TODAYS MOTIVATIONAL PICTURE IS....

ADD A REST-PAUSE TO THE END OF YOUR SET

Using the "rest-pause" principle allows you to extend a set beyond failure. Dorian Yates used this technique to prolong a set of machine shoulder presses after he hit failure at the 8th rep. To squeeze out a couple more, he remained seated and rested again to gather his energy before pressing out one more. He recommends the rest-pause principle as a great strength builder for anyone who is training without a partner and cannot utilise forced reps.
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HIIT To Maintain Muscle While Burning Fat - Even Hours After Gym

HIIT (high intensity interval training) will not only help you shred your body fat faster than endurance cardio, it’s going to help you hold onto more of that hard earned muscle mass as your cutting as well. It’s the old analogy of the sprinter and the marathon runner. Look howthey train and look at their body types. Marathon runners train at a steady pace for long amounts of time while sprinters train by going as hard as they can for a short amount of time followed by a recovery period to get the heart rate back down and then they go hard again. Marathon runners generally have less muscle and more body fat while sprinters have low body fat and hold an impressive amount of muscle mass. Fat burning is a strategy of hours not minutes and interval training will keep your metabolism burning fat for hours after your done while endurance training allows you to come back to normal minutes after being finished.

I have two favorite routines I use for my HIIT training when I need to get my abs ripped for a photo shoot or a competition.

30/30 – 30 seconds fast followed by a 30 second rest interval, repeat. This can really be done on any cardio machine or even on foot outside. My choice is usually the stairmill or stair climber. Start by setting the machine to it’s slowest setting and just go through the motions for the first 30 seconds. Then at the 30 second mark, ramp up the speed to as fast as you can handle for 30 seconds. It should be at speed that makes you struggle to get 30 seconds. After 30 seconds bring the speed back down to super slow and focus on catching your breath, calming your heart rate, and getting your legs back under you during this short 30 second rest. Repeat.

10 second incline sprints, 50 sec rest – Set the treadmill to a 15 degree incline and while straddling the belt, crank the speed up to a speed that’s going to make you struggle to run at for 10 seconds. When the treadmill hits the 1 minute mark, carefully step on to the front middle of the belt holding yourself with your hands until you get your stride, then pump your arms and sprint for 10 seconds. After 10 seconds lift yourself up and straddle the belt. You need to be running at a speed fast enough that you wouldn’t be able to run for 12 or 15 seconds. For the next 50 seconds, just standing there catch your breath, calm your heart rate, and get your legs back. At the 2 minute mark, get back on for another interval.

You only have to do 10-15 minutes of either of those routines at the end of a weight workout to kick start that resting metabolism for hours and hours after you’re done. If you can go much longer, you didn’t go hard enough during speed intervals.

Don't Weight Train On An Empty Stomach

Muscles need amino acids to grow. You need plenty of them around following a weight workout. Amino acids such as leucine, L-glutamine, and Branch Chained Amino Acids are the building blocks of muscle proteins and serve as signalling chemicals that turn on protein synthesis. Researchers from Great Britain and the Netherlands found that protein synthesis was 20% higher in an exercises leg compared to a non-exercised leg after eating a high-protein meal.
They studied the rate of muscle protein synthesis by measuring the muscle uptake of a labelled aminoc acid following unilateral leg presses and leg extensions (one leg exercised, while the other was inactive; 8 sets of 10 reps). They took muscle biopsies from both legs. A practical appplication of this study would be to consume a high-protein energy bar or sake about 30 minutes before a weight-training workout.

Here we have me ( Coskun Erdem ) about to finish up shoulders with some traps.
Oh and a few motivational words to get your ass up and lift baby!
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 Bigger Than Yesterday, Smaller Than Tomorrow. See you guys in the TRENCHES!.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bigger Than Yesterday, Smaller Than Tomorrow. See you guys in the TRENCHES!.

WEAK BODY PART? TRY THIS IN YOUR NEXT WORKOUT!

Okay Trenchers, who here has a weak body part? Something that's lacking compared to the rest? Most of us do and its perfectly fine, it could be genetics, neglecting or you're just not doing it correctly. Here's something I do to tackle this situation.

For the past 2 years I have incorporated FST-7 into my Chest Workout. What is FST-7?? Fascia Stretch Training is a technique that has been a while but officially labelled and made popular by Hany Rambod who trains some of the biggest IFBB pro bodybuilders such as Phil Heath, and 4x Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler. FST-7
The seven refers to 7 sets performed usually as the final exercise of a target body part but can also be in the beginning. Basically you train that bodypart on any given day heavy as you normally would keeping the rep range between 8-12, but the last exercise you perform the seven sets to finish off that particular muscle, with 30 second rest between each set. Make sure you also drink water between each set.

How It Works?
It works by stretching the Fascia which is a layer of fibrous tissue that covers your muscles. By stretching the fascia you allow the muscle to pump more blood into the area. More blood means more nutrients going into your muscle fibres and allowing maximum potential to grow.

I usually do FST-7 in the beginning of my chest workout. I do this because it gives me a great pump, better contractions, and better mind muscle connection while doing the rest of my exercises. Therefore I would start with a cable fly and get that full stretch.

So try that in your next workout, It has worked very well for me.

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 Bigger Than Yesterday, Smaller Than Tomorrow. See you guys in the TRENCHES!.

RESIST THAT TEMPTATION!!

How many times have you gone to your kitchen looking for something to eat or drink and then you see that soda can, or that chocolate bar?. It's something most of us are faced with all the time. It may be just a little snack here and there, but here and there count... every calorie counts. The best WAY TO BURN FAT is to burn more calories than you consume. So why would you consume those extra UNHEALTHY calories?

Put it this way, if you find out how much calories are in what you eat, and how much you burn during your workout, everything becomes REAL. It is like a kick in the face. For example, Tonight I did a chest and calve workout, and after I did approximately 20 mins of cardio on a treadmil at 10% incline, speed 5.0km. Overall I burnt 200+ calories.

Now if I came home, opened the fridge and drank a 355ml Soda Can, That would mean I consumed 155 freakin calories!!!! that's 75% of the calories I tried to burn off on the cardio machine, busting my ass to burn. People make excuses like oh, it's only one can or it's only a little snack, but those little snacks all add up in the end and make the biggest difference.

So before you pick up that Soda Can or Donut, think about how many calories are in there, and how hard you have workout just to burn it!!. Heres a tip. Get rid of all junk food in your home and stop buying it, it makes those impulse urges easier.

No Excuses!!

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Bigger Than Yesterday, Smaller Than Tomorrow. See you guys in the TRENCHES!.

DRINK WATER FOR ULTIMATE WORKOUT??

People can go for days without proper nourishment from food, but no one can survive for long without water, the single most vital nutrient. With just a 2% decrease in body water you could experience a small shrinkage in your brain, which can impair neuromuscular coordination, slowing your concentration and thinking. Dehydration reduced endurance and strength, causes cramping and slows down muscular response, therefore not having maximum response from your training. So grab those water bottles and carry them with you everywhere. I personally drink a minimum of 4litres a day, I always keep a water bottle in my bag and beside my bed.




Bigger Than Yesterday, Smaller Than Tomorrow. See you guys in the TRENCHES!.

This Weeks Motivational Picture: Phil Heath - No Excuses!.

This weeks motivational picture comes from IFBB Pro Phil Heath with a few added words by myself to give that extra push in the gym. Put this as your PC desktop background.. or on your phone.. wherever you'll be able to see it. Train Hard.

Ill see you guys, in the Trenches!.

Bodybuilder Coskun Eating At McDonald's!!!

Yes guys, as you can see in the picture above... I am definitely eating at McDonald's while I SHOULD be dieting and getting lean and ripped.

Every Thursday night we go out to a pool/billiards bar and we enjoy ourselves till about 11pm where we always head to the Maccaz across the road, and I have to sadly say I was convinced AND pressured to go along and eat.

I'm sorry if I've let anyone down, and I apologise.....I'm apologising because this isn't entirely true.

Let me tell you what actually happened and what I really ate..
Because I was aware that we always go to Maccaz afterwards I now bring MY OWN MEAL along... That's right, In the photo I am actually eating 175grams of Tuna and sliced cucumber from a container inside McDonald's!! That's whats up. 

There are some sacrifices you HAVE to make in order to achieve your goals, without dedication, consistency and sacrifice, you won't accomplish anything. So hopefully this gives you that extra push to not get pressured into eating that fatty burger or whatever and eat healthy. TIME TO GET THEM ABS BABY.

Coskun signing out.

See you guys in the trenches!!

Morning Cardio On An Empty Stomach For Ultimate Fat Burn

Good Morning Trenchers, I just came back from a 90 minute morning cardio session and I'm going to discuss the benefits of this, in the sense of burning fat and calories.
Alright so we've all heard about morning cardio on an empty stomach and how it helps burn fat quicker, even though there are many other opinions about it. But how does it actually work?. An d how can it help you lose fat?

- It's very simple actually. The main reason why I & many bodybuilders believe it is the most effective time to incorporate a cardio session is because of your glycogen (carbs) levels. Most trainers would vouch and say it takes 20 minutes of cardio or exercising before you start to burn fat whilst glycogen levels in your body are still high. Once it has been depleted, your body begins to burn your fat resources. Therefore because your body has been in a fasted state whilst sleeping over night, your glycogen storage levels are at its lowest and you can begin the fat burning process much sooner.

However, I would only recommend working out on an empty stomach in the morning and not before your/a weight training session. I usually try to get a minimum of 2-3 meals before a weight training workout because it enables my body to be in a Anabolic state therefore increased optimum muscle hypotrophy (more on this in upcoming blogs).

Okay so get your ass up in the morning, put your poor couped up dog on a leash or whatever it takes and get you morning cardio on!. You have NO EXCUSES, and no one to blame but yourself!. If I can drag my ass out of bed and walk/jog, why the hell can't you? Try to do at least a minimum of 30mins and maximum of 60-90 minutes.

If you are worried about MUSCLE LOSS, than don't. If you eat sufficiently enough right after your cardio session which IS A MUST! and through out the day with GOOD carbs, proteins, and good FATS your body will not go in a catabolic state and eat up your protein sources. IF you are that worried try to take Branched Chained Amino Acids (BCAA's) and L-Glutamine 5gms each 15 mins before and after.

This isn't dinner, this is meal F#@kin number 5!! Getting it down!

- You read it right, this is meal number 5 for the day out of 7



- It Consists of 200grams of Spring Water Tuna which is a great source of Omega-3 and especially protein.
- To help with the taste I like toss in sliced cucumber or olives.


This meal has become a staple in my diet because it is quick, convenient, cheap, and a good source of protein. The reason why there are no carbohydrates in my meal at the moment is because with my new diet plan to get ripped and lean involves no consumption of carbohydrates after a certain time. Today's time is 7pm.

Overall with the cucumber it is a very tasty meal.

Welcome to The Iron Trenches

Hey everyone, this is Coskun Erdem and welcome to bodybuilding SLASH fitness blog.

What to expect from my blog?

- In this blog you can expect a lot of interesting content to focus on key fitness and bodybuilding issues such as;

  1 - Training blogs, demonstration videos, tips, advice from professionals, photos, and more

  2 - Nutritional guidance/tips, How to burn fat fast and easy, get lean for bodybuilding competitions, get lean

     and ripped for summer

  3 - Supplement reviews, which ones actually work, and which ones are just marketing rubbish

  4 - What I do on a day to day basis to reach my goals and objectives.

  5 - I'll be giving out FREE training routines and nutritional plans

  6 - Teaching you methods and long-term key motivational skills to get off the couch, away from the

       computer and actually reaching your goals in life.

  7 - And much more.

You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel here http://www.youtube.com/user/coskunerdem

Where you can see my progress over the past 5 years and I will also be uploading my videos there first so for instant and quick content subscribe.

Here are a few photos of my current accomplishments, where I've been and the progress I've made thus far. 

There will be plenty more photos coming soon, I'll also be posting up photos/wallpapers I use to motivate myself to get off my ass and into the gym or to eat clean so hopefully you guys can also vibe off that, I will be posting content daily about all things bodybuilding, fitness, burning fat, and anything in between. So keep coming back as you will find something new and hopefully interesting.

Alright Trenchers, Coskun signing out for now, hopefully I'll see you guys and girls In the Trenches.