Hard Gainer Tips

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Wednesday Morning Workout

Another good workout this morning. Since it looks like I'll actually be able to work out 3 times this week I'm doing a bit more of a normal 'split'. Monday I focused on the chest (still threw in some squats, but the focus was the chest), and today I focused on the back and arms. So Saturday will be some type of a leg focused day.

Today for the arm workout I did a curl tri-set. Basically what you do is three different curl sets together for one set. It looks something like this:
Barbell Curl: 6-10 reps
Hammer Dumbbell Curl: 6-10 reps
Reverse Barbell Curl: 6-10 reps

That's one set! Do about 3-4 sets of that and you'll feel a really good pump in your arms!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Chest Intensity Workout

Yesterday I read about a great chest intensity workout from Tom Venuto and it was such a good workout that I wanted to pass it on here!

Essentially you end up doing 12 sets of different dumbbell presses disguised as 4. Each group is done at a different angle, so you really get to blast all different angles of the pecs. But that's not all (heck, that alone would be a really good workout), after doing all of that you then go and hit an isolation exercise like the pec deck, dumbbell flyes, etc. for 3 sets of 20-25 reps each. Talk about a pump! After a workout like that, you feel like you just added an inch to your chest in 15 minutes!

Here's a link to the workout, check it out and give it a try!

Build A Bigger Chest In 3-4 Workouts Or Less.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Deadlifts Revisited

So lately I've been experimenting with the different ways of doing deadlifts to see which one I like better. I'm mainly experimenting with just using a regular barbell and using one of those special bars where you can actually stand in the middle of it for your deadlift. So far I'm not sure which one I like better. I figure I'll go back and forth between the two for the next couple of workouts before I make my final decision. Either way, its good to have a couple of different options to mix it up from time to time.

I've also been working on getting myself in the habit of doing at least some pushups every morning before breakfast and every night before I go to bed. Its been a great way to at least get in some exercise every day since I don't have time to go to the gym more than twice a week. Now I just need to find a good way to do bodyweight squats or something like that.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Keeping Motivated

It seems that one of the biggest things that defines someone who is successful in something versus someone who isn't is motivation. Who knows, it could be the single most important factor! One thing that I've noticed is that when I'm excited and motivated about something I do it with more excitement and tend to do much better at it. So what does one do to keep their motivation up? I don't have all the answers about this, but I do have a few ideas:

1- Keep your eye on the goal

Do you have a goal? Do you keep you eye set on it? It seems that in every book I read about achievement they always talk about setting a goal and then going gang-busters for it. Goals are essential to achievement.

2- Set yourself up to win

Maybe you need to change some habits or friends, but don't put yourself in situations or with people who won't help you reach your goals. Do everything you can to keep yourself on top of your game.

3- Follow a plan

I believe its a good idea to leave room for some flexibility, but you've gotta have a plan to reach your goal. Without a plan, how do you know what you're doing?

Anyway, there's a few thoughts on keeping motivated. I'm mainly writing about this today because over the last few days I've noticed my own motivation lacking somewhat. These are all things that I've done in the past, so its time to put them back into action!

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Back Again - Still Going Strong!

I haven't written here for a while now, but things are going rather well. As I've mentioned previously based on my schedule I really only have 2 days that I can actually make it to the gym. So I'm setting up a current program to make sure that I at least do some pushups, bodyweight squats, and crunches just about every day. Then when I hit the gym on Wednesday and Saturday the basis of those workouts is the big 3 lifts: bench press, squats, and dead-lifts. Then I work the rest of the workout around those based on how much time I have. Essentially following some of the exercises recommended in Arnold's book. There's the update for today! I'll start writing here more frequently as it helps to keep me on track.