Calorific Value

Some people believe that calories mean everything, and controlling that number would be sufficient to control their weight and improve their health. But of course, thats only one part of the picture. Here's some food for thought:

As an example, lets consider two meal options A and B.

Option A: Cheeseburger with fries

Option B: Grilled chicken sandwich, grated blue cheese on a watercress salad drizzled with olive oil, and an apple

Lets say hypothetically, the total calories for each option is equal at 1000 kcal. Would that mean both options are the same? Of course not! Option B will beat A anyday as it has a well-rounded nutritional content and isn't deep-fried.

People need to realize that calories is just a number, and improving their health consists of more that controlling their calorie intake. Its a combination of a good exercise regimen and an appropriate diet that meets their daily nutritional requirements.

Health and wellbeing has to be looked from a holistic point of view, considering all various aspects and for the long term. Too many individuals are concentrating too much on the short term, with their main goal of just losing weight and minimizing calories.

For instance, yes, you may be losing tonnes of weight by cutting down on calories and running for miles everyday. In the long run here are the possible problems, cutting down on calories could result in less energy for other daily activities, and you could be missing out on key minerals and macronutrients from the controlled diet. Not to mention that running excessively could result in muscles being catabolized for energy, resulting in lower metabolism and eventually you'll gain weight faster than ever before!!

For any endeavour in life, invest in the long term solution rather than just settling for the quicker benefits of the short term solution. The same applies for health and nutrition. Think about it.

Olympian Effort

If you're are looking to improve their physique, train the whole body in unison, and improve their athleticism and strength. Then read on:

I've always believed that basketball players e.g. NBA players have the greatest vertical leaping ability compared to other athletes. Boy was I wrong.....can you guess which athlete has the greatest vertical leap?

THE OLYMPIC POWERLIFTER

Never would I have envisaged that those bulky 200-300 pound powerlifters could jump higher than basketball players! NBA players on average have a vertical leap of approx. 32 inches, and powerlifters on average have a vertical leap of approx. 36 whopping inches!!!

The reason is that they trained explosively with olympic powerlifting movements e.g. snatch like below:

As depicted above, olympic lifts like the snatch works the body in unison to lift the weight. This would require the recruitment of more muscle fibers, and therefore create more potential for muscle growth. In addition to that, compound exercises like this would burn more calories as you're recruiting more muscles and therefore requiring more energy!

As opposed to conventional weight training methods, Olympic lifting trains the muscles to generate Power. By the law of physics, power is defined with the following equation:

Power = W/t = Work / Time

With that relationship, power increases when more work is performed per unit time, OR if the same amount of work is performed in less time. Therefore, if you can lift more weight in less time, your muscles can generate more power. Thats why Olympic lifts train explosiveness, as you'll be able to generate a lot of force in a short timeframe. This is akin to sprinters who can explode and accelerate instantly, and NBA players e.g. Lebron James whom just explodes 42 inches vertically for the dunk.

In addition to that, Olympic movements train Type II muscle fibers which are fast twitch fibers (shorter contraction time), and only recruited for heavier, and more taxing workouts that require the recruitment of more muscle fibers. And if you recall, Type II muscle fibers have the greatest growth capacity compared to Type I fibers.

To summarize, Olympic lifts would:

• Increase body's ability to generate more power, therefore increasing explosiveness e.g. vertical leaping ability;
• Work the entire body in unison to move the weight, therefore recruiting more muscles and therefore creating more potential for muscle growth and burn more calories;

With that, I believe that any gym-goer should not omit Olympic lifts in their workout regimen, which are incredibly beneficial for improving your body.

Below is the link to bodybuilding.com's exercise database which include steps on performing the snatch:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?Name=Snatch

Cardio vs. Resistance Training Part I

To all the gym-goers out there, here's a breakdown of the difference between Cardio and Resistance Training that majority of gym-goers don't know, AND should know.

1) Calories Burned

Cardio e.g treadmills are steady-state workouts, and your body eventually adapts fast as you're repeating the same motion.

Calories burned = Energy used during workout

Resistance Training e.g. High intensity training is a workout that constantly shocks your body and forces it to adapt with different movements and workloads. Its an anaerobic activity that has a Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), requiring you to burn more calories post-workout to recover and re-attain Oxygen equilibrium. This effect can last for up to 24-48 hours.

Calories burned = Energy used during workout + Calories burned from EPOC

2) Muscle Mass

Cardio involves steady state motion that trains muscle endurance NOT strength, and mainly works the Type I muscle fibers (slow twitch) which has the LEAST growth capacity.

Resistance Training usually involves heavier and more explosive motion, and involves mainly Type II muscle fibers (Fast twitch) which has MORE growth capacity.

And remember, more muscles = higher metabolism for muscle cell maintenance. THEREFORE, more calories burned by the body's resting metabolism to maintain the additional muscle cells.

PART I CONCLUSION

• Resistance Training overall burns more calories inclusive of energy burned during workout, and post workout from Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC);


• Resistance Training builds more muscles, which equals to higher resting metabolism and burns more calories during rest for additional muscle cell maintenance;


• For Cardio, total calories you burned are all from during your workout. And trains muscle endurance with minimal muscle growth.

Another day in the gym

There are a few common sub-groups of people who patronize the typical commercial gym:

• Ladies who go for aerobic/fitness classes or run on treadmills;
• Meatbags who work heavy weights with limited range of motion;
• Beginners whom just hit the machines with minimal, or non-existent free weight exercises;
• And finally the in-between-ers who workout with the run-of-the-mill bodybuilding training program.

There are of course a few outliers whom actually train properly with the right workout intervals, rest periods, full range of motion, and even use a substantial amount of core workouts (that doesn't involve back-breaking crunches). I've yet to see somebody in the gym perform a side bridge, planks, or know what the heck a kettleball is. What I've actually seen are:

• People admiring their own biceps, but can't perform a proper chin-up;
• Taking one million years to perform a bench press with minimal weights;
• Using abs machines whilst maintaining their huge guts after months of training, and don't know what a core workout is;
• And of course people thinking that its cool to sit down in between workouts till the end of time.

The fitness industry seemingly has improved in Malaysia, but it has yet to evolve to the level of countries such as the USA. But even then the fitness industry in the USA is flawed, and various fitness experts such as Mike Boyle, Coach Dos, Mark Verstegen are trying to change people's mentality regarding proper training without being associated to typical bodybuilding programs. Change will happen slowly but surely, and even then there will always be people using the bloody abs machine.

No Such Thing

One of the first few questions a personal trainer would ask his client is regarding his goals from training. And most of the time, the client would respond with the same generic answer e.g. to improve health and build muscles, or to "tone" his or her body. As a beginner, and usually without prior knowledge of resistance training, its really hard to gauge what they would really want to gain from it. Basically any form of resistance training, be it strength or power training, can yield these results in good time with sufficient effort and proper lifting methods.

One example would be for building muscles. Any form of resistance training can build muscles, the only question is to what extent and for what end purpose. Beginners wouldn't usually ask too many questions, assuming that there isn't much variance in training methods, and that you usually can't go wrong with the trainer's advice. I won't go into the intentions of the trainers, as some may be altruistic in nature and actually care for your well being, while some are just useless meatbags that spew inane drivel and empty promises in their attempt to swindle hapless old you. There aren't really any wrong training styles (with the exception of wrong lifting techniques), but there is a significantly different end result with each of these styles.

For instance, power training is a method which typically emphasizes short, intense workouts with short rest periods and with exercises that improves strength and athleticism. This training style is usually performed by athletes which want to increase their strength without sacrificing flexibility or mobility. Other benefits would include increased muscle size, and of course improvement of health. In the end, the trainee's initial goals are met, with the additional advantage of increased muscular power, strength, and athleticism.

On the other hand, some gym goers would go with a workout plan that involve heavy weights, high training volumes, and exercise movements that don't go the usual full range of motion. This usually would yield greater muscle growth than the power training described above, but the trainee's flexibility and mobility would be jeapordized if he continuously trains without going for the proper range of motion for each exercise. He'll look bigger, but his body would eventually be stiff as a log.

As you can see, both training styles yielded muscle growth, but to different extents and with a significantly different end result. So in the end, it really depends on what you really want to gain from training. Yes, you'll build muscles and lose fat. But ask yourself another question, do you want to be a stiff musclebound freak? Or a Flexible, semi-musclebound freak who can run, jump and move like an athlete. Think about it.

EPOC!

Its interesting to note that if we look at the immediate effect of resistance training, we would only encounter muscle damage in the body. If we didn't look at the after effect of training, we would assume that lifting weights is counterproductive to gaining lean muscle. Of course we know that isn't true. After the muscle damage has been incurred, the body starts releasing anabolic hormones which promotes muscle repair and hypertrophy.

A recent article by Alwyn Cosgrove highlighted this issue with respect to comparing aerobic workouts with high intensity resistance training. If we look at the immediate effect of aerobic/cardiovascular activities e.g running on the treadmill, the amount of calories burned would be higher than that of resistance training. Most people would not look into the after effects of these activities, therefore assuming that only aerobic training would allow them to lose as much calories as possible and expedite the sexy body attainment process.

Little did they know that after working out, there is an effect called the Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) that takes place. This process takes place for 1-2 days post high intensity training as the body requires to repair, maintain itself and re-attain equilibrium. This, of course, requires energy and the body would burn calories for that purpose. A research study by Schuenke MD, Mikat RP, McBride JM in Alwyn Cosgrove's article reported that high intensity resistance training would elevate this effect and burn more calories post-workout.

To expedite the fat losing process, do take advantage of this phenomenon and perform high intensity resistance training. Cardio singularly won't lead to the results that most people want. In addition to that, it does not increase your resting metabolism like high intensity resistance training does. As some may recall, the resting metabolism accounts for approximately 70-80% of calories burnt per day. Increasing this would result in more calories burned to maintain the additional muscles. Combining the resting metabolic increase and post workout EPOC would be potent mix in keeping the excess fat at bay.

Supplemental Journey

Bodybuilding supplements always had a bad rep, especially with all the advertisements strewn across the typical muscle magazine with big roid-heads promoting it. People assume that these supplements are equivalent to steroids, or give excuses that it isn't natural or will make you look like Arnold! I don't blame them, with the way bodybuilding and the gym was previously portrayed, people will tend to err on the cautious side.

Well supplements aren't as bad as it seems, and when you actually get down to the science behind it, it actually is incredibly beneficial to your training and recovery efforts. Yeah its true that a lot of the research done to prove the efficacy of these supplements are performed by the same companies whom produce them, but of course you would personally want to perform your own due diligence and ensure its legitimacy. Personal advice is to avoid all the products with bullshit advertising, and to just look out for hard facts and legitimate brands with a proven track record.

Here are some of the typical supplements I use regularly and have yet to disappoint me:

1. Creatine. Use of it is widespread and proven to increase your workout volume. Naturally found in beef, and used by the body in the form of Creatine Phosphate to generate energy for ATP formation.


2. Omega 3 (Fish) and Flaxseed Oil. Classified as essential fats that increase your HDL count, and sufficient fat in diet is required to maintain a healthy testosterone level. Also known to help reduce post workout inflammation for quicker recovery.


3. Beta-Alanine. Research has proven it to be useful for increasing training volume by reducing effect of lactic acid buildup in the body. Literature has looked into combination of Creatine + Beta Alanine, and initial results has shown greater workout volume, increased muscle mass and fat loss in research participants.


4. ZMA. Combination of Zinc, Magnesium, and Vitamin B6. Healthy Zinc levels in body help maintain testosterone and IGF-1 levels for anabolic muscle growth. Magnesium helps give people a deeper sleep at night.


5. BCAA. Branched Chain Amino Acids contain amino acids like Leucine which are building blocks for muscle fibers in the body.


6. Multi-Vitamins. Ensures that all nutrient and vitamin daily requirements are satisfied.


7. Whey Protein (Isolate). Perfect for post- or pre-workout consumption when high protein meal isn't easily available. Easy absorption into body and prevents body from breaking own muscles for energy. Preferably coupled with fast acting carbs like dextrose/maltodextrin which spike insulin levels and increase amino acid uptake by the body.

Quirks and Conundrums

One of the colleagues I once worked out with had a pretty well defined physique, a body that most gals would drool over and guys would dream of having. To say the least, I was definitely interested to find out the master workout plan that churned out this jacked body. I was half expecting some elaborate regimen that involved hypertrophy or strength elements, but to my surprise....ALL he did for every S-I-N-G-L-E workout was Chest and Biceps! Well refraining from being too judgmental, I decided to work out with him and have a first hand look at his training style.

From what I can see, my colleague favours doing bench presses, seated machine bicep curls, and swiss ball crunches most of the time. I tried incorporating some different movements to his regimen e.g. dips, side bridges, plyometric push-ups, and shoulder presses to shake things up a bit and work other muscles. And again, I was shocked that despite not really doing these exercises before, he basically killed them!! Perhaps I should have amped it up a bit more with some Olympic lifts, but regardless I was still pretty impressed.

As much as it might defy conventional logic or lack scientific backing, there is a reason why people would unwaveringly follow time tested methods...because it works! You might not be able to quantify it, but yeah after 5-6 years of chest and biceps and you can produce a body like that....well people might just say "why not!?" Don't get me wrong, I'm still a staunch believer of functional training and maximizing your body's flexibility and strength. I would still recommend training the right way without creating any muscular imbalances.

But yeah it got me to think, being a neophyte fitness enthusiast, there are still many things that confound me and perhaps will make more sense when I gain more field experience deep in the gym training with the experts. There is only so much we can yield from theory, but it can never replace or precede practical experience.

Blogging a day, keeps the Insanity away

According to the latest issue of Scientific American, apparently blogging is a therapeutic activity that promotes memory and sleep, boosts the immune system, and even speeds up post-surgery recovery! Just like ranting to de-stress, blogging acts as a placebo for getting satisfaction from expressing one's thoughts and burdens.

In line with this little revelation, I shall attempt to blog more consistently to rant about crappy trainers, fallacious training information, and of course advocate the wonderful thing that is intense resistance training coupled with good nutrition.

Cheers

Anabolic Emphasis

Basically, there are two things that affects our muscles after training:

1) Anabolism - Building of muscles

2) Catabolism - Breaking down of muscles for energy

The goal is to maximize the anabolic process while keeping the catabolic effect down to a minimum.

There are 3 critical steps in order to achieve this:

1. Intense resistance training with enough muscle stimulation to promote release of anabolic hormones e.g. Testosterone and Growth Hormones (GH) which trigger the muscle-building mechanism (1)


2. Sufficient protein intake to promote protein synthesis within the muscle cells to repair cellular damage and increase muscle fiber size via muscular hypertrophy. Protein is also known to release Glucagon, a hormone which liberates fat stores for burning (2).


3. Including carbs in post-workout supplentation to allow the release of Insulin which also promotes the uptake of nutrients e.g. protein into the muscle cells for reparation. Insulin also curbs the release of Cortisol, which is a catabolic hormone and promotes muscle breakdown.

Following these basic steps can help you maintain the lean muscle mass, while allowing your body to tap and burn the fat stores instead.

References:

1. Schuler, L., Volek, J. (PhD), Mejia, M. & Campbell, A. (2003). The Testosterone Advantage Plan. A Fireside book, Simon & Schuster.
2. Roussell, M. (2007). Top Secret Fat Loss Strategies. Your Naked Nutrition Guide.

Protein Debacle

Protein is essential for the maintenance of your body e.g. reparation of muscles. It is also a preferred nutrient source as it is easier to be satisfied when eating protein , plus it has the highest thermic effect compared to other nutrients e.g. you burn more calories when eating protein.

It is essential for muscular growth, but noticeably a lot of gym-goers tend to overuse it, some to an extent that their shaker bottles are 1/3 - 1/2 filled with protein powder! If you follow the recommended intake of one scoop (usually > 20 g protein), it wouldn't even fill up 1/5 of the shaker.

Reading a recent article by Chad Waterbury, he raised an issue that eating too much protein would be detrimental if you're trying to lose body fat. Once the glycogen stores in the body has been exhausted, the next source would come from muscles and then finally body fat, the latter which is what most of us want to get rid of (to an extent of course). We want supply sufficient protein to minimize the catabolic effect of muscle breakdown for energy and maximize protein synthesis for muscle reparation. But if we supply an overload of protein to our body, the body would preferentially want to burn the excess protein for energy instead, leaving our fat stores essentially untouched.

Typical daily recommended limits for protein intake for a consistent gym-goer would be approximately 0.8 -1.0g per pound of body weight.

For instance, if you're 160 pounds (160/2.2 = 72.7kg)

Protein required = 160 x 0.8 = 128g

American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommmends these limits:

Endurance Athletes = 1.2 - 1.4g per kg bodyweight (0.55 - 0.64g per pound bodyweight)

Strength Athletes = 1.4 - 1.8g per kg bodyweight (0.64 - 0.82g per pound bodyweight)

There is always a limit to what our body can handle. What's the point of consuming soooooo much expensive protein when most of it is gone to waste? More does not always equal to better.

Adverse Advertising

Taking the LRT home one day, I noticed an intriguing advert at the side of the Bangsar LRT station. One of the local gym chains were promoting their personal training services, claiming that you can lose 8 inches of waistline within 8 weeks!! Being exceptionally cynical and skeptical after a long day at work, I decided to dissect this.

First and foremost, I admit that I'm not a big fan of this gym chain. Based on my sources, it is the typical commercialized, soul-less gym chain occupied by personal trainers who are more interested in checking out their own biceps while ignoring their client who's performing a workout movement. In fact, if I recall correctly, my friend overheard the trainer claim that you can actually grow taller from resistance training!! Doesn't that sound fantastic!?! Hmmmm I wonder why are majority of the competitive bodybuilders are shorter than 6'0? Now isn't that baffling?

But I digress, as I could definitely go on and on to debase their various vices and fallacies. Alright, 8 weeks to lose 8 inches on the waistline....hmmmm if that's possible, why aren't there more trim individuals out there? If 8 weeks of training could yield such an amazing result, everybody would look like a freakin' Brad Pitt or Maria Sharapova in no time! Even if this was possible, the methods utilized would definitely be suspect. Personally, one of the things I would like to know is that difference in lean muscle mass over this specific period of time. It would be pretty pointless if you lose so much weight, and a lot of it consisted of lean muscle mass. This would lead to a decrease in metabolism, hindering your future ability to lose bodyfat and possibly gaining more weight than ever before.

Statistically speaking, it would be interesting to know how many people actually attemped this program and succeeded at it. In addition to that, what were the participant's genetic disposition? Were they predominantly ectomorphs, endomorphs, mesomorphs, or a combination of either characteristic? Some people are born with different basal metabolisms, some can gain weight easily while others remain extremely thin despite sporting a dietary habit equivalent to a sumo wrestler. It would be naive to think that a particular training regime would work the same for everybody.

Frankly, I believe that any form of fitness advertising with ridiculous claims such as this, is absolutely bullshit. Not only will it not work, it will lead to high expectations and eventually, disappointment. It is these sort of crap that make people lose interest in working out, assuming that their cause is hopeless and give up, never ever realizing the amazing benefits that resistance training will yield.

Making gains in the gym is a gradual process, and miracles do not happen overnight. To move like an athlete or look like a bodybuilder, requires years of consistent training and strict discipline. Even if that isn't your goal, you still require to hit the weights and treadmill with some semblance of consistency. There really isn't an easy way out, and only hard work and discipline will yield success for this endeavour.

"Bodybuilding"

It seems that some segments of the population still associates lifting weights or resistance training as a form of "bodybuilding". To the best of my understanding, bodybuilding is a subset of resistance training whereby the goal is to maximize muscular hypertrophy, striving for physical symmetry and perfection. Physical strength and flexibility is usually not of key importance, instead emphasis would be placed on aesthetic values. Besides, if everybody who lift weights are bodybuilders....then Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and majority of all athletes would be considered as bodybuilders.

Fitness Scams

The Internet is a curse and a blessing. On one hand it eliminates the boundary created by distance, providing a tool for talented individuals across the globe to communicate and express their thoughts or creativity through mediums such as Youtube. One the other hand, everybody else can display their ...ermm...less creative and sometimes morally and ethically skewed works and perceptions. Although such scams may be easily detected by the experienced, various individuals who haven't popped their internet cherry might be more easily misled and deluded by immoral douchebags that permeate the web.

This phenomenon is especially true for the fitness and training information strewn across the internet. Albeit there are plenty of legit websites and forums moderated by certified trainers giving excellent tips and advice, there are also plenty of forums populated by allegedly experienced "experts" oozing with crap and fallacies that would make good trainers across the globe shit in their pants.

Occasionally there might be some gems hidden in those places, but I wouldn't entrust my well being with statements posted by a bunch of random people. Come on, there are soooo many good websites and books out there where you can acquire a lot of amazing information peer-reviewed or concluded from actual fitness specialists and researchers. Why on earth would you take the word of an alleged fitness expert who would recommend some specific "bodybuilding" program extracted from some run-of-the-mill muscle magazine with majority of the pages filled with supplement and libido enhancement ads? Come on!!

Even for my blog, I endeavour to present information I learnt from fitness books and articles here whilst trying to present my own perspective. It may coincide with your beliefs, it might even be absolutely contradictory with your ideas, nonetheless it isn't absolute. As a fitness aficianado, if you are truly passionate about fitness, I trust you would do your own homework and make an informed judgment without speculation nor assumptions.

Raging Hormones!

Many people don't realize that the hormones in our body play a huge part in our resistance training progress, and I do mean HUGGGEEEEEE!! Some assume that a little protein here, a dash of carbs there, mixed with some treadmills and low intensity training, and voila....beach body with abs to kill!

If you believed that was the case, you're wasting your time in the gym and you should just cancel your gym membership immediately. Here's the thing, do you think the human body just builds muscles at a whim? Do you honestly think that performing light unstimulating weights with minimal rest would cause you body to undergo major changes to become stronger? BAH!

Hormones are absolutely critical in ensuring that our bodies build more muscles and grows stronger, and these hormones would only be secreted if a strong enough stimulus would trigger the body to do so. In this case, sufficient muscular force production is required to trigger the release of anabolic or muscle building hormones e.g. testosterone, which would then bind to receptors in the muscle cells, subsequently signalling the body to increase protein synthesis and therefore increase the overall size of the muscle cell.

So what is considered to be a sufficient trigger to cause our body to secrete these wonderful hormones responsible for muscle synthesis? According to the Strength Training book by the National Strength & Conditioning Association, the hormonal response to an exercise has a general correlation with the amount of metabolic stress experienced by a person. Therefore a high intensity and high volume training session with minimal rest and exercises that recruit more muscles would optimize your body's capacity to trigger a hormonal response to build more muscles.

R.I.C.E

With the increasingly widespread popularity of resistance training across the globe, I believe it is inevitable for the frequency of training related injuries to spike and perpetuate over the next few years. In addition to that, this phenomenon will probably be exacerbated by the inadequacies of the alleged fitness "experts" that dwell in the squalors within the various fitness center chains that pervade throughout the health and well-being industry.

Injuries arise due to various reasons, and are usually shrugged off by trainers and go on unnoticed for years. People assume that pain is part of the process, and as the saying goes "no pain, no gain." Albeit within the resistance training scenario, the pain should constitute as soreness and nothing more. On the other hand, a sharp pain experienced in joints or a specific part of the body is most likely a sign of an injury. If that is the case, training should be stopped immediately to mitigate the potential injury. In fact, there is a specific principle that should be followed during the early stages of an injury :

Rest

Ice

Compression

Elevation

After the initial stage, a medical practitioner specializing in sports-related injuries should be consulted immediately to ensure your continual well being.

As much as I respect people whom spend hours in the gym a week to hone their body's musculature, at least don't be an idiot and overtrain or "cheat" with poor technique just to lift that extra pound. Always know your limits, and you can always live to fight another day.

Lift Strong!!

I'm usually a sap for the altruistic humanitarianism mushy kinda stuff, although I'll probably never go all Angelina Jolie and adopt some kid from South America. Regardless, I would occasionally try to do my part and give something back to our community and environment.

Here's something that should pique the interest of any fitness buffs out there, PLUS also an opportunity to give back to our community. Recently a bunch of fitness luminaries and experts from the industry decided to compile a CD stuffed with articles and information that would aid anybody in their quest to improve their health, nutritional, and training efforts. Whoever is interested could buy the approximately 800 page compilation at an affordable price of USD$25, and with all the proceeds going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Do check out the official website at :

http://www.liftstrong.com/

Scaling down the Error

Although it has been re-iterated over and over again by various fitness experts, I'm gonna mention it one more time just for emphasis:

Weighing Scales should never be the main indicator for your overall well being. People seem to get discouraged to see relatively low or zilch weight loss on the scale after weeks of intense training, therefore assuming the effort was all for naught. Well the problem with weighing scales is that it doesn't actually indicate the amount of lean muscle mass or fat in your body, it fact it just gives you a number. Although your weight might not have changed significantly, your body composition will definitely have changed after some significant resistance training with a proper diet.

Here's an example:

Previous Weight = 80 kg
Lean Muscle Gained = +2 kg
Fat Loss = -2 kg
Total Weight = 80 kg

Even though you lost 2 kg of fat and gained 2kg of lean muscle mass, you'll still have the same total weight!

Never trust what you see on the scale, instead look at the mirror and see any visual changes on your body since 1 kg of lean muscle occupies half the volume of 1 kg of fat due to it's denser structure. Or you can purchase body fat calipers to determine your actual body fat percentage, which is a relatively accurate way of determining your actual body composition. In the end and most importantly, make sure you feel good from training and your health improves for the better.

More on Abs

This month's issue of Men's Health had an article by Bill Hartman CSCS regarding habits required to build a six-pack. A good read for all washboard ab freaks out there, but there is one particular point I really want to emphasize from it. It is about exercising the right way in order to reveal the six-pack.

Contrary to popular belief, we all already have pre-existing abs. Many gym freaks out there keep on doing crunches and sit-ups, hoping that all that hard workout will come to fruition with abs to kill. The fact is, if you don't lose the fat gut covering it, you'll never ever see the abs you worked so hard for. (In fact as I previously stated in an earlier post, crunches and sit-ups are bad for your back) Don't believe me? Just take any thin guy who never trains, and you'll see the miraculous abs.

The author states that you first need to burn off the bulging gut by performing the right exercise. Many people translate that as performing intense cardio e.g. running the treadmill or jogging. Only a few informed fitness enthusiasts know that performing high intensity strength training, e.g. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), has equal the calorific expenditure compared to intense running. In addition to that, intense strength training is capable of boosting your body's metabolism (e.g. burn more calories) immediately after the workout session. In addition to THAT, strength training builds more muscles, which ALSO increases your body's basal or resting metabolism; therefore increasing the calories burnt during your non-training period to maintain and feed your body.

Utilizing this, you can eventually see your abs by merely training hard without running the treadmill for 1-2 hours, and with the added advantage of having more muscles to boot. Anyway do pick up the latest issue of Men's Health and have a read of the article for the other essential tips.

Crunches and Sit-ups are bad for you?!!

I recently read this interesting article on Michael Boyle's website regarding core and abdominal workouts, and could definitely enlighten a few gym-goers about the fallacies of our classic ab workouts. Here's an excerpt:

"First of all, crunches and sit-ups can reinforce poor posture. According to Eeric Truumees, MD, in his article "Back Pain Prevention, 5 Harmful Habits," poor posture "places an enormous amount of stress on the spine." Crunches and sit-ups involve spinal flexion and too much flexion of the spine can lead to disc problems over time. We have enough ways to ruin our back, why are we doing it in the gym?"

Please do check out this article

http://www.strengthcoach.com/public/1455.cfm

Impetus

As a diversion from the usual preaching of functional training or dissing of guys who can't perform even one chin-up, I thought this segment would be a good chance to reflect on certain issues regarding strength training, and the driving force that causes us to strive for physical perfection.

We all want to look good, and those who deny it are probably lying to themselves. We all try to rationalize that it's good for our health, athleticism, and improves our confidence. Regardless of these wonderful perks, nothing truly drives a person to train hard like the image of a perfect beach body with washboard abs that could attract any women (or men) within a 100 mile radius.

I have to admit that some people do train for more "noble" reasons. For instance, dads who want to keep up with their kids, obese men who want to have a healthier lifestyle, or even the average joe who wants to be stronger and faster. Whatever the reason, these are the drivers that forces us to spend considerable time hitting the weights, running the treadmill, or even going for those funky dance sport classes with the extremely vocal gay instructor. (No offense to them, in fact I admit they do a really good job at working the crowd!)

The efficacy of these drivers, on the other hand, are definitely questionable to an extent. For instance, it is now a popular trend for Malaysians to join the local Fitness First or California Fitness in an endeavour to seek the elusive washboard abs. Nonetheless, many poor souls lack the drive to train consistently and end up deluding themselves; thinking that running on the treadmill for a few minutes and working up a "sweat" at the pec-deck machine would miraculously lead to the path of happiness.

Personally, going to the gym and training requires a lot of motivation and at least a tangible purpose. I don't think that working out just to "get fit and lose weight" is a truly purposeful goal by any shape or form. In fact, training just for bigger biceps isn't that great a purpose nor motivator either. In the end, these reasons would just fall short. As with everything else in life, goals should be more realistic and tangible, something that would truly strike a chord with yourself. Sometimes you just have to think hard about what matters to you, for these things would be the impetus that perpetually drives you forward.

Useful Article

Good friend of mine sent me a link to an interesting article about the 7 Muscle Myths written by an author from Men's Health magazine. Check it out:

http://www.active.com/fitness/Articles/7_Muscle_Myths.htm


Cheers,

MY

Optimizing your Training Sessions

Trying to develop and execute a proper training plan in between a tight job schedule can be quite a bitch, especially given the limited time frame a typical employee has. But I think this is a dilemma that can be remedied when a training session is properly optimized to be an efficient use of time without any dilly-dallying. Majority of the gym-goers tend to enjoy a nice stroll by the treadmill, enjoying the scenic view of the pilates class, or having an intellectual banter with friend in between sets. Once you remove the weights and various equipments, you might think the place was a local park.

A proper and productive strength training session can usually be completed within 30-60 minutes if you remove the erroneous time-wasting activities. Of course the efficacy of a good training session is also dependent on the post-training activities and recovery, factors which will ultimately affect your eventual progress. Unfortunately these are the fundamentals that people tend to neglect, and over time, take for granted.

As a guide for gym-goers of all stages and as a constant reminder to myself, I'll list out some of the basic fundamentals for optimizing your strength training sessions:

• Keep a training log to track and chart your overall workout progress.
• Plan your training sessions with what you want to accomplish beforehand.
• Perform each training session with high intensity and minimal rest, burning enough calories therefore eliminating the need for time-consuming cardio.
• Perform whole body exercises e.g. squats, deadlifts, and cleans instead of single-joint exercises e.g. bicep curls. Whole body exercises work multiple muscles simultaneously therefore burning more calories and saves time.
• Provide your body with sufficient fuel and nutrition pre- and post- workout to encourage muscle synthesis and fat burning.
• Provide your body with sufficient rest in between workouts. General guideline is 48 hours of rest for each muscle group which was worked. Sufficient rest would ensure that the following training session is performed at a near-maximum capacity.
• Maintain perfect form without cheating (Exception could be made for the final go-for-failure rep).
• Listen for cues from your body e.g. If you're tired, then go lighter for this workout or rest. If you feel that you're capable of lifting more, then go for it! This will maximize your workouts without wasting your high capacity days.

If anybody has anything else to add to this list, you're welcome to drop a comment or two!

The Learning Process

One of the lessons I learned from Dale Carnegie's book "How to win friends and influence people" is that people HATE being proven wrong. Despite how right you are, people would trigger some inner defensive mechanism and attempt to denounce your accusation even though it may be perfectly logical, or if your intentions were absolutely pure. Although this may not be entirely true and certain people are humble enough to listen and learn, plenty of people out there are still capable of being dense and absolutely stubborn. If that wasn't the case, people would be abnormally happy and singing "kumbayah" in a psychadelic alter-universe of hippy individuals.

I realized that even this applies to various fitness "experts" and even to certain newbies who apparently think their method is absolute. (Yes, I thought I was doing the right thing too even when I started having a nagging shoulder pain) Bodybuilders allegedly think that they're Greek gods when they perform a 400 pound bench press, even though they're probably too stiff to perform even one pull-up or chin-up!! They'll probably just pound their chest, kiss their guns, and shrug it off.

It's good to exude a certain amount of confidence or swagger into what you do, albeit it's another thing to be totally obtuse and unwilling to learn. The world of fitness has a plethora of quick fixes and generic training schemes, and it's easy to be drawn into it especially being a neophyte gym-goer without any idea what he's doing. The consequences of a flawed training plan isn't that obvious from the get-go, in fact it's possible of being blinded by the initial gains, resulting in complacency and acceptance that the training plan is an absolute success. Even possible injuries or nagging pains might be dismissed deeper into the program, a ticking injury timebomb if you will.

I may not be a fitness expert, nor do I claim to be one. Nonetheless experience has taught me to question things and know the basis behind workouts I perform. Not every training program developed by a certified personal trainer is a sure-fire thing, it may not even be tailored for a person's particular genetic makeup or actual practical needs. It is imperative to never stop learning, and never go blindly into things that you barely understand.

A "Toned" Body

An article by reknowned fitness expert Michael Boyle definitely struck a chord with me today. Its regarding something we all in the gym world heard so many times over and over....and OVER again, "I don't want to get too bulky, I just wanna tone my body." Heck, most of my friend's lovely female partners don't seem to keen on having their boyfriends look like Arnold, or even American football players for that matter. Well who can blame them since majority of the fitness media associate bodybuilding and fitness with a large jock-man dressed in a small, tight thong proudly brandishing the outline of his crotch.

People seem to think that working out vigorously with a change in nutrition equates to an instantaneous transformation into the incredible hulk. In fact, as Michael Boyle pointed out, nothing could be further from the truth. Have a read of his article at coreperformance.com:

http://www.coreperformance.com/article.php?p=1&s=1&id=11

Plateau Dilemma

People who barely started working out tend to be amazed, or even shocked by the gains from the strength training they performed within the first few weeks. The body starts responding to the stresses and therefore slowly adapts to these changes by constructing more muscles, assuming proper rest and nutrition follows hand in hand.

Sometimes complacency sets in, people assume that performing the same exercise at the same weight over and over again would yield the same astonishing results. Unfortunately the body would eventually adapt since the stress stimuli remains the same, and eventually the expected growth will gradually decrease and start to disappoint gym-goers with high expectations. In addition to this, the same monotonous exercise will eventually bore you to death; the workout inspiration for a better health slowly fades, and POOF you're back on the couch eating pringles and watching Prison Break.

A workout is more than just heading to the gym and doing something on the fly, it has to be properly planned out by periodizing your training into different segments e.g. strength, hypertrophy, and endurance. You have to consistently challenge your body and throw it off, keeping it on it's toes.

My basic Rule of Thumb for breaking plateaus:

1. Always challenge your body with different variation of workouts e.g. switching barbell bench press to dumbbell bench press, or even switching the number of sets and reps, changing workout intensities, and so on and so forth.
2. Periodize your training into different segments, e.g. week 1-12 hypertrophy, week 13-24 strength, week 25-36 endurance, and then rinse and repeat.

REMEMBER to always challenge yourself, never be complacent with what you do.

Polar Bear Club

Ever heard of the Polar Bear Club? People who jump into icy cold water half-naked during winter for fun? Its time to join the club!! (Picture acquired from the Boulder Polar Bear Club website)

Apparently causing hot and cold constrasts in the body allow for better blood flow in the body. For instance, when its hot, the body rushes away from your internal organs toward the skin in an attempt to prevent your vital organs from overheating. (Giving a nice red hue on your skin) Imagine after that you jump straight into a cold shower, the blood is then quickly prompted by the body to rush back to your internal organs and keep it safe and warm. Switching from hot and cold will cause the blood to move back and forth between the skin and the internal organs, therefore causing increased blood circulation and therefore faster transportation of nutrients.

It is recommended to alternate between a sauna/steam room and cold plunge after a workout. This will stimulate faster muscle recovery, as well as reducing postworkout inflammation from muscular hypertrophy due to the effects of a cold shower.

Mark Verstegen of Core Performance recommends alternating between 2-3 minutes in a hot tub and 30-60 seconds in a cold plunge, doing this 3-4 times for maximum effect. This would also be an excellent time for a recovery shake due to quick absorption by the body. (Hot tubs can be replaced with sauna, and a cold plunge with a cold shower)

A book a day, keeps the doctor away

Recommended reading for MALE gym-goers:

Men's Health: The Testosterone Advantage Plan by Lou Schuler, Jeff Volek PhD, Michael Mejia, and Adam Campbell

A great book that was a national bestseller in the United States. It debunks various myths that people held for years regarding cardio, protein, testosterone and various other workout related issues with scientific studies and the occasional logical assertion. Good read for men who treat working out and their health seriously.

(No, I'm not getting anything for advertising this book, just a nice gooey touchy feeling)

A Good Workout

Personally I have so far been exposed to 3 different workout cultures (USA, Australia, Malaysia) to some degree. Definitely gained a range of advice from different personal trainers over the years, particularly my old trainer back in Australia who was a Lebanese guy practicing Thai kickboxing. He showed me the vigors of intense training over a short period of only 30 minutes, and instilled in me the importance of core training. Even a 30-45 minute intense training session will yield more results than 1-2 hours of dragging, chatting, and letting yourself cool down in between sets. With my old trainer, after 30 minutes, I'll already be dragging my feet down the stairs and gorging myself with a recovery drink. The weird thing was...I loved it! Never felt better in my life, and was always a good pump before heading for more boring lectures.

It is always good remember that the purpose of a weight training session is to induce shock and stress on your muscles, thereby forcing it to adapt to change and become stronger. Why would you rest and chat for more than 1-2 minutes and allow your muscles to cool down excessively? Kinda counterintuitive if you're trying to gain muscle and lose fat. Especially since a high intensity session would burn more calories, especially if working on supersets, complexes, or compound exercises which utilize multiple muscles simultaneously e.g. squats and deadlifts.

From my personal experience, a good workout would consist of the following elements:

1. 5 minutes of cardio to raise your body core temperature
2. Sufficient stretching of muscles
3. 30-60 minutes of high intensity weight training
4. Sufficient H2O to keep body hydrated
5. Recovery shake to provide body with quick carbs (energy) and protein (build muscles)
6. Cardio after the training session to burn excess fat

You might add to something like this with the addition of creatine and other supplements e.g. Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) or Nitric Oxide (NO) boosters e.g BSN NO-Xplode. Although creatine is usually recommended to increase your workout productivity (increase energy production and minimizes lactic acid production), NO boosters are still an unproven, albeit safe workout enhancer. (Although I've read a medicine news article which states that donated blood are useless once the NO in the blood gradually reduces over time, since NO is responsible for dilating the blood vessels and allowing additional blood flow in the body)

Fun Facts

Fun Fact #1

Cholesterol in your body has a chemical structure similar to Steroids and is also a building block for Testosterone!

History of the Marathon

Legend says that when the Greeks defeated the Persians in the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C., a runner by the name of Pheidippides was tasked with the mission to report the good news back in Athens, Greece. At the end of his 22 mile journey, he was known to have said:

"Rejoice! We Conquer!"

After that he died of exhaustion.

Ouch........

(Acquired from the Men's Health Testosterone Advantage Plan)

We gotta love Protein

Scientifically speaking, protein are polymers which uses amino acids e.g. Glutamine, Arginine as their monomers or building blocks. Majority of our body's functions can't live without protein as our muscles, antibodies, hormones, enzymes, haemoglobin in our blood are constructed from different protein constituents. In layman terms, eat protein = keep body alive.

For gym people and muscle aficianados out there, this is especially important since we live in a high stress environment! (Literally speaking since working out stresses our muscles and create microscopic tears in the muscle fibers) Therefore during this process, we need to sustain our body with protein to reconstruct more fibers and therefore strengthen our muscular structure.

The usual timescale given to chow down on food is within 30 minutes of completing a workout, therefore ensuring quick absorption of protein and other necessary nutrients e.g. carbohydrates to prevent the body from breaking down. Carbs are also necessary after a workout since it releases the insulin hormone which also keeps the body in an anabolic or muscle building state. Carbs are also included since its a quick source of energy, and you want to prevent the body from breaking down your own protein e.g. muscles instead for energy.

IS PROTEIN BAD FOR YOUR KIDNEYS?

Professor Peter W.R. Lemon PhD and the Weider chair of exercise nutrition of the University of Western Ontario is an expert on protein requirements for muscle-building athletes. He once mentioned that potential kidney problems from protein have been extrapolated from studies on individuals with prior impaired kidney function. So certain "experts" assume that since people with ALREADY impaired kidney function can't take extra protein, therefore normal healthy individuals should shun it? How is that protein's fault? If protein were killing your kidneys, I believe that majority of the professional athletes, bodybuilders, powerlifters, and wrestlers would be piling up the kidney dialysis centers in the world.

Machine Dilemma

Whenever I walk in a gym, majority of the people I see tend to gravitate towards the machines for their workouts. NO I'm not talking about large machinery operated by gay steel mill workers, but machines which are designed to replace traditional workout movements e.g. the bench press. These machines were designed to be a safe and easier alternative to our classic favourite workouts, in fact you can lift heavier weights due to the support system and not look like such a boob in front of the large 300 pound bench pressing jock-man.

Unfortunately, if you use a machine, those big jock-men will still think you're a boob anyway. Machines, although easier to operate and will remove the danger of having a large dumbbell drop on you (Which I have NEVER seen by the way), will eventually be a terrible detriment to your future workout progress. As I quote Mike Burgener's Power to the 4th exercise guidelines given in the Men's Health Power Training book, "Doing all of your training while supported puts your body in a fairy-tale like world in which core stability and balance are of no consequence." Neglecting your core and various stabilizer muscles is a huge mistake since it strengthens your body under an unstable state, thus reducing the reliance of your muscles on a non-existent support system in real life when you perform actual physical activities.

So if somebody outbenches you with a machine during a workout, don't feel too bad, in the long run you'll be stronger and more well equipped to handle REAL physical activities. Besides it'll be fun to see him shake uncontrollably to balance two dumbbells or a barbell if he attempts free weight exercises. Although I have to admit, the only exception to use machines for me would be for pullup and chinup exercises. For a significant segment of gym-goers, it would be hard to perform, lets say, 3 sets of 10 repetitions free weight pullups or chinups. Therefore that particular machine would be useful for beginners who want to improve their strength before they tackle the real deal.

In conclusion, PEOPLE PLEASE USE FREE WEIGHT EXERCISES! It will be the best thing to happen to you, do you think the large Samoan people got strong by carrying their farming equipment with a machine-esque support system that went everywhere they worked?

Quick Sidenote

Just want to quickly address an small omission from my introduction. My source of information would come from various strength training and conditioning books written by fitness luminaries that I mentioned in my intro. Why do I choose these guys in lieu of bodybuilding magazines which feature large, buff, and specifically trained bodybuilders giving a set of advice on getting larger biceps...in like 1 second?

Well first of all, these magazines have been purported to be allegedly owned by some segments of the supplement industry. Even if that allegation is not true, I find the exercises recommended usually tailored for bodybuilders and not for the average joe who's looking to improve his fitness and also look good in the mirror. There are occasionally good info in there, but all the info is hidden in between a jungle of supplemental ads, which again claim to make your man boobs bigger and look more pumped. (Of course you'll look pumped, you're working out for christ's sake)

The experts whose books and information I look to for advice, on the other hand, are people who are recognized by the United States's National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) or PhD researchers. They convey information about training which athletes and normal people use just to improve their health and athleticism. They also portray weight training in a more holistic manner, beyond just working out for bigger biceps or an Arnold-esque chest. (Although for people who train to look good, even with this sort of training you'll definitely see gains with your musculature. Look at some American football quarterbacks and running backs, plus some sprinters, and you'll know what I mean)

Personally, I rather look for information from a book or fitness magazine whereby logic and scientific evidence prevails and isn't clouded by a miasma of random supplements, herbs, and anecdotal evidence from unnaturally large bodybuilders. Although initially I did fall into the trap of training just to look good, I realized that the training that lead me there was flawed and would inevitably lead me towards a road of injuries. Weight training has a string of benefits beyond just looking good. It will challenge you to a whole new different level, it increases your metabolism with the addition of extra muscles, it will endeavour you to eat better and improve your health, plus a plethora of other intriguing benefits. Think about it.

Barbells or Dumbells?

First and foremost, if you don't know what either of those are.....perhaps it's better off you don't enter a gym just yet; otherwise keep on reading. Another issue close to this topic is regarding the usage of machines for workouts, which I'll address in the next blog.

Good question to ask yourself before your workout, barbells or dumbbells? When I started working out, dumbbells always seemed tougher than using barbells especially since you can balance a barbell with both hands. Nevertheless, I chose to stick with dumbbells since it was preferred by my trainer, and I assumed that a good mix of barbell and dumbbell workouts would be a nice balance.

Technically speaking, barbell exercises are classified as a "bilateral" movement. This means that you use both or "bi" limbs to move the weight in unison. Pullups and chinups are classified as bilateral movements due to the usage of both arms simultaneously.

On the other hand, a "unilateral" movement is classified as an activity that utilizes each limb separately to move a load, e.g. dumbbell shoulder press, dumbbell chest press and etc. A unilateral movement would train each arm independently, and will often require the usage of the core and other stabilizer muscles due to instabilities of balancing separate dumbbells.

In conclusion, dumbbell/unilateral movements should definitely be added to anybody's workouts. It works more muscles and also trains each arm separately, therefore balancing out any imbalances or weaknesses between each arm. Barbell/bilateral movements shouldn't be ignored either since you will be able to train at a heavier weight, and it would be good to mix it up with dumbbell exercises to continuously shock your body and thus preventing it from possibly plateauing.

(Pictures are acquired from http://www.bodybuilding.com)

Athletic Mannequins

One of my favourite quotes I found in Robert Dos Remedios's book on power training would be by a famous bodybuilder Milos Sarcev who said that "We are not athletes, only athletic mannequins."

Traditional weight training that people tend to follow would be body-part training performed by bodybuilders e.g. separating a workout into chest, biceps, back, legs, etc., and basically focuses on training the mirror muscles (muscles that you can see in the mirror). This sort of training neglects any importance on the posterior chain of muscles e.g. lower back, glutes, and hamstrings, which will eventually lead to muscular imbalances and create an injury time bomb.

Body-part training trains each different mirror muscle in an isolated manner, for instance, bicep curls for biceps and triceps extension for triceps. But once you sit down and think about it logically, why on god-given Earth would we train each body part separately WHEN each muscle in our sexy body was designed to work in unison to perform daily tasks and activities!?!? Although this method does strengthen and induce muscular hypertrophy, it could possibly weaken the muscle when performing functional movements e.g. throwing and jumping, which effectively use various muscles in unison.

Bodybuilders usually train for cosmetic and aesthetic reasons, emulating the traditional Greek god statues (except for the length of the schlong). But they don't train for functional purposes like athletes, whom usually have uncanny flexibility as well as strength. Yeah we all wanna look buff and close to godliness, but at least we should do so without compromising our body's natural functional ability nor flexibility.

Prologue

After a few half-hearted attempts at starting a blog, I finally decided to blog about something that I'm truly passionate about - Weight training and the Fitness/Nutrition industry in general. NOWwwwwww before you get any ideas, I am not about re-iterating the usual spiel given by brawny jocks across every sweat-soaked gym around the block. This is going to be about proper weight training, fitness, nutrition, and general well-being information acquired from credible and expert fitness sources available. In essence, I wanna cut through all the crap and debunk all the myths people STILL believe based on anecdotal "expert" advice given by the run-of-the-mill personal trainers and allegedly experienced gym-goers.

I appreciate that more people nowadays are taking a step towards a better well-being by signing up for the gym and going there periodically to train and workout. But it kinda annoys me that people go about it in the wrong way....MOST of the time. So yeah, I finally decided that one day I wanna earn a personal training certification as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and constantly learn all I can about strength training and the fitness/nutrition industry. This, I hope, would enable me to influence and change the fitness industry for the better, enlightening the gym masses (perhaps even the roid-heads), and encourage people to live a healthier and better life.

This blog, I also hope, would be a tribute to all the fitness luminaries across the globe such as Michael Boyle (ATC), Stuart McGill (PhD) from Waterloo University, Men's Health trainers including Lou Schuler and Michael Mejia (CSCS), Mark Verstegen (CSCS) of Core Performance, Robert Dos Remedios (CSCS) of USA Collegiate athletic training fame, Alwyn Cosgrove (CSCS), and other influential and inspirational trainers. These people have perpetually endeavoured to inspire and preach to everybody the proper and functional way of training for a stronger and healthier body; therefore inspiring me to attempt to do the same, one piece at a time, starting with this blog.

The content of my posts will combine info from fitness sources as well as some aspects of my training experience. It is my intent to keep the information of this blog as coherent and accurate as possible, but human error is inevitable so if anything just holler. Finally, I hope that this blog will be of use to people in their never ending quest to improve their body, and also inspire people to never stop training harder and also smarter.


Cheers,

MY