Are You Mentally Tough?

Okay, so really, how many of you challenge yourselves in the gym? I see this all of the time where people let fatigue get in their way, where they let their bodies control their minds.

What the heck is fatigue anyway? A rocketing locomotive that's going to vaporize us on contact? No, fatigue is nothing more than a mental perception based on sensory input into the brain.

How we interpret this input and then act on it is what sets people apart, this is the essense of mental toughness.


Simplified, the muscles say to the brain, "okay, I'm tapped, that's it, nothing left, better stop". That's the sensory input.

Muscle Growth with Full Muscle Action Spectrum

We all want to make the most of our workouts, and several techniques can provide help packing tons of benefits into a short period of time in the gym. No single approach, however, provides as much benefit for our time invested as using the full muscle action spectrum.

Good lifting form has many dimensions, and, generally speaking, most people do a crummy job with their form.  Good form, among other things, helps us get the most muscle development from every single rep. And if we're looking to make the most of our gym time, it makes sense that we'd want to get the most from each rep.

One important aspect of good form is fully utilizing the three different actions that muscles produce on every rep, known as the muscle action spectrum. The three actions are as follows:

1) Eccentric Action: lengthening of the muscle while decelerating force
2) Isometric Action: holding muscle contraction equal to the force placed on it
3) Concentric Action: shortening of the muscle while accelerating force

Let's take the standard bicep curl as an example. How many times have you seen someone quickly curl the weight up, then just drop it down to their side? What just happened? Simple, they hit the concentric action and abandoned the isometric and the eccentric actions.

Learning from Bodybuilders

Following is an excerpt from my upcoming book on new fitness paradigms. 

Bodybuilders have a bad rap. We’ve created a stereotype of them as dumb, rude, steroid-gulping knuckleheads to be avoided like the plague. The fitness industry overall doesn’t do a great job to counter this, presumably some think we all want to look like the Incredible Hulk, smashing our fists through walls and doors and crushing people’s car hoods. In truth, a bodybuilder is anyone doing resistance training to improve their physique based on their own personal goals. That’s it. They’re as likely to be your neighbor, your doctor, or the person standing next to you in the checkout line. So let’s dispense with any existing notions or mental images of bodybuilders, we in fact have much to learn from them.

Resistance training – the use of free weights and other resistance equipment – provides the single best and most important form of exercise for just about anyone. No other activity will provide the overall benefit of dramatically improved muscle size, muscle strength, tendon strength, joint strength and stability, and the additional benefit of increased bone density (stronger bones less susceptible to breaks, fractures, and osteoporosis). So who knows the most about this? Traditional bodybuilders, that’s who. These folks have been practicing resistance training for decades and have accumulated untold levels of understanding in this area. No, that doesn’t mean you will look like Arnold, you won’t, but you may be surprised by what you can look like.

And for women it’s totally critical to know that resistance training absolutely will not make you “look like that” - the most common reason why women reject the entire notion of weight lifting and resistance training. Ladies, time to drop this as your excuse to not do resistance training, you won’t look like female version of the Incredible Hulk, but you will look sleek and toned and you will enjoy your body and your life at least 100% more than you do now, I will personally guarantee that!

An unfortunate aspect of resistance training is that an incredibly small minority chooses to use illegal steroids as an artificial means to get ahead in competitive bodybuilding, and it’s just as unfortunate that these people get a majority of the sport’s publicity, it shouldn’t be that way but it is. Don’t let that taint you toward lifting in any way, shape, or form. Resistance training and proper diet provides your path toward a better life, and it’s especially important for women to understand that instead of “looking like that”, you can in fact achieve the most beautifully feminine physique of your life, even after 50!

Getting Killer Ab Definition

"How do I get six-pack abs?" How many times have you heard this question or even asked it yourself? The answer may seem complex and shrouded in mystery because popular culture throws so many "solutions" at us. We've all seen a thousand gadgets, supplements, and "30-day" programs all promising a quick and effortless path toward the coveted "six pack".

Truth is, the formula for ab definition is simple, however actually getting ab definition is hard work.

The first step toward ab definition is to build mass in the rectus abdominus, or the main wall of stomach muscles where the six pack is found. And here's a revelation - for most people standard crunches or sit ups won't get it done.