Posts filed under 'Training'
I hope in the recent training blogs I’ve written so far, that I’ve begun to MOTIVATE you and other people around the world to get on the bandwagon and to start training hard and to give it your ALL, so you can start looking and feeling better about yourselves!
I think Slyvester Stallone sums it up best, in the movie “Over The Top” which I hope you’ve seen by now. “The World Meets No one Half Way”! The same thing applies in acheiving our fitness goals: Give it 100%, Keep going, and don’t think about stopping half way… because you’ll only be cheating yourselvef out of being successful!
Are You Ready? Here we go again!
In todays blog, I will be telling you about my AMAZING Back Routine thats had many of my fellow gym members trying to catch their breath when they tried to keep up with my routine themselves! So what are we waiting for, let’s ROCK!
Unlike the biceps and triceps, your BACK is a larger muscle group and that’s why I do more volume - twelve sets total! I will do four different exercises which will be working various parts of my back, no more than three sets a piece.
The first exercise I love to start with, is THE LAT PULL-DOWN, which will allow my back to be properly strenched, before I really ATTACK IT! First set 70 lbs 15-20 reps, second set 90 lbs 15-20 reps, third set 100 lbs 15-20 reps. Just a note, you WON”T hear the number 50 on the rep counts for back day; sorry to disappoint you, I’m only HUMAN!
Now I will jump into my SECOND exercise which is THE SEATED WIDE BAR ROW, this will REALLY help with V TAPER look and width that judges are really after on competion day. First set 80 lbs 15-20 reps, second set 90 lbs 15-20 reps, third set 100 lbs 20-25 reps.
Sure, I could use more weight, but instead I perform each set with a slow, controlled strict motion. I see alot of people lean back to try and pull more weight, but they are really only trying to impress. My point, which I will often emphasize here at Ninos mission, is to keep your form strict, let the muscle do the work (not momentum) and do this for yourself, not for ego or to impress others with how much you are lifting.
At this point my back is starting to get REALLY PUMPED UP but I still have two more exercises to go.
My third exercise is the DUMBELL ROW, I do these by supporting myself holding one arm on a chair and with the other arm, I pull the dumbell up then switch and do the other side. If there’s a WILL I will find the way…. remember NO EXCUSES!
The first set 45 lbs 15-20 reps, second set 55 lbs 15-20 reps, third set 60 lbs until FAILURE 20-25 reps. Let me tell you, after this exercise, my BACK is telling me NO MORE!
YES there is one more exercise… can you all guess what it is? YEP - PULL-UPS! This is the only way I’ll know if I worked my BACK hard enough! My goal here is to do as many reps as I can, until I can’t pull myself up anymore! First set 30 reps, second set 30 reps, My FINAL et until exhausted 40 reps.
There you have it - my AMAZING BACK routine!
Listen, let me make one final point before I sign off. I WORKED my way up to this point over many years - it just didn’t happen over night! These exercises are challenging, especially pull ups. Don’t expect to do 30 or 40 reps of pull ups your first time in the gym. pull ups are hard, but don’t make excuses. Why not start with ONE REP and build from there? Who knows, YOU might just amaze yourselves with how many pull-ups you can do a few months from now! If I can do it, you can do it. We are all in this TOGETHER!
December 5th, 2006
Hello Again! I see you came back for more, GREAT!…
Well, as you’ve all seen if you’ve been reading my recent training blogs, I MAKE NO EXCUSES. I’LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET IT DONE!!
In this blog I’ll be going through my extraordinary tricep routine that has everyone at my gym SPEECHLESS as they watch me crank out 50 and even 100 rep sets! ARE YOU READY? HERE WE GO AGAIN!
As with my bicep routine, I only perform three exercises for triceps. Your triceps also fall in the small muscle group category so they DON’T need alot of work. I do three exercises that give you that horseshoe shaped tricep that many people are trying to acheive.
As a general rule when training my triceps, my objective is to “sculpt” my triceps NOT BUILD. What I mean by that is that since arm size comes fairly easy to me, my current routine is designed to focus on strict form and on bringing out certain qualities of the tricep such as the horshoe shape, that lateral head of the tricep that juts out when you hit the side tricep pose, and the long head of the tricep that gives it the sweep under the arm when you do a front double bicep pose.
My first exercise I love to start off with is called SKULL CRUSHERS. I like to use the barbell with this movement and ISOLATION is the key. I’ll lay on the flat bench keeping my elbows inward which will isolate the tricep BIG TIME, and keep other muscles from taking over! (the way some people do these, they work more chest or lats than triceps!)
Here’s how it’s done… I’ll perform three sets. First set 50 lbs 15-20 reps here are those high reps, again keeping my elbows inward, bending my arms, bringing the bar to the top of my forehead and then back to full extention. The second set 60 lbs 15-20 reps. For my final set are YOU READY FOR THIS… I’ll jump up to 80 lbs and go until failure which is usually 30-40 reps.
I jump right into the next exercise which are CLOSE GRIP PUSHUPS. Alot of people hate doing pushups and close grip pushups are even harder than the regular way. In my case, I LOVE THEM! To those who avoid exercise variations that are “the harder way”, ask yourself if you are just making EXCUSES AGAIN! the exercises that are the most challenging are almost always the ones that give you the best results.
I’ll do three sets of 50 reps on close grip push ups - that’s right there’s that number AGAIN - FIFTY REPS! It took me a while to work up to that, it surely didn’t happen over night, so be patient when you first start doing these.
Then it’s on to my FINAL exercise which are DIPS! I’ll do three sets until FAILURE! By the way I will NEVER use the assisted dip machine NO matter how fatiqued my triceps are! I do them the hard way - with body weight on regular dipping bars. The first set 30 reps… I’ll count 10 seconds before I begin my second set of another 30 reps. For my FINAL set I ask GOD to give me strength to do as many as I can, until I can’t push myself up anymore! Are you ready for the number? No it’s NOT 50, BUT 100 reps IN A ROW!
My message today for you and for people all over the globe, is that in order to be successful in life, we can’t always go by what we feel like doing. We can’t always do what’s fun and easy; we must do what is difficult and necessary. The path of least resistance is the path to failure. If I lived my life the easy way, I would not be where I am today. Where do you get the strength to do what is difficult and necessary? My strength comes from within!
November 29th, 2006
Welcome Back! As you’ve seen in my two previous training blogs, my training methods are quite unusual with my high reps and taking almost no rest at all in between my sets and exercises. In this next blog I will be explaining my AMAZING shoulder routine that has made me well known for having some of the thickest, roundest shoulders in the gym.
ARE YOU READY? HERE WE GO AGAIN!
I will do three excersises, 3 sets a piece, shoulders are a very small muscle group you don’t need to do ALOT for them. I will start with the ARNOLD PRESS, made famous by Arnold schwarzenegger, who is one of the reasons why I started bodybuilding. I like this movement because it really focuses on hitting the 3 parts of your deltoid muscle: front, side and rear - all in one shot!
On the first set I use 3 lbs dumbells for 15-20 reps, allowing myself 30 seconds in between sets. For the 2nd set I increase the weight to 40 lbs for 20-25 reps. I KNOW WHAT YOUR’RE PROBABLY THINKING… as the weight increases, its only normal to drop your reps. Well, I don’t follow what is “normal” or what everyone else is doing. I’ve done plenty of heavy lifting, powerlifting and even bench press competitions before. But when it comes to bodybuilding, I go by feel and I trust my instincts in the gym to find what works best for MY body. This is where GOD takes over. He has been my coach with everything that I have done and I’m not going to let him DOWN!
On the 3rd and final set I will bring the weight back down to 35 lbs and go until FAILURE… are you READY FOR THE NUMBER? OK…. 50 REPS!! At this point I’m just getting WARMED UP
The next two movements I do are primarily for “shaping,” which means I keep it LIGHT and I really focus on STRICT FORM! My second exercise is the standing barbell front raise. There’s that word - standing - AGAIN! Nothing will hold me back when it comes to MY TRAINING - I MAKE NO EXCUSES! To do an exercise standing up, I simply balance myself against the wall and do 3 STRICT sets. 1st set 40 lbs barbell 15-20 reps, 2nd set 50 lbs 15-20 reps, 3rd set until FAILURE I will go back to 40 lbs 25-30 reps. Let me tell you, my shoulders are SREAMING at this point to QUIT, but I know I have ONE MORE exercise to do.
My 3rd and FINAL exercise is the rear delt machine. I like to finish with this always because this will stretch out my shoulders to help AVOID tightness after I just put them through the RINGER! 1st set: 45 lbs, 20-25 reps, 2nd set: 50 lbs, 15-20 reps, 3rd set until FAILURE (about 40 lbs for 50 REPS!)
Well there you have it. Now you know how I achieve outstanding shoulder development! If you’ve been wondering why you’re not getting the shoulder development YOU want, then remember my training tips: choose exercises that hit all 3 parts of your deltoid, trust your instincts (trust god!), if you feel like trying high reps, give it a try, even if other people tell you “it’s wrong”, and make absolutely NO EXCUSES!
November 21st, 2006
As you can imagine, I’m constantly being approached in the gym by people with questions about my workout programs and my training philosophy.
I’m pretty sure you have heard the saying, “NO PAIN NO GAIN!” That does a good job summing up my philosophy.
I believe in totally working every body part to the maximum and I’m not afraid to train through the pain barrier. I will keep pushing until I cannot possibly squeeze out another rep and I have a lot of endurance, so I train with a lot of high reps. Sometimes I will even work a body part so hard, that I can hardly walk or drive afterwards, depending what I’m training that day!
This type of training is not for everyone. But for me, it’s important because I train for competitive bodybuilding. It’s also important to me personally - I suppose it’s just the way I have to prove something to myself. Most importantly, it works for me. I thrive on very intense, high rep workouts - physically as well as psychologically.
Many people tell me that they think my biceps are one of my best body parts. So in today’s blog, I will be explaining my current bicep workout!
HERE WE GO AGAIN!
I do 3 bicep excercises and perform 3 sets of each exercise. I begin with seated incline dumbell curls, all drop sets with no rest in between. On the first set, I start with 40 lbs for 15-25 reps, on the 2nd set I drop to 35 lbs for 25-30 reps, and on the 3rd set I do 30 lbs for as many reps as I can, which is usually 50 reps! YES, FIFTY!
At this point I’m just getting warmed up. The second exercise is standing barbell curls. YES I Do THESE STANDING! I could easily do all my bicep work on machines or sitting down, but I MAKE NO EXCUSES. If I CAN do it, I WILL do it. If there is a way, I will find it!
For standing curls, I simply support myself against the wall and curl. The first set is 60 lbs for 15-20 reps, then 50lbs for 20-30 reps and then 40lbs for 100 reps. Pretty crazy, huh? Believe it or not, my biceps are still fresh after that and there’s still one more exercise to go.
My final movement is the preacher curl. This is not a drop set. I go as heavy as I can while still hitting high reps, and I continue until failure. The first set is 60 lbs for 15-20 reps, the second set 70lbs for 15-20 reps, and then I like to really to do something really CRAZY. The last set is 90lbs - and are you ready for the number - for 25-30 reps!
When I was just 13 years old, I had become overweight as a result of sitting around doing nothing. At one point, my weight ballooned to 240 pounds. I easily could have continued to comfort myself with food and turned to alcohol. Instead, I decided to change my life and I hit the gym instead. As a result of that decision many years ago, I have built up my body and become a successful competitive bodybuilder.
The “Average Joe” sits at home every night doing 12 oz curls (that’s beer - in case you didn’t catch that)… Now you know how I do my curls. If I can do this, so can you. NO EXCUSES! Here is a phrase I came up with when I feel like QUITTING “IF YOU THINK YOU CAN”T YOU PROBABLY WON”T BUT IF YOU PUT FORTH THE EFFORT YOU MIGHT JUST SURPRISE YOURSELF”!
November 9th, 2006
There is a lot about my training that can leave anyone’s imagination guessing. So many people have been curious and asked me exactly how I manage to train my whole body with so much intensity, as they have preconceived notions about what someone in my situation can and cannot do.
I’m here to tell you that you can achieve anything if you just put forth the effort and determination and if you are willing to go through the pain barrier in the process.
In this blog, I will explain a typical training session for me that leaves everyone asking, “How do you do that? That seems impossible to do.” As I explained in my first post, nothing is impossible if you just believe in what you are doing! It begins with belief.
Here we go. Are you ready?
I first start with a 45 minute run on the treadmill. Yes, I run! All I need to do is hold on to the side rails for balance and stability. I set the incline all the way up to level 15, which is the highest it can go. I start my speed at 2.5 mph for about two minutes of warm up, then gradually increase it to a maximum of 4.5 mph.
This may not be a sprint speed for some people, it’s more like a slow jog speed, but it’s a good pace for me and keep in mind I still have the incline set at 15 and it will remain there until the end! Try it and see for yourself what that’s like.
Once my cardio is finished, it’s time to hit the weights! Today was a chest workout. I did three major exercises and hit them with enough intensity that it might make some people get sick!
The first movement was the bench press. All guys seem to love to bench press as it builds those “T-shirt muscles” and they say it impresses the ladies! Actually, it’s not a good idea to train for your ego or train to impress others, but there is no doubt this is an effective, enjoyable and satisfying exercise to perform.
By the way, I hold the New York State Bench Press record of 300 pounds. Of course, lots of people who are serious lifters have bench pressed 300 pounds, but to put this in perspective, I did it while my body weight was only 130 pounds (I benched 2.3 times my bodyweight!)
For today’s session, I performed 4 sets of bench press in total: 2 sets @ 185 lbs for 15-20 reps, then down to 165 lbs for 1 set of 25 reps. On the last set, I dropped drop down to 135 lbs for 30-40 reps.
It may seem unusual that I go so high in reps, but over the years, even after spending a lot of time doing power lifting and low reps, and comparing results from both, I have found that high reps is what my body responds to the best for bodybuilding purposes.
It may be the standard “rule” to perform 8-12 reps on every exercise, but if you only follow everyone else’s rules and don’t experiment to find out what works best for you, then you will never know, will you? My body thrives on high reps and I love this kind of training.
The next exercise was incline dumbbell presses. I did not go heavy on this movement, as my goal on this was to try to shape the muscle, more than build mass. I like to have good muscle separation, and although muscle separation and definition comes mostly from dieting off the body fat, I am convinced that training is also a big part of it getting good muscle separation.
I performed three total sets, with very strict form, squeezing and flexing with every rep, starting with 40 lbs for 15-20 reps, then I moved it up to 45 lbs for 15-20 reps, and then back down to 40 lbs for 20-25 reps. By this time, my chest was on fire.
My final exercise is flat bench dumbbell flyes. I usually do 3 total sets. I start with 40 lbs for 20-25 reps, then up to 50 lbs for 15-20 reps on my last set I like to do something crazy so I bump to 65 lbs on my last set for about 15 reps. At this point my chest was exploding!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I don’t rest more than 15 seconds between sets. That always seems to blow everyone’s mind when they hear it!
My training may seem unconventional with the high reps and low rest periods, but it works for me and I enjoy this type of training the most.
This is just the beginning, too. Next time, I will explain my “crazy” shoulder workout. Thanks for visiting today. I’ll see you again soon!
November 5th, 2006
Next Posts