What’s up guys!

So week 2 of phase 2 is coming to an end. Are you noticing the changes yet? Feeling stronger? Muscles popping? One more week like this before we start phase 3. Phase 3 and it’s part 2 counterpoint, phase 7, is the longest. 5 Straight weeks. This is the time when we are gonna get fuckin’ peeled. Phase 3 ends on May 12th and I want each and every one of you to look in a mirror on May 12 and say “what the fuck did WB do to me” so get your asses in gear. If you have been missing workouts, fucking up your diet or even missing a lift, now is the time to sack up and stop with that shit.

Do not forget, you guys came to me and told me what you wanted. I gave you the map to get there. Now it is in your hands. Do you really want this? If so, it is time to get it.

This weekend we have a very special challenge that is near and dear to my heart. This is a challenge based on the first workout I did where I realized that I was lifting with my ego and my gains were suffering. This is the workout that started me, all those years ago, on the path that lead me to this point now.

You may remember last year I interviewed one of my old trainers, Ray Grijalvo. You can take a look at that interview here. Ray is that special kind of trainer who comes into your life and makes you realize that you are a total fucking moron. Let me give you an idea of the kind of energy we are talking about. Ray, all of 5’2, and probably pound for pound the strongest person I ever met, had a small studio gym where he did classes at 5 am. Standing there at 445 waiting for him was a group of us, maybe 15 people. Ray would pull up in his car, jump out and run across the street to us. If there was a car parked in his way, he would straight jump right over it.

I trained with ray 3-4 hours a day 5-6 days a week and learned more from him than from any one person. One thing I learned from him was to stop picking up the heaviest thing in the room and thinking that it made me stronger, but rather pick up the lightest thing in the room correctly until it actually made me stronger.

I hear an awful lot of noise about how you can’t build big arms without using heavy weights. Oddly enough, it’s always online. No one ever seems to say it to me in person.

One workout he loved to do was an arm workout that involved nothing more than a towel. A standard gym sweat rag. For the purpose of today’s challenge feel free to use a dish towel, hand towel or whatever.

When Ray did an arm workout with a towel he broke you down. When you were done with 45 minutes of lifting that towel your arms were useless for the rest of the day. Why? Because heavier weight only stresses your joints and tendons. By using lighter weights, even something as light as a towel, and really focusing on the contractions and stretches of the muscle you isolate the muscle, destroying the fibers and building strength, size and definition.

So while I won’t have you do a full 45 minute Ray Grijalvo towel workout I am going to challenge you to learn just how much you can do with light weight.

Take the towel in your hands palm facing up like you are holding two dumbbells preparing for dumbbell curls. Pull hard so

Lift with muscles, not with ego. Save the ego for when you leave the gym and interact with all those casuals out there.

you leave no slack. Then, slowly, with intention and purpose, keeping your mind muscle connection focused, contract your arms to the top position of a  bicep curl. When you are there squeeze the muscle tight. Think about when you showed off for little Becky in the 5th grade by making the biggest muscle you can. Squeeze, contract that muscle at the top of the motion. Then lower the towel to the bottom position until you feel a stretch in your bicep. Never, for one second, stop putting tension on the towel. From bottom of the motion to the top and a squeeze back to the bottom and a stretch always keep pulling that towel taught.

Do 50 reps like this.

When you are done look at the towel and realize it — you just got your ass handed to you doing biceps curls with a fuckin’ kitchen towel. Remember that the next time you are in the gym and tempted to grab those 50 pound dumbbells for some curls. If you never believe anything else I say, believe this: lifting too heavy will cause injury and injury will suck. Get strong. Get swole. Get lean. Get yourself to where everyone is ‘mirin. But whatever you do, do it smart….work with your muscles and your brain never your ego.

It’s game time. Grind On Boys!