Random Firings and the Puzzle
Many of you were probably not aware of me 3 or 4 years ago. So for a few of my posts this week, I will be bringing back some old writings of the meathead of yesteryear. Enjoy….
A balance and complete life
First off, most of us work out to change our bodies for the better. I noticed at the gym this morning that one of they guys was doing an abdominal exercise on a machine in which he was literally moving about four inches. I am sure that he had the best of intentions, but that got me to thinking about what many people do while working out. I have said this in the past, but we want to focus on bigger, compound exercises for the most part. If you still want to isolate your smaller muscle groups such as biceps and obliques, put them at the end of a biplex, triplex or quadplex. The reason that we want to focus on those big exercises is because of the metabolic cost which comes from the fact that almost all muscles have to fire to complete the movement. I am not saying that you have to use a lot of weight, but even something like lateral jumping will really get that engine going. Think of the little isolation movements as a match and the big, compound movements as TNT. Next thing, we don’t always know what is possible when it comes to the human body. A recent study showed that people that were on an 800 calorie per day were able to increase their muscle cross sectional area, which translates to they were able to gain muscle while extreme dieting. Does this mean that something like this would be good long term? Most likely not, but the body can do things that science says aren’t possible, so do we really know what is possible? Lastly for the training part, functional and balance exercises are great, but they should be used as a means for increasing neural stimulation of muscles, not to change the body directly. Do not try to use a lot of weight when doing a single leg, balance or unstable exercise. The core does not fire properly when there in an unstable base of support. Think of walking on ice or doing something on gravel, no significant force can be applied because there is not a good support system. Newton’s 3rd law says that an applied force will be met with and equal reactive force. What this means for training is no more catching 20 pound medicine balls while standing on the BOSU ball, or anything like it. Also, in between sets, instead of sitting around, you can perform something like a plank or balance movement on one leg or an unstable surface. This way, you are still keeping the nervous system firing, but you are resting your muscles and cardio respiratory system going. Keep that noodle warm!
Think of the last puzzle you put together or saw. It was made up of many different pieces and you didn’t always know what it was supposed to turn out to be until it was all put together. If there was any one piece that was lost or misplaced, the puzzle could not be complete. Now, think of your life, make it your masterpiece of a puzzle. Don’t leave out any of the part- the physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. Work on those missing pieces everyday, even if only for a few minutes. Change comes from within. Happiness is not a place, it is a way. You have access to it right now. Did you ever wonder why some celebrities acquire their fame and fortune and fall into the trap of drugs? They reached a point of fortune and fame they thought would make them happy and lo and behold, they got there are still were unfulfilled. They then think they ‘need’ something else to make them happy and they turn to drugs. There are great examples of celebrities that went the opposite way and their fame and fortune were just effects of their happiness. Examples would include Oprah and Bono. “When we change the way we look at things, things will change the way they look to us”.
Michael Lockett
Mike Lockett's legs
I remember the first time that I met Michael Lockett at one of my bodybuilding shows. Mike is a year or two younger than I am, but he was the guest poser at my show since he had one the coveted Team Universe championships the year before.
The Team Universe is the #1 natural bodybuilding show in the world and Mike won it as the young age of 25. Mike had received a lot of criticism from fans and haters that there was no way he could be natural. Having spoken to Mike and seen him up close, there is definitely something unusual about his muscle.
Mike was a former boxer that turned to bodybuilding because of a gun-shot wound. As soon as Lockett stopped doing his road work (jogging) for boxing, he put on 25 pounds of muscle, almost over night. This alone should tell you something. He continued to put muscle on at a rapid pace with his new sport of bodybuilding.
When I was talking with Mike, I asked him about his diet and he said he didn’t really pay it much attention, he normally at oatmeal and some twirlers and a piece of chicken or something like that.
When Mike came out onto the stage to do his posing, there was a collective gasp from the audience that I have not heard before or since his appearance. The audience was so taken back by his muscle that one or two of the kids in the audience actually started to cry. And keep in mind that I have been at shows in which reigning Mr. Olympia’s have guest posed.
Mike went on to win the Junior Nationals that year and has since disappeared from the sport. I believe that Mike disappeared from all the haters and the fact that the sport was too easy for him. I truly believe that Mike is a natural bodybuilder, and he perhaps has something known as what is called a myostatin deficiency. Myostatin is a gene that inhibits muscle growth. There are rare individuals that don’t have the gene. One example of what muscle would look like when there is no myostatin present would be the Belgian Blue cattle.
No Myostatin
The point of me writing about this is not to make you jealous. It is to make you realize that there are certain people that fall outside the bell curve. We call these people outliers and the normal rules don’t apply to them. If you are like the rest of the normal population, you need to be diligent and meticulous if you want to become great. Food for thought…
Jimmy Neutron and Friday Venom
I figured I would highlight one of my other athletes, Jimmy Neutron. This is the type of kid that you can build a team around. He came to me back in June and he continually amazes me by his work ethic and discipline. Neutron is a track athlete and recently he ran a record 40 time of 4.71 seconds. Jimmy easily can jump up onto the 42″ box without a pre-step. He is on the high school nutrition plan, ie-eat as much as possible and as you can see from the pictures below, it is paying off! Good job Jimmy Neutron!
Jimmy Neutron week 1
Neutron this week (4 months)
One of my friend’s passed away unexpectedly on Monday of this week. We taught together for 4 years or so and this was her first year of retirement. The timing seems ironic, and it was a great loss for the school that I teach at. She was a wonderful woman. But the thing I take away from this is that the line between life and death is so very thin. If there is something you want to do, stop waiting to do it and just do it! Too many people wait until then, until next time, until tomorrow and the problem is that we aren’t promised tomorrow. I have spoken of having the sense of urgency for life before and how we can use that as a catalyst for achievement and living a life full of richness and dreams and that is never more apparent to me than now. This is two months in a row that I have had someone that I was friends with pass away long before they should have. I will keep both of them in my mind and heart as I push forward in all areas of my life for the next year.
P.S-I realized that some of you don’t get my emails (different than this) and I often put different things in there. If you want to start getting them, simple enter your information below. -Kyle
CNS IMPERATIVE
This dictates everything in your training!
*The CNS is like play dough before the age of 16, before this, we can affect things like agility and athleticism, after this, very tough. The play dough becomes hard so to speak.
*Loading up the hands heavily as in deadlifts is very stressful to the CNS. However, I believe loading the spine is also stressful (squats). These two exercises should not be performed in a max effort within 72 hours of each other.
*You should definitely get the primed for work through a proper warm up.
*Systemic exercises cause muscles to grow, not localized exercise like you see in a bodybuilding program.
*If you don’t rest the CNS and listen to the signs from your body, you will end up sick and fatigued.
*Supplements such as magnesium, calcium and vitamin C are huge in restoration of CNS function.
*Sleep and recovery are the two most overlooked training elements.
This can go on and on and each post could serve as an entire article. I have some cool summer projects coming up, so stay tuned!
