Shredder_05

Welcome to my (self-rated) awesome life of 'work' and play.

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THE DAY I FOUND OUT I WAS GOING TO BE A FATHER (Thurs 20th Oct ’16 / Week 6, Day 5)

Thursday 20th September started like every other typical Thursday nowadays – get up early to train before starting the Zoo Crew (my Fitness Coaching class I teach) at 8am so they can get out by 3pm – an hour earlier than everyone else. I took the train as I got too lovey-dovey with Nadya (just added her name to my Microsoft Word dictionary – it’s official – Nadya’s a word) to take my weekly self-reflection bus-ride into the big smoke. 7am came around, and then so did 7.01am – I was having a coffee inside a suave foyer cafe with my *insert Italian accent* Short Macchiato. We went through our weekly ‘body-part’ training session in the morning and started on the dreaded Business assessments post-exercise. I pretended I knew what I was on about until about 12pm when I dismissed the class for lunch.

After chilling (literally chilling – it was a cold day!) out on the man-made grass in front of the Age building during my lunch break, I went back inside and got my shit together (work-wise). The class was being trained by Baymax’s (Willmax [Will]) class while I had a chance to mark one of several hundred assessments. That’s when I received a text from Nadya – every man’s (who doesn’t want children) nightmare stating – “Bub....” “I took a test...” with this photo: [insert photo] “Apparently I’m pregnant”.

 My first reaction: “Mmmmmmm”. My second reaction: “I’m gonna train now but I’ll call straight after like 4”.  To say it took me by surprise would be a lie. I’ve known the risks associated with unprotected sex for-like ever. We thought we’ve been close at times but sometimes women’s TOMs (Time Of the Months) get delayed for one reason or another. Just the night before, we’d been chatting about this time being no different from the past – despite the indigestion, painful ovaries and certain foods ‘not agreeing with her’. Naturally I kindly asked that she take the test again (aptly named ‘Pregnosis’), not knowing that there was probably less than 0.00000001% chance that it was a false-positive test. But like the (under)Doggies in this year’s Grand Final, it could have gone either way. This was until I received a second picture message –defining our state of affairs forever (but with me still needing ‘confirmation’ being all compliant-savvy thanks to working at Sage). It was safe to say I was never self-reflecting as much as I did on that bus ride home that day!

 After my Indoor Footy team the ‘No Homers Club’ got smashed (with no chance of getting pregnant), I got home to relax and slipped straight into bed – with the comfort of our 18-month old Am-staff Kota and six-monther Jack Russell Charlie. Nadya was out until late doing her RSA and transitioning into a change of career and thus, a change in stress levels. She eventually came home and we shared a conversation before going to sleep – albeit a very uncomfortable one more so because of the news we learnt on top of a 40-kilo animal hogging most of the bed!

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From Failing Anatomy to Teaching Advanced Anatomical Concepts: This Is My Journey So Far...

It’s hard to believe that it was almost eight years ago since I first started learning about Anatomy as part of my Human Movement degree at RMIT University. Luckily for me, I had a head start by taking in a few weeks of Anatomy coursework as part of my Sport Development Diploma and got the basics down-pat from the days of Year 12 P.E. (or so I thought). So when it came to the day of receiving our marks for Limb & Trunk Anatomy at the end of Semester 2, 2008, I was quietly confident I would pass. As you can tell from the title, a timid and un-shredded version of myself opened the relevant link to find out otherwise. I scored 39% for the subject; 11% below the minimum pass mark of 50% and with a lot of work and soul-searching to do in the short-term. I would not have imagined what I would be doing just eight years later - and the buzz I would get out of it! 

One reason why I performed so badly could be that at degree level, it is mainly auditory-based with slides of information to tick off the visual-learners’ needs. Very little time and effort was devoted to the kinesthetic learner - most of us budding Exercise Scientists’ (probable) preferred learning style. Despite the difficulty in learning (memorising) anatomical structures, I stormed into the 3rd year with an impressive 50% subject score. Apart from a near ready-made decision (on my part) to quit the course and pursue a career in DJing (thanks Dad), I completed the course and my first job was mine for the taking - Personal Trainer at Apollo Gym (Apollo) in mid-2011. I was stoked. 

Although I’d learnt a heap about the effects of anaerobic threshold training on trained and untrained subjects between the ages of 18 and 35 with Type 2 Diabetes (just an example), teaching a basic exercise to the common person was a struggle (for me anyway) as we didn’t do a whole lot over the three-year period within the course (and I admittedly didn’t train in the gym all that much at all - I was your typical “Recreational Fun-Runner”). Starting at Apollo and training at Elite Sports Performance (ESP) enhanced my own exercise abilities and provided me with the (massive) stepping stone I needed to join the theory with the practical side of things. Although I have possibly prescribed a former client with the worst core exercise in the world (points for those who can guess correctly what it was), my PT-ing ability improved with experience and I was off and running by 2012. 

I helped open YMCA Derrimut by enhancing my Gym Instructing due to the busyness compared with that of Apollo. Juggling both I was at a crossroads before deciding to go 100% in at ESP and Apollo by giving up more money from the Y at the time. My heart was in the time, effort and invaluable education Martyn Girvan and Paul Anderson instilled in me; and I just enjoyed being associated with the brand/s. From 2012-14, I managed to increase my own strength beyond my expectations, increase my client base from 1 to 15 hours per week (with goals achieved from weight loss, sporting enhancements and strength increases) and did more work in the Strength & Conditioning caper - ultimately investing in the Level 2 ASCA course. Then the one known as Coach Foulds asked if I wanted a job. 

I started at Sage early in 2015 and thus, my first teaching job. I never was too interested in teaching whenever I was asked but this was a full-time job I couldn’t turn down. Not long after I had an epiphany on the train home after my first teaching session (not even joking!), I realised I had to teach Anatomy. Although a little scratchy, I went through it okay but not too confident in my own ability to teach it thoroughly. Over the course of the last 18 months, I have honed my skill in teaching the tricky subject by making it more interactive and fun for my students. Reading off a Powerpoint just doesn’t cut it for most of us kinesthetic learners; so now it’s all about hands on deck and going through these specific movements made by the relevant muscles while talking about how they do it. Funnily enough, I’ve learnt the most by actually teaching it; as opposed to learning it for myself. This is key in most learning situations. Remember, if you can’t explain it to a 6-year-old, you don’t understand it at all.

The point I am trying to make is that no matter how bad you think you are doing, just remember, if you keep at it and persist with it, the reward will come. The feeling I get when I see a client’s improving fitness levels (specific or general) and when a student has progressed so far in his/her knowledge and application is one to savor. These “feeling” rewards weren’t a huge driving force in me completing my degree to the best of my ability but I wouldn’t settle for anything less any more. They keep me going, they keep me grounded and most importantly they keep me happy. Yes it has taken me years to understand what some students take 6 months to, but I’m glad I have stuck at it as I wouldn’t be in the position to teach and guide so many in fulfilling happiness through fitness. 

Adhere to my story and don’t give up when all feels like it has been lost because you never know where the hardest road (like the one I’m taking in the photo - pulling too heavy a load!) will take you. Usually to your calling!

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Training Partners - To Have or not to Have?

The great training partner debate has been hot on the fitness agenda since you started reading this blog. A training partner can be defined as “someone who one exercises with on a regular basis with similar goals to achieve” (Palermo, 2015). But can you really get more out of training with a like-minded person compared to training by yourself? I’ve had experience in both situations over the past five years and what I came up with may be of use to you and your pursuit in achieving your fitness and health (and life) goals.

Training partners are great to have. But they have to be on the same level (mentally) as you. I am lucky enough to train at Elite Sports Performance; which provides the environment and culture in improving each and everyone’s ability to become a better training partner. Over the last four-and-a-half years, I have achieved fitness goals I never even thought I could because of training with some great people such as Todd Carlon, Daniel Radisavljevic, Steve Foulds, Matthew Licastro, Mathew Palmer and Chris Heywood; just to name a few. This culture comes about due to Martyn Girvan’s passion and willingness-to-help anyone get better. Daniel Dipasqua further epitomizes this. All of these people didn’t start off being great training partners but they developed themselves to become trustworthy to train with due to their will to want to learn and help; which leads into another reason why training with a partner is beneficial: trust.

Trust extends itself into real-life here. Everyone knows that you've got to trust your partner in spotting you correctly and loading the bar correctly (these in themselves get overlooked in most gyms anyway; so I could probably rest my case here!). But they also are trustworthy in informing me what time they will be at the gym, what time they have to be out by, what’s breaking down in my form and even in listening to any issues or concerns I may be having outside of the gym. Great training partners become like family - in that they want to help you achieve your goals because it will help them achieve their goals. If you don’t have trust in any relationship, it makes it extremely hard to get what you want and achieve goals through happiness.

On the contrary, training alone has its benefits too. I've had to adapt to training without the group dynamic within the last year because of full-time hourly 9-5 work. (Actually, it was due to me stressing over it too much - another blog for another day!). My training was put behind my work which meant I did it whenever I could fit in my schedule. Training alone left me to my own devices at the start - I wasn't accountable to anyone except myself and my own training suffered. However, it was because of this struggle that I turned it around and was able to increase my intensity and find some hardness and toughness within myself in order to get myself back on track and find some purpose within my training again - and in my life again. As the saying goes - pressure produces power and this is definitely relevant in my situation - sink or swim. I doggy-paddled; then I swam. Eventually.

Training without the use of training partners also meant that I was responsible for my own results and effort (which is what most people experience anyway). I felt like every other Joe Bloggs out there - get up early, grind all day and do it all again - by myself. It gave me perspective in what everyone else goes through - it can be hard at times! I made it a ritual to have coffee ready before training and good tunes at hand to inspire me into action. A training plan was also even more important as it provided stability and numbers to hit each time I walked into the gym. Training alone eventually made me dot the I’s and cross the T’s which in-turn rolled over into the group environment. Furthermore, the exercises I performed were all off my own bat - I didn't have to conform to a group consensus if I didn't want to and was able to specify and execute exactly what I needed.

In summary, training by yourself or with training partners both have some really great benefits. Ideally, I would love to train with training partners on most occasions but practically, it can’t happen every single time due to work and life commitments. This is why it is extremely important to bring your A-game to your training sessions on your lonesome as well. On the flip-side, ensuring you are there to better your training partners’ session output and development is just as important (if not more) than your own effort for your own sake. Be there to make your training partners better and you’ll receive it back in spades if you want to better your own fitness and (ultimately) life happiness levels!

Shred Out.

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All good things must come to an end (to make way for even better things!)

Two guys who shared the same gym move in with each other following personal life struggles - one an emotional mess following a long-time relationship breakdown and the other reluctantly living out of his car trying to forge a career in the big smoke. Almost 2.5 years later, the same two guys call each other his brother/best mate, each well on the way to making a healthy living doing what he loves and end up moving out with even better halves (at least on the eyes anyway!) Fate? Chance? Luck? Fat chance. I believe wholeheartedly that you yourself can control your destiny if you stay true to yourself and be positive. 

'The Castle' has played host to many a party, sleepover, feast, footy night, chill-out session, ups and downs. It has even been a refuge for others going through hard times via the 'Rehab Room', in which it got those people out and even more successful in life again (massive thanks mainly to Woody/Toddaz). It has a homely-feel to it and it doesn't discriminate (if a house can even do that!); most seem to feel comfortable and at ease. It's exactly what Woody and I experience every single day and it's his attitude and generosity that fuels the awesome feeling.

For at least two years, we both leave to train before 5.40am five-six days per week (that's a lot of early mornings!). The environment though helps us immensely with this commitment and discipline - living with a like-minded person, quiet weeknights nights in, nightly meal preparations and some occasional brotherhood. This habit has enabled us to mature and grow into the men we are today - doing what we love and living exactly how we wanna live in order to be happy. 

The Castle has wrote our wrongs as well as being the catalyst for things like - 

- The time I came home to a still-on Sandwich Maker from two hours before (Woody)

- When I truly found out what the toilet brush was actually used for (it wasn't for pushing floating shit down - like I thought initially)

- It was the location of Woody's first coffee (I gave him an espresso) - he gave the pink (yes, we use pink bathroom facilities) basin its first spew 

- Our traditional post-gym comp meal of HJ's Fitzgerald Road was always welcomed with open mouths

- First trip overseas for each of us was realised (me Bali, Woody New Zealand)

- Various 'bulking' and 'shredding' experiments (mainly on my part) among more learned behaviours and experiences

The point of this post is that even though we've had an absolutely awesome time living together, it shouldn't stop here. I know that if we both wanna stay happy and keep our training and lifestyles on track, there's no reason why it shouldn't work living elsewhere and with partners. For me, I may have to put up with sleeping in a king-size bed (thanks Nadya, what a drag), picking out red hairs from around the basin and replacing the hand tea-towel more often but I can guarantee that my alarm will still be set before 6am, W&W podcasts will be blaring during the day and the coffees and smoothies will still be a-flowing on a daily basis, I'll just have to double the quantity now!

They key to happiness is within yourself first, then you can share it around :-D

Long live The Castle.. Good luck to you Woody (Diggers Rest Gold Digger) from me (Newport Nugget).

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Homophobia: A Fear of Happiness

**This blog may divide two groups but it is merely my own perspective on Australian society. My objective isn't to sway opinions either way; rather just to have a think about it. 

It must be hard to hide your true self from your family, even more so from your friends. Much more even from your local community and work colleagues. Now imagine if you were well-known to the public as a tough sportsman playing in Australia's most popular sport in Aussie Rules Football; presumably harder again (no pun intended [maybe a tad hypocritical if you read on]). Sadly, this is what at least one player chasing a pigskin has to go through - day in-day out. 

It's kinda funny how we generally accept two females being gay compared to two males. If we see two females kiss, it's normal/natural/feminine. If a couple of men were to be seen doing the same thing, a different response would occur. Why is this? Do guys still have to put on a 'tough guy' persona and be macho whilst sweeping our ladies off their feet to be accepted in society? Surely we've come around far enough to this day and age (2014) to accept that being a man isn't measured by inches, number of female companions, kilograms or dollars. It is based on honesty, morals and staying true to yourself. A few qualities that the current world we live in make it ever so hard to live up to. 

Playing in a male-dominated sport also would make it extremely hard for gay men to 'come out'. The AFL is sport that is run by cashed-up, beer-swelling bogans, most of whom are male and presumably straight. Historically, the best players were tough and rugged; rarely would you see a clean-cut superstar who said he enjoyed his life as much as he led people to think. One player bucked that trend and got us thinking about this very issue: Shane Crawford. He was the first to put it on the agenda a decade ago, but now it seems ever so difficult for any player to admit his opposing sexuality because fitting in is what we're all about now. 

Don't get me wrong, we have come a long way in 'accepting' homosexuals in Australia (I don't agree with the wording but it might seem about right), but sparing a minute to think of what others might have to put up with may change our attitudes. Going against the grain and being honest with yourself and what you stand for should be the norm. A person is not defined by the number of pots he or she has consumed. In fact, it could be the reasoning behind the number of pots consumed that really cuts to the core and exposes the person's true self (that's deep I know!). 

I've got the utmost respect for everyone regardless of their 'social standing' (if there is such a thing), sexuality, race or religion. Worryingly though, society makes it hard to be and portray your true self in fear of being ridiculed and embarrassed, making people depressed and ultimately committing suicide. This only gets heightened being in the public eye. It's long overdue that we take a look at ourselves and treat each other with the respect that we all deserve, for being ourselves. (Veered off topic a little I know!). 

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Being (Grass) Fed-Up: Time for a Change.

I thought my diet was OKAY. On most occasions, I thought I was making the best food choices for my health and well-being needs. I didn't need to have a degree in nutrition to know that an apple was probably a better choice to consume than a packet of chips. Taking in a source of carbohydrates (i.e oats and bananas) around training seemed logical as I was going to need the energy and stamina to train at an optimal level. Protein in the form of a shake was considered ideal as close to the end of the session as possible for muscle recovery. And I made sure to have my fruit and vegetables throughout the day with an even balance of meats and diary products to snack on between/during meals. It wasn't until I decided to change to low-gluten products, and now (after being informed and educated on) grass-fed meat and organic produce, that I am aware of what I was doing to the environment, my hip pocket and most importantly, to myself. 

Recently, I decided to change to a low-gluten and low-lactose diet based on how I felt after eating certain foods like pizza, bread, milk, fried foods and cereals. I knew that certain foods hadn't agreed with me but I never did anything about it. Interestingly, I have felt better and am able to stomach a lot more of what I consume having substituted for gluten-free cereals, cut out rice and drank lactose-free milk, just to name a few alterations. It does cost a little more, but if you value your health in the slightest, I'm sure you'll come to understand that it's for your betterment. Then I got spieled about the benefits from eating to improve your gut health and going beyond gluten-free to "processed-free" foods, which intrigued me. 

I researched on what grass-fed actually meant, and what we eat instead. If an animal is "grass-fed", it basically means that it has been allowed to roam freely around pastures, eating grass as it pleases, generally being stress-free while living a relatively long, natural and healthy life before being slaughtered for human consumption. Being "grain-fed" means that livestock are being forced to eat a pre-made mixture of grains and corn used to fatten them up before being slaughtered at a much younger age for the masses of meat-eaters world-wide. These grains can even be deadly to the animal (prior to being slaughtered) as they can't be digested properly. Just think, we are currently eating animals that were living sick, being force-fed to become fat, were violently tampered with (consciously) to increase feedlot productivity and mostly slaughtered years in advance to keep up with consumers' demands. These reasons alone have opened my eyes to the choices I make, among many personal health benefits of going grass-fed.

The processed-free food part is less confusing. The more preservatives we take in, the more our digestive system has to work overtime to break them down for our body to use and metabolise the food's nutrition stores (if any). A general rule of thumb would be that if it has a list of ingredients on the label, don't buy it! I can definitely see merit in this way of choosing and eating food, and if our ancestors had no other choice, then why change it for ourselves today? Laziness and convenience go hand-in-hand here and if we're not prepared to plan ahead our meals, then we deserve to experience higher risks of cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, mental illness and a lifetime of unhappiness. 

I'm not saying I will eat grass-fed meat and unprocessed foods 100% of the time but I will try my hardest to stick to my new prerogative. If I can feel a change in my mental clarity, digestion, bod

y composition and overall well-being, then obviously I will continue on with it. Being informed and educated have allowed me to test the waters on this new (or old), holistic approach to healthy eating, and I'm assuming only good will come of it. 

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My Morning.

Monday 4/8/14, 5.15-7.35am, 1.9C or Freezing my (if I had any) tits off.

I had just woken up from a cracker of a weekend with the hotter-half. After seven hours of quality sleep, my alarm woke me at 5.15am; just in time to hear Woody walk out the door and start to drive to open up the gym. I quickly got dressed (under the heater of course) and went through my morning ritual of using the bathroom, eating a banana and making my coffee (not all at once obviously). I was hoping to get a good warm-up in until I saw how iced up my car was. De-icing was in order before I was on my way while having W&W blaring in the warmness of the car. 

I usually don't care what kinda music is being played, but when I walked in and saw Woody squatting with Timmy, Jordy and Sammy to Linkin Park, I couldn't have been in a better state. Marty's high-volume lower body program was in order for me today which entailed: Deadlift 5x20, Plyoswing 2x2min @ 60kg, Back Attack 4x10, Reverse Hyperextension 4x10 and Glute-Ham Raise 4x10. This may not mean much to most of you but to those who know what this is, I say no more. I was training with Tex and Lica this morning, getting 'under the bar' at 6.15am. 

Deadlifting is hard anyway. Doing reps of it is harder again. Doing 20 reps for 5 sets is just insane. It would push our mental strength and endurance to the limit, not to mention our form and lower back! Tex led the way; consistently grinding out 120kg every set without much rest at all. He has come a long way in his cycling from training with us. He's kind of an inspiration; juggling work, training, cycling and a new-born. Lica played it smart, opting for 10 reps while keeping his precious back in order. He's very apt at responding to his body's needs, maybe due to his attention-to-detail he uses in his physio work. In saying that, he is consistently training and just gets shit done. And that's how it should be. 

My form was OK but deteriorated as the reps went on. I started with 100kg but had to drop the weight to 80kg as my back started to round like when a cat stretches its back. I switched to Sumo style (wide stance) with a greater emphasis on my hips. You really have to dig deep in order to pull the last few up (well I did anyway). The boys certainly helped me through it, maybe partly because they wanted to get theirs out ASAP too! Whatever the case, we all did it, much to our (morning) delight, before starting reps on the Plyoswing.  

Lica showed us how it was done by putting in for the whole two minutes with 60kg behind him. He was quite surprised when he was reminded that we were doing two sets of this (#rattled). Tex's legs of steel pushed him to get more reps (>60) second time round in two minutes. I felt the burn mid-way through the first set but just kept thinking of getting one more each time. I don't think you can think too much else while fatigued with weight; other than to 'just do it'. After we completed two sets each, we finished off with a posterior chain meltdown (or the remaining three exercises). 

Even though it was @toddaz36 who opened up, we all just got in and trained (and fuckin' trained and fuckin' trained - for the Ben Cousins fans out there). The intensity was right up at the day's lowest temperature. There were no people standing around and talking. Most of us trained as part of a group, which does wonders for motivation and overall group atmosphere. I was glad I got up early once again and did it. Nothing for the rest of the day will come close to being as hard as what I did this morning - mentally and physically. Training was now finished and my day of being productive was about to begin, starting with some form of recovery. I'll sign off by repeating the second-last statement on its own line below.

Nothing for the rest of the day will come close to being as hard as what I did this morning - mentally and physically. 

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Live your dream; dream your life.

Do you find yourself living through other people? Do you find yourself living to work? Are you hanging out for the weekend every single week day? Ask yourself this; why?! Why aren't you doing what you love? Why aren't you happy and living (or LIVING towards) your dream NOW? You're only the age you are now once, and there's no better time to live happier than right now, as you are reading this. 

Do. Travel. Train. Indulge. Buy things. Take a walk outside. Listen to your favourite type of music. Read an engrossing book. Tell jokes. Laugh. Laugh at yourself. Meet new people and learn new things. Donate. Help. Experience. 

Don't complain. Don't bitch. Don't begrudge. Don't smirk your face.Don't hesitate. Don't wait. Don't think too much. Don't take take anything for granted. 

Can you tell I have just been on holidays?! Can you tell I've recently watched a Swedish House Mafia DVD documenting its "One Last Tour" tour? Hopefully not! The trio also had ups and downs just like us and in the end, broke up due to a lack of passion and happiness they had with each other and what they had created. They had fun, but ultimately didn't have the drive to keep it going. I wanna have the drive to keep what I love doing going for as long as I want; not by being persuaded by others' personal endeavours or agendas. 

Although this blog isn't as long or as ordered as my last few, I hope my point gets across. Do what you love and be happy or die tryin'! In the words of a female fan on the SHM doco: "Losing your mind and opening your heart!"

Me, out. 

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Why I Train

Initially, exercise was essentially a means of getting fit and healthy. I've put years into studying how exercising affects the body – inside and out, physiologically and how it can slow down the process of natural ageing. A little time was spent on how it can positively affect our mind and self-conscious – but not nearly enough. On second thought, I could have studied a whole degree in the psychology of exercising without ever ‘getting it’ because of a lack of practical studying – in the gym – under a (fucking - I thought I needed to swear there) bar – with like-minded people. It has taken years but I think I have ‘got it’ – for myself anyway, and I did it without having to fork out an extra 21k for a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.

  I started exercising in order to get stronger, ‘fitter’, and bigger. I was scrawny (I'm still scrawny I know!) but I aimed to change my body composition through lifting weights. When I started at Elite Sports Performance three years ago, my chief aims were to learn its style of training, practice the lifts and eventually progress to training others. What Marty probably had in his mind was rather different: give me next to nothing in pay, provide me with an uncomfortable training environment and force me to get up at the crack of dawn if I was to learn anything, and ultimately to make it as hard as possible for me to stay at ESP (and like it). I had a long road ahead – and I’m on the same one still.

As the years past, my ‘exercising’ changed to training – an almost daily ritual of lifting weights in order to make progress in the gym and in my mind which would form the basis of my everyday living and sub-conscious (deep, huh?). I don’t expect many people to truly understand what that means – but those who do know where I'm coming from can vouch for me the feeling you get when you miss a few planned sessions – it’s shit! You might not feel as sharp mentally and emotionally you may not be as passionate. Generally speaking, training will make you a better person than not training, period.

Many think of training as selfish. I disagree. Training with a purpose in mind – whatever it is – is a step in the direction of being a better individual. Training leads to being a more loving partner, a more caring father, a more humble manager or a more efficient worker. Without putting the focus, effort and time on yourself first, there’s no way you are in the optimal frame of mind to help others - at all. Most people have a hard time digesting this because they think that they should be putting everyone else before themselves. This usually leads to burn-out; unhappiness, malnutrition, depression and more unhappiness (insert research study here, 2014). Training is not selfish, period.

For me, my training with my training partners at ESP and under Marty has brought me to who I am today. I've got a cool-ass (pun-tended yes) girlfriend, I live with the best house-mate you could possibly ask for at The Castle, I'm holidaying next month, I went overseas last year for the first time while being the happiest I've ever been in my life. I'm that chuffed that I may even die my hair again. It gets my mind right because I make it get my mind right. If I'm learning in the gym, I'm also learning outside of it. If I'm improving, then I gain the confidence to make adjustments in reality knowing that my intensity and focus served me well under weighted tension. 

I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be blogging about the mental side of training. But then again I never would have thought I’d go blonde for a year either! My take home message would be to train your mind first – everything else will follow, even your dreams – as wild as they may be! 

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Oh Big Brother, where art thou?!

I've never had a brother, let alone a bigger brother, let alone a nationally-televised robotic-voiced big brother or ('brothers'), so applying for Big Brother this year was something very new to me. Nevertheless, I entered online, submitted the optional (selfie) 1-minute video and rocked up to the Melbourne Park Function Centre on this Saturday morning, 26th April 2014 and the rest is history. And is also explained in more detail below. 

As soon as I finished training, I got dressed and headed out the door. I was talking to Lica (my training partner) about the contrast of me walking out the door for the Big Brother auditions while the likes (or legends) of Bro and Chucky were benching upwards of 200kg. Yes I am one rare unit Woody, but I have to live with you, by default of course! Anyway, I hopped (stepped/hopped same-diff) into my car and drove to the city - it was 8.40am.

Once I arrived at the Melbourne Park Function Centre carpark (after wasting time waiting for a train which was never stopping at Spotswood station!) I grabbed my bag full of stuff and headed in. It was quite heavy as we were told to bring some food and things to do as we could be there for a while. So I brought some of Nonna's salami and my nacho hat to share around some chips in. 

I walked in to the lovely staff presenting me with a numbered sticker and a numbered hand-held card. Then I proceeded to take a seat in the 'yellow' section of seats. It was a large room with hundreds of chairs in rows; people scattered everywhere. I started to chat with a long-haired guy named Tom (I think?). It was his first time too and he came by himself. Then he left to go somewhere and never returned so I mingled with a couple of girlfriends from the bush and a gal from Taylors Hill. A lot of people came with friends or family (who also had to apply); it surprised me. There were more females than males and a few had applied and failed previously. We were then told to sit closer together and we were greeted by an Ex-Housemate from the 2013 series - Xavier.

I didn't know Xavier as the last Big Brother I had watched with a little bit of interest was when Fitzy (or Frizy, as he was known then) was last in the house talking about the effects that viagra had on him. Xavier was kinda nerdy-looking and he was just there (it seemed) to rev and pump us up. When I told the sis about him, she said he was boring; and I have to agree (lol). Once we were all frenzied up, my number was called and, along with ten other people, I walked into another smaller room where we participated in some activities.

I had some interesting people in my group. We didn't mention names but one girl admitted to farting up to fifteen times a day (on a daily basis), another had died three times, another had abnormally-different sized thumbs and another had run away from home and her ex in search of a better life. One guy was a dancer who self-created his own American accent from mocking his teachers growing up too much while another is livin' it up (not Ja Rule-style though) 24 stories high in the Docklands thanks to his folks (all true stories). We were all different in some way - which made for some funny stories. 

This paragraph is about me so you can skip over it if you so wish! I was my jokey self not shying away from meeting some new and cool people. I told everyone about the time I starred on Channel Nine news post-Creamfields 2012, why on earth one of my nicknames is Princess and made light of why the 'farting girl's' posterior was so big (she put it out there herself! And she progressed further than me so thumbs up to her!). We played 'continue the story' and were asked of our opinions on some moral issues in today's society.

After our activities ended, five of us were invited back in and five of us were on our way out. One male and four females made it through - I think most of the ones I mentioned above!  If only I had asked why they didn't want me - it wouldn't have changed what I did for a second though. I had a ball having a laugh and learning new things about new people. It may have came across that I was 'trying too hard' and was only trying to impress the staff when in actual fact it was all me. Or I'm just not what they're looking for this year. Either way, it was really fun for what it was. 

When I got home, Squarah (the sis) said I should've used a sob-story - in which case I could have - but I didn't wanna downplay the day of fun and excitement. I would have been disappointed and upset if I didn't get in for not being myself. But that didn't happen. So I'm as upbeat (and nervous) as I was before it even began!

Until my next little journey, I shall see you again, or maybe never Big Brother. Call me, maybe?

[shredder05blog]

Don't just get under the bar, BEND the fucking bar!

**NB This blog is more tailored to beginners -> intermediate trainers and I wouldn't expect seasoned powerlifting veterans to gain anything from this at all - maybe just a laugh from my lame attempts of what I call jokes.

  ***NB I don't actually know what NB stands for.

  Writing a blog about training techniques and form is a massive risk on my behalf although that may depend on what your perception of me is from a fitness and strength enthusiast/coach/educator standpoint and whether I have your respect from what you know about me thus far. No I haven't squatted 140kg, benched 100kg or pulled 200kg just yet, but I have recently been taught something invaluable that may be (just) one factor that will help me get stronger. Maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit here and usually when I get excited about something, it blows up in my face (no sexual puns intended even though I was probably the only one who thought of it) because my expectation and reality were too far divided. Nowadays I think I can control it somewhat, so I'm just gonna talk about what I've learnt anyway and if it backfires again; well at least I'll have another topic to blog about in the future!

  In a way, my bench press has always been my achilles heel. In 2.5 years my 1RM has only increased by 20kg and has stagnated in the past year. I'd always hear my most senior training partners cue me to "squeeze" and "bend" the bar whilst pressing maximally in our gym sessions and (gym) comps. Naturally, I would squeeze and try to bend that bar as much as I could but I couldn't get it to work in my favour any more so than not thinking about it. I would arch my back, row it down, try to tuck my elbows in and I practice that time and time again. Maybe I'm just weak as piss and that's the reason why I haven't pressed 100kg yet but I guess that's the beauty of this prerogative - there's always room for improvement. But Vicki O'Brien taught me exactly how to "bend the bar" and instantly I felt it was a breakthrough.

  I start by setting up my normal grip width (little finger over the outside notch) as a point of reference - not the exact hand grip position this time though. Instead of simply wrapping my hands around the bar, the aim is to turn my wrists inwards (once I am under the bar) so much so that only the thumb and index finger are the only digits able to fully lock over the bar. I squeeze these digits as hard as I can and continue by wrapping my remaining fingers over and around the bar - without losing tension through the initial 'lock-squeeze' (yes, I made that up). It looks as if my arms are out wider but really it is my palms that are more over the bar and creating the illusion of having a wider grip.

  Once my wrists are firmly over the bar, the next action is to turn my elbows medially and 'tuck them in' to my body. This will engage my lats to contract and provide stability from the back upwards (yes I am aware that whole-body stability from the feet-up is absolutely necessary among other factors but this is about bending the bar in isolation!). This also brings my line of force closer to my core instead of having to push outwards. Keeping the force close to my body and shortening the levers are keys to lifting big weights. I notice that by having my wrists turned out with my elbows in places great pressure in that laterally-flexed (in the anatomical position) wrist so as long as I'm aware of the load and feel; I can adjust my width accordingly or resort to wrist straps.

  Being in this position, as soon as I un-rack the bar, I can immediately feel the sensation of "bending the bar". I feel a lot tighter in my back and have more control on the descent as I can now row it down without just lowering the bar. Admittedly I have only tested this out twice so far but on the sub-maximal weights I was using it with, it felt surprisingly easier and more stable. The true test will be within the coming week and then in the next six months to see if the weights go up even more. There I go again, putting myself out there; setting myself up for failure but I guess that's how I'll learn from my mistakes!

#happystrength

  Dave

[shredder05blog]

#latpulldowns with @melkelly87 @apollogym on a #chilly #thursdaymorning.. #benchpressing is getting a lot better in form because of her general tightness in her setup, which is #awesome to see. We finished off with some #interval #vmx #tricep #pulldowns before a hectic lowerbody group session @elitesportsperformance on #Sunday! #HappyStrength #strengthtraining #training #strengthandconditioning #fitnesscoaching #injuryprevention #sportsnutrition #prehab #rehab #personaltraining #exercise #wellness #mentalstrength #goodattitude #happiness #teamwork #stronger #recovery

[shredder05blog]

Tough #upperbody session this #sundaymorning @apollogym for @melkelly87. She is feeling stronger each week and it's showing in her work capacity. It's a #pleasure training someone so dedicated and disciplined to the cause and it's one reason why I love what I do! #HappyStrength #strengthtraining #training #strengthandconditioning #fitnesscoaching #injuryprevention #sportsnutrition #prehab #rehab #personaltraining #exercise #wellness #mentalstrength #goodattitude #happiness #teamwork #stronger #recovery

[shredder05blog]

(Feat. @mattyayres89) Save the date people for the @elitesportsperformance #gymcomp. More details to follow! #HappyStrength #strengthtraining #training #strengthandconditioning #fitnesscoaching #injuryprevention #sportsnutrition #prehab #rehab #personaltraining #exercise #wellness #mentalstrength #goodattitude #happiness #teamwork #stronger #recovery

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A look of #determination and #grit on the face of @melkelly87 as she pushes through another week of #boxsquatting @apollogym! We went through the box squat again and threw in some #back work before #smashing out her favourite #ab #exercise: #kneeraises. #Motivation was a little higher this #thursdaymorning with #Vanessa helping out!

[shredder05blog]

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It was #amazing witnessing #BenniMagnusson demonstrating #disgustingstrength at #fitx #melbourne with @mattypalmer87 #deadlift #445kg #HappyStrength #strengthtraining #training #strengthandconditioning #fitnesscoaching #injuryprevention #sportsnutrition #prehab #rehab #personaltraining #exercise #wellness #mentalstrength #goodattitude #happiness #teamwork #stronger #recovery

[shredder05blog]

She's #rattled, trains #powerlifting style even though she's doing #figure and doesn't know which way an #aframe is meant to face, but her #dedication cannot be questioned. #getaround @apollogym #staffmember @monellemondello tomorrow at #fitx #melbourne!