Power wall of inspiration and super motivation!

Here are a few icons that I look up to, aspire to and generally take inspiration from.
Bruce Lee - his dedication early in life and his general fitness principal.
The Hulk - I feel I channel my inner hulk every gym session. As I step through the gym doors you get me angry...
Akuma - a dark and broody Street Fighter character that possesses power and great strength. I even dressed up as him some years back for a New Years party.
Dwayne Johnson - among the very rare fit looking wrestlers, and I don't like wrestling.
And last but not least a young Arnold. - his dedication in his younger years lead him to the success he enjoys today.

Home gym 101.

This afternoon I whipped up the first piece of homemade gym equipment for my outside gym area.

I sacrificed my afternoon run to build a chin up/wide grip bar, incorporated with a boxing bag hanger.

Sooo, I must go for a run tomorrow... And carry out a boxing session combined with some chin ups and such.

I had the materials already all I needed to do was cut, weld and dig two giant deep holes to plant the sucker in.

Voila!

Bring on Saturday!

46 dayz!

There are 46 days till bright and early Christmas morning. By then I have a goal to lower my body fat percentage significantly.

I always seem to draw inspiration from a holiday. This time it was a holiday to Phuket. I remained as active as I could on the week away. Busting out 45 minutes sets on the small amount of equipment provided at the hotel. But it was the eating out every night, and lunch...and the buffet breakfasts that pull a number on the body. Ad to that I had started a bulking phase before my trip (those who read my blog might remember I was going to go into a cutting phase before my honeymoon, but due to some disruptions in plans and the addition of a new gym buddy, I stuck with the heavy lifting and bulking diet.)

So now it's time to get serious with some extra cardio, really thought out eating choices and a general amp up of each and every workout!

So I will start with the workout schedule.
Monday through to Friday I shall remain with my morning weights session. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday arvo jog. Sat and Sun, some backyard gym sessions which will include some boxing bag rounds and burpees and chin ups and junk like that.

So I guess I better pull my finger out and weld up my bag hanger and chin up bar...

BRING IT ON!!

Doms Doms Dom!!!!

I have posted on this topic before, but as it turns out there is a term for it, DOMS.

What the heck am I talking about?

Well those who do any resistance training will have experienced it at some point, and those serious to the sport of body building will crave this, because they know they did good on their workout the days before.

I'm talking Delayed Onset Muscle Sorness. Wiki explains it as such; Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), also called muscle fever, is the pain and stiffness felt in muscles several hours to days after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise. The soreness is felt most strongly 24 to 72 hours after the exercise. It is caused by eccentric exercise. After such exercise, the muscle adapts rapidly to prevent muscle damage, and thereby soreness, if the exercise is repeated.

So top tips for making that ache more of a friend then a foe? Here are 3!
1.Nutrition!!! After a resistance training session, eat good protein and complex carbs. These will ensure your muscles have the fuel to start repairing straight away. If you want an easy option here, perhaps it is not time for a meal after your workout, have a protein shake.
2.Massage. From some gentle rubbing to a deep tissue massage, before you get sore and in they days after. A good massage can make you feel better, as you stimulate the blood flow in the muscles, purging them and allowing temporary relief.
3.Stretching. Many of us do it, we DON'T stretch. But we should. A light stretch before the workout, targeting the areas you are going to hit, will help. Along with a cool down and stretch after the workout session. Then in the days after, some gentle stretching.

So as much as you might feel like a bag of dropped spuds in those days after, remember that this is your body telling you, you did something right the day before!!

Crave rave!

If you are looking to take control of your weight and get in shape, controlling what you put into your body to fuel it is key to your success.

Cravings are inevitable especially if you are used to a pattern of eating things at certain times or for certain things. You might go to the movies and always get a large coke, large popcorn, bag of sweets and a bag of chips... just for yourself.

Or you might be used to eating morning tea and lunch from a Gutz truck at work. So if you go cold turkey, chances are you might only last a week or so.

So here are some tips for pushing those cravings aside.

1. Know the difference between being hungry and having a craving. Hungry means grumbly tummy and still feeling hungry after 10mins. If you distract yourself for 10mins and you are still feeling it, then you are hungry.
2. Plan your days meals ahead of time. This will mean less chance of impulse food eating.
3. Be prepared to say NO! If you are offered unhealthy snacks or food outside of your plan, just say no.
4. Don't buy bad craveables! If you do the shopping, don't buy things that tempt you. If someone else buys, ask them not to buy those things that you normally crave for. If that fails get them to place those items out of common sight so you wouldn't normally see them.
5. Have one day of the week as a cheat day. On this day giving in to a craving or treat will be your reward for being so great for the rest of the week.

So first things first, if you have crave treats that are not good to eat in the house right now go throw them out or put them well away.

And next thing, start today. Don't say I'll do it tomorrow, start right now.

It's been a while.

It's been a little while since I last posted.

I shall keep posting however. Ff2f isn't dead. I just need to re asses what exactly I want to post about.

If you have any ideas or liked a particular type of post more than others let me know.

But for now here is a visual for those that might be struggling.

Freebie!!

Just finished a 2 day learning course. Away from my usual routine of things due to having to travel north to the big smoke.

This could have meant 2 days taken out of the week where I couldn't train. Aside from the non gym stuff you can do while traveling, I think it is important to plan how you can get your fitness kick in while you are away.

This helps in a few ways.
1.keeps routine, which means your body clock stays in time. On a short trip away this is important. On a long trip... Not so much.
2.energy!!! Keeping up with your regular level of gym going fitness will keep your energy high as it normally does. Leave it for a few too many days and you can become lazy and tired. And if your trip is for learning, you won't retain as much, as you will be fighting to stay awake.
3.you can have your rest days after you return.

If you can't make it to train while you're away... Then you will have to resolve to catch up when you return.

On this trip I was lucky enough to get a free once off access to a gym. The gym was a buzz with great energy. And the work out was great!! First time in a while I got the jiggly legs by the end of it.

And it isn't too hard to find a gym near where you're staying, these things are popping up all over the place.