The power of 1%

Did you know it takes about just 1% of your day to enhance your energy, burn fat, increase muscle and improve mobility and flexibility?

If you are really hard up on time you can have a really good training session in 15 minutes. The key is form and intensity. Technique should be acccurate and not going slack. Intensity should be high so you maximise results.

Especially Employees or busy executive professionals can employ this technique. Although you can choose tools of trade, bodyweight exercises in my opinion rule the 1% training sessions because you are quickly hitting multiple muscle groups and all facets of fitness in a short period of time. 

Never underestimate the power of 1%. Invest in the one pc of your day and change your life.

Danger!!! Simple work ahead for results!

I am so amazed at how the simplest of things gives the best results. Training to get results you want does not have to be complicated. It just needs to be the simplest stuff that works. However the simple stuff, to get the quality results is usually not easy! It is hard, consistent work!

This is one of the problems I see in the training world out there. Things have become so complicated and everyone wants the latest workout plan or program at every other session. However there is no consistency in that. As soon as most people see someone looking a lot better or performing better they want to try the latest complicated plan to get there overnight. However they are forgetting, that this person would have probably spent a lot of ground work and months preparing for that level of proficiency or even for how good their shape is.

Get this:



Follow the simple plans. Stay consistent. get results. In training terms that boils down:

• Proven Exercises and diet
• 4-6 weeks on the same program with the exception of progressive resistance
• Results

You will make more progress quicker than you ever imagined!

If you are looking for a simple, challenging program to follow click here!

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What is your excuse??????

3 physical things that have helped me become mentally stronger

Mental toughness. Strong willed, Call it what you want but at some point you are going to need it.

These are three physical things that helped me get mentally tough.

1) Training: Training myself as a strength athlete required a huge level of mental strength. It is not easy to go back again and again and challenge the body to new levels everyday. Training with weights- whether body weight or free weight is really demanding most of the time. I remember finishing some really hard days at work and then pushing myself to the gym. To make matters worse it was leg day!! There were days when someone would really try me at work, I would come out and it would be pouring rain. I would ride back on my bike and then haul myself to the gym. 

Sometimes growing stronger mentally came right in the middle of training. Should I lift another set? Should I squat another set or let it go this time only? I pushed through, did the other set. I might not have had the physical results to show for it but mentally I grew stronger.

Training through injury is another face. When you are really excited about training and get injured it is really demotivating. I remember I trained AROUND (not through) injuries with a splint on my hand, walking on a crutch. etc. Training hard builds you mentally.

For a great mental toughness program I strongly recommend this mental toughness training plan from Zach Even-Esh.

2) Intermittent Fasting (IF): I have covered IF previously in another post. I have learnt that fasting helps you learn a lot about yourself and builds up mental strength quickly. I strongly recommend giving it a try (please consult with a physician before starting on it). I had to learn what my body was craving for and what it needed. To follow more on IF i suggest you strongly get this book

Click Here!

3) Cold Water showers: Why would I do something like that? There are plenty of reasons

• Boosts nervous system
• gets you alert
• Enhances recovery
• gets you mentally tough

No one is going to know if you stand under that shower with ice cold water once you make the decision. Im not saying get drenched in cold water but at least start with 30 seconds as cold as you can bear and work your way up to two minutes. Army trainings take place in rain or swimming pools, sports teams train in pools or rain, warriors of the old days used to train in rain. It makes them the tough champions and warriors they need to be.

Real Life Story: A few months ago I was helping some friends shift things and I had to make it back for a meeting. Shifting is never easy:) Running up and down stairs, lifting and moving heavy stuff. It so happened we got delayed with the shifting. I remember skipping lunch effortlessly and just getting into the wash room for a cold shower. I was ready in 7 minutes with a full half hour left to make for the meeting. I showed up absolutely fresh and with accelerated energy levels! It felt great. It is a story where in one day, these three keys I talked about right here all came together to help me out. 

I suggest you give it a go. If you need help regarding how to implement these please leave a comment or shoot your questions in the comment box. Here is to you becoming mentally stronger....

How I gained weight and reached 100kgs

When I first started training back in 1999, I had my dad to coach me. It was under his guidance that I took to bodybuilding and started working towards it as my sport. I was in final year of college and weighed 75 kgs.

Dad was very old school trained which was a huge benefit for me. There was no frills training. Just plain old hard work. I remember us walking into the gym the first time and from day one it was all out training. My first week was cardio and free hand exercises. From the second week it was time to attempt the prized bench press and man i was excited. The schedule was not too different. We would train 5 times a week. Our schedule

Monday: Chest and triceps

Tuesday: Legs

Wednesday: back and biceps

Thursday: Shoulders

Friday: Abs and Calves

 

Nutrition: Eat and eat well!! Anything you want as long as its healthy.

In the first three months I made rapid gains. Though I did my own research and wanted to try different stuff, I just kept quiet and let my father handle the training. There were times I would ask him if I could try certain weights and certain exercises and he would either encourage me to try or patiently tell me I would have to wait a while longer. I started to pin down the basic exercises and grow.

Benchpress, Deadlifts, rows, squats, shoulder press, bicep curls, tricep extensions. Anything else could be varied and missed but not these. I never pushed or lifted with sloppy form. And no jerks. If i jerked i had to lighten the weight. I started to grow quickly and I reached 82 kgs.At that point I set the goal. I decided the goal was 100kgs and then work back down. 

Supplements were researched and tried. I started off on creatine and it paid off. From there it went into protein powders. Over a 10 year period I would try lots of them. the best one I still remember that worked with me was Optimum Nutrition. 

I was now at 87 Kgs. I had a good understanding and feel of my body and muscle response. I learnt biofeedback on my own. Few more months I was on the scale again and at 92kgs. Then it happened. I got hit by a viral and weight plummeted by 7kgs. I was so disappointed but I knew my muscles would kick up again quickly. The mental fight that day was tiring but I won. I was not allowed to start right off the bat. i had to build again lighter weights. I started to get stronger. As my strength came rushing back I started to pack on again. I was at 92 once again. It was at this point dad and me hit a record. We leg pressed 600kgs.

The journey from 92kgs to 97 kgs was a lot more painful but it was there that I had my greatest PR's and records shattered.I say it was painful because I didnt seem to be getting anywhere in breaking out of that weight plateau. Once again dad and me set a new record. We went up to a 300 kgs in squats. What started that day as a leg training session ended as a PR breaking session. We only did squats that day. The whole gym came around to watch the show. It felt awesome! It was a few weeks later the gym owner told me my leg size was the probably the 2nd largest in the gym

By this time people were telling me I was HYOOOOOOOOOGE!! Then came the questions? Is it healthy for you? is it right? I said I was on a mission to reach 100kgs and it was fine because I had planned it. 

At 97 kgs, it was 2006 I had a horrible experience and a massive fight with the disease of jaundice. I remember in my first week i dropped to 75. The jaundice took 8 months to pass and I was left at a scraggly 67 kgs. I knew what I had to do. When I finally went back to the gym, dad and the doctor would not let me accelerate my training. It was getting boring. Dad had to leave out of the country for three months. Bring it on!

The day he left I walked into the gym. I deadlifted 150 kgs right away. No warm up sets. I decided to take the fight back. By this time I was at 73 kgs. I had three months to do what I had to do. Squats, Deadlifts, Shoulder presses, curls, tricep extensions and benchpress in that order. 3 months later a healthy looking 92 kgs son met his father at the airport.

I went for the final haul in 2008. I lifted with the heaviest weights I could and as explosive as possible. I started to eat like crazy and followed 5 meals a day. My protein powder again was optimum nutrition. I was doing well. Then another setback. At a kickboxing class I fell through a granite slab while cross running. Training was out of the question by the doctors as the sprain was pretty bad. that was nearly a month out. I had to get around on a crutch. I went back to the gym on that crutch. I couldnt squat. So the main exercises were benchpress and shoulder press. I went in for leg extensions and curls. For back I used pulled downs and rows. In about 2 months my leg healed completely.

Then by 2010 beginning I broke through! I was at a whooping 101kgs! I showed up for my wedding and in my cousins words 'Man, you were built like a tank!' I had done it. I felt like a champion. I reached my goal.

There is something about setting goals and achieving them. I know it took 10 years and yes there was a lot of learning. However nothing can replace the experience and years of learning that I went through.

The greatest benefit I had was building my relationship with my father. We were the best training partners anywhere and we still are. A lot of things happen when you set a goal and work towards it. The years of experience are priceless. 

One of the biggest problems to your fitness goals

Time and again I have seen this happen......

Someone walks in to a fitness center and says, 'I want to ________________', whatever it is the person wants. That could be losing weight, adding muscle, just getting fit whatever it might be.

So here they are all revved up and prepped up. The coolest fitness center in town, which has charged them a bomb, the personal trainers with the tight body huggers and absolutely no form of communication or understanding and lets not forget the hep crowd. They have stickers and memberships of the place they go to and show it off proudly. One and half months later they either are not there anymore or they are the same way they started. For those who stay they will keep going in the hope that in the not so far away future.....say 45 years from now they will achieve their goal. I wish them all the best. That amazing center has become a timepass clubhouse. Thankfully not all gyms and fitness centers are this way but most of them are.

What went wrong?

You knew what you wanted. But it did not have a clear cut definition. Once you get that in order you have a specific plan to work with. How do you correct it?

Write a clear cut definition. In case you don't know how to set your goals read this article. Locate yourself and then form a plan with a good fitness trainer or consultant to reach there. Chances are you will start enjoying your training much more and it will give you focus. Also your personal trainer or consultant will keep you motivated and on track. That way your fitness goals are on track and you can reach the goal you have been looking for.

Train Hard, Train Smart