Tag Archives: muscle

The Role of Muscle Maturity on Physical Appearance

Posted on by
Reply

There is an interesting phenomenon that has been developing for over a decade.  It is not something that would be noticeable to the average population nor have I come across many fitness professionals who have observed it either.  However within the natural bodybuilding community it has become abundantly obvious that more of today’s top level competitors are—for lack of a better description—older.

Bodybuilding has long been considered a young man’s sport yet…

We Have Seen an Increasing Rate of Winners and Top Competitors Be Men in their Late Thirties, Forties and even Fifties

The scientific explanations for this trend should provide hope for trainees and bodybuilders who believe their best days are behind them as well as younger bodybuilders who are frustrated by their inability to achieve a “harder” appearance.

First allow me to clarify that the only reason I believe we are seeing this trend mostly among natural bodybuilders compared to enhanced bodybuilders has to do with the judging criteria and preferred “look” of the athletes.  Whereas freakish muscle mass rules the posing dais in organizations that do not test for PED’s; natural organizations place greater emphasis on competitors level of leanness and conditioning (muscle hardness) relative to their muscle mass.

2013 Dave Hannah

Muscle Maturity can Make a Major Difference

I remember starting my bodybuilding career as a young twenty-two year old and taking note of how most of the competitors who were placing ahead of me, but comparatively speaking were no more muscular or leaner, were almost always older.  My observation was often confirmed when I would talk with the judges afterwards and was told that although I had a good frame, symmetry and an overall appealing physique I just need more time for my body to mature and achieve the harder, grainy look of my elder counterparts.

Needless to say it’s a very frustrating piece of criticism to receive when you want to be your best now and are doing what you can to add more muscle and lose more body-fat.  Nonetheless the analysis of my “problem” was spot.

With each passing year I noticed my muscles taking on a different look. They were harder, fuller, and seemingly denser despite my competition weight and body-fat percentage being relatively unchanged. While some of these changes can be attributed to the addition of new muscle tissue and smarter dieting practices I can say with complete conviction that over certain periods the only gains I made were in age.

What Beef Carcass can tell us about Aging Muscles

Several animal studies support the above “aging” observation, providing insight into to how age factors into the hardened appearance of muscles.  The studies, which examined the characteristics of beef carcass slaughtered at different ages, revealed the most youthful carcasses were more tender than those from the most mature carcasses1, 2.

A 2006 study not only confirmed the coarser texture of mature cattle carcasses but also showed that mature cattle’s possess less intramuscular fat compared to younger and intermediate cattle3.    In humans however intramuscular fat does not naturally decrease with age, but it can be lowered or kept at bay through exercise since it (like glycogen) is a primary source of energy for working muscles.

Muscles Do Not Mature in the Absence of Weight Training

Another study showed that the rate of increase in the toughness of individual muscles with animal age was related to their connective tissue strength and that muscles which did not possess high connective tissue strength were unaffected by age, whereas high connective tissue strength muscles, trebled in toughness4.  If we took a cross-section sample of muscle from two men of the same age, one being untrained and the other with eight years of weight training experience, we would see—as expected—a marked difference in the quality, thickness, intramuscular fat and degree of muscle firmness.  This is why age alone is not responsible for a muscles “maturity”.

Being Thick Skinned is Good for Your Sanity, Terrible for Bodybuilding

There are two factors that determine epidermal thickness:  subcutaneous fat and collagen.   Reduction of subcutaneous fat is controllable through diet. Conversely, collagen, a protein that gives our skin its smooth appearance, does not appear to be affected by diet or exercise but exhibits a linear reduction with age in both men and women.

Interestingly collagen is also the main component of muscle fibers’ connective tissue.  With age the solubility of this protein decreases and in effect increases in the number and type of cross-links contributing to a muscle’s toughnes5.

With subcutaneous fat levels and muscle mass remaining constant we can see how the effect of aging on collagen directly impacts the hardened look of one’s physique and presents somewhat of an advantage to bodybuilders in their mid-thirties to upper forties. Though patience is required younger bodybuilders can rest assured that their continued commitment to resistance training will eventually result in a harder appearance.

Of Bodybuilders Who Achieve this Hard & Conditioned Look at a Young Age There are Certain Genetic Factors at Play

One of the most substantial is muscle fiber type.

As we know Fast Twitch (FT) muscle fibers contribute most to muscle hypertrophy.  Those able to develop their muscles to near maximum proportions early on or at a fast rate due to high proportions of FT fibers in effect stretch their skin to an extent that is not typical with slower or more modest muscle growth.

It’s not only muscle fiber type though.  Other genetic factors such as muscle belly length or high testosterone or growth hormone levels can also contribute to fast or above average muscle growth resulting in this stretching of the skin.

Combine this with an ability to reduce body-fat to low single digit percentages and these competitors are in the enviable position of achieving a look that is “beyond their years”.  And of course some individuals inherently have thinner (or thicker) skin as can be observed amongst various ethnic groups, a trait inherited from their ancestors whose bodies had adapted to the climate they lived in.

Training for Harder Muscles

Clearly resistance training has a direct effect on muscles firmness but whether or not certain training methods can influence the expediency with which collagen cross-links are formed and solubility decreased, requires further examination.   At present there are no studies to support claims that particular training methods can accelerate the hardening of muscle fibers and connective tissue and any such claims are pure conjecture.

Even if it were determined that increases or decreases in certain training variables (i.e., volume, frequency, intensity, load, rep performance) could expedite the hardening effect we would still need to examine the overall impact of implementing these changes on other aspects of muscle development, strength, tolerance and recovery ability.  At the moment our only course of action in achieving a more dense appearance is to implement training and dietary methods that maximize muscle development and fat-loss, and let time and nature determine the rest.

 

1 Beef Carcass Maturity Indicators and Palatability Attributes
B. W. Berry, G. C. Smith and Z. L. Carpenter
J ANIM SCI March 1974 vol. 38 no. 3 507-514

2, 4 SHORTHOSE, W.R. and HARRIS, P.V. (1990), Effect of Animal Age on the Tenderness of Selected Beef Muscles. Journal of Food Science, 55: 1–8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2621.1990.tb06004.x

3 Moon SS, Yang HS, Park GB, Joo ST. The relationship of physiological maturity and marbling judged according to Korean grading system to meat quality traits of Hanwoo beef females. Meat Sci. 2006 Nov;74(3):516-21. Epub 2006 May 12.

5 http://www.warriorfx.com/2008/09/what-is-muscle-maturity/ Chapter 2.2 Muscle Mechanics – What is muscle maturity? Sunday, September 28th, 2008

_____________________________________________________________________

Thanks for reading this far.  If you found this or any other information on this site useful, please scroll down and share it.  I’d greatly appreciate it!  :)

5 Things You Must Know to Pack on Muscle

Posted on by
Reply

The struggle to build muscle is one that’s near and dear to me.  Never the genetic freak. Completely average at best.

I know what it’s like to pour everything into your training with only negligible returns.

I’m not complaining though.  This reality is what’s helped me sift through so much of the BS that’s written in articles and on other blogs and shown on YouTube.

Now when I read, see or listen to someone I know whether they’re full of shit or there’s something legitimate to what they’re saying and worth exploring.

There’s more reasons further than the eye can see for why some guys pack on muscle and others don’t. (Yes, there’s more than just genetics all you self proclaimed hardgainers.)

Knowing these five will swing the odds heavily in your favor …regardless of genetics.

Here they are, in no order of importance:

1. There is a Training Variable Domino Effect

We’re clear on the fact that every workout program has these four primary variables present: intensity, volume, frequency, and load.  Then we have detail oriented variables such as rep speed, rep and set variations, equipment, and rest periods.

What’s not always clear is the immediate impact that putting your focus on one (or a few) has on the rest.

Through my first thirteen years of my weight training the focus had been on completing a certain (high) volume of work.  When I made a shift to focusing on intensity of effort a funny thing happened …I couldn’t handle as much volume.  At least not long term.

I tried, but soon realized that if I wanted to keep my focus on training with the highest intensity possible for each exercise, doing more sets per exercise would cut into my performance.

When my focus shifted to an increase in frequency I couldn’t maintain the same high intensity, training to muscular failure and beyond workouts, for more than 2-4 consecutive weeks.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying, rather the cumulative stress was resulting in a drop in performance because my body didn’t have time to overcompensate.  We’ve all experienced this on some level.

Have you ever been forced to take a week off from training only to come back stronger?

The reason why is because your body had the opportunity to systemically recover from the cumulative stress.

Why does this matter?

Because…

Your Long Term Success in Building Muscle is Directly Proportional to Your Ability to Manage Your Overall Training Demands by Managing Exercise Variables.

When you adjust or change one variable it causes a domino effect. Think about going from your typical straight sets to adding two forced reps at the end of each set.

After one or two sets the load you can handle on each consecutive set will likely be much less than usual.  It’s also likely that you won’t maintain the same level of intensity throughout the workout as you normally do.

This could be good, this could be bad.

Whether you get a hypertrophy response depends if the training demands from making this change are appropriate, relative to your needs at that time. And if they’re balanced with enough recovery time to allow for overcompensation.

The point is, whenever we adjust training variables we have to take notice of how it effects the others and our intended outcome.

2. You Have to Change Your Approach and Innovate Your Training

Let me start by saying that the following suggestion does come with a caveat.  If you’re relatively new to weight training there’s no need to make frequent or dramatic changes to your training.

Depending on your responsiveness it can take 6-12 months before you start seeing diminished returns from a single or double progression approach (ie. increasing weight and/or reps).

When the time does come.. 

Relying on What Got You to Where You Are Won’t Get You to Where You Want to Go.

This is when periodic changes in your training demands through new and unique ways of training is most beneficial.

Sometimes the innovative thing to do is to train LESS.  Not just for recovery to but to desensitize yourself to the current demands and then come back with a fury.

3. You Need to Stop Listening Everyone Else and Listen to Yourself

I hear my parents words echoing in my head, “Just because your friends would jump off a bridge doesn’t mean you should.”

I get it.

Problem is, I’m more likely to be the first to jump.

But there’s a lot of truth in the message they were trying to convey.  How many of us in pursuit of the perfect program have jumped from one expert or champions routine to another?

Only to be disappointed that we didn’t get the result promised.

I should have cannonball delts and powerful pecs by now!

The times I’ve made by best progress were when I followed my intuition.

No one knows you better than you know yourself.

An outside objective point of view is important but even I’ve been proved wrong by clients who told me they felt like they needed a little bit of ‘X’ and when added into the mix (or taken out) it worked.

If you have any appreciable time training under your belt and you’re observant you don’t need to put your faith in the next guys program. Put it in yourself!  If you’re intuition was wrong see #2.

4. Your Nutrition Can Not be Based on “What you think”

Having personally trained hundreds of people the most common answer I get when I ask someone how much protein they’re taking in is, “I think I get enough”.

I think I get enough, is not an amount.

(And I really wish people would stop referring to peanut butter as one of their primary sources of protein.)

When you don’t know how much carbs, fat, protein and calories you consume it’s nearly impossible to determine how much you need …or don’t need.

If your goal is to build muscle you need a certain amount of protein based on your lean body mass, body type, and activity level to optimize protein synthesis.

You also need a certain amount of carbs to supply energy for your hard workouts. For most people ketogenic diets are not ideal for muscle building building since protein will first be converted to glycogen to supply your energy needs.

We’re better served taking in enough carbs to satisfy our energy needs so the protein we do consume can do it’s primary job of repairing and building muscle tissue.

Track what you’re taking in so you, your trainer, coach or nutritionist, can make informed decisions based on what you know, not what you think.

5. Look at the Whole and Just the Parts

All of this muscle building stuff would be a heck of a lot easier if we lived in a vacuum (not the Hoover kind).  But we don’t.  We live in a dynamic world where our environment and our body is constantly changing.

Not too long ago my wife took me hang gliding for my birthday.  She knows I love heights which is why the birthday before that was spent sky diving, and I went two other times before that.

The view from 13,500 ft. is like nothing else.  You can see so much more than you can on the ground.

Our training isn’t much different.  Week in and week out we’re on the ground level.

It’s Easy to Miss What’s Happening or What Has Happened Until We Take a Step Back.

Only then do we see the sum of all the parts.

Workouts are only a piece of what defines our outcome.  It’s a big piece, but still just a single factor in whether or not we are building muscle, maintaining, or regressing.

Nutrition, lifestyle, age, experience, stress, rest and yes, genetics all play a role in the effectiveness of your training and muscle hypertrophy.  The more you can control the controllable components the greater your likelihood for success.

Making Sure Your Fitness Results Last…Forever

Posted on by
Reply

You and I, we do it for the results.  Why else would we do it?  Some people think about being fit.  We hunt fitness down and capture it like prey.

And when we do there is nothing better than when…

Fat has been lost…

Muscle has been built…

Strength has been gained…

And a new attitude rules the day.

Getting to Where You Want to Go

We know that not a single small improvement is made without a tremendous amount of work.  The fact is, if you want good results your training, nutrition, and lifestyle choices have to be great.

If you want great results they need to be outstanding.  If you want outstanding results you need to crush your self-limiting beliefs and be relentlessly consistent with your outstanding actions.

When you’ve worked your way from where you were to where you are—assuming where you are is better than where you were—then there is only one thing that can bring you down.  Regression.

When You Arrive, ‘Burn the Boats’

The only way to ensure you never sink back to the place you once were, the place you worked so hard to get away from, is by cutting off all ties to that place.

The phrase ‘Burn the Boats’ is one of my favorites.  (I’m pretty sure it, along with an image will wind up a future tattoo somewhere on my body.)  It stems from the legend of Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes who in the early 1500’s defeated the Aztecs in Mexico.

He and his men made a commitment to do what no one before them was able to do.  As legend goes Cortes got his men to commit by burning their ships.

Victory, the Only Option

 Cortes made it so there was no turning back.  It was either win or die.

Commitment is nothing more than a decision.  You have to decide in your mind to the ‘Burn the Boats’ and eliminate any prospect of retreating back to where you came from.  You need to leave the old you behind.

Even if you’re not yet where you want to be.  Burning the boats means you can only move forward.

It’s a Mindset

Though it might not be a life or death situation like it was for Cortes and his men. Implanting the idea that it is (and it very well could be for some) can have a significant impact on your subconscious.

You’d be surprised what you can do.

And if burning the boats in your mind doesn’t work then try burning your clothes!  If you have no larger sizes to fall back on then you’ll always have to find a way to stay in the smaller ones you’ve got on now.

Activity Trackers

Posted on by
Reply

I like technology.  Anything that makes it easier to manage my life and keep track of what’s going on is a good thing in my opinion.  I see the pitfalls too.  It can be distracting at times and take the focus away from what we should be doing.  Let’s be honest, technology is partly responsible for kids looking like sloths these days.  They’d rather run their fingers over a video came controller or iPad instead of running outside.

But in the same way “The Force” can be used for good (think, Luke Skywalker) or bad (Darth Vader), so can technology.  One trend I’ve watched grow over the past year has been the use of wearable activity trackers—products like Fitbit, Jawbone, Polar, and Nike Fuel Band to name a few.  These products keep tabs on the number of steps you take, calories burned, heart rate, hours of sleep, and more.  I’m pretty sure soon they’ll track bowel movements also.

One product that will be coming out soon that I’m really excited about is called Atlas.  Not only does it do everything that every other wearable does but it will also learn your exercise form and alert you when you’re not doing it properly.  Also really cool is that it will track your reps and not count the bad ones.  As a personal trainer I like the possibilities.  I know that may sound counter intuitive—why would I want people using a tool that does part of my job?

Here’s why.

People still need direction on how exercise correctly so they don’t hurt themselves and can be more productive.  That will never change.  If a client is using a device such as this.  And the device learns their form as I the personal trainer instructs them.  Then when that client is on vacation, or is performing workouts on their own, we both can rest assured that they are at least doing their exercise properly.

l

A device won’t be able to push them harder or make educated decisions about the direction of their program but, it will make their unaccompanied workouts better.  And that has tremendous implications for someone’s long-term success.  I love that!

Over the past year or so I’ve noticed the growing trend of clients using wearable activity trackers.  The biggest plus is that they tend to be more conscious about being active outside of the gym.  It becomes sort of a game.  How many more steps can I take today compared to yesterday?  How high can get my heart rate?  How much longer can I keep my heart rate elevated?  Can I burn 100 or 200 more calories each day?

If being aware of your activity encourages you to be more active, I’m all for it.  Not to mention the ability to measure your progress.  What’s really cool is that most of these wearable’s sync up with your home computer or smart phone and automatically uploads your data each day.  This gives you the opportunity to analyze what your body is going through over several weeks and months.  So if you’re questioning why you put on two pounds in the past two weeks you can pull up your report and see that you were 30% less active than normal during that time.  Or maybe you were just stuffing your face with pasta.  (Unfortunately the activity trackers can’t keep tabs on what you put in your mouth…maybe that’ll be part of the next version.)

Why You Should Train Like a Bodybuilder Even Though You Don’t Want to Look Like One

Posted on by
Reply

I’m writing this for you, the mom, dad, man, woman, busy professional, student, and slacker (J/k I know you’re not a slacker. Slackers don’t read my stuff) who seek out the help of personal trainers and to my personal training brethren who routinely have to talk people off the ledge when it comes to training heavy and hard…like a bodybuilder.  The statement: “I don’t want to look like a bodybuilder” drives me crazy.  I understand where it comes from which drives me even crazier than when my wife insists on plucking my eyebrows.  (I don’t care what women say, that shit hurts.  I’d rather sit through 6 hours of tattooing.)

The conversation when a new client comes in—especially the ladies—typically goes like this after I’ve explained our inclination for training heavy and hard relative to their abilities (I’ll skip on all the niceties and small talk):

Client:  But I don’t want look like a bodybuilder.

Me:  You won’t…you can’t.

Client: Yeah but I see those women/guys on the magazines and I don’t to get that.

Me: Let me ask you.  Are you currently taking steroids, testosterone, or growth hormone that you obtained from a black market dealer?

Client: No

Me: Then I think you’re safe.  Genetically speaking 99.6% of people don’t have the genetic aptitude to get huge.  They don’t have the muscle fiber make up, muscle length, or in the case of women, the testosterone levels needed to pack on mass. Just look at all the teenage and twenty-something guys whose testosterone levels are shooting through that are TRYING to look like the guys in the mags never get there without PED’s.

(I point to a picture of me in bodybuilding competition shape)

IMG_4883

Client:  That’s you!

Me:  Geez, don’t act so surprised.  Yes, that’s me about 10 pounds lighter than I am right now. 

Client: You’d never know you’re a bodybuilder.

Me:  (Think to myself: “Thanks again for reinforcing my bodybuilding inferiority complex,)  If you walked down the street and ran into one natural bodybuilder or physique competitor after another at best you would say they look like they’re in really good shape and that’s how you want to look.  Nothing freakish or unusual about them, just extremely shredded when it’s time to step on stage. 

Bodybuilding is an illusion.  Exceptionally low body fat levels and bright lights shining down on the body help muscles stand out and appear more pronounced.  Once the shirt and pants go back on they look like “normal” people (but we know even natural competitors are anything but normal).  Even the biggest and baddest natural competitors look like they could be your exceptionally fit co-worker or friend. 

Here’s the scenario plain and simple.  YOU CAN’T LOOK LIKE A FREAK OF NATURE STEPPING OUT OF FLEX MAGAZINE UNLESS YOU’RE PUMPNG YOURSELF FULL OF STEROIDS, TESTOSTERONE AND GROWTH HORMONE.

The purpose of Bodybuilding

While people might not want to look like bodybuilders, training like one—from the standpoint of heavy loads and high intensity—is what results in the toned (I freakin’ hate that buzz word), and fit look they are aiming for and developing greater functional strength (dammit that’s two buzz words in one sentence, I’m going to have to take a shower after I’m done writing this).  So long as exercises are performed under controlled conditions with exceptional execution, minimizing ballistic movements, then training like a bodybuilder will do more to prevent injuries than cause them.  (If you want increase your chance of injury from lifting just do some of that silly shit people do on the Bosu and fit ball.)  The increased strength, muscular endurance and muscle development you achieve through “bodybuilding” will have a greater impact on more aspects of health and fitness than any other form of exercise.

In a nutshell, bodybuilding is all about improving your quality of life.  And besides if you’re not actively trying to “build” your “body” what the heck are you exercising for?

Different Way to Approach #Exercise

Posted on by
Reply

There’s literally hundreds of exercise methods, and every one of em’ has its own “spin”. Which one is right for you depends on your ability to answer the question, “What’s your outcome?”.

I believe in implementing various training methods to achieve specific results but anything put into practice is done with a single strategy in mind.  Check it out in this video I made for you.  (6 minute view)

The Indisputable Principles of Exercise and How the Experts Screw Them Up

Posted on by
Reply

I have nothing against “fitness experts.”  In fact I regularly seek out, read, listen to, and pick the brains of people (not in a Walking Dead sort of way) that I consider to be experts in various areas of exercise because in quiet moments of self-reflection I realize that I don’t know it all.  Hard to believe I know.  I like hearing different points of view, especially the diametrically opposing ones.  As Stephen Covey put it in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “seek to understand.”  If I’m able to understand their point of view then I’ll either glean new insight and apply it to what I do, ooooooooor I’ll bang my head against a wall thirty-two times as a preventative measure to ensure the information doesn’t settle into my brain.

Arguing Over Exercise Principles

It’s really simple.  Every workout program ever designed has these four principles present; intensity (as in effort, not a percentage of 1RM), volume (some number of sets), load (any resistance being used or % of 1RM) and frequency (scheduled occurrence).  The way some experts talk about these principles individually you would think that one holds the key to success and the others should sit back and remain silent.  And it comes from both sides of the aisle, as well as the front and back of the room.

Experts dedicate an inordinate amount of time to the study and practice of what they do which is what makes them experts in a particular area.  But it can also blind them from everything else going on around them.

The HIT experts bang on the volume guys for wimping out on their sets as soon as discomfort sets in lieu of performing more sets.  The Volume Guys laugh at the HITters for spending more time talking about training than they do actually training.  Both point to studies done by people on their side of the aisle to substantiate their position.  Each misses the valid aspects of what the other does.  All agree that Crossfit is completely nuts.  And anyone professionally involved in fitness who is over the age of 70 can prove that none of this new shit is actually new, they were doing it in the 50’s.

Where the Fitness Experts Blow It

How the principles listed above are arranged—the measure of each ingredient—is determined by three other components; S.A.I.D. (specific adaptations to imposed demands), diminishing returns, and the mother of them all, the sole determinant of why or why not a program is suitable, individualism.  For any fitness expert to make blanket statements about theirs being a superior approach is naive and arrogant. It assumes that intensity, volume, load, and frequency exist in a vacuum and are uninfluenced by S.A.I.D., diminishing returns, and individualism, as well as other external factors.  They fail to recognize that the only superior approach is the one that’s most appropriate at that particular time for that particular individual because of his/her particular circumstance.

Exercise Principle Pimps

Most fitness experts mean well.  I sincerely believe that.  But well-meaning doesn’t excuse you from pimping out certain exercise principles to push YOUR preferred way of training.  We all have a “home base.”  But it doesn’t mean you cannot and should not explore things outside of that circle if it could mean better results for you or those you provide professional services to.

Though no one likes to think in broad terms that’s precisely what the best experts do.  They understand all the principles and how they interrelate, and how they should be adjusted according to an individual’s current physical and mental state. In society we have to abide by many laws not just the ones we prefer.  Exercise is no different.

15 Ways to Avoid Exercise Disaster

Posted on by
Reply

1. Routinely change the plane

I’m not talking about transferring airlines from one trip to the next, I’m talking about the angle—the plane of motion—you perform your exercises on.  While everyone loves to talk about the need to “change things up” to avert plateaus the real benefit of multi-angle training is minimizing wear and tear on the joints and soft tissue from performing the same exercise in the same plane of motion on a weekly basis.  How many rotator cuff surgeries could’ve been avoided if only those guys didn’t bench press every freakin’ week for 7 years straight?

2. See it as a stress

Like it or not, exercise is a negative stress on your body.  Anything that leads to you having near 100% of your strength and energy one minute and then 50% of that an hour later (I’m making up the percent drop in ability just to highlight the scenario) is a negative stress.  If your body is given enough time to rebound from this stress and defend against it by getting stronger and more resilient, great, you’re making progress.  If not then the stress compounds with all the other stressors in your life and your progress comes to an abrupt stop.

3. Weigh the risk

Training hard is a necessity for success; training stupid is not.  I’m cool with people doing Crossfit, Olympic lifting, and Powerlifting if they’re competing in those sports.  As a competitor you assume certain risk.  A recent study published in the Journal of Strength and Condition Research indicated that “Injury rates with CrossFit training are similar to that reported in the literature for sports such as Olympic weight-lifting, power-lifting and gymnastics…”  The takeaway is this; if you’re exercising for health, fitness, appearance, or function then you need to consider the vehicle you use to get you there.

4. Get out of your head

Stopping getting in your own way!  There is no way to balance your bullshit unsubstantiated negative thoughts and beliefs with your desire for positive results.  When you’re in your head you’re dead.

5. Don’t try to outwork a lousy diet

Here’s a double dose of disaster.  You have no control over your nutrition so you accumulate more body fat and put additional stress on your body.  You try to make up for your poor nutrition by doing more exercise. “If I do sixty minutes of cardio a day on top of my weight training I can eat whatever I want.”  Not quite.  If you’re a quick learner you remember point #2 and realize that piling on the exercise only creates additional stress.  If your body can’t recover from this and other stress it will not function optimally.  If it’s not functioning optimally that means your metabolism is not functioning optimally.  The only thing your extra exercise will be burning is muscle tissue which further fucks up your situation.

6. Don’t assume more is better

For the exercise zealot your commitment is commendable.  However when progress begins to wane the answer is rarely to do more (see #2 and #7).  Most notable in young impressionable male lifters who believe the behemoths in the muscle magazines are “natural” and that fourteen plus hours of training a week is normal.

7. Don’t assume less is (always) more

At the opposite and less observed end of the spectrum are the minimalists performing less than thirty-minutes of exercise a week.  While something may be better than nothing and this amount of exercise could be enough to help maintain the functionality of someone over the age of seventy, don’t expect to achieve fitness superstardom while under-stimulating your muscles.   That said, the best approach is to always do the least amount of exercise necessary to achieve the best result or desired result.

8. Leave the warp speed to Star Trek

You walk into the gym for the first time and you see everyone pumping out reps as though you get an Olympic medal for how fast you complete your set.  So what do you do…?  That’s what I thought.  We all do this because we don’t know any better.  The repercussions of such thoughtless exercise performance is best explained in Reppin’ Like a Moron.

9. Get off the ball  

It is painful that the circus act resembling trend of functional training using the Bosu or fit ball, has not yet seen a bitter death.   There is nothing more “functional” than having well developed muscles that are strong through their natural range of motion.  Traditional weight training in a stable environment accomplishes more to this end than attempting to balance on an object.  Aside from the safety concerns the argument that such balancing acts involve more muscles is an exercise in displaced rationale (no pun).  Sure, you might involve more total muscles but you are also shifting focus away from the one or two that the exercise is intended to target.  Strengthening of these muscles is better accomplished in a stable environment where they can be overloaded.  As far as the “functionality” aspect.  Unless you’re part of Cirque du’ Solei none of your everyday movements or activities requires spectacular balance.  (My sister was a gymnast and I was not, yet somehow I’ve been able to function in life just as effectively as her…hmmm).

10. Trading time for work

The time you spend working out is not a measure of the quality of your workout.  Take away your walks to the water cooler between sets, the conversation you’re having with your training partner or friend, the two warm-up sets for every exercise, or the time spent letting everyone on Facebook and Twitter know you’re at the gym, and how much time is spent on productive exercise or sets that actually have the potential to stimulate results.  You can train six hours a week or sixty minutes and produce the same exact result if the “quality time” is the same.

11. Better on paper

When I say “better on paper” I don’t mean what the stats say about who should win the game between the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns.  Football fans knows that regardless of who should win according to the stats, it’ doesn’t always turn out that way.  So why track them?  Because it gives you a better overall view of what areas need improvement and they can help you formulate a better game plan.  Having a running record of your exercise performance or nutrition helps to uncover clues about what’s working and what’s not.  You can save yourself years of poor results simply by making sure you’re getting better on paper.  You can measure your weight, your reps, your time under tension, your body weight, body composition, energy levels, etc.

12. Same thing, too often

The body is a pretty extraordinary machine.  One of its most remarkable features is its ability to adapt to external demands.  Everything from building muscle, to increasing strength, to having greater endurance, and a host of other fitness related outcomes is an adaptation to the demands we impose on ourselves through exercise.   So good is this ability to adapt that after repeated exposures we look for the most efficient way to deal with these demands.  And this consequently becomes the source of the fitness enthusiasts’ frustration regarding a lack of progress.  What I mean is, at a certain point our bodies get accustomed to the demands of exercise, especially when it’s performed the same way week after week, and it doesn’t sense a need to add more muscle or increase strength, or whatever outcome you’re chasing.  However before you think I’m on some Tony Horton P90x bullshit read my Holy Shift post.

13. Crowning a variable as King

You ever have one of those clingy girlfriends or boyfriends?  They need to constantly be around you and damn you if you’re not doing something every 5 minutes to make them feel special.  They latch onto you like I latch onto my shotgun and NRA membership card.  We know that being clingy is unhealthy yet some people insist on clinging to a certain training variable, put it on a pedestal and claim it as King of all Variables.  Volume is not any more important than intensity, than intensity is any more important than frequency, or frequency any more important than volume, and on and on.  The key is to figure out when a little more or a little less of any or all of them is necessary.

14. Choosing cardio over weights

At this point this one should not even need to be listed.  But a quick observation of what the people pounding away in the cardio section look like compared to the ones (seriously training) in the weight training area tells me that some people still haven’t gotten the memo.  The short of it—since it’s been written about a hundred bazillion times—is that cardio in excess (HIIT does not get lumped in here) is a muscle wasting metabolism killer.  Properly performed weight training is a muscle building, ass sculpting, metabolism enhancing, osteoporosis preventing, anti-aging, energy producing, sex drive heightening juggernaut.

15. Comparison with others

You are an individual…you have your own set of advantages…your own limitations…your own needs.  No matter what you do, or how hard you try, you will never under any circumstances be that person over there.  So why are you comparing yourself to them?  Uncover your individual needs and satisfy them…not someone else’s.

__________________________________________________________________

Thanks for reading this! If you got value from this or other articles, it would mean a lot to me for you to scroll down a bit farther and hit the recommend button.

Small Change = Significant Result on Fitness

Posted on by
Reply

It’s unfortunate that the large majority of people interested in achieving greater fitness results that read this will regard the information as not being applicable to them and ignore this one simple suggestion that could have a dramatic effect on their physical development and overall health.  Or worse, they know the information directly relates to their needs but they won’t follow it anyway.   Not to go off on a tangent but we as humans have this strange way of ignoring things that seem too simple.  Maybe we just want things to be difficult so if we don’t follow through we don’t feel distressed by it.  Who knows?  But for those that will follow through and appreciate that the little things add up here’s the suggestion.   Get thirty more minutes of sleep each night.  (Insert sound of crickets)

Not that cricket

This recommendation is so simple that some of you are questioning whether or not it’s worth reading any further.  But if you do I promise another gleaming piece of insight that has a bit more of a complicated (but not too difficult to understand) twist, will come out of it.   In fact before I lose you, let me just give you the “complicated” piece right now.  The reason why an extra thirty minutes of sleep each night can impact your fitness results is grounded in the science of stress physiology.

Our ability to physically develop and grow stronger hinges on how fully we recover from the stress of exercise as well as any other external and internal stressors.  Yes Virginia, exercise IS a stress.  If you’re smart about how you structure your exercise you are doing only that which will have the greatest impact on your muscular development, strength, and functionality, as well as your metabolism.  In a nutshell, weight training is the center of your exercise universe.  You are also focused on doing the least amount of exercise necessary to get the desired result because you recognize the importance of having plenty of recovery time.

Assuming that your workouts are effective enough in signaling the body to get stronger and develop then the only thing you need to do is allow the process to unfold by resting.  Going to bed just thirty minutes earlier adds up to three and a half extra hours of recovery time each week.  That’s one hundred eighty-two hours in a year!  Given the amount of stress our bodies are under do you think this could make a difference?  Test it and tell me.

Reppin’ Like a Moron

Posted on by
Reply

Everyone knows that repping out like a wide-eyed Crossfit zombie doing their body jerking pull ups (aka, kipping pull up) is the shortest path to soft tissue destruction currently available at $250 a month.   Honestly, I can easily find a few “made” guys from Long Island who would be more than willing to inflict just as much permanent joint damage at one-tenth the cost.  I get it though.  It’s a sport, right?  And it makes you feel special to “compete” with others who enjoy accelerating the physical age of their body.   It’s not much different from playing most sports.  Except, when you call it exercise.

The purpose of exercise is to strengthen the body, which is why the idiot in the corner of the gym who’s doing the seated version of body jerking pull-ups that he calls lat pulldowns, is missing the point also.  Same too for the chest bouncing bench presser and the other weight swingers.

The reason why this type of piss poor technique lands lifters on the operating slab is rooted in physics.  Remember that guy Newton?  He had some insightful stuff to say that’s applicable here.

The faster you lift a weight or the heavier the weight you’re attempting to lift, the more force your muscles must produce.  More force production is great, except…when it happens abruptly.   The more abruptly muscular force increase—as in the case of jerking, yanking, or popping a weight up—so too does the strain it places on the soft tissues and tendons.   Not for nothing but tearing or muscle or tendon is no badge of honor Meatball.

Lifting the weight is not the only time when potential for injury is high.  When the weight is lowered—or dropped back into the start position as my favorite Facebook Bodybuilding Superstars like to demonstrate—it increases in kinetic energy.  Attempting to slow or stop an object that is increasing its kinetic energy results in those dastardly high forces that can cause tissue damage.   This is why it’s so important to actually lower the weight under control and not simply “let go” during the negative.

Although it won’t impress any of my Facebook Bodybuilding Superstar friends, especially because it’s not a 400 lb. squat or 500 lb deadlift, here’s a quick clip of how I like to do it.