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Hey New Guy: Bodybuilding Advice for the Beginner in all of Us

Getting Back Into It

Maybe you’re not a beginner anymore.
Maybe you haven’t been for years.
Maybe you’ve surpassed your expectations, maybe you’ve competed; maybe you’ve made it just about as far in the Bodybuilding game as you could ever dream—
–and then maybe you blow your knee out.

Injuries are part of the sport—any sport—and hardcore lifters know the perils of a torn ACL, or a rotator cuff, or quad; really, the possibilities are endless, and they’re only one bad rep away.

For the dedicated, there really is nothing worse than watching weeks, months—years—of progress flushed down the drain.  (And let’s face it, there are only so many times you can watch Pumping Iron on the couch before you’re clamoring to get back in the gym.)

So, maybe you’ve been off for a while.
Maybe that rotator cuff is where it should be, and you’ve reached that glorious day when you can get your skinny ass back in the basement.  
Problem is—in the months you’ve been laid off—and whether or not you’ve noticed any substantial decreases in mass and definition—you just feel defeated.

Like all that hard work is gone—
–like it will take years to get your strength back to where it should be.

All of a sudden you’re procrastinating; ‘I’ve got laundry to do,’ or ‘The kids will be home in three hours,’ or ‘I’ll get a good rest today, and crush it tomorrow.’
Problem is, tomorrow is Tuesday.
And Tuesday is filled with excuses.

The best thing to do, tough guy, is realize that it took guts to grab the ‘45’s in the beginning; back when you were a bodybuilding nobody, back when you were even less than you perceive (—and, probably, incorrectly—) you are now.

Weightlifters are, by definition, an anxious lot—every quarter-inch scrutinized and measured and catalogued; every new cut or line or vein a cause for celebration.  Simply by realizing, ‘Hey, I’ve done this before’ and grabbing those dumbbells (—trust me, your body won’t care if they’re ‘45’s or ‘5’s—) you’re taking that all-important first step.

The step from the couch, to the bench.

Besides, you’ve seen Pumping Iron enough to know that (Spoiler alert Katz isn’t going to find that T-Shirt.

Eccentric muscle contraction for fat loss
By: Helgi Gudfinnsson

When talking about fat burning exercise program the main focus has been on repetitions and sets, as well as rest periods. What has been left out of the discussion is tempo and muscle contraction. Chad Waterbury wrote an article recently about how fast concentric lifts would burn more fat. His study showed that by doing concentric lifts as fast as you can your metabolism increases more after exercising than if you use slow tempo or 2 seconds. Increasing metabolism after exercising is one of my main focus points when creating a fat burning exercise system. To reach maximum metabolism after exercising the key is to choose the correct exercises.  

What I am going to talk about in this article is muscle contraction, mainly eccentric muscle contraction. Like we all know, eccentric muscle contraction has many pros but what we don´t know as much about is how important it is in the aspect of burning fat. Two studies have shown that when using eccentric muscle concentration we can increase fat up to 48-72 hours after exercising. Before continuing, let’s look at one of the two studies I mentioned above to show you the importance of eccentric muscle contraction when burning fat.

Hackney et.al. did the research to explore eccentric muscle contraction, full body resistance training and high volume on resting energy expenditure.

Method
16 college students were chosen to participate in the study and they were divided into two groups. One group had already lifted weights for at least 6 months continuously but the other group had not done any lifting for 6 months or more. Hackney did all kinds of tests on the two groups, such as body composition and resting energy expenditure. The subjects needed to keep a dietary log for four days and comment on their muscle soreness after exercising. The exercise system the subjects followed was this:

• Rotation 1: Chest press, leg press, biceps curl
• Rotation 2: Lat pulldown, Leg curl, Triceps extension
• Rotation 3: Shoulder press and Leg extension

Each subject performed 8 sets, 6 repetitions, 30 seconds rest between sets, and 3 minutes rest between rotations. Using 1 second concentric and 3 second eccentrics.  The first 3 sets were warm up sets or familiarization phase but sets 4 to 8 were workout sets.

The results were that the resting expenditure increased up to 72 hours after exercising and on average it increased 9.2% with the group that had not lifted any weights for 6 months but 7.9% with the group that had been lifting. The main reasons given were eccentric muscle contraction and high volume.

But what causes the fact that the fat burn increases so long after exercising?

There are many factors associated with elevation of resting energy expenditure in the post exercise period.  These factors include elevated body temperature, resynthesis of glycogen from lactic acid and resynthesis of ATP and CP.  This is all happens within the rapid and slow component of EPOC which can last up to 24 hours.  But what happens after that?  What seems to be triggering the elevations of EPOC between 24 and 72 hours is associated with delayed-onset muscle soreness and the muscle repair process.  Increased protein degradation and synthesis will have an impact on REE elevations and also events associate with inflammatory process (mobilizing cytokines and neutophils).  

The workout

Since the exercise program in Hackney´s research takes about an hour I decided to make my own version of it because I like to keep my exercise programs short and effective, no longer than 45 minutes. In this exercise program I want to focus on eccentric muscle contraction so that we can increase the metabolism as long as possible afterwards, so here is the setup:    

Week 1 and 2 (intro phase)

You will alternate between workouts A and B for example Monday workout A, Wednesday workout B and Friday workout A and so on.

Workout A

Rotation 1: no rest between the exercises
Back/Front Squat
DB Chest press
Barbell bent over row
6 reps, 4 sets, 90 seconds rest at the end of the Rotation, 4 seconds eccentric and fast concentric, intensity 80% .

Rotation 2: no rest between the exercises
Lunge
Push up variations (Spiderman)
Inverted row
12 reps, 2 sets, 60 seconds rest at the end of the Rotation, 3 seconds eccentric and fast concentric.  Intensity 75%

Workout B

Rotation 1: no rest between the exercises
Deadlift
DB shoulder press
Chin up or Pull up
6 reps, 4 sets, 90 seconds rest at the end of the Rotation, 4 seconds eccentric and fast concentric, intensity 80%

Rotation 2: no rest between the exercises
Single leg romanian deadlift
Prone Jackknife push up
Lat pulldown
12 reps, 2 sets, 60 seconds rest at the end of the Rotation, 3 seconds eccentric and fast concentric.  Intensity 75%

Week 3 and 4

Everything is the same but you will increase the volume by 2 sets so now you are doing 6 sets instead of 4 sets in Rotation 1.

Week 5 and 6

Everything is the same but you will increase the volume by 2 sets so now you are doing 8 sets instead of 6 sets in the first Rotation 1.

The reason for low volume exercises in week 1 and 2 is that people are not used to eccentric muscle contraction. My experience is that people get very sore when they start the program and if I would keep the volume higher, there would be a great risk of injuries. Also since I use trisets, a lot of energy goes into each set and in my opinion 4 sets are enough at the beginning.

Conclusion

As you can see by Hackney‘s research using slow eccentric muscle contraction will increase you resting metabolic rate up to 72 hours.  To make your exercise program more effective you should put more emphasis on eccentrics if you don´t then you could shorten the metabolism after exercising instead of increasing it to the maximum.  

Helgi Gudfinnsson is a personal trainer living in Grindavik, Iceland. He is the author of the book “Your Ultimate Fat Loss System”
(www.yourultimatefatlosssystem.com)

Hey New Guy: Bodybuilding Advice for the Beginner in all of Us
Finding Your Motivation

Maybe you don’t look like Arnold.
Maybe you don’t want to.

Maybe you’re more of a Steve Reeves fan—that old-school, farm-boy Hollywood physique.  
Then again, maybe you thought Brad Pitt in Fight Club was about as good as a body could get.

Regardless of your aesthetic, chances are you’ve seen some dude on the street, or the squat rack, or the screen that made you feel a little…out of shape.  There’s no shame in admitting that those quads are working for him—and there’s no shame in using it as motivation to get your sorry ass back in the gym.

It doesn’t make you weird or weak to admit to yourself that somebody else out there is rocking the look you want to.  Rather, it can be healthy—an ideal, a goal, a target.  Whatever your motivation may be, finding it could be the key to kick-starting a stagnant workout routine.

We’re competitive creatures, after all—say you haven’t seen Johnny from Accounting in three months, and then he kills you on the squash court.  Not only are you utterly humiliated from the ass kicking, but your scrawny frame is winded halfway through, and the only tired thing about Johnny is watching his Polo try to hold in his triceps.  Rather than going home and bitching about how his macro-diet and split-routine is giving him an unfair advantage, why not spend five minutes getting him to detail his theory on pyramid sets?

Or, the next time you’re watching a Stallone double-bill on the Action Channel, and your girl (–if your fortunate enough to have a girl who’ll watch a Stallone double-bill–) can’t shut up about how cranked he is, hop online during commercial and download his Rocky III workout program.

Trust me, she’ll find that sexier than you complaining about how many D-Bols he must have been on.

Remember, the first step towards getting the kind of body you’ve always admired is telling yourself you can have it.

There’s no great secret formula, no concoction of pharmaceuticals (–well, for the most part, anyways,) no magic wand to wave that gave your favorite star the physique they parade around your living room on movie night.

They simply wanted it, and worked for it.
You say you want it too–

–what are you willing to do for it?

My struggle:

You know that feeling after a competition when you’re in your “Post-comp-anabolic-rebound-I-could-eat-50
00-calories-in-one-sitting” phase? It’s pretty awesome isn’t it? Just eating and eating and eating until you’re blue in the face. But then…the aftermath. The bloat. The carbohydrate/salt retention. The nausea, wooziness, headache, shakes…it’s not so much fun anymore, is it?

Well, how do you think you would feel if you went through that every week? Sometimes twice a week. You’d feel pretty gross. So gross that maybe you would do whatever it took to purge away those feelings (and the food) so that you could continue to live normally again. Even if you knew that purging was unhealthy. However, once you purge, you start to feel empty again. Empty and hungry. Thus creating the vicious cycle of binging and purging, also known as bulimia nervosa. It’s not a fun cycle, and I can tell you that first hand.

Because I’m trying to recover from it.

It all started way back in 1998, when I was 11, and didn’t think I was good enough for my parents, so I just wanted to disappear. Isn’t that sad? My first diet was when I was 11. Anyway, long-story short, 8 years, 3 hospitalizations, and about 25 pounds later, I was 19 and a SKELETAL 95 pounds with 4.9% bodyfat (according to a DEXA scan). I was on the verge of death from anorexia, when I decided (thanks to the help of loving family, friends, and online support from bodybuilding.com forum members), so clean up my act and get healthy. Long-story short AGAIN, 2 years after I decided to get better,  I got up to 165 pounds, and dieted back down to 138 for a competition in November of 2008. It was THRILLING to be able to see my abs, striations and veins again. What a feeling! (Those of you who are competitors know what I’m talking about). However, with the post-contest period came the post-contest binge. It started with 24 hours; I enjoyed myself with friends and family. 24 hours turned into a week. A week turned into a month. I was STILL binging by December 20. I remember the date vividly, because it was the first time I had purchased laxatives. I was with my mom in Florida, and had just eaten 5 protein bars, a whole rotisserie chicken, and a box of rice krispie squares. I was sick to my stomach, and didn’t know how to make the bloat go away.

So I walked to the nearest CVS, and bought a pharmaceutical laxative. I won’t go into details, but I’ll just say that I felt better. But not only that, I felt PURGED physically AND emotionally from the binge that had just occurred. I didn’t feel it in my stomach anymore, and I didn’t feel the guilty of going ‘off my diet’ because my stomach was empty again. I thought to myself, “Man! I can get used to this! Eat as much as I want, knowing that I can just get rid of it again.” So I started using laxatives. But that wasn’t all. I was also doing 1.5 – 2 hours of cardio a day in addition to my weight training. I did it to help burn more calories, to allow myself to eat more calories, and again, to feel that euphoric sense of purging my emotions and the guilt associated with the binge. CLEARLY I was starting a dangerous, downhill slope into an unhealthy vortex.

I brought my unhealthy habits back from Florida to Canada. No one knew. Not even my mom. I’d consume a normal amount of food in public (probably even less), and then when I was alone, I’d eat whatever was in sight. Then, I’d purge. Binge, purge, binge, purge. On and on it went. I don’t know whether it was the fact that I’d always promise myself that “I’ll diet tomorrow”, thus giving me the freedom to eat whatever I wanted that night, or whether it was boredom, or simply the fact that I was still only 10lb above my competition weight, and was maintaining that quite well. Whatever the reason, I couldn’t get myself out, and I needed help. I would enter online transformation contests, or make dates to compete again, but they were all in vain, as I wasn’t really getting to the ROOT of the problem. I couldn’t figure out what was making me binge in the first place. And what’s worse is that if I would start off my day with something  that wasn’t necessarily on the plan, then I would say, “Well, my day is officially ruined. Might as well spend the next 16 waking hours eating crap.” So the cycle continued.

I’d try to go on warp speed fat loss diets, protein sparing modified fasts, grapefruit diets, but NOTHING was helpful because they were all bandaid solutions.  Not to mention, the whole time in the back of my mind, I’m reminding myself just how badly I’m treating my body (putting your fingers down your throat, using laxatives and doing 2 hours of cardio a day aren’t exactly ideal pictures of health…). The anorexia has left me permanently barren (not able to have children), and I’ll be lucky if my estrogen levels will ever get UP to the low side of normal. So compound those previous problems with the ones I COULD be causing myself now, and you have a recipe for disaster. The problem is, I don’t know how to stop. To the average person, the answer is easy, “Don’t binge.” But if you’ve never had an eating disorder, or if you don’t have an addictive personality, then you really don’t know what it’s like to crave something so badly that it literally starts to HURT after a while. This is how it feels if I don’t get a “fix”, and then how it feels AGAIN when I do get a “fix”, but don’t purge.

As of this week, I’ve enlisted the help of a psychologist (one who helped me during the anorexia), and hopefully the talk therapy will help get to the root of my issues. In the meantime, I have the most incredible support group of people on my bodybuilding.com journal who encourage me daily (it’s very hard to tell my friends in person, as they tend to act somewhat distant and tread too carefully when we’re together), and whom I consider like family. So that’s where I’m at in my struggle right now.

What does ‘therapy’ consist of, and how does someone take that leap:

Everyone’s mind works differently, and everyone’s personalities are different, so you have to find a talk-doctor (that’s what I call them), that meshes with you. If you don’t feel comfortable around your psych, then there’s no point in going to him/her, because chances are, you’ll hold back, and the problem won’t be resolved. The difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist, is that a psychiatrist is a medical doctor. A psychologist may hold a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) and be called "doctor"; but, is not a medical doctor (M.D.). So a psychiatrist can prescribe you meds if you’re depressed, but a psychologist can’t (Note: I am not on medication).  The best way to go about finding a doctor is by word of mouth, or hospital referral. I found my psych by contacting the Hospital for Sick Kids, and asking who they would recommend that specializes in Eating Disorders. I used the same doctor for 2 years after I was discharged from hospital with anorexia, and am not going back to the same doctor (because I believe he had a lot to do with my recovery the first time).

If you don’t think a psychologist/psychiatrist is for you, that’s OK. There are other ways to work out solutions. It’s been proven in research that social support groups and networks are an integral part of people’s desire to stick to a goal. When you tell people what you want to achieve, you create an element of accountability (SO IMPORTANT!) and trust. The more people you tell, the more accountable you are. That’s why joining a BodyGroup, starting a blog or a journal online, or just getting together with a group of friends who have the same goal can be exponentially more effective than trying to do something for yourself. My journal in the Derek Charlesbois section of bodybuilding.com/forums has been up and running since September 2007, and I have no plans to go anywhere else. The support, encouragement and motivation I get HOURLY, have done wonders for my self-esteem , confidence and willpower to stick with my recovery. I couldn’t  ask to be surrounded by a better group of people. They’re like my family.

Different types of Disorders:

I am going to read off the clinical definitions of the 3 types of eating disorders (according to the DSM-IV), as I feel these will cover all the bases, and give you the most solid descriptions of them.

1) Bulimia Nervosa –

      A. Recurrent episodes of binge eating. An episode of binge eating is characterized by both of the following:

           (1) Eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat during a similar period of time and under similar circumstances.

           (2) A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g., a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating).

      B. Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behavior in order to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, enemas, or other medications; fasting, or excessive exercise.

      C. The binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors occur, on average, at least twice a week for three months.

      D. Self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight.

      E. The disturbance does not occur exclusively during episodes of Anorexia Nervosa.

2) Anorexia Nervosa –  

       A. Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height (e.g., weight loss leading to maintenance of body weight less than 85% of that expected; or failure to make expected weight gain during period of growth, leading to body weight less than 85% of that expected).

       B. Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight.

       C. Disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight.

       D. In postmenarcheal females, amenorrhea, i.e., the absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles.

3) Binge-Eating Disorder –
  
       A. Recurrent episodes of binge eating. An episode is characterized by:

              1. Eating a larger amount of food than normal during a short period of time (within any two hour period)

              2. Lack of control over eating during the binge episode (i.e. the feeling that one cannot stop eating).

        B. Binge eating episodes are associated with three or more of the following:

              1. Eating until feeling uncomfortably full

              2. Eating large amounts of food when not physically hungry

              3. Eating much more rapidly than normal

              4. Eating alone because you are embarrassed by how much you’re eating

              5. Feeling disgusted, depressed, or guilty after overeating

      C. Marked distress regarding binge eating is present

      D. Binge eating occurs, on average, at least 2 days a week for six months

      E. The binge eating is not associated with the regular use of inappropriate compensatory behavior (i.e. purging, excessive exercise, etc.) and does not occur exclusively during the course of bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa.

4) “Sham eating” – This one is relatively new, and not necessarily and ‘Eating Disorder’ per se, but rather, it involves severely disordered eating. It occurs when the person puts food in their mouth, chews it, and then spits it out (so that calories are not absorbed).

Conclusion:
While I don’t wish an eating disorder upon ANYONE, I hope that if you’re out there reading this, and you have one, you learn from my mistakes, and catch it early. Don’t let something like this fester, or assume that you can get better on your own. I’ve tried. And failed, miserably. It DOESN’T mean you’re a weak person. On the contrary! It takes a very STRONG person to admit they have a problem, and need help. So seek out professional guidance, and do as much reading as you can about the disorder. If you know anyone who you suspect might have an eating disorder, I encourage you to talk to them and get them help. This isn’t the kind of thing you want lingering…

9 weeks out.

Wow. 63 days. Not a lot of time AT ALL! It’s quite nerve wracking actually. I’m trying not to let it get to me, because with stress comes cortisol, and we all know how counterproductive that is; especially during contest prep.

The diet has been going well so far. But I’m encountering some resistance from my body…allow me to elaborate: During my last prep, I had this ‘phenomenon’ whereby I would get up in the middle of the night, go to the kitchen, have a small snack, and then go back to bed. When I’d wake up in the morning, some days I would find an empty jar of peanut butter, an empty box of cereal or even the container that ONCE held chicken for tomorrow’s meals. The scary part was, I couldn’t remember doing ANY of it. I always thought I slept through the night; until I started finding traces of these “night eats” the following morning. It was EXTREMELY off-putting and frustrating, because my diet would be spot on during the day, but then I’d lose my progress by sleep-walking at night. No one could diagnose the issue. I went to a BioSignature modulation expert, who told me I was waking up in the middle of the night because my cortisol was high, and Growth Hormone output (which is secreted in your sleep) was low. She told me to take 10g of Glutaform (Scivation’s Glutamine) before bed. I did that, and the issue went away at about 4 weeks out. But it could have gone away because my body was just so depleted and run down at 4 weeks out that it NEEDED sleep, and overrode any decision to eat at midnight.

The reason I’m telling you guys this is because the “night eats” have come back. I know this whole thing sounds really silly, but I can’t even begin to tell you how frustrating it is for me. I dedicate 2 – 3 hours of my day weight training and cardio, and I METICULOUSLY weigh and measure every morsel that goes into my mouth during my waking hours. So you can imagine how angry and frustrated and UPSET I get over the fact that I can’t control what happens in my sleep. I’m debating trying to the Glutamine protocol again, because I WILL reach my goal by the end of this competition.

Oh! That reminds me, my goals have slightly changed. One of my best friends is a former NPC regional champ, as well as a model, motivation speaker and soon to be published author. We’ve been doing a lot of talking lately about my goals for the future. She’s been in and around the health/fitness industry long enough that I trust and value her opinion. We’ve decided that my goals for the Online Bodybuilding Federation challenge are now slightly different. I’m thinking about doing some fitness modeling, so I’m going to ease back a little on my diet between now and June 3rd. The goal for June is to come in looking like a fitness model (Lose roughly 15 more lbs in 9 weeks), and for JULY, I am going to take it to the next level, and look absolutely, make people do a double-take, ab veins up to your chest, chest veins down to your abs SHREDDED! This way, I can have two different "looks" taken for photoshoots, and then ‘the powers that be’ can determine which one is more suitable for the mainstream.

So the plan is to come in around 10%bf for June (abs, delts, back), and then 7-8% (abs, delts, back, chest, LEGS!!!) for July. I have 3 competitors that I am training for a July show (1 fitness competitor, 2 male bodybuilders), and I am going to book my shoot for July 10 (the day before the show). So…who knows? If I look good enough, I MAY throw my hat in the ring…I can’t afford to slack anymore. There are no more excuses for missed meals, extra calories, protein bars or slacking on cardio. We’ll see what happens…

Motivation

This is a great segue into “How to Stay Motivated”.

Last week, it hit me. Like a sledgehammer in the face. REALLY FRICKIN HARD. I ate too much that wasn’t part of the plan. It wasn’t like an all out food orgy (you might know these 5000 calorie binges). A couple nights ago, I had ~3000 cals (only about 1000 over my usual). What was different this time, was how I FELT while I was eating it….

I was talking about Phoenix Moments with you guys in the last installment, and was thinking that maybe I hadn’t had mine yet for the OBF. I just couldn’t find my step, you know? I follow the instructions, but can’t see the bigger picture.

A few days ago, I found my answer. I concluded that for the last 2 years, all my eating has been for my mom. I’ve always blamed her for my failures. We don’t exactly have the most solid relationship. In that past, I was happiest when I was in control of my food, and didn’t let her little nuances get to me. I needed to find that place inside where it’s just me, my discipline and my willpower, rather than my struggle to please her and not feel like I’m worrying her if I diet (I guess that happens when you have an ED for 8 years). See, that was my problem. I was outwardly driven/focused. I was too focused on pleasing HER, that I was neglecting my own feelings. That is to say, if she and I were having a good day, my food would be good. If we were fighting, I’d binge…I’d "get back at her" by destroying my body.

As much as I hate to say it, though it’s clear as crystal, the anorexia was TOTALLY inwardly driven. Clearly I wasn’t doing it for anyone else but myself. I wasn’t thinking about anyone else but myself. It was me and my willpower. I have found that spot again, but at a much healthier place. Trust me. I’d never go back their again.

See, as of last week, neither her, nor our relationship, nor how food is affected by emotions are the focus anymore. My ideal bodyfat, and being comfortable in my own skin vs. wondering what she’s thinking when she looks at me is what’s important. It’s hard to stay focused on your own goals and willpower when they come from within, but easier to do it for someone. However, the problem arises when that someone else screws up…which they WILL ALWAYS inevitably do. And I binge eat so that my mom and my friends won’t think I’m slipping into an ed again. But that screws me up big time. A part of competing is disordered eating (NOT to be confused with eating disorders). So I have to learn to live with that, and the questions/comments/concerns about myself. But from now on, it’s "Who gives a f***?! They’re not living in this body! I AM!!! So I’m going to do with it what I want!" I have found myself again…I have found my own competitive drive.

You all need to find your INNER motivation and drive in order to be successful. Because superficial outside sources are constantly changing and manipulating themselves. They’re unstable and unreliable. But you will always have YOURSELF to count on. Use THAT as your motivation to be the best you can be.

In the next installment of this OBF series, I will talk about how to stay motivated, why we shouldn’t use the term “Weight Loss”, and why social support (like the Forums on bodybuilding.com) could mean the difference between a first place finish and a last place finish. As always, feel free to check out my online journal for daily updates, nutrition, workouts, and information! Jaim91’s journal: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=115155531

By: Robert Saladino

Despite the popular notion that creatine is a new supplement of recent years, it was first isolated in 1835 and tested on human muscle tissue in 1910.
Researchers discovered what they discovered today, an increase in bodyweight within 7-10 days.

Creatine is produced naturally in the body from the amino acids methionine, arginine, and glycine.  Methionine is an essential amino acid, which means it needs to be ingested by dietary means. Arginine is conditionally essential and glycine is non essential. Large sources of methionine can be found in meat, fish and milk. Studies show that vegetarian diets display lower total muscle creatine content compared to diets which contain meat. This may result in non meat eaters having to supplement with creatine even more so than no vegetarians for the following reasons:

ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the power energy molecule responsible for all muscle contractions in the body especially high intensity short duration movements. Exercises lasting between 0-30 seconds are controlled by the phosphagen system which only runs on phosphocreatine. After 30 seconds the glycolysis system starts taking over. This involves the synthesis of ATP from glucose. Anything after 2 minutes and the oxidative system which runs on the breakdown of fats, carbohydrates and some protein takes over. Keep in mind as the intensity increases carbohydrates will become the main fuel source due to the fact that fats and protein can’t burn fast enough to make enough ATP’s.

Phosphocreatine donates one phosphate to the ADP (adenosine diphosphate) molecule turning it into ATP, which now can be used as energy in the system. Creatine is used to rephosphorylate (adds phosphates back) the phosphocreatine molecule so that it can keep adding phosphates to the ADP making it ATP. Hence it is believed the more creatine you have in the creatine pool the longer you will be able to exercise. It is also reported an increase in power and strength will follow with more available ATP molecules in the system.

Here are the suggested loading and maintenance phases of creatine
     Loading Phase: 0.14g per pound of bodyweight daily.
     Maintenance Phase: 0.0136g per pound of bodyweight

3-5 grams daily is recommended to insure skeletal muscle saturation of creatine
    
Restore after working out…
Our body releases the hormone insulin in the presence of carbohydrates. Insulin will do one of two things: 1) shove the digested carbohydrate molecule into the muscle cell for latter use as energy. 2) It can cram the carb molecule into a fat cell. Option 1 is usually followed after a hard workout. Your muscles are highly sensitive towards glycogen 30 -45 minutes after exercise. You can take advantage of this by mixing protein along with fast absorbing carbs and creatine. This makes for the ultimate muscle building cocktail. The protein will piggy back off the carbs along with the creatine and be shuttled into the muscle cells. The amino acids will rebuild damaged muscle tissue, the carbs will restore glycogen and the creatine will regenerate the creatine pool for ATP’s later on.

Don’t waste your money on those expensive creatine potions that claim an increased uptake of creatine. All they really do is add dextrose (sugar) to the creatine. You can do that yourself and save a ton of money.  
Mix in one scoop of whey protein with 8 -12 ounces of juice and 2-4 grams of any kind of creatine (I buy the cheapest whey and creatine I can get my hands on) and presto!

Does Creatine work?
It depends on what your definition of work is?  There is an initial weight gain of 5-10 pounds during the loading phase. This is due to the muscle cells being engorged with water. Hence the muscles look fuller and bigger. After about 4-6 weeks studies do indicate an increase in maximal strength, body mass, and fat free mass greater than strength training alone. So yes, it does work, but you have to ask yourself the question…. is it worth the money? By all means we’re not talking HGH or anabolic steroids here. Nothing compares to the illegal stuff, which is dangerous and as already mentioned illegal. If you think gaining 5-10 pounds and increasing strength about 5-10% is a big enough gain to spend the mullah, than by all means try it.

What about Side Effects?
Creatine is the most widely touted sports supplement to ever grace the store shelves. There have been numerous short term studies done on creatine with non negative outcomes to report.  Although it’s critical to point out most studies have been short term studies, lasting only a number of weeks. Long term studies need to be addressed. Until then, cycle creatine using the alternative month method (one month on one month off) just to be on the safe side.  

Robert Saladino. MS, CSCS, CPT., has helped hundreds of his clients reach and keep their fitness goals. He is one of the top Personal Trainers in PA; visit  www.mountainfitnessbyrobert.com  for a ton of free information regarding exercise, health and diet. If you are someone who is trying to lose weight, gain muscle or just want to get more healthy and fit.  

By: Robert Saladino

The word over-training springs fear into every resistance training enthusiast. Experts in the field of exercise define over-training as the imbalance between training/competition, versus recovery. Basically, it is too much training or competition combined with too little time for repair. Common symptoms of over-training are:

• Decrease in performance
• Increased number of infections
• Loss of bodyweight
• Chronic fatigue
• Elevated heart rate and blood lactate levels during exercise
• Psychological staleness

5 main reasons why over-training occurs:

Training too long per session: Muscles get bigger while you rest and sleep, not in the gym. Current studies regarding resistance training suggest sessions lasting as long 3-4 hours per day, 5 or 6 days each week, provide no greater benefit compared to training 1-1.5 hours per day. While the more is better principal is true for money it doesn’t apply here. When we’re under physical (intense workouts lasting more than one hour) or emotional stress our bodies consume glucose at an extremely high rate. To keep our blood sugar levels in a homeostasis state the catabolic stress hormone cortisol is released. This forces gluconeogenesis (making glucose from non carbohydrate sources) to be performed on your muscles.  When muscle tissue is broken down it releases amino acids into the blood stream. Once in the blood stream the amino acids are shuttled into the liver to synthesize glucose. This ensures that our brain gets a sufficient amount of glucose to keep functioning properly. So, unless you want to run the risk of catabolzing (eating) your own muscles. Shorter workouts are usually a better choice.

Training too heavy:  Studies demonstrate that individuals who vary their workouts between light and heavy cycles of training display greater strength and muscle size compared to individuals who lift at a constant weight all the time. The take home message is, while heavy weights produce greater muscle gains compared to lighter weights, you can’t lift heavy all the time. The body does best when it’s given enough time to repair and heal. Also keep in mind, any new training stimulus will result in muscles compensating and getting bigger. So while light training may seem counter productive, your muscles will react by increasing their size once the heavy training starts up again. Also research shows that light days are a good way to feed the sore muscles with fresh blood. This surge of blood may reduce scar formation and heal micro trauma (one main reason why over-training transpires). It may also flush out waste products.

Restricting carbohydrates from the diet: Hard training on consecutive days causes a depletion of glycogen in the working muscles. The substrate of choice for intense exercise is glucose. Without it, full muscle contractions are not possible and the most heavily recruited type 2 fibers will not generate enough ATP needed for exercise. Carbohydrates should be digested regularly for anybody involved in heavy weight training. A diet of 60% carbohydrates is usually recommended to replenish glycogen stores between sessions but this may be not be a reliable method. For example  a 200 pound intensely trained man takes in 2,000 calories per day and 60% of those calories come from carbohydrates. The 60% is the proper ratio but the 2,000 calories is unlikely to provide enough total calories and glycogen to resume training. A practical recommendation would be to consume an absolute quantity of carbohydrates of 5 to 10g/kg/day.  

Not enough sleep: The evidence is extensive and suggests the need for at least 8 to 10 hrs of sleep per night. Again, muscles need rest to grow and quality rem sleep to repair. Try removing all night lights and sounds from the sleeping area to ensure a good night sleep. Although not practiced here in the U.S but there is reason to believe the mid afternoon (siestas) nap may be a physiological need and not proof of poor diet. Your circadian rhythm signals the body to actually get some rest around noon time. A quick 20-30 minute snooze should rejuvenate the body. Anything longer will cause you to feel even more tired.  

Not enough rest days: A good rule of thumb regarding rest days are 1-2 days of heavy training should be followed by rest days, aerobic training or light days of training. Each trained body part needs a minimum of 48hrs of rest between sessions with back and leg muscles taking longer to recover 72 hrs. For example if you train your back muscles on Monday you shouldn’t train back again until Friday. Training body parts that have not been fully repaired could possibly lead atrophy of muscle tissue.          

Robert Saladino. MS, CSCS, CPT., has helped hundreds of his clients reach and keep their fitness goals. He is one of the top Personal Trainers in PA; visit  www.mountainfitnessbyrobert.com  for a ton of free information regarding exercise, health and diet. If you are someone who is trying to lose weight, gain muscle or just want to get more healthy and fit.  

By: Robert Saladino

Have you ever felt as if you have stopped making progress in your current exercise program? Whether it’s gaining muscle, losing weight or adding strength and power, everybody at some point or another has hit a brick wall in their training.

The answer is short and simple….. Anytime you present a new stimulus into your training, your body protects itself by adapting (advancing physiologically) to the current program. For example 30 minutes of cardio 3x a week may have led to a 5 pound decrease in bodyweight. Now you can’t seem to lose anymore weight. The problem is adaption has occurred and your body has become more physically fit. You may need to increase the intensity or add more cardio days. Either way new stimulus means new training effect, which means your body feels the effective of the stimulus and displays improvement.  This is why when you first started working out; regardless of the program you made incredible gains.  

The trick is to always come up with different ways to break away from the norm and try something new.  The mind also adapts just like your body and it can experience staleness as well.  It’s not always the physical aspect of training but something as simple as going to a new gym or changing the time your workout. There is a mind =scle connection that gets you prepared for your grueling workout. If your mind is somewhere else (boredom) your muscles might want to tag along for the ride.  Try these plateau busters…

· Increase the intensity: whether it’s lifting weights, cardio or sprinting, try to better yourself in every work-out. For example if you do 3 sets of 12 reps with  50 pound dumbbells why not try 3 sets of  12 reps with 60 pound dumbbells, again your body will not be accustomed to the 60 pounds and will be forced to grow new muscle.  

· Decrease the intensity: I realize this may seem counterproductive but plateaus may be based on going too hard for too long (burn-out syndrome), try taking a step back and lower the intensity. Your joints, tendons, ligaments, muscles and most of your mind will thank you for it.

· Change the order of exercises: instead of always performing the bench press first in your chest routine try dumbbell flies first, followed by the bench press. Again, anything that appears new to the body, will force new growth to occur.  

· Vary training modalities:

     1. Perform entire week of just machines

     2. Perform only full body workouts 3 x week

     3. Use body weight exercises for 2 weeks =shups, dips, chin-ups and abs,

     4. Use high reps (the ultimate ego punisher), nothing lower than 25 for 5 straight workouts.    

· Change health clubs: this may seem less important than the others but nothing beats a new environment with new machines, weights, music and fresh faces. Again, your mind will love the breakaway from the mundane scene day after day.

· Change the time of your workouts: If you workout only in the morning, give the night-time slot a shot, again something as simple as this may be all you need to stimulate yourself.        

The following are some advanced techniques that some bodybuilders swear by:

     1. Force Reps: perform a set to failure (can’t do anymore) and then have someone help you just enough to perform additional 2-3 reps.

     2. Giant Sets: perform 3 sets of 3 different exercises for the same body part in a row without taking a rest.

     3. Rest and Pause: Perform 1 set to failure, decrease the weight by about 10 pounds, wait 10 seconds and perform another set, repeat for 5 total sets.

     4. Super Set: Perform 1 set of 1 exercise for 1 body part and then immediately perform 1 set for another body part, similar to the giant set, except you are involving 2 different body parts: for example bench press followed by the front pull downs.  

Try these gems out for size and new growth will be just around the corner!

Robert Saladino. MS, CSCS, CPT., has helped hundreds of his clients reach and keep their fitness goals. He is one of the top Personal Trainers in PA; visit  www.mountainfitnessbyrobert.com  for a ton of free information regarding exercise, health and diet. If you are someone who is trying to lose weight, gain muscle or just want to get more healthy and fit.

By: Robert Saladino

The basis of the warm up is to elevate the core body temperature so muscles become more pliable. Muscles are like elastic rubber bands, the hotter they are the more supple they become. It also holds true the colder a muscle is the more difficult it will be for the muscle to contract and lengthen. It makes sense that if your body is warmer you are less likely to injure yourself while exercising.  Studies show as body temperature rises ultimate strength and greater strain can be found in muscles (ability to deform and stretch before tearing begins in muscle). The greater the body temperature the greater increase in cellular metabolism which ultimately means more blood flow and oxygen are available to the working muscles.

Warming up also prepares the nerve impulses to be enhanced with more sensitivity of nerve receptors. This sensitivity means the muscles/nerve connection will be enhanced and have a greater ability to fire faster impulses during the workout. Warmer muscles are more apt to produce an increase in range of motion that whole rubber band thing again.

There is a physiological benefit as well that many fail to recognize. The body has a delicate system of defensive sense organs called proprioceptors, mainly the muscle spindle and golgi tendon organ.  The muscle spindles are located in the muscle tissue itself and are responsible for letting you know when your stretching the working muscles to far. The golgi tendon organ as you might have guessed is a tendon organ that senses when an excessive amount of tension develops. When tension is too high the golgi organ shuts off muscle contraction to protect the working muscle. These sense organs are elevated through proper warm ups.

Last but not least there is a mind-muscle connection that needs to be addressed. Going straight into heavy exercising can have detrimental effects on performance by not preparing the mind properly. Warming up is the vehicle of relaxation and concentration just before intense exercise.                

So the next question is what is a warm up? Any light cardio movement such as a stationary bike, treadmill, elliptical, and walking in place for 3-5 minutes will be enough to raise your temperature.

Dynamic warm ups can also be a valuable tool against injury. These movements mimic whatever exercise your about to perform except on a much lower intensity. For example:  a dynamic warm up of the bench press would be 1-2 light sets of 10-20 reps with a weight that feels fairly light even upon reaching the last rep. If you want fewer injuries always remember to warm up properly.

Robert Saladino. MS, CSCS, CPT., has helped hundreds of his clients reach and keep their fitness goals. He is one of the top Personal Trainers in PA; visit  www.mountainfitnessbyrobert.com  for a ton of free information regarding exercise, health and diet. If you are someone who is trying to lose weight, gain muscle or just want to get more healthy and fit.

By: Robert Saladino

Myth 1: Cardiovascular training is the best way to lose weight

Fact: While cardiovascular training is important for burning calories and maintaining a healthy heart. The best training protocol is a combination of both resistance and cardio training.  Studies in which subjects who participated only in endurance training displayed a transformation of type 2 muscle fibers into type 1 muscle fibers. This is a big deal when you consider type 2 muscle fibers are the fibers responsible for building bigger muscles. Type 1 fibers are endurance fibers, which lack the ability to enlarge. Bigger muscles will translate to burning more calories. This is due to the fact that a certain portion of your calories are needed to maintain muscle mass.  

Myth 2: You need to stay away from carbohydrates when trying to lose weight

Fact: If eaten in excess any calorie regardless of the source will be stored as fat. Carbohydrates are turned into glucose which is the only energy substrate your muscles will use for muscle contraction. You can’t exercise intensely without an adequate amount of calories coming from carbohydrates. Good sources are brown rice, oatmeal, yams and vegetables. These carbs are considered low on the glycemic index, which is a scientific way of determining how rapidly your blood glucose rises when certain carbohydrate foods are digested. If your blood glucose rises too quickly and the glucose is not readily used or stored in muscles, it will be stored as fat.  

Myth 3: You need to drastically lower calories to see inches come off

Fact: In-order for a person to lose a pound of fat there needs to be a decrease of 3,500 calories (weight equivalent of one pound). That would only account for 300-500 less calories per day if you wanted to lose one pound a week. This would only be 3-4 slices of bread a day, not much at all.  

Myth 4: Weight loss Supplements will help you burn fat faster when working-out

Fact: Most of these products just don’t work and are dangerous to one’s health. They artificially raise your heart rate and metabolism. The safest and cheapest way to increase metabolism is by exercising. If you exercise correctly and burn more calories than you take in, I don’t care who you are….you will lose weight! And that is scientifically tested in human studies.

Myth 5: Stringent dieting is the key to success

Fact: Staying away from certain food categories will only last for a short time. In the end most dieters actually gain more weight back. Studies have shown that dieting of any kind doesn’t produce long lasting results. Hence there is a new diet book every month that promises to be the only one that works.

Two simple rules to live by are: 1) A variety of food spaced out 4-5 times a day is the most appealing and healthiest way to eat. 2)  Exercise and portion controlling your food is the only time tested method that really works when trying to shed the pounds.  

   Robert Saladino. MS, CSCS, CPT., has helped hundreds of his clients reach and keep their fitness goals. He is one of the top Personal Trainers in PA; visit  www.mountainfitnessbyrobert.com  for a ton of free information regarding exercise, health and diet. If you are someone who is trying to lose weight, gain muscle or just want to get more healthy and fit.