Wednesday, September 30, 2015

#100DaysofSTRONG Week 4 - STRUGGLE, GAINS and an UNEXPECTED HIGH


Week 4 was a great week of training that ended in an absolutely unexpected high - a runner's high.
I have never ever been a runner. i hate running. as it is evident from my previous posts, running is probably the only thing i hate more than movies like MSG. But this week something incredible happened - i decided to push through my hate and keep on running, and i ended up clearing 10, 11 then 13 kms. And all these distances, i stopped running out of boredom, not fatigue. So now i'm determined to keep pushing through atleast once a week at the end of my weight training week as a celebratory torturous run. I aim to push my distance up to the half marathon and then work down the running time to a respectable level. I will be hiring a marathon training coach to help me keep track of the running schedules.

In the meanwhile, my strength levels are feeling awesome. Im hitting sets out of sets without failure. Which is a clear indication that my strength has indeed improved. So i can look at raising the weight soon with a new PR. Week 5 and 6 will be dedicated to training hard and strong - employing dynamic effort sets after the main sets in case of failure/fatigue.

This is the detailed update of the entire week through my instagrams:

#100daysofstrong periodization tables. The first three weeks began quite easy. The tough parts have just begun. Am Sharing this periodization chart of week 1-2-3 just to bring up to speed those who came in late. Am currently on week 5 and I will be sharing the periodization chart of week 4 5 6 7 in the next Instagram right away. Detailed explanations for the periodization and macro workout schedules will be available in the book. In short, the periodization has been don't to optimize rest, recovery and strength gains and to avoid fatigue - Which at high levels of training starts becoming quite a deterrent. I will be writing a blog and article purely on managing workout fatigue in this week. Hope it helps you all train stronger. #strong #training #workout #gym #fitness #weightlifting #periodization
A photo posted by Pushkaraj S Shirke (@credosian) on



#100daysofstrong periodization tables. The first three weeks began quite easy. The tough parts have just begun. The last post was the periodization chart of week 1 2 3. Am currently on week 5 and this is the periodization chart of week 4 5 6 7. Detailed explanations for the periodization and macro workout schedules will be available in the book. In short, the periodization has been don't to optimize rest, recovery and strength gains and to avoid fatigue - Which at high levels of training starts becoming quite a deterrent. Fatigue and body pain have become severe in this week. It's extremely tough to maintain a 3 continuous day strength training regimen. So it has to be scaled down to 1 day strength and 1 day cardio. So 6 days a week workout and 1 day of complete rest. There are a lot of ultra roided alpha idiots out there who keep talking crap like 'die in the gym or it ain't a workout' and all that crap. But the fact is that everyone has a few low days, and how you manage it and make sure that it doesn't hamper your long term progress is what determines truly how far you will go. There is no shame in sometimes just making sure you get a workout in even if it ain't 100% or even if you take a much needed off day. Listen to your body. It's the best machine you got. Keep your targets real and achievable. Work for it day by day. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. I will be writing a blog and article purely on managing workout fatigue in this week. Hope it helps you all train stronger. #strong #training #workout #gym #fitness #weightlifting #periodization
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#100daysofstrong week 4 completed. I have begun to realise that I love deadlifts so much that I actually count down the days to the next deadlift day. It's the happiest day of my week! Something so primal and strong about deadlifts that it just makes me happy :-) This week I used 5 extra sets of 10 after my main 3x3 sets to retrain my messed up form on the deadlifts. No one is perfect. My hip rises up first and then my shoulders follow. I need to change that. Still working on it. But working on it after my main sets ensures that at least I don't drop my strength levels while retraining. No matter who you are. There will always be a few flaws or few points that need corrections so that one can perform better. There is nothing wrong in accepting a mistake - coz unless you really open to that, you can never improve. And a life without improvement, is a dead life. Anyways, looking forward to close this week with a great cardio session tonight and an amazing rest day tomorrow with a deep tissue massage. Mmmmmmm :-) weekend :-) #gym #training #deadlifts #happiness #strong #deeptissue #massage #cardio #weekend #planning
A photo posted by Pushkaraj S Shirke (@credosian) on



sumo vs regular deadlift - and why I deadlift sumo? In short - though I'm actually structured for a regular deadlift - people with long legs and short torso are better structured for regular deadlift for reasons of better leveraging. Sumo on the other hand better suits short, stubby people with short legs and short torsos. There is also a factor of practice and adaptation in there, but that is generally the principle. The sumo stance though stresses the sciatic nerve a little lesser than the regular stance due to partial involvement of the glutes. Which is why I moved from regular to sumo - due to a sciatic nerve injury. Now I'm better adapted to the sumo stance. But I'm working on moving back to the regular stance - s o I do my warm ups with both sumo and regular, to build up my regular stance deadlift again. But for my mains, I'm still on sumo stance so as to not risk injuring my sciatic nerve again. Coz the pure frustration of having to stop training due to an injury is what I never want to face again. Slow and steady - with full muscular stress, but no PAIN. That is my training motto. And it's served me quite well. #deadlift #sumo #regular #bodybuilding #strength #strengthtraining #k11 #gym #fitness
A photo posted by Pushkaraj S Shirke (@credosian) on



#100daysofstrong end of week 4 celebrated with a 13km run. The mixture of fatigue, runner's high, and sweat in my eyes causing them to squint makes me look like a dopehead. But I'm finally loving running now. It's the runners high that keeps me going for it. I started today's run aiming at 10 km. But I went past the wall with ease clocking upto 13 kms with ease. Again I stopped because a friend wanted me to spot her workout or I would have completed 15 today. Felt tottaly in the zone for it. No worries, will look to close next week with a 15 km run now. Soundtrack in my mind right now: I feel good tra LA LA LA ! :-p PS: I'm still high. #cardio #run #endofweek #weekend #marathon #strength #strong #training #endurance Pps: looking forward to week 5 now. And to my deep tissue massage tomorrow :-) ahhhhh rest dayyyyyy :-)
A photo posted by Pushkaraj S Shirke (@credosian) on



People with Gigantism almost always die of heart failure. It happens in big dog breeds like great danes also. But hey, when it happens to a boy who was wrongfully on steroids, and when people dont know shit about gigantism, lets just blame it all on steroids. After all, it makes a better headline given the rampant ignorance and fear about steroids. And yeah, lets throw in a reference to a celebrity. More readers yeahhhh! #badjournalism #socialmedianews #ignorance But let me state some facts that ought to be understood: 1. Like alcohol, No teenager should ever be on steroids, unless prescribed for a medical condition. 2. Without years of strength and sports training, steroids can and almost always will be a disaster for your life. 3. If your coach/trainer has put you on roids, you have the right to know and to say no. Just as with alcohol. 4. The fact is that even in tested sports, majority of the pro athletes are on roids. But that is their career. They have counsellors and experts who know what they are doing (most of the time). To just ape them and try something, will kill you if not maim you for life. 5. Being the best you can be is an ideal best followed by increasing your own knowledge and intelligence first. You have to be knowledgeable and wise enough to know whom to put your trust in, what to take and what not to, and to evaluate what risks are worth it. Just like alcohol and cigarettes, steroids are more often not worth it. But its your call. It's your life. Know the truth. Live it well. -Pushkaraj S Shirke
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- Pushkaraj S Shirke

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

#100DaysofSTRONG Week 3 - Failure, Pitfalls and Triumph

Week 3 began with failure.
Challenged me with hardships and illness.
But ended in triumph of the spirit.

#100daysofstrong what a failed lift looks like? This. If you have never failed,it only means you have not dared to break beyond. Greatness is not built on success. Success is merely the shiny roof on a foundation of of rock hard failures. If you really want greatness, dare to push yourself hard, prepare for success but dare to fail, prepare for greatness but then dare to fail harder. That's my mindset. Today I made the mistake of jumping weights up to my one RM straight after a strong 5 RM. When you say RM - its a 'rep max'. It's the absolute max you can lift at that weight. After the 5 RM, I was already fatigued. But somehow, with a boost of misplaced confidence, I decided to attempt my known 1 RM - and failed. But what matters is that I tried. I personally, never end a set on failure. So post this set, I immediately halved the weight and pushed in a set of 10 reps. It's a variation of 'dynamic effort sets' popularly used in powerlifting training that I will discuss in detail sometime soon. #STRONG #failharder #gym #squat #workout #training #failure
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THIS CHART IS FULLY AVAILABLE ON MY BLOG POST: http://pushkarajshirke.blogspot.in/2015/09/workout-regimentization-for.html







A photo posted by Pushkaraj S Shirke (@credosian) on







- Pushkaraj S Shirke

Saturday, September 12, 2015

A note for the women I love - pieces of advice from a brother, a dad, a son, a friend and a lover.

photo courtesy SHUTTERSTOCK.com
There are many things I always want to tell the women I love - but i may not always find the time or i may not always be around. So i am writing this down as my personal advice for you to remember. This is nobody else's business to comment on. This is just my advice to all the women I care about - daughter, sister, girlfriend, friend, colleague or just any woman I care about.

This is for you to read and remember. I'm no guru on life or someone who has lived a flawless life, but from all the many experiences of my own and others that I have witnessed, I find certain things to be a pattern in life. Constant. Unchanging despite the times and cultures. And these are just a few of those things. So read and remember or maybe just trash it after reading. But do read it at least once.
Here goes:

1. Love happens, shit happens, whatever the fuck happens, GET EDUCATED. Complete your education in a field you love. And get FINANCIALLY INDEPENDANT.
Coz no matter what family or spouse you may have, never rely in them as a crutch. Always be able to stand your own ground. You never know what life might have in store for you. Also, being financially independent yourself makes you capable of helping the people you love in their times of need.

2. Do whatever you want, dress the way you like, eat - drink - smoke - dope - do whatever you want BUT be situationally and socially aware at all times. Yes you have the right to dress any way you want, and it is no invitation to be raped, but once raped, you are still raped even if you win the case and even though it was NOT your 'fault'. So it's not MCP of me to tell you that you need to know your social limitations and tread carefully so that shit doesn't happen. It's genuine concern. We don't live in utopia. We need to be real. And in case shit does happen, don't let fear keep you down - report it, fight it, talk to your circle of trust about it. Never let a situation make you a victim, rise out a survivor.

3. If you want something in life, work for it. Don't marry for it or make yourself a cheap gamble for it. Remember that a gamble is always stacked in the favour of the casino. Don't get into any relationship just for the 'perks'. Perks fade away. But having lived precious moments of your life with assholes who don't deserve you, stays in your regrets forever. There is nothing that you can't earn by yourself. Look out at the world and the women out there and the people out there and you will find enough inspiration and proof of that.

4. You're beautiful. Let nobody tell you otherwise. The world is full of parasites wanting to make you feel insecure only so that they can take advantage of you. There's also the other kind of parasites that will over flatter you to make you feel 'special' so that you give in to their needs. Know yourself and be comfortable in your skin. Women are more subject to society's ideals of beauty than men - all you need to remember is that the body you live in is just a shell. What you really are, lives within that shell. You don't need to smoke or drink go be cool, wear make up to be beautiful, dress like xyz to look gorgeous, or do anything that you don't want to do. Simple as that. The people that really matter, like you as you are.

5. Be strong. Mentally, socially and physically. Read good books. Maintain good circles of influence. Connect with good people - there are dolphins even in oceans full of sharks. Lift weights. Eat protein rich diets. Learn krav maga. Coz trust me, life will present you with enough situations  where you will have to be your own hero, your own knight in shining armor, your own 911. Being able to stand up for yourself is way more important than trying to fit into a magazine and media driven 'fashion icon'. And the way I see it, its not even a choice - if you want, you can be both! Being strong doesn't make you all mega muscular and masculine. It only makes you more awesome.

6. Be a feminist. Not a feminazi. Nor a doormat. Don't allow opinions of others on being a 'woman' rile you up into a pile of frustration. Infact, you don't need to follow any opinion that does not pass your and your 'mentors' understanding of right and wrong. Most people who get riled up into feelings of any kind of gender, caste, age, or any kind of 'superiority' only end up degrading their capacity to form meaningful relationships with people. You are not any less of a woman if you go out of your way to care for a man you love. And neither are you any less of a woman if you gracefully accept the chivalry of a man who genuinely cares for you.

7. Get a Mentor. Or mentors. Especially of the same sex. And I'm saying of the same sex purely because sex does make a difference - Even if there is no sexual relationship or tension prevalent. And i'm not saying that you shouldn't have mentors of the opposite sex btw. Sometimes it's a parent, an elder, a wise friend or even someone you look up to and manage to reach out to. Because it always helps to have someone's experience guide you in life or at least provide a base level for your own evaluations of situations in life - may it be professionally, socially or in any other way.  And before you take any major decision, if you can, just keep them informed or at least have a discussion.

8. Make a bucket list. The only thing worth any fear in life, is regrets. Life has a way of blurring your vision and taking you away from what you really want in life. Sometimes having a bucket list in front of you just helps you keep track of what compromises in life might just not be worth it. Some compromises are worth making. Some, just aren't. Keep that bucket list with you and try to live it up. It adds purpose to your life - and that's one of the best ways I have known to keep life on track and not fall prey to what's 'in' and 'cool' and whatever the 'fad' of the moment may be. It's a way to think long term in a simple way. If you see yourself going of course, you can always re-evaluate and change course again.
PS: Don't throw away your old bucket lists. Just make new ones from time time. When you look back at them one day, it might tell you how far you have come.

9. Look beyond appearances. And this goes both ways - not all good looking people are shallow and kind, nice people need not always be ugly. You will require a balance in the long run. I have seen so many women compromise on what they want in life by telling themselves that they need to settle for less - and justifying their relationships with a big 'but'. The world is way larger than you think. When you get out of the bubble, you will see that. So don't rush into a relationship just because it's the closest you can get or because it is 'time'. Wait for it for when its right. And the only way to know that for real is to keep expanding your bubble and discovering more people.

10. And last but not the least, there is nothing bad in letting go of things that hurt you or your self esteem. May it be poisonous relationships, people, possessions,places or anything else. Don't let anybody ever guilt you into feeling bad about ending something that deserved to end. Cutting off a gangrenous limb doesn't make you evil or emotionless. It only shows that you care about the rest of your body and your life. Same goes for life. It's not as selfish as it sounds. You don't have to live in the place you were born in, In the family you were born into or into the 'institution' you were put into. If it challenges your happiness, break out. Break free.
Live YOUR life, build YOUR family and chase YOUR happiness. Everything else will fall into place.

And that is all I have to say. I hope this serves as a good guideline in life.
And I wish you an incredible life, a life well lived. Always.

-Pushkaraj S Shirke

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

WORKOUT REGIMENTIZATION for #100DaysofSTRONG


A regimen is necessary to provide a structured and focussed flow to your workouts.
I have chosen to follow this programming for my strength gains.
The reasoning of all of these macro-micro and periodization charts will follow in the pages to come. Some articles on the same will also be available already on my blog if you just search for it.
If you google my name and your query, you might just find it.



Pushkaraj S Shirke
Film Producer-Director. Photographer. Brand Consultant.Fitness and Performance Consultant. 
Mob :  +91 8879002253  
Web : 
www.pushkarajsshirke.com    
Address : CLIMB MEDIA (India) Pvt. Ltd., S.V.Road. Bandra (West),
Mumbai-400 050, INDIA
Join me here
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Monday, September 7, 2015

#100DaysofStrong - Week 2




#100DaysofStrong day 9: back to workout with a back workout! Coming back after a skipped workout gives you that extra desire to finish what you missed. Making you go that extra mile. Today I clocked in a great deadlifting session along with a complete back workout. Finished it up with a great meal of fish and prawns. Perfect way to end a day. Tomorrow I will upload my complete nutrition details. After that I will be uploading my workouts with detailed workout plans that you can also follow if you are at an advanced stage. Will do a beginners article too later. So that everyone can get strong :-) #strong #strength #fitness #gym #lifestyle #project #100days #book PS: the book, when released will have in detail articles on all these posts and also notes from various people that train with me and those that I train.
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#100daysofstrong #day10 overhead presses. One of my favorite workouts. An integral part of your pushing muscles. I don't do strict presses. I do push presses, push jerks and split jerks - which are Olympic movements that allow you to lift way more weight and contribute much better in overall strength development and sheer pushing power. Infact, the one lift of mine that I'm most proud of is the overhead press. When i started, i used to be afraid of the OHP. I could hardly OHP 25 kgs. But after learning the lift at k1 with my coach @kaizzadcapadia , i progressed dramatically. By leaps and bounds. A bodyweight ohp is considered a good milestone and I crossed that milestone a year ago - notching up an OHP of 90 kgs in the split jerk at bodyweight 70 kgs. Love the sheer feeling of having such a heavy weight swung way over your head! It's sheer adrenaline. #fitness #strength #strong #gym #strengthtraining #k11 #k11strongchallenge
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#100daysofstrong One of the evil pleasures of being strong as hell ;-) showoff :-D but actually, its a great motivator. On the @k11fitnessacademy gym floor where I workout, everybody lifts heavy. So nothing you do ever wows anyone. But some days when I'm feeling low or need a pep, I go workout in a regular commercial gym. And suddenly my regular workout turns into a spectator sport. And it's fun! Most commercial gyms have never witnessed small, lean guys who can lift heavier than the big, bulked up guys. It's fun to see their reactions. It's even more fun to see the big guys back off and move to other weights because they have just been beaten at a game they thought was their own. When you outlift the weights they lift with all their grunting and screaming and drama, silently and as if its a prep set, their faces are worth watching. It's an evil pleasure I admit. But I bloody love it. Being small and lean but beast strong feels incredible. And there's no other feeling like it. #strong #gym #strength #training #guiltypleasure #confession
A photo posted by Pushkaraj S Shirke (@credosian) on
The ideal body pipe-dream: Magazines and misleading facebook groups often put up posts with options like this - because people fall for it! Even big supplement companies and 'celebrity' trainers indulge in shit like this. The fact is, no matter what you do, unless it's surgical, you cannot pick a physique from a catalogue and get it. No matter how hard you work for it, what training you do or what supplements you take, or what diet you follow or what God you freakkin worship! The basic principle is that your body 'structure' is determined by your genetics. No exercise will make round pecs more square, no supplement will make genetically small calves ultra swole, no training will make your hip bones narrower than they are, and nothing will give you an 8 or 6 pack if your genetic compositions gives you only 4 rectus abdominus blocks. Workout, diet and supplementation will only hypertrophy or atrophy what you already have in your genetic constitution. Having said that, there's always that bunch of jokers that believe steroids can do anything. Well, even steroids can't change your basic genetic structure. Steroids won't make your waist narrow and your biceps 'peak' or your shoulders wide and your abs a 6 pack if you don't genetically have those features. Steroids at most will hypertrophy what you already have by keeping your body in an anabolic state - while most often ruining your liver and sexual organs when abused (so be warned). Muscle and bone structure is a genetic factor that cannot be changed. Period. Infact, steroids and gh can alter the bone density and often change it in ways you may not like - for eg causing acromaglia that makes you look like an ape by body structure and by the face. So before you fall for such shit, please get educated. It will save you from being taken for a royal ride. #fitness #education #physique #bodyimage #bodybuilding #gym #lifestyle
A photo posted by Pushkaraj S Shirke (@credosian) on






- Pushkaraj S Shirke

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

The Ideal Body Pipe Dream & Misleading Media Fitness Gimmicks


The ideal body pipe-dream: Magazines and misleading facebook groups often put up posts with options like this - because people fall for it! Even big supplement companies and 'celebrity' trainers indulge in shit like this. 
The fact is, no matter what you do, unless it's surgical, you cannot pick a physique from a catalogue and get it.
No matter how hard you work for it, what training you do or what supplements you take, or what diet you follow or what God you freakkin worship!
Workout, diet and supplementation will only hypertrophy or atrophy what you already have in your genetic constitution.
Infact, steroids and gh can alter the bone density and often change it in ways you may not like - for eg causing acromaglia that makes you look like an ape by body structure and by the face.
Check out this amazing piece of stupidity:
Practicing with High Altitude Training does have its short term benefits for competing athletes if their final event is at a high altitude location - but even then, high altitude training does not mean on the fucking 8th floor of a building.
Kill me somebody.
I can't survive this stupidity.

PS: this is exactly why I loathe 'celebrity' trainers. 
Kill me somebody.
I can't survive this stupidity. 
PS: this is exactly why I loathe 'celebrity' trainers. 
Kill me somebody.
I can't survive this stupidity. 
PS: this is exactly why I loathe 'celebrity' trainers. 


The basic principle is that your body 'structure' is determined by your genetics. No exercise will make round pecs more square, no supplement will make genetically small calves ultra swole, no training will make your hip bones narrower than they are, and nothing will give you an 8 or 6 pack if your genetic compositions gives you only 4 rectus abdominus blocks. 
Having said that, there's always that bunch of jokers that believe steroids can do anything. Well, even steroids can't change your basic genetic structure. Steroids won't make your waist narrow and your biceps 'peak' or your shoulders wide and your abs a 6 pack if you don't genetically have those features. Steroids at most will hypertrophy what you already have by keeping your body in an anabolic state - while most often ruining your liver and sexual organs when abused (so be warned). Muscle and bone structure is a genetic factor that cannot be changed. Period.
So before you fall for such shit, please get educated. It will save you from being taken for a royal ride.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Having said that, 'celebrity' trainers take their clients for a royal ride almost all the time. And the media blindly propagates that bullshit. Check out this piece of bullcrap:


We need to nominate Aalia Bhatt's 'trainer' for a Dronacharya award. And aalia for a Nobel prize. What fucking stupidity is this!!! And how stupid do you have to be to believe this shit??? 
This just goes to show how stupid people can be taken for a ride in the name of 'fitness'. 
Practicing with High Altitude Training does have its short term benefits for competing athletes if their final event is at a high altitude location - but even then, high altitude training does not mean on the fucking 8th floor of a building.
Kill me somebody.
I can't survive this stupidity.

PS: this is exactly why I loathe 'celebrity' trainers. 



- Pushkaraj S Shirke

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