The Thomas Jones Arm Workout: A Test of Patience

This past week my friend Kent got me to start the Thomas Jones arm workout with him.

For those who've never heard of Thomas Jones:currently he is a star runningback for the Kansas City Chiefs, and being the guy carrying the ball he has to have strong arms to keep it safe from the defensive lineman and linebackers. He has developed some of the most impressive arms I've ever seen, and seeing that his arm workout is available, I thought, "Yeah, why not?"

I started the first phase of the six phase program with Kent the other day, and the it was the toughest arm workout that I have ever done!

My arms were toast when we were done and it only took us 20-25 minutes.

The first phase of this workout is to isolate and develop the brachialis, the muscle underneath the bicep. Many body builder/ weight lifters forget about this muscle and I'm thinking I fall into that category.

Although my arms were thrashed, I couldn't really see the pump like I normally do after an arm workout. My "unseen" muscles were the muscles that took the beating. I could barely pick up a 30 lb. dumbbell that day!

After that workout, I thought, "Boy, my arms are beat and I can't even see any pump. This is lame. I don't wanna go through this killer six week long program. This is going to take too long, just to get big arms."

Then I corrected myself. I wasn't having a patient, positive attitude about this. I had to make a change.

My previous post was about taking patience in acquiring strength and muscle and I was despairing about the time it was going to take to go through this program!

That first day of the Thomas Jones workout taught me to walk my talk and practice patience.

For more on Thomas Jones and his massive arms: http://stacktv.stack.com/video.aspx?videoID=686946529001_373

Sources for Thomas Jones photos: http://dontmesswithtexans.com/tag/duane-brown/
http://www.operationsports.com/forums/pro-football/208464-yearly-thomas-jones-pic.html

Ya Gotta Start Somewhere

Even as a beginner, you can study the correct form of lifting from people who know what they're doing. You won't be able to do as much as them at first.

That's okay. There's no shame in getting down the fundamentals before you proceed to more difficult lifts and heavier weight.

You're not doing yourself any good by trying to be ambitious and lift a bunch of weight before you've learned how to do the lighter weight the right way. That's how you mess up your back or tear a muscle. Then you've gotten no where. Train hard but train smart.

Learn to be patient. Results come with patience.

An interview with Rob: A Need to Succeed

At a first glance at Rob Kohlhaus, he might appear just as an average guy. And he is. However, Rob has taken his dedication as a weightlifter/trainer to the football field leading a D3 college football team as their motivating captain.
Rob shared a few thoughts on lifting and what drives him to be dedicated.


TGH: "When did you first start lifting?"
Rob: "After my freshman year of high school football."

TGH: "Did you ever get out of lifting and then find it difficult to get back into?"
Rob: "No, I have basically lifted at least three times a week since I started. But when I take a break I can't wait to get back into it."
TGH: "I know how that is. I'm the same way."

TGH: "Who or what do you think has been your biggest motivation when it comes to staying in shape?"
Rob: "To become a better athlete. Also I saw how small I was compared to other football players and I realized that to succeed I need to outwork everybody else."

Keep workin' hard. Get that drive to outwork everybody else and push yourself to new goals.

Not Lookin' Like Rambo Lately?

There's a lot to consider when getting into weight lifting: the physical challenge (if you've never really done it before or haven't done it in years), the time commitment, the thought of failure.

The two main things to keep in mind are the mental commitment and the physical diligence. The mental commitment must come first, yet it's useless without the physical diligence. Physical diligence is necessary to have of course, but you got to have the will to go to the gym, basement or wherever and actually exercise. These two things rely on each other for weightlifting/exercise to be affective.

 You may be wondering, "What's the difference between physical diligence and mental commitment"?
Well, to categorize and separate the two I'll give some examples of a few subjects that I intend on addressing in the near future. Note that some of these ideas will intersect with each other here and there.
Physical diligence: lifting smart-this can branch into many subjects. Knowing your limits-you can't lift everything that John Cena can...well, not yet at least.

The mental commitment: making a structured schedule-being disorganized never helped anybody get things done, going through the mental reps-thinking about how you can better your lifting technique, reminding yourself that you're better than you used to be- encouraging yourself is always good, but you've got to keep your schedule realistic.
You may believe you can get very far in an endeavor like this, but if you keep at it, you will get results. It's up to you to commit to get into lifting.

I am only here to encourage you in that commitment.

Photo from: http://betweentheseats.blogspot.com/2010/11/rambo-marathon-rambo-iii-rebuttal.html

Oh Come All Ye Flabby

Welcome -

I have created Muscles for Morons for somewhat of a personal reason. I know what it's like to be out of shape, flabby, unmotivated, and yet wishing you had something or someone to motivate you and get you into the shape you always wanted. 

This site is for those people wallowing in inactivity, wishing they could get to a point when working out and staying in shape wasn't a drag, but something that you enjoyed and looked forward to.

"What?" you ask, "Look forward to working out? Who does that?" This is where I want to help. I want to get you to the point where you not only enjoy working out, but look forward to it every day. 

Welcome to the challenge. 

Photo from:http://www.thefitnesslibrary.com/2011/01/21/funny-fitness-friday-fat-wont-move/