Friday, March 29, 2019
Protect Your Back With These 4 Strength Coach Secrets!
Dr. Sara Solomon Interview: Stronger Than Ever
These Arnold Schwarzenegger Throwback Photos Will Get You Pumped
Thursday, March 28, 2019
5 "Shortcut to Size" Exercise Swaps
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Everything You Need to Know About ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum’
The 4-Move Glute-Building Workout
Don’t be fooled by her beauty. Pro bikini competitor Raphaela Milagres can be very dangerous if the need arises. Of late, the 26-year-old has been practicing “the art of eight limbs,” Muay Thai, the devastating combat discipline that makes ample use of the fists, elbows, shins, and knees as weapons. Consider it an aggressive evolution of all her athletic pursuits growing up in Minas Gerais, Brazil, an array that included gymnastics, jazz dance, and ballet.
Meanwhile, she’s been hard at work in the weight room since she was 16, developing the 5'4", 105-pound physique that has been helping her knock out the competition (figuratively, at least) on the bikini circuit. After winning her pro card at the 2013 Arnold Classic South America, she launched her own personal training business a year later and then made the decision to take a huge step in 2016.
“I moved to Winter Garden, FL, to focus on my athletic career,” Milagres says. Stateside, she was much more available for opportunities in the fitness industry and could more readily travel for competition. The change of venue helped almost immediately, as 2018 proved to be a watershed year for Milagres in the IFBB Professional League. She collected two titles—the 2018 Governors Cup Pro and the 2018 Fit World Pro—as well as a runner-up medal at the 2018 Salt City Showdown, capping the year with an eighth-place finish at the Bikini Olympia in Las Vegas.
Looking ahead, Milagres has a new goal set firmly in her sights: a top-five finish at the 2019 Bikini O. “I’m working on improvements to my physique, more muscle roundness and maturity,” she says. “I think I’m a hard worker, and I have great guidance from my coach, Kim Oddo. There are a lot of good girls with amazing potential in this sport—what makes the difference is the commitment and consistency to push yourself further.”
Tim Howard Talks Training, Diet, and His Tourette's Syndrome
Tim Howard has had a storied career in Major League Soccer. The 6'3" New Jersey native is the most capped goalkeeper of all time for the United States National Team, with 122 appearances between 2002 and 2017. He also set a record in the 2014 World Cup for most saves in a match. But with March 6 marking his 40th birthday, Howard announced on Twitter that this season would be his last. We talked with the goalkeeper to find out how he trains and eats to stay in top shape and how he’s managed his Tourette’s syndrome to become one of the most successful American soccer players ever.
Fun Fact: As of this writing, Howard has logged 699 saves in MLS over the course of his entire career.
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A Smart Approach
“As a goalkeeper, power and agility are key focal points of my training,” Howard says. “I work with the team’s sport science and training staff, who make me a program that combines cardio, flexibility, stabilization, and strength and power.” Howard trains three days per week, with one day dedicated to recovery and two off days.
Calculated Gains
As with his training, Howard takes a calculated approach to his diet. “I do three days of no carbs—eating six meals of protein and green vegetables only. Then I have two high-fat days with avocado and coconut oils. On the sixth day, I add a sweet potato to lunch and quinoa in meal No. 4,” he explains. Pregame, he munches on salmon, quinoa, and veggies, and postgame he has a protein shake and a steak dinner.
What Makes Him Tick
At age 10, Howard was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome (TS), a neurological disorder defined by having both motor and vocal tics. He’s used his platform to give back to the TS community—in 2001 he was named the MLS Humanitarian of the Year, and he received the first-ever Champion of Hope Award by the Tourette Syndrome Association in 2014. “TS is something I’ve thrived with and have never let it get me down,” Howard says. “I’ve made it one of my life’s missions to be a voice for those living with TS who feel too alone to stand up and speak for themselves.”
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Directions:
Be sure to warm up with five minutes of cardio followed by foam rolling and dynamic stretches before taking on this workout designed by Howard’s trainer, Chris Collins, M.S., NASM.
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Tuesday, March 26, 2019
The Things She Could Not Change Empowered Natalie Barry to Change Everything
How to Achieve Lasting Weight Loss
Austin Bruso Climbs Out of Food Addiction and Depression to Shed a Life-Threatening 150 Pounds
Monday, March 25, 2019
The Basic Bodyweight Workout Routine for More Muscle
When to Do It
After any workout when you're feeling particularly enegeric. Or if you're on the clock, this workout is intense enough to be a stand-alone training sessions.
Why Do It
Easy: You're accumulating more volume for all your major muscle groups: legs, back, chest, and core.
Get It Done
Do 10 reps of each exercise as a circut, descending by two reps until you reach two. If you're more advance, rest less after each round.
Brian Shaw Devours Nearly Everything on the Taco Bell Menu
Coming off of his miraculous 25,000-calorie cheat day from 2018, former World's Strongest Man, Brian Shaw, decided to bring another bowel-busting eating challenge to his YouTube page—and this time, the professional strongman decided to get a bit more dangerous by attempting to eat everything the Taco Bell menu has to offer. And by everything, we mean everything (outside of some vegetarian options he claims would be a "waste of space.") Shaw even ordered the weird, obscure items, like empanadas, that most people don’t even know Taco Bell makes.
For those willing to try (don't), the price was just a hair over $120, which is a reminder that Taco Bell is still the best value in fast food. However, the real price was the toll that the food took on Shaw’s stomach. He stumbled pretty early in the challenge when he got hit by some mystery sauce that didn't agree with his stomach. Like the competitor he is, he still powered through most of the food in front of him, but had to tap out before devouring everything. As you’d imagine, he doesn’t finish in good shape—we just hope that the Shaw household has a very strong plumbing system.
Take a look for yourself.
The last time we saw the Colorado Native he was recovering from a torn hamstring he suffered at the 2019 Arnold. Shaw is clearly a resilient man, but even the strongest bodies have their limits. His is apparently $120 worth of fast food tacos.
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WWE’s Kofi Kingston on Keeping Fit, Longevity, and Believing in Yourself
Kofi Kingston is currently enjoying a renewed wave of support from the WWE Universe, with millions of SmackDown Live viewers hoping that the scintillating high-flyer from Ghana will finally get a fair shot at the WWE Championship on April 7 when he squares off against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35.
The top of the mountain may finally be in sight for Kofi, but his career in the turbulent world of pro wrestling has been anything but an easy ride since joining the company 12 years ago. The first obstacle on the road to wrestling stardom was dealing with people that still clung on to an archaic view of what a sports entertainer should look like.
Silencing the detractors, he signed with the WWE in 2006 and impressed critics with his stellar work ethic, while training in Deep South Wrestling, which was a developmental territory at the time. Once added to the main roster, Kingston shined on the big stage when he defeated Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship in 2008, then gave us a stirring performance during the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania 25. “There were people who told me that I wasn’t big enough, or strong enough,” Kingston told us. “I may not have been the biggest, or the strongest, but no one is faster than me."
Ready to Rumble
Despite consistent popularity with fans and innovative performances in Royal Rumble matches—where he would escape elimination with elements of parkour using the ringside barriers and steps to avoid having his feet touch the floor—Kingston often found himself lost in the shuffle. A 2009 feud with Randy Orton highlighted a more intense side to Kofi, and critics began to feel that a World Championship could not be far away, but the feud was abruptly scrapped and Kingston had to once again rely on his exciting performances just to stay in the mix.
As a kid, Kingston had looked up to the smaller athletes, and clung on to the examples that his predecessors set. “I’d see Rey Mysterio, he was very influential and inspiring for me,” said Kingston. Mysterio eventually broke through the preconceived notions of the "small guy" and went on to win gold at WrestleMania 22.
The New Day
It was in a backstage conversation that Kingston connected with Big E Langston and Xavier Woods, two fellow competitors that were also rarely being used on TV, and The New Day was soon formed. After a shaky start, The New Day found their footing when they were allowed to let their natural humor and charisma come through. As one third of The New Day, Kofi reignited his career. The popular team hosted WrestleMania 33 and made an unforgettable entrance on a flying carpet at the Crown Jewel event. They're more than just flash, though: Professionally, The New Day holds a WWE record by defending the Tag Team Championship for a whopping 483 days—the longest run in history.
Having found his groove with The New Day, Kingston seemed happy to have transitioned to tag team wrestling, but that also meant that a World Championship reign as a singles competitor seemed to be further away than ever. That notion was given an about-turn in February when he was brought into a gauntlet match as a last-minute replacement for the injured Mustafa Ali.
At 37 years of age, Kingston not only impressed in the gauntlet, but he almost won the whole thing, wrestling for more than an hour and only falling to a fresh AJ Styles. Following this history-making performance, the WWE Universe, and his New Day partners, campaigned passionately for Kofi to get a World title opportunity. While a Kofi/Bryan title match hasn't been officially announced for 'Mania just yet, it's only a matter of time before this WWE veteran is giving his time in the spotlight.
TheNewDay.jpg
School of Hard Knocks
So how has Kingston managed to maintain his health and hold on to his status as a regular performer in WWE for more than 12 years?
“There’s no real secret," Kingston said. "I think it’s a mindset. People are always looking for the next big diet, like let me get on this diet, or let me get on that diet. I think you have to have a mindset where it's not about being on a diet. You just need to make changes in your life to where you are always thinking about what you are putting into your body, you know?" He added, "For me, I’ve been pretty consistent about the things that I put into my body."
“The main thing with my training is that I have a personal trainer, Rob McIntyre, from Hard Knocks Gym," Kingston said. It doesn't hurt that McIntyre is also the man who trains John Cena, another decade-plus WWE veteran who has only gotten better as the years have gone by.
"He comes up with all the workouts that I do and over the past, like, eight years or so he’s always switching things up," he said. "I’ve done Olympic lifts and I’ve done power lifts. I’ve done high rep stuff, and then I’ll do heavy, low rep stuff."
As Kingston has matured, he’s been keen to avoid the latest trends and fads, instead opting for traditional routines, but rotating them to keep things fresh. “I think the key for me has always been to switch it up, because then our bodies are always guessing," he said. "You don’t want your body to get used to one particular program. Otherwise you will find yourself getting into a plateau."
He added, “Direct your workouts towards whatever your goal is, at that point in time. For me, that’s been key in terms of being able to maintain a level of fitness and athleticism, it’s the fact that my body is always guessing because of the different workouts that I do.”
This focused and sensible approach to health and fitness is why, after 12 years on the road, taking thousands of bumps along the way, Kingston may be in the best shape of his life as he strives to finally lift the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35 on April 7.
Watch WrestleMania 35 on the WWE Network. For more information, and to get your first month FREE, visit wwe.com
Friday, March 22, 2019
Inversions: How Going Upside Down Can Level Up Your Training!
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Thursday, March 21, 2019
This 18-Year-Old Is Probably Fitter Than You'll Ever Be
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Cubs Star Anthony Rizzo Talks the One Exercise That Helped Build His All-Star Swing
Anthony Rizzo isn’t even 30 yet, but the Chicago Cubs first baseman is already flexing the same level of accomplishments as a veteran entering the end of their career. The 29-year-old is a three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner, a Silver Slugger winner, and has one World Series championship to his name. The secret to Rizzo’s success? Training for durability—he has played in at least 153 games in each of the Cubs’ past four seasons.
Stretching and Listening to His Body
The rigors of a 162-game season break down many baseball players. Entering his ninth season, Anthony says his value on stretching has only appreciated over time. “I think it’s just knowing my body more and the importance of stretching now as opposed to a few years ago,” Rizzo says. “It’s all about prevention. You want to play, you want to be healthy and you don’t want to be injured. You want to be on the field playing, so you can produce.”
Part of his process during the season is knowing when to push himself to the limit in the gym and knowing when to listen to the signs of fatigue and take it easy. “On days when we hit the gym and we’re not feeling it, we’ll take a lighter workout,” says Rizzo, who’s also an athlete investor in BodyArmor sports drinks. “On some days, we’ll go and just do cardio. On some days, we’ll not go at all, just get more rest. It all depends on the schedule and what’s going on, but you have to be in tune with your body. There's days where you can get good workouts in, there’s days you can’t. To play a long time in baseball, you’ve got to really make sure you’re taking care of yourself and doing it the right way.”
Cable Chops Help Simulate His Swing
There’s no better substitute for swinging a bat than getting in the cage or better yet, stepping up to the plate and taking live pitches with movement. But Rizzo has relied on one gym exercise to help simulate his swing on the field throughout his Major League Baseball career: the cable chop.
“That’s really the closest you could get to emulating the swing in that exact moment,” Anthony says about the exercise. “The core movement that you get out of it is similar to when you swing normally. It’s pretty accurate and spot on, because you’re using the same muscles as you would when you swing.” Cable chops have helped Anthony hit for contact and power—the slugger has recorded at least 156 hits, 25 home runs and 101 RBI in each of his past four seasons.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
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Sword Guy is Training to Defeat Thanos
By now, most of us know Instragram's @apiecebyguy and his sword-wielding workout antics at Don Saladino's Drive 495 gym. Lately, he's been upping his sword fighting workouts, but this week he went into comic territory by battling “Thanos.”
In the latest video, the sword fighting trainee defended himself against a Thanos-armed Saladino. At one point, sword guy was held by Thanos’ mighty grip as his hands pulled freemotion cables forward. Then he tries to defend himself with his sword, only to be taken down by Thanos, before eventually “defeating” the “villain.”
In the past, we've seen sword guy wielding his weapon on an elliptical, treadmill, and bench. Most recently, he was undergoing some type of torture defense training while his mouth was taped shut. Of course, it makes perfect sense that he's battling Marvel villains now.
As cool as it is to see a fake Thanos arm incorporated into training, we’re still a bit perplexed by these unique workout methods and still want to know: What is he training for?
A post shared by Don Saladino (@donsaladino) on Mar 17, 2019 at 8:12am PDT
Lift Life: A New Gym Symbolizes Renewed Hope for a Chicago School
6 Two-Move Workouts to Save You Time and Get You Shredded
We've got some great news: It doesn’t take a laundry list of exercises and an hour-plus to tone your body and build strength. Not when your program is intelligently designed, that is.
In this case, it takes only two moves, thanks to the programming chops of renowned trainer Zach Even-Esh, the founder of the Underground Strength Gym, the head strength and conditioning coach of the Rutgers University wrestling team, and the author of the best-selling book The Encyclopedia of Underground Strength & Conditioning.
The two-exercise concept is a shining example of quality over quantity. “This is called training economics,” Even-Esh says. “We take the exercises that deliver a high return of results on a short investment of time. This type of approach will always deliver results.”
Even-Esh has designed six, two-move workouts. The first four sessions alternate between upper-body (Workouts 1 and 3) and lower-body (Workouts 2 and 4) training, and each of the last two (Workouts 5 and 6) incorporates one upper and one lower for more full-body stimulus. And each move for a workout should last only 30 minutes.
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The exercise menu includes familiar moves—squats, lunges, presses, cleans, pullups, deadlifts, pushups, and rows—done with high set counts and relatively heavy weights. Isolation moves are nonexistent, except for a few optional moves that can be tacked on for those who have an extra five minutes or so to spare.
There’s no fat in this program. It has all been trimmed. “These workouts focus on getting more work done in less time,” Even-Esh says. “By working larger muscle groups, you’ll add functional muscle, which helps you build a body that can perform both in the gym and in your home life—playing with the kids, doing yard work, and having generally high energy. Longer workouts and more exercises are not always better. Better is better, and that’s exactly what these workouts do. In fact, these short workouts are often implemented for our sport athletes in-season and allow them to continue making gains in overall athletic performance.”
THE TWO-MOVE SCHEDULE
Even-Esh offers six separate two-move workouts, but the intent is not to do them all in one week, let alone on six consecutive days. Rather, he recommends doing four workouts per week, training on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. “This allows you to schedule weekends off for family activities and Wednesday off for downtime,” Even-Esh says. “And if you’re really short on time or bandwidth, you can do three days per week, training on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, taking off Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Weekends should be spent in active recovery with recreational activities or stuff with friends or family.”
If you follow Even-Esh’s recommendations, two weeks’ worth of two-move workouts could look like this:
4 DAYS PER WEEK
WEEK 1
- Monday: Workout 1
- Tuesday: Workout 2
- Wednesday: Off
- Thursday: Workout 3
- Friday: Workout 4
- Saturday: Off
- Sunday: Off
WEEK 2
- Monday: Workout 5
- Tuesday: Workout 6
- Wednesday: Off
- Thursday: Workout 1
- Friday: Workout 2
- Saturday: Off
- Sunday: Off
Repeat cycle going forward, with Workout 3 done on the next Monday.
3 DAYS PER WEEK
WEEK 1
- Monday: Workout 1
- Tuesday: Off
- Wednesday: Workout 2
- Thursday: Workout 3
- Friday: Off
- Saturday: Off
- Sunday: Off
WEEK 2
- Monday: Workout 4
- Tuesday: Off
- Wednesday: Workout 5
- Thursday: Workout 6
- Friday: Off
- Saturday: Off
- Sunday: Off
Repeat cycle going forward, with Workout 1 done on the next Monday.
THE WARMUP
Start every workout with the following circuit-based primer.
10 reps each of:
- Jumping jacks
- Alternating forward lunges
- Band pull-aparts
- Hanging knee raises
- Body-weight squats
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
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Monday, March 18, 2019
This Buff Monkey Can Totally Out-Lift You
If you're looking to fill the jacked-animal-shaped-hole in your heart left by the passing of Roger the Ripped Kangaroo, or just love unusually large mammals going viral, check out this muscle-bound monkey that was spotted by Finnish photographer Santeri Oksanen, 34, at the Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki, Finland. This particular white-faced saki is a female, because of the brown-gray coloring of her face, whereas male sakis have white faces, making her the biggest girl in the gym by far.
Oksanen told Metro UK, “I couldn’t believe the huge muscles that the monkey had. The other monkeys were very small in comparison, they all looked a bit scared of her. The pictures make it look like it’s competing in a bodybuilding contest."
That’s one bodybuilding contest we’d pay to see. According to the New England Primate Conservancy, white-faced sakis are typically very small, with males growing to be around 4-5.3 lbs. Despite their small frame, sakis are known to be muscular from living almost their entire lives in trees (pullups, bruh).
When Oksanen posted the pictures of this massive monkey online, he was surprised to find he wasn’t the only person impressed with her size. Twitter couldn’t get enough of this swole saki.
They have monkeys in Finland? https://t.co/oKDBWLauDy
— Paul Owen (@pg_owen) March 15, 2019
Let's shave this fuckin monkey https://t.co/js9xZSZrZ8
— Dolphin Pilot, LCSW (@TheAmitie) March 15, 2019
Welcome to Finland, we have the most freakish monkeys in our zoo, I guess https://t.co/PkYaVtLNHI
— Maisie-whimsie (@RhododendronWil) March 15, 2019
BUFF MONKEY https://t.co/sAgONKgkD9
— coolbutpoorguy (@coolbutpoorguy) March 15, 2019
According to Oksanen (whose Flickr account you can see here), this monkey has a younger sister, who is also itching for the spotlight. We'll be excited to see if she continues to make gains as epic as her sister. Meanwhile, we'll just all have to sit and wonder what on earth are people feeding these monkeys in Finland.
Her little sister would have wanted her own article. As revenge she is planning to reveal ms spotlight's fake tobacco smoking habit. #buff #monkey #musclemonkey pic.twitter.com/ZbS1gWItDP
— Santeri Oksanen (@TheRealSaOk) March 16, 2019
Wade Washington Hasn’t Let Cerebral Palsy Slow His Bodybuilding
Wade McCrae Washington wasn't supposed to live past the age of 10, according to the initial prognosis of doctors. At just 11 months old, the Houston native was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a condition that impairs muscle coordination and motor skills, among other issues. In its most aggressive form, only 50 percent of people living with cerebral palsy survive to the age of 13, and 25 percent reach 30. On top of that, Washington was also found to have severe scoliosis at the age of 12—leaving any hope for an active lifestyle further out of reach. But instead of giving up, Washington decided to start work past his physical limitations and pick up weightlifting, according to a new profile on the bodybuilder in Great Big Story, a YouTube video series that spotlights unique stories from all around the world.
Now 45 years old, Washington just got his professional bodybuilding card and has been on a roll. “Bodybuilding and doing the exercises at the gym is really keeping me alive,” he said in the video interview. “And if I were to stop working out at the gym, I would probably be dead by now.” Washington is the first Global Bodybuilding Organization Adaptive Pro Bodybuilder with cerebral palsy and scoliosis, according to his Instagram page.
"One of my goals was to be a professional bodybuilder," he said. "The other was to be a professional wrestler, but the wrestling was too dangerous."
Wade continues to train at Houston Gym with his personal trainer Tina Chandler. In the interview, Chandler said that she built apparatuses that would help him secure himself on a bench or other equipment to better work specific muscles. "The basic happiness that comes from feeling strong and feeling abled instead of disabled is a big deal," said Chandler.
"I enjoy being a pro bodybuilder," said Washington. "It's my lifestyle now."
Follow Wade's bodybuilding journey at @wadethecpbodybuilder_gbo_pro
Friday, March 15, 2019
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Watch: M&F's Weekly Web Series 'Reps'
M&F Reps is a weekly web series featuring Muscle & Fitness executive editor Zack Zeigler and celebrity trainer and owner of NYC's Drive495 health club, Don Saladino.
FULL EPISODES of M&F REPS
Episode#010
Audience Q&A, Don's bad mood, snide social media commentators, choosing the right diet, and fitness goals to kettlebell training for beginners.
Episode#:009
Britany Dawn's social media apology (she reportedly sold fitness and diet programs online that weren't personalized or just never delivered the goods); phony social media influencers who pose as personal trainers and coaches; the "if it fits your macros" diet plan; and more!
Episode#007
What's Don Saladino's life as a celebrity trainer really like? Does information overload create chaos in the fitness industry? What are the best barbells for home gyms? Why your high-intensity group class might be BS, and more!
Episode#006
Is Don on juice, the worst question to ask a coach or trainer, what causes people to quit their training goals, Zack nearly makes Don throw up by testing celery juice, the Ronnie Coleman Netflix, and more!
Episode#005
Ambien hangovers, the dangers of steroid use, why people hate cardio (and how to fix it), and more!
Episode#004
Episode#003
Episode#002
Exercise selection, a debate about the benefits of group fitness, how to spot bad trainers, and who is at fault — the client, the coach, or both — when a noob hobbles out of an exercise class injured.
Episode#001
Fitness and motivation tips, and how to ditch bad habits.
PARTIAL REPS (AKA CLIPS):
How Sebastian Stan Trained to Become The Winter Soldier in the Marvel Films
The Dangers of Steroid Use
Why Going Super Heavy Isn't Always Necessary
M&F executive editor Zack Zeigler asks celebrity trainer Don Saladino if he's an "enhanced athlete" or natural.
Fitness Coach Versus Social Media Phony Coach
How Fitness Rookies Can Dominate Their Goals
How to stay motivated and achieve success, and how to make lasting, healthy changes.
Trap Bar? EZ Curl Bar? What's the Best Home Gym Barbell For a Home Gym?
M&F exec. editor Zack Zeigler has just enough room to add a bar to his home gym, but a standard Olympic barbell is too big. His buddy and celebrity trainer Don Saladino helped him settle on the best barbell for his home gym.
Kettlebell Swings: Hardstyle KB Swing vs GS KB Swing
Yeah, we know the guy in the photo looks like he's going to the bathroom while he's kettlebell swinging, but stick with us. The explanation is better than the photo .. we hope.
9 Reasons It's Now or Never for the First Women’s WrestleMania Main Event
Supplement Company of the Month: Revel
Thursday, March 14, 2019
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Wednesday, March 13, 2019
This 87-Year-Old Powerlifter Keeps Breaking World Records
Ted Lindberg has been lifting for 75 years, since he was just 12 years old. He remembers how back in the early days gyms didn’t even have benches, and gym-goers had to lie on the floor or on homemade, wood planks to lift. After retiring from working construction, Lindberg began hitting the gym regularly to get out of the house and stay active. This was how Lindberg discovered the sport of powerlifting.
“I like a challenge and it’s something athletic I can do," Lindberg told Fox9 News in his hometown of Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Lindberg set a record for his age group by bench-pressing 214 pounds in Chicago, which he broke this past year by lifting a whopping 220 pounds at the 2018 World Powerlifting Championships in Las Vegas. "I feel pretty good about it, but you gotta remember at 87 years old, I don't have a whole lot of competition,” said Lindberg.
Now, Lindberg isn’t satisfied with these two records and has a new goal: to bench 300 pounds by the end of the year. He says he intends to break another world record when he turns 90 and that he wants to keep lifting for the next 10 years. Lindberg is showing all of us young folk that age is just a number. Just because you’re getting up there in age doesn’t mean you have to stop getting up there in gains.
H/T Fox9 News
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
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Brian Shaw Shows Gnarly Hamstring Bruise From His 2019 Arnold Injury
At the 2019 Arnold Sports Festival, Brian Shaw tore his hamstring during a world record-breaking deadlift attempt, hindering his performance throughout the weekend and resulting in an eighth-place finish. Before this injury-shortened showing, Shaw hadn't finished below second in the last six ASC’s. Naturally, this kind of injury would result in some pretty serious bruising, which the former World's Strongest Man showed off in the video below. However, he's looking to rebound quickly and already started treatment to get his hamstring back in working order.
First, he did some stretching with his rower before heading to a chiropractor to get ARP Wave treatment, a more intuitive stim therapy that uses a “specific waveform which allows for the resultant current to penetrate deep within the tissues being treated through a combination of differing frequencies, duty cycles, and outbursts," according to ARP Wave Boston.
Shaw was very optimistic about his treatment and the progress of his injury, saying, “Every day, I’m just being positive, finding something that’s a little bit better, whether it’s the coloration, or I can move a little bit better, or I can go a little bit longer with getting blood in there (his hamstring) with the rower.”
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Monday, March 11, 2019
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Friday, March 8, 2019
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Ronda Rousey Calls WWE ‘Made Up’ in Latest YouTube Video
In the latest episode of Ronda Rousey’s vlog, Rhonda on the Road, the former UFC-champ and now WWE star went off on wrestling in the video that ran more than 11 minutes. She basically said she was not going to follow their scripted rules anymore. “I’m not going out there and doing their fucking act anymore,” said Rousey in the video. “I’m going out there and doing whatever the hell I want.”
The wrestler has had recent bouts with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, and continues to set herself up as an individual, independent of the WWE’s rules. In the YouTube video, Rousey talked about being happy about Roman Reigns’ recent return then went on to talk about her Monday Night Raw altercation with Becky Lynch, where, in an apparently unscripted move, Rousey continued to beat on Lynch in the ring.
“I’m tired of just being here to entertain people,” she said in the video. “I’m not taking anymore direction, or notes or orders—and every time I go out there I’m going to do whatever the hell I want to do, and they’re just going to have to keep filming and cashing the checks I ring in." Lynch recently made a lewd joke about Rousey's husband, UFC fighter Travis Browne, on Twitter. Rousey promised to "break" Lynch the next time she saw her, and apparently did during this week's Raw.
Rousey went on to say that wrestling, specifically WWE, is scripted. ‘It’s all made up. It’s not real. None of those bitches can fucking touch me. The end.” However "scripted" WWE may be, there's nothing "made up" about Rousey's “character” now.
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Every Bodybuilding Winner From the 2019 Arnold Sports Festival
What 4 Specific Body Fat Percentage Ranges Look Like on Men
The Total-Body Functional Fitness Routine to Get Strong and Lean
Banana Almond Cream Shake
A List of the Major Anabolic Steroids and Everything You Wanted to Know About Them
Every Bodybuilding Winner From the 2019 Arnold Sports Festival
What 4 Specific Body Fat Percentage Ranges Look Like on Men
The Total-Body Functional Fitness Routine to Get Strong and Lean
The 7 Worst Things You Can Do When You're Trying to Lose Weight
7 Interesting Moments You May Have Missed at the 2019 Arnold
Thursday, March 7, 2019
How a Former Bodybuilder Learned to Expand His Definition of ‘Fit’
Sponsored Content
Performix House Trainer Angelo Grinceri had a very narrow idea of fitness in his youth. For him, aesthetics took center stage. “My background originated from the world of bodybuilding…I force fed myself on a day-to-day basis. I spent two hours in the gym every single day, crushing weights, reading endlessly on how to build bigger muscles.”
But on his way to pursuing the ideal bodybuilding physique, Angelo had a wake-up call that would force him to face the realities of his own physical abilities and open his mind to a broader understanding of fitness. Angelo recognized that bodybuilding had led him to a point where he was 240 pounds of ripped muscle, but would run out of breath walking up the stairs. But it took a very specific moment, trying to help his father move 50-pound bags of mulch, to make him realize just what this meant for his body. “My body didn’t know how to be strong as it moved,” he describes.
Not ready to give up the "jacked" look just then, it took Angelo another six years and an intensive course on physical therapy to realize the importance of movement and how strongly linked it is to one’s well-being and the true, foundational fitness of the body.
Angelo’s personal training style now blends elements of functional fitness with the principles of physical therapy he has learned. “Functional fitness is blowing up right now and there seems to be two different worlds: some of the focus is on functional powerlifting, others just focus on bodyweight movement and dynamic movements. Then there's also physical therapy. I'm trying to blend all three of those into one practice where you're still moving weight, you're still moving into different ranges of motion, you're learning how to control your body, but then you're also predisposing the body for success, which is what physical therapy is based around.” For Angelo, this approach makes him fit in a more complete and wholistic sense. “Finding the balance between those three entities, I think, is the sweet spot of increasing performance, increasing your athletics, and improving your aesthetics.”
POWER YOUR BODY & MIND
In order to feel connected to his body and its movements, it’s important to Angelo that he feels energized, but focused and calm during his workouts. While other traditional pre-workout supplements make him feel jittery, SST helps Angelo feel centered. “I've noticed that SST actually helps me focus in on myself and then I start to add in these focus-based exercises, where I start moving around and I start to bring awareness to my body and now I'm focusing on me again, my body in present time. I think it’s really important to be really present in a workout because that’s how you get real results.”
SST helps Angelo tap into his mind-body connection and feel energized throughout his workout, but the effects reach even further. He attributes SST to having a “domino effect”—allowing him to have a stellar workout, which leaves him feeling confident and connected with himself, which in turn helps him tackle the rest of the day, pushing him over both physical and mental hurdles.
CRUSH YOUR GOALS
PERFORMIX® SST utilizes a blend of ingredients to achieve the synergistic effects of increased energy, accelerated metabolism, and enhanced focus that drive results for Angelo. To increase energy and focus, SST uses a combination of caffeine, TeaCrine®, and Sensoril® ashwagandha. Similar to caffeine, TeaCrine® delivers energy, mental clarity, and improved motivation and mood. Unlike caffeine, TeaCrine® does not increase heart rate or blood pressure and is not a stimulant, meaning it doesn’t lead to a crash when it wears off and helps smooth out the overall energy benefit of SST.
SST also contains Capsimax®– a naturally derived, highly active concentrate of natural capsaicin. According to Dr. Richard Bloomer, the Dean of the University of Memphis’ School of Health studies, “Capsaicinoids can minimize appetite, they can stimulate an increase in energy expenditure, and they can also increase the mobilization of fat to be used as a potential fuel source.” In SST, Capsimax® increases resting energy expenditure by about 100 calories a day*, allowing it to both increase energy and accelerate metabolism, helping Angelo to maintain a much more functional "jacked" look.
SST delivers this unique blend of ingredients via PERFORMIX®’s Timed-Release TERRA Intelligent Dosing™, extending the key benefits over time. TERRA ensures you are receiving the benefits you need when you need them most, helping personal trainers like Angelo power through his workout and workday – even when they are one in the same – without crashing at the end of it.
*In a placebo-controlled, crossover, open-label study, subjects taking 2mg capsaicinoids from Capsimax® daily, on average, burned 116 calories more than placebo due to an increase in resting energy expenditure.
This content is sponsored by Performix.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Elon Musk Shares Photo of his Face on The Rock’s Body
In the year of our meme-lord 2019, Elon Musk has taken to Twitter to share some eerily well-executed photos of his face edited on the body of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. We’ll let the picture speak for itself here.
Yeah, I lift a little … pic.twitter.com/UAJdv8qSw1
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2019
If you were to quickly glance over these images, you’d totally think they were just generic images of The Rock. It’s insane that someone has taken the time to create these masterpieces of modern technology. The fact that tech billionaire Elon Musk took the time out of his (assumingly) very busy schedule to share it with a funny, self-aware and self-deprecating comment, is surprising. But it's Musk, so is it really that much of a surprise?
Musk has been having a strange pop culture moment recently, whether he is feuding with Azealia Banks or casually tweeting about plans to take Telsa private, he does seem to be leaning into his popularity in the internet-meme culture.
Musk even recently went on Pewdiepie’s YouTube series, Meme Review, to discuss his personal favorite memes. One of Musk’s top memes is where fans edit his face on the body of Rapper Post Malone, giving the CEO face tattoos and unruly hair.
But, speculate with us now, what if Elon Musk and The Rock did merge personas somehow. Imagine the kind of world we’d be living in if there were a Musk-Rock hybrid walking among us mere-mortals. Both have a combined net worth of $21.58 billion (yes, we did the math). Musk-Rock would be an unstoppable force in whatever field they decided to pursue. They would probably create a self-driving rocket to fly to Mars to find the Curiosity rover and challenge it to a Fast and Furious-style race through Martian sandstorms.
Honestly, that’d be pretty incredible, and we would all watch. If photos like this is how we enter this timeline, keep those memes coming Elon.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
A List of the Major Anabolic Steroids and Everything You Wanted to Know About Them
5 Tips for Building Your Best Back Ever
Every Bodybuilding Winner From the 2019 Arnold Sports Festival
What 4 Specific Body Fat Percentage Ranges Look Like on Men
The Total-Body Functional Fitness Routine to Get Strong and Lean
Monday, March 4, 2019
2019 IFBB Arnold Results
Editors' Picks: Our Favorite Things for March 2019
The 7 Worst Things You Can Do When You're Trying to Lose Weight
7 Interesting Moments You May Have Missed at the 2019 Arnold
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Joshua Lenartowicz - Bodybuilding - 2019 Arnold Classic
Cristobalina Pajares Torres - Bikini - 2019 Arnold Classic
David Martinez Campos - Classic Physique - 2019 Arnold Classic
Charles Curtis - Classic Physique - 2019 Arnold Classic
Friday, March 1, 2019
David Martinez Campos - Classic Physique - 2019 Arnold Classic
Charles Curtis - Classic Physique - 2019 Arnold Classic
Ro'Vonte Moody - Classic Physique - 2019 Arnold Classic
Panexce Pierre - Classic Physique - 2019 Arnold Classic
Wesley Vissers - Classic Physique - 2019 Arnold Classic
This Wooden Statue of Arnold Schwarzenegger Stole the Show at the 2019 Arnold Sports Festival
James O’Neal isn’t a bodybuilder, strongman, or even a fitness enthusiast for that matter. Still, fans at the 2019 Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio were lining up to shake O’Neal’s hand and marvel at his 350-pound, oak tree sculpture of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“I started carving wood about 11 years ago and doing life-sized people just three years ago,” O’Neal told us at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. “I like carving out the athletes, and trying to capture the anatomy and the muscles.”
A post shared by James O'Neal (@jamesonealwoodart) on Feb 22, 2019 at 5:40am PST
O’Neal claims that he started with big statues from the jump, and he clearly has an aptitude for it. So far, he’s carved Conor McGregor; Arnold; Floyd Mayweather; UFC women’s featherweight fighter, Cris Cyborg; Muhammed Ali; and is working on a Sylvester Stallone sculpture.
Six statues over the course of three years doesn’t sound like too much, but O’Neal’s wood carving process involves some serious heavy lifting. Each sculpture starts out as a 3,000-pound hunk of wood—usually oak or maple. He then takes a chainsaw to the trunk to carve off about 2,000 pounds of wood and develop the rough shape of the piece. Once that’s done, O’Neal works over the course of six months, logging close to 800 hours, using mallets and chisels to slowly carve the wood into its final form. And that’s just the main work. Wood, according to O’Neal, is a finicky medium to work with and requires a lot of small fixes.
For example, the raw statue of Arnold had hundreds of little cracks in it, which O’Neal filled by cutting tiny strips of wood to fit and hammering them in. Arnold’s top half is also made from two different pieces of wood, requiring O’Neal to bolt the pieces into place through The Austrian Oak’s armpit and chest. The abs of O’Neal’s Conor McGregor piece alone took a couple of days to complete, he says. “That’s about 20 hours of work,” O’Neal explains. “There’s a lot of comparison with pictures. I try really hard to get them to look exactly like they do in real life.”
A post shared by James O'Neal (@jamesonealwoodart) on Jul 11, 2017 at 3:24pm PDT
“No celebrities have reached out to buy them,” O’Neal continues. “I was kind of surprised when Conor didn’t. I thought he would buy his. He seems very vain, and I thought it would appeal to him.” Though, McGregor may be one of the only people who can afford an O’Neal wood sculpture.
Given the number of man hours it takes O’Neal to finish just one, he says he's looking to sell the statues for close to $50,000 a piece.
“There’s no set price,” he says. “For someone like Conor who is worth a hundred million dollars...I may tack on another zero.”
To learn more about James O’Neal and his impressive wood sculptures, follow him on Instagram @jamesonealwoodart.
A GOAT made of oak. #asf2019 #arnold #arnoldclassic
A post shared by Muscle & Fitness (@muscleandfitness) on Mar 1, 2019 at 6:24am PST