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Archive for February, 2008
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
"Hey James-
"I recently ran into your blog and profile. I am preparing to enter the academy for the LASD. I changed my training from a traditional body building approach to a much more high intensity cardio style routine to build my stamina. Now my problem is that I am losing muscle mass. I am 5′10 163. When I started training for this last July I was 174. My strength has gone down also because I cut back the weight training and heavy lifts for more reps. I am being told that I will not see the academy until june. I want to be able to hang with the cardio but also build my strength. Any advice would be most helpful.
"Thank you for your time sir."
My Answer: Sir? Save the formalities for the academy staff, son. As far as strength and muscle mass, you will lose it during the academy. This is inevitable unless you’re an endomorph, a.k.a. fat boy. I lost quite a bit of weight during my 7 month academy and during my 3 month field training after that. So why accelerate your muscle loss before you even start?
For one thing, get back into the heavy lifting. Forget the higher reps, because it will do nothing for your endurance anyway. Besides, the higher reps are actually making you weaker and smaller. Stay with the cardio, but follow a 3-5 Program for the weightlifting (see previous post on MMA training). The cardio is catabolizing your muscle, so doing a heavy weight training program should stave off some of that inevitable loss of size and strength.
And eat, EAT, EAT! Unless you were in the special forces of the military, the training in the academy will come as a shock to you. The amount of cardio you do and the stress they put you through in the academy will chemically castrate you. If you want to avoid the urge to drop into a fetal position and cry for your mama, then eat enough calories to handle the high volume of physical training in the academy.
Not every academy is stressful, but LASD is certainly no cake walk. Good luck!
For more insights into strength training and bodybuilding, visit http://strengthandphysique.blogspot.com/
Preview and purchase the book “Strength and Physique, Volume One” at Lulu.com
Posted in Training
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008
There is a saying that is centuries old, whose meaning has been warped through time, but still bears relevance today:
Beware of the man who reads only one book.
People have interpreted this paraphrase (for it is not an exact quote) in many different ways. But the most popular interpretation is to be leery of people who have limited their education to one book (literally and/figuratively) and hence, subscribe to a singular and absolute philosophy. In the world of strength training and bodybuilding, you have lots of people like this. Here are a few examples:
High Intensity Training: These guys are the worst, because they limit themselves in their minds and in the gym. Arthur Jones, Ellington Darden, John Little and the most notorious one of all, the late Mike Mentzer. Their dogma dictates that one to two sets is all you need. Read my article Supercharging H.I.T., and you’ll learn how to incorporate the H.I.T. philosophy and not be enslaved by it.
The Kettlebell Mafia: Although I am a huge fan of Pavel Tsatsouline, he is only one of several role models that inspire me. Kettlebells and bodyweight exercises are great, but the members of the kettlebell mafia are too anti-bodybuilding for my tastes. Funny thing is they all sound the same: they all sound like Pavel. When they talk, it’s Pavel’s words coming out of their mouthes. Frankly, I’d rather go to the source: listen to Pavel, not his disciples.
“Basic Lifts Only Dude”: When some newbie asks, “How do I gain mass?” the dogs of bodybuilding dogma always howl, “You gotta do the basics. Compound lifts, dude.”
And you know what? I whole heartedly agree. If you want to gain mass and muscle, then lift heavy on the compound lifts: bench press, squats, deadlifts, etc. Where things go stale is when the lifter relies solely on these basic lifts. Your body was meant to move and to move on various planes. That’s why it grows on a wide variety of exercises. The basic compund lifts are great, but they are not the be all and end all. Sometimes you need to do specialized movements to develop a more balanced physique. This point of a balanced physique is so important that I devote a whole chapter to the subject in Strength and Physique, V1.
For more insights into strength training and bodybuilding, visit http://strengthandphysique.blogspot.com
Preview and purchase the book “Strength and Physique, Volume One” at Lulu.com
Posted in Training
Saturday, February 16th, 2008
So here’s a recent question from a reader:
"Hi there mate, I am into strength, fitness and physique. My equipment is a pair of pushup handles. I use them for pushups in the hopes of deepening and defining my chest muscles. I seem to think they are better than the standard bench press with weights and bar. The handles are the York variety. Do you recommend them? Also are kettlebells the best equipment for increasing size of the biceps?
Many thanks for your time,"
BARRY C.
Well Barry, pushup handles and kettlebells are great tools in helping you get a great body. Do I recommend them? I only recommend these tools as additions to a toolbox. You build a house with many tools, right? You can’t build a house with just a hammer alone, but you do use the hammer more often than other tools.
Same thing with free weights. To build up the chest, you’ll be hammering away with bench presses. Pushups are just the finishing touch. In Strength and Physique, Volume One I go over a method that uses both bench presses AND pushups to get thick, striated pecs.
Now I consider kettlebells to be a “hammer” for your biceps development. All curling movements are just fancy supplementary tools compared to kettlebell moves, which are your bread and butter when it comes to big biceps. So to answer your question: yes, kettlebells are the best equipment for increasing the size of your biceps.
BUT you are asking the wrong question. You should ask, “What program is the best for increasing the size of the biceps?” What different tools do you need to build your biceps? You cannot build your biceps to their fullest potential on kettlebells alone. Anybody who’s read my article Direct Assault: The ‘Case’ for Arm Training should know this. I devote a whole chapter in Strength and Physique, V1 to selecting effective biceps movements.
For more insights into strength training and bodybuilding, visit http://strengthandphysique.blogspot.com
Preview and purchase the book “Strength and Physique, Volume One” at Lulu.com
Posted in Training
Friday, February 15th, 2008
Hey Readers,
Thought I’d give a heads up to everybody about another training article “Boulder Shoulders.” Check it out:
For more insights into strength training and bodybuilding, visit http://strengthandphysique.blogspot.com
Preview and purchase the book “Strength and Physique, Volume One” at Lulu.com
Posted in Training
Sunday, February 10th, 2008
I hate it when *******s work out in the gym.
You know the ones I’m talking about: they put 800 pounds on the leg press, move it a few inches and grunt and scream like some gym demon. Then they walk around like some badass, and that you best stay out of their way.
Being a badass in the gym means just that: you’re a badass only in the gym. Just because you can do pressdowns with the entire weight stack doesn’t mean anything in the outside world.
A true badass in the gym does a hard exercise and does the hard work and hard time to improve on the lift. It’s not about comparing your poundages with some other guy’s poundages. Otherwise you might as well drop your pants and bring out the rulers.
The following is what I call "the Mark of Distinction" workout. If you can do the following, then you have the right to call yourself a badass in the gym. if you cannot, then shut your pie hole when you do your half presses on the bench press.
I’ve chosen these exercises, because they are body weight movements that require minimal coordination. It’s not about balancing acts, it’s about what you do when your body is pushed to the upper limits. I also chose these exercises, because if you are able to do them, then it shows you put in some hard work and hard time in the gym to do them right and do it right repeatedly.
The Mark of Distinction Workout:
20 rep breathing squats- Take your 10 rep maximum weight for the squat and do 20 full range, ass to grass squats. This is a true test of your discipline, drive and focus. What do you do when you’re at the 15th rep and you feel your thighs burning, the bar digging into your back and your lungs desperately sucking up air? Do you give up or do you push forward?
15 pullups in strict form- If you can do 15 FULL RANGE pullups, then 1) you’re on your way to being a badass and 2) you should start doing harder versions of the pullup. Full range and strict means no kipping, no half reps, dead hang pause at the bottom of each rep, bar at chest level on the top of each rep.
5 reps of full range dips with 100 pounds strapped on- If you can do 25 FULL RANGE dips with your bodyweight, then quit pussyfooting and add some weight. If you can do 5 reps with a 100 pound dumbbell, then congratulations. You’ve earned your "badass in the gym" medal.
Just don’t howl like a madman.
For more insights into strength training and bodybuilding, visit http://strengthandphysique.blogspot.com
Preview and purchase the book “Strength and Physique, Volume One” at Lulu.com
Posted in Training
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008
HST or Hypertrophy Specific Training is a popular training program, partly because it has a marketable name. For those of us who are more concerned with mass (and not so much athletic performance), then a name like Hypertrophy Specific Training will raise a lot of interest. HST is the brainchild of Bryan Haycock, and it espouses these principles:
- Train each body part every 48 hours, or basically three times per week.
- Increase the weight each and every workout.
- Decrease the reps every two weeks.
- Decondition the muscle before you do it all over again.
There’s more to it than that, but those are the basics. For instance, HST prescribes 2 sets per exercise. Here’s my take on HST:
1) The high frequency of training is good for size. For gaining, retaining and building on what you’ve gained in size, it is always better to train more frequently (3-4 times per week). For high frequency training, then HST fits the bill.
2) Two sets per exercise really doesn’t incur as much growth as higher set totals. This is one drawback to HST. Two sets per exercise works well for beginners and old people, but not so much for the intermediate to advanced lifter. High frequency/low set training is great for strength, but crappy for size and hypertrophy. Unless you’re doing other physical activities (MMA, strongman competition, shotput, etc.), then it’s better to vary your set totals from workout to workout: i.e. 3 sets-6 sets-2 sets.
3) The periodization of reps should be compressed into a week’s span. I know, I keep pounding this point in, but it needs to be said: your body responds better to compressed cycles of reps rather than longer cycles. Whereas HST has you doing 15 reps in Week One, 10 reps in Week Two and 5 reps in Week Three, you will get better results by doing it all in one week: Monday (15 reps), Wednesday (10 reps), Friday (5 reps).
Cycling your reps within the week is much better, because you will gain size and strength at a faster rate. Overall, HST is not a bad program. But if you vary the sets and use weekly cycles of reps, then HST will be a great program.
For more insights into strength training and bodybuilding, visit http://strengthandphysique.blogspot.com
Preview and purchase the book “Strength and Physique, Volume One” at Lulu.com
Posted in Training
Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
I’ve always been a big advocate of periodizing or cycling your training parameters and methods. PRRS or "power, rep range, shock" is one of those training programs that I like, because you cycle through 3 different but proven approaches to gaining size:
1) powerlifting (heavy weights, long rest periods)
2) trisets involving multiple rep ranges (a la Fred "Dr. Squat" Hatfield)
3) set extension techniques
You spend a week utilizing each approach. PRRS is a great way to hit every muscle fiber for maximal size, but there are 2 problems:
1) Although you cycle through 3 phases, the full cycle is approximately 3 weeks. To get better results from this program, it is better to cycle through all three phases in one to one and half weeks. Your body responds better to shorter cycles, and this is especially true of advanced bodybuilders who have been lifting for quite a while.
2) To facilitate the compressed cycles, it’s best to utilize active recovery sets (see previous post). The 3 phases of PRRS are traumatic to both the muscles and the nervous system. Rather than wait till next week to recover from each traumatic phase, the addition of active recovery sets speed up your recovery from such trauma, and allow you train again in a shorter preiod of time.
Adding these 2 tips to PRRS will supercharge an already great bodybuilding program.
For more insights into strength training and bodybuilding, visit http://strengthandphysique.blogspot.com
Preview and purchase the book “Strength and Physique, Volume One” at Lulu.com
Posted in Training
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