30 Nutmeg Drive Trumbull Connecticut. The new Hard Kore facility.
Training
HK hasn’t quite moved yet but the team kicked a lot of ass at the IPA powerlifting meet last weekend.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hard-Kore-Fitness/130167573718530
Here’s an article from Dani Shugart over at T-Nation that women need to read. In summation, lifting weights is good for you.
http://www.t-nation.com/training/redefining-the-female-bodybuilder
Of which I suffer from. Being inconsistent is a sure fire way to not reach your goals or slow down the process of getting there. It goes in both directions; whether you are trying to lose weight and get lean or add some mass.
You must be consistent in both diet and training.
Missing meals when losing weight will adversely affect your metabolism and the body will stubbornly hold on to its fat. Missing meals when growing means you are not getting the calories in to grow or even to recover quick enough from a previous session to train again. Don’t stress so much about missing meals, just get those macros in when you can. If you miss a meal, make up for it in another meal or even wake up in the middle of the night for a shake.
Missing training sessions when losing weight again kicks around your metabolism. Keep using and building muscle so the calories you do eat go to muscle use and not fat. The fat you already have will come off if your metabolism is balanced. Missing training sessions when growing isn’t that big of a deal because size is gained in the kitchen more than the gym, however, however, when you are in the gym you must consistently train the big compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, olympic lifts, chins, rows, carries). Train them regularly and try to regularly add weight or reps.
Don’t get discouraged or upset if you miss a week. Just get right back on track. 6 months of consistency and you should see a fair difference. If you’re consistent for months and nothing changes, then you need to change that consistency. More calories, different training program, new rep/set schemes, or a professional/medical visit.
My ebook is now on sale at Barnes and Noble and Amazon: The Home Guide to General Physical Preparedness
A simple, no frills guide to prepare for the physical demands of life and occupation with minimal and hand-made equipment at home or in conjunction with gym equipment workouts. Sprint, carry, drag, push, pull, and mobilize yourself to a more balanced, vigorous, and capable body.
Use it:
to learn how to exercise
to enhance your current style (or use it exclusively)
during the off-season
as preparation for military training
before the police or fire academy
to prepare to work as an EMT
as a break from your usual program
as a way to balance your body and find weaknesses
as preparation for any physical event
Includes:
Equipment list
Exercises and how to perform them
Over 80 preplanned workouts with enough variations to probably triple that
Progressions for sedentary readers
Progressions for sprints
Why focused and experienced trainees should include a few GPP style workouts
Reasons and motivation to get training and use the included techniques
I suggest reading it on a full screen laptop or computer because the conversion to e-readers like Nook and Kindle wasn’t perfect.
It is also available in other countries at their respective international Amazon store.
I’ve discovered The Art of Manliness finally and they have some cool stuff about training from yester-year and other neat styles from around the world. This one posted earlier today is a quick daily regimen that can certainly be broken down into its parts: Old Time Strong Man morning regimen
The barbell loves you. It gives you strength, power, athleticism, muscles, and a strong heart. All you need to do is feed it weight plates and sweat.
It wants to hang out with you and do squats, deadlifts, presses and rows.
It wants to introduce you to some of its very awesome friends like the prowler sled and farmer walk handles.
The barbell would like to help you calm the stress in your life and help you forget about the coffee you spilled on your new slacks this morning.
Don’t be afraid of the barbell if you’ve never had one. It won’t judge you as you learn and will always be there when you come back, no matter what.
The barbell is always your barbell whether you use that one, or that one, or the one with the rust on the knurls. It is still your best friend.
Let the barbell into your life. Learn its favorite things. Do its favorite things. It will make your life better.
Say you’re on the road a lot. Or in the air. Hotels maybe. How do you take care of yourself? I recommend finding a good resistance band kit. One with handles and a door mount that travels light. You can get a pretty good burn with bands in the small muscles and then spend some time with bodyweight exercises for the big groups. A 10 to 15 minute circuit will do it with bands, squats, pushups, single leg deadlifts, and getups. A lot of hotels will not have adequate equipment, maybe a treadmill and bike. Or swim! Hit the pool and don’t just float, do some laps. If you’re in one location for an extended period try to look for a gym that has a national membership or see if you can buy a month’s worth of time.
Watch what you eat. Be cautious at the restaurants. Don’t be afraid to ask for just a plain grilled chicken breast and a pile of vegetables. Breakfast should be easy with a bowl of oats or plate of eggs with fruit. Keep dried fruit and nuts handy, preferably unsalted and unflavored. Green tea because it suppresses appetite and provides just a little dash of caffeine and won’t crash you. Packets of tuna fish or sardines with crackers like Wasa brand.
Look up some recipes for things that travel well like nut butter oat bars or your own roasted nuts so you can control the salt and oil. Can you dry or smoke meats at home? Staying extended? Hopefully it’s a suite with a kitchen and you can continue to cook for yourself.
Being sore is part of the game. You’ve used your muscles enough to the point where they have been broken down and need rebuilding. There are different kinds of soreness you will experience and at times it may feel like your bones are sore. Do squats, deadlifts, or a lot of posterior chain work and you will be walking funny for a few days while the hamstrings and adductors rebuild. There’s that spot between the glutes and hamstrings that stings every time I move. Or just standing up from a chair with that deep, concrete like soreness in my groin adductors.
Soreness is not an indicator of a job well done. If you’re not sore, don’t fret, as long as you put in good effort. It just means your body has adapted in a good way. The goal is to keep improving at the same movements. Do not chase soreness because if you crush yourself every workout trying to get sore, you’re just going to overtrain and hurt your joints, your metabolism, your hormones, your sleep pattern, and your immune system.
There are a few ways to limit soreness. You can take cold showers (yeah right) or you can submerge yourself in a hot epsom salt bath (much preferred). You can, and should, eat more protein. The muscles have been broken and need to be rebuilt. They are only built with protein. You can get a massage or use a foam roller. This helps flush out the bad blood with the broken material and usher in fresh new blood full of nutrients. Do the same thing that made you sore in the first place. Use no weight or light weight and do the movement seeking the burn. This flushes out the old blood and delivers the fresh stuff. And sleep. The only time the body truly heals is when it is sleeping. 8+ hours every night.
Yesterday’s GPP was as follows:
30 minute walk with a 25lb weight vest
4 rounds(no vest) of 3 sprints of varying speed and distance followed by 5 clean and press with a 50lb sandbag.
4 rounds of holding 50lb buckets for as long as possible.
When I vary my speed and distance on sprints I usually reduce speed if I run further and vice versa. I simply cannot do them like I used to. Most of the time I work in the 20 yard range maxing out at around 85%. Occasionally I go longer and I’ll stick to 75%. Occasionally I’ll go much shorter, probably less than 12 yards. I will blast as hard as possible from the start and then stop when I reach full speed.
Larry Henrikson 