Dead lift Journal feb 4th 2012

Okay, if you know a little about me you know that I was the Colorado State Power lifting Champ in 1998, 1999 and 2000. I also competed in two push pulls (bench press and dead lifts). I competed from 1997 to 2000 in power lifting in Colorado and I never lost a meet. I stopped competing because there was no competition for me at the time and simply showing up to collect a trophy to me was not cool.

That's when I told myself that I would stop competing for the time being and come back in my forties. Well that time is now!!! The annual Colorado State Meet will be this December and I've started my training. At the time I compete I will be 42 years old…

My goal is to duplicate my lifts from my last competition which was in 2000 at the Air Force Academy's Falcon Open. My lifts there were 575 squat, 402 bench and a 688 dead lift (I attempted 705 but missed it)…

Today was my first dead lift workout… nothing spectacular but as long as I stay healthy, train smart, be careful of injuries, I should be able to accomplish my goals.

You will see from the video my entire dead lift workout today, I did not edit it or cut it so you'll also see my rest periods (feel free to fast forward).

I'm currently in Romania and the weights are in kilograms, so here's what you're looking at in the video.

Set 1 – 120 kg (264 lbs) x 6 – warm up

set 2 – 170 kg (374 lbs) x 3 – warm up

set 3 – 200 kg (440 lbs) x 3 – work set

set 4- 170 kg x (374 lbs) x 6 – work set

set 5 – 120 kg (264 lbs) x 8 – work set

leave some motivational comments after the video (help me stay focused )

PASSWORD:  solarmoon

deadlifts 2/4/12 from jelani khalfani on Vimeo.

I’m getting a bit political….

I want to rant about taxes for a bit…

For the record, I don't believe the current tax rate is fair.  But I don't agree with the president that Buffet should pay more.  I think that if we're all equal then we should all pay the same percentage.  

I don't think that just because you're rich you should automatically pay more taxes.  I do however think that the overall percentage should be lower than 30 percent for everyone.  

In my opinion a more effective rate would be 17-21% FOR EVERYONE!!… I don't care how much money you make if we're all paying the same percentage then it's fair…

Here's a more from ABC news..

In a week when taxes and tax returns have dominated the headlines, billionaire investor Warren Buffett jumped back into the political debate and showed his returns exclusively to ABC News' Bianna Golodryga, adding, "I have never had it so good. … What has happened in recent years, we were told a rising tide would lift all boats, but the rising tide has lifted all yachts."

Buffett's secretary since 1993, Debbie Bosanek, sat next to her boss just hours after being invited by the president to the State of the Union address, where the president made her the face of tax inequality in America.

Bosanek pays a tax rate of 35.8 percent of income, while Buffett pays a rate at 17.4 percent.

"I just feel like an average citizen. I represent the average citizen who needs a voice," said Bosanek. "Everybody in our office is paying a higher tax rate than Warren."

During Tuesday night's State of the Union address, President Obama, for the first time, put a minimum percentage figure on the amount of taxes the ultra-rich should pay – 30 percent – an idea that has been referred to as the "Buffett rule."

"The question is what is fair when you have to raise multi-trillions to fund the United States of America," said Buffett.  "[Raising taxes] will not change my behavior. I have paid all different kinds of rates and I've always been interested in making money. I believe this should be a defining issue. Debbie works just as hard as I do and she pays twice the rate I do."

Read more and check out the Video of Warren Here ==> Buffet talking about his taxes…

What do you think?…

12 weeks to get huge and shredded

This is a week by week routine that will give you a really cool program to follow.  I've tried this program once and it worked really well.  It's not my favorite program but it does work.

Here's an overall outline of this program:

Week 1: The importance of goals

Week 2: The basics of weight training

Week 3: Fat burning and cardio tips

Week 4: Eat to burn Fat 24/7

Week 5: Instantly add weight to all your lifts

Week 6: Intensity

Week 7: The best nutrition products

Week 8: Never hit a plateau again

Week 9: The best chest, back and Ab exerises

Week 10: Legs and shoulders

Week 11: Blast those biceps, triceps & forearms

Week 12: Putting it all together

Here's the thing, even if you've been training for a long time, you can still benefit from this program.  Treat it like a menu, use the things that can benefit you and throw away the rest…

Here's the link to download the entire program ==> 12 Simple Steps to Get Huge and Shredded

Don't forget to leave me a comment…

Bodyweight & Dumbell exercises

If you know me then you know that even though I try to train like a beast with weights I do a lot of bodyweight exercises.  My favorites are hindu squats, hindu pushups, pull ups and squat jumps.  One of the things that I do is combine my weight training with bodyweight exercises.  When you do this you will really experience a cool workout.  For instance if you do a set of bench presses followed by a set of hindu pushups to failure…you'll experience a pump like you've never felt before…

Anyway here's a book that I've used to get some ideas of bodyweight exercises… it may give you some ideas as well

Here's the download link..==> Bodyweight and Dumbbell Exercises

31 Days To Bigger Arms

You can have significantly bigger arms in only 31 days!

How much bigger?

That depends on a lot of factors. You weren’t able to select your parents so you’re stuck with your genetic potential to build muscles. You may have a good potential or you may be like many of the rest of us who have average (or worse than average) potential.

My bet is if you’ve been training for any length of time and are the proverbial easy-gainer (good genetics) then you probably wouldn’t even be reading this article. If you’re an easy-gainer just about anything you do works to build bigger muscles. (I’ve always hated those guys!)

If you’re like the rest of us, you’ve had to practically sweat blood for every single ounce of muscle you’ve built. Don’t feel bad, you’re not alone, my friend!

So let’s get back to my original question. How much can you increase your arm size in 31 days? If you follow a practical arm specialization program and do everything else correctly (diet, rest, supplements, etc.) I think it is realistic for a person of average genetics to gain 1” on your arms….

Get the rest of the program here ==> 31 Days To Bigger Arms

Building an Olympic Body through Bodyweight Conditioning

I was thinking of my friend Kyle K.  when I found this article…

We have all seen them on television during the Olympics; these powerful men performing amazing skills with ease and grace. Watching them perform the question inevitably arises – are they as powerful as they look? And the answer is – yes. What will probably be even more surprising to you is that they build their strength and physiques almost entirely with various bodyweight exercises.

The list of requirements is long and can be rather daunting to prepare a world class athlete: passive flexibility, active flexibility, joint preparation, static strength, dynamic strength etc. etc. and is probably only interesting in detail to those of us involved with the physical preparation of champions.  There are of course some supplemental exercises where weight is added (i.e. weighted leg lifts), however the central premise remains; these amazing athletes have built the vast majority of their strength and power through the use of body weight conditioning.

Now another question that we should ask ourselves – is the body weight training of the Olympians also beneficial to the fitness enthusiast? And if so, is it possible to apply at least some of it to those without a professional instructor to guide them or tens of thousands of dollars of specialized gymnastics equipment? And the answers are once again – yes and yes. There are some of our specialized exercises that are relatively easy to learn and require little or no equipment beyond a chin-up bar and some floor space.

Read the rest of the article here ==> Building An Olympic Body Through Bodyweight Conditioning – Gymnastics Strength Training Article

Financial planning joke

Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business.  

When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sicklyfather died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune. 

 One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful woman  he had ever seen.

Her natural beauty took his breath away.

 I may look like just an ordinary man,' he said to her, but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit $65 million.' 

 Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later,  she became his stepmother.

Women are so much better at financial planning

Springing leg 1

Fist form

24 moves 3