Bryan Kavanagh's Athletic Body Blog

Bryan Kavanagh's New Personal Trainer Dublin Website and ABS GYM

2009-07-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

This blog has been inactive for quite a while now but if you are interested have a read of my personal trainer dublin blog or my personal training studio website by clicking the links below.

Just so you know i will be updating my other 2 blogs much more frequently and if you stumbled across this one please head over to

http://mypersonaltrainerdublin.com

or

http://bryankavanagh.com

The reason being is that i have too many personal training websites to maintain but this one still gets web traffic so why get rid of it? :-)

I now have a personal training studio called the ABS Gym in temple bar, Dublin 2. Google it :-)

Thanks

Bryan

Lose fat for summer? Is It Too Late To Get That 'Beach Body'?

2009-05-24T05:02:00.001-07:00

I came accross this quote recently . . I don't know how i missed it. . it's quality;

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'If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.' - Mohammad Ali

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That's just to spur you on. .

Did it work? Good. .

I have been hearing a lot of negativity among trainees lately, not just in the gym, but on twitter, facebook, and just listening to general conversation. .

Weight loss, abs and getting a beach body seems to be on everyones agenda but 'surprise surprise' nobody is doing anything about it. Each and every person that i encounter thinks it is too late now;

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'It's summer, I cant lose all that fat now'

'Its May already, maybe next year'

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I'm sorry to tell you but thats a loada crap. .Ali's Quote above. . its never too late and your NOT different. You can change you body, i dont care who you are or what your circumstances are. . You too can lose that stubborn bellyfat. . . on that note. .

A member of http://myathleticbodyspace.ning.com recently told me;

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'But its hard for me to lose fat, and I lose muscle easily'

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Initially i was a little understanding and compassionate until I had a look at his food diary on the My Athletic Body Space . .

bread sticks,
'just a little' cereal and
'seeded bread' frequented the menu. .

Lets just say the ensuing message was not friendly :-)

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Let's be honest; It's ONLY May, you can lose a lot of fat in a couple of weeks, even if your holiday is in June or July, there's still time. . you know what your doing? Making big, fat, hairy, lazy excuses. . That's right . . I'm not going to sugar coat it. . you need a push. .

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On that note i would like to make a blatant sales pitch. .

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Theres still time for you to burn that last bit of fat for summer. . its only May. I know our friends across the water celebrated 'Memorial Day' yesterday so we've decided to make a silly -belated- offer. .

We have (well Ian did) repackaged abs and I think it will suit some people down to the ground.We literally took the 'Fat Loss Pathway' Out of Athletic Body System and Made ABS for Fat Loss

This is especially for people who just want a quick fix and a no BS route to fatloss.

You dont want to read through 100's of pages of information, you just want the workouts. . good old fashioned effective workouts. . well I have just the thing.

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CLICK HERE to take advantage of this offer and to get rid of that last bit of fat for the summer!

but dont worry. .

We are taking the risk

If you dont like it we are taking all the risk. . 100% money back guarantee. . so if you feel like the package isnt worth the ridiculously low price we are asking then you can just send us over an email and we will happily refund it. . we dont want any unhappy campers :-)

So if you are already lean and dont have a little fat that you could do with losing then dont CLICK HERE

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Sorry about the blatant sales pitch but i think this is perfect for a lot of people who just want to lose fat for summer and i know that there are some takers here in the Dublin gyms!

So stop making excuses and take ACTION today!

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---> To Your Fat Loss Success :-)

PS.

Did i mention you are not alone on this journey. . I will personally email you every day for two weeks. Providing tips on how to address your lifestyle, nutrition and mindset. . how bout that?!

Click Here

-

Bryan Kavanagh Bsc CSCS

Physique transformation Coach!

How to 'Tone' your trouble spots like bingo wings, arm fat, love handles, chest fat and belly fat. . what if told you you couldn't?

2009-04-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

I know i told you i was going to tell you how to 'Tone' your trouble spots like bingo wings, arm fat, love handles, chest fat and belly fat. . what if told you that this was impossible and you couldn't? I know it would come as a shock but it actually is an impossibility to tone just your trouble spots.

Tone is another big misconception among the general training population! I even seen a television programme recently with some dumb arse trainer, he had an overweight woman doing tricep kick backs, and mislead her into thinking it was going to 'tone' her arms and help her lose fat on her arms. . You can't tone fat! My apologies but I may get a little antagonistic here. . I get angry when I hear the term 'Tone' as it causes so many dedicated people to do things all wrong!

The word TONE is a big misconception! There is no such thing as 'TONING' a muscle muscles either get

1.Bigger

2.Smaller

Now i know what your saying. . .

'I don't want big muscles!!!!!'

I understand that... women will not get big muscles no matter how hard they try... unless of course you have a good anabolic steroids dealer? Do you? Women lack adequate amounts of the anabolic hormones men possess: testosterone! So you have nothing to worry about! All training heavy and hard is going to do is burn fat, 'tone' and make you lean and sexy!

Now your muscles may get A LITTLE bigger but you will lose fat at the same time and you will remain the EXACT same size... just look far better?!

Sounds like a plan eh?

That is 'TONE'. . well at least what people are looking for when they refer to tone.

----> Reduction in body fat and simultaneous maintenance or slight increase in muscle

I know what you are thinking now. . .

'Ok so do i do this?'

You have one or more of the following: bingo wings, bat wings, upper arm fat, love handles or man boobs so it makes sense to focus on those areas, right? Nope! At first it seems to makes sense, but after thinking about it you'll understand why focusing on your trouble spots is not the solution to fixing them. This is the biggest obstacle trainees face is listening and changing their training. This is essential, especially when it comes to fat loss.

I like to describe it like this. .

'If I take a bucket of water out of the corner of a swimming pool, the water comes from the swimming pool as a whole...not just one section of it'

You get the idea? You have to train your whole body as a unit to reduce bodyfat, your blood stream supplies the energy (in the form of fat) to your muscles, yes? You cannot select where the fat comes from, your body does! It may seem logical for your body to go to fat stores closest to the muscle for energy but it doesn't! Blood flows around your body and the fat that is being used may have been picked up from your thighs or your back not your belly or bingo wings! You don't have control over this aspect of fat loss! Live with it.

Fat will be lost, more often than not, in the reverse order it was put on. Almost everone started puttin on weight in one are first then another etc and the last place to put on nasty bodyfat is usually the first to lose it. Metabolic type work and a clean diet is the key to fat loss, doesn't matter where the fat is!

Copyright (c) 2009 Athleticbodysystem

Bryan Kavanagh Bsc. CSCS

Find out more

----> http://www.athleticbodysystem.com

For social support and helpful tips and example workouts click below

---> http://myathleticbodyspace.ning.com

Protein Shakes – Are They Worth It? Or Are They a Waste Of Money?

2009-04-04T04:54:00.000-07:00

First i would like to introduce an exciting study carried out in 2008 that involved 3 groups of people.

1. A Control (CON)
2. Exercise only (EX)
3. Exercise and Protein (EXPRO)

It revealed that ingesting 2 EXTRA protein shakes (extra calories) per day (EXPRO) for 10 weeks caused a ~10% decrease in fat mass and +2% increase in muscle mass. Not bad for 10 weeks of training! This is compared to (EX) who underwent exactly the exercise programme and their diet was adjusted so that they ingested exactly what EXPRO did minus the protein drinks. (Lockwood, 2008)

So what caused the increase in muscle mass and decrease in fat you ask?

This part was not in the study and is merely my own hypothesis.

1. Satiety

My 1st hypothesis is not very scientific but makes sense Ingesting a protein shake in the morning would increase satiety and thus decrease the RISK of that individual heading for the cereal press (god I hate cereal) and eating 3 pieces fruit in the morning. No carbs + No insulin = ↑ Fat loss! Dont get me wrong fruit is great! Full of nutrients and goodness but it also contains calories, it is NOT a magical food that disappears once you eat it. . just think about it next time you eat 3 banana's on the way to work after having a bowl of cornflakes!

NO NO NO!!!

2. Timing

I am assuming the second shake was ‘post workout’ and ingestion of a post workout shake speeds up protein synthesis and actually boosts metabolism via thermogenesis (heat generation) on it own (workout or no workout!)

Also, depending on the rate of digestion/ absorption prevents muscle breakdown and increases recovery time. Whey hydrolysate (in ---->PROMAX<---- and ---->PROMAX AMINOS<----) will illicit the largest of these responses and next in line is whey isolate. Whey concentrates and milk proteins (casein) are too slow to digest (Barr, 2008) and they would not result in nearly as much fat loss or muscle gain.

3. Most people are in a caloric deficit anyway!

Most people are not consuming enough calories in the first place but their diet consists of mainly high glycemic foods and the resultant decrease in metabolism/ fat release from cells will result in a decreased 'basal metabolic rate' (number of calories your body need to survive) The excess calories along with the increase in metabolism results in a net increase in protein synthesis but increased fat loss also! You have the best of both worlds!

4. Their Strength increased!

Assuming both individuals were similar size/weight/limb length etc. If Individual A performs an exercise with 50 kilograms and individual B performs the same exercise with 100 kilo. Who has performed the most work and thus burned more calories and further stimulated protein synthesis?. . . duuhhh. . . ?

5. They 'broke the fast'

Ingesting the protein shake first thing in the morning broke the overnight fast (sleep) kerbed muscle breakdown and kickstarted protein synthesis. The post workout shake kerbed muscle breakdown and kickstarted protein synthesis post workout also. Individual B has a headstart and will accumulate more muscle and recover from his sessions sooner than individual A.

Take home message. .

Take a protein supplement! It will benefit you if your training or not! What I failed to mention was the EX group also lost 4.5% fat compared to the 10% the EXPRO group lost. . that’s 5.5% more fat lost my consuming MORE calories. . . huh? I thought extra calories make you fat? . . . well that’s another article

Promax

References:
1. Lockwood et al. Nutr Metab 2008, 5:11
2. Barr, Anabolic Index, 2008.

Bryan Kavanagh BSc. CSCS

PS

You can see me rant about this subject more by clicking HERE We hava 'Protein Debate' going on over there!

Just click Here ---> http://myathleticbodyspace.ning.com

2009-01-15T12:23:00.001-08:00

Here’s some things I have noticed lately that just make my blood boil.

In the past 2 weeks I almost lost hope. It seems that there are traps and pitfalls everywhere for people that are the PRIMARY cause of the current WORLDWIDE obesity and laziness epidemic. . and do you want to know the killer? They are just unavoidable! I was in Newry (northern Ireland) last week and seen this. . .

Come on! spinal surgery anyone? This sort of nonsense, crunches, sit ups, cat stretches, them weird looking push up stretches where the persons pelvis is still on the floor and they’re looking at the ceiling interesting stretch. . all completely contradictory to what your spine and the surrounding musculature is suppose to do! Stretching and mobilising a structure that is made for stability. . tut tut. . no wonder half the people I meet are complaining of back pain.. the INSTRUCTIONS on the products they are buying tell us to do these things and blindly we follow! Ever buy a set of dumbbells with a set of instructions of ALL the possible combinations of exercises are on there. . we, the buyer, feel compelled to do all of them then! Think we know it all and then weeks down the line we are injured! GREAT!

A couple days before I sent th interesting picture above I seen this. . I’m grinding my teeth as I write this by the way. .

Oh now processed sugar is good for you : ) haha

High carbohydrate low fat diets are good for you now. . .interesting. .

Ahh the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes has nothing to do with sugar now? Cool I’m going to buy a bag of it right now!

How in the name of s#@t can they make these label claims and sleep at night! Grrrrrr

And even better . . a member recently directed me to this video! LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEbRxTOyGf0

Oh dear. . don’t blame me if I inflict harm on HFCS company owners in the near future : )

This ones better

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbMkwc3Qe1k&feature=related

Its true! We are being fed horse crap everyday! Think of the original food pyramid? 8-10 portions of grain a day. . did somebody say hippopotamus? Haha

Only eat meat or eggs 3 times per week or some crap I can’t remember? Its like they are trying to kill everyone or make them fat and weak!

Ugh I do NOT have a clue where im going with this but ill keep going . . .

Til next time

Daily Mugshot

2008-12-26T10:30:00.001-08:00

Daily Mugshot

Sprint Session

2008-12-23T11:56:00.000-08:00

This is one i done today!

Sprint ONE length 20 m

Walk the Width 8 m

Sprint the OTHER length 20 m

Walk width 8m

now it gets fun. . .

Sprint up and back on one side 2x 20 m

walk ONE width

Sprint up and back 2x 20 m

Malk one width

Even more fun. .

3x20m

walk width

3x 20 m

rest one minute. .

repeat x 3

took all of 8 minutes or something like that i will time it next time (20 mins warm up)

(i warn you i am still sweating and that was over an hour ago)

get it into you :-)

Bryan

Stages Of Change

2008-12-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

The majority of the population are in one of two stages of change. The are either in ‘precontemplation’ i.e. they are completely oblivious to the fact that training could be good for them or that they need change! They may or may not decide to EVER take part in training of any kind and this is possibly down to good genetics and the fact they don’t store fat easily. Yay for them! Sucks for us! Another large percentage of the population are the ‘contemplation’ stage of change. They are considering changing for the better and undergoing a transformation, albeit muscle gain, fat loss or conditioning. The problem is they have it in their head that its ‘hard’ to stay in shape. . that it’s a chore or something! Well it isn’t. . It shouldn’t be but the gym users have it all wrong! They have lost the drive to train!

Training is fun!

Training should be enjoyable . . not a chore! If you are finding it hard to motivate yourself and you are literally falling asleep lying on the bench maybe something needs to change? Change the damn workout! Do something different!

‘I’m bored stupid of this workout and getting nowhere but ill keep doing it anyway . . maybe next week I wont be bored of it’

HUH? YOU ARE BEING RIDICULOUS!

Competitive edge!

All training/’working out’ (what a lame ass term anyway . . working out WHAT? Maths? The meaning of life? Get working hard!) Train for something! Set a GOAL and strive toward it. . don’t ‘work-out’ or you are setting yourself up to be a gym creep and fail miserably. . your training should have a competitive element. Not necessarily with an opponent but compete with yourself! Your previous unconditioned/flabby/skinny self. Beat Him/Her! TRAIN harder than Him/Her! Train like an ATHLETE! TRAIN TO WIN! Working out is for chumps!

Motivational!

Get MOTIVATED! As I said above. . you will get nowhere if you find yourself standing in the middle of the gym floor sleezing on somebody with a cute ass that just walked by. .save it for when your FINISHED the session. . your mind should not wander you have a job to do! GET WORKING! Set a goal for that particular session! don’t have a vague notion of ‘someday I will get in shape’ maybe next month . . or year. . GET STARTED NOW! Or you will NEVER get in shape, you will never achieve your goals, you will never WIN!

The misconception that someone who is in shape spends everyday all day in the gym, all day doing curls and running on a treadmill is complete nonsense! The ones who are in shape are those who have a purpose. The ones that are there for a reason! The ones that have made the conscious decision to TRAIN and train HARD! GENETICS MY ASS maybe you can look ‘OK’ if you have superior genetics but in order to look ‘GREAT’ it doesn’t matter what end of the genetic spectrum they are on it demands hard work! They train hard too ya know?!

The stereotype that the person in shape has no life and the common statement that being in shape is ‘not worth it’ has to abolished!

‘Its too much sacrifice’

‘its too hard’

‘I have a life’

What a load of nonsense. . so having a life is eating garbage and making a nuisance out of yourself nowadays?!

‘Obsessed is a word lazy people use to describe the dedicated’-

I don’t know who wrote it and I’m too lazy to find out

The ones in shape enjoy training, its fun to them but they do NOT over do it. . the only ones who overdo it are the ones who go for it hammer and tongs for 6 months then give up because they approached it all wrong! They didn’t take it like it is. . a change in lifestyle. A CHANGE! You don’t simply add the gym into your schedule. It becomes so much more than that but you have to make the decision first! You have to decide what you want and what you are willing to sacrifice for that ideal body you desire. It can be as simple as re arranging things in your life not taking over it. give it a go NOW not in January when you have put on 10 pounds. The 10 pounds you put on will take a whole lot longer to lose. Make the right decision and START NOW and stop procrastinating and putting it off!

P.S.

Let me take this opportunity to tell you to get on over to the ‘12 days of fitness’ website and sign up to grab your free gifts! Seriously, I’m a contributor and I’m still going in to see what I can get for F.R.E.E. . you pay nothing. . it really is a no brainer! There is something in there for everyone!

Muscle Gain

Fat Loss

Lifestyle Management

Sports Specific programmes

Avoiding The Christmas Bulge (I wonder who wrote that one haha)

Come don’t just sit there go sign up here: http://www.12daysoffitness.com

There have been nearly 20,000 sign ups so far, don’t be left out!

Tell you friends we really want to make this BIG and we need your help!

Twitter

Face book status! COME ON! give us a dig out! Spread the news!

Thanks in advance!

Bryan Kavanagh BSc. CSCS

P.P.S.

I know I can be persistant! Haha

Http://www.athleticbodysystem.com

It’s Been Long Road!

2008-12-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

Did you know someone that just doesnt listen? Yea sure they took in the information but they didn’t LISTEN! They knew exactly what you were saying, fully understood, but still they done the exact opposite of what you are saying? I’ve had a few clients like that. . they tried my patience! One in particular though really took the biscuit! He had to get it REALLY wrong for him to realise that he needs to change something! He took all the wrong turns along the way. He made all the mistakes possible. Maybe sometimes you need to make the mistakes and learn from them in order for you to really stick to something. Otherwise you are just following blindly . . like a groupie or something. . .

Let’s start from where it really got interesting, you see I had been helping him for quite some time, helped him make weigh-ins and helped a little with pre fight nutrition.

In summer 2007 we had just boxed in an international tournament against a Nordic team (comprised of Swedish, Norwegians, and Icelanders. Instead of keeping on track the dumb antelope bought ‘The New Encyclopaedia of Modern Bodybuilding’ and after losing an small amount of bodyfat (and muscle because he wouldn’t listen and used to run 15 miles 3 times per week and thought that would burn fat??) in the previous few months, he was actually starting to get lean ~10% bodyfat but then he decided to follow Arnolds recommendations and eat 3500-4000 calories per day and train using bodypart splits and a bodybuilding style of training and ceased to train athletically! The result? He put on weight alright. . ! shot up to about 14+% bodyfat! For an international boxer that is a horrible bodyfat percentage to be at! After a summer of mistakes and 3-4 kilo’s of fat later he finally decided to listen to me!

He started on the programme early October. . he listened and trained hard. . but it really was too late! He just barely made the weigh-ins for the all Ireland boxing championships 2007. Tired and drained and not performing he boxed with all his heart in the 1st fight. . heart wasn’t enough against the slippery opponent. . heart will only get you so far he needed to change his whole outlook on his training and lifestyle!

Up until a year ago his training tools involved a skipping rope, a sweat suit, a treadmill and a sauna. No wonder he wasn’t performing. . he was training to lose weight, NOT FAT and certainly NOT TO BOX!

‘Weights? Ah they will just slow me down’ common misconception among boxers and couldn’t be further from the truth!

"An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field." - Niels Henrik David Boh

Robert spent more time in the weights room conditioning his body and even longer in the kitchen preparing food that will FUEL his ambitions not hinder them than he did in the ring for 6 months after!

Fast forward less than a year and 3 solid months sparring with the best in the world in TOP RANK boxing gym in Las Vegas. . . .

Lean, Athletic, All Ireland Champion. .(he's still ugly though) : )

Find out more about the system Robert used here:

Http://www.athleticbodysystem.com

Long Day Tomorrow!

2008-12-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

'i dont have the time to prepare all that food'

'i cant get that in the deli'

'i dont have time in the morning to prepare food'

Prepare it the night before then!

Have a peek at the video! you will see how easy it can be! just because you dont have time (which is nonsense anyway) how many hours did you watch telly or check your silly emails for yesterday?! huh? that time could have been spent preparing valuable food!

but if you literally are strapped for time try this!

http://www.athleticbodysystem.com

Prevention Is The Best Cure

2008-12-01T16:52:00.000-08:00

Has anyone ever told you that prevention is the best cure? I’m sure they have but did you ever think of the reasoning behind it? It’s really simple, not letting something happen in the first place versus letting it happen and then fixing it afterwards. . come on, stop it before it happens and it’s a win-win scenario! I’ll use a little analogy to get the point across; you want a new car yea? Your old car is worth $5000, and you want to sell it. You could sell it for $5000 but instead you decide to crash it into a wall and claim the insurance for the same amount of money. There’s a lot of paper work and your premium goes up and to the same end result. .you got the same amount of money for it. That’s essentially what you are doing by letting yourself go in December! You are letting yourself go and then training REALLY hard in January and February only to end up exactly where you are now.

Oh, I know what you are saying ‘it’s only a week in December that I let myself go’ but lets be honest it isn’t really.

I’m going to be truthful, I’m a bit of a Grinch. From a professional standpoint i’m not really a fan of this time of year. Not because I don’t like the season, but because I see what it does to people! ‘the season to be jolly’? It seems like it has evolved into the season of gluttony and nonsense, followed quickly by guilt and discust! All I see are excuses! Half arsed reasons why someone can’t do this or can’t do that. .

‘oh I have to do my shopping’

This one seems to be a favourite excuse for skipping training over the Christmas these days!

‘Well everyone else is eating and drinking crap’

Well lead by example and don’t make a complete show of yourself this Christmas!

‘I REALLY will go hard at it for the new year’

Get REAL. What will you do between now and then? Huh? Make a mess of your waistline and leave yourself in the lurch for an unconditioned FAT and LAZY Christmas? I am being very harsh here but it’s true! And you know it. You are delaying the fact that you need to start NOW!

New years resolutions;

What a heap of garbage! If you were going to start January you’d have got off your ass and started last January! How long did that last? I bet you tried huh?

Truth be known you are setting yourself up to fail by setting such a ridiculous goal as that! The very essence of ‘ill start Monday’ or ill start in January is ridiculous! Think about it. You let what progress you have made in the last few weeks slip and back pedal for the entire month of December. So then even if you do start back in the gym on the 1st of January your nonsensical lifestyle has left you in a bundle and the Easter bunny will be calling before you get rid of the heap of Christmas cake you ate from your waistline!

That’s if you get that far!

Think about it you are creating an uphill struggle for yourself! You are essentially admitting to yourself that you are okay with the fact that no matter how hard you train and how strict your diet is you will only get back to where you are now in March or April. What a waste of four months wouldn’t you agree? That means you have a mere couple of weeks to get your arse in shape for summer! Get started now and stop being a nuisance to yourself (and me).

Oh I get it. . you cheated and started making a mess of things already! You took a break to go shopping and began buying the junk food already stocking up for Christmas . . STOCKING UP for Christmas! Where the hell did that come from anyway? Huh? People start buying the tins of sweets and chocolate weeks in advance! Do you think the shops are going to run out of chocolate? Eh NO! Get started NOW! Not in January, Earn your Christmas dinner, don’t give in to it! Not convinced? Well that’s too bad, you might as well keep off track and completely blow it! Or is it not too late? What if you actually lost weight and improved your conditioning levels BEFORE Christmas!? Sounds good eh?

‘But how would I do that?’

Well to be perfectly honest you need guidance! You need to structure your days over Christmas! Those of you who are off work for the Christmas and train on the way home from work . . plan your sessions. . train at home! Just because your normal routine has stopped do not let it slide!

You need to structure your week around your lifestyle not the other way around! Slot daily Christmas orientated tasks in around your lifestyle and training sessions. If you do it the other way around your training AND nutrition will fail because the Christmas lifestyle is not friendly!

I know, I know

‘Bryan’s Mean’

I’m okay with it. I would rather be the mean guy that helps than the nice guy that tells you it’s alright when it clearly isn’t!

Bryan Kavanagh BSc. CSCS

PS.

If you want to know how to beat the Christmas bulge and get started NOW,

Click here:
http://www.athleticbodysystem.com

The Home Gym

2008-11-23T14:57:00.000-08:00

The other day i missed boxing training because i had to do the corner for a client/friend of mine who was fighting in a warm up for the All Irelands Boxing Competition.

i had to do an early session to replace what i was missing and had 20 mins to do so. . i was in no humour of lifting anything heavy i just wanted someting fast yet challenging. . .this is what i came up with :-)

6 rounds on the punchbag at a fairly high tempo

3 rounds of push ups and inverted rows

I done the 1st round with just bodyweight and thought 'ah this is a bit easy!'

and improvised! out came the chains and a swiss ball!

I generally regard swiss balls as a useless piece of equipment but i tried to utilise it in this instance :-)

the next 3 sets were done like this . . bit ridiculous but tough and a great finisher. . . i didnt feel so guilty after missing boxing then

click on the link below for if you want more! if not. . dont, its up to you :-)

http://www.athleticbodysystem.com

JUST SAY NO

2008-11-22T16:30:00.000-08:00

Just Say No

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage -- pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically -- to say 'no' to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger 'yes' burning inside."
-- Stephen Covey

I’m sorry but I received this quote from the facebook group ‘Inspirational Yoga’ and couldn’t help but take up on it! I have heard of the just say NO tactic in time management but never found the actual quote! Thanks ‘Inspirational Yoga’.

Now this quote does not only relate to time management! It relates to your body too! I know it sounds cheesy but in order to attain and/or maintain a lean physique you must say NO to a few things along the way. Things that hold you back!

Society – The number one thing you need to say no to is society itself! Now I am not saying you sit on your own in your room and eat broccoli and do push ups all day, I am simply saying that you need to say NO to the everyday ‘socially acceptable’ things that, well shouldn’t be socially acceptable! I’m going to get a little bit antagonistic here now so relax on the hate mail!

During my recent stay in Las Vegas I saw a lot of gluttony, stagnation and LAZINESS. I saw people in restaurants eating WAY TOO MUCH! I saw people getting taxi’s from one hotel to the adjacent hotel! But the thing that stood out most of all was; I saw these people on these little motorised bike ‘things’ I don’t know what they are called but they are NOT wheelchairs. I am not taking a cheap shot at people that are restricted to wheelchairs! But I am taking a shot at people who aren’t restricted to wheel chairs and STILL use them! Personally I think THEY are mocking the wheelchair users! They are ‘able’ to walk yet they don’t! They’d rather eat a load of nonsense and get fatter day by day! I seen this a lot in Walmart actually but this one instance stands out in my mind! A woman who WAS overweight but by no means obese was in front of me at the till. Now in my innocence I merely thought she was unable to walk and was actually sympathising with her (and thinking how cool it would be to have a go of her motorised bike-thingy) but when she was loading the conveyor belt thing at the till she dropped one of the products. Now I, thinking she couldn’t get the object (a tin of whipped cream if you’re wondering), moved in to help her but before I could she JUMPED out of the motorised thing and fairly proficiently SQUATTED down (technically perfect squat) and got the can of whipped cream! Now I have to admit I was ASTOUNDED! What the HELL was she doing in the motorised thingy?! She had no problems walking or jumping even SQUATTING! I just didn’t get it. I went silent for while, paid for my RIDICULOUSLY cheap bag of broccoli and canned mushrooms (I was on a budget ok?!) and headed back to the apartment. I don’t know. . I really don’t. She didn’t need the ‘thingy’ she was well able to move and she perfectly mobile. No visible limitations! Since when did this become acceptable? This woman was able to use this ‘thingy’ and not one other person in the queue batted an eyelid!?

I guess what I’m getting at is that society is accepting laziness and obesity as ‘OK’ and what you have to do is REJECT it with all your might!

Peers

Now let’s discuss your peers! You need to keep a close eye on these! I’m sorry and I know this prospect seems a little bleak but they love to see you fail. The abhor the fact you are dedicated to your training and nutrition (are you? or your at least trying aren’t you!?) and it drives them crazy that they don’t have the discipline. To them when you resist them fries and that ‘super size’ it OUTRAGES THEM inside. They would never EVER admit this! But to them every time they see you slip up or get a little injury they secretly (perhaps even subconsciously) love it! They love the fact, for that ‘split second’ you were no better than they are! Say NO to the fries, Say NO to the sugary cocktail, say NO to the CAKE! Haha ok you can have a bit of cake (only if its your birthday though).

‘Other half’ i.e. girlfriend, husband etc

Ah the other half, just think of all the positive talk you get from the other half ‘ehh you belly’s getting bigger’, or ‘oh, you used to fit in them jeans’ these sort of things can actually be motivational . . I’m not giving out about these! But the popular; ‘you’ll only last a week in the gym, you quit again’ is one to watch! It’s cruel but it’s TRUE. I’m not trying to split anyone up here, I’m merely trying to point out that sometimes you have to say NO, maybe just say it to yourself not out loud (to avoid an argument), but say ‘Yes, maybe my belly is bigger, and my jeans are tighter but not for long and NO, I will not quit’

Food

Here’s the good one! Food being placed on front of you, at parties or functions or whatever, the server knows no better but you do! Let’s take the baskets of complimentary bread that is dumped on your table before a meal? NO! Do not give in! Even if company says ‘ooo its still warm’ or ‘its soo fresh’ NOOO don’t give in! They know you don’t want it! They are saboteurs! In fact my friend told me recently that after he started the new nutritional programme I prescribed (similar to that in www.athleticbodysystem.com) His own mother (now I know she meant well) was trying to FORCE FEED HIM CAKE. Despite his repeated objections, she persisted! And when he continually refused she actually told him ‘your not eating right, come on eat the cake’ Ha, so now cake is right!? Ok I’m getting a little psychotic here but you ALL have been in that situation! Just say NO! Your abs will thank you!

Yourself

Your biggest enemy is yourself! It’s REALLY hard to say no to yourself! YOU are the hardest person to convince! ‘ah ill be training later so I can afford to have this big smelly take-away’ NO. Or ‘ah dark chocolate is good for you’ NO. ‘Ah few more drinks can’t hurt’ NO. ‘Maybe just a small desert, ill start the diet tomorrow’ NO. You will try convince yourself that the negative behaviour you are about to undertake is ‘OK’ for you. . use your common sense and say NO.

Ok only 16 capital letter ‘NO’s. I thought I had more, I’m actually disappointed in myself!

If you want to learn more about lifestyle management log on to

www.athleticbodysystem.com

Quick Meal Ideas

2008-11-21T17:37:00.000-08:00

i will post one of these every week just to help people who are on the go all the time!
i know its one of the EXCUSES that some people have and if so . . .these 'quick meals' may not be the MOST nutritious or the MOST suited to your training but hey, they are better than a soggy sandwich or burger king!

NO EXCUSES! EXCUSES MAKE ME ANGRY :-)

1) i know people are going to be like : 'ooohh all the salt in that blablabla
2)ooo microwaves are bad

fair enough, i dont care if im in a rush im using the microwave! and i like bacon :-)

Nutrition Today

2008-11-21T10:54:00.001-08:00

0830

'quick eggs' :-)

scrambled 'omega' eggs (3)
LEAN bacon bits 75grams

Microwaved! haha i know its not the best but i was in a rush?!

1230

150g slice chicken breast and pre made steamed veg (yes i bring a lunchbox to work if you care to mock me leave a comment below) :-)

330

got shipment of maximuscle supplements in :-)
so i slipped up and had some of the NEW PRODUCT 'maximilk' and a promax bar (not the US version theres a UK and IRELAND version thats much better :-)

Pre-post training/Tae-Kwon-Do 7pm (now)

1 scoop promax 1 scoop recovermax mixed. i make my own little mix out of the two as i prefer to have a little more protein . . .im afraid of carbs. . thats just me :-)

rest later but i can hypthesise it will look something like this:

930pm

Tuna 150g, sugar free beans 50g and spinach mix i got my hands on that is absolutely deadly. . . spinach, red peppers, red onion, and some other stuff . .

pre bed

cottage cheese with a slice of ham or something

OR

scoop of Metabolic drive if i am feeling particularly lazy

http://www.athleticbodysystem.com

My workout today!

2008-11-20T17:37:00.000-08:00

BW warm up

push ups, inverted rows, squats 10+10+10

i know i should have done more but i was in a rush! i had to go do the corner for Robert Gorman in the Boxing Club.

close grip bench (with chains) 5x5

bent over row 5x5

Bodyweight 'drop squat/speed squats' x 20

perform sets back to back no rest between sets i.e. set of bench, set of bent over row, set of speed squats . . . all in a 2 minute window! not a rest period as such . . means that if you move SLOW you will have very little recovery and sets will be back to back. . move fast and you have the luxury of a minute break after the 3 sets are complete!

i dunno why i used the chains in this instance. . wasnt working on anything in particular. . just like the feeling of benching with chains :-)

they are 10 kilo each chain. . at startof the movement they take away from your overall weight but add to it as you lock out! great for strength gains!

After i done that i went straight into some dumbell clean and jerks . . . good crack

5 set of 5 on each arm x 3 sets

these are tough no matter what way you look at them. either go heavy and lower the reps and/or go light and use them metabolically as a fat burner! either way they are savage!

after that i was like BAMBI on ice but decided to fire away and do some turkish get ups! (dont ever try to do a 40 kg get up after doing clean and jerks and medium grip bench presses my face nearly paid the price lol. . . you just cant lock your elbow out!!! . . ouch if it fell ouch indeed a SPINLOCK IN THE FACE)

well that was it i had to go to the club!

til 2moro!

get that into you

GUYS! Please STOP Making These STUPID Mistakes!

2008-11-18T15:42:00.001-08:00

Working in the health and fitness industry as personal trainers and through simple observations we notice all the big mistakes guys constantly make. Let us briefly take a closer look at a few of these mistakes made by men from all over the world!

BIG MISTAKE # 1: Training Like A Professional Bodybuilder!

You are NOT a bodybuilder! Remember there's a big difference between building a better body and body building. Bodybuilders have a distinct method of training that suits their genetics and their superior muscle building potential. When the majority of people use a bodybuilding program one of two things happens...

1. They get NO RESULTS and completely waste their time

2. They actually back pedal and get smaller and fatter!

'But Why?'

These gifted individuals have the ability to train with a lot of volume and very little frequency and they can recover from it! i.e. they do dozens of straight sets and eat like a HORSE! (And let's not forget to mention the extra chemical aids a lot of these individuals will use!) Now to the average lifter this means doing too much volume and breaking down more muscle than is possible for you to gain back when you are recovering, and then get fat from the amount of calories you consume in the hope that you will gain muscle.

BIG MISTAKE # 2: Using Workouts From The BIG Name “Muscle Magazines”!

The workouts you see in the ‘muscle mags’ are complete nonsense! They are fabricated by a writer who possibly has NO training experience. Do you honestly think the interview that goes along with the guy in the silly pants and nipple revealing low cut t-shirt is actually him? Afraid not, it is a magazine editor/writer copying workouts from past issues. Come on you know all the workouts are the same!

BIG MISTAKE # 3: Taking Training Advice From Your Local Gym Muscle Building Guru!

Ah yes, the local Hercules. He knows it all! Make sure you train twice a day and do forearms on a Monday morning and triceps on their own on a Thursday evening because your hormone profile is better then . . . COME ON! He is juiced and talking garbage. The guy he learned it from probably knows a bit but the information you are receiving is 2nd or 3rd hand information that has been passed down from meathead to meathead. DON’T LISTEN!

BIG MISTAKE # 4: Only Lifting Weights and Working The Beach Muscles (or mirror muscles)

Monday = Biceps, Tuesday = Chest, Wednesday = Biceps, Thursday = Chest . . etc.

Does that sound familiar? Yea its YOU training your mirror muscles! The ones you see from the front! Well there are two reasons why this is just plain stupid!

1. Your body will not let one bodypart develop too much if its opposing muscle isn’t developed at least nearly as much. i.e. as a safety mechanism your body will STALL chest development if you have a weak back. It makes sense . . you can exert more force pushing than pulling. Your body detects this and realises its at risk of injury so it inhibits growth.

2. Even if it were possible to just train these muscles you would LOOK ridiculous. You need to train the entire body for a leaner, more muscular look!

BIG MISTAKE # 5: Training With Either Really Low Reps or Really High Reps!

Training with low reps and high reps have their place but not in the following circumstances.

1. You are a nuisance and lift far heavier than you are able to! i.e. you cant even do one rep of the weight you are lifting and need a spotter CONSTANTLY. Lighting it up HE-MAN. You cant lift it!

2. You DO reps to failure with a silly little weight until you ‘feel a burn’ and you are under the illusion that this is hard training! Sorry! Join the aerobics class you will build more muscle there!

BIG MISTAKE # 6: Training Without A Properly Structured Training Plan

Saying you will train chest and triceps today does not constitute a plan!!! You NEED to have a weekly plan and monthly plan and even a quarterly plan, depending on your training level and seriousness about training. Now I do NOT mean writing down every rep and every set you do IN ADVANCE between now and Easter. But I am saying you must address your GOALS! Are you fat and still trying to build muscle when you could probably do with de-greasing and burning some bodyfat for a while and stop eating that full chicken and guzzling 8 protein shakes every day? Just a thought.

BIG MISTAKE # 7: Assuming Your Making Gains Because Your Bodyweight Is Increasing!

That’s most likely all that's increasing, is your bodyweight! ‘I just want to be 200 pounds’ is a popular one in the gym . . sounds great. . but looks HORRIBLE in most instances! 3 cheers for the new guy in the 200 pound club who ate BIG MAC’s and ice cream and trained his chest 9 times every week for the last 2 years. He looks DISCUSTING! Yea that’s right. Being too caught up with that number is the main reason most trainee’s look ridiculous with their top off! They look ‘OK’ with a baggy sleeveless tank top but put them in a tight wife beater and you can see the MOOBS (MAN BOOBS) and that donut shaped belly button!

BIG MISTAKE # 8: Overdoing The DAMN Protein Shakes!

Having a shake in the morning then one at lunch with your fried chicken and then another after training and another after bed. . . ? You are going to get FAT. Now I’m not saying protein shakes make you fat but I am saying the accompanying 2000+kcals from the meals you had as well WILL! Have a protein rich meal and a post workout shake please! Your wasting money and storing fat!

BIG MISTAKE # 9: WASTING Your Money On Expensive and Useless Supplements!

‘Check this out lads I got the new ‘VASO JUDO PUMP 9000’ it makes you JACKED and PUMPED and DOUBLES STRENGTH, STRIPS FAT and makes you HOOOGE all at once and it also helps you LEVITATE and grow more FACIAL HAIR so you look UBER manly’ if you believe that sort of crap you deserve to be out of shape. STOP wasting your hard earned money please!

BIG MISTAKE # 10: Assuming That Woman Actually Like The RIDICULOUSLY HUGE Look!

Who really wants to be ridiculously HUGE? If you do, leave this website NOW. If you want to be lean and athletic and actually make physical improvements stay and read on. We aren’t plastic surgeons now so if you fell out of the ugly tree you stuck with that but we can however help you compensate. Ha, only joking I’m sure your not that bad. As you can see from our survey above 92.9% of women prefer the lean athletic look, not the big and bulky look. I don’t understand it I’d rather be able to perform everyday activities and sprint once in a while than be restricted by my size? That’s just me?

Athletic Body Shopping List

2008-11-15T12:13:00.000-08:00

You’d be surprised how much people in general know about nutrition and weight loss. The have read South Beach and Atkins and know about carbs, fats and proteins. Yet still they fail. Their weight yoyo’s and they never make any real progress. I used to get a little confused by this but then I realised its not their knowledge or their diet in general. It is their inability to do the shopping!

‘Huh? Shopping’s easy’. . that’s what I thought! But it turns out that people in their wisdom know what they should be buying and still they buy the opposite. They know they SHOULD buy veggies and lean meat and minimise grains and sugary processed foods. But still they persist in buying them! I think it is ingrained into people these days that when they go to the shop they must buy bread and milk. It must stem from childhood or something but it needs to stop if you really want improve your body, lose fat gain muscle whatever the case may be. In order to get real results your nutrition must be in order . . for your nutrition to be in order your SHOPPING list must be planned and arranged in advance. DON’T stray from it! If you buy junk you will eat junk. Simple as that!

Here’s an example of what an average shopping list looks like;

I’m going to have to write one as I don’t shop like this!

Bread

Milk

Eggs

Cereal

Cereal Bars

Yogurt

Biscuits

Rice

Pasta

Hamburger patties

Hamburger Buns

Coleslaw

Tomato Ketchup

Mayonnaise

Oven Fries

Chocolate

Ben and Jerrys ice cream

Total : $60 approx

Now Lets look at the healthy option!

Brown Bread

Low Fat Milk

Free range Eggs

Cereal

‘Low fat’ Cereal Bars

Low Fat Yogurt

Weight Watchers Biscuits

Brown Rice

Whole Wheat Pasta

100% beef Hamburger patties

Sesame Seed Hamburger Buns

Low Fat Coleslaw

Low Carb Tomato Ketchup

Reduced Fat Mayonnaise

‘Low Fat’ Oven Fries

‘only 100 calorie’ packets of Oreo Cookies

Small Tub of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream

Total: $85

It’s exactly the same just more expensive!! In order to get the point across I mad this generic shopping list but I’d say it looks awfully familiar to 90% of people! You have fallen into a trap set by the confectionary companies that’s literally costing you 100’s of dollars a month and costing you your health. Too many people think that the ‘low calorie option is the way forward! Think of it like this; if a product (I have chosen Oreos because the 100 calorie packet thing cracks me up) has ‘only 100 calories in each packet. You are definitely not going to feel as guilty. . and what is the result? you EAT 3 PACKETS!!! Its inevitable! And plus the fact is the product hasn’t changed. . IT’S STILL JUNK just in a smaller MORE EXPENSIVE packet! Ah I think it’s hilarious! Anyway back to the shopping lists!

Number 2 looks a lot better than list one yea? At a glance anyway! But when you really look into it you realise that everything is EXACTLY the same. The only difference in the products is

1) The packaging is more lightly coloured and labelled with ‘100 calorie’ claims

2) The packaging is smaller

3) You receive less of the product

4) It is more expensive

5) It may be ‘a little’ lower in fat but this is replaced with sugar! (which is worse)

Neither lists have anything lean and healthy in there (with the exception of the eggs).

1) No Lean Meat

2) No green Vegetables

3) Too many sources of processed carbohydrate

4) Too much carbohydrate period! (Unless this person is a marathon runner or a triathlete they definitely do need all of this FUEL)

5) Too much SUGAR

6) Sesame seed Buns? (Oh like thats your problem. . not enough sesame seeds in our diet)

7) Cereal bars (aka bars of sugar)

Garbage ‘low fat’ gimmicky products that will actually make you fatter than their ‘unhealthy’ counterparts.

Now here’s how a shopping list SHOULD look (its not perfect but its and improvement!

I have the actual shopping receipt attached below if you don’t believe me

J

Turkey Breasts

Turkey Mince

Steam Microwave Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower mix)

Roast chicken tikka pieces (diced fillet) (x3)

Cottage cheese (x 4)

Bacon bits (lean cuts for my omelettes)

Frikadellen meat balls

Peppers 3 pack (x 2)

Natural Yogurt

Cashews/ Salted nuts

Total €27.42 ($35)

1) Plenty of lean meats

2) Plenty of fresh vegetables

3) Natural yogurt (if you must use artificial sweetener to sweeten it up)

4) Sides like cottage cheese (naturally high protein, low fat, low carb)

5) Nuts (buy small bags so you don’t eat them all !)

Now it is by no means perfect to look at and I did go to another store to get my

1) Blueberries

2) Inulin (fibre) rich sweetener

3) Spinach

4) Tuna

5) Salmon

6) Omega 3 eggs

This should give you a few ideas for your next shopping trip!

training . . kind of

2008-11-15T11:57:00.000-08:00

Just done an olympic lifting type session today. woke up late and had no food . . lifts suffered

5x5 clean and jerk @ 180 lbs (grip started to fail on last set and dropped the weight on my thigh. . commercial gym + no bumper plates = loud noise and possible barring . . . nice)

30 seconds on 30 seconds off hang cleans . . 8 mins @100 pounds (again grip was being a nuisance)

then i decided to do some get ups. . . screw olympic theme . . gone out the window! haha

1+1 x 5 sets @ 75 lbs

then

speed front squats only with 120lbs but FAST tempo! like <1-0-<1-0

then

20 metres parking lot lunges (20 forwards 20 metres backwards) (one dumbell changing hands each step)

supersetted with spiderman climbs . .

like bambi walkin to the changing rooms :-)

shopping!