Let Go Of Results And Simply Do The Right Thing

Sometimes the desire to get a result interferes with the desire to do the right things. If you’re learning how to squat for power meets, one of your goals must be the ability to hit parallel. It’s the right thing to do. You should never let your desire to hit a big number interfere with getting to parallel. If you’re learning ho to do full (“squat”) cleans or snatches, you can’t let the desire to make the lift interfere with squatting under. Instead the goal should be to squat, whether you make the lift or not.

The “right thing” is a premise: “If I do “A” it should result in “B.” Then you test the premise by doing “A” and checking your results. If the results aren’t there, your premise is flawed and is in need of revision. If your premise is sound, you got the predicted result.

By the way, one of the best premises you can adopt is: “If I put in the work, good things should happen.” Try it.

Tighten Up Your Shoelaces

If I knew where I picked this up I’d tell you, but I honestly can’t recall. The idea is simple- when you’re getting revved up for a big lift, tighten your laces. They’ll serve as a visceral reminder to tighten yourself up. I’ve been using this little cue for years, so I guess it must be serving me in some way.

Be Careful Of What You Allow To Define You

We all have flaws and limitations. It’s important however, not to give these imperfections too much credit. After all, you’re equally defined by your strengths as you are by your weaknesses. I’m personally very careful about labeling myself as old, a geek, slow-twitch-dominant, lazy, or whatever rationalization I’ve been stewing over. The reasons for why you can’t are valid and they’ll always be there if you need an excuse. The reasons why you can are just as valid, although most of us don’t call upon them as often as we should.

Lowered Expectations

One of the most consistently rewarding mindsets you can employ is that of “lowered expectations.” I know, it doesn’t sound like anything you’d pick up from a book on high-performance psychology, but allow me to explain: Sometimes, expecting a lot out of yourself, especially when you do it all the time, can hurt more than it can help- if you frequently fail to hit the mark, mounting frustration can seriously sideline your motivation. I’m all for a hard-charging “take no prisoners” attitude, but to be honest, it often pays to give yourself a break sometimes. Anytime you can exceed your expectations (even if they’re low expectations) can really generate a lot of enthusiasm to fuel your gym sessions. Find a happy medium when it comes to your expectations.

Have A Routine, Then Break It

It’s vitally important to have a set methodology in the gym- the way you mentally psyche yourself, the way you warm-up, the way you take weight jumps, how you deal with misses, and so on.

It’s equally vital however, to conscientiously break your routine so that you don’t become overly-dependant on it. If you always use chalk, go without it once in a while. If you always use the same exercise order, break that pattern from time to time. If you always train in the morning, do an occasional afternoon workout. Get away from needing everything to be perfect all the time. Place yourself under some unfamiliar adversity- you’ll be better off for doing so.

If you’ve got a few tricks of your own to share, we’d love to hear them!
 

Some Thoughts On Mindset: 5 Mental Health Secrets For Great Workouts is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

Like the knee, the elbow is encased within an extensive synovial membrane, which synthesizes synovial fluid for the purpose of lubricating the joint.The elbow is quite stable, owing to the numerous tendons and ligaments that contribute to it’s integrity. In fact, many people are amazed to learn that over a dozen muscles cross the elbow joint— not just the biceps and triceps!

Causes and Pre-conditions for Elbow Problems: A Closer Look at the Problem

Acute traumatic elbow injuries are thankfully rare. Those that do occur are almost always the result of extreme stress in power and explosion events such as Olympic weightlifting and throwing. Falls (such as in skating, football, rugby, and equestrian events) and impact (as in football, combat sports, and hockey) also sometimes result in sudden traumatic elbow injury. Traumatic injuries of any type must receive immediate medical attention by a qualified sports medicine physician.

Chronic injuries in the elbow are usually a result of overuse. Boxers often suffer from such conditions. Of great importance is the fact that most trainees fail to consider the cumulative impact of all stressful events on the elbow, limiting their attention to training-related stress only. On the job, mechanics (constant work with wrenches, screwdrivers, etc.), secretaries and office workers (constant typing, and writing), and health professionals (massage, physiotherapy, and other forms of physical manipulations) are at risk for repetitive overuse syndrome (R.O.S.) to the elbow, due to constant and excessive contracture of the gripping muscles— all of which cross the elbow joint.

Most R.O.S. of the elbow is seen in the dominant side, so “handedness” becomes an additional factor to consider in these types of injuries.

Among athletes, throwing, particularly in baseball and the javelin event are leading causes of R.O.S. of the elbow. Boxers are also susceptible (from the high volume of punches thrown in training and competition), as are tennis players and golfers. Bodybuilders, fitness enthusiasts, and recreational athletes are not by any means immune to R.O.S.

The biggest problem with the elbow is the tiny size of the tendinous attachment sites, of which there are many. These sites can become progressively weakened by both impact and the dynamic forces of leverage. This leverage means that 10 pounds in the hand equals approximately 45 pounds at the shoulder joint, for a person with average arm length.

Another way to view this phenomenon is to compare the force you get by turning a bolt with a long handled wrench, as opposed to a short handled wrench. Now consider that a tennis player, for instance, makes this already long lever even longer by putting a racquet in the hand! The impact of repetitively hitting the ball, compounded by the very long lever arm created by the racquet, results in cumulative microtrauma to the tendinous attachment sites at the elbow.

Over time, if not treated, these tendons actually begin to fray, much like a nylon rope would if stretched beyond it’s tensile strength. Eventually, the tendon can detach from it’s attachment site at the elbow, requiring surgical repair.

Treatment Options: from Conservative to Radical

• Rest: The most effective yet overlooked aspect of post-injury recovery is simply to become more aware of and markedly limit activities that cause pain and swelling to the affected area! In light of the elbows ubiquitous role in almost all human activity, this is no easy task!
• Forearm Strap: Used by tennis players, golfers, and other athletes with elbow problems. The strap acts like a “shunt,” absorbing impact and vibrational forces before they reach the tendinous attachment at the elbow. One of the best straps is the Interceptor, by Weider.
• Aspirin Therapy: Aspirin reduces edema (swelling). Recovery simply does not begin until edema has subsided. Experiment with dosages— in many cases, low dosages of aspirin work just as well as large doses, with less possibility of stomach irritation. To protect your stomach lining even further, try crushing the aspirin tablets between 2 spoons and mixing them into a glass of milk. Since the body eventually develops a tolerance to it., use aspirin judiciously— only when needed most. Always check with your physician before implementing a regular schedule of aspirin therapy, no matter how small the dose.
• Diathermy: A high frequency form of heat which can penetrate as deep as 2 1/2 inches into injured tissues. Administered by a chiropractor or physical therapist, diathermy promotes circulation to the injury site, accelerating the healing process. Diathermy should precede cryo-therapy treatments.
• Electro-stimulation: Moderate to intense amounts of intermittent electrostimulation are applied directly to the injured tendinous area for 10-15 minutes per session. This form of electrostimulation is most effective when it follows diathermy and is followed up with cryo-therapy.
• Cryo-therapy: After diathermy, construct an ice pack by placing crushed ice in a “zip-lock” bag. Cryo-therapy is very beneficial in reducing edema, reducing pain, and pumping muscular tissues free of accumulated training-induced waste products. Spend at least 15, but no longer than 20 minutes on the ice.
• Cortico-steroids: Administered by injection to the injury site, corticosteroids help to reduce inflammation and pain. The drawback, however, is that these agents cause a breakdown of collagenous and ligamentous tissue after repeated injections.
• Proliferent-injection Therapy: is injected directly into the injury site, causing an “artificial injury” which then provokes the collagenous cells to begin restructuring themselves more quickly.
• Surgery: In the most extreme cases, a torn or avulsed tendon or ligament may require surgical re-attachment. This is “the final straw” when it comes to solutions for joint problems! Many methods are used, including tendon grafts, and stapling.

 
Prevention is the Key

Fortunately, most serious elbow problems can be completely prevented with good training and work habits, and immediate intervention upon the onset of trouble. Never train through elbow pain— instead, seek the immediate guidance of a qualified sports medicine physician or chiropractor.

Elbow Problems and Conservative Solutions is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

One well-known pro bodybuilder recently told me that as long as he was training to failure, he felt assured that he was using the highest possible intensity, and therefore, it didn’t matter what weights he used. Most people, after seeing his physique, would hesitate to argue with such convoluted logic.

(Incidentally, Matt Mendenhall jokingly calls this phenomenon the law of excessive mass: i.e., “I’m bigger than you, so I’m right!”) But I would remind such people that the individual in question possessed several attributes which allowed him to succeed despite his poor choice of exercise protocol:

1) He chose great parents for his avocation;
2) He was probably a dru… I mean, a recreational pharmacologist;
3) Perhaps most importantly, he possessed the ability to work extremely hard on a consistent basis for a long period of time.

With this in mind, you should immediately grasp the foolishness of “average” trainees (which the vast majority of us are) attempting to use this individual’s training methods.

Training is Stress!

Let’s start off with an analogy: If you went from a sedentary desk job to working as a lumberjack, your body would undergo some interesting adaptations as it struggled to cope with the unfamiliar environmental stressors inherent in that profession.

You would most certainly develop caluoses on your hands as a result of grasping axes, saws, and other implements for hours each day. These callouses, however, would be exactly the same size one year after getting your new job, three years after, six years after, ad infinitum. Why? Because after the initial shock, the degree of stress to your hands never changed over that period of time.

Training is no different. Most bodybuilders make great progress for the first year or two, but then never look any different from that point on. Many of these people understand the importance of progression, but lack the skills necessary to implement it properly.

The Training Load

In sports science jargon, the training load is defined as “the sum total of all training activities for a given unit of time.” The training load has two important components, both of which can be used to provide overload— volume, or the amount of work done, and intensity, or the difficulty of work done (Incidentally, as a rule of thumb, you should seek to establish a certain level of intensity first, and then add volume, rather than the other way around).

Before you can plan a certain level of progression, it becomes necessary to have a way of measuring each of these components. Volume is usually calculated as the amount of weight lifted multiplied by the repetitions performed with that weight. However, this traditional calculation is being called into question by some latter day thinkers. Charles Poliquin was the first to say that the actual time that a muscle is under tension (TUT) must be considered as well. If this seems too anal-retentive, let me ask you a question.

If you perform a set of 10 reps with 135 pounds, and your lifting speed (or tempo) is 6 seconds per repetition, and your training partner used the same weight and reps, but executed each rep at 3 seconds per repetition, did you each perform an identical amount of work? Clearly, no. This scenario illustrates the fact that the training load can be increased simply by gradually slowing down your lifting tempos over successive workouts. Reducing rest between sets also increases volume, since the workload will be performed in a shorter period of time. So, to use another example, if you and your partner both perform 3 sets of 10 reps with 135 pounds using identical tempos, but you rest one minute per set while your partner rests two minutes between sets, you achieved the greater volume.

Intensity is the second component of the training load, and it is normally expressed as a percentage of your 1RM (one repetition maximum), or the greatest amount of weight you can lift for one repetition in proper form. But here’s the catch with 1RM’s: they’re always changing. This means you never quite know for sure what your 1RM is for any given lift. Which doesn’t mean you shouldn’t test for 1RM’s every 8 weeks or so— you should. Doing so gives you a guideline to work with. It’s just important to realize that 1RM’s are a dynamic measurement. For this reason, I usually prescribe repetition bracketsrather than percentage of 1RM when I write training programs for my clients.

When considering intensity, it’s important to realize that any change in your exercise technique— no matter how slight— changes the equation altogether. For instance, if you normally use a 3 second tempo (meaning, you complete each repetition in exactly 3 seconds) when testing for your 1RM, and the next time you test you’re able to add 5 pounds to your 1RM but it took you an extra second to complete the lift, it’s not an accurate indication of improvement. Establish your testing parameters, and then stick to them so that you have a consistent protocol when testing. If you do not, you’ll have no real way of knowing whether or not you’re improving.

Incidentally many people use the phrase “high intensity” to describe workout that are actually high volume or high density (which refers to the work/rest ratio). So just to be clear about our terms, remember that intensity has nothing to do with how much pain you’re in, or the fact that you frequently experience reverse peristolisis and out-of-body experiences after your leg training— it simply refers to how much weight is on the bar relative to your current maximal ability. Using this definition, we could say that performing 315 pounds for 1 rep is more intense than 10 reps with 310 pounds, even though the latter effort is far more difficult to perform.

The Volume/Intensity Relationship

Volume and intensity are mutually exclusive concepts— you can’t have high intensity and high volume simultaneously. If this was possible, you’d be able to do three sets of ten with your current 1RM! Yet both volume and intensity are necessary to achieve results— high volume loads create more lasting adaptations, while intense loads create faster adaptations which are more temporary. This apparent paradox is one of the primary reasons for periodizing (or cycling) your training.

Although you can implement the principle of progressive overload by increasing volume or intensity, it’s important to realize that increases in volume are more sustainable than increases in intensity. In other words, for a trainee with 10 years experience who can squat 695 for a single repetition, it’s much easier to progress by adding reps and/or sets than it is to try to add weight to the bar during any given repetition bracket

Which Type of Progression is Best?

In his book Science of Sports Training, Thomas Kurz identified three distinct methods which can be used to increase the training load over time:

1) Rectilinear method: Loads are continuously and uniformly increased. An example of rectilinear progression is to attempt to add five pounds to the bar every time you perform squats.

2) Stepped Method: Load are sharply increased, then held at that level for a period of time, before being sharply increased again. An example would be using the same weight, say 185 pounds for five sets of five reps, for a period of four weeks, and then increasing to 225 pounds for four weeks for the same sets and reps, and so on. This method, when used by advanced athletes, can result in fast, but temporary strength increases. Not effective for beginning or intermediate lifters of less than 4 years of continuous lifting experience.

3) Wavy method: Loads are gradually increased for several sessions, and then decreased for one or more sessions, and so on. A classic example of this loading scheme is as follows:

While increases in load are slower than the previous two methods, this technique lends itself to more sustainable progress, and as a result more satisfaction, and fewer injuries from training.

The Law of Sustainable Progression

Should an athlete progress as fast as possible? Or perhaps as fast as is comfortable? Or, should you just choose some arbitrary unit— say 5 pounds per week? There is a way to make some sense of this. The key is to determine the amount of progression that you can sustain over a prolonged period of time. Let’s take the 5 pounds per week scenario, which incidentally, is commonly used by people who make great progress initially, but who hit a wall after a year or two. While 5 pounds a week seems like a very gradual progression, if you take the time to extend this level of progression over the long term, you’ll find that it equates to an increase of 260 pounds per year! In such a scenario, the athlete would be a world class powerlifter within 2 years! Since this happens to very few people, it is a useful analogy to prove my point.

The previous scenario violates what I call “The Law of Sustainable Progression.” Fast increases in training loads soothe the ego and make for fairly impressive short term gains, but they can’t be sustained. A slower progression over a longer period of time leads to better and more lasting results than a faster progression which can only be sustained for a short period of time. Further, large, sudden increases in training loads are associated with hitting an early and false plateau, which can lead to injury, as the athlete resorts to more and more extreme methods in an attempt to break out of this plateau.

So progress as slowly (and also as consistently) as you can. Equipment companies are responding to the concept of “micro-progression” by providing more variable weight stacks which allow for smaller jumps. One company, Benoit Built, makes specialized magnets (called Plate Mate) weighing between 1/4 and 5/8 of a pound which can be attached to plates, dumbbells, and weight stacks. The beauty of Plate Mate (besides portability) is that they allow you to make minute, yet sustainable progressions from workout to workout. Putting this concept in terms you can relate to, let’s assume you’re a 250 pound bencher. Using a progression of 2.5 pounds per week, you’ll be a 380 pound bencher in one year. Even this is a very significant increase, but by using sound training programs and recovery strategies (see sidebar entitled “The Role of Recovery in Progression”), it can be done.

In the Final Analysis…

Bodybuilding is a subjective sport. But because there is a very real correlation between training loads and hypertrophy, you can assure progress by carefully designing your training programs and then closely monitoring the results of these programs. If your training load is gradually and consistently increasing, you’re making progress.

Methods of Employing Progressive Overload:

1) By increasing time under tension. Start with 6 repetitions per set, utilizing a 4-0-1 tempo. Each set should therefore take 30 seconds to perform. Each workout, increase the tempo by one second per rep, until you reach 10 seconds per rep. At this point, should choose to increase the weight, reduce the tempo, and begin progressing again.

2) By increasing the weight lifted. Using a standard set/rep scheme for each workout, add between 2.5 and 5 pounds to the bar each session. 3) By increasing the number of reps per set. This method is useful with exercises where you initially have a low level of strength, such as pull-ups or dips. Using the same load each workout, start with 1-3 reps per set, and add one rep per set each workout. Once you reach more than 12 reps per set, you should then employ more weight and/or slower tempos.

3) By increasing the number of sets per workout. Although it has its place, be cautious when adding sets to your workouts. For example, going from three sets to four is a 25 percent increase in volume for every given exercise!

4) By increasing the range of motion. Using the same load each workout, start with a reduced ROM, and gradually increase it from workout to workout. For example, you can perform bench presses in a power rack, starting the movement from the bottom-most position, which is set by the height of the pins. On the first workout, you might only work the top 3″ of a bench press. Each workout, drop the pins one notch, until you reach full ROM.

5) By reducing the rest intervals between sets. This has particularly good results when attempting to improve relative strength. Using the same load, number of reps, and tempo each workout, simply reduce the rest intervals by 10 seconds each workout.

6) By using “stutter” or interrupted sets. Rather than performing a continuous set, you can select a heavier weight, and rest briefly (5-10 seconds) between each rep. One method I sometimes employ with my athletes is to ask for a maximum number of reps in a specified time period— say, 2 minutes. They can use any number of sets or reps— they might for instance perform a set of 8, rest 20 seconds, do a set of 7, rest 30 seconds, then 5 reps, etc., until the time period expires. When using this method, always maintain consistent exercise form and speed of execution.

Sometimes, two or more methods of progression are used simultaneously. For example, from workout to workout, you may choose to add both weight and reduce rest between sets. This is usually employed in situations where a trained athlete is coming back after an extended layoff, and is able to make rapid improvements from workout to workout due to his extensive training experience. The problem with this method however, is that when you do make progress, you won’t know which factor to attribute it to.

The Role of Recovery in Progression

Better recovery means more frequent training sessions and therefore, faster progress. Although recovery will take place regardless, there are two particularly effective means you can take to accelerate recovery from training: massage and nutritional management.

In my work with athletes, I have found that expertly-applied massage can improve recovery times by as much as 40 percent. In fact, I find it so effective that I require prospective clients to receive massage therapy at least once per week. According to my colleague Dianna Linden, an elite-level softtissue worker located in Santa Monica, California:

“Spasms keep muscle fibers in a contracted state and disable their capacity to perform within the muscle when it is under load, therefore decreasing strength by whatever percent of that muscle stays contracted by the spasm. This weakens the muscle and increases its potential to tear near the edges of the spasm. By working regularly with an athlete the therapist can provide feed back which is a far more accurate account of how the muscles are handling the stress levels they are exposed to.”

Of course, nutrition plays a vital role in recovery as well. Although there are many factors to consider, adequate protein is crucial— I consider one gram per pound of bodyweight per day a minimum standard. Creatine monohydrate and branched chain amino acids immediately following training.

The Law of Sustainable Progression is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

In all the years I’ve been involved in sports conditioning, I’ve never seen an issue with as much longevity and potential for heated debate as the question of whether or not it is necessary, safe, and or effective to perform “explosive” or “ballistic” movements in the weight room.

If you’re active on the internet, you’ll discover endless, passionate (and often, ugly) confrontations between those who advocate slow lifting speeds, and those who espouse so-called explosive training techniques, such as Olympic lifting and it’s derivatives, and plyometric training methods.

While it is true that explosively-performed (i.e., high velocity) repetitions can be potentially more dangerous than low velocity movements, it’s just as true that heavier weights, since they put more tension on the musculoskeletal system, are potentially more dangerous than lighter weights. So it really becomes an issue of using the right tool for the right job.

Remember, in order to train a biologic system, you must apply stress to that system. Too much stress leads to injury; too little leads to little or no effect; just the right amount leads to a training effect.

As you read this article, please refer to the section below which outlines the more technical terms used herein. These terms are often used inappropriately, which leads to even more confusion.

Also, please resist the human instinct to either agree or disagree with the statements I will make. Instead, simply listen. Observe. Correlate the material to your own experiences. In this way, you’ll give yourself the best opportunity to come to an intelligent decision regarding this issue.

What is Training?

Training involves the exposure of a biologic system to the systematic application of increasing stress at a frequency, intensity, and duration below that system’s maximal tolerance limit, which, over time, causes a resultant increase in that system’s tolerance limit (1).

Different training methods cause different adaptations. For example, sets lasting between 20 and 70 seconds seem to promote hypertrophy better than sets of greater or lesser duration (2). Sets performed with incomplete rests develop anaerobic capacity through a greater proliferation of capillaries in the muscle(s) being trained (3). High repetition sets develop Type I (slow twitch) fibers, while low repetition sets with heavy weight challenge Type II (fast twitch) fibers.

Long-term performance of an exercise which takes a muscle through less than it’s full range of motion promotes a shortening of that muscle, while chronic use of exercises which take the muscle through it’s full range of motion encourage the muscle to become longer (4).

These examples of the specificity principle strongly imply that the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems are capable of adapting to explosive movements just as they are capable of adapting to any other type of stimuli provided.

This is the real key to understanding this issue…that the athlete moves through an appropriate series of progressions which allow a sequential exposure to a gradually increasing stimulus. If you skip any part of this progression, or if you progress too quickly, injury may result as you exceed the body’s “maximum tolerance threshold” to that stimulus.

Defining the Issue

Before we proceed further, please appreciate that this issue is a difficult one to analyze, since there are several ways to lift a weight.

For example, powerlifting is not normally considered an “explosive” event, since at 1RM levels, the bar moves very slowly, due to its mass. Nevertheless, the lifter is attempting to maximally accelerate the bar. So, are we discussing the actual speed of the lift, or the attempt to maximally accelerate the weight (even if the implement speed is low to to its mass)?

Also, we must distinguish between lifting weights at a fast tempo, and lifting weights in an accelerative manner (increasing the speed over the duration of a repetition). Further, are we speaking of lifting light to moderate weight, or heavy weights?

For instance, when performing the deadlift, using a fast lifting speed with a light weight would simply reduce both the tension, as well as the time under tension, of the involved musculature, leading to a compromised training effect.

However, when deadlifting a challenging weight, you stand a better chance of making the lift if you attempt to accelerate the bar. It is important to understand that this is a smooth acceleration, not a rapid “jerk” on the bar, which would in fact, increase the likelihood of injury.

Incidentally, I define “good form” a bit differently than most. If you enter a workout with pre-determined parameters such as number of sets and reps, tempo, optimal body alignment, range of motion (which may be complete or partial) length of rest periods, and you maintain these parameters, you’re using “good form.”

So for example, you may set out to use a 2 second tempo, which is relatively fast (and may or may not be safe, depending on the exercise, your experience, the weights being lifted, and a host of other factors). However, if you set out to do a 4 second tempo, and due to fatigue or inattention it ends up being a 2 second tempo, this shows a lack of control, which in my opinion, heightens the potential for injury.

So, although many people cite the dangers of “fast” or “explosive” lifting, I hope you can now appreciate that the issue is far more complex than most people consider. During this article, I will make reference to explosive, ballistic, and accelerative lifting techniques, in an effort to cover the various possible methods.

Is Accelerative Activity an Inherent Characteristic of Human Movement?

The phenomenon known as the stretch-shortening cycle (or SSC) strongly hints that the body is, in fact, designed for ballistic and accelerative stress (5).

To illustrate this concept, I’ll ask you to imagine the act of throwing a baseball, overhand style.You grab the ball, extend your throwing arm behind you, and, just as the arm nears complete extension (the eccentric portion of the throw), you rapidly reverse the motion (the concentric phase) and release the ball.

Now, just as an experiment, extend the arm back, and pause for three seconds before you throw. It’s intuitively obvious that the second throw, aside from feeling totally unnatural, will travel much slower and result in a shorter throw.

When you throw (or jump, hit, etc) correctly, the musculo-tendinous unit stores potential kinetic energy during the eccentric phase of the movement. At full stretch, the muscle begins its reversal into the concentric phase. If you use proper timing (the “switch” between eccentric and concentric must be very rapid), you can recover all that potential energy and return it during the concentric phase. If you wait-even for a split second- the energy will dissipate.

A simpler way to visualize the SSC is to imagine the muscles as elastic bands that stretch during eccentric activity, and contract during the concentric portion of the movement. (Incidentally, plyometric training programs, usually consisting of various jumps and throws, are designed to train the elastic potential of the musculoskeletal system.)

If you watch people carefully in various situations, you’ll notice that, whenever there is an option to accelerate a load, people will take that option.

On stairclimbing machines, people will, especially as fatigue sets in, tend to step in a bouncy, choppy manner. When a heavy box must be lifted from the floor to a high shelf, a person will accelerate the box throughout the lift.

Further, the motor cortex will normally choose a movement pattern where more muscle groups can participate in the effort, in order to conserve energy and avoid dangerous levels of stress to any single muscle involved in the movement.

Optimal Progression Ensures Safety

Now the question becomes “If this is how muscles work in everyday activities, should we train muscles this way?” My colleague Paul Chek often asserts that “First isolate, then integrate.” What Paul means by this is that before asking the chain to produce high levels of force, one should first strengthen each link of the chain, especially the weakest links.

When training a link, you must “isolate” that link…in other words, create a movement or exercise where associated links have no ability to assist in that movement.

Since muscles are the links in any kinetic chain, another way to view this progression is to “First, train muscles, then train movements.” Either way you choose to conceptualize it, most accelerative lifting movements (such as modified Olympic lifts such as power cleans & snatches, push-jerks, jumps, throws, etc.) involve large numbers of muscles.

Therefore, if these individual muscles are brought to maximum strength levels prior to accelerative, multi-joint movements, the athlete lessens the potential for injury. However, if any link in the chain is relatively weak, that link would logically have a greater potential for injury during any explosive type exercise that involves it.

As an example of the proceeding progression, an athlete wishing to perform power cleans might spend 6-9 weeks developing strength in the quads, hamstrings, spinal erectors, trapezius, glutes, scapular retractors, and gastrocs, and then gradually switch to more explosive training methods, while maintaining the strength of the individual muscle groups, using a reduced volume (about 30 to 50 percent) of work.

In my experience working with Olympic weightlifters, I have used various permutations of this progression and have never witnessed a serious injury.

A recent study by Brian P. Hamill (please see sidebar entitled Multi-Sport Comparative Injury Rates) collaborates my observations (6). In his analysis of statistics derived from surveys and competitions, Hamill found that competitive weightlifting is safer than many other sports, including soccer, recreational weight training, and (believe it or not) badminton.

In his analysis, Hamill suggests that qualified supervision is the most important precondition for safe participation in both competitive weightlifting and recreational weight training.

Should Bodybuilders Perform Ballistic, Explosive, or Accelerative Weight Training?

Legions of successful competitive bodybuilders have achieved their goals without using these techniques. However, it has been my experience that many top physique stars have achieved their success in spite of their training methods and habits, not because of them.

When you have a superior somatype and a favorable hormonal system to support it, and when you have a superior ability to train hard on a consistent basis, you don’t need to sweat the details. Recreational pharmacology should be factored in, also.

But let’s assume that you’re at least the fourth generation of your family to stand upright. Let’s also assume you have a job, and limited chemistry skills. Let’s further assume that your training program could benefit from a bit of variation, and even some fun.

If you fit this profile, and if you employ qualified supervision (I’d recommend calling the United States Weightlifting Federation at 719-578-4508 in order to find a qualified weightlifting coach in your area), I would urge you to explore these methods.

The downside? For starters, HIT Jedis will call you a fool. Also, you may abandon bodybuilding for the sport of Olympic weightlifting. You also run the risk of slow twitch fiber atrophy, as your Type II fibers hypertrophy to unprecedented size. Finally, you may suffer guilt pangs as you find yourself actually enjoying training again. On balance, I’d say it’s worth the risk.

SIDEBAR – Is “HIT” Dead?

For years, the most vocal faction of coaches and athletes in opposition to explosive lifting techniques has been known as “HIT” an acronym meaning “High Intensity Training.”

The HIT doctrine took root through the teachings of Arthur Jones, and has been furthered by Mike Mentzer, and several collegiate strength coaches. HIT has traditionally favored single set, low-speed, machine based movements, and has been vehemently opposed to multi-set periodized approaches, explosive lifts and plyometrics, and free weight exercises.

Recently, however, the HIT “Jedi” (the self-appointed term for adherents of the HIT philosophy) have all but merged with the mainstream on issues of number of sets, repetition ranges, and the use of free weights. They remain steadfast on the use of explosive lifting techniques, however.

In the recently released HITFAQv2.0a , the section describing “proper form” advises “raising and lowering the weight in a deliberate, controlled manner.” The FAQ continues “Anytime, anyone, be they Mr. Universe, or whomever, tells you to move a weight fast, in an ‘explosive’ style, just walk away. That person is a fool.” (I always thought that anyone who took comfort in applying blanket statements to a wide range of circumstances was a fool, but maybe I’ve got it wrong!)

Important Terminology

1) Torque:

The effectiveness of a force to produce rotation of an object about an axis (7). Measured as the product of force and the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the axis of rotation. The SI (International System) unit of torque is the newton-meter (N.m)

2) Force:

That which changes or tends to change the state of rest or motion in matter (7). Force may increase or decrease the velocity of an object. The SI unit of force is the newton (N).

3) Work:

Tthe product of an expressed force and the distance of displacement of an object, irrespective of time (7). The SI unit of work is the joule (J). To measure work, you would multiply the force applied by the distance the force was applied over.

4) Power:

The rate of performing work (7). The SI unit of power is the watt (W). To measure power, you would

5) Velocity:

A change in either the speed or direction of an object, or a change in both the speed and direction of an object (8). Most people use the term velocity to describe a change in the speed of an object.

6) Explosive Strength:

One of two elements of speed strength (power) -the ability to apply a maximal force against an external object (such as a shot put or barbell), or ones own body, as in sprinting or jumping, in minimum time (9).

7) Ballistic:

Infers movement which is accelerative, of high velocity, and with actual projection into free space (10). Ballistic activities include throwing and jumping.

Multi-Sport Comparative Injury Rates

Sport Injuries (per 100 participation hours)

Schoolchild soccer 6.20

UK Rugby 1.92

South African Rugby 0.70

UK Basketball 1.03

USA Basketball 0.03

USA Athletics (Track) 0.57

UK Athletics 0.26

UK Cross-country 0.37

USA Cross-country 0.00

Fives 0.21

P.E. 0.18

Squash 0.10

USA Football 0.10

Badminton 0.05

USA Gymnastics 0.044

UK Tennis 0.07

USA Powerlifting 0.0027

USA Tennis 0.001

Rackets 0.03

USA Volleyball 0.0013

Weight Training 0.0035 (85,733 hrs)

Weightlifting 0.0017 (165,551 hrs)

References:

1) Gross, J., Fetto, J., & Rosen, E, . Musculoskeletal Examination, 1996. Cambridge, Blackwell Science, p.p.5.

2) Poliquin, C., The Poliquin Principles, 1997, Napa, Dayton Publisher’s Group, p.p. 24

3) Fleck, S.J., & Kraemer, W.J., Designing Resistance Training Programs, 1987, Champaign, Human Kinetics, p.p. 58.

4) Komi, P.V (Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport (1992). London. p.p.29

5) Komi, P.V (Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport (1992). London. p.p.169

6) Hamill, B.P., Relative safety of weightlifting and weight training. J. Strength and Cond. Res. 8(1);53-57.1994.

7) Knuttgen, H.G., Force, Work, and Power in Athletic Training. Sports Science Exchange. 8(4). 1995.

Norkin, C.C., & Levangie, P.K. Joint Structure & Function. F.A. Davis Company (1992), Philadelphia. p.p.17.

9) Kurz, T. Science of Sports Training. Stadion (1991), Island Pond. p.p. 85

10). Kraemer, W.J. & Newton, R.U., Muscle Power. Muscular Development. March, 1995, p.p. 130-131.

Slow VS Explosive Lifting: The Controversy Continues is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

1) Saying “yes” to one objective means saying “no” to other objectives. Are you willing to do this?

The topic of goals and goal-setting is very familiar and well-understood, but here’s a take on the subject that I rarely hear discussed. Specifically, are you willing to dismiss some very compelling desires or goals in the quest to focus on an even greater objective? Put another way, are you trying to achieve too many goals simultaneously? In my own case, after a year of lifting poorly in the 94kg (206.8Lb) class in the sport of weightlifting, I made the decision to return to the 105kg (231Lb) class after discovering that it was actually less competitive. I had been struggling to make weight to lift in the lighter class, and my results suffered accordingly. So I gradually gained about 12 pounds to my current weight of 220Lbs, and I’m experiencing exciting progress in my workouts. My first meet in 2010 will be the Grand Canyon Games on January 30th, and I expect to make a new PR total at that meet (I’ll keep you posted).

Now here’s where the “saying no” part of the equation comes into play: I’m not as lean as I’d like to be at my current weight. I.e., I’m not completely happy with how I look at 220. This is something I’ve decided to accept in the quest of renewed progress and a higher National ranking. As you inventory your own situation, should you be sacrificing one or more of your personal objectives for the sake of a bigger win?

2) Which is the greater bottleneck: your plan, or your execution of that plan?

It’s very common to seek further refinement of your plan, but far less common to scrutinize your comittment to that plan. After all, a bad plan isn’t your fault, but poor work ethic most certainly is. If asked to speculate, I’d say poor execution leads to failure more often than using a poor program. I’ll have more to say about optimizing your program a bit later in the article, but for now, suffice it to say that it’s worth taking a long, hard look at your work eithic and consistency. How would you rate it on a 1-10 scale? If you have a coach or a training partner, how would they rate you? Do you both arrive at a similar number?

3) Is your current training regime recoverable?

A time-worn saying among coaches goes something like this: your program is only as good as your ability to recover from it. Assuming your work-ethic is indeed solid, you might ask yourself another difficult question: is your current plan unrealistic in terms of volume, intensity, and/or frequency? Do your Type-A tendencies have you in the gym 5-6 days a week, with no planned recovery weeks? Does your pride in your work-ethic blind you to the fact that your plan simply isn’t delivering results? Hint: If you’re on a solid program and you’re a hard worker and you’re still not getting satisfactory results, the missing link is recovery. This might mean less training, better nutrition, or exploring soft-tissue therapy.

4) Are you ignoring any obvious errors in your training?

So far, the argument could be made that the previous 3 points are “obvious.” But maybe not. In fact, sometimes the most obvious mistakes are the ones we’re least likely to discover— it’s called “proximity bias:” the closer you are to something, the less aware you are of it. I hope this article points to some more common “obvious” mistakes, but it’s worth further exploration for all of us. Do you get adequate amounts of sleep? Are you eating enough protein? Is your lifting technique acceptable? Are your goals realistic? These are but a few questions worthy of your consideration as you anticipate changes for the new year.

5) Do you train alone?

If you are, I’d STRONGLY suggest that you enlist social support for 2010. Training alone is a significant handicap. Although it can be done, the value of having knowledgeable and enthusiastic coaches and/or training partners cannot be overstated— it’s no accident that most of the World’s most successful athletes- particularly successful strength athletes— train in groups. From Westside Barbell Club to the Olympic Training Center, group training is, and always has been, a critical component of success.

6) Did you compete in 2009?

My colleague Dan John is one of the leading voices in the commnadment that “Thou Shall Compete,” and I’m doing my best to further the call. Competition gives you a valid reason to train. It shows how you react to pressure, and brings the best out of you. When you compete, you develop valuable friendships and collaborations that inspire further progress. And as many people find once they start competing, you might just have talent that you never knew about. Why not put yourself to the test and prove me wrong?

7) Are your goals and training consistent with each other?

This last question intersects and to some degree overlaps a few of the previous ones. It’s important nonetheless, because when your goals are non-harmonius, you get nowhere faster than any other error you may be guilty of. To echo an earlier point, trying to lose weight and improve your maximal strength is a recipe for failure. A recipe that even I made the mistake of following in 2009. Less obvious blunders might include trying to succeed at more than one sport simultaneously, trying to be bigger and leaner simultaneously, and/or choosing competitive activities that are inconsistent with your natural abilities— a fast-twitch-dominant person trying to succeed at endurance events, and/or a long-levered person trying to succeed at weightlifting are two possible examples of this.

Make 2010 YOUR Breakthrough Year

I trust these 7 points of introspection will be helpful as you plan your own 2010 training strategy, but don’t limit yourself to these 7. If you’ve had your own thoughts on the matter, please share them with me by clicking the “comments” link below. I’d love your input, and others may also benefit from your experience and wisdom!

Re-Tooling Your Training Strategy For 2010: 7 Essential Questions For Renewed Progress is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

The prevalence of these cases can be attributed largely to the fact that the knee is an anatomical vortex of sorts, where the body’s largest and strongest muscle groups converge upon the tiny, yet in most cases hardy, kneecap. Add to this a lack of basic anatomical knowledge, improper exercise technique and/or selection, and unsuitable workout gear, and the prescription for disaster becomes compounded exponentially.

In this discussion we will examine several factors which collectively, have the potential of determining your predisposition for experiencing knee symptoms. Much of this information has received minimal exposure from industry magazines and trade journals in the past, and therefore should be of considerable interest to current and prospective fitness professionals and health care specialists.

Knee Anatomy and Biomechanics

Keeping your knees healthy and asymptomatic begins with developing a functional understanding of how this unique joint is constructed (anatomy) and how it does and doesn’t function (biomechanics). The knee is relatively simple to understand from a mechanical perspective, but please refer to the appropriate illustrations as you read this section— doing so will enhance your comprehension of the discussion.

The knee is an unarthroidal (meaning movement in one direction only) hingetype joint, roughly equivalent to a door hinge for practical purposes. Five different types of structures are involved in the knee’s functional anatomy— bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and articular cartilage. Here then, is a brief definition of these structures:

Bone: Purposeful human movement would not be possible without bones. The four bony structures which are involved in knee function are the femur, or thigh bone, the tibea and fibula (the shin bones), and of course, the patella, or kneecap.

Ligaments: Fibrous and very tough connective tissue which connects bone to bone, providing stability and integrity to the joint. Two sets of ligaments help to stabilize the knee joint— the anterior and posterior cruxiates, which are deeply located within the knee, and serve to limit rotation and hyper-extension, and the co-laterals, one on either side of the knee. The co-laterals protect the knee from being moved from side to side, and help to establish the integrity of the joint by keeping the tibea and femur attached to one another.

Tendons: Fibrous bands that that connect muscles to their bony attachments. In the knee, the patellar tendon connects the quadriceps muscles to the patella, and then in turn to the upper shin.
Muscle: We all have a clear idea as to what muscles are, but let’s examine the ones that cross (via their tendinous attachments) the knee joint. First are the quadriceps, the powerful muscles of the anterior (front) thigh. Next are the hamstrings, or the leg biceps, located on the posterior thigh. Finally, the gastrocnemious, the most superficial calf muscle, crosses behind the knee joint, where it contributes as a knee flexor.

Articular Cartilage: You’ve heard of “torn cartilage” in knee injuries before. cartilage is the connective tissue which provides for a smooth articulation between bones at the joint. Cartilage also acts as a shock absorber. The meniscus is the knee’s only cartilage. Located on the tibeal plateau, it cradles the femoral condyle, or the rounded knobs of the lower femur. Since the tibeal plateau is flat, and the femoral condyle is rounded, the meniscus provides a better “fit” between these two structures.

Training Gear For Healthy Knees

For most, training attire is primarily a matter of vanity— looking good while you’re training. But two pieces of standard training gear— your shoes and knee wraps— should be carefully selected and applied, not only to maximize comfort and short term safety, but more importantly, to ensure the long term health of your knees.

Your shoes are literally where the rubber hits the road. We urge you to think of your shoes as the foundation of your leg training sessions. Wearing old or broken down fitness shoes for heavy squatting or leg pressing is like putting old, worn-out tires on a race car! There are several reasons to avoid training in your “tennies:”

First, most general purpose fitness shoes simply lack adequate stability, and have little or no arch support for heavy lifting. As you squat, your feet may develop a tendency to pronate, or “cave in” toward the inner side. When this happens, the knees are also forced inward, leading to a constant strain on the medial collateral ligament, excessive shear force on the meniscus, and improper patellar tracking, which in turn can lead to chondromalacia (to be discussed shortly).

If your feet tend to pronate anyway, or if you’re prone to being “knock knee’d” (and these two conditions are very often associated with one another), it becomes even more important to select good training shoes. Another important reason for using specialized shoes for squatting or other heavy leg training movements is that they provide a deep and solid heel cup, which prevents the foot from rocking and rolling laterally (to the outside) when it is compressed under heavy loads.

Finally, there is a difference between a shoe being worn out and being broken down. Even if your shoes look fine, they still may offer no arch or heel support at all, either because they never had any to start with, or because after a handful of heavy leg sessions, the supports have compressed to the point to where they no longer function as they were intended. Think about it— a tennis shoe is meant to support a 160 pound tennis player, NOT a 600 pound leg press! Loads like these cause the shoe to break down without visual signs of wearing out.

We strongly recommend that you choose a heavy-duty training shoe (please see corresponding list of companies that offer these shoes) that you use for training, and training only. Use a stable running shoe or cross trainer for everything else.

Knee wraps have long been a mainstay for competitive powerlifters, and for good reason. When properly used, wraps can dramatically improve knee safety during heavy squatting and leg training sessions. Whenever you contract your quadriceps muscles, the patellar ligament “wants” to pull away from it’s attachment at the upper front aspect of the tibea. During squatting, for example, the heavier you go, the lower you go, and the faster you descend, the more this tendency is compounded. Please refer to the sidebar below on proper knee wrapping.

You’ll notice that the wrap is tightly wound in a cylindrical fashion around the upper shin (where the patellar ligament attaches), then more loosely wound over the kneecap itself (this is important to avoid grinding the patella into the femoral condyle, creating a case of chondromalacia for yourself), then tightly wound over the lower third of the thigh. The rationale for wrapping the knees prior to heavy squatting is that it reduced the pulling forces on the patellar ligament at it’s attachment to the shin. This translates to significantly reduced chances of avulsing (detaching) your patellar ligament during heavy leg movements.

According to Dr. Paul Ward, knee wraps also provide several other benefits beyond protection of the attachment site of the patellar ligament. These benefits include keeping the knees warm, which improves blood flow and tissue elasticity, reducing the possibility of muscle tears during high-intensity leg pressing or squatting. Additionally, knee wraps assist the patella in tracking normally over the femoral condyle, reducing the possibility of developing chondromalacia.

Stance Variables Affecting Knee Health

Whenever you squat, hack squat, or leg press, your foot position is an important variable in determining not only the results you’ll obtain from the exercise, but also the safety of your knee joints. Although each individual must determine their own best stance exercise per exercise (based on their own anatomical peculiarities such as height and leg length), the following variables must be taken into consideration:

1) The quadriceps muscles can contract more efficiently when the feet are pointing slightly (about 25 to 30 degrees) outward as opposed to straight ahead. If you squat with a very wide stance, your adductors tend to assist the quads. This can result in stress to the medial collateral ligament, abnormal cartilage loading, and improper patellar tracking.

2) During the decent phase of any type of squat, do not allow the knees to move more than 2-3 inches forward of their locked position. The further your knees travel over your feet, the greater the shearing forces on the patellar tendon and ligament. To avoid this, descend into the squat as if you were sitting back and down into a chair. Don’t worry if you lean forward a bit as long as you maintain a tight and arched back, and keep your bodyweight over the center of your feet. The ultimate objective is to keep the shins as vertical as possible throughout the entire movement.

3) In any leg training movement, make sure that your knees are tracking directly over your feet, not to the inside or outside. Many lifters turn their knees inward during the concentric phase of a heavy squat, and they usually aren’t aware of it. Give your clients immediate feedback, since after all, they shouldn’t be looking at their feet during the lift! If a client turns the knees inward, insist that they back off on weight until more correct movement patterns are mastered. Consider videotaping the squat session to provide unquestionable evidence when needed.

4) During the concentric portion of squatting or leg pressing of any kind, instruct your clients to “push from the heels.” This not only enforces a vertical plane of the shins, but also allows the quads to contract with maximum efficiency. Balance will improve as well, which adds an extra margin of safety.

5) Although many top bodybuilders advocate a very close stance for the purpose of “isolating the quads,” when squatting, remember the inherent tradeoffs in all ergogenic (work-enhancing) techniques. In this case, any leg training technique that isolates the quads also intensifies the shearing forces to the patellar tendon and ligament. A lucky few have knees that can take this type of punishment, but for most of us, a slightly wider stance, with toes pointing slightly outward and shins vertical, is a much safer and still very effective alternative.

6) Finally, teach your clients to be efficient in the exit out of the rack, and getting “set” in the squat stance. After lifting the weight off of the pins, the lifter should take just one step backward as immediately assume the squatting stance. This takes time to master, but eventually all the minute adjustments can be pared down substantially. Once set in the stance, cue your clients to keep their feet “nailed down” for the duration of the set. Many people “fidget” with their feet and toes between reps which can cause a variety of problems ranging from a break in concentration to a loss of balance.

How to Use the Knee Wraps

Knee wraps are only effective if used properly. So, if you’ve never used them before, take a moment to read this:

Sit on a chair or bench. Begin with the wrap completely rolled up (this makes the process much easier than fighting with a six foot tangle of cloth). With your leg straight, start applying the wrap on the upper portion of your shin. Wrapping from “in” to “out,” (counterclockwise for the left leg, clockwise for the right), anchor the wrap by applying 2-3 layers on the upper shin, then move upward, overlapping each previous layer by one-half the width of the wrap. When wrapping around the patella, make sure the wrap is a bit loose to avoid excessive pressure on the kneecap. Apply the wrap tightly again as you move past the knee, stopping somewhere on the lower third of the thigh. Tuck the end of the wrap under the previous layer to secure it. Repeat for the other leg.

Common Problems of the Knee

Chondromalacia: Degenerative changes (roughening) of the underside of the kneecap. Causes pain when rising out of a chair or when climbing stairs. Think about getting a grain of sand under your eyelid— the synovial fluid acts the same way! Tight quads are responsible for 80% of chondromalacia. Other causes include repetitive overuse, genu valgum (“knock-knees”), and a shallow lateral femoral condyle.

Healthy Knees for Life is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

Occam’s razor (sometimes spelled Ockham’s razor) is a principle attributed to the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham. The principle states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible, eliminating those that make no difference in the observable predictions of the explanatory hypothesis or theory. This is often paraphrased as “All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best.” In other words, when multiple competing theories are equal in other respects, the principle recommends selecting the theory that introduces the fewest assumptions and postulates the fewest entities. It is in this sense that Occam’s razor is usually understood.
 

What’s that? You’re confused? Here’s a little news-flash: I’m confused too! The only difference between you and I is:

I take action in the face of confusion, and you don’t.

In my experience, “paralysis by analysis” is the most common barrier to action, and by extension, successful action. Because after all, analysis is the preface to action- it isn’t action itself.

Analysis can certainly serve a useful purpose, but for many, it’s both a crutch and an excuse for delaying action. Here’s a typical brain-twister that novice lifters often find themselves confronted by:

Should you do 6 sets of 2, or 4 sets of 3?

My advice? Don’t even think about starting a training program until you’ve resolved this critical conundrum, because after all, both options involve 12 reps with the same weight, so obviously if you go down the wrong path, you’ll be screwed, glued, and tattooed.

Another critical decision: should you bike or row for cardio on Tuesdays?

God help you if you should happen to choose the wrong exercise or repetition bracket, or if you stupidly decide to train 3 times a week instead of 4. Because now you’re stuck for the rest of your training career. Too bad you didn’t think that decision through more carefully before you got all irrational and went and wrote yourself a stupid program.

OK, on a more serious note…

I really like the old carpenter’s adage “Measure twice, cut once.” But this philosophy is absurdly over-cautious when applied to training program design. A program isn’t a piece of wood- if you make an error, you have my permission to edit it. Honest.

And don’t even ask me to evaluate your 18-week off-season developmental conditioning cycle, because it’ll make my eyes glaze over faster than last night’s episode of Oprah where that Dr. Oz guy is telling me to do some kinda meditation stuff for stress-reduction.

Because let’s face it- 18 weeks from now, lots of things can happen. You could get sick, or even injured. You might break up with your girlfriend. Or find a girlfriend. Or lose your job. Or join some extremist religion that forbids the use of barbells. Or even more likely than any of the above, you might read some new article or book about some new training program that seems a hell of a lot more interesting than what you’re doing now.

So look: let’s just focus on the here-and-now, and further, let’s focus on the “big rocks:” the stuff that really matters. The rest we can figure out later- maybe next week, maybe next month, but later. Now obviously some of you are now expecting me to tell you what a big rock is before you can ever touch a weight again, so here are a few examples of big rocks (stuff that matters) and small rocks (stuff that doesn’t matter):

- Big Rocks Small Rocks
- Squat Heavy How much? How often? How deep? What kind of squat?
- Eat Protein How much? How often? What kind of protein?
- Set Goals How many? How hard should they be? In writing?
- Record Your Training How? Why? What kind of paper? 

Now in most cases, people worry about the small rocks without even getting the big rocks in place- they’ve got the cart before the horse. So look- just squat. In the beginning, you’ll probably do it all wrong, but even that’s a lot better than not squatting. Then, little by little, you’ll figure out how to do it correctly, and guess what- you’re already great progress will get even better!

And eat protein. Don’t worry about how much- just eat a lot. Don’t worry about what kind, we’ll get to that later. Get your big rocks in the jar first, then we’ll worry about the little rocks, and maybe someday we’ll fill the rest of the jar with sand. Maybe.

In Summary:

Action precedes progress; analysis precedes more analysis. Act first, analyze later

It’s easier to go from something to something better, than it is to go from nothing to something

Ever notice how lots of people make great progress doing “stupid” stuff? It’s because they’re doing while you’re not doing. Doing stupid stuff will always beat not doing smart stuff.
That’s it – you’re done. Go squat and eat some protein.

Occam’s Barbell*: Putting An End To Paralysis By Analysis is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

—

“Question. I’m going to specialize in people over 50. Do you think a mini EDT PR Zone like five minutes is appropriate for older people? I know some people would just want to do one set to almost failure and that’s OK, but I do really believe that if a person wants to gain muscle mass EDT is a great way to develop muscle.

As you have written, there is no one best way to get stronger and build muscle. When I started lifting in 1955 I gained 35 pounds of weight, mostly muscle, just doing one set of about eight exercises. Alternating 8, 10 and 12 reps. This was the old Joe Weider routine. I was in college and had not seen my parents for four months and I had grown from 135 pounds to 170 pounds. When I knocked at the door my mom answered and said, ‘Is that you George?’

After that the gains were much slower and eventually by lifting very heavy (Olympic and power lifting) and stuffing myself I gained to 255 pounds of muscle and a lot of fat. I was strong but not fit at all. Now I’m 178 pounds at 6′ and strong for my age (70) and size and very fit. I’m wearing the same size pants I did in 1957 when I was in the army. I still want to gain more muscle on my legs.”

 —

In my response to this question, I pointed out that the amount of total work you do determines fitness gain, not how difficult or how easy (or how painful) that work happens to feel. In seminars, I often ask, “Do you burn more calories walking a mile, or running a mile?”

The answer is, it’s the same – the amount of work you do (in this case, one mile) that determines the energy expenditure, not the level of effort. Now it’s true that running the mile burns more calories per unit of time, but then again, you finish faster, so it’s a wash.

That being the case, I’m concerned about how much work is accomplished during each training session.

You can perform more work if you manage pain/fatigue by breaking the workload into several manageable chunks, rather than trying to accomplish it all in one all-out sprint. This is why I argue for many sets of low reps, as opposed to the reverse. It’s also why I advocate accelerative performances with moderate weights as opposed to grinding efforts with close to maximal weights (for whatever reps are being used). These tactics favor performance over pain, which results in a higher work output with less pain and discomfort.

Way back when the Soviet Ministry of Sport was still in business, the training of Olympic weightlifters was managed by tracking and manipulating total workloads over 50% of 1RM. Daily workouts were measured by total reps for each exercise, and longer-term cycles were organized and monitored according to tonnage.

I’m not as familiar with how the Soviets managed athletes in other sports, but I strongly suspect that the training of rowers was planned based on total yardage (or kilometers for longer-duration athletes). The principle is universal and infinitely scaleable: production = profit. If I’m a writer, a successful day is defined as one where I end up with more pages at the end of the day than at the beginning of that day. Sure – producing those pages might have been fatiguing or even painful, but pain isn’t the goal, it’s the (usually unavoidable) consequence of performing work.

Operating from an “exerciser” mentality is inefficient because it leads one to prioritize pain over performance.
In this paradigm, pain becomes the goal, rather than the consequence of performing work. Think about the practice of performing forced reps. You manage to get 8 reps on your own, and then, just when you’re on the brink of failure, your training partner helps you squeeze out 3 more. On those last 3 reps – the ones that really hurt – are you doing more work, or less? The answer is less – “X” amount of work requires “X” amount of energy. When you do forced reps, your partner simply contributes his energy when yours has been depleted.

In other words, the work is now shared between two people as opposed to one. More pain, less gain.

Call me crazy, but I’d rather have less pain and more gain. But that’s just me. By the way, if you only have one set to get the job done, I’d recommend taking it to momentary muscular failure. That said, why is everyone so focused on what happens during a single set? Why do people always operate from the assumption that you only have one set to get the job done? Anyone who’s ever run a marathon can tell you that it’s what happens over the course of 26.2 miles that matters, not what happens between miles 12 and 14.

Understanding this truth is what separates athletes from exercisers. Your practices spring from your paradigms. Your view of the World determines how you operate in the World. Think about that the next time you see your local gym gorilla on the leg press loaded with every 45 in sight (plus his training partner sitting on top) doing ¼ reps with his knees wrapped with 20-ply titanium powerlifting wraps.

Pain And Performance; Production And Profit is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

A) Power (Speed-Strength)
B) Maximal Strength
C) Strength-Endurance

The rationale for my short list is perhaps obvious- in addition to greater strength, power, and endurance, the pursuit of these qualities leads to greater body composition and real-world athletic functionality. I might also add (as I approach my 50th birthday) that these three qualities are the first to recede with age, particularly if you’re sedentary.

Conveniently, these three qualities correspond with the three competitive strength disciplines: Olympic-style weightlifting, powerlifting, and strongman. As it so happens, weightlifting drills are the most appropriate ways to express athletic power, while the three powerlifts lend themselves to the expression of maximal strength, and the various strongman events are great ways to train and test strength-endurance.

A simple way to implement all three of these qualities/disciplines is to initiate each workout with an Olympic lift (or variant), continue with a powerlift (or variant) and commence with a strongman event (or variant).

Training Frequency

Further, in keeping with the “three” theme, I’ll suggest training three days a week, which, by the way, is how many of the most accomplished strength and power athletes have trained throughout history.

Tight Random Spray

Finally, in an attempt to strike an optimal balance between specificity and variety, we’ll employ a “randomized tight spray” in selecting our daily exercise menus: you’ll pre-identify 6 different exercises for each quality-discipline, and then roll a dye to select each day’s three exercises. Here are sample lists for each quality, but please make these lists your own by customizing them to your own requirements- for example, if you’re experienced in full cleans or snatches, by all means, use them. Or if you can’t/won’t shouldn’t back squat but can/should front squat, plus that in to the maximal strength exercise menu in place of the back squat

Sample Exercise Lists

Olympic-lift Variants

1) Power Snatch
2) Power Clean
3) Power Clean & Jerk
4) Clean Pull
5) Snatch Pull
6) Power Clean & Press

Powerlift Variants

1) Back Squat
2) Deadlift
3) Bench Press
4) Rack Pull
5) Floor Press
6) Box Squat

Strongman Variants

1) Tire Flip
2) Vehicle Pull
3) Farmer’s Walk
4) Log Clean & Press
5) Repetition Deadlift
6) Overhead Barbell Walk

Assigning Loading Parameters

Loading parameters will be determined at least in part by the exercises themselves: Olympic and powerlifting drills should be done in multiple (5-10) sets of low (1-3) reps. The strongman events are a different beast: typically, these are done for time and/or speed, attempting to complete as many reps (or as much distance) as possible within a pre-determined time frame. One way to address this variable is to use a rotating set/rep format, where each week within a four-week cycle calls for a different pattern. For example:

Week One: 5×2
Week Two: 10×1
Week Three: 3×3
Week Four: 6×4

Then for the strongman day, you can set up a similar scenario, where time-frames and/or distance vary week by week. Here’s an example using the farmer’s walk:

Week One: 3 walks, 60 seconds each walk
Week Two: 3 walks, 90 seconds each walk
Week Three: 4 walks, 30 seconds each walk
Week Four: Maximum distance at a given weight

Mesocyclic Planning

Using a system such as the one I suggested above, I’d suggest that the first month be used to establish baseline performances for each drill. Then, in month two, seek to break your PR’s in each exercise/loading arrangement. After three months of this, change up your exercise lists and loading arrangements, and start fresh. Using this system, you’ll enjoy many months of specific, yet variable training that will make you bigger, faster, and stronger than you ever thought possible.

Tri-Quality Training: Three Ways To Move Big Weights is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

So whether you exercise for stress reduction, weight loss, or sport, it makes sense to train in a manner which is consistent with accepted training principles and methodologies. Doing so will make the outcome of training less haphazard and more predictable. It will also enhance the appreciation of movement one should derive from any form of physical activity.

As all coaches know, mastery of a sport is accomplished by developing a foundation before progressing to more advanced levels of training. As accepted as this principle is, many people possess only a vague understanding of what this means in concrete terms. The purpose of this article is to expose the reader to foundational training concepts derived from the world of sports science. And while you might not be a competitive athlete, I believe you can benefit greatly from recent developments in sport science.

One such development comes from Dr. Tudor Bompa, former Romanian rowing coach and currently a professor at York University in Toronto, Canada.

Bompa has developed a useful schema called “The Training Factors Pyramid,”* which can be used to develop long term training plans, based on a foundational progression of factors over time.

The Training Factors Pyramid helps to identify a logical sequence of training factors, and can be used by athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike to identify objectives and evaluate training programs and methods. When problems develop, as they inevitably do, The Training Factors Pyramid can be used to determine what level these problems originate from, which speeds up the corrective process considerably.

The pyramid consists of four ascending levels. The athlete enters the pyramid at the first level—physical preparation. This level is the cornerstone of an athlete’s training, because without it, further progress is impossible. Physical preparation refers to the development of what sports scientists call “biomotor abilities”— strength, power, speed, balance, flexibility, agility, endurance, and coordination.

The second level of the pyramid involves technical preparation— or perfecting physical techniques. While some techniques can be mastered with a low level of physical preparation, many cannot. Many currently popular recreational sporting activities, such as in-line skating and rock climbing, to name two, require a fairly high level of physical development before many skills can be practiced.

Of course, technical mastery is not the final objective, for any athlete. We all know of athletes who have beautiful and “correct” techniques, but who lack the ability to apply them in a sport setting.

This brings us to the third level of The Training Factors Pyramid: tactical preparation. Tactics simply refer to the ability to successfully apply techniques in a sport situation. It should be obvious to the reader at this point that technically sound technique must be established before entering level three. Further, the athlete must have a high level of physical development before correct technique is possible.

The fourth and final stage is called psychological preparation—a very important consideration for athletes who hope to compete successfully. But clearly, psychological preparedness— let’s just call it confidence— cannot be established if the athlete has not successfully ascended through the previous three levels.

How can The Training Factors Pyramid be used in an everyday, practical setting? Let’s suppose you’re a serious recreational beach volleyball player, and you’re having problems with your spike. The first step is to determine whether or not you can execute a technically correct spike in an isolated situation (i.e., in practice).

If the answer is no, then we go down a level and try to find faults your physical preparation— perhaps you lacks adequate explosive strength to clear the net. Once your physical attributes are improved, you should be more successful in delivering the spike in competitive situations.

If the answer is yes (you can deliver a proper spike), the problem lies in either tactical or psychological development. Both areas are closely intertwined— a lack of tactical skill can obviously impair confidence. And vice versa. Athletes commonly progress well through physical and technical training, but falter in tactical/psychological realms. The solution is more time in the trenches, with careful progression through gradually more difficult encounters. When tactical successes begin to outweigh the failures, confidence increases along with tactical ability.

Although the four training factors have been isolated for the sake of discussion, in reality, they must be integrated if a successful outcome is desired.

For example, is a serve a technique or a tactic? At novice levels of play, it is primarily technical, but at high levels of skill, techniques and tactics are one and the same. Also worth noting is the fact that the direction of influence is not only ascending, but descending as well. For example, the techniques you’ll use affect the physical preparation you’ll need to do.

Aside from day to day considerations, The Training Factors Pyramid should also form a template for long term planning, as well.

Accordingly, the first several months of training should be dedicated to improving physical attributes, although simple technical and tactical skills may be presented as well. The second phase of training is characterized by developing technical mastery of your sport skills. Physical condition must be maintained, but this involves less work than it took to develop it. Advanced stages of training target tactical and psychological concerns, with comparatively less time spent on physical and technical development.

While achieving mastery in sport involves years of hard work, those years yield far more result when they are spent wisely. The time you spend developing your foundation is miniscule compared to the time it takes to correct long-entrenched errors from years of poorly-conceived and executed training.

Understanding Training Foundation is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness