Category: gym news

We have new items for sale! Get a free one hour seminar on how to use the equipment with most purchases! Details below!
Power bands in five sizes:
1. NT490
2. NT690
3. NT750
4. NT890
5. NT1090
full set for NT3600 — almost 10% off!
Get a free one hour seminar in how to use the bands when you buy a set! We have these seminars every month at the gym.

Gymnastic rings NT1400 for a pair — plus a free seminar in how to use them.

Heavy Duty Sandbags — NT1950 — get a free seminar in how to use the sandbags PLUS approximately 30kg of sand for free!

Soft Medicine Balls
2kg NT1300
4kg NT1600
6kg NT1900
8kg NT2200
10kg NT2500
Full set for NT8500 over 10% off!

For more information on the products or to sign up for the seminars, please call 2365-5223. Thanks!

I ordered sandbells for the gym. We’re primarily going to use them train kids, for grip strength, and also for slamming. Our med balls aren’t really made for that. Here’s a nice little workout above with a sandbell for adults.

I was initially turned off of sandbells because they were being promoted as an alternative to the kettlebell and they aren’t that IMO. Not even close. The right tool for the right job. They’re also being promoted as a replacement for barbells and dumbbells — again, a mistake IMO. I see them as being good the uses I outlined above. For heavier work, I’d recommend that people just use a regular sandbag and ours go up to about 120lbs.

Anyway enjoy them when they come in!

If you’re looking for a trainer in a mainstream gym in Taiwan, you’d do well to look for someone with a bodybuilding background. I’ve trained nearly 200 trainers here and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting more than that over the years. I’ve meet trainers both good and bad and though there were some excpetions, in general most of the pretty good ones had a bodybuilding background.

If you think about it for a minute, Taiwan’s culture isn’t really conducive to building muscle and being really fit. Yet, the bodybuilders have gone against that grain and built muscle anyway. I admire them for that because we hear all the time from people that “don’t want to get big” by lifting weights. If people only knew how hard it is to get big even if you want to!

Bodybuilders know how to build muscle and lose fat because they have to know that for competition. And getting on a stage in your underwear can’t be easy. I wouldn’t do it. It scares me to death. But it forces you to really know what you’re doing, that’s for sure.

Bodybuilders also have an amazing work ethic that they have to maintain for years. The truth is no one builds a great physique in months no matter what P90X and the other fitness marketing fads tell people. Bodybuilders know that it takes years and people need to hear the truth of that.

So that’s my recommendation. Whoever you pick, be sure to ask them lots of questions about their approach to find the trainer right for you.

Part of education is learning what’s right but in order to do that, we have to also talk about what’s wrong. Too many people shy away from doing that. In order to say what’s right and wrong, you have to stand for something first and I think many people are reluctant to do that. That’s really too bad. Why are so many people really afraid to take a stand for something that they think is good? I really don’t understand that. We all benefit from the exchange of ideas as long as people stand behind their ideas and defend them. But I can’t abide someone that stands for nothing. If you stand for nothing, if you aren’t passionate about an idea, then I feel sorry for you. I’m very passionate about what I do and I hope you do too. If you aren’t, find something that you feel passionate about and learn all you can about it. Life’s too short to do anything else.

Who’s the fittest? Find out at the Tactical Strength Challenge (TSC)!

Training up for this will help you lose fat and get strong!

The challenge has two parts: 1. you agree to make the deadlift, pullup, and kettlebell snatch a part of your workout from now until the first weekend of May 2014, and 2. if you feel so inclined, you come compete at the TSC competition on 03 May 2014 at Formosa Fitness.

Here’s what the competition part of the challenge looks like:

The idea behind this is to use the competition to drive your workouts. Here are the benefits to the challenge:
1. The date of the competition gives you an end date, forcing you to focus on getting the workouts done rather than procrastinating.
2. You’ll be going through this at the same time as other people, providing a sense of community to drive you further.
3. You’re forced to focus on broadly useful exercises instead of less useful ones, getting strong and losing fat in the process.
4. Plus on competition day you’ll get to come meet a bunch of people just like yourself. Trust me, it’s a relief to meet other people that enjoy this stuff here since no one else in your gym may be into this.
All are welcome!!

On the morning of May 03, we have weighins at 10am and the competition starts at 10:30am. Everyone gets three chances to pull a deadlift max. When everyone has pulled, everyone (guys and gals) does a set of max pullups. You’re done when your feet hit the floor. After that, you do a set of max kettlebell snatches in 5:00 with the 12kg (women) or 16kg (men’s beginner), or 24kg (men’s open division). The winner is the one who gets the most points in the three events.

If you’re interested in joining, please signup here: https://www.facebook.com/events/189569594584665/

Need a program to get you started? Do these workouts below to prepare:
Tactical Strength Challenge Beginner Program
Workout A
hip ext 3×10
body squats 40
pullups 5×5 (do 25 total)
deadlift 5, 5, 5+
DB OH press 5×8
pullups 5×5 (do 25 total)
DB or KB swings 5x10L/R (minimal rest between sets)

Workout B
hip ext 3×10
body squats 40
pullups 5×5 (do 25 total)
Barbell squat 4×10
DB rows 3x10L/R
Pushups 3×25
DB or KB snatch 5x10L/R (minimal rest between sets)

Alternate these workouts ABA for a total of 3x a week. Do these every week between now and May 3 and you’ll be ready to compete!

Hope to see you there!