Arnold Schwartzenegger and Me

I ghost wrote a book on weight training a few years ago and I thought I would share a few insights that I got from a professional. Most of these are things that I think about on a regular basis, and some I think about as I watch people do things that are incomprehensible to me.
I try to concentrate on the muscle(s) that I am working. Although this may sound like common sense, it definitely isn’t (at least from my observations.) If you want to get the most out of your time at the gym, you should think about this one. Are you going through the motions, but randomly looking around and thinking about anything but what you are doing? If you are doing bicep curls, think about your bicep muscle as you are doing the curl. Have your grip tight on the handle or around the dumbbell. Squeeze it tight. Think about your muscle working constricting, lifting, moving the steel. Feel the fibers in your arm. Lift to your capacity, not some weight that doesn’t challenge you. If you can do twenty reps, stop and increase the weight. If you can’t do six reps, lighten up. You should be doing between six and 12 reps to gain strength.
If you need to use your body to swing the weight up; it’s too heavy for you. Your lift should be coming from your bicep with your elbow relatively stable. Smooth easy motions two or four count as you raise the weight, two to four count as you lower the weight. (that count can be for any exercise you are doing)
I see people doing strange things with dumbbells all the time. If you don’t know what you are doing, ask someone. If you are too embarrassed to admit you don’t know what you are doing, I would suggest The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding written in part by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
If you don’t want to spend the money on that, shoot me an e-mail, and I will answer any questions you may have. I am not a certified expert, but Deb is, and between us we have over twenty years of experience in the gym and have done tons of research and reading.
On a side note, did anyone read the article on Dr. Jeffrey Life that was distributed by the associated press? I’m not endorsing using testosterone or human growth hormone, but it was an interesting article and I’ve meet Dr. Life a few times through “Body for Life” the Bill Phillips book and associated transformation contests. Dr. Life is a really genuine person and is there to help anyone who approaches him.
Stay healthy and keep balance in your life. Until next time…