Basketball Archives - relative strength advantage

by Yavor - October 1, 2011June 2, 2015

Gaining Muscle By Stuffing Yourself Like A Pig Is A Stupid Idea

A few years ago I was reading this book called Ultimate Diet Secrets from Dr. Gregory Ellis, a nutritional expert. The book itself is a very detailed explanation of the process of losing fat.

On a side note, smart and cute girls hate it when guys get fat and bulky LOL. No seriously, they hate it. Back to Dr. Ellis: He details energy metabolism at a cellular level and offers a practical way to lose weight with a low carbohydrate diet (under 100g of carbohydrates per day), as well as some energy shortage from eating less and exercising a bit more.

The author had interwoven his personal fitness story in between the dry biochemical background. So anyway, what reminded me of this book was the author’s physical culture journey. There are two types of people who develop a keen interest in the workings of the human body.

The First Kind Are Folks Who Are Natural Athletes

by Yavor - February 22, 2009June 3, 2015

You Don’t Have to Be on One Tree Hill to Look Good Naked

Hey what’s up. I wanted to talk about one of my favorite TV shows – One Tree Hill. The reason I’m mentioning this is that it gives a perfect representation of what I am talking about when I describe the lean look and urge you to lose fat first thing. Do it as soon as possible folks. This is the number one key to looking good. That, and having some muscle mass – passing a beginner strength training level is enough. But a low body fat percentage comes first.

This is one of the coolest shows on the tube, at least the first couple of seasons will have you hooked. What is cool about the show is it gives a realistic image of getting a lean and attractive physique. That’s what I always stress – get lean first!

by Yavor - January 23, 2009May 30, 2015

Getting That Hot Celebrity Body – If All Else Fails, Go Pro

Some people want to look just sort of OK. Not too fat, not too skinny and with steady energy levels. The problem with this is that when you shoot for a mediocre target, you may not even accomplish this easy goal. Let me explain.

It’s always better to aim a little higher. To overshoot if you will. Even if you don’t get to your targeted body, you will have achieved a physique way better than average. If you go for mediocrity though, you may get something way below that.

Now, the worst thing would be if you didn’t have a goal at all. You see, the mind works in a way that when you give it a goal or a time constraint, it gives its best to fit everything you do within the parameters of that goal or time constraint.

Enter Parkinson’s Law

by Yavor - January 8, 2009May 30, 2015

Ankle Injuries – How to Avoid Spraining Ligaments and Tendons in Your Foot

Basketball is a sport with very high rate of injury. Because the game itself allows limited contact between players, injuries often occur from being elbowed or shoved. But, the most incidents come from ankle spraining due to either switching directions or landing on someone else’ foot after a jump thus twisting the ankle. It is my favorite sport. I have torn ligaments in both my ankles playing ball but I still love the game.

The ankle is made for mobility so restricting that with a high top shoe is going to bring trouble somewhere else. It’s better to injure the ankle than to tear something in your knee. So, the solution is not taping and bracing the ankle, but strengthening the foot’s tissues – muscles, tendons, ligaments in order to prevent spraining.

Video: Ways To Strengthen The Tissues Of The Foot

Read more

by Yavor - January 4, 2009May 30, 2015

Calf Workouts – The Secrets of Successfully Training Your Calves

I think I became obsessed with basketball during the freshman year of high school. One thing I noticed was that all the older basketball players had great calf development. Well, they probably had good development of their whole bodies, but that was what I noticed cause we were wearing basketball shorts.

Basketball players have good calf development because of their sport. Or is it that they develop their calves for their sport? Which came first? So anyway, I became a calf training fanatic. I remember I had a classmate who was into bodybuilding and I was asking him all the time about ways to develop my calves for basketball.

Here Is What I Learned

by Yavor - January 1, 2009May 31, 2015

Your Reason Why for Getting a Hot Body… Or Any Other Goal

You need a powerful reason why in order to motivate yourself to do what’s necessary to reach your goals. The more reasons you have the better. Try to vividly imagine what it would be like when you achieve your goal. How will you feel? How will it change your life in different situations?

Beautiful women are a big reason why for most guys.

Because goal achievement comes down to doing small step after small step, you have to be motivated to do these incremental advances towards your goal even though there is no short term or immediate gratification. It is easier to do something fun right now than work hard in order to experience something fantastic a little bit later. This applies everywhere – work, dieting, training, etc. But it shouldn’t be like that.

Strong emotional motivators come into play here. You have to imagine in bright colors and feel with all senses how it would feel to have achieved your goal.

Looking Good at the Beach on Your Vacation

Going for a nice relaxing vacation (or a crazy party trip) will feel that much better if you are super fit. Guys could take their shirts of and show off and girls will feel hot and sexy at the beach in their bikinis. You just can’t lose when you are in top shape at an exotic place.

Nothing like feeling fantastic in your skin for that dream vacation.

Sports Domination

by Yavor - December 31, 2008May 30, 2015

Paul Walker’s Into the Blue Workout and Diet Program

I remember watching the movie The Fast and the Furious and thinking how Paul Walker looked like a skinny geek in it. It was especially striking when he was on screen together with big guy Vin Diesel.

So, it was a big surprise to see him so well built in the movie Into the Blue. I think that he now has a physique that looks just right. He is not too big, but definitely has a decent amount of muscle.

Plus he’s super lean and that accentuates his proportions. In fact, I think his transformation is comparable to what Edward Norton did for American History X. But let’s get back to Paul…

How Paul Walker Build His Muscles Mass

by Yavor - December 24, 2008May 31, 2015

Core Training – The Arch Position Gives You Strong Core Muscles and a Healthy Back

Have you ever had lower back problems? Like some sort of pain or pinching sensation? I know I have. In fact one of the first injuries I had was back in 8th grade when I started getting serious in my basketball training.

So back to my story. I was running and all of a sudden changed directions and felt something weird in my lower back.

A Kind of Pinching

by Yavor - December 20, 2008May 31, 2015

Relative Strength Advantage – What Is Fitness?

A lot of confusion seems to exist on the web regarding what being fit means. Is it being as big as possible? Being able to tow trucks or run endlessly? Here is my stance. I believe being fit is pretty much being in shape at around your high school weight, unless you were really skinny or obese in those days.

Being fit means looking good year round. No bulking in the winter and cutting for the summer. You should look good naked all the time.

Being beach ready fit, you are going to feel awesome and your loved one will appreciate it. To look good, you need to have low levels of body fat and high levels of strength for your body weight.