Check out these three bad ass insects and how you can be more like them.
The Ant.
These little suckas can lift betwen 4 and 20 times their own body weight. That is like the average guy lifting a car. Not an easy feat by any means.
How can you be more like an ant? Improve your 1 Rep Max (1RM) on the bench press …
Form: Put your hands on the bar shoulder width apart. As you lower the bar your hands should come down over your chest – not too high as it engages your shoulders and not lower than where your pecs end. Breath in whilst you lower the weight and push out your breath as you push up the bar.
Method: To improve your 1RM first you need to find out what your 1RM is. Remember to have a spotter with you!!! The last thing you want to do is get trapped under the bar!
Once you know your 1 Rep Max you need to start working backwards – this is called Drop Sets. Do the one rep max, (minimal rest) strip the bar by 5%, work to exhaustion, (minimal rest) strip the bar 5%, work to exhaustion and work your way down until you are only benching half your 1 Rep Max. Rest for a few minutes stretching out your chest and arms. Once you are ready to get back on the bench start working your way back up. Do 15 reps on half your 1RM, then 10 reps on three-quarters of your 1RM then get as close to your 1RM as possible doing 5 reps.
The Spittle Bug.
Forget kangaroos and frogs – these guys are the real jumpers.
How can you be more like an spittle bug? Improve your leap…
Jumping Squat: Instead of doing a squat with the bar this is a squat using dumbbells. Get a weight in each hand palms in. Bend the knees and lower yourself until the weights are touching the floor. With a real burst of energy shoot up jumping as high as you can. When you land go right the way back down to the ground and jump straight up again. Do 4 sets of 10 reps.
Box Jumps: Standing a few inches behind the box or bench (24inches approx) bend your knees and jump up onto the box. Make sure you jump off with both feet leaving the ground at the same time and land with both feet at the same time. Avoid swinging your arms if possible – if it’s hard then it’s working. Do 4 sets of 20 reps.
The Cockroach.
Cockroaches are the fastest of all insects reaching a maximum of roughly 3 m/ph. Not bad for little guys. For this it is important to look at 3 key elements: Fitness, Strength and Technique.
To improve strength the above two leg exercise are ideal. Also look to include weighted lunges.
For fitness two cliches say it all: No pain, no gain. Practice makes perfect. Sprint training, interval training and hill intervals are all highly recommended to increase stamina and running fitness. Put the hours in and you’ll get the rewards.
Technique is the hardest one to nail. Again practice does make perfect, but you need to be practicing the right sort of moves. Each individual has their own physic and therefore has their own running style. People always comment on the way that Usain Bolt runs. He doesn’t have the “traditional” sprinters technique, but he eats world records for breakfast. Find a stride that works for you. Look at other runners and see what they are doing, adapt it and see if it works for you.
If your lucky – you’ll get bitten by a spider and never have to worry about going to the gym again…
