Albert K. Park

            Hands can reveal a lot about an individual. Scars will have stories, nails can express personalities, and ashy knuckles will scream “lotion”. When you flip them over they can be a gateway into the truth. I can’t help but laugh every time someone suggests I wear workout gloves in order to protect my hands. Not only do they make you look like an 80’s break dancer, why the heck would I want to hide the evidence of my hard work. Calluses become an accessory in gym attire among our members. They are worn proudly with the exception of the few that still think they are gross but trust me when I say they will soon have a change of heart.

            I get it! Some day’s you wake up and your just not feeling it. Yeah, you might have told yourself you were going to get up early and go for that run or make it to the morning boot camp but you find something to tell yourself to get you out of it. Have you noticed how easy it is? Maybe you didn’t get enough sleep or you promise yourself,

            Today was one of those days for me. Maybe it was relaxing in the sun and laying out on the beach, I just lost my killer instinct. I didn’t get my usual surge of energy until I started to train my evening clients and the PM boot camp. They came in, got down to business, and killed it. Without this training I may have found another excuse to skip another workout.  After my 7pm group, we have an elite athlete group that I train with. 8:30pm sharp, they would probably laugh if they read this, but we do try to start at 8:30pm. With a new surge of energy flowing through me from the contagious atmosphere of boot camp, I was ready to go.

            This group goes through every program in the book. 5-3-1’s, experimental Tabatta training, Joe De Franco’s built like a bad ass, Pavel’s Kettlebell training systems, Steve Cotter’s Mobility work, Eric Cressey’s Power training, Robert Dos Remedios Conditioning, and Martin Rooney’s Bodyweight training. The list truly is endless. The one thing that we do bring every time regardless of the training is intensity.

            Over time and after going through countless programs, I have come to one very important realization. If you give your training everything you have and bring the intensity, you are going to get one bad ass workout. It isn’t always about the program, if you are pushing yourself to the edge the results will come.

 Train like a mad man or woman! Zoom focus in on your goals and keep asking yourself how bad you want it. I promise that your mental determination will crush any physical pain and any thoughts of giving up. This elite athlete-training group has been unlike any I have ever been apart, simply because every single individual understands how important “intensity” is. It’s everything.

            My clients and bootcampers will often think I’m crazy. A very sweet but tough as nails lady asked me,  “How do you have so much energy all the time!”

It’s simple, your atmosphere can influence how much you are willing to perform and that adrenaline rush of energy is contagious. They see me running around correcting form, yelling “Don’t slow down, speed up!”, performing exercises with them, and basically going nuts. I am there to train you and make sure that you brought your intensity with you. My energy comes from the pure desire to create the most training effective atmosphere for everyone.

              The first and most important thing to understand is that I truly care about their results. I want them to reach their goals more than anything. My motto is their success is my happiness!

            Secondly, I know that passion and energy is contagious. If I can create an atmosphere where hard work and intensity is a staple in our gym, I know if they show up they’re coming prepared to train their ass’s off! Literally. Don’t forget to bring intensity with you to the gym along with your i-pod.

            At the end of the night, you won’t face anyone but yourself. Take a long look in the mirror and really ask yourself “Am I really training hard?” Be honest because there are days that I know I could have pushed for a couple extra reps or danced with the edge a little more. Never get done with a workout saying, “I could have given it a little more!” Use this article as an opportunity to sit and be truly honest with yourself.

            Shake anyone of our elite athlete group member’s hands and you will notice that they are rough to the touch. Calluses are consistent and reflect the relentless training we do. Take a look at your hands if you can’t face yourself in the mirror. What are they telling you? So now, Do You Think Your Training Hard? 

                  With a good streak of weather approaching in Seattle, there is still time to impress the ladies. It’s not too late guys! There is nothing like a strong pair of arms for women to imagine themselves being held by. Unfortunately big biceps are not always easy to come by, especially if genetics are working against you but worry no more.

            One of my clients is 6”4, 175 pounds, and lean. The term lean can also be translated as skinny. His main goal has been to put on some muscle mass but a focus has been on his arms. He had a preconceived notion that his genetics would never allow for big biceps. “Everyone in my family is skinny. Skinny waists, skinny legs, and skinny arms! I don’t think I will ever be able to get big arms.” Nothing like a doubtful client, of course I was up for the challenge.

            If small biceps have been plaguing you, call me genie because I’m going to make your wish come true and share 2 of my favorite bicep workouts to get you mountaintops peaking on your arms. We are going to focus on strength, intensity, and fatigue. This will act like a miracle grow agent on those pipes of yours but of course you get what you put into it. That means focusing on nutrition, consistency, and intensity.

            I know that I preach functional training and total body workouts but every now and then when you come across a weak point you need to zoom focus on the area. This is exactly what we are going to do in order to promote big fu*king biceps.

            What are we aiming for?

Workout 1

3-4 sets x 4-10 reps (2 second negative on the way down, 1 second up)

3-4 sets x 8-15 reps (4 second negative on the way down, 1 second up

3-4 sets x 8-12 reps

Note: 2a and 2b are performed right after each other so a total of about 10 seconds for a transition period. Allow 2 minutes between each set for all these exercises, as you will be lifting quite heavy.

            Perform as many curls as possible in 40 seconds followed by a 20 second break. Repeat nonstop for 2 rounds = 2 minutes.

Workout 2

4-5 sets x 8-12 reps

3-4 sets x 8-10 reps

3-4 sets x 8-12 reps (3 second on the negative down, 1 second up)

Note: All 1a, 1b, 1c, are performed back to back with about 10 seconds of transition time in between. Rest 2 min before repeating entire set.

5 sets x 8 reps light warm-up

Pyramid down with this rep scheme while increasing weight each time.

12/10/8/6/4 and end with a last set of 20-25. This may be just the bar depending on your level of fatigue. (Burn Out)

            Utilize both of these Bicep Blasting workouts to jump start your way to bigger arms. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the rep and set schemes along with increasing or decreasing weight. In order to ensure steady progress you will have to continue to add resistance either in the form of more volume or more weight.

            My skinny, I am sorry I meant lean, client followed a program of strength and intensity to help improve the size in his arms. We focused on heavy low reps and big sets coupled with lots and lots of chin-ups first. After a back off week we increased frequency to 2 times a week with more volume. The X factor in his gains was getting stronger overall. We increased his Squat, Deadlift, and bench press all by over 40%. Now I’m sure he’s holding women all over the greater Seattle area.

            I want to leave you with some quick tips to go over before you head into the gym.

Albert’s Tips:

            “Why am I not losing weight if I’m working out?” This was the infamous question that set the theme for the week for me. First, was the random phone call from a friend I haven’t heard from in about 5 years. She skipped the catch up conversation and the tone of her voice demanded answers. No worries, I didn’t want the catch up conversation anyways.

            The next time I would sit in the hot seat would be with a bootcamp client who showed up early and on a mission. Her Honda civic screeched into the parking spot and then she B lined straight to about a foot in front of my face.

            Again no hi, how’s your day Albert?, or how about this awesome weather we are having! Despite the no beating around the bush mentality from both these ladies, I was up for the challenge in helping them get to the root of their problems.

            This question and their cases are so common, I thought I would share the answers I had for them to you on how they could start seeing gains and losing weight.

In a calm and collected voice I told my friend on the phone “Take a big breath, relax, and have a seat.” She stopped talking at mach speeds and was silent letting me know that she was ready for help. With my bootcamp lady, I told her nicely to take one step back, take a big breath so we could get to the bottom of her problem.

      Both ladies meant well with their interrogations but I can definitely understand where they are coming from. To them, they are doing everything right in order to lose weight and that should work, right? Wrong.  Initially this may have been enough to see “some” results and it may work in the long run but for quick results, they needed a tune up to their regimen.

            I broke it down to them in steps to apply in their race to fat loss.

The body is truly amazing. People don’t give it enough credit. When you train long aerobic (oxygen utilizing) cardio your body’s goal is to perform at its most effective level, utilizing the least amount of energy for the work.

So, for the individual that works out on a treadmill for 45 minutes 4 times a week. Every single time you get back onto the treadmill, your body is trying to perform the same workout expending the least amount of energy. The body is always looking to be effective!

This is counter-productive when it comes to fat loss. We want the body to expend as much energy as possible because more energy means more calories. Incorporating sprints, an anaerobic (not utilizing oxygen) workout, you require your body to continually expend energy since it is working without oxygen.

Allow full recovery between each sprint so that you can provide a 100% effort sprint each time.

      This is a big one! A common stereotype that somehow still exists is that weight training is only for building muscle and not losing fat. This could not be more further from the truth. If you want to lose weight and lose weight fast, you absolutely need to incorporate weight training.

      By utilizing supersets, performing 1-3 exercises consecutively before taking a break, you can tap into the anaerobic aspect of conditioning. Try picking exercises that don’t require the same muscle groups but require larger muscle groups to work. Larger muscles groups such as the chest, back, and legs will require more energy.

      Another common stereotype is the idea that you have to use weights. As the old timer at my old gym used to say,“ Let’s Pump some fu*kin Iron!” This is also false. Bodyweight exercises can be highly effective when utilized in the same superset or circuit fashion. The old timer could bench 225 lbs but couldn’t do 20 push ups, do you see something wrong here? Sorry Jim, your still a good guy!

Yogi Berra said it best, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up someplace else.” You need to have specific goals so you can make a plan that’s going to get you there as fast and as effective as possible.

My friend in college would always say, “ I don’t know what I want to do, I just know I want to stay in shape.”  While he was just trying to stay in shape, my other friends and I were slapping on lean muscle mass and dropping body fat because we knew exactly what we wanted.

Since the theme of this article is evolved around losing weight, here are some things to consider when devising your plan.

No, protein is not just for meatheads and gym rat wannabes. Protein is vital to individuals seeking fat loss as well. It is so important; I devoted number 4 to it. Lean muscle mass is the number one tool to fighting fat, it promotes higher metabolic levels and the more muscle you have the less fat you hold.

 Why protein? Protein is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks to your muscles. Most individuals don’t get the required amount of protein though their daily diet, around 1-1.5 grams if your aiming to put on lean muscle mass and you are training, so we have to supplement it with protein powders.

Whey and Casein are both great proteins to supplement with and are both derived from milk. Utilize whey, a quickly absorbed protein, right after your workout, in the 45-minute window you have when your muscles are more apt to taking in nutrients. Use Casein during the day as a snack or prior to bed as it is more slowly absorbed in the body.

Another reason why we eat more protein then fats and carbs is because of how much energy your body expends to digest it. Your body is burning nearly 30% of the calories from the protein it digests. With carbs it burns about 10% of the calroies and fats is 0-5%. Conclusion, consume more of your calories from protein.

This one is simple. Your fat loss and results come down to 90% nutrition and 10% training. Make sure your nutrition behaviors match your goals. This is a common question we ask all our clients at our gym. “Do your Behaviors, Match your Goals?”

Quick Nutrition Tips

- Eat a balanced healthy breakfast, no matter what! In a worst case scenario drink a protein shake.

- Utilize healthy snacks to curb your hunger and increase your metabolism.

-  Eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout your day. A meal can be a protein shake, string cheese, and mixed nuts.

- Remove all the sugared drinks from your diet. Stick with water.

- Try to get protein in at every meal!

After educating both women on how they could improve their training, I was excited to see them anxious to retackle their goals. I even ended the phone conversation with my friend and I catching up on the last 5 years. I even found out that she was getting married soon. I think this was the main motive behind her goals for losing weight but I knew better than to open my mouth. My bootcamper worked harder then ever through bootcamp and left with high spirits. Nothing makes me happier than empowering a client to go after their goals.

Reaching your fitness goals is plagued with a roller coaster of emotions. Gains, plateau’s, and setbacks are common in everyone’s journey with consistency being tested every single day. I still firmly believe that your passion and heart can crush any obstacle. Stay zoom focused on how bad you want it and always ask yourself “Do my behaviors match my goals?”