CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE May/June Issue | Page 34

MINDSET IS EVERYTHING!
DARREN MEHLING BA CSCS PRESIDENT FREAK FITNESS ONLINE
There is no denying that we
are in a unique situation.
With the rise of the
COVID-19 pandemic,
all our lives have been
dramatically impacted.
But I am an optimist. I
always look for the positive
in a situation. Even amidst
perceived chaos, I believe that
with the right approach, challenges can make us
stronger and smarter!
It is with this mindset that I want to help you see
things a little differently.
Following are some solutions I would like to offer
you in response to problems that many of us are
being faced with:
No gym?
Your muscles don’t know what you are holding onto.
They simply know there is a resistance that is being
applied against them that they must overcome.
Instead of dwelling about your gym being
temporarily closed, take action and create a home
gym for yourself. Despite what I have seen posted
on social media, you CAN train for your IFBB Pro
card at home!
No money for a home gym?
Let us be honest here - You will always find money
for what you deem important. By you reading this
article and being a CPA member, I know you are
dedicated to your fitness goals. So, I know you can
afford to invest some money into some home gym
equipment.
Look at the picture of my home gym. I live in an
apartment sized condo, so space is limited, but I
made it work for under $300 CDN.
Pictured;
Suspension Training System with door attachment
(generic brand is less than half the price of a TRX ).
I use this to perform sissy squats, 1 legged squats,
suspended leg curls, body rows, modified pull ups,
stiff arm pulldowns, rear delt flyes, chest flyes,
suspended push ups, triceps skull crushers, and
body biceps curls.
Adjustable Resistance Bands with handles, ankle
straps, and door attachment (adjustable from
15lbs to 100 lbs): I use these to perform delt
raises (front, side, and rear), biceps curls, overhead
triceps extensions, triceps pushdowns, and various
glute exercises For those of you who aren’t an
ex-strongman competitor or super heavyweight
bodybuilder like me, you can also use this for low
angle and high angle rows, low angle and high angle
chest flyes, low angle and high angle chest presses,
and seated overhead presses.
Sandbag (adjustable from 25lbs to 100lbs): I use
this to perform cleans (1 arm or 2), overhead
presses (1 arm or 2), back squats, front squats,
goblet squats, zercher squats, hack squats, stiff
legged deadlifts (1 leg of 2), bent over rows, shrugs,
biceps curls, overhead triceps extensions, and lying
triceps extensions.
Note - sand was not included with my purchase of
the Sandbag so I went to Lowe’s and purchased
three 20kg bags of “play” sand with which I filled
the 4 filler bags that came with my Sandbag.
Note 2 – there are pre-filled Sandbags available that
range 5kg up to 30kg. I needed the heavier loads,
but you may not, so the pre-filled bags might be a
better option for you.
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