First Gym Characters Post

This is the First Gym Characters post

First Fitness and Sports Post

This is the first fitness and sports post

The Double Diamond Knows One Speed

From my astute observations, I could surmise Debbie Davis would enjoy my aerobic boxing class at Fitness First Gym in Plantation, Florida. She is one of the good memories I have from this city, in which I survived abusive and lazy cops, a family of scam artists, and self-serving management companies and condo boards.

Miss Davis received an open invitation to attend my class because I like having individuals who like to give their all in everything they do. She was the youngest woman to ring the bell on the New York Stock Exchange. Months went by and no Debbie, but finally she appeared in a no frills sweat outfit. The class was crowded and full of veterans, but Debbie D stood out because she was going at twice the speed of everyone in the class. I had to up my tempo to keep pace with her. For somebody who had never taken my class, I was stunned by her effort. About halfway through the hour she began to slow and became annoyed. As she exited, she mumbled in my direction, “Easy class my ass.” I forgot I told her the class was an easy workout that anybody could do.

There was no quit in her, and she came back two weeks later in better shape and completed the entire hour at her untypical break-neck speed. What I liked most was her attitude to keep up or better the instructor. There was no way this young woman would accept anything but her best effort, and she was an inspiration for the slackers who might attend classes. Why bother working out if you’re not going to get something out of it?

Debbie wound up taking some personal sessions with me, and my hands still throb from the pounding she gave the mitts. She picked up new moves at the drop of a hat, and the entire gym would stop to watch her go through a routine. She brought class and style to an utterly boring gym; hence, the name “Double Diamond.” If her husband would have let her enter the golden gloves, she could have won. She believes in only one speed, which is “Full.”

Maximum Muscle With Fiber Recruitment

My life as a serious fitness and weight buff began when I was seventeen, upon deciding I wanted to pursue a career in professional football. For the first month every muscle I worked was sore from the onset of lactic acid, of which they were relatively unfamiliar. I made fantastic and steady strength gains, which was mostly because of neurological adoption. This occurs because the nerves send signals to the muscles to contract and recruit more fibers. As your system becomes accustomed to the rigors of training, your muscle grows increasing your gains, but eventually you will reach a plateau, and it becomes necessary to recruit more fibers and change nerve stimulation.

I’ve heard trainers say “no pain all gain,” but fiber recruitment relegates this theory to the scrap heap. Common sense will tell you that if you only recruit 50% of your muscle fibers, only half the work will be completed, which is why their clients never break a sweat or see major improvements.

Even with 100% effort day in and day out, muscle recruitment will hat a wall. Your muscle requires a new signal for contractions, and I will list some that I have tried with great success.

1. Pyramid the weights. If you are doing three sets of ten with 200 pounds for the bench press, switch to ten repetitions with 150, to eight reps with 170, to six reps with 185, to four reps with 200, to two reps with 225, to one rep with 250.

2. If you want additional muscle mass, begin with a warm-up set of ten to fifteen repetitions, and do four sets of six repetitions with a heavier weight.

3. 100’s. Use a light weight and perform one hundred repetitions for each exercise. This will have your muscles screaming for mercy and throw the nervous system into overdrive.

4. Changing the speed of your repetitions is one I often use, now that I’m almost 60. I can literally feel the muscle adapting and recruiting more fibers with the speed differences.

5. These styles can be used weekly, monthly, and even daily when you are getting stale and require change you can believe in.

6. Incorporating different exercise into your routine which require more balance and stabilization has significantly helped me overcome the doldrums. Example: performing one-legged squats and cross-over lunges, rather than just squat with heavy weights, is a fantastic change-up for the quadriceps and glutes. Another example is alternating dumbbell presses from a squat position, rather than presses from a rack.

Please email me with any questions or suggestions for optimal muscle building.

Yours in health,
“The Fighting Fireman”

The Gift of Being Fit

“If it’s free, it’s for me” is a universal quote everyone can understand, unless you’re the individuals who print monopoly money for the federal government, and in that case “on the cuff” is commonplace. Here at Absolute Intensity we became tired of all the fitness websites preying on weight and fitness concerns to make a buck, so we provide fitness and diet routines free of charge. Sign up for our fitness newsletter and email your requests for exercise independence.

Absolute Intensity ingratiates all newcomers like they were family. The most egregious betrayal by fitness professionals are those who guarantee success or your money back. Nothing is guaranteed in life, so don’t even waste your time listening to the phony pitch that comes before, during, and after the utterance of this ridiculous terminology. Getting in shape isn’t rocket science, but free advice and guidance from an individual who has lived the lifestyle is invaluable. This is what you will obtain for becoming a member of Absolute Intensity:

All pointers and exercise programs have been performed by your coach, D. Reilly. At my local gym I saw a sign stating the different amount of calories burned in particular exercise classes. They ranged from 400 in cardio combat to 1000 in “The Amazing Workout.” There is no way this figure could be measured for any individual, so it is an outright falsehood. The calories you burn differ with each individual and depends entirely on the effort you expend.

Becoming fit is about not being lazy and finding time for the most important aspect of your well being, which is your health. You can do this, and I am offering the opportunity to be personally guided by someone who doesn’t want a dime, but only for you to achieve your fitness goals and live in a body you can be proud of. Hope you’ll join us!

“The Fighting Fireman”

Upright Rows Gives The Body Nice Definition

I normally do upright rows during my back routine. They work the trapezius muscle, which originates at the occipital bone at the base of the neck and inserts in fan-like fashion down to the spinous process of the seventh cervical over to the dorsal border of the lateral clavicle (did you get all that?). No one really cares, but it should be mentioned to your client that the muscles that are prime movers for the “traps” are forearms, back, deltoids and neck.

My favorite exercises are the heavy dumbbell shrug (100 pounds) and the upright rows with 40-pound dumbbells. You’ll feel a pinch in the shoulder area when you perform the exercise to failure. Muscular traps help round out your physique, so as to be exceptional. If the three heads of the deltoids are large and defined, the body will look out of sync with small traps.

In the photo below, I’m doing a set of uprights with Absolute Intensity bands, which contain between 60 and 100 pounds of tourque. They can be bought through www.absoluteintensity.com, and we are calling for an athletic photo with a brief biography for our website. Please send through our email contact. The winner receives 2 free fitness consultations, an Absolute Intensity workout shirt ($25 value), and a complimentary boxing workout with the fighting fireman. Openings are limited. Hurry!

Building Muscle Via Push-Ups

I’ve always loved body weight exercises because my dad had me doing push-ups since I was a toddler. You work the chest, upper arms, deltoids and stabilizers with one simple exercise. Most individuals would rather use the bench or a machine to act as a stabilizer because it’s, obviously, easier and you won’t sweat as much. Substitute the push-up for any chest exercise and you’ll be sucking a lot more wind after completing the body weight exercise. The one drawback of this exercise is that it can be boring, but it needn’t be that way.

In my previous career as a fitness instructor I taught a strictly push-up class in the local park. I would begin with a five-minute warm-up to get the blood flowing. All participants were required to bring a one-foot portable step, which you can purchase at Smooth Fitness featured on our site. Our first variation was the military push-up, which meant you kept your arms shoulder width apart and lowered your body in a controlled fashion until your chest scraped the grass. At the final rep we remained in push-up position and performed burpees (squat thrusts), where you went from push-up to squat … to jump as high as you can … back to squat … thrust your legs back to push-up position, and repeat for a minimum of 10 repetitions. To achieve a more sculpted look for the chest, our next exercise was sets of push-ups with our feet planted on the bench (decline push-up).

After running in place while high-stepping for two minutes, we did close grip push-ups with our hands located on the narrow side of the step. This hit the inner chest and triceps more effectively. We would follow with two 40-yard sprints to shake the body out, and then do three sets of wide grip push-ups with our hands planted on the longer side of the step. Another set of ten burpees with a push-up added when the legs are thrust came next. A 100-yard sprint ensued for a shake-out, and we finished up with a set of diamond push-ups (hands placed together with thumb and the immediate finger touching).

I guarantee muscular results and your body will be screaming for mercy upon completion, while it doesn’t cost you a dime! Great results with “The Fighting Fireman.”

Weight Lifting Impersonator

He sported the physique of a man who ripped me off for $70,000 in South Florida at 5′7″ tall and weight of about 280 pounds. The stomach was of beer belly variety, and his long shorts and baggy shirt covered a lot of ample flesh. At best, he resembled an obscure power lifter and, at worse, a stumble bum impersonating a strong man from the 1920’s. I glanced around and noticed over 1,200 pounds being loaded on the leg press by the mystery male. He strutted around the machine while looking in the mirrors to see who might notice. I took my 90-second rest from the shoulder press machine while glancing over to observe the leg press. I’ve yet to see him perform any work other than to load the plates, so I finished my next set in rapid, but controlled, fashion. Once again, I immediately turned to the leg press, which he continued to circle. Upon completing five more sets ten minutes later the leg press still hadn’t moved, but the fellow was removing the plates. This took him about 15 minutes and did provide some muscular activity.

Once finishing the fake leg press of 1,200 pounds, he lumbered to the standing calf machine where he launched leg kicks at the shoulder pads. Ten kicks with each limb were performed, and after each set my hero smiled and admired himself in the mirror. This attracted more attention than the leg press because the pads weren’t made for kicking, but for supporting the shoulders. He finished this cornucopia of exercise with five sets on the butt blaster (every gym has one of these). I came to the conclusion he might be impaired because he did this after his shower and upon his exit from the gym.

In all my years of observing gym characters, this was a first for me. Load up a bar or machine to look super strong, but not do one repetition, and throw kicks at a standing calf raise. Only at the gym. Please send your gym stories through the website email.

By “The Fighting Fireman”

Push-Ups with a Twist

Since the beginning of time, push-ups have been a staple for strength training and body conditioning. This simple exercise is performed against gravity and enhances all of our stabilizer muscles. It is difficult to discover a muscle not affected by this lowering and raising of the body from a pronated position. Shoulders, chest, abdominals, obliques, legs and back are either prime movers or helper muscles in this basic of all exercises. As a kid I would perform sets of twenty-five push-ups throughout the workday at my summer employment at Camp Kaufmann. My buddy secretly counted and informed me I did fifty-one sets on a particulary hot afternoon.

If you notice weight guys at the local gym, you will see most head straight for the bench press after entering the establishment. This must be a guy thing, but the bench performs the stabilizing, so they are missing out on a lot of muscle detail. Of course, many football players perform the bench press for power. Push-ups can be monotonous in judging your strength, so in my forties and fifties I began adding a twist after completing a repetition while alternating sides for muscle balance sake. This extra movement will bring out the cuts in your obliques and add stamina for overall conditioning. Upon completion, I throw in a few sets of mountain climbers to add tone to my butt.

Variety is the spice of life, and that includes exercise which none of us can hope to survive without. Stay safe and healthy.

“The Fighting Fireman”

Overhead Pass With Medicine Ball

Take an athletic stance with the feet shoulder-width apart. Have a partner of equal athletic ability standing 15-20 yards from you in a similar position. Throw an overhead pass as you push off with your back leg, and be alert to receive a return pass of similar velocity. The ball should be from 4-8 pounds. Begin with rapid throws, and after ten, throw from different angles to work all of the core muscles and hand eye coordination. This is the Absolute Intensity exercise of the day.

Coach Reilly

The Bill Davis Fitness Return

Former 1970’s center for Appalachian State University in North Carolina is making a fitness comeback at Lifestyle Fitness in the town of Apex. Though finished with blocking muscular nose guards and middle linebackers while calling out all the blocking assignments for his teammates, this hard-nosed athlete opted to remain in top condition by competing against the various cardio machines, free weights, resistive apparatus, medicine balls and jump ropes at his new gridiron.

With his competitive juices constantly flowing, Bill adopted a circuit routine to complement the pounding his “Air Jordan’s” give the treadmill and elliptical. Never one to tolerate idle chatter, Mr. Davis is all business when he strides through the glass doors of the fitness symposium. Even the option of using headphones, which is popular by most gym-goers, is frowned upon by this exerciser only interested in losing body fat and gaining sinewy muscle.

After 45 minutes on the cardio machines at 80% of his maximum heart rate, I observed Bill jump over obstacles to hurry to the squat machine. In rapid succession he’ll work hamstrings, chest, shoulders, back, traps and arms after completing his quadriceps. He limits his rest between sets to thirty seconds or less. His knowledge of exercise allows him to switch exercises for each muscle part to keep his fibers in a state of excitement. This is critical, for it enables the former lineman to optimize his time if certain free weights and equipment are occupied.

Mr. William Davis is one of the most likable people you would ever want to meet, but only approach him after his workout is completed. He is a man on a mission and will not be satisfied until all his goals are met. As Bill says, “Isn’t that why we work out in the first place?”

By local gym reporter and Absolute Intensity contributor, “Coach Reilly.” I wish I had Bill Davis on my team!

Coach Reilly Food Fixes

When I’m exhausted and in a hurry after a workout I turn to Dr. Whitaker products to replenish my system. I’ll immediately down a container (sometimes two) of the chocolate Orgain protein drink (featured on our home page) invented by the good doctor. This contains all the vitamins and nutrients I require daily and adds sixteen grams of protein to heal and revitalize my muscle cells.

I recently discovered his newest creation and order it on a monthly basis when I’m rushed and don’t feel like chopping, boiling, trimming and cooking lunch or dinner. I know fresh is better, but St. Dalfour Gourmet-On-The-Go meals are the next best thing and are the only substitute I will use. The meals are colorful and nutrient-rich containing proteins, vegetables and essential fats to nourish the body. The tuna and pasta (my favorite) includes over 17 grams of protein, and the Alaskan salmon and veggies (second favorite) over 14 grams.

The cost comes to just over $3.00 per meal, which is fantastic in our inflation-induced economy. When your orders are over $99.00 (mine always are) the shipping is free. Click on the Orgain shake picture on our homepage and go shopping. I guarantee you’ll look and feel better, or “I’ll eat my hat.”

“The Fighting Fireman”

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