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| Editor's Intro |
Hey everyone,
I apologize for the late newsletter. One of our authors had a laptop stolen that contained this month's article! Fortunately we have two others for your enjoyment.
The first article deals with one of the most important subjects in training - the deadlift. The more seriously you take this lift, the more serious your results will be. Mark my word.
And in the second article, MariAnne (aka Built) discusses additional chest work in her BGB program. I know a few of you on the forums have asked this question, so be sure to read!
How cool is this? AtLarge Nutrition has teamed up with Westside Barbell for one of the most exciting POWERLIFTING offers ever!
All you have to do is purchase $150 worth of AtLarge products (Nitrean, Opticen, ETS, Thermocin, Creatine 500, or Multi-Plus) and get your choice of Westside's Squat or Bench Workout DVDs. That is up to $66.45 (including shipping) worth of Westside DVDs ABSOLUTELY FREE!
These videos include the commentary and methods of Louie Simmons one of the best known and most respected strength coaches in the world. The following is a brief description of each video:
Bench Press Workout (Revised October 2004)
This DVD shows both Max Effort (ME) and Dynamic Effort workouts (DE) performed the Westside way. See the Westside athletes using chains and bands and performing floor presses and other "secret" techniques which will help you to maximize your bench pressing potential.
Squat Workout
Louie Simmons explains the Max Effort (ME) and Dynamic Effort (DE) workouts designed to optimize your posterior chain. See workouts done by actual Westside stars! Learn the "secrets" and special Westside techniques and exercises such as arch-back good mornings, glute-ham raises, reverse hypers, and much, much more. This is a double DVD series approximately 3 hours in length.
For more info, visit AtLarge Nutrition.
Until next month ...
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| Articles |
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Don’t Fear the Deadlift
Chip Conrad explains how to perform the deadlift and some variations you can perform. He also gives some useful techniques to help you perfect your deadlift that you won't soon forget!
Written by Chip Conrad
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| At Large Nutrition Discounts |
AtLarge Nutrition is proud to announce 2 new ways for you to save money and get the best results from your training!
We have carefully designed 3 AtLarge stacks, each one focused on helping you to achieve your fitness goals far more quickly. Each stack is also discounted to give you the absolute best value for money!
Do you want to lose fat?
Are you looking to gain mass and size?
Perhaps you want to increase endurance and mental focus?
Take advantage of our stacks now to maximise your results in the gym!
Get great savings on all of our products by taking advantage of our multiple unit discounts! By purchasing more than one of a given product you can save up to $12!
Here are some examples of the great savings you can receive:
Example - Nitrean
1 x Nitrean = $35.95
2 x Nitrean = $67.90 - Save $4
3 x Nitrean = $95.85 - Save $12!!!
Example - ETS
1 x ETS = $27.95
2 x ETS = $51.90 - Save $4
3 x ETS = $71.85 - Save $12!!!
To take advantage of these great offers, simply choose a multiple unit discount option from the drop down box on each of our product pages.
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| Review: Magnificent Mobility |
Introduction
Magnificent Mobility is a collection of drills designed to increase your mobility, correct muscle imbalances, and prevent injuries. It can be used as an excellent warm-up / warm-down routine for any type of workout, or in some cases can be used as the actual workout.
If you’re like most people in the gym, you probably have (or will have) issues in your shoulder and/or hip regions. The main reasons for this are lack of mobility and structural imbalances due to over-focusing on particular movements. For example, too much bench pressing (and not enough pulling) will most likely lead to tight and inflexible shoulders. Try an overhead squat and you’ll see what I mean. ;)
Of course, this isn’t ground breaking news - we all know the importance of mobility and flexibility to perform movements safely and effectively. But let’s face it - even if traditional stretching and warm-up programs worked (which is highly debated), we never stick to them because they are boring.
Here’s where Magnificent Mobility comes into play ...
Packaging
The Good: the DVD arrives with professional labeling on the box and disk. I know that might not seem like a big deal, but in this day and age I half expect disks to arrive with the title in black marker!
The Bad: no reference chart! With over 30 drills, a reference chart with the coaching points listed for each drill would have made things a lot easier at the gym. I spoke to Eric and Mike about this and apparently they are working on one for the next production batch. I was too impatient, so I made one myself.
Content
The DVD starts off with Eric and Mike explaining the purpose of a warm-up and why traditional warm-ups fail to meet said purpose. While most of you already know the reasons, I think it’s a good reminder, and for some of you it may be a shock. Static stretching before a workout can limit strength and endurance?? What? Yep, that’s right.
The drills mostly focus on the hips and shoulders (these are the common problem areas) and are divided into Easy, Medium, and Difficult categories. Each drill is shown with full range of motion from two camera angles, clear and concise audio descriptions of how to perform the drill and why, and finishes off with key coaching tips to remember.
While most of the DVD focuses on dynamic stretching, the final section discusses some static stretches. Nothing ground breaking, but for those familiar with Crossfit, you’ll be happy to know the Samson stretch is included. ;)
As I mentioned above, it would have been nice to have those coaching tips printed on a reference chart.
Implementation
This is the great part about these drills - they are easy and fun to implement. If you choose 8-10 drills it will take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. You may be surprised at how well they increase your heart rate and improve your mobility in one session. Just watch the range of motion on your first rep compared to your last. Nice, eh?
Right now I perform ~2 minutes of rowing for general warm-up / mobility, followed by 8-10 drills for more specific mobility. And if it’s a strength day, I’ll do specific CNS warm-up for the exercise at hand. I also perform the same 8-10 mobility drills after my workout. And I’m far from being bored (I’m still using the easy/medium drills!!).
Anyway, I was previously using 3 mobility drills as part of my warm-up (leg swings, dislocates, and overhead squats) and they worked great, but the DVD opened my eyes to a lot of new ideas. From what I have read, even elite coaches are picking up new ideas from this DVD, so I’m sure you can too.
Results
Where to start!
It’s been just over a month since I incorporated more specific mobility drills into my routine and already I’m seeing awesome improvements.
1) Hips no longer cramp during sprints or runs.
2) Very comfortable in a full triangle choke position (this was always uncomfortable for me until recently).
3) Improved shoulder flexibility for chinups, overhead presses, overhead squats.
4) Lower back is more relaxed, even after heavy deadlifts/squats.
And that’s in a few weeks!! I can’t wait to see what I’m capable of achieving when I start mixing in more advanced drills.
Conclusion
Keep in mind I’ve been using these mobility drills in conjunction with regular foam rolling, so I can’t give all the credit to the drills. But I will say that from here out, mobility drills will be a part of every warm-up routine I design for myself or anyone else. As far as I am concerned, they are mandatory.
The DVD is HIGHLY recommended for anyone who wants to improve his or her warm-up. That means everyone. :)
Magnificent Mobility
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| John Berardi's Corner |
Revving Up Metabolism by Dr. John Berardi
I recommend more calories than most do. That’s because there's no such thing as a stagnant metabolic set-point. Instead, metabolism chases intake. So, if you want a bigger metabolism, you need a bigger food intake. And if you’re worried about fat gain with this approach, just use outcome-based decision making and adjust energy (calorie) intake every two weeks based on your results. Not much "damage" can take place in only two weeks. So if you end up boosting your metabolism, you’ll be thanking me eternally. And if it turns out you're consuming too much, you can just adjust down.
This tip is sponsored by Precision Nutrition - our pick for the best nutrition and supplement resource currently available. Precision Nutrition, complete with 2 DVDs, 2 CDs, 5 manuals, and an entire cook book, is the last word on eating for optimal health, body comp and performance.
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| Support Wanna Be Big and At Large Nutrition |
Wanna Be Big (WBB) has established itself as one of the top weight training and nutrition websites on the net over the past five years. Updated monthly with articles from top writers in the industry, WBB is a great place for beginners looking for direction or for advanced athletes looking for that edge.
Wanna Be Big Forums were established to encourage discussion of training and nutrition concepts. Our members include everyone from beginners to national competitors, students to PhDs, bodybuilders, powerlifters, martial artists, and even some horseback riders. If you are looking for to-the-point information on everything about getting bigger/stronger/faster, this is the place.
At Large Nutrition (ALN) is the sports supplement company that funds WBB and the forums. Created by Daniel Clough and Chris Mason, ALN went against the grain and promised to put quality before profit. This attitude helped create a loyal following that continues to grow. Okay, the taste of Nitrean certainly does not hurt. ;) If you haven't tried our products yet, please show your support by considering ALN for your next supplement purchase.
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| No part of this newsletter may be reproduced without permission. Copyright 2006. |
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