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How I got a 220kg deadlift (485lbs) within 2 years of lifting

April 7, 2016Bodyadmin

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I AM SO HAPPY.

My first life goal, deadlifting 5 plates (220kg or 485lbs), was achieved. This took me 2 years since the first day I picked up a bar (around April 2014).

For a lot of you, especially those who have only just started your fitness journey, 220kg feels miles away – it felt like that for me too. 220kg felt impossible when I was struggling to deadlift 140kg…

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Above is a graph of my deadlift and weight progression since Jan 2015. If you look you will see a clear correlation between weight and the amount I could deadlift. Honestly, I was shocked by just how clear this was; It seems that people tend to think that you can get really strong without necessarily getting bigger. However, getting bigger helps you get stronger.

How did you do it Mike?

I know you guys would absolutely love to hear an exact workout program which I performed with percentages and sets and reps… none of that happened.

In terms of my workouts, I was all over the place; sometimes I would deadlift every day, sometimes 3 days a week, sometimes once a week, sometimes with a belt, sometimes without… there was no real structure.

However, there were two things which I did do consistently:

I always lifted heavy

I never performed more than 3 reps (apart from warmups).

This was more just personal preference… I hate deadlifting for reps; it is tiring and it is just so much effort that I frankly despise it.

For the majority of the time with deadlifts, here is what I would do:

-10 or so bodyweight squats (depending how cold it was)

-10 reps with bar

-5 to 10 reps with 60kg

-3 reps with 100kg

-3 reps with 140kg

-1 rep with 160+

-1-3 reps at a final weight between 160kg and 220kg

That is typically what I would do. Sometimes I would lift less sometimes more. I would rest as much as I felt I needed. Sometimes this was a minute, sometimes even 5+ minutes.

As I said, I mainly deadlifted heavy because it is what I enjoy. I like lifting a lot and hated the feeling of deadlifting for reps. I also believe that if you are trying to deadlift as much as you can then the best way to do this is to deadlift heavy.

I went to the gym consistently

As I’ve mentioned probably a million times, CONSISTENCY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVER.

Whenever you go to the gym and train you are improving yourself. Sometimes I would literally only work to a max set of deadlifts and that was it. Other times I would do a full hypertrophy back session – I just did something.

The other key thing I did was eat. Gaining weight helped me build muscle and let my body perform optimally, which aided in me increasing my lifts and put on some muscle too – best of both worlds eh?

That is it. There is no secret formula or magical thing I did to finally hit that 220kg deadlift; all I did was eat, lift heavy, and lift consistently.

-Mike

If you are cool you would join me here.

Why Looking Good May Not Make You Confident

April 4, 2016Mindadmin

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When people ask me for advice on how to get bigger/leaner I always ask them why. One of the main responses is to be more confident – however, let me explain to you why this may not always be the case.

Confidence comes from within

Confidence comes from the ability to trust and take pride in yourself. Confident people do not seek reassurance from others as they are self-secure about themselves. I would consider myself a fairly confident individual as I have a lot of pride and belief in myself, and do not rely on opinions or views of others. However, I do still have my flaws, and would be straight up lying to you if I said I did not doubt myself or my abilities sometimes.

Fitness has helped me develop my confidence; the feeling of becoming a better version of myself each and every day has helped me develop an immense amount of belief in myself. Becoming stronger and getting a six-pack did help me become more confident, however, for some it can only make them feel more insecure.

If you are not doing it for yourself, then you will only become more insecure

The way you view fitness will determine your confidence levels.

If you view fitness and looking better as a tool for self-improvement and becoming a better version of yourself then yes, fitness will likely help boost your confidence and self-esteem levels.

However, if you are trying to look like a guy in a magazine because ‘they get the girls’ then you are likely going to feel more insecure.

Take the guy in this video for example – he is jacked. But, he is so insecure about himself as he is always comparing himself to others instead of the insane improvements he has made to himself – if you are always comparing your body to others then you will likely never be proud of yourself and of your body.

A lot of people get in to fitness to look like the models, to get the girls, or to be stop being bullied – even I got into fitness because I wanted a six pack and just to look ripped. However, most get hooked on fitness due to the feeling of progression and self-improvements – this is where the self-esteem comes form.

Remember: Confidence comes from within, and if you are always comparing yourself to others then fitness is not going to help with confidence. Focus on yourself and becoming a better version of yourself each day.

-Mike

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Why you are not motivated to get in shape

April 3, 2016Mindadmin

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In the world we live in we are always comparing ourselves to someone else. It may be your ex’s new partner, your childhood friend, or just some random guy who you walk past each day who you decided is your rival (or is that just me…)

For some reason we seem to always want to be better than someone else, and a lot of the time this is detrimental to ourselves progressing.
If you look at any fitness magazine, you will see these amazing bodies which we can only dream of getting – for most of us this is enough to stop us trying in the first place.

…Wait a sec… Why?

Just because Chris Evans is a beautiful human being with an outstanding body does not mean that we can’t get a better body than we already have.
Like it kind of shocks me sometimes how people believe that just because they think that they could never look like a Greek God means that they have to look like a slob and be completely dissatisfied with their looks…

I am miles away from looking like a model; I do not have enough muscle mass and my body fat percentage is too high… but it doesn’t mean I should just give up.

Compared to my former self I look like a god (#modest) and that is all that matters.

Fitness is about yourself; it’s about you becoming better than you. When you start to realize and understand that concept you will really allow yourself to steadily progress and improve and really become proud of the body you have achieved – and there is nothing more satisfying than that.

I am not going to lie to you, I compare myself to almost everyone all the time – and it’s not good.

However, when it comes to fitness I am able to focus on me. Each workout I focus on my goals and what I need to do to end my day that little bit more successful than yesterday, and that’s what makes me happy.

Ultimately, you can look as good as you like, but if you’re constantly comparing yourself to others you will never be proud of your body.

Realise the battle is against yourself, and go out and make a new self-record each day.
Doing so will make you confident, proud, and excited about life – and that’s ultimately what we want to achieve – right?

-Mike

The best investment you can make is in yourself. Do yourself a favour and join me at my Fitness Helpline.

3 Ways To Stop Yourself From Giving Up

March 31, 2016Body, Food, Mindadmin

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Did you really want to give up your goal? I know deep inside you wanted to achieve it, because achieving is the best feeling in the world.

Let me teach you the 3 ways at how I stay consistent to achieve my goals:

1. Set manageable daily targets

This is the main reason I don’t give up – my daily goals are so easy to achieve.

Currently, I am trying to eat more vegetables. Do you know what challenge I set myself? Eat half a stick of celery a day.

I mean who can’t suck it up and eat half a stick of celery? It’s like 3 bites… it would honestly be pitiful for me to fail this goal.

I think that is where a lot of us go wrong: we set ourselves incredibly hard targets which are easy to fail – STOP THIS. Instead, pick a daily challenge so easy to do which you can slowly build up on.

2. Forgive yourself when you mess up

No one is perfect. There are multiple occasions when I have been trying to lose weight and binged 4,000 calories in one go… but I forgave myself and moved on.

A lot of us use this as an excuse to give up when in fact it should be nothing to worry about.

REMEBER: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE 100% PERFECT. 80% IS FINE. RELAX. MESS UP. IT’S OKAY. JUST DO GOOD THINGS MOST OF THE TIME.

This should not really happen too often if you are following step 1, as your goal should be so easy that it is simply embarrassing to fail.

3. Tell the whole world what your goals are

I have told everyone that I am going to make this blog a success and have told all my mates that I will deadlift 220kg, squat 180kg, and bench 140kg. Now I have no choice but to make it happen.

Telling people helps you feel accountable; you will feel a little bit determined to achieve your goals as you will feel as though you are not just failing yourself, but your loved ones too.

Also, write them down. When stuff gets written down it becomes official. That’s why written contracts are more important than a verbal agreement. Create proof and evidence what you say you are going to achieve.

BONUS: Do not lie to yourself

I truly do not understand why people make excuses; what is the point in lying to yourself about why you could not achieve a goal? It is not because of genetics, or natural talent; you are always able to become a better version of yourself. Fact.

Instead of making excuses, write down why you failed and what you can do to fix it. It may just be spending 1 minute of stretching to try and touch your toes, or sacrificing 5 mins to learn a new language.

Great success stories do not go like ‘I attempted to succeed, failed, then gave up like a bitch’… they go like ‘I attempted to succeed, failed, then stopped being a bitch and tried again.’

-Mike

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