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Happy New Year!
As we start another new year, how many of you made a resolution of some sort. I recently read somewhere that only 1% of new years resolutions reach fruition. Why is it that some many of these resolutions fail? I myself have failed to reach many resolutions. The reason could be that your resolutions are set too high. Take for instance bodybuilding. Talk to most bodybuilders in the gym and ask them what their goals is, most will reply "I want to be big". This is a pretty lofty goal and the chances are that they will fail. The odds are against them as the statistics show. Out of a world population of 6 odd billion, only three hundred people hold pro bodybuilding cards. That's a pretty small percentage. I am still training after over twenty years of toiling in the gym and one of the reasons is because I too have the goal of "getting big", but I also have smaller goals that hopefully will get me to the big one. These small goals keep me motivated to keep striving for the major goal. "getting big" is quite a lofty goal, as is losing 20 kilos in 6 months, quitting smoking cold turkey from 40 a day etc, etc. By all means have a major goal but break it down to smaller goals which are more attainable. If you want to lose 20 kgs in body fat, break your goal into smaller ones first such as 1kg in the first two weeks followed by 3 kgs in the first month, 5 kg by two months etc. It's a lot easier to focus on that 1kg goal than to to think about the 20kgs goal. Reaching the smaller goals first will quickly add up to the major goal. I have daily training goals, weekly goals, monthly goals, six monthly goals. These smaller goals will eventually add up to the major "I wanna be big" goal. What's more reaching these smaller goals keeps me motivated and hungry. Most successful people I know, whether it's business or sporting, have got there by having a major goal that has been reached by striving for smaller attainable goals first.
How should you plan for your goals?
A goal is a written expression of intent to accomplish a specific, personally meaningful objective within a predetermined time-frame. Based on this definition, I'd guess that fewer than 5% of all people have even a single goal at any one point in time. Sad, isn't it?
1.I find a training diary an essential tool to reach my bodybuilding goals. A goal must be stated in writing: If it
isn't written, it isn't a goal. Period. It may be a wish, or a vague desire, or a fantasy, but it isn't a goal, and you're not likely to achieve it. By the time I get to the gym, I know exactly what exercises I'm going to do, how many reps I will do, and how much weight I will have on the bar. I actually fill my diary in at home before I get to the gym. This way I already have a goal before I leave home. Nine out of ten times I will reach that daily goal, if I don't then I will keep trying until I do. Reaching these goals keeps my major goal attainable. If I get dejected all I have to do is look back in my diary and see how much I've attained.
2.Keep your goals attainable. A goal must be specific and measurable: Your desire to become "as big as a house" isn't a goal. It isn't specific enough. In order to be specific, your goal must be quantifiable. This is a very significant for bodybuilders, who's sport is by definition qualitative and subjective. If you have a goal of say benching 100kgs for ten reps don't stick a hundred on the bar and go for it. Start with 70 reps for 5 sets of ten, then go for 72.5 for ten, then 75 etc. Don't go up in 5kg increments as you will fail. My favourite gym accessory is the 0.5 and 1.25kg disc.
3.Patience is the key. Keep persisting, it will happen. Too many people give up too quick. This applies to everything in life. Take fat loss for instance. If you have neglected your body for ten years, don't expect to turn into to a Greek God(dess) in a couple of months.
4.Visualization and Imagery: If you can't genuinely picture yourself achieving your goal, it's very unlikely, probably impossible that you will achieve it. The old, overused, cliche "conceive, believe, achieve" is packed with truth.
5.Ask for help/advise. This is not a sign of weakness but a sign of stubbornness.
These are the rules I have used in the gym and during my life. These same goals have been used to build up my business as well. Keep reaching for those small goals and the major goal is attainable. Oh, one other thing, I keep that major goal always slightly out of reach. When I get close to achieving it, I will set a new one a bit higher. This keeps me always striving.
Have a Happy New Year, and see you at the gym.
Forced Reps: To do or not to do?
You're pounding out an intense set of bench presses and you're just about at your limit. You want to pack on as much mass as possible and nothing is going to stand in your way. You're not about to stop the set so you grunt to your partner, "two more" because you know those extra two forced reps are what separates the men from the boys and will ignite crazy new muscle growth, right? Wrong!
Upon first glance forced reps may seem like a good idea. I mean forced reps allow you to get more reps with more weight...or do they?
If you really think about what a forced rep is, you'll realize it is a rep with less total overload. There is less overload because your partner is assisting with the lift thus making the load lighter. For all intents and purposes finishing your set with one or two forced reps is like ending with lighter weight. This is not ideal because less overload equals less muscle growth stimulation.
Also, forced reps prematurely fatigue your muscles because you end up doing one or two reps beyond positive failure (the point at which you can't complete any more reps on your own) with a lighter weight. Muscle fatigue decreases the amount of overload or weight you can use on your remaining sets and is another reason forced reps should be avoided.
On occasion I'll get some assistance with the last rep but that's become the exception and not the rule. The idea is to keep 100% of the overload on the intended muscle group for the entire set.
Learn to stop at positive failure and keep the entire load on the targeted muscle group for greater muscle growth stimulation. Weight Loss Myths
There are dozens of weight-loss myths that help to derail people. Here is a list of some of the most common so you can try to avoid them:
The myth that some kinds of calories are different from others - A calorie is a calorie. If you consume 4,000 calories by eating 1,000 grams of white sugar or 4,000 calories by eating 444 grams of fat, it is still 4,000 calories.
The myth that low-fat foods are okay or that you can eat as much as you want if it is low-fat - A product can have 0 grams of fat but still have lots of calories. Many fat-free foods replace the fat with sugar and contain just as many or more calories as a fat-containing product.
The myth that any passive device, acupressure rings and bracelets or soaps or whatever, can help - There is no way to burn calories but to burn them.
The myth that you can lose 54 pounds in 6 weeks - Despite what the ads say (I LOST 54 POUNDS IN 6 WEEKS WITHOUT DIETS OR EXERCISE!!! or LOSE 10 POUNDS THIS WEEKEND!), you cannot lose a pound of fat unless you burn off 3,500 calories. To lose 54 pounds in 6 weeks, you would need to lose 9 pounds in 7 days, or 1.3 pounds per day. That 1.3 pounds of fat is equal to 4,500 calories, so you would have to burn off 4,500 calories per day. The only way to do that would be to eat nothing AND run a marathon every day for 42 days. That's impossible. The only way to lose that much weight that quickly is either through dehydration or amputation. The ads are lying.
What is true is that you have to eat fewer calories than you burn in a day if you want to lose weight. You can do that by eating fewer calories than you need, or by exercising more, or both. It is true that some people burn more calories per day than others (just as some people are taller than others, some people have to use the restroom more frequently than others, some people lose their hair faster than others and so on -- people are different). You simply have to find the number of calories your body burns in a day and consume fewer calories than your body needs. That's not to say it's easy -- the psychology of food and eating is very powerful. But that is what you have to do. It is a mental game, and there is no way around it.
But now you know the rules of that mental game! Drunk But Skinny?
You know the low-carb craze has hit the mainstream when booze makers start coming out with "low-carb" beer. Last month Coors Brewing Co. said they'll launch a low-carb beer in March of next year called Aspen Edge. Sounds like Coors is trying to grab a piece of the action from Michelob Ultra.
Reality check: Folks, all light beer is "low carb." These so-called low carb beers only have a gram or two less than regular light beers. This is a marketing campaign, period.
Need proof? Miller will soon re-label its Miller Lite beer as a low carbohydrate product, without even changing the recipe.
We don't have to tell you that excessive alcohol consumption will negatively affect your bodybuilding and athletic goals. (That negative effect is caused by much more than simply carb content.) Our advice? If you want a beer this weekend, fine, but at least imbibe a manly brew and not this mule piss known as "low-carb" beer! 
Sit On It
Just when we thought the fitness industry couldn't get any lamer, we find out about Chair Dancing.
This aerobic fad promises "You'll enjoy aerobic fitness like never before!" And the real appeal? You'll achieve this feat "…while seated comfortably on a chair."
T-mag supports this notion of chair training for ultimate health, fitness and, of course, "toning." Here's what we recommend:
Step 1: Get a chair.
Step 2: Sit on it between sets of heavy squats, deads, dips, pull-ups, and bench presses.
You'll be "toned" in no time! Weed Kills
Finally, definitive proof that marijuana can kill you.
In Texas, a man choked to death on a bag of pot after police stopped to help him change his flat tire. The 24 year old had been convicted three times before for marijuana possession, so when he saw the cops pull up he panicked and attempted to swallow the bag of wacky weed. He was pronounced dead of asphyxiation at the hospital.
Okay, okay, so this isn't really proof that pot kills, but it does show that stupidity can be fatal. Price Reductions
Musashi has dropped the price of their pure L-glutamine and pure creatine monohydrate. Musashi were the first company to introduce these products onto the Australian market over eight years ago. These price reductions bring the two products in line with every other brand I stock.
Musashi L-Glutamine
300g $39:95 
Musashi Pure Creatine
500g $42:50
1kg $75:00 
For
Sale Cost $11,500 new (have receipts) and has only been used
privately. Looking for around $6,000. Suit private or commercial gym. As new condition. Call me on 08 8373 0735 or e-mail me at
kim@australianmuscle.com.au Stepmill 7000 PT
The ultimate stairclimbing workout
Now with new computer console and workout programs
Machine height: 78" (198 cm)
Machine length 44" (127 cm)
Machine width 29" (74 cm)
Weight 409 lbs (186 kg)
Ceiling height required: 9.5-10.5 (2.9-3.2 m)
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
AUD.
