In January of 2011 I tore my entire pectoral on my left side snowboarding. Not only did it ruin that season and this season for snowboarding something else came with it, surgery. I had to have my entire chest repaired which left me with a perplexing conundrum, after the surgery I wouldn't be able to lift for max weight anymore. After getting back into working out in April I've learned something valuable while using lighter weight, using the the proper form the entire way through a workout has yielded much better results in the way I look.

Much of what happens when you get into much higher weights is that it's far more difficult to keep complete control while you're lifting. Often times what people will do (myself included) is use momentum to fully lift the weight, not realizing that doing so you lose about half of the effectiveness of the exercise. The best way to counteract this is to keep your body completely still besides the muscle you're focusing on. If you can't lift a weight with proper form don't be afraid to drop down to a lower weight. One of the advantages of tearing my chest is that I had to start all over again from light weight anyway, so I never had to worry about going backwards in weight.

Something one of my older brothers told me when I was lifting is to focus on the muscle you're exercising. It might seem like a tip that doesn't need to be stressed, but staying focused will allow you to understand the difference between lifting a weight and contracting a muscle, and there's a big difference. The focus should always be on working the muscles, as the purpose of even working out is to stimulate the muscles into growth.

A last piece of advice is to lift according to what you're capable of, not setting a weight that you hope to reach. It's hard sometimes to watch other people lift heavier when you feel you should be doing the same, but not everybody is built the same. Obviously if the only thing you're going for is raw strength and you don't care what your body looks like you should ignore all of this.

TL;DR Maintain proper form the entire way through your workouts and you'll feel and immediate difference.

Posted by Atkins under Fitness, For Guys

It's a lot easier to stay healthy if you have the right foods at your disposal all the time. So here's some things to always keep in your fridge to get you on the right path.

Eggs
Any man who remotely cares about his body will tell you that eggs are the key to success. Not only are they a good source of protein, they're low in calories. If you're eating a lot of them during the day you don't want to eat more than one or two yolks as they're high in cholesterol.

Yogurt
Yogurt is something that a lot of people enjoy and it's healthy so it's something you can keep in your fridge for a snack. The best option is always to go with a plain yogurt as it'll be low in sugar and you can always add fruit to it. I would suggest Greek yogurt as it's high in protein and low in carbohydrates while providing a good source of calcium. Be wary of the fat content though as it can be high.

Hummus
I don't think I've ever really met a person who didn't like hummus so this is good to have in your fridge if you're looking for a different type of snack. Hummus is low in fat and rich in protein, so using this as a dip with whole wheat bread will tide you over until you get some real food.

Milk
Milk should always be in your fridge for obvious reasons. If you're not lactose intolerant it's a good source of calcium, protein and Vitamin D, so there's really no reason it shouldn't be in your fridge all the time.

Whenever people hear the word diet the first thing they think is losing weight. Diet simply means the food that you habitually eat, whether it's good or bad is up to you. There's a lot of other items you could always keep in your fridge like chicken, vegetables, or fruit, but you have Google, use it.

TL;DR Having a fridge with healthy food makes eating healthy a hell of a lot easier when you're hungry.

Posted by Atkins under Fitness, For Guys