Hi there MAN Sports Fans! I hope that you all are having a GREAT Week full of Positivity and Progress! I know that I certainly am… It has been a busy one, but busy doing what I Love, so Busy Is A Blessing! It has been the first official week of Posing Practice for Team 970Muscle and everyone is doing awesome! As it gets down to competition time I can tell you that the Figure Fuel/Body Octane/Game Day/Yohimbine-HCL Stack all become VERY helpful for providing some much needed Energy, Fat Burning, and Increased Performance as the days get longer! Team 970Muscle are all dedicated MAN Sports users and continually experience continued results from them!

Recovery, Performance, Fat Loss, Energy! YEAH!!!

In Action!!!

It really is quite amazing the results that we can acquire when we have a Multi-Dimensional Plan that focuses on all areas of our Lives! Lifestyle, Mental, Work, Training, Eating, Supplementation, Conditioning, Relaxation, Helping Others, Etc… There really is so much more that goes into creating a Fitness Lifestyle VS what so many think it to be… Really just about anyone can do something for a period of time, but making it Your Lifestyle and Inspiring Others to do the same is where the real long-term rewards are! Never become Short-Sighted of what your Long-Term Goals are, far to many people forget about delayed gratification… What we do in the Present is ultimately building a reward (or disappointment) for our Future! Make sure that the Actions that you take EACH day are moving you in the direction of where you want to be… It doesn’t happen overnight and many will never see the GREAT Efforts that are put into GREAT Successes, but that is the Beauty of it all… It’s Ours no matter what and nobody will ever take that from us! Have a GREAT Weekend Friends!

-Stay Strong; It’s more than Physical-

-Derek aka “Diesel”-

Hey there MAN Sports Fans! I hope that you all had a GREAT weekend and are ready for another productive week! It sure is getting nicer outside and with the change of the seasons it is always a great time to mix things up a bit as well! As it warms up, the sun comes out, and the birds start chirping it makes for a perfect time to get outside a bit and shake off the Winter chills! Why not try adding in some Sprints to your Training? Want Glute Development, Lower Body Fat, and Overall Athleticism??? Well, then Sprints are EXACTLY what you have been looking for! Just look at any top level sprinter and tell me that they don’t have an amazing display of all of these three things!

SPRINT!!!

Some things to remember before you take off… First and foremost is that Sprinting is difficult and honestly most people can not do it! Sure, just about everyone can run, but flat out SPRINTING is a BIG DIFFERENCE, but with appropriate Training and Time everyone can get to the point of reaping the benefits of Sprinting! At first what you may be doing is more of a Jog, Run, or EVEN a Fast Walk… But we all have to start somewhere and that is the point! Start!!! Take time to Warm-Up, in fact many True Sprint Workouts actually spend more time on Warming-Up and Cooling-Down than actually Sprinting… That goes to show you just how taxing it is! By spending 15 minutes or so with a Dynamic Warm-Up you will get your body prepared to do some work and lessen your chance of injury! I say Dynamic Warm-Up because you DO NOT want to do many traditional Static (stretch/hold) type stretches before your workout, save those for after! Dynamic (moving) Stretching would involve more of drill type movements, such as high knees, karaoke, jumps, walking lunges, backward runs, build up runs, etc… The bottom line is that you need to take some time to loosen your body up, get your temperature up, and prepare your nervous system!

BRING IT!!!

Before I Sprint and do most Functional Fitness Workouts I prefer to use a combination of Body Octane/Figure Fuel… This certainly is a “Secret Weapon” if you will! The Performance Increase without Stimulant Type Energy is PERFECT and one that many Athletes could benefit from! Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE Game Day, but I typically save that for the Gym! As far as the Sprint Workout itself, there are a SO MANY things that you can do… But the main thing to remember that true sprinting cannot be maintained for long, so keep your distances/times short and allow yourself ample recovery so that you can reach that high end again! I usually recommend not doing Sprinting much longer than 100m or over 20 Seconds, this would be the higher end, so it of course needs to be worked into. Short Sprints will work you over to begin with! A great way to manage the work/rest balance is to simply Sprint your desired distance and then walk slow back to the start! Repeat this over several times, and you’ll be feeling it! This is a very basic introduction to Sprinting, but you WILL have awesome rewards just by getting out there and doing it! DO WORK!!!

-Stay Strong; It’s more than Physical-

-Derek aka “Diesel”-

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”-

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!