Rooster Crowing at Dawn — Image by © G. Baden/zefa/Corbis

I have always been one of those people that really needs their sleep.

As a young child, my mother used to call me ‘Crabby Craig’ if I was looking a bit tired and starting to get grumpy!

As an adult, I have found it imperative to get a good night’s sleep, particularly after the daily stresses of work and intense training at the gym.

As we all know, if you can get into that deep REM sleep and maintain it for several hours, then your chances of producing that wonderful growth hormone from the pituitary gland are enhanced markedly.

This in turn allows the body to recover from all manner of demands that we place on it, so not surprisingly it is sometimes coined the ‘Fountain of Youth’.

Now, to get into the aforementioned REM sleep, we need to produce melatonin from our hypothalamus via the pineal gland. For this to occur it is important that we try and hit the hay before midnight, avoid using mobile phones to close to bedtime and obviously minimise the consumption of stimulants like caffeine after approximately 4pm.

One key ingredient to sound sleep that is often overlooked is the importance of making sure your bedroom is nice and dark.

For years I have found that my body seems to naturally respond to the sun rising, so as the light filters through my blinds at around 4-5pm (in Summer), I find that I not only start to wake up but, annoyingly, find it very hard to drift back off to sleep for that extra hour or two.

Recently, when travelling to the USA for a holiday, I was given an eye mask and a few other bits and pieces from a Virgin International flight.

For some reason I decided to hang on to this eye mask and ended up trialling it as a bit of a fun experiment when I got back to Oz!

Well, to my surprise, I found that the complete blackout you get when covering your eyes really did get me back off to sleep VERY quickly!!

That extra couple of hours of deep sleep really makes a difference in terms of how rested you feel when you finally get up to tackle the day’s events that lie ahead of you!

OK ok ok, this may sound a bit silly, but mark my words, it works a treat and is definitely worth a shot!!

PS: To avoid giant crease marks on your face, I purchased an eye mask made from silk via E-Bay for a measly $13 with free delivery!!

http://arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/endocrine/otherendo/pineal.html

Konjac Slim Pasta ideas

Yes that’s right folks, I actually like watching Rich’s stuff!! He may be a bit over the top from time to time but for some reason I am drawn to his channel…kind of like the proverbial ‘moth to a flame’!!!

So, when we were in LA and Vegas last September, I remember thinking that we must try and sample one of these low carb, bun free burgers.

Unfortunately, we never got a chance to get to In & Out, so I decided to make one my self!

It really is as simple as replacing the bun with the lettuce, but I thought I would have some fun anyway by putting it on film for my YouTube Channel “Craig Winter”!

And, it really did taste fantastic!!!

So much more than just a sport!

Bodybuilding for me is not just a sport, it is a way of life that some people just don’t understand.

It has always been an avenue for me try and improve the way I look and feel but more importantly, in recent years, I have simply just enjoyed the physical act of training in the gym. No different to the way a jogger likes to run 10km or a golfer likes to hit balls on a driving range or a footballer attends a training session in the evening.

All of these activities can result in some form of self-improvement if we persist. This gives us that passion and purpose we all need to keep evolving and developing personally. And of course those wonderful brain chemicals that are released during vigorous exercise induce a very pleasant euphoric feeling that is again necessary to help us deal with stress and clear our heads.

I find that when I am in the gym and getting stuck into a workout I am able to live in the moment and push any worries of past, present or future to one side. Try to think of your training session as an appointment and time out for you. Even if you are time poor you can still make great gains from only 3 or 4 sessions in the gym per week. And these need not be longer than 45-60 minutes each. Most of you would know by now, as I have outlined in previous blogs, that my low volume High Intensity Training certainly lends itself well to a busy lifestyle with shorter workouts.

Many people I have helped over the years often remark about how I get myself into the gym after a busy, tiring and stressful day. My answer is always the same. Simply focus on how good you feel when you are walking out of the gym after a great workout. The adrenalin, endorphins and sense of accomplishment are ALWAYS there and are guaranteed to brighten your day!!!

A joint-friendly Chest routine!!!

Gold’s Gym Rockingham’s new rocking motion plate-loaded decline press is again another crackerjack piece of equipment!

As always, to maximise the mind to muscle connection, remember to pinch the shoulder blades together during a deliberate 3 second negative and then keep them there whilst squeezing the upper pecs into your tucked in chin throughout the positive part of the movement.

This is a terrific exercise for those lifters, like me, who tend to press with their delts instead of the pecs.

Relinquishing the Squat!!!

Gold’s Gym Rockingham’s new ZRoc plate-loaded hacksquat machine is an absolute ripper and a great substitute for regular barbell squats.

I had to make an executive decision recently to completely remove barbell squatting from my regime due to battling constant knee problems & niggles over the last 3 years or so.

This was a hard pill for me to swallow, as I always had a love/ hate relationship with barbell squats!

My legs are relatively long when compared to my torso and as such I have found it hard to prevent my knees from getting past my toes with regular squats. And when the knees track past the toes this places terrible shearing forces throughout the knee joint!

But, with the ZRoc Hacksquat, I am able sit down into the squat position with the weight back on my heels all whilst making sure my knees stay in line with my toes. This in turn has allowed me really focus on the quadricep muscles all whilst being extremely kind to my 51 year old knee joints!!

I combine this exercise with 45 degree leg presses and seated leg extensions resulting in an awesome knee-friendly quad workout!

1. 45 degree angled leg presses
2. ZRoc plate-loaded Hacksquats
3. Rocking motion seated leg extensions
4. Standing calf raises
5. Seated calf raises

I train Hamstrings & Calves on their own day later in the workout week.

It does feel great to now walk into the gym on quads day and not have to be so paranoid about whether I’m going to wreck my knee joints any more than I already had!

Unbelievably, I now actually look forward to Leg’s Day!!!

 PS: Worth checking out this interesting article regarding squat v leg press pros & cons… 

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/shannon1.htm

One of the great aspects I love about the sport of Bodybuilding are all the motivated, focused, like-minded and positive people you meet.

We all love to train hard, whether we compete or not and share a passion for health and strength via the Iron Game.

The experiences I have enjoyed with my fellow competitors has always been one of mutual respect as well as finding that the concept of sharing knowledge and ideas has never been a problem.

This is something that we must all take on board as it greatly enhances our sport and paves the way for more to follow.

BUT, the so-called “Tall Poppy Syndrome”, which seems to be evident in this great country of ours, needs to be eliminated.

Those naysayers that are constantly trying to bring you down to their level of mediocrity or less, so that they can somehow feel better about themselves, should be gradually weaned out of your life.

If we can keep on perpetuating camaraderie and community then the future must surely be bright for our bodybuilding health and fitness lifestyle!

MYTH BUSTING GRIP WIDTHS FOR BACK TRAINING!!!

Over the years, I have often heard the expression…

“The wider the grip, the wider the lats!”

Well I am here to say, that this particular myth, needs to be busted!!!

A very wide grip actually shortens the range of motion, which in turn elicits a weaker concentric contraction of the lat musculature.

Conversely, a narrow grip lengthens the range of motion, thus producing a much more powerful concentric contraction.

And, the reverse grip, almost pulls your lats around your sides, again adding another dimension to the concentric contraction you are trying to optimise.

This is an old school movement, that I rarely see people perform, yet it is so incredibly effective!

Also, don’t forget to do allow a full stretch of the arms, whilst staying firmly planted on the seat, at the top of the movement.