2004 already?! Where did 2003 go?!! I hope you all had a productive 2003 in happiness, health, wealth and, of course, bodybuilding. Last year was the best year I've had gains-wise for about 10 years - I managed to gain 7-8lbs of muscle over and above my 2002 maximum. I'll give myself a large pat on the back if you don't mind? Because for someone who has been training consistently for as long as I have, I feel these results are great. Why not share your progress with your fellow MTers in the
'Progress Journals' forum
The MuscleTalk Shop run by SNC has gone off to a good start. It caters for the needs of MuscleTalk members, so don't forget if you feel there are other supplements you would like to see included in the shop, please let us know. www.muscle-shop.co.uk
In December we added an article about The OriginFit system, a revolutionary technology which helps us devise optimal nutrition and exercise to suit our own bodies and goals. Read about the OriginFit System here
Another great article has also been added to the long list on MT: Westside Barbell Training by Moderator Ozzy. Have a read of it and Ozzy will be happy to answer any questions on it on the forum.
More great articles can be found at: www.muscletalk.co.uk/articles.aspx
*** A Happy New Year from James and The MuscleTalk team! ***
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Wear it with PRIDE! Your MuscleTalk training T shirt!
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*** 6 Steps to get back into it ***
By James Collier BSc (Hons) - Moderator and Contributor to MuscleTalk
Christmas is over and the New Year is here. I don't know about you lot, but I'm all partied out and can't wait to get back into a new daily routine to focus on my training. January is a time where bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts refocus and re-motivate. However, some people find this hard to do. Let's break 'getting back into it' into five simple steps:
1) Plan your day
Establish a routine to your day. Get up and go to bed at set times, if possible. Plan your training and meal and snack times and stick to them. For 9-5ers this is quite simple, but for shift workers this can be hard. If a day is hard to plan, just try to at least plan for the present day and remember to eat regularly.
2) Devise an ideal nutrition regimen
Now you have the times for meals and snacks you can plan what you need to eat. Write down what you propose to eat and when, but don't forget to include a variety of different foods and meal choices each day. For some great healthy bodybuilding and fitness recipes check out Muscle Menus which also contains some excellent example meal plans. Alternatively you may want to benefit from a personalised nutrition plan to suit your own specific needs via email; Click here for more details.
3) Sort out your supplementation
Stock up on your protein powders and other effective formulas and fit these appropriately into your daily plan. For advice on which supplements may benefit you have a read of the Informed Bodybuilding Nutrition eBook, which also contains all the nutrition information you need to know.
4) Plan your training routine
You may want to write a routine down. Big Les' article below discusses this in a lot more detail.
5) Get plenty of rest
Go to bed at a reasonable time, and try to have a sit down now and again during the day. Rest is vital for effective gains, don't ignore it.
6) Enjoy yourself!
There is no point in doing all we do if you don't enjoy it. The idea of planning ahead is to make bodybuilding and fitness more fun. Enjoy your food, enjoy your training and enjoy the results from it!
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*** Training - did I forget something? ***
By Seungmena aka Big Les - MuscleTalk Moderator
Does this sound familiar? Drive home slowly from work, praying the traffic will move. Get in, grab a shake and your gym gear and off to workout, or maybe you just crawl straight from work to the gym. Once you get there, you go 'great, chest today', jump on the bench and start pressing away, maybe throwing in a bit of a warm up.
I know I have been guilty of this. Have you?
Remember the old adage: Fail to plan, plan to fail. Well, it applies to workouts too. No-one serious about their career would take such a haphazard approach, yet some of us bodybuilders will meticulously prepare 6 or 7 meals a day, set alarms so we eat on time and other ever so slightly obsessive things but will still pretty much go with the instinctual method when we get in the gym.
There is a better way. We obviously decide what body-parts we are going to work each day, but how many of us really plan our workouts? How many of us prepare properly for what we are about to do? Bodybuilders and strength athletes when entering the gym are about to lift heavy (for us) weights and engage in a mentally and physically demanding hour to hour and half. Yet we will spend the entire journey there thinking of everything else.
Time to hold up and start the New Year with a new habit. Use your training log and travelling time effectively. A training log should be more than a record of what you have done, it is there so you can plan and change your workouts systematically. Before you hit the gym look over last week's workout and decide what you are going to do. Using a leg workout as an example:
Last week leg extensions - 2 sets of 80kg x 4 reps
So this week I want 80kg x 5 for both sets. I write in my log above my record what I did last time, so I know exactly what I am trying to better. I write out the entire workout every set, and decide how many reps I want in each set before I leave for the gym. I set myself challenges. Like if I have done 7 reps with 180kg on the squat for 4 weeks solid this week, I am going to get 8 or I am going to add 2½kg and still get 8 reps. Whatever I feel I can do.
By planning your workout in advance and deciding what you are going to do you can also decide what you feel capable of. Sure you are going to push as hard as you can, but you had a bit of a cold or helped your friend move house all weekend and frankly you feel weak. So you don't challenge as hard and write a reminder to have longer rests between sets at the top of the page.
Once you have planned your attack its time to travel to the gym. My gym is about 4 minutes away from my house, so I don't have that long to prepare on the journey but I still use that time to get ready. I have a set of workout tunes I always play to get me in the mood. My favourite is Mission Impossible by Limp Bizkit - it seems very appropriate.
Take this time to focus and prepare mentally, relax and focus on the fun you are about to have. And put your stressful day behind you, leave it in the work's car park - the weights are calling your name and you gotta lift!
This year, try planning your workouts and preparing mentally before you go - it didn't do Dorian Yates any harm!
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*** January's Recipe - Sweet & Sour Chicken ***
By Nicole Bremner aka Nikki - MuscleTalk Moderator
**Ingredients
1 red onion, cut into wedges
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
1 tbsp cornflour
350g chicken breasts, chopped into chunks
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp oriental seasoning
Zest of 1 lemon
**Method
Sauté the onion in a wok for 2 minutes. Add peppers and cook for a further 2 minutes. Coat the chicken in the cornflour and add to the wok. Cook for 10 minutes stirring constantly. Add vinegar, soy sauce and honey, add a tablespoon on water, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over egg noodles topped with lemon zest.
**Information
Serves 4. Per serving: 214kcal, 30.5g protein, 15.3g carbs, 3.3g fat.
More great bodybuilding recipes can be found in the ‘Muscle Menus’ and ‘Muscle Menus Vegetarian’ eBooks.
The articles in The MuscleTalker are for information purposes only and are the sole expressions of the individual authors opinion and are those not necessarily shared by the owners of www.MuscleTalk.co.uk