Sunday 27 April 2014

Do you want to deadlift heavier?




As deadlift is a compound movement, it’s definitely 1 of those must do movements whenever you train with free weight.



The formula is very simply…the heavier you can deadlift, the stronger you get and the more muscles you build!



Below are tips of what you can do to increase the weight you deadlift:-

1. Train your core to improve overall lifting strength



The most common error when deadlifting is allowing your lower back to round as you pull heavy weights. In order to keep your lower back in its strongest and safest position, i.e. a neutral position, your core has to be strong. This means you need to train your core comprising of abs, lats and glutes.



Do planks, side bends and leg raises for stronger abs. Do pull ups and rows for stronger lats. Do Kettlebell swings for stronger glutes.



2. Deadlift with straight arms



Deadlifting with bent arms is wrong as it’s weak and could potentially lead to bicep tear. Never do this! Keep your arms straight and focus on tensing your triceps as hard as possible throughout your deadlifts.



3. Grip the bar with all your might



The law of irradiation states that when you tense 1 muscle group hard, all muscles around it will work hard too. Don’t just grip the bar hard enough to make the deadlift. Give the bar a choke hold because it builds grip strength and your body is ready to contract all muscles hard to lift heavier.



4. Don't max out too often



Maxing out frequently is not a good idea because deadlifts are hard to recover from. If you need to max out, try maxing out once every 12 weeks. Staying fresh is a big part when deadlifting.



5. Incorporate speed in your workout program



After your heavier deadlifts, try deadlifting lighter weights quickly and without compromising your proper deadlifting technique. You may deadlift 60-75% of your heavy weight for additional 2 or 3 sets. The secret here is to keep your rest periods short (45-60 seconds) when you deadlift lighter weights to help condition your body.



Saturday 12 April 2014

Chateau Bernadotte, 2010, Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux

Property of Mr Flabby Less


This is blend of 51.5% cabernet sauvignon and 48.5% merlot. Lovely sweet perfume of cherries. Smooth and elegant palate. Quite silky in texture. Pretty balanced actually. Medium firm tannins. Cassis finish. Medium bodied.



Tuesday 8 April 2014

Hendrick's (gin) and tonic

Property of Mr Flabby Less

I've never been a fan of gin and tonic so when it was introduced to me by my beeatch, FFB, I was highly sceptical.

"Isn't this a lady's drink? C'mon bro, I'm sure you can do better than this."

"Wait 'til you try it. It's very smooth I tell chew."

After my first sip, "Hey, this is nice! Yes, very smooth indeed. The cucumber gives it a very pleasant natural sweetish aftertaste. Must be the chemical reaction."

"I like mixing it with both soda water and tonic. I find that with tonic alone, it's rather sweet."

That's how my love affair with Hendrick's started...

Cheers to FFB for introducing this drink to me! ;-)