Warrior Blog

Muscle Monday - Brachialis & Coracobrachialis Sounding like a pair of prehistoric dinosaurs, today we go deep into the muscles of the upper arm. And while these two little muscles lie deep and aren't terribly visible, they play critical movement roles for your arms. The brachialis (brachialis anticus) is a muscle in the upper arm that flexes the elbow joint. It is a flat muscle that lies underneath the biceps brachii, originating from the lower half of the humerus, crossing the elbow joint, and inserting at the top of the ulna. The coracobrachialis is a long and slender muscle on the front of the arm. It originates from the coracoid process of scapula (shoulder) and inserts in the middle of the humerus. The coracobrachialis muscle produces flexion and adduction of the arm at the shoulder joint. The coracobrachialis also serves as an antagonist muscle for the deltoid muscle, which inserts near the same spot on the opposite side of the humerus. #Heal...

 Warrior Workouts - Sleep Quality High quality sleep is essential for all your healthy living goals. Regardless of if you're trying to build muscle or shed excess body fat, getting quality sleep is essential for the body to repair and rebuild. What are some ways to improve your sleep quality and over-all health? 1 - Get Enough Sleep - your body needs somewhere between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night to feel well rested, and you'll wake up naturally at the completion of your sleep cycles. This can take some trial and error to discover what works for you. You'll know you've found it when you end up waking up just before your alarm and you're ready to get out of bed. 2 - Darker is Better - humans sleep best in the dark. This means heavy drapes or blackout shades, turning off all your glowing electronic devices, consider using an eye shade or sleep mask if you can't darken the room. 3 - Sound Dampening - while you don't need complete silence to sleep, you d...

Strength Training - Repetition Range   You're on a mission to realize gains in your overall strength.  Don't get that confused with getting bigger - although you will likely notice some mass increase as well as you continue to training.  This training is focused on being able to generate more force (lift more weight) with your lean muscle mass - generating (and increasing) the maximal force your muscle cells can generate. This type of training requires heavy lifting - pushing a weight that you can lift a maximum of 6 times.  With that said - this doesn't look like going into the gym 5 days a week and grunting out heavy sets of 6.  In strength training programs, proper periodization is critical to balance progressive overload and muscle recovery to allow the body to continue to grow stronger and prevent injury. If you've been training for strength, and not happy with your results - either lack of progress, overtraining strain, or injury - reach out and we'll...

 Glute Stretches Your glute muscles are critical to your every day life!  They support hip rotation, walking, running and tackling stairs.  Your glute muscles are also connected to many other muscles - so tightness in the glutes can manifest in tightness or pain in your in your leg, back, hip and pelvic regions.   Take on stretching out your glutes regularly with the Pigeon Pose - which works out your gluteus maximus, gluteus minimus, hips and your piriformis (there is nothing worse than a tight piriformis ... watch for it in an upcoming Muscle Monday). Start from a  downward dog position,  bend left leg and drop knee to left.  Next, extend right leg behind you.  Press right hip towards the mat. Inhale, then exhale as you walk your palms as far forward as is comfortable.  It’s very important to keep your hips squared away in this pose.  Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, then repeat on the right leg. #HealthyLivingWarrior #GayPersonalTraine...

 Endurance - Repetition Range You're on a mission to boost your endurance through your time in the gym!  So - what does your endurance based workout look like?  How many reps are you doing inside your workout to train your existing muscle mass to work longer?  Endurance training is intentional - you are focused on boosting the performance of your existing muscle mass.  This isn't about getting bigger - or even stronger!  This is about performing consistently - for the long haul.  Inside this goal - you'll discover that you are going to be lifting lighter weights.  You know that showing off your endurance doesn't happen in the gym - it happens out in the world - inside your event, sport or challenge.  The gym is your playground to build. The general rule of thumb... for endurance results, you want to be pushing a weight that allows you to complete 14 - 20 plus reps of each selected exercise.  If you lift heavier than that, you'll be build...

 Cardio for Weight Loss Let's talk cardio intensity for weight loss.  There are two things to consider here - first - for weight loss, you have to generate a calorie deficit (burn off more calories than you consume) on an ongoing basis.  The deficit can be generated based on reducing the calories consumed - and also by burning more calories by engaging in physical activity. And - too often, people hop onto cardio equipment or activities and crank it up full blast, exhausting themselves in an attempt to "burn off as much fat as possible" What's missing is the second factor... when the body most efficiently burns fat.  The body access and burns fat stores most efficiently at light levels of exertion. This looks like exercising at 60% - 70% of your maximum heart rate for 40 - 80 minutes.   If you're going beyond 70% of your maximum heart rate, you'll be requiring energy at a rate faster than the body can breakdown and access fat store. You'll be improving you...

 Hypertrophy - Repetition Range You're on a mission to gain size and muscle mass in the gym!  So - what does your workout look like?  How many reps are you doing inside your workout support maximal muscle hypertrophy?  Let's start with the general rule of thumb... for hypertrophy results, you want to be pushing a weight that allows you to complete 8-12 reps of each selected exercise.  If you lift heavier than that, you'll be building more strength / power.  If you lift lighter and get more than 12 reps, you start to move into building muscular endurance.  Nothing wrong with either of these ranges - they just aren't aligned with your hypertrophy goals. Next - you want to take on creating and periodizing your hypertrophy phase to keep your muscles reacting to the stress imposed by the workout.  You don't want to take on the same exercises / workouts over your whole building phase - you'll plateau out.  Consider taking on a 12-week Hypertrophy b...

Hypertrophy - Expectations & Goals So you've set your sights on muscle gains! What should you expect - how does the human body respond to hypertrophy training - were we are intentionally working to damage, repair and grow our muscle tissue? As with most external stressors, our bodies respond and react differently to the stress of hypertrophy training over time. You will greater gains in the early phases of your training period. We reference this as your "training age". During your first 6 months of training, if you're working a rigorous hypertrophy program, you can expect to gain 2 1/2 pounds per month for males and 1 1/4 pounds per month for females. As you progress on in your program, during months 7 - 36 you could expect to gain 1 pound per month for males and 1/2 pound per month for females. As you become a more experienced lifter, beyond 36 months of progressive overload training, you can expect to add 1/2 pound of lean muscle mass per month for males,...

Muscle Monday - Biceps Brachii Biceps brachii is one of the main muscles of the upper arm which acts on both the shoulder joint and the elbow joint. It derives its name from the fact that it consists of two parts (heads).   The Long head is on the outside area of upper arm, and the Short head is on the interior area of the upper arm.   Muscle Origins (proximal attachments) a. Long head: supraglenoid tubercle of the scapula. b. Short head: coracoid process of the scapula. Muscle Insertion: (distal attachments) a. Radial tuberosity. b. Bicipital aponeurosis to the fascia on the medial side of the forearm. Actions - Both Heads: a. Flex the arm (weakly) at the shoulder b. Flex the forearm at the elbow c. Supinate (inward rotation) of the forearm at the elbow

 Strength Training Strategy Are you out to cause a breakthrough in your strength levels? What goals do you want to take on inside building your muscular strength?  Discover the program design elements to maximize your strength goals. Learn the number of repetitions to maximize muscle strength.  Learn program periodization and cycling to boost your strength levels - and discover what you want to eat to support building  strength levels.  Learn how to build your plan to build up strength and size if that's your goal! Follow along our strength training series to discover the elements for a successful Muscular Strength Training Strategy! Want to get started right away - book a free consultation at HealthyLivingWarrior.com to discover what your personal Muscle Strength Program could look like!

 Endurance Training - Strategy Are you out to improve your overall muscular endurance?  Do you want to take on competing in some sort of event / course or program?  If it's not about getting bigger, but rather building more endurance with the muscle you have - then you want to take on a program designed to deliver muscular endurance results. Discover the number of repetitions to maximize muscle endurance.  Learn program periodization and cycling to boost your endurance - and discover what you want to eat to boost endurance without gaining fat or bulking up. Follow along our endurance training series to discover the elements for a successful Muscular Endurance Strategy! Want to get started right away - book a free consultation at HealthyLivingWarrior.com to discover what your personal Muscle Mass Program could look like!

 Hypertrophy - Muscle Mass Strategy Are you out to pack on more muscle?   Have you got plan in place to achieve that goal? There's more adding lean muscle than showing up every day at the gym.  You want to take on a targeted program design to maximize lean muscle gains.  This includes an exercise program that progresses weekly to break down muscle and promote both muscle cell repair / growth and new muscle fibre creation! It also includes a nutrition program that is geared towards hypertrophy.  In order to build lean muscle mass you need a calorie surplus - your body needs more energy than maintenance level in order to create.  Here's the critical part - you want to make sure your program is designed to provide "extra" calories without providing "too much"!  The goal here is lean muscle gain, without packing on fat at the same time.   You'll always gain some body fat as the lean muscle is added - and we want to keep that to a minimal lev...

Today's resistance training exercise is the Resistance Band Seated Row Workout your middle back with during your home workouts with the Resistance Band Seated Row Instructions: 1) While seated on the floor with legs straight out in front of you, hold the handles of the resistance band.  2) Place the centre of the band around the feet.  3) Sit tall with abs tight and hold handles in front of you with elbows bent next to your side.  4) Pull the handles back until they are next to your side and elbows are behind you.  5) Slowly release and return to the starting position.  #ResistanceTraining #BackDay #LiftHeavy #DoYouEvenLift #TrainHard #WorkoutRoutine #WarriorWorkouts #GymMotivation #Exercise #Workout #Active #HealthyLivingWarrior #GayPersonalTrainer #GayTrainer #PersonalTrainer #PersonalTraining #OnlinePersonalTraining #Fitness #FitnessGoals 

#MuscleMonday - Deltoid The Deltoid muscle is what give our shoulders that amazing rounded shape.   There are 3 heads (parts) to this larger triangular shaped muscle.   The muscle wraps around your shoulder joint and each head of the muscle produces a different movement of the shoulder joint. The Anterior (front) head originates   from the lateral third of the front of the Clavicle. The Lateral (middle) head originates from the Acromion of the Scapula.   The Posterior (rear) head originates from the Spine of the Scapula. All 3 heads come together and insert mid-way along the Humerus (the upper arm bone). Your deltoid works to prevent partial and full dislocation of the head of the humerus from the shoulder joint - especially when carrying a load.   All heads of the deltoid work together to cause shoulder abduction.   Additionally,   - the Anterior (front) muscle fibres work to flex, abduct, medially rotate, and horizo...

Walking for Weight Loss (and Cardio) We’re right smack in the middle of the pandemic lock-down - and you’re cut off from lots of your favourite activities.   We’re in luck as spring is coming (really … I’m sure it’s going to get warmer) and that opens up more options for outdoor movement for both cardio and weight loss. Today, we’re going to take a look at the basics of movement for weight loss and cardio - and we’ll focus on walking - which is something most everyone can take on - even if you are starting out slowly. First - let’s just get grounded in reality and what you can expect from a weight loss perspective from taking this on.   From the basics: a pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. So to lose 1 pound per week, you need to burn 500 more calories per day than you eat.   These metabolic basics are critical during these pandemic times when may of us are also experimenting with new baking recipes, sourdough creations, and learning how to “work fr...

Resistance Band Chest Press Missing your bench press with the gyms closed? Take on the Resistance Band Chest Press to continue to define your chest during the closure time! Instructions: 1) Loop the band through a sturdy object at chest height. 2) With your back to the object, grab a handle in each hand and step forward until there's no slack in the band. 3) Your hands should be at your chest, elbows up 4) Press the handles forward and together at the same time 5) Return to starting position (and repeat!) #HealthyLivingWarrior #GayPersonalTrainer #GayTrainer #PersonalTrainer #Trainer #PersonalTraining #Training #OnlinePersonalTraining #Fitness #FitnessGoals #WarriorWorkouts #GymMotivation #Exercise #Workout #Active #ResistanceTraining #LiftHeavy #DoYouEvenLift #TrainHard #WorkoutRoutine

Pectoralis Minor - #MuscleMonday Today, we go deeper into the chest to the Pectoralis Minor.     This is a thin, flat, triangular muscle that lies under your pectoralis major muscle.    The muscle originates from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th ribs (on each side of the chest) and inserts as a flat tendon at the “coracoid process” of the shoulder blade. Your pectoralis minor muscle is responsible for stabilization, depression, abduction (or protraction), upward tilt, and downward rotation of the shoulder blade (scapula).    If you have your ribs immobilized, the pectoralis minor brings the scapula forward.    If the scapula is immobilized, then the muscle lifts your rib cage up.   This deep muscle works with the serratus anterior muscles to create the full range of movement for the scapula. Building size in this deep muscle will add to your overall chest volume - don’t underestimate the value in making sure you activate this m...

MuscleMonday - Pectoralis Major There are 2 heads (parts) to the thick, fan-shaped pectoralis major muscle.   The Clavicular head originates   from the 1/2 of the clavicle bone closest to the centre line of the body The Sternal head originates from the Manubrium (upper section) and Body (lower section) of the sternum.   Both heads come together to a flat tendon that inserts on the humerus (upper arm) bone. Your pectoralis major has 4 actions - and is primarily responsible for movement of the shoulder joint.   1 - Flexion of the humerus - like in an underhand ball throw 2 - Adduction of the humerus - like in flapping your arms 3 - Rotation of the humerus towards the middle of the body - like in arm wrestling 4 - Stability in keeping the arm attached to the trunk of your body.   Building muscle size increases the functionality of this muscle.   We’ll work the pectoralis major through a combination of multi-joint and single-joint...

It is normal for us to collapse Healthy Living with Body Image. In fact, human beings are mentally and socially programmed to compare visual presentations to an ideal.   Mathematically, the brain is predisposed to find certain patterns & symmetries more pleasing to the eye.   We do it with everything - from fruit at the grocery store to bodies at the bar – comparing what’s in front of us to a mental picture of an “ideal”. The Vitruvian Man, by Leonardo da Vinci, depicts the “ideal human body proportions”, based on geometry described by an ancient (we’re taking 20-30 BC sort of ancient here) Roman architect – Vitruvius.   Vitruvian Theory states that an architect should focus on three central themes when preparing a design. Firmitas (strength)             Utilitas (functionality)            Venustas (beauty) Theory can be a great tool to help understand things – AND – we can get so c...