I remember as a child growing up and always being so fascinated with Athletes, Bodybuilders, and really ANYONE that pushed their limits… To me they were Real-Life Super Hero’s and it took a while for me to realize, but I was right! You see, anyone that is able to pursue and accomplish their Dreams while surrounded by a majority who would like nothing more to see you be special, but you know what? We all ARE special, and who are we to go against what we were meant to be! I remember one of the first times that I read about Arnold… Arnold, let’s think about that real quick? I said Arnold and just about EVERYONE knows that I am talking about Arnold Schwarzenegger, that is pretty amazing when you stop and think about it! Well… One of the very first stories that I read about Arnold was how when he was in the Military he actually went AWOL in the night to compete (and win) a Bodybuilding Competition and the only way he was found out was when his Trophy was spotted! Now… That really made me think… Here was someone that absolutely LOVED something so much that he risked just about everything to make it happen!

ARNOLD!!!

Arnold is one of the most accomplished individuals in our history and has seen his share of Trials and Tribulations and this weekend is the annual Arnold Sports Festival, which has become the single largest multi-sport event in our Nation with spectators and competitors from around the world! Again, pretty amazing! It pretty much is the paramount of the Fitness Industry! I am looking forward to hearing of all the great events and happenings from my many Friends that will be there! Be sure that you stop by the MAN Sports booth and see Khay and Tad and while you’re at it pick up some great samples!

-Stay Strong; It’s more than Physical-

-Derek aka “Diesel”-

Why does my future look promising?? Is it because I’m going to win the Powerball and Mega Millions Lottery or collect the coolest 1st place trophies in all of the shows I enter this year? Well either of those two would be nice, but that is not the reason why my future is promising.
Have you ever had the opportunity to do something and were restricted by how much effort you could actually put into what you were doing causing you to fall short of your goal or desired result? Well, I’m very happy to say that I have been able to work out harder than ever in preparation for my upcoming show, with limited pain other than the normal delayed outset muscle soreness I feel 24-72 hours after my workouts. I have always suffered pain in my lower back and legs causing restrictions in the volume of my workouts and my range of motion. My back problems have been a part of my life since I was a teenager after being run over by a car. Then in 2005, after a rear-end car accident, MRI results showed a right sided disc herniation. I feel so blessed to have found the best team of professionals who helps me get into the condition my muscles need to be in order to perform my best. Since 2010, I have been getting treatments for specialized (sports specific) neuromuscular re-education from Dr. J. Adams.
When I first visited Dr. Adams, he discovered my trauma caused 4 tears filled with scar tissue in 4 of my muscles: Gluteus medius (moderate), Iliotibial band (moderate to severe), Biceps femoris ( mild to moderate) and my Gastrocnemius (moderate). All of this damn scar tissue severely affected my hips. Scar tissue is an inflexible fibrous material which causes restricted motion within the muscle and surrounding areas. It will create weak spots in the soft tissue that can result further damage or new injuries. Now I know that scar tissue is my enemy!! Not only do they diminish strength and power but also compromise your overall flexibility. They can also cause a contraction of the surrounding tissue (muscle and skin) towards the tear and cause the area to deform which affects your biomechanics, positioning and appearance. This sucks for a bikini competitor LOL!!! I definitely do not want my biomechanics affected because I work so hard during my workouts and would like to see the results from my training.
When I saw Dr. Adams, my hips were posterior and superior on the right with right translation. This altered biomechanics and kept my hips/gluts from developing properly. If I would have not gotten treated this condition would have remained no matter how hard I trained because I recruited muscles to do activities they have no business doing. All of this puts a lot of stress on my lower back and aggravates any disc issues.
And because of the treatments, this season I have been relatively pain free and able to push myself harder, resulting in a promising season of training the way I would like to. I cannot stress the importance of getting yourself checked out when you feel pain and or have a restricted range of motion. Ignoring it can cause worse damage than there already may be.

In saying that, pushing harder requires some adding fire to the tank so I mix MANSports Body Octane with my Figure Fuel to give me unparallel endurance during my workouts. Body Octane increases your ATP Levels and supports Arginine and Nitric Oxide Production with ZERO stimulants “Stamina, Energy, Explosive Muscular Fire Power and recuperation to the point of no dispute”.

Well the countdown has begun for the Arnolds weekend! Come visit me and Tad Inoue at the MANSports booth and try samples of our awesome supplements Hope to see you all there
Khay
XOXO

One of the most crucial parts of Living and Maintaining the Fitness Lifestyle (and often one of the most overlooked) is the Mental Aspect! With so many things going on in our Daily Lives and all around us at times we can get caught up and fail to prepare ourselves mentally! At the beginning of each day, week, etc… is a key time to Mentally prepare ourselves and setup our week for success! Just as we take time for Meal Prep so that we may stay on track with our Eating Plan, we should also take time for Mental Prep so that we can be prepared for success! One great way to do this is to visualize what it is that we are working towards in the immediate future, it could be that day, that hour, or even just what we are going to do next! By doing this it allows us to not only become more efficient, but also more effective! In a sense we are already accomplishing our Goals mentally and seeing them before they happen!

VISUALIZE!

I can tell you first hand that it is an amazing feeling to already see yourself having a GREAT Week before it happens! Give yourself no other alternative but to maintain a Healthy and Positive Attitude and you will be pleasantly surprised by the outcomes!

DEEP THOUGHT

One of my favorite places to start my week off on a path for success is by doing some High Intensity Intervals first thing in the AM on the Rower that is in my basement I always am sure to get a Scoop of Figure Fuel and Body Octane in me before I begin! This combination is very effective for sparing muscle mass, burning stored body fat as fuel, improving power, endurance, focus, and aiding in recovery! Not to mention that they taste GREAT! If you have access to a Rower, I highly recommend adding it into your routine throughout the week! The Conditioning, Fat-Loss, Performance, and even Muscle Gains are quite amazing… Bottom line is that you can make it VERY difficult, gotta LOVE that!

READY!!!

I hope you ALL are READY for a GREAT Week, I know that I am! Time to Make It Happen, I’ll be talking to you soon…

-Stay Strong; It’s more than Physical-

-Derek aka “Diesel”-

Intensity is the key to great quads

I am often asked how should I train. Well I have mixed feelings about super heavy training for muscle growth, but I do think that it has its place in a routine from time to time. However, I prefer volume training whetherit is in the off season when you are trying to build mass or in a contest prep. So I thought I would give you an example of a leg workout that I do in the off season.

In the off season I am only concerned with accelerated muscle mass development. No matter what exercise I am doing I am pushing my limits on weight. I don’t try to go to failure necessarily but I do get there in just about every set. My main focus on most exercises is to use a weight that is challenging (for the number of reps that I have planned for that set), but my focus during the action of the set is to put out the highest level of intensity and effort that I can. I do this by focusing intensely on each muscular contraction. Really squeezing each rep for all it has. If I am going to do the reps I want to milk them for every bit of pain that I can. My goal is to always push as much blood into each muscle that I can when I work it.

Let’s get to the meat of the matter:

Quads:

I only train quads once a week (actually every muscle group only gets trained once a week). When you are trying to put muscle on, and you are applying intense workouts, your body will need at least a full week to fully recover. Don’t underestimate the power of rest. This is the critical link between you and bigger muscles.

About 40 mins before my workouts I am chugging down a meal/pre-workout drink. Here is what it consists of:

• 75 gms carbs from a fast acting source
• 75 gms whey protein
• 1.5 Scoops of Body Octane (Awesome PUMPS!)
• 4 Caps of Orotine (Creatine Orotate)
• 1 scoop Clout
• 2 caps Scorch (fat burner)

Once I have digested most of this and I no longer feel the sloshing in my stomach, I start my quad workout. Here is what it looks like:

• Heavy leg extensions 6-7 sets at 20-25 reps each

I do the heavy leg extensions first in my routine so that I can pre-exhaust my quads a bit. By doing this I don’t have to use as much weight on the consecutive exercises. I do this to minimize the loads on my joints, but it also helps me to raise the intensity on my quad training as a whole. By the time I am off this first exercise my quads are burning and pumped!

• Squats 5-6 sets at 15-25 reps each
  

  Some of the best quads in the biz ever, Tom Platz!

I usually stay in the 20-25 rep range on every set. I push the weight up as high as I can but by this time in my workout my quads should be somewhat fatigued already. No matter what, my final set is always a burnout! I reduce the weight to 225 lbs and rep until I can’t rep any longer. This usually ends up somewhere between 30-40 reps. I love coming off a squat routine with my quads pumped and hurting!

Quick note here, I always recommend wearing a weight lifting belt and power knee wraps with every set. I believe that it is because I have wrapped my knees for over 25 years that I can still squat heavy when I want to. Remember all your joints only have so many bends and have a life span. So take care of them with wraps and supplementation and good nutrition and they will most likely last you your lifetime.

Every other week I will rotate between doing leg presses and squats as my second exercise. I prefer to save my knees a little and only squat every other week. I don’t really recommend this for everyone, only those who can apply enough intensity to leg presses on the off weeks from squats. I like this kind of variation but again it isn’t really for everyone. In general, I suggest squatting every week for most, especially if you are trying to build your physique in the first few years of intense training. Once you have put on most of the mass to your body that you want then moving to this kind of rotation can be refreshing.

Important variation that I put on my leg presses on the weeks I do them, I will do 3-4 standard sets first. Then on the last 2 sets I will perform my normal 20 or so reps then lower the weight slowly to a count of 3 seconds down and hold for 10 or so seconds. I repeat this 2-3 times on each of these last 2 sets. This variation puts my quads on fire.

• Hack Squats 4 sets at 15-18 reps

This exercise has always been a favorite of mine. I love the feeling I can get with this movement. The important thing to note on this exercise is to place your feet high on the platform and GO DEEP! When I do this movement I want to hear the sled hit the bottom. By the time I am done with this exercise my quads are weak and wobbly and ready for the finale.

• Single leg extensions 4 sets at 30 reps each

Once I have completed this final exercise I finish my workout off with a burn out set on leg extensions with as many reps as I can do with both legs and no rest between the last singe leg set. My quad workouts usually put me under the bus for an hour or two afterward. I then get my butt home and eat my next meal. Try this out for at least 4 weeks and watch your quads grow!

What kind of gas do you put in your car? It is suggested by the manufacture that you put the best possible fuel into your gas tank in order to meet the specifications that are outlined in your car’s owner’s manual for optimum performance. Anything less than the recommended fuel, you risk performance and overall wear and tear on your vehicle.
Our bodies are like cars… fast sports cars to be exact. Being a sports car, it becomes imperative that you fuel your body with the proper fuel to run at optimum performance. Especially during contest preparation, we tend to “burn the candle” at both ends to burn fat and keep our hard earned muscle. The fuel we put into our body to keep us running optimally becomes increasingly important especially when it’s time to increase intensity each week during contest prep. My fuel of choice is MANSports Figure Fuel. Figure Fuel was specifically formulated with the hard working athletic female in mind. It was designed to help active females protect our lean muscle tissue while mobilizing stubborn fat from storage areas like our hips, thighs and butt to be used for energy. It’ s carb and calorie free so it fits nicely into your meal plan during pre-contest, contest and or low carb and other fat loss diets. Each scoop of Figure Fuel has 6 grams of pharmaceutical grade Ajipure BCCA’s, 1000mg of L-Carnitine to tap into those stubborn fat stores for energy. It also has 1000mg of Beta- Alanine which has helped me push through my toughest cardio and circuit training work outs.
I have been using Figure Fuel in my supplement plan for the last year and a half and it is always in my gym bag as my weapon of choice. I drink 1 scoop of Figure Fuel, 20 minutes prior to my morning cardio and weight training sessions, and I also drink 1 scoop post work out. You can look at the pictures on my previous blog to see the changes in my physique.

One of my favorite and fun things I do with my Figure Fuel is to make popsicles and eat them like a treat even on cold days:-) Be sure to stop by and see Tad and I at the Arnolds come try Figure Fuel for yourself, until then stay focused

Khay
XOXO