Friday, July 29, 2011

Full Range

One of the mistakes I see the young guns making in the weight room is that they don't go through a full range of motion when lifting.  Not going through the full range of motion will set up for injury.  This is because the muscle and tendons shorten and there is too much internal pressure in the joint capsule.

About a year ago I made a quick little youtube video of myself performing the Gironda Dip correctly.  It was amazing the response I received. Many guys were slamming the exercise. One guy emailed me and told me to stop performing the exercise and to stop teaching it to anyone because it will ruin my shoulders.  I have been performing the exercise for over 24 years and have never had a shoulder injury.  I attribute it to full range of motion and muscle/tendon flexibility.  If you have never performed a Gironda Dip and try for the first time without proper preparation then you are at a high risk of developing an injury. Your tendons will be tight and the joint capsule will be at risk of damage.  You have to work into it.

It is important to perform all exercises through the full range of motion.  You want to get as much activation from the crossbridges as possible.  When you work through the full range of motion you are also performing a dynamic stretch to the muscle, improving your flexibility.  You are at a greater risk of developing injury if you only perform partial movements.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

What To Do???

There are so many different programs online and in the media today than ever before. Before there was the internet, exercise programs and information was limited to books or guru's.  I remember as a kid I didn't see many fitness magazines on the shelf, only two magazines were displayed; Muscle and Fitness and Flex Magazine.  These were the two bodybuilding/fitness magazines that were popular.  Bodybuilding was fading out among the population around the early 1990's.  Those that still follow the basic principles of bodybuilding and continue to train with isolated and controlled movements are a rarity these days.

Boy! Have things changed.  Now the magazine stands and internet is infiltrated with thousands of articles and thousands of "experts" sharing their knowledge among the masses. The exclusive, almost secret, lifestyle of the bodybuilder has been exploited and exposed a million times over.  I used to like the idea of having to search out the Guru for help.  Vince Gironda was the Iron Guru and when he would write an article guys would put their total focus on what Vince wrote.  Vince would divulge a scrap of information that was so profound it left men and women craving for more. These little teases would force men to search out Vince to get more information. Those that had the information were part of an exclusive bodybuilding club. Only those that had contact with the "real secrets" of bodybuilding saw results.  All the others were all searching for the answers and following the next great gimmick or trend.

Over the years I have seen all the gimmicks and trends. It always amazes me how people go from one trend  to the next and never stick with anything-- P90X anyone? The one thing that is fact is that all the great physiques of the past (steve reeves, don howorth, vince gironda, reg park, charles atlas, frank zane, lou denghi, larry scott) looked great all through their life because they stuck to their philosophy and methodology. These guys never changed what worked. They were considered the masters of bodybuilding and taught millions. Yet, today bodybuilding has taken a backseat to the gimmicks and trends of a fitness industry constantly trying to come up with new ways to make money.

In order for the fitness industry to make money new ideas must be developed. It isn't easy to persuade a mass of people.  However, people are like sheep.  They follow whatever the current trend is.  They have to have a feeling that they belong to something.  They are not motivated or self directing unless there is a hype factor involved. The sheep mentality is believing in whatever everyone else does. In a way it is a way of achieving social approval or acceptance.  When a new program is developed through good marketing, people are easily lured into believing that they will achieve magical results. They are taught that this new program will transform them in ways that they never have been before.  The seller makes it seem like the consumer can't live without this new system.  So naturally people buy into it and are sold.  They will follow this "end all be all" program until the next great program comes along.

As a gym owner it has always been hard for me not to sell hype. When I opened my gym I had one goal in mind: to help people achieve their goals.  I have a simple philosophy: DO WHAT WORKS... My methods and exercises work, bottom line.  I remember when I was training and I would get these little nuggets of information from the greats of the muscle beach era, I would hold onto the information and never tell anyone.  When I would go to the gym I would make incredible progress in a very short time. I broke away from the trendy exercise programs and used the new techniques that I learned.  It was great because I would see my friends and other members in the gym doing all the trendy stuff and never seeing results. I loved knowing that I had these secrets to success.

Over the years I have never changed my philosophy or conformed to the sheeplike mentality.  When I see a silly trend in fitness I try to run the other direction.  I have always stuck to my training beliefs and teach them everyday. I realize that I could have made a lot more money if I sold out to the silly gimmicks and trends, but I would only be compromising my integrity. I believe in an honest workout.  What worked for the greatest physiques in history 60 years ago still works today. Vince Gironda didn't do PX90 or Zumba to look the way he did.

Unfortunately, many people don't have the same passion I have when it comes to weight training.  Most folks hate to weight train.  This is too bad because the results a person can achieve through basic weight training techniques is unparalleled to any other training program.  I can't sell discipline, it must come from within the individual.

No Patience!
People today seem to be in a rush and crave instant gratification.  The idea of working for something or building up to new levels is unheard of.  When a person doesn't see immediate results from weight training they quit or go to something else.  These are the folks that don't make progress. They end up riding the perpetual gerbil wheel of trend fitness.  Constantly spinning their wheels.

Why change what works!
Coca cola had a great formula in the 70's and 80's that made their drink taste so good for the masses. Then one day they took away the original formula and came up with some other formula.  The population hated the new formula.  So Coca Cola ended up going back to the original. No matter how many different gimmicks or trends come around the bottom line is, nothing beats the original.  Weight training will always be the staple for body composition manipulation.  Through all the gimmicks that I have witnessed over the years from,Jane Fonda's aerobics in the 70's, Step aerobics in the 80's, Tae Bo in the 90's, and in present day-- PX90, nothing will outlast or bypass true bodybuilding techniques for getting the best looking physique. I have always remained true to my philosophy and have stuck with it.  When I write my blog entry 40 years from now I will still be writing about the techniques I use today-- because they work.

tags: Daryl conant, Vince Gironda, ron kosloff, diet earth, buff daddy



Monday, July 18, 2011

Back From Philly

My son and I just got back from seeing one of the greatest U2 shows ever in Philly.  I have been taking a little time off from blogging this summer but I am back and will resume writing this week.  Thanks for checking in every now and again.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

The Cost of Being Big

Many guys who are on the quest for being huge must shell out a lot of cash each month to support their size.  I weigh 185 pounds at 4% body fat.  Just to maintain the amount of muscle I already have to spend a bit of money. I couldn't imagine being 200+ pounds at 4% body fat. That would mean that I would have to earn more money to purchase more food.  That is one advantage of being a smaller person.  Smaller bodybuilders weighing 100 pounds to 185 pounds don't have to buy as much food to maintain their size.  They can get away with eating 100 to 200 grams of protein a day.  Purchasing this much protein is not as bad as paying for 220-350 grams of protein a day.  It gets more expensive the bigger the person gets.  So if a 6' 5" 250 pound bodybuilder wants to maintain all of his muscle he has to spend an average of thirty to forty dollars a day to buy protein.  Multiply that by 30 days and the cost of building muscle adds up.  Protein sources cost more than carbohydrate sources.  If you purchase all the best protein sources then you could be spending up to $ 80.00 a day.  Bodybuilding is not a cheap sport.  Building muscle and keeping it costs money.  The moment you can't afford to supply the body with ample amounts of protein is the time that your hard earned gains melt away.

Bottom line: It costs a lot of $$$ to maintain muscle mass.

tags: daryl conant, Vince Gironda, Ron Kosloff, muscle mass, huge,

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

The Cure To Many, but not all, Cancers

Cancercerous cells are prevalent in everybody. A healthy immune system helps ward off the cancerous cells from multiplying and mutating. When the immune system is compromised or is unable to defend against the cancerous cells, then a full on cancer attack develops. Over the past 30 plus years I have heard a tremendous amount about cancer research and fund raisers for cancer research. I estimate that a total of 40 trillion dollars has been raised for cancer research. Each year we all give our hard earned money to charities to help fight cancer. Unfortunately, I believe that most of the money goes into someone's pocket and not into research. The reason why I believe this is because cancer is still a big factor in the mortality rate of Americans. Researchers are looking in the wrong direction when it comes to cancer. The answer to why cancer is so prevalent is right under the researchers noses-- in their food.  I strongly believe that one of the biggest contributors to the development of cancer is found in our food supply. You would be amazed at the findings that I have discovered on the chemicals, and agents that are in our food supply that all cause cancer. I get upset and angry at our current situation. It is becoming harder and harder to find good healthy nutrient dense, chemical free food.

When I go to the grocery store, I am amazed at all the hidden cancer producing agents that are in most of the food.  When I tell people of my findings, most of the folks think I am crazy or over fixated about these agents found in the food.  But as crazy as I may be about this, I am convinced that most of these agents are the number one contributor to poor health, disease and cancer in humans.

In my book "diet EARTH" I have mentioned many of the harmful chemicals that are already in our food supply that contribute to disease and cancer.  You will be amazed at what is found in simple salad dressing. I feel that "diet EARTH" is a break through in discussing the problem that we are facing in this country with the natural food supply. I am outraged at the junk we are subjected to. To call that stuff food is ridiculous!  There is so much garbage out there that many people eat every day that increases internal fat and they are not even aware of it. Many people who are over fat will never lose the fat because they continue to eat certain foods that contribute to fat storage. Some of these agents are found even in "health foods."

There are foods that actually contribute to breast cancer. This is because these foods increase estrogen levels beyond normal levels.  Too much estrogen has been linked to breast cancer.  There still needs to be more research in the foods that we are eating.  I am concerned about our future. We are not too far away from having to depend solely on process food companies to get all of our food.  It is a shame that we are all subjected to harmful chemicals in our food.

I don't know about you, but I can't afford to eat organic food all the time.  When I was single I could eat organic food all the time.  Now that I have a family and monthly bills, I can't afford to buy all organic food. When it isn't organic the food choices are quite limited. There really isn't much to eat if it isn't organic, because of all the chemicals that are in the non-organic food. It really bothers me to know that I can't go to a convenient store, restaurant, or a grocery store and buy food when I am hungry that is organic and healthy to eat. There is nothing in a convenient store that is good for you.  It is 99% junk. The 1% is that is good is the purified water, other than that the rest is junk.  When you go to a restaurant, unless you go to a fancy place that serves only organic food which will cost you an arm and a leg, most of the food is cheap, non-organic and filled with chemicals.  This is because to make money in the restaurant business you must sell cheap food and lots of it to make a profit.

It appears that the majority of the country doesn't really care about this matter. People will just take medications when they have a health problem.  They pay little attention to changing what they eat. So as long as the people don't really care, then there will never be a change.  In fact, I believe that most people don't even know or care about the fact that our food supply is mostly processed and chemical ladened. They have been eating it for so long that they don't know any better.

 It is even getting to a point where we won't be able to drink a clean glass of water. Even our water supply has been tampered with. Depending where you live in this country will determine how much regulation to the water has been done.  Some towns are better than others, but the truth is that most towns all have to put chemicals in the water to regulate it. One guy told me that putting chemicals in the water to regulate the bacteria is healthy and provides healthy water.  But I don't care, if it isn't 100% chemical free then it poses a health risk.

The bottom line is that it is becoming harder to find food that doesn't increase the risk of developing disease, cancer, or illness from eating it. Even if the chemically enhanced food doesn't cause illness or cancer, it can contribute to obesity.  Obesity is a major problem among Americans.  Obesity can result in a heart attack, cancer, or illness.  It is all about nutrition.  The more our natural food supply gets destroyed the worse our health becomes.

Please keep in mind that not all cancer related illness is directly related to food. There are other factors to be considered; hereditary, genetics, age, etc... But there are many cancers that are related to food that can be stopped if only food companies would remove these cancer producing agents from their products.

tags: food, nutrition, daryl conant, ron kosloff, diet EARTH, Vince Gironda