Introduction to Fox Fitness

Hello! Thank you for visiting my blog! Here I will post my workouts and progress as well as reviews of supplements and routines. To me fitness is not only a way to stay in shape but also a hobby. My goal is to inspire many other people to adopt fitness as a hobby and to lead healthier life styles.

In addition to my routines and supplementation reviews I would like to answer questions anyone may have about fitness! So please ask away!

FOX

Beginner Cardio Routine

Often if people are very out of shape (everyone needs to start somewhere!) they are recommended to start with a cardiovascular routine. The routine I recommend to my friends that are looking to get into fitness is titled Couch To 5k it is a program designed by Josh Clark of Cool Running.

This program is to give people a steady challenge that does not burn them out in the beginning phases of their journey to fitness. Below is the routine in an easy to follow format.

Beginner Weight Lifting Routine Part 1 of 3

I am personally a big fan of compound movements. The most common compound weightlifting movements are squat, bench-press, and dead-lift.  My firm belief is that all beginners should start with a simple compound movement based routine.

One of the best beginner routines was created by Mark Rippetoe, a world famous power lifter. His starting routine is called Starting Strength.

Mark Rippetoe

This routine is one of the best for beginners looking to gain basic strength before moving onto a more advanced routine. The Starting Strength routine is as follows:

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench press

1x5 Dead lift

Workout B

3x5 Squat

3x5 Standing Military Press

3x5 Power Cleans

These workouts would occur on non-consecutive days. For example:

Week One

Monday: Workout A

Wednesday: Workout B

Friday: Workout A

Week Two

Monday: Workout B

Wednesday: Workout A

Friday: Workout B

For reference here is a before and after picture of  amateur body builder Ironwake doing starting strength for 24 weeks.

This is the first of three posts on a beginner lifting routine! Stay tuned for updates.

Beginner Weight Lifting Routine Part 2 of 3

In my previous post you can see the Starting Strength routine that I most often recommend to beginners in fitness. In this post I will be showing the most important part of these exercises, form.

Form is essential to staying healthy in the gym and getting the most out of your weightlifting routine. Remember to never sacrifice form just to put more weight on the bar, you will not see better gains in the gym and you risk injuring yourself.

The Squat- The squat is one of the most important and effective compound exercises that you can do. However you must make sure you are completing every repetition of your workout with proper form. Here is a video you should watch to learn about proper squatting form.

Bench Press- The bench press is different because many people will tell you to do it different ways. Also the proper form for benching is also uncomfortable at fist. However if you do it properly as illustrated in this video however you will see not only bigger strength gains but also bigger muscular gains in the chest.

Dead Lift- It is vital you watch this video on how to dead lift as it is a fairly dangerous exercise if preformed incorrectly. However it is also an exercise that is vital for strength and future muscular gains.

Standing Military Press- This is a great exercise to work out shoulders and back. It is good to learn proper form to protect your shoulder rotatorcuff from damage.

Power Cleans- This is my personal favourite exercise. It is tough to master the form for these but the strength and explosive power this exercise gives is second to none for beginners.

So there you have it! All the form you need to know before you begin your routine! Remember to stick around to hear the next section of my beginner weightlifting plan!

Beginner Weight Lifting Routine Part 3 of 3

Now that I have showed you a basic routine you must be wondering how much weight you should start with. The first few times you go to the gym to must try to get the most you can do for the repetitions and sets required. You must always try to hit the number of repetitions for each exercise to get the most out of your workout.

Progression on starting strength is known as Linear Progression, or progression that is constant. What this means is that you will want to always try to add 5 pounds to the bar each day you do the exercise. So if on Monday you squat 100 pounds on Wednesday you should squat 105.

To keep track of your progress a fellow lifter of mine (Max S.) recommended you keep a training log. His training log is one of the most detailed I have ever seen and shows what he ate, and how he felt in the gym. Yours does not need to be this detailed, but it is vital you keep track of your lifts so you can see your progress. Here is an example training log from Dave Draper-

Moving Forward-

I recommend you do this beginner routine for 4-6 months trying to keep it as consistent as possible. This will give you a good base to move onto different intermediate routines depending on what you are training for (sports, looks, powerlifting). Remember everyone needs to start somewhere and if you get a good base you are less likely to fizzle out down the road.

Stay tuned for a nutrition guide for beginner fitness.

Thanks for reading,

FOX

ON Gold Standard 100% Whey Delicious Strawberry Review

I have just finished a tub of ON Gold Standard 100% Whey Delicious Strawberry protein powder.

I have tried quite a few different protein powders throughout my last three years of training, and I will be reviewing them one at a time. Whey and other forms of protein powders are great ways to supplement your diet by adding additional protein, carbohydrates, and fats. You should not base your diet off of protein powders.

Review:

Macro-nutrients-(9/10)
On the nutritional standpoint ON 100% Whey Protein is pretty good. For one serving you are getting:

110 Calories

1g  Fat

2g Carbohydrates

24g Protein

This is very good if what you are looking for is mostly protein with few carbs or fats. If you find it hard to gain weight and muscle I would recommend a powder with more carbohydrates and fats in addition to the protein.

Mixability-(9/10)
The Delicious Strawberry flavour mixes very easily and I found that when using a shaker bottle there were never any clumps, and there were few to none even if I just used a glass and a spoon.


Taste- (5/10) 
Unfortunately the Delicious Strawberry protein powder falls short in the taste department. I found it decent when mixed with milk, but when mixed with water it was hard to drink. The taste is very artificial and doesn't taste like fresh strawberries at all. However when mixed into a fruit smoothie the taste can be masked.


Overall- (7/10)
With all the other flavours for ON Whey I do not see why you would buy this flavour. I would recommend a non-fruit flavour as they often taste much better. However if you do not care about taste this product does its duty giving you protein and few other sugar fillers. 

My Current Routine

Currently I am training for rugby and doing Olympic lifts. In additions I do swimming as cardio on my off days. My currently lifting routine is created by Dan John (his site: http://danjohn.net/). I am doing his beginner Olympic lifting routine, and I am seeing pretty good linear progression. In addition to 


Here is my current weekly routine.


Monday/Wednesday/Friday:
Stretching- For my stretching I do shoulder dislocations and foam rolling as well as various static stretches.
Snatch- 8 Sets of 2
Clean and Jerk- 8 Sets of 1
Front Squat- 5 Sets of 5
Press- 5 Sets of 3


Tuesday:
Jog- One mile
Swim- Various strokes 15 laps


Thursday:
Jog- One mile
Rugby Practice


Saturday and Sunday:
Rest and Recovery


Note- Tuesday's swim is at a moderate pace and is mostly to stretch sore muscles.


So there you have it! My current routine!


FOX

Training The Mind As Well As The Body

To some people the only thing that matters is getting the perfect physique. However good overall health comes from training both the body and the mind. My favourite way to train the mind is by reading books. I am currently reading a French novel titled The Red and The Black. I have a firm belief that the mind is just as powerful as the body and when you sharpen your mind, you sharpen the body as well.

Some books that I would recommend-


The Road by Cormac Mccarthy
-This is a post apocolyptic tale of a boy and man who travel a long way in a destroyed world. Very good read. Vivid detail that is sometimes disturbing but always enjoyable.

The Odyssey by Homer
-This is one of the first epic tales mankind produced. A must read for anyone into classic literature.

Walden by Henry Thoreau
-A deep novel about psychological, economic, and social topics. A classic by anyone's terms.

I have countless other books and I plan to make posts of them in the future. However if you need to hear about books and enjoy cynical humour you should check out http://crustycritique.blogspot.com/ his reviews are often hilarious and menacing, but there are also some gems of poetry.

Thanks for reading,
FOX