Tag Archives: Bodybuilding

Health and Fitness

The bench press the most dangerous workout in the gym? No not at all but what about these workouts???

Leave a comment

People are always attacking the bench press and calling it the most dangerous workout in the gym. Is it really? No not at all.

If you want “most dangerous workouts” there are a bunch of others but you never see the bodybuilding industry attacking them. How come you never see the bodybuilding industry attacking workouts like barbell raises behind the head, lat pull downs behind the head, upright rows for shoulders, dumbbell front rows for shoulders and hack squat with knees together??? There are a few “most dangerous” workouts for ya but you don’t see people criticizing them but they do those workouts in the gym anyways.

I don’t do any of those workouts at all but I’ll admit that I experimented with upright rows for shoulders for a couple of weeks. If you want a workout that is hard on the shoulders, it’s not the bench press… try the upright row whether barbell or dumbbells. You’ll notice right away that the upright row is very uncomfortable. I experimented with upright rows for a little bit but I noticed something was up with my shoulders and it was making my joints uncomfortable too so then I immediately stopped doing upright rows.

In my opinion, I think the “upright rows” are the most dangerous workout but you see lifters do that workout in the gym all the freakin’ time. I also believe “upright rows” or “behind the neck” exercises are overrated. Both are very dangerous to the shoulders but you see a lot of guys and even women do them anyways.

In my opinion, the best exercises for shoulders are seated dumbbell presses and standing dumbbell lateral side raises. That’s how I got those big delts by doing those. You don’t need to do behind the neck barbell pressing for shoulders and don’t need to do upright rows at all ’cause those look risky to me. There are plenty of other great workouts for shoulders but instead you see people doing the dangerous ones.

It’s very weird to me that people call the bench press a dangerous workout but they’ll never admit that there are plenty of other dangerous workouts in the gym like those ones I talked about above.

Truthfully, though, ALL workouts in the gym are dangerous and you can get injured in ALL of them but those ones talked about in this video are the most dangerous of all.

I enjoy most workouts in the gym but I hate “upright rows” for shoulders. I wish people would quit doing them ’cause they are going to wreck their shoulders if they continue and their lifting days could be over for good.

Kev

Health and Fitness

I don’t understand why some don’t like the bench press. It’s a great workout and it’s helping me get more gains!

Leave a comment

Well, I’m so glad that I’ve gotten into bench pressing full time. I’m noticing that the bench press workout is helping me get more gains and I’ve been noticing that my chest is beefing up ’cause of it. So many lifters like to trash the bench press and I don’t know why. In the past, I used to be a critic of the “bench press” exercise but it grew on me and now I love it. I think the barbell flat bench is better than dumbbell press but that’s my opinion. My upper body is starting to look like a bodybuilder ’cause the bench is helping.

Some say that the bench is hard on the shoulders and you could get shoulder injuries ’cause of it. Well, the bench don’t have to be hard on the shoulders. You just got to know where to hold the bar in the air and know where to bring it down. Keeping your elbows tucked in while benching is key to saving your shoulders. There are ways to save your shoulders benching, you just gotta know how to do it.

I’m finding benching pretty addicting. A lot of people say it’s the most dangerous workout but it don’t have to be as long as you know what you’re doing and doing it responsibly. To me, I think it’s a pretty safe  and easy workout. Of course, when you go for the heavy weights on the bench get a spotter whenever you think you’re in need of one.

I’m liking the bench press a lot as it’s helping my chest grow and like I said, I’m starting to look like a bodybuilder finally which I’m very proud about. I’m going to keep benching full time and just ignore the critics. Bench press overrated? Not really.

I think bench press is the best compound workout. The reason I’m getting into bench press, squats and deadlift full time is ’cause I need to do more compound stuff than just isolation stuff. In the past, I’ll admit that I’ve been focusing more on isolation stuff but I need to do more compound exercises which I’ve been doing.

I think the bench press is one workout that deserves more respect. I think some don’t like it out of fear of an accident or an injury or something, that’s probably what it is. I used to avoid the bench press like the plague but now I’m all over it and feel great about it.

Kev

Health and Fitness

New bodybuilding progress pics…

Leave a comment

This is my latest bodybuilding progress. Honestly, I still have a little flab to get rid of but I like what I see. As you can see, I didn’t use any kind of lighting tricks for these photos and just used the sun shining through the window just so you can see that I don’t fake my muscular body.

I’ve already gotten a few guys called me a “beast” after I posted these pics so I guess I am getting bigger in size. Just got to shred away some more bodyfat so I can get even leaner and I can easily do that by eating less and doing more cardio. I’ll have to lessen my calorie intake some ’cause I guess eating more calories is not gonna help. This is my next goal for 2019, though. Try to get lower bodyfat and become leaner. I just got to make my nutrition a lot more strict and I’ve already started doing that. No more eating large meals during dinner ’cause that’ll help. I’ll have to eat lesser egg whites in the morning too. I’ll figure it out.

I already do a lot of cardio, though and will do a lot more of it in 2019. I’ll keep doing cardio everyday throughout the Winter too. I’ve been jump roping a lot more and have been doing burpees more too.

My chest is really improving as you can see, though. That’s because I’ve been doing a lot of dumbbell flies, cable crossovers and more bench pressing. That really helped.

This is what a true natural bodybuilding physique would look like, y’all. All that heavy lifting I’ve been doing really pays off. Like I said, don’t listen to those idiots out there that claim that heavy lifting don’t give you gains.

Kev

 

Health and Fitness

This video explains nicely on why I have a pure dislike toward personal trainers and why I refuse to hire one!

Leave a comment

This video is a perfect explanation of why I have a pure dislike toward personal trainers. Between the 10 – 15 years that I’ve been working out in the gym, I never hired a personal trainer. Everything you see me do in the gym was all self-taught. I taught myself everything pretty much. How did I teach myself bodybuilding and weightlifting? Well Arnold’s “Modern Bodybuilding” book pretty much did it for me as that book is the king of workout info. I also learned bodybuilding through some great bodybuilding channels in youtube.

I don’t like personal trainers for various reasons. For one, they act like know it alls… just because they’re “certified personal trainers”, they want to act like big shot know it alls. A lot of them are also hard to take seriously when a lot of personal trainers aren’t in the greatest shape themselves. Same reason this guy explained in the video above.

Another reason I dislike personal trainers is that a lot of them are so conceited and ego-driven. Yeah I know both terms mean the same thing but had to make a point. They act like they are better than people who aren’t certified and that’s one thing that is pissing me off about them. Personal trainers think they own the gym and that’s another reason they piss me off. When they need to use a piece of workout equipment or a machine that you’re using, they’ll have no problem jumping in your set whenever they feel like it and I hate that. You’ve probably seen it too when they need to takeover a workout you’re doing. So they’re a licensed trainer, they feel they can do whatever they want in the gym.

Sure, personal trainers maybe an okay workout partner and motivator but you don’t need to spend a lot of money on a personal trainer and workout partner. When you need a workout partner, all you need is a family member or a friend for free.

When you do need workout advice for whatever reason, you don’t need to get it from a personal trainer. You can get workout advice from “anybody” that works out in the gym. There are plenty of experienced lifters in the gym who do know what they’re doing and are pretty knowledgeable and they aren’t certified trainers — you can get info from them if you want to. Bodybuilders and weightlifters who aren’t certified trainers can be way more smarter and knowledgeable than those who are certified trainers.

Bodybuilding and fitness don’t have to cost much. You can even get into great shape for free. The only reason I pay for a gym membership is ’cause I don’t have a home gym yet. I don’t have room for my own gym equipment here so that’s why I go to a public and commercial gym.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to learn how to workout and learn how to eat right. It doesn’t take much.

I’m my own personal trainer and my own motivator. I’m doing fine doing it all by myself, thank you.

Kev

Health and Fitness

It is a great feeling getting a lot of compliments on my physique lately… hard work is paying off…

Leave a comment

You know you are jacked and have a successful ripped body when you get a lot of people telling you. Not just from family and friends either. You don’t want to get feedback on your physique from family and friends ’cause they’ll be nothing but positive all the time. When you’re getting random compliments from complete strangers out in public like I have been getting lately, you know you’re going somewhere in bodybuilding and weightlifting. A lot lately I’ve been getting a lot of compliments on my physique each time I go to the gym. Usually it’s people I don’t know that come up to me and telling me I look good. One guy told me that I’m looking huge lately, one guy told me I’m getting some big guns and another guy told me that I’m all jacked up. I’ve had a few women at the gym tell me I’m looking real good too.

Yep, hard work is definitely paying off for sure. The compliments just keep coming and coming which feels really good. That is what’s keeping me motivated to keep hitting the gym. The more people tell me I look good, the more it makes me want to go.

Yeah, I really do work hard and I really work my ass off to get the body off my dreams. I want to be a muscle and jacked up dude and I’m doing all I can to get there. I want to look like those guys you see in the action movies and I want to look like a pro wrestler. That’s the kind of look I’m going for. With all these compliments keep coming in, I’ll have to admit that I’m feeling really fucking ripped lately and I’m not afraid to say it. Some of the clothes I wear are starting to feel tight on me ’cause I’m getting bigger.

How did I do it? What is my secret? Well three things… work out hard, eat right and lots of resting. That’s it. Do all three of those things on a consistent basis and you’ll get jacked, trust me. This is not bad coming from someone who is a self taught bodybuilder and weightlifter. I taught it all myself. I refuse to work with a personal trainer ’cause I don’t want to work with one at all. I prefer to do it all myself. I just figured out how to get some gains as a natural bodybuilder. Full range of motion on everything and hitting the full contraction on the muscle.

People say it’s impossible to get jacked quickly without steroids but it is possible to get jacked quickly. Don’t listen to those who claim that muscle building is a slow process ’cause it’s a bunch of bullshit. If I can do it so can you. I got this built physique totally natural. No steroids. No protein powders and no supplements. I get protein from real food. I get protein mostly from eggs, various meats like fish, chicken and steak. I also eat a lot of complex carbs like vegetables and things like that. I also eat whole grains and healthy fats. Just so you know, my nutrition isn’t 100% healthy most of the time ’cause sometimes you gotta have a little junk food to mix it up. I do a good job avoiding junk food most of the time but I still like to have ice cream, pizza and chinese. You gotta have balance ’cause believe it or not cheat meals does help building a great physique. You don’t have to avoid sugars and bad foods completely, just in moderation.

There’s a big myth going around that getting a jacked physique takes years and years but don’t listen to them. From what I’ve experienced, you can build a jacked physique in a few years. If I can do it, you can do it too.

I just love what I do, ya know? I love weightlifting. One of my biggest passions. Too many people just don’t stay committed to weightlifting at all. They just go in and do it for a while then just give up. Slack off from the gym for a long while and then come back to it later. Some even give up weightlifting completely ’cause they find it boring and stuff, ya know? They also give it up ’cause they find themselves struggling to get the body they want. They feel they aren’t going anywhere so they just give it up.

Well, I never gave it up. My 4 day a week routine is going really good. I haven’t stopped and will keep going. There are even some people who go to the gym on and off but not me. I go to the gym all year round even through the fall and Winter. I’ve been hitting the gym 4 days a week all fall and now I’ll be sticking with it throughout the Winter. Stay in great shape all year round. It’s a lifestyle for me.

There are so many that don’t like working out but I do. I fucking love it. If you want to get a jacked physique, you’ve got to love working out ’cause if you don’t love it, you’re not going to get it.

I’m not afraid to say that I want to get a really jacked physique. It’s why I got into bodybuilding and weightlifting in the first place. In the past, I hated having chicken legs and hated having small arms. I also used to be a junk food addict. I was getting kind of flabby back then too and I had to change my life around. Glad I did. I’m feeling good, feeling really healthy and haven’t felt better. I feel amazing right now actually. Life is real good.

Kev

Health and Fitness

Is it fair for the bodybuilding industry to call heavy lifters “egos”???

Leave a comment

You hear it all the time in the bodybuilding and weightlifting world. People wanting to lift real heavy and get real strong, always gets called all kinds of names. They get criticized by people all the time. They get called conceited. Egotistical. Get called many other things for wanting to lift heavy. Is it fair for heavy lifters to get called egotistical?

No, definitely not. It’s definitely not fair. I think it’s actually a very good and courageous thing for people for wanting to challenge themselves to lift heavy weights. Whether you agree with it or not, it is very brave to find out the heaviest number you can lift and find out what your personal records are. There’s nothing wrong with that. People wanting to lift heavy and train for powerlifting. It’s mostly the bodybuilding industry that likes to make fun of the powerlifting industry. It’s crazy, ya know?

Why do powerlifters and heavylifters always get criticized and get called names? Well, I know I say this word a lot but definitely “jealousy” is a big part of it. Bodybuilders don’t do heavy lifting, they mostly do hypertrophy training. Bodybuilders are always calling powerlifters juiced up egomaniacs but want to know what I think is being an egomaniac in weightlifting? Bodybuilders who say they want to have the best physiques. Bodybuilders who say they want to get big as possible. How come they don’t get called “egos” for wanting to have a big and muscular body? There’s so much ego in bodybuilding ’cause they want to be posing on a stage and hoping to win the biggest trophy. That’s not having an ego, hey? There are egos in bodybuilding too, make no mistake about it.

People always think heavy lifting isn’t healthy, could get you injuries and they think powerlifting is dangerous. Well heavy lifting can be healthy and you could get a lot of great benefits lifting heavy things. Don’t judge the book by it’s cover when people want to lift heavy things. It also doesn’t have to be dangerous if you do good technique and good form. Bodybuilding can give you injuries just like powerlifting can. They don’t want to admit that fact.

In the past, I used to be against lifting heavy but now I’m loving it. I find heavy lifting very addicting. It’s a thrill to realize that you are that strong. I can see why so many strong men out there wanna lift heavy ’cause it’s a blast and such a thrill. It gets you pumped up and excited.

Heavy lifters shouldn’t be badly judged. If you want to do it then do it. Don’t listen to the critics and doubters. My goal is to become very strong and there’s nothing egotistical about that. It’s just something that I want. Strength training is a blast and I’m loving it.

Kev

 

 

Health and Fitness

Looks like I’ll have to get back into training chest once a week and I’ll start doing that next week…

Leave a comment

I’m going to have to change my 4 day a week workout program the way it was before. For the past couple of weeks, I thought it would be a good idea to train chest twice a week but now I’m thinking it’s not a good idea. I did some benching at the gym today and attempted 160 lbs. and 155 lbs. I was able to hit those numbers last week. I was able to hit 155 lbs. for the past couple of weeks but this week I wasn’t feeling it for some reason. I totally blame that on training chest twice a week and maybe it’s not a good idea after all. Maybe that’s what’s taking the strength away.

Oh well, it was just an experiment but at least I experimented with it for a couple of weeks, though. I just wanted to try it and see what training chest twice a week did. I’m noticing it isn’t good for powerlifting so I’ll go back to training chest once a week starting next week. On chest days, I’ll just do benching first and then I’ll do the other chest exercises after but I think I’m gonna ditch dumbbell presses for good, though.

Even though I couldn’t hit those numbers I wanted, I still am getting stronger on barbell flat bench, though. I’m able to do more reps on the slightly heavier sets.

Ya know, when you’re training for powerlifting and if you can’t hit those numbers you wanted… don’t worry about it. Just move on and forget it. You never feel bad about yourself if you can’t hit certain numbers you want. Just keep practicing and keep lifting, you’ll get that number before you know it.

This weekend, I’ll think about switching my workout program again and write something down. I’m thinking of moving chest days on weekends which is what I’ll probably do. Arm day on Tuesday, leg day on Wednesday, Back day on Friday (including deadlifting) and chest day on Sat. That sounds good. Go back to where I was before.

The reason I’m moving Chest Day on the weekends is ’cause I want to give my chest plenty of resting and healing and maybe I’ll be a lot stronger next week. I don’t regret giving chest training twice a week a try, it was a good try but no more.

I don’t feel bad ’cause I’m feeling freakin’ ripped lately. I had another guy at the gym give me a compliment on my physique and he tells me, “You’re getting all jacked up” and I just told him “Thank you”. It seems I’m getting a lot of compliments on my physique at the gym lately. A random person will come around and tell me I’m looking good. It seems like each time I go to the gym, someone will give me a compliment. Ya know, when you’re getting people complimenting you on your physique then you know you’re going somewhere and you’re doing good. I love getting compliments on my physique, it seems I’ve been getting a lot of them lately.

I’ll post progress pics pretty soon. Probably in a few days.

Kev

Health and Fitness

Too many guys bench press in terrible form, it’s crazy… are this many guys misinformed about bench press? Wow!!!

Leave a comment

Yes. Bench press is the most popular workout in the gym. They don’t call it the king of all workouts for no reason ’cause it really is. Everyday you walk into a gym, you would see guys and even women doing barbell bench pressing. It’s funny when I watch other guys in the gym doing barbell flat bench ’cause there are so many who bench in terrible form. Too many bench in terrible form, it’s crazy.

Let me explain terrible benching mistakes they do:

  • Half-repping: When they hold the bar high up, they only bring it down half-way and push the bar back up again. That’s how I see a lot of guys do their reps. I disagree with that. That’s not doing anything.
  • Partial-repping: Kind of similar to half-repping but slightly different. I see a lot of guys when they take the bar off the rack and hold it way up to start their set, they only bring the bar down very little. Bring it down very little and push it back up very little. You’ve seen that too and I’m like, wtf is that doing?
  • Elbow flare: What this is, it’s when guys have their elbows tucked in when they bring the bar down but when they bring it up they bring their arms parallel to the bar which is bad. You want to keep your elbows tucked in throughout the whole rep which is what I try to do.
  • Wrists rolling back: Many would bench with their wrists rolled back but that’s kind of dangerous. It’s better to keep your wrists neutral which is what I try to do most of the time.
  • Butt raising off the seat: I see this one a lot in the gym. Guys doing their reps on the bench and their butt goes off the seat on each rep. There’s a guy at the gym that I’ve seen that benches like this and it’s bad. They do this as a way to push the heavy weights more, but if they keep lifting like this, they are going to hurt themselves one of these days. It is a part of ego lifting believe it or not.
  • Bouncing the bar off the chest: This is a real common one. Dudes that bench their reps really quickly and they bounce the bar off their chest really fast which is bad. I don’t do that at all. What I do is set the bar on my chest lightly, pause for a second and then push it up. That’s how you do it.
  • Not keeping the bar balanced when lifting: You see a lot of dudes lift this way. Bar not balancing, bar being lower than the other side. If you’re doing that then you’re going too heavy. That’s ego lifting.
  • Doing really fast reps: I see too many guys bench this way. Lifting heavy barbells and doing their reps up and down really quickly. They do it in good form but they do the reps fast. I don’t like that. It isn’t doing anything giving them fast reps. It’s better to do them slowly, in my opinion. The slower the better. You get more contraction in slow range of motion.
  • Going too heavy without a spotter: I understand that there are going to be lots of ego-lifters on the bench press, admit it right? A lot of other men in the gym will never admit that they like to be show-offs and show everyone how tough they are. It’s a wrong thing to do to sacrifice your form to show off your big ego. It’s okay to leave your ego at the door and only lift weights that you can handle. No one cares if you can’t lift the heavy weights. When I bench in the gym, I don’t really need a spotter ’cause the benches there have safety catchers and I figured out a way to safely get out of a failed lift if I get in trouble. If I can’t get the weight up all the way, I’ll just carefully set the bar on the safety catcher, it’s easy. A lot of times I like to challenge myself and lift the heavy ones to see what my latest p.r.’s are. If your gym doesn’t have a power rack or if your gym have benches with no safety catchers then you need a spotter. You don’t want to get thrown in an ambulance, trust me.

So there you have it. Enjoy and bench safely and responsibly! I love benching. I used to be against benching but now it has grown on me.

Kev