A blog about how to be better at training, nutrition and life
with the intent to educate, inform and discuss. 

Five Strength Exercises For Cyclists! Your guide to better performance on the road.

Posted by Brad Borland on Friday, September 3, 2010 , In : Features 


By the time this article posts Lance Armstrong will have completed his final Tour de France race closing out a monumental career in cycling as the winningest competitor of that competition to date. Many miles were logged in preparation for such an event by every single athlete on those roads. For many, this process is years in the making as they pound and push towards the finish. Being prepared for such a journey is essential for even thinking about taking on such a task.

Although enduran...


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Intention

Posted by Brad Borland on Monday, August 30, 2010 , In : Between Sets 

"Potentiality doesn’t become an actuality until you add the ingredient of intention.
- David Hawkins

We show up in this world loaded with potential - lots of it.  We arrive with natural gifts and talents, and a brain and body to learn and develop even more.   We're simply amazing -  unique from all other species on earth.

So why do so many smart, talented, gifted people let their potential just sit there in neutral?   Why do so many settle for so much less than they're capable of becoming?  W...
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Non-Traditional Cardio: Rethink your fat-loss options

Posted by Brad Borland on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 , In : Training 


Treadmills, elipticals, stairclimbers, stationary bikes… the list goes on and on when it comes to your choices regarding how to shed those unwanted pounds. Let’s face it, steady-state cardio can get boring and downright depressing when faced with 60, 45 or even 30 minutes of the stuff - not that good ole traditional cardio does not have its place in a program, far from it. Training specificity clearly dictates that in order to excel at a chosen sport or activity one must practice (train a...


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Practice

Posted by Brad Borland on Monday, August 23, 2010 , In : Between Sets 

"Quantity gives experience.  From experience alone can quality come." -
Ray Bradbury, prolific writer
 
Want to get better at what you do?  Do more of it.
 
How many sketches and paintings did Leonardo da Vinci create before he was ready for the Mona Lisa?  Thousands?
 
How many thousands of miles did Roger Bannister run before he was ready to become the first human to break the four minute mile? 
 
In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell discusses the 10,000 hour rule: that it typic...

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Details

Posted by Brad Borland on Monday, August 16, 2010 , In : Between Sets 

"Sweat the small stuff."

From 2000 to 2006, the average PGA championship winner earned $1.06 Million.  Second place finishers averaged about $540 Thousand.  The margin of difference in scores between first and second place was 1.71 strokes - less than a half stroke a day over the duration of the tournament.

What small stuff are you ignoring?  What small stuff, what seemingly minor improvements in your daily disciplines, could make a huge difference in the results you see in your life?
 
P...


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Your Quest At Chiseling Rock-Hard Abs!

Posted by Brad Borland on Friday, August 13, 2010 , In : Features 


One of the most sought-after bodyparts by trainers everywhere is abdominals. It seems everybody wants them, but few have them. Many toil away in the gym with sit-up after sit-up and crunch after crunch only to face sore abs and a declining motivation. Others don’t worry at all about their abs and neglect training them all together. They are many times seen as an after thought, tacked onto the end of a session only to be undertrained with little or no focus.

The abdominal area or midsectio...


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Invert for More Back Activation: Try rack pulls for more back mass and width

Posted by Brad Borland on Tuesday, August 10, 2010 , In : Training 


Have you toiled away at rows and lat pulldowns for years with little to show for them but a sore lower back and underdeveloped lats? The inverted rack pull (sometimes known as rack chins) may be the secret to your back-building arsenal you have been searching for all these years. With a little set-up at your local gym or even at home, you can be on your way to a more effective method of developing your back.

Want proof? Recent research has found that the rack pull can activate the muscles o...


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Strength

Posted by Brad Borland on Wednesday, August 4, 2010 , In : Between Sets 

"I can't!"

Learned helplessness is your enemy. It's the syndrome marked by pessimism, of quitting and giving up, of deciding not to start in the first place.  It's triggered by fear of failure and fear of loss, and surfaces in times of uncertainty and risk.  If you allow it to grow, it will stop your forward movement, it will block you from reaching your dreams.  And,,, it will feed depression and diminish your sense of well-being.

The good news: You can overcome learned helplessness.  You can ...
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Bodybuilding 101: 60 Rules for a Better Physique!

Posted by Brad Borland on Monday, August 2, 2010 , In : Features 


Do you need a refresher course in building a more massive, stronger and leaner body? We all know the basics of bodybuilding: lift heavy, eat the right foods and supplements and get plenty of rest, but at times we forget a few details that can make all the difference. A tip here and a piece of advice there can build up into one strong arsenal of knowledge. Little by little we can move beyond our limits and accomplish what we once thought was impossible. Here are 60 short reminders to get you t...


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Experience

Posted by Brad Borland on Thursday, July 29, 2010 , In : Between Sets 

"... If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon."-
Emil Zatopek, 1952 Olympic Marathon gold medalist

Emil Zatopek, the "Czech Locomotive," had already won the gold for his prime events - the 5K and 10K races -  at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.  And then he decided at the last minute to go one step further and try the marathon - the first one of his life.  He won.

Zatopek was focused on the experience of challenging himself - becoming more ...

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