Monday 30 September 2013

Regain old muscle - v - build new muscle - How Tim Ferriss REALLY Gained 34 Pounds of Muscle in 28 Days

How Tim Ferriss REALLY Gained 34 Pounds of Muscle in 28 Days

Although I plan to do a full review once I’ve finished reading the 4 Hour Body, I have to stop and comment on the chapter From Geek to Freak. In this chapter author Tim Ferriss gained 34 pounds of muscle in 28 days. It is a trick and I’m going to tell you how he really did it.

The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman
The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman by Timothy Ferriss

Before I expose the trick, let me say that I believe everything Tim posted about having his measurements validated by the Human Performance Laboratory. I also agree that his training and eating protocol are solid programs for mass gaining. It’s the expectation that bothers me. Gaining 34 pounds of muscle in a month is not even close to being a realistic goal. I wish it were.

#1 The Easiest Way to Gain Muscle is to Regain Muscle

Gaining a pound of muscle is hard work. It is far easier to let an existing pound of muscle atrophy and then regain it. Anyone that has had an arm or leg in cast knows this to be true. Did Tim gain new muscle or regain lost muscle? Let us put together the clues on Tim’s true weight. From page 183.
I weighed 152 pounds throughout high school, but after training in tango in Buenos Aires in 2005, I had withered to 146.
The implication here is that Tim was weight stable at 152 and then dropped 6 pounds. But that isn’t true. In Tim’s first book, he openly discussed weight manipulation tricks he used in a 1999 kickboxing competition.
Using dehydration techniques commonly practiced by elite powerlifters and Olympic wrestlers, I lost 28 pounds in 18 hours, weighed in at 165 pounds, and then hyperhydrated back to 193 pounds.
By not stating the extreme weight fluctuation between high school and the start of the experiment is highly misleading. Since high school, Tim had gained and lost a significant amount of muscle. The easiest way to gain muscle is to regain muscle. I covered this in the post How Mickey Rourke Gained 27 Pounds of Muscle For The Wrestler. In that post I dropped in a quote from the Journal of Applied Physiology.
data suggest that rapid muscular adaptations occur as a result of strength training in previously trained as well as non-previously trained women. Some adaptations (fiber area and maximal dynamic strength) may be retained for long periods during detraining and may contribute to a rapid return to competitive form.
Tim’s trick was Mickey Rourke’s trick. Gain a bunch of muscle. Let your muscles atrophy. Take some before photos at a ridiculously low weight and then regain the muscle quickly. The problem with this chapter is that most of the readers are not in a position to regain what they never gained in the first place. This is why Neil Strauss gained 10 pounds of muscle in his 4 weeks and not 34 pounds. Ten pounds is commendable and it is more realistic for an untrained lifter that is working out hard and eating like crazy.

#2 Steroid Use?

On page 154 Tim Ferriss stated:
I have legally used low-dose anabolic steroids and other growth agents under medical supervision both before and after joint surgeries.
Has he used any other steroids? Ever? Legal where? How long before? How long after? That sentence seems like an awkward way to end a path of questioning. I don’t know if Tim Ferriss ever took anabolic steroids outside of his joint surgeries. The way that sentence was written makes me suspicious.

Anyone remember the original Body For Life contest back in 1997? A few of the male competitors made amazing transformations in 12 weeks. So much so that when pressed they confessed to prior steroid use. At the time I was living in Florida and I met a bodybuilder that was working on getting into the Body For Life contest. He stopped taking steroids and stopped lifting weights. He was working on his before photo. He knew that regaining his muscle would be no problem for the contest.
How Tim gained the muscle from high school to 1999 is the least relevant part of this story. I only bring it up because this is the part some people will focus on. Muscle is muscle regardless of how it is built.

#3 Lean Mass and Water

Here is a secret that the supplement companies don’t want you to know about. It has to do with how lean body mass is calculated. By super-hydrating, you will increase your lean mass. Brad Pilon exposed how this was done in a video last year. In a single workout, he was able to increase his lean mass by 8 pounds. The gain was all water, but since none of it was fat, it is counted as lean mass. Not lean muscle. Lean mass. This is one trick used to sell muscle gaining supplements.

How I Gained 8 lbs of LEAN MASS From Just 1 Crazy Workout



Let’s review Tim’s sentence about his hydration tricks again.
Using dehydration techniques commonly practiced by elite powerlifters and Olympic wrestlers, I lost 28 pounds in 18 hours, weighed in at 165 pounds, and then hyperhydrated back to 193 pounds.
Did he gain 28 pounds of lean mass in 18 hours? Yes, but it was all water.

Putting it All Together

Tim’s weight by his own words went from 152 to 193 back down to 146. He then gained 34 pounds of muscle in 4 weeks. No he didn’t. He regained it using some combination of lost muscle from previous gains and hydration. One summer I had my left leg in a cast. I lost a lot of muscle, but once the cast came off I made miraculous muscle gains. There was no miracle. It was just my leg returning to where it left off before the cast. Tim’s experiment was a grand version of the same thing.

I’m not a hater. I am a fan of Tim Ferriss. He is the brother I wish I had, however this chapter is a hoax. Gaining muscle takes time and effort. Once you get past your beginner gains, it can be a slow process. Don’t be fooled by ridiculous claims. It is usually someone trying to profit from your desire to take a short cut.

Monday 23 September 2013

"Deadlifts Make The Man" Part 1 & Part 2 - [Yo Elliott Miami 2013]



Why Deep Squatting is Critically Important

Forget Sit Ups — Try This 3-Minute Ab Challenge

Forget Sit Ups — Try This 3-Minute Ab Challenge

Forget Sit Ups — Try This 3-Minute Ab Challenge post image

by Jason Klein

The “crunch” and the “sit-up” are becoming extinct.

You’re probably wondering how that’s even possible. After all, these movements are staples. They’ve been around forever.


They’re going extinct because folks are finally catching on to the fact that exercises like these are the cause of a LOT of lower back issues.

And here’s the worst part… You don’t even need them to get that six pack of your dreams!

That’s right. there’s absolutely no reason to stress out your spine if all you want is a great set of abs.
Now don’t get me wrong. Diet plays a huge role here too. Great abs are truly “made in the kitchen.” But part of this is trainable too, because those abdominal muscles are… well… muscles.

You need to strengthen them just like any other body part if you want them to tone up and stand out.
And that’s what I want to share with you today.

I’ve got an awesome 3-minute ab challenge that has been labeled “deceiving” by top strength and conditioning coaches. It’s pretty tough. But it works. And hey, you get it over with in just 3 minutes. You can do anything for 3 minutes… right?

Ready to give it a try?

Let’s go through a sequence that my clients love to call the 3-Minute Ab Annihilator!

The Exercises

1. Prone Iso-Ab Position

a

This is your starting position. Notice that my body is straight and neutral.

My glutes and abs are flexed, and my spine is in a straight line from crown to tailbone.

When you focus on contracting your muscles in this specific way, you WILL experience accelerated results.

2. Prone Iso-Climber (alternating)

b
Here’s the part that makes this challenge a Challenge…
The goal is to try to touch your knee to your elbow while maintaining a neutral spine. Your body will shift, and that’s perfectly fine and natural. Just don’t rest your knees on the ground or you’ll lose the effect.

3. Prone Knee Drives

c

This one can be a little awkward if you don’t focus on form. The goal is to push your knee through towards your chin. This is an alternating movement, so make sure you change left to right as you go.
So those are the exercises you’ll be performing. We’ll put it in motion in the video below:

Remember, this is challenge. It’s 3 minutes in total. Once you start there’s no stopping — unless you absolutely need to rest for a few seconds.

And please hold in the Prone Iso-ab Position if you begin to tire out.

A few points to keep in mind

The most common error I’ve seen from working with hundreds of clients is that, when they get tired, they tend to lower their hips toward the ground.

Don’t do this. It causes excessive strain on the low back.

You can avoid “the sag” by keeping your glutes and abs flexed the entire time. Remember, it’s better to rest your knees on the ground, pause for a second, and then continue through the exercise than it is to sag at the middle.

Abs are the same as any other muscle group. For this reason, I recommend that my clients DO NOT work abdominals heavily every day. Your abs need time to recover and grow.

Now get off the computer and give this a try!

I guarantee that the 3-Minute Ab Annihilator will challenge you no matter what your fitness level.

You may also enjoy:
  1. Can You Handle This Killer Pull Up Challenge?
  2. TWO-MINUTE yoga trick to improve your day
  3. Pilates Butt Burn for a Beach-Ready Booty

Finisher Approach #3 – Ladders — The 3 Best “Twists” to Finish Your Workouts

5 Extra Minutes To Faster Fat Burning — The 3 Best “Twists” to Finish Your Workouts

Finisher Approach #3 – Ladders
What’s that? You still haven’t had enough? Then here’s one more…

Ladders can trick you because they look so easy on paper. This is when you do a certain number of reps of each exercise, then in the next round you do one less rep, etc. until you get to zero.

You can even combine the Density approach with a Ladder, too. But that’s a post for another day…

For now, try this rocking Ladder Finisher!

The “Simple Triple” Finisher

Do the following circuit, resting as little as possible.

In the first circuit you’ll complete 6 reps of each exercise. In the next circuit, you’ll complete 5 reps of each exercise. Continue in this fashion — subtracting one rep each round — until you’re down to 1 rep of each exercise. That’s your last round. You’re done!
  • Lunge Jumps or Alternating Reverse Lunge (6/side => 1/side)
  • Renegade Row (6/side => 1/side)
  • Bench Vault (6/side => 1/side)
Here’s a quick primer on how to do the movements.

Lunge Jumps
  • Start at the bottom of a split squat position. Your front thigh should be parallel to the floor, your torso upright and your abs braced.
  • Jump up explosively and switch leg positions in the air. Your back leg becomes the front leg and vice versa. Absorb the landing with your muscles while keeping your abs braced and torso upright.
  • Alternate sides without resting until you reach the desired number of reps.
whit-twist4

Renegade Row
  • Assume the pushup position while keeping your hands on a pair of dumbbells and your arms extended.
  • Keep your abs braced.
  • Complete a DB Row, maintaining a straight line with your body.
  • Alternate sides and repeat.
whit-twist5

Bench Vault
  • Place both hands on the sides of a bench, and keep your abs braced.
  • In one motion, vault over the bench, driving your arms down and pulling your legs, knees and butt toward the ceiling.
  • Repeat in the opposite direction.
whit-twist6

Whew! Now THAT’S how you finish ANY workout with a big bang!

Want to speed up your fat loss even more? Add these “workout finishers” to your routine:

Finisher Approach # 2 – Density — The 3 Best “Twists” to Finish Your Workouts

5 Extra Minutes To Faster Fat Burning — The 3 Best “Twists” to Finish Your Workouts

Finisher Approach # 2 – Density

Let’s take a look at another type of finisher that you can add to your routine. This one’s called Density.
There are actually a variety of approaches within this category. First, there’s timed sets. That’s when you do an exercise for a certain amount of time while completing as many reps as possible.

Another approach that uses Density is when you do a certain number of rounds (supersets or circuits) in a given time frame. The set and rep schemes can be really crazy. So crazy, in fact, that they’re called crazy names… like the Metabolic Deuces…

“Metabolic Deuces” Finisher





Do the following circuit as many times as possible in 4 minutes, resting only when needed.

If your form gets sloppy, you MUST stop and rest. Once the 4 minutes are up, you’re done.
  • Vertical Jump and Stick (2 reps)
  • Explosive Pushup or Normal Pushup (2 reps)
  • Skater Hops (2 reps per side)
  • Burpee/X-Body Mountain Climber Combo (2 reps)
Here’s a quick video to walk you through it:

Finisher Approach # 1 – Gauntlets — The 3 Best “Twists” to Finish Your Workouts

5 Extra Minutes To Faster Fat Burning — The 3 Best “Twists” to Finish Your Workouts

Finisher Approach # 1 – Gauntlets
A gauntlet is just my fancy name for when you assign a certain exercise as the “gauntlet” within a circuit.

So you’ll perform the gauntlet exercise followed by a new exercise, then back to the gauntlet exercise, etc.

You’re craving to try one now, aren’t you? I got you covered. Let’s hit the “Swingin’ the Abs” finishers…

“Swingin’ the Abs” Finisher

Do the following circuit ONE time, resting only when needed.
  • KB or DB Swings (20 reps)
  • Pushup/X-Body Mountain Climber Combo (12 reps)
  • KB or DB Swings (20 reps)
  • Plank to Tricep Extensions (12 reps)
  • KB or DB Swings (20 reps)
  • Hand Step-ups (12 reps)
  • KB or DB Swings (20 reps)
See how the KB/DB Swings act as the “gauntlet” exercise?

Here are some coaching cues for each of the exercises in this routine.

Pushup/X-Body Mountain Climber Combo
  • Start in the pushup position with your abs braced.
  • Perform a pushup by lowering yourself to the ground, keeping a straight line from the crown of your head to your heels.
  • Push through your hands to return to the starting position.
  • Perform an X-Body Mountain Climber by bringing one knee towards the opposite elbow while keeping your body in a straight line. Repeat on the other side.
  • That’s one rep – repeat as necessary.
whit-twist1

Plank to Tricep Extension
  • Raise your body in a straight line and rest your weight on your elbows and toes, so your body hovers over the mat.
  • Keep your back straight and your hips up. Hold (brace) your abs tight. Contract them as if someone were about to punch you in the stomach, but remember to breathe normally.
  • Now contract your triceps and press your palms into the ground to push your body up to the push-up position. Take 2 seconds to do it. It should be slow and deliberate.
  • Slowly return to the start position.
whit-twist2

Hand Step-ups
  • In the pushup position, place your hands on a small step.
  • Bring your right hand down to the ground while maintaining a straight line with your body. Don’t let your hips sag.
  • Bring the left hand down.
  • Then bring the right hand back up to the step followed by the left hand.
whit-twist3

Those hand step-ups are NO joke! They look easy on paper, but they’ll challenge your abs in a whole new way.

How To Deadlift Properly- The Ultimate Guide

Correct Dead Lift Form for tall athletes

Tips For Healthier Shoulders- Part 2 - How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet | How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet

27 Tips For Healthier Shoulders- Part 2 - How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet | How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet



pushups 27 Tips For Healthier Shoulders  Part 2I hope you guys enjoyed the first installment of this article. Today I’m serving up Part 2…

11) Do More Pushups- Pushups are still one of my top ten favorite exercises and always will be. They are also significantly better for your shoulders than any other form of horizontal pressing with a bar or dumbbells. Pushups are highly underrated because people don’t know how to load them properly or do advanced variations.

For loading you can get a weighted vest, chains, a Power Pushup (which is awesome) or even have a partner hold weight plates on your back. A great loading variation, and one that is very comfortable is to place a sandbag on your back with or without additional weight vests.

12)  Do Suspended Pushups- Suspended pushups with rings or the Jungle Gym XT call even more muscles into play and force your stabilizer muscles to fire even harder. This is great for building up injury proof shoulders.

13) Do Kettlebell Turkish Get Ups- If you could only do one rehab/prehab/shoulder stabilization exercise this would probably have to be it, in my opinion. Make them a regular part of your routine and your shoulders will feel better.

14) Practice Handstand Holds- This is very similar to the concept of holding the barbell overhead only in this case you are holding your own bodyweight which increases neuromuscular activation and makes it significantly more effective. I recommend kicking up into a handstand against the wall at the end of each upper body workout and holding it for as long as possible.

When you get good at that try removing the wall. This is great for shoulder stabilization.

15) Walk on Your Hands- Once you get comfortable with handstands start walking laterally along the wall with your feet still in contact with it. Eventually, once you master your handstands you can start walking without the wall. In the meantime, slap a Power Wheel on your feet and walk up and down the gym floor or across a field. A great goal to shoot for is being able to walk 100 yards on your hands.

You can make hand walking even more challenging by doing Alligator pushups with the Power Wheel . Any type of dynamic range of motion exercise like this that has you moving positions on each rep is great for strengthening the shoulders.

Tips for Healthier Shoulders- Part 1 - How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet | How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet

27 Tips for Healthier Shoulders- Part 1 - How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet | How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet
"Why, you ask? Because when you’ve torn traps, rotator cuffs and labrums you develop a pretty keen interest in avoiding shoulder injuries."


PhilGrippaldiOH2 27 Tips for Healthier Shoulders  Part 1

I’ve spent the last two and a half decades pounding the shit out of my shoulders. While that sucks for me it’s actually good news for you. Why, you ask? Because when you’ve torn traps, rotator cuffs and labrums you develop a pretty keen interest in avoiding shoulder injuries.

You also develop a pretty good MacGyver instinct about how to work around them. And today I’m going to share some of that information with the Renegade Army.

Here is a list of  tips that will help you keep your shoulders strong and healthy.

1) Do YTWL’s as a Warm Up Before Every Workout- This is an awesome way to fire up all the muscles you need to protect your shoulders against injury.

2) Do 30-50 Reps Per Day of Shoulder Dislocations With a Broomstick- This increases mobility and pumps healing nutrients into your shoulders. Do this every day of the week for a month and I can almost guarantee you that your shoulders will feel better.

3) Do Vertical Pressing Before Horizontal Pressing- If you are going to do some form of military press and some form of bench press in the same workout try doing the overhead work first. I have found this to be a great way to avoid pain and strengthen your shoulders. I can’t explain exactly why but the overhead work just seems to prepare you better for the bench pressing variations. I have had numerous people try this (many of whom had pain with any form of benching with a bar or dumbbells) and they all reported feeling significantly better.

4) Begin the First Rep of Any Set of Military Presses with a Slight Leg Drive- You don’t have to turn the whole set into push presses but you do want to use a slight leg drive to at least get the very first rep moving. The reason for that is because pressing the bar off your front delts from a dead stop with no momentum can be very stressful. It’s the most stressful part of the entire rep. Unless you are competing in some kind of strict pressing contest I’d recommend using the leg drive. If you have preexisting shoulder injuries you may want to do a slight push press on every rep.

5) At the End of Each Set of Military Presses You Do Hold the Bar in the Top Position- This is sometimes referred to as structural integrity work and can help strengthen, stabilize and bulletproof the shoulders. I recommend holding the bar up there at lockout (the joints are meant to lock and support load so forget about that myth that you should never lock out) for three to five seconds. On the last set of the day you could hold it up there for ten seconds or longer.

6) Use a Swiss Bar Instead of Straight Bar for Horizontal Pressing- The Swiss bar allows you to press with your palms facing in towards each other which is far more natural and a lot safer. If you train at home or some type of small warehouse gym I highly recommend ordering. I would ALWAYS make that my bar of choice if I were ever to bench press again.

7) Swap Out Bench Presses For Low Incline Presses- Most regular readers know by now that I’m not a huge fan of the flat bench press. But I do like having big barbell movements in the program as indicator lifts. The low inline press, with the bench set to somewhere between fifteen and thirty degrees was a favorite chest exercise of six time Mr. Olympia, Dorian Yates. This variation hits the pecs more effectively and is less stressful on the shoulder. Even better is the low incline press with the Swiss Bar.

8] Never Bench Press With a Wide Grip- In powerlifting it’s known that using a wider grip reduces the range of motion and thus, theoretically you should be able to press more weight. The downside is that the wide grip puts your shoulders through hell so you should really consider avoiding it and only benching with a close to medium grip width. The widest I would ever recommend is pinkies in the rings and even closer than that for most people. You have to think long term and remember that if you shoulders are destroyed you won’t even be able to bench the bar eventually.

The great Konstantinovs knows the importance of this and has discussed it in the past. Here he is in the video below benching 507 for 3 with what many might consider a close grip.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7TIUMm8uQQ#t=14

9)  If You Do Flat or Incline Presses With Dumbbells Always Use a Neutral Grip- As mentioned above, the neutral grip is a lot more natural and allows you to keep your elbows in tighter while sparing your shoulders.

10) Always Keep Your Shoulder Blades Fully Squeezed Together During Horizontal Pressing Movements- Whenever you are lying on your back and pressing a bar or dumbbells you want to maintain a very tight, bunched up feeling in your upper back and never allow your shoulder blades to come apart. This keeps the shoulders in a much stronger and safer position.

The Shocking Truth About Chin Ups - How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet | How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet

The Shocking Truth About Chin Ups - How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet | How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet

"Another option is to do mixed grip chins with one hand facing away and the other facing you. Obviously, you’ll want to change your grip each set.

You can also do parallel grip chins by getting sideways under the bar and gripping it with one hand over the other or by placing a V-grip cable attachment over it."



arnold back The Shocking Truth About Chin Ups

The straight bar chin up with your palms facing you places too much stress on the wrists, elbows and shoulders and should be eliminated from your program.

Even if you haven’t experienced it yet chances are good that a steady diet of supinated (palms facing you) straight bar chin ups may come back to bite you in the ass… or elbow, eventually.

Pull ups (palms facing away from you) on a straight bar are a bit safer but could also be eliminated if you want to be ultra conservative or you have any shoulder problems.

The simple solution is to stick with neutral grip chin/pull ups with your palms facing each other. You can mix up the grip width and have numerous options to play with.

Another great option is a chin up or pull up done on an angled or EZ/zig zag style chin up bar.
That should be a staple in every gym and should replace the straight bar on the top of all power racks and on all wall mounted chin up bars.

These are far less stressful on the wrists, elbows and shoulders than the straight bar.

The Best Way to Do Chin Ups

The best option is chin ups performed on rings. With rings you can use any grip you want.
You can start with your palms facing away and finish with your palms facing your or you can keep a neutral grip the entire time. It’s up to you and can be dictated by what feels safest and most natural for your body.

When you’re on a fixed bar you can’t move naturally and that’s what leads to problems.
That’s why for a lot of individuals with shoulder issues, including myself, pushups on rings feel better than pushups on the ground; because you can move more freely and naturally.

If you choose to start doing your chins on rings you should be forewarned that a ten rep max may quickly become 3-4 rep max. This is normal so don’t be frustrated.

One quick solution would to attach a band to each ring and put your feet in them while doing your set. When your strength comes up get rid of the bands.

The other solution is to just do a bunch of low rep sets until you are strong enough to rep out on the rings like you can on the bar. When you do that you will end up far stronger and have more well developed stabilizer muscles than if you had just stuck with the straight bar the whole time.

What if You Only Have a Straight Bar?

It’s not the end of the world. Do pull ups (palms facing away) instead of chin ups (palms facing you) and choose the least stressful grip width (usually about shoulder width).

Another option is to do mixed grip chins with one hand facing away and the other facing you. Obviously, you’ll want to change your grip each set.

You can also do parallel grip chins by getting sideways under the bar and gripping it with one hand over the other or by placing a V-grip cable attachment over it.

But in my mind it’s worth the investment to find a gym or rack with neutral grip chin up bars or grab yourself a pair of rings.

You’ll pay far less for them than you will for the doctor’s bills later on down the line.

One final note I should make is that the amount of chins you do should be evened out with an equal amount of rowing motion exercises (face pulls, band pull aparts, inverted rows, etc.) for the upper back.

If you don’t do that you could end up with internally rotated shoulders and a host of other problems you’d want to avoid.

Chin ups are one the absolute best, most badass muscle building exercises you can do and they should be a regular part of every program.

If you can minimize the nagging injuries that may come along with them then you really have a win-win.

Ad Hoc Tips - How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet

53 Ways to Build Muscle, Gain Strength & Be F*ckin Awesome - How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet | How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet

11. Jump or throw something after your warm up and before you start your main lift.
It fires up your CNS and better prepares you to move some heavy shit. Explosiveness is another quality that disappears with age. Don’t lose it.

12. Be explosive on every rep.
Even your warm ups (to a point, you don’t have to explode the empty bar so excessively that you dislocate your shoulder). This fires up your CNS and fast twitch fibers.

13. Don’t cause excessive fatigue on your warm up sets.
But don’t rush them or neglect them either. Keep the reps low to moderate and find the balance.

14. Make smaller jumps en route to your top end set.
When working up to a heavy triple, double or single it’s best to use smaller jumps and take about 6-12 sets to get to your max. You will find that your top end sets feel lighter when you do this versus if you just jumped right into them after only a few warm up sets.

15. Squat.
It’s an essential human movement pattern. Do it with a bar in front or back, goblet style, with kettlebells, or with weight overhead. Just do it. That’s all that matters.


16. Always squeeze the bar as hard as you can.
Trying to crush it, on every lift you do. This will ensure tightness.

17. Squeeze your glutes tightly and brace your abs on every standing exercise.
This will help protect your spine and elicit more full body tension. Tension equals strength.


18. Always maintain optimal posture throughout your sets.
Never let your shoulders slouch forward or your lower back round out.

bodybuilder 53 Ways to Build Muscle, Gain Strength & Be F*ckin Awesome
19. Do more moving and supporting on your hands.
Practice handstands against the wall, do Power Wheel hand walks, lateral hand walks, alligator pushups, partner assisted wheel barrow walks, etc. This is great for building up strength and stability in the shoulders.

20. Use thick handles or Fat Gripz as often as possible.
This will strengthen the hands/grip and build up bigger forearms. It also alleviates elbow and shoulder stress.


21. An awesome workout template goes like this:
Some type of jump or throw for power development, big barbell lift for maximal strength development, bodyweight exercises for assistance work, strongman finisher. Try it.

22. Don’t train to failure.
This fries your CNS, increases the likelihood of injury and makes it harder to recover from one workout tot he next. Leave a rep in the tank.

23. Incorporate more static gymnastic holds.
Front levers, handstands, planche work and l-sits are all essentials in Renegade programs. They build insane levels of strength and athleticism that can’t be duplicated with other methods.

24. Don’t use less than 60% of your max on any exercise (unless you’re training for speed).

The resistance won’t be enough to stimulate any size or strength gains and will serve very little purpose. (There are some exceptions but this is a pretty good rule to follow)

25. Jump rope.
Doing so will improve your foot speed and conditioning.


26. Do more exercises standing than sitting or lying down.
You sit or lie down to relax; not to train.

27.  Pick heavy shit up off the ground.
This is a basic fundamental law of being strong.


28. Carry heavy shit.
Exercises like farmers walks simultaneously strengthen the traps, lower back, grip, hips, knees and ankles. They’re tough to beat.

29. Press, support or carry heavy shit overhead more often.
The more overhead work you do the more you will bulletproof your shoulders against injury. Most people do too much horizontal pressing and not even vertical.


30. Do more pushups.
Though often overlooked, pushups are still one of the greatest exercises in the world and always will be. If you are beyond the beginner level figure out creative ways to load them (weight vests, plates on back, chains, bands) or make them harder (steep incline, 1 arm, modified planche, divebomber, on rings, etc.).

31. Decrease your rest periods.
Heed Louie’s words. One of the ways to do so is cut your rest periods when appropriate.


32. Do something active 5 days per week.
Three or four 45 minute heavy lifting sessions will get you strong, but you won’t necessarily be well conditioned or healthy. You want to have all three covered. The body is meant to move everyday. It’s how we evolved. If you only strength train three days you should definitely be out doing something active another two or three days. Even if it’s just going for a walk or doing some mobility work get moving.

33. Take one day completely off.
The body needs a break once in a while.

34. Don’t train for more than an hour.
Your testosterone levels will drop and cortisol levels will start climbing.

35. Run, jump, climb and crawl.
It’s what your body was designed to do. Simply lifting weights is not enough. You have to MOVE!

36. Minimize loaded spinal flexion.
Your spine will thank you later. That’s not to say you can’t do some, like if you’re lifting stones. But if you’re injury prone I’d heed the overwhelming body of evidence telling us that this can be dangerous.

37.  Listen to your body.
When you have nagging pains it’s almost always better to train around them than through them. Trust me.

38. Take a week off when your body needs it.
For most people a deload week is actually better than a week off. But if you’re over 35-40 you will probably benefit more from a complete week off every 12-16 weeks.

39. Reps get you swole ONLY IF…
You’re not a beginner anymore and have built up a good foundation of strength. If you’re relying on pump work as someone who is tiny and weak you will probably remain that way. Get strong first then hit the rep work.


female volleyball player2 53 Ways to Build Muscle, Gain Strength & Be F*ckin Awesome 
40. Play.
We forget to do this as we get older.


41. Get at least 20 minutes of sunlight per day.
Vitamin D is critically important to your health and performance and natural sunlight is the best source. During the winter you need to supplement with it.


42. Do hill sprints.
They shred bodyfat, crank up your conditioning and toughen you up. Plus Walter Payton did them which makes them awesome.


43.    Go to bed by 10:30 every night. Eleven at the latest.
That means turn the TV and computer off and do your body some good.

The weights you are moving and/or your bodyweight do not change. Instead, the complexity of the movement changes

The #1 Reason You Aren't Making Consistent Gains (and How to Fix it) - How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet | How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet

clap pushup The #1 Reason You Arent Making Consistent Gains (and How to Fix it)
















Here are the FACT’s…

The more control you have over your movement capacity — external (as in the case of lifting weights) or internal (as in the case of bodyweight training) — the better you will look, feel, and perform.
So, how do you make constant gains by inserting Progressive Movement Technology™ into your workouts?

It’s really quite simple.

Form follows function...
First, start with the basic movements of the human body—things like squats, deadlifts, presses, pulls, pushes, rows, and core stability. And second, create a series of more difficult variations for each of the exercises.


Here are examples for both bodyweight and weighted movement progressions. Once you can do 3 sets of 10 reps on each (A) exercise, simply move on to the next variation (B, C, D, etc.) until you can again do 3 sets of 10 reps of the new exercise..

BODYWEIGHT EXAMPLE:
(A) Kneeling Pushups —–> (B) Regular Pushups  —–> (C) Clap Pushups  —–> (D) Vertical Pike Presses —–> (E) Handstand Pushups

WEIGHTED EXAMPLE: (Use The Same Weight For Each)
(A) Deadlift —–> (B) One Arm Deadlift  —–> (C) One Arm Swing  —–> (D) One Arm High Pull —–> (E) One Arm Snatch

As you can see, in both of these cases the weights you are moving and/or your bodyweight do not change. Instead, the complexity of the movement changes. The reason this is so poerful is because of the way your nervous system responds to adaptations of movement complexity.

Imagine unlocking new strength and coordination in your muscles that you might not even know you have.

And the best part…

You don’t have to stop training the way you currently love! In fact, you can continue your training program and just add 10-20 minutes of progressive movement cross training 2-3 times each week to get great results!

The key with progressive movement training is to consistently up your game by mastering one movement and then simply moving up the ladder to the next, more difficult movement. The amount of time doesn’t really matter, only that you keep moving forward.

By adding this style of training to your workouts, you’ll allow your body to adapt to movements you might not normally do. Along the way, you’ll build a body that looks, feels, and performs the best it possibly can.

***

If you’re into learning more ways to include progressive movement training into your workouts and tack them onto the end of hard training sessions check out Tyler’s NEW CT-50 system.

Sunday 22 September 2013

Low-Intensity Exercise – Lactic Acid and Growth Hormone: 180 Degree Health

Low-Intensity Exercise Part III – Lactic Acid and Growth Hormone – 180 Degree Health

Posted


There isn’t a whole lot more that I wanted to say about low-intensity exercise other than for some indivuals, particularly those very sensitive to stress, may fare better keeping intensity level very low.  But I did want to get a few words in about lactic acid and growth hormone, as there is a huge blind infatuation with growth hormone these days.

Growth hormone is far from being worthy of blind worship.  Growth hormone is something that surges when the body is subjected to major stresses.  Two of the most major stresses – fasting and high-intensity exercise at or near one’s maximum heart rate, stimulate the most dramatic increase in growth hormone.  Anorexics, for example, have much higher levels of growth hormone, and are even thought to develop resistance to growth hormone similar to what happens in rats when carbohydrates are removed from the diet.  Growth hormone interacts with other hormones, like IGF-1, and high levels of growth hormone with low levels of IGF-1 are hallmarks of type 2 diabetes.

So growth hormone isn’t necessarily good or bad.  It depends, like most things, on context.  I suspect that very large elevations in growth hormone induced by intense stress may not yield the effect many people think they will get from growth hormone.  Most think of growth hormone as being synonymous with the fountain of youth.  Phil Campbell, one of the leading researchers promoting high-intensity exercise and the Peak 8 or Sprint 8 program he developed, even states that growth hormone should be called “youth hormone.”  Through his growth hormone lens, he even recommends avoiding carbohydrates post-workout despite the giant wealth of research unanimously pointing towards the superiority of big, high-glycemic index carbohydrate supplementation before, during, and immediately after exercise.  Others avoid carbohydrates at night to get a bigger nighttime growth hormone secretion during sleep.

In fact, if you were only trying to maximize growth hormone without any other considerations, the best way to do that would be fasting, carb-restriction, keeping calories low, and regularly performing maximum intensity exercise.  Great for short-term weight loss.  Horrible for long-term health, metabolism, and future body composition.

Like just about anything, there are multiple angles of investigating something.  A myopic view on growth hormone without any regard for other growth factors needed for that equation to be successful, or regard for the possibility of developing growth hormone resistance and having the exact opposite intended result long-term, is a dangerous view.  A great example of this in action is bone loss in anorexics with raised growth hormone levels – ironic considering growth hormone’s direct, active role in growing new bone.

As far as how lactic acid ties into this – lactic acid, presumed by Ray Peat and others to be a harmful byproduct in any context, increases in proportion to the cardiovascular intensity of exercise.  More lactic acid – more growth hormone secretion.  To keep lactic acid production low, heart rate shouldn’t exceed about 70% of one’s estimated maximum heart rate (220 – Your Age).  And lots of low to moderate exercise is even thought to improve lactic acid clearance – probably a good thing.  It might be a little quick to state that “cardio” is dead and that high intensity interval training, circuit training, and other forms of breathless exercise are unquestionably superior in every situation.  That may certainly not be true for you, the individual.

Anyway, not trying to scare anyone away from hard exercise.  Just trying to even the playing field between the modern high-intensity fad and the old, low-intensity fad.  There are pros and cons to each approach, and most probably need a blend of both for health and well-rounded fitness and functionality.
As always, keep an open mind and find what you like, what works, and what increases your metabolism, lowers stress, and enhances your life overall.  These kinds of considerations don’t even seem to enter into scientific debate, which speaks volumes about the limitations of a purely science-guided approach to living a long and prosperous life.

Lack of dietary carbohydrates induces hepatic growth hormone (GH) resistance in rats
The role of growth hormone in diabetes mellitus 
Importance of raised growth hormone levels in mediating the metabolic derangements of diabetes 
Growth Hormone Secretion in Response to Stress in Man
Raised Growth Hormone in Anorexia

Post Workout Fasting?

Post Workout Fasting?



Blog for Michael Allen Smith of Seattle

I got an email from Don with a question that ties into my ice cream post on the topic of post workout fasting.
I am wondering what you think of the “no fructose (or any carbs, really) for about 4 hours after a fasted work out” so as not to suppress the natural growth hormone spike that occurs after this type of work out (and how ice cream cold fit into that)? I am a 50 yr old guy who is looking to add muscle and natural growth hormone release seems to be a great idea for me and I don’t want to suppress it. I am going to be going on a bit of a bulking cycle and I was thinking of going the ice cream route. Do you think eating ice cream right after my workouts will be more beneficial for me (as far as gaining muscle) than the HGH release or, should I continue with the no carb post work out window and then fill up on ice cream? Thanks!
I’ll start by saying that I am not an expert in hormones and that even the experts have disagreed on this point. I do have personal experience both fasting and not fasting post workout. My opinion has the context that I am an ectomorph at a healthy ideal weight.

When I fasted for a few hours post workout, I lost strength. It was fatiguing to my body. I covered this in the 2011 post Intermittent Fasting – Mistakes I’ve Made:
This may just apply to ectomorphs, but I what I discovered in 2009 was that fasted weight training not only resulted in fat loss, but without a post-workout meal I started to lose strength.
From a paleo perspective this makes sense. I was hungry and went on a hunt. At the hunt I engaged in a battle. For me that was lifting weights at the gym. A successful hunt would have resulted in a kill and a meal. After a few months, I kept returning from the hunt in a hungry state. From the standpoint of nature, I was being every bit as energy foolish as the cardio junkies. That behavior gets punished if it happens repeatedly.
Assuming one exercises safely, the limiting factors for gaining muscle are calorie surplus and reducing stress. Reducing stress increases recoverability. I believe that reducing post workout stress is even more critical for ectomorphs, because we have less glycogen stores.

By denying yourself food after an intense workout, you might have higher GH, but your body is also in a high stress mode. As a side note, there are concerns that growth hormone might be stressful for its own reasons. See the article Growth hormone: Hormone of Stress, Aging, & Death by Dr. Ray Peat. Matt Stone also has a good article on the topic titled Low-Intensity Exercise Part III – Lactic Acid and Growth Hormone.

I think that ending the post workout stress by restoring glycogen levels should be your primary goal. When glycogen levels are depleted or run low, the stress hormone adrenaline is released. That could impact your sleep, especially if your workout was in the afternoon. Poor sleep is no friend to muscle growth.

ice cream

Ice Cream Horror by wee lakeo. Don’t fast post workout. Eat some ice cream!

For reasons I’ve already covered, I think ice cream is the perfect food to eat post workout. If you can’t handle dairy, make it coconut milk ice cream. Regular milk or dairy kefir with fruit work as well.
When I stopped post workout fasting, my strength returned. I was able to gain muscle. I had better sleep and I recovered from workouts faster. I’d love to hear from others on their experiences post workout fasting in the comments.

Thursday 12 September 2013

Pull-up bar and straps - Pulling Exercises: Project: Kratos bodyweight high intensity training program





Uploaded on 17 Jul 2013
 
Demonstration of the proper performance of the pulling exercises for the Project: Kratos bodyweight high intensity training program

DIY Suspension Trainer | High Intensity Training by Drew Baye

DIY Suspension Trainer | High Intensity Training by Drew Baye

If you work out at home or outdoors or travel frequently I recommend making yourself a suspension trainer; a pair of handles or loops on ropes or webbing which can be used to perform a variety of bodyweight exercises like chin ups, rows, and inverted curls when there are no bars or suitable handholds to hang from. They’re lightweight and take up little space in your suitcase, back pack, or car trunk, and they can be quickly and securely anchored between a door and door frame, looped over a bar or an exposed beam or joist, or clipped to an eye bolt securely fastened to a load bearing structure. They can also be looped under the feet or anchored to the ground or a post and used for a variety of isometric exercises or to assist with balance during exercises like bodyweight squats.

suspension-trainer-row

A variety of commercial suspension trainers are available, but most are ridiculously overpriced considering how inexpensive the materials are and how easy they are to construct. The popular TRX home suspension training kit costs $200 and many competing brands cost over $100, but you can easily build your own in a few minutes for around $20 using common materials available at any home improvement store and a few basic tools.

The design I describe here cost me less than twenty dollars and only took a few minutes to make.
This could mean a savings of several hundreds of dollars for a gym or personal training studio planning to install multiple suspension training stations if they make them themselves.

Materials

Suspension trainers are typically made with nylon webbing, plastic buckles, and foam covered PVC handles. You can buy a pair of tie down straps made of strong webbing with plastic buckles at home improvement stores for around seven or eight dollars, and a two foot length of three quarters or one inch schedule 40 PVC will cost you a little over a dollar.

If you plan to hang them from a chinning bar or power rack frame one pair of eight foot straps is enough. If you plan to hang them from an overhead beam or anchor them to the top of a door frame you will need to buy another pair of straps for extra length.

Spring clips can be used to prevent the straps from slipping when anchored between a door and the top of a door frame (use them with the clips on the side of the door facing the outside of the frame) or to clip them to eye bolts you can fasten to a beam or joist or to allow you to quickly clip them to a bar.

Suspension Trainer Door Mounting

The webbing I bought was rated to hold up to two hundred pounds and the spring clips were rated for double that, so the pair of straps can handle well over my body weight. Always check the strength before buying anything you plan to hang from or support your body weight on, and err on the strong side with both materials and design.

If you can’t find straps like these at your local home improvement store you can get both heavy duty webbing and plastic hardware at Strap Works very inexpensively (one inch webbing with a breaking strength of over three thousand pounds is only $0.45 per foot)

suspension-trainer-webbing

I bought one inch schedule 40 PVC, which has an outer diameter of around one and a quarter inch. If you plan to put cushioned grips on yours buy the three quarter inch PVC, which has an outer diameter of a little over an inch because the cushioned grip will add around another quarter inch to the diameter. For a cushioned grip, buy a 1×12 padded grip from an exercise equipment parts supplier like Full Circle Padding, cut off the end, and cut it into two six inch pieces to cover the handles.

The set I made included a single pair of straps ($6.97), a two foot section of one inch, schedule 40 PVC ($1.80) and two half inch spring clips ($4.64 each) for a total cost of $18.71, which is a savings of over $180 compared to the TRX.

If you don’t need the spring clips the total cost is only $9.43. If you get an extra pair of straps for more length and a twelve inch padded grip from Full Circle Padding ($5.75 plus shipping) would bring the total up to the mid thirties, which is still a very reasonable price.

Tools

All you need is something to cut the PVC and some sandpaper to smooth the edges and rough up the surface to improve grip if you aren’t going to add padded grips. If you are adding padded grips you’ll also need a scissors to cut them with.

I used a hacksaw and a miter box to keep the cuts reasonably straight. If you don’t have a saw or pipe cutter and don’t want to buy one you should be able to find someone at your home improvement store to cut the handles for you.

DIY Suspension Trainer Materials

You will need a tape measure and a sharpie to mark the cuts on the PVC and grips and mark lengths on the webbing so you can adjust both straps to equal lengths.

Construction

Measure and mark off two six inch lengths on your PVC. If you are adding a padded grip cut the end off and mark off two equal lengths (the halfway point if you purchased a twelve inch grip). Double check before cutting.

suspension-trainer-handle-measure

Cut the PVC handles.
suspension-trainer-handle-cut

Sand the outside and inside edges of the ends of the handles and rough up the outside to improve the grip if you don’t plan to put padded grips on them. If you are putting padded grips on the handles spraying them with hairspray first will help keep the grips in place.

suspension-trainer-handle-sand

You could simply thread the tie downs through your handles, fasten the buckles, and put the spring clips on, but I think using the buckle to create separate loops for the handles and the rest of the strap looks better than using one big loop and it keeps the handles in one place.

Thread the end of the webbing through the handle then through the middle of the buckle frame…

suspension-trainer-handle-assembly1

…then back around through the buckle to secure it.
suspension-trainer-handle-assembly2

After you do this for both straps, measure off equal lengths from the ends of the webbing and mark them with the sharpie. If you plan to use the straps at different lengths for different exercises, measure and make marks at those lengths for quick reference when making adjustments.

suspension-trainer-webbing-marking

Put the spring clips on if you plan to use them, and you’re set.
suspension-trainer-complete

While there are other ways to construct these, this is one of the quickest and requires no sewing or additional hardware.

If you have a machine or a heavy duty stitching awl and don’t mind sewing, cut the end with the buckle off one of the straps and thread each end through a handle and sew it into a loop using strong thread, which you can also get at Strap Works. In the example I mocked up with duct tape pictured below I measured off twenty four inches for each loop, and duct taped about the last three inches of the loop together.

Then fold the strap in half creating a loop with the fold, and sew the strap together from about three inches to about six inches from the fold, creating a loop. Thread the other strap through the loop and fasten the buckle. Mark off regular increments on the strap with the sharpie for repeatable positioning if you want. Add a spring clip and you’re all set.

DIY Suspension Trainer

Use

To anchor them to a door frame hang the straps over the top of the door with the clips on the outside of the door frame (the side the door opens towards) as pictured above. If possible, use a door that opens into a room with nobody in it so you don’t have to worry about someone opening the door while you are using them. If not, notify everyone there not to open the door without knocking or place a conspicuous sign  on the door alerting people not to open it.

If you plan to use them outdoors you can either clip the ends together and hang them over a high post or strong tree branch, or wrap the strap over a chinning bar, monkey bar, pipe, or beam and fasten the spring clip as pictured below. Make sure the structure will support your weight and doesn’t have any sharp edges which may cut into or damage the straps.


suspension-trainer-on-bar

Many public parks have swing sets with eye bolts or similar mounting hardware for the swings which works well for clipping the straps to. Use them between the swings if the spacing is not too wide (more than a little outside shoulder width).

suspension-trainer-pike-pull-up

Like barbells, and dumbbells, there are a few really good exercises you can do with suspension trainers, and an almost infinite variety of relatively ineffective and/or dangerous ones (including most of the exercises recommended in the courses and DVD’s sold with commercial suspension trainers). Suspension trainers work best for exercises requiring you to hang most or all of your body weight from your arms like chin ups, pull ups, and inverted rows and curls, and should be used for these when a fixed bar or handles at the appropriate height is not available.

They also work well for exercises like chest flyes (horizontal shoulder adduction), rear delt flyes (horizontal shoulder abduction) and overhead triceps extensions if they are performed with the body positioned more diagonally than horizontally and with wide foot spacing for stability.

Suspension trainers work very poorly for exercises requiring your arms to support most of your body weight like push ups and dips because the additional effort required to maintain balance and correct body positioning reduces your ability to focus on  intensely contracting the target muscles.
 
Suspension Trainer Dips

Contrary to the misinformed claims of so-called “functional training” proponents, this instability and additional balance challenge does not make exercise more effective for strengthening the muscles of the trunk or “core” or translate to improved balance in other movements. 

If your goal is to maximize general improvements in muscular strength and size and overall functional ability you should perform push ups, dips, and similar exercises on a stable surface or bars, not on a suspension trainer.

Suspension trainers should not be looped around the feet or ankles to support the legs for similar reasons. Exercises requiring the feet to be supported in an elevated position should be performed using a stable platform or bar, like the roller pad on the UXS bodyweight multi-exercise station.

However, suspension trainers can be looped under the feet to anchor them for use during isometric exercises for the upper body like compound rows (pictured below), arm curls, and lateral raises, using timed static contraction protocol. These are discussed in detail in the Project: Kratos bodyweight high intensity training program handbook.

Suspension Trainer Timed Static Contraction Row

If you’ve been considering buying a suspension trainer for your home workouts or your personal training studio or gym, give this a try before you spend way more than you need to overpriced commercial suspension trainer. If you follow the instructions here you will get something that is just as strong and works just as well for a small fraction of the price.

7 Ways to Fix Your Shoulders - Strength Training Workouts

7 Ways to Fix Your Shoulders - How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet | How to Build Muscle | Strength Training Workouts | Mass Gain Diet



7ways1 7 Ways to Fix Your Shoulders

"Dead hang chin ups and full extension barbell curls have the same type of destructive effect on the joints. This discussion in itself requires a full article but for now we’ll leave it at that…"

As you may know by now I suffered a torn rotator cuff and labrum that required surgery. The injury was a long time in the making and the destruction of my shoulder began many years ago when I was doing stupid things like isometronic training in the power rack and other high risk, low reward methods.

After I completed the Triple Threat Muscle program and made great gains, I decided that I was back closer to an advanced level and needed to change my training back to what I used to do pre-surgery.

The only difference was that there would have to be major modifications due to the shoulder injury.
So what have been the biggest changes that have made all the difference as of late?

1)    I always do a general warm up lasting at least 10 minutes. This consists of various mobility drills and isometric holds for injury prone areas. Years ago I might have walked into the gym in a rush and skipped my warm up entirely. Now I would never dream of it.

2)    I do more specific shoulder warm ups. After my general warm up, on an upper body day, I do specific shoulder warm ups. These consist of YTWL’s or something similar. Instead of that sequence I may just do bent over Y-raises, lateral raises, bent over rear delt raises, standing front raises, standing external rotations, all in a row for ten reps each with a pair of fives. After that I will always do two sets of external rotations lying on my side for 12-20 reps. Another great one is to take a medicine ball and place it against the wall. With your hand pressed against it you do the alphabet. I got this one from my friend,  Keith Scott and it works like a charm.

3)    Shoulder dislocations with a broomstick. These are part of number 2 but are so important that they need an individual mention. Nothing has helped my shoulder more than these. I do 25 reps before every workout and 25-50 reps another couple days per week even when I’m not training. I can’t recommend this drill highly enough. I only wish I had known about it years ago.

4)    I do higher reps on my warm up sets. In the past when I was ready to start my work sets I would minimize the reps on warm up sets only because I couldn’t wait to get to the heavy sets. I just wanted to get my warm ups over as fast as humanly possible and load the bar up with heavy weight.

Big mistake.

Let’s say I was going to pull 455 for 10. My warm up sets would look like this:

135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 1-3
405 x 1
455 x 10- work set

In retrospect that just seems silly to me now. There’s no way you’re adequately warmed up doing that.
Last night I did barbell military presses. I know I probably shouldn’t even be pressing a bar at this point in my life but I love it and need it. It’s an addiction. My warm ups went like this:

45 x 20
75 x 10
95 x 10
115 x 10
135 x 12- work set

Here’s a video of that last set:
          
The difference this made was immeasurable. I can’t even begin to tell you how much better I felt doing this than I would have had I done my old style warm up where I got zero pump or blood flow and felt the sets more in my joints than I did in the belly of the muscle.

Does this limit the amount of weight I can do on my heaviest work sets? Maybe a bit. But I don’t think the extra few pounds is worth the risk of injury. The body will adapt.

5)    I don’t go below eight reps on upper body exercises. And most of my sets fall in the range of 10-12. I will actually only go down to eight reps only after an adequate warm up and maybe a few work sets at a higher rep range. Now, this isn’t to say I will never go below eight reps because I’m sure eventually I will. But right now I have no intentions of doing so. It’s just not worth it.
Having said that, what I do is not necessarily what you should do. Hardgainers who try to train solely in the range of 10-12 reps will remain skinny and weak forever. This rep range is better suited for advanced, stronger lifters.

6)    I stay far away from failure. I have always recommended this and have practiced what I preached for the most part. But in all honesty, I would let myself get a little out of control in the heat of battle. I rarely ever miss a weight in training but in the past I have come too close too many times. I never, ever allow this anymore. All of reps are piston like, smooth and fast, with control and picture perfect technique, and I never come near failure.

7)    I use a limited range of motion. I know, I know you are always supposed to use a full range of motion on every exercise you do.

Except for the fact that it’s unnatural and dangerous I guess that old rehashed advice makes some kind of sense.

Do me a favor. Hold your hands up in position to do a barbell military press. Now draw an invisible line connecting your two hands. I’ll bet the invisible bar is not sitting on your upper chest. If it is chances are you’re incredibly skinny. Which isn’t a bad thing if you’re a beginner. I’m just making a point here.

For most of us the invisible bar will a couple inches above your chest. If you hold a broomstick in this position, without intentionally trying to bring the bar to your chest, it will probably be around chin level, and that’s where you should be pressing from.

Why?

Because it’s natural. Bringing it down to your chest would place a lot of undue stress on your shoulders.

Now if you want to count a strict press and compete against someone or whatnot you would technically have to touch your chest. But since there aren’t too many military press contests around I would opt for the safer range and keep the bar somewhere around chin level in the bottom position.

Dead hang chin ups and full extension barbell curls have the same type of destructive effect on the joints. This discussion in itself requires a full article but for now we’ll leave it at that…

No extreme, unnatural ranges of motion.

One final point I would like to make is that I always start my workouts with long sleeves or a hooded sweatshirt unless it’s a minimum of 80 degrees in the gym (and preferably closer to 90). I don’t peel a layer off until near the end, when all the heavy lifting is done. If it’s in the 60’s or 70’s in the gym I stay bundled up throughout. This is nothing new as I’ve always done that. But I thought I’d mention it because it’s a great way to stay healthy. Sometimes people are scared of sweating and want to open the door or turn on the fan or complain about the heat. Little do they know it’s actually helping them stay injury free.

--------------------------------------------
INTRO
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Before surgery I was sitting at about 227 pounds. After several months of being incapacitated and eating like a normal human I was down to 179! Like I’ve always said, my hardgainer genetics are freakishly bad. Hell, my wrists don’t even measure seven inches around.

Anyway, the comeback has been long and frustrating. Because I have the undying urge to go heavy whenever I get near iron and the fact that rational thought processes go out the window after I start warming up, I have reinjured my shoulder a couple times throughout the rehab process. Needless to set these setbacks have been incredibly stressful and annoying to deal with.

While training together at CJ Murphy’s gym in Boston once, my friend Dave Tate commented, “You think Jay’s a smart guy until you see some of the stupid shit he does when he’s training.”

And he was 100% right. I do stupid shit. Often and with reckless abandon. It’s my greatest downfall in life. Has been for as long as I can remember. Whether it be flipping dirt bikes, jumping off cliffs or trying to do heavy cleans with an injured shoulder, I just lose control of my rational thought processes when the adrenaline kicks in.

Anyway, the purpose of today’s update is to let you know that after 20 plus years of training I seem to have finally smartened up and have been a bit wiser with my decision making in the gym as of late. As a result my shoulder is feeling a lot better and I’m regaining size and strength pretty quickly.

I’m now back up around 220. It’s a little smaller and softer 220 than how I used to look at this weight but I’ll take it for now. At the rate I’m going I’ll be gaining a lot more size back over the next few weeks and months and I can lean down when I decide the time is right.
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Please leave your questions and comments below and let me know if you found this post helpful.
PS. If you’re really beat up you might want to get a hold of Keith Scott’s Unbreakable.


Shoulder Mobility - Shoulder "Dislocations" with a Broom Stick - YouTube



Shoulder Dislocations are a powerful exercise to boost your shoulder flexibility for the Squat and Bench Press, and to fix your hunchback posture.

First, don't be concerned - you won't actually dislocate your shoulders here. Shoulder dislocations are perfectly safe if you do them correctly, even if you had a dislocated shoulder before. Just don't rush it and be persistent. This exercise will be challenging initially, but you'll quickly improve if you're consistent at it.

You'll need a broomstick for shoulder dislocations although I recommend you get a mini-band as I'll explain below. Video of me doing Shoulder Dislocations:

How to do Shoulder Dislocations Correctly.
NEVER use the barbell for shoulder dislocations - it's too heavy, you could injure yourself. Just grab the broomstick wide, reach over until you hit your back/hips, and then come back. Repeat for 3 sets of 10 reps as warm-up for your Squats/Bench/Press. Quick technique tips:
  • Start Wide. If you can't do shoulder dislocations without your elbows bending or your hands leaving the stick then your grip is too narrow for your current flexibility level. Grip the stick wider, as wide as possible.
  • Use a Resistance Band. Iron woody Bands makes shoulder dislocations a lot easier if you lack flexibility because the band stretches as you reach overhead. Get a mini-band if you struggle with the broomstick.
  • Be Persistent. You will obviously not eliminate bad posture caused by years of computer games or too much sitting overnight. But your posture and flexibility will quickly improve if you're persistent. So be patient.
If you have very bad posture and lack shoulder flexibility, I recommend you also do the next exercises to improve your flexibility and fix your posture:

Sunday 8 September 2013

The truth about those 'before' and 'after' photos

The truth about those 'before' and 'after' photos

In order to prove his point, he did his own "before" and "after" shots, taken within an hour of each other.
ALT
He let it all hang out in the first shot. "I then shaved my head, face and chest and prepared for the after shot, which was about an hour after I took the before shot. I did a few push-ups and chin-ups, tweaked my bedroom lighting, sucked in, tightened my abs and BOOM! We got our after shot."

The results, which you can see above, are astounding.