Ascent81’s BodyBlog

Suppose for the sake of argument that someone really discovered the best workout routine. Say it was backed up by years of scientific research and first-hand experience. It guarantees the best possible results — for everyone. But there’s one catch: It’s as boring as hell.

Perhaps this is what every workout routine shares in common: a total disregard for human psychology. We need to be excited about a program, and as soon as the excitement runs out, our motivation comes to a dead halt. We abandon the program. Maybe we stop working our all-together.

My point is that no matter how effective a workout routine is, if it bores you, it’s useless. I would even go so far as to say that a less effective but highly exciting routine is better than a highly effective but boring routine. The reason is simple. You will remain committed to working out more consistently when you are excited about working out. You will then in time get the results you’re after.

But let’s entertain another possibility. Maybe all workout routines are self-undermining because of this fact: they’re routines. And any routine — no matter how varied it starts off — will become boring. And as soon as boredom sets in, motivation drops. You stop looking forward to going to the gym, or you put less energy and focus in your training. As a result, you don’t make the gains or goals you’re after. It’s a vicious cycle.

Which brings me to my main point. Stop using a workout routine. Don’t stop training, of course. Just stop training along the same set of principles and rules that every program locks you into. Change up your workout frequency, your reps, your sets, your exercises. Or cycle through different routines. Experiment.

But wait a minute. You might be thinking, What if the constant change approach turns into a new program?! What if you become locked into the so-called ‘change principle’? Can we avoid that? Can we avoid the boredom that will inevitably set in from having to always experiment and change things up?

Here’s my solution. If all you’ve been doing is changing your routine, try staying consistent with one program. If you’re always experimenting, then not experimenting will be the new thing for you.

"How do I get a six pack?"

It appears the experts change their opinion on this one every decade. In the 80s articles on getting a six pack were all about ab exercises. Then in the 90s the articles became about diet and weight loss. I think we’re still in the 90s now, which is a good thing. Why? Because diet is 90% responsible for revealing your abs (the other 10% is the cardio or fat-burning activities you do). Of course, if you lack ab development, the revelation won’t be very impressive. You could diet away the fat and reveal a flat stomach. Which is the goal for most women. But men — and this is my main audience — want more than that. They want a defined and sculpted mid-section.

The obvious solution, then, is to do both. Work your abs (for ab development) and then diet to reveal all the hard work.

But now we’re faced with a new question. "What is the best ab exercise?"

My answer is simple: weight lifting.
Not crunches, leg lifts, upside down twists, or scissor monkey split kicks. Just plain old weights. With barbells and dumbbells and such things. Any exercise (like squats, deadlifts, rows, etc) that requires you to stabilize your core will, in time, develop your core. But, again, all the core and ab development in the world will not make a difference unless you diet, diet, and diet some more.

So lift weights to develop your six pack. Diet to reveal it.

At my high-school gym there was a picture of Lee Haney doing barbell curls. Underneath was written: "No pain, no gain." That sums up how bodybuilders worked out back in the 70s and 80s. That’s old-school, right?

We know better now. Spend less time in the gym. Rest more, sleep more, eat more. This is how you make gains.

And yet, if you push yourself, you’re going to get sore, really sore. (I’m talking about muscle soreness, not injury). Yes, you have to sleep enough and eat properly. But sometimes the soreness doesn’t go away. Who’s to say you’re going to slow down your progress if you head back to the gym anyway?

As I write this I’m sore all over. But I’m planning on working out tonight. In fact, I’ve been sore all week, but I kept working out. One voice in my head told me to stop, rest, take it easy. But I’m making progress. It’s visible. I can see it.

Maybe there’s some truth in the old-school approach after all. Pain doesn’t lead to gains. But to make gains you have to feel some pain. Okay, maybe you have to feel a lot of pain. But the point is: pain is part of the process.

Who do you think has the best aesthetic physique of all time?  Of course, Frank Zane enters everyone’s mind whenever this question is asked, so to make this interesting, I want to hear some names other than Zane.

My vote: Francis Benfatto in the late 80s/early 90s.  This guy’s physique has unbeatable symmetry, detail, and mass to create an overall aesthetic appeal.

What’s your vote?

Last year I joined my first real gym — or rather "fitness club."  I’ve never needed one as I always had access to the gyms of the various universities I attended.  So I had no idea that getting a gym membership was like passing a serious of psychological tests.  I realize that fitness clubs today rely heavily on psychological warfare to get you to sign an outrageously expensive contract and, of course, to keep you at their club for the rest of your life.  I found all of this entertaining because the so-called ‘fitness tests’ and ‘analyses’ they give are obviously meant for people who’ve never worked out seriously  before.  The ultimate aim of such tests is to make you feel incredibly bad about your body, your level of health, and your eating habits.  At the same time they are supposed to show you a gleaming pathway beyond all of this misery: namely, their gym and all of its amazing facilities.  The more ‘problems’ they can identify, the more ’solutions’ they can offer you — all with a price tag.

I could go on and on, but I’ll leave you with one particularly funny scenario.  After a series of questions the girl finally gets me to do a ‘fat’ analysis by having an ‘electric current’ run through my body to detect body fat percentage.  It said I have 15% body fat. (I swear the thing is meant to give you a higher rating, just so you break down and ask for their help).  I told her I was surprised that it came up so high and she asked me if I was ‘happy’ about it.  I said I didn’t care about the percentage.  "As long as I can see an eight-pack in the mirror I’m happy."

What are "glory muscles"?

First thing’s first.  What’s up with dudes who only work chest and arms?  I was talking with this guy at the gym (after I had just finished a heavy squat workout), and he said he started doing leg workouts but then realized he was getting off track.  "I just want the ‘glory muscles’," he said, "chest and arms."  I couldn’t believe what I heard. It sounded as if he’d made a New Year’s resolution: "I’m not going to develop my entire body.  I’m just going to work those ‘glory muscles’."  My question is: Why?  Who are you fooling when you only have chest and arm development?  I think everyone responds visually to a proportioned physique.  Even if you only workout to be more physically attractive, you still have to work toward a balanced look.  

So the answer to my question "What are ‘glory muscles’?" is: "Every muscle — when it is developed in proportion with all other muscles."

So what does it mean to be a "natural" bodybuilder?  

You might think this is a simple question with a simple answer: "You’re natural if you don’t take illegal performance enhancing substances, like anabolic steroids."  So far so good.  Problems arise when we put too much emphasis on "illegal" in this definition.  I’ve heard lots of people say you’re natural insofar as your supplements are approved by state or federal laws.  But the problem I have with this definition is that it turns "natural" bodybuilding into something like "legal" bodybuilding.  

Imagine for the sake of argument that the federal laws of your country permitted the use of anabolic steroids.  On this definition, whatever is legal is good to go.  So you can happily stick that needle in your ass and call yourself a natural bodybuilder.  "No!" I hear you cry out. "That’s wrong."  And I agree.  Even if it were suddenly legal to take anabolic steroids, I would say taking them would put you outside the "natural" category.  

But now we’re back right where we started.  What is it that makes you a natural bodybuilder?  What is it about illegal performance enhancing substances that makes them "unnatural"?  You might think that they became illegal for a good reason, which is probably true: you could point out the negative side effects of steroids, the possibility of addiction, etc.  But what if (again, for the sake of argument) someone created an anabolic compound with no negative psychological or physiological side effects?  Would taking it still make you a "natural" bodybuilder?  "No!" I hear you say, "it wouldn’t."  And I agree.  

At the very least, you have to admit defining "natural" is not easy.

Any thoughts?

I’m sure you’ve heard this before.  Some guy in the gym proudly saying he’s “all natural” because he doesn’t use supplements, like whey power or creatine.  This is clearly a misuse of the term.  “Natural” bodybuilding refers to “drug-free” bodybuilding, and supplements like whey powder and creatine are obviously not drugs.  But why do we hear people talking like this?  Why do people insist they are “natural” when they’re not taking supplements?  I’m not sure it even makes sense, but I could be wrong.  Do they mean they don’t take any synthetic products?  So they would then be opposed to supplementing with vitamin C?  If so, they would not be allowed to eat any food products that contained preservatives or other synthetic ingredients.  But then what makes the non-synthetic foods they eat natural?  Is it natural to cook your foods?  Some cultures don’t think so, and animals (who are in a “state of nature”) don’t cook their food.  So they would have to go on a "raw food" diet…  You get my point.  It’s absurd and it doesn’t really make sense to call “supplements” like whey and creatine “non natural.”

Taking my scheduled week off the gym (following basic MAX-OT principles).  I do this every 8-10 weeks.  It’s really a mental break: I come back to the gym with more energy and intensity.  And it also prevents over-training and the injuries that come with it.