All that was left of his grueling, months-long training plan before heading off to the world masters’ powerlifting championships was one final heavy lift. Just finish one more massive hoist then rest for a couple of days until it was time to compete.

After loading 625 pounds of plates onto the bar — roughly the equivalent of three full-size refrigerators — he grabbed it, bent his knees and began to rise as he’d done hundreds and hundreds of times before.

Which is when he heard the grotesque pop.

“My bicep tendon tore right off my arm,” Andy Childs says.

Disgusting? Yeah, sorry. Hope you weren’t eating while you were reading that.

Anyway, the 44-year-old fitness club owner and two-time national champion braced for the ensuing flash of agony but it never arrived, only because there aren’t nerve endings at that spot. Still, when he placed the bar back down, he knew something was seriously wrong because the muscle had rolled up like an unblown New Years’ noisemaker and was now in a ball at his shoulder.

By the next day, his entire arm looked like it had been soaked in grape press. A week later, bad turned worse when he had excruciating reattachment surgery that involved drilling through a bone in his forearm and weaving the tendon through the hole and back into place.

That was May 2008.

A year later, Childs amazingly rehabbed himself, got back to training and won a silver medal in the squat and a bronze in the deadlift at the world championship, leading to an overall third-place finish.

To the average guy who whines and complains about his sore back when he has to hoist a full box of Christmas decorations up from the basement, hearing about a guy coming back from an injury like that to lift again surely serves as confirmation that the concept of powerlifting smacks of some form of masochistic looniness.

Yet, if that’s the case, what does it mean if a guy does it a second time?

Just a few days after setting personal bests at the Ontario championships early in his comeback at the start of 2010, Childs was working on his squat when he heard another pop. This time it came from his knee. And this time he didn’t escape the pain.

“I finished the lift,” the Ancaster resident says. “I did another set to make sure it was damaged and then went to have it examined.”

Turns out, yes, a loud popping noise combined with excruciating anguish equals a problem. In this case a torn meniscus. With surgery not available for several months, he continued to train — “like an idiot,” he laughs — until it could be repaired.

When it finally happened in July, the surgeon told him never to jump, lunge or squat again. Ever.

So, of course, a couple months later he was back under the bar. Preparing at full speed to get back into the sport, this time in the Classic category that doesn’t require participants to wear supportive equipment such as those incredibly tight singlets he laughingly admits makes guys look like they’re being squeezed through a sausage press.

Two years after his last competition, a not quite bionic but certainly rebuilt Childs returned to the sport and won the whole event. Not only that, he set Canadian records in the deadlift (606 pounds), the bench press (371 pounds) and total weight moved (1,477 pounds). Considering where he came from — and that he only took up the sport in 2005 — it was an amazing accomplishment.

Early in the new year, he’ll be gunning for a provincial title. The nationals follow in April. The worlds are later in the year. He’ll be looking for another handful of medals and a few more record certificates.

As long as he doesn’t hear anything pop, that is.

sradley@thespec.com

905-526-2440

1. Sleep: Do not cheat yourself on a good night’s rest. If you deprive your body of sleep, it must find energy in other ways, meaning eating more calories to stay awake and alert. Also, when we are tired, we tend to make poorer food choices and will eat foods that give us immediate pleasure. Enough sleep is important, but regulate yourself with an alarm clock. Try to go to sleep and wake at the same times each day (within reason). Ideally you should be in bed by 11:00pm and awake by 7:00am. This will help to regulate your circadian rhythms (your sleep-wake cycle) and has a profound effect on mood regulation.

2. Combination of Diet and Exercise: Without combining these two elements your success will be limited. A lot of people think that because they exercise, they can eat whatever they want – but this is not the case. Working out will help to gain muscle, but unless they cut back on calories, they may not notice a change in their actual size. A regular exercise schedule which includes both cardio and strength training is a very important part of your program. You must be active and try to do some exercise every day, even if it is just doing some yoga and/or stretching in front of the TV at night.

3. Stress Management: When you’re stressed out, your body is lacking in a number of areas – sleep, nutrition, digestion, and overall sense of well-being. Similar to sleep  deprivation, when people are under stress, they reach for food to cope. When someone’s life is filled with stress, they feel like time is limited and neglect exercise even though it is one of the best things you can do to lower your stress level.

4. Don’t Skip Meals: Skipping meals will play havoc with your blood sugar levels and will program your body to store additional fat. You may also lower your metabolic rate and lose muscle tissue. Your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism becomes sluggish to compensate for the lack of fuel. Instead of missing a meal, use a nutrition bar or meal replacement powder to make a nutritious drink. These can help you stick to your program when you don’t have the time for a “sit-down” meal. People who eat breakfast everyday consume fewer total calories during the day then those who don’t.

5. Avoid Late Night Eating: Eat dinner no less than 4 hours before bedtime. For example, if you regularly go to bed at 11 pm, do not eat dinner after 7 pm. Snacks are allowed 3 hours before bed. Try to not eat past 8pm. Your body begins to slow down its  metabolic rate in the evening as it prepares for the overnight fast and repair processes that occur while you sleep.

6. Don’t be Discouraged: Aim for consistency in your lifestyle, not perfection. You will have the occasional meal that’s not perfect. When you get off track, don’t let it slow you down! Make it positive and enjoy the divergence; then rekindle your goals and get back on your program with your very next meal.

7. Control Calories: Try not to consume more than 500 calories per meal for males and 400 calories per meal for females. This is the maximum number of calories most people can consume and metabolize in one meal without storing fat. Never eat until you are over-full. Notice the feeling of fullness and stop eating!  Also notice when you get hungry.

8. Learn Portion Control: Use these guidelines:

• Your portion of protein should not exceed the size and thickness of your palm;
• Your fruits and vegetables (excluding calorie-dense starches) should equal that of two loose fists.
• If you are eating a high-glycemic starchy carbohydrate (potatoes, pasta, white rice, or breads), your portion should equal the size of one clenched fist.

9. Water Intake: It is not uncommon to mistake hunger for thirst.  Keeping yourself well hydrated during the day will discourage this misjudgement.

10. Use Supplements for Support: There are many natural products that can help you control your appetite, burn fat and improve metabolism so losing weight becomes easier. Review the product lists at the end of each chapter and see if some of these products are right for you.

Soy has many health benefits and can act as a perfect substitute for many of your favorite unhealthy food choices. As milk, veggie burgers and soy cheeses, or as the perfect addition to any stir-fry, regular consumption of soy can help reduce your risk of heart disease, ease the symptoms of menopause and help prevent osteoporosis.

Soy for a Healthy Heart

In October 1999, the Food and Drug Administration gave manufacturers permission to label products that contain soy with the health claim, “May help lower the risk of heart disease”. This health claim is only allowed if the product has 6.25 grams or more of soy protein per serving and is low in saturated fat and cholesterol. This number came from studies that found a diet containing as little as 25 grams of soy protein per day can help to reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) and increase HDL (good cholesterol), as well as reduce hypertension. However, ingesting 25 grams of soy protein per day without following a proper diet will not produce heart health benefits.

Cancer-Fighthing Benefits

Studies show that regular consumption of soy products may protect against some forms of cancers such as breast, uterine and prostate.

Soy contains compounds called isoflavones, which are also known as phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are the plant form of estrogen. They appear to be equivalent to the human form of estrogen, without negative side effects. It is believed that isoflavones are the cancer-fighting compounds of soy, acting by blocking a protein called tyrosine kinase, which promotes the growth of tumor cells.

Studies show a positive relationship between moderate soy intake and a decrease in cancer rates. Other studies report these anticancer benefits are greater when soy is consumed throughout a lifetime, particularly starting in the preadolescent years. More research is needed in this area to make a direct connection between soy intake and reduced cancer rates.

Women’s Health

Soy has been found to relieve symptoms of menopause. The isoflavones in soy mimic the effects of human estrogen, easing symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause, such as hot flashes and bloating.

Breakfast: Drink another glass of water with breakfast or substitute with a cup of herbal tea.

Mid morning: Snack on a piece of juicy fruit and have another glass of water. Perhaps add some chlorella or spirulina for added health benefits.

Lunch: Have some soup for lunch or have a glass of water or herbal tea before your meal.

Mid afternoon: Snack on some crunchy vegetables and drink a glass of water while you are preparing your evening meal.

Dinner: Drink a glass of water before your meal with 1-2 tsp of apple cider vinegar to improve your digestion.

Evening: Before going to bed, drink your final glass of water and retire for the night!

When you start to increase your daily water intake, there are many great benefits. You may notice your skin tone significantly improve and even better recovery in your muscles. Many people find that they have increased energy, and decreased constipation and headaches, as well as reduced hunger pains.

Click here to read how she’s coming along.

Keep up the great work Jen!

To read her new blog post click here.

Just a couple of points that render different points of view from everyone!!

Whats best? Quality or Quantity?
Is it how you lift? or What you lift? Or to take it one step farther……what type of lifts?

What do you think?
Whatever you are doing now, do you think its working? Is there something that would work better? More efficiently?

Well, probably!! I am a firm believer in all of the above! Yes all 3 factors can be applied together. Not every workout needs to be a record breaker, not all exercises were created equal, and change is the spice of life!!

SO……If you change the weight, rep range……lets wait here for a minute. As you all know I have blogged about rep range before. If your failure point “normally” is around 10ish. Maybe change it to 16ish, or 6ish. Whatever it is….it should be new!!

Now for Variety, for example….if you normally start chest with a bench press of some kind. You know barbell, dumbell, incline, etc. Maybe start with Flies, push ups……anything different. Every guy in the gym, sorry I can’t speak for the ladies, wants a big bench. Well when was the last time you pumped out 50 or 100 push ups!! Wanna big bench? Gotta push!!

How to lift, I am a firm believer in lifting heavy! Not all the time, but depending on your goals, MOST of you should lift heavier, some of you should lift more often, some of you need to change what exercises you are doing, some of you should lift more often!!

Enjoy!!!
To be big…you gotta lift big!!
To be Lean, you gotta burn lean.

Exercise is a lifestyle not a building that says Fitness on the outside!!

Need Help??
Just ask me

Blog by: Chris Roberts

For rehab, core and stability, I think they are one of the best! For mass, strength, size,and the average “body builder” type…….useless!

How strong can you get your core from standing on one? Standing on one leg on one upside down? Then what?

My opinion is that once your core is strong…..its strong!! You need to”advance the front lines” so to speak. Move on, build up, better,faster , stronger. The Bosu is NOT the end all and be all to core strength and conditioning. Try some “pistol squats”, “one legged squats”, “plyometrics.” I think one of the best things for core strength is to reverse it!!! We all can agree that all things strong start from the ground up. Correct? So lets remove the ground!! Lets balance on the ball ( nothing touching the ground remember), lets hang from a chin -up bar, lets get on the TRX!!

All the exercises above are done with minimal equipment, but MAX effort!!

You think you got what it takes?? This is an open Challenge? You think your core is strong? I’ll make it stronger! Think you’ve reached your limit?I’ll show you no limits!

Think your flexible enough? We’ll see how flexible you are!!

You have no where to go but up from here!
Today is the first day of the rest of your life!! Make it count!!

Pain is certain…..BUT suffering is optional

Bring it on!!

Blog by Chris Roberts