The driving factor

As the cool breeze of the winter fades away only to be replaced with the heat, the humidity and the desert winds, it only reminds me of one thing that summer is coming and the beach is going to get packed, shirts are falling off and the whole buzz is about the summer body.

in this modern age there isn’t one of us who haven’t thought to have a decent pair of abs to show off in the summer, girls and guys alike

Over the years of different training principles and being in a weight range of 60kg to 75kg fluctuating with a body fat as low as 6% to 20% I thought to myself, let’s do something different, something more challenging and fun.

I took to my pen and paper and began to jot down the points, the elements I need to work on. The challenges that will obstruct this divine purpose of sculpting within me a masterpiece physique for summer.

First I decided on the date June 30^th 2016.thats 60 days nearly 8 weeks that is nearly 5270400 seconds and counting down. I thought to myself that’s interesting, plenty of time. Enough to make a change. But the downfall is whenever we think we have more time we relax, we get into a comfort zone and before you know the days are gone by and the scales haven’t tipped into our favor. Now how many can relate to that.

time to get started

I rushed to my cupboard to make sure I have the right supplements to support me on my quest.

Now came the most difficult part, what I want to achieve by the end of the 59^th day. Is it just that I want to look good, get my wash board abs, or do I need more. More and use this as a stepping board to get me to the next level.

desires and options are endless but I don’t want to be a wanderer lost, I want to channel my focus and energy to the one goal of getting the summer physique.

 So now it’s time to put away those wine glasses and get the game face on. Where dont's turns to do and cannot become can. where shall turns into will. Believe in your mind and the body will follow.

do not be tempted

I knew there had to be HIIT sessions(HighIntensityIntervalTraining), mobility and flexibility drill to keep me away from injuries.

there had to be some old school bodybuilding routines to sculpt the muscles I want to them to be seen.

Then came the hardest part of time management.

Were to put in the workouts, the rest phase, the mobility drills and the HIIT routines,Do my daily chores,Train my clients etc.

As the saying goes Rome wasn’t built in a day but they had to start somewhere and everyday things where accomplished.

Follow me on my daily quest to achieve a dream physique, be part of my success

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USE IT OR LOSE IT

Come on admit it, there isn’t a single guy out there who doesn’t take a second look or say ogling at the beautiful piece of ass walking right in front of you. Ok ladies you can wipe that smile from your face as it goes to you as well. Don’t deny me; I have seen the ladies crank their head to get a good look at that muscular butt walking past you.

Well today it’s all about ass or say glutes, whichever keeps you more focused.

     I will be writing it in two parts, with the first one talking about what the glutes are and what happens when they get weak. In the later part I will be talking about exercises to strengthen and activate the glutes muscles


ok thats enough  please keep reading



Before we read further I want to thank Bret Contreras or “The Glute GUY” for his major work in glutes www.bretcontreras.com The major reason for me to come up with this blog was the ass whooping I received from the row I had done. All I had to do was post a good time on the 500mtrs row (thanks to the manipulating talks from the welsh wizard Nathan) and believe me forget the time I was forced to stop half way through. My hamstrings, glutes and lower back gave up on me or let’s say these bloody muscles never supported me in my row.

It was like old age in my 20’s!!!!

I was completely disappointed in my performance. Despite having a good physique I understood for obtaining maximum results all the muscles have to work informally. So after the ass whooping I received from the row, I put some serious workouts on towards my glutes which helped me to perform on my rowing exercise. Now I am able to do a 500mtrs row to a 2000mtrs row, not with the record timings, but being able to row at a steady pace for that long distances have been a major achievement.

ASS-Activation in progress

Every one who is reading this blog right now is seated on your ass either in your office chair or a couch which means your glute muscles are getting wasted due to constant pressure and misuse.

Let’s see the stats below to see how an average male would spend his day upon awakening till he hits the bed again and see the % of his glutes worked or activated

Timespend		Activity		% of muscle used
8hours@work		Moderate		2
6hours@bed sleeping		Light		.5
2hours@gym		Medium		2
	4hours@housework		Light		2
	2hours driving		Light		.5
	2hours standing		Light		1

Total time                  intensity                    muscle used

24hrs

Light

8

So as you can see this is the average use of your glute muscle. Not much is happening in the lower department. Yeah, Well I am going to throw some light so you can see what those buns are capable of doing.

Now let’s see the importance of glutes, not that I want to keep it all scientific and technical but for those who would like to know that

The gluteal muscles are the three muscles that make up the buttocks: the gluteus maximus muscle, gluteus medius muscle and gluteus minimus muscle. The gluteus maximus is the largest of the gluteal muscles and one of the strongest muscles in the human body. Yes you read that right, its one of the strongest muscle or you can say that the powerhouse of your body. More than providing power for a average individual that’s the muscle that helps in keeping your posture upright by providing support for your lower back, pelvis, hips, knees and then finally your ankle and foot.
It’s a centre point which connects various muscle of your body in the right proportion and providing stability. There is an article written by my colleague on the ‘magnificence of mobility’:
http://nathanwilliamstraining.blogspot.com/2011/01/magnificence-of-mobility.html

In this blog entry, he clearly states about the importance of mobility and flexibility - Check it out.

Now let’s find out what happens when weak glutes and training mixex up:

Assume glutes to be a power plant supplying power and support to various muscles like the hip, lower back, thighs, core and muscles connected to the above as well. So what happens when the glutes become weak or they don’t perform?

The Hips

Glutes play a major role in hip joint stability or say movement of the hip. The hip flexors work in the movement of the leg, basic walking, one leg can only go forward when the other leg goes backwards and for that you need glute activation. Say that the glutes are weak,  all the extra work load is done by the hips and thighs. Due to the constant pressure and tightness the pelvic region is forced to adapt to the new workload and it leads to posterior pelvic tilt or what we simply say FLAT ASS Not only that but with tight hip flexors you end up with an anterior rotated pelvis like the Kalahari bushmen and that’s an ass you wouldn’t want to have!




now choose which ass you want to end up with



You can choose which one you would opt for. Both of them have been caused due to poor or no glute activation.

Bonus tip: How many of us end up doing countless crunches and still complaint about the lack of ab development respective of the well diet you maintain? It looks like we just discovered who is been taking in all the crunches we do. Due to the poor glute activation, the hips have been working hard, making them tight which in turn acts as a sponge absorbing all the crunches you have doing.



feeling Jealous!

 

keep on crunching















The knees
We have seen 3 major problems with weak glutes, but that’s not it here comes the normal, common worry

Coach, my knee hurts while I run, coach-my knee is kinda feeling sensitive. I am sure we run to a doctor and a couple of X-rays and scans later, the doc says you are fine just take it easy and here you go-this is a pain killer. What a relief the doc has given us a green light to train! Couple of painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills later and we are off to the gym. Shit! we end up with the same issue - why?

There is not rocket science behind it, due to the tight hip flexors and weak glutes the Tensor fascia latae (TFL) and the Iliotibial Band (ITB) create a tibial external rotation to the femur creating excessive stress at the knee. The knee is not out of position and all the walking and running and exercises you have been doing is causing more damage   and that’s an injury you want to keep off.

Ok, we know what a weak glute can give us - weak back, pelvic problems, tight hips, painful knees and Weak ankles

It is important to understand that the entire lower body is connected in a sort of weird way. The ankles, knees, and hips all support each other to some extent. Ankle pain may not be entirely from problems in the ankle. In fact, it is more likely a result of poor knee and/or poor hip mobility and/or stability. On the same note, knee pain is most likely due to the hip or ankle and hip pain is most likely due to the knee or ankle. These three joint systems are all connected and imbalance in one may lead to issues in another.

Shit… that’s a lot of injuries that we can prevent just by training the glutes! In Part 2 of this article I will show you the best training, exercises and techniques you can do to get those solid glutes….

Ass-ta la vista, Baby!

AN EYE OPENER

Intro

In November I moved from FitnessFirst to the Country club in the Royal golf club.It was an eye opener..

Somebody pinch me… am I dreaming or is it for real

For a moment I thought to myself (WTF) am I doing in this gym .where is the bench press machine. the leg extension and the leg press. No hammer-strength machine..no preacher curls…

And (WTF)is this rope doing dangling from the ceiling..and these foam rollers, valslides-I am going to learn carpet skiing J must be crazy to come here,,there goes my dream of being a  bodybuilder.

No more splits..no more of those heavy barbells rows and skull crushers..i thought this guy was crazy…..but as the saying goes A single moment of understanding can flood a whole life with meaning.

For the past 10yrs I have been a bodybuilder fan,following the Mr Olympia contest year after year all the way from the rise and fall of  Ronnie coleman to the current champion jaycutler.

Going to the gym following their workouts as if it was the bible to me. meditating ,practicing, posing and flexing. Eating 5meals a day protein shakes and supplements…name it all.. a very dedicated fan..shit little did I know all that was going to change…

Pushing aside all those workouts and routines I had to  discipline myself to   the the idea of using my body to its fullest extent…. A balanced physicque.  Improving my Functional strength was the name of the game,not just  to pile  weights before my squat and bend the bar.

These bodybuilding splits wouldn’t get me anywhere,I had to do something else.what can I do to be fit from within..for the first time I felt ashamed at what I couldn’t do with my self..i couldn’t even complete a 500 mtr rowing.

So I want to use this moment to share something with my friends and people who will read this..

I have heard this from some many young guys..

I don’t want to be a bodybuilder” ,,then what the @#$% are you training like one”

Bodybuilding is a lifestyle just by doing some splits sets  wont make  you one.

I strongly suggest that you start adding  some serious warm and mobility exercises to your workout programmes A carefull assessment is the key to success..All those lame warm ups that I avoided, are now  the back bone of my exercises.

Technology is improving rapidly and so is the gym machinery and equipment. The modern gym are busy in bringing the latest of the art machines,but do they provide the necessary goal you need,But here I am doing the primitive stage of training i.e using body weight..Making my body my machine.If I weigh in around 70kg why run around for weights when I have 70kg with me..

This is what my training split used to be 3weeks ago

Day 1- chest and shoulders

Day2- back

Day 3-legs and arms

Ps: Here the major objective was to get stronger..see the increase in weights I lift

And now this is what I do

 Warm-ups

• 10mins of moderate cardio
• foamrollers

• 2pointbox
• Calf stretch
• Firehydrants
• pushups

Activation

Core superset

Workout                           

Bearwalk

Burpees

Deadlift

Hand switches                               

Inverted row

Rowing

I have a complete training programme based on the assessment that was done to me.Not those fancy weight machines or those highly complicated expensive body composition machines…Practical fitness test were conducted to check my range of motion, muscular strength, coordination, mobility and flexibility.

That one hour of assessment is what changed my training goals and principles,it was a real eye opener. IT WAS NOT WHAT I WANTED BUT IT WAS WHAT I NEEDED.

So people its high time to take a minute of your time and analyse  what you are doing ,is it right or wrong.All those weight you lift is it really necessary?How many of you can fully control your bodyweight?

Why do I have a pain in my right shoulder when  I lift weights,those lowerback aches and tight hamstrings…

So don’t wait a sec too long visit us at the Royal golf club and get your comlete package of fitness right here..