Combine Compound AND Isolated Movements for Best Results

As I have written in the past, I am a huge advocate for compound movements when doing strength training. Why? Because I used to spend 5 days a week weight training and 3-4 days training my actual sport. See the problem? Using compound movements, I have been able to gain strength with minimal time spent in the gym, as low as two times a week. Before we go on here is some basic terminology:

Compound exercise 

A multi-joint exercise that stimulates the use of multiple muscles or muscle groups. For example: my favorites are the bench press, squat, deadlift, pull-up, and military press. These exercises enable you to move much more weight, which in return usually translates to bigger strength gains related to the release of anabolic hormones and stimulating the recruitment of more muscle fibers versus that of an isolated lift.

Isolated Exercise

Even though they are never truly isolated, these exercises place emphasis on a single muscle. Such as a bicep curl, a tricep extension, or calf raise.

Sooooo why would I now say you should implement BOTH isolated and compound movements?

-Compound exercises still have a muscle that is the prime mover, depending on the regimen you have, certain muscles will not get the optimal amount of work.

-Adding isolated movements to your routine, with compound lifts as your core exercises, will increase hypertrophy.

-Working on isolated movements could improve the weak parts of your chain. For example glute bridges, or hip thrusts could improve your deadlift.

-Adding isolated exercises could help you break that plateau. Studies have shown that isolation movements create muscle adaptation different from compound movements. Yes you can vary the load, intensity and rest time of your big lifts, but adding these supportive exercises could benefit you when your numbers are stuck.

-Adding variety. I love deadlifts mmmm, if I can pick one exercise, the deadlift would take the number one spot on the podium. We definitely have a special relationship. Anyways.... changing up your routine is not only good for making new adaptations, but also to give you a new sense of excitement. There are so many lifts out there, some ugly, some pretty, some play hard to get, but they all need us to pick them up.

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-Written by Paul Banasiak

Ab Workout for a Defined Core - Hypertrophy

If you currently have low body fat, but still are struggling to see your abs, weighted core work is an efficient way of increasing its size to make it look more prominent.
*Use a weight heavy enough to fall into the repetition range listed below.
*8-12 Reps Per Workout
*2-5 Sets Per Workout

-Weighted Rope Crunch (Superset A)
-Weighted Rope Crunch w/ Rotation (Superset A)
-Weighted Physio Ball Crunch (Superset B)
-Weighted Side Raise (Superset B)
-Weighted Leg Raises

2-3 Times per week *Listen to your body, at first, even once a week may be beneficial to your fitness. If your core is already conditioned you may need to increase the weight, intensity, or number of times per week that you train it.

Oh and remember....

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-Written by Paul Banasiak

22 Interesting Things to Know About Thailand - Koh Phangan

1. Eating Thai food is 4x-6x cheaper per meal than western food. *Thai food - 30-80 Baht per meal. *Western - 80-300 Baht per meal. *Make sure to eat where you see others eating, there's a reason for that..  
2. Thai food is amazing, fresh, and most Thai restaurants will have the same exact dishes
3. If you are a coffee person, this might be heart BREAKING. In most towns you won't be able to find real, freshly brewed coffee. The Thai's make NesCafe instant coffee and load it up with sugar. We were able to find one or two spots that served real espresso, but it's rare to see a coffee brewer. 
4. English goes a long way on the southern islands and other tourist locations. If you have trouble communicating, try saying the same exact thing with a Thai accent, as weird as it sounds, it works...
5. Make it simple, use the most important words when speaking to the Thais. Saying "May I please have a new towel," may sound nice, but it has too many words and becomes confusing. Simply say "clean towel," and that's all they will need to hear.
6. Get a hold of a map wherever you are. There will always be taxis trying to bring you somewhere, but even asking the police for directions could sometimes be misleading. We almost missed our bus and got stuck in Bangkok because the officer pointed us in the completely opposite direction.
7. Always have tissues with you, many bathrooms are not equipped with toilet paper... they will have a squat toilet and bucket, that's it. 
8. The Thais are indestructible, they smoke pot and tobacco all day, drink the night before their fight, and still go out there to kick ass for five rounds. WTF?
9. You will have a lizard in your room, but even if you have the worst fear of them, they are scared of you and will run out if you sweep them away. The small ones at least..... besides, they eat the annoying bugs in your room. 
10. No one is alive in the morning, at least on the islands. Most restaurants and stores are not open until after 10 or 11AM. Even the ones serving "breakfast".
11. Stray dogs are all over the place, streets, restaurants, stores, hotels. It's okay to feel sad, it's probably not okay to play with the ones foaming at the mouth. 
12. Bug spray is a fucking must.
13. When in doubt, take off your shoes when entering an establishment, and definitely before entering someone's house. 
14. Don't expect to hear a God bless you if you sneeze. 
15. Thailand is truly the land of smiles, and as long as you keep smiling everyone will be kind to you.
16. Thai owned establishments close and open as they please, don't be surprised if you came at 9:00AM, had food on Monday, and they did not open until 1:00PM the following week.
17. If you rent a scooter make sure it's from a friendly place, sometimes they won't even check it for damage upon return. Just for your insurance take pictures of every scratch and dent on the scooter before taking off. Oh, and they will take your passport as deposit that you get back when the scooter is returned. 
18. Don't be afraid to wing it. You can't always plan everything ahead, or like us... you don't plan anything ahead. Accommodations in Thailand could be half of the price listed online if you get to your destination and barter with the resorts or hotels in the area.
19. "Western food" sucks, plus when you can have a full noodle, rice, or protein dish for the same price of a small side of french fries, Thai food always wins.
20. The legal drinking age is.... questionable. We have stayed on a party road in Bangkok and on the Southern islands, but wherever we have gone out to eat, no one was ever ID'd no matter how young they looked.. oh and the drinks are very strong.
21. Bring a poncho with you, keep it in a bag or purse whenever it's a windy day or you know rain is in the forecast. Most of the time it pours like a monsoon, but 45 minutes later the sun comes out. 
22. Have some damn fun, Muay Thai is for everyone, all shapes, colors and sizes. The trainers in Thailand know their shit and are just as good and patient with the beginners as anyone else. DO IT. GO. NOW. BOOK A TICKET.

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-Written by Paul Banasiak

Warrior's Cup XXI - PayPerView Rematch

So I am here now, sitting at Starbucks and writing this blog entry with 5 hours to go before the fights. The weigh ins went well, I made weight at the famous Apollon gym, the scale showing 177 lbs, I surprisingly was able to put on over 4 pounds in the last two weeks. My opponent was late and stuck in traffic which explains the lack of face off pictures. My anxiety level is about a 6 out of 10, which is fairly good because it's normally off the charts on the day of the fight. Knowing it's a rematch definitely adds excitement and pushes me to perform better. Having a team mate of mine Stergos competing against a tough opponent also helps to increase the team morale.

The event will be on Pay-Per-View for 14.99 if you go through this link:

Warrior's Cup XXI

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Fight Log - The Day Before Weigh Ins - Warrior's Cup XXI

The day before weigh ins, always the most interesting day as a fighter in my opinion. Usually, a time I go from drowning myself in water to drying myself off of 6-12 lbs of weight in a bath or sauna. Being a fighter who normally walked around 185 lbs and competed at 175 lbs, I now walk around 175 lbs after spending a hot 5 weeks in Thailand, and sticking to a vegetarian diet for 3 months prior to that. The plan was to fight at 170 lbs when getting back to the states, however, an opportunity came knocking at the door at 178 lbs with no wiggle room. 

A rematch! My current record as a fighter is 8-1, so when the opportunity came... I knew I wanted the rematch to avenge my only loss to Brian Hansen. The first fight was a complete rollercoaster, when I first came in the ring I was missing my mouth guard, as my opponent made his entrance I put in my coaches mouth piece and called to my other corner to grab mine from my bag. The bell rang, we were trading low kicks until about a minute into the round, I ended up setting up a hard cross off of a double jab dropping Brian to the ground for a count. He quickly recovered and came back swinging, I knew I had the chance to finish him and did everything I could, landing knees and hard punches, until I rocked him with another hook as the bell rang to end the round. 

When I came back into my corner I was happy to hear "I have your mouthguard" from my other corner man, my trainer looked at me smiling, saying "It's almost over, he is hurt, but take 15 seconds, feel him out, and see how he recovered". As I got up and got the mouthguard put in place, I realized it was still the wrong one, my bag had both mine and my girlfriend's...and well with my luck it was my girlfriend's mouthpiece... impossible to bite. I ran out of the corner swinging for the kill and completely ignoring my corner's instructions, with my jaw hanging loose I got caught with a straight punch sending me stiff onto the canvas. I got up smiling thinking "this fight is crazy, I can't believe he dropped me after all of that", I tried to trade more punches and as I ducked under a hook the whole room spun in my head as I stumbled onto the ropes, to save me from getting knocked out the ref stopped the fight. I was impressed with how well Brian recovered, knowing how good and technical of a fight it was I was happier than ever to be a part of it.

Now I have the opportunity to do exactly what I did the first time, with more maturity and skill, I couldn't be any more excited. Normally, I am filled with anxiety as it becomes more and more real with the hours counting down. No matter what the result, I am positive it will be fireworks, an entertaining and clean fight. 

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-Written by Paul Banasiak

Finding YOUR Fitness Program

Finding the right fitness program may be the biggest obstacle between the couch and the gym for many people. The problem doesn't lie in there not being enough effective fitness programs, it actually lies in there being too much information available. No matter what your goal is, whether it is weight loss, mass gain, an increase in athletic performance, or just overall fitness, there are thousands and thousands of articles/websites full of information. One study might tell you bench pressing is a horrible exercise for your rotator cuff, the next will tell you it’s okay if done correctly, and the bro at the gym will tell you to do it 8 days a week. Below are short and easy to follow tips on how to choose the right program for you!

First, what is your goal? The way you train your body will differ depending on what your goal is. For example, sprinting should not be a big part of your training if you are looking to improve your endurance as a marathon runner. Search for programs specific to your goal.

Next, pick one! Chances are you still have a list of programs to choose from online, and they all have their own pitch. Follow the one that appeals to you, that looks FUN. Having a set routine gives you a sense of direction, and if you are currently just doing random exercises at the gym, any sense of direction will be good for you.

Then, stick to it! Don’t change it! And don’t let the haters hate! After going through numerous programs and learning various things in school, it makes me want to question and nitpick at these regimens. I want to keep the stuff I know works, and throw out what I personally do not like. But, in that case I never really tried the program! You will have people tell you, “nah that program doesn’t work I tried it”, well… no shit they switched up half of it, now they’re claiming it’s the program. I’m sorry… it’s not the program it’s you.

I know it seems rather simple, but I see that people often ignore these simple things, including myself. If you are the average gym goer, or the person on the couch looking for a sense of direction, just start, give it a fair shot, and see it through. If it doesn’t work, you take away what did work, and then add or subtract what you think is appropriate. ORRRRR, make it simple and just hire a trainer to take away all of the guess work and to keep track of your progress.

Here are links to some popular websites with various fitness programs and information.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/ 
http://www.t-nation.com/
http://www.fullfitness.net/routines
http://dailyburn.com/

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-Written by Paul Banasiak