Why deadlift?

1. It’s functional. You pick stuff up and put stuff down every day. Sometimes that stuff is heavy. Not only will deadlifting help you in those endeavors, but it will also help make sure you are doing those tasks in the safest way possible.

2. It builds overall strength and mass. The deadlift works the following muscles: back, glutes, legs, forearms, calves, shoulders and traps. Another important, and often overlooked, element of the deadlift is the effect it has on grip strength. With all those muscles engaged, the deadlift adds mass like no other lift. If you want a powerful overall build, you should deadlift.

3. It works your cardiovascular system. While the deadlift isn’t a substitute for hill sprints or time on an Airdyne, it does help your cardio. Don’t think it’s true? Do a set of heavy deadlifts and see if you aren’t gasping for air by the time you reach failure.

4. It’s good for core and stability. If you are using proper technique, the deadlift will help your posture and increase your core strength.

5. It’s a great gauge of overall strength.

6. Jon Pall Sigmarsson

How?

Okay, now you know why you should deadlift, but before you just walk up to a loaded bar and start pumping out reps, it’s important to know how to perform the lift correctly.

1. The first thing you want to do when you approach the loaded bar is set your stance. Your feet should be shoulder width apart and the bar should be across the middle of your feet.

2. Now that your stance is set and the bar is in the proper position, do not move the bar. Do not roll the bar forward or backward, keep the bar right where it is, across the middle of your feet.

3. Lean over and grab the bar with an overhand (both palms facing you) grip, but keep your legs straight while doing this. You can use a split grip if you want (one overhand/one underhand), but ideally, both hands should be in the same position. Your forearms should be outside your legs, just short of touching.

4. Now you’ll set your back in the proper position, which is the most important part of the lift. You’ll do this by bending your knees until your shins meet the bar. At this point, raise your chest. Doing this will put your spine in a neutral position; that is not rounded or hyperextended.

5. If the bar moves during this process or your back does not feel like it is in the correct position, start over from the first step until you feel comfortable with your stance.

6. Breath in and lift, driving your heels down at the same time. The bar should remain in contact with your legs, your core and back should stay tight, your arms should be straight, and your should squeeze your glutes once the bar hits thigh level. Do not lean back once you reach the top of the lift. Do not look up during the lift.

7. Reset by reversing the above step. Do not round your back while lowering the bar and do not loosen your grip until the bar is resting on the ground.

8. Do not drop the bar or bounce the weights between reps.

Dangers and Mistakes

1. If you round or flex your back, you will set yourself up for injury. If you’re unsure you have achieved a proper lifting technique, make a video of your stance. Remember, keep a neutral spine during the entire lift.

2. The reason you don’t bounce the bar is that you don’t want to use the momentum of the bar to power your reps.

3. If you look up during the lift, you can also strain your back. Keep your head in line with your back.

4. Do not use your arms during the lift other than to hold the bar. If you have bent elbows at any time of the lift, you risk injury.

5. Don’t start heavy. Make sure you are comfortable with your stance and technique before you begin moving heavy weights.

The post Deadlift. Deadlift! DEADLIFT! appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Beyond how it makes your body grow, not many things are as mentally satisfying as slapping 435 pounds onto a bar and going ass to the grass for 3 reps – except for maybe getting 4 reps.  And with all these changes come the need for new workout clothing, but that’s another article. So here is where we break down and elaborate on the proper technique you need to build some tree trunk thighs and some rippling calves. Here are the most important aspects of the motion you need to pay attention to:

1. Before anything else, making sure you have your feet properly set is critical to maximum force generation. So you will begin by taking both feet and placing them about shoulder-width apart with a slight turning of your’ feet outwards.2. Next up is making sure the weight is properly placed on your shoulders.
2. .Many gym-goers believe that you should have the weight set high up on your neck, and this is wrong and even dangerous. I personally aim to set the weight right on the scapular ridge – it’s the bony process that starts at the shoulder and progresses back and down your back. Many people make an issue out of how it hurts to put the weight on your shoulders, but that just means your traps aren’t large enough (yet)!
3. Now you’re ready for action: The down motion is critical for performing the exercise both safely, and effectively. The focus should be on keeping your head and chest upright as you move down, which is critical for maintaining proper posture in your spine, and allowing your hips to slide back and downwards while keeping the weight on your heels — like sitting down on a little stool. Your glutes should drop below the level of your knees (the technical term here is “ass to the grass”) meaning your thighs move beyond parallel with the ground; past a 90-degree angle with your calf.
4.  The upward motion should strongly engage your glutes, quads, and calves. With the movement being lead by your chest to maintain correct form. Again, make sure your weight moves through your heels, not your toes. You are squatting here, not calf raising.

Now that you have a guide for how to do the movement safely, here’s an example of my most recent Leg Day Circuit you can apply to your own regiment (and maybe even convince a lady-friend to join you for):

Here is some additional motivation from Aurora LZ via SimplyShredded to get up off you ass and start overcoming yourself :

The post The Squat — A Comprehensive Guide & Leg Day Example appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

This week, we will explore the two key aspects of building good nutrition habits:

1.) How you should eat.

2.) What you should eat.

Move away from thinking of yourself as “on a diet.” When you’re “on a diet” you’re not making a lifestyle change — it’s a temporary solution. Once you reach a point, you’re okay with migrating back to your bad eating habits, because “I was only on a diet so I didn’t look like a total fat-ass when I went to Cabo with my bros.”

What we are aiming to build are guidelines that help you develop consistently good eating habits, rather than a temporary “diet” you’re only kind of following. Better understanding what sort of fuel you’re putting into your body is essential to both your fitness goals, and your overall well-being. Now, as mentioned last week, this doesn’t mean you need to religiously count calories, but instead develop an intuition for how you have consumed today, and how much more you can consume, to get closer to your goals. Here are some basic guidelines we’ve come up with after getting feedback from bodybuilder, power-lifters, runners, and normal dudes alike:

Consistency — fuel your body and mind throughout the day.

When thinking about restructuring eating habits, people always think “I need to eat less.” Now, the thinking here is that, “If I’m eating less, then I should lose weight, right?” Although at a basic level this is correct, reducing how many meals you’re eating in an effort to lose weight is like, being too f*cked up, and doing a line of cocaine to clear your head and sober up — its couterproductive. You’re only making a problem worse, because by reducing how frequently and how much you’re eating, you’re forcing your body into a starvation state: your body is in panic mode because you’re not feeding it enough, and it begins to hold onto everything it already has — be that food you’re eating, or fat you already have.

This principle applies to the other direction too: If you ramp up the frequency of your meals daily, your body and metabolism ramp up too. When you look at bodybuilders (or Michael Phelps and his 20 pancakes like we did last week), you see them consuming upwards of 5 or 6 meals in a day, which is not only what their bodies need to maintain that level of activity, but also helps keep their metabolic rate constantly elevated, helping them either pack on more muscle, or burn up more fat. In summary, eat more throughout the day.

High Octane — fuel your body and mind well

“So I should eat more? Okay…so I can eat frozen pizzas six times a day?” False. Think of your body as a race car: Would you put subpar fuel in your car if you’re trying to win?

Nutrients in food can be broken down into Protein, Fats, and Carbohydrates; the three types of “macro-nutrients.” The word “protein” is derived from “protos”, Greek for “of prime importance.” As the name suggests, proteins are the building blocks of much your body, and a critical component to reaching your health goals — everything from your DNA replication, to catalyzing metabolic action and repairing tissue to build muscle, is influenced by your protein intake. Fats are the most energy dense of the three macro-nutrients, help you feel full, and provide valuable nutrients to your brain and body alike. Carbohydrates, which typically get a bad rap as being responsible for gaining body fat, are easiest for your body to convert to fuel, and therefore are the preferred source of fuel by your body. Carbs are critical to feeling energized, the same way fats are critical to you feeling full, and proteins are critical to repairing damaged tissue post-workout.

A good rule of thumb is to consume 1 – 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight — this means a 200 lbs male should consume about 200 – 300 grams of protein a day, if they’re trying to transform their body from a minivan to a formula 1 car.

“High Octane” protein rich food choices:

• Chicken & Turkey
• Lean Beef
• Low-fat Dairy

A good rule of thumb is to consume between .5 – 1 gram of fat per pound of body weight — this means a 200 lbs male should consume below 200 grams of fat a day, and the amount of fat you eat should never drop below 15% of your daily diet. This will help keep testosterone and stress hormones at a healthy level, keeping you mentally sharp, and keeping you physically healthy.

“High Octane” healthy fat (Omega 3s, Saturated, Polyunsaturated, and Monounsaturated) choices:

• Olive oil
• Flax-seed
• Canola oil

A good rule of thumb when trying to gain mass is to consume ca 2-3 grams of complex carbohydrates per pound of body weight, whereas that should be cut in half when trying to cut weight. This means a 200 lbs male should consume between 300-600 grams, depending on their fitness goals.

“High Octane” complex (slow burning) carb choices:

• Anything whole grain
• Brown rice
• Sweet potatoes
• Bananas

Now that you have more information about what fuels help you transform into a race-car, you can use these pie-charts to determine what your percentage break down, or “macros” of your diet should roughly be, depending on your fitness goals:

The post The 2 Nutrition Golden Rules appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

The gym can be intimidating, but once you get into a groove, it is smooth sailing. It all starts with a solid program. If you want to look good, fill out shirts quick, and worry about strength later, find a good bodybuilding split which usually focuses two muscle groups. If you instead want strength and your looks to come later, a good powerlifting program will focus on consistent strength gains. I highly recommend a powerlifting program if you’re just beginning.

When I first started working out, I cared about how I looked in the gym. Over the years, this sentiment has faded as I switched from bodybuilding to powerlifting. I’ve always had issues with shorts either being too baggy or too short, until I picked up some gear from Respect Your Universe. RYU’s Discipline Training shorts are sleek enough to stay out of my way when I’m deadlifting, but provide plenty of room when I’m squatting. The pockets aren’t too deep for your choice of music player, and the crotch won’t be all up in your business.

I’ve always been the one to wear ratty shirts littered with stains from who knows where. Today I proudly wore a clean Warrior Tee from RYU apparel and never felt better. Made for athletic builds, nothing on my upper body was restricted when I was benching. The material was stretchy like performance gear, but felt like a normal t-shirt.

Start filling out those shirts, get out of being in between sizes, and hit the gym. You’ll feel better about yourself in the long run along with plenty of other benefits that don’t come from just getting a tailor. Plus, everyone knows confidence is key and when you have the gear from RYU apparel, you’ll have that confidence to push out those extra reps.

The post The Struggle: In Between Sizes with RYU Apparel appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.