Author: D C

Want to learn how to get strong and build muscle? Many people have asked us to teach our barbell work to folks outside our gym and now is your chance to learn from us! On September 29^th, we’re teaching how to do the best moves for quickly building the most muscle and getting strong fast – the deadlift, the barbell squat, the bench press, and the overhead press. You’ll leave the seminar with the knowledge to do these lifts on your own safely and productively. The two-hour seminar is only NT1000 and we’re only accepting 12 people to keep the quality high. Hope to see you there!

Know your coaches – Steve Maxwell
We’re proud to see Steve back with us this year. Steve was the first American black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the Gracie family and he has been training longer than many of us have been alive. He started his gym in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania back in the 1980’s and he has a master’s degree in exercise science. He’s seen it all, but the best thing about Steve is that he doesn’t just teach fitness – he lives it. Many people talk about the movie 300 or how the Spartans trained, but Steve actually lives a life based on Greco-Roman ideals about health and fitness. He’s read a lot on how they actually trained in ancient times and spends a part of every year in Greece training in the same places they trained. People like Steve are rare these days so we’re happy to absorb everything he can teach us in the brief time he’s here.

2800 calories. That’s roughly how many calories it takes an average man to build 1lbs of muscle, assuming the training is right and you’re getting enough protein. The problem is most guys that want to build muscle are so afraid of gaining fat that they don’t eat nearly enough. You would need an extra 400 calories a day every day to equal 2800 extra calories in a week. Are you getting enough?

We’ve talked many times about being careful which videos you watch and here’s a great example of what NOT to do.

This may be from NIKE but it is a terrible movement that is NOT a Turkish getup. We like to say NIKE = Not Into Kettlebell Exercise. Even though they’re a large company, they don’t know everything and their kettlebell videos are terrible, as are the others from big shoe companies. If you want shoes, get NIKEs. But if you want kettlebell knowledge, go to the people that have it.

I know people are going to ask about this. Learn the rules before you break the rules! Beginners need to build basic strength and learn how to brace the core when lifting. Don’t round your back when deadlifting if you’re a beginner. Build up your back by flexing the lats to keep that neutral spine position (spinal extension). When you’ve got a few years of lifting experience and you’re strong, then rounded back DL may be an option for you.