Iron to Ink Newsletter
| Editors View Point - Mac Daddy! | |
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| Article Updates - This issues articles | |
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| Tips and Tidbits - Belial(tm) Rows & Preventative Maintenance | |
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| Poll Results - Do you have a cheat day? | |
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| Website Review - www.exrx.net | |
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| Support Wannabebig - Ways for you to support Wannabebig | |
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| Editors Intro | |
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Hi all,
Thanks for bearing with us as we went a little longer than usual without an update. Busy lives often intrude on all of us, and early February was one of those times for us!
Ok, so now for the most exciting news we have had on Wannabebig so far…..
Wait for it….
On Sunday January 30th, 8:18am, Maki's wife Catherine gave birth to Kaiya Pauline Riddington. Yep that's right, Maki is now a DADDY!! Kaiya weighed in at 8.15 pounds and was born healthy.
So… It's a big congratulation to Maki; I'm really pleased for him. I have only known Maki for about 3-4 years via online communication, a few calls etc. However in that time it's become very clear Maki is a great guy. Honest, generous and willing to find the time to help anyone out. I know he will be an awesome father! If I was with Maki now I would raise my beer to him and say cheers!
So what else is going on? Maki and I have been working on the Wannabebig t-shirts. They are in big demand and we have taken way to long to get the ball rolling on this project, but its gathering momentum at the moment. We'll keep you posted, but you can expect to see them soon. They are going to be awesome, trust me.
The Wannabebig forums are set to hit 1,000,000 posts shortly! I expect this will happen in the next couple of weeks. 1 MILLION Posts!! That's an awesome achievement and we would like to thank everyone that's contributed to that. If you haven't visited us for a while, pop back over and say hello!
The last thing we want to announce is that we are going to be publishing some steroid related content in the coming weeks. Now, don't worry, its going to be above board stuff and done very tastefully. Myself and Maki feel that articles that explain how to use them or on various compounds are better left to other sites. We are thinking more along the lines of how to come off of them, train on them and eat on them. So watch this space!
Cheers, and see you next time
Daniel Clough
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Article Updates
| 10 Habits of Highly Effective Fitness Freaks | Feb 16th 2005 |
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If you are practicing even half of the habits Chip outlines in this article you are on your way to being a fitness freak! |
| Planning For the Future | Feb 16th 2005 |
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Are you planning ahead and structuring your training program to meet specific goals? Nathan is skeptical and describes a better way of planning your workouts! |
| Shoe Gait Analysis System | Feb 16th 2005 |
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Are your feet weighing you down? Do they hurt whenever you're standing or when you run? If so, strength coach, Ian Edgar explains an analysis that can determine what kind of shoes you might be in need of. |
| Full Squats for Strength & Development | Feb 16th 2005 |
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The full squat is one of the best overall movements for producing both strength and development not only in the legs, but for the overall body. Keith explains just why you NEED to be squatting!
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Tips and Tidbits
DBs not heavy enough? Try Belial(tm) Rows
Running out of DBs to do 1-handed DB rows? Try Belial Rows, pioneered by WBB's own Belial. Instead of a DB, load up an EZ curl bar with the weight you want and use the same basic motion. You'll need to adjust to the balance of the longer bar, and the bar will need to travel along the outside of your leg as opposed to inside, but you'll never need to worry about running out of heavy DBs again!
Preventative Maintenance
Quite often you hear gym trainees complain of joint aches or sore shoulders, and then start looking for a way to minimize this pain. It seems that most do not think they should be working to prevent these things from occurring in the first place, rather than trying to fix the problem once it occurs. Here are some quick and easy preventative maintenance habits that can easily lead to a reduction in future injuries, joint pain, or generally painful lifting sessions.
Glucosamine is something most if not all strength training athletes should be supplementing with. It is a long term preventative measure that can help aid in keeping joints healthy and pain free.
Take a 2-5 minute rotator cuff warm-up before any chest/shoulder day. This will help remove the chance of one of the most common injuries. These can be done simply with a light dumbbell, or even holding a 10 lb plate.
A robust multi-vitamin is also critical. When weight training, you place a greater requirement on your body, and even doubly so when you are also cutting, and not getting all those nutrients you would if you were eating maintenance or above in calories.
A light stretch, particularly after each workout can help keep you limber, and aid in strength development. It needn't be a long drawn out stretch session, but take a few minutes at the end, and your body will thank you for it.
Twinkies can be an excellent source of calories for your post workout meal. try mashing up a couple of Twinkies and adding them to the blender with your Nitrean!
Spend some more quality time with your pillow. Your body needs downtime to repair, heal, and grow. Insufficient sleep can lead to low energy levels or (even worse) limit your gains from the gym. Establish a regular sleeping pattern and aim to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.
These may all seem like simple things, but often one or more of these are overlooked, and any and all of these factors can help you lift injury and pain free, for a long, long time.
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Poll Results - Do you have a cheat day?
Last issues poll received a total of 240 votes. Below are the results of last issues poll.
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Do you have a cheat day? |
Hell yeah, it keeps me sane
![[tally]](http://www.wannabebig.com/sympoll/customize/bar_imgs/blue.jpg){kind=small} 79% |
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Hell no, I keep it clean all week long
21% |
Looks like the majority of you prefer a cheat day to keep you sane through the other 6 days of the week ;) hmmmm.... pizza.....
We have just put the following new poll on www.wannabebig.com
Who is your favorite Mr Olympia?
Place your vote now, and see the results in the next issue of the Wannabebig Iron to Ink newsletter!
In this issue, we are featuring www.exrx.net - Review by Scott O'Neill aka Callahan
www.exrx.net was developed out of an exercise database developed to support a master's thesis written by a fellow named James Griffing at Kansas State University.
James developed the first prototype of the exercise database for his Masters report at KSU. Sometime afterwards, two potential investors offered James financial backing for the development and marketing of a CD-ROM version. These offers were turned down. James wanted his information to be available for everyone with an interest in exercise. A few years later he converted his exercise database program to the web after receiving a grant from Dr. Eric Serrano (another KSU alum). It has since grown by leaps and bounds to become a highly useful and extensive portal and information site for information related to fitness and training.
www.exrx.net offers a range of features and information resources including a Beginner's Page, Exercise Instructions, Weight Training information, Kinesiology data, Aerobic Conditioning and Running Guides, Exercise Information, Fitness Testing Calculators and Tests, Weight Management Tips and Information, Diet and Nutrition information, Exercise and Sports Psychology commentary and articles, some Anabolic Steroids information, Bodybuilding articles and commentaries and a variety of Fitness Calculators. They have links to journals, software, an extensive web links section and an online store that sells books and videos and stuff. However, by far the most useful (and fun!) part of the site is their Exercise and Muscle Directory.
In the Exercise and Muscle Directory, all key muscles and muscle groups are defined, diagrammed and explained in terms of where the muscle is and what it does. However, the REALLY cool part is that the Exercise Directory is divided by body part and type of exercise and provides full information not only about what the exercise is intended to DO for you but a wealth of additional information. The Directory explains what muscles and muscle groups are Target, Synergist, Dynamic Stabilizers and Stabilizers for the movement, furnishes preparation and execution instructions for every exercise, and includes animated gifs of the exercise being performed with proper form.
Generally, everything you find on exrx.net is pretty well supported and documented with references to credible papers, textbooks, and other reliable sources of information.
I can't count the number of times I've referred a new lifter to exrx.net when they were seeking explanations of certain exercises and/or wanted to see what a certain lift looks like. The key factor for me on the exercise directory is that by using animated .gifs rather than large video files, it makes the site much easier to access as you aren't forced to wait for large video files to download so you can see the exercise.
So, www.exrx.net gets an official Wannabebig 5 stars out of 5 rating and is definitely one for your bookmarks!
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Support Wannabebig
If you like what you see on Wannabebig, there are plenty of ways you can show your support and help us continue our work!
At Large Nutrition - At Large Nutrition is our sister company and wholly funds the upkeep of both the main article site and the Wannabebig forums.
Show your support by considering our high quality sports supplement line to help you achieve your physical goals.
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Creatine 500 - Creatine Monohydrate
Thanks for reading!
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The Wannabebig newsletter is an email newsletter written and edited by Maki Riddington. All previous newsletters are archived here