Strong Links

UPDATED: Gas Prices Survey

2008-06-06T13:25:00.005-04:00

UPDATE: I updated the link to a new survey that includes all eleven questions.

Hey guys and gals. Sorry for not posting in almost two months. I'm taking a college course at night and don't have much time. The course will be over soon, and I'll be resuming regular posting. As for now I need to ask a favor.

I have to survey people for a paper I'm writing and was wondering if the faithful readers of the blog would take just a few minutes to take the survey below. I would really appreciate it.

Again, sorry for the lack of posts, I will resume regular posting around the 19th. Thanks for the patience.

Mike

Gas Prices Survey

What the Trainers Do

2008-05-05T20:52:00.002-04:00

T-Nation recently started a series called First Person. The purpose is to show you what the contributors of T-Nation are doing in the gym. I've read the first few and they seem pretty interesting. It's good to see that people are practicing what they preach on the internet. I'll link to the first three articles below.

Christian Thibaudeau (T-Nation)

Dan John (T-Nation)

Chad Waterbury (T-Nation)

New Layout

2008-05-05T16:17:00.003-04:00

As you can see I've changed my layout. I was tired of the boring Blogger one. Tell me what you guys think. I'll try to get a post in later tonight. There's some good articles over at T-nation that you guys and gals might find interesting. Have a good day.

Layout Problems

2008-05-03T22:11:00.003-04:00

Sorry about some of the layout problems I'm having right now. I don't know what happened. I was trying to add some new stuff and don't know if I messed it up or if it's just a Blogger error. I'll give it a day or two to see if it changes and if not I'll try to fix it. This page normally doesn't look like crap, at least not in my eyes. Have a good rest of your weekend.

Update: As you can see I changed my template. I'm almost finished with it, I just have to change the header image. As soon as that is done all the bugs will be worked out. I'm going to try to work on that later today. Thanks for the patience.

The Pride of Philadelphia

2008-05-03T10:43:00.005-04:00

I'm from originally from the Philadelphia area and am a huuuuge Rocky fan. Well I just saw this on Dave Tate's Log and had to share it with you guys. Enjoy!

Take a Look at the Big Picture

2008-05-02T11:01:00.003-04:00

Something that everyone is guilty of is nit-picking their diet. Especially those that aren't informed on the proper things to eat to begin with. I remember when I first started trying to lose weight I would eat the 100 calorie packs, pretzels, and other not so healthy "healthy" snacks. Now don't get me wrong, everybody has to start somewhere. The snacks above were better than what I usually ate, so it was a start. But the problem is nit-picking food that we shouldn't be eating in the first place. This is the focus of a post on Lou Schuler's blog, Male Pattern Fitness. Check it out to see exactly what I'm talking about.

An Exercise in Nutritional Nit-picking (Male Pattern Fitness)

The Power of the Mind

2008-04-30T08:35:00.004-04:00

I just read a post on Alwyn Cosgrove's blog about positive thinking. Most people underestimate the value of the mind when it comes to training and nutrition. These are the people that often fail. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a firm believer in the power of positive thinking. Are you going to argue with his success. I didn't think so. I use Arnold simply because this is a fitness related site and when it comes to physiques his seems to be the most desired. But, just look at other successful people. I guarantee that they all believe in positive thinking. So stop looking in the mirror and thinking you can't lose that 20 lbs. Stop getting discouraged because you're not losing fat or gaining mass as quickly as you like. Stay positive, and remember if it was easy everyone would be doing it.

The Success Mindset

Update: I just found a similar post on Alwyn's blog that I thought I would throw a link in for.

Sugar Ray Leonard and the Championship Mindset

Under the Bar on Sale

2008-04-28T13:52:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post to tell you that Under the Bar is on sale over at Elite FTS. This is by far one of the best books I have read. If you don't believe me check out the Q&A at Elite and you can read what other people have said about the book.
Some may shy away because they think the book is about powerlifting. Don't. It's not about powerlifting in the least bit. I guess you can actually categorize it as a self improvement book. Check it out you can't beat the deal only $4.95 +shipping until 11am wednesday.

Question for the Readers???

2008-04-28T12:33:00.006-04:00

I just launched Mike Moore Fitness yesterday. It's my personal blog to track my training, nutrition, rants, and raves. I was thinking about folding this blog into it while it's still in it's infancy, but I know I have a few readers. I was just wondering what the readers think about this, for this blog is for you guys. I'll still link to good articles and other content on the net but will also post my own stuff on the new blog. So if you read this leave a comment and tell me what you think. Thanks

Get Ready for Summer with Bodyweight Exercises

2008-04-20T19:48:00.003-04:00

Who just loves cardio? Raise your hands, I'll wait.....

Crickets chirping, just what I thought. Cardio is the thing everyone loves to hate. It's boring, it takes forever, and quite frankly I can usually find better things to do with my time. Well spring is here, the weather is starting to warm up, depending on where you are, so why not go outside and do some body weight stuff for your cardio? Doing body weight exercises and conditioning drills in a circuit fashion will give you a better workout than the countless hours you spend at the gym on the treadmill. And the bonus is that it's not boring. So get off the hamster wheel and give it a shot. Check out the link below for some sample routines and some videos of the various exercises.

How to Improve Your Physique Without Lifting Weights

Make Your own Medicine Ball on the Cheap

2008-04-20T19:36:00.002-04:00

If you're like me you don't have a huge budget for your health and fitness. In the hierachy of spending in my house health and fitness is probably dead last. So any way to save some money on this stuff sounds good to me. I found this site the other day while browsing around and figured I'd pass it on. It's a tutorial on how to make your own medicine ball using just a basketball, some sand, and tape. I'll be trying it out here soon since I want to start some more outdoor conditioning since the weather is finally getting nice. I'll tell you how it goes when I do. But for now check it out.

How to Make Your Own Medicine Ball

Are You Afraid of Carbs?

2008-04-16T19:54:00.006-04:00

I've recently started reading Barry Anderberg's blog. It's a pretty interesting site about his transformation from a flabby 210 lbs. down to 167 lbs. and approximately 10% body fat. He has some good posts on there and you should check it out when you get a chance. His latest 2 posts picked my interest though. It seems in this day people are rather carbophobic. With the popularity of Atkins and other diets of the same type dying out you'd figure this "lifestyle" would go away. But obviously it hasn't. I, like Barry, don't see any problems with carbs and went from 240 lbs. and 23% BF down to 195 and about 11-12% BF without taking carbs out of my diet. What people tend to forget is that nothing is really bad, carbs included. Just about everything is ok in moderation. Moderation, that's the key word. So the point is don't be afraid of carbs when cutting down. Just remember moderation. To know what started this whole rant about carbs check out Barry's last two posts below.

Carbophobia!

A Little History

Break Through Your Training Plateau

2008-04-15T17:13:00.006-04:00

It happens to everyone. You're training and making gains on a steady basis, everything is going good, then you hit that wall. Let's face it, there's no other motivation killer like hitting a plateau. The best thing to do in this case, switch up something in your training. People tend to get stuck in one routine and are afraid to deviate from it. What happens when you do the same routine for too long? Your body adapts. When this happens throw the body off and trick it into new growth. The editors at T-Nation came up with a chest/back routine to do just that. It's called the 200 rep challenge. Next time you hit that wall, or even if you just want to try something new give it a shot.

The 200 Rep Challenge

TBT vs. Splits: An Analysis

2008-04-12T19:35:00.002-04:00

If you follow the fitness industry at all you'll realize that everybody believes in there own way of training. And by believe in it, I mean completely deny every other type of training. So when I came across this article I had to post. As I've said before every kind of training has its place. As you'll see from the article, there is both pros and cons of total body training (TBT) and body part splits. Personally I find TBT to be completely and utterly boring. But some people live by it. I did an upper/lower split for a while. While I enjoyed doing it, and my strength went up, I wasn't making the hypertrophy gains I wanted. So recently, the past two weeks, I switched to a body part split. It's been a while since I've done this so it was about time to switch it up anyway. Immediately I felt a difference i.e., sore as shit. In closing, don't limit yourself to just one way of training because your favorite author swears by it or people say its the right thing to do. Switch it up and try new things. That's the only way to not get stale in the gym.

TBT vs. Splits: An Analysis

Studies Show HGH Doesn't Boost Athletic Performance

2008-04-08T21:21:00.004-04:00

First off let me start out by saying that I don't use any "performance enhancing drugs" nor will I ever. But at the same time I see nothing wrong with it if that's your thing. That's if it's not breaking any rules of the sport you compete in. Most of this hullabaloo about steroids in baseball happened before they even had a steroid policy anyway. If there's no rule it's not cheating. Anyway, let me get back on topic. HGH, or Human Growth Hormone, is the new "it" thing in baseball. Now everybody is on it, it seems. Well new studies show that HGH does nothing to enhance performance. I'm going to have to disagree on this one. While I'm no scientist, I can see where these studies may be flawed. Here's some reasons:

1. The studies show that the use of HGH is linked with an increase in muscle. Well I'm pretty sure that when you get an increase in muscle you get an increase in strength. What happens when you get stronger? You also increase your athletic performance.

2. The doses used in the study most likely aren't anywhere near the doses that professional athletes are taking. While I understand the ethics involved in a study like this, you simply can't come to the conclusion that it doesn't do anything from smaller doses.

3. Out of the 27 studies performed only 2, that's right 2 measured strength and only 8 measured exercise. 2 studies are you kidding me. That's nowhere near enough to be conclusive.

That's just three reasons. I'm sure the list will go on and on. The bottom line is if it didn't work pro athletes wouldn't be using it. Do you really think that they would risk multi-million dollar contracts on something that didn't work. I don't think so.

10 Reasons to Work Out That Have Nothing to Do with a Sexy Bod

2008-04-08T21:00:00.003-04:00

The biggest reason to exercise is to look better. That's what usually gets us all started in the first place. We work out for a while, get fit. Then we quit. Why, who knows? But this is the endless roller coaster ride that most of us take a trip on. Sometimes just looking good isn't enough to keep us on the straight and narrow. Some of us need more. So if you're one of these people check out this article over at Pick the Brain for 10 more reasons to work out.

10 Reasons to Work Out That Have Nothing to Do With a Sexy Bod

Elite FTS Q&A and Training Logs

2008-04-08T17:25:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to give a heads up to everyone to check out the Q&A and the Training Logs sections over at Elite FTS. There's a ton of invaluable info there. You don't have to be a powerlifter to benefit from it. There's is something for everyone from sports training to nutrition to jokes.

Elite FTS Q&A

Elite FTS Training Logs

25 Things We Can Learn From Bodybuilders, Powerlifters, Athletes, and the Average Joe to Build a Better Body

2008-04-05T11:25:00.003-04:00

Over the last year I've learned a lot about training and nutrition. One way I've done this is to keep an open mind. There's a lot of different theories and principles in this industry and if you stick to just one your selling yourself short. There something we can learn from every facet of strength training. Don't limit yourself by following one style of training, trying new things is the best way to keep your body guessing and stop you from plateauing. Check out the article below by Jimmy Smith for some things we can learn from the different styles of training.

25 Things We Can Learn From Bodybuilders, Powerlifters, Athletes, and the Average Joe to Build a Better Body

Price of Biotest Supplements on the Rise

2008-04-05T11:10:00.004-04:00

For those of you that use any supplements from Biotest this may sound like bad news. Well it's definitely not good news, but in the end it's not that bad either. Due to the rising price of dairy the price of all Biotest's protein products will go up roughly 10%. But to make up for the rise in price they will be offering free shipping inside the United States from here on out regardless of the size of the order. See the news wasn't that bad was it. For more info check out the link below.

Good News, Not-So Bad News

The Skinny on Popular Diets

2008-04-03T14:38:00.006-04:00

With the amount of diets out today it's no wonder that
approximately 300 people worldwide are obese. Between the South Beach, Atkins, Cabbage Soup, Detox, Zone, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutri-System, Low Carb, Low Fat, and god knows what else, people have no idea what they're supposed to be doing. The fact of the matter is that most of the "diets" out today are total bullshit. The fitness and nutrition industry is littered with people trying to make a quick buck with there latest super duper, easy-to-do diet that will make you drop 50 lbs. in 4 weeks. The reality is if it sounds to good to be true it probably is.

It's rather easy to eat healthy and lose weight or gain muscle, whatever your case may be. Well it's not really that easy to gain muscle. But it's not rocket science. Want to lose fat? Most people will drop fat just by replacing the food they eat now with cleaner foods. When that stops working start looking at how much your eating. Want to put on muscle? Well eat more. Go online and calculate how many calories you need for your specific needs. Don't keep a food log. Well start. You're never going to know what your shoving in you pie hole if you don't keep track of it. You'd be amazed to find out how many calories you really take in on a regular basis. I know it's sounds tedious. If it's too hard for you I guess you're really not serious about your goals. That's another good point, always have a goal. And make it a definitive goal. Who do you think is going to be more successful the person who says, "I want to lose weight." Or the person that says, "I want to get down to 9% body fat by June 1st." It's definitely going to be the second one. You see subject #2 has something concrete to actually strive for while the first person has no idea what the hell they want to accomplish.

The point is you don't need fad diets. The road to success is a lifestyle change. Diets are temporary. Do you really want to yo-yo like Oprah. Probably not. The best advice I've seen for this is if you can't kill it, or grow it, don't eat it. There's a simple rule for eating clean. Now there is some exceptions, breads, oatmeal (the real stuff, not the sugary stuff in little packets), pasta. Gasp!! Evil carbs you say. Just make sure you get the whole grain/wheat stuff and remember moderation is the key. Another good tip keep to the outer part of the supermarket when shopping. If you notice all the real food is here i.e. meat, veggies, and fruit. Only wonder into the middle for some of the things I mentioned above and a few other things like healthy oils and nuts.
In closing, just incorporating a few of these easy changes should put you on the right track to your physique goals. Don't get discourage if the fat isn't melting off of you, remember it's a marathon not a sprint.

Sorry...

2008-04-02T16:51:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I haven't really had a whole lot of time to update the site. I have come across a couple of good articles that I will post as soon as I get a chance. Hopefully it will be tonight, but I can't promise anything. Sorry again, and thanks for reading.

Lose Fat Fast With Metabolic Acceleration Training

2008-03-21T23:05:00.002-04:00

Not a whole lot of people like to run. Personally I'd much rather be in a weight room than on a track. I don't have that luxury though because I'm in the Navy, and I have to run. Lucky me. But for those of you that aren't, Alwyn Cosgrove has a new article up at Elite FTS outlining some ways to burn fat without lacing up your running shoes. The program is called Metabolic Acceleration Training. While the article doesn't exactly give you the whole program it outlines 7 different ways to incorporate into your spring fat loss plan. The methods seem pretty challenging but but if losing fat was easy everybody would be doing it. I'll definitely try to incorporate one or two into my plan when the time comes.

Metabolic Acceleration Training

Modified Max Effort Work for Beginners

2008-03-17T17:40:00.003-04:00

One of the keys to getting stronger is the max effort (ME) method. If you're not familiar with the term there is three technique when it comes to weightlifting. There's the aforementioned ME method, the repetition effort method (RE), and the dynamic effort method (DE). I'm not going to go in depth about the particulars of the different methods as this article only deals with the ME method. You can check out the Elite FTS Training Articles section or the Westside Barbell Articles section for more info on the other two methods. I will try to post some articles dealing with all the methods this week.
The ME method consists of lifting at 90% or above of your one rep max in a given lift. This method isn't applied to every lift in a particular workout just the main lift of the day, normally a barbell compound movement (bench, deadlift, squat, etc.). Even though this a proven method for developing strength a slightly different but basically the same approach should be taken by beginners. Instead of lifting for multiple sets of 1 rep the beginner should shoot for multiple sets of 3-5 reps. This advice is not only good for beginners but also for those that train alone. It's a lot safer to go for 3-5 reps than go for one and get pinned on the bench or the bottom of a squat. For more in depth info check out the article below.

The Beginners Guide to Strength Training: Modified Max Effort Training

30 Days Without Weights

2008-03-16T09:54:00.003-04:00

While perusing EliteFTS this morning I came across another body weight only program. The only thing you need to get for this one is a pull-up bar. That's actually not a bad idea for anyone. This is a little off topic but pull-ups always seem to give most people trouble. When I first started exercising seriously this was certainly the case for me. I couldn't even do one. But then I got tired of doing pull-downs and was determined to do pull-ups/chin-ups. Every time I went in the gym I did at least one set. Being that the back is such a big muscle it can withstand a lot of frequency so this wasn't a problem. Now I'm happy to say that I can actually do pull-ups/chin-ups in my programs instead of just the lat pull-downs and I've definitely seen the difference in my lats and back. So if you're having trouble doing pull-ups/chin-ups, get a pull-up bar for your house and do them every day. And if you want some more stuff to do at home check out the link.

30 Days Without Weights for Ultimate Strength, Conditioning, and Fat Loss

Can't Make it to the Gym, Don't Sweat It

2008-03-15T14:37:00.004-04:00

This post is being generated from a comment I received on another post. The comment was on From Muffin Top to Six Pack. It inquired about training from home. Sometimes I fail to realize that not everyone can make it to a gym and this person brought up a good point. My opinion is if you don't belong to a gym that is the first thing you need to do. The atmosphere alone in the right gym will be enough to keep you motivated. Now I understand this isn't always feasible. Sometimes work hours and life's commitments get in the way. I go through the same things, this week was actually the first week I made it to the gym for all four of my training sessions in at least a month.
Another option would be to get some home gym equipment. To do some serious training you don't really need that much. A barbell some weight, dumbells, and a power rack will do you just fine. But then even more factors come into play. You have cost, not everyone has a couple of grand to drop on equipment. I know I don't. You also have to factor in if you have the room for it. Another no on that one for me.
The only other option is some kind of body weight only program that you can do from home on busy days when you can't make it to the gym or exclusively by itself. So I searched the internet to help the person who commented since they said they needed a program they can do from home and I found another good program written by Jen Heath over at the MWA site. Check it out and if you have any questions feel free to leave me a comment or email me and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

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