Personal Fitness Goals 3/26

About three weeks ago ago I began to lift weights as my primary fitness objective. I pictured myself as bodybuilder with a strength emphasis. I've been training in high rep ranges for hypertrophy and muscle gains, but also spending time on powerlifting lifts and lower rep strength exercises. I will continue to post my progress throughout this project.

Strength: One rep max

Deadlift: Goal - 355 by 6/1/15

 3/1/15 295 lbs,

Squat: Goal - 345 by 6/1/15

3/1/15 315 lbs,

Bench Press: Goal - 245 by 6/1/15

3/1/15 200, 3/26/15 215.

Overhead Press: Goal - 165 by 6/1/15

3/1/15 135, 3/26/15 145

Deadlines 3/26

Two weeks ago I created some deadlines. I wanted to finish my research last Friday, and then finish meetings with people by the end of the month...This didn't happen. I was expecting way to much to be done. A lot of work has been done, I'm proud how much work as been done, but the deadlines weren't reasonable. My mentor and I agreed that we would push back all deadlines a week. That leads be to finishing research tomorrow, and I'm on track to do it. Tonight I'm finishing Powerlifting Training, and tomorrow I will cover agility training. Once those two are finished, I will have Covered 7 different, but connected, topics thoroughly. 

Over break I will be meeting with people to get their workouts and deadlines set and straight. After that its straight into the videos! This project has been moving so fast, but I'm enjoying it and it's about to get to the fun part. 

Original Deadlines 3/11

These were the deadlines I created about a week and a half ago. Since then I realized I was expecting too much out of myself. My mentor and I agreed to move all deadlines back one week in order that I can finish the original amount of research that I wanted to. This Friday I will be done with research and moving on to presentations.

Original Deadlines 3/11

Researching

3/13 - Have finished research for 3 subject’s goals.

3/17 - Finished research for 6 subject’s goals.

3/20 - Finished research for 9 subject’s goals.

Presenting

3/25 - Meet with 3 subjects, present info, agree on meeting times/goals

3/27 - Meet with 6 subjects, present info, agree on meeting times/goals

3/31 - Meet with 9 subjects, present info, agree on meeting times/goals

Videos/Continueing project

Through April I hope to produce 4 or more videos that I think would be helpful to my subjects.

Ideas include: - Teaching Hang Clean

• Creatine information
• Meal timing
• Benefit of mixing routines/shocking muscles
• How much protein do you need and what foods to get it from
• Importance of the pump+ tips/tricks to increase pump
• Scheduling training/Frequency training

5/4 - Last meeting with each person, assess results

Project Conclusion + Presentation

To be determined based upon date of presentation

Explosive Sport Weight Training

Explosive Sport Weight Training

Training for sprinting and other explosive sports is pretty straightforward - one must train the muscles used for the sport, and in the specific way they are used during the sport. For almost all sports, almost every muscle must be developed in order to be successful, but certain muscles will be more important than others. For example, a basketball player will use his chest somewhat, but more importantly he needs strong, explosive legs to be fast and jump high.

A basketball player, or sprinter, won’t train for these strong legs the same way a powerlifter would. A bodybuilder trains for size, mostly in high rep ranges. Powerlifters, and athletes looking for explosiveness will both train in low rep ranges, but the athletes differ from the powerlifters in that their movements will be more functional. For example, a powerlifter deadlifts for 3 reps, they are each slow, but pulled out. The athlete does 3 reps of a power clean, which mimics the movement of the explosiveness of the hips while running.  Even if the two different groups use the same exercise, they will execute it in different ways. A powerlifter would squat very heavy, maybe with less range of motion. Athletes also will use heavy weight, but make sure that they can execute full range of motion and explode as fast as they can on the way up instead of grinding it out. They also may considering using elastic bands, as they have been shown to help build explosiveness in muscles.

Example exercises for sprinters:

Train in lower rep ranges, yet as intense as possible. Also make sure the movements are as applicable as possible.

- Power Cleans

- Squats (explode up)

- Bench Press

- Jumping squats

- Pull ups

-Reverse lunge + Knee drive

- Dips

- Sled Push/drag

Sprinting Nutrition

Sprinting Nutrition

As a sprinter, you want to build muscle mass to help you move faster. Good nutrition is essential to building that muscle, and your training will make sure the muscle is in the right areas as excess muscle will only slow you down. The other half of sprinting nutrition is preparing on race day. On race day, you must be not only in your top condition, but also sure that you are not experiencing stomach discomfort, dehydration, or sluggishness.

Building Muscle: A sprinter’s training will be composed of various explosive and athletic movements. Recovering from your workout requires muscle building nutrition. Refer to my Muscle Building Nutrition paper.

Race Day Nutrition:  A general rule is make sure that you eat enough that your energy levels are high, but not so much that you have extra weight on you or that you don’t feel good. To make sure you meet this rule here are a few guidelines:

- Eat food that is light

- Do not eat within an hour of competition. Normally, it takes a person one hour for the food to pass through their stomach.

- Don’t eat foods that will upset your stomach. Dairy, spicy foods, high fat foods are examples of some foods to avoid on race day.

- Your last meal should be high in carbohydrates. Carb-loading makes sure that you have the energy to draw from as fast as possible.

- Have some sodium in your system. This will help you avoid cramps, and stay hydrated.

- Speaking of Hydration, drink enough water that you’re hydrated, but don’t over drink.

A example food to eat an hour or two before your race would be goldfish, or most crackers. They are light, won't upset your stomach, high carbohydrates, and have a lot of sodium.

More example foods:

Bagel, Granola bars, Spaghetti (At least 3 hours before race)

Muscle Building Nutrition

Basic Bodybuilding Nutrition

There are many ways a bodybuilder’s diet differs from a regular diet, however, the two main goals of  a bodybuilding diet are to make sure your muscles are supplied with protein when they need it, and that you have enough energy to use for training.

How many meals a day?  

Three meals a day is considered healthy, and it is. However, a bodybuilder may want to eat more than three meals a day. Eating more often and spread throughout the day will guarantee a more steady supply of nutrients to your muscles. This is important because you want your muscles to be repairing themselves at all times outside of training to get the most gains.

Some people take this the wrong way and eat 5 meals, of equal amounts of calories to their regular 3 meals a day diet. Your body will still need the same amount of calories throughout the day as it normally does, so the more meals you eat, the smaller they should be. Also, this strategy only works if each meal contains protein, because otherwise the meal is only fueling your energy and not helping your muscles rebuild.

How much food/protein do I need?

Everyone’s metabolism is different, and everyone’s metabolism also varies day by day. Some bodybuilders are fans of IIFYM, or “if it fits your macros”, meaning they eat a certain number of calories in each macronutrient category per day. For example, 50g of protein per day, 250 carbohydrates per day, and 80g fat per day. This strategy ignores the fact that metabolism varies by day. There is no exact set amount of macronutrients you should take in. Instead, a better way is to use the numbers calculated as a guideline. If you use IIFYM for dieting, only use it as a guideline, not exact amounts. Everyone can estimate their suggested intake here at ChooseMyPlate.gov. The suggested amount of daily protein intake is 0.36g per lb of bodyweight, but again, this number varies due to many different reasons. A bodybuilder may want to take in closer to .7g per lb of bodyweight.

What type of food should I eat?/Where should I get my protein from?

The type of food should vary. Nobody should only ever eat fish, or only eat broccoli. It’s healthy to be eating different types of food in order to get all the nutrients you need. Protein shakes are great if you need a ton of protein, but most people will find that from their normal diet they get all that they need. If you make choices to eat foods that are high protein there is no need for protein supplementation. More protein that your body can use will not help you.

Good tips on cutting bodyfat

Low body fat percentages bring out the cuts and curves in a muscle. To cut body fat you must be in a caloric deficit. This basically means you need to burn more calories that you consume. You can do this by exercising more, consuming less, or both. Here’s a list of strategies to drop body fat the easiest and simplest ways:

- One of the easiest strategies to dropping body fat is excluding all junk food from your diet. When I say junk food, I mean any food that is high fat or high sugar.

- Another is making sure you never overeat. Pay attention to how much you eat by eating slowly. Eating slowly will allow you to realize when you're full, before you’ve already eaten more.

- Drink water instead of other drinks. Especially avoid juices, they are high calorie.

- Don’t snack. Many people grab a bite of food, even just a cracker, almost every time they pass through their kitchen. Especially at night people trying to diet are more at risk of snacking.

- Lower your normal food consumption slightly. If you would normally eat a sandwich, a protein shake, some carrots, and an orange, don't eat the orange during your diet. Nobody should skip whole meals, but instead just make each meal a little bit smaller.

- Keep a goal. It’s hard to measure small bodyweight cuts by weight due to body weight fluctuations (Average body weights can fluctuate anywhere from 2 to 8 pounds during a day), but for longer diets people can see progress by measuring their body weight. Also, you should be able to see your body change as you make progress.

You shouldn’t have to be hungry when you're dieting. If you spread out your meals throughout the day, make sure you don’t cut too quick, and stay motivated with a goal, dieting really isn’t that hard!

Other tips:

- Make sure you get your protein after a workout within 30 minutes. This is key because your body is most responsive to muscle rebuilding 15 minutes after a workout.

- Have some protein close to when you go to sleep. A lot of rebuilding is done when you’re sleeping (make sure you get enough sleep!) so if your body has nothing to build with, your muscles won't grow.

Creatine

Creatine  

What: Creatine is a chemical (C4H9N3O2)found normally in the body. It can be made by the body and obtained from certain foods.

Who takes it: Athletes, bodybuilders, powerlifters, and sprinters who want to gain muscle mass.

Where can you find it: Can be found from many different suppliers. To make sure the supplement is creatine with no additives, it is safest to buy from a company NSF certified.

When: When someone is active, has a very healthy diet, and wants to increase their exercise performance, they can take creatine.

Why: Creatine helps to replenish ATP faster. It brings phosphate to the ADP. With more volume of phosphate available, ATP can be replenished faster.

How: Take 240-350 mg per kg body weight daily for 3-7 days. After this phase is complete, maintenance doses vary, but can be estimated with this chart.

Body Weight	Loading Dosage Range/Day*	Maintenance Dosage Range/Day*
Below 155 lbs.	12-16 grams	4-8 grams
156 to 175 lbs.	13-17 grams	5-9 grams
176 to 199 lbs.	14-18 grams	6-10 grams
200 to 225 lbs.	15-19 grams	7-11 grams
Above 225 lbs.	16-20 grams	8-12 grams

What I’m doing; I weigh about 170 lbs currently. My creatine arrived here 2/20, I will begin today. The loading dosage will be 20g for 5 days, then I will stick to the maintenance dosage of 6 grams.