Why You Should Train Like An Athlete, Not Workout Like a Bodybuilder

Do you want to know the biggest mistake I continue to see guys doing in the gym?

They train like bodybuilders…when they should be training like athletes.

The majority of guys in the gym are “regular Joe’s” with busy jobs and families where they are not required to get up on stage in a speedo sporting the bodyfat levels of a jack rabbit.

Bodybuilding workouts are geared towards building extreme levels of symmetrical muscle mass in all individual muscles. This requires high volume workouts hitting the muscles from many angles with a wide range of isolation exercises. Which in most sets you bring all the muscles to and beyond muscular failure; causing a high stress to the muscle and intense soreness that at times can be debilitating and lasts for several days.

Having legs too sore to play some soccer with your kids or not being able to hammer in a nail because of yesterday’s bicep blast is not how us busy dads want to live our life.

As busy family men there are more important things than the peak on your biceps or the sweep on your quads.

As you are probably aware, working out like a bodybuilder takes a high level of dedication inside and outside the gym. You basically have to live the sport 24 hours around the clock with plastic tubberwares of chicken breasts in tow.

So why in the world would most guys with only a few hours a week to workout, continue to pound their body’s into the ground while following the lasted greatest workouts hyped up in the bodybuilding magazines.

Not to mention that these pro bodybuilders are on so much drugs that their legs grow when they get up from the toilet!

It’s know wonder so many of us have sore shoulders and bad backs and can only get through a workout by being wrapped up like mummies in the gym with straps, wraps and belts.

So even though you don’t have a multi-million dollar contract it’s time you start training like an athlete and stop working out like a bodybuilder.

Today’s athletes are ripped like gymnasts, strong like olympic lifters, fast like sprinters, and simply more visually appealing to most men and women.

They train to be functional and can’t afford to be too sore from the gym to play the next game.

Much to many people’s surprise the personal trainers who are responsible for training the pros don’t have them spending hours on fancy machines working muscles the size of a baseball.

They have to design programs to enhance and improve the athlete’s performance first and sporting lean strong muscle without the fat is just the byproduct of training the body the way it is meant to move.

Most of the top strength coaches have small hardcore style gyms just full of barbells, dumbbells, lifting platforms, chains and bands…not huge fitness centers with more TV’s than Best Buy.

So ditch the latest Muscle and Fiction magazine and let’s start getting real results in less time and build some muscle that has more go than show.

1. Banish the Barbells

Ditch barbell bench presses and choose pushup variations from the floor or on suspended straps to work your chest, core and upper back, or at least do dumbbell chest presses that can also be done one arm at a time.

2. Save Your Shoulders

Stop the shoulder raises for the small front, side, rear and everything in between muscles and do standing overhead presses with a barbell or dumbbells. We sit down too much during the rest of the day, don’t do it at the gym too.

3. Perfect the Pullup

Pullup, not down, when trying to work the many muscles of the back. Can’t get your chin to the bar? That’s because you don’t do them. Work on pulling your bodyweight in the vertical plane and you will eventually have less weight to pull. Don’t forget to also do different rows in the horizontal plane to balance out your opposing chest work and maintain shoulder health.

4. Move Away From the Machines

When it comes to training the lower body, any squat variation or stepping movement like lunges, jumps and step ups works your legs in a more natural range of motion. This builds functional strength and mobility that you can use in real life and not on the leg press.

5. Cutdown on Curls

Get a grip, and think thicker bars for thicker biceps. Build your arms by holding on to heavy, thick barbells and dumbbells which work 50% of your arms muscle mass, the forearm flexors and extensors. Close grip chinups are also great for bigger guns and making the chinup bar thicker with a towel will also give you a killer handshake.

6. Always Think Abs

Cross off the crunches and work your abs the way they were meant to be used, for stability and support. Planks, stability and medicine balls, ab rollouts and any bodyweight movements give your abs all the strength and stimulus they need and you don’t even have to lie down on the dirty gym floor to get it.

7. Cardio Confusion

The new rules of cardio are all about intensity, not duration. Which simply means by working a little harder, you burn more fat in less time. The ideas for interval training are endless. From strongman lifts to sprints or bodyweight circuits. You will quickly figure out that burning fat is easy once you realize how hard you have to work.

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Vegetarian dads look away!

Yesterday’s Dad Fitness kitchen experiment, or what I like to call dinner, went pretty well.

After taking inventory with what we have left in our fridge, I used a pack of chicken breasts, 2 packs of local caribou sausage, some crushed tomatoes and veggies to come up with what I like to call.

Crockpot Chicken And Caribou Paella

I love getting local wild meat as its leaner and a lot higher in omega 3′s because the animals get to graze in the wild and eat what nature intended them to eat, grass.

Unfortunately most supermarket meat is from cows stuffed full of drugs and corn. Not good for the cow, and not good for us!

I took a well know Spanish dish and gave it some Labrador flavor! My parents also dropped over and they loved it as well.

Crockpot Chicken And Caribou Paella

2 chicken breasts
grapeseed oil to coat both pans
6 caribou sausages, cut up in pieces ( or you can use turkey sausage)
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
a dash of oregano, sea salt and black pepper
half a box reduced-sodium organic chicken broth
1/2 c. water
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 orange bell peppers, cut into very thin bite-size strips
1 c. frozen corn
1 potato cubed
1 bag of instant brown rice

In a large skillet brown chicken pieces, in other pan brown sausage.

In a 5 quart crock pot place chicken pieces, sausage, and onion. Sprinkle with spices Pour broth and water over all. Add the tomatoes, sweet peppers, corn and potatoe

Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. , Serve over the hot rice.

Makes 6 servings*

Another great meal made at home that can keep you and your family full while living a fit and healthy lifestyle.

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

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I had a busy day of exercise and activity today.

I went to the gym this afternoon and had a good workout of:

The Midnight Meat Train full movie

Seated One Arm Cable Rows
Standing One Arm DB Shoulder Press
Bulgarian Split Squat
Standing One Arm Tricep Extensions

10 reps each and 4 sets to reach a goals of 40 reps for each exercise. Took 75 secs rest in between sets.

If that wasn’t enough after I got home the whole family went for a winter walk with baby daughter Matea in her winterized BOB Stroller.

Then we were all so hungry we headed to the in-laws for dinner consisting of pork roast, bbq chicken breasts, garden salad and some Mexican rice. I finished it off with a banana muffin for dessert and a hot cup of green tea.

When you keep active all year round you can eat good wholesome foods without the guilt!

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose That Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

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If your training hard in the gym and looking to build muscle, lose body fat, or all of the above; you realize how important it is to feed your body the right healthy food at the right times.

Then people say, “I don’t have time to eat and cook 4-6 times a day!” Well, with the right amount of planning, you won’t have to.

Aim for 3 regular meals plus 2-3 snacks.

For your protein needs have your freezer well stocked with chicken breasts, lean cuts of beef, pork, and fish. Have lots of skim milk, and lean deli cuts of turkey, chicken, and roast beef in your refrigerator for additional protein. Combine this with a protein shake or meal replacement smoothie, and your protein needs should get met.

As for sources of carbohydrates. Keep your kitchen well stocked with oatmeal, whole wheat breads, (100% multigrain if possible), brown rice and sweet potatoes, as well as fruit for snacking or that post workout insulin spike to top of your energy supplies. Don’t forget to have lots of fresh and frozen veggies on hand for most of your daily carb intake.

With a well-stocked kitchen, even if you’re rushed, you can make a quick and tasty meal in no time. Try different recipe combination’s by taking one of the above protein sources, frying it up in a skillet or on a grill, throwing in some frozen stir-fry vegetables (they come in many flavors), and add a complex carb source on the side.

Make large amounts so you have leftovers and have healthy meals that you can take to work or when you are rushed for a quick bite.

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose That Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

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Today I am coming to you from what some people call the big “TO”!

That’s Toronto by the way…the biggest city in Canada.

I am staying smack in the middle of downtown in the Hilton Hotel with a cool view overlooking city hall with the big Christmas tree and all the Christmas lights .

I wish my wife and daughter were here to share this with me but she is having a fun trip visiting her sister in New Brunswick. I will connecting with them on the trip home on Wednesday in Quebec City. Can’t wait to see them!

Yesterday I had an awesome day attending Day 1 of business meetings with all the top guys in the fitness industry like

Craig Ballantyne of Men’s Health & Tuburlence Training

Brad Pilon of Eat Stop Eat

Vince Delmonte of Your Six Pack Quest

Along with 6 other fitness professionals we all headed out to a nice dinner at Red’s Steakhouse. I would highly recommend it if you are ever in Toronto.

…and NO we didn’t all eat salads and chicken breasts!

We had a couple beers, appetizers, AWESOME steak and even a little dessert.

The SECRET to fat loss and getting the body you want while enjoying the foods you like to eat is this:

Do short intense workouts just 3 times a week, eat real healthy natural foods most of the time and when you feel like treating yourself go ahead and enjoy it!

…BUT the key is to get back to your healthy foods and Dad Fitness workouts the very next day.

For those of you who didn’t get to read this article in last month’s newsletter check it out in the second installment of my Dad Fitness monthly column on TheFatherLife.com

Click Here==>3 Simple Steps To Awesome Abs

Gotta go get started on Day 2 of our meetings!

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose That Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

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