adler training

Forbes Magazine featured my book in the health section, a not-to-be-missed read!

Today's subject seems rather mundane..I mean shrugs, really? You grab the heaviest dumbbells you can find and perform short , jerky motions right?
yes, that is pretty much how shrugs are done in every gym I ever set foot in. Its a pretty cool exercise, you get to move 5 plates on the barbell, make  a lot of noise, enforce your tough guy image and, best of all  you cant really mess it up. Or at  least that's what people believe.
First of all, when people do shrugs they tend to think only about the small area that's actually visible toward the ears ( unless you are Johnny Jackson, than that part is huge). But if you be so inclined and look at the graph, you will notice that the traps are quite big and cover a large part of your back.
So you must break the training down into upper and lower traps to get a full development. Regular shrugs, shrugs with chest support on a bench and reverse shrugs at the cable pull down would be a good combination.
Secondly, the traps elevate and lover the shoulder blades so rolling the shoulders back and forth is not a good idea. Get a feeling for moving your shoulder blades without engaging the arms.
Thirdly, weight is secondary, feeling the muscle comes first. Too many guys perform shrugs like they are having some sort of epileptic seizure in order to move a large amount of weight. Again, focus on the squeeze and the stretch.
Whats the payoff for well developed traps?
If you are a football player, wrestler or boxer it will save you from spinal injuries. As a bodybuilder or regular weightlifter, traps are crucial for shoulder health.
So there you have it, the rundown of an exercise everyone thinks they know and hardly anyone does it right.
Maik

Finally, I get to post an update regarding my last show, which was the Musclemania NY, conviently held in AStoria. After a grueling 16 week prep, I was a very lean ( and dehydrated 210 lbs) which was good enough to win the heavyweight class. For teh overall, I was edged out by a formidable ligth-heavy weight competitior, you can see for yourself via the links. I want to thank everyone who s

http://fitisin.zenfolio.com/p60150266/h375a98e4#h3252ee67
http://fitisin.zenfolio.com/p60150266/h375a98e4#h375a98e4

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Just like the rest of America. But this might not all that bad, since the excess calories and rest can be used to build some quality muscle.
The best to do is, in my humble opinion, to perform a whole body power workout like the one I outlined below. I wrote it in the Poliquin fashion, so you perform one set of exercise A1, then one set of A2 etc then move on to B.

A1 4x6 Deadlifts
A2 4x20 leg presses
B1 3x10 Incline Bench Presses
B2 3x10 One arm rows
C1 3x12 Arnold Presses
C2 3x20 Shrugs
D1 3x6 Close grip bench presses
D2 3x12 Barbell curls

Give it a try!
Maik

_Using a personal trainer can help you achieving your fitness goals, the question is how to find the right one?
I came up with an ingenious 5-point plan to separate the good from the not so good

1. Ask for license and insurance. Sounds obvious, yet most people don't do it.
2. Is he/she in shape? This may sound superficial but an out-of shape trainer wouldn't inspire confidence in me. Would you go to a dentist with bad teeth?
3. Do you feel personally catered to or is he a clock watcher?  Does your trainer follow up after the session via email in regards to how you feel? Is he accessible when you are not in session?
4. Diet. Even if your trainer is not a nutritionist, he should give you some guidelines as to what to eat and explain the basic food groups.
5. My favorite. Prepare a difficult question, if he gives the right answer, hire him. If he says: I am not certain, let me look it up that's still ok. If he makes something up, run for your life.
There you have it, a 5 point checklist to find a trainer.
Maik

When you have been in gyms as long as I have (and it has been a long time now...) you notice a lot of new trends that come and go, Tae-bo, step aerobics, hot yoga, Pilates, spinning, crossfit etc. Kettle bells seem to re-emerge after a 20-year hiatus. And most of these trends are dead in the water now, mainly because they simply didn't produce results but injuries. They make for great sales pitches though.

Now there is "functional training". What does that even mean? Nobody seems to really know but it's supposed to re-create proper structural alignment. That doesn't seem like a bad idea until we take a look how this ideal is being chased. Stability balls, TRX bands, kettlebells, standing on one leg, wobble boards...STOP!

I have worked with top athletes, at Olympic level, and nobody was following any sort of esoteric workout program, but only the basics only. What's tried and true has stood the test of time: squats, dead lifts, presses, rows and some light aerobic work. Simply do them very well, very often, and eat very clean for 10 years in a row.

Superficial fitness trends don't work and will only injure the average trainee. In addition, the regular gym goer has no interest in improving his/her single-leg bench jump. He/she wants to look and feel better. That's it.
An intelligent training program, build around the basic exercises and a decent nutritional program will achieve exactly that in less time and without a blown out rotator cuff.
So squat, dead lift, pull and push, grill some animals, steam some veggies and get in shape!
Maik

Musclemania is almost here and I feel pretty good. Holding a decent 215 lbs and a rather low body fat (Thanks, TSN fat burner). Now the slow carb-up begins, no more training just resting and eating..stay tuned!

There has already been a stream of tributes to Steve Jobs so I won't write another one. Well, I will..sort of. But it will be from a different angle than just Apple.

Sure he gave us the iPod, iPhone, etc., but those that know me are aware of the fact that I am not all that tech savvy. I can hardly handle a keyboard for that matter.

Here is what impressed me about Steve Jobs: his philosophy as summed up in his commencement speech at Stanford. It wasn't another "follow your dreams and love happy" talk, it was a modern memento mori without the moralizing aspect. "Do what you love, you are already naked."

Anyone who has watched "GoodFellas" (if you haven't, you should) will remember the opening scene when Henry Hill says: "All my life, I always wanted to be a gangster."

In a way, that holds true for me as well. Ever since I watched Terminator in 1990, I wanted to be a bodybuilder and a trainer. My life took me through some interesting twists and turns, but in the end I ended up where I felt I belonged. But It wasn't a smooth transition by any means. I had to decide between giving up my job in finance and to embark on the rather uncertain path as an independent personal trainer.

However, the choice was very clear to me. In the years leading up to the transition, I was held to my job by my immigration visa (Thanks, GW) so a certain amount of freedom was taken away from me. When I finally received my green card, I quit within minutes and never looked back.

This is how I relate to Steve Jobs.

Another day in the contest prep, another day of not so much energy, and rather limited food choices. But, I am quite happy with the way things are coming along; everything seems to be on track.
Inevitably, the leaner you get, the more you get noticed in the gym and then it starts: "What do you do? What do you eat for breakfast?"
Needless to say, there isn't a one-sentence answer (aside from buy-my-book) and the longer explanation is rather sobering. It would be something to the tune of: "Get in 45-50 clean meals a week and work out 5 days a week, stay away from alcohol and late nights."
Nobody wants to hear that, so the circus moves on in search of the next drug/fad/supplement, with the same result: none.
You, and nobody else, are responsible for your body.  Aside from your height, eye color, and bone structure, you are in the driver's seat.
Take charge! Hard work, dedication, and positive mental outlook will get you to your goals. Do not look left and right in the gym, the average gym rats will drag you down into their mediocrity.
Train hard and eat your steak!
Maik

As we all know, obesity is on the rise in the industrialized world and the outlook isn't pretty (unless you sell diet pills). Diabetes, heart attacks, joint problems, depression, loss of cognitive abilities, and simply a diminished quality of life can all be caused by carrying too much weight. Hungary went ahead and introduced a tax on particularly bad foods such as chips, cakes, sodas etc. This caused a great outcry amongst the population, saying that it will be lower income segments of society that suffer most, since they spend disproportionally more on food as it is.
The question remains: is a fat tax a good idea? First and foremost, it's a fiscal, not a health initiative. Hungary is basically bankrupt ad needed an IMF bailout package, so new revenue streams are welcome.
Will it change people eating habits? I doubt it; considering how much cigarettes cost, one would think nobody smokes anymore. People are creatures of habit, so they will most likely stick to what they like. More than anything it is a rather stunning development. Does anyone remember the time before 1989 when there was very little to buy in Eastern European stores??? And here we are some 20+ years later, implementing a tax on over-consumption.
Taxes are not the solution to the public health crisis, but the additional revenue is used to combat some of the expenses society is incurring. It's a start.
Above all, we need better education on the subject, clearer labeling of foods and less moralizing. No more finger pointing, confusing "net carbs" labels, and fad diets. Instead, the idea should be that healthy eating is normal and fun as opposed to depriving yourself. After all it makes you feel better, gives you more energy and makes you look better.
Michelle Obama's campaign is a good first step but everyone who is serious about fitness should be an ambassador (in a non-preach way, of course)
Till next time
Maik