genepool’s BodyBlog

Okay guys and gals, I am going to lay a little of what’s on my brain to y’all. This is my personal theory on training. I am going to cover a few topics, between Functional Training and Bodybuilding.

First off, things aren’t really that complicated. Nutrition timing is important, but not complicated. Eat when you are hungry and eat slowly, especially during off hours! This will give your body time to realize it has food, before you stuff in too many calories and add fat. It’s called, portion control. Your stomach has stretch receptors and they react to being moved by food. The hormones then tell your body to turn the hunger signal off. If you eat too fast the hormones don’t have time to be released before you’ve eaten 1000 calories in one sitting. Moral: Eat when you are hungry, eat slowly and eat healthy! It’s not hard!

Your muscles and You

Muscles aren’t complicated either (In these terms, their internal action is immensely complicated). They move a bone from muscle insertion toward its origin. ANY exercise you do takes advantage of this fact. The weight you add on determines how many fibers are recruited and how much damage is done. (Heavier weight=more fibers=more damage=more growth) I’ll relate this to exercises later.

Weight training is a two part stress adaptation, nervous and muscular. The nervous system adapts by coordination to perform the movement. Think of swimming, the first time you did it you sucked. Why? Because, your nervous system hadn’t formed the connections (synapses) to allow the body to perform the movement efficiently. Once those synapses form, the body becomes more efficient and you become more coordinated in that motion. Practice is about nervous system adaptation. Applied to weight lifting, this means when you first, let’s say bench, you suck at it, you shake, you wobble, its heavy. Your nervous system isn’t used to performing the motion and it has no idea how much signal to send to the muscle to perform the press. Over time your nerves adapt and the shakes stop, the wobbles stop. Guess what? You’ve adapted.

Muscular Adaptation

Thanks to evolution (sorry creationists) our bodies are designed to use the least amount of energy possible. Muscles are metabolically expensive. On average every pound of muscle burns approximately 50 calories. Your body doesn’t want a lot of muscle, its too taxing and so it wont grow unless it has reason to. You have to force it to adapt. The body adapts to stress, not comfort. Muscular stress is weight, or contractions (static). Back to bench; Say you start off benching 90lbs for 2-3 reps. Your muscles aren’t strong enough to move more reps. Over a few weeks you gradually get stronger as the muscles adapt. In one month, if you can do it 10 times then you have adapted, period! Your body no longer has a reason to grow and its strong enough to move the weight without needing more muscle to move it and as a result, it stops growing. You basically have plateaued. It’s not that you need to change exercises, you need to add weight to again stress the muscle and force the body to adapt again. Eventually you will hit your physiologic limit, where your body will no longer be able to move more weight. So lets apply these concepts to training and exercises. Our creator, nature, God, aliens, whatever you believe, was a genius. Our muscles are designed to work in synergy to perform actions. Compound movements such as Bench, Military Press, Deadlifts, Squats, Pull ups, all take advantage of this concept. That is why they are the most effective movements for growth. They require the most nervous system involvement and they require the most muscle involvement. Don’t believe that? Try doing pec flys with 300lbs or delt raises with 200lbs. Yeah they isolate a muscle but you are not hitting the muscle with enough force to make it grow the most efficiently. The biggest guys you see in your gym know this either inherently or they know it as fact. Compound movements= growth. With enough intensity in compound movements, you will need very few isolation movements, if any, depending on your goals.

Functional Training vs Bodybuilding

I don’t have much to say here, but here is the real difference, other than types of muscle fibers trained. You are training your neuromuscular system to apply a lot of force rapidly in a compound motion. In bodybuilding you are training it to apply force in a controlled motion in a compound movement. It’s all about how you train your nervous system. The muscles will react the same way.

Men vs Women

Sorry ladies, your muscular system is the EXACT SAME as us males. There is no such thing as a, “Female Training Program”. To me that means, ”I am just too damn lazy and I don’t want to really sweat.” or “I just want to tone up my sexy spots!”

Your muscles/nerves react the same way as males do. They adapt to stress and the only difference is a little hormone called, TESTOSTERONE, it is the KEY to muscle growth. You have ten times (or more) less than males do. Your muscles aren’t as efficient at protein synthesis, plus your genetics don’t allow as much potential for growth. You are not going to turn into a monster if you, “Train like a Male”. Don’t believe me? Go into my photo gallery and look at my fiancée or take a look at, “Shawty” or “Jodythetrainer”. My fiancée’ does the exact same program I do and she is feminine and shapely. I don’t care if you say “I grow too much”, bullshit! You’re just not used to seeing “Real muscle vs. the Normal Musculature”. Sorry to burst your bubble. You want to have a great body? Get your ass in the weight room and train hard! You will be much happier than sitting on the abductor/adductor machines and the butt blaster.

Part 4.1 - The Program for Growth

Here it is, any of you that have read, “Squatch’s”, “Goblin’s”, “Wicked’s”, or “GenePool’s” Training program know that we all apply the same philosophy. COMPOUND MOVEMENTS=SIZE AND STRENGTH.

Chest - Let’s pick your favorite two presses, I prefer decline and incline. To me, flat is too stressful on the shoulders and stretches the pecs too much. (Its how I tore my pec) Also, pick one fly movement. These 3 motions emphasize the entire pectorals and some shoulder stabilizers, plus they help adapt the nervous system most efficiently. Don’t be afraid to go as low as 2-3 reps with weight. It means you are putting your muscles under max stress, and they are being forced to adapt EVERY week. You will not plateau for a long time. My only caveat is that your form must be impeccable when you reach close to your 1 rep max. As the weights get bigger, any deviation from perfect form can apply a tremendous shear (tearing) force to ligaments/tendons/minor muscles. Getting hurt is very easy at this % of 1RM. “Squatch”, “Goblin”, “Wicked” and I have all been hurt working out in this range and combined we have over 50 years of training experience. Concentration is essential, so limit your sets to 9-12 reps.

Shoulders, easily the most overtrained muscle. THEY ARE A SMALL MUSCLE GROUP!!! THEY DON’T NEED A LOT OF EXERCISES OR SETS TO GROW!!!!!

Military press - It is actually more than sufficient for shoulders if you work out with enough intensity. Form is critical when doing it. Example: Press your back as flat as u can against the seat. Don’t lean back, you start involving more chest as you lean back. The bar should be brought down almost straight onto your chin. Head is always looking somewhat up. Chin above 90 degrees. The only Ancillary movement you may want to do is Lateral raises. Military tends to focus more on the anterior delts and secondarily on the medial delts. Lateral raises done properly emphasize the medial delts over the two other heads. I don’t consider rear delts part of shoulders, there movement is intrinsically involved in rowing motions. It’s much more efficient to consider them part of back, and don’t overtrain them by doing them both days.

Part 4.2 - The Program for Growth - Back

Back - Hardest to train group because you can’t really see it. However coupled with big shoulders, a giant back makes you look huge. The back is probably the most complicated group of muscles in the skeletal muscle system, but its motions in bodybuilding are simple. You have the upper back which can be worked via rowing motions or pull-up-like motions. The lower back via deadlifts hyperextensions, bent over rows or poor form on cable rows. 9-12 sets

Pull ups - Have been and always will be the, “King of back exercises.” Yes, dead lifts are cute, but pull ups are the “King”. They utilize the ENTIRE upper back if you perform them right. proper form is hands at or just a hair wider than shoulder width(Dont give me your horseshit about wide grip=wide back!) Wide grip=less lats more Rhomboids and Teres. You lean back slightly on the pull motion and pull your chest up the the bar not your weak, ugly chin.

Here is how you can take your bi’s out slightly. The lats pull the upper arm downwards and backwards in the pull up. Start the motion by pulling your arms down with you back. dont start the motion at the elbow, start it at the shoulders. its 10000x more effective this way. Same rule applies to pull downs.

Bent over rows or T-bar rows. Again, a compound movement that uses the ENTIRE back. S.E. muscles included. Trick here is to keep the bar/grip as close to your center of gravity as possible. Swing the bar out too far and you can really screw up your lower back. (I have a degenerating disc as testimony to that) I prefer an underhanded grip for BB rows. (Grip again is shoulder width)

First, stand straight up with the bar and let it rest against your body bend over AT THE HIPS, not your F*ing Back. The bar should not swing out from your hips. Let it drag almost down your legs. Pull it straight up to your lower abdomen. Lower it along the same path. Again start the motion at the shoulders, not the elbow. The elbow should be the last joint to bend on all back motions.

Pull downs - Same as pull ups However it’s an ancillary exercise. Not vital.

Cable rows - Back is STRAIGHT ON THESE. It makes my blood boil watching people row with their lower back using momentum to lift the weight. STOP MOVING YOUR BODY ON THIS EXERCISE!!!!

Again, like all other back exercises the elbow is the last joint to move. Concentrate on pulling your shoulder blades together than your lats pulling your elbows back and squeezing across your spine.

I am not a dead lifter, so I am leaving it out. I got a big back without them, so I don’t consider them vital to my program. If you like them, do them, they are a great exercise.

Part 4.3 - The Program for Growth - Legs

Legs- Next to back they are the largest muscle group on the body and training legs is hard, oxygen and energy wise. 9-15 sets “Very simple to grow but, Very hard to train.”

Squats - King of legs. They utilize all the muscles in the legs and most in the upper body. For size, there is no comparison to what squats can do for your Legs or glutes. Form is vital, Back is always straight! “You bend it, you get Hurt!” Knees should not cross the plane of the toes by too much. Some is ok, a lot is not. Either go ass to grass or slightly below 90. I wish I had the link but there was a great link about the ratio of femur to tibia length that determined if ATG or 90 degree squats were optimal for your body.

Lunges - Another great exercise for legs. Again the knee should not really cross the plane of the toes. Forward, walking, alternating and side lunges are all great choices. Pick one in your program if you choose to add them.

Stiff leg deads - Great for the hams and glutes. The bar should not swing out doing this, keep it as close to your legs as possible. Bull your head up and make eye contact with yourself in the mirror. This forces your back to remain straight. Again, be a smart ass, then try to bend your back with it bulled up.

Leg Press - an ancillary exercise. Good if you are unable to do squats or lunges. Vary foot position to change muscle involvement. Feet out hits vastus medialis, toes slightly in hit vastus lateralus, feet high on the pad hits more hams and glutes, feet low hit more quads. Play around and see what works. Always knees to chest. Any shorter and you are cheating.

Calves - Standing calf raises are the best, most weight=most damage. Don’t do the high rep shit for calves; they get high rep low weight workouts all day while you walk. Hit them heavy hit them hard, no more than 4 sets.

Notice I left out extensions and curls? Open chain exercises that are not great for the knees. Only use them if u need them as part of physical rehab, or the other exercises are not feasible for u to do, due to physical limitations.

Part 4.4 - The Program for Growth - Arms

Okay, High schoolers and Bar guys - The moment you have been waiting for…. ARMS!!!! GRRRR, now I can hold my beer the tightest at the bar!! Ha eat it, there are more body parts that look better than arms.

Okay, Biceps! “LISTEN UP PEOPLE!!!! THEY ARE A SMALL MUSCLE GROUP AND DO NOT NEED 50 friggin exercises!” The biceps dont have a huge range of motions, they don’t need a million exercises.

Curls - Pick your favorite! EZ curls/preaches emphasize the brachialis over the biceps. Look at your hand position, its close the same position as hammer curls, EZ curl (French curl) = brachialis, not biceps.

Dumbbell curls - They are best, provided your don’t cheat your ass off. It allows you to supinate your hand the most, emphasizing the bicep over the brachialis. I prefer to do them seated on an incline bench.It makes it almost impossible to cheat. You can make this your only bicep exercise if you choose. 6-9 sets max for bi’s. Again, high reps mean shit. forced reps and higher weight is key for growth.

Straight bar curls - Good, but not optimal in my opinion. The arm postion stresses shoulders and it allows too much room for cheating. Certain point in the motion the biceps lose tension slightly. It’s Good but, not great. Not a vital exercise IMO.

Overhead cable curls - Decent exercise. tough to add alot of weight because you end up having to lose strict form as you go up. It’s Decent, but not vital.

This one is hard to explain, it’s called a, “One arm cable curl.” Instead of pulling the weight in front of you, you turn around and pull it from behind you. Elbow remains stationary, pointed slightly back. It’s a Great exercise. but requires constant tension.

Hammer curls - Great brachialis exercise. Here’s a tip, grip the dumbbell closer to the bottom for a harder lift.

Tri’s - The actual size to the arm - You all know why. 6-9 sets?

Dips - Either standard or between the benches. It’s one of the best tricep exercises. (Most weight=most growth) Adding weight either via a belt or stacking in on your lap increases the load

Skull Crushers - Done wrong are elbow destroyers. Don’t bounce out of the bottom and dont lock your elbows in position they can move a little.

Push downs - Pick your favorite bar. I prefer v-bar, but straight bar is fine as well. Dont F*ing cheat and lean over the bar. *Lock your elbows into your sides this keeps you from using your shoulders to cheat* Also, dont go back up much above 90 degrees. Ropes are also, equally good. Notice, I left out close grip? Its ok, but dips are superior in my opinion.

Supplements

Guys and girls I have said this time and time again, “Save your money for Vitamins, and Protein.” They are the ONLY ones where you get what you are paying for. I have now been training for 13-14 years and I have tried most of the supplements on the market. I have found out 2 things: 1) They dont work well for the price. 2) Alot of them create some smelly, explosive dumps!

REST

Next to routine and nutrition, rest is the third most important part of training. “YOU DONT GROW IN THE GYM!” You stress the hell out of your muscles and nervous system in the gym. “You need days off to let them heal and grow.” (2-3 days off a week, and 1 week off every 2-3 month) will produce better results than going all out all the time. Its a fact, take a week off and see how much bigger you are at the end of it. Sleep as many hours per day as possible. GH is released while you sleep and your body does alot of repair work while you sleep.

Last but not least - Food

Its really simple like I said in the intro, “Eat when you are hungry, Eat Slowly and Eat Healthy!” We have tons of lists of healthy foods on this site. “Dont eat bad and you wont look bad”

Basic diet should be 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat. Start here and adjust for your body. Some people are more sensitive to carbs, you need less to stay lean and I am one of them. I take in more protein as a result of that. Dont be afraid of fats and cholesterols. Use them but, don’t overdo it. Fats and cholesterol are important building blocks for hormones, nerve cells, muscle cells and somatic cells. They are a fuel as well. 20% is fine but, just eat them as healthy fats and you are gold.

“Eat smaller portions slowly!” I’ve explained why in the beginning of this article. “DON’T COMPLICATE THINGS WITH TIMING.” Eat a balanced meal each time, because your body knows what it needs when it needs it. You will get cravings for certain foods and It’s your body’s way of saying, “I need this particular nutrient.”

Last but not least, “Do not forget about water!” “Drink lots of it!” (5-1.0 gallons a day is good, more is better if you sweat a lot) That’s all for now…

-GenePool

Tri’s and Leggeroonis

Tri

Hammer strength Push dows
4 plates x 10
6 plates x 10
8 plates x 8
10 plates x 5 - thats a bitch.. seat belted in and still getting lifted up

Vbar push downs
3 sets

Ropes
3 sets

Legs.. eeesh….
squats
135 x 10 x 2
225 x 8
275 x 5 back wanted no part of the weight today

Leg press
4 plates x 12 x 2
6 plates x 10
8 plates x 10
10 plates x 10

Standing calf raises
5 sets

Back

Pull ups
Bw x 10 x 2
45 x 10
90 x 6
135 x 1 failed on 2

BB rows
135 x 12
225 x 10
315 x 5

Pull downs
275 x 8
305 x 5
305 x 5

Cable Rows
220 x 10
260 x 6 x 2