Prowler High Intensity Muscular Endurance Workout
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The Prowler is a killer workout for building up muscular endurance in the legs, hips, arms, and shoulders. This video is of my initial trial of the prowler and I was impressed by just how hard this machine really is.
If you have access to one, I highly recommend incorporating it as part of your workouts. Simply doing a 5-10 laps with this machine at the end of your workouts will really help build up your overall conditioning. Another big plus to this is it will really get that lactic acid burn going throughout your legs, which is great for stimulating natural Growth Hormone release. |
Note:
If you haven’t already done so, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube Workout Video Channel at: http://www.YouTube.com/leemhayward This way you can keep up to date and get early notification of all my latest workout training videos.
Taking a break from the gym…
I just got back home from a week long trip to Niagara Falls with my girlfriend Patricia.
The reason for our trip was to attend Vince & Flavia DelMonte’s wedding.
(Note: Vince is the author of the No-Nonsense Muscle Building Program.)
But of course we had to make a mini-vacation out of it as well and take in all the sights of Niagara Falls. It was our first time there and we absolutely loved it!
And while we were there we never once stepped foot inside of a gym!
Now I know some hardcore fitness fanatics out there would freak out at the thought of going a week without working out. But by cycling your training, and even taking the occasional break away from the gym will help you make better gains and enjoy the process even more over the long run.
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How To Cycle Your Workouts For Long Term Muscle Growth
Working out and keeping fit is one the best things you can do for yourself. When your body is in shape you feel 100% better about yourself both physically and mentally. You will have a lot more energy, it’s a fantastic stress relief, and the list of benefits just goes on and on.
However, despite all the benefits of working out you CAN get “too much” of a good thing. Some people are so obsessed with working out and bragging about how they “Workout Everyday” that it takes over their life.
I know people who actually get stressed out if something comes up and they can’t workout for a few days. They fear that they’ll become fat out of shape slobs and have their muscles melt away just like ice cream on a hot summers day.
I’ve even gotten e-mails from guys who were afraid to go on a family vacation because it would take away from their gym time. In my opinion that’s going too far and borderline obsession. We workout and keep fit to enhance our life, not to have working out consume our life.
The Different Phases Of Training
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I remember several years back reading an article written by 3 time Mr. Olympia, Frank Zane. In the article Frank was talking about how no body can grow and make gains nonstop forever. He went on to say that there will always be phases where you are growing, other phases where you are just maintaining, and even phases where you just need to take a break and rest.
He compared bodybuilding training to the seasons in nature. The spring and summer is the peak growing phase. The fall is the harvesting phase (reap the rewards), and the winter is the rest phase. Your workouts need to go through similar types of phases. No body can push it 100% and grow nonstop 365 days a year. And if you try to force it, your body will fight back and you’ll experience things like overtraining, plateaus, and maybe even get sick or injured. |
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With my own training I don’t always have things planned out and structured perfectly, but I do cycle though different types of training phases.
For example;
During the months leading up to a bodybuilding competition I’m in serious training and will push myself 100% and be very consistent with my training, nutrition, etc. This is when I’ll put on my blinders so to speak and have tunnel vision focusing my full attention on achieving my training goals. During this phase I’ll make my best progress.
However, right after the contest I’ll usually take a few days or even a week off from working out completely to give my mind and body a rest. Then when I resume training I’ll just take it easy in the gym, mainly doing active recovery type of training. This down time is a much welcomed break especially after months of strict dieting and hard training.
After about a month of taking it easy I’ll usually start to get into a more serious off season “power bodybuilding” workouts. During this phase I’ll focus my training around basic hardcore workouts in effort to gain muscular bodyweight and size.
For most bodybuilders this off season “power-bodybuilding” phase is where they’ll spend most of their training time. But even within this phase there will be ups and downs in your training. Again, no one can give it 100% and make nonstop gains forever.
| Most advanced guys will find that they can push it hard and make really good gains for about 6 weeks or so. After that they’ll start to plateau. When this happens the best thing to do is switch to less intense workout program for a couple weeks, also known as a “cruising phase”. This will allow your mind and body to get some active recovery before you crank up the intensity again for another 6 week hardcore training phase. |
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After a few months of consistent training I even recommend taking a full week off from the gym entirely. Just like I did with my mini-vacation to Niagara Falls. This will benefit you both mentally and physically.
First off, it will allow your body to fully rest and recover from your workouts. Any little aches and pains that you may have from training usually ease up within a week off from the gym. It also gives your mind a break and will make you hungry to train even harder when you resume working out again.
In my case I usually travel away from home 3-4 times each year (usually for a week at a time) and I’ll use these trips as my mini-breaks away from the gym. But even if you don’t travel that often, you can purposely schedule a week off from the gym every few months.
I like to compare it to how our school system is scheduled. School starts off fresh each September, then after a few months they have a winter break (usually over the Christmas holidays), after another few months they have spring break, and then they finish off with a summer vacation before repeating the entire cycle again. No body would ever want to go though 52 weeks a year of nonstop schooling without a break. And the same applies to your workouts as well.
Even though it may seem like you’ll lose muscle from taking a break, trust me you won’t. Muscle isn’t that fragile, it isn’t going to disappear if you take a week away from the gym. In fact that mini-break maybe just the thing you need to rejuvenate your body, renew your training motivation, and help take your physique to the next level of muscular development.
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In my latest e-book “Blast Your Biceps” I cover this stuff in more detail and actually structure the training phases of the program to include mini-breaks away from the gym to help you fully maximize your overall muscle gains.
I highly recommend you pick up and copy, if you haven’t already done so. Even though “Blast Your Biceps” is an “arm specialization” program, it still focuses on building size and strength throughout your entire body. One of the key principles that I teach here is that in order to build bigger arms, you have to get bigger and stronger all over. And that’s exactly what this program will help you do. |
 Blast Your Biceps |
To get more information and to pick up your copy just visit:
www.BlastYourBiceps.com
Behind the scenes video of our bodybuilding photo shoot…
This is a video clip from behind the scenes of our photo shoot the day after the Atlantic Canadian Bodybuilding Championships.
I’m super happy with how these pics turned out, even though I only placed 6th out of a very tough light-heavyweight class of 10 competitors, I was still pleased. This is the best and most ripped I’ve ever been.
Take a couple minutes and check it out, it’s pretty cool to see the whole “behind the scenes” of the photo shoot and how we go about getting the kick ass pics!
I’ve been getting tons of e-mail lately from my website followers asking me about my diet and training leading up to this show and how I got so ripped…
And the secret this time around was following a low carb diet plan with strategic “carb & fat load” re-feed meals spaced in during the week. This was the easiest diet I’ve ever followed and it worked awesome. I was able to get in my most shredded contest shape ever and maintain almost all of my strength and muscle in the process.
In fact I’ve outlined in detail everything that I’ve done in preparation for this show with regards to the exact diet plan I used, the exact supplements I took, and the exact workouts I followed to blast away bodyfat and get ripped in my New DVD program:
Extreme Fat Loss:
How To Get Ripped To The Bone Shredded In Record Time.
Now I have to warn you…
This Is NOT Your Typical Beginners “Eat Right & Exercise” Fat Loss Program.
If You Are Already In Good Shape Now, But Want To Step It Up To The Next Level & Get In Awesome Shape. Then This Is The Advanced Fat Loss Program For You!
If one of your bodybuilding & fitness goals is to get ripped in time for hitting the beach and pool parties this summer, then you need to start training for it NOW!
And the “Extreme Fat Loss” program is your shortcut to getting that ripped beach body. Heck, I’m living proof that this stuff produces FAST Results! So why not give it a shot for yourself?
You can get your copy now at: http://www.leehayward.com/dvd/
New “Pumped Up” gym pics…
I just wanted to share some killer “Pumped Up” workout gym pics with you.
I just got these pics today and posted them up on my Total Fitness Bodybuilding Facebook Fan Page
My good friend Dave "The Muscle Cook" Ruel, my girlfriend Trish,
and I did a photo shoot at MegaFlex gym the day after the
Atlantic Canadian Bodybuilding Championships and they turned
out awesome! I was really impressed with the quality of the pics.
You can check them out for yourself by clicking here.
Hardcore Back Workout Challenge – Part 1 of 2
This is a killer video of my first heavy workout since the Atlantic Classic Bodybuilding Contest.
We did a hardcore back “challenge” workout!
There were 4 BIG dudes training together:
- Big Luke who is 245 pounds and built like a tank!
- Dave “The Muscle Cook” Ruel at a ripped 230 pounds!
- Big Remi at a lean and powerful 217 pounds!
- And myself, the little man of the group, at just 207 pounds
We would start each exercise with a warm up weight and
then go one after the other, each set adding more weight to
the bar and keep going until we hit failure and had to drop out.
Each exercise we did was a competition to see who could lift the
most weight or bang out the most reps!
Let me tell you, this kind of training motivation and competition
will drive you to give it 100%, after all none of us wanted to be
considered a pussy and finish last!
This is part 1 of 2 of our challenge workout.
I’ll be posting up part 2 in a day or so.
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Are you looking for a complete “Hardcore Muscle Building Workout” program? If so then you should check out my “Hardcore Muscle Building DVD”. This is a complete 2 disc DVD set that shows you: “How To Train Beyond Muscular Failure For Maximum Muscle Gains” We have this DVD set in stock and ready to ship. Plus as an extra bonus if you order now you can get FREE Shipping to anywhere in the world. |
Post contest rebound gain 20 lbs. in 48 hours!
It’s your muscle building coach Lee Hayward here and my good
friend Dave “The Muscle Cook” Ruel and I are back in the gym
and taking advantage of the post bodybuilding contest rebound…
Just in case you are not familiar with the whole concept of
the post “bodybuilding competition rebound” this is how it works.
Basically when you have been on a calorie restricted diet for
months on end and then all of a sudden get a huge influx of
calories (i.e. pigging out after the show) This fills out
your muscles with water, glycogen, and nutrients. It also
sends your body’s natural anabolic hormones into over drive!
To give you an idea of just how extreme this can be. I weighed
187 pounds this past Saturday after cutting water for the
Atlantic Classic bodybuilding show. On Monday, just 48 hours
later, I’m back up to 207 pounds! A full 20 pound gain in 2 days!
Granted most of this weight gain is water, but my muscles are so
full and tight that I’m getting insane pumps in the gym. It’s
almost like my muscles are going to explode!
I just posted up a YouTube video of our first workout after
the show: Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. We also hit a few
poses afterwards and we’ve got crazy muscle fullness and
vascularity!
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P.S.
Stay tuned because tomorrow I’m going to be posting up
a killer YouTube video of a hardcore “challenge” workout…There were 4 BIG dudes training together:
- Big Luke who is 245 pounds and built like a tank!
- Dave “The Muscle Cook” Ruel at a ripped 230 pounds!
- Big Remi at a lean and powerful 217 pounds!
- And myself, the little man of the group, at just 207 pounds
We would start each exercise with a warm up weight and
then go one after the other, each set adding more weight to
the bar and keep going until we hit failure and had to drop out.
Each exercise we did was a competition to see who could lift the
most weight or bang out the most reps!Let me tell you, this kind of training motivation and competition
will drive you to give it 100%, after all none of us wanted to be
considered a pussy and finish last!It’s going to be a kick ass video that you don’t want to miss!
