Watch: 75-Year-Old Security Guard Benches 225 Pounds for Reps
https://ift.tt/2YeHVFA Sometimes you just get the urge to hit the bench press. At least, that seems to be the case for a 75-year-old security guard at Kennesaw State University’s gym who benched 225 pounds for reps, wowing a group of men a quarter his age in the process. Instagram user Jalil Kuku (@jalilkuku) recorded the session, which you can watch here: According to Kuku, the unnamed man was patrolling the gym before he sat down and benched 135 for six or seven reps. He then said, “I’m just warming up, can’t be a p**** your whole life, add another 45,” according to the post's caption. That’s when Kuku started recording. The guard looked a bit unsteady under the new weight at first, and another lifter moved in to spot him. But after a quick readjustment, he powered through five reps at 225, surprising his spotter and everyone else at the gym. The other men in the video are clearly impressed, and so are we. The security guard's apparent affinity for the bench press just goes to show that you're never too old to pump iron. But please, no matter your age, get someone to spot you before you go for it.
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Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz July 30, 2019 at 02:56PM
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Jay Cutler Shares One of His Favorite Moves for an Olympia-Level Chest
https://ift.tt/2STyJQW Four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler may not hit the stage to show off his physique these days, but the 45-year-old bodybuilding legend doesn't look too far off from competition shape. That's a guy you want to take training advice from, and fortunately, he's more than happy to share it. In an Instagram video he posted on Monday, aka the unofficial International Chest Day, Cutler demonstrated his favorite piece of Hammer Strength equipment: the flat press. Check it out in the video below:
In the video, he says that he's getting a chest workout in after finishing up at the San Jose Fit Expo, which took place over the weekend. "I used to train here years ago, when I was getting ready for the Mr. Olympia contest when I was winning," Cutler explained. He took to Instagram to show fans the seemingly rare flat press machine, which he says none of his local gyms in Las Vegas have. Unsurprisingly, Gold's Gym in Venice Beach also has one, according to Cutler. "I had to do this on my chest day—which is on a Saturday, by the way," Cutler said before he knocked out some reps on the machine. Cutler had a solid run on the bodybuilding stage, taking down the legendary Ronnie Coleman at the 2006 Olympia and winning three more Sandows in 2007, 2009, and 2010. In the past, Cutler has said that his chest was his toughest muscle to grow. If that's really the case, we're all ears when he's dishing out chest-training tips. Follow Cutler on Instagram at @jaycutler. [RELATED1]
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Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz July 30, 2019 at 01:59PM
Stone Cold Steve Austin Wants to Squat 500 Pounds by 2020
https://ift.tt/2KeDlxa In the words of the legendary Jim Ross, Stone Cold Steve Austin is tougher than a two-dollar steak. And now, he’s trying to get even tougher. The Texas Rattlesnake, 54, recently set a goal to squat 500 pounds by 2020. In the video below, he can be seen squatting 285.
His form might not be perfect, but he doesn’t really care about that. “To the wannabe judges out there, I am not in a powerlifting contest,” he says in the post. “I am in my gym with a bar on my back.” Squatting 285 is impressive enough, but we’re even more in awe of this feat given that Austin has a long history of knee problems. Throughout his career, he wore a knee brace due to several injuries—including blowing out ligaments in the knee twice. He also had his ACL/PCL replaced in his left knee in 2012. Austin also claims he hasn't trained legs seriously in 20 years. His 500-pound squat goal is ambitious, but we’re giving him a hell yeah and raising our beers to him for putting in the effort. [RELATED1]
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Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz July 30, 2019 at 10:39AM
It All Depends on Your Goal
https://ift.tt/2MpSfmY As a personal trainer, I often get asked questions regarding all aspects of fitness. Should I do cardio or lift weights first? How long should I do cardio for? Should I increase the weight or do more reps? Often these questions are asked without any background information and the person asking expects me to have one concrete, end-all, be all answer that they will follow for the rest of their lives.
The fitness industry is constantly changing as new trends, fads, and crazes emerge, ebb, and flow. I feel guilty constantly giving the answer, “It depends,” but it’s the most honest and truthful thing I can say. I’ve put together some of my favorite “it depends” questions I get from beginners at the gym and tried to answer them a little more thoroughly after doing some more reading and research regarding what the industry is saying today.
How Much Cardio?My answer to this question depends on what the person asking does outside of the gym. Are they sitting at home on the couch or behind a desk for most of the day? Are they chasing after a wild three-year-old or doing housework all week? For people just beginning to get active, start with 5 or 10 minutes of walking on a treadmill or track or pedaling a bike. Starting slow is key; waking up the day after hitting the gym for the first time and not being able to get out of bed or comfortably stand up or sit down is less than ideal.
The 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines states that individuals should aim for, “at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity to minimize weight gain or to prevent increases in BMI.” Physical activity doesn’t mean you have to be chained to the “dreadmill” either. Definitely count the minutes you spent raking leaves or shoveling snow; if vacuuming the living room gets your heart rate up, include that, too!
Cardio or Weights First?What’s your ultimate goal? Are you trying to improve your 5k time or are you looking to increase strength? Whichever is more important to you is what you should commit most of your energy to. If you’re doing cardio first but strength is your main goal, your muscles will be fatigued before their most strenuous activity.
If you are brand new to the gym and fitness life, do whichever one you DON’T like first. That way, you’ll be sure to get it done and you won’t be tempted to skip it later!
Bonus answer: if weight loss is your goal, head to the weight room before hitting the cardio equipment!
More Weight or More Reps?Before I answer this question, your main focus should be your form. If your exercise form isn’t spot on, you really shouldn’t be adding any weight to it or repetitively training a poor movement pattern.
Once your form is on point, add some repetitions. If you can comfortably bang out some more reps without any pain, discomfort, or too much strain think about gradually increasing the weight you’re using. Increasing too much too fast or chasing a number you think you should be attaining (either weight or rep wise) is a recipe for future injuries.
Listen to your body; depending on different variables—you amount of sleep, what you’ve been eating, stress levels—your numbers may change each session. If you’re not feeling 100%, you may not be able to lift as heavy or as much. The path to progress isn’t always a straight line, there are ups, downs, and everything in between. As long as you’re making the effort to show up, it’ll happen over time.
Should I Diet?This question is one that is most sustainable to your daily life. If you like eating pasta and bread and hate avocados, for example, the keto diet probably wouldn’t work for you even though your best friend lost 20 pounds following it.
I wrote in a previous article on nutrition, “Find foods that you like to eat and that sustain you and make you feel good. To get lasting results, find a way to eat that you can maintain long term. Cutting entire food groups out completely and then adding them back in often lead to drastic weight fluctuations. Not to mention feeling unhappy and deprived—it’s not easy going out to eat with friends and watching them eat everything that you’re now “not allowed.” If you know you’re going out with friends later or can’t give up having a naughty midnight snack, plan ahead for it; find a way to fit it into your new healthy way of life.”
You Can Find Your AnswerWhile the answer to a lot of the questions I get at the gym is “It depends,” your fitness goals and current lifestyle can sometimes help get you to a more concrete answer. Decide what your goals are and stick with them, switching what you want to accomplish each week will only lead to frustration and disappointment. Be consistent, be honest with yourself, and set small attainable goals that will get you to your ultimate objective.
Fitness via Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/1hdUh1E July 30, 2019 at 09:44AM
Powerlifting World Champ Amanda Lawrence Talks Workouts, 'Rivalries,' and Social Media
https://ift.tt/2OrtQA9 Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz July 29, 2019 at 07:28PM
The Simple Chest Workout to Grow Your Pecs
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Is it a core day or a chest day? Ask yourself that question. If it’s core, go ahead and do your dumbbell presses on an exercise ball or on a flat bench with your feet up in the air, but don’t expect to crush your pecs and build a thicker chest. For that you need sturdy benches, appreciable weights, a reliable spotter for the barbell work, and maybe some loud music, too. Behold the following workout: It doesn’t reinvent the wheel and it probably won’t satisfy those who believe in the superiority of functional training. But it should, because it’ll serve one very appealing function: building a bigger, stronger chest. [RELATED1] The RoutineThe first exercise in the routine is incline barbell press, chosen as the lead because the upper pecs are typically in greater need of thickness than the lower pecs. Doing them first will help ensure maximum intensity, because the muscles are fresh. Treat this as your heavy move for the day, keeping all of your rep counts in the single digits and employing a spotter. The next exercise, flat-bench dumbbell press, should be treated aggressively as well. The reps are only slightly higher, so push yourself with a relatively heavy set of dumbbells, even if it means you do only nine reps on your last set. By this point you’ll have done both an incline and a flat pressing move; dips will essentially serve as your decline press to emphasize the lower pecs. It’s tough to put a specific rep count on dips because some guys can bang out 25-plus reps consecutively while others struggle to get a half dozen. The key here is to do as many dips as possible in the span of three sets. It’s not supposed to be easy. The cable flye is where you can drop the resistance a bit and go for a good burn to finish off the pecs in style. The BasicsWarm up sufficiently before starting this workout: 5–10 minutes of cardio, a set of push-ups, and a light set of incline barbell press before your first working set. This routine is meant to be heavy and intense, so consider doing it on its own instead of pairing it with back, shoulders, or even triceps—your triceps will be pretty fried by the time you finish dipping. [RELATED2]
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Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz July 29, 2019 at 04:09PM
Shawn Ray's Top 6 Men's Open Bodybuilding Olympia Contenders
https://ift.tt/2yj84DI Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz July 29, 2019 at 02:44PM
Henry Cavill Reportedly Still Wants to Play Superman
https://ift.tt/2Zi0HIh While there are no immediate plans for a new Superman movie, Man of Steel star Henry Cavill (who sometimes looks like he’s made of steel) is interested in reprising the role of the universe’s favorite Kryptonian. Superman was last seen on the big screen two years ago in Justice League. While the DC Extended Universe has some movies in the works, it’s unclear how Clark Kent will figure into those plans, if at all. So that begs the question: what will become of Superman? Comic fan Roger Roecken wondered that, too, and went straight to the source. Roecken was able to discuss Superman with Cavill himself at the recent San Diego Comic Con, and apparently, Cavill is interested in putting the cape on again. “He said he still wants to play superman,” Roecken said in a tweet. “Wants a sequel to Man of Steel. Wants to explore how it effects someone with absolute power, so many stories to tell what makes him tick.”
While not confirmed, it’s been assumed that Cavill won't play Superman since no movies about the character are planned for the near future. But Hollywood’s a fickle place, and we could easily see a Man of Steel 2 drop in no time if Warner Bros. thought it’d be worthwhile. Neither Cavill nor Warner Bros. have commented on the tweet, but the comments seem to have given some Superman fans hope that he’ll once again fly into a theater near you. In the meantime, Cavill isn’t hurting for work. He’ll portray monster hunter Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s adaption of the popular book/video game series The Witcher, due out late this year. [RELATED1]
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Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz July 29, 2019 at 02:01PM
Big Show Says John Cena Motivated Him to Get Six-Pack Abs
https://ift.tt/2YveeuU Big Show has gone through a lot of transformations over the course of his three-decade wrestling career, but he was never shredded—hell, for most of his career, he was barely fit. But the larger-than-life Superstar took everyone in the wrestling world by surprise when he revealed a set of six-pack abs in 2017. While still massive, Big Show lost more than 90 pounds to become the slimmest giant in the game. In case you’ve forgotten, here’s a look at his trimmed-down physique:
People wondered what motivated him to get into the best shape of his life, but it turns out they should’ve asked him who motivated him to do it. The answer: Muscle & Fitness cover model and WWE Superstar John Cena (who knows a thing or two about six packs). In Rebuilding Big Show, a documentary on his career that was released on the WWE Network on July 27, The World’s Largest Athlete said a conversation with Cena changed his life forever. “I was joking and saying ‘Oh yeah I’m going to get me some abs and be a bodybuilder, that’s what I’m going to do,’” Show recalled. “And I said, ‘Who would want to see a giant with abs?’” Cena simply replied, “Yeah, a giant with abs. Who would want to see that?” before walking away from Show. Apparently, it was enough to get him more motivated than ever. “The way John hit me with that comment, for once in 40-something years, lit a fire under my big fat ass,” Show said. Show then sought out Dodd, his trainer, and the rest was history. You can watch Big Show discuss Cena’s comments in the video below: Show gets real about his weight struggles in the video, and talks about how he didn’t want to end up like Andre the Giant, who died at 46 weighing more than 500 pounds. Show was about 44 when he decided to lose weight, and has weighed in at over 500 pounds. Now, he's closer to 400, and his story is a reminder that it’s never too late to make a change in your life, and that anything is possible. [RELATED1]
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Fitness via Muscle & Fitness https://ift.tt/2zjtGBz July 29, 2019 at 09:53AM
Be a Human, Carry a Human
https://ift.tt/331xF2f It’s summer—that magical annual cycle that reminds us that there is more to life than punching data into spreadsheets. Engulfed in nostalgia, you leave work early, take long weekends at the lake, and even pull yourself away from responsibility entirely for a week of hiking and fishing in the mountains with your three best friends.
It is one of those perfect getaways. Nights by the campfire, days free from the ping of an email or the stress of chauffeuring kids. You can’t help but question the rat-race lifestyle you’ve somehow fallen into. Something about the sounds of birds and streams—the fresh air and primal living patterns seems to call you towards a more harmonious, free existence. You’re all feeling this when you decide to hike up to the point—a hard, infrequently trafficked, while ruggedly beautiful, 11-mile day. It is known as a test of hiker skill and, while some of your buddies certainly haven’t been taking care of themselves, you know your fitness is up for the challenge. You yearn to try. This sort of test is what you live for. In a very real way, it is what we all were meant for.
The day starts out beautifully and, pulled by a steady stream of jokes, insults, and collective enthusiasm, you make it to the point by lunchtime. It is gorgeous—worth the burning of legs and lungs—the sweat, leg cramps, water crossings, and other harsh elements. This transcendent experience could never be captured in a pretty picture. As magnificent as your feeling of deep connection is, you know it is impermanent. There is no bottling it up for a rainy day and no way to convey it to loved ones back home.
After being on your feet all day, your crew finally hits the ground for lunch. It hurts so good. Exhausted, everyone eats ravenously—a renewed curiosity and appreciation for each nourishing bite, as if you can feel the food going to work on your battered system. Against your will, an hour flies by and the crew begins collecting themselves for the journey back. Y’all need to go if you’re going to get the campfire rolling before dark.
The return is uneventful—rugged, beautiful, and full of stories—until Andrew makes a bad jump while crossing a stream and trying to get to dry land. His ankle breaks clean. He sits there cursing, fully aware that there is no way he can support himself. “I have a band-aid,” Jason jokes. “We’ll be back in the morning,” adds Bret. But everyone knows what needs to happen. Each of them picks up an extra pack, yours and Andrew’s, and you squat down to lift Andrew over your shoulder. With night fast approaching, you’ve just inherited 200 pounds of cargo. Four miles to go.
Could You Do It?Could you do it? Could you rise to the occasion? Before bodybuilding and the explosion of the globo-gym, questions like this drove most training. “Be strong to be useful,” as Natural Method founder Georges Hebert famously directed. All the way back to the agricultural revolution, our first civilizations toiled under the sun driven by that same question. If necessary, will I be able to rise to the occasion?
A few weeks ago, I discussed Stan LeProtti’s La Sierra High PE program. Far from the watered-down free-for-all most of us envision when we think of PE, Leprotti’s program inspired Spartan warrior levels of fitness across an entire high-school population. It was the physical education every American should have had.
LeProtti, a veteran of World War II, was driven by the notion that a strong nation full of people with strong character could only arise from real physical strength. Everyone, in his eyes, should have the capability and courage to rise to the occasion. Part of that was mastering the skill of the man lift and carry, more commonly known as the fireman’s carry. For this reason, every test battery required participants to carry a similarly weighted individual for a given distance. The lowest standard was 800 meters. For a very rare, elite few who earned navy shorts, the standard was a 5-mile man lift and carry, or as it is more commonly known, a fireman’s carry.
Be a Human—Carry a HumanThe fireman’s carry is done with a simple technique that we should all master. To do it all you need is a good training partner. If you aren’t very close, yet, this will help.
Follow these steps for a fireman’s carry from the ground:
I recommend making a challenge of it. See how far each of you can carry each other. Go over and over again for an amazing, no equipment outdoor workout perfect for the summer. The loaded carry has always been a fundamental human movement worth adding to any workout. This just takes it to another level.
And if someone doesn't make it easy for you to carry them, you might want to learn how to do the ranger roll to get that body up in the right position.
The Gift of AdversityDigging deep to find capability for a challenge is perhaps the most powerful formula for a peak experience. You could avoid having to be useful or physically capable by avoiding real, raw experiences, but in so doing, you are allowing a large part of you to remain dormant. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
The last thing I’d want to do with this story is to deter people from risking these vital instances. A far greater risk is falling into the complacent, limited patterns that afflict so many today. We need to seek these peak experiences. Don't seek the danger, but seek the challenge. Go back to nature. Take the time for a long hike. This story isn’t a call to insulate yourself more, but a call to remain human. To remain capable of living as humans always have and doing the things that make life an awesome adventure. Get out and explore as often as possible. And when you can, train that capacity to rise to the occasion. Because you never know when you might have to.
Fitness via Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/1hdUh1E July 29, 2019 at 03:52AM |
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