Many people are familiar with yohimbine or have at least seen the name on some kind of supplement, somewhere. This is because yohimbine is everywhere! Yohimbine can be found in products that range from pre-workouts and fat burners to even male enhancements. This is because yohimbine has many functions that people have come to really like. In some products the yohimbine is probably doing most of the work, but isn't getting the recognition that it deserves. 

Yohimbine is an alkaloid found naturally in pausinystalia yohimbe, or Yohimbe. The main active chemical present in yohimbe bark is yohimbine HCl (indole alkaloid). A lot of yohimbine is sold just as yohimbe bark extract, but the levels can vary greatly and sometime have minimal effects. Yohimbine primarily works by blocking alpha 2 receptors in the adrenal complex, thus getting more use out of your body's own adrenaline. It is also an adrenal stimulant causing more production of norepinephrine. There are some positive functions that come out of this supplement that could drastically help some people. Here are a few:

Fat Loss:
Yohimbine can be used to assist fat loss while on a good program because it enhances the use of norepinephrine, or NE, and blocks alpha 2 receptors which inhibit fat loss. By increasing NE and blocking alpha 2 receptors fat loss becomes easier, especially burning of the Beta fat cells. These receptors are found in the fat that stores in different places on the body due to a persons gender. In males it helps burn more abdominal fat and in women it will help burn more hip and thigh fat. 

Blood Flow:
Alpha 2 receptors are also known to block peripheral blood flow which can dramatically prevent fat loss. Since yohimbine blocks these receptors it becomes easier to dilate the blood vessels and get blood to the hard to burn adipose tissue. This also allows for more blood to get to the muscles which will enhance recovery and 'pumps' during workouts.

Sexual Enhancement:
When yohimbine blocks the alpha 2 receptors it allows the chambers of the penis to relax and allow more blood in AND also helps prevent that blood from leaving. Yohimbine has been used in prescription drugs for impotency, infertility, and other orgasmic dysfunction. Its effects are proven to last up to 5 hours after initial consumption.

These are very great effects that I'm sure no man would mind to have boosted. Yohimbine is sold very cheap and does not require a very high dosage to have good effects(usually taken 2.5-8mgs). I've heard that taking one miligram per 10lbs of lean body mass while eating low carbohydrate is very effective to burn fat. Be sure not go to over the recommended dosage because some side effects could include rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, over stimulation, and insomnia and/or sleeplessness. Try it out and I'm sure you will be hooked like I am!

Training journals are a great way to track your progress (increase in weight, reps, etc.) to be a successful athlete. I have been using a journal to record my workouts since high school. By writing everything down I have learned what works best for me. I've also learned the difference between working out and training. I will dive into that subject in a later post.
 
I encourage anyone who is getting ready to prepare for some kind of competition (physique, strongman, Crossfit, Iron Man, etc.) to keep a journal. Not only will it keep you on track, it will also be a great reference to use when you decide to compete again. I have always observed that the athletes that do the best in their sport, are the most consistent, are less injured, and look the best record their training in a journal of some sort.

Below I am going to lay out my program I started in November. It has been more of process of preparation and elimination since I have not done a physique split in a long time.
My main goal has been to prepare my mind. These past months I have been visualizing my goals, keeping myself focused, keeping the eye on the prize. The elimination process has mostly been getting rid of the unnecessary exercises that I feel wont help me. No machines have been used (not against the use of machines), I have put my focus mostly in barbell, bodyweight, kettlebell movements. The training has been intense, took 1 week to deload through the holidays, other than that I have followed this split to the "T". 

Training Split (Nov-Jan) 
Monday- Chest, Biceps, Rear Deltoids
Tuesday- Hamstrings, Gluteus, Calves
Wednesday- Back, Triceps, Core
Thursday- Quadriceps, Conditioning
Friday- Shoulder (nothing heavy, mostly rehab exercises), Core
Saturday- Direct Arm Hypertrophy, Forearms 
Sunday-  Light conditioning, nothing taxing. I will either do light sprints, trail run or go to a dance class. (You read that right.... I dance.)


I really like this cycle of training! The rep ranges aren't very concrete, I am still experimenting with different kinds. 
Once I am done at the end of January, I will be posting up my new training cycle. Reps, tempo, intensity will be documented more. Also will be putting up my body fat%, lean muscle mass, pictures to see how my body responds to training. 

Recording in my journal is going to keep me focused, allowing me to see when I need to increase or decrease the intensity, when to wear my schmedium tank top, etc. 

I challenge you the reader to record your training, you don't have to share like I am doing here. Write your personal goals, keep notes that motivate you in that book, write whatever you want that is going to keep you motivated to improve everyday! Do this for 1 month and see the progress you have made! You have nothing to lose, everything to gain. 

If anyone has any questions on training, training programs, etc. Contact Ben and I! It is our passion to help out someone who is willing to make progress in their training. We can be reached on our Facebook page Solid Training. 

Until next time; Train Often, Train Strong!

John Bedel

You live and you learn...

I am not one to look back at my past, but today while looking at pictures of my first two bodybuilding competitions. It dawned on me that I was a skinny bitch! What was I thinking?!

I should have never thought about competing! 
I should have stayed in the gym!
I should have squatted more!
I should have ate 50 grams of protein instead of 30 grams post-workout!
I should have gently massaged my calves in between sets to increase blood flow and get more gainz!

As you can see that is a lot of should have. Maybe I should have done more what I listed above, maybe I should have even more. I should have, I should have. For 6 years those words went through my brain, everyday. I would look at my trophy and call myself a failure sometimes. For those 6 years I messed myself up big time both mentally and physically (will focus more in a later article). 

Mentally, I had an unhealthy relationship with food. Consuming so much I ended up at a weight of 265-270 pounds of unhealthy weight. My body fat was high, my hormones were messed up, I was depressed. I was a mess!

Physically I was strong, but not really. My joints hurt, really my whole body was hurting. The Michelin Man was more jacked than me. I was letting my physique go day by day. My training had no purpose, always stagnate. Slowly I was losing everything that I worked for. It did not help my mentality.

Those 6 years I learned the very hard way. Nothing lasts forever, especially if you stop working at it. 


I am happy to say that I have pushed myself out of that slump. I am living now!


I am at a job that I dreamed about when I was in high school, my co-workers are beyond supportive, my clients treat me like family. This past year and a half has helped me become a better person. I have a better understanding of nutrition now more than I ever did. I have put a lot of focus in that department of my job that I will be completing my Precision Nutrition Certification soon!


Physically, I look and feel better. Am I competition ready? No, but that is fine because I am healthy. My health has become very important to me and I like to live to teach what I know for a very long time. Being where I am at has paid off for me and my clients and that is awesome!


I lived and I learned, I am not done yet though. To become better and achieve my goals my life focus is to live more and learn more.

This post was a personal one, one that will allow you to understand what I have done, what I am to do, the real John Bedel. These will be few but there will be more in the future. 

 The goal of this journal is to record my workouts along with my thoughts on nutrition, training, mindset for a physique competitor. 
I will be competing this year. My training had started in November. Tomorrow I will talk to you about my training split, why I am doing it, and so forth.

I will leave you with this quote, “Don't allow your mind to tell your heart what to do. The mind gives up easily”. Paulo Coelho


John Bedel

“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”
-Socrates 

There are many publications about how to lift weights, but few good ones that really lay out the truth about strength(I'll share my favorites soon enough). Unfortunately only a few of those talk about the SIDE EFFECTS of getting strong....

Its been a few really good weeks of my strength training program and I have started noticing some changes. No, these changes were not noticed in the mirror. Those truly focused on strength gains turn into normal people, or flubbles(kind of the equivalent to muggles in Harry Potter, but for non lifters) when looking into the mirror. Its nice to look in the mirror just to check if something is in my teeth or how my hat hair looks. It really is quite liberating to not worry about physique for the first time in a while. The changes I have noticed have come in some very interesting ways.

When reading strength novels they don't tell you about the side effect of mental strength. After having a brutal squat session that included atlas stone shouldering(pictured above with a 180lbs stone) and some heavy kettlebell rack carries I have this overwhelming feeling I can pick up anything and carry it for as long as I want. I couldn't help but hope to see a salt truck stuck in the snow and I would heroically go pick it up and carry it back to the road. Looking back today I know that is highly unlikely, mainly because its rare to see a salt truck in West Side Cinci, but after a session that boosted my confidence to new levels I felt I could shoulder the world(I assume that's why they are called atlas stones).

The next side effect that was noticed is the addiction. I broke my body down and I could feel a good pain storm blowing in, but when I got home and found my 90lbs kettlebell still lounging in my living room I was overtaken with one thought. I felt like a prowling tiger and the bell was dinner, a very heavy dinner although. My body and mind longed to pick it up and swing it around for an hour just to show off my new strength confidence. Luckily, the reasonable part of my brain took over and convinced me to sit down, eat, and recover. I'm thanking myself today because the previous workouts were enough to take a toll on my body. 

The most noticeable side effect of all was the sore. This was not a normal sore. This is not the same sore you get from doing lunges for hours or from doing 100s of crunches(or insert any other normal gym-goer exercise). This is a deep sore, a motivating sore. My muscles hurt to the bone, not just the superficial muscle that many can barely break down. This sore just enhanced my motivation to hit new areas of my body I may not have been using before. Thanks to Pavel's books Power to the People and The Naked Warrior I have revisited muscle activation and have tapped into some new recruitment to develop a newly felt strength. I have awaken the deep muscles that have longed for a while to be used, to make me stronger. 

I want to help everyone achieve new levels of strength, but take this journal as a warning: THERE ARE SIDE EFFECTS. Some people may not be able to handle these side effects. Some people have experienced this and played it off without noticing them self changing. I notice it. I desire it. I can't wait to change even more for the better. 

First step to new side effects: Today's pressing workout. Here I come.

"An idea that is put into action is better than an idea that exists only as an idea" -the Buddha

This past year I found myself struggling to stay motivated in my training and in my diet. The whole year was a big transition for me as I had started to develop a good client base and started earning more money. My hard work was paying off in my life. With the better work life and more money I started eating out more and the long days caused me to neglect my training. I was still working out, but not training. There is a big difference between working out and training. This wasn't exactly a terrible thing because I was enjoying life, spending more time with my loved ones, and experiencing being a successful adult. It all didn't catch up to me until about 4 weeks ago when I started to get ready for another night out...

I reached into my closet and grabbed a tightly fitted v-neck, my usual go to, and it did not look how I remember it looking on me. I shrugged it off and told myself, "Oh, well I've gotten stronger..." This held over my conscience until the next week in the gym and I attempted to squat heavy. The session finished and when I went to record my weights(something I started this past year-at least something good came of it) I realized I  was barely stronger. Then it hit me, that I was caught in a limbo of training. I found myself torn between bodybuilding, kettlebell sport, power lifting, and calisthenics. I am fairly good at all of these things, but as I improved one another got neglected. This caused my erratic training style and my concentration wavered from session to session. 

I have been to this point before and I have helped numerous people past this point. Hell, this is what I do for a living! I motivate people to work hard, develop a scheduled plan, and execute it. The only difference is that I have to do two jobs: be the client and the trainer. I realized I needed some kind of competition to keep me motivated and there was only one idea that I wanted to focus on this year, STRENGTH. I decided that I am going to participate in at least one powerlifting and one strongman competition this calendar year. Once I thought of this I instantly started watching videos of Derrick Poundstone and Brian Shaw on strongman events and training, I reopened my books from Dan John and Pavel, and started reevaluating my strength. I can honestly say I have awaken my inner athlete again. I feel.... feel... STRONG AGAIN!

After a week vacation of reading, watching videos, and meditating I came back to work at the gym and needed a plan. I sat down and, with the help of John Bedel, put together my training split. It is as follows:


Mon- Deadlift/Pulls and pulling accessory work
Tues- Overhead pressing and bench press accessory 
Wed- Core and grip training *Rest-ish*
Thurs- Kettlebell olympic movements and Calisthenics, yoga in PM
Fri- Squats and Carries/Sled work
Sat or Sun- Event Training, yoga on opposite day

This is the daily split and the repetitions will change based on the week. Here is the weekly plan:

Week 1: 12-20 rep range
Week 2: 8-10 rep range
Week 3: 5 reps
Week 4: 3 or less reps; This is done to track my max progress

This may seem a lot to the average person to comprehend, but for myself this keeps me on track and hopefully after a strong year I can look back and say this system works. This split is mean for me so don't think that this is a perfect system for everyone. For instance, my weaknesses are overhead pressing and back squats so they are done on a day all by them self. The picture at the top was my last pulling workout that I did on Sunday night instead of today because, thanks to the damn Bengals, I needed to work out some aggression. 

If you think a plan would really help keep you motivated then feel free to reach out to myself or John Bedel. I found a way to get in a great pulling workout with only one 40kg kettlebell(barf). I will continue to post about my workouts, my observations, and just how I generally feel on this plan. But for now, I'm off to train and not just talk about it.

Have you ever used lifting straps before? Chances are you have. With the upsurge of bodybuilding in the past half century, the priority of having a strong grip has dropped to new lows. In bodybuilding, complete muscle breakdown and isolation are imperative so guys with a weak grip were left with small back muscles and decreased power lifts (ie. Dead lift, shrugs, etc.). Instead of solving the problem at the cause, a weak grip, people turn to grip helpers such as straps and hooks. This may solve the short term problem of  weak lifts, but still does not solve the original cause of the problem. What happens when you’re in the real world and need to lift something that your back is strong enough to easily carry, but you don’t have the grip strength or straps to help? This is where grip training comes in. My method of grip training is broken down into 5 categories: crushing, pinching, holding, flexion/extension, and pronation/supination. Grip training is not just limited to muscles of the forearm, but also the hand.

Crushing is defined as squeezing an object to the max. This may be in the form of a hand grip- I recommend the heavy ones, a tennis ball, or bending nails. This mainly works out the muscles of the digits, palm, and thumb, but some muscles of the forearm are active in crushing, such as the flexor digitorums and some others. I recommend training these as heavy as you can and pushing yourself to move up. If you do not have access to heavy grippers then tennis balls and nail bending will work just as well.

Pinching is defined as holding an object with fingers straight. This is similar to crushing in that it works the muscles of the forearm and hand; however, more emphasis is placed on the forearms and muscles of the thumb due to the change in the fulcrum. This is best incorporated on the same day as crushing due to the similarities. This can be done with a block with weight attached or by simply placing two plates facing each other and pinching with an individual hand or both.

Holding is, put simply, grabbing a weight and not letting go. This is very easy to work out because it is active on almost all pulling lifts. To train this I recommend not using straps and forcing yourself to hold on tight. If you want to train this, but don’t feel like just standing there, then farmer’s walks are a great full body holding exercise. You can put more emphasis on your holding muscles by adding tools like Fat Gripz or using a towel around the handle. Here at Solid we also incorporate the use of holding multiple kettlebells and bag carrying. Try to mix it up and be creative.

Flexion/extension and pronation/supination are both exercises mainly involving the forearms. These are probably the only grip/forearm exercises that are seen in the gym, but rarely. To work flexion you can do wrist curls off the bench or do behind the back barbell wrist curls (can be worked in with holding). To work extension you can do wrist extension off the bench (holding the weight with forearm on bench, try to take your knuckles to your forearms). Finally to work pronation/supination(rotation) you can hold some dumbbells in a half curl and twist the weights. If a hammer bar is available then use it, you’ll feel the difference. These exercises can all be made more effective by wrapping a towel around the handle.

These lifts do not exhaust the body very much and will not affect your hormones or overall recovery so you can do them very frequently. It fits in well at the end of a pulling or arm workout. It is also easy to do while sitting around or driving if you have a hand gripper. Stop in Solid and see some of our other unorthodox grip workouts. 


Written by Ben Eisenmenger