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Archive for January, 2012

Check Your “Ego At The Door”

26 Jan

     Never Sacrifice Form for The Amount Of Weights You CAN LIFT…..

     In just about every gym I have ever visited, 95% of the people are performing exercises the wrong way. You can thank  magazines, fitness myths, training fads, out of shape trainers, marketing gimmicks, etc. for this misinformation. Sacrificing form for the amount of weights you can lift does nothing more than feed your ego. What does this mean? Performing exercises incorrectly leads to injury. Injuries keep you out of the gym with your goals slipping further away.

     You should ask yourself a couple of questions before you begin each exercise.

  1. “What muscle will I be working? You should already know ahead of time before you approach the weight rack or machine which muscle will be targeted. Example: when performing squats: the focus is on your glutes (buttocks), quadreceps, and lower back while maintaining proper alignment throughout the entire lift. Use no/light weight until you perfect the exercise.
  2. “Do I Know the Proper Range of Motion for this Exercise?” -This is probably one of most violated rules I encounter while watching others. Every exercise should have a starting point and an ending point, know them. When you lack full range of motion, you lack results. Perform each exercise to the fullest and you will always come out on top.
  3.  “How many reps should I perform?” Never under any circumstance should you stop a set just because you have completed some number of repetitions. Focus on a range of repetitions such as 9 to 12 reps with the 12th rep being dificult to complete, but once again, maintaining proper form and alignment throughout the lift. If you can perform 15 to 20 reps, increase the resistance applied.
  4. “How much weight should I use?” If you can perform a total of at least 6 repititions properly, then the weight is sufficient. If not, reduce the weight preventing injury. NEVER MAX OUT. End of Story! I get this question often, mostly from young gentlemen…….”How much do you bench?” My answer, “Enough”. Who cares? It doesn’t mean anything.
  5. Make your body suffer! Enjoy the burn and get used to the feeling. Focus on quality over quantity. I enjoy running stairs for my cardiovascular exercise. If I can’t get to a skyrise, I will train on the stairmaster at the gym. The key here is to let go of the side rails and let your legs do the work. If it’s too fast, slow the speed and vice versa. There are no side rails in the backwoods!
  6. ALWAYS USE PROPER ALIGNMENT!!!!!!! A general rule of thumb, keep your ears, shoulders, and hips in a line on all exercises performed.
 

     

     If you take these 6 rules and apply them on every training session and exercise you perform, you will Hunt Strong.  Functional exercising leads to a life long of  hunting success with minimal to no injuries. So next time you want to impress your friends or others, think twice, it could cost you your health. 

      

 
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Posted in Training

 

Backwoods Life, Treated by Southern Hospitality!

08 Jan

     

     As the season comes to an end in South Georgia, Backwoods Life visits Trophy Georgia Hunts with owners Gary and Mel in hopes of a late season harvest. Trophy Georgia Hunts is located in Newton, Georiga just inside Baker County about 60 miles north of Tallahassee, Florida. They offer deer, turkey, hog hunts, and the best southern hospitality you will ever find. With more than 5,000 acres of hardwood bottoms, pines, big plush green food plots, and multiple natural funnels full of  game travel routes, Trophy Georgia Hunts is  ideal for your success in the backwoods. There are 50+ stands with very little hunting pressure.

     This time of year in Georgia, the weather is relatively cold with lows in the 20′s and 30′s and highs hovering around the 50′s. Food sources are relatively dense, so well-kept food plots nestled along hardwood bottoms is a great source of vegetation for game. Unfortunately, we were not blessed with such big buck harvesting weather. The lows were in the 50′s with a high of 75 degrees during the day and not to mention, a full moon. You know what that means? Deer activity for the most part will be in the middle of the night, especially since the deer were bundled up in their winter coats. Think about it? Would you want to go outside with 75 degree weather wearing your winter jacket, makes sense doesn’t it? We were there to have fun, Hunt Strong, and give it our best shot, after all any time spent living The Backwoods Life, is time well spent.

     Based on conditions beyond our control, Gary and the rest of the Backwoods Life Crew decided to break up the day into three different hunts on Saturday and one hunt on Sunday morning. The plan was to hunt from sun up to about 9:30 a.m., come out for a bite to eat and some push ups, back in to a different spot for the middle of the day, and then setting up on food plots in our GhostBlinds for the afternoon hunt. In all the stands we sat, I could picture a big buck appearing before my very own eyes. The stands have very low pressure on game and we were situated with the wind in our favor. Hunters Kevin Knighton and myself, Davie “Crockett” Ferraro, were ready to squeeze the hammer on a Georgia giant and make them famous on Backwoods Life T.V. Andrew Atkins was videoing Kevin and I was being videoed by none other, Backwoods Life Celebrity, The Michael Lee. But only because Michael Lee was a buck harvesting machine this year with both of his buck tags filled with bone and mass. Whatever the reason, I was still honored to be on the other side of the camera.

    

     What did we see? Kevin and Andrew had a spike enter their food plot on Saturday afternoon, and Michael and I saw about a 2 year old buck present himself on Saturday as well, only visible with the light of the full moon and our Hawke binoculars. We are not always successful on every hunt, that’s why they call it hunting and not harvesting. The bottom line, we all had an absolute blast with all the other hunters in camp sharing stories of our misses, mishaps, and of course, our success’s. I, myself, have made two very good friends, Gary and Mel, and I promise you, we will experience many memories in the future filled with antlers and multiple feathers.

     Gary has hunted his entire life with his walls covered in trophies and Mel is one of the most energetic people I have ever met and not to mention, she ain’t afraid to accompany Gary’s collection of backwoods success with some of her own. You will not be diappointed by any means if you book with Gary and Mel. They will go out of their way to ensure your experience is a delightful one. Most hunters who come to hunt with Trophy Georgia Hunts are repeat hunters, that’s enough to give you a clue about what Trophy Georiga Hunts has to offer. There have been multiple first buck harvests along with hunters harvesting their biggest whitetail yet.

Check them out @www.TrophyGaHunts.com and book a hunt today!

Gary Smith can be reached at 229-224-8494 or email @TrophyGaHunts@hotmail.com

 
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Posted in hunting