Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is one of the weightlifting power performance foods, yet is one that many people over look. This is strange given everyone knows about the great nutritional values of nuts, I suppose the issue is that they see the word butter in the name and worry about all the fat.

For those lacking the ability to take in the calories they need, peanut butter is the food for them. For those who find it hard to take in their daily intake of good fats and proteins...peanut butter is the food for them.

Granted peanut butter shouldnt be eaten constantly, but for those who wish to make the most from their training a good spoonful of the nutty buttery goodness wont hurt.

For those who are unsure the nutritional facts speak for themselves.

100 grams of peanut butter roughly returns the following

Calories - 599
Protein - 28 grams
Fat - 53 grams (only 9 grams from saturates with a Cholesterol of zero)
Carbohydrates - 15 grams (4 grams of sugar and 9 grams of fibre)

Peanut butter also accounts for the following of a mans daily intake

Vitamin A - 6%
Vitamin C - 1%
Iron - 8%

Overhead Squat

The overhead squat is a training exercise that fits into the compound group of exercises as it uses two or more joint movements throughout the lift.

Unlike the standard squat the overhead squat is alot more punishing on the body and takes alot more time to master. Once the movement is mastered the overhead squat is an amazing tool to add to any training schedule and will really improve the strength and size of a persons legs.

The overhead squat utilises the following muscles

Primary Muscle Worked: Quadriceps
Secondary Muscles Worked: Lower Back, Hamstrings, Calves, Shoulders, Glutes

Overhead Squat

Equipment - Barbell of desired weight

Preparation - Move forward to a power rack with the barbell at shoulder height. Hold the barbell with an overhand (pronated) grip at shoulder height and use the snatch technique to lift the bar above your head. Place your legs in a wide stance and your toes pointing slightly outwards (this reduces the possibilities of damaging the knee).

Keep your feet (including the heel) flat on the ground for the whole movement.

Movement - Squat down by lowering your hips so they come between the heels of your feet. Keep your back straight and face forward throughout the whole movement.

Push through the floor with your feet and extend your legs and hips until your standing in the comlpete upright position you started in.

Note - Remember to start with an empty bar and build weight gradually to ensure you have correct form and do not try to lift heavier than you can. This is very important as stability can be difficult to obtain with the weight above your head.

Reps/Sets 8 to 15 reps for 4 sets

Overhead Squat

Eugene Sandow Father of Bodybuilding

Eugene Sandow may not be known to many but he is the pioneer who is crowned as the father of modern bodybuilding.

Eugene was born Friederich Wilhelm Muller in Prussia in 1867 (for those who don't know this is Kaliningrad in Russia).

Story has it that Friederich Wilhelm Muller left Prussia to avoid conscription to the military forces and found his way to London in the United Kingdom. He soon started appearances on the London stage where he was seen by Florenz Ziegfeld.

Ziegfeld signed a contract with Maurice Grau who was the boss of Muller. The contract stipulated that Grau would get 10% of all gross receipts Ziegfeld made from using Muller in his acts.

Muller created the stage name Eugene Sandow and Ziegfeld took Sandow to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It was here that Ziegfeld noticed that while the people in the audience enjoyed Sandows show of strength lifting heavy weights it was his physique that interested them most. Because of this Ziegfeld got Sandow to work on movements that accentuated his physique, much like the bodybuilding poses of today.

Sandow was in a couple of short films in the 1880 and early 1890's before he actually came out of contract and built his own bodybuilding gym in 1897 called the the Institute of Physical Culture.

In 1901 Sandow held the very first Bodybuilding contest, this was on September 14, 1901 in the Royal Albert Hall.

After much success in life and gaining the friendship of some very distinguished people such as Thomas Edison and even King George V, Eugene Sandow passed away in 1925 aged 58 after having a stroke.