Joe Midshipman's

Joe Midshipman's

Athletic Training Advice

Hello, This is my first web page so bear with me if it sucks. My name is Aaron. I go to the United States Naval Academy. I am just your average Joe. I enjoy weightlifting, sleeping, sleeping more, wasting time listening to mp3s, talking on IM when supposed to be studying one of those subjects that you see no point in, drinking beer (that is when of legal age) ha and the norm that most college going students would enjoy. I grew up in the big town of Great Bend, Kanas. Yeah, pretty boring but being reared by such a great family has kept me going all these years. I have a brother Ryan who graduated from Kansas State University this year. He was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. I have a great mother who couldn't be better, yeah everyone has the best mother, but I would put mine on the line as one of the absolute best but that would be too conceited, all mothers are great. I have a pops, his name is Jim, he is the man, he is one of those totally laid back guys who simply enjoys life for its simple pleasures and that is the way it should be. No one should go without having a pet, and of course, we have had our share of pets, currently we have oreo, a black and white shitzu that could not be anymore spoiled. Well who wants to know about another person talking about himself on the internet. I sure as hell don't.

Basically this page is going to provide little helpful aides to boosting performance athletically, I am no exercise physiologist, but these are some simple techniques and practices that I have gained in my short 19 years. Take them for what they are, they may not be entirely correct but if you believe in them they should help you.

WEIGHTLIFTING, many people make two big key mistakes regarding weight-training, if you want to build mass you must have proper rest and also lift the right sets at the right speed. Too many dang people spend years in a gym lifting and nothing happens. The muscle must contract in both positive and negative contractions and proper speeds to ensure adequate tearing of the muscle. For instance, for a good bench press one will have to not only raise the bar at a controlled slow (4-6 second rep) but also on the negative contraction (lowering the bar) work on slow movement. Fast repititions will do one no good unless one is training for aerobic exercises which most individuals don't go to a weightroom for. Sets should be focused on heavy no more than 3 sets of 5 repititions for maximum growth. Anything over three sets has been shown to just be a waste of time and anything over 6 starts working your muscular endurance and not power. REST, lifting everyday is by no way the key, lift hard one day and take the next day off. Also that 30 seconds between sets make sure you stretch, studies show that stretching between lifts improve overall strength 20% over an 8 week program

Another problem is NUTRITION, people believe they have to guzzle tons of calories to put on mass. That is a total myth. Too much protein can cause serious health risks, ketosis, your bodys struggle to break down too much protein which effects your organs. The key is the size of meals. Eat 5 smaller meals instead of three larger ones because your body can only assimilate about 30 grams protein at a time, the rest goes to waste, whether that be that dark yellow you see in your urine after drinking your 5000 calorie fat shack or what, the idea is to spread the time out so your body can absorb a maximum amount of protein. Okay, protein is important but on average the beast in the weight room only needs 2.2grams per kg. of weight. Endurance runners have a higher need than do weightlifters. Wherever these myths started about protein shakes are wrong. Supplements, creatine in particular will help you add that 8 lbs of extra water weight for $30 a month but in general supplements are not worth it. The best substance is water. Your body is over 65% water. Drink it all the time, it can't hurt you, the most it can do is help you. The best bet is to just take a multivitamin that does not have iron in it. Also don't resort to megavitamins, again they will just be processed out of your system

Another thing is there are NO SHORT CUTS. Truthfully, the only supplement (legal) that will show an improvement for lifting is creatine. The effervescent form works a little better for some users but all in all creatine is creatine whether it is a grain or powder. The importance with creatine is proper hydration and the loading phase is not needed. Loading is another scam by companies to make some more profit. Drink water, 120 ounces if not more a day, and don't continously take it, give it a break, it may not be bad for you but think about it, roughly 3-4 grams is what is found in 2.2lbs of raw meat, take 8 grams a day is equivalent to eating about 4 lbs. of uncooked raw meat when looking at the supplemental side so don't abuse it.

If you are interested in performing your PR's in ENDURANCE EVENTS, caffeine in the proper amount is the only ergogenic aid that has ever been proven in numerous studies to improve performance. Again, high use of it can cause high production of uric acid in the body which is again not always the best. The key to it helping you perform is to use it only when you need to perform at best or else you will build a tolerance to it. In order to improve in weight training, sports or running the key is specificity and change. You can not run the same workout everyday, you body is made to adapt to different stresses; However, it is best to train as close to the real event as possible. If you want to be a miler, ask any great miler of our century and he will tell you he ran many 400 repeats at mile pace. If you want to improve that 5k time, fartlek (change of pace) over intervals is the best way to improve your time.

I could go on forever preaching what the books say, what scientist says what, but the most important aspect of any training is to just do it and do it consistently, don't abuse alcohol, use everything in moderation, give your body a rest, have fun and learn from your mistakes!

TYPICAL LIFTING SCHEDULE (4 day a week routine) SUNDAY: Rest and take it easy, do what you want Monday: BENCH PRESS 5 reps at 60% max, 3*5 reps at 85% INCLINE PRESS Same as Bench MILITARY PRESS (behind the neck) 4*5 BENT ARM LATERALS 4*5 TRICEPS (mix between dips and machine) 3*6 Abdominal Crunch (amount doesn't matter just take it slow and isolate contraction) TUESDAY: SQUAT Same sets as bench LATERAL PULLDOWNS 4*5 UPRIGHT ROWS 4*5 BICEP CURL (use different methods) 4*6 BACK EXTENSIONS 4*8 LEG CURLS AND EXTENSIONS 3*7 WEDNESDAY REST THURSDAY AND FRIDAY REPEAT MONDAY AND TUESDAY BUT WITH 10% DECREAASE IN WEIGHT SATURDAY CARDIOVASCULAR WORK, IF YOU WANT TO IMPROVE MASS DO NO MORE THAN 20 MINUTES OF HARD CARDIOVASCULAR WORK EACH WEEK INCREASE WEIGHT GRADUALLY, EVERY 8 WEEKS, TAKE A WEEK OFF
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The United States Naval Academy

Aaron Kaiser

	Hello, This is my first web page so bear with me if it sucks. My name is Aaron. I go to the United States Naval Academy. I am just your average Joe. I enjoy weightlifting, sleeping, sleeping more, wasting time listening to mp3s, talking on IM when supposed to be studying one of those subjects that you see no point in, drinking beer (that is when of legal age) ha and the norm that most college going students would enjoy. I grew up in the big town of Great Bend, Kanas. Yeah, pretty boring but being reared by such a great family has kept me going all these years. I have a brother Ryan who graduated from Kansas State University this year. He was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. I have a great mother who couldn't be better, yeah everyone has the best mother, but I would put mine on the line as one of the absolute best but that would be too conceited, all mothers are great. I have a pops, his name is Jim, he is the man, he is one of those totally laid back guys who simply enjoys life for its simple pleasures and that is the way it should be. No one should go without having a pet, and of course, we have had our share of pets, currently we have oreo, a black and white shitzu that could not be anymore spoiled. Well who wants to know about another person talking about himself on the internet. I sure as hell don't.
	Basically this page is going to provide little helpful aides to boosting performance athletically, I am no exercise physiologist, but these are some simple techniques and practices that I have gained in my short 19 years. Take them for what they are, they may not be entirely correct but if you believe in them they should help you.
	WEIGHTLIFTING, many people make two big key mistakes regarding weight-training, if you want to build mass you must have proper rest and also lift the right sets at the right speed. Too many dang people spend years in a gym lifting and nothing happens. The muscle must contract in both positive and negative contractions and proper speeds to ensure adequate tearing of the muscle. For instance, for a good bench press one will have to not only raise the bar at a controlled slow (4-6 second rep) but also on the negative contraction (lowering the bar) work on slow movement. Fast repititions will do one no good unless one is training for aerobic exercises which most individuals don't go to a weightroom for. Sets should be focused on heavy no more than 3 sets of 5 repititions for maximum growth. Anything over three sets has been shown to just be a waste of time and anything over 6 starts working your muscular endurance and not power. REST, lifting everyday is by no way the key, lift hard one day and take the next day off. Also that 30 seconds between sets make sure you stretch, studies show that stretching between lifts improve overall strength 20% over an 8 week program
	Another problem is NUTRITION, people believe they have to guzzle tons of calories to put on mass. That is a total myth. Too much protein can cause serious health risks, ketosis, your bodys struggle to break down too much protein which effects your organs. The key is the size of meals. Eat 5 smaller meals instead of three larger ones because your body can only assimilate about 30 grams protein at a time, the rest goes to waste, whether that be that dark yellow you see in your urine after drinking your 5000 calorie fat shack or what, the idea is to spread the time out so your body can absorb a maximum amount of protein. Okay, protein is important but on average the beast in the weight room only needs 2.2grams per kg. of weight. Endurance runners have a higher need than do weightlifters. Wherever these myths started about protein shakes are wrong. Supplements, creatine in particular will help you add that 8 lbs of extra water weight for $30 a month but in general supplements are not worth it. The best substance is water. Your body is over 65% water. Drink it all the time, it can't hurt you, the most it can do is help you. The best bet is to just take a multivitamin that does not have iron in it. Also don't resort to megavitamins, again they will just be processed out of your system
	Another thing is there are NO SHORT CUTS. Truthfully, the only supplement (legal) that will show an improvement for lifting is creatine. The effervescent form works a little better for some users but all in all creatine is creatine whether it is a grain or powder. The importance with creatine is proper hydration and the loading phase is not needed. Loading is another scam by companies to make some more profit. Drink water, 120 ounces if not more a day, and don't continously take it, give it a break, it may not be bad for you but think about it, roughly 3-4 grams is what is found in 2.2lbs of raw meat, take 8 grams a day is equivalent to eating about 4 lbs. of uncooked raw meat when looking at the supplemental side so don't abuse it.
	If you are interested in performing your PR's in ENDURANCE EVENTS, caffeine in the proper amount is the only ergogenic aid that has ever been proven in numerous studies to improve performance. Again, high use of it can cause high production of uric acid in the body which is again not always the best. The key to it helping you perform is to use it only when you need to perform at best or else you will build a tolerance to it. In order to improve in weight training, sports or running the key is specificity and change. You can not run the same workout everyday, you body is made to adapt to different stresses; However, it is best to train as close to the real event as possible. If you want to be a miler, ask any great miler of our century and he will tell you he ran many 400 repeats at mile pace. If you want to improve that 5k time, fartlek (change of pace) over intervals is the best way to improve your time.
	I could go on forever preaching what the books say, what scientist says what, but the most important aspect of any training is to just do it and do it consistently, don't abuse alcohol, use everything in moderation, give your body a rest, have fun and learn from your mistakes!