I will describe the types of body type, only read further if you are willing to agree BODY TYPE IS NOT AN EXCUSE :)

Endomorph – This is someone we can describe as ‘round & soft’ sometimes the look of a typical endomorph will have the bulk of their weight gathered around the midsection. Usually they will present shorter arms and legs than most people with a higher waist line than most.

Endomorphs usually have fine hair and their heads usually resemble a spherical shape.

Some celebrities we can see that are endomorphs are Oprah Winfrey,  Jack Black, John Goodman.

Ectomorphs – The total opposite of the round soft, ectomorph’s have a lot more delicate body type, small joints, light bones and lower muscle mass, usually the limbs of ectomorphs are long and with this comes some postural issues with droopy shoulders and spinal curves that can create medical issues. A lot of the time ectomorphs will have to work really hard to make the most of the muscle mass they have to develop strength. Ectomorphs are the typical ‘hard gainers’

Usually ectomorphs will have ‘pointy’ faces, longer digits and even their skin seems to be more reactive to the sun allowing easy burning of the skin.

Some celebrities that are ectomorphs are Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Cameron Diaz.

Mesomorphs – This would be the body type that most would see as the natural ‘athletic’ physique, well defined muscle mass, large bones,  wide shoulders, narrow waist. Prominent jaw lines and cheek bones we could even say their muscles are so developed they have prominent finger muscles!

Mesomorphs will usually react well to the sun, tanning well rather than burning.

Some celebrities that are obvious mesomorphs are Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Madonna, Halle Berry.

Now although we see there are three prominent body types most people will fall between two of the main three and will have to adapt their training to facilitate. I will aim to get some blog entries up in the coming weeks in order to let you guys know how I would look at tweaking training programmes in order to make the most of your body type to get to your goals.

Speak soon!

Ollie @OJayPT

In my opinion there are some great things in life that just should always occur. For example, finding money you didn’t know you had…. That’s always a winner!  That feeling you get after an awesome workout… No amount of lie-ins can beat it and these Classic Bodybuilding exercises should be no different. If a classic has stood the test of time and has been used by legends such as Arnie let’s make sure we keep them alive and well as individuals, without having to join a class in a shiny new gym!!

Here are my classic three with some tips and interesting facts...

Barbell Squat

Squats increase power and strength, muscle growth and core strength! This will defiantly improve your ability in other sports.

Tip: This may feel awkward at first but try and get the position of the bar below the traps and over the rear deltoids. You will be able to handle heavier weights without putting stress on the top of your spine or base of your neck area.

Deadlift

Arguably the best exercise to develop the core! The deadlift hits tons of muscles all at once and causes the body to release hormones that promote muscle growth like you wouldn’t believe!  Individuals with long arms and short(er) legs are better suited for the Conventional Deadlift. For a good bit of instruction CLICK HERE.

Tip: The bar should be no more than 1 inch away from your shins prior to beginning the lift.

 'Deadlift' by brazucany.tv

Bench Press

A legendary and well respected lift that incorporates the pecs, triceps, and deltoid!

Tip: Make sure that your abs are braced and contract your lats and upper back. By activating these antagonist and synergistic muscles you will establish a rock solid “shelf” to press from.

I personally have been one of the worst people for this and unless being on competition diet I really shouldn't have missed so many social events just because I didn't want to break my 'diet'.

I used to limit my time out...3 hours max, I ain't going to miss that meal! I'd cancel because I hadn't prepared my food. But now I have adjusted, there is always an option.

For example even the worst restaurants like big American burger bars can still cater for your needs, bit of clean meat, steak, chicken, switch the fries for a jacket potato, maybe cancel the burger bun, and then skip the dessert, this can be a decent clean meal here meaning you don't have to miss the event and skip your mates.

 'Big Burger' by bigmike33x's

What about nights out? I once again have limited these and I don't advocate going out getting wasted by any means but there again are options. Protein bars, shakes left in your car, even between bars when your mates are wasted getting their cards lining for the cash point taking the opportunity to get a chicken kebab no sauces and plenty of salad in a wholemeal pitta can get you through the night.

There is always an option of what we can do, bodybuilding is a lifestyle by all means and dedication is required, but what is the point if you lose friends and even worse family relations because you are entirely consumed by the progression of your physique?!

Meetings at work? Being a manager I have to attend plenty of meetings and I find without fail people take drinks in there or a few biscuits, this is the norm! But I get looked at weird if I rock up with a shake and piece of fruit, who worries what others think? Eventually people will stop asking if it tastes yucky and start accepting your dedication, may even ask to train with you!

Hope this post has been helpful with the options available to you in this fitness world we live in, these are just a few scenarios I've encountered through the years.

Ollie

Happily, it’s not just BodyPower that’s promising to deliver more this year. Here at Bodybuilding Warehouse we are proud to be returning to this great event for the second year running. We will be raising the bar by bringing you FREE samples, taster shots, special discounts, new products and a line-up of athletes to inspire and inform you.  We will also return with the successful WARRIOR GAMES and two WARRIORS to pose their way through the event in style.   No matter what type of fitness you are into, we hope to see you there.  Come and meet the team, show us your strength and join us for what promises to be one of the biggest weekends in the supplements and fitness industry. If you’re doing anything from 17^th to 19^th May 2013, make sure its visiting Bodybuilding Warehouse at stand (F70) during BodyPower 2013.

Introducing some of the Bodybuilding Warehouse BodyPower Athletes 2013…..

7.00 am – Wake up; immediately have 4 oz black coffee, 1 serving of Warrior Blaze

7.30 am – 30 minutes fast-paced cardio (either stationary bike or fast-paced walking outdoors). During cardio I have 1 serving of BBW Excel.

8:00 am – Meal 1: 100g steak, 10 organic free-range egg whites, ½ cup cream of rice, 100g oats

11:00 am – 225g grilled chicken breast, 150g white rice, 1 serving of Warrior Greens

1:00 pm – same as above

3:00 pm – 200g sirloin steak, 350g sweet potato

5:30 pm – 50g BBW premium whey, 10g Gaspari Glutamine, 1 serving BBW Excel, 80g BBW Maltodextrin

6:30 pm – Train with 1 serving Warrior Rage pre workout

8:00 pm – 50g BBW premium whey, 10g Gaspari Glutamine, 1 serving BBW Excel, 80g BBW Maltodextrin

9:00 pm – 250g sirloin steak, 350g sweet potato

11.00 pm – 1 serving BBW Premium Whey, tablespoon peanut butter

Training Split

Mon – Back

Tues – Chest

Weds – Bi’s/tri’s

Thurs – Quads

Fri – Shoulders

Sat – Rest

Sun – Calfs and hamstrings

I won’t go into too much detail on what exercises, weights and rep ranges I use on particular body parts, this will all be illustrated in the coming weeks and months during my long, painful contest preparation, in my future blog entries and training videos that me and the guys at Bodybuilding Warehouse are working real hard on to bring you the best information and most entertaining videos out there, so stay tuned!!

Keep training hard and stay focused, there is nothing in life that can’t be overcome with perseverance and determination! If any of you who read my blog would like me to write about something specific feel free to find me on Twitter @nayrobofficial; I am very active on social media and love hearing feedback and questions from you all! Don’t forget BodyPower Expo is only 3 weeks away, so if you haven’t got tickets yet grab them quick so you can get your ass over to the awesome BBW stand and be part of the action!

As always, keep it Nasty, see you again real soon!

 'Walk like an egyptian' by Pierre Willemin

The band is a pretty polyester cord that sits at a comfortable tension around your waist. The concept uses psychology to encourage you not to eat too much.  Essentially, every time you fill your belly, you will feel the cord getting tighter around your waist and as you lose weight the string on the cord becomes longer so you can see your progress.  So there you have it… The people at Malory Band have solved years of research into the best weight loss methods, found a way around healthy eating and absolutely shed any need for you to hit the gym. Go Buy a band today!! Wait a minute, that doesn’t sound quite right does it… because it’s not!

Yes I get the concept; it’s a bit like wearing your favourite clothes and realising that they are getting a bit tight.  How you feel in your favourite clothes is a good measure of your weight. You feel the fit on your arms, your chest, waist and every inch. The thing I dislike about the band is that you are paying £25 to remind yourself that you feel fat! The spokespeople at Malory Band admit that in essence a piece of string would have the same effect...

The band won’t give you any muscle tone, burn any fat cells and you certainly won’t get an accurate measure of your weight loss journey. Belly fat is stubborn to shift so for most people your cord length won’t be getting any longer fast and from a psychology point of view, this could really put a downer on your progress. Also, the band promotes being thinner not fitter! Strong is definitely the new skinny, so for me, wearing the band simply misses the point on the journey to a better body.

Apparently the number on reason to buy this band is so “You will no longer be a slave to the scales”. So if you’re ready to be a slave to the band, then I’d say get one. If you want to look stronger and get a flatter stomach I’d recommend you start by investing in your diet and exercise.  You should take on board extra protein, eat a low carb diet and if you want faster results try a fat burner! Workout hard and give some burpees a try. If you’re hardcore try some one arm burpees J

What’s a Burpee?? Stand with your feet a touch wider than hip-width apart, then in one movement, squat downwards and place one hand or both on the floor just under the middle of your chest, pull your abs in tight and jump both feet back and outwards into a full plank position.

5 sets of bench super set with 3 text messages, a status update and 2 tweets to failure...

Right ok, this really does wind me up massively. From the above do I need to say anymore? I’m sick to death of being in the gym and seeing people whilst in between sets playing on their mobile phones, sending texts message, tweeting, facebooking or whatever they are doing, it simply must stop.

 '0208IMG_9568' by Jontunn

It has to stop, for numerous reasons really. Firstly if the gym is crowded people will be waiting to get on that piece of equipment. You see this all the time where someone is on the bench; they have finished their set and immediately sit up and grab their phone. They're most likely checking in with the status “getting hench” or “shifting some tin” please... you're just merely fishing for “likes”and do the 273 friends that you have on facebook or twitter need to know you’re in the gym, why don’t you just take a selfie whilst you’re at it... Yes lets have our profile picture as ourselves in the gym, probably with the comment “do you even lift bro”, my reply to these pictures are simply “you don’t, because you're taking a selfie.......BRO” more evidence of  “like” fishing.  Why not use your rest effectively by doing a superset or an abdominal exercise so you can get even more out of your workout and make better gains. Gyms are busy at the best of times especially after work. If you are on your phone more than you are working out then it’s not an effective workout and let’s look at this point of the flip side - you want to smash through a workout and some joker is sat on the equipment using their phone, still with 5 sets left to go.........what an absolute loser.

Now I’m not a malicious person and if there is a reason that you need your phone in the gym, for example, you are on call or you have to have it near you in case there is an emergency then that’s fine... If you are just messaging friends, facebooking or tweeting, all I’m saying is it would be a terrible shame if a 20kg plate fell on your phone whilst it was on the floor. You are at the gym to train and reach your goals and so are the other members who go there. So instead of being on your phone and slowing everyone else as well as yourself down, leave your phone in the car or your locker. Make the most out of your workout and let everyone else get the most out of their workout too. Also just another point guys, after 45 mins of working out it has been proven that testosterone level start to plummet which means that you won’t make as effective gains. So wasting time on your phone is simply eating in to this 45 minute window. Stay off the phone guys and train hard.

It’s the same with people who seem to read books whilst sat on the bike, how you can exercise at intensity where you will see noticeable results whilst reading a book. Obviously there are some exceptions like people who exercise to increase mobility or are just getting in to exercise when advised by a doctor because of health reasons. But honestly, I see people sat on a bike for 45 mins reading a book, not sweating and their primary goal is to lose weight. Really??????? I mean come on if losing weight was as easy as jumping on a bike for 45 minutes with a good read and pedalling at a slow intensity then shares in Waterstones would sky rocket and gyms would only have seated exercise bikes in them...

Rant over ;)

 'IMG_6756' by Jontunn

One of the biggest things I hear from women when I ask the reason they don’t go straight for the weights is ‘I don’t want to get too big’ followed but a balloon face monkey style pose!  It would be amazing if you could pick up a weight and get ‘too big’ but even for guys this is hard work involving not just training but the diet commitment as well. Women have another short straw in the quest for fitness, muscle gain, fat loss or we could say ‘toning’ and this is the balance of hormones.

One hormone that we have all surely heard of is testosterone, the hormone that we rely on more than any other in order to build muscle. Women have a lot less of this than men and testosterone is also very good when it comes to burning fat and allowing recovery to take place between sessions. Overall it is one of the best hormones for our health and fitness. Obviously in the right balances to the rest.

Oestrogen is a hormone that women have more of than men alongside other degenerative ‘catabolic’ hormones around. This means more fat is stored, less muscle built, potentially a lowered metabolic rate and lowered recovery levels when compared to men.

Lifting weights can boost the hormones we want to get the goals and swinging the ratios into our favour.  So we can see now that women have little reason to shy away from the weights area, it actually can be more beneficial to the ladies than the fellas!

Let me give you a few examples of “All the Gear.......No Idea”:

1. Weightlifting belts- this is one that really grinds my gears. Those belts are designed to offer support to the back. They're also designed to help in intra abdominal pressure. Both which can be achieved without the belt and when using correct technique. If you’re chucking some serious weight around I wouldn’t see the problem in wearing them. But what gets me is the people who wear them when they’re not even squatting their body weight, they’re not doing a full repetition and their technique is terrible. Basically they are just training their egos, because it looks awesome doing a quarter reps with loads of plates on either end of the bar. That’s a great leg session...yeah right. What else gets me on this belt malarkey is why oh why people wear them for every other body part? like chest or arms. Surely training chest and arms doesn’t warrant wearing a belt. But wait.....when you ask them they all seem to have a lower back injury or a weak back. Well, maybe if you adopted correct technique you wouldn’t have a sore or injured back or is that the excuse you use when you get asked because you don’t even know what purpose the belt is even for? Maybe they’re wrestling fans and enjoy taking it off and throwing it over their shoulder, true Stone Cold Steve Austin style!
2. Wrist straps- The idea of wrist straps is to assist with your grip. They are designed to help you lift more. However those lifts do require you to implement proper technique too. People put wrists straps on and instantly turn in to the strongest man in the world. I’m getting pretty tired walking in to the weight room and seeing a red faced guy with his back flexed, try to pick up some silly weight that he can’t manage. He then proceeds to drag it up and up his thighs, he’s now an even deeper shade of red, he’s almost purple. He gets it to a point where he thinks he’s done a full rep, and wait for it... drops down to the floor, still attached to the barbell. This is usually followed by him with a big cheesy grin maybe even a little wwwaahhhhooo. Well done pal you’ve successfully not slipped a disk!!!!! Top and bottom of it is, people get these wrist straps and instantly think they can lift all the weights gym. This is wrong and even if you have them you need to adopt correct technique when doing the exercise. Again all you are doing by trying to lift a stupid weight which you can’t handle and with poor technique is boosting your ego.

These are just a few examples, I could go on and on and I’m sure you have seen your own examples in the gym. I think they should put a viewing policy on the world’s strongest man programme. This should happen because people watch this stuff and think that if I buy that I will be able to do that. He is using wrist straps for a reason, he’s dead lifting a car, you are not dead lifting a car therefore you don’t think you need them till you start lifting some serious weight with correct technique.

Remember training your ego won’t get you better results than training properly will.

 'IMG_6971' by jontunn

What Happens If You Don’t Eat?
If you don’t eat enough before a weight training session you will feel drained, and can possibly get a headache. It will feel as if you don’t have enough energy to do anything else and you won’t get much out of your workout. If you haven’t been eating properly for a prolonged period, then you might start to feel weak and faint.

When And What to Eat.
The general rule is that you should avoid eating anything 1 to 2 hours before working out. Try and eat something that will give you a slow release of energy, and steer clear of anything that will spike your insulin levels such as sugar and chocolate. Dairy products such as milk and cheese can make you feel lethargic, so you should stick with simple whole foods with a mixture of protein, fat and carbohydrates. A good example would be a berry and banana smoothie with peanut butter and oats with water.

 'Berries Galore' by Daniel E Lee

Energy Systems for Weight Training.
The fuel stores you will be using for weight training will depend on how you are exercising. However, the energy systems you will most likely be using during a weight training session will be a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic. Predominantly your body will use carbohydrates and fat as sources of energy, and depending on the length and intensity of your workout protein might be used, although you don’t want to get to this stage.

Lack of Time.
Some people simply don’t have the time to prepare and eat a proper meal a few hours before training, and if you are going straight from work to the gym it might be impossible to eat anything substantial. Other people don’t like eating too much before a workout, especially in the mornings. If you don’t feel you can have a meal or simply don’t have the time before a workout you can use pre-workout supplements which will give you an energy boost and ensure you work out to the best of your ability.