt that dosages such as this will do anything.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that if the IOC and WADA say it's okay for professional and Olympic athletes to use, then it doesn't exert enough effects to be considered a performance enhancer. So why the fuck even bother with this then? You can spend that $174 on a tub of protein, a big tub of creatine, 20 bottles of caffeine pills, and monthly gym pass. If you really want to have " functional muscle gains fast, increase recovery, growth and aggression" spend that $174 on a couple bottles of testosterone. At least that has been proven to work.

That's my take on this stuff,

Demon

Supplements: Quick study on some that work and some that don't

2011-10-23T14:47:00.000-06:00

Supplements: What works, what may and what doesn’t?

With technology advancing and an ever increasing knowledge about human physiology, it seems as though that there are more ergogenic aids out there than we know what to do with. With all the fancy packaging; use of sports professionals touting how well they work, and the overuse of elaborate scientific terminology, it’s no wonder that many people are ultimately suckered into buying nothing more than a bunch of shit. One of my most hated industry tricks is the term “proprietary blend”. There are 2 reasons that a company may use this term: 1) To hide the exact ratios of the ingredients in order to prevent other companies from copying their supplement or 2) To hide the fact that the supplement actually contains very little of the compounds it lists, and is usually full of filler compounds like corn flour. This is an easy way for them to save on production costs and maximize profits. So that $40 bottle of Super Pump that you bought most likely cost them around $5-$10 to make. Now with facts like this brought to your knowledge, you are probably asking yourself “why in the hell should I even bother anymore!?” Well fortunately for you there are compounds out there that are proven to work and some that may work. I shall outline some of the major ones that work, some of those that may work, and of course those that you shouldn’t bother with.

Caffeine - Majority of the studies have shown that caffeine increases performance during prolonged endurance exercise and short-term intense exercise (ie. sprinting or activities lasting 4-6 seconds). Many people also find that since it’s a CNS stimulant, it also increases their mental focus and endurance. This is most likely why many pre-workout supplements have some amount of caffeine in it. Recent studies have shown that performance boosting effects of caffeine occur at modest levels of intake ( 1-3mg.kg-1 body mass, or 70-150mg caffeine). Although this is true, there also appears to be a relation between individual variability in required dosage and the response to the performance enhancement from caffeine. So basically some people are responders and some are non-responders. One thing that many of the reasearchers cannot agree on the precise mechanism in which caffeine acts as an ergogenic aid, and this means that further research needs to be conducted. Personally I feel that caffeine is a very beneficial and inexpensive supplement that should definitely be considered for supplemental use.

Creatine- If you haven’t heard of creatine before then you have been living under a rock. There are many forms out there; creatine monohydrate (CM), kre-alklyn creatine (KA), creatine citrate and creatine HCL. I’d like to focus on the most widely used ones, which are also the most highly researched: creatine monohydrate and kre-alklyn. Creatine monohydrate is the granddaddy of sport supplement market. It’s been around for so long because well, it damn well works. According to Medline, over 600 studies have been published on creatine supplementation! The majority of these studies have shown that creatine is indeed beneficial for increasing muscular strength, power, and body mass, as well as increasing the synthesis of muscle contractile proteins. Now who in their right mind wouldn’t like more of that!?! I would go out on a limb and say if you want to get bigger, faster, and stronger without the use of anabolic steroids , then this is your best legal option available. A 900gram tub of this stuff can be as cheap as $20, and last 3-4 months. Now something a little newer on the market in the last decade is kre-alklyn creatine. According to Fusion bodybuilding, one of the companies that make kre-alklyn creatine “Purple-K is the King of Creatine because it contains patented Kre-Alkalyn. Kre-Alkalyn is the only creatine that does not convert to toxic creatinine before reaching your muscle. Regular creatine degrades by 90%, leaving only 10% usable product. Purple-K prevents this by letting you use 100% of the creatine you take. This makes Purple-K 10 times more effective than regular creatine “. Personally from what I’ve seen, the majority of the studies which tout KA’s superiority over regular CM have been researched by the companies that make these supplements. There are very little studies which are performed by outside researchers. The one study that I found claims that KA was much better than regular creatine monohydrate, but conclusions about the benefits of a certain supplement cannot be based on just one single study. My point is that when research is conducted by the company that produces the supplement, the results of the research can be biased and bent to positive outcomes. If KA was truly superior to CM, then why do so many pre-workout and post-workout recovery supplements have CM? I’ve personally tried KA and I did not notice any benefits during a 3 month cycle of it. Others who I’ve spoken to swear by it, and even claim that it’s better than CM. So honestly, unless you’re someone who follows purely anecdotal evidence, just stick with CM.

Beta-Alanine- This is another supplement which has started gaining popularity in the past decade. B-Alanine (BA) is an amino acid deritive which has been shown to increase carnosine levels in skeletal muscle. This is important because carnosine appears to have an enhancing effect on the buffering capacity during high-intensity exercise. Basically this slows down that onset of the nasty lactic acid burn, and increases the rate at which it is buffered out of the muscles. Studies have shown that when couple with creatine monohydrate, it further increases the muscles ability to withstand fatigue due to high-intensity exercise. The majority of studies I have seen shown that a dosage between 3.2-6.4 grams appears to be the most effective. For the CM and BA combination, a daily dose of 10.5 grams CM and 3.2 grams BA was used in a double blind study. I have not yet tried this combination of compounds, but due to the promising research I believe I shall be giving it a shot soon.

L-Leucine- This is a branched chain amino acid (BCAA) along with isoleucine and valine which act as signalling molecules to control muscle growth. Now if the words “signal muscle growth” don’t get you excited, then you are missing out. Research has revealed that 80% of the protein synthesis that occurs after feeding is the responsibility of amino acids. The same research also shows that out of all the BCAA’s, only Leucine is able to stimulate protein synthesis by itself. This powerhouse of an amino acid also has several other functions including; controlling protein breakdown rates, regulating insulin levels, stabilizing blood glucose levels, as well as bunch of other functions. Although this is true, amino acids like to work together so supplementing with Leucine alone is not suggested. Consuming a BCAA supplement or eating a high quality protein source along with an L-Leucine supplement would be the optimal way of doing this. An average daily intake I have found appears to be around 20-30 grams a day. Since 10% of a whole protein source is Leucine, you could most likely achieve those 20-30 grams through diet alone if eating 40-50 grams of protein spread out through 6 meals. Of course these daily requirements will vary depending on your muscle mass. So what’s my opinion on the matter? I guess I’m kind of on the fence about this one. Yes research has proven that L-Leucine and BCAA’s are beneficial when coupled with a diet that’s high in quality proteins, but is it really worth the extra money every month? So I shall leave this one up to you to decide.

HMB- This supplement is actually a metabolite of the amino acid leucine. It is touted to increase strength and lean muscle mass but there is equally as many studies that contradict these claims. In the one study which I used as a large basis for my research, it actually proved that neither supplementation with HMB or HMB and creatine monohydrate improved muscular strength, leg power, endurance or anthropometry of professional rugby players undergoing a resistance training program. This was one of the only studies I found that examined professional athletes. The majority of the past research on HMB used untrained individuals as their test subjects. This leads me to believe that the strength increases and body composition changes were due to “beginner gains” rather than the purported ergogenic effects from the HMB. So my verdict on this one is to just stay away and spend your money on some creatine and caffeine.

Whey protein- Well if you don’t know what whey protein is then you should probably re-think your life in the gym haha. If you only have the money for one supplement then whey protein would have to be my number one choice. Protein is important for growth and repair of your muscles, bones, skin, tendons, ligaments, hair, eyes and other tissues. There are wayyyy too many benefits to list, so I shall spare you for now. The big reason why protein is important to anyone who is trying to build or spare muscle is the effect that protein has on the nitrogen levels in your body. Negative nitrogen levels lead to catabolism (breakdown) whereas positive nitrogen levels lead to anabolism (growth). So if you make sure to consume some form of protein every 2-3hrs then you can maintain an anabolic state and ensure muscle growth, or spare your muscle if on a lower calorie diet. Now that you’ve got a brief lesson on why protein is important, you most likely want to know why whey protein is important. Well after a workout your body is essentially in a catabolic environment from the body utilizing metabolic fuels at an accelerated rate. These fuels include stored fatty acids, glucose and amino acids. So in order to combat this catabolic state, those metabolic fuels must be replenished. Whey protein is the best choice for replenishing amino acids due to its rapid absorption and complete/quality amino acid profile. Net amino acid uptake is greatly increased post workout (up to 1hr) due to the loss of all these metabolic fuels so having a post workout shake is one of the most important things you can do. So if you don’t already have some sitting on your shelf go out and get some now! This is the most important supplement you can invest your hard earned dollars in.

Now in no way is this a complete list of all the possible ergogenic aids available on the market. If I was to attempt to do that, I would have to be writing and researching 24/7, and by the time I publish it, there would probably be 100’s of more supplements and at least a 100 more research studies. I just thought that these ergogenic aids would be a good choice due to the amount of research done on them, and the purported benefits. Many of these ergogenic compounds are found in some of the most popular workout supplements on the market today. So does that mean that those workout supplements are the best way to go? Personally I would say no. The reason I say this is because of that nasty word “proprietary blend”. Those supplements may contain these compounds I mentioned, but there may not be enough of the actual compound to obtain the potential benefits that were shown in research studies. What I personally do is buy the compounds in bulk powder form. That way you can make your own pre-workout supplement with the proper dosages, less cost in the long wrong, and no useless fillers or other harsh compounds.

On a side note, you may have noticed that although this is more like a research paper than a blog article, I haven’t used proper APA form. I don’t take any credit for any of the data that I have put before you so don’t try and call me out for stealing. If you want more in depth information on anything I have discussed, then do like I did and read peer-reviewed journals. I find this is one of the best ways to gain a better understanding on anything of interest. So if you enjoyed reading this article, then throw me some other ideas of interest in this wonderful field of health and fitness. I’d be glad to give it another go.

References

Affouras.,A.,Vodenicharova.,K.,Shishmanova.,D.,Goranov.,K.,Stroychev.,K (2006) Clinical Trial comparing Kre-Alkalyn to Creatine Monohydrate. Greenberg Medical Center, Sofia, Bulgaria.

Candow.,D.,G.,Burke.,N.,C.,Palmer.,T.,S & Burke.,D.,G.,( 2006). Effect of Whey and Soy Protein Supplementation Combined With Resistance Training in Young Adults. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 16, 233-244

Glasiter.,M.,Lockey.,R.,A.,Corinne.,S.,A.,Staerck.,A.,Goodwin.,J.,E., & McInnes.,G., (2006). Creatine supplementation and multiple sprint running performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 20(2), 273-277.

Hoffman.,J.,Ratamess.,N.,Kang.,J.,Mangine.,G.,Faigenbaum.,A., & Stout.,J., (2006). Effect of Creatine and ß-Alanine Supplementation on Performance and Endocrine Responses in Strength/Power Athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 16, 430-446.

O’Conner.,D.,M., Crowe., M.,J., (2007) Effects of six weeks of p-hydroxy-p-methylbutyrate (hmb) andhmb/creatine\supplementation on strength, power, and anthropometry of highly trained athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 21(2), 419-423.

Shimomura.,Y.,Inaguma.,A.,Watanabe.,S.,Yamamoto.,Y.,Muramatsu.,Y.,Bajotto.,G.,Sato.,J.,Shimomura.,N.,Kobayashi.,H., & Mawatari.,K.,(2010) Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation Before Squat Exercise and Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness

http://www.rippedcanadians.com/product/fusion-bodybuilding-purple-k-100cap

Wilson,J., (2006) Leucine’s Effects on Muscle Growth and Body Composition – Questions / Answers and Practical Applications. Journal of hyperplasia research 4 (1).

A little bit about who I am

2011-10-23T14:33:00.000-06:00

Well I can’t say I’m a big fan of talking about myself but you need to know who I am and what I’m about, so here I go. I suppose it all started back when I was 15 and my testosterone levels really started picking up pace. I realized that if I wanted to get the girls and gain respect of the guys, I needed to build some muscles. So I picked up “Arnold Schwazeneggers Encylopedia of Modern Bodybuilding” and read that thing from front to back. As I gained this knowledge, I utilized it in the gym and started building the body I wanted. Slowly a passion started burning inside of me and bodybuilding became a large part of my life. This increased even more once I started taking the after school weight training program at J.L Crowe. I was the first one to get into the gym, and usually the last one to leave. Even my weight training teacher Mr. Reid would leave before me and make me lock everything up. Now since this was my teenage years, I wasn’t exactly a little angel. I was a chronic pot smoker, cigarette smoker and alcoholic. As the months and years passed, I started missing more of my weight training classes because I began getting involved in more serious drugs, and became a very heavy user. I eventually was down to 120lbs of skin and bones, and weight training was a rare occasion. It wasn’t until I saw one of my buddy’s life crumble around him that I realized I didn’t want that to happen to me, and I got off some of the heavy drugs. I still dabbled here and there until age 19, but I was becoming much more focussed in the gym. It wasn’t until I almost had a near death incident with alcohol that I decided I needed to stop using all substances. So I quit the liquor, stopped smoking weed, and stopped smoking cigarettes. Then before I knew it, it was time for me to begin the next phase of my life; college! I attended College of the Rockies in Cranbrook B.C, and completed the human kinetics program in April of 2010. I managed to get my CSEP-CPT while I was there, and had a few clients to train. Now I am out at the University of Lethbridge Alberta in the 2yr Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Kinesiology.

I wish I could say I’ve trained hundreds of clients, taught group programs and trained sports teams, but I have done none of that. I guess I imagined that the clients would just magically appear out of nowhere and I would be rolling in the money haha. I’m also a bit of a perfectionist and still carry some insecurity from when I was a drug addict. I’m the type of person that second guesses himself all the time. Even if someone tells me I did great or my program is amazing, I will still put myself down and feel it’s not good enough. I feel like over the years of college and such, I have lost some of my passion. Like when I get told I HAVE to write a paper on this and that, compared to me researching something out of pure passion and interest. I’m hoping that putting a blog out, as well as writing research articles will re-spark that intense passion and grab the right person’s attention.

In case you haven’t gathered yet, I am a very open person. I feel like there’s no point in holding anything back from people because then you aren’t showing your true self. This way either people will like me or not. I’d rather someone dislike me because of who I am, rather than dislike me because they find out I’m pretending to be a certain way. I’m a pretty simple guy when it comes down to it. Good food, good friends, a good woman by my side, and the gym. If I have those things then I’m completely satisfied.

To keep myself in shape I lift weights, and may occasionally do some cardio. I have slowly begun to get away from pure hypertrophy training (bodybuilding) because I want my muscles to have function in sports settings and to be as strong as they look. I currently have myself on a hybrid strength/hypertrophy program. This way I can look good and be strong as hell too. There’s nothing more satisfying than pulling a deadlift that is 3x my bodyweight. I don’t play in any specific sports but have dabbled in MMA training and Judo. My idea of playing sports would be getting a bunch of friends together to play a game of flag football. I’m more into solo sports like snowboarding, bodybuilding or track and field. My speciality as a personal trainer would be bodybuilding and powerlifting. So I can get you big, strong, and make sure you look good as well.

If you have noticed, I haven’t mentioned my love for cardio, and that is because I HATE cardio. I know cardio is very important and I’m a personal trainer so I should do it, but I just don’t like it. My idea of cardio would be doing a 5x5 powerlifting program or strongman training. I just find running around a track or on a treadmill for 30mins or more to be SUPER BORING! Now that’s not to say that I don’t know how to design a cardio routine or train someone, it’s just not my passion.

As for my eating style, I eat fairly clean the majority of the time, but after training for a bodybuilding competition I have learned to go easier on myself. You should still be able to enjoy the foods you love and not be in fear of straying from the scheduled eating plan. I’m not saying to go out every day and eat cheeseburgers, pizza, and pop, but I am saying that you need to treat yourself to one of those bad foods at least once a week. I love cooking and I’m damn good at it, so that is another reason why I’m not so strict on my eating habits either.

Well that is essentially me in a so many words. I most likely have revealed more of myself than is needed, but I’ve got past that point of caring anymore haha. If you wanna pick my brain apart about my views on anything, then feel free to do so. I’m always down for an in depth conversation about health and fitness, even if our views clash. I believe listening to other people’s views can give you a better understanding about things. If you’re ever in the Lethbridge area and need some personal training, or just wanna go crush some weights, lemme know!

When life gets you down, deadlift it back up – Brett Andrews (A.K.A Demon)