Charles Staley’s Approach to the Training Sciences
MYO DYNAMICS
Physically Incorrect
PHYSICALLY INCORRECT DISCLAIMER Please note that the author and publisher of this book are NOT RESPONSIBLE in any manner whatsoever for any injury that may result from practicing the techniques and/or following the instructions given within. Since the physical activities described herein may be too strenuous in nature for some readers to engage in safely, it is essential that a physician be consulted prior to training. First published in 2001 by Myo Dynamics Copyright ©2001 by Myo Dynamics All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from Myo Dynamics. Distributed by: Myo Dynamics P.O. Box 370022 Las Vegas, NV, 89137 (800) 519-2492 First edition Printed in the United States of America
Physically Incorrect Table of Contents Introduction by Charles Staley...............................................................1 Unique Features of This E-book.............................................................3 Interviews Fighting Arts Interview.................................................................4 Testosterone Interview...............................................................12 Foundations and Principles Goal Orientation: Venturing Into Uncharted Athletic Territory............19 Understanding Training Foundation...............................................28 Warming up to a Great Workout...................................................31 There is No Best Way..................................................................41 Quality Has a Quantity All Its Own................................................47 Sets and Reps...........................................................................52 Training by the Numbers.............................................................63 Training Articles Customizing Your Workouts for Maximum Results...........................69 The Final Rep: Re-evaluating the Practice of ‘Training to Failure’........74 Acceleration: The Middle Path to Renewed Lifting Progress...............83 The Law of Sustainable Progression..............................................91 Pressed for Time: Life Management Skills for Bodybuilders...............98 Maximize Your Efficiency...........................................................106 Prove Me Wrong!.....................................................................109 Success by Design....................................................................111 Get Out of the Rut!...................................................................118 Slow Versus Explosive Lifting: The Controversy Continues..............125 Humor Fitness Follies..........................................................................132 Ghandi: Indian God of Bodybuilding............................................138 Bench Pressing Your Way to Great Hamstrings..............................138 Truth or Fiction? A Look at Bodybuilding Maxims...........................143 Training Programs & Strategies Creative Applications of Circuit Training.......................................150 Mixed Qualities Training for Anaerobic Events...............................159 Quality Strength for Human Athletic Performance.........................176 Convergent Phase Training........................................................195 Endurance and Cardiovascular Exercise A Basic Primer on Endurance Training..........................................212 Re-evaluating the Value of Aerobic Training Part I..........................222 Re-evaluating the Value of Aerobic Training Part II........................226 Martial Arts Training How NOT to Weight Train for Martial Arts.....................................229 ii
Physically Incorrect The Ten Most Common Strength Training Mistakes........................238 Moving the Force-Time Curve to the Left......................................243 Core Training Fundamentals for Martial Artists..............................245 Quality Comes First..................................................................247 Misc
Strength Training for Golf..........................................................249 Injury Prevention & Recovery The Role of Sports Massage Part 1..............................................251 The Role of Sports Massage Part II..............................................265 Oh Those Aching Shoulders!......................................................277 Healthy Knees for Life...............................................................281 Recuperative Strategies for the Low Back and Legs.......................287 Elbow Problems and Conservative Solutions.................................292 Problems Associated with Long Term Seated Postures....................295 Chiropractic vs Medical Management of Low Back Pain...................297 Nutrition Nutritional Support Concepts for Athletes....................................300 Questions and Answers.....................................................................316 Does Massage Make You Weaker?...316 Does Weight Training Make You Slower?......................................317 High Reps for Females?.............................................................318 Training Without a Spotter.........................................................320 Curls Bad for Football?..............................................................322 Do Negatives Require More Rest?...............................................322 Planning & Documentation of Training.........................................323 Chin-ups the Best Lat Exercise?..................................................324 Jefferson Cleans......................................................................326 What is Tellekinetics?................................................................326 Weight Training Versus Cardio for Fat Loss...................................328 ????.......................................................................................329 Pounds on a Weightlifter’s Front Squat in 88 days..........................329 Satanism and Fat Loss..............................................................331 Recommendations for Home Gym...............................................331 First Bodybuilding Contest.........................................................333 Knee Wraps............................................................................334 Mind-Muscle Link.....................................................................335 Weekend Only Training.............................................................336 Strength Training for Wrestling...................................................337 The Elusive Six Pack.................................................................338 McGuire and Andro...................................................................339 Improper Exercise Order...........................................................341 Strength Training for Tennis.......................................................342 iii
Physically Incorrect Eccentric Emphasis..................................................................344 Static Training.........................................................................345 Intermittent Sets for Bench & Squats..........................................345 Powerlifting or Weightlifting?.....................................................347 "Bigger Faster Stronger" Program...............................................348 Books and Careers in Sports Science...........................................349 Workout Frequency..................................................................350 Zig Zag Method of Weight Gain...................................................351 Pregnancy and Exercising..........................................................352 Box Squatting & BFS System.....................................................353 Testosterone Boosters..............................................................353 Developing Training Programs....................................................358 Firefighter Challenge................................................................359 Good Lifts for a 16 Year Old?......................................................359 What Burns More Calories: Bike or Treadmill?...............................360 Deadlift Training......................................................................360 How to Reverse Ageing Through Training.....................................361 Weight Training or Aerobics for Fat Loss?.....................................363 Fiber Conversion......................................................................363 OKG.......................................................................................364 Intentional Overtraining for Females...........................................364 Shoulder Clicking.....................................................................365 Powerlifting/Olympic Lifting and Specialization.............................365 Arm Strength for Baseball.........................................................366 Isolation Exercises...................................................................368 How Much to Keep in Reserve on Each Set?..................................369 Build Chest Without Bench Presses.............................................370 Eating on $30 Per Week............................................................370 Cravings.................................................................................371 Proper Hydration Status............................................................372 Shoulder Injuries.....................................................................372 How Long Does it Take to See Results?........................................374 Synthrol for Mr Happy...............................................................375 PMS.......................................................................................376 Soviet Peaking Cycle................................................................376 Rave Reviews..........................................................................379 Mentzer’s at it Again.................................................................379 Speed Strength Training............................................................380 ATP & the Nervous System........................................................381 Fourteen Year-old Progressing Too Quickly?..................................381 Fitness Woman’s Nasty Habits....................................................383 Positioning Strength and Endurance Components..........................383 Plyos for Hypertrophy...............................................................384 Push/Pull & Powerlifting............................................................385 Speed Strength Article Generating More Questions........................386 ix
Physically Incorrect Hypertrophy Training Alternatives...............................................387 Box Squats: Good or Evil?.........................................................388 Aerobics: Good or Evil?.............................................................388 Training for Bench Pressing; Arm Wrestling..................................389 Powerful Legs for Hockey...........................................................391 Vertical Jumping Fantasyland.....................................................392 Strength: What is it Good For?...................................................393 Kristy: Good or Evil?.................................................................393 Stretching: Good or Evil?..........................................................393 Strength Training for Musicians..................................................395 Those Love Handles..................................................................396 Squats or Deads: Which is Best?................................................398 Plyos for Young Athletes: Good or Evil?........................................399 Indian Body-comp....................................................................400 Benching Six Days a Week.........................................................400 Strength Training for Throws......................................................401 Master’s Fighting and Advil Addiction..........................................404 Gaining Weight for Rugby..........................................................405 Training with Charles................................................................406 Incorporating Power Cleans into Training Program.........................407 Supplementation for Bench Pressing...........................................408 One Rep Max Formulas.............................................................409 More Bench Pressing................................................................409 Misguided Soul........................................................................410 How Frequently Should One Change Training Program?..................410 Becoming a Strength Coach.......................................................412 Youth and Muscle Don't always Mix!............................................413 Low Reps Versus High Reps.......................................................414 Mr. Spine Doesn't Like This One.................................................416 Bizarre Exercise of the Month.....................................................417 What Are "Straight Sets?".........................................................417 How Far to Lean on Squats?.......................................................418 Epilogue: The Open Mind...................................................................419 Glossary of Terms.............................................................................421 Appendix: Resistance Training Exercise Descriptions..............................475 About the Author..............................................................................504 Preferred Vendors............................................................................505 Index.............................................................................................508
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Physically Incorrect Introduction by Charles Staley Recently, I gave a training seminar, and before we got started, someone pulled out this huge 3-ring binder and said “Here is everything you’ve ever written!” I was actually surprised at the amount of material this amounted to, and also flattered that someone would take the time to copy and assemble it all. About six months later, that experience came to the surface when it occurred to me that publishing all of my written work in the form of an e-book might have a lot of appeal. When the idea first occurred to me, I realized that there are several training and nutrition authors who’s collected works I would certainly be interested in purchasing, were they available. So I began searching my computer files, as well as the several magazines and websites I’ve written for, and the result is well over 180,000 words of my thoughts and approaches to the training sciences. There are several unique benefits of this volume as well: 1) Here, you’re seeing my articles before they were “dumbed down” by the magazines they appeared in (this has never happened with the web sites I’ve worked for, but was common in Muscle & Fitness and Muscle Media 2000). 2) Most articles start with a short introduction from me, explaining either my
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Physically Incorrect current thoughts on the subject matter, interesting feedback I’ve received about the article, and/or “behind the scenes” information that was not originally published. 3) Many exercises discussed are linked to photographs (typically, the original article did not include photos, particularly if it was originally published on the web. 4) Physically Incorrect also features a large Question and Answer section on a wide variety of topics. 5) Physically Incorrect contains a table of contents, a complete exercise glossary complete with links to photos, a glossary, and an index for convenient access to the information. All feature hyperlink navigational features....just click the word or phase, and you’re there. The careful reader might notice some contradictions from time to time. I consider myself a student first and a teacher second, so naturally, my approach has changed over the years....all else being equal, later articles are more indicative of my current philosophy and methods. I sincerely hope you find the following information beneficial. The learning process is enhanced by carefully considering and questioning the information presented. Can you find loopholes in my reasoning? Can you find opposing research to my conclusions? If so, kudos to you. I’m flattered when I see people reading my writings, but when I see people taking my work beyond my original concepts, it makes me feel like I’m making a difference. Charles Staley 03/09/2001, Las Vegas, Nevada
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Physically Incorrect Unique Features of This E-book: E-books offer unique and useful features not found in traditional print media: • As you open the file, you’ll see a left panel which contains “bookmarks”— simply click in the desired subject and you’ll be taken there instantly. • Many words and phrases are linked to photos and/or definitions. If your cursor changes from an open hand icon to a pointing finger icon, just click the link and you’ll be taken there instantly. An excellent way to find content is to go to the table of contents, glossary, or index, and click on the desired word. • Looking for a particular topic or subject? Just use the “find” function, enter the word or phrase, and if it exists in the book, you’ll be able to find it instantly.
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Physically Incorrect Fighting Arts Interviews Charles Staley (originally published at www.fightingarts.com, approximately 10/01/00) Author's note: This is the most recent interview with me to date. It is directed toward combat athletes, however, the principles involved are reflective of my approach any apply equally to all types of athletes. Q: Mr. Staley, I understand that you are a martial artist yourself as well as being a highly respected strength coach, athlete and writer. Would you mind telling our readers a little about yourself? A: Please call me Charles...I started martial arts training at age 11 and continued my physical practice until I was 31, at which point I felt I had exhausted my potential as a martial artist. I wanted to pursue other avenues, specifically the discus throw. I am currently 40 years of age. In any event, to sum up my story, I’m just a geek who learned a lot in my compulsive desire to become a successful athlete (which unfortunately, never happened!). I consider myself a teacher specializing in physical preparation. For the past 20 or so years I have done nothing but train, study, eat, and sleep. And I mean that literally. Don’t try to get inside my head— you’ll just get hurt! But anyway, whether I’m writing, teaching seminars, or working with athletes, to me, it’s all teaching. I know my craft and I’m an effective communicator. I’m not a “trainer.” You train animals, not people. Q: Many martial artists fear that strength training will have a detrimental effect on their martial abilities for example, decreased flexibility and or loss of speed. Could you address these concerns? A: Well, the irony is that, in all other athletic disciplines, strength training is universally used to enhance all of these attributes, yet, in the martial arts, people are afraid that strength training will impair their abilities. Of course, like anything else, strength training is a tool— use it properly, good result. Improperly, bad result. If I try to turn a screw with a hammer, I’m going to end up hating hammers, when the fault resides within myself, not in the tool itself. As it turns out, most athletes use strength training improperly, and this fact enables my career as a conditioning specialist. Q: Charles, could you discuss the benefits of strength training by weights for the martial artist as opposed to developing strength by the use of isometric 4
Physically Incorrect exercises dynamic tension and a regimen of various calisthenics? A: Well first, let’s just call strength training the method and weight training, isometrics, dynamic tension, and so on, would be thought of as the specific means within the method. Many people tend to view strength training and weight training as one and the same, when in fact, the latter is just one way of implementing the former. But to answer your original question, there are many, many benefits. We can start with some of the more obvious ones, such as the improvement of force output capabilities. A strength trained athlete can exert greater force on any given effort (absolute strength). He can also apply that force more quickly (speed strength), and he can exert greater force over a succession of intense efforts (strength endurance). The practical benefits of this should be fairly obvious, but for example, if, during a jump, one can exert more force through the ground with his feet, then he jumps higher, and so on.
“A strength trained athlete can exert greater force on any given effort...”
Now, what happens when we enter these discussions is that the martial arts are traditionally based on technique, which I would define as getting more done with less energy— getting in the position of best leverage, using the opponent’s energy against himself, all of that. So when I talk about strength, the knee-jerk reaction is “We use technique, not strength.” However, if we match Steffi Graf against Michael Chang, who will win, and why? Q: I’d have to bet on Chang! A: Exactly. Because, if you have two competitors with equal technical and tactical ability, then the strongest one wins. So we’re not suggesting that a martial artist forsake his or her technical training in order to become stronger, 5
Physically Incorrect we’re just saying that strength development has an important place in training. Q: OK, with that in mind this brings up another question. As you know, mar tial arts training can be extremely demanding, so how it is possible to bal ance this type of training with a quality strength training regimen without overtraining? A: As a kid in high school, I remember that I didn’t have enough time or energy to work a full time job when school was in session. So, I’d take a full time job in the summer, and then drop back to part time when school was in. Incorporating strength training into your total program works the same way. You can’t simply add it on, but rather, you must integrate it into your existing schedule. Let me elaborate a bit on this if I may. In the beginning, the skills that make up a martial artists training will actually improve strength. In other words, throwing side kicks makes the legs stronger, and so on. But after a time, the body will habituate to throwing those kicks, and you don’t get any stronger. Now, the kick training is still important for continued technical development of course. But if one wishes to further increase kicking strength, we need to engage in supplementary strength training. This might consist of weight training, jump drills, elastic tubing, there are many possible components, but it doesn’t have to take over your life— 3-4 weekly sessions lasting 30-45 minutes each are usually plenty. When you first initiate a strength training program, you should reduce the volume (amount) of your martial arts training for the first 3-4 weeks or so. If you’ve been training in the arts for a long time, you’ll be able to maintain your skills even on a reduced training volume. But this will make room for the inclusion of the new training element. Once the body has adjusted, you can increase the volume again. On a macro-view, if I’m training a competitive martial artist for a fight, we do the bulk of the strength training work early in the cycle. Then, as the date approaches, the volume of strength training is reduced to allow for more sparring, technical drills, endurance activities, and so on. Although the volume is reduced, intensity is not— this is what maintains the adaptation. So, in other words, early in the cycle, if the athlete does, say, 12 sets of 2 repetitions with 225 pounds, later in the cycle he may use the same weight or even heavier for perhaps 4 sets of 2 repetitions. Compared to what he did earlier in the cycle, this is a picnic, and leaves him fresh for the other aspects of his training that he now needs to focus on. Q: Since you’ve used an example of a particularly low-repetition format here, 6
Physically Incorrect could you share your thoughts in regard to the low weight-high repetition type training so popular with any martial artists these days? A: Yes, it doesn’t work. Should I elaborate?! Q: Please do! A: OK. Let’s consider two hypothetical set/rep formats: “Traditional:” 200 pounds for 3 sets of 10 repetitions “Skilled:” 200 pounds for 6 sets of 5 repetitions. In both cases the training load is identical. The weight is the same, the total number of reps of the same, and the total volume (weight x reps) is also identical. However, the net result of each format can be very different— let’s have a look: First, a significant aspect of “skill” in most exercises is the process of setting up and exiting the set. For example, during a bench press, the athlete must learn and perfect how to position him/herself under the bar properly, how to center the grip, how to tuck the scapulae, where to place the feet, when and how to take in the first breath, and so on. At the completion of the set, the athlete must learn how to safely re-rack the bar, how to sit up from the bench without straining the back, and so on. During the back squat exercise, the athlete must learn how to wedge and center the traps under the bar, how to make the walk-back as economical as possible, how to properly position the feet, and so forth. In the case of machines, one must learn how to position the seat, how to enter the machine, and on completion, how to exit the machine. In other words, the actual repetitions are cake compared to the “set-up” and “break-down.” The “skilled” approach is superior to the “traditional” format with regard to motor learning because it gives you twice as many set-up and break-down opportunities. In terms of strength acquisition, the “skilled” format wins again, because the athlete is less fatigued, he can exert more force against the resistance on each repetition. The object of strength training is to have the most force and the least fatigue (as opposed to vice versa, which is how most people lift). Finally, because the “skilled” format leads to less fatigue, it is also safer than the traditional format. As the lifter fatigues, skilled performance declines, and 7
Physically Incorrect the possibility of injury increases (for example, an athlete misses the uprights when he attempts to rack the bar at the end of a set, because he’s in a rush to escape the pain of lactic acid accumulation in his chest, deltoids, and arms). So, on all counts, low repetition (which may or not be maximal effort reps) lifting is far preferable to the bodybuilding-type format that most people use. If I used the high rep format as a martial artist, I’d hate it too! By the way, don’t get overly hung up on the number 5— it could be 2, 3, whatever...in other words, when I point at the moon, you shouldn’t be looking at my finger! Q: I understand, it was just an example! Now, to move on to a slightly dif ferent subject, do you feel strength training to be of value to the older mar tial artist and how should the approach to training be handled by a sixty year old as opposed to a twenty year old? A: As we age, we steadily lose our fast twitch muscle fibers— the ones responsible for our ability to function, maintain posture, and keep the metabolic rate at a high level. The value of properly performed strength training is that it slows the loss of these valuable fibers, so that you lose physical functioning at a much slower rate than if you did not train. In powerlifting, there are men over the age of 60 who squat over 600 pounds— a weight that would simply squash the average man. One well-known powerlifting coach recently lifted 900 pounds at age 58. This is only a tad less than the current open category World record. Many, many studies have now been conducted with people over 80 years old, and it has been demonstrated that strength can be easily and safely doubled in a few months, even at these advanced ages. Kind of exciting, I think! Older athletes need to approach it more conservatively, and they should have supervision (as should everyone). If I may segue into this for a moment... Q: Absolutely, please do. A: When I walk into a commercial gym, more than 99% of people are lifting improperly. You can’t learn to train reading muscle magazines or from reading books, OR from watching everyone else, since they’re doing everything wrong as well! It’s just like the martial arts— you can’t learn it from a book, so do find qualified supervision, at least at the beginning to form good habits. Q: Excellent advice. Incidentally, many female martial artists I've spoken to have failed to utilize a strength training program due to fears that it would add excess bulk or stimulate a masculine appearance, could you address these fears?
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Physically Incorrect A: I recently went on a hike in the Valley of Fire National Park, about an hour north of Las Vegas. During a break for lunch, a female friend of mine mentioned that she had just benched pressed 135 pounds for the first time ever. Another member of our party, a successful artist with an advanced academic degree, asked what the World record was for the bench press. When I replied that it was something over 400 pounds for women, he replied “Jeez, why would you want to take it that far?” I quickly jumped in and responded ”Why would you climb Mt. Everest, or try to earn your first million by age 30?” He then said “What I mean is, why would you want to get so big?” I was just dumfounded that this man had no ability to distinguish between being strong and looking like a “brick s**thouse.” My client Mariam Power, who is the Canadian Jr. Champion in the sport of powerlifting, bench presses 240 and squats over 400 at a bodyweight of 155. She looks like a Victoria’s secret model. When a woman is strong, but maintains modest proportions, no one seems to notice. It’s only when you have a woman who weighs 240 (who probably was always big, even before she ever touched a weight) that people notice. If you ask a middle-aged woman when she thinks she was in her best shape ever, she’ll invariably say that it was in her late teens or early twenties. Know why? Q: Because her metabolism has slowed down? A: Indirectly, yes— it’s because that’s when she had the most muscle (which is what fueled her high metabolism). Repeat after me...”Muscle is our friend, muscle is our friend”! You can also look at women at high levels in sport— Katerina Witt, (figure skating) Marion Jones (track & field), these are strong women— much stronger than the average man. And most women wouldn’t mind looking like them, I assure you. Q: True enough. Could you share your thoughts in regard to whether or not the hard training martial artist needs to nutritionally supplement his or her diet? A: It is not necessary, but it can be helpful. It’s a tricky issue because we live in a society that expects life’s answers to come in a pill. In the bodybuilding World, there are a dozen new supplements every week. Almost all of them are worthless. I always explain it this way: if you’re driving down the interstate and you get a flat, your first step wouldn’t be to clean your windshield! It’s not that cleaning the windshield is a bad thing to do; it’s just that it does9
Physically Incorrect n’t address the core problem. Supplementation is the same way. In the majority of cases, a new client will ask me about supplementation, and when I train this person, he has no idea how to warm-up, how to perform his drills, how to eat properly, how to stretch, and so on. Once those issues are ironed out, then we can talk about supplements. The following four categories represent the most important supplements for athletes in my opinion: 1) Vitamin and mineral supplements. For most athletes, a vitamin and mineral supplement is a good place to start when developing a supplementation plan. Many products are available, and theories abound as to the optimal proportions of various nutrients that should be present in a multivitamin. Seek a reputable performance nutrition specialist for advice on the best formulation to use. 2) Whey protein shakes. Whey protein shakes can be used as meal replacements by adding milk, fruit, and/or flax oil as a way to create the optimal macronutrient ratio. In this way, it’s easier to avoid all the processing and artificial ingredients which are so common in commercial MRPs. Don’t try to live off of protein shakes though. Athletes need “real” food as well! Alternate between shakes and whole food meals throughout the day. If you don’t, the lack of dietary fiber will make your bathroom visits resemble a flashback from the movie Seven (sorry, I have a thing for scatological humor!) 3) Flaxseed oil. As a source of essential fatty acids, flaxseed oil helps to lower cholesterol levels, nourish nervous and brain tissue, reduce inflammation, and regulate the cardiovascular, immune, and digestive systems. Flaxseed oil does not contribute to bodyfat deposition like other fats because it must be converted metabolically in order to become saturated fat. Because the fatty acids in flaxseed oil are essential nutrients, they are the starting point, or the “mortar and bricks” for manufacturing all other fatty acids and hormone precursors necessary to support and build strong lean muscle, while prolonging stamina required for endurance sports. You can take flaxseed oil by itself, or put it in shakes or on salads. 4) Creatine monohydrate. Of all the thousands of ergogenic (work enhancing) nutritional substances that have emerged over the past twenty years or so, one has distinguished itself—creatine monohydrate. A natural substance found in all meats, creatine significantly increases short term endurance capacity, and is thought to aid in the process of protein synthesis (muscle repair after training). It is perhaps the most thoroughly investigated nutritional supplement, and the bulk of the scientific evidence strongly suggests that creatine is safe and effective. Q: I was wondering if you wouldn't mind telling us a little about your com pany Myo Dynamics? 10
Physically Incorrect A: Of course. Myo Dynamics is the umbrella company under which I work with athletes, consult to various groups and organizations, teach training seminars, write for various magazines, and so on. Q: Charles, where are you headquartered? A: I am based in Las Vegas, Nevada, but also travel to Los Angeles every 5 weeks to work with clients there. Incidentally, I do not require that athletes spend protracted periods of time with me— if someone has a trip planned to Las Vegas, and would like me to evaluate their training, they can call and we can set up an appointment. I also sell specialized tracking software for athletes, and my book The Science of Martial Arts Training is due out this spring. Did I leave anything out? Q: I’m sure our readers would like to know how to contact you... A: They may call (800) 519-2492, or send e-mail to :
[email protected]. They may also be interested in visiting my web site, Fundamentals of Strength Training for Sport (http://www.myodynamics.com).
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Physically Incorrect Testosterone Interviews Charles Staley (Originally published in the July 7, 2000 issue of Testosterone.net) Charles Staley is one of those rare teachers who has a special insight into the plight of the "common man." Starting out at a very genetically mediocre 62 and 145 pounds at age 18, he built himself up through diligent studying, experimentation, and sheer hard work into his current 210 pounds. As a Master's level discus competitor, Charles placed third in the 1994 US Nationals. He has been a martial arts instructor and competitor, as well as a successful Olympic weightlifting coach. Currently, Staley supervises the training of several national and World level athletes in a variety of sports, including track and field, jui jitsu, weightlifting, powerlifting, and judo. For over eight years he has developed policies and course content of the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) and teaches several certification seminars a year. Teaching others is his passion, and to date he has had over 200 articles published in Muscle Media 2000, Martial Arts Training, Muscle & Fitness, Inside Kung Fu, and Ms. Fitness. Mr. Staley is the author of The Science of Martial Arts Training, a book on physical preparation methods for combat athletes. He has also developed a very popular software application (the Myo Dynamics Training-Nutrition Manager) to take the guesswork out of diet planning and record-keeping. Charles has some unique theories on training techniques for optimum performance and muscular growth, and that was the focus of much of this interview. Q: Certain strength coaches, such as Bill Starr, often advocate the quick Olympic lifts as a means of adding mass. Do you feel that bodybuilders should incorporate the quick lifts, if muscle mass is their only concern, or is the time under tension too brief to have any impact on hypertrophy? A: Well, there are a few things to consider with respect to this question. First, in order to provoke a training response, you need both magnitude of load as well as extent (what Poliquin would call "time under tension"). So, with the Olympic lifts, you have tremendous magnitude, but very minimal time under tension. This doesn't seem to hurt successful Olympic lifters (who have superb muscular development), however, it's a chicken-and-egg type of question: does the method produce the muscles, or is the fact that the lifter is genetically gifted what makes the training work?
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Physically Incorrect It's probably a little of both, and to answer your question, the Olympic lifts and their variations can be very useful tools for bodybuilders, particularly on the neural front. As an illustration, I have watched very large bodybuilders struggle to clean 135 pounds, because they have no concept of acceleration— they tend to always train in a very slow, deliberate fashion (which makes no sense to me at all). So when you tell them to "jump" with the weight, their eyes start to go buggy like they've seen a UFO or something— it's just a very foreign concept to many of them. Q: I also understand that you have a unique way of prescribing rest periods when you write programs.... A: I'm not sure how unique it is, but I don't typically say "OK, rest 3 minutes (or whatever) between sets." Since fatigue accumulates from set to set, it is much more efficient (in my mind, anyway) to use shorter rests between early sets, and more rest between later sets. One way I accomplish this is to request that all sets be performed in a fixed time frame, e.g., 5 sets in 20 minutes. In this way, the client will self-regulate his or her rest intervals, taking minimal rest between early sets to get a “head start.” Q: Excellent! You have coached track and field, and I have often noticed that sprinters, on the average, have superior hamstring development compared to bodybuilders. Should bodybuilders be adding sprints to their leg training regimens, or are they already doing all they can with leg curls and stifflegged deadlifts? A: Well, just as a correction, although I have competed in the discus event, and have strength trained track athletes, I have never coached track to speak of. But I like sprints and other ballistic activities for bodybuilders for the same reason I like Olympic lifts— neural drive. If I weigh 200 pounds and do a slow rep with 400 in the squat, I'm probably putting just a nudge more than 600 pounds of force through the floor— maybe 7-800 pounds just to give it the benefit of the doubt. But if I stand up on a bench and jump down onto my bathroom scale, I'm going to register far more force than that. Which is the beauty of all forms of accelerative training— extremely high levels of tension in the involved muscles. The only caution would be that bodybuilders tend to weigh a lot by definition, so you've really got to work into it gradually. Q: In martial arts, would you consider conspicuous muscle mass a hindrance to speed and/or flexibility, or would the added strength of such a heavilymuscled man be an advantage? A: It depends on the art or discipline. If you're a point fighter or fencer for example, it helps to weigh as little as possible (within reason), because you've got to move your own body through space to cross that gap between 13
Physically Incorrect you and your opponent. But for NHB (no-holds barred) type events, many of the most successful competitors are very heavily-muscled individuals. In these disciplines the more you weigh, the harder it is for your opponent to move you, and the easier it is for you to move him. I would also have to say, however, that it depends on your individual fighting style and strategy. If you weigh 165 pounds on your best day, and you typically fight guys who outweigh you by 50-70 pounds, your strategy is going to be to take him into deep water (i.e., try to make the fight extend into late rounds) in order to tire him out. In a case like this, there is no advantage to gaining 10 pounds of muscle, because then you're still outweighed by 40-60 pounds, and now your endurance is worse because you have 10 extra pounds of muscle to feed! Hypertrophy is generally not a hindrance to speed (refer to Ben Johnson) or flexibility (look at Flex Wheeler). Q: When you are examining the top martial artists, would you say that these men are 'genetic freaks' in terms of power and speed, or have most of them had to work extremely hard to develop these traits? A: Both. You have to be a freak, then you have to work your tail off. If either component is missing, it just ain't gonna happen. By the way, when you say "genetics," it isn't simply a matter of having a great assortment of motor qualities, but also being born with a body that can withstand the rigors of prolonged and harsh training. You can be the fastest-twitch person on the planet, with great levers, hormones, and so on, but if your body can't hold up, you'll never get anywhere. The majority of my athletes receive intensive massage therapy through my colleague Dianna Linden in Los Angeles, and what we have found is that super-talented athletes always tend to have very "clean" muscle tissue, despite years of hard training. Lesser athletes will tend to have a lot of "gunk" (i.e., scar tissue, adhesions, etc.) in their muscles. If your muscle is loaded with adhesions, it isn't available to the training stimulus, and you'll never get anywhere. Q: So, how can you tell if you have a lot of adhesions? A: Basically, you need a skilled soft tissue therapist to sift through your tissues and assess your status. Many adhesions can be worked out, but some, particularly if they are long-standing, cannot. If an athlete has access to skilled massage work right from the start, you'd never develop them in the first place. Q: That's really interesting— most lifters would probably never even consid er this! OK, I know you work with a lot of fighters, so on to my next ques tion: Bruce Lee was known for his diligent weight training. Do you think you could have worked with him to make him even better than he was? 14
Physically Incorrect A: Oh jeez, why don't you load up a good question for me, eh?! Look, if you examine what he purportedly did in his training, on the one hand, he was way ahead of his time. But on the other hand, he did a lot of things that seem silly by today' standards (like drinking cow's blood, for example). So, yes, I'm sure that I could have improved his performance ability. But so could any reasonably talented strength coach. Q: Do you find that a lot of people at seminars 'size you up,' associating a muscular physique with credibility as a strength coach? If so, what may be wrong with this assumption? A: Well, with me, there's not much to size up really— I guess I weigh about 205 at 6'2." So there's not much about me that other people find threatening I guess. But it's all in the approach as well. If I walk into a seminar saying "OK, shut up, the master has arrived," then people would obviously be looking for a way to shoot me down. But I take a much more low key approach, and try to let the information speak for itself. I actually think there is often an inverse correlation between physique and knowledge. One exception to this rule is (Charles) Poliquin, but very often if you're a freak, then you never had to think about things as much as someone like me (who had to struggle). This is not a slight against anyone— for example, I happen to be a talented writer, but you wouldn't want me to be your writing teacher, because I've never even thought about it— it just happens, and I have no idea why. So it is a mistake to judge a strength coach's ability by his or her physique. That doesn't mean you should seek out a fat slob of course! You also have to look at where someone has come from. In my own case, despite the fact that I look more like a tennis player than a bodybuilder, I weighed about 145 at age 20 and about 155 at age 30. So I have made a lot of progress on a personal level— it's just that I started out as what you might call "mesomorphically challenged"! Q: Charles, some personal trainers and personal training certification organ izations have given the profession a bad name. How is ISSA different from these other organizations, and what is it doing to upgrade the image of per sonal training? A: For starters, ISSA has never said that certification is the only step in your preparation— it is simply one step along the way. We encourage people to do everything they can to enhance their skills. This includes taking other certifications as well. The ISSA also offers around-the clock technical support (via 800 line and e-mail, as well as interactive web technology) for their members, and their staff is superb— it's not manned by minimum wage school 15
Physically Incorrect kids with a script, but by skilled individuals who are intense and passionate about training and nutrition. Anyone thinking about certification should certainly investigate ISSA before making any decisions. Q: You believe that getting stronger is a direct precursor to muscular hyper trophy. However, there comes a point in most lifter's careers where they will cease to gain any further strength. How could an individual at this stage hope to continue growing? A: I have a theory on this (you won't find it on Medline!). If you think back to your early days in lifting, you might recall that, at the beginning, your 1RM's were always going up like gangbusters. So typically, lifters will lift heavy, stressing the intensity component of the training load. Then, progress starts to stall after a few years, and it becomes harder and harder to realize new PR's in your major lifts like you could at the beginning. So you begin to stress the volume component— doing gradually more and more sets and reps at given intensity ranges. After a few more years, you reach another plateau, and most people never get past this point. My theory is that the "last frontier" is to increase training density, or the work-rest ratio. In other words, if Monday is back and tricep day, you repeat the exact same workout 4 times in a row, with the only difference being that you seek to complete each successive workout in less and less time. I have found that this approach yields continued results for a lot of people who have been training for years, but who have been plateaued for a long time. Q: OK— you just mentioned that increasing volume is an important element at inducing hypertrophy. I hate to sound like Mike Mentzer, but at what level of volume would there come a point of diminishing returns? Fifty sets in a workout? A hundred? A: There is no one answer of course. It depends on age, training age, health status, past training habits, and to what degree you're taking sets to failure. For example, if you perform multiple sets with a submaximal weight, emphasizing acceleration, you can do many more sets than if you're doing sets that reach failure between 8-12 reps. In the former scenario, between 20-40 sets can be done, in the latter case, between 12-20 sets per workout would be the norm. In both cases, the workout would take less than an hour, after warmups. To me, if you can do the workout in an hour, you probably didn't do too many sets. But that doesn't mean you did enough. It's all in context. For example, last week I was feeling uninspired, and just to shake things up, I decided to do 100 pull-ups in 60 minutes, with no particular set/rep format. So I did 50 sets of 2 reps and called it a day. That's not too many sets because I only had one exercise on the menu.
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Physically Incorrect Q: Is cardiovascular exercise, in your opinion, the best way to lose bodyfat? If so, what types and intensity? A: No, the emphasis should be on intensive (resistance) training and nutrition. I think it's been shown fairly clearly that true aerobic exercise burns relatively few calories as compared to more intensive exercise. A measured amount of aerobic work can accelerate recovery however— maybe 20-30 minutes, 2-3 times a week. Q: Do you think that Mentzer actually gets all the success with his clients that he claims he does? Do you also believe, as does, that some individuals have such horrible "recovery genetics" that they can only tolerate something along the lines of five sets per workout, once every seven to ten days? A: I have no idea really. But 5 sets per workout? Maybe for some people, some of the time. But as a rule, no. I tend to think that people have more in common than they are different. However, Jerry Telle put me through a biceps workout once that paralyzed me in one set. It consisted of a prolonged drop set that lasted like 5 minutes. So, we need to be careful about hard and fast rules— it really depends on what you're doing, how hard you're able to work, and so on. But if Mentzer says one set of 12, I'd counter that by saying 4 sets of 3 at the same weight will be more effective. Q: Interesting! Can you elaborate on that? A: In other words, you'll accumulate much less fatigue doing triples, which allows you to accelerate the weight. The acceleration results in more tension, which leads to better motor unit recruitment, which leads to more hypertrophy of fast fibers. The training load (volume and intensity) is identical, so it's hard to argue that somehow it would be less effective. Q: Your concept of "stabilizer failure" makes a whole lot of sense. You con tend that because the smaller stabilizing muscles fatigue before the larger muscle groups, it is prudent to perform dumbbell movements first, barbell movements later in the workout, and save machines for the end of the ses sion. As common sense of an approach as this seems, why haven't more trainers adopted it? A: Well, I think Paul Chek should be given credit for this idea, not me. But there is a logic to it, certainly. It really just boils down to the age-old premise of doing the most neurologically difficult work first when you're still fresh, then proceeding to less demanding tasks. So if you plan on testing your 1RM on a barbell bench press, then do that before dumbbells, because it's more neurologically demanding, and also because the dumbbell work will benefit from the fact that you jacked up your nervous system with the barbell. So I 17
Physically Incorrect would look at stabilizer involvement as a component of neural demand, but not the only component.
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Physically Incorrect Goal Orientation (Originally published in the June 7, 1999 issue of Mesomorphosis) Author’s note: I know that goal setting is viewed as a bit cliche, but it’s hard to argue against once you consider it carefully. My first exposure to the con cept of conscientious, aggressive goal setting occurred in the early 80’s when I tool a course from Success Motivation Institute based in waco, Texas.It made a huge impact on me, and I wanted to see if I could present a con vincing argument for the idea. I’m quite happy with this article— I think it expresses the concepts very simply. Paradoxically, everyone agrees that goals are important, yet less than 5% of the population has one... Someone recently asked me if I’d ever like to be able to bench press 500 pounds. I replied that, no, not really, because obviously, if I had really wanted a 500 pound bench, I would have taken the steps necessary to get it, which I obviously haven’t. Now of course, it might be the case that even if I applied maximum effort and resources to the goal of bench pressing 500 pounds, it might not be in the cards for me anyway. But my point is that selfactualized people make things happen, rather than hoping they will happen. (Incidentally, I’m also philosophically against playing the lottery, because it takes you away from making it happen and toward hoping it happens.). Where Are You Going? We all have desires, things we hope to achieve in life. The question is, what exactly do you want? And how badly do you want it? How serious are you really? Have you really considered what you’ll have to give up to get what you want? Anatomy of a Goal A goal is a written expression of intent to accomplish a specific, personally meaningful objective within a predetermined time-frame. Based on this definition, I’d guess that fewer than 5% of all people have even a single goal at any one point in time. Sad, isn’t it? If you’re in the 95% club, this article will show you how to cross over. As a starting point, let’s examine the above definition point by point: 1) A goal must be stated in writing: If it isn’t written, it isn’t a goal. Period. It may be a wish, or a vague desire, or a fantasy, but it isn’t a goal, and you’re not likely to achieve it.
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Physically Incorrect 2) A goal must be specific and measurable: Your desire to become "as big as a house" isn’t a goal. It isn’t specific enough. We need to talk pounds at a certain bodyfat percentage, not real estate. In order to be specific, your goal must be quantifiable. This is a very significant for bodybuilders, who’s sport is by definition qualitative and subjective. Why Are You Going? 3) A goal must be personally meaningful: Your goal must be worthy of your unconditional resolve and personal sacrifice (defined as giving up something in order to gain something greater as a result) for the allotted time-frame, or you won’t bother to pursue it. It must have real value and undeniable potential to improve your life. The desire to get down to 7% bodyfat by May 1st so that you’ll look great at the beach this summer is specific, challenging, and has a completion date, but other than soothing your ego, what meaning does it really have? Now of course, if this goal (getting down to 7% bodyfat by May 1st) is part of your long-range objective to become a champion bodybuilder or fitness competitor, we now have a more meaningful context for your objective, since your competitive aspirations will have rewards above and beyond ego-gratification, such as career possibilities, character development, and so on. Once you can see the complete range of benefits that accomplishing the goal has for you, you’ll be ready to commit enormous personal resources to achieve it. Now think back to your original motivation— looking great at the beach. Is this goal really worth the considerable time and effort that it’ll take to achieve? If so, proceed. If not, explore other goals which will significantly impact your life when you accomplish them. Additionally, goals must be framed in such a way that they push your emotional "hot buttons." For example, it may be that you have a goal to parallel squat 400 pounds by your 30th birthday which is in eleven months. Your current PR is 355. This is a specific, challenging, and presumably meaningful goal for you. However, step back for a second and consider which sounds more attractive: 400 pounds (a nice even number), or, 405 pounds, which is (4) 45 pound plates on each side of the bar. Or, if you happen to weigh 205 pounds, perhaps the concept of lifting 410— double your bodyweight— has the most appeal. There is no right or wrong answer here— the point of the exercise is to see how slightly different ways of framing an objective can effect your emotional reserves. Which option seems most appealing to you? 4) A goal must be challenging: If your goal isn’t challenging, you’re not like20
Physically Incorrect ly to mobilize significant resources to attain it. For example, using the previous example of the 400 pound squat, some would argue for a more "realistic" goal of 365 pounds. However, while certainly realistic, a 15 pound improvement in 11 months is hardly the stuff of dreams, is it? In fact, it’s such a small increment that you might be likely to forget about it before the day is over! Better to aim for the stars and fall on the mountain peaks, as they say. How Long Will it Take? 5) A goal must have a specific date of completion: Time-frames are what create pressure to get the job done. Your time frame must be aggressive, but realistic. If you’re not sure if your goal can be accomplished within a certain time frame, you’ll have to either base your time-frame on personal past experience, or you may have to do a bit of intelligence work in order to find out. If you like, send your proposed goal and time frame to me at
[email protected], and I’ll render my opinion in my column, Staley on Strength. Make sure to include all relevant details such as gender, age, health/injury status, and years of training experience. 6) Your goal must be stated in the positive: Remember the old story where the football coach says to his star receiver "Whatever you do, don’t drop the ball!"? Guess what he ended up doing? You can’t plan to not accomplish something. A Few Essential Items to Pack for the Trip The following collection of strategies and skills are like a psychological "toolbox" which will properly arm you while in pursuit of your objectives.These tools are found in the blueprints of all champions, not only in sport, but in life as well. Visualization and Imagery: If you can’t genuinely picture yourself achieving your goal, it’s very unlikely, probably impossible that you will achieve it. The old, overused, cliche axiom "conceive, believe, achieve" is packed with truth. Let me relate a story from my martial arts background. When I taught martial arts professionally, I always had very successful kid’s classes. Occasionally, during a quiet moment either before or after class, or simply when the moment seemed right, I would take a kid from a beginner’s class, and I’d remove my black belt and tie it around his waist. Words simply cannot express the wonder and complete change of "state" that would instantly overcome that child— you could literally see the gears turning as that child imagined what it would be like the day he achieved the rank in the future. You know the old expression "I’ll believe it when I see it"? Long before I ever 21
Physically Incorrect squatted 400 pounds, I saw it clearly in my mind. I actually practiced by loading the bar on the power rack and just pondering the day when that bar would be mine. I’d even perform "walk outs" with the weight in preparation for the big day. I also frequently used Olympic bumper plates, which are much thicker than iron plates for their weight— using bumpers, a bar loaded to 176 pounds occupies about the same space as 405 pounds of iron plates. This way, I was really able to see myself squatting 405. Funny thing was, the day I actually lifted 405, it wasn’t particularly a big deal for me— I’d felt as though I’d already done it, and this was simply the physical expression of a capability I already knew I had. The moral of this story is, I could give you 50 ways of becoming more successful, but if I could remove your self-doubt, those 50 things would improve all on their own! Affirmations: An affirmation is a statement of belief. It can be regularly recited, or written and posted at a place that you’re likely to see it often during the course of a normal day. The concept of affirmations is to overload your psyche with positive belief statements until there is no longer any room for preexisting negative self-perceptions— much like taking a jar filled with water (which represents old, limiting beliefs), and filling it with pebbles (representing the positive affirmations) until all the water has been forced out of the container. Although the concept of affirmations is often the butt of late night TV humor (e.g., Saturday Night Live’s Stuart Smalley), in truth, they are very powerful tools for the acquisition of goals. The mind is immensely powerful— if you can control it, that is. Ever notice how women will tell you that they gained too much muscle after 2-3 weight training sessions? Or have you ever heard lifters (usually guys) extol the virtues of XYZ supplement, even though science has proven it completely useless? This is the power of belief, my friends. If you can harness that power to a well-designed plan, the battle is already half-won. Sample affirmations: "Because I expect to succeed, I find it easy to take daily action on achieving my goal." "I am responsible for my own future. I expect to succeed. I control my own destiny." "I dream big dreams, believe in them, set goals to achieve them, and take action to make them become reality." Create your own affirmations to support your goal, as well as the habits and attitudes necessary for achieving your goal. Write them on note cards and 22
Physically Incorrect choose a consistent time to read them at least once a day. Modeling: A very useful concept, popularized by Anthony Robbins (if your only exposure to Robbins are his info-mercials, don’t rush to judgment— his concepts and teachings have very real merit), implements what I call the "don’t reinvent the wheel" principle: find other people, similar to yourself, who have accomplished similar goals. Then, find out what they did to accomplish the task(s), and repeat those steps. Since all humans share essentially the same biology and physiology, you should get the same result, or at least very similar results. For example, if your hectic, 6 day a week work schedule is a severe obstacle to accomplishing your goal, find a talented lifter who has succeeded with a similar schedule. Find out how he managed to do this, and then implement the same strategy. Chances are very strong that it’ll work for you as well. Cognitive dissonance: The mind can’t maintain two contradictory beliefs simultaneously. When you’re trying to extinguish a negative or limiting thought process, or emotion, cognitive dissonance can be your best friend. Let me provide an example from my competitive fighting career: When you step into the ring with a skilled opponent your own size or bigger, and you don’t have Don King on your side, it’s natural to be afraid. After all, you can get hurt doing this stuff! While fear is not entirely a bad thing (it’s a self-protective mechanism), it does tend to make you doubt your abilities, and your skills erode accordingly. Over my own fighting career, I learned little trick that helped me enormously: I learned to act. I would put on an air of total disregard, joking with my opponent, yawning, goofing off, and so on. It’s called "acting as if..." What I learned is that you can’t be scared and act like you’re bored simultaneously— something has to give. Incidentally, this can also be called the "fake it ‘till you make it" principle. How does one apply this principle toward the acquisition of challenging goals? Going back to my personal experience with the 405 pound squat, I remember that I thought, acted, and presented myself as a 400 pound squatter long before I could actually do it. I would look for any and every opportunity to demonstrate this, for example, squatting 315 completely cold (i.e., no warmup) when someone asked me to demonstrate something about the lift. Although inwardly, it was quite a challenge for me to squat this weight cold, outwardly I’d act completely nonchalant about it, talking through the lift and acting as if I could squat that weight all day long. The idea behind all of this is that I was gradually convincing my unconscious self that I was a 400 pound squatter. With a bit of creativity and imagination, you’ll come up with various ways to employ the "fake it ‘till ‘ya make it" principle in your own training. And if it’s not obvious by now, yes, it IS dangerous to squat big weights without a warm-up.
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Physically Incorrect Avoiding Collisions Along the Way Although it will seem tempting, don’t automatically express your goal to everyone you come in contact with. You need to consider the likely responses you’ll get, and how you’ll react to those responses. For example, if you thrive on proving people wrong, then it might be a good idea to express your ambitious goal to your friends and peers who are most likely to doubt your abilities. On the other hand, if you’re somewhat dependent on more positive forms of feedback, avoid such people in favor of those who will be supportive of your project. Let’s face it— if you are in the process of pursuing challenging goals, the "common herd" will view you as a freak. If this sort of antagonism really drives you, express your goals to everyone you know, and get ready to surf the wave of negativity all the way to your completion dates! On the other hand, if you think you’ll be a bit intimidated and depressed by having everyone you know doubt your abilities, it’s better to keep your plans to yourself. Fear of Failure Probably the number one reason that few people establish goals for themselves is the fear that failing to succeed will bring unbearable negative consequences. These people postulate (usually in an unconscious way) that if they never set a goal, they can never fail. These people also fail to realize that the flip side of this pattern is that they will also not succeed! If fear of failure seems to be a reality for you, consider that even if you fail to realize your goal, it’s still likely that you have improved to a measurable degree along the way. For example, maybe you set a goal to enter and place in a local bodybuilding show. It turned out that you came in dead last and felt terribly embarrassed. But consider what really matters— did you significantly improve you physique in the process of pursuing the goal? If so, you efforts were totally worthwhile. In general, "process oriented" people tend to be more effective than "results oriented" creatures. Develop the habit! Are We Still on the Right Road? Monitoring Status and Adjusting for Errors Once you’ve created your plan, you need to have a reliable way of assessing whether or not it’s working. This involves testing quantifiable outcomes on predetermined dates, and then implementing changes if these tests fail to reveal appreciable progress. When implementing these changes, it is critical to change only one element at a time, while holding all other variables constant. A pseudo-placebo effect often ensues when an athlete starts taking an 24
Physically Incorrect expensive new supplement, and, in an effort to maximize his gains, also starts to eat better and train harder as well. Then, when results do indeed surface, the supplement gets the credit when in fact, it may have had insignificant impact on the results. Record keeping is a critical factor in the success of athletes. I keep precise records on all my athletes, as well as for myself. Accurate records not only tell you what’s working, but also what has, and has not worked in the past. To me, failure to keep records is like failing to record transactions in your checkbook. Sounds crazy, right? Never Been Here Before! PR’s: Your Own World Records In the realm of sport, nothing compares to those rare moments when existing World records are broken. Only the rarest of human beings can do it, and even then, only rarely. Personally, I never considered it relevant as to whether or not I could ever break a World record (fortunately, it turns out!). What really matters is this: can you exceed your lifetime best performance? If you can, you’re making progress, and getting ever closer to your ultimate destination, whatever that happens to be. In any given training session, there are several ways you can exceed your alltime best performance. You can increase the volume, intensity, and/or density of the workout, holding the exercise menu and session duration constant. You can also break your RM record for any given lift. Or, you can equal or beat any of the above at a lighter bodyweight— an indicator of relative strength. During a recent 90 minute workout session consisting of dumbbell bench presses performed on a Swiss ball, dips, and barbell preacher curls, my total volume was 18,400 pounds. My average resistance was 160 pounds, and my training density (work/rest ratio) was 30%. During this workout, my RM records were: Ball DB Bench Press: 110’s x5 Dips: Bodyweight plus a 45 pound plate x5 Preacher Curls: 80x5. Using the data above, it becomes clear that I have numerous ways that I can exceed the 1/1/99 performance: 1. Generate the same or greater data but in a shorter period of time and/or at a lighter bodyweight.
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Physically Incorrect 2. Increase average resistance used (by using heavier weights) without increasing the session duration. 3. Increase volume without reducing average resistance or increasing duration. 4. Break any of the 5RM records for any or all of the 3 exercises performed. Although I can continue with increasingly more creative ways to break your best performances, I think the point has been made. However, I hope it has occurred to you that you can’t break your PR’s if you don’t know exactly what they are. And if you don’t document your training, you’re not likely to remember this information. If you’ve never documented your training, start now. Right now. You’ve Arrived at Your Destination! Now What? Maybe the scariest aspect of goal orientation is the moment when you achieve your goal. What’s the next step? My suggestion is that you document your success— use your training log or tracking software if you use such tools. This act enables you to review your goal from inception to completion. It also fosters belief in your own abilities, especially as you accomplish more goals. Why do you think it’s so universal that kindergarten kids receive "stars" or similar tokens as testament to their accomplishments? Why do you think Weight Watchers awards 10, 20, 30pound (and so on) ribbons to members when they lose the corresponding amount of weight? The answer is simple— to provide a visual reminder of the accomplishment. You should do the same, as silly as it may sound. If you goal was designed to be a quantitative measure of a qualitative objective, did the fact that you accomplished the goal fulfill the objective? For example, if your objective was to increase the size of your quads and hamstrings (qualitative), and you established a goal to increase your back squat by 50 pounds in six months (a quantitative goal), did the gain in your squat performance correlate with significant leg mass? If not, was accomplishing the goal worthwhile anyway, for other reasons? If the answer to either or both of the above is "yes," you now have solid information to base further goal-setting on. Goal orientation is truly an autotellic activity— in other words, it has intrinsic value above and beyond the expected outcome. History shows that individuals facing specific challenges which must be solved within a specific time frame are able to mobilize seemingly impossible resources to achieve their objective. Conversely, individuals who rarely face such challenges never 26
Physically Incorrect reach even a small percentage of their true potential. Just like muscle, goal-orientation responds to training— the more you do it, the stronger it gets. The more difficult the challenge, the more you’ll learn how to "raise the bar" and set new standards for yourself. If you still find yourself thinking "Jeesh— this seems really involved and complicated!", consider the following question: Will you be more successful as a goal-oriented athlete, or an athlete with no goals? I’ll let you be the judge.
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Physically Incorrect Understanding Training Foundation Author’s note; For the life of me, I cannot recall where this was first pub lished! Although people engage in fitness and sports activities for various reasons, the fact remains that they are inherently physical activities. So whether you exercise for stress reduction, weight loss, or sport, it makes sense to train in a manner which is consistent with accepted training principles and methodologies. Doing so will make the outcome of training less haphazard and more predictable. It will also enhance the appreciation of movement one should derive from any form of physical activity. As all coaches know, mastery of a sport is accomplished by developing a foundation before progressing to more advanced levels of training. As accepted as this principle is, many people possess only a vague understanding of what this means in concrete terms. The purpose of this article is to expose the reader to foundational training concepts derived from the world of sports science. And while you might not be a competitive athlete, I believe you can benefit greatly from recent developments in sport science. One such development comes from Dr. Tudor Bompa, former Romanian rowing coach and currently a professor at York University in Toronto, Canada. Bompa has developed a useful schema called "The Training Factors Pyramid,"* which can be used to develop long term training plans, based on a foundational progression of factors over time. The Training Factors Pyramid helps to identify a logical sequence of training factors, and can be used by athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike to identify objectives and evaluate training programs and methods. When problems develop, as they inevitably do, The Training Factors Pyramid can be used to determine what level these problems originate from, which speeds up the corrective process considerably. The pyramid consists of four ascending levels. The athlete enters the pyramid at the first level—physical preparation. This level is the cornerstone of an athlete's training, because without it, further progress is impossible. Physical preparation refers to the development of what sports scientists call "biomotor abilities"— strength, power, speed, balance, flexibility, agility, endurance, and coordination. The second level of the pyramid involves technical preparation— or perfecting physical techniques. While some techniques can be mastered with a low level of physical preparation, many cannot. Many currently popular recre28
Physically Incorrect ational sporting activities, such as in-line skating and rock climbing, to name two, require a fairly high level of physical development before many skills can be practiced. Of course, technical mastery is not the final objective, for any athlete. We all know of athletes who have beautiful and "correct" techniques, but who lack the ability to apply them in a sport setting. This brings us to the third level of The Training Factors Pyramid: tactical preparation. Tactics simply refer to the ability to successfully apply techniques in a sport situation. It should be obvious to the reader at this point that technically sound technique must be established before entering level three. Further, the athlete must have a high level of physical development before correct technique is possible. The fourth and final stage is called psychological preparation—a very important consideration for athletes who hope to compete successfully. But clearly, psychological preparedness— let's just call it confidence— cannot be established if the athlete has not successfully ascended through the previous three levels. How can The Training Factors Pyramid be used in an everyday, practical setting? Let's suppose you're a serious recreational beach volleyball player, and you're having problems with your spike. The first step is to determine whether or not you can execute a technically correct spike in an isolated situation (i.e., in practice). If the answer is no, then we go down a level and try to find faults your physical preparation— perhaps you lacks adequate explosive strength to clear the net. Once your physical attributes are improved, you should be more successful in delivering the spike in competitive situations. If the answer is yes (you can deliver a proper spike), the problem lies in either tactical or psychological development. Both areas are closely intertwined— a lack of tactical skill can obviously impair confidence. And vice versa. Athletes commonly progress well through physical and technical training, but falter in tactical/psychological realms. The solution is more time in the trenches, with careful progression through gradually more difficult encounters. When tactical successes begin to outweigh the failures, confidence increases along with tactical ability. Although the four training factors have been isolated for the sake of discussion, in reality, they must be integrated if a successful outcome is desired. For example, is a serve a technique or a tactic? At novice levels of play, it is primarily technical, but at high levels of skill, techniques and tactics are one and the same. Also worth noting is the fact that the direction of influence is not only ascending, but descending as well. For example, the techniques 29
Physically Incorrect you'll use affect the physical preparation you'll need to do. Aside from day to day considerations, The Training Factors Pyramid should also form a template for long term planning, as well. Accordingly, the first several months of training should be dedicated to improving physical attributes, although simple technical and tactical skills may be presented as well. The second phase of training is characterized by developing technical mastery of your sport skills. Physical condition must be maintained, but this involves less work than it took to develop it. Advanced stages of training target tactical and psychological concerns, with comparatively less time spent on physical and technical development. While achieving mastery in sport involves years of hard work, those years yield far more result when they are spent wisely. The time you spend developing your foundation is miniscule compared to the time it takes to correct long-entrenched errors from years of poorly-conceived and executed training.
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Physically Incorrect Warming-up to a Great Workout (originally published in the July 28, 2000 issue of Testosterone.net) Author’s note: I guess as we get older, we start to place more emphasis on warming-up. The only change I’ve made to this procedure since the article was published is that I tend to use the active-isolated stretching technique (AIS), where you assist yourself at the terminal ROM of each stretch. It has been said that from a good beginning, all things are possible, and training is certainly no exception. A shame then, that so few understand the fundamentals (not to mention the finer points) of warming up in the most efficient way. A perfect warm-up virtually ensures a perfect workout, but a poor one will almost certainly ruin what COULD have been a great training experience. Ever wake up dreading the idea of going to the gym, but after getting there, you end up having a great workout? You can thank your warm-up for that. Think of a warm-up is as a transition between a low level of activity to a high level of activity. George Carlin once joked that "no one jumps out of bed in the morning and starts vacuuming," but the way that most people warm-up is the equivalent of doing just that! As with most training-related subjects, there are various approaches to warming up than can and do work. This is my approach, and it’s yielded great results for hundreds of clients over the years. If you’ve never paid particular attention to your warm-up routine, let me remind you that the elements you tend to ignore usually have the most potential for improving your overall rate of progress, once addressed! Does Warming Up Work? Both research and anecdotal evidence on the benefits of warming up is extensive and almost universally supportive, so I won’t spend a lot of time elaborating on the merits of the warm-up procedure— I think we all understand the importance, even if only on a gut level. Let me just briefly say that it is well known that warming-up increases central nervous system function (improving such qualities as coordination and reaction speed to name just a few), makes muscles more pliable, and facilitates joint lubrication. A proper warm-up also reduces the perception of effort when performing difficult physical tasks such as weight training.
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Physically Incorrect I would like to add another potential benefit that is rarely addressed: the warm-up allows you to assess your health status and make corrections before you hurt yourself. If, for example, you have chronic, "off & on" problems with a particular muscle or joint (where sometimes you can train with it or around it and other times you can’t), you can monitor your status as the warm-up proceeds, and make a substitution before the workout commences. The longer you’ve trained, the more you’ll appreciate this importance of this. The basic idea of a good warm-up is to walk that fine line between preparing yourself adequately for the intense work to come, without fatiguing yourself in the process. From my observations, however, few people seem to manage this, either performing far too little work, or doing so much that their warmup becomes a workout in itself. I conceptualize the perfect warm-up as a 5stage event, as follows: Part I: Engage Brain Before Putting Body in Gear: The Mental Warm-up The experienced athlete has been thinking about the impending workout all week. He’s rehearsed the workout dozens of times in his mind, and is already aware of the possible problems he might encounter (such as dealing with rush hour in the gym or a nagging hamstring pull that might kick up during the workout). A novice trainee, on the other hand, can be identified by the fact that he doesn’t even know what he will do until he gets to the gym (and maybe not even then!). Since novices typically get novice-level results, I urge you to explore visualization and autogenic training, both of which are established methods of maximizing physical performance both in training and in competition. Some people learn these techniques on their own, others need instruction. Either way, USE them! Part II: Thermo-Kinetics: Increase Your Core Temperature Begin the physical warm-up sequence with low intensity cardiovascular activity for 3-5 minutes, or until you break a sweat. Although almost anything will do, my preferred mode of activity for this stage of the warm-up is skipping rope, for several reasons: • A jump rope is inexpensive and portable— it can be done anywhere. • Skipping rope gives my clients the opportunity to develop reactive strength in the lower limbs, which creates a good foundation for jumping and plyometric drills. • As I watch my client skip rope, I can get a rough idea of his or her nervous system status by the level or timing and coordination that he or she displays during the skipping session. If my athlete is tripping all over him/herself, then 32
Physically Incorrect we need a more extensive warm-up than what may have been originally planned. Part III: Lube Those Joints: Active-Dynamic Range of Motion Drills These range of motion drills not only help to increase your flexibility and lube up your joints, they also provide valuable feedback regarding your functional status (including whether or not you have equal muscle length on both sides). By using the term "active," I am referring to the fact that you will be moving your own limbs (rather than having a partner do it). On each exercise, you’ll slowly and deliberately flex, extend, or rotate a joint 10 times on each side. I use the term "dynamic," to denote that we are increasing ROM by moving our limbs in a relatively slow, deliberate fashion— these drills are neither static or ballistic. On each drill, only go to the point where you begin to feel stretch tension on the targeted muscle— no more. The entire stretching sequence should take about 5 minutes for both upper and lower body. Lower body active stretches (Perform prior to lower body workout) 1) Supine hip flexion (straight leg): Lying on your back, slowly lift your right leg straight up until you feel a slight stretch tension, then lower and repeat with left leg (one rep). Perform 10 repetitions each side.
2) Prone hip extension (knee flexed): In a facedown position with knees bent 90 degrees, slowly lift your right knee a few inches off the floor, then return and repeat with left leg (one rep). Perform 10 repetitions each side.
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3) Supine hip external and internal rotations (knee and hip at 90 degrees of flexion): Lying on your back, lift your right leg and assume a "90-90" position (hip and knee are both at 90 degrees of flexion). First internally rotate your thigh until you feel a slight stretch tension, then reverse the movement and externally rotate until you feel a slight stretch tension. Repeat for 10 reps in both directions and repeat with other leg.
4) Side-lying hip abductions: Lying on your right side, slowly abduct your right leg until you feel a slight stretch tension, and return to starting position. Perform 10 repetitions each side.
5) Ankle flexion/extension: From a seated position, alternate between plantarflexion and dorsiflexion. Perform 10 repetitions in each direction.
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Physically Incorrect Upper body active stretches (Perform prior to upper body workout)
1)Shoulder flexion/extension: Slowly raise both arms toward the ceiling (flexion), and then back down and behind your torso (extension). Repeat 10 times.
2)Shoulder internal/external rotation: Extend both arms out to the sides, and bend your elbows to 90 degree angles. Then rotate externally (hands will go up, palms facing forward) until you feel a slight stretch tension, and reverse direction (hands go down, palms facing behind you), internally rotating until you feel a slight stretch tension in the opposite direction. Perform 10 repetitions in both directions.
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3) Elbow flexion/extension: Extend both arms to the ceiling and alternatively flex and extend your elbows for 10 repetitions in each direction.
4) Wrist circles: Extend both arms in front of you and circle in both directions for 10 rotations in each direction.
5) Neck extension/flexion: Alternate between looking straight up and straight down, moving 10 times in both directions. No need to be aggressive— just work toward a slight feeling of tension as you approach the end point in both directions.
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6) Neck, side flexion: Slowly side-bend your head to the right and left, moving 10 times in both directions. Don’t twist or rotate— just bend to the side.
I believe in trying to learn something from every rep I perform, so as you proceed through these drills, try to notice if there is any significant difference between the range of motion on your right versus left side, and also whether or not your ROM is improving over the long term. In other words, develop a keener awareness of your body as you train. (Note: if you know that you have a particularly tight muscle group(s), I would also advise performing more aggressive, "contract-relax" type stretching for those muscles prior to and also after your resistance training session). Part IV: The Physical Transition: Warm-up Sets I generally advise 2-3 warm-up sets per 100 pounds of weight that you’ll use during your work sets for the first exercise planned in your workout. So, by way of example, if you plan to deadlift 315 for 5 sets of 8 repetitions as the first exercise of the workout, you’ll need between 6 and 9 warm-up sets on your ascent to 315. The lower number would apply more to younger, healthy athletes training in warm conditions later in the day, whereas the higher number would apply more to older athletes training early in the day and/or in a colder environment (please see "Tips & Tricks" for the rationale behind this approach). Start with 50% of your planned working weight (approximately 160 pounds in this case) and perform 2 sets of 3 repetitions. Then increase to 70% (220 pounds) for 2 more triples. Next, move up to 80% for 2x2, and finally, one or two singles with 90% (283) of your planned working weight. (Note: on subsequent exercises, you’ll generally only need one, or at most, two warm up sets per exercise, assuming that you are working same muscle groups. For example, if you have lunges scheduled after deadlifts, you’ll certainly be using smaller weightloads and will only need set per leg to assess your working weight for the exercise).
the the the one
This scenario may seem like a lot of sets to some, however, keep in mind that the reps are quite low and will result in minimal fatigue. Compare this approach compared to the "traditional" approach: 37
Physically Incorrect Two Warm-up Progressions for Proposed Working Weight of 315 (5x8)
Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set
#1: #2: #3: #4: #5: #6: #7: #8: #9:
“Optimal” Warm-up
“Traditional” Warm-up
160x3 160x3 160x3 220x3 220x3 252x2 252x2 283x1 283x1 (volume= 4334 pounds)
135x12 185x10 225x8 275x8 (volume= 7494 pounds)
Notice that the "optimal" warm-up has more than twice as many sets (and therefore, more than twice as many opportunities to get your technique feeling perfect and to assess your state of readiness), but yet, is much less fatiguing (check out the huge difference in volume) than the "traditional" approach. Also note that the last warm-up set should not consist of the same number of reps as your work sets! This strategy typically generates far too much fatigue. Fine Tuning Borrowing from an old trick used in the throwing events in track & field, I have developed a useful method to determine the optimal number of warmups sets, and how long to stay at one weight before moving up. Shot putters can easily determine how many warm-up throws to take in competition, simply by recording their training results during the work out. So for example, if the workout looks like this... Throw Throw Throw Throw Throw Throw Throw Throw Throw Throw
#1: 39’2" #2: 40’6" #3: 41’1" #4: 42’11" #5: 41’5" #6: 39’8" #7: 38’4" #8: 38’1" #9: 37’8" #10: 37’5"
...the thrower now knows that he needs to take 3 warm-up throws, since his best result occurred on his fourth throw (as another observation, he also 38
Physically Incorrect should have stopped and moved on to the next training component after his 5th or 6th throw, because the quality of his efforts began to decline significantly after that). Here’s how we can apply that scenario to our warm-up sets: Using the example provided earlier in the article, your first warm-up set is with 160 pounds for 3 reps. Take that set and note the perceived level of difficulty and also, joint comfort. Rest 60 seconds (no need to rest 5 minutes after 3 reps with 60%!), and take it for another triple. Did it feel better than the last set? If so, great— rest a minute and take it again. As soon as the next set at that weight does not feel any easier, increase to the next weight, and continue the process. Use this procedure to determine how many sets to take at each level of the warm-up process, and I assure you that you’ll be working at the highest possible level of efficiency (Note: as your warm-up weights increase, gradually extend the rests between sets from 60 seconds to 2-3 minutes). Part V: Almost There: The "Prep Set" Your last warm-up set is called the "prep set," a term I first learned from California-based physician Mark Breehl. The idea is that your last warm-up set has one over-riding purpose: to help you identify the proper weight for your work-sets for that exercise. After all, you may have planned 315 for 5x8, but if a prep set of 283 (90% of 315) felt brutal, you’d be well-advised to adjust your planned weight and/or rep brackets downward. And, needless to say, if 283 felt like a hot knife through butter, then go ahead and adjust upward. Tips & Tricks: • If you’ll be training early in the morning, and/or if it’s cold out, beef up the warm-up process commensurately. • Training in dry climates requires a more thorough warm-up than training in humid surrounds. • Older trainees generally profit from more extensive warm-ups. • If you are otherwise healthy but have "creaky" joints, err on the side of being too extensive with your warm-up. After all, the goal of being able to train takes precedence over the fact that you might fatigue yourself slightly with an extensive warm-up. • The closer you venture toward 1RM in your workout, the more extensive 39
Physically Incorrect your warm-up should be. In other words, do a more thorough warm-up for 5x5 than you would for 3x12. • You can accelerate your warm-up through passive means such as a hot bath or shower. Although active means are superior to passive, often, a combination of the two leads to great results. • On exercises where your own bodyweight is the minimal load possible (chins, dips, etc.), first warm up with similar exercises that allow lesser loads (e.g., lat pulldowns and decline bench presses), and then proceed to the target exercise, using multiple sets of 1 rep. As soon as the next set of 1 does not feel any easier than the set before it, you’re ready to proceed to your work sets. • If you are executing exercises for antagonistic muscle groups "back to back" (such as training seated rows with triceps extensions), do your warmup sets for these exercises in the same pattern that you’ll use for the work sets. • If you’ve done it right, your middle work set(s) will feel the easiest. For example, when performing 5x8, the 3rd set should feel the best, and sets 4 and 5 should feel progressively more difficult. If your last sets feel the best, it indicates that your warm-up was not thorough enough. If your first work sets are easiest, you may have warmed-up too much. On to the Heavy Metal... If you’ve followed my suggestions, you should now feel warm, strong, loose, and enthusiastic about training hard. It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it? Fifteen minutes ago you could barely tolerate the thought of a hard workout; now you’re looking forward to it!
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Physically Incorrect There Is No Best Way! (Originally published as “Training Variation” in the March, 1997 issue of Muscle Media 2000) Author’s note: Four years later, this piece still reflects my central operating paradigm. However, the “number of reps per set” discussion does not represent my current thinking. Hypertrophy is the result of total training volume; therefore, it is total reps per workout, not the number of reps per set, that determines the hypertrophic response to training. "The perfect way is only difficult for those who pick and choose. Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear." —Bruce Lee The title of this article represents my response to the vast majority of all training-related questions posed to me. Of course, athletes and coaches argue endlessly about the "best" way to train. In fact, people tend to divide themselves into opposing schools of thought on nearly every conceivable issue. For example, one camp advocates slow contraction speeds while the other recommends ballistic, high velocity training. Some favor high repetitions while others espouse low reps. Other issues currently in contention are machines versus free weights, compound versus isolation movements, and single versus multiple sets. The problem is that our tendency toward "dualistic" thinking leaves the majority of us in a state of perpetual confusion when it comes to designing and carrying out training programs. Many thinking athletes find themselves constantly changing their minds on a particular issue after hearing a persuasive argument by a respected expert or successful athlete. My objective with this article is to outline an evaluative approach I've developed regarding the selection of acute training variables. This paradigm was inspired by years of tackling questions in seminars and from people visiting my web-site (www.myodynamics.com) on the internet. It is also a result of my own attempts to understand training methodology over the years. I'm confident that it will help to reduce the confusion that many people experience when attempting to design training programs. An Alternative Argument for the Principle of Variation Many experts recommend regular changes in programming due to the body's tendency to adapt to unchanging stimuli. I recommend it for a different reason: all choices in training variables have specific benefits and drawbacks. For example, using one set to failure has positive features (single sets allow for
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Physically Incorrect higher intensities compared to multiple sets) and less favorable effects (the targeted motor units, although recruited, are not exhausted due to the low number of sets). However, using a large number of sets is a trade off as well: on the one hand, it allows for a complete exhaustion of the targeted motor unit pool, yet the excessive volume requires a lowered intensity. The only way around this seeming paradox is to regularly change your choice of training variables. In this way, you avoid adapting to the positive features of the program while avoiding an accumulation of the negative elements. Now that I've outlined by central argument, let's take a look at some of the most hotly debated issues concerning acute training variables. Seen through a different perspective, you'll find that there's really nothing to debate. Issues Relating to Exercise Selection Free Weights Versus Machines: Pianists don't debate the relative merits of white keys versus black keys, yet many articles have been written about the superiority of free weights versus machines (or vice versa). Those favoring machines cite the plethora of resistance technologies available (such as "target loading" used by Strive equipment) when using machines, as well as the superior ability of machines to isolate the target muscle. Machines also tend to be safer when implementing techniques such as eccentrics, strip-sets, and partials. From another perspective, free weights have a greater ability to involve stabilizer muscles than machines. Consider the following example, which was relayed to me by Paul Chek, an exercise and rehabilitation specialist in La Jolla, California: Pick a moderately heavy set of dumbbells, and perform one set to failure. Immediately go to a bench and perform a set of barbell bench presses, using the same weight, until failure. You may be surprised to find that you can continue, despite failing with the dumbbells. Finally, go to a Smith machine loaded with exactly the same weight, and you'll be able to continue even further. The explanation for the above scenario is stabilizer failure. The dumbbell bench presses required the most stabilizer involvement, and the Smith machine required the least. You were able to continue past the first exercise because the second and third exercises required progressively less stabilizer activity. Put plainly, when your prime movers are too strong in relation to your stabilizers, your strength output is limited, and you'll never make the progress you can and should be making. Isolation Versus Compound Movements: Isolation exercises are those which involve only one joint (such as a biceps curl, for example) while compound exercises involve two or more joints (such as dumbbell bench presses or 42
Physically Incorrect lunges). Compound exercises allow you to train more muscle with less exercises, which improves the efficiency of the workout, from a time management standpoint. They also tend to improve "inter-muscular coordination," or the ability of different muscle groups to cooperate efficiently during a movement. On the other hand, isolation movements allow you to put the bulk of the training stress on one particular muscle or muscle group. This is very useful for therapeutic purposes, and for bodybuilders who need to improve a particular muscle group. It is also useful for athletes whose sport skills are limited by weakness in a particular muscle (for example, jumping ability is often limited by the dynamic strength of the gastrocnemius muscle). Clearly, all trainees need the advantages offered by both isolation and compound movements. However, athletes who emphasize one at the neglect of the other are likely to make limited progress, as compared to taking a more varied approach. Issues Relating to Load Assignment Few Versus Many Exercises: There is an inverse relationship between the number of exercises you perform, and the number of sets you can use. Using a large number of exercises allows you to access a greater percentage of available motor units within the selected muscle, theoretically leading to a more complete development. But when you use many exercises, you can't do a lot of sets. Performing a small number of exercises may target a lesser percentage of the selected muscle's motor units, but on the positive side, it enables you to perform many more sets, allowing you to thoroughly exhaust those motor units. It's important to understand that simply recruiting a motor unit pool doesn't mean you're exhausting those motor units, which is necessary to achieve a training effect. Many "one set to failure" proponents disagree with me on this point, but in my experience, motivated athletes who properly supplement their diet with creatine monohydrate can perform one set to failure, and then, after five or six minutes of rest, can perform another identical set. This clearly shows that the first set did not sufficiently fatigue the targeted motor units. High Versus Low Reps: Recently, a famous pro bodybuilder told me that as long as he was training as hard as he possibly could, it made no difference how many reps he performed. I waited for the punchline, but there was none. Let's examine the good and the bad when it comes to organizing time under tension: The number of repetitions per set is perhaps the most important short term training variable— the number of reps you do determines the intensity of work, which in turn determines the type of adaptation you'll get. Performing 43
Physically Incorrect between 1 and 5 repetitions tends to enhance strength more than hypertrophy. When you perform between 6 and 12 repetitions however, the most significant adaptation is increased muscular hypertrophy. Almost everyone should incorporate both repetition ranges as they train, since hypertrophy is partly a function of strength. Athletes who depend upon relative strength should emphasize the 1-5 range (for example, 3 weeks of 1-5 followed by one week of 6-12), while bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts should emphasize the 6-12 range (for example, 3 weeks of 6-12 followed by one week of 1-5). Although high (over 15 and perhaps up to 100) repetitions do little or nothing to develop strength or hypertrophy, they can contribute to various metabolic processes which indirectly support strength and mass development. These processes include the enhanced ability to clear lactic acid from working muscles, which improves short term endurance. Incidentally, a popular bodybuilding magazine recently featured a story about doing one rep per set/per session! The creator of this method claims to get fantastic gains, but I suspect that you may need identical genetics to achieve the same results. Single Versus Multiple Sets: Recently, the concept of "one set to failure" has received a lot of renewed interest in the bodybuilding world. Advocates of this approach argue that multiple sets decrease training intensity and increase the recovery time needed between workouts. To a large degree, they're correct. But while one set/per exercise/ per workout does increase intensity, it also has it's drawbacks. The most significant problem is that high intensity (by definition) means low volume. When training volume is insufficient, two problems arise: 1) Target motor units are not exposed to enough repetition to exhaust them. 2) Since only a small amount of mechanical work occurs, damage to the sarcomeres (the microscopic working unit of the muscle cell) is limited. Microdamage (or degradation) to muscle tissue is an important stimulus for growth. Recent studies also suggest that multiple sets result in greater GH and testosterone production than single set protocols. When examining this issue, it helps to understand the relationship between volume and intensity in training. In a nutshell, both are needed. The problem is, you can't have high volume and high intensity in the same training session. The only way to solve the problem is to regularly alternate between periods of relatively high volume and periods which emphasize higher intensity. 44
Physically Incorrect Long Versus Short Training Sessions: Although it is widely accepted that resistance training sessions should be limited to one hour, a case can be made for doing both longer and shorter sessions. Long (up to 90 minutes) workouts are useful in cases where (due to outside obligations or other reasons) training frequency is very limited. For example, if you can only train once every four or five days, a 90 minute session may prove more productive than an hour or less. On the other hand, very short sessions allow you to employ a very high intensity of effort, and can help you to fit your training program into a busy schedule. I know a lot of people who wouldn't even consider a workout unless they had at least 45 minutes available, but even a half-hour can go a long way when time's tight. When planning your training program, start with what's ideal, and then make whatever compromises are necessary based on your unique situation. Short Versus Long Rests Between Sets: The most commonly used rest periods range between 30 seconds to six minutes or more. Generally when you use lower repetitions, you use more rest, and vice versa. However, most people rarely or never change the period of time between sets. Big mistake, and here's why: Long rest periods allow a more complete recovery, which enables you to use the heaviest possible loads for each set— necessary for strength improvements. The drawback is that long rests are not time-efficient. Also, if you rest too long between sets, you may begin to "cool off," which will negatively impact your workout. Short rest periods limit the amount of weight you can use, but they also force the body to fortify its recovery mechanisms— particularly its ability to clear lactic acid from the muscles. What's in it for you? Improved body composition, short term endurance, and vascularity. Short rests between sets also make your workout more time efficient. Slow Versus Fast Tempos (Contraction Speed): Exercise tempo refers to the amount of time it takes to perform a repetition. Each rep has three phases: the negative portion, where the muscle lengthens as it yields to the weight (such as lowering the dumbbells during a seated dumbbell curl), a pause, and the positive portion, where the muscle shortens and overcomes the weight being lifted (such as lifting the dumbbells during a seated dumbbell curl). Normally the negative portion should last longer than the positive for best results. You can use any tempo you like, as long as the set does not extend past one minute in duration. Interestingly, the Super Slow Exercise Guild suggests 15 seconds per rep, which would only allow for 4 reps per set before the set becomes an aerobic activity. Nevertheless, the SSEG recommends 8 or more reps per set. This type of protocol would benefit an 800 meter runner or synchronized swimmer much more than it would anyone trying to gain muscular bodyweight, however, it may have some sporadic value, providing that it is either different or more intense than what you are used to doing. 45
Physically Incorrect My colleague and MM2K training guru Charles Poliquin illustrated the inherent trade-offs in contraction speeds in a 1988 article for the NSCA Journal: "In North America, there are conflicting schools of thought on the optimal speed at which strength work should be performed. One school advocates high velocity training, while another contends that strength gains can optimally be gained though only slowly performed repetitions. However, both schools are correct." Poliquin further notes that slow velocities are associated with the production of high forces (ideal for hypertrophy), and that fact contraction speeds favor strength development through neural processes (remember, strength is important for hypertrophy, since your strength level determines the percentage of motor units you'll be able to recruit during a set). Using only fast tempos, or only slow tempos, is akin to eating only protein for the reason that carbs aren't used for growth and repair! While superficially true, it's only part of the story. Full Versus Partial Range of Motion: About three years ago, the book Power Factor Training (and the training system it describes) received quite a bit of publicity in the bodybuilding world. The authors of the book argued that movements should always be performed in one's "strongest range" of motion. This allowed for the use of heavier loads, and (the authors insisted) greater results. The Power Factor system worked for many people, and I'll tell you exactly which ones— those who always use full range of motion when performing resistance exercises. But while partial range of motion allows for greater loads, it also has its drawbacks. Perhaps the most significant problem is the likelihood of developing muscle imbalances. In the squat, for example, the hamstrings and gluteals don't begin to contribute until the lifter reaches a fairly deep position— below parallel, certainly. And while some coaches recommend that athletes squat only as deep as the positions they normally encounter in their sport (called "accentuation training"), over-reliance on lifting only in "shallow" positions where leverages are best is a mistake. Thus, "partials" are a tool which serve a purpose when used intelligently. A Final Observation If I told you that in the sport of golf, there is a raging controversy over one group who uses only woods versus another that uses only irons, you'd laugh and write me off as a nut case. Yet, everyday I talk to people who have been at a plateau in their training for months or even years, usually due to long term over-reliance on one limited method of training. Does this sound like you? If so, your ticket to success is called change. Remember, a mistake is only a mistake if you don't learn from it.
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Physically Incorrect Quality Has a Quantity All Its Own (originally published in the September 15, 2000 issue of Testosterone.net) Author’s note: This concept has been brewing in my mind for some time, and I finally clarified it in this article. And by the way, I’m just as guilty as anyone when it comes to viewing post-exercise soreness as a desirable sign! Whether or not they realize it on a conscious level, the majority of people who lift weights for bodybuilding purposes regard fatigue as the primary goal of training. This has always struck me as odd and unproductive, yet all the current trends in modern exercise culture support my premise. In fact, two of the most popular exercise trends today, Tae Bo and Body Pump, are superb examples: In Tae-Bo, the participant performs hundreds if not thousands of pseudo martial arts maneuvers to music within the course of a single class. After one year of regular Tae-Bo training, the quality of your martial arts skills will be somewhat less than a beginning martial arts student on his first day of class at the worst dojo in town, but the quantity of techniques you will have performed will exceed what a 10th degree black belt has experienced over 25 years of training. Nevertheless, most participants are happy with the program— after all, they leave the class thoroughly exhausted. I also have warm and fuzzy feelings about Body Pump, which is essentially an aerobics class with miniaturized rubber barbells. The class participants perform endless “squats,” “bench presses,” and other conventional strength training exercises (even “clean & jerks”!), modified to fit the class structure involved, and the lack of proper equipment and proper instruction. Body Pump is quintessentially high on quantity, low on quality. Like Tae-Bo, people love it because they leave the class sweaty and exhausted. Here’s a new concept: pain, discomfort, and fatigue should be the (sometimes) unavoidable side-effects of training, not the GOAL of training. For example, if a bodybuilder’s objective is to gain lean body mass, he or she may often experience fatigue and discomfort during the process of training. But success is judged by the ability to gain lean mass, NOT the ability to suffer the side-effects of training. If a trainee can gain 10 pounds of muscle a month without breaking a sweat or tearing a callous, I’d call that success. If they end up losing some sweat or experiencing some soreness along the way,
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Physically Incorrect I’d still call it a success. Most trainees are amazingly unaware and unconcerned about making progress though — as long as they’re suffering along the way. You never hear someone say “Today at the gym, I’m going to make a sincere attempt to exceed my best 3-rep performance on the front squat.” But you always hear people saying “Yo— let’s do sets of 100 on the squat till we puke!” If you can relate to the latter reference, let me save you some time— open a 20oz bottle of coke and mix in about 3 teaspoons of salt. Get a large bucket ready, and attempt to drink the entire bottle in one chug. This will give new meaning to the term “Body Pump.” Last week, I received an e-mail asking my opinion about how frequently I recommend training to failure, since a colleague of mine had apparently recommended once every three weeks. This question reflects the immense state of confusion that most people are laboring under. Let me state this again: the goal is to make continual, gradual progress. Occasionally, along the way, you may reach failure as you push your limits to the maximum, but failure is NOT the goal! It is NOT something that you should put in your schedule, much like a lunch meeting! Personal training is not immune to this phenomenon. Interestingly enough, people seem to revel in what a personal trainer will do TO you, not what they can do FOR you. A trainer who fails to make his clients sweat, or who fails to leave his clients in a partial state of paralysis after a workout will be a disappointment to his clients. Often, workouts are designed for this sole purpose (to create a high level of fatigue), rather than to elicit a training effect. I’m not sure if I blame trainers for this. After all, if you don’t give the client what she wants, she’ll find another trainer who will! Where Does Our Obsession With Fatigue Come From? Over several years of training, many athletes learn to form an association between effective training and the side-effects of that training. In other words, during the month of July you trained hard and made a lot of progress. During that month, you were frequently sore, and your joints ached. In August, you were on vacation, and didn’t train at all. According, your skills and fitness levels declined. Before you know it, over years and years, you learn to develop an association. That association is deceptive, however. Just because you’re experiencing pain from your training doesn’t mean your fitness levels are improving. And conversely, effective training doesn’t always hurt. 48
Physically Incorrect I once worked with a college level football player who hired me to prepare him for the NFL combines. Of particular concern was an upper body strength test which involved bench pressing 225 pounds for as many repetitions as possible. Our goal was at least 25 reps, and my client could perform about 13 reps with that weight when he hired me. (Incidentally this particular test is somewhat idiotic, since it tests strength endurance, rather than absolute or speed strength, which are the target motor qualities in football). This particular athlete had a tremendous work-ethic. This is a great quality to have when you’re an athlete, but it also leads one down the road of association pain with success— often a big mistake. In any event, he was used to training in the weightroom for 5-6 days a week, for 2-3 hours at a time. This was aside from all his football training, sprinting, and so forth. Knowing that strength endurance is based on absolute strength, the first part of the program I wrote for him focused on improving his single repetition maximum, or the most weight he could lift for one rep, but not two. This number was about 315 pounds when he hired me. 225 is about 71% of that number. I hypothesized that a weight he could lift 25 times would correspond to roughly 60% of his “1RM.” So our goal was a 1RM of 365 pounds, which, multiplied by .60 gives us 225. Improving absolute strength typically requires heavy resistances, but low repetitions and ample rests between sets. This type of training is difficult, but does not leave you feeling “trashed” like a typical bodybuilding-type workout (composed of high repetitions and minimal rests between sets). I got a call from my client after he had been on the program for about 12 weeks. “How’s training?” I asked him. “Well, I don’t know” he replied. “I really don’t even feel like I’m training...I don’t usually even break a sweat.” I could tell he was enormously concerned. “How is your bench press performance?” I asked. “Oh— that’s doing great!” he exclaimed. “I did a 355 two days ago!” I then asked “Look, do you just want to be in pain all the time, or do you want your performances to improve?” In the silent moments that followed, I could almost hear him make a new association. He had in fact, improved his bench press from 315 to 355 in only 12 weeks. Upon reflection, it suddenly occurred to him that this was more improvement than he had made over the past 3 years combined— years where he was in almost constant pain and exhaustion from his herculean training schedule. Now of course, don’t lose sight of the point— I’m not suggesting that everyone in the reading audience automatically tone down their training...I’m simply suggesting that we all do a bit of reflection in an effort to clarify our objec49
Physically Incorrect tives. The “All-Pain, No-Gain” Workout Program Now, as I said earlier, I do realize that if I don’t give you what you’re looking for, you’ll just go to someone else who will. The following is a lower body workout that will REALLY trash you. Trust me on this one. Note: at the commencement of each workout, I recommend picking up the phone, putting the receiver off the hook, and dialing “9” and “1.” In this way, should circumstances dictate, all you’ll need to do is to dial the last “1” for immediate medical assistance. (Lower Body— Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays) A: Depth Jumps 10 sets of 10 reps Rest: 15 seconds Notes: Select a box that is 66% of your height. For example, an athlete who stands 6 feet tall should use a 4 foot tall box. Use bare feet and land onto concrete surface wearing a 50 pound weight vest. Upon impact, tense up as hard as possible, visualizing that you are trying to drive your feet through the concrete. B: Downhill Running on Stairmaster “Gauntlet” 10 intervals of 3 minutes duration each Rest: 30 seconds Notes: This is the Stairmaster unit that resembles an escalator. Most people use it improperly— here’s the right way: face backwards and step down 3 steps at a time— you’ll have to basically jump down from step to step, due to the distance between the 3 steps. Continue for 3 minutes or until your tibea shatters and punctures through the skin on your shins. Rest 30 seconds and repeat. C: Super-slow Stiff-legged Deadlift (100’s) 1 set of 100 Tempo: 30-0-30 Notes: That’s right— 100 reps where each rep lasts 60 seconds. Look— if you want just “average” pain, follow some one else’s program. If you want REAL 50
Physically Incorrect pain, professional level pain, this will do the job. Stand on a bench and make sure to touch your shoelaces with your knuckles in the bottom position (rounding your low back will be necessary to accomplish this). Cool-down: take a one hour Tae-Bo class immediately after your work sets. That’s it. Don’t waste precious time twitching around on the floor trying to stave off a coma— those muscles need lycopene, and they need it NOW! Post-workout meal: 6 sliced tomatoes with hot fudge sauce. The lycopene ingestion must be immediate (the hot fudge delivery system will help to speed it to your muscle cells). Feels just like Deca. Well, kind of.
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Physically Incorrect Sets and Reps (Originally published as “The Thinking Man’s Guide to Sets & Reps” in the October 27, 2000 issue of Testosterone.net) Author’s note: I hate what they did to the title of this article (originally titled “How Many?” Nevertheless, I’ve received a ton of e-mail about the concepts presented here. The take-home lesson is, base your training on quality, not quantity. Do I sounds like a broken record yet? One of the most common areas of confusion for bodybuilders and other athletes engaged in resistance training is the question of the appropriate or optimal number of reps and sets for any given workout session or cycle. This confusion is exacerbated by the common observation that strength and power athletes (weightlifters, throwers, and powerlifters) achieve impressive gains in lean body mass using multiple sets of low (generally 1-3) reps,1 whereas bodybuilders more commonly employ a smaller number of sets using higher repetition schemes.2,3 Additionally, numerous books and articles by a host of training experts have advocated a wide assortment of set/rep schemes, all of which have worked well for those who have used them. All of the above leads to the following questions: 1) Is there an “optimal” set/rep scheme for the acquisition of lean body mass? 2) Or, is there a better question? In other words, perhaps focusing on set/rep schemes leads us away from the answers, instead of bringing us closer to them. More on this later... A Better Question? Earlier we considered the existence of an “optimal” set/rep scheme for the acquisition of lean body mass, or whether there is there a better question to ask in the first place. Here are a few possible questions that may bring us closer to the answers we seek: 1) If you are learning a new scale on the piano, how many times should you repeat that scale during any given practice session? Do prominent pianists and/or piano teachers advocate various “optimal” practice schemes, such as “25 repetitions per session” in musical trade publications? 2) If you are practicing the tennis serve, how many times should you repeat 52
Physically Incorrect that technique during any given practice session? Do expert tennis players and/or coaches advocate various “optimal” practice schemes, such as “50 serves per practice session” in the tennis magazines and journals? 3) If you are a 100 meter sprinter practicing the start from the blocks, how many times should you repeat this skill during any given practice session? Do track coaches advocate various “optimal” practice schemes, such as “30 starts per training session?” In the case of the above questions, are we looking for an arbitrary number of repetitions, or is there an underlying principle or concept which would lead us to the appropriate number of repetitions or attempts? The answer to this question, I believe, lies in the relationship between volume and intensity. We all recognize that intensity and volume are inversely related, but how often do we apply that knowledge? Let’s explore this for a bit... You’re out on the tennis court practicing your serve (if you can’t relate to tennis, please substitute your favorite sporting skill). You perform your first serve (read: rep). The serve was absolutely horrible— in fact, you missed the ball, and quickly surveyed your surroundings to ensure that no one else witnessed the blunder. Hopefully, you mentally rehearse the serve prior to doing another one, searching for clues as to what went wrong. Suddenly, you remember a time-honored maxim that your old high school tennis coach loved to quote: “Keep your eye on the ball!” So on your second serve, you do just that. Amazingly, it works— you manage to hit the ball, and you now realize that your second rep is clearly better than your first. Despite this revelation, there’s no time for self-congratulation: even though you hit the ball, it flew straight into the trees on the other side of the court. So now you replay the serve in your mind, and realize that you’ll need to slightly modify the angle of your racquet at the moment it contacts the ball on the next serve in order to get the ball into the far side of the court. So on your third serve, you apply this new concept, and sure enough, the ball goes where you want it to go. Using the scenario above, can we find a way to quantify the quality (read: intensity) of each serve, and rank them relative to each other, for every serve you perform in the practice session? The answer is “yes.” Although the tennis serve has a significant qualitative component, we can translate your skill level on each serve into a quantitative measurement by having 10 highly skilled tennis coaches watch and assign a score to each serve you perform. Then we’ll drop the highest and lowest score, and average the remaining scores.
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Physically Incorrect So, let’s say you executed 12 serves, and you receive the following scores: Serve Serve Serve Serve Serve Serve Serve Serve Serve Serve Serve Serve
#1: 2.0 #2: 3.0 #3: 4.5 #4: 5.0 #5: 5.5 #6: 6.0 #7: 5.0 #8: 4.0 #9: 4.0 #10: 3.5 #11: 3.0 #12: 2.5
Next question: How many repetitions would have been optimal? There is no exact answer— we’re just looking at the principles involved. And in principle, if we can accept the notion that only perfect practice makes perfect, then we might suggest that you should have stopped after the seventh or eighth repetition, because your skills levels began to decline significantly after that point. OK, How on Earth Does This Relate to Lifting?! All of the above scenarios involve motor skill acquisition. And I believe it is very useful to view resistance training for what it is: a motor skill! Not a believer? Have you ever trained a complete beginner to resistance training for an extended period of time? If you have, you will have noticed a commonly recognized phenomenon: on his first day or training, Tom can barely bench press the empty bar for 4 repetitions. You scratch you head thinking “How is this possible?” After all, you can bench six times that much weight for 10 reps. But your novice lifter improves by leaps and bounds, adding 1-2 reps per set on every single session. Within 6 weeks, Tom can manage 6 reps with 135 pounds. Quite an improvement, yet, there is no noticeable change in his body. This is because his rapidly improving strength is not due to muscle enlargement, but rather, neural processes. Specifically, the ability of the motor cortex of the brain to recruit greater numbers of motor units, and particularly, greater numbers of high threshold motor units (For a more detailed look at the neural processes involved in force production, please see Table 1).
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Physically Incorrect Table 1: The Neural Processes Involved in Force Production 1) Motor unit recruitment (intramuscular coordination): All muscle fibers are one component of what physiologists call “motor units” (MU). A MU is defined as a motor neuron (or nerve cell) and all the muscle fibers it innervates or “recruits.” There are several essential facts that athletes should further understand about the functioning of MUs: • All the fibers of a MU tend to have the same characteristics. When all the fibers are type II, the motor unit is said to be a high threshold or “fast” MU. If the fibers are Type I, it is a low threshold or “slow” MU. • The all or none principle: When an action potential (the command from the nervous system) is sent from the nerve cell to the muscle fibers, one of two events will occur. If the action potential is strong enough, all the fibers of that motor unit will contract maximally. If the action potential is not strong enough, nothing will happen. In a nutshell, muscle fibers either contract all the way, or not at all. When the body needs to apply more force, it simply recruits more MUs, increases the firing rate of those MUs (see “rate coding” below), or both. Generally, untrained people have limited ability to recruit high threshold MUs because they are unfamiliar with high-tension efforts. • The size principle: When contracting a muscle to overcome a resistance, the MUs involved are recruited in order of size, small to large. This explains why people can use the muscle to pick up something light (a pencil) or heavy (a dumbbell). As resistance increases, the body recruits more MUs. 2) Intermuscular Coordination: This is the ability of different muscles to cooperate during the performance of a motor task. Muscles can function in several different ways depending on the task at hand. 3) Rate Coding: The nervous system can vary the strength of muscular contraction not only by varying the number of MUs recruited, but also by varying the firing rate of each MU. This is known as rate coding. The tension that a MU develops in response to a single action potential from the nervous system is called a “twitch.” As the stimulus from the nervous system becomes stronger and stronger, the twitches per millisecond become more and more frequent until they begin to overlap, causing greater amounts of tension to be generated by the muscle fiber. The mechanism behind rate coding is very similar to the way in which increased vibrational frequency of a sound increases its pitch. As an example, a muscle comprising 100 MUs would have 100 graded increments available to it. In addition, each MU can vary its force output over about a tenfold range by varying its firing rate (e.g., from ten to fifty impuls55
Physically Incorrect es per second). For any set of conditions, the force of contraction is greatest when all MUs have been recruited and all are firing at the optimal rate for force production. The size of a given muscle may in part determine the relative contribution of rate coding to total muscular force development.4 In small muscles, most MUs are recruited at a level of force less than 50% of maximal force capacity. Forces that require greater tensions are generated primarily through rate coding. In large proximal muscles (such as the pectorals and lats), the recruitment of additional MUs appears to be the main mechanism for increasing force development up to 80% of absolute strength and even higher. In the force range between 80% and 100% of absolute strength, force is increased almost exclusively by intensification of the MU firing rate. Muscle Fiber Types and Recruitment By “high threshold,” I am referring to the fact that the recruitment of fast muscle fiber requires more intramuscular tension than what is required to recruit slow muscle fiber. (Note: The traditional classification scheme for muscle fiber types assigns all fibers as either type IIb, type IIa, and type I. However, I have always felt it was more instructive to simply think of all fibers as belonging to a continuum. A useful way to envision this spectrum is to remember the volume indicator that was commonly used on older models of stereo equipment— it consisted of a vertical column of small lights, and when you increased the volume, the lights lit up from bottom to top, depending on how much you turned the volume control knob. In the same way, imagine that we arbitrarily assign all muscle fibers into a vertical column of say, 15 categories. When you curl a 5 pound dumbbell, only the bottom 2 categories are recruited. But if you curl a 35 pound dumbbell, the bottom 6 categories are recruited, and so on.) The importance of targeting fast muscle fiber (even if you speculate that you are a “slow-twitcher”) is that a number of studies show that fast fiber has significantly better capacity to hypertrophy than slow fiber.5,6 Other studies strongly suggest that intermediate muscle fiber can convert “downward,” (i.e., taking on characteristics of slow twitch muscle fiber) when training involves low to moderate resistances for prolonged durations, or “upward” (taking on characteristics of fast twitch twitch muscle fiber) when training involves high tension efforts.7 If your goal is to get bigger, you need to gain access to the heavy hitters— the high threshold, fast motor units, because you can’t train them until your brain learns to recruit them in the first place.
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Physically Incorrect The Bottom Line: What Causes Hypertrophy Anyway, and What’s The Best way to Achieve it? There have been a number of possible mechanisms proposed for the hypertrophy process. These include the muscle hypoxia hypothesis (a deficiency of blood, and therefore oxygen to the muscles stimulates protein synthesis), the blood circulation hypothesis (blood circulation to working muscle provides the stimulus for growth), and the ATP debt hypothesis (ATP concentrations decline during training, which supposedly stimulates muscle growth).8 However, the theory which seems to hold the most promise suggests that energy distribution (or lack thereof) creates the stimulus for muscular hypertrophy. The idea is that during rest, muscular energy is distributed between mechanical work and protein synthesis (protein synthesis is a 24 hour a day process, however, it is greatly accelerated by heavy training). So for example, when you’re standing in line at the supermarket, a small amount of energy is used to keeping you standing upright, and the rest is diverted toward protein synthesis. However, during a hard training session, a large proportion of available energy is expended for the mechanical work involved in lifting, which leaves relatively little for protein synthesis. It is proposed that this energy deficit is the trigger for hypertrophy of the working muscles.9 This hypothesis corresponds well to Selye’s general adaptation syndrome (GAS) theory, where, upon being subjected to a stressor, the organism first experiences an alarm stage (here, the energy deficit), and then later, a supercompensation stage (hypertrophy). 10 If the above hypothesis is correct, we can then say that hypertrophy is a function of how much mechanical work is performed per unit of time. For example, imagine that today’s back and tricep workout resulted in a volume of 23,250 pounds performed in a 50 minute time frame. If during the next back & tricep workout you manage to lift 23,320 pounds in 55 minutes or less, you have provided the necessary stimulus for muscle growth. Do sets and reps matter? I think they do, but not in the way that you might think. Table 2 illustrates two workouts that both result in the same training volume: Table 2: Comparison of Volume Versus Intensity-based Approaches Workout One
Workout two
A-1: A-2: B-1: B-2:
A-1: A-2: B-1: B-2:
Chins: 245 (3x10) Close-grip bench: 225 (3x10) Bent Rows: 205 (3x10) French Press: 100 (3x10)
Volume: 23,250 pounds Duration: 55 minutes
Chins: 245 (10x3) Close-grip bench: 225 (10x3) Bent Rows: 205 (6x5) French Press: 100 (6x5)
Volume: 23,250 pounds Duration: 55 minutes 57
Physically Incorrect From this information, you might conclude that the way you arrange your sets and reps will have no bearing on the outcome. After all, the training duration, volume, and even density are identical in both cases. Even the intensity is the same, since the same weights are used in both cases. But wait: is intramuscular tension (the key to accessing, and therefore, training, fast muscle fiber) simply a matter of how much weight you use? If you answer “Yes,” let me propose an experiment: I’d like to place a 25 pound plate gently on top of your foot, and determine your reaction to the load. Then, I’d like to drop the same plate from 6 feet in the air on your foot. Sounds OK? The weight is the same in both cases, right? So the outcome should be identical! Of course the outcome will NOT be identical, because the plate which is dropped from a height picks up acceleration as it falls. In much the same way, accelerating a weightload results in greater tensions on the target muscles than moving the same weight slowly. Further, many sets of low reps facilitates acceleration more efficiently than few sets of many reps (which is the norm in gyms and weightrooms today). Consider your last workout, where you did an all-out set of 10 reps with 225 on the front squat. How much tension (measured as pounds of pressure on the bar) did you exert on the bar on rep number 10? If you barely managed 10 reps, and you would have missed the 11th rep, would you accept that you exerted just slightly more than 225 pounds of force on the bar— perhaps 226 pounds? If so, would you also accept that you managed slightly more force on rep number 9, and even more on rep 8, etc., since fatigue accumulates from rep to rep? Here is a representation of your force output during that set of 10: Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep
One: 244 pounds Two: 242 pounds Three: 240 pounds Four: 238 pounds Five: 236 pounds Six: 234 pounds Seven: 232 pounds Eight: 230 pounds Nine: 228 pounds Ten: 226 pounds
Now bear in mind, the exact numbers may not be completely accurate, but the trend is. The idea is simply that accumulating fatigue limits force output from rep to rep. If we add up these numbers and divide by 10, we get 237 pounds— this represent the average force per rep.
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Physically Incorrect Now let’s invert the sets and reps and see what we get. Instead of using 225 pounds for 1x10, we’ll use the same weight for 2x5. Now, the average force per rep is 240 pounds, because by keeping fatigue to a minimum, we can accelerate the bar more effectively. Yet the total volume and density are unchanged. Given the following two alternatives, which would you choose?: First Scenario: 225x10 Load: 225 pounds Volume 2250 pounds Average Force per Rep: 237 pounds Second Scenario: 225 (2x5) Load: 225 pounds Volume 2250 pounds Average Force per Rep: 240 pounds (Please see Table 3 for a more detailed representation of how to employ these principles into an actual workout) I should mention that I’m taking a few liberties here to get my point across (for example, when you perform 2x5, you’ll have slightly reduced force output on the second set due to fatigue), but I believe the concept remains valid: breaking up your sets into smaller chunks in order to reduce fatigue allows higher force output, and accordingly, more stimulus to high threshold motor units. I offer this approach not as an exclusive training method (for example, high rep sets have their place in the development of local muscle endurance and in the production of growth hormone, which has been postulated to assist in fat loss11), but as a method that has been successful for my own clients, and indeed, thousands of athletes involved in Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, and other power events. I urge you to explore the concept. After all, the methods which will bring you the most success in your future training are likely to be the methods you haven’t used yet— is this one of those methods?
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Physically Incorrect Table 3: Sample Chest & Back Workout Employing the Principles Discussed “A” Series: Dips and Chins 1. Using the concepts presented in “Warming-Up to a Great Workout— a fivestage event!,” warm yourself up by taking several easy sets of both exercises, alternating between dips and chins. 2. Your working weights should approximate 70% of 1RM for each exercise (this may necessitate using additional load on the dips via the use of a weighted belt). Don’t get too hung up on 70%— we’re just selecting an intensity to illustrate the principles involved. 3. Determine an appropriate lifting speed and a way to monitor it from set to set. The speed will depend on the resistance selected and the repetition scheme. For this example, we’ll select 2 seconds OR LESS per rep. Either have a training partner count of your reps, or use an electronic metronome to monitor your rep speed. 4) Determine a rest interval. Again, this can depend on the resistance selected and the repetition scheme, but for this example, we’ll use 60 seconds OR LESS between sets. Use a stopwatch or a partner to monitor this parameter as you progress through your workout 5) OK, it’s “Go Time!” (From Jerry Sienfeld’s unsolicited and aged personal trainer, played by Lloyd Bridges): Perform your first set of dips, making sure to stay ahead of the 2 seconds per rep speed (this will require maximal acceleration, but I’m not suggesting that you sacrifice control in the process— stay tight and maintain superb control at all times) Rest one minute or less, and perform your first set of chins. Rest one minute or less, back to dips. 6) Continue alternating between dips and chins until you either slow down to the point where a rep takes more than 2 seconds to perform, and/or where you miss a rep or cannot beat the time limit between sets. This “failure” should occur somewhere between 6 and 12 sets...any more, and the load is too light; any less, and the load is too heavy. 7) Depending on how many sets you managed, the “A” series should have taken you between 15 and 30 minutes. Now on to “B” series... 8) Your next 2 exercises: Incline dumbbell presses and Hammer rows. Perform 1-2 warm-up sets for each exercise in order to rehearse the motor pattern and to determine an appropriate training weight for each exercise. For the “B” series, I’ll often select a slightly reduced load and slightly 60
Physically Incorrect increased reps per set, for the purposes of local muscle endurance and growth hormone secretion. For this example, we’ll use 70% of 1RM and sets of 6. 9) Perform the “B: series in the same manner as the first two exercises, using the same speed parameters. Progression: Perform this workout 3-6 times (once every 4-7 days), seeking to increase your training volume by 10% each session. On the first workout, leave enough in reserve that you can increase volume by 10% for at least 3 successive workouts (accomplished by adding 1-2 additional sets per session). After 3-6 workouts, create a new exercise menu and start over. Additional Modifications: Depending on goals, need for variation, and so forth, a variety of loads (from 55 to 85%) and repetition schemes (between 2 and 8 per set) are possible. The key concept is to base the training load on performance quality rather than an arbitrarily selected number of reps or sets. Conclusions and Recommendations 1) Base the number of reps per set in such a way that fatigue is minimized as much as is practical. I say “practical,” because taken to it’s extreme, this would mean always doing one rep per set. But obviously, in many instances (such as heavy dumbbell presses for example), if you try to limit reps to 1 or 2 per set, you’ll end up doing more work setting up for the set than actually performing the set itself. 2) Base the number of sets per exercise on a) how many exercises are on the menu (the more exercises planned for a workout, the less sets you’ll be able to perform for each exercise— this argues for multiple daily sessions), and b) the quality of your performance from set to set. This is best measured by monitoring rep speed, usually assessed subjectively, or objectively, using a stopwatch or an accelerometer. 3) There are two ways to increase tension on muscles: lift heavy weights slowly (you’ll have no choice in the matter), or moderate weights acceleratively.12 The second option is rarely used by bodybuilders, but it offers unique advantages, including improved speed strength and never needing a spotter. 4) Regardless of how you organize your sets and reps, seek continuous, gradual increases in work output from session to session. Hypertrophy is a function of how much mechanical work you do in each session, regardless of what your set/rep scheme is. If you gradually do more and more work with each new session, you’re providing the necessary stimulus for muscle growth. 61
Physically Incorrect 5) Fatigue is not the goal of training, but a sometimes unavoidable result of seeking continued progress from session to session. You’ll make more progress avoiding it than seeking it. References 1) Zatsiorsky, V.M., Science and Practice of Strength Training (1995) Champaign, Human Kinetics, p.p. 96. 2) Komi, P.V.(Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport (1992) London, Blackwell Scientific Publications, p.p. 378. 3) Fleck, S.J., & Kraemer, W.J., Designing Resistance Training Programs (1987) Champaign, Human Kinetics, p.p. 217. 4) Zatsiorsky, V.M., Science and Practice of Strength Training (1995) Champaign, Human Kinetics, p.p. 78. 5) Komi, P.V.(Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport (1992) London, Blackwell Scientific Publications, p.p. 231. 6) Tesch, P.A., (1998) Strength Training and Muscle Hypertrophy. International Conference on Weightlifting and Strength Training Conference Book, p.p.18. 7) Andersen, J.L., Schjerling, P, & Saltin, B., (2000). Muscle, Genes, and Athletic Performance. Scientific American, Vol. 283, Number 3. p.p. 52. 8) Zatsiorsky, V.M., Science and Practice of Strength Training (1995) Champaign, Human Kinetics, p.p. 64. 9) Siff, M.C., & Verkhoshansky, Y.V., Supertraining: Special Strength Training for Sporting Excellence (1993) Johannesburg, University of Witwatersrand, p.p. 60-61 ) 10) Siff, M.C., & Verkhoshansky, Y.V., Supertraining: Special Strength Training for Sporting Excellence (1993) Johannesburg, University of Witwatersrand, p.p. 81-82 ) 11) McDonald, L., The Ketogenic Diet: A Complete Guide for the Dieter and Practitioner (1998) Kearney, Morris Publishing, p.p. 201 12) Hartmann, J., & Tunnemann, H., Fitness and Strength Training for All Sports (1995) Toronto, Sports Books Publishers, p.p. 27.
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Physically Incorrect Training by the Numbers: A Quantitative Approach to Maximal Improvement (Originally Published in Mind & Muscle Power magazine) Author’s note: This is a big them for me...I guess I’m just anal-retentive, but to me, details matter. Read the article and see if I can convert you to my way of thinking... There’s something maddingly....well, imprecise, about certain athletic pursuits. For example, during my years as a competitive martial artist, I can remember days when I’d be disappointed despite the fact that I had won the tournament, and at other times, I can recall being elated, even though I failed to medal. It basically boils down to the fact that I may have won a match, but it wasn’t always easy to tell if it was because I performed well, or because my opponent performed poorly. Fast forward to my mid-30’s, when I became involved in master’s level track & field— specifically, the discus event. There was a palpable satisfaction in that event, and I’ll tell you why. If my best throw is 136’4,” and tomorrow I throw 137’2,” I KNOW I’ve made progress. Not only that...I know EXACTLY how much progress I made. There’s nothing like seeing your hard work pay off! When I made a personal record, I could go to my training log and analyze the month of training that preceded it— the total number of throws, the percentage of heavy throws versus throws made with an underweight discus, and so forth, and I’d begin to be able to see what kind of training produced results, and what didn’t. Of course, this article isn’t about my athletic career, but since lessons learned in one arena can be applied to another, I’m using these examples as a way of introducing the premise of this article. Now, although many successful bodybuilders and recreational lifters often train by “instinct,” (which is usually more of an excuse for insufficient planning than it is a strategy per se), I’d like to present a case for doing things “by the numbers:” taking a quantitative, as compared to a qualitative approach to your training progress. I’ve learned to value this paradigm because as a busy conditioning specialist, I need to show my clients in no uncertain terms that they’re making progress. Regardless of whether you’re training to get bigger, stronger, or both, and regardless of whether you’re a competitive athlete or not, when the numbers do what they’re supposed to do, so does the body. In other words, today you can bench press 185 for 10 repetitions, and you have pecs, deltoids and tri63
Physically Incorrect ceps commensurate to that performance. However, if in one year you can bench 225 for 10, you’ll almost certainly have larger muscles to show for it. Consider that when you look at yourself in the mirror, it’s nearly impossible to be objective: if you’re in a great mood, you’ll be happier with what you see than if you’re having a bear of a day. It is true that you can weigh yourself, measure your bodyfat, take measurements, and so on— all of which are a step in the right direction. But all of these assessments are inherently inaccurate and subject to human error. But numbers have a quality that I really appreciate: they never lie! In the sidebars provided with this article, I’ve outlined several practical ways of increasing training volume, intensity, and density from cycle to cycle. These methods require little more than a willingness to record your short term training parameters (sets, reps, weightloads, and rest intervals) in a training log or software program) and then setting your goals for the next weekly cycle based on exceeding what was done during the previous week. Aesthetics Versus Performance A refreshing “side effect” of the quantitative approach is that it shifts your emphasis away from mere appearance, and more toward performance. While most physique enthusiasts tend to be criticized for being “all show and no go,” I always find the prospect of possessing enormous strength and a physique to go along with it more satisfying, and it also provides a more substantive motive to train, doesn’t it? And if fate has it that you aren’t blessed with the requisite genetics for the Mr. Olympia contest, at least you can enjoy the stunned look people will display at the gym when you’re toying with weights that much bigger athletes struggle with. After all, genetics are a major constraining factor when it comes to aesthetics, but much less so for strength acquisition. Conclusion Most athletes I know are proud of their commitment to their discipline, and are fastidious about never missing a workout. They consider their training and nutritional regimens as part of their athletic discipline, yet, more often than not, these same athletes are terribly undisciplined about keeping records on their diet and training! I hope I’ve convinced you that careful documentation is a vitally important facet of successful training. I wouldn’t dream of neglecting it for my clients— don’t you deserve just as much? Multiple Progression Strategies Help to Prevent Habituation Habituation is the phenomenon that occurs when an initially novel stimulus 64
Physically Incorrect (for instance, the first time you did a full squat workout) becomes stale after excessive repetition. When the body first experiences a new form of stress, it reacts with alarm as it rapidly attempts to fortify itself against similar insults in the future. But after repeated exposures to the same stimulus, the body reacts with less and less vigor, until, eventually, it barely even notices. Eventually, that squat workout that left you virtually crippled for days after you first did it, barely qualifies as a workout anymore. Many trainees understand the importance of varying their training schedules (as a matter of principle, I dislike even using the word “routine”) in order to avoid a training plateau, but one parameter that is almost always ignored is the method of progression used. The vast majority of lifters rely almost exclusively on increasing training intensity (by continuously attempting to add more weight to the bar every workout), neglecting volume and density. Placing equal emphasis on all three methods of progression provides a more diverse form of training stimulation, helping to ensure progress and minimize plateaus. Document Your Training The physical consequences of not recording and tracking your training are equal to the financial consequences of not recording your checks in your checkbook register— it’s that simple. Before you can analyze and manipulate training data, you have to have data to manipulate! For example, if you don’t know what your training load (the sum total of all training performed in a given unit of time) was last week, how on earth can you structure this weeks training in such a way that it exceeds what you did last week? Doesn’t matter you say? Well, it may not matter for one week, but this lack of discipline repeated week after week, month after month, leads to the kind of progress that 99% of all trainees experience: NONE. Right now, I want to ask you to visualize your gym environment, and the people you see training there on a regular basis. Really close your eyes and visualize until you can see the “regulars” at your gym. Now, tell me, how many of them have made any discernible progress in the past year? None you say? I’m not surprised. The next question is, are YOU one of these people? I’ll leave that to you and your conscience. Here are three practical applications for getting the most from your training records: • Increase Intensity: Your last bicep/tricep workout resulted in an overall intensity of 85 pounds. On your next workout, keeping all other parameters constant, strive to achieve an average intensity of 90 pounds, by increasing the weights you lift for the same number of sets and reps. Continue for 4 workouts in a row, or when you can no increase the intensity of the workout. 65
Physically Incorrect Table 1: Myo Dynamics Training-Nutrition Manager Sample Layout
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Physically Incorrect Then change your exercise menu and start over again. This method of increasing training intensity (the difficulty of work performed) can help to improve overall strength levels very rapidly. • Increase volume: Your last leg workout resulted in a training volume of 14,000 pounds. On your next leg workout, keeping all other parameters constant, strive to achieve 15,000 pounds, by adding sets, reps, or both, but without adding time to the total workout. Continue for 4 workouts in a row, or when you can no increase the volume of the workout. Then change your exercise menu and start over again. Increasing training volume (the total amount of work performed) can help to establish a training “base” when performed immediately prior to a phase devoted to increasing training intensity. • Increase Density: Last Monday, you trained back & triceps in 60 minutes. You now have a training target— to increase training density. This Monday, perform exactly the same workout, with one very important exception: perform the workout in 55 minutes. The next week, 50 minutes. Continue for 4 workouts in a row, or when you can no longer shave any additional time off of the workout. Then change your exercise menu and start over again. This method of increasing overload by increasing training density (the work/rest ratio) can be particularly effective for improving body composition (providing optimal nutrition) and relative strength. Over the years I have also observed that more experienced athletes tend to get more “bang for their buck” from efforts to increase training density, as opposed to intensity or volume. This may be due to the fact that most people have already fully exploited intensity and volume, and therefore, have more to gain by increasing density. Calculating the Training Load Calculating Training Volume: 1. Squat: 5x8 with 225 pounds. 5x8 = 40 x 225 = 9000 2. Leg Curl: 3x12 with 80 pounds. 3x12 = 36 x 80 = 2880 3. Leg Extension: 3x15 with 75 pounds. 3x15 = 45 x 75 = 3375 Total volume for workout = 9000 + 2880 + 3375 = 15, 255 pounds Calculating Training Intensity: Average Intensity for workout : Volume (15,255) divided by total reps (121) = 126.074 pounds.
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Physically Incorrect Calculating Training Density: 1. Squat: 5x8 with 225 pounds. 2. Leg Curl: 3x12 with 80 pounds. 3. Leg Extension: 3x15 with 75 pounds. Density for workout: Workout duration — time under tension (TUT). If we assume that each rep took 3 seconds to complete, then 121 reps x 3 = 363. This is the time under tension for the workout in seconds. If the workout took 60 minutes (3600 seconds) to complete, we can calculate training density as 3600 divided by 363, which = 9.91%. In other words, 9.91% of the workout was spend “under tension, and 90.09% was spent resting. Training density is inverse with intensity: the more intense, the less dense. Of course, the ability to calculate training density requires that you closely monitor TUT. I have found that this is most easily done through the use of a portable electronic metronome, available for about $30 through any good music store. Just set the metronome to click once per second and set it next to your exercise station. Then, during your sets, you’ll have an audible cue to help you determine your TUT.
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Physically Incorrect Customizing Your Workouts for Maximum Results Question: If you train and eat exactly like Dorian Yates, can you expect to develop an identical physique? The question is rhetorical, obviously. And while genetics is usually blamed for lack of progress, it's not that simple. Your genes are just one aspect of what makes you different from everyone else. But more on that later. We know that the outcome of any exercise program can be made more predictable if a handful of established training concepts are understood and applied. In a field where there is no absolute right and wrong (only good, better,or best), the skillful application of these concepts helps us make the "best" decisions regarding exercise programming. For instance, exercise should be progressive. In other words, you'll progress only when exercise is more difficult than what you're used to. We also know that the type of exercise selected determines the result you'll see . This is also sometimes called the S.A.I.D. principle— Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand. Further, it's clear that eventually, the body will stop responding to any exercise regime. This is one reason why there can never be the "perfect" training program— no matter how scientific and well planned it is, your body will eventually stop responding to it. When it does, you've got to be ready with "Plan B." The concepts just discussed form a good "template" for developing exercise programs. However, by themselves, they offer only part of the answer. That's because a fourth factor— your individuality— must be considered to "fine tune" the program to your own unique situation. If the previously discussed concepts are the road map, individuality is the steering wheel. It allows for constant, minute to minute adjustments, so that the exercise program can be "fitted" the individual, rather than vice versa. Commonly, people make the incorrect assumption that training = results, without factoring in the individual. The importance of individual response is often misunderstood. Even science can be misleading. As an example, let's take an imaginary research study that evaluates the effectiveness of pre-exhausting the triceps prior to bench pressing. The researchers find that the majority of the subjects do not experience greater pectoral hypertrophy than the control group. HOWEVER, a few individuals DO make greater progress than the control subjects. The scientist who did this study would rightly conclude that pre-exhaustion is not effective. But for a few of those test subjects, it WAS. So the lesson is, not all people (in fact, very few) fall in the middle of the so called bell curve.
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Physically Incorrect Tailoring Your Program How can you individualize your training in a meaningful way? First, take an inventory of your own situation. The sidebar entitled "Classification of Individual Differences," will be useful in organizing this information. For instance, in the first category, you might start by assessing your somatype. Are you an ectomorph, mesomorph, or endomorph? Do you have any postural problems that need to be concerned with? Do you have a high percentage of fast twitch, or slow twitch fibers?(You can get an estimate by seeing how many reps you can perform with 75% of your one rep maximum for any given exercise. If you can only do five or six reps, you're a "fast twitcher." If you can get twelve or more reps, you're probably a "slow twitcher.") Once you've created a profile for yourself, you can then begin to create a training program which takes your unique characteristics into account. Start with your objectives, and consider the constraining factors you're operating under. These two variables will narrow your options considerably. Next, consider the most significant characteristics that make you unique. Age and training experience, for example. Younger people with more experience generally have more options than older people with less experience. Finally, examine your health status, including any postural problems you may have (resolving health problems should always be the first priority in any training program). After you've spent some time analyzing your situation, you should be able to home-in on a basic program that will best suit your needs. Later, you can make minute adjustments as the need presents itself. Vast Applications Individualization has vast implications for your entire fitness program— not just exercise. For instance, just because 99% of Americans rely on commercial gyms for their fitness needs doesn't mean that YOU have to. You may prefer to train at home, or even outdoors. Today, people have access to an almost limitless variety of exercise modalities, including aqua fitness, martial arts, elastic resistance bands, yoga, dance, you name it. Many roads lead to Rome, so do what you enjoy. Smart athletes also know that nutrition must be individualized as well. Case in point: English bodybuilder and elite strength athlete Gary Taylor. Despite the conventional advice of eating a high protein diet, Gary feels he does best on high carbs and low protein. With a 600 pound behind-the-neck push press to his credit, it's hard to argue with his unique approach. Your goals don't need to be structured in conventional ways, either. While 70
Physically Incorrect most seek more muscle or strength, you might find more satisfaction pursuing other objectives, such as everyday functional ability, or simply the sense of well-being that comes with following an exercise program. It's important to enjoy the process of training. If you're getting the results you want, don't change a thing. But if you're still not satisfied, try the suggestions we've outlined here. Lastly, remember that your individuality is a dynamic concept. As you progress, your exercise program must be constantly modified. Practical Guidelines for Individualizing Your Training Program A. Use "default," or standard, well accepted methods first. Use less standard methods only when you reach a point in your training where progress is no longer forthcoming. B. Become familiar with anatomy and kinesiology, in order to better understand your body's unique characteristics. C. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." If you are making acceptable progress, don't change a thing. D. If conventional programs just aren't cutting it for you, start experimenting. Try different exercises, different intensity ranges, a different number of exercises and/or sets, etc. Give the new program at least two weeks before you make judgments about it's effectiveness. If it seems to work, stay with it. But remember— the body will eventually get used to any program, so eventually, you'll have to switch gears. E. You can find shortcuts in the experimentation process by modeling yourself after a successful person who shares your unique characteristics. For instance, if you're exceedingly tall, find other tall bodybuilders who have been successful, and find out how they altered their training programs to fit their individual needs, Chances are, it'll work for you too. F. Use your common sense! Often, athletes with many years of experience resort to foolish and extreme practices to make further gains. Remember— if you've been training properly for more than 10 years, you're near your "ceiling of potential." If we all could make improvements endlessly for decades, everyone could squat 1000 pounds, or become Mr. Olympia, or whatever else their goal is! Your goal now is to stay patient, keep healthy, while still seeking further improvements. G. Consider hiring a competent personal trainer. Experienced trainers have adapted training programs to a wide variety of people, and can usually show you ways to save time and energy.
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Physically Incorrect H. Have a clear, objective vision of what you expect to gain from your program. If you don't, you'll have no way to evaluate the effectiveness of your training. Classification of Individual Differences It's often said that our similarities far outweigh our differences, but you might be surprised to learn just how different we all really are! Let's take a look at the six major categories of individual differences: 1) Anatomical: This is perhaps the most obvious category. People come in different sizes, and they also have different proportions (long femurs, for instance). People also have different ratios of fast versus slow muscle fibers, body fat percentages, postural abnormalities (khyphosis, hyper lordosis, scoliosis, etc), somatypes, and tendon attachment sites. Individuals also differ with respect to hormonal levels. All of these factors must be considered. 2) Health and Training Status: People have differing levels of health and training experience. Both factors are always in constant flux. For instance, a healthy person may develop an injury which necessitates a change in the training program. When the injury becomes resolved, the program must again be modified. Conversely, as an athlete gets stronger, he makes deeper inroads into his recovery ability, which requires less training frequency. 3) Objectives: People with differing objectives require different training methods. Also, people's objectives are (hopefully) always evolving. As they reach higher levels of fitness, they become even more motivated to continue their progress. To do so requires more advanced forms of training. 4) Gender: Women have different hormonal profiles (testosterone), and they usually have different objectives (fear getting too big) than men.Women generally have a higher ratio of slow twitch muscle fibers than men, as evidenced by their ability to perform more reps with a given percentage of maximum than men. 5) Age: As you get older, your priorities gradually change away from peak performance per se to improving functional ability in everyday life. Also, more emphasis on flexibility and heart health is needed. Overall physical capacities dwindle with age, and training must accommodate this fact. Also, pre-adolescent and adolescent children need special modifications to prevent training related injuries and problems— excessive repetitive movements in the weight room, for instance, can cause injuries to the growth plates of growing bones. 6) Exogenous Factors: Not only do people differ, but the environments in 72
Physically Incorrect which people operate in are different as well! Environmental constraints include the following: • Availability of equipment and facilities: If you don't have access to a squat rack, you won't be able to squat! Time to get creative! Try lunges, deadlifts, one-legged squats, sissy squats, etc. If you don't have access to weights at all, you'll have to use free-body exercises. • Climate (physical and/or social): Urban environments may limit or preclude outdoor activities. Also, many people come from social backgrounds that frown upon certain types of physical activity— an example would be women lifting heavy weights. The important thing to remember is that you can't separate the person from his environment. All training plans should be made with environment in mind. • Time restraints: People with little time must clarify their objectives, and then seek out and implement the most efficient ways of attaining them. Also, such people must prioritize their time, and only engage in training activities that are absolutely essential to attaining their goals. • Energy restraints: In today's high stress society, many people have the time, but not the energy to pursue training. The aforementioned advice regarding prioritization will be most helpful in such cases.
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Physically Incorrect Re-evaluating the Practice of "Training to Failure" Author’s note: This originally appeared in the July, 1996 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine— my editor there was Dr. Jim Wright, who was very help ful in terms of showing me how to clarify my thought processes and get my concept across. Jim would always say “Finish the article, and then reduce the word count by 10 percent.” It’s interesting to contrast and compare this arti cle with Quality Has a Quantity All It’s Own, which appeared in the September 15th, 2000 issue of Testosterone.net— I still believe in the concept, but for somewhat different reasons. The notion of "training to failure" is perhaps one of the most revered practices in the modern bodybuilder's "toolbox." But interestingly, this training method seems unique to bodybuilding. In other iron sports, such as Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, and throwing, athletes develop enormous levels of muscle mass without training to failure, at least not in the way that most bodybuilders would define it. This observation, coupled with the fact that many elite-level bodybuilders do not embrace this practice, warrants a second look at this concept. Birth of a Paradigm Many credit Arthur Jones (the inventor of Nautilus equipment) with developing and popularizing the "one set to failure" paradigm. Jones argued that bodybuilders should work to the point of momentary failure, using one set per exercise/per session, rather than using multiple sets of multiple exercises. But Jone's commercial success may been potentiated by a long-standing tradition among young trainees (particularly men) who, in the absence of qualified supervision, regularly trained to failure as an intuitive way of obtaining objective feedback about their progress. Whenever an additional rep could be performed with a given weight, the trainee was psychologically reinforced, which further entrenched this "habit." Unfortunately, it also reinforced poor exercise form and the tremendous frustration that set in when, after several months of monotonous training, the inevitable plateau set in. This frustration then paved the way for numerous ill-conceived commercialized training "systems" that emerged over the past several decades. The result is an endless cycle of unsupervised trainees switching from one miracle method to another, in an endless search for the "perfect program." Before we criticize Jones or the authors of the many programs available today, it may be necessary to revise our expectations of what a training method should and shouldn't do. Remember that nearly any training method 74
Physically Incorrect can be effective, at least temporarily, for the following reasons: 1) Beginners will make short-term progress with any training method, provided they aren't injured in the process. 2) Many people train in a very monotonous manner, rarely changing acute exercise variables such as choice of exercise, order of exercise, rest periods, and load (volume and intensity). When such a person changes programs, they will progress, at least temporarily. Conversely, NO training program is perfect because: 1) Everyone is different. No two people respond exactly the same to a given program. 2) The body will eventually accommodate to any program, and when it does, you hit a plateau. The conclusion that might be drawn from these points is that all methods can be viewed as "tools" which have a certain degree of utility when used in the proper proportion and in the right context. The problem is when a proclamation is made that "This is the perfect program for all people all of the time!" DEFINITIONS A significant impediment to discussing this issue is the lack of consistent working definitions for several terms which are germane to the discussion at hand: What is "Training to Failure”? The very definition of "training to failure" needs considerable clarification. Does it mean concentric failure? Eccentric failure? Inability to complete another repetition in good form? (and what is "good form?") Inability to maintain the desired tempo (speed of execution)? Are we referring to failure of the cellular, or neural system? Failure of the stabilizers, or prime movers? (Please see the sidebar entitled "Training to Failure: Traditional and Revised Definitions" for a closer look at these questions). For the purposes of this discussion, "training to failure" describes training in a manner where each set is continued to the point where further concentric repetitions "in good form" cannot be completed under the lifter's own volition. Second, the notion of failure is inexorably linked to the magnitude of effort and ability to withstand pain and fatigue— both of which are subjective qualities. 75
Physically Incorrect What is "Good Form?" While the amount of resistance, number of sets and reps, etc., constitute the quantitative element of training, good form (or exercise technique) can be seen as the qualitative element. Exercise technique includes range of motion, tempo, and control over the resistance being lifted. For the sake of variation, bodybuilders should plan for regular variations in tempo and range of motion. Such variations help to break through strength and hypertrophy plateaus. Control, however, should never be sacrificed, especially for the purpose of "eeking out" another repetition. For the sake of this discussion, "good form" will be defined as "exercise performance which is consistent with pre-determined objectives concerning range of motion, tempo, and control of the resistance." Using this definition, it is not considered bad form to lift a weight through a partial range of motion, as long as you pre-determined that the repetitions would be performed in that manner. On the other hand, if you planned to do parallel squats, and start losing depth due to fatigue, this would be considered bad form. Similarly, if you plan for a certain tempo (duration of each repetition) or even rest period, it would be considered bad form to alter these parameters in the middle of a workout. What is Intensity? Sports scientists and bodybuilders often assign two very different meanings to this term. In the sports sciences, intensity is usually defined as the difficulty of the work performed, expressed as a percentage of 1RM (One repetition maximum), or an athlete's maximum poundage for a single repetition for any given lift. Using this definition, if an athlete has a 1RM of 400 pounds in the leg press, a set performed with 350 pounds is more "intense" than a lift performed with 300 pounds, regardless of how many reps were performed, how close the set came to failure, or how much mental effort was applied. Most bodybuilders, on the other hand, define intensity as the magnitude of effort applied to a task. Using this definition, a leg press of 300 pounds might be more intense than a set with 350 pounds, if a greater effort was applied to that set. For our purposes then,we will distinguish between "extrinsic" intensity (or, the magnitude of the external load) and "intrinsic" intensity (or, the magnitude of effort applied against that load). It's important to recognize that extrinsic intensity is objective, and intrinsic intensity is subjective. In other words, we can measure the weight on the bar as a percentage of maximum, but when someone claims that they "went to failure," we have to take his or her word for it.
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Physically Incorrect Objectives and Methods of Training For bodybuilders, the object of training is muscular hypertrophy. The methods used to accomplish this objective are dictated by various training principles, most notably the principle of progressive overload. Fatigue, and occasionally failure, are unavoidable by-products of these methods. Viewing fatigue and/or failure as an objective of training (as many bodybuilders do) is masochistic and counterproductive. The hallmarks of successful training are long-term consistency and progression. But progression must be gradual— very gradual— if it is to be consistent. Many athletes insist on always taking a set to utter failure, even if it's not necessary to achieve a new personal record. But these same athletes neglect to project these gains into the future, which reveals the impossibility of continuing these gains. As an example, if you manage to put 5 pounds a week on your squat, this equates to 20 pounds a month, and 240 pounds a year. If this could be continued for even three years, you would be a national level powerlifter, with size to go along with it! A better approach is to achieve very small increases in load on a regular basis, even though you won't reach failure. These smaller increases are easier for the body to adapt to, and recuperate from. Taking each and every set to complete failure is like trying to run a marathon at sprint speed— after a very short period of sprinting, you'll have to slow down considerably, if you expect to finish the race. The Downside of One Set to Failure As stated earlier, few training practices or techniques are good or bad in the absolute sense. Most often, it's a matter of application and context. Performing all sets to failure (or, trying to) is particularly problematic, for the following reasons: 1) Insufficient training volume for hypertrophy development Many studies have confirmed that metabolic changes associated with muscular hypertrophy are best instigated through loading by high volumes, whereas neural adaptations are best brought about through high intensity loads. Training volume is calculated in pounds lifted per unit of time. If you plan to lift a certain weight for 5 sets of 5 reps, only the last set would approach concentric failure— if you went to failure on the first set, the subsequent sets would have to be performed with significantly less weight. This decreases volume, which can negatively impact muscular hypertrophy. International strength coach Charles Poliquin observes that for any two athletes on the same basic program, the athlete who uses a higher volume will have greater hypertrophy.1 This observation may be due in part to increased levels of ana77
Physically Incorrect bolic hormones which are associated with multi-set (as opposed to single set) training2. A second factor to consider with respect to the training load is that there is a limit to how long you can achieve progressions in intensity, but increases in volume can be achieved for a much longer period. For example, after about 9-10 years of solid training experience, you'll arrive at (or very close to) your maximum lifts (1RM's). Past this point, it becomes nearly impossible to increase the training load through increases in intensity. It's much more feasible at this point to increase training volume (by adding reps and/or sets). In this way, you can continue to make gains in muscle mass. 2) Injury potential, both acute and chronic, increases Noted exercise scientist Paul Ward warns that training to failure results in ischemic reperfusion, or oxygen deprivation, followed by oxygen perfusion. This results in massive free-radical damage to DNA and cell membranes. International Sports Sciences Association co-founder Dr. Sal Arria cautions that many soft tissue injuries occur when failure terminates a repetition in mid-stroke. "When the weight on the bar exceeds the muscle's ability to lift it, something has to give and usually, it's the musculotendinous junction" One of the most important functions of a spotter is to stay alert and keep the bar moving in order to avoid such injuries, according to Arria. According, to powerlifting legend Fred Hatfield, if fatigue is so great that stabilizers and synergists (which typically tire faster than the prime movers) become too fatigued to allow maintenance of proper form, you're asking for trouble. 3) Potential for overtraining increases Louie Simmons, well-known coach to many elite-level powerlifters finds that taking sets to failure "has an ill-effect on the central nervous system," which delays recovery. Simmons is noted for producing scores of high-ranked lifters with relatively low-intensity training 4) Regular failed attempts lead to a reduction in a lowering of the Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO) excitation threshold3. Successful lifts which are above what the body is used to will raise the excitation threshold of the Golgi Tendon Organ, while failed attempts tend to lower it. What this means in bodybuilding parlance is that the more often you miss a lift, the more likely it is that you'll miss it again in the future.
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Physically Incorrect Is Training to Failure Necessary? Clearly, it is not. The overriding concept is that, like all training methods, training to failure is a tool. No tool should be used all the time for all applications. But used judiciously, it can be a useful training method. Any training program which plans for progressive resistance, consistency, and variation is likely to produce success. Recommendations 1) Plan and document your training. If your best effort in the bench press is 225 for five sets of five repetitions, your goal should be to surpass that effort— either by getting five more pounds for 5x5, or by getting a greater volume with the same weight. When you do, you'll progress, even if you don't go to failure on each and every set. Keeping a training log is a must in order to know what barriers you're trying to surpass. Use one! 2) Use and apply strictly defined technique parameters for yourself. Cheating (by utilizing co-contraction from non-targeted muscles) only encourages inefficient movement patterns, poor posture, and potentially, injuries. Your technique on the last rep should be identical to the technique you use on the first repetition. 3) Progress is a function of gradually increasing your training load over time— not how "trashed" you feel after a workout. 4) Careful attention to acute program variables can have a big impact on how much volume you can comfortably tolerate. Here are two examples: a) Muscles can be worked more thoroughly by first training in an unstable environment (i.e, free weights) which challenge the stabilizers, and then moving to a stable environment (i.e, machines)4. To test this for yourself, first do a set of dumbbell bench presses to fatigue. Next, load a barbell with the same weight, and immediately do a set. You will find that you can lift this weight, despite failure on the DB bench. Next, go to a machine bench press, load it with the same weight, and you'll find that you can continue even further. This phenomenon is an example of "stabilizer failure," meaning that the motor cortex will limit neural drive to the prime movers when it senses that the body is unable to stabilize a load. This phenomenon has vast implications for the majority of trainees who primarily work prime movers through machine exercises only. b) Because fatigue is specific5, greater workloads are possible if sets of contrasting exercises are performed back to back, as opposed to finishing all sets
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Physically Incorrect for a particular exercise before proceeding to the next. As an example, if you plan to perform bench presses and lat pulldowns in the same session, sets 1,3,5, etc., would be bench presses, and sets 2,4,6, etc., would be lat pulldowns. The more distant the two muscle groups are from one another, the greater the reduction in residual fatigue. Still another method of reducing fatigue is to alternate between low repetition sets, which fatigue primarily the nervous system, with high repetition sets, which fatigue primarily the metabolic system. The low repetition sets facilitate greater neural drive, which carries over to the high repetition set, allowing a greater overall workload to be performed. c) Except for beginners, a linear progressions of training load, where the athlete attempts to add resistance each and every workout, result in early stagnation and loss of improvement. A more productive approach is a "three steps up, one step down approach"6 which allows for periodic regeneration and continued improvement. 5) For hypertrophy development, remember that muscles consist of more than just contractile fibers. Use a variety of repetition ranges to stimulate all elements of the muscle cell— including sarcoplasmic volume, capillary density, and mitochondria proliferation. (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy) 6) It is especially important to recognize the qualitative components of a good set— elements such as the feel, control, and overall mastery of the movement. Over-reliance on achieving the maximum number of repetitions at any cost is an invitation to injury and long-standing technique errors. A useful guideline is "Once you find yourself cheating, you're already beyond failure!" 7) Stick to conventional or "basic" training methods until they no longer yield results. If your neuromuscular system experiences every strength training method known to science in your first year of training, what will you do when you hit a plateau? Save "advanced" methods, such as partial repetitions, eccentric training, and ballistic methods for later, when you're advanced. Training to Failure: Traditional and Revised Definitions The majority of trainees define training to failure as continuing a set of repetitions (including both the concentric and eccentric portions of the rep) until no further repetitions are possible without a considerable erosion of form, or assistance from a partner, or both. Frequently, after concentric failure is reached, the trainee will continue the set, either by cheating (utilizing co-contraction from additional muscle groups), or with the help of a partner by either 1) completing a certain number of eccentric-emphasized reps, 2) performing "forced reps" (ie., utilizing help on both the concentric and eccentric 80
Physically Incorrect portions of the reps), or performing "strip sets," meaning, the partner continues to reduce the weight on the bar until no further repetitions can be completed. Other authors7,8 have rightly pointed out the fact that failure is specific to fiber type. As an example, you may select a heavy weight, and reach failure after performing 3 repetitions. While no further repetitions are possible with this weight, it would still be possible to lower the weight (as in a strip-set) and continue even further. Olympic lifters terminate their sets when the ideal tempo and/or coordination erodes beyond acceptable parameters. For this reason, Olympic lifters rarely if ever utilize spotters, even on their heaviest maximum attempts, since (at least in theory) the worst thing that can happen is that the last rep will be slower than desired. Is One Set Really Enough? Many proponents of the "one set to failure" method justify their claims by suggesting that one set is sufficient to recruit a maximal number of motor units. While this may be true (although there is little solid data to support this statement), this approach assumes that simply recruiting a motor unit once is sufficient to fatigue it, which is a prerequisite to hypertrophic adaptations. For beginning trainees, it may be that single exposures to a training stimulus are sufficient to provoke an adaptation. But athletes with even moderate experience are likely to require multiple exposures (sets) in order to fatigue the target motor units9. Hypertrophy of other biological tissues is accomplished not by stressing the tissue close to its limits, but by applying a stress which is slightly beyond what it normally encounters. Bone, as an example, hypertrophies when a force equaling approximately one-tenth it's breaking point is applied10. This example supports the contention that gradual progression is the ideal method for achieving muscular growth. References: 1) Personal Communication, February, 1996. 2) "Growth Hormone Release Following Single Versus Multiple Sets of Back Squats". Bruce W Craig and Ho-Youl Kang at the Human Performance Laboratory, Ball State University. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 1994, 8(4), 270-275 3) Personal communication with Dr. Fred Hatfield, January, 1996.
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Physically Incorrect 4) Program Design Video Series, Paul Chek Center for Health & Performance, LaJolla, CA, 1996. 5) Zatsiorsky, V. M., Science and Practice of Strength Training, p.p. 111, Human Kinetics, Champaign, 1995. 6) Bompa, T.O., Periodization of Strength, Toronto, Veritas Publishing, 1993, p.p. 53. 7) Telle, J., Beyond 2001: New Approaches to Scientific Training for the Advanced Bodybuilder, EDICT, Denver, 1995. 8) Hatfield, F.C., Fitness: The Complete Guide, ISSA Publications, Santa Barbara, 1995. 9) Fleck, S.J., & Kraemer, W.J., Designing Resistance Training Programs, Human Kinetics Publishers, Champaign, 1987, p.p. 58. 10) Baechle, T.R., (Ed.) Essentials of Strength and Conditioning, Human Kinetics Publishers, Champaign, 1994.
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Physically Incorrect Acceleration: The Middle Path to Renewed Lifting Progress (Originally published in Mind & Muscle Power magazine) Author’s note: One day at the local Gold’s here in Las Vegas, I was catching by breath between sets, and it hit me: most people lift slowly...either because their weights are too light, or because they’re too heavy. So I went home and created this article from that premise. Do some people-watching at the gym during your next workout. At first glance, it may seem that people have very little in common when it comes to their exercise habits and techniques. But upon closer inspection, you might notice that they have two things in common: The first thing that most exercisers share in common is slow movement speed, regardless of exercise, set/rep scheme, or magnitude of load used. People tend to fall into one or both of two categories when it comes to moving weights slowly: • The slow, go for the burn, high repetition group (usually recreational and competitive bodybuilders). This demographic chooses to lift slowly, usually for fear that “momentum will take over” if they use faster lifting tempos. • The equally slow, heavy weight/low rep affectionados, (usually powerlifters or other athletes seeking strength development). These lifters don’t choose to lift slowly— they have no choice in the matter, because the heavy weights they lift cannot be moved with any appreciable degree of acceleration. Of course, in any other aspect of life, you would never deliberately move more slowly than you had to, because it’s inefficient. More on this later. Oh yeah— the second thing your gym peers have in common? Very few of them ever make any discernible progress. Can we draw a correlation between slow movement speed and lack of progress. I certainly do! In the remainder of this article, I’ll show you why. More specifically, I’d like to explore a “middle path” that few trainees ever travel. This path isn’t the only approach that can lead to success, but it certainly has considerable benefits which warrant closer consideration from those wishing to acquire strength and power. My use of the term “middle” refers to a slice of the so-called “force-velocity curve” that every exercise physiology student knows by heart. You should too. I had considered stealing a great analogy from powerlifting guru Louie Simmons, but given the fact that he squats 900 and benches well over 600 at 50-plus years of age, I felt
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Physically Incorrect the possible consequences weren’t worth it, so here’s Louie’s take on the force-velocity curve: “If I throw a wiffle ball, it won’t go very far, because it’s too light for max force to exist. Now if I throw a shot put, it does not go very far either, because it’s too heavy; thus no velocity is developed. However, if I throw a baseball, it will go a great distance because I have found a balance between force and velocity.” (1) In this analogy, the baseball represents the middle path. Simmons trains his athletes in a manner which is strikingly different from the rest of the powerlifting community. While most powerlifters use very heavy weights for 2-3 reps per set, Louie emphasizes 60% weights for multiple sets of 2-3 reps, using as much acceleration as possible on every set. The results? Currently, Simmons has produced 36 athletes who have bench pressed 500 pounds or more, and 23 lifters who can squat 800 pounds or more. Why Acceleration? We know that the more tension a muscle experiences during exercise, the greater the training adaptation. But the weight on the bar is only one factor to consider when designing your training program. Acceleration is the other. I vividly remember a conversation with Dr. Fred Hatfield (Co-founder of the International Sports Sciences Association and first man to officially squat 1000 pounds). Hatfield, who at the time weighed 265 at 5”6” at 10% bodyfat, relayed the following analogy: If you place a 10 pound weight on top of your foot, no problem. If you drop that weight from 6 feet in the air, BIG problem. The weight is the same in both instances. Acceleration is the difference. How can we translate this lesson into making better progress from our lifting? Compare the following two scenarios: Scenario #1: You lift 135 pounds for 3 sets of 10 repetitions. In keeping with the “no pain, no gain” philosophy, you take the set to momentary muscular failure, as advocated by many fitness experts. Here is a hypothetical breakdown of how much force you apply to the bar on every rep: Rep 1: 154 pounds Rep 2: 152 pounds Rep 3: 150 pounds Rep 4: 148 pounds Rep 5: 146 pounds Rep 6: 144 pounds Rep 7: 142 pounds Rep 8: 140 pounds Rep 9: 138 pounds Rep 10: 136 pounds
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Physically Incorrect As you can see, fatigue accumulates during the set which progressively limits your ability to accelerate the bar. If we add all these numbers and divide by 10, we get the average force per rep: 145. Scenario #2: 135 pounds for 10 sets of 3 reps. In this case, the weight on the bar is the same as our first scenario, and the total training volume (calculated as 135 multiplied by 30 repetitions = 4050 pounds) is also the same. The only difference is that you inverted the sets and reps. Now let’s look at how the numbers stack up on each set: Rep 1: 154 pounds Rep 2: 152 pounds Rep 3: 150 pounds The average amount of force on the bar is 152 pounds per rep, as compared to 145 in the first scenario. This means 9.5% more tension, which is quite significant. (Note: I’ve simplified the picture somewhat in order to clarify my argument— in reality, fatigue does set in from set to set, and the average force per rep on the last set will be less than the first. Nevertheless, 10x3 will still result in significantly greater force per rep than will 3x10). The only difference between scenario 1 and 2 is that the latter minimizes accumulated fatigue and permits a higher level of quality (read: tension). Exactly How Does This Work? First off, let’s get something straight: by acceleration I’m NOT talking about the mindless, high-speed slop that many trainees employ as they attempt to impress their gym peers by lifting the heaviest possible weights. In fact, the technique I’m advocating involves using only about 70 percent of maximum on any given set. Here’s a hypothetical upper body workout that implements an accelerative approach to lifting. Your training weight for the first exercise will be 70% of your 1RM (which stands for one rep max, or the most weight that you can lift in good form for one rep, but not two). If you’re not sure what your 1RM is, your training weight is one that you can lift 10-12 times in succession. As an example, if you can bench press 192 pounds for one rep (1RM), your training weight will be 135 pounds. One last point: always use a capable spotter whenever you bench press.
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Physically Incorrect Here’s how the workout stacks up: Exercise
Sets
Reps
A: Bench Press
10
3
Notes: • Complete all 10 sets in 10 minutes or less. Take whatever rest intervals you like between sets, as long as you finish within 10 minutes. • On each rep, lower the bar in a controlled fashion, staying as tight as possible. As soon as the bar touches your chest, explode it upward, backing off near the top Exercise
Sets
Reps
B: Bench press
2
1
Notes: • Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching your maximal ability. If you performed the 10 sets of 3 reps using 135 pounds, then you might select 155x1 and then 175x1. • Complete the two singles within 5 minutes or less. Exercise
Sets
C-1: 30-degree Dumbbell Incline Press 5 C-2: Dumbbell Preacher Curl 5
Reps 5 5
Notes: • Due to the heavier weightloads used on these 2 exercises, the lifting pace will be less rapid. • Perform these 2 exercises “back to back,” meaning you will perform a set of incline presses, rest, then a set of curls, and so forth, until all 10 sets are completed. • Complete these 10 sets in 25 minutes or less. Take whatever rest intervals you like between sets, as long as you finish within 25 minutes. 86
Physically Incorrect Exercise
Sets
Reps
D-1: Cable Crossover D-2: Hammer Curl
3 3
12 12
Notes: • Perform these 2 exercises “back to back,” meaning you will perform a set of incline presses, rest, then a set of curls, and so forth, until all 6 sets are completed. • Complete these 6 sets in 20 minutes or less. Take whatever rest intervals you like between sets, as long as you finish within 20 minutes.
“...those in the know will continue to shatter World records in the power sports, while incurring far less injuries than their more “knowledgeable” fitness peers.”
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Physically Incorrect This sample workout requires 60 minutes or less to complete. It successfully develops greater explosive strength (particularly during the first 10 sets), maximal strength (through the heavy singles), and muscular hypertrophy (through the sets of 5 and 12 toward the end of the workout). It should be performed once a week for 4 weeks, and progression should be attempted by either completing the same workout in less and less time every week, or by using gradually heavier weights on weeks 2 through 4. After 4 weeks, you’ll want to completely change your workout, by selecting a new set of exercises. This helps to avoid habituation (and stagnation) through the introduction of new training stimuli. Is Acceleration Safe? I do realize that the fitness intelligentsia scoffs at accelerative lifting— you must lift slowly in order to avoid injury, they say. However, I think it’s a sad state of affairs when walking is considered the best exercise (rather than what is it— locomotion); where one must be careful not to move too fast or breathe at the wrong moment, or let one’s knee flex too far, for fear of injury. Give it another 100 years, and the “fitness” community will advocate almost total inactivity in the interests of safety, while those in the know will continue to shatter World records in the power sports, while incurring far less injuries than their more “knowledgeable” fitness peers. The cold hard fact is that danger is relative to preparation. Some people incur injuries from doing next to nothing; others experience no injuries despite regular intense physical activity. So if you’re new to the concept of using accelerative lifting technique, resist the temptation to go from A to Z in one fell swoop! Instead, implement the technique gradually and progressively. In this way, you’ll avoid the possibility of unwanted surprises. Is Acceleration Efficient? The phenomenon known as the stretch-shortening cycle (or SSC) strongly hints that the body is in fact designed for ballistic and accelerative stress. To better understand the SSC, imagine your muscles as elastic bands that stretch during eccentric activity, and contract during the concentric portion of the movement. For those interested in the physics of the matter, what happens is that the muscles develop potential kinetic energy during the eccentric phase of the movement, which is then released during the concentric phase, creating a more powerful action than what could be accomplished through concentric activity alone (2). If you watch people carefully in various situations, you'll notice that, when88
Physically Incorrect ever there is an option to accelerate a load, people will take that option. On stairclimbing machines, people will (especially as fatigue sets in) tend to step in a bouncy, choppy manner. When a heavy box must be lifted from the floor to a high shelf, a person will accelerate the box throughout the lift. Further, wherever possible, the motor cortex will prefer an acceleration path where the largest possible number of muscle groups can participate in the effort, in order to conserve energy and avoid dangerous levels of stress to any single muscle involved in the movement. Deliberate attempts to move slowly or to ”isolate” any particular muscle during a challenging task (whether it be in the gym or in everyday life) contradicts this reality. Final Considerations I’ll finish with a few points that you’ll need to know before employing acceleration in your workouts:
“One problem with accelerating barbells is the need to “back off” at the end of the lifting stroke to protect your joints and to prevent the bar from flying off of your back or out of your hands. An ingenious way of circumventing this problem is to attach heavy duty elastic bands to either end of the bar.”
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Physically Incorrect • Use the technique primarily on fairly large range of motion exercises such as squats, bench presses, and deadlifts. For other movements, stick with more deliberate lifting speeds. • Ease into the technique slowly and gradually, especially if you have been lifting for a year or less. • Joint pain is a contra-indication for accelerative lifting. If your joints hurt, seek appropriate medical intervention before continuing your lifting program. The Technology of Acceleration Conventional barbell training, although effective, can be improved upon when it comes to accelerative lifting. Here are a few of the more effective strategies which have emerged over the past few years: • CAT (Compensatory acceleration training): Originally coined by Dr. Fred Hatfield (3), this training method has been used by east European athletes for decades. Most people tend to “coast” once they get past the sticking point in the squat or bench press, which reduces muscular tension. CAT requires the lifter to compensate for momentum by accelerating the bar even further, which intensifies adaptive stress to the working muscles. • Elastic bands: One problem with accelerating barbells is the need to “back off” at the end of the lifting stroke to protect your joints and to prevent the bar from flying off of your back or out of your hands. An ingenious way of circumventing this problem is to attach heavy duty elastic bands to either end of the bar. These bands can add as much as 50 pounds or more to the total weight of the bar— in other words, a bar loaded to 135 pounds “weighs” 185 at the top, and 135 at the bottom. This configuration allows the lifter to maximally accelerate all the way through the lifting stroke in complete safety. The best equipment for this purpose is IVER (Integrated Variable Elastic Resistance) by IVER Systems (pictured). Call 414-228-9792 or point your browser to http://www.strengthcats.com for more information. References: 1). Simmons, L., What If? Milo: A Journal for Serious Strength Athletes.. Vol 4 No 1. (c) 1996. Ironmind Enterprises, Inc. p.p. 26. 2) Komi, P.V., (Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport. (c) 1992. Blackwell Scientific Publications, London. p.p. 169. 3) Hatfield, F.C., Power: A Scientific Approach. (c) 1989. Contemporary Books. Chicago. p.p. 123. 90
Physically Incorrect The Law of Sustainable Progression (originally published in Muscle Media 2000 magazine) Author’s note: This article was inspired by a conversation with a well-known strength guru friend of mine. He commented that 5 pounds a week is the usual load increase that most of us use, but if you project that out over a year, it equates to a 260 pound increase. You guessed it— I went home and wrote this article. As my colleague Will Brink likes to say, "From Mentzer's 'one set to failure' to Poliquin's 'German volume training,' there is no program which recommends using progressively lighter weightloads from week to week." Brink is of course, alluding to the universal requirement of all successful strength and mass gaining programs: progressive overload. One well-known pro bodybuilder recently told me that as long as he was training to failure, he felt assured that he was using the highest possible intensity, and therefore, it didn't matter what weights he used. Most people, after seeing his physique, would hesitate to argue with such convoluted logic. (Incidentally, Matt Mendenhall jokingly calls this phenomenon the law of excessive mass: i.e., "I'm bigger than you, so I'm right!") But I would remind such people that the individual in question possessed several attributes which allowed him to succeed despite his poor choice of exercise protocol: 1) He chose great parents for his avocation; 2) He was probably a dru... I mean, a recreational pharmacologist; 3) Perhaps most importantly, he possessed the ability to work extremely hard on a consistent basis for a long period of time. With this in mind, you should immediately grasp the foolishness of "average" trainees (which the vast majority of us are) attempting to use this individual's training methods. Training is Stress! Let's start off with an analogy: If you went from a sedentary desk job to working as a lumberjack, your body would undergo some interesting adaptations as it struggled to cope with the unfamiliar environmental stressors inherent in that profession. You would most certainly develop caluoses on your hands as a result of grasping axes, saws, and other implements for hours each day. These callouses, however, would be exactly the same size
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Physically Incorrect one year after getting your new job, three years after, six years after, ad infinitum. Why? Because after the initial shock, the degree of stress to your hands never changed over that period of time. Training is no different. Most bodybuilders make great progress for the first year or two, but then never look any different from that point on. Many of these people understand the importance of progression, but lack the skills necessary to implement it properly. The Training Load In sports science jargon, the training load is defined as "the sum total of all training activities for a given unit of time." The training load has two important components, both of which can be used to provide overload— volume, or the amount of work done, and intensity, or the difficulty of work done (Incidentally, as a rule of thumb, you should seek to establish a certain level of intensity first, and then add volume, rather than the other way around). Before you can plan a certain level of progression, it becomes necessary to have a way of measuring each of these components. Volume is usually calculated as the amount of weight lifted multiplied by the repetitions performed with that weight. However, this traditional calculation is being called into question by some latter day thinkers. Charles Poliquin was the first to say that the actual time that a muscle is under tension (TUT) must be considered as well. If this seems too anal-retentive, let me ask you a question. If you perform a set of 10 reps with 135 pounds, and your lifting speed (or tempo) is 6 seconds per repetition, and your training partner used the same weight and reps, but executed each rep at 3 seconds per repetition, did you each perform an identical amount of work? Clearly, no. This scenario illustrates the fact that the training load can be increased simply by gradually slowing down your lifting tempos over successive workouts. Reducing rest between sets also increases volume, since the workload will be performed in a shorter period of time. So, to use another example, if you and your partner both perform 3 sets of 10 reps with 135 pounds using identical tempos, but you rest one minute per set while your partner rests two minutes between sets, you achieved the greater volume. Intensity is the second component of the training load, and it is normally expressed as a percentage of your 1RM (one repetition maximum), or the greatest amount of weight you can lift for one repetition in proper form. But here's the catch with 1RM's: they're always changing. This means you never quite know for sure what your 1RM is for any given lift. Which doesn't mean you shouldn't test for 1RM's every 8 weeks or so— you should. Doing so gives you a guideline to work with. It's just important to realize that 1RM's are a dynamic measurement. For this reason, I usually prescribe repetition brack92
Physically Incorrect ets rather than percentage of 1RM when I write training programs for my clients. When considering intensity, it's important to realize that any change in your exercise technique— no matter how slight— changes the equation altogether. For instance, if you normally use a 3 second tempo (meaning, you complete each repetition in exactly 3 seconds) when testing for your 1RM, and the next time you test you're able to add 5 pounds to your 1RM but it took you an extra second to complete the lift, it's not an accurate indication of improvement. Establish your testing parameters, and then stick to them so that you have a consistent protocol when testing. If you do not, you'll have no real way of knowing whether or not you're improving. Incidentally many people use the phrase "high intensity" to describe workout that are actually high volume or high density (which refers to the work/rest ratio). So just to be clear about our terms, remember that intensity has nothing to do with how much pain you're in, or the fact that you frequently experience reverse peristolisis and out-of-body experiences after your leg training— it simply refers to how much weight is on the bar relative to your current maximal ability. Using this definition, we could say that performing 315 pounds for 1 rep is more intense than 10 reps with 310 pounds, even though the latter effort is far more difficult to perform. The Volume/Intensity Relationship Volume and intensity are mutually exclusive concepts— you can't have high intensity and high volume simultaneously. If this was possible, you'd be able to do three sets of ten with your current 1RM! Yet both volume and intensity are necessary to achieve results— high volume loads create more lasting adaptations, while intense loads create faster adaptations which are more temporary. This apparent paradox is one of the primary reasons for periodizing (or cycling) your training. Although you can implement the principle of progressive overload by increasing volume or intensity, it's important to realize that increases in volume are more sustainable than increases in intensity. In other words, for a trainee with 10 years experience who can squat 695 for a single repetition, it's much easier to progress by adding reps and/or sets than it is to try to add weight to the bar during any given repetition bracket Which Type of Progression is Best? In his book Science of Sports Training, Thomas Kurz identified three distinct methods which can be used to increase the training load over time:
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Physically Incorrect 1) Rectilinear method: Loads are continuously and uniformly increased. An example of rectilinear progression is to attempt to add five pounds to the bar every time you perform squats. 2) Stepped Method: Load are sharply increased, then held at that level for a period of time, before being sharply increased again. An example would be using the same weight, say 185 pounds for five sets of five reps, for a period of four weeks, and then increasing to 225 pounds for four weeks for the same sets and reps, and so on. This method, when used by advanced athletes, can result in fast, but temporary strength increases. Not effective for beginning or intermediate lifters of less than 4 years of continuous lifting experience. 3) Wavy method: Loads are gradually increased for several sessions, and then decreased for one or more sessions, and so on. A classic example of this loading scheme is as follows: While increases in load are slower than the previous two methods, this technique lends itself to more sustainable progress, and as a result more satisfaction, and fewer injuries from training. The Law of Sustainable Progression Should an athlete progress as fast as possible? Or perhaps as fast as is comfortable? Or, should you just choose some arbitrary unit— say 5 pounds per week? There is a way to make some sense of this. The key is to determine the amount of progression that you can sustain over a prolonged period of time. Let's take the 5 pounds per week scenario, which incidentally, is commonly used by people who make great progress initially, but who hit a wall after a year or two. While 5 pounds a week seems like a very gradual progression, if you take the time to extend this level of progression over the long term, you'll find that it equates to an increase of 260 pounds per year! In such a scenario, the athlete would be a world class powerlifter within 2 years! Since this happens to very few people, it is a useful analogy to prove my point. The previous scenario violates what I call "The Law of Sustainable Progression." Fast increases in training loads soothe the ego and make for fairly impressive short term gains, but they can't be sustained. A slower progression over a longer period of time leads to better and more lasting results than a faster progression which can only be sustained for a short period of time. Further, large, sudden increases in training loads are associated with hitting an early and false plateau, which can lead to injury, as the athlete resorts to more and more extreme methods in an attempt to break out of this plateau. 94
Physically Incorrect So progress as slowly (and also as consistently) as you can. Equipment companies are responding to the concept of "micro-progression" by providing more variable weight stacks which allow for smaller jumps. One company, Benoit Built, makes specialized magnets (called Plate Mate) weighing between 1/4 and 5/8 of a pound which can be attached to plates, dumbbells, and weight stacks. The beauty of Plate Mate (besides portability) is that they allow you to make minute, yet sustainable progressions from workout to workout. Putting this concept in terms you can relate to, let's assume you're a 250 pound bencher. Using a progression of 2.5 pounds per week, you'll be a 380 pound bencher in one year. Even this is a very significant increase, but by using sound training programs and recovery strategies (see sidebar entitled "The Role of Recovery in Progression"), it can be done. In the Final Analysis... Bodybuilding is a subjective sport. But because there is a very real correlation between training loads and hypertrophy, you can assure progress by carefully designing your training programs and then closely monitoring the results of these programs. If your training load is gradually and consistently increasing, you're making progress. Methods of Employing Progressive Overload: 1) By increasing time under tension. Start with 6 repetitions per set, utilizing a 4-0-1 tempo. Each set should therefore take 30 seconds to perform. Each workout, increase the tempo by one second per rep, until you reach 10 seconds per rep. At this point, should choose to increase the weight, reduce the tempo, and begin progressing again. 2) By increasing the weight lifted. Using a standard set/rep scheme for each workout, add between 2.5 and 5 pounds to the bar each session. 3) By increasing the number of reps per set. This method is useful with exercises where you initially have a low level of strength, such as pull-ups or dips. Using the same load each workout, start with 1-3 reps per set, and add one rep per set each workout. Once you reach more than 12 reps per set, you should then employ more weight and/or slower tempos. 4) By increasing the number of sets per workout. Although it has its place, be cautious when adding sets to your workouts. For example, going from three sets to four is a 25 percent increase in volume for every given exercise! 5) By increasing the range of motion. Using the same load each workout, start with a reduced ROM, and gradually increase it from workout to workout. For example, you can perform bench presses in a power rack, starting the movement from the bottom-most position, which is set by the height of the 95
Physically Incorrect pins. On the first workout, you might only work the top 3" of a bench press. Each workout, drop the pins one notch, until you reach full ROM. 6) By reducing the rest intervals between sets. This has particularly good results when attempting to improve relative strength. Using the same load, number of reps, and tempo each workout, simply reduce the rest intervals by 10 seconds each workout. 7) By using "stutter" or interrupted sets. Rather than performing a continuous set, you can select a heavier weight, and rest briefly (5-10 seconds) between each rep. One method I sometimes employ with my athletes is to ask for a maximum number of reps in a specified time period— say, 2 minutes. They can use any number of sets or reps— they might for instance perform a set of 8, rest 20 seconds, do a set of 7, rest 30 seconds, then 5 reps, etc., until the time period expires. When using this method, always maintain consistent exercise form and speed of execution. Sometimes, two or more methods of progression are used simultaneously. For example, from workout to workout, you may choose to add both weight and reduce rest between sets. This is usually employed in situations where a trained athlete is coming back after an extended layoff, and is able to make rapid improvements from workout to workout due to his extensive training experience. The problem with this method however, is that when you do make progress, you won't know which factor to attribute it to. The Role of Recovery in Progression Better recovery means more frequent training sessions and therefore, faster progress. Although recovery will take place regardless, there are two particularly effective means you can take to accelerate recovery from training: massage and nutritional management. In my work with athletes, I have found that expertly-applied massage can improve recovery times by as much as 40 percent. In fact, I find it so effective that I require prospective clients to receive massage therapy at least once per week. According to my colleague Dianna Linden, an elite-level softtissue worker located in Santa Monica, California: "Spasms keep muscle fibers in a contracted state and disable their capacity to perform within the muscle when it is under load, therefore decreasing strength by whatever percent of that muscle stays contracted by the spasm. This weakens the muscle and increases its potential to tear near the edges of the spasm. By working regularly with an athlete the therapist can provide feed back which is a far more accurate account of how the muscles are handling the stress levels they are exposed to." 96
Physically Incorrect Of course, nutrition plays a vital role in recovery as well. Although there are many factors to consider, adequate protein is crucial— I consider one gram per pound of bodyweight per day a minimum standard. Creatine monohydrate and branched chain amino acids immediately following training. For comprehensive information on the myriad array of supplements available, I recommend referring to the 1997 Supplement Review published by EAS.
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Physically Incorrect Pressed for Time: Life Management Skills for Bodybuilders (Originally published in Muscle Media 2000 magazine) Author’s note: This article was one of the rare times that I was asked to write about a particular topic by the magazine editor. Usually I can’t write based on that approach— I normally just get an idea and run with it. "So many pedestrians, so little time" — bumper sticker There are many excuses commonly used to explain lack of progress in bodybuilding. Poor genetics. Poor facilities. No motivation. Illness. Your drug supplier is incarcerated. The list goes on and on. However, the commonest excuse for chronic ectomorphy is also one of the lamest— "I don't have enough time." Now, this isn't an info-mercial, so I'm not going to tell you that it takes as little as three minutes a day (I think Tony Little has a trademark on this phrase, anyway). But virtually everyone can find adequate time to train, if they have reasonably good time management skills, and if they understand exercise program design. So, if you're one of those people who always seems short on time, here's where I'd like to start: Do you really need more time, or more discipline? If you don't have enough time to train, something is askew on a bigger level. The majority of people have time to do things which they have assigned a high priority to. Training doesn't take a lot of time— it takes a lot of energy. I believe that 95% of all people can accomplish their training goals in three hours per week. Case in point— I recently put over 20 pounds on a 37 year old competitive martial artist in just over four months of training. The workouts were performed three times a week, and each session took about 40 minutes after the warm up. Can't find three hours a week? Consider this: three hours amounts to about 2% of your available time every week! It is approximately 3% of your waking hours every week! Look at these numbers carefully and then tell me you don't have enough time to train. I do realize that some people have it tough— two or three jobs, family, commuting, and so on. It is primarily for these people that this article is written. 98
Physically Incorrect However, even if you aren't chronologically challenged, you'll find these suggestions and strategies valuable for reclaiming more time for other things in life. I'll use a three step approach in this article: 1) Step one: How to distinguish between lack of time and lack of discipline 2) Step two: How to locate time you didn't know you had 3) Step three: How to optimize the time that you do have to train Do you really have no time? The fastest way to determine this is to ask yourself "How much time do I waste procrastinating, watching TV, going to bars, etc.?" For a one week period, carry a small notebook, and every hour, make a short entry describing what you are doing. Then, review this time log and chances are, you'll find the time you're looking for. In my opinion, most people are fairly inefficient, and through a bit of organization and priorities identification, can find plenty of extra time in their schedules. How to find more time Improve sleep quality If you still aren't finding time, consider waking up earlier (and/or going to bed later) in order to find extra time. Many people do do not sleep well, despite being in bed for 9-10 hours a night. Eating the wrong foods before bed, keeping the TV on, and numerous other bad decisions reduce the quality of sleep. Try the following suggestions from the excellent book Science of Sports Training (available by calling Stadion Publishing at 800-873-6171), and you'll find that you'll be able to cut an hour off of your sleep time every night with no ill-effects: 1) In general, do not eat for the two hours prior to bed-time. Avoid any stimulants, including coffee, tea, cola's, or garuana. 2) Your bedroom should ideally be well-ventilated, and it should be dark, silent, and cool. 3) Avoid hot baths, showers, sauna, or jacuzzi's before going to bed. Cool baths induce sleep rapidly, however. 99
Physically Incorrect I would also recommend avoiding evening workouts if possible, especially eccentric-dominated training. Another useful tool is a specially made lamp which gradually becomes brighter and brighter at a pre-set time, which simulates waking up to the sunrise, rather than being jolted out of sleep by an alarm clock. Turn off the boob tube Television is perhaps the biggest time-thief in the average person's life. Simply by learning how to use their VCR, most people can save themselves over an hour a day simply by fast-forwarding through the commercials! Watching TV is a hypnotic, self-perpetuating activity that not only wastes time, but also lowers energy levels. Many schools have implemented a "No TV" week for their students. Try it. Many people find they have so much free time, they don't know what to do with it. Improve your reading speed If you do a lot of reading, learn how to speed-read. A good place to start is The Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program by Stanley D. Frank published by Barnes & Noble. Use your computer wisely While computers are a great tool for saving time, they are not always used to their best advantage. Chat rooms in particular can be a huge time drain. If you spend a lot of time on a computer, consider buying the fastest one you can afford. Also, if you spend a significant amount of time on the internet, make sure you have the fastest modem you can afford. A computer is nothing more than a tool: if used wisely, it will save you time, if used unwisely, it costs you time. Using your time as efficiently as possible After you get an accurate estimate of how much time you really have available to train, let's consider how to use this time as wisely as possible. 1) Concise warm-ups: many trainees spend far too much time warming up. In most cases, 6-8 warm-up sets, with 15-30 seconds rest between sets, is plenty. Many people will start their warm-ups with, for example, an easy 135x10, and then rest 3 minutes! Another mistaken notion that your last warm-up set must consist of at least as many reps as your first work set. The purpose of the last warm-up set is to make an accurate determination of the correct weight for your work sets— it should only take a rep or two to make this decision. 100
Physically Incorrect 2) Utilize periodization: very brief workouts work much better if you can occasionally do longer ones. For example, you might perform 30 to 45 minute workouts for 3 weeks, and 60 minute workouts for one week, and repeat. Rotate long and short workouts for each muscle also. In other words, for three weeks, you might use 4-5 sets per workout for chest, but only 1-2 sets for back, and then for the next three week phase, reverse the pattern. In this way, each muscle group experiences a "development" phase and a "maintenance" phase, which, when you think about it, is far superior to a continuous maintenance phase. 3) Don't skimp on frequency: Your workouts can be brief, but you must maintain optimal training frequency for best results. Training a muscle for 25 minutes twice a week is far superior to training it for 60 minutes once every two weeks. 4) Train opposing or antagonistic bodyparts back to back: All muscles are paired with another muscle (called an "antagonist"), which (ideally) is capable of opposing its force. Training muscles in antagonistic pairs is time-efficient on several levels: • Because antagonists are usually located close to each other, a set for one muscle becomes a warm-up for the other. • For various neurological reasons, when you perform a set for one muscle (say, the biceps), the antagonist (the triceps) becomes facilitated for a better contraction. • Compared to training all sets for one muscle, and then all sets for the second muscle, training antagonists "back to back" allows for twice as much rest between two sets of the same exercise. For example, if you're performing bench presses and chin-ups with two minutes of rest between sets, you'll actually get over four minutes of rest between two successive sets of bench presses. 5) Use a home gym: For many people, using a home gym saves an average of 20 minutes per workout in travel, parking, and changing. If space and cost is a concern, consider the following home gym: • Swiss ball from Sissel (aprox. $30) • Power Block dumbbell set from SportStrength (aprox. $650) • 6x8 foot 3/4" thick weightroom mat from Bigger, Faster, Stronger (aprox. $115)
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Physically Incorrect • 300 pound Olympic barbell set (aprox $100) • Chin-up bar (aprox $40) This home gym, which allows you do do a huge variety of exercises, costs less than $1000, and takes up only 48 square feet of space. Much of this equipment can be picked up second-hand for a significant reduction in price. 6) Emphasize compound movements for the posterior kinematic chain (glutes, hams, low back) It is well known in the strength training community that squats, deadlifts, and their numerous permutations have the greatest return per unit of investment than any other type of exercise. The Workouts General Notes: 1) These workouts should be used as suggestions, not iron-clad laws. It's more important to understand the principle behind them than to try to perform them literally. If you do not have the experience, facilities, or health status to perform these exercises, select an appropriate substitute. 2) If you have a muscle or muscle group which is already well-developed, concentrate on other areas 3) Dips can potentially be damaging if you already have existing shoulder problems, particularly if you have ever experienced a dislocated shoulder. 4) Although I have outlines specific repetition brackets, it is important to emphasize volume (through the use of higher reps) and intensity (through lower repetitions) sequentially, utilizing one method for 3-4 weeks, followed by the other for 3-4 weeks. 5) The Olympic lifts and their modifications are often my first choice for efficient training tools, however, I realize many readers do not have a training background in these lifts. If you do have experience in these movements, you can substitute them where appropriate in the following workouts.
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Physically Incorrect The 45 minute workout If you're able to train 3 times a week for 45 minutes, try the following approach: Monday 00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up 00:05 to 20:00: Incline Dumbbell Press on Ball; Stiff-leg Deadlift: Perform back to back, 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions each, using a 4-5 second tempo and resting 90 seconds between each set 00:20 to 45:00: Ball Crunches; Seated Dumbbell Curls. Perform back to back, 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions each, using a 4-5 second tempo and resting 90 seconds between each set Wednesday 00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up 00:05 to 20:00: Front squat; Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension: Perform back to back, 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions each, using a 4-5 second tempo and resting 90 seconds between each set 00:20 to 45:00: Military Press; Leg Press Calf Raise. Perform back to back, 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions each, using a 4-5 second tempo and resting 90 seconds between each set Note: As the bar is already on the rack from front squats, I have chosen military presses for deltoids to minimize set-up time. Friday 00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up 00:05 to 20:00: Chin-up; Dips: Perform back to back, 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions each, using a 4-5 second tempo and resting 90 seconds between each set 00:20 to 45:00: Bent-over Row; Seated Leg Curl. Perform back to back, 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions each, using a 4-5 second tempo and resting 90 seconds between each set
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Physically Incorrect The 30 minute workout If you're able to train 3 times a week for 30 minutes, try this approach. It utilizes circuits of 3 exercises per session. For the following workouts, perform 4 sets of 8-10 repetitions with a 4-5 second tempo and rest 60 to 90 seconds between each set, depending on the reps and tempo you use (the higher the reps and the longer the tempo, the shorter the rest). Monday 00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up 00:05 to 00:30: Three exercise circuit: Set 1: Pull-ups Set 2: Back Squat Set 3: Seated Dumbbell Press Wednesday 00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up 00:05 to 00:30: Three exercise circuit: Set 1: Flat Dumbbell Bench Press Set 2: Standing Calf Raise Set 3: Seated Dumbbell Hammer Curl Friday 00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up 00:05 to 00:30: Three exercise circuit: Set 1: Stiff leg Deadlift or Reverse HyperSet 2: Dips Set 3: Ball Crunch
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Physically Incorrect The 15 Minute Workout Let me state right off the bat that if you're reading this and can only find 15 minutes to train, your life is out of balance! However, if you truly are able to train 3 times a week for only15 minutes, try this approach. It utilizes one exercise per session. Monday 00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up 00:05 to 00:15: Squat or Deadlift Wednesday 00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up 00:05 to 00:15: Flat Dumbbell Bench Press or Dips Friday 00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up 00:05 to 00:15: Chin-up or Pull-up The "Busy during the week, but weekends are free" workout This is a situation that many people find themselves in: the weekdays are a race against time, but the weekends are relatively peaceful. This workout is designed with longer workouts involving large muscle groups over the weekend, and a shorter session involving smaller, less energy-intensive muscles on Wednesday. The "nuts & bolts" should be fairly intuitive— just utilize the same principles and acute training parameters as the previous workout schedules. Saturday (Chest & Delts) Sunday (Legs & Back, & Abdominals) Wednesday (Bi's, Tri's, & Calves) General references on time (and life) management The 90 Minute Hour by Jay Conrad Levinson (©1990, The Penguin Group, New York, ISBN: 0-452-26596-7) First Things First by Steven Covey (©1994, Fireside, New York, ISBN: 0-671-86441-6) Organize Yourself! by Ronni Eisenberg & Kate Kelly (©1986, Macmillian Publishing Co., New York, ISBN: 0-02-028420-9) Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins (©1986, Fawcett Columbine, New York, ISBN: 0-44990280-3)
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Physically Incorrect Maximize Your Efficiency: Three "Tweaks" That Will Revolutionize Your Workout (Original Article) Here I present three methods which, when used consistently, will help you spend less time in the gym while getting better results at the same time. Only applied knowledge is power, so don’t just read, but apply! Front Loading Efficient people instinctively try to get the majority of their work done early in the day (this also applies to week or month). The rationale is simple: you have more energy early in the day than you do later on. Therefore, when I create training programs for my clients, I rarely indicate a standard amount of rest between each set. Instead, I’ll indicate a time-frame for all sets to be completed in (for example, 8 sets of 3 repetitions to be performed in 15 minutes). In this way, my client will instinctively attempt to get a “head start” by taking shorter rests between the initial sets, which will permit longer rest intervals for later sets. Since fatigue accumulates over the duration of a workout, front loading is far more efficient than using standard rest intervals between sets, which is how 99% of all people organize their workouts. Interested in joining the one-percent club? Apply this concept to your workouts starting today— the rewards will be significant and immediate. Use Antagonistic Pairings Every muscle in your body has a “partner” (called the antagonist) which is capable of opposing it’s contractile forces. For example, when you perform a biceps curl, the biceps muscle would be termed the “agonist” and the tricep would be the “antagonist.” (the easy way to remember these terms is to think that the agonist is the one that is in agony because it’s performing the work). As you curl the weight, the motor cortex of your brain signals the triceps to relax in order to allow the biceps to contract. This phenomenon is called Sherrington’s Law of Reciprocal Inhibition. Here’s how we can take advantage of this phenomenon in a very practical way: You first perform a set of barbell curls, and then rest perhaps 1-2 minutes. For set two, you perform a set of lying dumbbell triceps extensions. As you do so, the biceps muscles are “inhibited.” The triceps contraction actually forces the biceps to de-activate, which simply means they will recover faster 106
Physically Incorrect as a result of having performed the set of triceps extensions. You then rest, go back to the curls, and back and forth until all sets for both exercises are completed. There are three additional benefits to the use of antagonistic pairings: • If you perform (for example) 5 sets of biceps curls one after the other using two minutes of rest between each set, you obviously get two minutes of rest between each set. However, if you perform a set of curls, then rest two minutes, then perform a set of triceps extensions, rest two minutes, etc., you now achieve more than four minutes of rest between two sets of the same exercise, even though the total workout duration remains the same. • Training muscles in antagonistic pairs ensures equal (or at least similar) strength development around both sides of the joint. This is very important for overall size and strength gains, because if the strength ratio between agonist and antagonist is significantly disparate, the brain will reduce your strength levels in an effort to protect your joints. • In the preceding example, as you perform your biceps curls, you are keeping the involved joint warm for your next set of triceps extensions. Over time, this can be very meaningful in terms of joint integrity and health. Here are a few examples of muscle pairings which correspond to the principles I’ve just discussed: • Lats & Pecs • Biceps & Triceps • Quads & Hamstrings • Abdominals and Low Back Musculature • Lats & Triceps (biceps are usually heavily involved during most lat exercises) • Pecs & Biceps (triceps are usually heavily involved during most pec exercises) Use Submaximal Accelerative Efforts If your best bench press for one rep is 300 pounds, then obviously the most amount of tension you can place on the targeted muscles will be just slightly more than 300 pounds. However, Soviet force-plate research has shown that a load corresponding to 65% of your maximum capability (195 pounds in this example) can also result in 300 pounds worth of tension, provided that the weight is maximally accelerated. You might argue that there is no advantage either way, since both methods produce approximately the same amount of force. However, there are distinct advantages to using “submaxi107
Physically Incorrect mal accelerative efforts” as opposed to the maximal weights method: • Using the above example, if you use 300 pounds, you can only perform one rep, and then you’re done. If you use 195 pounds for sets of three using maximum acceleration, you can perform multiple sets— usually between 8 and 12 sets can be performed before there is a significant decline in lifting speed. This allows far more total volume within a session. • When using submaximal accelerative efforts as described above, you’ll always have several reps in reserve on any given set, which means you can dramatically reduce the need for a spotter (although using a competent spotter is still a good idea when using unfamiliar exercises). • Our bodies are essentially hard-wired to accelerate whenever performing difficult motor tasks such as running, lifting, or jumping. In fact, people have to be taught to move slowly, since it is far more efficient (and instinctive) to take advantage of momentum when performing motor tasks such as lifting heavy weights. If these ideas seem unusual to you, let me stress that the most successful people in life are open-minded. Have you ever adopted a new habit that ended up having a significant positive impact on your life? The three concepts I’ve presented here have had that effect on my own training, and on the results I’ve achieved for my clients. I’m confident they’ll produce similar results for you as well. In the final installment of this series, I’ll wrap things up with my thoughts on the dominant resistance training paradigm in North America today, and why you shouldn’t buy into it.
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Physically Incorrect Prove Me Wrong! (Original Article) Author’s note: I wrote this when the BMI index began making the news. It struck me that the BMI actually discourages training— see if you agree. Warning! Exercise Increases Your Risk of Weight-Related Health Problems The National Institute of Health (NIH) will unveil it's new Body Mass Index (BMI) on June 27th. The BMI is designed to replace the old height/weight charts created by health insurance companies. But the question remains, what is the accuracy, not to mention, the utility, of the BMI? First, let's start with a definition. You can calculate your BMI by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. (If you'd prefer to spare yourself the mathematical trauma, just head over to ABC News Online at http://www.abcnews.com/sections/living/DailyNews/bmi980604.html ( they have a BMI calculator which you can use to instantly calculate your supposed level of risk of overweight.) An Interesting Test Case: Me I recently did just that, and at 205 pounds and a height of 6'1", I landed a whopping BMI of 28— nearly obese by BMI standards. According to the NIH, you'll need a BMI of 24 or less in order to qualify as having a "normal" weight. So I kept plugging in lower and lower bodyweights, finally going all the way down to 180 pounds to obtain a BMI of 24. I wonder, what would the consequences of losing 25 pounds be for me? Of course, a fairly large portion of this weight would be muscle— If I make the assumption that I'm currently 15% bodyfat, that means I only have 30.75 pound of fat on my entire body. So, to lose 25 pounds without losing any muscle, I'd end up with less than 2% bodyfat, which is probably not enough to sustain life. So, that means that the 25 pounds would be mostly muscle. Since a pound of muscle burns approximately 18 calories a day, my metabolic rate would be lowered by 450 calories a day. Also, this dramatic loss of muscle would certainly profoundly reduce my strength levels. While I have more than enough strength to get through my daily activities, muscle mass and strength both gradually decline as we age.
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Physically Incorrect So I always look at muscle like "money in the bank:" the more I have now, the more I'll still have when I'm 60, 70, or 80 years of age. So the bottom line seems to be, if I choose to adhere to NIH's guidelines, my health and functional status will surely decline! Conversely... Another very important point to consider are the legions of people who will score very acceptable numbers using the BMI, but who in fact are overfat. Despite what many people think, it’s common to find people who appear to be of normal or even low bodyweight, who in fact are overfat, because they have such low levels of muscle mass. Consider the research conducted by Dr. William Evans at Tufts University: Evans discovered that the as women age, in many cases their leg girth tended to remain constant, however, upon CAT scan analysis, it was found that the fat mass was increased, while the lean mass had decreased. In other words, their external appearance had not significantly changed, yet their bodyfat percentage had increased. And Even Further... Because muscle weighs more than fat, embarking on a rapid, unhealthy weight-loss scheme will reduce your BMI much more effectively than losing weight in a healthy and rational manner (the faster you lose weight, the more muscle you lose). So I would like to venture the proposition that the new BMI will encourage fad weight loss programs and starvation diets. Is There a Better Alternative? Yes. Have a reputable fitness professional measure your bodyfat percentage (call the International Sports Sciences Association at (800) 892-ISSA to find such a professional in your area). Over the past several years, there have been important new developments in bodyfat measurement techniques, and today, there are several options available. Various methods have varying degrees of accuracy, but if you always use the same method, you’ll have an accurate standard of reference. In other words, you may not know your exact percentage of bodyfat, but you’ll know if your percentage is increasing or decreasing. I don’t know why this is such a hard pill to swallow— it’s bodyfat, NOT bodyweight that determines your health and functional capacity. There will never be a height/weight chart, regardless of what anyone chooses to call it, which can predict optimal bodyweight, because such charts never take a person’s muscle mass into account.
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Physically Incorrect Success by Design: Optimizing Three Critical Components of Training No matter how carefully you plan your training, no matter how much you think about it, dream about it, no matter how much reading and studying you do, success really boils down to those few hours every week where the rubber meets the road— your actual workouts. Success can be experienced on many levels, from marginal to profound. Marginal progress is easily obtained, even from poorly-conceived workouts performed halfheartedly. However, greater levels of success are more fleeting, even for those who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of physical perfection. Bodybuilding success is essentially a function of three requirements: a welldesigned workout, an intense application of effort during the execution of that workout, and the ability to achieve quick and complete recoveries between workouts. Let’s have a look at a variety of ways we can improve all three components. The Fundamentals of Workout Design A properly designed workout has a number of features, all of which are necessary for a high level of training success: • Your workouts must be planned: I don’t care if every bodybuilding hero you’ve ever had planned their workout in the car on the way to the gym, it’s NOT the best way to do things! Incidentally, the term “instinctive training” was never meant to infer a lack of planning, but it’s often used as an excuse for exactly that. Although planning can be complex, the basic idea is to consider the type of fatigue that a workout will produce when you’re planning the next session. If you’re training biceps and triceps on Monday, you shouldn’t train your pecs or lats on Wednesday, because the residual fatigue from the previous session will cause your arms to fatigue before you can properly train the pecs or lats. Similarly, leg training should not take place when your low back and/or abdominal muscles are tired, because you won’t be able to maintain a safe lifting posture. Planning and periodization are big subjects— too big for the scope of this article. Therefore, let me recommend an excellent resource on the subject— the Advanced Program Design videotape series by Paul Chek (call 800-5528789). 111
Physically Incorrect • Your workouts must be properly timed: there is a point, which usually occurs between 3-4 days after a training session, when a muscle is in the best position to be trained again. If you train the muscle prior to this time, you’re simply blunting your progress. If you wait too long between sessions, you’ll regress to pre-training levels. I normally suggest waiting until you have at least one full day without soreness before a workout is repeated. If, at the beginning of the next workout you feel weak and/or can’t create a good mental connection with the muscle you’re training, abandon the workout for at least one more day. • Your workouts must be hard and brief: You can train a muscle to do one of two things. You can train the muscle to contract very forcefully, albeit briefly, or, you can train the muscle to contract for long periods of time at a low force output. It is the former of these two methods which causes muscle to grow. Workouts which emphasize endurance will give you an endurance athlete’s body— remember that the next time you’re past the one hour mark in a workout. • Your workouts must be goal-directed: I once was hired to help a football player complete the NFL combines. One particular test is the 225 pound bench press for maximal reps. This athlete was one of those people who just loves to train— 2-3 hour workouts, 5-6 days a week were the norm before I started training him. After several weeks of low rep training, he called me to say that he just wasn’t “feeling anything” from his workouts. When I asked how his bench press was doing he replied “Oh— the bench is great— in fact I just hit a new PR last night!” So my point is, you have to decide what the purpose of your training is, and then carry out your plan with confidence. • Your workouts must be safe: I know, safety is no fun to talk about. Until you experience a serious injury, you’ll never give safety more than a passing thought. Take a proactive position on safety. Make sure you’re healthy (to the best of your knowledge) going into the workout. If there’s any doubt, wait another day, or, of course, if you have an obvious injury or illness, see your doctor. Next, make sure all the equipment you’ll be using is in good working order— it only takes a second, but can save you a lifetime of pain. In particular, check the flooring, the ends of the bar you’ll use, or, if you’re on a machine, look it over for signs of wear. If you’re performing a heavy squat, deadlift, or Olympic lift, take a moment to make eye contact with anyone who may be nearby— just to let them know enough to stand clear. Finally, make liberal use of power racks, good spotters, chalk (although gym owners will hate me for saying it), and anything else that improves your chances of having a safe workout.
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Physically Incorrect • Your workouts must be repeated at least four times: Although I am a strong advocate of constant change, if you don’t repeat a workout at least four times, you don’t have a frame of reference to ensure progress. Since bodybuilding is a qualitative sport, it’s not easy to gauge progress unless you have a quantitative standard of measurement. Since we know that there is a direct relationship between strength and lean mass, I believe it is imperative for all bodybuilders to aggressively improve and monitor their strength levels. • Your workouts must be progressive: Progression ensures intensity. What I mean by this is, by repeating a workout at least four times as detailed above, the last 2-3 times are going to be very difficult and result-producing. The intensity is guaranteed because you have “raised the bar” so to speak, and you’ll have to summon all of your resources to accomplish the goal. This is far different from simply “working hard” on a series of workouts which have no continuity. We don’t know what’s really in us until we’re pushed to the limit. • Your workouts must be efficient: I’d like to make a case for the drop set in this article. In a “standard” set, the only repetitions that really do you any good are the ones at the end of the set, regardless of how many reps you’re performing. I used to be less enthusiastic about drop sets until my colleague Jerry Telle convinced me that they could be effectively performed starting at very high percentages of 1RM.Telle’s method utilizes a technique I call “wide-spectrum variable-tempo (WSVT) drop sets.” The idea is to carefully warm up to a 23RM set, and then progressively strip off weight so that you can continue all the way down the motor unit spectrum. In this way, you’re fatiguing your highest threshold muscle fibers as well as the medium and low threshold fibers. These WSVT drops can last as long as 4 minutes and believe me, when you finish one, you’ll be convinced too. (Telle presents seminars on his unique methods, called Tellekinetics. For more information, please call 800-5192492). • Your workouts must manage fatigue properly: Since fatigue accumulates over the course of a workout, the sets performed at the end of the workout will be performed with less intensity. For this reason, I structure the majority of my workouts as circuits. To most bodybuilders, circuit training is thought of as a method of integrating resistance and aerobic exercise by performing several exercises in vertical progression (meaning that one performs one set of each exercise until all have been completed, as opposed to finishing all sets of the first exercise before progressing to the second) with little or no rest between exercises. The supposed (and unproven) benefit of this type of high density (work to 113
Physically Incorrect rest ratio) exercise is that the exerciser will improve aerobic and anaerobic functioning at the same time. Unfortunately, this narrow definition has done a disservice to circuit training, and to those who have dismissed this method as an ineffective fringe variant used only by the profoundly unfit as a way of regaining some semblance of fitness. In truth, circuit training has much to offer, even for the advanced, if you'll allow for a slightly broader definition of the term, and a bit of creative application. To illustrate my point, let’s say that you’re training lats and triceps tomorrow, and you’ll perform two exercises for each muscle. Here’s how most people would structure the workout: Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise
1: 2: 3: 4:
Chin-ups Seated Rows French Press Tricep Pushdowns
Using this arrangement, it’s hard to do justice to the last exercises. You’re simply too exhausted from the first two exercises. So instead, let’s arrange the exercises into a circuit: Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise
1: 2: 3: 4:
Chin-ups French Press Seated Rows Tricep Pushdowns
You can perform this workout in two ways: you can do a large circuit where you complete one set of each exercise, and then repeat for the desired number of circuits, or, you can perform the first two exercises back to back until all prescribed sets are completed, and then complete the remaining two exercises. Either way, I rarely use the “station” approach to workouts any longer— it’s just not efficient. • Your workouts must employ a warm-up and cool-down: Boxing fans know that, when a fighter climbs into the ring bone-dry, he’s probably in for a tough night. Bodybuilders can learn a lot from this phenomenon. Warming up is a transition (physical and psychological) from a low level of activation to a much more intense level of engagement. George Carlin once remarked “No one jumps out of the bed first thing in the morning and vacuums the floor!” If you’ve ever experienced not wanting to go to the gym, and you forced yourself to go anyway, only to have one of your better workouts, you can bet that your warm-up was responsible. 114
Physically Incorrect In my experience, most people have a very hard time getting their warm-up right: they either spend FAR too much time and energy, which creates too much fatigue, or they jump immediately to their top weight. The warm-up has two components. The first phase, called the general warmup, is used to elevate body temperature. I suggest using any activity you like, performed in a low intensity, continuous manner, until you break a sweat, which normally takes between 2-3 minutes. I personally like skipping rope. If you have any muscle groups which you know are excessively tight, I’d recommend stretching them now. Don’t stretch aggressively— just enough to loosen up a bit. Next comes the specific warm-up, which simply refers to your “warm-up sets.” The big question is, how many should you do? My rule of thumb for this is to take your top working weight for the first exercise you’ll do (you may have to estimate of course), and perform 2 warm-up sets for every hundred pounds of weight. For example, if you plan to deadlift 315 pounds for 5 sets of five reps, I’d suggest 6 warm-up sets. Incidentally, for some unknown reason, people always seem to think that the last warm-up set must have at least as many reps as the first “work set.” Bad plan, because it’ll create too much fatigue. The last warm-up set should consist of 1-2 reps only— all you’re trying to do here is gauge the proper working weight for your first work set. Warming up for subsequent exercises depends on how similar they are from the first exercise you did. Using the above example, if you second exercise is the bench press, follow the 2 sets per hundred pound rule, since you’ll be training entirely different muscles. However, if you’ll be performing leg curls for instance, it should only require one warm-up set to become mentally and physically prepared for the exercise. Cooling down is simply the reverse of warming up. Spend a few minutes performing some type of light cardiovascular exercise to pump some blood into those hungry muscles and to ramp yourself back down to your “normal” day. If you have short muscle groups, now’s the best time to stretch them. • Your workouts must be placed during the best time of the day: I’d like to make an argument here for early morning workouts. Many people can relate to having the best intentions all day long at work, only to fall into a heap as soon as they get home from their jobs. Before you know it, Seinfeld reruns are looking a lot more attractive than climbing under a 400 pound bar! Getting up at 5 or 6 am for a workout can seem daunting, but it’s actually not that difficult, if you plan for it. Please see my guidelines for improving sleep quality in the March,1998 issue of Muscle Media. After an initial adjust115
Physically Incorrect ment of 4-5 workouts, most people report that they have much more productive workouts than ever before. The Basics of Exercise Biomechanics If you’re a competitive weightlifter or powerlifter, your objective is to find the easiest way to lift a weight— otherwise, you’ll lose. But if you’re lifting to increase muscle mass and strength, your goal is to find the hardest way to lift a weight. This is a difficult concept for people to grasp, because it runs 180 degrees to what your instincts tell you to do. Watching novice lifters confirms this— everything is done with maximum “body English.” My general rule of thumb is that if you can find a way to make an exercise harder, do it. For example, if pausing for a full second at the bottom position of a bench press is harder than “touch and go” style, use the pause. If maximally squeezing your biceps (more than would be necessary to lift the weight) at the top of a curl makes the exercise harder, do it. If crunches are harder on a Swiss ball, use one. Of course, this approach requires that you check your ego at the door. In fact, it has been my observation that the ego is one of the most insidious obstacles to making progress in the weight room. During one of my last workouts, I noticed a trainer giving some advice to a couple who were holding down each other’s butts during leg curls— he suggested that they use their glutes to lift the front of the quads off of the padding, so that they could stabilize their own body during the exercise. As soon as they realized that this would necessitate using less weight, they went back to their former habits. Too bad. Of course, all good personal trainers and strength coaches have come up with their favorite “tricks” to make various exercises more effective. You don’t need a degree in Kinesiology to learn how to develop your own. All it takes is discipline and creativity. Intensity Let’s get one thing clear: you could hire the best strength specialists available to author your training program; you could hire the best nutritionists, use the best supplements, you could even resort to using anabolic steroids, however, if you don’t execute your workouts with all-out ferocity, it’s all for naught. The more experience you have, the more this applies. Now, when I say “intensity,” I don’t mean the sports science definition (i.e., how close you are to 1RM), but instead, the application of effort during workouts. 116
Physically Incorrect There’s an old story about how the Egyptian pharaohs managed the slaveworkers who built the pyramids: 1000 workers were instructed to haul a massive stone block up an incline to the top of the pyramid. At the end of the day, it was brought to the pharaohs attention that they had failed. So the pharaoh had 500 of the workers killed and told the remaining workers to get the job done, or he would kill off half of the remaining workers and they would try again. They accomplished the task. The moral of the story is that often, we think we’re applying maximal effort when in fact we are not. Although both volume and intensity are both components of successful training programs, no amount of volume will compensate for insufficient intensity. If you had to choose between the two, go with intensity. Period. Intensity must be tempered with discipline as well. If you’re on the leg press and allowing your low back to round so that you can get that last rep, you’re not being disciplined. The application of disciplined effort means that you get every rep humanly possible within the confines of perfect technique. Optimizing The Time Between Workouts: The Essentials of Recovery Progress occurs not during workouts, but in the spaces between workouts. Fill these spaces properly, and progress will be swift. The three areas I’d like to specifically address are post-training nutrition, massage, and the concept of active rest. Post- Workout Nutrition & Supplementation Eating properly can be difficult even for very serious athletes, because compared to training, the results are often more subtle and take more time to see. Nevertheless, I’d like to urge you to make a commitment. Right now. Make the decision, based on the fact that you know it’s important, to clean up your diet. Not tomorrow, NOW. A good place to start is your post training nutrition. After a hard training session, your muscles are glycogen-depleted. This means that they are “open for business” to use the words of my colleague Will Brink. What he means is that the muscles will quickly uptake any simple carbohydrates you consume immediately after the workout. The neat thing about this is that you can use a high-glycemic drink to “deliver” creatine, branched-chain amino acids, vitamins, etc., directly into your muscles by taking them with the carbohydrate drink. This is the concept behind EAS’s Phosphagen HP, incidentally
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Physically Incorrect Get Out of the Rut! Ten Powerful Ideas to Get Back on the Road to Progress "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." — Anonymous Despite what many people think, the road to the top isn't usually linear. It's not simply a matter of adding more weight every workout until one day, you wake up looking like a comic book super hero. Instead, the path which leads to the fulfillment of your ultimate potential looks much more like a maze. People who don't understand this fact never reach their true potential— in bodybuilding, or in life. Here's an example of what I mean: About once a year I visit a gym on the east coast where I used to train. Each time I go back, I always encounter a handful of people, who, despite their consistency and longevity, make a mistake common to most people who are not making progress: they NEVER change anything about their training. Each year, they get smaller, fatter, and weaker. In other words, these people are like lab rats in a maze, who, upon reaching a dead end, continue to bump into the wall over and over in a fruitless attempt to reach their goal. Smart lab rats (and athletes) realize that, when faced with a barrier on the path they're on, the answer is to turn back, even if it means going in the opposite direction for a while, and find a new route to the target. So if the path you're on isn't yielding the results you're looking for, consider the following ten suggestions— all of which have helped scores of my clients reach new levels of progress, even in cases when all hope had been abandoned. 1) For the next six weeks, use only exercises which you have not used for at least one year. You do keep a training log, right? OK. Compile an inventory of all the exercises you've used for the past year. If you're like most lifters, this number will be less than 30. Next, pick up a copy of Bill Pearl's Keys to the Inner Universe (available by calling 503-535-3363). Bill knows more exercises for the tibealis anterior than most people know for the entire body. Finally, construct a sixweek training program using only movements you haven't done in at least a year. Better yet, use only exercises you've never done. Prepare for some soreness for the first few weeks. When you're no longer getting sore, change the exercises again. 118
Physically Incorrect I'm not sure why people so commonly rely on such a small variety of movements, given the immense number of available options. I suppose there's a certain comfort in things familiar. However, to the same degree that muscles yawn at familiar movements, they rise to full alert status at unfamiliar ones. 2) Use a clock & metronome. I hope that by now, you understand the importance of monitoring tempo and rest periods. Here's a fun way to do it: Go to a music store and buy an electronic metronome— the kind that emits an audible "click" every second so you don't have to watch it. Now, select two antagonistic exercises. Let's assume you'll perform bench presses and hammer curls, for sets of 5 with a 6 second tempo. Let's also assume you'll start your work sets at exactly 4pm. Time your warm-up to end at about 3:55. Turn on the metronome, and at 4pm, do your first set of five reps on the bench press— if you follow the tempo described above, the set will last exactly 30 seconds. Next, perform the set of hammer curls. Do them any time you want, but at exactly 4:05, you'll do your next set of bench presses. Training this way, you'll be able to perform 10 sets of each exercise in just over 45 minutes— the bench presses will occur every 5 minutes, with the hammer curls done in between these sets. The value of this approach is that it puts a fire under you. How many times have you started a workout, and after a few sets, you start thinking of ways to justify bailing out on the workout? By using the clock, you'll look up, and see the second hand on it's way to 12, and you have to decide what you're going to do. Chances are, you'll jump on the bench for the next set. Other effective exercise parings include pull-ups and lying tricep extensions, front squats and stiff-leg deadlifts, bent rows and dips, and ball crunches and standing calf raises. 3) Put your ego aside and hire an expert coach or trainer. Successful people have a tendency to seek out those who know more than they do, in an effort to learn more. But this requires the ability to put your ego aside for the better good. If you're really interested in improving your abilities, forget what you know— it's already been applied. Find out what you don't know. Let's say you know more than 90% of all fitness trainers and strength coaches. This means that there are still a lot of people who can show you a few tricks. Ask around and find out who's got the best reputation for producing results with their clients. Then pay that person for 12 weeks, even if they don't require you to. Commit yourself. If you learn one thing, it will be worth far more than you paid for it. 119
Physically Incorrect If you're not sure of how to find a great strength coach or fitness trainer in your area, call the International Sports Sciences Association at (800) 892ISSA. They'll be glad to help you find an expert in your town or city. 4) Check your training log for past successes (and repeat!) Think back to a point in your life when you were in your best shape. Then examine your training log for the 12-16 weeks of training that preceded it, and do this training again. Can you use the same poundages or better for the same sets and reps? Without a training log, your workout has no objective— OK, you plan to work hard, but how do you know if you're improving upon your last performance? Busy schedules and daily commitments tend to make you forget last weeks workout, so write it down. If you performed 225 pounds for 5 sets of 3 reps using a 5-0-1 tempo and 2 minutes rests between sets, you can improve upon this in several ways: 1) Increasing time under tension. Each workout, increase the tempo by one second per rep, until you reach 10 seconds per rep. 2) Increase the weight lifted. Keeping all other variables constant, add between 2.5 and 5 pounds to the bar each session, for up to six sessions. After this, use a different exercise for the following 6 sessions. 3) Increase the number of reps per set. This method is useful with exercises where you initially have a low level of strength, such as pull-ups or dips. Using the same load each workout, add one rep per set each workout. Once you reach 12 reps per set, you should then employ more weight and/or slower tempos. 4) Increase the number of sets per workout, up to a maximum of (in this case) 12 sets. For a more thorough treatment of the relationship between sets and reps, I highly recommend Charles Poliquin's new book The Poliquin Principles (available through Dayton Publisher's group at 707-257-2348 or by e-mailing
[email protected]). 5) Increase the range of motion. Using the same load each workout, start with a reduced ROM, say the top 3" of a bench press, working off the pins in a power rack. Each workout, drop the pins one inch, until you reach full ROM. 6) Reduce the rest intervals between sets. This has particularly good results when attempting to improve relative strength. Using the same load, number of reps, and tempo each workout, simply reduce the rest intervals by 10 seconds each workout. Once you get down to 30 seconds rests between sets, 120
Physically Incorrect increase the weight load and the rest intervals, and start again. 7) Use "stutter" or interrupted sets. Rather than performing a continuous set, you can select a heavier weight, and rest briefly (5-10 seconds) between each rep. Sometimes, two or more methods of progression are used simultaneously. For example, from workout to workout, you may choose to add both weight and reduce rest between sets. This is usually employed in situations where a trained athlete is coming back after an extended layoff, and is able to make rapid improvements from workout to workout due to his extensive training experience. My point is that there is always a way to continue improvement— don't limit yourself to the obvious (and limited) method of simply adding weight to the bar. 5) Do the opposite. On my favorite episode of Seinfeld, George Costanza makes a remarkable discovery: he finds that in any given situation, doing the exact opposite of what he usually does leads to unprecedented success. In one instance, he meets a gorgeous young woman, and after he tells her that he's unemployed, lives with his parents, and got fired from his last job for sleeping with the office cleaning girl, the young woman becomes infatuated with him. While this approach is unlikely to yield much success in your dating life, it does work with training. The vast majority of us tend to cling to an extremely narrow pattern of training habits for long periods of time. So, logically, if whatever you're doing is taking you nowhere, what's the risk in doing adopting a VERY different approach? There are endless applications of this concept. Here are a few to get you started: • If you're a free weight advocate, use machines. Really. Not forever. Maybe for 4-6 weeks. Just don't tell Paul Chek or Jerry Telle about it. • If you're from an Olympic-lifting background, give more standard bodybuilding methods (i.e., higher reps, slow tempos, short rests) a try for a while. • If you're always used multiple sets, give one-set-to failure an honest run for a month or so. You'll be surprised how much hard work you can do in such a short period of time, leaving time an energy for the rest of your life. 121
Physically Incorrect • Almost all exercises start with the eccentric phase. So for 3 weeks, do all your exercises with the concentric phase first. For example, with squats, set the bar on low pins in a rack, duck under the bar, and lift the weight. Return to the pins, pause long enough to eliminate any eccentric muscle tension, and repeat. You'll be shocked at how weak you'll be compared to the "normal" way of lifting. 6) Accept the fact that nutrition and supplementation DO make a difference The relative value of training versus nutrition has been debated ever since the day Milo of Crotona lifted his first calf. Some say nutrition is 90% of the battle. Others say training is 90% (there's a math joke in here somewhere, but it's not coming to me). The truth is, if you don't support your training efforts with optimal nutritional practices, you'll never. EVER, come close to your potential. The most common errors include excessive processed carbs, insufficient protein and fat, and inadequate hydration. Once you see the light with regards to eating right, the next step is planning and preparation. When 3pm rolls around and it's time for your next meal, do you have something planned, or will you simply "wing it."? Planned meals tend to be healthier than improvised ones. Perhaps the greatest value in protein shakes, nutritional bars, and similar products, is that they make it easier to eat well when time is tight and you're not up to cooking a meal. "Individuals tend to mis-interpret the definition of a snack." says Phil LeClair, staff nutritionist of Bio-Foods, Inc., based in Carpenteria, California. "A snack should be a smaller, planned nutrient-dense meal— not a bag of potato chips and a soda you grab when you're so hungry you're about to feint. In addition to convenience, select 'meal' replacement powders and bars are excellent snacks because they produce a favorable glycemic response. Unlike their high-carbohydrate, low-fat counterparts, they are formulated with moderate amounts of carbohydrate and contain more protein and fat (those companies whose powders lack fat often recommend adding some in the form of flax oil). This provides satiety and stabilizes energy levels for an extended period of time— characteristics consistent to those found in a well-balanced whole food meal." While many "ergogenic" supplements are highly questionable for most people, a few— particularly creatine (preferably in a high-glycemic carrier solution), HMB, and antioxidants— are standard fare among serious bodybuilders. Use them. 7) Get Involved in an athletic activity aside from bodybuilding/lifting Most bodybuilders take the concept of specificity a bit too literally. While too much extracurricular athletic activity can be detrimental, so can too little. 122
Physically Incorrect Most people take advantage of less than 1% of the huge array of available movement patterns. When people pursue very limited patterns of training for long periods of time, they end up injured. According to Dr. Sal Arria, Executive Director of the ISSA, "Variation in your training program is a valuable tool to avoid overuse syndrome in sports. ALL activities can cause overuse injuries if repeated often enough, including weight training. Knowing how to strike the ideal balance between specificity and variety allows you to make continued progress over extended periods of time." Although many bodybuilders avoid outside athletic activities in an effort to conserve energy, a moderate amount of swimming, cycling, skating, martial arts— pick what you like— actually helps to facilitate recovery by loosening up micro-adhesions and increasing blood supply to muscle and connective tissues. And if you're looking to get leaner, spending a few hours a week in one of these activities can make a very significant difference by burning calories and elevating your metabolism. 8) Take some time off News flash: If you stop lifting for a month, you won't begin to resemble a bulimic triathlete. In fact, a very common phenomenon happens to almost every competitive bodybuilder at one point or another: they look flat and strung out the day of the show, and then, as they rest and begin to eat normally again, they look fantastic the week or two after the show. This is in part due to a phenomenon called Type IIB fiber conversion. When trained, Type IIb fibers seem to "convert" or take on the characteristics of the slower Type II and Type I fibers. Some theorists suggest that the Type IIb's are "emergency" fibers that only contract under conditions of unusual stress, and that once this happens, they undergo conversion, for unknown reasons. Given several days of rest, however, these fibers re-emerge, making you look (and feel) better than ever. Just as importantly, occasional planned layoffs help you to psychologically as well. Everyone would agree that if you never need to end a set, the weight isn't heavy enough. I'd take this a step further and say that if you never need a layoff, you aren't training hard enough. From my experiences, most people should take between 4 and 8 weeks off per year, ideally in one week intervals. 9) Use training programs from muscle magazines. A few years back, I noticed an unusually large number of people performing deadlifts in the gym I trained in at that time. It turned out that Ironman magazine had run a feature article on deadlifting that month.
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Physically Incorrect The next month, I noticed several people doing one-arm seated rows. Sure enough, another magazine had a feature on back training secrets of the current Mr. Whatever. I used to think is was comically naive to follow these programs every month, but now I don't. Even if it's a goofy program that violates every known principle of training, you'll only be doing it for a month, and if it's different than what you've been doing for the past 15 years' I'll bet you'll make progress on it. A word of caution, however: my sources tell me that Poliquin is planning a piece on plyometric kegel training for next month's issue of Muscle Media, so you may want to wait a while before you employ this suggestion. 10) Learn and practice optimal exercise technique I frequently get calls from people who want to hire me to write training programs for them. These people make the mistake of thinking that as long as they are on a great program, they'll make great progress. However, if your hams are sore after a bench press session, you're not going to derive any benefit from any program. I once saw two individuals, one spotting the other on barbell curls. Their form was so bizarre, I couldn't tell who was supposed to be the lifter and who was supposed to be the spotter. Of course, leading experts often disagree on what constitutes good form. The point is, investigate, learn, take seminars, buy videos, experiment, find a mentor. Keep an open mind. If you're a competitive weightlifter or powerlifter, the objective is to find the easiest way to lift a weight. But if you want bigger muscles, the objective is to find the hardest way to lift a weight. In general, any posture or practice which makes the exercise harder to perform tends to be a sign of good form. For example, when performing hammer curls, many trainees allow their thumbs to contact the inner aspect of the dumbbell. This allows you to relax your grip, as opposed to keeping your hand directly at the center of the handle. Lastly... The aforementioned suggestions have a common theme— change. Variation permits progression. For example, if you perform a barbell bench press every six days, after a certain number of workouts, you'll be unable to increase your training load for that exercise, and muscular growth will stall. But if you then switch to say, dumbbell incline presses, you'll be able to increase your training load for another series of workouts, and hypertrophy will continue once again. Because there are an almost infinite number of ways you can manipulate your training schedule (notice I'm not using the word "routine"), there is no logical reason to ever hit a plateau.
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Physically Incorrect Slow Versus Explosive Lifting: The Controversy Continues Author’s note: This subject is a staple of mine obviously...it’s interesting to compare this with similar articles I’ve done on the topic. "Injuries are not caused by methods per se, but by the inappropriate, premature, and/or excessive application of methods." — The Author In all the years I've been involved in sports conditioning, I've never seen an issue with as much longevity and potential for heated debate as the question of whether or not it is necessary, safe, and or effective to perform "explosive" or "ballistic" movements in the weight room. If you're active on the internet, you'll discover endless, passionate (and often, ugly) confrontations between those who advocate slow lifting speeds (please see sidebar entitled "Is HIT Dead?"), and those who espouse so called explosive training techniques, such as Olympic lifting and it's derivatives, and plyometric training methods. While it is true that explosively-performed (i.e., high velocity) repetitions can be potentially more dangerous than low velocity movements, it's just as true that heavier weights, since they put more tension on the musculoskeletal system, are potentially more dangerous than lighter weights. So it really becomes an issue of using the right tool for the right job. Remember— in order to train a biologic system, you must apply stress to that system. Too much stress leads to injury; too little leads to little or no effect; just the right amount leads to a training effect. As you read this article, please refer to the sidebar which outlines the more technical terms used herein— these terms are often used inappropriately, which leads to even more confusion. Also, please resist the human instinct to either agree or disagree with the statements I will make. Instead, simply listen. Observe. Correlate the material to your own experiences. In this way, you'll give yourself the best opportunity to come to an intelligent decision regarding this issue. What is Training? Training involves the exposure of a biologic system to the systematic application of increasing stress at a frequency, intensity, and duration below that system's maximal tolerance limit, which, over time, causes a resultant increase in that system's tolerance limit (1). Different training methods cause different adaptations. For example, sets lasting between 20 and 70 seconds seem to promote hypertrophy better than sets of greater or lesser duration (2). Sets performed with incomplete rests
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Physically Incorrect develop anaerobic capacity through a greater proliferation of capillaries in the muscle(s) being trained (3). High repetition sets develop Type I (slow twitch) fibers, while low repetition sets with heavy weight challenge Type II (fast twitch) fibers. Long-term performance of an exercise which takes a muscle through less than it's full range of motion promotes a shortening of that muscle, while chronic use of exercises which take the muscle through it's full range of motion encourage the muscle to become longer (4). These examples of the specificity principle strongly imply that the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems are capable of adapting to explosive movements just as they are capable of adapting to any other type of stimuli, provided— is this is the real key to understanding this issue— that the athlete moves through an appropriate series of progressions which allow a sequential exposure to a gradually increasing stimulus. If you skip any part of this progression, or if you progress too quickly, injury may result as you exceed the body's "maximum tolerance threshold" to that stimulus. Defining the Issue Before we proceed further, please appreciate that this issue is a difficult one to analyze, since there are several ways to lift a weight. For example, powerlifting is not normally considered an "explosive" event, since at 1RM levels, the bar moves very slowly, due to its mass. Nevertheless, the lifter is attempting to maximally accelerate the bar. So, are we discussing the actual speed of the lift, or the attempt to maximally accelerate the weight (even if the implement speed is low to to its mass)? Also, we must distinguish between lifting weights at a fast tempo, and lifting weights in an accelerative manner (increasing the speed over the duration of a repetition). Further, are we speaking of lifting light to moderate weight, or heavy weights? For instance, when performing the deadlift, using a fast lifting speed with a light weight would simply reduce both the tension, as well as the time under tension, of the involved musculature, leading to a compromised training effect. However, when deadlifting a challenging weight, you stand a better chance of making the lift if you attempt to accelerate the bar. It is important to understand that this is a smooth acceleration, not a rapid "jerk" on the bar, which would in fact, increase the likelihood of injury. Incidentally, I define "good form" a bit differently than most. If you enter a workout with pre-determined parameters such as number of sets and reps, tempo, optimal body alignment, range of motion (which may be complete or partial) length of rest periods, and you maintain these parameters, you're using "good form." So for example, you may set out to use a 2 second tempo, which is relatively fast (and may or may not be safe, depending on the exercise, your experience, the weights being lifted, and a host of other factors). 126
Physically Incorrect However, if you set out to do a 4 second tempo, and due to fatigue or inattention it ends up being a 2 second tempo, this shows a lack of control, which in my opinion, heightens the potential for injury. So, although many people cite the dangers of "fast" or "explosive" lifting, I hope you can now appreciate that the issue is far more complex than most people consider. During this article, I will make reference to explosive, ballistic, and accelerative lifting techniques, in an effort to cover the various possible methods. Is Accelerative Activity an Inherent Characteristic of Human Movement? The phenomenon known as the stretch-shortening cycle (or SSC) strongly hints that the body is in fact designed for ballistic and accelerative stress (5). To illustrate this concept, I'll ask you to imagine the act of throwing a baseball, overhand style. You grab the ball, extend your throwing arm behind you, and, just as the arm nears complete extension (the eccentric portion of the throw), you rapidly reverse the motion (the concentric phase) and release the ball. Now, just as an experiment, extend the arm back, and pause for three seconds before you throw. It's intuitively obvious that the second throw, aside from feeling totally unnatural, will travel much slower and result in a shorter throw. When you throw (or jump, hit, etc) correctly, the musculo-tendinous unit stores potential kinetic energy during the eccentric phase of the movement. At full stretch, the muscle begins its reversal into the concentric phase. If you use proper timing (the "switch" between eccentric and concentric must be very rapid), you can recover all that potential energy and return it during the concentric phase. If you wait-even for a split second— the energy will dissipate. A simpler way to visualize the SSC is to imagine the muscles as elastic bands that stretch during eccentric activity, and contract during the concentric portion of the movement. (Incidentally, plyometric training— usually consisting of various jumps and throws, are designed to train the elastic potential of the musculoskeletal system.) If you watch people carefully in various situations, you'll notice that, whenever there is an option to accelerate a load, people will take that option. On stairclimbing machines, people will, especially as fatigue sets in, tend to step in a bouncy, choppy manner. When a heavy box must be lifted from the floor to a high shelf, a person will accelerate the box throughout the lift. Further, the motor cortex will normally choose a movement pattern where more muscle groups can participate in the effort, in order to conserve energy and avoid dangerous levels of stress to any single muscle involved in the movement.
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Physically Incorrect Optimal Progression Ensures Safety Now the question becomes "If this is how muscles work in everyday activities, should we train muscles this way?" My colleague Paul Chek often asserts that "First isolate, then integrate." What Paul means by this is that before asking the chain to produce high levels of force, one should first strengthen each link of the chain— especially the weakest links. When training a link, you must "isolate" that link— in other words, create a movement or exercise where associated links have no ability to assist in that movement. Since muscles are the links in any kinetic chain, another way to view this progression is to "First, train muscles, then train movements." Either way you choose to conceptualize it, most accelerative lifting movements (such as modified Olympic lifts such as power cleans & snatches, pushjerks, jumps, throws, etc.) involve large numbers of muscles. Therefore, if these individual muscles are brought to maximum strength levels prior to accelerative, multi-joint movements, the athlete lessens the potential for injury. However, if any link in the chain is relatively weak, that link would logically have a greater potential for injury during any explosive type exercise that involves it. As an example of the proceeding progression, an athlete wishing to perform power cleans might spend 6-9 weeks developing strength in the quads, hamstrings, spinal erectors, trapezius, glutes, scapular retractors, and gastrocs, and then gradually switch to more explosive training methods, while maintaining the strength of the individual muscle groups, using a reduced volume (about 30 to 50 percent) of work. In my experience working with Olympic weightlifters, I have used various permutations of this progression and have never witnessed a serious injury. A recent study by Brian P. Hamill (please see sidebar entitled Multi-Sport Comparative Injury Rates) collaborates my observations (6). In his analysis of statistics derived from surveys and competitions, Hamill found that competitive weightlifting is safer than many other sports, including soccer, recreational weight training, and (believe it or not) badminton. In his analysis, Hamill suggests that qualified supervision is the most important precondition for safe participation in both competitive weightlifting and recreational weight training. Should Bodybuilders Perform Ballistic, Explosive, or Accelerative Weight Training? Legions of successful competitive bodybuilders have achieved their goals without using these techniques. However, it has been my experience that many top physique stars have achieved their success in spite of their training methods and habits, not because of them. When you have a superior somatype and a favorable hormonal system to support it, and when you have 128
Physically Incorrect a superior ability to train hard on a consistent basis, you don't need to sweat the details. Recreational pharmacology should be factored in, also. But let's assume that you're at least the fourth generation of your family to stand upright. Let's also assume you have a job, and limited chemistry skills. Let's further assume that your training program could benefit from a bit of variation, and even some fun. If you fit this profile, and if you employ qualified supervision (I'd recommend calling the United States Weightlifting Federation at 719-578-4508 in order to find a qualified weightlifting coach in your area), I would urge you to explore these methods. The downside? For starters, HIT Jedis will call you a fool. Also, you may abandon bodybuilding for the sport of Olympic weightlifting. You also run the risk of slow twitch fiber atrophy, as your Type II fibers hypertrophy to unprecedented size. Finally, you may suffer guilt pangs as you find yourself actually enjoying training again. On balance, I'd say it's worth the risk. Is "HIT" Dead? For years, the most vocal faction of coaches and athletes in opposition to explosive lifting techniques has been known as "HIT" an acronym meaning "High Intensity Training." The HIT doctrine took root through the teachings of Arthur Jones, and has been furthered by Mike Mentzer, and several collegiate strength coaches. HIT has traditionally favored single set, low-speed, machine based movements, and has been vehemently opposed to multi-set periodized approaches, explosive lifts and plyometrics, and free weight exercises. Recently, however, the HIT "Jedi" (the self-appointed term for adherents of the HIT philosophy) have all but merged with the mainstream on issues of number of sets, repetition ranges, and the use of free weights. They remain steadfast on the of explosive lifting techniques, however. In the recently released HITFAQv2.0a , the section describing "proper form" advises "raising and lowering the weight in a deliberate, controlled manner." The FAQ continues "Anytime, anyone, be they Mr. Universe, or whomever, tells you to move a weight fast, in an 'explosive' style, just walk away. That person is a fool." (I always thought that anyone who took comfort in applying blanket statements to a wide range of circumstances was a fool, but maybe I've got it wrong!) Important Terminology 1) Torque: the effectiveness of a force to produce rotation of an object about an axis (7). Measured as the product of force and the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the axis of rotation. The SI (International System) unit of torque is the newton-meter (N.m)
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Physically Incorrect 2) Force: that which changes or tends to change the state of rest or motion in matter (7). Force may increase or decrease the velocity of an object. The SI unit of force is the newton (N). 3) Work: the product of an expressed force and the distance of displacement of an object, irrespective of time (7). The SI unit of work is the joule (J). To measure work, you would multiply the force applied by the distance the force was applied over. 4) Power: the rate of performing work (7). The SI unit of power is the watt (W). To measure power, you would 5) Velocity: a change in either the speed or direction of an object, or a change in both the speed and direction of an object (8). Most people use the term velocity to describe a change in the speed of an object. 6) Explosive strength: One of two elements of speed strength (power)— the ability to apply a maximal force against an external object (such as a shot put or barbell), or ones own body, as in sprinting or jumping, in minimum time (9). 7) Ballistic: Infers movement which is accelerative, of high velocity, and with actual projection into free space (10). Ballistic activities include throwing and jumping. Multi-Sport Comparative Injury Rates Sport Injuries (per 100 participation hours) Schoolchild soccer 6.20 UK Rugby 1.92 South African Rugby 0.70 UK Basketball 1.03 USA Basketball 0.03 USA Athletics (Track) 0.57 UK Athletics 0.26 UK Cross-country 0.37 USA Cross-country 0.00 Fives 0.21 P.E. 0.18 Squash 0.10 USA Football 0.10 Badminton 0.05 USA Gymnastics 0.044 UK Tennis 0.07 130
Physically Incorrect USA Powerlifting 0.0027 USA Tennis 0.001 Rackets 0.03 USA Volleyball 0.0013 Weight Training 0.0035 (85,733 hrs) Weightlifting 0.0017 (165,551 hrs) References: 1) Gross, J., Fetto, J., & Rosen, E, . Musculoskeletal Examination, 1996. Cambridge, Blackwell Science, p.p.5. 2) Poliquin, C., The Poliquin Principles, 1997, Napa, Dayton Publisher's Group, p.p. 24 3) Fleck, S.J., & Kraemer, W.J., Designing Resistance Training Programs, 1987, Champaign, Human Kinetics, p.p. 58. 4) Komi, P.V (Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport (1992). London. p.p.29 5) Komi, P.V (Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport (1992). London. p.p.169 6) Hamill, B.P., Relative safety of weightlifting and weight training. J. Strength and Cond. Res. 8(1);53-57.1994. 7) Knuttgen, H.G., Force, Work, and Power in Athletic Training. Sports Science Exchange. 8(4). 1995. 8) Norkin, C.C., & Levangie, P.K. Joint Structure & Function. F.A. Davis Company (1992), Philadelphia. p.p.17. 9) Kurz, T. Science of Sports Training. Stadion (1991), Island Pond. p.p. 85 10). Kraemer, W.J. & Newton, R.U., Muscle Power. Muscular Development. March, 1995, p.p. 130-131.
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Physically Incorrect Fitness Follies (Originally published in Muscle Media 2000 magazine) Author’s note: This article really was prompted by my observations during a training session at Santa Barbara Gym & Fitness Center. If you ever get a chance to see the original article in Muscle Media 2000, take a look at the illustrations, which are actually amazingly accurate! Don't expect the usual "beginning, middle, and end" format for this one. I just need to vent. I didn't invent this concept— just want to add another chapter to the ongoing saga. And before I unleash, I want to make one thing clear: I'm far from perfect. I sometimes sacrifice perfect form to get another rep. I continue to train muscles which I know are already too developed, I should stretch more, etc.,etc. I'm very much like everyone who's reading this: I love to train and am trying to learn everything I can along the way. But what I'm about to get into is beyond occasional lapses of bad judgment. It ranges from people who should know better, to people who do know better. It covers the gamut from stupidity to unethical conduct. Denise Austin on Hamstring Training OK, Last week, I'm in the waiting room of my massage therapist, Dr. Deborah Holtzman. So I pick up an issue of Total Fitness magazine. Fitness superstar Denise "You can do it!" Austin is answering a question from a reader who is trying to reduce the cellulite around her thighs. After a few perfunctory suggestions, Ms. Austin advises "And be sure to work your hamstrings (the muscle which runs from your ankle to the top of your rear"). OK, I'm not looking for origins and insertions, just maybe try to get somewhere in the same universe! Wow! My training partner Phil LeClair has been egging me to train with him in a commercial gym (I train myself and my clients in private settings, and haven't been in a gym for a few years). In the course of one 55 minute workout, here is what I observed: 1) The floor trainer has a client performing upright rows. He's wearing a massive powerlifting belt which is about 8" thick in back. Struggling to lift 35 pounds, the client is rounding his back, shrugging, and flexing his neck to the point where he's looking at his feet. The bar never gets closer than 5" from his body. He has so much trouble balancing himself, the trainer puts his back up against the wall "to stabilize" him. 132
Physically Incorrect 2) Another lifter is performing a movement I have never seen— a pseudo dumbbell alternating front raise, but with maximum body English and fast, fast, fast. He carries the dumbbells to arm's length overhead at the top of each rep. Phil explains to me that this particular person does this exercise "every day." 3) A woman is performing stiff-legged dead lifts in a manner which will grind her spine down to a fine powder in 8 weeks. She has hyper-extended knees, a round back, and is looking through her legs at the bottom of each rep. She's using light weights, apparently so she won't "bulk up." 4) At the squat rack, two guys in their early 20's are squatting, I think. Every known technique recommendation is violated— round backs, heels off the floor, looking down, light-speed descents, knees bowing inward, industrialstrength belts, you name it. You'd think the fact that their arms are bigger than their quads would clue them in to their poor habits, but no such luck. 5) Another trainer is overheard telling his client "High reps are for definition, low reps are for bulk." (Please pause with me for about 20 seconds for the full effect to set in). Another gem: "Never do more than one set." People, has anyone ever heard of the International Sports Sciences Association? Please call 800-892-4772 and enroll in a certification program. Please, please, please. (ISSA members have unrestricted telephone and email access to me, for what it's worth— what a great deal, eh?!) And don't stop there— educate yourself in any way you can. Incidentally, everyone I just mentioned is probably having a good laugh about my training session. I can just hear it "What an idiot! The guy was doing chins, and it was taking him like 4 seconds to lower himself! I could do it in .5 seconds on my very first day!" Info-mercial Hell Muscle Media readers already know that I really like training on a Swiss ball. Please don't label me though— I use all manner of machines, free weights, sprinting, medicine balls, you name it. Anyway, back to my free catharsis: there is a new info-mercial gadget out called the "Power Dome." This is essentially a Swiss ball stripped of its usefulness, at ten times the cost of a normal Swiss ball. The ball is firmly embedded in a molded plastic base, which makes it as stable as a Nebulae leg press. The Power Dome also features an elastic band attached to a handle on each side, which I 'm guessing allows you to do "more exercises than you can do in a gym with over $300,000 worth of equipment in only three minutes a day." The info-mercial demonstrates the supposed dangers of "real" Swiss balls by showing a model 133
Physically Incorrect trying to sit on top of one, and then losing her balance and falling in a heap on the floor, ala Chevy Chase in the snow saucer scene in Christmas Vacation. Look— not everyone's a Paul Chek, but if you can't even sit on top of a ball (a skill than any 3-tear old child does routinely), you're in for a world of hurt in everyday life! Here's another notable info-mercial— the "Smart Gym." This term should be in Webster's under "Oxymoron." The Smart Gym is another rendition of the classic elastic cords attached to the doorjamb idea. Only now, they show it being used by human Barbies with the post-modern body composition of 55% lean mass, 35% bodyfat, & 10% silicone. As you might expect you can do ANYTHING on the Smart Gym, as the models demonstrate: you can water ski, run, punch, squat, you name it. One of the newest devices is called "Slam Man." This is a self-standing mannequin that you punch like a heavy bag. It's funny, because they show these fairly large guys punching the Slam Man, but they have to pull their punches so as to not topple the mannequin. In one of the more memorable pitches, one of the actors says "Boxers know how to lose weight, because they have to be able to make their weight class for the fight." You know what? Anorexics know how to lose weight too. Since the Slam Man cannot be folded away under your bed, I predict dismal sales. By the way, there is an informercial out there for a product I really like— the Total Gym. I have trained on this unique device at Paul Chek's Center for Health & Performance and it allows several unique exercises which are not available on any other type of equipment. Stop the Insanity! The other day I'm driving to train a client of mine, and I come across Susan Powder's new radio talk show (Susan Powder is the former 280lb alcoholic/fitness guru who's motto is "Stop the Insanity!"). On the show, Susan tells her audience "If you eat fat, you get fat— period!" Wait till Will Brink finds out that virtually all of his nutritional recommendations will now fall under close scrutiny as a result of Powder's recommendations! Too bad— all those years conducting nutritional research at Harvard down the drain. Fitness Facts & Fallacies I teach several seminars every year for the International Sports Sciences Association— may of these are for aspiring and current personal trainers. So the concept of fitness is one that is near and dear to my heart. And to expand on this topic a bit, it's amazing how many misconceptions people have on health, fitness, and sports. 134
Physically Incorrect Most people consider these terms to be synonymous, which always just amazes me. For example, if fitness is your primary objective, trying to become an elite athlete may not be the best route. In other words, putting 800 pounds on your back several times a month or running 15 miles a day isn't the most logical way to be healthy, and it may not even be the best way to get fit. Whenever someone hears that an acquaintance has run such and such a marathon, the immediate reaction is always "Wow! he must be in some shape!" Well, he is for running the marathon, but if his objective was to be an outstanding bodybuilder, he would be in absolutely terrible shape! Fitness is context-dependent. Also, fitness has nothing to do with how low your bodyfat is, unless you are a competitive bodybuilder. In fact, for some sports, having a bit of extra pudge is a definite advantage. Is it Aerobic? The whole concept of aerobic and aerobic-related phenomenon drives me completely insane. For example: 1) Aerobics competitions no not involve a high level of aerobic fitness— the routines last about 2-3 minutes, which means a huge contribution from the anaerobic system. I've also wondered why aerobics is the only sport where men wear halter tops, but that's another article. 2) Aerobics classes: Why is it that every time I walk past an aerobic class that everyone is lifting weights? Hey— I'm just asking! My Favorite Mystery Terms Here's a collection of terms and concepts which cause a lot more harm than good: Sculpt: Muscles can only get bigger, or, if you don't train, smaller. That's it. You cannot sculpt a muscle. You surgeon can do this, however. Tone: The word "tone" simply refers to a partial state of contraction, usually an after-effect from some form of muscular work. You can have tone even if you're a fat slob, and as Fiona Apple proves, you can have no tone despite the fact that some of your internal organs are visible beneath your skin. So what value does this word have anyway? Shape: The shape of your muscles is pre-determined at birth, barring surgery. As muscles get larger, their shape changes because there is now more girth in relation to the length, but this change is pre-determined also. You 135
Physically Incorrect cannot shape your muscles. Define: You cannot define a muscle. All you can do is lower your bodyfat so you can see your muscles underneath. "I want to bulk up and get more defined." OK— you want to get bigger and smaller at the same time. Have a nice life! Strength and Conditioning: Strength training is part of the conditioning process. It's like saying "Endurance and Conditioning" or "Flexibility and Conditioning." Cross Training: ALL sports require supplementary training beyond the regular performance of their sport skills. This involves strength training, endurance work, stretching, and so on. So what is the point of even using this term?!!! I love to hear someone say "I'm really into cross-training." I usually say "Oh, like every other athlete who ever lived. How cutting edge!" Finishing Set: Does this mean that you're not finished, or maybe you feel guilty because you haven't worked hard enough, so you do another set to assuage your ego? I have no idea What's the Strangest Thing I Ever Saw in a Gym, You Ask? A man who was a casual acquaintance of mine was asking me advice on finding a good chiropractor. Seems he had been having upper back and neck pain. After I gave him the name of a trusted colleague, I watched him walk over the a Universal bench press station, and my eyes widened as he laid down such that his entire head was off the end of the bench, so that he was staring at the weight stack as he knocked off his reps. No one could make this stuff up. How about the Scariest? Glad I asked. OK, sit down for this one. Pay careful attention— gyms can be dangerous. About 8 years ago, I saw someone try to pick up a plate to place it on the leg press he was using. The poor guy thought it was a 45, but in fact it was a 100, and he only weighted about 155. The plate was resting on the floor, leaning against a wall. As he tried to maneuver the plate to get a better grip, it fell over onto his foot, which was promptly severed. The amazing this is, this guy had endured many severe injuries in combat, and this injury barely phased him. At first I figured he was in shock, but later the emergency team confirmed he was not.
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Physically Incorrect OK, I Feel Much Better Now Wow! I started this article feeling as cranky as H. Ross Perot on election day, but now I feel completely refreshed and positive. Hang on...there's a new infomercial on I think..what the...The Figure 8 ???!!! Oh my God, OK, look, I'll get back with you next month!
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Physically Incorrect Ghandi: Indian God of Bodybuilding Author’s note: If I took all the hate mail I’ve received from this article, I could make another e-book out of it. I hesitated to include it here for fear of offend ing sensitive types, but maybe a brief explanation will help clear the air: this article isn’t poking fun at Ghandi, but rather, at the bodybuilding mentality that values people in direct proportion to their percentage of bodyfat or how much muscle they carry. So jeez, relax already! In the world of competitive bodybuilding, mass is certainly paramount, but it is leanness and vascularity that sets the bodybuilder apart from other athletes. Sumo wrestlers are HUGE, but their physiques don’t draw the envious stares that the cut-to-shreds physique of the top bodybuilder does! A time honored pastime of physique affectionados is the incessant debate as to who was the greatest among these giants among men. Was it Arnold, or perhaps Haney? Few, however, recognize one of the greatest accomplishments in the sport— the absolutely shredded physique of Ghandi, the non violent philosopher/athlete from India. Not huge mind you, Ghandi nevertheless possessed perhaps the leanest physique of all time— making even Clarence Bass look like a slovenly pig by comparison. Ghandi was so lean, in fact, that not only were striations clearly evident (even in his teeth!), but many observers attest that his bone marrow was clearly visible beneath his tissue thin skin! These are certainly qualities that still elude the present day giants, and yet, Ghandi never did any aerobics! His spectacular physique was created through dieting alone. Now, in Ghandi’s day, weight training equipment was crude at best, especially in India. We can only imagine what he would have looked like had he had access to todays high-tech equipment! Ghandi’s diet was unusual, even by present day bodybuilding standards. By using the Hatfield formula for protein requirements, we can surmise that the deceased spiritual leader would have needed 4-5 grams of protein per day to maintain his 67 pound frame. Yet Ghandi felt this was excessive, and usually took in only about 5 grams per week! Ghandi’s diet was primarily carbs, along with some dirt and insect feces. The roughage was there, and Ghandi never had problems with constipation, managing at least one healthy bowel movement per month. Ghandi felt that excessive eliminations would make inroads into his recovery ability, thus causing overtraining. Interestingly, Ghandi was a veracious squatter, with a personal lifetime best of bodyweight+his clothing, for a single forced rep. Non of that sissy stuff for Ghandi— not a tricep kickback or wrist curl to be found. 138
Physically Incorrect Ghandi eventually reached a resting heartrate of 0, an amazing cardiovascular efficiency. He stood as an idol to many, an arch rival to others. He could be bested in the most muscular pose perhaps, but when it came to bodyfat levels and sheer competitive tenacity, Ghandi could best anyone alive
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Physically Incorrect Bench Pressing Your Way to Great Hamstrings Author’s note: I still receive about a dozen e-mails a week from people who don’t realize that this article is a joke. Many write to me angrily, explaining that they have lost all respect for me and so on. Now that you’re in on the joke, enjoy! Gyms across the world are full of dedicated, hard-working trainees searching for physique improvement. Unfortunately, many trainees are make the classic but unfortunate mistake of ignoring proper exercise form. This "cheating" often becomes so rampant that eventually, some exercises actually begin to lose their original meaning. The bench press is one such exercise. Perhaps the finest hamstring exercise known to irondom, the bench press has been performed so haphazardly that, in the quest to pile on as much weight as possible, most trainees cheat so profoundly that they lose sight of the purpose of this movement— massive hams.
This lifters’s hips are far too low for effective hamstring recruitment!
You can observe this phenomenon in any gym: an athlete lays down on the bench, grabs the bar, and instead of bucking the hips up as high as possible he keeps the buttocks down, on the bench during the movement. While this may soothe the ego, one cannot expect to develop massive hamstrings with such poor technique! In fact, when the hips remain on the bench, nearly all the stress falls squarely on the PECTORALS! This syndrome has become so widespread that many neophyte gymgoers actually believe that the bench 140
Physically Incorrect press is a pec exercise— sad, indeed! Personal trainers and gym instructors should teach this exercise properly right from the start. Get those hips UP, and keep them up throughout the movement. Try performing a set with 135 for 15 reps with your hips at least a foot off the bench, and stay up on your toes. The hamstring burn (and frequently, cramping!) will be unforgettable. Regardless of what you may have heard elsewhere, strict form is the key to progress. Of course, some argue that leg curls are the best hamstring exercise. What people fail to realize, however, is that the hamstrings are not only responsible for knee flexion, but also for hip extension. Leg curls are OK, but don't forget to also work the hams from the proximal end (the hip joint) through the use of the bench press. Myths About Grip Spacing Lately, a theory has come into vogue that grip spacing can influence the results produced from a given exercise. With bench pressing, the theory goes that a narrow grip works the inner part of the hamstring, and that a wide grip hits primarily the outer area of the hamstrings. This myth is slow to die, despite all the information that we have to the contrary. Grip width has no real bearing on hamstring development. However, hip elevation does! How high should your hips be? For novice trainees, four to six inches is acceptable, but for advanced athletes, 12 inches must be considered the minimum. Again, for best results, keep your heels up also. Also, have your spotter stand by your feet so that he can give you feedback on your hip elevation. Commonly, the spotter will stand behind the lifter's head where he can't even see the hips, and consequently, serves no purpose at all. Don't ever bench with this type of lazy spotter— you're simply asking for an injury! Assistance Exercises Many trainees prefer the dumbbell bench for working the hams. I advise against this exercise, however, as most find it difficult to raise the hips when working with dumbbells due to balance problems. Also, the increased range of motion seems to throw added stress to the chest and shoulders, making this exercise less effective as compared to the barbell bench. I must also caution against the decline bench press. The angle of the bench in this case prevents you from raising your hips using your own muscular force, making it a rather useless exercise. Lastly, due to the high degree of stress on the lower back caused by the bench press, I Recommend performing neck bridges (as in wrestling), back 141
Physically Incorrect extensions, and good mornings in order to strengthen the spinal erectors. Hamstrings: the Forgotten Bodypart Since we can't see ourselves from the rear, many of us concentrate primarily on the quads (using military presses, upright rows, lateral raises, and so on) and totally neglect the hamstrings. So the next time someone asks you "How much can you bench?", put your ego aside and flash 'em a hamstring shot. They'll never ask again! Next Month: Barbell Curls: the Forgotten Low Back Exercise!
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Physically Incorrect Truth or Fiction? A Look at Bodybuilding Maxims (Originally published in the August 9, 1999 issue of Mesomorphosis) Like all fields of human endeavor, bodybuilding has accumulated a vast collection of maxims— brief encapsulations of truth which are intended to serve as memorable (and often humorous) reminders of the proper way of doing things. So, I thought I’d take a look at some of these time-worn exonerations and see if these "kernels of truth" are worth their weight, or better left unsaid. One short disclaimer: I was not able to identify the authors of these statements, in every case, but wanted to give credit whenever possible. In some cases, I have identified the person thought to be author of a given statement. Any oversights and/or inaccuracies are not intentional. "No pain, no gain" This is perhaps the most classic, most oft-quoted maxim from the world of bodybuilding. It refers to the fact that you have to venture beyond your comfort level while exercising in order to gain beneficial results. Unfortunately, taken literally, this maxim could be more harmful than helpful. It doesn’t take a lot of intelligence to hurt yourself during a workout. It does, however, take a reasonable measure of smarts plus common sense to get results from your training. I also happen to think that most weight trainingrelated injuries are not acute, but long-term damage that you aren’t aware of until it’s too late. I recently saw a photo of extreme fighter Frank Shamrock performing what he called a "power clean" with a grip that was at least 12 inches too wide. In 10 or 15 years I’m sure he’ll wonder why he’s in too much pain to lift anymore. "No brain, no gain" An intelligent counter-point to the above, and I agree: hard training is all but worthless if not conducted intelligently. "They'll bury me big" Translation: "I don’t care if I die in the process, I will do anything to get freaky huge!" It’s unfortunate how so many people will risk their health, career potential, relationships, and pretty much everything else for the one in a bizillian chance that they will ultimately win the Mr/Ms Whatever contest. Self-actualized people, on the other hand, train because of the rewards inherent in the process, not for a result which will probably never come.
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Physically Incorrect "Go heavy or go home" The idea that heavy weights must always be used irrespective of everything else is a mistaken idea, even for competitive lifters. Few athletes have the discipline to maintain correct technique with truly heavy weights. This may explain why Jimmy "the Iron Bull" Pallechia is so popular. A much more refined approach, especially for bodybuilders, is to find how to get the most results with the lightest weights. Case in point: when Olympic weightlifter Joel Senate came to me early this year, I increased his front squat by 26 pounds in 4 weeks by using only lunges— and the most additional weight we used was 20 pound dumbbells! "If the bar ain't bendin' you're just pretendin’" More of the same. I actually think it takes a lot more discipline and fortitude to lift a moderate weight to exhaustion with optimal technique than it does to lift big weights with sloppy form "Refuse to Lose" Sounds nice as long as you’re winning. "Tough times don't last— tough people do" Ditto. "Difficulty is relative to your preparation" I believe the author of this is Dan Millman. I find this to be profound, and illustrative of a methodological approach to training. It isn’t true in the literal sense— some people can never be successful competitive bodybuilders, for instance. But if you’ve identified challenging and realistic goals for yourself, this maxim can serve as inspiration when you have a hard time getting geared up for your next workout. "Train, don't strain" This seems to suggest that you needn’t work hard during exercise. The very definition of training is the regular, planned application of stress for the purpose of causing a desired adaptation. Of course, beginners or de-conditioned people don’t need to push particularly hard at the beginning, so at the most I’ll say that this is wise advice for beginners.
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Physically Incorrect "Stimulate, don't annihilate" This one was often used by Lee Haney on his television show. In order to make progress, you must expose the body to slightly higher levels of stress that it is used to experiencing. I think Haney has captured the essence of this truth quite nicely. "Train for shape, and size will follow" (Sigmund Klein?) The reverse makes more sense. Nevertheless, your muscle shape is genetically pre-determined. You can’t train for shape, no matter what anyone tells you. However, as a muscle becomes larger, it’s shape does change (because now the girth of the muscle is a greater percentage of its length), but that change is pre-determined. Nevertheless, literally every month, you’ll find an article about "peaking" your biceps in some muscle mag. "It's all you!" Whenever I hear someone yelling this in the gym, I always look over to see someone struggling to pull a bar off of his partner. As my colleague Dr. Sal Arria likes to point out, most people can easily lift a 45 pound bar with two pinkies. So the next time you tell your partner that you hardly helped him at all, think again. "I don't want to get too big" (In my best Jerry Sienfeld) Is this really a problem for people? This statement comes predominately from females who put shoulder pads in their blouses. Go figure. Could you imagine enrolling in a course or beginning some new endeavor saying "I’ll do this as long as I don’t become too successful."? Don’t use fear of success as an excuse for not training. "Strength built quickly is lost quickly" In the strength training community, it is generally accepted that high intensity strength training will increase strength quickly, but this strength tends to be "unstable," or quickly eroding. High volume strength training increases strength slowly, but strength gained in this manner tends to be more "permanent." These two observations support the concept of periodization, where a high intensity "peaking" cycle follows a high volume "foundational" cycle of training in order to exploit both types of adaptations. Incidentally, if you have strength trained for many years, you’ll be able to take a few months off, and be able to maintain your strength and body composition quite well. Beginners can’t afford to do this however.
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Physically Incorrect "Quality before quantity" This is a beaut of a universal truth. It applies to a workout just as much as it applies to a year or an entire athletic career. Let’s say that you can perform about 6-7 pull-ups, but would love to be able to do 3 sets of 10 someday. Most people simply try to add reps (quantity) every workout, which usually leads nowhere because it doesn’t make you any stronger. A better approach would be to use lower reps (i.e., higher quality)— say down to 2-3 reps per set (which may require that you use additional weight hooked to a belt), and then gradually, add sets. After 3-4 weeks when you can do in the neighborhood of 10-12 sets of 2-3 reps, try one all-out set for reps and see what happens. I know you’ll be happy with the result! "First isolate, then integrate" (Paul Chek) This is an eloquent statement which applies to the periodization of training. First make the individual muscles strong (concentrating on the weakest ones), then use exercises and patterns which require these muscles to work together in primal movement patterns. As a twist on this, it may not be lack of strength which limits your performance, but inadequate flexibility, endurance, or proprioception. The basic idea is that each muscle must have optimal performance parameters before it can bear its share of the load in complex exercise patterns or sport skills. "There is no joy in victory, no sorrow in defeat" This simply means that you shouldn’t get too caught up in your successes or your failures. If you win, it’s time to step up to the next level. If you lose, you need to re-group, learn from your mistakes, and make a new plan of action. Most people do just the opposite— when they win (or make progress), they shrine off the training program that got them there, and vow to do nothing else for the rest of their lives. When they lose (or fail to make progress), they just shrug it off, and continue to do the same thing that led to failure, but expecting a different result. "Train slow, be slow" I disagree— slow movements will not hurt your speed any more than fast training will hurt your slowness. If anything, movements performed at a slightly lower speed may have an adverse effect on speed. Since no barbell movement can come anywhere near the speed commonly used in most sports, why take the risk? I always smile when I see martial artists and boxers performing fast punches with dumbbells— these "punches" are much slower than unweighted ones, so they don’t make you any faster. And since the weights are so light, they also don’t make you any stronger! 146
Physically Incorrect "If it doesn't kill you, it will make you strong" Or, it might injure you. This is a totally inappropriate statement when applied to training. "Pain is weakness leaving the body" I don’t know where this originated from, but I like it, and it really has a degree of truth, doesn’t it? "Train big, eat big, sleep big" A good philosophy for people wishing to gain weight and who aren’t too wrapped up in their current job. "There's no such thing as overtraining, only undereating and undersleeping" Another way to state the previous maxim. However, it is possible to have a training schedule which cannot be recovered from, particularly if there is insufficient variation for long periods of time. "God made Nautilus machines to keep geeks off barbells" (Mike Burgener). I’m sorry, but I always slip into a grin whenever I hear this one— a guilty pleasure. However, if we’re willing to be honest, machines can have a place in everyone’s training. The problem is when people use machines as "the path of least resistance," because that’s what they are when overused or used for the wrong reasons. Many fitness enterpeneurs have taken the machine psychology a few steps further and have made a lot of money doing so— for example, remember "toning tables"? "Real athletes sit down between their sets; everyone else sits down during their sets" A slam against bodybuilders from the weightlifting community. Weightlifters, bodybuilders, and powerlifters have more in common than they usually realize, however. "Real athletes lift standing up" Another tear-jerker from the weightlifting community. It refers to the fact that the Olympic lifts (snatch and clean & jerk) are performed in a standing position. It’s also a subtle dig against bench pressing, which admittedly has questionable transfer to most athletic and everyday activities.
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Physically Incorrect "Bodybuilders... Big for Nothin!'" Few bodybuilders have so much mass that it impairs their everyday functioning, so this statement has no relevance in my mind. The vast majority of people would do well with more muscle, not less. "7 days without a workout makes one weak." Convenient play on words, but it only applies to beginners. Otherwise, an occasional week off helps more than it hurts. For example, my Olympic weightlifters normally train between 46 and 48 weeks a year. "The difficulty of an exercise is proportional to its value" (Eric Burkhardt) There is enormous truth in this. How rarely I see people squatting, or chinning, or performing step-ups. How common it is to see people making a career out of what they already do best— limber women who concentrate on stretching, thick-chested men who do nothing but bench press. "If you're in the gym more than an hour, you're not training, you're making friends" (Charles Poliquin). Charles is dead-on with this statement. If you are genuinely training, it’s hard to spend much more than an hour at the gym. I find it remarkable that people who use the gym for serious training are considered "hard core," while people who use it for socializing and reading the morning paper are considered much more rational. "Agonize. Don't socialize" (Eric Burkhardt) Another nice way to say the above. "If in doubt, add more weight" No logic here, but what else is new? I’d rather say "If in doubt, congratulate yourself because at least you have some inkling that maybe you’re doing it wrong"! "Do as many as you can, and then three more" An old coaches maxim to get across the idea of maximal effort. However, I must emphasize that your exercise technique should be the same from your first to your last rep. If any aspect changes— speed, range of motion, posture, etc.— it means you hit failure and then found some way of altering your technique in order to complete more reps. The possible exception to this rule 148
Physically Incorrect is when using Tellekinetics, which in effect, is a scientific form of cheating. For more info, please go to www.myodynamics.com "You can't shoot a cannon out of a canoe" This is from Dr. Fred Hatfield, president of the International Sports Sciences Association. He’s referring to the fact that you must have a superior "base" (read: leg strength) in order to be able to exploit your upper body strength. In fact, many top bodybuilders throughout the years have preached heavy lower body work for both lower and upper body gains. "Squats are king of all exercises" No exercise is the King of anything. Squats are a valuable tool for lots of people. However, they cannot be properly performed by others. Over-glorifying one exercise causes others to be ignored. Think of exercises as tools, which have utility when used appropriately in the right situations. "Just do it" I see everyone just doing it...improperly. Odd how such a non-descript little saying became so popular. Conclusion Weight training is not unique with regards to the kinds of proclamations we’ve looked at in this article. Other fields of endeavor have their own pearls of wisdom as well. The trick is to separate the truth from the fiction; to use what is useful and discard the rest.
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Physically Incorrect Creative Applications of Circuit Training (CT): Fatigue Management Strategies for Bodybuilders (Originally published in the May 1, 1999 issue of Mesomorphosis) When I teach acute training parameters in seminars across the USA, a very common question regards which exercise to do first, second, third, etc., in any given workout. Traditional wisdom says to do whatever exercise is most important first, since fatigue accumulates over the course of the workout. While I agree, there is a much more refined way to address the problem of accumulating fatigue, and it’s called circuit training. Of course, whenever one uses the term "circuit training," serious lifters often conjure up images of PACE classes which are used in Gold’s Gym’s across the World. PACE is in fact a form of circuit training, but it’s simply one variant out of hundreds, and it unfortunately leads serious trainees to assume that circuit training is more appropriate for the "chrome & fern crowd" than it is for dedicated, experienced weight trainers. I’m here to tell you that circuit training is a tool that will improve your workouts regardless of your experience level, and I’ll show you exactly how. I don’t care if it’s your first day in the gym, or if you are a dedicated athlete finally closing in on a 500 pound squat, circuit training will get you toward your goals faster than any other alternative. What Exactly is Circuit Training? To most fitness enthusiasts, circuit training (I’ll abbreviate it to "CT" from here on out) is thought of as a method of integrating resistance and aerobic exercise by performing several (9 to 12) exercises in "vertical" progression (meaning you perform one set of each exercise on the workout "menu" until all have been completed, as opposed to finishing all sets of the first exercise before progressing to the second exercise, and so on) with little or no rest between exercises. The supposed benefit of this type of exercise is you'll improve aerobic and anaerobic functioning at the same time. Unfortunately, this narrow definition has done a disservice to CT and to those who have dismissed this method as an ineffective fringe variant used by only the profoundly unfit as a way of regaining some semblance of fitness. In truth, CT has much to offer, for weight trainers at all levels, if you'll allow for a slightly broader definition of the term and a bit of creative application. First, CT is NOT defined by the number of reps per set, the length of rests between sets, the number of exercises performed, or even the exercises cho150
Physically Incorrect sen. It is defined by the fact that you progress from one exercise "station" to another in sequence, until the entire circuit of stations has been completed. You then continue until you have completed the prescribed number of circuits. (Incidentally, "non-circuit training" is any exercise format where you complete all prescribed sets of a particular exercise before moving on to the next exercise.) If you were to conduct a poll of weight trainers, you’d find that between 90 and 98 percent use "non-circuit" training. This is unfortunate, when you consider the enormous benefits of CT, which I’ll describe in detail. Macro and Micro Circuits Within the context of CT, there are actually two distinct ways that you can organize any training session: macro or micro circuits. The macro circuit is what most people mean when they think of CT: you simply perform one set of each planned exercise in the circuit, and then repeat for the desired number of circuits. The is another way to perform CT, however. It’s called micro circuits: here, you break up the circuit into several small circuits of 2-3 exercises each, and then repeat for the desired number of circuits. For example, if you have planned to perform 4 exercises, do the first 2 circuit style until all planned sets are completed, then finish off the second two in the same manner. Benefits of CT No exercise method is perfect of course (if there was such a thing, I would have discovered it by my 13th birthday!), but CT is about as close as you can get. Compared to the alternatives, CT is more efficient, more motivational, and far more versatile. Here’s a quick run-down of CT’s assets: Efficiency CT allows for more work to be done in the same time frame. For example, let’s imagine that you’re performing dumbbell incline presses and close grip lat pulldowns. Let’s further assume that each set takes 30 seconds to complete, and that you’re resting 2.5 minutes between sets. If you perform this workout "non-circuit" style as most people do, you’re getting 2.5 minutes rest between sets of whichever exercise you’re doing.
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Physically Incorrect But if you perform this session CT style, you’d perform one set of incline presses, rest, then do a set of pulldowns, rest, and so on. Here, you’re obtaining 5.5 minutes of rest between two sets of the same exercise! This is more than double the rest, yet your total exercise duration does not increase. Now it is true that you’re still doing a set every 2.5 minutes, but fatigue from different exercises, particularly if they are for different muscle groups, tends to be specific. This means that even though you may still be too fatigued to accomplish another set of the same exercise, you will still be able to complete a set for another exercise. For this reason, CT is clearly a better way of managing fatigue through the workout. If you arrange your exercises stations in antagonistic fashion (i.e., a hamstring exercise is followed by a quadriceps exercise), you’ll further enhance the efficiency of CT through a principle known as reciprocal inhibition: since muscles work in antagonistic pairs, when you perform a set for the agonist (in this case, the hamstring), the antagonist (quadriceps) achieves a better contraction because the hamstrings are too fatigued to oppose it. Motivating For many people, "sampling" from each item on the menu is more satisfying than simply finishing off your swordfish, then your rice pilaf, then your veggies, and so on. Similarly, in a work environment, it’s more productive to alternate between tasks than it is to spend a huge block of time on a single task. Training is no different. Somehow, it’s intrinsically more satisfying to move from exercise to exercise as opposed to "slugging it out" on a single exercise until it’s finished. Versatility CT can be integrated with your favorite training techniques, such as restpause training, drop sets, eccentric training, you name it. You can also use any exercise you wish, including free weights, machines, plyometrics, Olympic lifts, whatever is appropriate given your particular circumstances. CT accommodates all set/rep schemes as well. CT also works well in non-gym environments, such as the high school track (where you can create circuits consisting of sprints, jumps, and throws) or a community park (where your circuit might contain pull-ups, sit-ups, pushups, lunges, short sprints, and so forth).
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Physically Incorrect Drawbacks For all the benefits of CT, there are a few drawbacks as well, but most can be solved with a bit of creativity and imagination. For technical exercises such as the Olympic lifts, which demand a very refined sense of timing and coordination, CT should not be used, at least during competition preparation cycles. This is because the enormous effort and specific coordination involved in executing say, a snatch, would have a negative transfer to something like a clean & jerk when both lifts are performed in CT style. Nevertheless, CT remains an effective training option for Olympic lifters in the early preparatory phase of their training. Another possible problem: in crowded gyms, you may find someone has "stolen" your next station while you performing the last exercise. Although this can usually be solved by simply waiting until the station is available, you can get around this by doing "micro circuits" where you're only going back and forth between two machines. Or, simply make a quick substitution "on the fly," such as substituting a machine bench press for a dumbbell bench press. CT Training for Various Objectives I’ve put together several sample circuits for different objectives such as maximal strength development, lean mass gain, and explosive strength development. Please use these examples as templates from which you can create your own solutions, rather than viewing them as the "Holy Grail" of CT. In other words, when I point the way, you shouldn’t be looking at my finger! CT for Strength Development Although many bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts may be inclined to skip this section, let me remind you that strength and lean mass gain have a symbiotic relationship— they each depend on the other. Think of strength training as developing the neural aspect of the neuromuscular system, and mass training as augmenting the muscular portion of that system— both aspects must be addressed if you want to make maximal progress. When you’re training for maximal strength development, emphasize the following points: 1) Choose multi-joint exercises rather than single joint (or "isolation" exercises). This allows for recruitment of large amounts of muscles, and it will 153
Physically Incorrect also help to encourage better "inter-muscular coordination," or cooperation of various muscles toward the completion of a motor task. Also, multi-joint exercises tend to have larger ranges of motion, and thus, are more suited to maximal strength training because they allow you to accelerate through the "sticking point" of the exercise (discussed below in point #3) 2) Select relatively high intensities— those which permit between 1-4 repetitions per set. TENSION, not fatigue, is the goal when training for strength. Never sacrifice the former for the latter. 3) Accelerate through the sticking point of the exercise. In any loaded movement, it is your strength through the sticking point— that narrow region where your leverages are worst— that really determines whether or not you succeed. 4) Do a relatively high number of sets. Strength training is a form of motor learning, and a key aspect of all forms of learning is practice through repetition. Since strength training requires a low number of reps per set, you’ll need to compensate by using more sets (usually between 3-8 sets per exercise). 5) Keep fatigue to a minimum, both during and between sets. Even though you might be performing 2 reps per set, you’re not reaching failure on the last rep. The idea is to "keep some speed on the bar." Training to failure creates a quick build-up of lactic acid and other waste products which are thought to inhibit the nervous system from engaging high-threshold muscle fibers. With these facts in mind, I normally suggest between 3-5 minutes rest between sets of the same exercise when training for strength. This time frame ensures replenishment of energy stores and dissipation of lactic acid. With CT, you can reduce this suggested rest interval by 50 percent. Smaller, weaker, less experienced lifters should opt toward the lesser end of that range, while bigger, stronger, more experienced athletes should opt for the greater end.
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Physically Incorrect A Three Week CT Program for Maximal Strength Development Here’s an example of how CT can be applied to strength training with fantastic results. I’ve used many variations of this scheme with athletes from many sports, and it never disappoints! Monday 1: Flat Bench Press 2: Stiff-leg Deadlift 3: Seated Low Cable Hammer Curl NOTES: Position a bench perpendicular to a low cable pulley. Attach a triceps rope to the low cable. Sit on the bench and brace your feet against the low support brackets of the cable machine. Grasp the rope with a thumbs up grip, lean back about 45 degrees, stabilize your elbows against your sides, and perform the hammer curl. 4: Machine Seated Row Wednesday 1: Front Squat 2: Military Press 3: Swiss Ball Reverse Trunk Twist 4: Barbell Curl Friday 1: Chins 2: Close-grip Bench Press 3: Dumbbell Shrugs 4: Back Extensions Training parameters and progressions: (Perform all sets in an accelerative style— explode through the sticking point). 155
Physically Incorrect Week one: Perform 4 circuits 4-6 reps per set. Rest 150 seconds between sets. Week two: Perform 5 circuits 3-5 reps per set. Rest 120 seconds between sets. Week three: Perform 6 circuits 2-4 reps per set. Rest 90 seconds between sets. CT for Increased Lean Mass When training for maximal muscle growth, the most important concept is to thoroughly exhaust the muscle being trained. The following guidelines will help ensure that you’re doing it right: 1. Choose a wide range of exercises in order to fatigue the largest possible muscular regions 2. Select a moderate number of repetitions and keep tension on the muscle at all times. This is in stark contrast to the exercise technique I suggested for strength training above, and it is certainly more familiar to experienced bodybuilders. 3. Perform a moderate number of sets— generally between 2-4 per exercise, and normally no more than 16 "work sets" per workout. CT for the Chronologically-challenged This is a personal favorite of mine when time is tight and I need an utterly efficient total body training cycle. There’s barely a gram of muscle that isn’t torched by this program — the next day, you won’t know what part of your body hurts the worst! Monday 1) Pull-up 2) Bench Press 3) Back Squat Wednesday 1) 45-degree Incline Dumbbell Curl
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Physically Incorrect 2) Barbell Shrug 3) Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension Friday 1) Back Extensions 2) Donkey Calf Raise 3) Ball Crunch Parameters: Week 1: Perform 6-8 reps of each exercise, for a total of 4 circuits. Rest 2 minutes between exercises, and 3 minutes between circuits. Use a constant weight for each exercise for all 4 sets. Week 2: Perform 3-5 reps of each exercise, for a total of 5 circuits. Rest 3 minutes between exercises, and 5 minutes between circuits. Use a constant weight for each exercise for all 5 sets. Week 3: Perform 8-10 reps of each exercise, for a total of 4 circuits. Rest 1.5 minutes between exercises, and 3 minutes between circuits. Use a constant weight for each exercise for all 4 sets. CT for Explosive Strength Development Although speed strength training might seem a bit "paranormal" to bodybuilders, it’s a great way to "wake up" your nervous system, and the gains you’ll experience from this type of training will definitely transfer to your more important goals— namely, improving your body composition. Some of these drills are modifications of the classical Olympic lifts, which require some instruction at first. I strongly recommend Art Drechsler’s The Weightlifting Encyclopedia if you’re interested in learning these very productive exercises.
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Physically Incorrect Monday (at the track) 1: Clapping Push-ups 2: 20 yard sprint 3: Seated Low Cable Hammer Curl Wednesday 1: Snatch Pull 2: Push Press 3: Swiss Ball Reverse Trunk Twist Friday 1: Power Clean 2: Close-grip Bench Press 3: Back squats Training parameters and progressions: (perform all sets in an accelerative style— explode through the sticking point) Week one: Perform 5 circuits 3-5 reps per set. Rest 150 seconds between sets. Week two: Perform 5 circuits 3-5 reps per set. Rest 120 seconds between sets. Week three: Perform 5 circuits 3-5 reps per set. Rest 90 seconds between sets. Final Comments I hope I’ve made a strong case for the value of CT in your own training. I’m so convinced of it’s value that CT is a key feature of the strength training programs I write for my clients who pay me to get them in the best possible shape as fast and safely as possible. Why not put the information you’ve just gained into immediate use, and construct a six week CT plan for your next training cycle? I’ll bet my reputation as a strength specialist that it’ll be the most productive six weeks of training you’ve ever experienced!
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Physically Incorrect Mixed Qualities Training for Anaerobic Events (Originally published in the November 1, 1999 issue of Mesomorphosis) The majority of competitive athletes compete in events where a variety of motor qualities must be developed to a great degree. Sports such as judo, bobsled, football, decathlon, boxing, highland games, and nordic skiing (to name only a few) require liberal amounts of absolute strength, power, anaerobic strength endurance, and often, muscular hypertrophy as well. The problem from a programming point of view is, how does one construct a training plan which will facilitate such multi-sided development as efficiently as possible? Jack of All Trades, Master of None? Of course, as a matter of principle, the greater the number of conflicting demands presented in training, the less completely the body will adapt in any single direction. However, the body is capable of making rather impressive adaptations over a wide range of motor qualities if the training plan is wellconceived and executed. Witness for example the multi-faceted physical talents of extreme fighters and the multi-eventers in track & field who are capable of both explosive force application and unwavering endurance capability in the course of a single performance. This program concept is designed to simultaneously increase absolute strength, speed strength, and anaerobic strength endurance. For readers who are "mixed qualities" athletes and who possess a significant deficit in any one of these qualities (absolute strength for example), then a more appropriate course of action would be to undergo a program which targets that particular motor quality until it is brought to acceptable levels. Only at that point should this program be considered [Note: I have published programming concepts for all of these qualities for Mesomorphoisis, either in articles (see endurance and speed strength articles) or in my column, Staley on Strength). Determining Appropriate Motor Qualities Balance As a brief introduction to determining whether you need more strength or endurance for your particular event, let me present a few examples. 1) You are a football lineman capable of bench pressing 450 pounds and squatting 600 pounds (indicators of good absolute strength). Further, you possess a 34" vertical jump (indicator of good speed strength) at a bodyweight of 255. Nevertheless, you are worthless after the second quarter. This indicates a lack of strength endurance. Please see A Primer on Endurance Training for more information on developing this quality.
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Physically Incorrect 2) You are a decathalete with an excellent time on 1500, but a poor result in the shot put. This indicates acceptable strength endurance but relatively poor absolute and/or speed strength. Please see "Quality Strength for Human Athletic Performance," for more information on the development of speed strength, and Staley on Strength for an absolute strength development strategy. 3) You are a professional boxer with exceptional knockout capabilities, IF you get the job done within the first 3 rounds. If the fight goes past round 3, you have all you can do to keep your stomach contents where they belong. More endurance capacity is needed (anaerobic strength endurance by the way, NOT aerobic I can't tell you how many times I've worked with fighters who, misinterpreting breathlessness as a need for mor— you guessed it— aerobic endurance, go out and run 15 miles a day, which obviously further decreases any punching power they might have had!). Please bear in mind that I'm greatly simplifying things here in an effort to clarify my point— for example, decatheletes often consciously decide to "sacrifice" either the 1500 or the shot put event (depending on what they are least suited for) in an attempt to streamline their training— such strategic decisions are well beyond the scope of this article. Simultaneous Versus Sequential Approach When programming for multifaceted motor development, one can select from two basic choices: simultaneous development, where several qualities are trained together within the space of a workout, a week, or a month, etc., or a sequential strategy, where different qualities are trained one at a time, usually in 2-4 week training cycles. One should avoid extremism when evaluating these strategies, however: it is possible to find a "middle road" between them, which is in fact the essence of this article. For example, a superficial examination of the two macrocycles presented here might lead one to assume there is scarcely any difference between them. A closer look, however, reveals that the second macrocycle has a significantly lower volume of higher intensity work, in favor of lower intensity loads which are moved as acceleratively as possible. Additionally, the strength endurance sets in the first macrocycle are performed with higher intensity weights and less repetitions than the corresponding sets in the second macrocycle. Don't make the mistake of working only absolute strength for 3 weeks, then only speed strength for the next 3 weeks, and so on— by the time you reach a phase dedicated to your "target" motor ability," the foundational qualities you worked on earlier will have long since eroded! A rule of thumb regarding this principle is that you always work all relevant 160
Physically Incorrect motor qualities simultaneously, but in different proportions, according to where you happen to be in the training cycle (relative to the next competitive outing). Periodization Model (15 Week Macrocycle) Phase I: Base Training (5 weeks— not represented here) Phase II: Absolute Strength Training (5 weeks) Phase III: Speed Strength Training (5 weeks) As stated earlier, coaches and athletes often come across periodization models such as the above, and end up profoundly misinterpreting them. The names of these phases simply reflect the motor quality which is given primary emphasis during that phase. Phase I is appropriate for athletes who are out of shape and/or who have not trained consistently for a significant period of time. Athletes already in good condition may minimize or eliminate this phase. Though not represented in this article, Phase I consists of slightly lower intensity and volumes respective to Phase II— otherwise, it is structured much the same as the phases described here. Since absolute (or maximal) strength is considered the root quality for both speed strength (1) and strength endurance (2), Phase II is directed toward maximizing that quality. Finally, Phase III addresses speed strength capacity, while a small amount of work remains for the maintenance of absolute strength values. Training Techniques & Strategies 1) Circuit Training. I have clearly expressed my preference for this method of organizing training in an earlier article for Mesomorphosis. As opposed to the alternative (called "station training"), circuit training allows more quality work to be done within the same period of time. This is due to two factors: • The exercise arrangement allows for more than twice as much rest between two sets for the same exercise, and... • Circuit training exploits Sherrington's Law of Reciprocal Inhibition(3), which states that as the agonist contracts, the antagonist must relax to permit the motion. Circuit training where muscle groups are arranged antagonistically permit better inter-set recovery due to this phenomenon.
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Physically Incorrect 2) These cycles are arranged where "upper" and "lower" body workouts follow each other in succession within the context of a three workouts per week program. This results in each workout occurring 3 times within two weeks, rather than once a week, as is more traditional. A Few Thoughts About Speed of Execution Although slow repetition speeds have a definite place in the development of hypertrophy and local muscle endurance, they have no place in a program designed for absolute or speed strength (4, 5). High threshold motoneurons are optimally recruited only at high tension levels, and this requires acceleration. As a rule of thumb, lower the bar over a 2-3 second duration, and then launch that weight with as much explosive force as possible, using compensatory acceleration (6) (i.e., as you go past the "sticking point" and your musculoskeletal leverages improve, you accelerate even more to compensate for those improved leverages). Note: Many athletes understand compensatory acceleration cognitively, but few have learned how to apply it properly in physical terms. Hypothetical Mixed Qualities Mesocycle Emphasizing Absolute Strength
Weekly Training Frequency: 3 Exercises per session: 6 Sets per session: 27 Reps per session: 142-202 Duration per session: 60-80mins Notes: 1) Before commencing program, select one upper body exercise and one lower body exercise which have the greatest possible dynamic correspondence (7) to competitive event. These are represented as "A" exercises in the following programs. Dynamic correspondence is similar to the concept of specificity, however, an exercise which dynamically corresponds to your sport skill may not outwardly appear similar to the event! For example, punching with dumbbells in the hands appears to be very similar to the boxing punch at first glance. However, it has a low degree of dynamic correspondence, because: a) In order to develop the pecs, delts, and tri's, you need to be in a supine position, so that the targeted muscle fibers are fighting against gravity during the movement; b) the additional load imposed by the dumbbells requires excessive contribu162
Physically Incorrect tion from the antagonists in order to maintain joint integrity, and c) the dumbbells will be too light to develop strength, and too heavy to develop speed. A better choice for boxers would be the bench press, with weights that range between 55 and 85 percent of maximum. This exercise properly conditions the muscles which contribute to the boxing punch, although it does not appear specific to the skill in question. Note: The "A" exercises in these programs may or may not have a high degree of dynamics correspondence to your sport skills! They are provided for the purpose of illustration only. If you need further guidance for selecting appropriate "A" exercises for yourself, e-mail me and I'll provide assistance. 2) Before commencing program, test for 1RM values for the previously mentioned exercises. Methodology for 1RM testing: During testing, perform the exercises in exactly the same manner as you will perform them in training (8). warm-up thoroughly, and progress toward your 1RM using multiple 1-2 rep sets. Use every available safety precaution (bench & squat variants should always be performed in a sturdy rack, with safety pins set just lower than the lowest point the bar will travel during the exercise. If in doubt, err toward the conservative side— a 1RM which is 5-10 pounds too light will not negatively affect the programs. 3) Understanding the order of exercises: I use Charles Poliquin's exercise notation system, which employs a combination of letters and numbers to denote the order of exercises and sets. Directions: Finish all sets of "A" exercise first, then proceed to "B" and do the same. Lastly, perform all "C" exercises in circuit fashion, until all indicated sets are completed. 4) Low intensity cardiovascular exercise may be performed immediately after training to facilitate a better recovery (9).
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Physically Incorrect Week 1 Monday (upper body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
70% 85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85%
6x2 6x2 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps**
60-90 secs* 3-5mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins*
Seated Row Seated Row 30-degree Incline DB Press Hammer Curl Close-grip Bench Press Standing Cable Crunch DB Seated Press
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accumulates over the session. ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis Wednesday (lower body) Exercise A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
1/2 Squat 1/2 Squat Reverse Hyper Leg Press Calf Raise Incline Sit-up Leg Curl Standing Barbell Twists
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
70% 85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85%
6x2 6x2 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps**
60-90 secs* 3-5mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins*
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accumulates over the session. ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis
164
Physically Incorrect Friday (upper body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
72.5% 87.5% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85%
6x2 6x2 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps**
60-90 secs* 3-5mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins*
Seated Row Seated Row 30-degree Incline DB Press Hammer Curl Close-grip Bench Press Standing Cable Crunch DB Seated Press
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accumulates over the session. ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis Week 2 Monday (lower body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
72.5% 87.5% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85%
6x2 6x2 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps**
60-90 secs* 3-5mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins*
1/2 Squat 1/2 Squat Reverse Hyper Leg Press Calf Raise Incline Sit-up Leg Curl Standing Barbell Twists
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accumulates over the session. ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis
165
Physically Incorrect Wednesday (upper body) Exercise A-1: Seated Row B-1: Seated Row C-1: 30-degree Incline DB Press C-2: Hammer Curl C-3: Close-grip Bench Press C-4: Standing Cable Crunch C-5: DB Seated Press
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
75% 90% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85%
6x2 6x2 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps**
60-90 secs* 3-5mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins*
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accumulates over the session. ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis Friday (lower body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
75% 90% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85%
6x2 6x2 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps**
60-90 secs* 3-5mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins** 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins*
1/2 Squat 1/2 Squat Reverse Hyper Leg Press Calf Raise Incline Sit-up Leg Curl Standing Barbell Twists
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accumulates over the session. ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis
166
Physically Incorrect Week 3 Monday (upper body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
77.5% 92.5% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85%
6x2 6x2 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps**
60-90 secs* 3-5mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins*
Seated Row Seated Row 30-degree Incline DB Press Hammer Curl Close-grip Bench Press Standing Cable Crunch DB Seated Press
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accumulates over the session. ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis Wednesday (lower body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
77.5% 92.5% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85%
6x2 6x2 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps**
60-90 secs* 3-5mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins*
1/2 Squat 1/2 Squat Reverse Hyper Leg Press Calf Raise Incline Sit-up Leg Curl Standing Barbell Twists
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accumulates over the session. ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis
167
Physically Incorrect Friday (upper body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: Seated Row B-1: Seated Row C-1: 30 -degree Incline DB Press C-2: Hammer Curl C-3: Close-grip Bench Press C-4: Standing Cable Crunch C-5: DB Seated Press
80% 95% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85%
6x2 6x2 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps**
60-90 secs* 3-5mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins*
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accumulates over the session. ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis Week 4 Monday (lower body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
80% 95% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85% 80-85%
6x2 6x2 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps** 2-6 reps**
60-90 secs* 3-5mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins* 3-4 mins*
1/2 Squat 1/2 Squat Reverse Hyper Leg Press Calf Raise Incline Sit-up Leg Curl Standing Barbell Twists
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accumulates over the session. ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis Wednesday: Test for new 1RM on Seated Row Friday: Test for new 1RM on 1/2 Squat
168
Physically Incorrect Week 5 Start new cycle, using new 1RM values, and employing different exercises and/or techniques (i.e., use of elastic bands, varied grips and/or stances, eccentric training, ect) to respect the principle of variation. Note: if 1RM values fail to increase from cycle to cycle, this program should be reevaluated and modified with respect to proper fit to context. Hypothetical Mixed Qualities Mesocycle Emphasizing Speed Strength Weekly Training Frequency: 3 Exercises per session: 6 Sets per session: 27 Reps per session: 142-202 Duration per session: 60-80mins Notes: 1) Before commencing program, select one upper body exercise and one lower body exercise which have the greatest possible dynamic correspondence to competitive event. 2) Before commencing program, test for 1RM values for the previously mentioned exercises (see earlier notes on testing methodology). 3) Understanding the order of exercises: I use Charles Poliquin's exercise notation system, which employs a combination of letters and numbers to denote the order of exercises and sets. Directions: Finish all sets of "A" exercise first, then proceed to "B" and do the same. Lastly, perform all "C" exercises in circuit fashion, until all indicated sets are completed. Week 1 Monday (upper body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
70% *** 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70%
10x2 2x1 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps**
60-90 secs* 2-3mins* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs*
Barbell Bench Press Barbell Bench Press 30 -degree Incline DB Press Preacher DB Curl Lying DB Triceps Extension Ball Crunch Low Cable Seated Row
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. *** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis
169
Physically Incorrect Wednesday (lower body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
70% *** 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70%
10x2 2x1 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps**
60-90 secs* 2-3mins* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs*
Power Clean Power Clean Back Extension Leg Press Calf Raise Incline Sit-up Back Squat Standing Barbell Twists
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. *** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis Friday (upper body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
72.5% *** 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70%
10x2 2x1 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps**
60-90 secs* 2-3mins* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs*
Barbell Bench Press Barbell Bench Press 30 -degree Incline DB Press Preacher DB Curl Lying DB Triceps Extension Ball Crunch Low Cable Seated Row
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. *** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis
170
Physically Incorrect Week 2 Monday (lower body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: Power Clean B-1: Power Clean C-1: Back Extension C-2: Leg Press Calf Raise C-3: Incline Sit-up C-4: Back Squat C-5: Standing Barbell Twists
72.5% *** 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70%
10x2 2x1 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps**
60-90 secs* 2-3mins* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs*
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. *** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis Wednesday (upper body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
75% *** 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70%
10x2 2x1 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps**
60-90 secs* 2-3mins* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs*
Barbell Bench Press Barbell Bench Press 30 -degree Incline DB Press Preacher DB Curl Lying DB Triceps Extension Ball Crunch Low Cable Seated Row
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. *** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis
171
Physically Incorrect Friday (lower body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: Power Clean B-1: Power Clean C-1: Back Extension C-2: Leg Press Calf Raise C-3: Incline Sit-up C-4: Back Squat C-5: Standing Barbell Twists
75% *** 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70%
10x2 2x1 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps**
60-90 secs* 2-3mins* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs*
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. *** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis Week 3 Monday (upper body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
77.5% *** 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70%
10x2 2x1 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps**
60-90 secs* 2-3mins* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs*
Barbell Bench Press Barbell Bench Press 30 -degree Incline DB Press Preacher DB Curl Lying DB Triceps Extension Ball Crunch Low Cable Seated Row
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. *** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis
172
Physically Incorrect Wednesday (lower body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: Power Clean B-1: Power Clean C-1: Back Extension C-2: Leg Press Calf Raise C-3: Incline Sit-up C-4: Back Squat C-5: Standing Barbell Twists
77.5% *** 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70%
10x2 2x1 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps**
60-90 secs* 2-3mins* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs*
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. *** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis Friday (upper body) Exercise
Load
Sets/Reps
Rest
A-1: B-1: C-1: C-2: C-3: C-4: C-5:
80% *** 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70%
10x2 2x1 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps**
60-90 secs* 2-3mins* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs*
Barbell Bench Press Barbell Bench Press 30 -degree Incline DB Press Preacher DB Curl Lying DB Triceps Extension Ball Crunch Low Cable Seated Row
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. *** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis
173
Physically Incorrect Week 4 Monday (lower body) Exercise A-1: Power Clean B-1: Power Clean C-1: Back Extension C-2: Leg Press Calf Raise C-3: Incline Sit-up C-4: Back Squat C-5: Standing Barbell Twists
Load 80% *** 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70% 60-70%
Sets/Reps 10x2 2x1 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps** 8-12 reps**
Rest 60-90 secs* 2-3mins* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs* 60-90 secs*
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates ** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last workout of the cycle. *** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress "A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis "B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis "C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis Wednesday Test for new 1RM on Barbell Bench Press Friday Test for new 1RM on Power Clean Week 5 Start new cycle, using new 1RM values, and employing different exercises and/or techniques (i.e., use of elastic bands, varied grips and/or stances, eccentric training, ect) to respect the principle of variation. Note: if 1RM values fail to increase from cycle to cycle, this program should be reevaluated and modified with respect to proper fit to context.
Conclusion: Athletes, don't be misled by training programs designed either for bodybuilders (who, after all, are only required to remain conscious while a panel of judges scrutinizes them for various physical imperfections), or powerlifters, who need only be concerned with performing nine maximal attempts within a single competition. Although these approaches can be employed when one needs additional muscle mass or absolute strength (respectively), excessive reliance on such methods puts the mixed-qualities athlete at a distinct disadvantage. Instead, develop ALL necessary qualities, focusing on your weak links. As powerlifting guru Louie Simmons likes to say "Do what you need to do, not what you want to do."
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Physically Incorrect References: 1) Hartmann, J., & Tunneman, H., Fitness and Strength Training for All Sports. © 1993, Toronto, Sports Books Publisher, p.p. 64. 2) Hartmann, J., & Tunneman, H., Fitness and Strength Training for All Sports. © 1993, Toronto, Sports Books Publisher, p.p. 66. 3) McAtee, R. E., & Charland, J., Facilitated Stretching. © 1999, Champaign, Human Kinetics, p.p. 4. 4) Liow, D.K., & Hopkins, W.G., (1998). Velocity specificity of heavy weight training for kayak sprint performance. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30(5), Supplement abstract 621. 5) Choi, J. Y., Takahashi, H., Itai, Y., & Takamatsu, K. (1997). Comparison of training effects between power-up type and bulk-up type in strength training. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 29 (5), Supplement abstract 54. 6) Hatfield, F.C., Power: A Scientific Approach. © 1989, Chicago, Contemporary Books, p.p. 10. 7) Siff, M.C., & Verkhoshansky, Y.V., Supertraining: Special Strength Training for Sporting Excellence. © 1993, Johannesburg, University of the Witwatersrand, p.p. 261. 8) Ribeiro, B.V., Castro, A.S., & Weltman, A. (1998). Study of the specificity between the training and the evaluation method of the muscle strength. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30 (5), Supplement abstract 658. 9) Corder, K., Potteiger, J., Nau., K., Figoni, S., & Hershberger, S. (1998). Effects of active and passive recovery on lactate, RPE, and performance during resistance training. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30 (5), Supplement abstract 194.
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Physically Incorrect Quality Strength for Human Athletic Performance: A Guide to Speed Strength Training (originally appeared in the December 1, 1998 issue of Mesomorphosis) Author’s note: In retrospect, I wish I had made a bigger point to point out that athletes who are naturally fast need to concentrate more on the force aspect of preparation (maximal strength), whereas already strong athletes need to focus on rate of force development. Interesting side note—at a recent meeting in Toronto, Canada, a physical preparation specialist from Montreal told me that a bobsledder he knows was making rapid and dramatic strength gains. When asked what program he was using, the athlete whipped out a printout of the article you’re about to read... Although most athletic skills and events depend upon a variety of physical qualities, speed strength (also called power) certainly rates among the most important. Whenever you need to accelerate yourself (as in running, cycling, swimming, skating, or skiing), an external object (such as a ball, a barbell, a javelin, or another person), or both (such as pushing a bobsled or driving through an opposing lineman in football), your ability to generate force with speed will be a primary determinant of your success. As the duration of the event or skill becomes reduced, the need for speed strength (I'll abbreviate it as "SS" from this point on) increases. However, even triatheletes rely heavily upon explosive strength as they sprint to the finish line. It's not a matter of whether or not you need to develop SS, but to what degree you need to prioritize it in your training. SS is also a vital quality during emergency situations, such as when it becomes necessary to quickly dodge a car when walking across the street, or duck to avoid being hit by a stray ball. In fact, SS is the body’s preferred method of force generation— the last time you had to lift a heavy object from the floor to a high shelf, did you accelerate the load to make the task easier, or did you make a concerted effort to lift the object with a constant speed?! For bodybuilders, SS training methods are immensely valuable for their ability to improve intramuscular coordination (the ability to recruit high threshold motor units), which has significant payoffs during later training phases utilizing lower intensity loads. In other words, a two week training phase emphasizing accelerative training techniques will potentiate the ability to lift greater loads during a subsequent phase utilizing more "traditional" bodybuilding lifting technique (i.e., constant tension, avoiding joint lock-outs, etc).
176
Physically Incorrect Strength: the Multi-faceted Motor Quality Of course, SS is simply one expression of force output, and strength as a biomotor ability has many expressions. The following list briefly describes the types of strength available to athletes: Absolute Strength (maximal strength) Absolute strength is defined as the amount of musculoskeletal force you can generate for one all-out effort, irrespective of time or bodyweight. This form of strength can be demonstrated or tested in the weight room during the performance of a maximal, single repetition lift. While only powerlifters need to maximize and demonstrate this type of strength in competition, all athletes need to develop absolute strength as a foundation for other bio-motor abilities such as SS, strength endurance, agility, and others.1 For this reason, absolute strength is brought to high levels in the preparatory period, and then "converted" to more event-specific forms of strength later in the macrocycle. Absolute strength can be displayed through three types of muscular actions: 1) Concentric Strength: the ability to overcome a resistance through muscular contraction, i.e., the muscle shortens as it develops tension. 2) Eccentric Strength: displayed when a muscle lengthens as it yields to a resistance. Eccentric strength is normally 30-50% greater than concentric strength, meaning that you can lower significantly more weight in good control than you can actually lift. This may be the result of increased intra-muscular friction (a concept not yet validated by science) during the eccentric portion of a lift. In eccentric muscular encounters with external resistances, there are two possible scenarios which can occur:2 a) The resistance encountered is less than one’s maximal isometric strength. In weight training applications, this applies to any load less than 1RM. b) The resistance encountered is more than one’s maximal isometric strength. In weight training applications, this applies to any load more than 1RM (commonly called "eccentric training"). 3) Static Strength: muscular contraction which does not cause external movement of the resistance, either because the athlete has chosen to produce exactly enough force to prevent the resistance from lowering, but not enough to lift it; or because the external resistance is immovable. Static strength is also observed during the momentary pause between the eccentric and concentric portions of a movement. 177
Physically Incorrect Absolute Strength Forms the Basis for Speed Strength Despite the current preoccupation with plyometrics, specialized shoes, and the like, improving absolute strength remains the most efficient way to improve SS.3 In fact, Romanian strength & periodization specialist Tudor Bompa suggests that "No visible increments of power are possible without clear gains in maximal (absolute) strength."4 To appreciate the importance of absolute strength on SS, imagine a rocket weighing 1000 pounds, with an engine capable of 1200 pounds of thrust. This rocket has only 200 pounds of reserve force to propel itself. The same rocket, when equipped with an engine rated at 3000 pounds of thrust, will have 2000 pounds of reserve thrust that can be used for propulsion. Now back to the gym: a 200 pound man capable of squatting 250 pounds for a single rep will have a mere 50 pounds of reserve strength available to propel his body upward during a vertical jump. Contrast this with a 200 pound elite-class powerlifter capable of squatting 600 pounds. Now we’ve got 400 pounds of strength reserve available, and all things being equal, will have a vastly superior vertical jump compared to the novice squatter. Relative Strength Whereas absolute strength refers to strength irrespective of bodyweight, relative strength is a term used to denote an athlete's strength per unit of bodyweight (his or her "pound for pound strength"). It can be used as a modifier for other categories of strength, such as speed strength or strength endurance. So, if two athletes of different bodyweights can power clean (a display of SS) 275 pounds, they have equal speed strength for that lift, but the lighter athlete has greater relative speed strength. Athletes who compete in weight-class events depend heavily on relative strength, as do athletes who must overcome their bodyweight to accomplish a motor task (i.e., long jump, sprinting, etc.). Further, sports which have aesthetic requirements (figure skating, gymnastics, etc.) demand the development of strength without a commensurate gain in bodyweight. As a sidenote, in the World of sport, lighter athletes have better relative strength than heavier athletes, whereas the heavier athletes get the nod for absolute strength. In Olympic weightlifting for example, elite-level athletes in light weight classes have lifted triple-bodyweight from the floor to an overhead position. World-class competitors in the superheavyweight division are 178
Physically Incorrect unable to lift even double-bodyweight; however, the absolute poundages they lift are far greater than that of their lighter peers. Since strength training targets the neuro-muscular system, strength can be developed through two very different means— by applying stress either to the muscular or to the neural aspect of the system. The former method is usually accomplished through the application of "bodybuilding" methods (repetitions between 6-12 to exhaustion, using continuous tension techniques), and results in strength gains through an increase in muscle crosssection. The latter method employs higher intensity training (repetitions between 1 and 5 using accelerative technique and full recoveries between sets), and increases in strength are the result of the body's improved ability to recruit more of its existing motor unit pool. Contrary to conventional wisdom, athletes who depend upon relative strength or SS should not completely avoid bodybuilding methods, which, when used judiciously, can be used to facilitate recovery between periods of intensive nervous system training. And, as you might expect, I strongly recommend that bodybuilders keep an open mind with regards to SS methods as well. Speed Strength Now to the topic du jour: SS is defined as work divided by time, where work is defined as force x distance. Therefore, SS is defined as force x distance, divided by time. SS is characterized by three distinct components: • Starting strength: Defined as the ability to recruit as many motor units (MU’s) as possible instantaneously at the start of a movement.4 Common examples include the lunge in fencing, coming off the line in football, and the start in short sprints. • Explosive strength: This quality refers to acceleration or rate of force development. In other words, once you’ve recruited a maximal number of MU’s, how long can you keep them recruited? In his seminars, Dr Fred Hatfield, cofounder of the International Sports Sciences Association and the first man to officially squat 1000 pounds, compares starting strength to the flash bulb of a camera, and explosive strength as a flash that stays on and becomes brighter and brighter the longer it stays on. With regards to above distinctions, different sporting skills and events can be classified as either starting or explosive strength events, depending on the relative proportion of speed and strength required. The javelin event in track and field would be classified as a starting strength event because the implement is very light, which permits the athlete to impart a great degree of speed during the throw. Conversely, the shot is relatively heavy, which means 179
Physically Incorrect that less speed can be achieved. This makes the shot put an explosive strength event. Thus, it logically follows that starting strength athletes emphasize relatively lighter weightloads in strength training than do explosive strength athletes. • Stretch Shortening Cycle (Reactive Strength): Although traditionally classified as a component of SS, reactive strength is more accurately thought of as an independent motor quality.5 It involves the storage of potential kinetic energy during the eccentric portion of a movement, which is then converted to actual kinetic energy during the subsequent concentric phase— much like stretching and releasing an elastic band. During many skills (jumping rope, for example), the working muscles attempt to maintain static contraction, with force output being provided by the storing and release of elastic energy through the tendons. Since static muscular activity requires less energy than dynamic muscular activity, reactive strength is an extremely energy-efficient way of moving— you can do more work with less calories. This is why novice exercisers can always be seen doing exercises in the easiest possible manner, using quick, choppy movements, whether it’s on the bench press or the stairclimber. Reactive strength is also the method of choice when someone who is tired and/or weak gets up out of a chair: instead of simply standing up, they will actually lean back first, and then quickly reverse this action, springing out of the chair. If you ask someone to rise out of a chair using pure concentric movement, it looks very unusual. To appreciate the effect of reactive strength on force production, perform a vertical jump in a normal manner, where you first crouch, and then rapidly switch and jump upwards as explosively as possible. Next, crouch, but pause for five seconds (this pause will dissipate most if not all of the stored potential kinetic energy), and then jump upward. You'll find that the jump where the crouch (or eccentric phase) was IMMEDIATELY followed by the jump results in a more successful attempt. The key to preserving as much potential kinetic energy as possible is to switch from eccentric to concentric as rapidly as possible. How Muscles Produce Force 1) MU recruitment (intramuscular coordination): All muscle fibers are one component of what physiologists call "motor units." A MU is defined as a motor neuron (or nerve cell) and all the muscle fibers it innervates or "recruits." Without going into excruciating detail, there are several essential bits of information that athletes and coaches should understand about the functioning of MU’s: • All the fibers of a MU tend to have the same characteristics.5 When all the fibers are type II, the motor unit is said to be a high threshold or "fast" MU. 180
Physically Incorrect If the fibers are Type I, it is a low threshold or "slow" MU. See the glossary for an in-depth description of fiber types. Table 1: Fiber Type Our muscles are composed of a wide variety of fibers, which scientists classify according to how they function. Traditionally, three categories are used: Type IIb: Type IIb fibers are large diameter fibers capable of producing high levels of force at fast contraction speeds. Commonly known as “fast twitch” fibers, Type IIb’s also fatigue very quickly. Type IIa: These fibers are much like hybrids between IIb’s and Type I fibers. They have moderate force producing capacities and moderate endurance capacity. Type I: Type I fibers are also known as "slow twitch” fibers because they have small diameters, have fairly low force output characteristics, and high endurance capacity. Despite the above classification format, the important thing to remember is that in reality, there are not three, absolutely distinct types of fibers , but rather a spectrum— on the one end are the biggest, fastest, strongest fibers which require a very high tension to activate (hence, they are often referred to as “high threshold” fibers), and on the other end are the smallest, slowest weakest (but least fatigable) fibers, also called “low threshold” fibers, since it takes only small amounts of muscular tension to activate them. • The all or none principle: When an action potential is sent from the cell body to the muscle fibers, one of two events will occur. If the action potential is strong enough, all the fibers of that motor unit will contract maximally. If the action potential is not strong enough, nothing will happen. In a nutshell, muscle fibers either contract all the way, or not at all. When the body needs to apply more force, it simply recruits more MU’s. Generally, untrained people have limited ability to recruit high threshold MU’s because they are unfamiliar with high-tension efforts. • The size principle: MU’s are recruited in order of size— small to large. This explains why we can use the muscle to pick up something light (a pencil) or heavy (a dumbbell). As resistance increases, the body recruits more MU’s. 2) Intermuscular coordination: the ability of different muscles to cooperate during the performance of a motor task. Muscles can function in several different ways depending on the task at hand. The most fundamental roles that muscles assume are listed below: 181
Physically Incorrect • Prime Mover: The primary muscle responsible for a movement around a joint at any given point in time. For example, during the bench press exercise, the pectoralis major is the biggest and strongest muscle involved, and as such it provides the most force during most of the exercise. • Synergist: A synergist is a muscle which dynamically assists the prime mover. Going back to the bench press example, the front deltoid muscle and triceps would be considered synergists in this exercise. • Stabilizer: Stabilizers are muscles which anchor or stabilize one part of the body (through static activity), allowing another part to move. In other words, they assist the prime mover and synergists through static or "isometric" muscular contraction. The stabilizer role of muscles can be trained with exercises conducted in an unstable environment, which might involve dumbbells, Swiss balls, wobble boards, or other devices designed for this purpose. For clarification, be aware that prime movers, synergists, and stabilizers are not different types of muscles— they are ways in which muscles perform. A single muscle might be a prime mover in one situation, and a stabilizer in another situation. • Agonist/antagonist relationship: (Not to be confused with the roles described above). For every muscle in the body, there is another muscle capable of resisting its force. If this were not the case, controlled human movement would not be possible. When you throw a punch for example, your tricep is one of the primary agonists (you can distinguish between these two terms by remembering that "the agonist is the one in agony"), as it is the muscle which extends the elbow. The primary antagonist during punching is the biceps, which acts eccentrically to control the extension force created by the triceps so that you don’t hyper-extend your elbow at the end of the movement. 3) Rate Coding: The nervous system can vary the strength of muscular contraction not only by varying the number of MU’s recruited, but also by varying the firing rate of each MU, called rate coding. The tension that a MU develops in response to a single action potential from the nervous system is called a "twitch." As the stimulus from the nervous system becomes stronger and stronger, the twitches per millisecond become more and more frequent until they begin to overlap, causing greater amounts of tension to be generated by the muscle fiber. The mechanism behind rate coding is very similar to the way in which increased vibrational frequency of a sound increases it’s pitch. As an example, a muscle comprised of 100 MU’s would have 100 graded increments available to it. In addition, each MU can vary it’s force output over about a 10-fold range by varying its firing rate (e.g., from 10 to 50 impulses 182
Physically Incorrect per second). For any set of conditions, the force of contraction is maximal when all MU’s have been recruited and all are firing at the optimal rate for force production. The size of a given muscle may in part determines the relative role of rate coding to total muscular force development.6 In small muscles, most MU’s are recruited at a level of force less than 50% of maximal force capacity. Forces requiring greater tensions are generated primarily through rate coding. In large proximal muscles (such as the pectoralis and lats), the recruitment of additional MUs appears to be the main mechanism for increasing force development up to 80% of absolute strength and even higher. In the force range between 80% and 100% of absolute strength, force is increased almost exclusively by intensification of the MU firing rate. Training Methods for Speed Strength Since SS is comprised of speed and strength, it becomes important to consider what can be done to improve these two qualities independently, since an improvement in either aspect will improve the whole. "Traditional" Strength Training Since speed is primarily a genetically-inherited characteristic of the nervous system, it responds poorly to training, as compared to strength, which is perhaps the easiest motor quality to improve. For this reason, and because safer methods should be considered before more risky ones, the starting point for all athletes who wish to promote SS is traditional strength training. (I use the term "traditional" to refer to common weightroom exercises performed in a traditional bodybuilding manner using a variety of intensities). Compensatory Acceleration Training (CAT) CAT training is a distinct form of accelerative lifting coined by Dr. Fred Hatfield. It refers to compensatorily speeding up your movement in such a way that improved leverages are compensated for. For example, when ascending out of a deep squat position, mechanical leverage begins to improve once you pass the "sticking point." This improving leverage reduces the tension on the working muscles, and in turn, the training stimulus is compromised. Deliberately accelerating through this movement path serves to increase muscular tensions. CAT technique takes time to master, because the acceleration must continue past the sticking point, yet end before the antagonist muscles are triggered into decelerating the movement in an effort to prevent joint hyperextension or loss of control. This "braking" action would 183
Physically Incorrect be detrimental to normal coordination patterns involved with common athletic skills such as hitting, throwing, jumping, and kicking. Ballistic Training William Kraemer, perhaps this country’s most respected and prolific strength researcher, uses the term "ballistic training" to describe movements that are "accelerative, of high velocity, and with projection into free space."7 Ballistic training involves plyometrics, modified Olympic lifting, jumping, throwing, and striking movements (such as punching or kicking a heavy bag). Kraemer argues that, in traditional barbell training, a significant portion of the movement path (specifically, the end of the concentric phase) is spent decelerating the bar— a protective measure assumed by the antagonists to maintain joint integrity (in upper body movements such as bench pressing), or to prevent the athlete from leaving the ground in exercises such as the squat. If Kraemer’s contention is correct, one would choose to gradually reduce the volume of traditional barbell drills as the training cycle progresses, in favor of ballistic exercises which lack this deceleration phase, making them easier to learn and much more coordination-specific for most athletes. The Modified Olympic lifts The sport of Olympic weightlifting (sometimes called "weightlifting") contests two separate lifts: the snatch, where the barbell is grasped with a wide grip, and explosively pulled to an overhead position in a single movement; and the clean and jerk, where the barbell is grasped with a narrower grip, "cleaned" to the shoulders, and finally "jerked" to an overhead position. Competitive lifters reach very deep squat positions as they struggle to get under ponderous weights prior to achieving the overhead position. But when slightly lighter weights are used, the lifter can manage to get under the weight without going below parallel, meaning that the top of the thighs never goes past the point of being parallel to the floor. When a lifter can accomplish this, the lift is called a power clean (or power snatch). The term "power" indicates that the load was not maximal, since the lifter didn't have to squat to rock bottom to get under it. Thus, a power clean has less of a force component and more of a speed component than a competitive "squat clean." Arthur Dreshler, MSS, author of The Weightlifting Encyclopedia, eloquently describes the benefits of Olympic lifting and its derivatives for athletes:8 1) Olympic lifts teach an athlete how to explode (to activate a maximum number of motor units rapidly and simultaneously).
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Physically Incorrect 2) Olympic lifts teach the ability to apply force with his or her muscle groups in the proper sequence (i.e., from the center of the body to the extremities). This is a valuable technical lesson for any athlete who needs to impart force to another person or object. 3) Olympic lifts teach how to accelerate objects (including other people) under varying degrees of resistance. 4) Olympic lifts teach how to effectively receive forces from another moving body. 5) The actual movements performed while executing the Olympic lifts are among the most common and fundamental in sport. 6) The Olympic lifts are commonly used to measure an athlete's force output capabilities. If you are unfamiliar with the Olympic lifts and their derivatives. I strongly suggest that you find either an ISSA-Certified Specialist in Sports Conditioning, or a USA Weightlifting Certified Coach in your area who can assist you with these exercises. These lifts, though not beyond the capabilities of most athletes, are more complex than the majority of strength training exercises. Plyometric Training Although "plyos" are overused by many athletes in their quest for the "magic pill" solution to their training problems, plyometric drills performed with bodyweight, weighted jackets, light resistances such as medicine balls, logs, sand sacks and gymnastic equipment can be a valuable component of a SS development program. Plyometric training programs must be designed with sufficient recovery periods to ensure that fatigue does not take the "elasticity" out of the athlete’s movements, since it is this repeated elastic neuromuscular control of impact which provides the training effect. Testing Your Speed Strength: The Max Jones Quadrathlon.9 Few athletes are aware of this unique and very useful testing implement created by the English track & field coach of the same name. The MJQ can be used to regularly monitor your level of speed strength, and can also used as a fun competition several times a year. This test is very easy to administer (you’ll need to do this at your local high school or college track) and involves only a tape measure and a stop-watch. One note of caution, however: The 185
Physically Incorrect
186
Physically Incorrect four test drills, although relatively simple, will take a toll on your body (particularly your hip flexors) if you have never done them before, or if it’s been years since you’ve done them. If you fall into this category, I strongly suggest you practice these drills for before going at them "full bore." Start with very low volume (just a few repetitions of each drill) and progress gradually over a series of 4-6 sessions. The test drills are as follows: Three Jumps: Feet together, hop three times and land in a long jump pit. Measure from your starting position to the closest disturbance of the sand where you landed. Standing Long Jump: Standing at the edge of a long jump pit, with toes slightly over the edge of the board, perform a standing long jump into the pit. Measure from the lip of the board to the closest disturbance of the sand where you landed. Thirty Meter Sprint: Using starting blocks (you may also have a partner place his or her foot behind your lead foot to simulate a block), start on the command of a timer at the finish line. The timer starts the watch when your back foot makes contact with the ground on the first step, and stops it when you break the finish line. 16lb Overhead Shot: Standing on top of a shot put stopboard (your back to the pit), dip down (much like the preparatory crouch for a vertical jump), swing the shot between the legs, and then extend and throw the shot overhead backwards. It is not necessary to remain on the stopboard. Measure from the lip of the stopboard to the first point of impact. Please see the quadrathlon scoring tables on the previous page. Simply convert your scores into the numerical scores provided, and total for your MJQ rating.
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Physically Incorrect A Periodized Training Program for SS Development: The Rule of Thirds Since fatigue is specific to the motor quality being trained, when microcycles with different objectives and varying demands follow each other, it promotes enhanced recovery, allows for maintenance of maximal strength and body composition during periods devoted to SS (and vice versa), and protects against "overuse" types of injury. The "rule of thirds" is a planning concept which partitions each mesocycle into thirds— the first two thirds are spent training the targeted motor ability; the final third is spent training a complementary motor ability to provide recovery and balance to the program. In this program, maximal strength is the targeted motor ability for the first six weeks, while SS is the focus of the final six weeks. Note: Before initiating this training program, complete the MJQ and record your score. At the completion of the program, re-take the quadrathlon to assess the effects of the training. Citius, Altius, Fortius! A Periodized Training Cycle for SS Development Program Notes: 1) Notation: All exercises preceded by the same letter (for example, "A"), are performed as a superset (i.e., perform the the exercises in a mini-circuit). Complete the "A" superset first, then "B," and so on, until the session has been completed. 2) Lifting speed: "rhythmic" speed refers to slow, controlled tempos, maintaining constant tension on the working muscles. Avoid joint lockout, since the advantageous leverages at those angles will decrease tension on the working muscles. "Accelerative" speed refers to the use of a forceful tempo, accelerating through the "sticking point" of the lift. Resist the temptation to train to exhaustion. 3) Sets x reps: Wherever you see, for example, "4x60," it refers to 4 sets which last 60 seconds each, regardless of reps. In other words, time your sets with a stopwatch and concentrate on proper technique, not how many reps you perform.
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Physically Incorrect Weeks 1-2 Exercise
Speed
Rest
Sets x Reps
Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
120 120 120 120
SEC. SEC. SEC SEC
4x60 4x60 4x60 4x60
secs secs secs secs
Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
120 120 120 120
SEC. SEC SEC SEC
4x60 4x60 4x60 4x60
secs secs secs secs
Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
120 120 120 120
SEC. SEC SEC SEC
4x60 4x60 4x60 4x60
secs secs secs secs
Exercise
Speed
Rest
Monday: A-1: Push Press A-2: Eccentric Hammer Curl B-1: 45-degree Incline Barbell Press B-2: Standing Barbell Curl
Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative
150 150 150 150
SEC. SEC. SEC SEC
4x4-6 4x4-6 4x4-6 4x4-6
Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative
150 150 150 150
SEC. SEC SEC SEC
4x4-6 4x4-6 4x4-6 4x6-8
Accelerative Accelerative Rhythmic Accelerative
150 150 150 150
SEC SEC SEC SEC
4x4-6 4x4-6 4x4-6 4x4-6
Monday: A-1: Military Press A-2: Standing Hammer Curl B-1: 45-degree Incline DB Press B-2: Dumbbell Curl on Preacher Bench Wednesday: A: Back Squat B-1: Swiss Ball Crunch B-2: Back Extension B-3: Standing Calf Raise Friday: A-1: A-2: B-1: B-2:
Lat Pulldown Close grip Bench Press Seated Row Tricep Pushdowns
Week 3 Sets x Reps
Wednesday: A: Front Squat B-1: Ball Crunch/Medicine Ball Pass B-2: Reverse Hyper B-3: Standing Calf Jumps Friday: A: Clean Pulls from Hang B-: Medicine ball Chest Pass C-1: Dips C-2: Pull-ups
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Physically Incorrect Weeks 4-5 Exercise
Speed
Rest
Sets x Reps
Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
120 120 120 120
SEC SEC SEC SEC
4x45 4x45 4x45 4x45
secs secs secs secs
Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
120 120 120 120
SEC SEC SEC SEC
4x45 4x45 4x45 4x45
secs secs secs secs
Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
120 120 120 120
SEC SEC SEC SEC
4x45 4x45 4x45 4x45
secs secs secs secs
Exercise
Speed
Rest
Monday: A-1: Push Jerk A-2: Eccentric Hammer Curl B-1: 30-degree Incline Barbell Press B-2: Standing Barbell Curl
Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative
180 180 180 180
Monday: A-1: A-2: B-1: B-2:
Military Press Standing Hammer Curl 45-degree Incline Dumbbell Press Standing Dumbbell Curl
Wednesday: A: Back Squat B-1: Swiss Ball Crunch B-2: Glute-ham-gastroc Raise B-3: Standing Calf Raise Friday: A-1: A-2: B-1: B-2:
Lat Pulldown Close grip Bench Press Seated Row Tricep Pushdowns
Weeks 6-7 Sets x Reps SEC SEC SEC SEC
5x3 5x3 5x3 5x3
Wednesday: "A" Session (morning): A. Depth jumps. Warm-up thoroughly by jogging, jumping rope, etc., until you have broken a sweat. Do not stretch unless you know you have short muscle groups such as hamstrings, quads, or hip flexors. Technique: From a standing position at the top of a raised platform (see description below), extend your dominant-side foot forward to clear the platform, and then drop off of the platform (as opposed to jumping off). You should hit the ground with both feet simultaneously, with both arms extended behind you. IMMEDIATELY upon making contact with the ground, reverse and propel yourself upward, assisting with a vigorous upward swing of both arms in an attempt to attain the highest possible jump. Imagine that you are landing on a hot stove, and must immediately repel yourself off of the surface, however, do not attempt to land with straight knees in order to hasten the jump— you must allow your knees to flex somewhat as you land.
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Physically Incorrect Note: Choose a box-height that equals your best vertical jump. However, if you cannot prevent your heels from making contact with the ground, incrementally lower the height of the box until you can perform the jump completely from your forefeet. Perform 10 jumps, with 2 minutes of rest between jumps (time yourself with a stopwatch). If on any given repetition your heels contact the ground, terminate the workout rather than lowering the boxheight. "B" Session (afternoon or evening): Exercise
Speed
Rest
Sets x Reps
A: Front Squat B-1: Ball Crunch/Medicine Ball Pass B-2: Reverse Hyper
Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative
180 SEC 180 SEC 180 SEC
5x3 5x3 5x3
Accelerative Accelerative Rhythmic Accelerative
180 180 180 180
5x3 5x3 5x5 5x3
Speed
Rest
Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
120 120 120 120
SEC SEC SEC SEC
3x45 3x45 3x45 3x45
secs secs secs secs
Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
120 120 120 120
SEC SEC SEC SEC
3x45 3x45 3x45 3x45
secs secs secs secs
Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
120 120 120 120
SEC SEC SEC SEC
3x45 3x45 3x45 3x45
secs secs secs secs
Friday: A: Power Clean from Hang B-: Medicine ball Chest Pass C-1: Dips C-2: Pull-ups
SEC SEC SEC SEC
Week 8 Exercise
Sets x Reps
Monday: A-1: A-2: B-1: B-2:
Military Press Standing Hammer Curl 45-degree Incline Dumbbell Press Standing Dumbbell Curl
Wednesday: A: Back Squat B-1: Swiss Ball Crunch B-2: Back Extension B-3: Standing Calf Raise Friday: A-1: A-2: B-1: B-2:
Lat Pulldown Close grip Bench Press Seated Row Tricep Pushdowns
191
Physically Incorrect Weeks 9-10 Exercise
Speed
Rest
Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative
210 210 210 210
Sets x Reps
Monday: A-1: A-2: B-1: B-2:
Push Jerk Eccentric Hammer Curl 15-degree Incline Barbell Press Standing Barbell Curl
SEC SEC SEC SEC
6x2 6x2 6x2 6x2
Wednesday: "A" Session: A. Depth jumps (see description and instructions from weeks 6-7). Perform 10 jumps, with 2 minutes of rest between jumps (time yourself with a stopwatch). If on any given repetition your heels contact the ground, terminate the workout rather than lowering the boxheight. "B" Session Exercise
Speed
Rest
Sets x Reps
A: Front Squat B-1: Ball Crunch/Medicine Ball Pass B-2: Reverse Hyper Friday: A: Power Clean from Hang B: Medicine ball Chest Pass C: Box Jumps D-: Pull-ups
Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative
210 SEC 210 SEC 210 SEC
6x2 6x2 6x2
Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative
210 210 210 210
6x2 6x2 6x2 6x2
Speed
Rest
Sets x Reps
Accelerative Accelerative Rhythmic Rhythmic
120 SEC 120 SEC 60 SEC 60 SEC
3x2 3x2 2x45 secs 2x45 secs
SEC SEC SEC SEC
Week 11 Exercise Monday: A-1: A-2: B-1: B-2:
Military Press Standing Hammer Curl 45-degree Incline Dumbbell Press Standing Dumbbell Curl
192
Physically Incorrect Wednesday: A: Back Squat B-1: Swiss Ball Crunch B-2: Back Extension B-3: Standing Calf Raise
Accelerative Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
120 SEC 90 SEC 90 SEC 90 SEC
3x2 2x45 secs 2x45 secs 2x45 secs
Exercise
Speed
Rest
Sets x Reps
Accelerative Accelerative Accelerative Rhythmic
120 SEC 120 SEC 120 SEC 90 SEC
3x2 3x2 3x2 3x8
Exercise
Speed
Rest
Sets x Reps
Monday: A-1: Military Press A-2: Standing Hammer Curl B-1: 45-degree Incline DB Press B-2: Standing Dumbbell Curl
Accelerative Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
210 SEC 90 SEC 90 SEC 90 SEC
2x2 1x45 secs 1x45 secs 1x45 secs
A: Back Squat B-1: Swiss Ball Crunch B-2: Back Extension B-3: Standing Calf Raise Friday:
Accelerative Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
210 SEC 90 SEC 90 SEC 90 SEC
2x2 1x45 secs 1x45 secs 1x45 secs
A-1: A-2: B-1: B-2:
Accelerative Rhythmic Rhythmic Rhythmic
210 SEC 90 SEC 90 SEC 90 SEC
3x2 1x45 secs 1x45 secs 1x45 secs
Friday: A-1: Pull-ups A-2: Close grip Bench Press B-1: Machine Seated Row B-2: Tricep Pushdowns Week 12 (taper)
Wednesday:
Pull-ups Close grip Bench Press Seated Row Tricep Pushdowns
Week 13: Off (completion of taper. Re-take the MJQ at the end of week 13, and compare with the initial results!
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Physically Incorrect References: 1) Hatfield, F.C. (Ed.)(1998). Fitness: The Complete Guide. Santa Barbara, CA: International Sports Sciences Association. 2) Dick, F.W. (1997). Sports Training Principles. London: A&C Black. 3, 5) Komi, P.V., (Ed.) (1992) Strength and Power in Sport. London: Blackwell Scientific Publications 4) Bompa, T. O. (1993). Periodization of Strength. Toronto: Veritas Publishing, Inc. 5) Hatfield, F.C. (1989). Contemporary Books.
Power:
A
Scientific
Approach.
Chicago:
6) Zatsiorsky, V.M. (1995). Science and Practice of Strength Training. Champaign: Human Kinetics Publishers. 7) Kraemer, W.J., & Newton, R.U. Muscle Power. Muscular Development, March, 1995 8) Drechsler, A. (1998). The Weightlifting Encyclopedia. Flushing, NY: A is A Communications. 9) Dunn, G.D., & McGill, K. (1994). The Throws Manual (2nd. Ed.), Mountain View, CA: Tafnews Press
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Physically Incorrect Convergent Phase Training One of my central operating paradigms is the realization that all methods, devices, philosophies, techniques, etc., have specific benefits and drawbacks. If your training lacks sufficient diversity, you’ll accumulate the drawbacks and habituate to the benefits. Interestingly enough however, even the concept of training diversity has it’s own set of benefits and drawbacks! For example, for strength athletes, insufficient continuity will negatively impact strength gains, since every time you rotate your exercise menu, you have to expend a lot of energy readjusting to the new exercises. There is a way to reap the benefits of a diverse training strategy without accumulating it’s drawbacks, and it’s called convergent phase training (CPT). Here’s how it works: Training frequency is three times per microcycle. In the examples I provide in this article, a microcycle is one week, however, it could be as little as 6 days or as long as 12 days, depending on your particular needs and particulars. For example, in-season athletes may benefit from a longer cycle. Each workout consists of a “core” exercise, and a circuit. You’ll use three core exercises and two circuits. Core Exercise Selection The core exercises are selected on the basis of dynamic correspondence. Dynamic correspondence is similar to the concept of specificity, however, an exercise which dynamically corresponds to your sport skill may not outwardly appear similar to the event! For example, punching with dumbbells in the hands appears to be very similar to the boxing punch at first glance. However, it has a low degree of dynamic correspondence, because: • In order to develop the pecs, delts, and tri's, you need to be in a supine position, so that the targeted muscle fibers are fighting against gravity during the movement; • The additional load imposed by the dumbbells requires excessive contribution from the antagonists in order to maintain joint integrity, and... • The dumbbells will be too light to develop strength, and too heavy to develop speed.
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Physically Incorrect A better choice for boxers would be the bench press, with weights that range between 55 and 85 percent of maximum. This exercise properly conditions the muscles which contribute to the boxing punch, although it does not appear specific to the skill in question. Note: The core exercises in the program provided may or may not have a high degree of dynamic correspondence to your sport skills. They are provided for the purpose of illustration only. If you are a bodybuilder not engaged in any other sport, select three multi-joint exercises which represent a large percentage of the body’s total muscle mass with minimal redundancy. One example might be the squat, pull-up and bench press. Another might be the deadlift, dips, and rows. Constructing the Circuits Each circuit represents half of the body’s muscles. I designate muscle groups into circuits like this: "A" Circuit: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)
Hamstrings Lats / Traps/ Rear Delts Triceps Gastrocs Rectus Abdominus / Trunk-Hip Flexion Grip Strength (Wrist and / or finger flexion emphasis)
"B" Circuit: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)
Quads Pecs / Front Delts Biceps / Brachialis / Brachioradialis Soleus Obliques / Flexion-rotation exercises Grip Strength (Wrist and / or finger extension emphasis)
Use the same circuits for four microcycles (one month for the example provided) and then change them for each successive month. When choosing circuit exercises for the next month’s circuits, base your choices on eliminating weaknesses. For example, if your squats seem to be limited by poor low back strength, choose exercises, training methods, and loading parameters that will be instrumental in addressing these weak links. Although I have relied mostly on straight sets for the circuits presented here, there is no reason why you can’t employ drop-sets, eccentric training, Tellekinetics, plyometrics, whatever you find to be effective. Be creative! 196
Physically Incorrect Converging Phases The name “convergent phase training” refers to the fact that there are two separate rhythms (or “phases”) that converge on regular intervals— in this case, every two weeks. Here’s a skeleton outline of the first two microcycles for the example I’ve provided here: Day
Core
Circuit
Monday
Clean
A
Wednesday
Bench
B
Friday
Squat
A
Monday
Clean
B
Wednesday
Bench
A
Friday
Squat
B
Week One
Week Two
As you can see, when using CPT, you train two weeks at a time without ever repeating the same workout. Yet at the same time, there is a significant amount of continuity. The best of both Worlds. Another interesting aspect of CPT is the unique rhythm that takes place: muscles used in the three core lifts are trained three times on week one, and then only once on week two, etc. All other muscles are trained twice on week one, once on week two, etc. Shock followed by recovery. The way God intended it to be. Before You Start the Program • Before starting, conservatively estimate 1RM's for your three core lifts. You’ll be working off of percentages of maximum with the core lifts in this program. • Assign exercises for each muscle group in each circuit. When choosing circuit exercises for muscles which are also used in the “core” exercises, try to avoid redundancy. For example, if you use the bench press as a core exercise, don’t choose a Smith bench for the circuits...use an exercise that is significantly different, in as many ways as possible. Some choices for this example might include dips, dumbbell flyes, cable crossovers, or incline dumbbell presses. 197
Physically Incorrect • Don't work particularly hard on the first week with regard to the circuits. The perceived intensity of the first week should be about 70 to 75 percent of maximum, in terms of overall stress and energy expenditure. • Progression, volume control, and testing: On week two, tweak your weights, sets, reps, etc. (on the circuits only), so that your total training volume increases by 10% on week two. Generally, the easiest way to do this is to add one rep per set on each exercise of the circuits, using the same weights. Then increase volume by another 10% on week three. On week 4, the volume should be 50% of week three. This one week reduction of volume is intended to facilitate a more complete recovery and give you a physiological jump start for the next mesocycle. You'll do performance testing every fourth microcycle as well. This involves working up to your one rep max for all three core lifts, and then dropping back to 80% of that number for one all-out set. This will provide an additional hypertrophy stimulus and also provide feedback on training-induced fiber conversion (i.e., the less reps you can do at 80% of 1RM, the more your transitional fibers are converting to the fast end of the spectrum). The Program Here it is: a sample CPT program to get you started. If any of the exercises are unfamiliar or seem inappropriate to you for any reason, go ahead and make the appropriate substitutions. I’m suggesting 4-5 sets of 5-6 reps on the circuit exercises, but if higher or lower reps are better suited for your needs, go ahead and tweak it. In other words, the principles involved are more important than the details. Note: I’m presenting the program using layouts from my Training-Nutrition Manager tracking software (available at http://www.myodynamics.com), so that you can see how I’m tracking and progressing the training volumes. Most of the more unusual exercises link to photos and a description as well.
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Physically Incorrect MONTH ONE Week One Monday: A) Hang Clean (80%; 5x4) B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 (Hamstrings): Glute-ham-Gastroc raise 2 (Lats): Chin-up 3 (Triceps): Lying EX Bar Triceps Extension 4 (Gastrocs): Jumps in Place (5 reps with dumbbells, then 5 reps with bodyweight only) 5 (Rectus Abdominus): Hanging Pikes 6 (Grip Strength): Straight Bar Reverse Curl Wednesday A) Bench Press (80%; 5x4) B) "B" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(Quads): Decline Step-up (Right) (Quads): Decline Step-up (Left) (Pecs): Incline Dumbbell Press (Biceps): Dumbbell Preacher Curl (Soleus): Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Russian Twist (Grip Strength): Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Friday: A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel) (80%; 5x4) B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 (Hamstrings): Glute-ham-Gastroc raise 2 (Lats): Chin-up 3 (Triceps): Lying EX Bar Triceps Extension 4 (Gastrocs): Jumps in Place (5 reps with dumbbells, then 5 reps with bodyweight only) 5 (Rectus Abdominus): Hanging Pikes 6 (Grip Strength): Straight Bar Reverse Curl 199
Physically Incorrect Week Two A) Hang Clean (85%; 4x3); B) "B" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(Quads): Decline Step-up (Right) (Quads): Decline Step-up (Left) (Pecs): Incline Dumbbell Press (Biceps): Dumbbell Preacher Curl (Soleus): Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Russian Twist (Grip Strength): Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Wednesday A) Bench Press (85%; 4x3); B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 (Hamstrings): Glute-ham-Gastroc raise 2 (Lats): Chin-up 3 (Triceps): Lying EX Bar Triceps Extension 4 (Gastrocs): Jumps in Place (5 reps with dumbbells, then 5 reps with bodyweight only.) 5 (Rectus Abdominus): Hanging Pikes 6 (Grip Strength): Straight Bar Reverse Curl Friday: A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel) (85%; 4x3) B) "B" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(Quads): Decline Step-up (Right) (Quads): Decline Step-up (Left) (Pecs): Incline Dumbbell Press (Biceps): Dumbbell Preacher Curl (Soleus): Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Russian Twist (Grip Strength): Dumbbell Hammer Curl
200
Physically Incorrect Week Three Monday: A) Hang Clean (90%; 3x2) B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 (Hamstrings): Glute-ham-Gastroc raise 2 (Lats): Chin-up 3 (Triceps): Lying EX Bar Triceps Extension 4 (Gastrocs): Jumps in Place (5 reps with dumbbells, then 5 reps with bodyweight only) 5 (Rectus Abdominus): Hanging Pikes 6 (Grip Strength): Straight Bar Reverse Curl Wednesday A) Bench Press (90%; 3x2) B) "B" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(Quads): Decline Step-up (Right) (Quads): Decline Step-up (Left) (Pecs): Incline Dumbbell Press (Biceps): Dumbbell Preacher Curl (Soleus): Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Russian Twist (Grip Strength): Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Friday: A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel) (80%; 5x4) B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 (Hamstrings): Glute-ham-Gastroc raise 2 (Lats): Chin-up 3 (Triceps): Lying EX Bar Triceps Extension 4 (Gastrocs): Jumps in Place (5 reps with dumbbells, then 5 reps with bodyweight only) 5 (Rectus Abdominus): Hanging Pikes 6 (Grip Strength): Straight Bar Reverse Curl
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Physically Incorrect Week Four (Remember, total volume should be reduced 50% from last week) Monday A) Hang Clean: 1RM Testing, then max reps with 80% B) "B" Circuit (1-3 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(Quads): Decline Step-up (Right) (Quads): Decline Step-up (Left) (Pecs): Incline Dumbbell Press (Biceps): Dumbbell Preacher Curl (Soleus): Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Russian Twist (Grip Strength): Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Wednesday A) Bench Press: 1RM Testing, then max reps with 80% B) "A" Circuit (1-3 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 (Hamstrings): Glute-ham-Gastroc raise 2 (Lats): Chin-up 3 (Triceps): Lying EX Bar Triceps Extension 4 (Gastrocs): Jumps in Place (5 reps with dumbbells, then 5 reps with bodyweight only) 5 (Rectus Abdominus): Hanging Pikes 6 (Grip Strength): Straight Bar Reverse Curl Friday: A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel): 1RM Testing, then max reps with 80% B) "B" Circuit (1-3 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(Quads): Decline Step-up (Right) (Quads): Decline Step-up (Left) (Pecs): Incline Dumbbell Press (Biceps): Dumbbell Preacher Curl (Soleus): Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Russian Twist (Grip Strength): Dumbbell Hammer Curl
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Physically Incorrect MONTH TWO Week One (Core exercise percentages are based on new 1RM’s achieved last week) Monday: A) Hang Clean (80%; 5x4) B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Hamstrings): Stiff-leg Deadlift (Lats): Chest-supported Seated Row (Triceps): French Press (Gastrocs): Leg Press Calf Raise (Rectus Abdominus): Downward Ball Smash (Grip Strength): Static Bar Holds with Oversized Bar
Wednesday A) Bench Press (80%; 5x4) B) "B" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Quads): Front Squat (heels elevated) (Pecs): Dips (Biceps): Incline Dumbbell Curl (Soleus): Donkey Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball (Grip Strength): Preacher Hammer Curl
Friday: A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel) (80%; 5x4) B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Hamstrings): Stiff-leg Deadlift (Lats): Chest-supported Seated Row (Triceps): French Press (Gastrocs): Leg Press Calf Raise (Rectus Abdominus): Downward Ball Smash (Grip Strength): Static Bar Holds with Oversized Bar
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Physically Incorrect Week Two A) Hang Clean (85%; 4x3); B) "B" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Quads): Front Squat (heels elevated) (Pecs): Dips (Biceps): Incline Dumbbell Curl (Soleus): Donkey Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball (Grip Strength): Preacher Hammer Curl
Wednesday A) Bench Press (85%; 4x3); B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Hamstrings): Stiff-leg Deadlift (Lats): Chest-supported Seated Row (Triceps): French Press (Gastrocs): Leg Press Calf Raise (Rectus Abdominus): Downward Ball Smash (Grip Strength): Static Bar Holds with Oversized Bar
Friday: A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel) (85%; 4x3) B) "B" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Quads): Front Squat (heels elevated) (Pecs): Dips (Biceps): Incline Dumbbell Curl (Soleus): Donkey Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball (Grip Strength): Preacher Hammer Curl
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Physically Incorrect Week Three Monday: A) Hang Clean (90%; 3x2) B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Hamstrings): Stiff-leg Deadlift (Lats): Chest-supported Seated Row (Triceps): French Press (Gastrocs): Leg Press Calf Raise (Rectus Abdominus): Downward Ball Smash (Grip Strength): Static Bar Holds with Oversized Bar
Wednesday A) Bench Press (90%; 3x2) B) "B" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Quads): Front Squat (heels elevated) (Pecs): Dips (Biceps): Incline Dumbbell Curl (Soleus): Donkey Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball (Grip Strength): Preacher Hammer Curl
Friday: A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel) (80%; 5x4) B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Hamstrings): Stiff-leg Deadlift (Lats): Chest-supported Seated Row (Triceps): French Press (Gastrocs): Leg Press Calf Raise (Rectus Abdominus): Downward Ball Smash (Grip Strength): Static Bar Holds with Oversized Bar
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Physically Incorrect Week Four (Remember, total volume should be reduced 50% from last week) Monday A) Hang Clean: 1RM Testing, then max reps with 80% B) "B" Circuit (1-3 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Quads): Front Squat (heels elevated) (Pecs): Dips (Biceps): Incline Dumbbell Curl (Soleus): Donkey Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball (Grip Strength): Preacher Hammer Curl
Wednesday A) Bench Press: 1RM Testing, then max reps with 80% B) "A" Circuit (1-3 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Hamstrings): Stiff-leg Deadlift (Lats): Chest-supported Seated Row (Triceps): French Press (Gastrocs): Leg Press Calf Raise (Rectus Abdominus): Downward Ball Smash (Grip Strength): Static Bar Holds with Oversized Bar
Friday: A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel): 1RM Testing, then max reps with 80% B) "B" Circuit (1-3 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Quads): Front Squat (heels elevated) (Pecs): Dips (Biceps): Incline Dumbbell Curl (Soleus): Donkey Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball (Grip Strength): Preacher Hammer Curl
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Physically Incorrect MONTH THREE Week One (Core exercise percentages are based on new 1RM’s achieved last week) Monday: A) Hang Clean (80%; 5x4) B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(Hamstrings): Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (left) (Hamstrings): Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (right) (Lats): Close, Parallel-grip Pull-up (Triceps): Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extension (Gastrocs): Donkey Calf Raise (Partner or Machine) (Rectus Abdominus): Sit-up (Grip Strength): Straight-bar Thumbless Reverse Curl
Wednesday A) Bench Press (80%; 5x4) B) "B" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(Quads): Lunge in Place (Left) (Quads): Lunge in Place (Right) (Pecs): Dips (Biceps): Low Cable Curl (Soleus): Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Supine Med-ball Foot Catch (Grip Strength): Incline Hammer Curl
Friday: A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel) (80%; 5x4) B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Hamstrings): Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (left) (Hamstrings): Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (right) (Lats): Close, Parallel-grip Pull-up (Triceps): Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extension (Gastrocs): Donkey Calf Raise (Partner or Machine) (Rectus Abdominus): Sit-up 207
Physically Incorrect 7 (Grip Strength): Straight-bar Thumbless Reverse Curl Week Two A) Hang Clean (85%; 4x3); B) "B" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Quads): Front Squat (heels elevated) (Pecs): Dips (Biceps): Incline Dumbbell Curl (Soleus): Donkey Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball (Grip Strength): Preacher Hammer Curl
Wednesday A) Bench Press (85%; 4x3); B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(Hamstrings): Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (left) (Hamstrings): Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (right) (Lats): Close, Parallel-grip Pull-up (Triceps): Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extension (Gastrocs): Donkey Calf Raise (Partner or Machine) (Rectus Abdominus): Sit-up (Grip Strength): Straight-bar Thumbless Reverse Curl
Friday: A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel) (85%; 4x3) B) "B" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Quads): Front Squat (heels elevated) (Pecs): Dips (Biceps): Incline Dumbbell Curl (Soleus): Donkey Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball (Grip Strength): Preacher Hammer Curl
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Physically Incorrect Week Three Monday: A) Hang Clean (90%; 3x2) B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(Hamstrings): Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (left) (Hamstrings): Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (right) (Lats): Close, Parallel-grip Pull-up (Triceps): Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extension (Gastrocs): Donkey Calf Raise (Partner or Machine) (Rectus Abdominus): Sit-up (Grip Strength): Straight-bar Thumbless Reverse Curl
Wednesday A) Bench Press (90%; 3x2) B) "B" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Quads): Front Squat (heels elevated) (Pecs): Dips (Biceps): Incline Dumbbell Curl (Soleus): Donkey Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball (Grip Strength): Preacher Hammer Curl
Friday: A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel) (80%; 5x4) B) "A" Circuit (4-5 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(Hamstrings): Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (left) (Hamstrings): Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (right) (Lats): Close, Parallel-grip Pull-up (Triceps): Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extension (Gastrocs): Donkey Calf Raise (Partner or Machine) (Rectus Abdominus): Sit-up (Grip Strength): Straight-bar Thumbless Reverse Curl
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Physically Incorrect Week Four (Remember, total volume should be reduced 50% from last week) Monday A) Hang Clean: 1RM Testing, then max reps with 80% B) "B" Circuit (1-3 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Quads): Front Squat (heels elevated) (Pecs): Dips (Biceps): Incline Dumbbell Curl (Soleus): Donkey Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball (Grip Strength): Preacher Hammer Curl
Wednesday A) Bench Press: 1RM Testing, then max reps with 80% B) "A" Circuit (1-3 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(Hamstrings): Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (left) (Hamstrings): Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (right) (Lats): Close, Parallel-grip Pull-up (Triceps): Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extension (Gastrocs): Donkey Calf Raise (Partner or Machine) (Rectus Abdominus): Sit-up (Grip Strength): Straight-bar Thumbless Reverse Curl
Friday: A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel): 1RM Testing, then max reps with 80% B) "B" Circuit (1-3 sets of 5-6 reps per exercise) 1 2 3 4 5 6
(Quads): Front Squat (heels elevated) (Pecs): Dips (Biceps): Incline Dumbbell Curl (Soleus): Donkey Seated Calf Raise (Obliques): Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball (Grip Strength): Preacher Hammer Curl
Conclusion After this 12 week cycle, take a week off and regroup. When deciding what 210
Physically Incorrect type of training to do following this cycle, take stock of your strengths and weaknesses, and make sure that the weaknesses are addressed in the subsequent cycle.
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Physically Incorrect A Basic Primer on Endurance Training (Originally published at Mesomorphosis.com) Author’s note: Occasionally, I’ll write an article to force myself to bone up on a subject. Here’s one example... Although many anaerobic athletes often eschew the concept of endurance training altogether, in fact, ALL athletes must have the capacity to endure their event(s), no matter how brief or long that might be. However, for the gym-hardened anaerobicists among us, delving into the World of endurance theory can be daunting, to say the least! In the same way that gym discussions revolve around concepts like "one rep max," "motor unit recruitment," "neural drive," and "eccentrics," endurance athletes possess a comprehensive nomenclature of their own including such verbiage as "V02Max," "lactate threshold," "oxygen debt," and "aerobic base," to name just a few. So whether you’re a competitive athlete looking for the best way to stay sharp in late rounds, or a recreational bodybuilder searching for a way to incorporate aerobic exercise to accelerate fat-loss, my objective is to provide you with the basic theory and concepts of endurance training. I think you’ll find that these concepts are not as intimidating as they first seem. And in fact, a deeper appreciation of the benefits of endurance work may even tempt you to lace up those Nike’s and head out for a quick 5 miles (Ok, maybe I’ll accept 1/4 mile if you weigh more than 200 pounds)! Definitions Let’s get the ball rolling by considering a few basic definitions. Endurance is the ability of being able to maintain a high quality of work in the face of fatigue. All athletic skills and events require endurance to some extent, however, the energy requirements of extremely brief skills (such as a single punch, for example) are normally met with ease. Anaerobic endurance refers to short term endurance capacity which relies mainly on anaerobic energy pathways. Aerobic endurance, on the other hand, refers to longer-term activities which rely primarily on the oxidative energy pathway. There is no definitive border between anaerobic and aerobic activity, and in fact, all activities are fueled by both pathways. So when we refer to some212
Physically Incorrect thing being "aerobic" or "anaerobic," we’re referring to the pathway that is the primary contributor of energy for that activity. Normally, short, intensive activities lasting less than say, 90 seconds, might be though of as "anaerobic," while longer, less intensive work is though of as "aerobic." Also, longer activities which are intermittent (i.e., boxing, football, etc.) are also thought of as "anaerobic," since they consist of repeated high-intensity bouts of activity. V02Max: Your Ability to Utilize Oxygen Whenever athletes discuss endurance capacity, the term "V02 max" (or "max 02") comes up. V02 max is a measure of how much oxygen you can consume and use aerobically, and is specified as milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute, or mls/kg/min. Although athletes with a higher V02 max have a greater potential capacity to use oxygen aerobically, (and, by inference, should have better endurance abilities), in reality, there’s a significant difference between your aerobic capacity (as determined by your V02 max) and your actual endurance performance ability, which is more often limited by something called your lactate threshold. A big VO2 max determines the ceiling for the athlete’s sustainable work rate— it is a measure of the size of his or her "engine." However, it is the lactate threshold that determines the actual percentage of that engine power that can be used continuously. Let’s explore... The Lactate Threshold When your muscles perform intense work, they produce a waste product called lactic acid. This lactic acid is familiar to anyone who’s experienced an intense muscular burn after performing a hard sprint or an extended set of bench presses in the gym. Up to a point, your body can "clear" this lactic acid by using it up as fuel for energy (which is called "oxidation."). This point is the definition of lactate threshold. If you’re working at a low-enough intensity, your body will be capable of clearing the lactic acid "on the fly" and you will be able to continue indefinitely (in theory, at least). This is called "aerobic endurance." If, on the other hand, you are working at a high-enough percentage of your maximal abilities, you’ll produce so much lactic acid that your body will be unable to clear it, unless you reduce your work output or stop altogether, allowing your body’s aerobic processes to clear the lactic acid. This process is sometimes called "oxygen debt," because, although you can work very hard without oxygen for a brief period, at some point you’ll have to stop and undergo heavy respiration as a "pay back" for your body.
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Physically Incorrect Table 1: Average Maximal Oxygen Uptakes of Team National Athletes (Maximal uptake in athletes, B. Saltin & P. Astrand, Journal of Applied Physiology, V 23 #3: 353-358, Sept., 1967) Event
Men
Women
Cross-country Skiing Running 3000 meters Speed Skating Orienteering Running 800-1500 meters Bicycling Biathlon Walking Canoeing Downhill Skiing Running 400 meters Swimming Ski Jumping Rowing Gymnastics Table Tennis Fencing Wrestling Weight Lifting Archery Untrained
82 79 78 77 75 74 73 71 70 68 67 66 62 62 60 58 58 56 55 — 43
63 — 54 59 — — — — — 51 56 57 — — — 44 43 — — 40 39
According to Jerry Robinson and Frank Carrino in their text Max 02, The Complete Guide to Synergistic Aerobic Training, the average sedentary per son has a V02 max anywhere between 20 and 40 mls/kg/min and a lactate threshold at about 50% of their V02 max. Of course, well-trained endurance athletes have much higher V02 max scores (please see Table 1), with lactate thresholds approaching 80 or even 90 percent of their V02 max. So this means that athletes who wish to improve their endurance performance capabilities can either train to improve their V02 max, their lactate threshold, or both. Smart athletes work on both aspects in their training, although we do know that most people can only hope to improve their V02 max about 20-40 percent over an entire athletic career. In other words, there are more significant genetic restraints on V02 max 214
Physically Incorrect than there are on improving lactate threshold. It should be obvious by now that an athlete with a lower V02 max, but a higher lactate threshold can have a better endurance performance than a peer with a higher V02 max but a lower lactate threshold. Let’s examine a hypothetical comparison for the purposes of illustration: Parameter V02max* Lactate threshold Performance capacity*
Marilyn 67 70 46.9
Jenna 60 85 51
* Measured as milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute (mls/kg/min). As you can see, Jenna, who may have significant genetic limitations on V02max, has still managed to develop a superior endurance performance capacity compared to Marilyn by raising her lactate threshold. The Periodization of Endurance Training In a periodized training program, it’s important to develop your V02max, improve your lactate threshold, and also the third aspect of endurance development, technical efficiency, which basically means that you need to refine your technical skills to the utmost. Let’s examine each phase independently, and in the order that they appear in your training cycle. Phase I: Develop the Foundation (Improve V02 max) The accumulation of training volume early in the macrocycle is known as laying down an "aerobic base." This aerobic foundation is what creates the necessary "machinery" which will serve to create a better anaerobic working capacity later in the cycle— in other words, as your aerobic fitness improves, you’ll be able to work harder and longer before reaching your lactate threshold. Note: Many conditioning specialists eschew the concept of developing an aerobic base, feeling that a highly developed aerobic capacity is counter-productive to the attainment of speed and strength. However the anaerobic system is based on the aerobic system, so at least in principle, it seems logical to develop the system which will promote lactic acid clearance during high intensity training efforts later in the cycle. As in all things, it really is an issue of how much aerobic work is done, and where it is placed in the training cycle.
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Physically Incorrect Training parameters for developing aerobic capacity When attempting to develop or improve your aerobic capacity, training should take place between 3 and 6 days a week. The total duration of work in each session might be anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or more— longer durations are inappropriate for athletes, unless they expect their competitive event to require more than 30-45 minutes of continuous activity. The intensity of training should, by definition, be low (if it was high intensity, it would be anaerobic, not aerobic). Although many heart-rate formulas have been used with success, I have found the age-old "talk test" to be more than accurate: if you can carry on a conversation during the aerobic workout, your intensity isn’t excessive. If you can’t, reduce the intensity until you can— save super-intense training for the anaerobic interval phase later in the training cycle. Remember— we’re not trying to raise the lactate threshold— yet. We’re simply developing the foundation...the peak will be added later. One last point: as you progress through the macrocycle, the content of your aerobic activities should gradually progress from a wide selection of different activities, to a smaller, more specific group or activities. For example, when establishing an aerobic base, you might cycle on Monday, Swim on Tuesday, run on Wednesday, and so forth. Avoid excessive volumes of aerobic training When it comes to aerobic training, "the more is better" philosophy that so many athletes have can be counter-productive, particularly with regards to strength and body composition, as the following research findings indicate: • According to a recent study presented in IDEA magazine, the average female aerobics instructor has 18% bodyfat. This is higher than the average female competitive weightlifter (16%). • According to a recent study published in Muscular Development magazine, muscle necrosis (tissue death) and inflammation can be observed in the calves of marathon runners seven days after a race. • According to Dr. Marc Breehl, a leading anesthesiologist specializing in cardiac surgery, the enlarged hearts of aerobic athletes are weaker, not stronger than those with anaerobic backgrounds. So, the idea is to "get the most bang for your buck" by doing as much aerobic training as it takes to maximize your aerobic capacities, but also to stop when you’re experiencing diminishing returns. If you do too much aerobic exercise, at too hard a pace, you’ll impair your strength training sessions, and have a difficult time recovering from your training program. 216
Physically Incorrect Two Hypothetical 8-Week Aerobic Endurance Training Programs These two programs illustrate the two basic ways that aerobic endurance programs can be constructed— "steady-state," which means that you perform a single bout of continuous activity (at the highest heart rate that you can manage for the entire duration), and "aerobic-interval training," which utilizes a handful of shorter bouts, separated by short rests. Although both options can be used by any athlete, the aerobic-interval method is more appropriate for experienced athletes, since the shorter durations allow for higher heart rates which are obviously more stressful than the steady-state method. Another option is to first use the steady-state program, followed by the aerobic-interval program, which serve as an intermediate-intensity zone leading up to the anaerobic intervals to follow later in the macrocycle. For the sake of clarity, both programs involve exactly the same overall volume of training, as measured by time. Aerobic Endurance Training Modalities Steady-state method: Week Mon
Wed
Fri
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Swim, 25mins Stairclimbing, 30mins Run, 35mins Cycle, 40mins Rowing, 45mins Swim, 50mins Stairclimbing, 55mins Run, 60mins
Run, 30mins Cycle, 35mins Rowing, 40mins Swim, 45mins Stairclimbing, 50min Run, 55mins Cycle, 60mins Rowing, 65mins
Cycle, 20mins Rowing, 25mins Swim, 30mins Stairclimbing, 35mins Run, 40mins Cycle, 45mins Rowing, 50mins Swim, 55mins
Aerobic-interval method: (Note: rest intervals are always 1/2 the duration of the work intervals being performed that day)
Week Mon
Wed
Fri
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Swim, 5x5mins Climbing, 3x10mins Run, 7x5mins Cycle, 4x10mins Rowing, 9x5mins Swim, 5x10mins Climbing, 11x5mins Run, 6x10mins
Run, 3x10mins Cycle, 7x5mins Rowing, 4x10mins Swim, 9x5mins Climbing,5x10mins Run, 11x5mins Cycle, 6x10mins Rowing, 13x5mins
Cycle, 2x10mins Rowing, 5x5mins Swim, 3x10mins Climbing, 7x5mins Run, 4x10mins Cycle, 9x5mins Rowing, 5x10mins Swim, 11x5mins
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Physically Incorrect Phase 2: Anaerobic Interval Training Once you’ve developed the highest amount of aerobic efficiency possible within the confines of your training cycle, it’s time to throttle back a bit on your training volume to make way for anaerobic interval training for the purpose of raising your lactate threshold. The aerobic base that you have just established will now be down-shifted to "maintenance" level by reducing the total volume of aerobic training considerably— down to between 25 and 50 percent of the original volume. Your efforts will now be dedicated primarily to improving your ability to tolerate lactic acid buildup, which is really a more significant limiting factor than aerobic capacity for most athletes. Understanding Intervals An interval is defined as a period of time or a specified distance. For athletes, it means repeated bouts of high intensity exercise with intermittent rest periods. Since the 1960's, interval training has come to be thought of as the key to endurance performance success. In some training programs, it accounts for 50-75% of the total training volume. Intermittent exercise allows a higher total volume of high intensity work, and also accumulates a greater volume of stress on the blood pumping capacity of the heart. According to exercise physiologist Dr. Steven Seilor, the periodic elevations and decreases in intensity may create special loading stresses on the heart that are adaptive. Seilor suggests that during an interval, heart rate climbs high, then at the moment you stop the interval, heart rate immediately starts to drop, but venous return remains high. These exposures to additional ventricular stretch may help trigger ventricular remodeling (increased heart ventricle volume). Training Parameters for Anaerobic Interval Training This phase of your endurance training program should be tailored to the actual event duration that you’ll be expected to endure. If you’re a kickboxer entering a match composed of (6) 2 minute rounds, there’s no point in engaging in 3 hour runs to improve your endurance for the fight! In fact, even if you decide to employ 20 minute intervals with 5 minute rests between intervals, you’d be using ten times the volume that you’ll experience in the upcoming fight! If you think that this will improve your "wind," you’d be dead wrong, because you’ll be training the wrong energy system for the job. It would be like trying to improve your 100 meter speed by running 1000-meter intervals!
218
Physically Incorrect When performing anaerobic intervals, you need to be working hard— as hard as possible, for the duration of each interval. But perhaps more importantly, you need to focus on the quality of what you’re doing. After all, what’s the point of doing repeated 2 minute intervals on the heavy bag if your technique is atrocious? Although I will present two hypothetical programs for anaerobic training below, always make modifications as needed based on your present performance capacity. For example, if you can’t go "all out" with an opponent for 30 seconds without falling apart, neither of the following programs will be appropriate, and you’ll have to reduce the duration of the intervals, at least for now. The rule-of-thumb is: first establish quality, then increase quantity. Two Hypothetical Anaerobic Interval Training Programs Let’s look at two athletes, one with better strength than endurance, and the other with better endurance than strength. We now have 8 weeks to go before the fight. Here is a hypothetical interval training program for each athlete: Athlete is strong, but needs better short-term endurance: Week
Mon
Wed
Fri
1 10x90sec 11x90sec 12x90sec (rests= 120secs) 2 9x120sec 10x120sec 11x120sec (rests= 120secs) 3 10x120sec 11x120sec 12x120sec (rests= 120secs) 4 9x150sec 10x150sec 11x150sec (rests= 90secs) 5 10x150sec 11x150sec 12x150sec (rests= 90secs) 6 9x180sec 10x180sec 11x180sec (rests= 90secs) 7 10x180sec 11x180sec 12x180sec (rests= 60secs) 8 (taper) 8x150sec 4x120sec 2x90sec (rests= 60secs) Athlete has good stamina, but needs more strength and speed: Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Mon 8x150sec 10x150sec 9x120sec 10x120sec 9x90sec 10x90sec 9x60sec (taper) 8x60sec
Wed 9x150sec 11x150sec 10x120sec 11x120sec 10x90sec 11x90sec 10x60sec 4x60sec
Fri 10x150sec (rests= 90secs) 12x150sec (rests= 120secs) 11x120sec (rests= 120secs) 12x120sec (rests= 150secs) 11x90sec (rests= 150secs) 12x90sec (rests= 150secs) 11x60sec (rests= 180secs) 2x60sec (rests= 180secs)
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Physically Incorrect As the above scenarios indicate, strength is developed by performing intervals which are slightly shorter than the competitive event-duration, while endurance is developed by performing slightly longer intervals. No not blindly copy the above programs, but instead, learn to apply them to your specific situation. Anaerobic Interval Training Content Unlike the aerobic build-up period, the activities you’ll perform must be much more event-specific during this phase. Use primarily competitive skills and skill-elements in a controlled, yet challenging environment to prevent injury in the final weeks leading up to an event. Athletes can spar with safety equipment or by handicapping themselves, for example, rotating opponents to keep them fresh. Another example of a handicap is to spar without using a favorite technique, which will force you to develop your weaknesses. Phase 3: Maximize Technical Efficiency To this point, I’ve said that high level endurance performance depends on 1. a high VO2 max, and 2. a high lactate threshold. Your VO2 max sets the upper limit for your sustainable work potential. The lactate threshold indicates how much of your cardiovascular capacity you can take advantage of in a sustained effort. Multiplying VO2 max by your lactate threshold gives us a measure of the size of your "endurance engine." In sport, however, victory does not automatically go to the athlete with the biggest engine. Efficiency (or technical skill) is critical to maximizing performance capacity. You might have a V02max of 85 and a lactate threshold of 90%, but if, during a sport training session, you waste precious energy by attempting techniques from poor positions of leverage, or made bad tactical and/or strategic decisions, it’s all for naught! In other words, from a functional perspective, improving your technical and tactical skills improves your ability to endure, since you are moving with better efficiency. Final Thoughts Athletes need to make the distinction between doing endurance training for the purpose of improving endurance, and doing such workouts as a tool to improve body composition. In the latter instance (which will be most applicable for Mesomorphosis readers), both aerobic and anaerobic variants are viable tools when used judiciously and in the proper proportions. Aerobic work, when performed at low intensities, are valuable in assisting recovery from intense workouts. Anaerobic interval training, when done at or near lac220
Physically Incorrect tate threshold, assists in fat loss through the production of growth hormone levels. Strangely, moderate intensity endurance training seems to be most counterproductive for athletes interested in improving body composition— they wear you down without producing the hormonal environment conducive to fat loss. In the final analysis, I’ll leave you with a concept that always holds my clients in good stead: when making decisions about training load, strive to the least amount of work that will lead to a result, rather than the most. Seek to become efficient with your training efforts. Avoid waste— any training program that leads to results will also lead to injury if followed to long and/or too repetitively.
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Physically Incorrect Re-examining the Value of Aerobic Exercise: Part I Author’s note: Of all the articles I’ve written, this two-parter has perhaps generated the most phone calls, letters, and e-mails. Now that I’m a few years older (and hopefully wiser), I’m perhaps not quite so anti-aerobic, although I still stand by the basic principles stated in the article. Just like any tool, aerobic exercise can be useful or harmful, depending on your objectives and the dosages you use. Regular small doses of steady-state exercise can actually improve recovery, but of course, too much can sap your strength and lead to muscle wasting. Ever since the "jogging craze" of the '70's, aerobic exercise has been the method of choice for those attempting to "lose weight." Gradually, the resistance training area of most gyms and clubs is being scaled back to accommodate all manner of equipment designed to elevate the heart rate. With the aerobic revolution in full gear, I feel compelled to ask, "Why are people getting fatter and fatter?" For those who have critically studied sport training and exercise physiology, this is a rhetorical question. A quick look at any national level track meet speaks volumes about the effects of aerobic versus anaerobic training. Compare the physiques of 100 meter sprinters against long distance runners, such as marathoners. Although sprinters do little or no aerobic exercise (it's not specific to their events), they are just as lean (if not leaner) than their aerobic counterparts. They also have more attractive physiques, which is a by-product of the muscle they've gained from hours in the weight room and short-term, intensive running. By contrast, the marathoner's lack of muscle gives him a "flat" physique. His extensive and frequent forays into the aerobic zone have caused his body to lose muscle (since muscle weighs more than fat, it is the body's preferred tissue to cannibalize in the interest in lightening the load). If you've been trying (unsuccessfully) to lose 10 to 20 pounds of unwanted fat, despite spending hours upon hours on the stairclimber, read on. Anaerobic exercise may not be politically correct, but it IS physiologically correct— if fat loss is your objective. Since our language affects the way we think, let's begin by revising our vocabulary for a moment. I'd like to encourage you to delete a few words from your personal dictionary. Words like tone, shape, contour, sculpt, and all the rest of the vague descriptions you hear on late night infomercials. These terms are irrelevant with respect to the adaptations you can expect from any form of exercise. In reality, there are only two bodily tissues that you have 222
Physically Incorrect aesthetic control over— muscle, and fat. These tissues can be affected in only two ways: You can gain, or lose. (By the way: tone simply refers to a state of partial, involuntary contraction, a result of muscular work. Even the most rotund can have muscle tone, and the thinnest people sometimes have no tone.) So the goal is to gain muscle and lose fat. When you do so, let everyone else call you toned and sculpted. Of course, many people, influenced by the exceedingly massive (and rare) physiques adorning the covers of muscle magazines, shirk at the prospect of gaining muscle. It's a shame— myophobia keeps more people from achieving their fitness goals than any other single factor. Just a few pounds of added muscle can make a dramatic difference in your physique, not to mention your health and well-being. Muscle (unlike fat) needs calories to survive. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. Bigger muscles burn more calories than smaller ones, even during sleep! Personal trainers— people who earn their living by making substantial changes in their client's bodies— regard resistance training as the most important item in their professional "toolbox." Dave Sinnot, trainer of many top Hollywood stars, including Sean Penn and Angela Bassett, is amazed at people's avoidance of weight training: "People who think that aerobic training is the ultimate fat loss method are totally missing the boat. I've worked with people who spend half their waking hours doing some form of aerobics. They complain that they aren't getting results anymore. As soon as we shift emphasis to weight training and nutritional modifications, they always start improving immediately. It's like their body was begging for it!" Dave related to me that Angela Bassett (star of "What's Love Got To Do With It") was not blessed with great genetics as many people assume, and was actually "pudgy" when he started working with her. What's the best approach for people wishing to improve their body composition? First, don't eliminate your aerobic sessions. It's a good practice to do a handful (three or four) of 20 to 40 minute sessions a week. More than that, and your body starts to drop valuable muscle in an effort to adapt. Second, take another look at your resistance training program. Most people simply don't spend adequate time and effort in the weight room, and those that do make one or more of the following four mistakes: 1) Too many exercises: One exercise per muscle group per workout is plenty. The key is to pick the right exercises, and work them hard. Forget about "hitting the muscle from different angles" and "shaping" exercises— this is all propaganda stemming from bodybuilding circles.
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Physically Incorrect 2) Ineffective exercises: Don't avoid so-called "hard core" exercises for fear of getting a result. Choose multi-joint exercises, such as squats and their variations, bench presses and their variations, lat pulldowns, and shoulder presses. Smaller muscles such as biceps, triceps, and calves will receive adequate exercise when you do the multi-joint movements mentioned above. 3) Insufficient intensity level: High reps DO NOT "tone" a muscle! For beginners, high reps are important to strengthen connective tissues, and to allow for technique mastery. But for optimum muscle building, stay in the 6 to 12 range for the majority of your workouts. If and when you get to the point where you don't want additional muscle, just cut back on the volume and frequency of training. 4) Lack of progression and variety: If you don't seek increases in strength, your body will stop responding. Similarly, if you train in exactly the same manner for extensive periods of time, your body will adapt to the monotony, and stop responding, no matter how good the training program is. For this reason, there is no perfect training program. Most successful trainers use several programs, which they rotate as needed. As a final suggestion, remember that the entire personal training profession was founded upon the fact that resistance training works! Don't make the mistake of thinking that you're beyond benefiting from one. Personal trainers make their living by getting fast results for people. For information on finding a certified trainer in your area, please call the ISSA at (800) 892-ISSA. Consider These Facts: 1) According to a recent study presented in IDEA magazine, the average female aerobics instructor has 18% bodyfat. This is higher than the average female competitive weightlifter (16%). 2) According to a recent study published in Muscular Development magazine, muscle necrosis (tissue death) and inflammation can be observed in the calves of marathon runners 7 days after a race. 3) According to Dr. Marc Breehl, a leading anesthesiologist specializing in cardiac surgery, the enlarged hearts of aerobic athletes are weaker, not stronger than those with anaerobic backgrounds. 4) Resistance training has numerous benefits to the heart and vascular system, including improved ejection fraction of the left ventricle, and improved elasticity of the arterial walls. This from Power: A Scientific Approach, by Dr Fred Hatfield.
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Physically Incorrect 5) Virtually everything we do in life is anaerobic. Aerobic activity is an artificial state which the human organism is not well adapted to. For the majority of individuals, loss of function associated with aging is due to lack of strength, not aerobic capacity.
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Physically Incorrect Re-examining the Value of Aerobic Exercise, Part II Recently, I questioned the obsession most Americans have with aerobic exercise— particularly when done for the purpose of improving physical appearance (which, of course, is why 99.5% of all people exercise in the first place). This article prompted several letters and phone calls, most of which were critical. Therefore, I'd like to clarify my position in this month's article Obviously, compared to a sedentary lifestyle, aerobic exercise is quite beneficial. The people I'm trying to reach with this message are those individuals who are not competitive aerobic athletes, but who nevertheless spend between 5 and 10 hours a week in the aerobic zone, for the purpose of improving their appearance. These individuals (and there are legions of them) would benefit by reducing their volume of aerobic exercise, and incorporating resistance training into their program. Even aerobics instructors have intuitively known this for quite some time. Every time I walk past an "aerobics" class in a health club, or if I happen upon one on TV, they're lifting weights. Small ones, of course— they need to guard against gaining too much muscle. Funny how most men have a tremendously difficult time gaining muscle, despite grueling weight lifting programs, while women claim that they grow like weeds just thinking about lifting! Why is this? One of my "detractors' wrote that (I paraphrase) beginners can benefit from 30 minutes of brisk walking, for which they need no instruction. I couldn't agree more. But walking is a VERY beginning form of exercise. In fact, I consider walking a form of locomotion, not exercise. When the simplest of life's requirements, such as walking, climbing stairs, and carrying groceries are exercise, I'd say you're in pathetic (perhaps pathologic) shape. In this case, walking is in fact an ideal form of exercise. Once you get beyond this point, however, more strenuous forms of activity should be explored, in order to respect the principle of progressive overload (i.e., "If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten.") Resistance training does have a few down-sides, depending on your perspective. It does require a certain amount of supervision, at least in the beginning. And of course, it demands hard, physical work, which most people disdain. Info-mercial companies know this well— selling their exercise gimmicks with phrases like "You can do it while you watch TV," and "It only takes 10 minutes a day!" Regardless of what your exercise regime consists of, your success will largely depend upon the degree to which you really enjoy exercising. You do best 226
Physically Incorrect what you do most, and you do most what you enjoy doing. How many times have you heard this exchange in your health club?: "Hey Bob— how's it 'goin?" "Well, it'll be goin better when I get outta here!" In my experience, Bob is very unlikely to make progress, unless he can find a way to enjoy and appreciate physical activity. What the Research Literature Has to Say About Strength Versus Aerobic Exercise From Pollack, in the Southern Medical Journal, Volume 87, No. 5, 588 • Low levels of aerobics yield the same health benefits as higher levels • Master runners show a 2kg. average LBM loss • Higher intensity resistive training may be necessary for a large percentage of the healthy elderly population. From Ketelhut, in American Heart Journal, 127 (3): 567-71, March, 1994 "We conclude that the gradual decrease in arterial pressure seen with prolonged aerobic exercise (60 min.) is the result of a fall in cardiac pump function (as measured by cardiac output, ejection fraction, fractional fiber shortenings and contractility index), possibly indicating cardiac fatigue." From Todd, in Sports Medicine, 14(4): 243-59, October, 1992 • Circuit weight training has been shown to improve aerobic endurance and muscle strength and to have additional benefits of improved treadmill time compared with traditional aerobics programs. From Boyden, in Archives of Internal Medicine, 153(1):97-100, January 11, 1993 • In healthy pre-menopausal women with normal baseline lipids, 5 months of resistive exercise training reduced) total CHO and the LDL fraction. From Campbell, in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 60(2): 167-175, August, 1994 • Resistance training is an effective way to increase energy requirements, decrease body fat mass, and maintain metabolically active tissue mass in healthy older people and may be useful in weight control. From McCartney, et al:, in American Journal of Cardiology, May, 1991 227
Physically Incorrect • There is a much better adaptation to life activity with weight training. From Thomas, in Southern Medical Journal, Vol. 87, No. 5 • "Because of the correlation between bone mass and muscle mass, an increase in muscle mass is a desired effect of exercise."
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Physically Incorrect How NOT to Weight Train for Martial Arts (or Anything Else for That Matter) Knowing that I have authored a soon to be released book on conditioning principles and methods for martial arts and combat sports (The Science of Martial Arts Training), a colleague recently sent me an excerpt from a new book called Weight Training for Martial Artists by Jennifer Lawler. Lawler’s credentials include a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a graduate degree in English. I was appalled by some of the absolute nonsense expressed in this excerpt. If the rest of the book is any reflection of the excerpt, Ms. Lawler has managed to set the martial arts world back at least a few decades. Having spent my entire adult life trying to dispel some of the very notions that Lawler perpetuates in her book, I decided to write a critique for Mesomorphosis. What follows are Lawler’s recommendations and my comments. Not a martial artist? No worries— there’s plenty of humor here for everyone, regardless of athletic discipline. Note: Lawler’s comments are in blue text. How Weight Training Works Whenever you lift weights, you are actually tearing down the muscle fibers in the targeted area. Not always. This depends on what type of lifting is performed. Optimal lifting technique for martial artists should emphasize the neural contribution to strength increases, so as to minimize muscle breakdown, and subsequent soreness and stiffness. As those muscle fibers heal, they become thicker and stronger. Therefore, the more weight you lift, the more you stimulate your muscles to grow thicker and stronger. Actually, extremely heavy weights do not tend to make muscles thicker at all, but only stronger. Powerlifters and weightlifters, who must get as strong as possible without gaining weight (otherwise they would move into the next higher weight class) tend to average between 1-3 repetitions per set. This way, the total volume, and hence mechanical workload, remains small, and the hypertrophy response is minimized. If you lift less weight, you will still stimulate muscle teardown and regrowth, but it won't be as obvious.That's why many people choose this last option: 229
Physically Incorrect lifting less weight equals toned but not bulky muscles. As stated above, this is incorrect. For most people, sets of between 8-12 repetitions have the most potential for increasing hypertrophy. If you’re an athlete, here’s a tip: every time you look at your hand, remember that the reason God gave you five fingers is to remind you that five is the most reps you should ever do in any single set. If you want more work, do more sets, not more reps. Your goal on every set of exercises is to work your muscle or muscle group so that the last repetition is difficult to do. Incorrect. For the development of speed strength, which is a core motor quality for martial artists, the weight must be moved in an accelerative manner. This can’t be accomplished in the presence of fatigue. The protocol described above is more appropriate for hypertrophy, not strength. For people looking to build a lot of bulk, the general rule of thumb is to work the muscle to failure, which means it simply cannot move any more weight without a rest. This doesn't mean, however, that you should do twenty-five repetitions of an exercise until you get tired. This is unlikely to stimulate muscle growth. It is generally accepted that toning and defining muscles requires between eight and fifteen repetitions of each exercise. Ten to twelve is usually thought of as ideal. The author likes to use words like “tone” and “bulk,” which have no real meaning. Muscle can only get bigger or smaller, and using the methods described immediately above, they will probably get bigger. Most martial artists (in fact, most athletes) need to get stronger, not bigger. This means that you should lift enough weight so that it is very challenging to complete that last repetition. As you grow stronger, you will add additional weight so that the last repetition always remains a challenge to complete. A program that follows these guidelines is excellent for muscle endurance,which means your muscles can perform difficult tasks for longer periods of time. For a martial artist, muscle endurance is as important as stamina or cardiovascular endurance. For most martial artists, speed strength and short term, anaerobic endurance are the key motor qualities. To produce a stronger, more muscular look, you want to limit your repetitions to between five and nine, with about six being ideal. I recently went on a hike in the Valley of Fire National Park, about an hour 230
Physically Incorrect north of Las Vegas. During a break for lunch, a female friend of mine mentioned that she had just benched pressed 135 pounds for the first time ever. Another member of our party, a successful artist with an advanced academic degree, asked what the World record was for the bench press. When I replied that it was something over 400 pounds for women, he replied “Jeez, why would you want to take it that far?” I quickly jumped in and responded “”Why would you climb Mt. Everest, or try to earn your first million by age 30?” He then said “What I mean is, why would you want to get so big?” I was just dumfounded that this man had no ability to distinguish between being strong and looking like a “brick shithouse.” Apparently, Ms. Lawler has not yet made that distinction, either. Perhaps she might be enlightened to take a peek at my client Mariam Power, Canadian Jr. Champion powerlifter who benches 240 and squats over 400 at a bodyweight of 155. Again, your last repetition should be very difficult to do.This means that you're lifting a much heavier weight than if you were doing ten or twelve repetitions. This stimulates your muscles to grow bigger and thicker. However, lifting heavier weights fewer times doesn't increase your muscle endurance, so unless a really powerful body is your goal, most martial artists should aim for the ten-to-twelve rep range. For athletes, a “really powerful body” IS the goal. The protocol that Lawler recommends will mostly encourage hypertrophy at the expense of flexibility and speed strength. If you really want to add some bulk, you can train like body builders and power lifters do, and that is to lift as much weight as possible for only one or two repetitions. Again, the author has her facts wrong: powerlifters tend to train like this, but bodybuilders typically train with sets of between 8-12 repetitions (the same protocol Lawler recommends for martial artists). Although this is not recommended for martial artists, as too much bulk can indeed slow you down and impair your flexibility, it can be a good strength test to try every now and then. It is common to see competitive bodybuilders perform splits onstage these days. So, hypertrophy does not necessarily decrease flexibility— good thing, since anyone who follows the author’s advice is likely to gain weight. Lifting Weights Correctly Each repetition of an exercise should be done smoothly and evenly without 231
Physically Incorrect bouncing or jerking movements. It should take about the same amount of time to lift the weight as to lower it. For speed strength objectives, the weight should be accelerated during the concentric phase. The above advice is more appropriate for bodybuilding, which appears to be the author’s primary influence. There should be no pause between lifting and lowering the weight. Doing so can be very stressful on your joints. Most experts believe that each exercise should take about four or five seconds to perform. At first, you might count as you perform each lift until you find a good pace. As my colleague Pavel Tsatsouline points out in his excellent book Power to the People: Russian Strength Training Secrets For Every American, our joints have specialized receptors which respond to heavy loading. “If you freak at the thought of putting some weight on your joints” Pavel explains, “expect your joints to remain weak.” People often forget that it is not stress per se that is damaging, but excessive stress that is the problem. This reminds me of another very common misconception— the idea that one should never allow the shins to move past a vertical position while squatting or lunging. Doing so does put more pressure on the patellar ligament, but you can’t put stress on a muscle without also stressing the corresponding joint(s). I have often wondered if I could get rich quick by inventing an inclinometer which the exerciser straps to the shins— when the shin goes past vertical, it beeps to warn the user of impending doom. You also need to breathe correctly when you perform a repetition. As it turns out, people tend to breathe very efficiently by instinct unless they have been corrected by a so-called “fitness expert” who teaches them how to do it incorrectly. I once attended a seminar by International karate master Fumio Demura (The sensei in the Karate Kid movies was actually based on the life of Mr. Demura). Toward the end of the seminar, Demura held a question and answer period. One student stood up and asked “Master Demura, how should we breathe during karate practice?” Demura immediately replied “Usual way: in...out...in...out...” Everyone got a good laugh out of Demura’s humorous response, but what he meant was that people often tend to make a career out of something that God intended the brain-stem to take care of. In any event, the usual advice goes something like this: “Breathe out during 232
Physically Incorrect the exertion— never hold your breath!” While it’s not harmful for healthy people to breath-hold during lifting, the use of the “Valsalva maneuver” (a forced expiration through a constricted glottis) provides the same spine-protection benefits (through increased intra-abdominal pressure) as breath-holding, without an extreme rise in blood pressure. In a 1995 study published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (76(5), May 1995, 457-462.), Narloch and Brandstater examined the influence of breathing technique on arterial blood pressure generated during heavy dynamic weight lifting. BP was recorded in 10 male athletes by radial artery catheterization. Each subject then performed double-leg press sets at 85 percent and 100 percent of maximum. Each exercise was performed twice, once with closed glottis Valsalva, and then with slow exhalation during concentric contraction. The mean BP at 100 percent maximum with Valsalva was 311/284. The highest pressure recorded in an individual was 370/360. With slow exhalation, the mean BP was 198/175 when the same 100 percent maximum was lifted. A reduced pressor response was also noted at 85 percent maximal lifting with slow exhalation. These results have been conformed by other follow-up studies. Although body builders use special breathing exercises, Actually, they don’t. ...most lifters simply need to remember to breathe while lifting. Breathing is an autonomic response: when you need to breathe, you will. It isn't uncommon to see untrained lifters holding their breath as they perform their exercises. This is very dangerous, since it can actually cause a spike in blood pressure, which is hard on the heart. Momentary high blood pressure is not damaging to healthy hearts, and in fact, can be a useful form of adaptive stress. Also, physicians say that they sometimes see collapsed lungs in weight lifters who don't breathe correctly when they work out. I’d just LOVE to see a reference for this statement! I performed an exhaustive MEDLINE search on this topic but came up with nothing. It would take much, much more than incorrect breathing while lifting to collapse a lung. In fact, I have a colleague who was involved in a bench pressing accident where a bar loaded to over 300 pounds fell onto his chest from arm’s length, and he did not suffer a collapsed lung. Are we really so delicate that we risk a collapsed lung from improper breathing? 233
Physically Incorrect A good rule of thumb is to exhale during the part of the exercise the requires the most exertion. This prevents you from holding your breath as you lift. See my above comments regarding the Valsalva maneuver. During the lowering or less difficult part of the exercise, concentrate on inhaling. By concentrating on your breathing, you can avoid some risks of lifting and you can find a good, even rhythm for your exercises. Tips for Lifting Weights Correctly 1. Each rep should be done smoothly. Great, but what does “smoothly” mean? If you one perform 1-2 sets per exercise/per session as the author recommends, how will you ever develop the motor skills necessary for “smooth” lifting? 2. Do not bounce or jerk the weight. 3. Take about the same amount of time to lift and lower the weight. Although this comment could use a bit of clarification, it bears mentioning that bouncing or jerking weights is not always a bad strategy. In fact, Dr. Fred Hatfield, co-founder of the International Sports Sciences Association and the first man to officially squat 1000 pounds, recommends a specialized bouncing technique in his book Power: A Scientific Approach as a way to desensitize the Golgi tendon organs, which are one of the primary constraining factors for the expression of maximal strength. 4. Do not pause between lifting and lowering the weight. See my above comments regarding joint stress... 5. Take about 4 to 5 seconds to perform each rep. Deliberately lifting weights more slowly than what is necessary simply accelerates fatigue and reduces tension on the muscles. Lifting in an brisk manner reduces fatigue (and post exercise muscle soreness), and facilitates the acquisition of absolute and speed strength. 6. Breath with each exercise: exhale during exertion, inhale during the less demanding portion of the exercise. Please see my above comments regarding the difficult skill of breathing.
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Physically Incorrect 7. Start with lighter weights and work up to your capacity. Yes, a warm-up is a good idea. This comment is innocuous enough, but needs further explanation. 8. Keep a training log to track your progress. The only good advice presented in Lawler’s excerpt. I fully agree. In fact, why not take it a step further and have a look at my tracking software (if you’ll excuse the shameless plug). 9. Start with one set of (I assume a specific number was intended here— perhaps it is a typo). reps for each exercise. As you progress add a second set. Whenever I speak with professional fitness trainers, a common theme is how their beginning clients have such poor motor control. Once, during a seminar, a trainer remarked to me “You can’t believe some of these people— for example, I have a woman who literally can’t curl a bar without performing all sorts of extraneous movements like shrugging her shoulders, flexing her neck, and so forth.” Of course, I’ve seen examples of this in gyms everywhere, but I also think that these same trainers aren’t helping any by the set/rep schemes they prescribe, particularly the traditional practice of employing the time-worn “three sets of ten” format with beginning exercisers. I realize that I’m challenging a sacred cow here, but follow me here for a moment: Let’s consider two hypothetical set/rep formats: “Traditional:” 3 sets of 10 repetitions “Skilled:” 6 sets of 5 repetitions. In both cases the training load is identical. The weight is the same, the total number of reps of the same, and the total volume (weight x reps) is also identical. However, the net result of each format can be very different— let’s have a look: Set-up and Break-down A significant aspect of “skill” in many exercises is the process of setting up and exiting the set. For example, during a bench press, the beginning client must learn and perfect how to position him/herself under the bar properly, 235
Physically Incorrect how to center the grip, how to tuck the scapulae, where to place the feet, when and how to take in the first breath, and so on. At the completion of the set, the novice must learn how to safely re-rack the bar, how to sit up from the bench without straining the back, and so on. During the back squat exercise, the exerciser must learn how to wedge and center the traps under the bar, how to make the walk-back as economical as possible, how to properly position the feet, and so forth. In the case of machines, one must learn how to position the seat, how to enter the machine, and on completion, how to exit the machine. In other words, the actual repetitions are cake compared to the “set-up” and “break-down.” The “skilled” approach is superior to the “traditional” format with regard to motor learning because it gives you twice as many set-up and break-down opportunities, Keep in mind that when programs advocate low reps, most trainers assume that these are maximum effort reps— not necessarily the case here. The skilled” approach will also develop superior strength as compared to the “traditional” method because it develops far less fatigue— all repetitions are performed in a much fresher state, which allows better acceleration of the weightload. Because the “skilled” format leads to less fatigue, it is also safer than the traditional format. As the lifter fatigues, skilled performance declines, and the possibility of injury increases (for example, a client misses the uprights when he attempts to rack the bar at the end of a set, because he’s in a rush to escape the pain of lactic acid accumulation in his chest, deltoids, and arms). 10. Use a spotter when necessary. Good advice for beginners, but I’d add that it must be a competent spotter, not just a carbon-based life form with a measurable pulse. Advanced lifters training properly will not need a spotter for the most part, except for testing for a new max on the bench press exercise. Why? Because if they are lifting acceleratively, and not going to momentary muscular failure, the worst thing that will happen is that the last rep will be slower than what is really wanted. 11. Do not work the same set of muscles two days in a row. This only applies when one uses traditional bodybuilding schemes (i.e, multiple high rep sets to failure and beyond). In real life, muscles are (yikes!) 236
Physically Incorrect often called upon to contract forcefully over a period of consecutive days— why not respect that reality through your training? Final Thoughts As I read through Lawler’s advice, it occurred to me...no wonder martial artists are afraid to train with weights! The moral of the story is that, like everything, resistance training is a tool. If used incorrectly, it leads to a poor outcome. If employed expertly, the results exceed all expectations.
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Physically Incorrect The Ten Most Common Strength Training Mistakes Made by Martial Artists Noted sports scientist Dr. Paul Ward uses the following formula to predict success in athletic competition: Productivity = Potential — Losses Due to Faulty Process While your potential was determined at birth, there’s still much that can be done to minimize the mistakes you make along the way. After years of training and consulting to competitive martial artists, I’ve compiled a list of the ten most common errors (all of which I’ve made myself at one time or another) that martial artists make when embarking upon strength training programs: 1) Not training for strength: Many martial artists feel that strength training is counter-productive, causing one to become too large and slow, despite the fact that in every other sport known to man, it makes athletes faster. Training like a bodybuilder (see mistake number 3) can certainly produce these undesirable effects, but properly designed strength training programs improve strength, speed, agility, endurance, and technical performance. Strength training should be viewed as a tool, the utility of which depends upon the context it’s used in. 2) Training for the wrong kind of strength: Strength as a bio-motor ability has many expressions. All human movement requires strength, and for this reason, all athletes must concern themselves with developing their strength levels to the utmost. What many don’t know, however, is that there more types of strength than there are bogus ab-training gadgets on late-night info-mercials! Here’s a partial list: Maximal Strength: The amount of musculoskeletal force you can generate for one all-out effort. Maximal strength is your athletic “foundation,” but it can only be expressed in the weight room during the performance of a maximal lift. While only powerlifters demonstrate this type of strength in competition, martial artists need to develop high levels of maximal strength in every muscle group. Relative Strength: This term is used to denote an athlete's strength per unit of bodyweight. Thus if two athletes of different bodyweights can squat 275 pounds, they have equal maximal strength for that lift, but the lighter athlete has greater relative strength. Competitive events which have weight classes depend heavily on relative 238
Physically Incorrect strength, as do sports where the athlete must overcome his or her bodyweight to accomplish a motor task (such as a jump kick). Further, events which have aesthetic requirements (kata competition, for example) rely heavily upon the development of strength without a commensurate gain in bodyweight. Strength can be developed through two very different means— by applying stress to the muscle cells themselves, or by targeting the nervous system. The former method is accomplished through the use of bodybuilding methods (repetitions between 6 and 12), and results in strength gains through an increase in muscle cross-section. The latter is accomplished through higher intensity loads (repetitions between 1 and 4), and increases in strength are the result of the body's improved ability to recruit more of its existing motor unit pool. For martial artists and other athletes who depend upon relative strength, bodybuilding methods should be used sparingly, unless a higher weight class is desired. Most strength training sessions should consist of high intensity, low repetition sets, which improve strength through neural adaptations rather than increases in muscle cross section. 3) Training like a bodybuilder: My consultations with competitive martial artists reveal that bodybuilding is the predominant paradigm in today’s strength training world, at least in this country. But bodybuilding methods are designed to produce muscle mass, not strength. And while bodybuilders are strong, their relative strength is poor compared to other explosive strength athletes. These methods have some degree of utility for beginning martial artists as a means of attaining basic fitness, but after a year or so, they should be used sparingly, if at all. 4) Using insufficient intensity: Most martial artists can relate to doing hundreds of pushups, sit-ups, and leg lifts in class, but as soon as you go beyond approximately 12 repetitions, the stimulus is too weak to favorably improve strength values. Think about it: as a martial artist, would you rather have the ability to perform weak techniques for hours on end, or the ability to deliver explosive, powerful techniques when it really counts? In training, you reap what you sow. 5) Lack of variation: While many people realize that the training load must be progressively increased, few understand that the training stimulus must also be periodically be varied in order to prevent stagnation. Elite sprint coach Charlie Francis recommends changing the training program whenever there is a one week plateau in strength gains. Internationally acclaimed strength coach Charles Poliquin utilizes alternating phases of high volume with phases of high intensity in order to keep his athletes progressing. 239
Physically Incorrect 6) Lack of periodization: Periodization refers to planning the training process. For most, the idea of planning is intuitively obvious with regards to business, family, and finances, but when it comes to training, most people don’t make the connection. While many people attribute the success of Eastern-bloc athletes to illegal steroid use, periodization deserves the real credit. The martial arts seem to be the last sport on earth to take advantage of this important tool! 7) Excessive use of machines: “Machines” according to exercise specialist Paul Chek, “are like sleeping pills for the muscles.” Chek is referring to the fact that machines tend to rob the stabilizer muscles of adaptive stress. Stabilizers are muscles which anchor or immobilize one part of the body, allowing another part (usually the limbs) to exert force. The most important stabilizers are those of the trunk— the abdominals and trunk extensors. If the motor cortex detects that it can't stabilize the force provided by the prime movers, it simply won't allow the prime mover to contract with full force. 8) Ignoring the principle of specificity: The body's adaptation to training is very specific to the type of training that has been endured. This is sometimes referred to as the "S.A.I.D." principle— Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand. So, as an obvious example, if you want to develop strength in your legs, you have to do strength training exercises for the legs. Less obvious than the previous example is the fact that exercises must be done at specific volume and intensity ranges in order to elicit the desired result. For example, if you're trying to grow muscle, you must perform exercises in sets of five to ten repetitions— roughly corresponding to 70 to 85% of your maximum capability for a single repetition. It's not enough to simply make sure you're training the right muscles! Commonly, instructors make the mistake of thinking that if an exercise "mimics" the desired skill, it is specific. A common practice involves trying to improve punching speed by rapidly "punching" with light dumbbells as fast as possible. But this method is flawed, because the angle of resistance is incorrect, assuming that this exercise is done while standing erect. A better approach would to be to perform dumbbell bench presses, which correctly align the muscle fibers against the resistance being used. The specificity principle is abused in other aspects of martial arts training, as well. Most instructors train their students aerobically, despite the fact that nearly all forms of martial art, including self-defense scenarios, are predominately anaerobic. Another common example is the practice of slowly extending a kick, and then holding the leg in mid-air until the instructor gives the signal to return it to the floor. While this method may work if you intend to find employment as a human maniquin, for the purpose of improving kicking 240
Physically Incorrect power, it borders on useless. 9) Ignoring rate of force development: Being strong won’t help you if you don’t have enough time to display it! In the martial arts (as in most athletic endeavors), the problem is that the amount of time to develop maximum muscular force is extremely limited— usually only a fraction of a second. While high levels of maximal strength are a necessary prerequisite for the development of speed strength (power), too much time in the weight room grinding out heavy weights at slow speeds, without switching to speed strength methods later in the training cycle, results in slow athletes. The ability to apply muscular force rapidly is called rate of force development, or RFD. While bodybuilding methods slightly improve maximal strength, it has a negligible effect on RFD. Training with heavy weights significantly improves maximal strength, but again, the RFD remains largely unchanged. Only when speed strength methods (plyometrics, ballistic training, etc.) are used, is the RFD significantly improved. 10) Ignoring the antagonists: Muscles work in pairs— for every muscle in the body, there is another muscle that is capable of opposing its force. This "pairing" mechanism is how we are able to move with precision of movement and speed. However, when one part of this pair becomes too strong in relation to the other, force output capability suffers. Unfortunately, many athletes unknowingly reinforce this imbalance every time they train, thinking they are respecting the principle of specificity by training only the prime movers (or "agonists"). An example would be a martial artist who reasons that since the quadriceps muscle extends the leg during kicking, the quadriceps should receive the brunt of the training focus. Before long, the hamstrings (which are the antagonists in kicking movements) are weak in proportion to the quads, and power output declines. At this point, the martial artist may conclude that weight training "slows you down," because for him, it did. Here's the problem in the above example: the weaker the antagonists are, the sooner they will contract and oppose the prime movers (to prevent joint hyperextension), resulting in a slower movement. But stronger antagonists are less sensitive to this protective response— the body "knows" that they are strong enough to decelerate the limb at the last possible moment. The next time you watch elite boxers on TV, notice the development of the lats and biceps. Great punchers always have well developed antagonists. (Bonus Mistake!) Mistaking strength training as the ends rather than the means: While it might seem ironic, the objective of strength training is NOT increased strength per se, but improved athletic performance. I would sug241
Physically Incorrect gest that sports conditioning coaches keep this in mind as they design conditioning programs for their athletes.
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Physically Incorrect Moving the Force-Time Curve to the Left Twenty years ago, strength training was considered taboo for martial artists. Today, it is gaining in popularity, despite the fact that it is rarely carried out in a rational manner. Due to strong influences from the world of bodybuilding, most martial artists are only getting half the potential benefit that strength training has to offer. Specificity and Strength Training Virtually all martial arts depend upon the ability to develop force very rapidly. Technically, the rapid execution of a technique results in more damage to the target. Tactically, rapidly executed techniques have a greater chance of landing, since they are more difficult to defend against than slower movements. From a defensive point of view, rapidly performed blocks and parries, as well as defensive footwork, are made more effective if executed rapidly. Strength training for sports normally progresses through three phases: hypertrophy (muscle mass), absolute strength (the most force that can be produced irregardless of time required), and finally, speed strength (the ability to develop force rapidly). In the case of the martial arts, most athletes spend most or all of their time developing hypertrophy. A few progress to methods designed to develop absolute strength. Fewer still venture into speed-strength territory. Critical to this article is the concept that the ability to develop high levels of force (such as displayed during a 400 pound bench press) is not as important as the ability to develop a high level of force within a very short (less than a second) period of time. The development of muscle mass and absolute strength are important because they form the foundation for speed-strength, but by themselves, they are next to worthless. Hypertrophy Training Sometimes called "the bodybuilding method," hypertrophy training involves the use of moderate (between 70 and 85 percent of maximum) loads for sets of between 5 and 10 repetitions. Such loads provoke an increase in protein synthesis within the muscle cells, leading to an enlargement of the existing muscle tissue. This enlargement is the first step in developing speedstrength, since increases in muscle cross-section are highly correlated to increases in absolute strength. An athlete stays in the hypertrophy phase for as long as is necessary and/or appropriate— while hypertrophy is a necessary first step, too much of it can be counter-productive (i.e., growing out of
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Physically Incorrect your weight class, or developing flexibility deficits, etc.). When the desired level of hypertrophy is developed, the athlete moves on to absolute strength training methods. Note: Athletes should increase protein intake while in this phase to help the body resynthesize muscle tissue. Training for Absolute Strength Absolute strength is developed through the use of high (85+ percent of maximum) loads. Repetitions range from 1 to 4. Such training improves neurological efficiency, or the ability to recruit higher percentages of existing muscle fibers. Fast twitch muscle is preferentially recruited over slow twitch fibers at this intensity range. The development of absolute strength is considered to be a prerequisite to speed-strength, but this training method should only be attempted by mature, experienced athletes, due to the high loads involved. Developing Speed-strength: Moving the Time-force Curve to the Left Once absolute strength is brought to a high level, the next task is to move the force time curve over to the left. Several methods can be used for this purpose: plyometrics, the use of modified Olympic lifts, and the lifting of submaximal (70 to 80 percent of maximum) weights at a high rate of speed. The emphasis is on improving the rate of force development (R.O.F.D.). During the period of time devoted to speed-strength work, one can expect gains in hypertrophy and absolute strength to degrade to a certain degree. For this reason, a rationally designed training program will constantly alternate between phases devoted to hypertrophy, absolute strength, and speedstrength, in that order. For mature athletes who already have sufficient muscle mass, the hypertrophy phase will be greatly abbreviated, however. For competitive martial artists, training cycles are planned so that the speedstrength phase coincides with the competitive season. In this way, sport-specific strength is brought to a peak when it is needed most. Strength as a Means to an End I caution the reader to remember that strength, as a component of physical preparation, is not an end but a means to an end. It simply allows the martial artist to achieve high results on the technical and tactical levels of preparation, and thus, to a high level of psychological preparedness.
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Core Training Fundamentals for Martial Artists In sports training jargon, the abdominal and low back musculature are often referred to as the "core" of the body. The importance of these muscles to athletes is that they transmit forces— either from the lower extremities to the upper extremities (such as when a boxer executes a punch against the heavy bag), or from the upper body to the lower body (such as when a martial artist delivers a spin crescent kick). The core musculature also plays a significant role in stabilization during almost every movement, from squatting in the weight room, to running, throwing, and jumping. Additionally, the abdominals play an important role in protecting the body during moments of extreme exertion, such as lifting a very heavy weight, or in absorbing an impact (such as a fall during judo practice). Specifically, during such an exertion, the athlete will instinctively exhale against a closed glottis, called the valsalva maneuver. This exhalation creates greater intraabdominal pressure, which acts to stabilize the lumbar spine from the inside. In his popular and informative training seminars, abdominal training expert Paul Chek makes the point that when the stabilizer muscles possess inadequate strength, the motor cortex of the brain will not allow the prime movers to contract to their expected potential. This is simply a protective mechanism— if the body realizes that it can't stabilize a certain movement, it simply won't allow the movement to be performed. My experience working with athletes in a variety of sports collaborates Chek's sentiments. In fact, an easy way to make almost anyone stronger is to improve abdominal strength. Many martial artists intuitively recognize this fact, but our experience reveals that most martial artists (and athletes in general) cling to outdated and ineffective methods for training the core muscles of the body. In the following section, I will present methods (and justifications for these methods) of training the core musculature. Core Musculature Function The core area of the body can be be categorized into five groups of muscles, according to function: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
The The The The The
trunk flexors (the rectus abdominous) trunk extensors (the erector spinea) side flexors (quadratus lumborum) flexor-rotators (the internal and external obliques) hip flexors (the illiopsoas, illiacus, and rectus femoris)
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Physically Incorrect Training the Trunk Flexors The primary trunk flexor is the rectus abdominous. This muscle originates at the diaphragmatic arch, and inserts into the pubic symphysis of the pelvis. Since the primary function of this muscle is to flex the trunk (such that the sternum and pelvis are drawn toward each other), the most direct and effective exercises are those which cause trunk flexion. Any form of crunch or reverse crunch serves this function best. All abdominal muscles are composed of predominately slow-twitch fibers, and as such, tend to respond best to high repetition sets. The trunk flexors may also be trained through "hanging leg-raises" and related movements, as long as the exerciser maintains a 90 degree angle between the thighs and trunk. Since this is extremely difficult— even for very strong athletes— we generally recommend avoiding this type of movement. During crunches and similar movements, the athlete can modify arm position in order to manipulate the level of resistance. The least resistance occurs when the arms are straight and outstretched along the side of the body during the movement. A more difficult variation is to cross the arms against the chest during the exercise. The most difficult variation is to place the hands such that the fingers are touching the head at a point just behind the ears. Avoid interlacing the fingers and clasping behind the head, which can strain the cervical vertebrae, and encourage co-contraction from other muscles. Additional resistance (in the form of a medicine ball or weight plate) can be used when the athlete's bodyweight is no longer sufficient to cause an improvement in strength. Note: Avoid anchoring the feet and extending the legs, since these practices tend to shift the exercise stress away from the trunk flexors and onto the hip flexors. Training the Trunk Extensors: The erector spinae are the predominant trunk extensors. Strong trunk extensors are necessary to balance the strength of the rectus abdominous, and to maintain efficient postural stabilization and control. They are most commonly trained through the use of the back extension exercise, performed on a specialized apparatus designed for this purpose. However, in order to minimize co-contraction from the gluteals and hamstrings, the athlete should be positioned in such a way that the navel is directly over (not in front of) the pad or bench. With this positioning, the pelvis is stabilized, allowing the exercise stress to fall directly onto the erectors.
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Physically Incorrect Training the Side Flexors and the Flexor-rotators One of the most common "ab" exercises seen in commercial gyms and health clubs today is the dumbbell side bend. Most proponents of this movement recommend it as an exercise for the obliques, but in reality, it is an exercise for the quadratus lumborum— the primary side flexor. For martial artists who rely heavily on kicking skills, the side flexors should be systematically trained. But most other athletes (who don't have a reason) should avoid training this muscle, since over-developed side flexors have been associated with low back pain. Further, performing side bends has no significant effect on the waistline, since the quadratus lumborum is such a deep-lying muscle. Training the Flexor-rotators The flexor-rotators are the internal and external obliques. These muscles cause trunk flexion as well as rotation when they contract unilaterally (one side at a time), but cancel each other out, causing only trunk flexion when they contract bilaterally (both sides simultaneously). Thus, uni-lateral exercises, such as twisting crunches, are most effective for developing these muscles. When performing twisting crunches and their variations, use the same guidelines that were presented in the section on trunk flexion, with the exception that the exercises should curl the trunk up and diagonally, such that the left armpit approaches the right hip, and vice versa. Avoid touching elbow to opposite knee, as this encourages too much cervical and hip flexion. Training of the flexor-rotators should be prioritized over the pure flexors, since most athletic and day-to-day activities involve rotation with flexion, as opposed to pure flexion. Training the Hip Flexors Many people excessively train the hip flexors thinking that they're training the abdominals. Sit-ups, leg raises, "flutter kicks," and hanging leg raises are all primarily hip flexor exercises. That doesn't necessarily make them bad, but most people tend to have chronically short hip flexors, which can compromise the structural dynamics of the lumbar spine. Short hip flexors are also associated with low back pain. Of course, martial artists must have strength in these muscles, but normally, time spent drilling with kicks is sufficient for this purpose. Many martial arts techniques involve simultaneous hip flexion, trunk flexion, and rotation. For this reason, I recommend using a wide variety of exercises. An excellent tool is the "physio-ball"— an oversized "beach ball" which can be 247
Physically Incorrect used for a variety of core exercises, including crunches, sit-ups, back extensions, and many more. With a little experimentation, you can devise dozens of multi-planar exercises which have a high degree of transfer to your sport techniques. Medicine balls are also an invaluable tool for core training. Many exercises can be developed using the medicine ball and physio-ball together. An example is to sit on the physio-ball (feet anchored by heavy dumbbells), and perform medicine ball sit-ups with a partner. The unstable environment provided by the physio-ball, combined with the ballistic, multi-planar aspects of the medicine ball throws, makes this a fruitful exercise for those desiring sport-specific strength. Core training can be periodized over the training cycle. Early in the cycle, exercises tend to be single plane, of a slow, steady tempo, and conducted in a stable environment. Another goal during the early stages of the training cycle is to eliminate weaknesses, so special attention is paid to muscles which need extra conditioning. Gradually, the emphasis shifts to multi-planar, ballistic exercise conducted in a less stable environment Abdominal training and bodyfat deposition Abdominal training does not significantly affect the layer of fat which oftentimes covers these muscles. Many people become a slave to crunches, situps, and TV info-mercial devices, when the real issue is bodyfat, not abdominal conditioning. In fact, many of these people probably have superbly conditioned abs. Bodyfat is reduced through a comprehensive training program incorporating resistance training and caloric manipulation— NOT abdominal training! Note: This article was adapted from The Science of Martial Arts Training, available at www.myodynamics.com.
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Physically Incorrect Quality Comes First I have often observed that for many martial artists, post-workout fatigue is regarded as the objective of training. However, if your goal is to simply feel terrible after a workout, you might consider applying for a job as a sparring partner for Mike Tyson! Of course, in the process of training to improve your skills, you will often experience fatigue. You may even come to enjoy fatigue— many martial artists take it as a sign of a "good workout." The problem is that fatigue is a poor environment for improving technical abilities— especially for beginners. Paul Chek (an elite-level exercise and rehab specialist in LaJolla, CA) is fond of telling athletes "Repetition is the mother of skill, provided there is skill in the repetitions." Part of the problem is that it's more difficult to measure the quality of training, as compared to the quantity, or volume. For example, you can measure the volume of a sparring session by counting the number of minutes you sparred. But how do you measure quality? This depends on what you're trying to develop. Basically, however, the idea is to find some way to quantify the level of quality. In other words, you're trying to make an intangible element tangible. Here are a few suggestions: Technical Training If you're trying to improve your accuracy, you could look at the total number of strikes you threw, versus how many you landed. On the other hand, of you're trying to improve your defensive skills, you simply look at how many strikes your opponent throws, and the percentage that land. If you're trying to improve a very subjective skill, such as a kata, assemble a handful of classmates, and have them watch your kata, and then give you feedback (preferably written) on what they consider to be the best and worst aspects of your kata. The more consensus you have, the more accurate it is. For instance, if ten people watch your kata, and eight of them say that your balance needs work, they're probably right. Strength Training In strength training, quality relates to the amount of resistance you can overcome compared to your maximal ability. Therefore, a set of 2 reps with 185 pounds is of higher quality than a set of 8 reps with 165 pounds, even though the set of 8 reps may feel more difficult.
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Physically Incorrect Endurance Training In endurance training, the quality of effort can be assessed by heart rate. The higher the heartrate, the harder you're working. Another method is to evaluate the erosion of a particular skill or quality over time. For example, you could assess the number of head-level kicks thrown in a 10 round sparring session. Simply count how many successful kicks per round, and then draw a graph to illustrate the reduction of kicks over the course of the session. After a 6-week phase devoted to improving this quality, evaluate again, and compare the pre- and post-phase results to find out how well your training methods worked. Don't try to work on too many objectives at once. Have a very clear objective whenever you practice. For instance, you may be practicing a skill, say, kicking a heavy bag. Are you trying to improve speed, height, accuracy, proper distancing, or perhaps the ability to disguise your blows? Once you have developed a high level of quality, you can stabilize that level by increasing the volume, or quantity, of work on that particular aspect of your abilities. This will create more time and energy to work on improving other skills. On the other hand, once the level of quality is high, and the skill you're working on is well established, you can then gradually increase the volume of training, to create a higher level of skill-endurance. 1) Practice skills while you're fresh and your concentration levels are high. 2) Shorter, but more frequent sessions are preferable to longer sessions. 3) Make sure you have a method to assess both the quality and quantity of your training— remove all guesswork. 4) Once a skill is stable, it can be maintained with a lower volume of training. 5) Fatigue is largely specific— if you are having a hard time practicing a skill that has a large balance element for example, switch and work on a skill that has a different quality, such as a technique which requires a high degree of speed.
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Physically Incorrect Strength Development Fundamentals for Golfers There’s a very eloquent formula for determining success in any sporting endeavor: Productivity = Potential — Losses Due to Faulty Process As an athlete, there’s nothing you can do about your genetic inheritance, but there’s always room for improvement when it comes to your training methods. Particularly, it’s important to identify and correct the most significant error you’re making, because resolving this error has the most potential to improve your athletic performance. Golfers are a strength coach’s dream, because few of them utilize resistance training. In such cases, a carefully supervised 8-10 week strength training program frequently results in well over a 100 percent strength increase. This increase creates a strength “reserve,” which quickly improves both power, accuracy, and endurance. During a golf swing, it takes a certain amount of muscular strength to overcome the external resistance of the golf club (this strength is provided primarily by the legs, hips, and rotator muscles of the torso). The stronger you are, the more strength that is left in reserve, and the more you’ll be able to accelerate the club, swing after swing, without exhausting yourself over 18 holes. For novice golfers, skill practice sessions are sufficient for developing sportspecific strength. But as technical ability improves, the need for supplementary strength training increases accordingly. One interesting phenomenon in golf is that younger players ignore the conditioning element of their preparation, but it often takes years, even decades to develop technical proficiency. So, a golfer may be well over 40 years old by the time he or she has developed a high level of technical expertise, but by this time, physical conditioning has become an issue. Resistance Training Technology on a Scale of “Good, Better, Best” While health clubs and equipment manufacturers will tell you otherwise, resistance training machines are not the “best” form of strength training technology, especially for golfers. While they definitely have their place, machines tend to restrict movement to a single plane, which means that the strength developed will not transfer well to an activity like golf, which is multiplanar. Machines also use “variable resistance” technology, so that the machine supposedly matches the muscle’s force curve. But most credible research casts doubts on the effectiveness of this concept. Finally, machines normally restrict the movement to a single joint for the purpose of “isolating”
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Physically Incorrect the muscle being worked, but golf is not an activity which requires isolated movements! The object of strength training for golf is to train movement, not muscles. While “constant resistance” devices such as barbells and dumbbells are superior to machines, they nonetheless have their disadvantages as well. Let's use the bench press as an example: you lower the bar to your chest, and then ram it to arms length. You assume you’re moving explosively, but as your arms reach extension, the antagonists (latissimus, biceps, rhomboids, and medial trapezious) begin to contract in an effort to decelerate the bar before it leaves your hands. It's simply a protective mechanism. Contrast this with your objective, which is to accelerate the bar, and you begin to see the problem. There are ways to address this inherent disadvantage of constant and variable resistance training, however. Strengthening the Stabilizers Stabilizers are muscles which anchor or immobilize one part of the body, allowing another part (usually the limbs) to exert force. The most significant stabilizers are those of the trunk— the abdominals and trunk extensors. If the motor cortex detects that it can't stabilize the force provided by the prime movers, it simply won't allow the prime movers to contract with full force. Stabilizers are best strengthened through exercises conducted in an unstable environment, such as on a “physio-ball” (those heavy-duty “beach balls” you might have noticed in your local health club), or movements performed with medicine balls. If you’ve never seriously considered adopting a serious strength training program to improve your golf game, perhaps it’s time to reconsider. Don’t let stereotypical notions of strength training prevent you from taking advantage of this important conditioning element! SIDEBAR: Strength Training Suggestions for Golfers 1) Seek professional guidance from a sports conditioning professional. Certified personal trainers who have significant experience working with athletes may also be a good option. 2) Initially, expect a slight decline in your game as your body begins to adapt to the additional training loads. After a handful of weeks, your game should climb back up to, and surpass previous levels. For this reason, don’t start a strength training program for the first time if you have important tournaments pending. 3) Expect to spend between 1 and 3 hours a week on your strength training program. The emphasis should be on leg and abdominal musculature.
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Physically Incorrect The Role of Sports Massage in the Prevention and Management of Training Injuries: An Interview With Dianna Linden, MT, CFT, Part 1 (originally appeared in the June 7, 1999 issue of Mesomorphosis) Introduction: I first met Dianna Linden at a seminar I was teaching for the International Sports Sciences Association in Santa Barbara, California in 1996. Dianna stood out to me because she asked great questions— some of the best I’ve ever encountered during my 8 year experience as a presenter. I found it refreshing to encounter a student who actually challenged me, despite having no formal experience as an exercise professional. Since that time, Dianna and I have formed a close professional relationship, working together with a variety of athletes, from World-class to regional level in several different sporting disciplines. One of the most important things I’ve learned from Dianna, and something I hope to get across to my reading audience, is that massage therapists, much like any other class of professionals, vary greatly across ranks. I often joke that her fingertips have little brains of their own— she has an astounding ability to immediately locate damaged tissue, and then, using a wide range of techniques and therapeutic modalities, heal, or at the very least, improve the condition of that tissue. In the first part of this interview, I asked Dianna to outline the role of sports massage in an athlete’s training program, how to find a skilled MT, and what course to follow upon the incidence of a training injury. In part two, Dianna and I will discuss the most common injuries that she sees in her athlete-clients, how they might be prevented, and we’ll also detail the importance of the feedback that a skilled MT can provide to an athletes coach or conditioning specialist. -- Charles Staley CS: Dianna, thanks for taking the time to share your expertise with my read ers— I know they’ll come away from this interview with a much more refined concept of how to stay healthy and productive throughout their lifting careers. I’d like to start with a brief description of your background. Can you tell us how long you’ve been a massage therapist, and a little about the var ious methods or styles that you use? DL: Happy to, Charles, thanks for the opportunity to talk about my field and 253
Physically Incorrect its role in recovery in sport. It's a topic for which I have a lot of enthusiasm and an interest in furthering collaborative exploration. I discovered the creative process as a sculptor/potter in college. The clay was really more of a teacher for me, along with a couple of crazy artists hanging around at 3am in the arts building, which, at that time was open all night, than the tenured professor who had lost his enthusiasm for teaching long before I met him. The path to bodywork from clay was a bit convoluted, but both involve sculpting a very plastic medium. The body, with its added dimensions of consciousness and spirit, presents a very broad field of exploration for what's possible when you bring knowledge, a quiver of tools, intuition, a willingness to follow the moment and communication skills into the creative act. I love working with people. In 1979, the field of massage was just opening up as a legitimate form of alternative care. The massage parlors in Santa Monica and Venice were still hand job joints paying regular "fines" to the police to stay in business, exploiting indentured women from Asia, who were stuck there indefinitely paying off their inflated travel and living expenses. So, to get some legitimate training, I started with acupressure. Two forms; Jin Shin Do and Shiatsu. The Japanese ethic and their ideas of tapping into and utilizing ki (energy) interested me from my introduction to them in ceramic arts, Zen and rudimentary attempts at Judo. I then studied conventional Swedish massage, Rolfing, some forms of deep tissue work which were taught by a series of several therapists who worked primarily with athletes, utilizing massage as a support for high performance. These methods include deep transverse friction massage, especially for tendinitis, compression therapy for trigger points, several forms of actively releasing adhesions in tissues, pre- and post-event considerations, what not to do, mostly, as well as a sense of when in the cycle of training certain methods would and would not be used. Somewhere in there I also apprenticed for over a year with a psychologist who was teaching Ericksonian techniques of utilizing altered states to enhance integration of the self to full functioning. I studied that because I realized that clients were in a state of deep relaxation by the time a session was half way through and thought that with a bit more psychological sophistication, I might be more adept at utilizing that deep relaxation to enhance recovery and rehab. It seems that I learn best hands-on in apprentice situations in real life, so I have continued to search out talented folks from which to learn. My clients are really my first teachers and they continue to teach me in many ways. That's how I found ISSA and you. One of my clients, in search of some assis254
Physically Incorrect tance strengthening for his sport, had consulted Fred Hatfield about a program, handed me Fitness: The Complete Guide, (ISSA's training manual), and said "What do you think of this?" After reading through it, I realized I had much to learn from this organization and called to find out more. Since Dr. Squat recommended that I speak with you and also suggested that my client see you for questions and follow up on the strengthening, I was happy to find out that you would be instructing the certification seminar I signed up for. I wanted to pick your brain as much as I could to see if we could collaborate before I brought him to you for a program. I wanted know how you would handle my curiosity and nit-picky questions as well as get some of my specific questions about training answered. You were not only not bugged by my incessant queries but gave me far more information than I had hoped to get in one weekend. CS: Well thank you! DL: In May I’ll participate in an 80 hour seminar with a therapist from Oregon (Rich Phaigh) who worked with Mary Decker, among others, and who now utilizes adaptations of Muscle Energy Technique with his athletes to help balance underlying spine and hip misalignments which might contribute to stubborn recurring problems some athletes experience. I'm excited about reviewing and adding more of these tools to my quiver of techniques. I figure the more methods I can skillfully employ, the wider range of situations with which I might be an effective practitioner. I hope I'm still learning till I die. That, and not knowing what the moment will bring, are what keeps the work exciting to me as a creative vehicle for mutual benefit. CS: You know, a lot of readers may be thinking "Why would I hire a massage therapist?" thinking that massage is mostly for relaxation or stress reduction, when in fact, as you and I both know, skillfully applied massage has a range of recuperative benefits. Would you outline these for us? DL: Of course. Massage can help relieve muscle tension and stiffness, reduce spasms, increase ROM, improve circulation of blood and movement of lymph, reduce blood pressure, strengthen the immune system, foster faster healing of strained muscles and sprained ligaments, reduce pain and swelling and the formation of excessive scar tissue. • Sports massage could be classified into three main categories: maintenance, event, and clinical. • Maintenance, which includes modalities to enhance recovery from the stress of sport, helps athletes maintain optimal performance by keeping them injury free.
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Physically Incorrect • Event massage, before, during and after competition supplements an athlete's warm-up, cool down and reduces the spasms and metabolic build-up that occurs with vigorous exercise. It enhances recovery, if well designed, improves an athlete's return to high level training and reduces the risk of injury. Clinical applications are effective in the management of acute and chronic injuries, done as far away from the competition as possible and offer the coach and athlete a feedback on the status of the muscles, tendons and ligaments. The massage therapist can give them information as important when tailoring training choices to the athlete's current status as a local weather report is to a sailor at sea. It's easier and far more pleasant to avoid the squalls if you know they're out there than it is to blindly suffer through them. Although Canadian track coach Charlie Francis' career was ruined by Ben Johnson's steroid bust, in my opinion, drugs alone could in no way account for their amazing accomplishments in sport. Charlie has a lot to say about his use of massage as part of his regeneration protocols for athletes in his book, The Charlie Francis Training System. Let me provide you with a few quotes: "Central Nervous System (CNS) overtraining is caused by high intensity work occurring too frequently in the training cycle in too high a volume in a single training session or by the attempt to introduce high intensity work too rapidly into the program when residual fatigue still exists (i.e. incomplete regeneration). It takes 2.5 times longer to recover/regenerate fully after maximum intensity white fibre dominant work than from moderate to low intensity red fiber dominant work." "The difference between a performance at 95% effort and at 100% (i.e. at World Record level) effort is that a 95% effort might require a recovery period of only 48 hours while a 100% effort might require up to 10 days." "We feel that we can get up to 40% more CNS-power training time related to the performance of high intensity training by incorporation properly executed massage and regeneration." "Before competition you use a very light, slapping type of massage, You don't go deep into the muscles, with the result that the athlete feels fresh and awake. You wouldn't do deep rubs within, say, 48-72 hours of the competition unless it was a very insignificant meet, because with deep massage you lower the tone of the muscle too far. To use an inappropriate type of massage or to have an unskilled person doing the massage can undo much of the training effect you have accomplished during your final preparation for a key competition."
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Physically Incorrect "You want to remove any lumping of the muscle, but you have to have this done long enough before the meet so that the athlete can recover from the treatment. In a calf muscle it is possible for an athlete to have a lump or spasm large that 35% of his or her muscle may be nonfunctional. The spasmed muscle is not able to contribute to movement and there is the potential for a muscle pull— above or below the spasmed area. You have to take out that lumping or the athlete loses a tremendous amount of power." "You don't wait for injury to occur. The athletes are being probed and screened constantly by (the MT’s) hands, the chiropractor's hands or my own. Among us we are usually able to find potential injuries before they occur." "An athlete who is receiving regeneration treatments regularly can increase his or her work by as much as 40%— and not so much in terms of volume but rather in terms of the quality of high intensity work." "PNF (proprio-neural facilitation) type stretching in combination with massage can be a very effective recovery combination. Stretching for the purpose of resetting muscle tonus to desired levels can shorten your recovery time significantly, by up to 3 or 4 hours. Most of the time we do PNF stretching before and after competition and practice. It can shorten recovery time because if the muscle is contracted and tight, it doesn't allow as much circulation as when it's restored to full length." CS: You’ve obviously studied Charlie’s work in detail! In my opinion he was incredibly brilliant, and in fact, he was perhaps the primary inspiration for my becoming involved in the conditioning sciences. Francis showed how training could be elevated from a rather pedestrian pursuit (which is how 90% of coaches practice it) to a truly sophisticated science and art. I think I recent ly heard that he is now an insurance salesman, which to me is just abhor rent. Getting back to task, let me ask you a question that I myself find difficulty answering for my clients: "What do you look for in a massage therapist (MT)?" In other words, if I don’t have a frame of reference, how do I know that you’re skilled? Am I looking for a diploma, references, to feel good after I leave, what? DL: It really depends a lot on what you are wanting from a particular massage experience. If you are just looking for relaxation and circulatory effect then you could find a local spa and get yourself a "feel good" rub which will support tissue recovery in a general way. Sauna, hot tub, cold plunge, Swedish type massage would all compliment each other in the flushing of wastes out of and bringing nutrients in to tissues as well as generally relieving spasms. If the practitioner is not specifically trained in sports massage in 257
Physically Incorrect this case it will not so much matter because the spa context provides its own kind of experience. If, however, you want to work more precisely, utilizing well applied techniques to support recovery as you train hard for an event or competition, then you need someone with more specific training and ability. The work done close to an event is much less deep than that which would be done early in the training season. The clinical aspects of various types of deep tissue work can augment training earlier in the season by resetting proper muscle length and tonus, identifying and rooting out adhesions, deep spasms, trigger points, slightly inflamed tendons, etc., hopefully, before they become problems big enough to interfere with workout rhythms or require rehab. This type feedback to a coach or athlete from a skilled massage therapist can be very helpful in determining if some muscles or tendons are a little worse for the wear, thus help them make well informed decisions. CS: Boy, you said it. I know that our mutual collaboration has provided me with essential feedback regarding just how much damage a particular work out has created— in fact, I really want to talk about this in detail later in the interview. Dianna, before we continue, I suspect some of our readers will not know what is meant by the terms "spasm," "adhesions," and "trigger points." Would you just briefly clarify these terms for us? DL: Actually there's a lot that could be said distinguishing these three as well as tendinitis, tenosynovitis, bursitis, strain, and sprain, what they are and what to do when you have them, but for our purposes here, let's just talk about those three you asked about. A spasm is an involuntary muscle contraction. If tonic (sustained), sharp and painful they are sometimes call cramps or "Charlie horses" if in the calf (I wonder where that one comes from?). Marathon runners can get them due to lack of hydration causing electrolyte imbalances. These need to be treated with immediate electrolyte and fluid replacement. If elderly people sleep with heavy blankets weighing down the foot into plantar flexion, then turn, suddenly dorsi-flexing it, the extreme shortening combined with lack of blood flow can cause a severe and painful "Charlie horse" when the calf is asked to lengthen. There must be some biochemical component to these, as well, because docs often prescribe quinine tablets if increased calcium doesn't help, and that seems to work really well. In those cases massage is not going to relieve the underlying cause of the spasm. If, however, sections of muscles remain shortened due to fatigue or overuse after a workout, it can inhibit the blood flow and inhibit that muscle's 258
Physically Incorrect capacity to function in the next training session since it is already shortened and therefore weaker by what ever percentage is no longer capable of full contraction under load. Heat, water jets, diathermy, electrical stim, ultra sound and certain massage techniques will all help relieve these. That's a major component in recovery considerations regarding training rhythms. Docs sometimes prescribe analgesics or muscle relaxants. Adhesions are fibrous bands holding parts together that are normally separated. They naturally occur as part of wound healing, but if granulation scar tissue doesn't properly re-organize as it heals it can bind the connective tissue within the muscle or tendon virtually gluing it into place. Various styles of deep tissue massage are devised to attend to clearing these out of the tissues. James Cyriax, an orthopedist, developed Deep Transverse Friction massage to work directly on the adhesions which form in tendons and ligaments. Rolfing strokes as well as Myofascial Release developed and taught by John Barnes, PT are two different ways to release adhesions which are in connective tissue within muscles and tendons. Trigger points were most extensively mapped and worked with by Janet Travell, M.D. In her books, (co-authored with David Simon, M.D.): Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction, The Trigger Point Manual, Vols. 1 & 2, she outlines very extensive diagnostic procedures and protocols for treating them. I'll give you her definition: "A focus of hyperirritability in a tissue that, when compressed, is locally tender and, if sufficiently hypersensitive, gives rise to referred pain and tenderness, and sometimes to a referred autonomic phenomena and distortion of proprioception. Types include myofascial, cutaneous, fascial, ligamentous, and periosteal trigger points. A myofascial trigger point is a hyperirritable spot usually within a taut band of skeletal muscle or in the muscle's fascia." TP’s can cause dysfunction in muscles in a number of ways: 1. They are ischemic (i.e., lack oxygen). 2. The taut bands surrounding them are contracted tissue not available to the training stimulus making it difficult to properly strengthen that muscle. 3. They cause pain when irritated and can produce secondary trigger points in their synergists or satellite trigger points within the original TP's zone of reference, thus they cause a generally noxious state of affairs, and inhibit the training effect synergistically. There are several treatment modalities available to docs or PT’s, but massage 259
Physically Incorrect therapists use specifically applied compression combined with stretching and heat to relieve them. If you mistakenly use deep friction upon them you will just irritate them further. Not a plan. They are often latent, that is, painful only upon palpation, lurking within the muscle, etc. undetected by the person, but with all the other clinical characteristics of active ones. OK, getting back to the topic: Finding a therapist with the requisite skill for the type of collaborative work I discussed earlier is a more difficult proposition. In Canada, massage therapists must have a minimum of 1000 hours of training, much of that hands on, to legally be allowed to practice. So by its own licensing requirements, Canada establishes a standard for its therapists. In America there is no such licensing. Some states have a 500 hour requirement for their state licenses, but those 500 hours might not include any specific training for sports applications. In California there is no state licensing. A person could take a 100 hour course, pass a local exam or simply pay for a business license, and, depending on the local ordinances, call themselves a "sports" massage therapist and be legally practicing. Licenses don’t necessarily provide enough information to insure that you have found a skilled massage practitioner. CS: Are PT’s a reasonable option? DL: There are some physical therapists who have good hands on training and skills, but from what I've seen, they don't generally get much massage technique in college. The ones whom I know who are good at sports massage have also studied sports massage on their own to augment their formal academic education. One of the past presidents of the AMTA (American Massage Therapy Association) checked the curriculums of the colleges in his state to see what hands-on training was included in their PT programs and found that none totaled more than 30 hours of hands-on technical massage training. That was a few years back, hopefully things have improved since then. But, I'd still say that going to a physical therapist won't necessarily get you a good sports massage either. The best way to find a good practitioner is by a personal recommendation from someone whose scrutiny you trust. If you have a friend who also trains and can offer you a referral for someone with whom they've had a good experience, this is the best way. Not always possible, and even if it is, a good rapport between a massage therapist and her client is a really important part of the work. If you find a skillful person, you personally must also trust and feel good about that person for your work together to be really beneficial. Keep looking until talent, skill, training and mutual rapport are all present before 260
Physically Incorrect you settle in to an ongoing professional relationship. I have a friend who is a Harvard-trained MD. In medical school. She coined her so-called "90% rule." Meaning, 90% of what you find out there in any field is sh*t. Your job is to search out the 10%. A competent sports therapist should know pre- and post-event massage, some deep tissue applications like what would be taught in Rolfing (or Aston Patterning, Hellerwork) as applicable to enhancing performance as well as structural realignment, deep transverse friction massage especially for tendons and ligaments, trigger point compression, contract/relax stretching protocols, ice massage, or possibly NMT, Myofascial Release, or Active Release Technique (ART). There are a few teachers of sports massage in America whose work I know well enough to assume that if someone trained with them at the advanced level the requisite skills should be there. Based on this, I’ve put together some resources to get someone started on a search: Ben Benjamin teaches at the Muscular Therapy Institute in Cambridge, MA. Call 800-543-4740, or on the web at http://www.mtti.com/center. Ask for a referral for one of his advanced graduates with sports training. Benny Vaughn developed the clinical massage training program at the Atlanta School of Massage. Call 888-276-6277, or visit his web site at http://www.atlantaschoolofmassage.com. If you leave them a note on the web site with your location, they could refer to one of the graduates of the clinical program in your area. Rich Phaigh has worked with several track and field athletes including Mary Decker, Alberto Salazar and Joan Benoit. He has taught Sports massage for many years, and might have some graduate students whom he could recommend. call 541-344-4768 or 541-683-5134. Or, e-mail them at:
[email protected]. The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork referrals can be found at: http://www.ncbtmb.com/ncb-database/query.htm. All the therapists who've passed this test have at least 500 hours of education, but not necessarily sports related training, so specify that in your request. There are 2 major professional organizations for massage therapists in America. The AMTA, requires 500 hour educational training or a written exam for entry as a professional, they require an additional exam for their sports 261
Physically Incorrect therapist certification: You can locate the AMTA on the web at http://www.amtamassage.org/findtherapist/locator.htm ABMP, (Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals) has a referral site at: http://www.abmp.com/referral.htm. Their organization offers many levels of entry, so specify certified or professional sports therapist. Another site run by a Florida massage therapist which requires AMTA membership and screens for educational training, can be found at: http://massagetherapynetwork.com/client1.html. This site for the International Association of Healthcare Practitioners: http://www.upledger.com/pract.htm. This site lists practitioners who have been trained in Neuromuscular Therapy as well as Upledger's cranio-sacral work, his affiliates' techniques and who have paid some money to be included in this list. NMT was developed by Paul St. John and contains some valuable deep tissue techniques. Paul's site (http://www.stjohnnmtseminars.com) doesn't have referral links on it so if his work interests you, look on IAHP's site for folks who have NMT 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 in the classes column or call 888-NMT-HEAL (668-4325) and Eileen will give you a referral in your area for one of their graduates. Paul's work is not necessarily sport specific, but technically good work. Charles Poliquin, other strength coaches and a number of high level athletes seem to really like Michael Leahy's Active Release Technique as a soft tissue application designed to enhance optimal performance. His training seminars are very expensive, so prepare to spend the big bucks for them. Call 719473-7000, or fax 719-473-7479 to get the name of a practitioner in your area. I hope that's enough information to get someone going on the right track for good sports massage support. CS: Yes, just excellent. OK, now the next thing I’d like to cover is, what to do upon the incidence of injury. A lot of athletes don't know if they should just rest and see how it goes, or to seek medical attention. To make matters more complicated, if they do decide to seek medical attention, do they see a MD first, a PT, MT, or what? DL: Well, when in doubt, see a doc, especially if your bone is sticking out of your leg and staring right at you. CS: This would probably be a revelation of sorts for my training partner!
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Physically Incorrect DL: (Laughing) Seriously, if you have had an impact injury of any kind, see a sports doc or an orthopedist for an x ray and diagnosis, make sure those bones aren't fractured or pieces broken off, or some other complication lurking within. Or if you ever hear a loud pop and somehow the arm (or whatever popped) seems a bit weaker, get to the doc immediately and don't let him or her tell you that it's not necessary to surgically repair the lump that was the biceps now rolled up like a Venetian blind. I've seen a couple of folks to whom this happened. One was advised that his arm would work without the biceps because the brachialis would do the job! CS: I guess if you don’t ever plan to lift anything heavier than your own arm, plus maybe your wristwatch, he’d be right. DL: Yes— well he came to me several days later and asked my opinion. I suggested that if he wanted to handle the wench on the big boats in the big winds again, he should get that tendon stapled back on the forearm, pronto. His Kaiser doc's idea that it would work ok without being fixed was definitely not based on an understanding of the stresses of sailing. Another client was told that his pec didn't really need to be reattached. In the second case he followed that advice and after that when he tried to do yoga, specifically the "Chatarranga" posture (which is like a push up from the toes), he inflamed the nerves in his arm because his body can't be supported in that plane without the pec there. He'd already done that twice when I first saw him. Asked me what to do about it. We iced it and worked the spasms out of the inflamed arm and I advised him to stop doing the posture, since it was too late to get the pec reattached. It had bunched up like an old redwood burl, irrevocably glued as an unidentifiable wad on his chest. Yuk. CS: What a shame, considering how easy it is to reattach the muscle if it’s addressed soon after injury! DL: It just proves that you can get lame advice even from well educated high end professionals. This was an expensive Beverly Hills orthopedist who gave him that advice. It seems that whatever happens, you must be the captain of your own healing journey. Whomever you use is in your employ and can be fired at any time. CS: This is a very important point! As obvious as it is, a lot of people forget that they are in charge of their support team, not vice versa.
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Physically Incorrect DL: Absolutely! And another thing— more than one opinion is often a good thing especially if the options are serious enough to involve surgery. It’s hard to know how to go about it when you don't always have the necessary information to make a well informed decision, but since you have the most invested in the outcome, it's worth doing your homework. Unless serious invasive action is immanent, I would personally choose the least invasive tactic first and give it a good chance before going under the knife. In the above cases, the opposite was true, surgical repair was the only choice and timing was definitely a factor. Often in training, "stuff" happens which is far less dramatic and clear cut. The first thing to remember as an athlete, ice is your friend. You train, something hurts, sharp pain especially, get the ice on it ASAP. Often you can stop the secondary swelling and subsequent spreading of the trauma into the surrounding tissue. This keeps the injury minimal and the healing proceeds much more quickly. The first couple of days after a micro trauma or macro trauma use ice frequently. On for a minimum of 5 minutes up to 15 minutes, off for at least 1 to 1 1/2 hours between icings to allow the reflexive vasodilation which occurs after the cold is removed to bring nutrients and proteins into the tissues for repair. Ice it 5 times the first day, and the same on the second day. Keep icing frequently as long as your swelling and pain is decreasing as a result. If your pain doesn't decrease using these acute care protocols... if there isn’t noticeable improvement within 3 days, see a doc for further diagnosis. Why? Just as one example, low back pain can be a sign of cancer as well as the result of a muscle strain from a training incident. Don’t take chances! CS: I actually have 8 ice packs in my freezer which are numbered, so I know that I’m always using the coldest possible ice pack. Of course ice is part of the famous "RICE" acronym. Do you agree with and/or use the RICE formu la? DL: Eight? Really? How near the edge of your capacities do you train? I know you like to keep things moving, but how many body parts do you ice after a tough session?!! CS: I mostly use it for my right knee, which has had so much surgery that it will soon be featured in an episode of "That’s Incredible!" If I think I’ve irri tated it during training, I’ll ice it every hour for the rest of the day as a min imum. I’ll use one pack behind the knee, and another on the knee, and then wrap the whole thing with an ace bandage. So the numbering system is just to ensure I’m using the coldest possible packs in the rotation.
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Physically Incorrect DL: That’s a great system actually (necessity is the mother of invention, as they say). But yes, RICE is the acronym for acute injury care. Rest, ice, compression, elevation. We covered the ice part. Rest is obvious (I hope)— if it hurts don't use It while the injury is still acute. Compression, if you can’t avoid using the injured bodypart, wrap it while you do to protect it and keep the swelling down. Elevate it above the heart whenever possible to help with venous return and keep the swelling down. With smaller soft tissue injuries this will get you back in action quite swiftly and often is enough to prevent micro trauma from becoming macro trauma and start the healing process or repair and regeneration instead. Anti-inflammatories help if they aren't contra-indicated due to systemic sensitivities. Whatever you choose topically, RICE is the most important first stage intervention. Sometimes, if you have a muscle which has simply gone into spasm in response to fatigue, overuse and accompanying trigger points, moist heat is a better choice. Hot and cold alternating showers or jacuzzi baths can help to restore fatigued muscles. Trigger points and the spasms they create respond better to heat and to anti-inflammatories. If, however, there's a chance that some micro trauma is there as well, ice is a better choice or you might follow the heat with a short icing on the area which feels injured. Beyond that, who you see would depend upon what kind of injury you have. Physical therapy primarily uses electrical stim, ultra sound, cold and exercise routines designed for different stages of rehab, often including water workouts to keep an athlete training while rehabilitating from an injury. If you can't bear your weight on the sprained ankle or torn hamstring for example, this is where to go. It is important that you find a therapist whose orientation is rehab for a high level of performance and not someone whose practice is primarily personal injury accident cases where the emphasis is simply racking up as many fees in as little time as possible to help make a good legal case. I know an athlete who herniated a disc during a deadlift. MRI diagnosis confirmed it. He had pain down the thigh, splinted spasmed low back muscles. He found a great PT team, worked with them 4 hours per day, 6 days per week, in a very intense comprehensive program which included some deep tissue massage and trigger point compression and was back to full sport specific training in 6 weeks. He won in his match 4 weeks later. I was really impressed with their choices and especially the results.
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Physically Incorrect If your injury is less severe than those mentioned above, i.e: some of the stuff commonly happening in the gym; tennis elbow, biceps tendinitis, rotator cuff tendinitis, trauma forming adhesions in muscles or tendons due to overuse, or reinjury of sites with unnoticed micro-trauma until it becomes macro-trauma, good sports massage could help speed up the healing considerably. Lymphatic massage techniques will improve the secondary hypoxic injury and enhance edemous fluid removal. Trigger point compression reduces pain from TPs and their taut bands, which occur after injury. Cross-fiber friction improves the formation of strong and flexible repair tissue, thus helping to restore pain free full ROM. Sometimes if you rest and ice the area but don't get it worked on as well, the site of the injury can linger in an adhered, spasmed, fibrous state for a while after the initial injury is healed. Then when you try to use it under load it tears again around the adhesions and can interfere with full performance in training for a long time. Here's where the clinical aspect of sports massage can really make a difference. To quote Mary Decker (from Athletic Massage by Rich Phaigh & Paul Perry) "My training runs became painless, with fewer injuries than in the past. And with my shorter recovery time, I soon began training at a consistently high level, better than ever before. Since discovering massage I have set eight world records, won several national titles and been able to win two world championship titles. I am in the best shape of my life due to my lack of injury. I owe most of my high fitness level to Rich and his method of athletic massage. I know this is true because I don't get Rich's massage treatments when I travel for an extended period of time. Then, old injuries creep back and recovery time increases with each hard run. I recommend massage to athletes at any level of ability, from world class to the weekend competitor. It will not only improve your performance, it will speed your recovery time and cut down on the number of muscle injuries."
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Physically Incorrect The Role of Sports Massage in the Prevention and Management of Training Injuries: An Interview With Dianna Linden, MT, CFT, Part 2 (originally appeared in the June 19, 1999 issue of Mesomorphosis) Introduction: In the first part of this interview, Dianna discussed the role of sports massage in an athlete’s training program, how to find a skilled massage therapist, and what actions to take upon the incidence of a training injury. In part two, Dianna and I discuss the most common injuries that she sees in her athlete-clients, how they might be prevented, and we’ll also detail the importance of the feedback that a skilled MT can provide to an athletes coach or conditioning specialist. — Charles Staley CS: What do you think is the most important aspect of sports massage and what it can offer an athlete in his or her efforts to achieve new PRs in their sport? DL: I think its role in injury prevention is one of the most interesting features a good massage done by educated hands can offer. If an overuse pattern ultimately results in an injury to that part or parts then the athlete is facing a break in optimal training, and instead is now busy finding a good team; doc, PT chiropractor, etc. to devise and implement a quick recovery paradigm. That's not always easy to come by. No matter how good they are it always constitutes a set back in the progress that was being made. If that occurs late enough in the season, it can be disastrous. I thought Mary Decker put it well in that quote we ended part 1 with, when she said, about working with Rich Phaigh, "My training runs became painless, with fewer injuries than in the past. And with my shorter recovery time, I soon began training at a consistently high level, better than ever before." Isn't that what every athlete would like to achieve and maintain? In USSR they considered recovery methods an important part of optimum performance, here it is generally not considered with much intelligence at all. CS: Certainly, my athletes have similar experiences as well. Funny how we do everything possible to accelerate training gains per se, but virtually noth ing to accelerate recovery in a planned, conscious way!
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Physically Incorrect DL: Well yes, I was just about to say that it's not just about massage, either, it is about utilizing smart recovery methods in general. The training program, if well designed by the coach, considers the longer recovery usually necessary when max effort has stressed the nervous system. Athletes could use jacuzzi, sauna, hot/cold alternating showers, TENS, to enhance blood flow and speed up the capacity for fatigued muscles to perform optimally without injury. As much talk as I hear on the various newsgroups about which training routine is best for the most gain, or "do I need to do assistance work for the rotator cuff?" I hear almost nothing about recovery strategies. Dr. Mel Siff, who wrote Supertraining with Dr Verkhoshansky and along with Michael Yessis, edited Sports Massage and Recovery, has thrown suggestions and considerations regarding recovery into the discussion arena, but I have never heard any athlete pursue the discussion. What I infer from that is that here, in the States, athletes do not consider recovery primary in importance when planning their training regimes. They simply notice when something starts to hurt, gets trained on anyway and then hurts more. That's what Mary was referring to when she said " I owe most of my high fitness level to Rich and his method of athletic massage. I know this is true because I don't get Rich's massage treatments when I travel for an extended period of time. Then, old injuries creep back and recovery time increases with each hard run." CS: As I always say, training is only as good as your ability to recover from it, it's like how they say that music depends on the spaces between the notes, not just the notes involved— successful training is the same way. DL: Massage can help an athlete sleuth out that which is not yet a full blown injury and eliminate most of it before it becomes a problem which interferes with training. I know that sounds like an outrageous claim, but it is my experience and the experience of several athletes who use sports massage as well. There's no way to measure this other than the subjective experience of athletes and coaches, I suspect. How do you quantify an injury which didn't happen? How do you measure that? Yet many athletes who use these recovery protocols know it to be true. We can feel those adhesions and trigger points in the tissues and erase them long before they show up by limiting function in sport. One of my mentors liked to call this working prodromally, using a word from medicine which means the interval between the earliest symptoms and the appearance of the full blown disease, the initial stage of a disease. If we can palpate the prodromes of trauma in tissues and clear out the schmutz before it becomes an injury which interferes with an athlete's training routine, that is the slickest way to work.
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Physically Incorrect Some stuff can't be prevented altogether, even with the best of support. Jackie Joyner Kersee got her gold medals at Soeul and Atlanta with a major hamstring tear, both times. Her team, in that case, was working locally on those tissues between each event using a number of modalities, ultra sound with aspirin cream, TENS, ice, gentle local transverse friction massage, ice, ice, and ice. When there was more than one trial or event on the same day, she was worked on locally to prepare those muscles for their next trial. She got a full body massage at the end of the day to relax her, increase blood flow to the muscles and generally get her ready for the next day's event. I can't imagine anything more stressful to hamstrings than heptethalon, yet, even with that tear she got the gold. In my opinion, that was a very skillfully applied recovery paradigm under the toughest conditions. I studied with the massage therapist who was on that team led by Robert Forster, PT, working with several of Jack Kersee's athletes. He said one of his perpetual pursuits there was finding enough ice in Korea to keep treating the athletes, and to keep track of the zip lock stash. No baggies in Soeul to replace them when they disappeared. CS: They should have called me! OK, now I know you are very conscious of your professional scope of responsibility (i.e, you can’t legally diagnose injuries), but with that in mind, I'd really like to discuss some of the problem areas that you commonly see in people, athletes especially. So, for example, let’s say that I have an athlete, like several cases that we’ve worked on together recently, and he is experiencing shoulder pain in the left shoulder. He's had a medical evaluation, and nothing was found with functional tests. So then, I bring the athlete to you, and you palpate their left scapula right over the infraspinatus, and they jump through the ceiling! What does this tell you? DL: Well, as you know, there are all kinds of pain. Workout pain is something all athletes learn to live with. I sometimes think that's why, when they have a pain in a muscle which indicates it needs some healing attention, they just don't distinguish that from the regular ongoing pain of working yourself to your limits. When I palpate the tendons of infraspinatus for example and the athlete rises to the ceiling like a great yogi, it usually means that there is micro/macro-trauma right where I am touching. This is another service which I think good sports massage performs. We can palpate from the muscle origin's teno-periostial, musculo-tendinous areas, through the muscle belly, on tomusculo-tendinous/ teno-periostial insertion. Where it is sharply painful defines the area of the injured tissue. The athlete can learn to:
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Physically Incorrect A: Distinguish this kind of pain, which should be honored, not ignored and trained through, from regular workout pain, B: Gain a better sense of the current injury, how large an area needs to be iced after the next few workouts which would use that muscle in any way, which workouts to lighten up to ease it's load either as a prime mover or synergist and some specific modalities at home as well as exercises to do to speed its recovery. Most often I find trauma in the teno-periostial or musculo-tendinous junctures when it is micro trauma which builds unnoticed to macro from overuse in training. That's where I see the most sports injuries at the prodromal stage. From my experience, physical therapists most often use ultra-sound, electrical stimulation, specific rehabilitation exercises and cold to enhance rehabilitation of injured tissues. Sports massage therapists use various massage techniques, depending on where the injury is located which could include active release, deep transverse friction massage, ice massage followed with cold packs to achieve that. Both ways work, but in my experience, without the specifically applied hands on techniques, the tissues often remain adhered or partially so, at the site of the lesion, therefore are more prone to re-injury. It is as rare to find a good sports massage therapist who knows how to advise the best exercise protocols for rehabilitation of an injury as it is to find a sports oriented physical therapist with hands on skills who really knows how to work on the tissues. Personally I like to work in conjunction with other practitioners; physical therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists to speed up reduction of acute inflammation, as well as the athlete's coach or trainer regarding an injury which needs to heal. It's not always economically possible, in which case we ad lib. CS: Dianna, I've heard people complain for years about how painful Rolfing is or that they hurt for days after deep soft-tissue work. I know from personal experience that deep work in the muscles can be painless and there can also be various levels of pain. I also know you utilize techniques where, basically, the client determines how deep you go— can you elaborate on that? DL: I've heard the same reports, in far more gruesome detail, I'm afraid. "Hurt for days, bruises after the body work" and other stories of torture in the hands of a "deep tissue" bodyworker. Yuk! Bruising is definitely a sign that the tissues were worked too deeply, adding insult and further injury to them. Some folks bruise easily— I'm not saying it can't happen, but when doing deep clinical work I always ask my clients to be Dick Tracy for the next two days and report any and all findings related to the areas of deep work. If there's ever any bruising we talk about nutrition, Vitamin C intake AND I 270
Physically Incorrect lighten the work considerably in the next session. Deep bodywork is supposed to free tissues from adhesions, not injure them further. I have one client who is 73— she was arthritic for many years with spurs and stenosis on osetoporotic vertebrae, she had polio in France before WW2 with some current residue from that, as well as the times when small chunks from her intervertebral discs broke off and wedged against nerves, immobilizing her with pain until they re-absorbed. She's so fragile that she simply can't exercise as she used to. She was an avid skier, swimmer and mountain climber. Now her connective tissue is sinewy and dried out and she has more than her share of aches and pains— always. Glucosamine has helped a bit and the body work definitely serves as an oil and lube tune up. In her massage we do lots of joint movements, compression for her trigger points which perpetually return like weeds in the garden, and I work through her muscles at some depth because they get adhered and need "fluffing up." Among a plethora of other drugs, she's on Cumadin, has to have her blood viscosity checked sometimes every day. If I worked her with too much depth I'd hate to imagine what would happen. She gets a hematoma if a plant in the yard simply brushes her skin. Has new ones each week which she doesn't even know are there or how they happened. Part of what we do is inventory on that. We have worked together for many years now and the massage helps her function. She still works hard in the world as the owner of a school, sitting on those little kid chairs while she relates to them at their level, which I'm sure contributes to the return of the trigger points. She's an example of someone who needs specifically applied bodywork techniques, the style and depth must be very carefully monitored. If I didn't work her with some depth we wouldn't get the schmutz out of those muscles. We've successfully done deep transverse friction massage on her supraspinatus and deltoid tendons after an overuse injury, but with utmost care and caution. That's by nature invasive work, but even in this case, possibly the most fragile human I'll ever work with, we could use it with some delicacy and get the job done without any bruising. I had to find a referral for her when I was out of the country with an athlete for a couple of months. Because of how fragile she is, scary really, I referred her to a physical therapist with his masters degree who specialized in CNS injury recovery and had apprenticed with John Barnes, someone I knew had extra training in many hands on techniques besides those myofascial release methods. I talked to him for over an hour about her medical history and condition, suggested that he avoid mobilization of the vertebrae like the plague, just fluff and fold, oil and lube to the soft tissues, easy does it. Apparently on their first visit he did another 45 minute evaluation, then, 271
Physically Incorrect started with very gentle touch along the vertebrae, as she described it to me later. Didn't work the tissues at all, really just those movements along the spine. Next day she was flat on her back in the hospital with another episode of intevertebral disc breaking off and wedging against a lumbar nerve. It took the whole time I was gone to reabsorb. She didn't really correlate the vertebral mobilization with the event, wondered casually about those little movements of the spine, if they could have something to do with it, and we will never really know since correlation doesn't mean causation, but I won't refer to him again, and he was too embarrassed to even talk to me when I returned. So what's "deep?" His touch was so gentle, but the method he chose was challenging tissues which, in my opinion shouldn't ever be addressed on her at all. The point is that deep doesn't really mean invasive and excruciating, nor does something which feels gentle necessarily mean benign. I once got a rub at a local trendy spa here in Santa Monica with one of their sports masseurs who did "deep tissue work." I paid top dollar for it but stopped the session in the middle. His idea of deep was to simply burn through my tissue with his elbows as deep as he could. He clearly did not know his anatomy, origins and insertions, nyet. Although he was offended that I politely told him to stop the session, the guy was dangerous and it was either him or me. When he pressed hard with his elbow directly on the spinous process of my lumbar vertebrae and right on the SI joint and ilium instead of the tendons attached just below, it became painfully clear that there was no way to salvage that session. This guy was licensed to practice in my city. Scary. CS: So those are some examples of what good "deep" work isn't, but what is it? DL: Well, If the tissues have adhesions from injury or overuse micro-trauma building imperceptibly to macro-trauma in the musculo-tendinous or tenoperiostial attachments, I find that deep transverse friction massage (DTF) is the most effective at getting that stuff out of there. Otherwise training will often cause it to reinjure on that same site as you commonly hear happening to folks who don't get it worked on. In tendinous tissue and ligaments DTF can be effectively done very soon after the injury. Muscle bellies are another story, there are more and better ways to work stuff out of them, and the timing is different. DTF is painful and must be done right on the site of the lesion to be effective, not 1/4 of an inch away. I warm up the tissues well with moist heat and various massage strokes to generally soften the area first, that helps diminish the discomfort, but when we address the glued up spots it can go up to a 12 on a 10 scale of pain in a hot LA minute on the first pass. One of the things I do is explain a pain scale I like to use. 10 is painful beyond 272
Physically Incorrect endurance, 9 excruciating and too invasive to breathe and relax into, 8 is the maximum one can take and still keep the shoulders peeled off the ears, body non levitated, toes uncurled and able to breathe into it, somehow make space around the intense sensation without resistance while relaxing the rest of the body. Defining that scale works in several ways for me. First, some folks are so stoic they will never say "that hurts too much." I ask them to say "8" instead, no one has much trouble labeling a sensation an "8", no wuss connotations there. Also I can get them to tell me when it is a 4 or 6 or 7. If I see them curling toes but only reporting a 4 on the 10 scale, then I don't go above 3. I can feel a person's translation of reality out a bit better with the numbers. People are so different in how they experience "reality". One client will fidget and say "Oh Oh!! Oh Oh!!" when we just barely touch an injured spot, another will say "Easy now" in a slow deep voice like he was instructing a yoga stretch. I actually find watching their choice of words and reactions to slightly painful sensations when I first begin to address something, very informative. It helps me figure out how best to work with someone. I don't ever like to work above an 8 on that scale even with DTF, 6s or 7s are better and still get the job done in my opinion. CS: Very, very interesting— I remember being quite taken by this method when you first exposed me to it. You also do a lot with breathing, correct? DL: Well, yes— in describing the possibility of breathing into pain, relaxing around it rather than resisting and tightening against it, explaining that we can stop at any number, modify the duration of the sensation, we have the capacity to break up the definition of what pain is and not fixate on it, resist it in the old unconscious way. How we experience pain and how intense it seems is largely a very subjective experience, even though we all share the same neurological mechanisms governing the delivery of that information within the organism of the self. With athletes, because they are used to suffering through sets of tough reps in the gym, each cross fiber stroke is a rep and we do sets of 15 or 20 reps depending on how tender the tissue is. As it improves in texture after the first session the pain level diminishes as well so we can use more reps per set and get the 2 minutes of DTF done. On a first time visit, before someone actually experiences the results of the work, I do less reps and sets, maybe only 45 seconds to a minute per location to keep the session well within humane tolerance levels. When they come back after seeing improvement, it is easier to volunteer for more of the same and it hurts less besides. With mom's, I remind them of their Lamaz or Bradley breathing techniques for labor. Works like a charm. They remember how to dissociate from that pain instantly, it was a really big and often long experience. We still do reps and sets on the cross fiber and they find it instantly easier to handle. It also 273
Physically Incorrect accesses their memory of a big reward after enduring the pain of labor, not a bad induction. By instructing folks to "make space" for and around the painful sensations the intensity of voluntarily directly addressing one's own pain diminishes. Folks learn that they have the capacity for a dissociative experience with pain, how it is experienced can actually be modified, played with if you will. This is an application of a technique which the Ericksonian therapists utilize really well, dissociative phenomena in trance induction can be used to help people deal with pain by separating their conscious attention from the sensation. I combine that with the experience of modulating the intensity thus taking something autonomic and outside of conscious awareness and learning to cognitively control it, the act of bringing awareness into it, modifies its intensity somehow actually causes it to dissipate. It would be hard to explain why this works, but it really does. By having folks give me feedback about what they are experiencing and defining the limits of what's an acceptable experience, we are also learning to define personal boundaries more clearly. Some folks are raised with fuzzy definitions of the authentic boundaries of self and other, so this, I think has positive carry over into life; saying what is too invasive or not what you want, clarifying what you do want, not assuming that another "knows" what you're experiencing but instead really having to describe it, these are all important communication skills in life. In this way, I think we are doing work on many levels working with "pain" this way. Still, it just sounds like "8!" when we're right there on it, not all that esoteric at all. I should also mention that sometimes, pain is entirely avoidable, even though the tissues need deep work. There are many methods to get schmutz cleared out. Active release techniques are far less painful and invasive than some of the old Rolfing style strokes to clear adhered tissue, especially in muscle bellies. If a person contracts under your specifically applied pressure on a particular spot, they are A: in charge of the experience and intensity, they can stop the contraction at any time. B: contracting those fibers while you hold appropriate resistance is far less painful to start with C: actively releasing them is more effective at disengaging adhered tissue from the muscles. CS: I wondered if you would also just quickly cover myofascial release, since 274
Physically Incorrect I hear you refer to it quite often. DL: OK— Myofascial release is a sustained gentle stretching protocol which can be very effective for adhered connective tissue and requires more patience to just stay with it, than depth of contact. Trigger point compression therapy only uses about 4 pounds of pressure sustained on a TP then repeated a few times to get TPs out of the tissue. Although trigger points can cause all manner of referred pain and be very painful if one were to irritate them by rubbing across them, that is not how they are best worked out of the tissues, so the work does not have to cause discomfort at all. If you warm up muscles with some gentle CRAC stretches and knead and jostle them, a lot of stuff just softens right up. When the injured site requires the direct DTF approach, I warm it up before I do the first set of DTF. After 15 strokes of DTF I then leave the area alone for a little while, do something else and let the tissues have time for the body's natural pain killers to rush into those tissues, then when we come back for the next pass the body's own pain killers are already working and it is a lot less painful to get in there for the next set. What an amazing self repairing vehicle the body is, remarkable really. Lots of ways to work with it rather than charge right in there and attack the glue. That might have been all we knew when Ida Rolf and Jack Painter were first teaching their deep tissue styles, but more has been learned since then about how the tissues respond to various techniques, though much more needs to be studied. Not much funding for massage studies yet, so many unanswered questions remain. CS: I think it's an underrated skill to be able to improvise in less-than-per fect conditions. And while I agree that a multi-disciplinary team of practi tioners is the way to go, it does bring up the issue of communication— mak ing sure that the right hand knows what the left is doing (how's that for an apt pun!). DL: It works for me. You and I have come up against that problem more than once when collaborating with an athlete, eh? Mostly knowing what the athlete is also doing which he or she doesn't count as part of the training protocols but which can blow us out of the water, so to speak (since you like puns). Surfing all day several days in a row because the waves are up, "the best so far this year," starting on the day after increasing the loads in back training, then forgetting to mention it to you or me comes to mind. At the end of the week I am wondering why the erectors are tighter than a screaming steel guitar with micro trauma stranded throughout the spasm, when they felt fine just days ago and it didn't seem that those load increases were incrementally that profoundly taxing. Oh well, the best laid plans... 275
Physically Incorrect CS: Well Dianna, there’s just so much information here that I fear we haven’t even scratched the surface...if readers would like to contact you for consul tations, referrals, etc., how would they go about that? DL: They can either call me at (310) 394-1450, or they can e-mail me at
[email protected]. And I’d love to hear from anyone who has an interest in the subject! CS: Thanks again, and I’m sure you will!
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Physically Incorrect Oh Those Aching Shoulders! (Co-authored by Dr. Sal Arria, originally published in the June, 1994 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine) It's probably safe to say that virtually anyone who has worked out for more than two or three years has experienced shoulder pain at one time or another. More than any other joint, the shoulder seems particularly prone to injury, both chronic and acute. Once shoulder pain has set in, even routine daily tasks such as putting on a shirt overhead or shampooing in the shower become burdensome. Training seems beyond the bounds of possibility, since nearly all movements involve the shoulder in varying degrees. Even squatting and calf raises involve and can aggravate shoulder problems. The shoulder's role as the "black sheep" of joints stems from it's structure. First, the gleno-humeral joint (where the head of the humerus attaches to the shoulder complex) is a ball-and-socket type joint, but unlike the hip, the G/H joint is quite shallow— so much so that the bones contribute little to the joint's stability— that role falls onto the surrounding muscles and their tenuous attachments, as well as the capsular ligaments. Always remember that the shoulder's forte is mobility, not stability. The second structural factor leading to shoulder dysfunction is the enormous leverage that can be applied to the shallow G/H joint by the arm. Consider that for a person of average arm length, a ten-pound dumbbell in the hand equates to over 45 pounds of force at the shoulder joint when held out at arm's length, such as in a lateral raise. Causative Factors in Shoulder Injury Shoulder injuries stemming from both sports and training-related events are summarized below: Sports-related shoulder injuries: • Falling. In many sports, including skating, soccer, football, wrestling, and baseball, falling is inevitable. During a fall, the hand instinctively reaches out to break the fall, decelerating the body's downward movement with the arm outstretched. This instinctive reaction creates a long lever which results in tremendous mechanical forces on the G/H joint-fulcrum, often leading to injuries ranging from strains & sprains of the surrounding muscles and ligaments to subluxation (less than a full dislocation) or in the worst-case scenarios, dislocation of the joint.
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Physically Incorrect • Throwing. Not just in the sense of throwing a ball, but also any hitting or swinging (such as a tennis serve or hitting a baseball) movement is essentially an attempt to separate the G/H joint, in biomechanical terms. During any throwing movement, the rotator cuff muscle group is responsible for decelerating the arm after the object has been released. Since many individuals have very weak rotator cuffs and posterior deltoids as compared to the anterior shoulder muscles, the deceleration aspect of the throw often results in strains and sprains of the shoulder's soft tissues, especially those of the rotator cuff. • Impact. Football, boxing, wrestling, soccer, basketball, and various other sports involve direct and often violent impact to the shoulder and arm. Direct blows to the upper arm in particular can "pry" the G/H joint apart, creating injuries ranging from microtraumatic soft tissue injuries to shoulder separations. Additionally, multiple shoulder injuries stemming from years of athletic participation often result in adhesions, loss of range of motion, calcium deposits, and degenerative changes to the joint itself. With each new injury, the shoulder becomes both more prone to, as well as less capable of withstanding further injuries. Training-related shoulder injuries: • Bench Pressing. The most popular current-day gym exercise, this movement also results in legions of shoulder injuries. Besides contributing to the imbalance between the anterior and posterior muscles of the shoulders, the bench press has an almost mystical allure for many trainees, making it more of a demonstration event than a training exercise for many. The bench is the vehicle for more forced reps, heavy negatives, missed attempts, and bad training form than any other exercise. Over 90% of all shoulder injuries from bench pressing occur during the transition or amortization phase between the negative and positive portions of the movement. Specifically, a rapid lowering of the bar prior to pressing upward results in large linear momentum forces which must then be quickly reversed by the shoulder musculature before the bar can be raised. When the these forces exceed the strength of the joint mechanism, the shoulder may not be capable of reversing the accumulated momentum, which means that the lifter will miss the lift, suffer a muscle tear, or both. For this reason, always lower the bar with complete control— this doesn't mean a full pause, however! Unless you're a competitive powerlifter, a controlled "touch-and-go" movement is best. • Muscle Imbalance. As noted earlier, most trainees neglect the posterior shoulder musculature in their gym sessions.Most popular gym exercises— bench presses, seated presses, lat pulldowns, and so on involve external rotation of the humerus at the shoulder joint. The movements that work the internal rotators, or rotator cuff (bent laterals, etc) have little-to-no cosmet278
Physically Incorrect ic value, so few trainees do them. That is, until they suffer a shoulder injury. Eventually, the weaker rotator cuff becomes virtually useless in performing it's intended role in stabilizing the shoulder. • Overtraining. Not in the traditional sense (i.e., performing deltoid exercises too frequently), but in the sense that whenever you have a bar or dumbbell in your hand, there is stress on the shoulder joint. So from this perspective, even exercises for the back, biceps, or triceps can significantly aggravate existing chronic shoulder symptoms. Avoiding this type of overuse demands that you take a purposeful, conscious approach to nearly every movement you make, both in and out of the gym! Some of the most common movements, such as getting up off of the floor after doing crunches, opening a car door, or putting on a sweater can add stress to a mal-functioning shoulder. Conservative Solutions 1) Strengthen the arms! This may seem like odd advice, but the fact remains that your arms are the conduit through which forces are transmitted to the shoulder. If your arms are weak, the shoulders must pick up the slack. If you find that during dumbbell benches or inclines, you have a harder time picking the dumbbells up and getting into position than doing the exercise itself, you need to strengthen your arms. Heavy dumbbell curls, hammer curls (i.e., with thumbs up), and dumbbell triceps extensions will go a long way in strengthening your biceps, triceps, and brachioradialis muscles, as well as indirectly fortifying the shoulder girdle itself. Get yourself to the point to where you can handle heavy dumbbells with ease. Machines are ok, but they don't challenge the synergistic and stabilizing muscles nearly as well as dumbbells. 2) Circumvent problematic exercises. If military presses (for example) cause you shoulder pain, don't do them, even if every shoulder-training article you ever read says that military presses are the best shoulder exercise going. For you, they might aggravate prior or existing injuries, or, it may simply be that your particular shoulder structure isn't well suited to the exercise(s) in question. In either case, make modifications (such as grip, range of motion, or slight deviations to the usual movement pattern) or use another exercise altogether. 3) Bench press technique. As was noted earlier, a controlled descent of the bar is essential. Another "fine point:" most benches are 11" wide. This is necessary to allow proper range of motion during the lift, but it creates a very narrow support for the scapulae. To keep your shoulder blades supported during bench presses, shrug them together as is if "pinching a quarter" between them, and also tighten the upper back just prior to unracking the bar. In this way, the scapulae will remain supported by the bench during the 279
Physically Incorrect lift. Your shoulder joints will thank you! A final note on benching— the authors have observed everything from trainees putting both feet up on the bench (better "isolation" supposedly) to keeping one foot on the bench and one on the floor (!) to pinching the knees together during the lift. All of these technique deformities create an unstable base, which can lead to injury. Keep both feet flat on the floor, a bit wider than shoulder width, and keep them there during the lift. Use your feet like the extended pods of a backhoe, for support and stability during the lift. If you can't keep your feet from "fidgeting" during the lift, you're using too much weight! Categories of Shoulder Injury Inflammatory: The body's first response to joint injury is inflammation, or a "bleeding" of serum into the joint capsule. Anyone who's ever experienced a rollover type ankle injury playing hoop can attest to the amazing speed of this process as the ankle quickly takes on baseball-like proportions. In the shoulder, however, such inflammatory events are not as visible. Therefore, assume the presence of inflammation after any significant joint injury, and immediately apply ice packs to the area (for 10-15 minutes, three times per hour) until you can get to a sports medicine physician for diagnosis and treatment. Impingement: In the shoulder joint, the acromium process, or the "roof" of the shoulder becomes routinely impinged by the head of the humerus during chest and shoulder exercises. The pain that many people experience at the top portion of upright rows is an example of this type of impingement. Do not advise your clients to "work through" this type of pain! Instead, circumvent it by altering exercise form or selection. Strains & Sprains: A strain is a muscle pull or tear, while a sprain indicates tendon or ligament damage. Strains and sprains are categorized by severity— a grade I strain involves a cramp or pull of the muscle fibers, a grade II strain is characterized by a small to moderate amount of muscle tearing, while a grade III strain involves tearing of large numbers of muscle fiber. In tendons and ligaments, a grade I sprain involves minor fraying, a grade II indicated moderate damage, and a grade III sprain involves massive or total tearing of the connective tissue. Adhesive capsulitis: A web-like network of adhesive fibers throughout a joint. This phenomenon is the body's response to the immobilization that results after an injury. Immediate and aggressive physical therapy is warranted to prevent the formation of these adhesions, which, if left untreated, can permanently reduce the joint's range of motion.
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Physically Incorrect Healthy Knees for Life (Co-Authored with Dr. Sal Arria) (Originally published in the May, 1994 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine) Knee problems of varying descriptions are as common as five pound plates in gyms and health clubs throughout the world. Anyone who has recently experienced knee surgery will attest to their awareness of this fact, as they quickly begin to notice legions of zipper-like knee scars among their gymgoing peers. The prevalence of these cases can be attributed largely to the fact that the knee is an anatomical vortex of sorts, where the body's largest and strongest muscle groups converge upon the tiny, yet in most cases hardy, kneecap. Add to this a lack of basic anatomical knowledge, improper exercise technique and/or selection, and unsuitable workout gear, and the prescription for disaster becomes compounded exponentially. In this discussion we will examine several factors which collectively, have the potential of determining your predisposition for experiencing knee symptoms. Much of this information has received minimal exposure from industry magazines and trade journals in the past, and therefore should be of considerable interest to current and prospective fitness professionals and health care specialists. Knee Anatomy and Biomechanics Keeping your knees healthy and asymptomatic begins with developing a functional understanding of how this unique joint is constructed (anatomy) and how it does and doesn't function (biomechanics). The knee is relatively simple to understand from a mechanical perspective, but please refer to the appropriate illustrations as you read this section— doing so will enhance your comprehension of the discussion. The knee is an unarthroidal (meaning movement in one direction only) hingetype joint, roughly equivalent to a door hinge for practical purposes. Five different types of structures are involved in the knee's functional anatomy— bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and articular cartilage. Here then, is a brief definition of these structures: Bone: Purposeful human movement would not be possible without bones. The four bony structures which are involved in knee function are the femur, or thigh bone, the tibea and fibula (the shin bones), and of course, the patella, or kneecap.
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Physically Incorrect Ligaments: Fibrous and very tough connective tissue which connects bone to bone, providing stability and integrity to the joint. Two sets of ligaments help to stabilize the knee joint— the anterior and posterior cruxiates, which are deeply located within the knee, and serve to limit rotation and hyper-extension, and the co-laterals, one on either side of the knee. The co-laterals protect the knee from being moved from side to side, and help to establish the integrity of the joint by keeping the tibea and femur attached to one another. Tendons: Fibrous bands that that connect muscles to their bony attachments. In the knee, the patellar tendon connects the quadriceps muscles to the patella, and then in turn to the upper shin. Muscle: We all have a clear idea as to what muscles are, but let's examine the ones that cross (via their tendinous attachments) the knee joint. First are the quadriceps, the powerful muscles of the anterior (front) thigh. Next are the hamstrings, or the leg biceps, located on the posterior thigh. Finally, the gastrocnemious, the most superficial calf muscle, crosses behind the knee joint, where it contributes as a knee flexor. Articular Cartilage: You've heard of "torn cartilage" in knee injuries before. cartilage is the connective tissue which provides for a smooth articulation between bones at the joint. Cartilage also acts as a shock absorber. The meniscus is the knee's only cartilage. Located on the tibeal plateau, it cradles the femoral condyle, or the rounded knobs of the lower femur. Since the tibeal plateau is flat, and the femoral condyle is rounded, the meniscus provides a better "fit" between these two structures. Training Gear For most, training attire is primarily a matter of vanity— looking good while you're training. But two pieces of standard training gear— your shoes and knee wraps— should be carefully selected and applied, not only to maximize comfort and short term safety, but more importantly, to ensure the long term health of your knees. Your shoes are literally where the rubber hits the road. We urge you to think of your shoes as the foundation of your leg training sessions. Wearing old or broken down fitness shoes for heavy squatting or leg pressing is like putting old, worn-out tires on a race car! There are several reasons to avoid training in your "tennies:" First, most general purpose fitness shoes simply lack adequate stability, and have little or no arch support for heavy lifting. As you squat, your feet may develop a tendency to pronate, or "cave in" toward the inner side. When this 282
Physically Incorrect happens, the knees are also forced inward, leading to a constant strain on the medial collateral ligament, excessive shear force on the meniscus, and improper patellar tracking, which in turn can lead to chondromalacia (to be discussed shortly). If your feet tend to pronate anyway, or if you're prone to being "knock knee'd" (and these two conditions are very often associated with one another), it becomes even more important to select good training shoes. Another important reason for using specialized shoes for squatting or other heavy leg training movements is that they provide a deep and solid heel cup, which prevents the foot from rocking and rolling laterally (to the outside) when it is compressed under heavy loads. Finally, there is a difference between a shoe being worn out and being broken down. Even if your shoes look fine, they still may offer no arch or heel support at all, either because they never had any to start with, or because after a handful of heavy leg sessions, the supports have compressed to the point to where they no longer function as they were intended. Think about it— a tennis shoe is meant to support a 160 pound tennis player, NOT a 600 pound leg press! Loads like these cause the shoe to break down without visual signs of wearing out. We strongly recommend that you choose a heavy-duty training shoe (please see corresponding list of companies that offer these shoes) that you use for training, and training only. Use a stable running shoe or cross trainer for everything else. Knee wraps have long been a mainstay for competitive powerlifters, and for good reason. When properly used, wraps can dramatically improve knee safety during heavy squatting and leg training sessions. Whenever you contract your quadriceps muscles, the patellar ligament "wants" to pull away from it's attachment at the upper front aspect of the tibea. During squatting, for example, the heavier you go, the lower you go, and the faster you descend, the more this tendency is compounded. Please refer to the sidebar below on proper knee wrapping. You'll notice that the wrap is tightly wound in a cylindrical fashion around the upper shin (where the patellar ligament attaches), then more loosely wound over the kneecap itself (this is important to avoid grinding the patella into the femoral condyle, creating a case of chondromalacia for yourself), then tightly wound over the lower third of the thigh. The rationale for wrapping the knees prior to heavy squatting is that it reduced the pulling forces on the patellar ligament at it's attachment to the shin. This translates to significantly reduced chances of avulsing (detaching) your patellar ligament during heavy leg movements. According to Dr. Paul Ward, knee wraps also provide several other benefits 283
Physically Incorrect beyond protection of the attachment site of the patellar ligament. These benefits include keeping the knees warm, which improves blood flow and tissue elasticity, reducing the possibility of muscle tears during high-intensity leg pressing or squatting. Additionally, knee wraps assist the patella in tracking normally over the femoral condyle, reducing the possibility of developing chondromalacia.
“...make sure that your knees are tracking directly over your feet...”
Stance Variables Affecting Knee Health Whenever you squat, hack squat, or leg press, your foot position is an important variable in determining not only the results you'll obtain from the exercise, but also the safety of your knee joints. Although each individual must determine their own best stance exercise per exercise (based on their own anatomical peculiarities such as height and leg length), the following variables must be taken into consideration: 1) The quadriceps muscles can contract more efficiently when the feet are pointing slightly (about 25 to 30 degrees) outward as opposed to straight ahead. If you squat with a very wide stance, your adductors tend to assist 284
Physically Incorrect the quads. This can result in stress to the medial collateral ligament, abnormal cartilage loading, and improper patellar tracking. 2) During the decent phase of any type of squat, do not allow the knees to move more than 2-3 inches forward of their locked position. The further your knees travel over your feet, the greater the shearing forces on the patellar tendon and ligament. To avoid this, descend into the squat as if you were sitting back and down into a chair. Don't worry if you lean forward a bit as long as you maintain a tight and arched back, and keep your bodyweight over the center of your feet. The ultimate objective is to keep the shins as vertical as possible throughout the entire movement. 3) In any leg training movement, make sure that your knees are tracking directly over your feet, not to the inside or outside. Many lifters turn their knees inward during the concentric phase of a heavy squat, and they usually aren't aware of it. Give your clients immediate feedback, since after all, they shouldn't be looking at their feet during the lift! If a client turns the knees inward, insist that they back off on weight until more correct movement patterns are mastered. Consider videotaping the squat session to provide unquestionable evidence when needed. 4) During the concentric portion of squatting or leg pressing of any kind, instruct your clients to "push from the heels." This not only enforces a vertical plane of the shins, but also allows the quads to contract with maximum efficiency. Balance will improve as well, which adds an extra margin of safety. 5) Although many top bodybuilders advocate a very close stance for the purpose of "isolating the quads," when squatting, remember the inherent tradeoffs in all ergogenic (work-enhancing) techniques. In this case, any leg training technique that isolates the quads also intensifies the shearing forces to the patellar tendon and ligament. A lucky few have knees that can take this type of punishment, but for most of us, a slightly wider stance, with toes pointing slightly outward and shins vertical, is a much safer and still very effective alternative. 6) Finally, teach your clients to be efficient in the exit out of the rack, and getting "set" in the squat stance. After lifting the weight off of the pins, the lifter should take just one step backward as immediately assume the squatting stance. This takes time to master, but eventually all the minute adjustments can be pared down substantially. Once set in the stance, cue your clients to keep their feet "nailed down" for the duration of the set. Many people "fidget" with their feet and toes between reps which can cause a variety of problems ranging from a break in concentration to a loss of balance.
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Physically Incorrect How to Use the Knee Wraps Knee wraps are only effective if used properly. So, if you've never used them before, take a moment to read this: Sit on a chair or bench. Begin with the wrap completely rolled up (this makes the process much easier than fighting with a six foot tangle of cloth). With your leg straight, start applying the wrap on the upper portion of your shin. Wrapping from "in" to "out," (counterclockwise for the left leg, clockwise for the right), anchor the wrap by applying 2-3 layers on the upper shin, then move upward, overlapping each previous layer by one-half the width of the wrap. When wrapping around the patella, make sure the wrap is a bit loose to avoid excessive pressure on the kneecap. Apply the wrap tightly again as you move past the knee, stopping somewhere on the lower third of the thigh. Tuck the end of the wrap under the previous layer to secure it. Repeat for the other leg. Common Problems of the Knee Chondromalacia: Degenerative changes (roughening) of the underside of the kneecap. Causes pain when rising out of a chair or when climbing stairs. Think about getting a grain of sand under your eyelid— the synovial fluid acts the same way! Tight quads are responsible for 80% of chondromalacia. Other causes include repetitive overuse, genu valgum ("knock-knees"), and a shallow lateral femoral condyle. Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS): Exemplified by pain in front of patella, which intensifies during activity. Also, pain during extended sitting, and/or walking up stairs. PFPS is further characterized by crepitus (noise), without instability. PFPS is considered to be a tracking problem of the patella, caused by an imbalance between the medial and lateral quadriceps. The damage to the underside of the patella is not unlike uneven tread wear in a car that needs the tires rotated. Unstable Knee Joint: Knee suddenly gives out. This is often caused by old injuries which have overstretched the knee ligaments. Locked Knee: The usual cause of locked knees is a torn meniscus or a loose body within the joint capsule. Swelling/Tightness: Nearly always indicates an internal injury. See physician immediately. Crepitus: Noisy knees are no reason for concern, UNLESS accompanied by pain and/or swelling. 286
Physically Incorrect Recuperative Strategies for the Low Back and Legs (Originally a three-part article co-authored by Dr. Sal Arria. First published in the April, May, and June 1994 issues of Muscle & Fitness magazine) Leg and low back training constitutes the most difficult work you can possibly do in the gym. Unlike working other muscle groups, the residual soreness, discomfort, and very often sub-clinical low back symptoms resulting from squats, deadlifts, and their variations can substantially alter your lifestyle for several days! In the worst case scenarios, injuries resulting from leg and/or low back training can end your fitness training regimen as you now know it. Many individuals unknowingly perform leg and low back workouts before they are fully recovered from the previous session. This practice often leads to progressively worsening soft tissue microtraumatic injuries until eventually, training must be discontinued and medical intervention sought. The application of an integrated system of recuperative measures into the training program can be the key to keeping your low back and leg training on track. Bearing the Load Low back and leg microtraumas resulting from the performance of deadlift and squat variations can be traced specifically to heavier weightloads which are utilized with these lifts. Due to the involvement of not one, but many muscle groups, these lifts necessitate heavier weightloads (as compared to more isolated movements) if progress is to be expected. Incomplete recovery often exacerbates the inherent dangers involved in heavy lifting. While squatting, for example, leg fatigue (due to incomplete recovery) will often cause the lifter to unconsciously transfer the weightload from the legs to the muscles of the low back by raising the hips faster than the shoulders during the ascent portion of the lift. This practice not only lessen the effectiveness of the exercise, but also expose the ligaments, intervertebral disks, and nerve roots to dangerously high levels of stress. This sets up a cycle wherein the legs become progressively weaker (due to shifting the weightload to the back) and the low back becomes progressively more damaged. Eventually, as they say, something has to go. Leg and Low Back Recuperation:an Integrated Approach Left to it's own resources, your body will in time recover fully from most training sessions. The problem is, your body is in no particular hurry to do this! While you have all sorts of goals in mind (i.e., squatting 315 by the end of the year!) your body (being a conservative organism) wants to do as little as possible to get by! So the key is to administer a comprehensive recuperation
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Physically Incorrect plan to speed up this process.Soviet researchers suggest "cycling" your recuperative efforts— meaning that as the difficulty of your training increases, you must pay even more attention to recuperation. Since leg and low back work is the most difficult training you do, the lion's share of your recuperative efforts must be concentrated on these areas of your body. Here then, is a three phase recuperation procedure which has been perfected "in the trenches" on many elite-level throwers and powerlifters— athletes who prioritize heavy low back and leg training in their workouts. This procedure is integrative— that is to say, all aspects function synergistically with the end result being a more speedy and complete recovery from your most difficult training sessions. Phase 1: Pre-training Recovery The application of pre-training recuperative techniques will ensure not only a better training performance, but a more effective post training recovery as well. The following two suggestions will impact favorably on your recuperative abilities: 1). Pre-training salicylate (aspirin): Aspirin is perhaps the most powerful anabolic drug you can possibly take (legally, in any event). This effective substance operates on a variety of levels. First, aspirin improves blood flow by reducing the body's output of thromboxane, a natural chemical which causes blood platelets to become "stickier" Even as little as 30mg's (about a tenth of a normal tablet) of aspirin prior to training can thin the blood to the point where muscle tissue is exposed to greater amounts of nutrient carrying blood, thus speeding up recovery between reps and sets. Additionally, lactic acid and other waste products, the result of heavy training efforts, will be flushed from your muscle cells with greater speed and efficiency. Aspirin also reduces edema (swelling), another result of hard training. Local tissue swelling and inflammation (usually not visible) is universally regarded by experts as being the enemy of healing— recovery simply does not begin until edema has subsided. Thirdly, aspirin reduces pain associated with training. While there is no benefit in masking pain resulting from injury, aspirin can often make the difference between a "ho-hum" workout and a really supercharged effort, which when coupled with an effective recovery regimen, will lead to increased progress. Experiment with dosages— in many cases, low dosages of aspirin work just as well as large doses, with less possibility of stomach irritation. Instead of assuming that "more is better", it is a wiser practice to seek the smallest possible dose that will assist your recuperative efforts. To protect your stomach 288
Physically Incorrect lining even further, try crushing the aspirin tablets between 2 spoons and mixing them into a glass of milk. Since the body eventually develops a tolerance to it., use aspirin judiciously— perhaps only prior to your most difficult training sessions. Finally, check with your physician before implementing a regular schedule of aspirin therapy, no matter how small the dose. 2). Leg Elevation: Many of us are either sitting or standing while at work for 8 or more hours before going to the gym. During this time, the legs can often become edematous and swollen. Training with your legs in this condition will handicap your training efforts right from the start. To help remedy this condition, spend between 20 and 30 minutes (both during the work day and prior to your leg and/or low back training) with your back on the floor, legs up against the wall or up against the side of a couch. Positioning your legs in this way will allow gravity to assist your body in returning blood back up to the heart, restoring optimum circulation. Incidentally, while on your back, take the opportunity to listen to some relaxing music or take a light nap— doing so will promote an important physical and psychological transition between work and training. Phase 2: Recovery During Training The recovery process starts every time you cease work— that means between the positive and negative portion of each rep, between reps, between exercises, and between workouts. In the larger sense, recovery is needed between heavy training cycles, which sometimes last months! The following aspects of recovery during the training session must be addressed: 1). Time between sets: Time is in fact, the most elemental unit of recovery. The amount of time you spend between sets has a significant effect on your performance on succeeding sets, and on future training sessions. In fact, one can raise the overall difficulty of the workout simply by decreasing the time between sets. One can employ either objective or subjective methods of monitoring time between sets. Objectively, the pulse rate is commonly used to determine when to begin the next set— most commonly the trainee waits until the heart rate has fallen to below 60% of maximum (maximum heart rate is determined as 220 minus your age). Another objective method, albeit less accurate, is to use the clock— in other words, you would for example do a set every three minutes. The problem with this method is that your body's functioning varies from workout to workout, depending on how well recovered you are from previous training efforts. Therefore, using a standard time unit can be a hit or miss proposition at best. Most people use a subjective assessment to determine time between sets— in other words, they resume the next set when they "feel ready." While there 289
Physically Incorrect is merit in trusting and listening to your body, we urge the heartrate method, perhaps tempered with subjective assessment, to determine time between sets. 2). MOVE between sets: Many individuals mistakenly sit down and move as little as possible between sets. While this feels like the thing to do from an intuitive perspective, a faster recovery can be realized by moving around a bit between sets. Why? Well, if you'll consider the importance of the warmup and cool-down in the context of a workout— and then think of moving between sets as both a cool-down for the previous set and a warm-up for the next set, you'll see the logic in this approach. Movement serves as a "transition" between all out effort during the set and relative inactivity between sets. This practice aids circulation and helps to reduce swelling of muscular tissues. 3). Peripheral Heart Action Training (PHA): PHA is simply the practice of structuring your workouts such that upper and lower body exercises are alternated with one another, instead of first training legs, then back, and so on. The effectiveness of PHA is that it keeps the blood moving between major areas of the body, which accelerates recovery bodypart per bodypart. 4).The "Light Day:” Instead of performing each and every leg workout at gut busting intensity, incorporate planned, easier workouts about every third session. An example of such a session would be 4 sets of 15 reps at 50-55% of maximum. This type of moderate intensity training is quite effective in "feeding" sore muscles with fresh blood, reducing scar formation on the microlevel, and flushing waste products from affected tissues. Planning light days into your training schedule not only accelerates recovery times, it also provides variety into the training schedule, which in itself assists in the recovery process. Phase 3: Post Training Recovery Post-training recovery methods complete the integrated recuperation format. These methods are designed to assist the body in rapidly accelerating the recovery process when it is needed most— directly after training. Two techniques in particular give the most "bang for the buck" in terms of immediate results: 1). Contrast Showers: Done immediately after training (use your gym's shower if possible) expose your lumbar area to alternating bursts of hot and cold water. As hot as you can reasonably stand for 2 minutes, followed by 2 minutes of progressively colder water up to the point of discomfort. This procedure is then repeated for 4 to 6 cycles. Since hot water is a vaso-dilator, and cold water a vaso-constrictor, the net effect of contrast showers is vast290
Physically Incorrect ly improved circulation to the affected areas. The effectiveness of contrast showers is markedly increased when combined with trunk stretching. Facing away from the shower nozzle, slowly bend forward at the waist, rounding the spine as you do so (forward flexion). Then return to an upright position and extend slightly backwards to extend your spine. Finally, flex your spine laterally by bending to each side at the waist. Use a handrail and non-slip rubber "skids" for safety! All four stretches are repeated for each contrasting cycle. 2). Cryo-kinetics: Immediately after leaving the shower, construct an ice pack by placing crushed ice in a "zip-lock" bag. Laying down on the floor with your feet propped over your bed or couch, place the ice pack under your lumbar spine. Now, to improve the effect of this procedure triple-fold, try stretching your spine while on the ice. Gently perform lateral (side to side) flexions, alternated with pulling your knees to your chest. Mobilizing your spine in this way will counteract the stiffening effect that you may have experienced while icing your back in the past. Cryo-kinetic therapy is very beneficial in reducing contracted, tightened muscle tissue as well as pumping these tissues free of accumulated traininginduced waste products. Spend at least 15, but no longer than 20 minutes on the ice. On-going Professional Assistance Many forms of therapy, including various types of "bodywork" are available to athletes at moderate cost, and are highly recommended by the authors. Chiropractic adjustments, massage, whirlpool, sauna, and acupressure are among the most readily available and effective of these therapeutic modalities. Regular readers of this column will no doubt be familiar with these and other therapeutic options. The integrated recuperative strategy just illustrated is NOT theoretical! It has been successfully used by scores of high level athletes from various disciplines. It requires a minimum investment of time and money, and requires no specialized equipment or facilities. For many individuals, integrating a recuperative scheme into their personal training schedule means the start of new progress, even after long periods of stagnation! We urge you to give it a try!
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Physically Incorrect Elbow Problems and Conservative Solutions (Co-authored with Dr. sal Arria, originally published in Muscle & Fitness magazine, 1994.) Considering the incredible and constant strain that it's subjected to, the elbow is a stoic joint indeed. The elbow is a ginglymus or hinge type joint formed by the humerus bone of the upper arm and the radius and ulna bones of the lower arm. Although only flexion and extension occur around the elbow itself, the joint also permits rotation of the radius around the ulna. Like the knee, the elbow is encased within an extensive synovial membrane, which synthesizes synovial fluid for the purpose of lubricating the joint.The elbow is quite stable, owing to the numerous tendons and ligaments that contribute to it's integrity. In fact, many people are amazed to learn that over a dozen muscles cross the elbow joint— not just the biceps and triceps! Causes and Pre-conditions for Elbow Problems: A Closer Look at the Problem Acute traumatic elbow injuries are thankfully rare. Those that do occur are almost always the result of extreme stress in power and explosion events such as Olympic weightlifting and throwing. Falls (such as in skating, football, rugby, and equestrian events) and impact (as in football, combat sports, and hockey) also sometimes result in sudden traumatic elbow injury. Traumatic injuries of any type must receive immediate medical attention by a qualified sports medicine physician. Chronic injuries in the elbow are usually a result of overuse. Boxers often suffer from such conditions. Of great importance is the fact that most trainees fail to consider the cumulative impact of all stressful events on the elbow, limiting their attention to training-related stress only. On the job, mechanics (constant work with wrenches, screwdrivers, etc.), secretaries and office workers (constant typing, and writing), and health professionals (massage, physiotherapy, and other forms of physical manipulations) are at risk for repetitive overuse syndrome (R.O.S.) to the elbow, due to constant and excessive contracture of the gripping muscles— all of which cross the elbow joint. Most R.O.S. of the elbow is seen in the dominant side, so "handedness" becomes an additional factor to consider in these types of injuries. Among athletes, throwing, particularly in baseball and the javelin event are leading causes of R.O.S. of the elbow. Boxers are also susceptible (from the high volume of punches thrown in training and competition), as are tennis players and golfers. Bodybuilders, fitness enthusiasts, and recreational athletes are not by any means immune to R.O.S.
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Physically Incorrect The biggest problem with the elbow is the tiny size of the tendinous attachment sites, of which there are many. These sites can become progressively weakened by both impact and the dynamic forces of leverage. This leverage means that 10 pounds in the hand equals approximately 45 pounds at the shoulder joint, for a person with average arm length. Another way to view this phenomenon is to compare the force you get by turning a bolt with a long handled wrench, as opposed to a short handled wrench. Now consider that a tennis player, for instance, makes this already long lever even longer by putting a racquet in the hand! The impact of repetitively hitting the ball, compounded by the very long lever arm created by the racquet, results in cumulative microtrauma to the tendinous attachment sites at the elbow. Over time, if not treated, these tendons actually begin to fray, much like a nylon rope would if stretched beyond it's tensile strength. Eventually, the tendon can detach from it's attachment site at the elbow, requiring surgical repair. Treatment Options: from Conservative to Radical • Rest: The most effective yet overlooked aspect of post-injury recovery is simply to become more aware of and markedly limit activities that cause pain and swelling to the affected area! In light of the elbows ubiquitous role in almost all human activity, this is no easy task! • Forearm Strap: Used by tennis players, golfers, and other athletes with elbow problems. The strap acts like a "shunt," absorbing impact and vibrational forces before they reach the tendinous attachment at the elbow. One of the best straps is the Interceptor, by Weider. • Aspirin Therapy: Aspirin reduces edema (swelling). Recovery simply does not begin until edema has subsided. Experiment with dosages— in many cases, low dosages of aspirin work just as well as large doses, with less possibility of stomach irritation. To protect your stomach lining even further, try crushing the aspirin tablets between 2 spoons and mixing them into a glass of milk. Since the body eventually develops a tolerance to it., use aspirin judiciously— only when needed most. Always check with your physician before implementing a regular schedule of aspirin therapy, no matter how small the dose. • Diathermy: A high frequency form of heat which can penetrate as deep as 2 1/2 inches into injured tissues. Administered by a chiropractor or physical therapist, diathermy promotes circulation to the injury site, accelerating the 293
Physically Incorrect healing process. Diathermy should precede cryo-therapy treatments. • Electro-stimulation: Moderate to intense amounts of intermittent electrostimulation are applied directly to the injured tendinous area for 10-15 minutes per session. This form of electrostimulation is most effective when it follows diathermy and is followed up with cryo-therapy. • Cryo-therapy: After diathermy, construct an ice pack by placing crushed ice in a "zip-lock" bag. Cryo-therapy is very beneficial in reducing edema, reducing pain, and pumping muscular tissues free of accumulated training-induced waste products. Spend at least 15, but no longer than 20 minutes on the ice. • Cortico-steroids: Administered by injection to the injury site, corticosteroids help to reduce inflammation and pain. The drawback, however, is that these agents cause a breakdown of collagenous and ligamentous tissue after repeated injections. • Proliferent-injection Therapy: is injected directly into the injury site, causing an "artificial injury" which then provokes the collagenous cells to begin restructuring themselves more quickly • Surgery: In the most extreme cases, a torn or avulsed tendon or ligament may require surgical re-attachment. This is "the final straw" when it comes to solutions for joint problems! Many methods are used, including tendon grafts, and stapling. Prevention is the Key Fortunately, most serious elbow problems can be completely prevented with good training and work habits, and immediate intervention upon the onset of trouble. Never train through elbow pain— instead, seek the immediate guidance of a qualified sports medicine physician or chiropractor.
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Physically Incorrect Problems Associated with Long Term Seated Postures (Originally published in the September, 1994 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine.) Perhaps the most common oversight made by bodybuilders and other athletes is failing to consider the risks of day-to-day, non-training activities. Typically, most trainees will be very careful about their form when exercising (which comprises at most, 20% of all activities in any one given day) yet totally ignore the potential consequences of other activities which make up a much greater portion of our lives. When problems arise, blame is usually assigned to the training activity. One position that everyone spends a considerable amount of time in is sitting. Given this fact, it would seem prudent to study this postural position, and in particular, it's effects on the spine. People are usually surprised to learn that pressures on the vertebral disks are higher when sitting than when standing or even lying down. In fact, some experts suggest that interdiscal pressure when seated is up to 11 times greater than lying down. This risk is particularly insidious because sitting is not normally associated with back pain, whereas standing often is! How Sitting Results in High Loads to the Vertebral Disks Many people who, having had the experience of back pain while standing for long periods of time, and the subsequent relief that comes from sitting, have difficulty understanding just how sitting can place undue pressure to the vertebral disks. In order to understand this concept better, let's have a look at the following: 1). First, the distinction must be made between the back muscles and the vertebral disks. When you stand for long periods, the disk pressure is relatively low, but you nevertheless feel pain, which is a result of fatigued lowback muscles. 2). Increased pressure on the disks in and of itself does not necessarily result in immediate pain. Thus, we are often unaware of this pressure, which in the long term can lead to deformative changes in the disks. 3). Now to the real mystery— how can sitting create higher intradiscal pressure than standing? It's because, when standing, your bodyweight is distributed over a wide variety of structures, including muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints. Upon sitting down, however, the abdominal "corset" relaxes, which causes a majority of your bodyweight to load the disks. As we men-
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Physically Incorrect tioned earlier, you probably will not feel any pain at all when this happens. But over the long term, the constant, increased load upon the disks can result in a multitude of problems, from impinged nerve roots to degenerative osteoarthritic changes. Workplace Ergonomics Since sitting is inescapable for most of us the best advice is 1) to limit time spent sitting as much as possible, and 2), design your workplace (which includes, but is not limited to your chair) with the following in mind: • Chairs with lumbar supports (sufficient to maintain, but not exaggerate the normal lordosis, or sway, of the spine have been shown to result in lower interdiscal pressures than chairs without these supports (please see sidebar entitled "Lumbar Disc Pressures in Various Positions"). • Chairs with armrests also reduce pressure on the disks. • Sitting in an reclined position (120 degrees seems optimal) lowers disc pressure, so make sure your chair allows you to alternate positions! • Since keeping the knees close together makes you more prone to "slumping," choose a chair that is wide enough to keep your knees apart. Also, if you sit at a desk for long periods of time, make sure that it allows you enough space to open your knees. • When selecting a chair, adjustability is crucial. This is because people come in different shapes and sizes, have have unique needs for their work-station set-up. An adjustable chair will ensure that you can optimize your own workstation for the best possible ergonomic effect. • At your work-station, your chair/desk arrangement should be such that your forearms rest on the desk, elbows at a 90 degree angle and close to your sides— this position reduces stress on the trapezious and surrounding muscles of the upper back and neck. • If you work with a computer monitor, or anything else that you visually refer to often, keep it straight ahead and at eye level— if your focal point is lower than this, it sets you up for a rounded, slumped forward posture. Remember— virtually all postural related spinal disorders are preventable! Although the dangers of sitting for prolonged periods of time may not seem like a pressing issue at the moment, over the years it has a cumulative effect on the spine— just take a look at many older people who have acquired debilitating hunchbacks and other deformities from lifetimes spent in poor posture. 296
Chiropractic vs Medical Management of Low Back Pain: New Canadian Study Yields Surprising Results Low back pain isn't finicky when it comes to choosing it's victims— athletes, non-athletes, young, old, male, female, strong, weak...over 66% of all people between the ages of 18 and 55 have experienced some form of low back pain. Additionally, low back pain (LBP) is estimated to affect over 80% of all people at some time in their lives. This debilitating and ubiquitous condition is so prevalent that it might be seen as indigenous to the human species! Although management of LBP was, in years past, handled primarily by medical doctors, more and more people are turning to chiropractic care as the treatment of choice for this life-altering malady. And although enthusiastically received by LBP sufferers, Chiropractic has had difficulty getting it's fair share of respect from the medical establishment. That is, until now. Thanks to a 1993 study sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Health, Chiropractic no longer has to rely on anecdotal evidence to support it's safety and effectiveness in treating LBP. Known as "The Manga Report" after it's principle researcher, the study focused on the effectiveness, as well as the cost effectiveness (to society) of Chiropractic management (as compared to medical management ) of LBP. While the study was based in Canada, it's implications are important for anyone suffering from LBP. Four primary aspects of chiropractic care for LBP were studied— efficacy, patient satisfaction, safety, and cost effectiveness. Efficacy Chiropractic management of LBP was determined to be not only effective, but more effective than medical management of LBP. This finding was substantiated by a review of workers compensation studies as well as patient satisfaction studies. Additionally, the study found that there is a great need for further clinical evidence of the validity of medical management of LBP. Spinal manipulation (also known as "adjustments") was found to be more effective when performed by a chiropractor, as opposed to a medical doctor or physiotherapist. Patient Satisfaction Patients suffering from LBP were far more likely to be satisfied with chiropractic treatments than were those who sought medical treatment, according to Manga's review of the pertinent literature. The study found that numerous surveys in the U.S. consistently showed that 1) the majority of current and former chiropractic patients are likely to be satisfied with the treatment they 297
Physically Incorrect received, 2) they would return for chiropractic treatment for a similar condition, and 3) they would recommend chiropractic treatment to family and friends. This high rate of satisfaction is despite the fact that only 51% of chiropractic patients had their costs paid by medical insurance. A 1993 study developed for the RAND corporation indicated extremely high rates of satisfaction: a questionnaire was sent to 541 new and returning chiropractic patients. The response rate was 69.5%, considered to be excellent for a mailed questionnaire. Of the responses, only 3% felt that they had no improvement in their condition. 84% claimed that the care they received was "just about perfect." 97% of the respondents indicated that they would recommend chiropractic care for their friends and family. Patients were less satisfied, however, with the adequacy of insurance coverage. Safety Spinal manipulation (the primary chiropractic treatment modality for LBP) was found to be safe when performed by a chiropractor. The study also found that these same procedures, when rendered by non-chiropractic practitioners were less safe than when rendered by chiropractors. Of particular interest was the fact that no clinical or case-control studies could be found that even implied that chiropractic spinal manipulation was unsafe. Alternatively, some medical treatments for LBP, such as drugs and surgical intervention, were found to be unsafe. Cost Effectiveness Chiropractic treatment of LBP was found to be more cost effective than traditional medical management. The cost effectiveness of chiropractic treatment results from fewer ancillary costs such as hospitalization, medications, and lower durations of disability. In this vein, The Manga Report has recommended a shift in government policy that encourages and even prefers chiropractic care for most patients with LBP. The report also recommends full insurance coverage for chiropractic care for LBP, adding that significant cost savings would be achieved if management of LBP was shifted from physicians to chiropractors. The Final Analysis Perhaps the most intriguing conclusion reached by the Manga Report is that the use of chiropractic care for LBP is growing steadily, despite the fact that chiropractic patients incur much higher out-of-pocket costs than do patients of traditional medical care. In fact, more and more M.D.'s are seeking to employ spinal manipulation into their own management of LBP, despite the longstanding criticisms leveled against chiropractors by the medical establishment. 298
Physically Incorrect Dr. Manga, quoted in an article in USA TODAY, was asked if he had any personal interest in giving chiropractic a boost. He responded by saying "My interest is serving the public interest", adding "The evidence is overpowering." One thing is certainly clear: The Manga Report will go a long way in relieving the hesitancy of LBP sufferers in seeking chiropractic treatment for their condition. The Manga Report is available from the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research at (800)622-6309.
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Physically Incorrect Nutritional Support Concepts for Athletes (Original article, adapted from The Science of Martial Arts Training) Optimal nutrition and supplementation are critical for athletes, particularly with respect to energy for training, and recovery and repair between training bouts. This chapter is not designed to be a comprehensive treatise on nutrition, but rather a primer on the subject, with emphasis on the most important issues and practices for athletes. Those in need of more extensive discussions of the subjects of nutrition and supplementation should consult the resources section. All martial art disciplines and combat sports involve wide-ranging skills and movement abilities. They require not only speed and strength in short, explosive bursts, but also a high level of anaerobic strength endurance, flexibility, and agility. Often the martial arts are very ballistic in nature, and, as such, recovery, tissue repair, and peak speed-strength are year-round objectives. Nutritionally, that calls for an emphasis on short-term energy needs and maximizing the body’s recovery and tissue repair processes. Macronutrients (Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fats) All nutrients are classified either as macronutrients, which are the sources of calories, and micronutrients, which, although not sources of calories, are vital “co-factors”which help the body make better use of the macronutrients. Proteins Athletes should construct their meals based on protein. In fact, the word “protein” actually comes from the Greek word Protos meaning “first.” Protein provides four calories of energy per gram of weight. Protein needs depend upon body weight (specifically, lean body weight), and activity levels. For athletes, a good “rule of thumb” is to consume one gram of high quality protein per pound of bodyweight per day, divided into five to six meals over the course of the day. The post-training meal can contain a larger proportion of protein than the other meals, since the body is capable of utilizing more protein after training than at any other time. Individuals familiar with governmental nutrition guidelines will notice that this recommendation is more than three times the RDA for protein. The reason? Athletes are in the business of excelling, not merely surviving. And although conservative nutritionists love to warn of the supposed dangers of an excessive protein intake, Peter Lemon, one of the World’s foremost protein
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Physically Incorrect researchers, disagrees. In a recent interview, Lemon notes that no study conducted on healthy humans have ever demonstrated ill effect from high levels of protein ingestion. 1 Many people do not realize that protein is used by the body for two purposes: energy, and growth and repair. When calories are restricted, the body will prioritize energy over growth and repair. This means that protein needs increase during periods of caloric restriction. Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are an important source of energy, and the only source of dietary fiber, which is essential for good digestion and to lower the glycemic index of foods. Carbohydrates are usually categorized as either “simple” or “complex,” depending upon the length of the sugar molecule. Sources of simple carbohydrates include the various sugars such as glucose, sucrose, fructose, and dextrose. Complex carbohydrates are found in grains, vegetables, legumes, and some fruits. Although it is commonly suggested to emphasize complex carbohydrates over simple carbohydrates, a more valuable way of rating carbohydrates is by the “glycemic index” (GI) (please refer to Table 4-1). The GI rates carbohydrates by the rate at which they break down and enter the bloodstream as glucose. High GI carbohydrates cause a rapid increase in blood glucose levels followed by just as rapid a drop), while lower GI foods cause a slower, more steady rise in blood sugar, without the resultant drop. High GI foods cause the pancreas to release insulin in response to the influx of blood glucose. Insulin acts to store ingested calories as body fat. This is why the GI’s of some foods can be surprising. For example, ice cream has a relatively low GI, because of the fat content. So while many people seek out low or nonfat ice cream, it actually will have a very high GI and is probably a poorer choice than the higher fat version for weight-loss purposes (although, certainly, total calorie content must also be considered). Of course, what’s really important is the GI of meals, not individual foods. Although the GI’s of various meals has not been established, fats and/or fibers reduce the GI of ingested foods. This leads to the recommendation that all meals should include all three macronutrients. While an insufficient carbohydrate intake can lead to impaired cognitive function and reduced energy levels, past and current research findings strongly suggest that this rarely if ever is a problem, particularly in Western cultures. Most Westerners eat an excessive amount of carbohydrate, most of it coming from processed sources, which are typically calorie dense and nutrient sparse. A recent report which tallied the twenty-five most popular carbohydrate sources among 301
Physically Incorrect BREADS French baguette Bagel, white (frozen) White bread Whole-wheat bread Pita, white Sourdough rye Whole-meal rye
95 72 70 69 57 57 41
CEREALS Corn Flakes Rice Krispies Cheerios Cream of Wheat (inst) Shredded Wheat Oatmeal, instant Special K
84 82 74 74 69 61 54
CEREAL GRAINS Rice, instant Rice, white Rice, brown Couscous Barley
87 56 55 65 27
DAIRY Ice cream Ice cream, low fat Milk, skim Milk, whole Yogurt, lowfat, w/sugar Yogurt, lowfat
61 50 32 27 33 14
LEGUMES Baked beans (canned) Navy beans Pinto beans Black beans Chickpeas, canned Lima beans, baby Lentils Kidney beans Kidney beans, canned Soybeans Peanuts
48 38 39 30 42 42 29 27 52 18 14
PASTA Macaroni & cheese 64 Spaghetti, white 41 Spaghetti, whole meal 37 VEGETABLES Potato, baked Potato, instant Carrots Corn Sweet potato Yam Peas Tomato soup
FRUIT Watermelon 72 Pineapple 66 Pineapple juice (unswt) 46 Raisins 64 Bananas, overripe 52 Bananas, underripe 30 Orange 43 Orange juice 46 Grapes 43 Apple 36 Apple juice 41 Pear 33 Apricots, dried 31 Peach 28 Peach, canned, lt. syrup52 Grapefruit 25 Grapefruit juice, unswt. 48 Plum 24 Cherries 22
85 83 71 55 54 51 48 38
SUGARS Maltose Glucose Honey Sucrose Lactose Fructose
105 100 73 65 46 23
MISC FOODS Tofu frozen dessert Rice cakes Waffles Corn chips Life savers Mars bar Soft drink Popcorn
115 82 76 72 70 68 68 55
Table 4-1: The Gylcemic Index of Common Foods (Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1995; 62:87 1S-93S)
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Physically Incorrect Americans contained only one vegetable—potatoes! When carbohydrate sources are limited to fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed whole grains, it becomes nearly impossible to eat 60% or more of daily calories from carbohydrates, which is what traditionally trained nutritionists recommend. Fats Fats contain nine calories per gram of weight, and can be generally classified as either saturated (solid at room temperature) or unsaturated (liquid at room temperature). As a general recommendation, no more than one-third of total fat intake (as a percentage of total calories) should come from saturated fats. Although an excessive fat intake can increase bodyfat levels, an inadequate amount of so-called “good” fat (the unsaturated variety, particularly the Omega-3 essential fatty acids) has been associated with reduced serum testosterone and a lowering of LDL (“good”) cholesterol levels. Most studies indicate that the amount of fat (measured as a percentage of total caloric intake) consumed by Americans has remained relatively constant over the past several decades. What has changed over this time period is the relative proportion of saturated (from animal products) and processed fats (such as the so-called “trans-fats” found in french fries, potato chips, cookies, doughnuts, and other heavily processed convenience foods). This shift (not fat intake per se) may be behind the accelerated rate of heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases. Optimal fat intake also appears to facilitate the oxidation of stored bodyfat for energy. This is because the body tends to access whatever type of fuel is most abundant. When stored blood sugar is low, and free fatty acids are high, the fatty acids become the preferred source of fuel. These studies all suggest the same conclusion—eating a reasonable amount of dietary fat (25–35%) promotes good health and physical performance, as long as the majority of this fat is from unsaturated sources, which include nuts, seeds, olive oil, flax oil, avocados, fish oils, and peanut butter. Minimize saturated fats found in animal products such as butter, cheeses, lard, and high fat meats, as well as high processed fats such as convenience foods, margarines, and fried foods. Macronutrient Ratios Performance nutrition has evolved through several generations of paradigms over the past several decades. The first paradigm focused on energy balance. In this perspective, one simply looked at how many calories were consumed 303
Physically Incorrect versus how many calories burned during the day’s activities. To burn more calories than consumed meant losing weight. While there is an element of truth in this simplistic analysis, another paradigm eventually developed: a calorie was no longer a calorie. Nutritionists claimed that there were “good” and “bad” calories. Carbohydrates were good, protein was acceptable, and fats were definitely bad. Experts reasoned (through a misinterpretation of available research) that carbohydrates were the body’s preferred form of energy, and that fats, which have more calories per gram of weight, led to obesity. This second paradigm seemed more sophisticated, but its premise was flawed. Eventually, a third paradigm emerged, initiated through developments made by the Balance Bar Company in Carpenteria, California. This new approach looked at the hormonal effects of foods. Hormones are like the chemical “software” for the human body. They determine how the body will process consumed foods. It turns out that diets too high in carbohydrates, especially the wrong kinds of carbohydrates (see discussion on glycemic index), result in excessive secretion of insulin. Insulin is a hormone which directs the body to store digested foods as body fat. Fats and proteins stimulate production of glucagon and other hormones which help the body use digested foods as energy and also to preserve lean tissue, which allows the metabolic rate to remain high, particularly during periods where caloric intake is low. When I first saw the “40-30-30” nutrition plan in the popular media, I dismissed it as fast as I would dismiss one of those ab-gadget info-mercials. But after looking into the concept, and using it myself and with my athletes, I now am convinced that higher fat, lower carb nutritional strategies are in fact superior to the old way of thinking. In fact, while many dismiss it as “radical” or “faddish,” it complies with the fat intake guidelines established by the American Heart Association. And, despite common recommendations that carbohydrates should occupy 60–70% of total calories, if all ingested carbohydrates derive from natural, unprocessed sources such as fruits and vegetables, it’s actually very difficult to exceed 40%. Optimal macronutrient ratios have a dramatic effect on the nutrient density of the diet. Table 4-2 compares a pasta-based meal with a chicken-based meal. The table clearly shows the startling difference in nutrient levels between the two meals. Interestingly, the pasta-based meal has about 150 more calories than the chicken-based meal, with significantly less nutritional value.
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Physically Incorrect Table 4-2: Comparison of a Pasta-based Meal with a Chicken-based Meal (Source: 40-30-30: A Platform for Balanced Nutrition. Phil LeClair, the Balance Bar Company) Pasta Meal 2 cups cooked fettuccini 1/2 cup marinara sauce with mushrooms 1 slice of garlic bread 1/3 oz grated parmesan cheese 1 cup tossed salad
Chicken Meal 3oz chicken breast 1 cup frozen broccoli 1 cup frozen carrots 1/2 raw cucumber 1 cup shredded lettuce 1 medium raw tomato 1 1/2 tbsp vinegar & oil dressing 1/2 cup cooked long-grain brown rice
Calories: 646.9 % calories from fat: 19 % calories from protein: 15 % calories from carboh ydrates: 66
Calories: 494.4 % calories from fat: 29.2 % calories from protein: 30 % calories from carbohydrates: 43
Percentage of nutrients based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet: Nutrient Calories Protein Carbohydrates Total fat Saturated fat Mono. fat Poly. fat Cholesterol Fiber Caffeine Vit A Vit C Vit D Vit E Thiamine Riboflavin Niacin Vit B6 Bit B12 Folate Sodium Calcium Magnesium Potassium Iron Zinc
Pasta Meal 25 25 27 19 15 7 12 2 14 0 72 46 0 59 45 25 27 19 6 19 31 27 19 13 55 14
Chicken Meal 19 39 13 16 14 21 30 27 52 0 318 189 0 64 33 27 84 61 14 102 14 27 40 22 22 18
Notes: The most significant disparities and comparisons are in bold for emphasis. Interestingly, the chicken meal has much higher levels of fiber than the pasta meal. The superior concentration of vitamins and minerals is also noteworthy. The chicken meal contains significantly more cholesterol, however, for most people, there is no significant correlation between ingested cholesterol and serum cholesterol levels.
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Physically Incorrect Micronutrients Vitamins Athletes need an abundance of vitamins for optimal performance. The physical demands of training use up these substances and make it more critical for replenishment. Conservative nutritionists frequently state that eating five or so carefully balanced meals every day will make supplementation with vitamins unnecessary. However, and this is a very important “however,” who does that? Almost no one! In the interest of “insurance,” it’s probably wise to take a low to moderate dosage multivitamin/mineral supplement three times daily. The classes of vitamins known as “antioxidants” (A, C, E) are particularly valuable for their ability to protect the body from oxidative stress which results from hard exercise. Minerals Through vast research, it is now known that minerals play a very significant role in various bodily functions essential to physical movement. And, a deficiency in any mineral can be disastrous to peak performance. Minerals are found in plants and animal foods, as well as drinking water. Many times the quantities of minerals found in these sources are too small. Since the stresses associated with sport activities promote the loss of various minerals, it becomes important to increase mineral intakes. Supplementation Although the fitness and sports training market is literally overwhelmed with thousands of supposedly anabolic or ergogenic aids and new ones emerging every month, very few have any proven value. This may reflect the “magic pill” mentality that seems so ingrained in current culture. Therefore, the following review only addresses the supplements which have proven track records for improving health and physical performance. Anabolic steroids are omitted since they are illegal and, in many cases, dangerous. Vitamin and Mineral Supplements For most athletes, a vitamin and mineral supplement is a good place to start when developing a supplementation plan. Many products are available, and theories abound as to the optimal proportions of various nutrients that should be present in a multivitamin. Seek a reputable performance nutrition specialist for advice on the best formulation to use.
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Physically Incorrect Meal Replacement Shakes (MRPs) One of the more difficult aspects of eating well is the preparation involved. On this front, MRPs can really make a significant difference in the overall quality of a nutritional plan. MRPs normally consist of all three macronutrients in various ratios, along with vitamins, minerals, and quite often, an array of the latest anabolic substances, such as creatine, branch— chain amino acids (BCAAs), HMB, and so forth. Most MRPs are designed to be mixed with water, milk, or fruit juice, and many mix well with a spoon, precluding the need for a blender. Athletes not satisfied with the macronutrient ratio of a particular MRP can adjust it by adding fruit, flax oil, whey protein, or milk of varying fat levels. Be cautious of products that are overly-processed with dozens of artificial ingredients and unproven ergogenic substances which are often included as an excuse to increase the price of the MRP. Sports Drinks The excessive amount of carbohydrate contained in these drinks causes insulin to go into overdrive and pack away too much sugar as the storage fuel glycogen in the muscles and liver. While this storage leads to an initial boost of energy, when the glycogen runs out it actually deprives the brain of its only fuel (glucose). The result is a low blood sugar syndrome characterized by a loss of long-term energy and lack of extended concentration and focus, both of which are a martial artist’s enemy. Another leading sports nutritionist, Dr. Ann DeWees Allen, calls these sports drinks “the worst thing you can put in your body.”2 Protein Shakes Protein shakes are available in many formulations, but the most effective products are based on whey protein. Use protein shakes as MRPs by adding milk, fruit, and/or flax oil as a way to create the optimal macronutrient ratio. In this way, it’s easier to avoid all the processing and artificial ingredients which are so common in MRPs. Don’t try to live off of protein shakes or MRPs. Athletes need “real” food as well! Alternate between MRPs and whole food meals throughout the day, planning it in such a way that a MRP will occur post-training, if a session takes place that day.
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Physically Incorrect Branch-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) BCAAs are considered to be “conditionally essential” when the body is under stress. During strenuous bouts of training, these three amino acids are catabolized at more rapid rates than the other amino acids, creating a “limiting amino acid condition.” This means that BCAAs can rapidly accelerate recovery rates when ingested with juice immediately after every training session. L-Glutamine Once categorized as a “nonessential amino acid,” (nonessential means that the body can synthesize it on it’s own if inadequate amounts are not ingested). L-glutamine has recently attained “conditionally essential amino acid” status, meaning that in certain cases where the body is under stress, the need for L-Glutamine outpaces the rate at which it can be made by the body. These conditions of stress include trauma, surgery, infections, fasting, and intense or prolonged exercise. Studies on L-Glutamine point to it’s ability to boost immunity, promote protein synthesis (muscle growth), increase GH (growth hormone) release, and improve carbohydrate metabolism. All of these benefits are highly useful for athletes. Although L-Glutamine may be obtained in a normal diet, exercise scientist Jim Wright, M.D., states it’s unlikely that hard training athletes can get enough through diet alone.3 Wright recommends taking L-Glutamine in five gram doses (a slightly rounded teaspoon) two to four times a day. Suggested times include upon waking, before and after training, and just before going to bed. Take L-Glutamine mixed in water, or by placing it under the tongue for a few minutes, following up with water. Flaxseed Oil As a source of essential fatty acids, flaxseed oil helps to lower cholesterol levels, nourish nervous and brain tissue, reduce inflammation, and regulate the cardiovascular, immune, and digestive systems. Flaxseed oil does not contribute to bodyfat deposition like other fats because it must be converted metabolically in order to become saturated fat. Because the fatty acids in flaxseed oil are essential nutrients, they are the starting point, or the “mortar and bricks” for manufacturing all other fatty acids and hormone precursors necessary to support and build strong lean muscle, while prolonging stamina required for endurance sports. Flaxseed oil may be taken by itself, or put in shakes or on salads.
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Physically Incorrect Creatine Monohydrate Of all the thousands of ergogenic (work enhancing) nutritional substances that have emerged over the past twenty years or so, one has distinguished itself—creatine monohydrate. A natural substance found in all meats, creatine significantly increases short term endurance capacity, and is thought to aid in the process of protein synthesis (muscle repair after training). It is perhaps the most thoroughly investigated nutritional supplement, and the bulk of the scientific evidence strongly suggests that creatine is safe and effective. Although many dosing schedules are possible, the most common recommendation is to “load” for five consecutive days by consuming one gram of creatine for every ten pounds of bodyweight per day (divided into five gram doses spread throughout the day), followed by a “maintenance” schedule of one gram per 2.5 pounds of bodyweight per day, taken in single does (immediately after exercise on training days). Creatine is more easily assimilated by the body if ingested with a small quantity of a high GI carbohydrate, such as grape juice. As a matter of principle, all nutritional supplements should be “cycled,” and creatine is no exception. After ten to twelve weeks of continuous use, take a week or two off before starting another cycle. Pro-Hormones Recently, a new class of substances has emerged, called “pro-hormones” because they supposedly promote an increase in the body’s own levels of anabolic hormones, such as testosterone and human growth hormone. Although these substances are banned in many (if not most) sport’s governing bodies, they are otherwise legal. Furthermore, due to the discovery that baseball home run record holder Mark McGuire used androstenedione (a prohormone), and because these substances may indeed have anabolic and ergogenic properties, a brief discussion is warranted. Pro-hormones are chemical substances which, when ingested, provide the raw building blocks which enable the body to increase it’s endogenous (internal) levels of testosterone, the primary anabolic hormone. To date, most studies have focused on androstenediol (which was the first of the pro-hormones to emerge on the open market), and the conclusions of these studies vary widely. Nevertheless, many studies did show an increase in testosterone levels after androstenedione ingestion. Subsequent to these findings, several new pro-hormones have emerged, including 5-androstenediol, 19-nor-5androstenediol, 19-norestosterone, and 4-androstenediol. These substances all have a potential anabolic effect, but appear to vary with respect to possible negative side effects, such as gynocomastia (breast development in men), according to Patrick Arnold, the man generally credited with bringing androstenediol to the U.S. market.
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Physically Incorrect At the time of this writing, the benefit to risk profile of pro-hormones is still an open question. If an athlete’s particular sports governing body does not ban these substances, any use should be conducted under medical supervision to stay on the safe side. Hydration Another nutrient, almost always overlooked is water. Water is especially important for martial artists. A vast majority of martial athletes are arguably dehydrated at any given time. In such cases, increased water intakes might lead to better performance improvements than any other supplement! The “old school” practice of not allowing athletes access to water during workouts is antiquated and, in some cases, dangerous. After all, the goal of training is to produce superior performances, not to see how much pain and discomfort may be endured! Although no exact hydration recommendations have been established, the old adage of “eight glasses of water a day” is only marginally acceptable for most people. Athletes with very demanding training schedules will need to increase their water intake accordingly. A simple “rule of thumb” guideline suggested by Donald Baker4 of The Balance Bar Company is to take bodyweight in pounds, convert that number to ounces, and that’s the amount of water to drink each day. Guidelines for Maximum Athletic Performance Unfortunately, most athletes don’t understand proper nutritional practices, or simply don’t follow these procedures long enough to see the results. Martial athletes, however, must be willing to take the long-term approach. Remember, eating habits either support or sabotage training efforts. Science can show one how, individual athletes then take advantage of this knowledge and reach the next step of athletic potential. The first guideline is that each meal should include all three macronutrients This recommendation is based on the following information: 1) Metabolic nutritionist Dr. Ann DeWees-Allen has found that protein, when eaten alone, causes a high-glycemic response from the body, similar to eating a high GI carbohydrate.5 Adding carbohydrate and/or fats to the protein negates this response. 2) The GI of carbohydrates is lowered upon the addition of fats. 3) No meal should be devoid of protein, which should be ingested every three hours for optimal recovery and repair. There is a limit on the amount of protein that can be absorbed in a single meal (depending on lean body mass,
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Physically Incorrect activity levels, and proximity to training events, this could range between 20 and 60 grams, with the average around 30 grams). If one’s daily protein requirement is 190 grams, and that individual tried to eat protein in only half of six daily meals, he or she would have to eat sixty-three grams per meal. Most of this large volume could not be utilized and would most likely be stored as fat. 4) All meals should contain carbohydrates, not only for energy, but also because they are the only source of fiber which is essential for digestion. 5) All meals (except the post-workout meal, which should be devoid of fat) should include fats, particularly the essential fatty acids (such as Omega-3 fatty acids), which promote satiety and slow the GI of meals. The second important guideline is to eat every three hours. Two or three meals per day simply aren’t enough. If the body is deficient in calories, it will resort to cannibalizing muscle tissue for energy. That’s the same muscle tissue athletes spend weeks and months earning in the gym! The body is a conservative machine, and it won’t grow unless given a reason (through weight training). Furthermore, athletes must provide plenty of calories so that the body is “convinced” it can afford to add additional lean mass. Unless someone is near the upper limit of a competitive weight class, don’t be afraid to sacrifice a bit of definition while attempting to gain muscle. This small amount of extra bodyfat can be removed later through the “zigzag” method of caloric intake, to be explained shortly. Meal frequency becomes even more critical when athletes “diet down” to make weight for a fight. A 1996 study conducted at Nagoya University in Japan divided twelve boxers into two groups.6 The first group ate two meals day, and the second group consumed six meals a day. Both groups ingested 1,200 calories a day for two weeks. Although there was no difference in change of body weight by food restriction between the two groups, the decrease in lean body mass was significantly greater in the two-meals group than in the six-meals group. This loss in muscle tissue would certainly reduce all force output characteristics, running the gamut from absolute strength to long-term endurance. The third important guideline is to optimize macronutrient ratios. As stated earlier, the 40-30-30 ratio of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats is the suggested starting point. Macronutrient ratios may vary slightly based on the training emphasis. When engaged in very heavy strength training, athletes may find that a 30-40-30 ratio works best and during phases of extensive endurance training may alternatively select a 50-25-25 ratio.
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Physically Incorrect The final guideline regards the question of calorie distribution. Calories should be ingested according to activity level. As discussed earlier, the body is able to utilize greater amounts of nutrients after a heavy training session so adjust daily caloric intake accordingly. Upon waking, the body is near the end of a long fast, which began at the end of yesterday’s final meal. Subsequently, the first meal of the day should have slightly more calories to compensate for depleted glycogen levels in the muscles and other tissues. On the other hand, pre-training or event meals should be relatively small to avoid gastric distress and large blood sugar fluctuations. This daily approach to caloric apportionment can also be extended to longer periods of time. For example, during a transition phase when not training as hard as usual, downgrade caloric intake accordingly. Gaining and Losing Weight Trying to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time is difficult at best, as discussed earlier. But there are at least two strategies which can be employed to make both processes safer and less harmful on conditioning levels. The first strategy is to use a very slow, gradual approach, regardless of whether trying to gain or lose weight. The slower the process, the more favorable the muscle to fat ratio. In other words, to lose weight, a slow approach will minimize muscle loss, and while trying to gain weight it will minimize fat deposition. The second strategy is called the zigzag method of caloric intake. Here’s how it works: Consider a jujitsu competitor who presently weighs 240 pounds with a bodyfat level of 20%. The goal is to weigh 220 with 10% bodyfat. Very simply, reduce caloric intake for four to five days. Achieve this by subtracting 100 calories per day under the “baseline.” Then add the calories back to the baseline for a day or two. When this zigzag method is maintained for two to three weeks, athletes should lose approximately one pound of fat with minimal loss of lean mass. If this doesn’t occur after two to three weeks, reduce an additional 100 calories a day during the “down” period, until the desired loss is achieved. In another example, consider a boxer who is close to the upper limit of his weight class and it’s becoming more and more difficult to make weight. A decision is made to move up a weight class. The challenge is how to do this without adding fat. The solution is to reverse the zigzag procedure just discussed. Increase caloric intake for four to five days, then bring it back down to normal levels for a day or two. If eating at least five times daily, fat-storage enzymes will be at very low levels, and therefore, when a normal caloric intake is resumed for one to two days, the body will be unable to store the 312
Physically Incorrect excess calories as fat. When continued over months and years, these procedures will result in added lean mass without the fat! Testing for Adverse Food Reactions According to exercise scientist Jerry Telle, many people are sensitive to, allergic to, or have unusual/excessive insulin reactions to certain foods when ingested.7 One common reaction is fluid retention, which is a nightmare for competitive athletes trying to come down to fighting weight. Other reactions include fatigue, cognitive impairment, loss of coordination, immune responses, and congestion. The most common foods seem to occur with wheat products, sugars, dairy products, and, paradoxically, any “craved” foods. Telle suggests the following testing protocol to determine one’s personal sensitivity levels to various foods: 1) Eat normally for seven days. During this time period, check the pulse each morning upon waking, and check it again immediately before, and 15 to 20 minutes after meals. Record these numbers for future use. Also, keep track of body composition during this period. 2) For a period of five days, eat only lean poultry and/or red meat from game animals, fish, and vegetables. No dairy, grains, or favorite foods! Continue to monitor the waking, and pre- and post-meal pulse. Also, record any changes in energy, mental or physical. 3) On day six, reintroduce dairy products. Continue to monitor the waking and pre- and post-meal pulse, as well as energy levels. On day seven, reintroduce wheat products. Continue to monitor the waking and pre- and postmeal pulse. On day eight, reintroduce sugars. Continue to monitor the waking and pre- and post-meal pulse. On day nine, reintroduce everything desirable to eat, including alcohol, fast foods, etc. During this “reintroduction phase,” use a different type of the food reintroduced at each meal. For example, when reintroducing dairy foods, use milk on the first meal, cottage cheese on the second, yogurt on the third, etc. 4) During each “reintroduction” day, did the waking pulse increase significantly (more than eight beats per minute?). How about the post-meal pulse? An increased pulse signals an adverse reaction to the ingested food. Did energy levels improve? 5) Now, construct a nutritional regimen which should be devoid of the foods determined as detrimental one’s individual health status.
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Physically Incorrect Performance Nutrition: The Mature Athlete’s Edge Of all of the aspects of a training program, nutrition might seem paradoxical because the benefits of a well-conceived nutritional strategy, although irrefutable, are realized gradually—over months and years, rather than days and weeks. The word “mature”denotes the ability to forgo immediate pleasure in order to realize long-term benefits. When talking to serious athletes in any sport, there seems to be a direct correlation between their age and the degree to which they understand the importance of optimal nutrition. The older they are, the more they stress it’s importance. With age comes maturity. And even though the aging process eventually limits athletic progress, nutrition is (for many) an undiscovered key to renewed progress. Be one of the wise few who don’t wait until an athletic career is nearly over to take advantage of the benefits of a sound diet. With that exhortation, here are three final considerations concerning nutrition. First, never experiment with new or unusual foods, particularly before a competition. Athletes may discover a food that doesn’t “ agree” at the worst possible time! Instead, stick with familiar foods that work well. As mentioned earlier, meals containing low-glycemic carbohydrates are best. Second, referring again to pre-fight meals, there is no substantial benefit, in terms of energy, to any single meal. It’s what athletes consume over the long-term that really counts. With this in mind, the idea is to “play it safe,” and seek a pre-fight meal that won’t cause any problems such as gastric distress, abdominal distention, heartburn, or fatigue. Large meals take energy to digest. Remember this when planing a pre-workout or pre-competition meal. Finally, all martial athletes must develop personal discipline in nutrition matters. Many martial artists are highly disciplined when it comes to training, but poorly disciplined in terms of nutrition. One facet of this discipline involves meal planning. Very little is written about the fact that to eat properly, athletes must plan their meals in advance. Many athletes use excuses like “Well, at work I just don’t have access to good food” or, “I’m always so busy” or “My wife just doesn’t cook” and the list goes on. All of these problems can be solved through simple planning. Bring a cooler to work, or buy a small refrigerator. Cook some chicken breasts (anyone can do it) and mix them with some chopped vegetables and salad dressing. Make enough for two to three meals, and it will last for a few days. Use MRP’s that can be mixed with milk—an easy, low preparation way to eat well at work. Or, use food bars (such as Balance Bar) as an occasional meal when time gets tight. The options are many for those who plan them.
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Physically Incorrect References: 1) Lemon, P., Peak Training Journal, Vol 1, #1. pp24. 2) Muscle Media 2000 Audiotape Interview, © 1996 by Muscle media 2000, Inc. 3) James E. Wright, personal communication, Januray, 1998. 4) Personal communication, September, 1996. 5) Allen, A. D., Edible Computer Chips. Muscle Media 2000, April 1996, pp 119. 6) Effects of meal frequency on body composition during weight control in boxers, Scand J Med Sci Sports, 1996 Oct, 6:5, 265-72. 7) Jerry Telle, personal communication, August, 1997.
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Physically Incorrect Questions & Answers with Charles Staley Does Massage Make You Weaker? Dear Charles, The other day, I had a long massage just before my workout, and I think it actually made me weaker. I always hear that massage is supposed to help improve recovery, so do I maybe need to seek out another therapist? Or should I avoid massage before workouts? Don't fire your massage therapist just yet! There are many different kinds of massage, and I suspect that the massage you had might have been more appropriate after a workout rather than for pre-training. The ideal type of massage for "pre-event" purposes is very light, most often done without oil, for about 20 minutes before an event. We use broad compression strokes, jostling and light friction at tendons to warm the muscles up, loosen them from spasms prime them with blood. Massage has become an indispensable part of my work with athletes. My Los Angeles-based athletes are treated by Dianna Linden, MT, CFT (who may be contacted at
[email protected]), who uses a wide range of techniques and disciplines with her clients, many of whom are athletes. I asked Dianna to comment on your question, and here is what she had to say: "Massage which is of a deep tissue style or sports massage of a clinical nature is used to release spasms or adhesions (old or new) from muscles and tendons. This type of work is more invasive and does require some recovery time before the muscles are ready for peak performance again. For this reason, this type of deeper tissue work is best done in the off season or as part of the athlete's rebuild phase so that the tissues are 'available for training' without damaged or restricted fibers restricting their ability to fully relax and contract. After deep tissue style massage the muscles might even feel tender and weaker for that day and a day following the massage. After that, they should perform better, being freed from the internal restrictions of the erased adhesions." Dianna also cautions that If a large range of motion is important to the performance of the athlete's sport or training (for example, deep squatting or dumbbell bench presses) the athlete should take it easy for the first workout and be aware that the synergistic functioning of the antagonists has been temporarily altered by the release of the adhesions. For example, if the hamstring has had a large spasm or adhesion in it and the deep tissue work relieved some portion of that spasm or all of it, the muscle might behave dif-
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Physically Incorrect ferently, the leg could go forward faster, thus affecting the athlete's gait. This is ultimately beneficial for performance, but could be temporarily disconcerting to feel your leg moving faster than you are used to. This takes some reorientation for the athlete and would hardly be noticed by the average person. A well trained sports therapist should inform her client what to expect from the work and how to choose what kind of massage is appropriate for their immediate goal and how to best time the massages to be most affective to help the athlete achieve enhanced performance. So communicate with your massage therapist, and I'd suggest that you treat a deep massage almost like a workout — don't make any strong demands on those muscles for a few days following the treatment. Does Weight Training Make You Slower? Dear Charles, I read your book Special Topics in Martial Arts Conditioning which emphati cally encourages weight training for improved martial arts performance. After implementing a few weight training cycles into my Tae Kwon Do competition preparation, I ended up slower and feeling unusually awkward. What do you think I'm doing wrong? Simply moving your pawns, knights, and bishops forward on the chess board does not assure victory. Before you decide to quit on you resistance training program, let's examine a few avoidable mistakes that can contribute to diminished results on "event day:" First, timing is everything. Being undertrained or overtrained on contest day can spell disaster for any athlete; but if you time it just right you're in the medal hunt. The proximity of intense resistance training to competition can even throw off a weightlifter— imagine how that effects an athlete who must cope with a highly technical skill element! In an undertrained state, an athlete has been away from his/her resistance training so long that they are suffering detraining effects. The more common obstacle is overtraining, however— something that martial artists seem to have a patent on. Intense lifting places great demands on the nervous system, so intense technical and tactical training (which also taxes the nervous system) should be placed on the "back-burner" while strength is increased. Because strength training debilitates skill temporarily, reduce and eventually discontinue the strength training program as the event nears. The closer the contest is the more refined and specific your training should become. Sometimes the best intentions hit a pothole. It's possible that the training 317
Physically Incorrect was timed perfectly well; however, exercises selected and the muscles targeted were flawed. One of my favorite tricks, which I initially learned from my colleague Charles Poliquin, is to emphasize the antagonists. For example— tae kwon do, which places great emphasis on kicking, encourages athletes to develop the quadricep, the muscle responsible for extension of the leg. In the mix, the hamstring, responsible for flexion (in this case retraction) of the leg is forgotten about. The quadricep and hamstring have an 'agonist/antagonist' relationship. This means one muscle lengthens while the other shortens and vise versa. When an agonist/antagonist relationship exists it becomes incumbent upon the opposing muscles to 'protect' each other by decelerating the force of the concentric activity. Therefore, one possibility is that your quadricep's ability to deliver force with a kick might be limited by insufficient hamstring strength. Feeling awkward could also reflect a neglect of skill retention during a strength training phase. Although you should certainly reduce the total volume of technical training during a phase designated to strength improvement, basic drills a few times a week for will help an athlete to adjust to increased muscle mass. I find that my martial artist clients who begin a weight training program for the first time must be prodded to keep up with their technical sessions, since weight training tends to make you feel heavy and stiff, at least during a hypertrophy phase. So, before discounting the benefits of strength training specific to fighting, consider my advice, and also look at the trend: athletes such as Rickson Gracie, Lucia Rikert, and Evander Holyfield carry impressively muscular physiques while projecting an aura of invincibility around them in the ring. High Reps for Females? Dear Charles, I just joined a gym to lose weight and tone up (I feel very cliche saying that, but it's true!). After filling out the paperwork, the sales guy introduced me to a trainer who showed me how to use aerobic and circuit training equipment. It's not my intention to look like the female bodybuilders I see on TV, so should I keep the reps high on the machines, or just stick to the aerobics to slim down? Without the backing of a statistic, I'll venture to say you have most common goal among new fitness enthusiasts. As well, you probably have one of the most common misconceptions of the effects of resistance training on your body. 318
Physically Incorrect First, let's clarify your goals: 1) Lose Weight— here we are invariably referring to reducing body fat. (not just weighing less). 2) Tone Up— I hate the term "tone," (Tone is simply, a partial, involuntary muscle contraction, which is possible even if you're obese) so let's just say that we want to increase muscle mass (fortunately, you don't have to wait nearly as long as a bodybuilder to realize your goals!) "Slimming down and toning up" can be viewed as a stop on the route to bodybuilding. Take as many transfer passes as you need to get where you're going— when you get there, it's completely your decision to continue on or stay where you are. What I'm saying is— training like a bodybuilder, using the tools that the fitness instructor at the gym showed you, will steer you in the direction you want. Incidentally, you will see many gradual progressions in your body— in other words, you'll never wake up one morning and find that you went "too far." Now, in the immortal words of Seinfeld's personal trainer, "All aboard the pain train!" First, get off to the best possible start by hiring a reputable professional trainer (The International Sports Sciences Association will be glad to help you find a great trainer in your area— just call 800-892-ISSA). With or without a trainer there are a few guidelines you should follow. Spend the next eight to ten weeks performing one or two sets per workout/per muscle targeting all or most of the muscles on your body (not just the areas you’re primarily concerned about). By developing more muscle all over the body, your metabolism will elevate due to the fact that you have more tissue that requires fuel (this may be one reason why men usually have lower body fat percent); hence, you will be burning more body fat all day long. Not a bad deal, huh? Be careful not to get too comfortable with the initial program, however. It's not unusual to accomplish a great percentage of your training objective in the first couple of months, regardless of what program or system you're using. Like a drug that makes you feel better, it is very hard to discontinue an exercise program that is producing results. However, realize that along with the benefits you are seeing, there is an accumulation of drawbacks as well. For example, squats can be a terrific exercise for the quads, hams, and glutes; however, prolonged squatting for months or years with no significant break could lead to overuse injuries in the joints. So don't be afraid to change a few variables in your training every few weeks (after the initial eight weeks, rewrite your program every 3 or 4 weeks).
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Physically Incorrect Another point to consider: Moderate amounts of aerobic exercise will elevate your metabolism, however, excessive aerobic training can have at least three major drawbacks: First, excessive aerobic exercise can exhaust muscles, most frequently in your lower body, leaving them unable to perform at the intensity you need to develop them to the point you desire during weight training. Second, the caloric expenditure created during the aerobic exercise can end up consuming the protein in your diet if you don't eat just enough calories. In this case, there won't be sufficient protein in your body to repair your healing muscles and provide enough energy at the same time. And whenever your body has to choose between energy and growth, energy always wins. Finally, studies have shown that large volumes of aerobic exercise can cause muscle necrosis (tissue death). Not very productive in my book. So in summation, emphasize a constantly changing resistance training program, low to moderate amounts of aerobic activity, and please come back every month. I've got a lot of valuable information to share over the coming months! Training Without a Spotter Dear Charles, I always (or usually, anyway) train alone in my home. For chest, I always bench inside my smith machine for safety because I don't have a spotter. I'm well aware that top body builders don't get big using machines, so could you recommend any changes that could increase the effectiveness of my pec workouts while keeping them safe? Before I answer your question, I have to first say that the Smith machine isn't completely foolproof! It IS possible to get stuck in one, because you can't always hook the bar onto the pins. If this happens, you're REALLY stuck! I strongly recommend using a spotter anytime you use this device. Getting back to your question: I happen to train my clients (and often, myself) myself in private settings. This being the case, I am often in the same boat as you. Although implementing a training partner is superior for safety and motivation, I realize it is not always a reality, so I do have a few suggestions. First of all, I would not necessarily look at machine exercises as inferior. As a matter of fact, machines often allow you to reach a higher level of exhaustion without fearing for your personal safety. In my mind, machines are only inferior when you use them exclusively. Relying only on machines is likely to minimize results because prime mover (the muscles primarily targeted) 320
Physically Incorrect development is limited by your body's ability to stabilize yourself during the exercise (this is why you can always bench more with your feet on the floor than on the bench). Luckily, you don't have to be an unstable person to incorporate unstable movements into your pec workout! Dumbbells are an excellent way to accomplish this. Try exhausting the stabilizers with a dumbbell bench press or flye as your first exercise. Having a greater tolerance to the unstable nature of this exercise, your prime movers (the pectorals in this case) will not exhaust as quickly as the muscles stabilizing your body during the exercise; therefore, when you cannot continue pressing the dumbbells due to the fatigued stabilizers, you will be able to maintain the same intensity for more sets, picking up with the Smith machine bench press where you left off with your dumbbell bench press. At this point, your Smith machine becomes a great tool for optimal exhaustion. Most home multi-gym gym devices have an attachment for dips. Dips are probably the most effective pec exercise that can be performed without the aid of a spotter (if you have any know shoulder problems, I'd talk with a competent orthopedist who understands strength training first, however). Start the exercise from a sturdy block or support set high enough to easily return your feet to. Should you misjudge your ability to complete a set, you can maneuver your feet to the block and remove the tension on the pecs (and more importantly, shoulders). For more advanced trainees, the dip can create a safe environment for eccentric training. To perform an eccentric dip, you must again place a block below your feet, starting with the arms extended and lower yourself in a controlled fashion. As you descend to the end of your normal range of motion, place your feet on the block, assist yourself to the starting position, remove the tension on your feet, and continue until the set is complete. Particular attention must be paid to safety and control during the flexion of the elbow during dips. Note: it is preferable to position the block so that the feet are always above the block when not assisting in the movement. Finally, I must point out that the bench press can be safely performed alone through the use of safety spotters, a device which can be set to catch a bar just past your normal range of motion, allowing you just enough room to remove yourself from a failed attempt. Using a power rack with safety pins can also be used for the same purpose. Either way, NEVER bench without a spotter!!! EVER! And one last point while we're talking about safety— even though it feels better to have your thumbs on the same side of the bar as the rest of your fingers, never do so. One slip is all it takes, and the consequences are disastrous. It'll only take a handful of workouts to get used to the new grip, and who knows— you might be eligible for lower life insurance premiums!
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Physically Incorrect Curls Bad for Football? Dear Charles, My football coach will not let us do curls he says they have no place in train ing, but I say they do. The biceps must be there for a reason, right? Since the biceps is often thought of as a "show" or "beach" muscle, bicep training is often over-worshiped by young male trainees, but also excessively discouraged by well-meaning coaches. To say, as many coaches do, that the biceps has no function for a football player demonstrates a basic lack of understanding. I understand your coach's sentiments— he's just trying to emphasize function over aesthetics. However, it's kind of like telling school kids not to read the latest controversial book— it’s the best way to guarantee that they will! The biceps plays a pivotal role in the function of the shoulder and also in the articulation of the hand. It also balances the forces created by the triceps at the elbow joint. So I hope your coach will someday take less of an "extremist" position about this issue, but in the mean-time, see if he'll allow you to perform more chins— a great bicep movement, but just tell him you are doing it for your back strength! Do Negatives Require More Rest? Dear Charles, I'm on a split routine, working out each body part twice a week. My partner and I are trying a new exercise tempo, really emphasizing the the negative. When our second pec day came around, we were both too sore to get any thing done. Do you need more rest after negatives? Muscle soreness is almost always an indicator that your muscles are still repairing themselves. After exercise, the release of an amino acid called hydroxyproline is released to repair microtrauma in the muscle fibers. Being a very toxic substance, hydroxyproline irritates the nerve endings, causing tenderness (soreness is NOT caused by lactic acid, by the way). Re-training these unrecovered muscles will only damage them more — if you repeat this pattern habitually, you may very well end up with a traumatic injury. Eccentric training is universally accepted as being more traumatizing than concentric training. If you've ever taken a long hike up a mountain, camped overnight, and then hiked back down the next day, you might have noticed that you woke up feeling relatively unscathed, only to find that you got very 322
Physically Incorrect sore the next day. This is because the hike up is primarily concentric work for your quads, and the hike down is mostly eccentric. As a rule, wait one entire day (some of my colleagues would say two) after your soreness has disappeared before training the same muscle(s) again. Don't worry if it seems like your training frequency seems insufficient— the vast majority of people train too often. Planning & Documentation of Training Dear Charles, When I was a college athlete, we had strength training programs that detailed just about every rep, set, and weight that we were going to try to accomplish in any particular workout. For the first time in my life, I'm train ing in a commercial gym and see no one using a program, or recording their results. I suspect this is why so few people make gains in commercial gym; would you agree? I normally plan my athletes' training more than ten weeks in advance. However, when I print up the workouts after ten weeks of training, the diary often shows significant deviations from the original plan. Much like preparing your favorite recipe, sometimes all the necessary ingredients are not present and have to be improvised upon. Unforeseen circumstances such as misjudgment of ability, injury, rescheduled workouts, sickness, etc. frequently force some restructuring of the original program. A careful combination of planning and improvisation is necessary for success. When a workout schedule is planned, something magical happens: it allows the serious athlete to ponder the looming intensity for days prior to the battle. It's hard, after all, to prepare yourself for what you have to do when you don't know exactly what that is! There is definitely a psychological edge for the bodybuilder or weightlifter who has mentally prepared himself to bench 300lbs for 5x5, compared to the bodybuilder who stumbles into the gym and thinks 'Hmmm, I think I'll hit pecs today.' Additionally, athletes who plan their training do a better job of periodically increasing intensity, which is imperative for hypertrophy or strength gains, any way you look at it. Finally, those who plan their training are better able to track their results. I created the Myodynamics Training & Nutrition Manager software for just this purpose. If you don't record what you're doing in the gym, how do you know what's worked, and just as importantly, what hasn't worked? If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.
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Physically Incorrect Incidentally, my opinion of "instinctive training" is dependent on your definition. I don't agree with a bodybuilder who walks in the gym and says "No one on the squat rack, guess it's leg day." I do however like to see an athlete say 'my warm ups look miserable, I've obviously habituated to 4x8 and need to re-think the plan.' To answer your question directly, there definitely should be a plan. However, when that plan is not working exactly the way it was intended, be prepared to change any variable whether it be longer breaks than planned, or seizing the opportunity to elevate the bar ten pounds after underestimating your strength on paper. Look at your training history and see what factors have helped you progress in the past. Have a plan, realizing that it's OK to make modifications— in fact, it's a given! Chin-ups the Best Lat Exercise? Dear Charles, My favorite author said in a magazine that chin-ups were the best lat exer cise, hands down. Do you think this is true? and can I benefit from this exer cise if I can only perform three or four repetitions per set? I'm always hesitant to call anything 'the best,' but I will say chin-ups are pretty darn good. All rowing and pulldown motions innervate the lats, but I cannot think of an exercise that places such great demands on the musculature of the back the way that chins (and pull-ups) do. The results that this demanding exercise can produce is obvious in gymnasts and rock climbers, who tend to possess great lat development, despite the fact that they do not strength train in the way that you and I think of it. The chin-up and it's variations work the latissimus dorsi, teres major, deltoid, trapezius, bicep, brachialis, brachioradialis, and many other muscles. Adjustments in grip spacing, palm direction, and even plane of movement can influence where the emphasis is placed, so they possible variations are endless. However, if you can count the number of chins you can do on one hand, I have a few tricks in my bag for you: 1) Improve your absolute strength. Since traditionally this is done using between 85 and 100 percent of maximal ability, you'll need to use additional weight in the form of a dumbbell between the calves or a weight plate on a belt specially make for this purpose. Choosing a weight (it might be only your bodyweight, of course) you can comfortably get 6 sets of 2 reps with, try this great three week program, which is an abbreviated version of something 324
Physically Incorrect called the "Soviet Squat Routine." Just don't tell your Ruskie workout buddies that you've perverted it for your own upper body objectives! You'll use the same weight for every workout: Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Monday 6x2 6x4 6x2
Wednesday 6x3 6x2 6x6
Friday 6x2 6x5 6x2
After you complete this program, rest about 4-5 days, and then after a proper warm-up, perform one, all-out set of chins. You'll completely freak out at how strong you've gotten, and wherever there's strength, size isn∂t far behind! 2) On days I run into a personality conflict with my athletes, I love to prescribe a drill I call "intermittent sets." Here's how it works: you simply perform as many chins as possible within 60 seconds. It doesn't matter how you arrange the reps— for example, you might do 3 reps, then rest 20 seconds, then another 2 reps, then rest another 15 seconds, and then another 2 reps. When 60 seconds is up, you've done one set. Three sets of these and you'll still have a lat pump when you wake up the next morning! 3) The supine ball pull was introduced to me by my colleague, Lorne Goldenberg, strength coach for the Ottawa Senators. I really love this exercise because of the ease in which you can vary the intensity, and because it takes so little in the way of equipment. Place a bar low on the power rack, just high enough so your back would clear the floor if you were hanging with your torso parallel to the floor (see Photo #1). Then place a Swiss ball (please use only the ABS ball by Sissel USA— never compromise on safety) somewhere between your knees and your feet (the former is easier, the latter is harder), resting both legs on top of the ball. The more proficient you become with the exercise the further the ball should be placed toward the feet. Creating an imaginary straight line through your spine down to your feet, pull yourself toward the bar, while maintaining balance on the ball (see photo#2). At the top, really arch your back and hold for a full second; at the bottom, be sure to allow your shoulder blades to completely retract (pull apart). This exercise is the exact antagonist to bench pressing of course, and the tow exercises can be performed together during workouts.
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Physically Incorrect Jefferson Cleans Dear Charles, What exactly is a "Jefferson Clean?" OK— first, I think you're referring to a "Jefferson lift." Jefferson cleans are used for gender reassignment, as you'll soon appreciate. To perform the Jefferson lift, you straddle a loaded barbell, grabbing the bar with one hand behind you and one hand in front of you. Then, you simply lift the bar in deadlift fashion. Your feet will be perpendicular to each other— kind of like a fencing stance. Of course, make sure your knees track directly over your feet. On the other hand, if you continue this motion up into a shrug, Mr. Happy will have to change his name to "Mr. Dead." So always remember this important rule: when you do cleans, always start with both feet on the SAME SIDE of the bar! What is Tellekinetics? Dear Charles, I occasionally hear you make reference to something called "Tellekinetics." What the heck are you talking about?! As I flip through some of the current muscle mags, I usually think to myself "Same article, different author." Since bodybuilding magazines have been on the newsstands since the 1930's you have to wonder if it's all been said and done. I recently attended a seminar conducted by noted exercise scientist, Jerry Telle, where he described a system he developed, which to my great surprise, was completely original, and as I found out later, painfully effective. Tellekinetics is based on two factors that are the basis of all systems of exercise— biomechanics (or exercise technique) and loading parameters. The biomechanical basis of this program is extremely innovative and exciting. Jerry offers a gamut of exercises you've never seen before, cleverly optimizing the tension on the target muscle throughout the entire exercise. Ever done preacher curls? If you have, you've obviously discovered that as you come to the top of the concentric phase, then tension is reduced faster than I can eat a pint of ice cream on cheat day. Now try it Tellekinetics style: perform a normal concentric preacher curl on a Scott curl bench. As soon as the weight reaches the top, lean forward, maintaining the same angle at the 326
Physically Incorrect elbow, until the forearm is parallel to the floor. Now, keep your forearms parallel to the floor as you lean back and return to the starting position. Now, to really augment the effect of the improved biomechanics, you've got to perform the exercise using Telle's proprietary drop set system. Bodybuilders have been utilizing drop sets for decades with good results, but Tellekinetics features a unique variant called a "wide-spectrum, variedtempo" drop set. Here's how it works: As you warm-up, you do just enough to prepare yourself without becoming fatigued in the process. Your last warmup will be a 1-2 rep "post-tetanic twitch potentiation" set, or in plain English, a neural preparation set. Really, what you're doing is: a) getting the central nervous system jacked up for the ensuing set, and b) determining your working weight to start with. After this, you rest a bout a minute, and begin your WSVT drop set. You'll start with a weight which allows 2-4 reps SET One: Two: Three: Four: Five: Six:
REPS 2-3 2-3 2-3 6 5 5
TEMPO (E-S-C) 2-1-X 2-1-X 2-1-X 3-1-2 5-0-5 7-0-7
REST 10 sec 10 sec 5 sec 5 sec 2 sec
Having ranted in several other articles about the value of variety, I can enthusiastically recommend Tellekinetics to anyone looking for an effective program, different from anything they have ever tried. Try one of Jerry's drop sets on your next bicep session and e-mail me with your impressions! E-mail and link information Jerry Telle:
[email protected] Lorne Goldenberg:
[email protected] Lorne's web site: www.strengthtek.com Training-Nutrition Manager: www.myodynamics.com/dataorder.html Sissel USA: www.swissball.com
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Physically Incorrect Weight Training Versus Cardio for Fat Loss Dear Charles, I’m trying to get my metabolism up. My husband sold me on the idea of quit ting my daily 45 minute cardio workout, and replacing it with weight training so I could put some muscle on. Now, it’s a month later and I haven't lost any fat and think I even lost a little muscle in my legs. Should I keep waiting for the results to kick in or should I go back to my old routine? A: Yes and no. How’s that for a direct answer? Even if you lost a little muscle following the schedule you’re describing, your husband’s suggestion might have spared you from potentiating a pattern overuse injury. Any ‘routine’ exercise or training schedule performed over an extended period, especially daily, tends to traumatize the joints and their associated connective tissues. Breaking from a habitual activity, or at least altering the movement pattern in some way can either reduce or redirect traumatizing tension to a better-prepared location on your body. Now that you have had the good fortune of this break, should you go back to more cardio? I think so. Chances are that like many women, you have a high relative proportion of Type I muscle fiber, or as it’s more commonly called ‘slow twitch muscle fiber.’ All people have varying proportions of Type 1 (or slow) and Type II (or fast) fibers in their muscles. Women as a general rule of thumb, tend to have greater proportions of slow twitch fibers as compared to men. This may very well be why they gravitate toward aerobics and other endurance type activities when selecting exercise options. Here’s a brief description of both types of fibers: Type I muscle fibers are relatively slow and weak (this is where the term slow twitch comes from) but they also have great endurance capacity. Because of this, slow twitch fibers are much more resistant to fatigue. To challenge these fibers enough to force a training effect, exhausting and frequent exercise is required. Type II (or fast twitch) fibers are white when viewed under the scope, produce lots of tension, but fatigue very quickly. They also take longer than red fibers to recover, and tend to have greater growth potential. Type II’s have a higher threshold than red fibers (which means they need greater loads to innervate them).
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Physically Incorrect Now, based on what you’ve told me, my guess is that you have more red fiber then the average person and have managed to develop some quality muscle from your cardio training. We see this frequently in sports like rowing and cycling where athletes develop impressive amounts of muscle by participating in mainly endurance activities. You could refine and maximize your ‘red fiber’ training by doing some weight training exercises that take a minimum of 90 seconds per set (or greater) to perform. As well, I think you should perform some exercises with greater loads for sets that take 20-40 seconds to perform. This will increase the size and more importantly the strength of your fast twitch fibers. Training these fibers will strengthen your ability to handle greater loads when you return to higher rep training. So yes, go back to your cardio training for a month or so. Then, redirect our training to some higher intensity weight training, and then once again adjust the program to frequent, high rep exercises. As a rule, when constructing the macro-cycle (the long term plan, including all phases of training) place the greatest emphasis on the phase that offers the greatest personal return. Spend less time on the elements that appear less productive— you can recognize them as the ones that are less fun. ???? Dear Charles, Do you ever think to yourself— "I’m not strong enough...I can’t pick up the weight...I don’t write well...Everyone is stronger than me...No one likes me...?" A: This crosses my mind every morning; however, I turn that tide with my daily affirmation: "I’m strong enough, I’m smart enough, and dog-gonit, people like me." 77 Pounds on a Weightlifter’s Front Squat in 88 days Without Ever Training That Lift Q: On the Myo Dynamics website I read that you put 77 pounds on a weightlifter’s front squat in 88 days without ever training that lift. How did you go about that? A: With a lot of my athletes I spend hours considering experimental training variables and various specific fitness tests searching for the best way to train them at any given moment. When Joe Senate started training under me in January of this year, I took a careful look through his training diary and knew 329
Physically Incorrect exactly how I was going to improve his leg strength— by finding new, unfamiliar challenges for his neuromuscular system. According to Joe’s diary, one of the most prominent leg exercises was front squats. He had performed this exercise virtually every week for as far back as his diary went (which is by no means unusual for an Olympic weightlifter, by the way). So I tested his 1RM in the front squat which resulted in a lift of 295 pounds. Now that I had this marker, I never had him perform the front squat until he re-tested about thirty days later. For the first month of training I focused on hypertrophy (his quad and hamstring development was inadequate given the fact that he had plans to move to a higher weight class eventually). I had him perform deep lunges emphasizing the quadriceps. These are done in place, exhausting one leg before moving on to the next, rather than alternating legs. Joe also performed stepups on a four inch block, focusing mostly on vastus medialis development. We also utilized stiff-leg deadlifts supersetted with one and a quarter squats (descend, come up a quarter of the way, back down, and finally all the way up). All exercises were performed fairly slowly— about 5-6 seconds per rep. On one particular session, I went to get a glass of water, only to come back and see Joe’s eyes squeezed closed and clicking his heels together, chanting "There’s no place like home...there’s no place like home!" He never got his trip home, but he did get a 326 pound front squat when I re-tested him on February 13th. At this point I put him slightly back into more familiar surroundings, focusing on clean and snatch pulls. I increased the loading intensities from the previous month, and switched from one and a quarter squats to standard full squats. We also employed trap-bar deadlifts, which is a favorite movement of mine, due to the fact that it allows the athlete to achieve high levels of overload with relatively low compression on the lumbar spine. It also spares the shins, which take a heavy beating during performance of the competitive lifts. This second month of training lead to a 362 pound front squat test, which I have to admit surprised even me. I now had three weeks left to maximize Joe’s leg power before getting him ready for competition. I had him start performing the Olympic lifts — the snatch, and the clean and jerk. Joe’s explosive leg power and stretch reflex improved significantly using the these lifts. I had him speed up the tempo on squats; however, I remained extremely careful to monitor his upright posture, never letting that deteriorate. Three weeks into this phase, on April 23rd, Joe front squatted 372 pounds. I think Joe wet his pants when he realized what he had done, but he swears it was just sweat.
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Physically Incorrect I wish I had a secret formula for strength success. I don’t, but when I saw Joe’s training diary, it looked to me like he was trying to make chocolate chip cookies and the only ingredient he was using was chocolate chips. The theme of this story is not that front squats are bad (if they weren’t so highly prevalent in his past training, believe me, he would have been doing plenty), it is that a recipe requires certain ingredients with careful amount of each element no matter how good that element seems. Satanism and Fat Loss Q: Marilyn Manson is cut! There’s not a speck of fat on his body. Is there any relationship between satanic worship and bodyfat percentage? A: OK, I knew sooner or later something like this would happen. Hey, I’ll just assume that you’re serious and answer the question. I have three theories regarding Manson’s ripped (although puny) physique: 1) People from warmer continents are statistically leaner than those from colder climates, i.e. Africans tend to be leaner than Northern Europeans. Marilyn Manson is from hell which is rumored to be at least 3000 degrees warmer than the equator...talk about thermogenic! 2) Manson has massive amounts of self-inflicted scarification which, under proper lighting, can appear to be striations. 3) I may be off base in saying this, but Manson appears to be no stranger to recreational pharmacology. Maybe he’s found the next cutting-edge fat burning drug. Recommendations for Home Gym Q: I just bought a house and am already laying the blueprints for my home gym in the garage. Do you have any recommendation for a particular brand multi-gym? A: There are a variety of considerations when considering how to equip your home gym. Cost, space, and your training objectives are just a few important concerns. When I designed my own home gym (also in my garage), my objective was efficiency— to have the smallest amount of equipment which would allow me to perform the largest variety of exercises. (I can’t seem to convince my wife that the gym is an inappropriate place to park her car, but I’m still working on it). Based on these criteria, here are my suggestions: 331
Physically Incorrect Start with dumbbells because of their immense versatility. With a good set of dumbbells you can apply resistance to virtually any muscle without the aid of any other equipment. If you don’t have room for a complete set of dumbbells (which are expensive in terms of space and money), Power Blocks are an unbeatable choice. Power Blocks are basically selectorized dumbbells— you determine the weightload by simply re-setting the pins, just as you would with a machine. I also suggest buying the stand which is designed to hold the Power Blocks— without it, you’ll have difficulty inserting the pins (you can purchase Power Blocks at Dr. Fred Hatfield’s web site at www.drsquat.com ). The second choice is an ABS-Pro Swiss ball from Sissel USA. The ABS-Pro can be used as a substitute for a weight room bench, and is a hell of a lot cheaper as well. In addition, the ball allows for a multitude of strength training, flexibility, and stabilization exercises which are unique to the ball alone. At less than $30, this is the most versatile tool in my gym. (Please go to www.swissball.com for more information). Thirdly, look into purchasing an Olympic style barbell set, which can be obtained for less than $100, although I’d suggest a higher quality set if you can afford it (a nation-wide chain of stored called Play-It-Again Sports sells every imaginable type of pre-owned sports and fitness equipment at rock bottom prices— check your local yellow pages for one near you). Olympic lifters and power lifters may have to shop around for properly gauged and engineered bars, otherwise any set should do. Fourth on the list is a power rack. I rank it fourth not because it’s not as useful, but because it costs a bit more (you can easily find a good rack for less than $300 though— I’d check out Bigger Faster Stronger at 801-974-0460 as a starting point) and takes up a fair amount of space. The power rack enables you to perform exercises from various heights and easily and quickly adjusts to different heights for your partner. A good rack has a pull-up bar at the top, and most importantly, a system of adjustable pins so that you can perform benching and squatting variations in complete safety. Although the power rack takes up a bit of space, you can store a lot of your other equipment inside of it when not in use. Finally, there are scores of useful tools you can equip your gym with — medicine balls, trap bars, squat harnesses, wobble boards, grip developers, etc. I love having lots of options available, however, I can train myself and my athletes without them when the ‘extras’ are unavailable, as long as the basics are there.
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Physically Incorrect First Bodybuilding Contest Q: My first bodybuilding contest is just four weeks away. What do you think I should focus on in the gym until then? I know I need to get leaner, but I’m afraid to lose the muscle I’ve managed to gain over the past 8 months! A: You have two major objectives for competition day— be as "freaky big" as possible, and be as "freaky lean" as possible. If you have to choose between the two, go with the former. A strength increase is of no value to you at this stage of the game, and putting on noticeable mass in the coming weeks would be harder than nailing Jello to a wall. You need to find a way to retain as much mass as possible, but accept minor losses in mass in order to decrease fat to an absolute minimum. As a rule of thumb, exercises which produce high levels of lactic acid are most productive for fat loss. The noticeable burn associated with lactic acid production is a great indicator that you using a system appropriate for pre-contest. The "burn," suggesting lactic acid presence, increases the likelihood of elevating HGH (human growth hormone), which research shows to be important for facilitating muscle growth and efficient fat metabolism. Without a doubt, all your efforts will be for naught without a disciplined diet. This may be the most dramatic change of any component of your training regimen. I usually see less value in high or even moderate carbohydrate diets in preparation for a bodybuilding contest. Check out Mesomorphosis columnist Lyle McDonald’s article entitled "Training on the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet." I think you’ll find it a insightful and useful tool for dramatic fat loss. Remember, bodybuilding is a sport! No sport, especially bodybuilding, is synonymous with health. Often bodybuilders question (as they should) certain practices such as carbohydrate depleting, extreme protein consumption, drug use, creatine loading, etc...These methods should be looked at under the microscope, not so athletes can avoid a practice that has certain contraindications, but so they can weigh the benefits and consequences. It is not particularly healthy to run 30 miles a day, squat 1,000 pounds, or get punched in the face by Evander Holyfield, or whatever your favorite pastime is. However, we choose to do these things because we are born with a certain urge that is satisfied by competition.
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Physically Incorrect Knee Wraps Dear Charles, I'm a powerlifter in my first year of training. An Olympic style weightlifter in my gym, who can squat a heck of a lot more than I can, suggested I train without knee wraps except for maximum attempts and save them for the contest arsenal. Do you agree with this wisdom? A: A car salesman may have some great selling tips; however, it's doubtful he would have the best closing tips for a computer salesman. Be especially wary of the "gym lawyer" (the big guy in the gym who tells everyone to train like him for good results). In your case, the athlete isn't even from the same sport as you. In any event, frequent use of knee wraps (and I'm referring to the heavy, elasticized-cotton wraps that powerlifters use) would be a big mistake for an Olympic lifter; however, you are a powerlifter and that's a different story. Without question, knee wraps will help you hoist bigger weights, particularly on your squat‹ ten to twenty percent, as a matter of fact. In powerlifting, the total is all that matters, so obviously you want to do everything you can (within the confines of the rules, of course), to get every last pound you can. Although greater weights can be handled using wraps, your quadriceps are actually relieved from some of the stress they'd ordinarily receive when you lift with wraps. Another problem is that, even properly worn, knee wraps jam the patella against the femoral groove throughout the squatting movement, and over time, this may potentiate chondromalacia patellae (wearing away at the inside of the knee cap). Given these risks, should you use the wraps in the gym with any regularity? Yes, but with prudence. Since the wraps take a little getting used to, they would be of little use to you in competition if you never use them in training. You can get the best of both worlds by only using the wraps when you exceed a selected intensity, which, in my opinion, is 85% of 1RM and up. To minimize the hazards on your knee joints, take the advice of renowned sports medicine lecturer, and co-founder of the ISSA, Dr. Sal Arria. Arria recommends wrapping your knees tightly in a cylindrical fashion around the upper shin (where the patellar ligament attaches), then more loosely over the kneecap itself, then tightly again over the lower third of the thigh. Arria also suggests that wrapping the knees prior to heavy squatting reduces the pulling forces on the patellar ligament at it's attachment to the shin. This may translate to significantly reduced chances of avulsing (detaching) your patel334
Physically Incorrect lar ligament during heavy leg movements. Mind-Muscle Link Dear Mr. Staley, I recently had a really interesting discussion with one of the "old-timers" in my gym about the concept of "mind-muscle link," or basically, the ability to really focus or "connect" to the muscle you're targeting with a particular exer cise. He showed me some really neat tricks that will definitely make my future workouts more effective. I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on this topic. I have two neat little exercises for you, both stem from my experiences as a martial arts instructor. The first is very easy to grasp and very practical, the second is a bit more esoteric, although just as effective if you take the time to understand it: • SLOW DOWN! Try the following exercise: throw a punch, as fast as you can. Now, throw the same punch, but in "dream-like slow motion." Did you notice that on the fast punch, you were only aware of the beginning and the end of the movement, while with the slow punch, you were much more aware of every point along the movement path? Learning any movement works the same way. I've said on many, many occasions that the most prevalent biomechanical error made in gyms is excessive movement speed. • Karate master Hidy Ochai suggests that, in order to increase your awareness of breathing, to inhale as though you were trying to detect a scent in the air. Try it. Now, the idea is to transfer this idea to lifting, as nebulous as that might sound. The idea is to lift a weight— I take that back— the idea is to perform the movement pattern with no attention to the weight itself, but rather on the effort that the muscle must exert as it overcomes the resistance. Next workout, try this— take a light bench press, maybe forty to fifty percent of your 1RM. Allow the bar to lower to your chest and then reverse the motion slowly. Block all distractions from your mind and focus only on your effort. A final thought for you to consider is that the prime mover in any given exercise changes as you progress through the range of motion. So, although most people will tell you that the prime mover in the squat is the quads, at the very bottom the glutes are more active and have to be considered the prime movers. Only when you have ascended half-way up are the quads really the prime movers. With a bit of creativity and inquiry, you'll easily be able to apply this concept to all your favorite exercises.
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Physically Incorrect Weekend Only Training Charles, As a Marine Infantry officer, I commonly spend Monday through Thursday or Friday in the field returning only for the weekend before heading back out. Is there any way I can make appreciable gains in bodybuilding only training on the weekends? A: There are many factors I've been made aware of that present challenges to successful bodybuilding in the military that out-weigh your dilemma, i.e. weight control programs, and an insanely high aerobic emphasis in training. The fact that many military men have only the weekends to get their hands on the iron may be a blessing in disguise, since most gyms everywhere are fraught with "overtrainers." Realistically, we're only going to be able to train a muscle group once a week, given your schedule. Some people would benefit from more sessions; however, most athletes need at least five to seven days to recover from intense strength training. Having the good fortune of the whole weekend, I'd rather see both days utilized; however, both of the sample workouts I will describe could be performed in one day if the time constraints were even more extreme. With such limited time, we have to make every set count! When browsing the exercise menu, make your selections from the tried and true basics: Chest: bench press & variations, incline bench presses, dips. Shoulders: military presses, dumbbell lateral raises, Arnold presses Triceps: pushdowns, skull crushers, overhead tricep extensions. Biceps: barbell curls, e-z curls, preacher curls, hammer curls, concentration curls. Back: pull-ups, pulldowns, bent rows, seated rows, back extensions, deadlifts. Legs: Squats and their variations, lunges, leg presses, leg-curls, step ups, stiff-leg deadlifts Abdominals: Swiss ball crunches, reverse trunk twists, reverse crunches. Sample Microcycle: (Supersets are preferred for time efficiency and structural balance) Saturday: Sets x Reps A-1: A-2: B-1: B-2:
Dumbbell Bench Press 5x6 Bent Row 5x6 Dumbbell Preacher Curls 3x8 Skull Crushers 3x8 336
Physically Incorrect Sunday: Sets x Reps A-1: A-2: B-1: B-2:
Squat 5x6 Swiss ball Crunch 5x6 Deadlift 3x10 Back Extension 3x10
Training two days a week isn't exactly ideal, but the results will far transcend the result of not training. As a matter of fact, I think you will be surprised how much progress you can make, training this infrequently. I suspect that people who go through frequent periods where they are slightly undertrained get better results than people who go through frequent periods of overtraining. I'd love to delve deeper into this topic. If you plan a competition or have to endure more than a week in the field contact me and we’ll prepare you for these challenges. Strength Training for Wrestling Charles, I'm a 17 year old varsity wrestler. I want to strength train, but cannot out grow my weight-class. Can I get stronger without gaining any weight? A: If you're trying to get stronger without a weight gain I would recommend relatively heavy explosive weight training with very little emphasis on the eccentric portion of the lifts. You obviously should not train the same way a bodybuilder does (unless you want to increase your bodyweight). However, if you do realize a weight gain from low-rep strength training, you probably are headed in that direction anyway. What I mean by this is that if you gain weight as an adaptation to low rep, high intensity work, it tells me that you are already neurally efficient as you are going to be at that weight and can only see physical (as opposed to technical) improvement with a bit more muscle on your frame. This commonly happens in boxing where a fighter gradually finds it harder and harder to make it down to their weight class, and then must make the move up to the next class. At your age, this scenario is inevitable, it just a question of long it's going to take before you have no choice but to move up.
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Physically Incorrect The Elusive Six Pack Dear Mr. Staley, My bodyfat reads around 8% and sometimes lower. For the life of me I can not get a "six pack." The lower abs just don't show through. Do I need to focus on ab development or get even leaner? A: At 8% bodyfat I doubt you need to drop any fat mass to see more ripples in the mid-section. There are two possibilities here: First, your abdominals may in fact be poorly developed. The second possibility is that you may have less tenuous intersections in your rectus abdominus than the people who's abs you covet. I tend to lean away from the possibility that your abs are under-developed. I say this based on the fact that you say "The lower abs just don't show through." Safely assuming that the "upper abs" do show through suggests that the muscle is developed. As cliche and academic as it may sound, I have to point out, there are not upper abs and lower abs, just upper and lower regions of the same muscle. The abs appear to be separate muscles; however, it is one muscle with tenuous intersections that give the illusion of separate muscles. About two percent of people (most happen to be of Asian decent for some reason) are born with only two tenuous intersections which serve to separate the rectus abdominus into horizontal sections. If you happen to fall into this category, the coveted "six pack" configuration may not be a realistic goal for you. Like your race and your shoe size, it is unique to your physiology. Incidentally, bodybuilding great Boyer Coe's abs were relatively unimpressive among his professional bodybuilding peers. He certainly compensated with bicep peaks, high as any I've ever seen (also genetic). The point is, at the leanest he's ever been seen, he just didn't have a rippled washboard, presumably because he lacked these tenuous intersections. Don't take this as a suggestion to discontinue ab training, however. Ignoring specialized emphasis on a muscle that supports the lumbar spine and is responsible for spinal flexion antagonistic to the erector spinae would be a costly mistake. Don't ignore your ab training just because it isn't developing exactly the way you had envisioned it Not only would you be more susceptible to injury, but would also be limiting the potential of several other muscles, dependent on the abdominals for stability and deceleration. Incidentally, there is a fantastic article by Skip LaCour in the October issue of Ironman magazine discussing the relationship between genetics and attitude, 338
Physically Incorrect and their contributions to success. Check it out! McGuire and Andro Dear Charles, I just watched an expose on TV that was critical of baseball player Mark McGwire for taking androstenedione and creatine monohydrate. Do you think it's fair to compare his accomplishments with great athletes like Roger Maris, who obviously couldn't take such aids? A: I always find it funny that in cases like this, people only want to know what anabolic substances these athletes are taking, and not what kind of training they're doing! In any event, the word "fair" really does not apply to the world of sport, does it? Is it fair that Michael Jordan has more type II (fast twitch) muscle fibers than 99% of all basketball players? Is it fair that Lennox Lewis has longer arms than Mike Tyson? Is it fair that vegetarians have to compete with carnivores? You may be thinking, "Charles...you've really lost it this time! What the heck does muscle fiber, arm length, and dietary preference have to do with Mark McGwire's supplement schedule?" What I'm saying is that there are numerous factors that contribute to performance — some are under our control, some are not. Androstenedione is a precursor to testosterone. Some studies have shown short term elevation of testosterone for up to three hours after taking androstenedione. Is it cheating to elevate testosterone? If so, you may want to consider banning sleeping, eating, and exercise: all are shown to elevate testosterone levels. As for creatine monohydrate, this substance contributes to the adenosine triphosphate pool, lengthening the time an athlete can exert maximum force before suffering fatigue. Is it cheating to lengthen the natural duration of a pathway of muscular energetics? If so, you may want to consider banning carbohydrate loading, and high altitude aerobic training, both shown and used to extend the duration an athlete can naturally endure. The lay-media has an amazing way of glorifying nutritional supplements when they're used for health purposes (remember the recent buzz over DHEA?) and demonizing them when athletes are using them for enhanced sports performance. Often, both stances are taken without credible evidence. I read an article recently in the L.A. Times entitled "Power Powder." In the 339
Physically Incorrect article it referred to creatine monohydrate as a "muscle building" supplement. Then on the next page, in enlarged text, a high school student (and presumably a creatine expert, right?!) is quoted saying "Creatine pulls water out of your muscles." Then the article rambles on suggesting that creatine use can lead to steroid abuse (I guess that’s tantamount to marijuana leading to more serious drug use). Maybe the L.A. Times could really nip this phenomenon in the bud by exposing the potentially toxic muscle builder, protein! In another creatine crackdown, a student interviewed on campus at his high school was asked if creatine use was "RAMPANT" in his high school. I wonder if STUDYING was rampant in that high school? Now, andro is in the news, being characterized as a "highly toxic" chemical. Before being sucked into media conjecture, see what the scientific world is saying. For information on current research I suggest the International Sports Sciences Association's web site, or the advanced Medline page on the internet. A final observation: If professional sports were designed around fairness, every competitor would receive a medal, like we see in the Special Olympics or PeeWee league baseball. We (the fans) don't want that. To paraphrase Wide World of Sports, there would be no thrill in victory without the agony of defeat. Enamored by competition, it is only natural for society to live vicariously through the awe-inspiring performances of our record setting athletes. There is a very simple place to draw the line between fair and unfair— the law. Anabolic steroids enhance performance. The fundamental difference between the ethics of taking anabolic steroids and anabolic aids approved by the FDA is that you can be prosecuted by the law, and punished by certain sanctioning bodies of sport for usage of anabolic steroids. References: ISSA web site: www.issaonline.com Dr. Arria's e-mail address:
[email protected] Ironman magazine website: www.ironmanmagazine.com Skip La Cour's web site: www.skiplacour.com Skip La Cour's e-mail:
[email protected] Medline site: http://www.healthgate.com/HealthGate/MEDLINE/searchadv.shtm
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Physically Incorrect Improper Exercise Order Q: Charles, I do a workout where I do nose crushers, then bench press, then power snatches, and finish with ball crunches. I fatigue quickly and haven’t been making progress. Should I up my calories, or is there a supplement you recommend for sustained energy? A: Although your diet and/or overtraining could be a factor, let’s examine the workout itself. Selecting exercises targeting certain muscles is great, but we cannot lay out the plot without rhyme or reason. As a rule of thumb, always order your exercises from greatest technical difficulty to least technical difficulty. Challenge the nervous system first, since less complicated exercises can still be performed as this system fatigues. After that, select exercises which involve large muscles masses prior to exercises which require lesser volumes of muscle to perform. Consider the exercise relationships logically— compound exercises usually will not affect so-called "isolation" movements; however, the latter will often have a debilitating effect on the former. The power snatch requires intense and coordinated use of more muscles than any other exercise in this workout. It does not target a specific muscle like a bicep curl does. Also, the power snatch places great demand on the body’s ability to transfer force from one muscle to another against an external resistance. For these reasons, the snatch is clearly the most technically complicated lift in your workout and certainly should be performed first. Nothing else in this workout has a particularly high skill element; therefore, we now have to consider which remaining lift will present the greatest intensity. The bench press is a logical choice for the second exercise for two reasons. First, it will require more high threshold muscle fibers than anything left to be performed, and second, nose crushers prior to benching would effect the triceps ability to contribute as a synergist to the pectorals in the bench press. Performing nose crushers after benching gives the triceps a bout of direct stress that they did not receive during the bench presses. Although the bench press requires significant use of the triceps in the assistance of the pectorals, their role as a synergist should not be so taxing that they will perform at all short of maximum ability. Finally, I would save the ball crunches for last. Although the addition of the ball would seem to elevate the skill element of the exercise, we don’t want to fatigue and effect the abdominals adversely in their crucial role as stabilizers for all the exercises performed up to this point. There is a realistic chance that rearranging this routine could solve your prob341
Physically Incorrect lem. I would actually be surprised if there were days you ever felt good snatching after nose crushers and bench presses! These changes are not subtle— you may have the best snatch and bench workouts you have ever had if this exercise order has always been your habit. Strength Training for Tennis Q: Charles: Most people say you can improve your tennis game with strength training; however, I see few top-notch pros with physiques that are above average. Is strength training harmful for tennis players? A: It’s true, few elite male tennis players possess the muscular physiques often seen in other anaerobic strength endurance sports such as baseball, basketball, football, etc... Even more perplexing, some top female tennis players, such as Venus Williams do possess superior levels of muscularity compared to their male counterparts. Is there an ideal level of hypertrophy for male or female tennis players? I don’t think so. I suspect that tennis, the quintessential gentleman’s sport, may have dodged the not so gentlemanly iron a little longer than other sports and is just now catching on. There’s no reason that strength training would improve physical capacity in other games but not in racquet sports. Michael Chang, who champions the case study supporting strength training with his well-developed lower body, developed a hard-hitting baseline game despite a lack of advantageous height. Tennis requires high levels of starting strength, agility, strength endurance, and flexibility. All of these qualities improve with a properly executed strength training program. Let’s look at them one by one: Starting Strength Starting strength, or the ability to recruit as many motor units (all the muscle fibers controlled by one motor nerve) as possible in an instant is required from the first swing of the racquet. It is technically considered a component of speed strength. It should be obvious that 80-140 MPH serves and furious sprints to the ball are not performed without quickly accessing high-threshold motor units. Of course, muscle fibers usually remain somewhat dormant until presented with tension that "recruits" them in order to overcome the resistance. This challenge can easily be provided in the form of a well-designed resistance training program. Once the motor units have been trained, it becomes much easier to access them for tasks that require acceleration against small resistances, i.e., the racquet.
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Physically Incorrect Explosive Strength Explosive strength is the ability to keep muscle fibers activated once they have been innervated— it is the second component of speed strength. Explosive strength is required for sprinting after a return, or generally, any rapid accelerative movements. This presents the most obvious need for strength training which can be developed in the weight room very easily and safely. Remember not to mistake strength training with bodybuilding. The development of force can be greatly increased without significant gains in mass. Athletes are recognizing the need for strength training in tennis at a very rapid rate. Agility Agility is the ability to integrate starting strength, explosive strength, and balance within a single movement or movement pattern. A common tactic employed in tennis is to physically and neurally exhaust an opponent by constantly firing cross-court shots, forcing repeated and rapid directional changes, debilitating the opponent’s energy stores and strength levels. Because it is a complex quality, agility is a trainable characteristic. A strength training program won’t make a player look like Flex Wheeler, but the improvement in agility will save him in the late sets. Strength Endurance This is the ability to perform sub-maximal efforts over a duration of time. Tennis matches often endure for four or more hours. Increased levels of maximal strength provide a strength reserve so that, for example, repetitive tasks which used to require say, 21% of a player’s maximal strength might now require 17% of maximal strength. This is what improves the player’s ability to remain effective for a longer period of time. Flexibility A great concern among tennis coaches and players is that resistance training will decrease an athlete’s range of motion (ROM). Although resistance training without stretching might limit an athlete’s ROM, performing regular stretching exercises will prevent a loss of flexibility. Although many athletes believe they are better or healthier athletes when they are more flexible, there is such a thing as too much flexibility. Limit your flexibility training to ROM development specific to performing your sport, with 343
Physically Incorrect a bit of room to spare for unforeseen events, such as slipping into a partial split position as you reach for a long ball. Two things scare me (and Austin Powers): nuclear weapons and carnies! Please don’t show me your contortionist act, save it for the circus. Eccentric Emphasis Q: Charles, "Lower it slow and under control" is a mantra among experienced trainers in the gym. So I was surprised at a seminar last weekend to hear Dr. Fred Hatfield say he would de-emphasize the eccentric portion of his squats in preparation for personal records. Is that really effective? A: Unlike many old axioms, this one has a certain logic. The conventional wisdom is that we possess more eccentric strength than concentric strength. In other words, we can lower more weight down than we can lift. Thus, we can sometimes get more "bang for the buck" during the eccentric phase by extending it’s duration during any given repetition. So why is Dr. Hatfield talking about lifting at speeds that are commonly considered ineffective? Here’s why: whether your primary training objective is mass or strength, you should spend time devoted to each respective quality, since each depends upon the other. During periods devoted to hypertrophy development, a certain duration, or time under tension, is necessary to force metabolic adaptations. This duration varies from person to person, but generally is between twenty seconds to a minute per set. When strength is the quality you wish to target with your training, heavy loads must be employed which are more taxing on the nervous system than the musculoskeletal system. With this type of training (heavy weights and low reps), the goal is to take advantage of the stretch-shortening cycle (the elastic component of the musculo-tendinous system) through a controlled, but rather fast decent, and then to accelerate through the sticking point of the lift on the concentric phase. Slow descents tend to dissipate the kinetic energy which becomes stored in the tendons during the eccentric phase. Incidentally, Fred Hatfield practices what he preaches. Watch a video of his 1014 pound squat. He lowers this almost unimaginable load with little visible caution ( current powerlifting star Shane Hammond, the youngest athlete ever to squat 1000 pounds, also employs the "dive bomb" technique). For a strength athlete there are two distinct benefits of learning to implement a faster eccentric — allowing a greater training load increases the amount of available motor units as mentioned above. Also, the athlete can develop a greater stretch-shortening cycle which I alluded to above. Though this outwardly sounds deleterious, we have to remember that the tendons also need to be exposed to tension in order for them to adapt to training in conjunction 344
Physically Incorrect with muscle. There is a time for slower lifts and a time for faster lifts. Bodybuilders and weightlifters alike should use both, deciding where to spend the majority of their time based on their sport. A bodybuilder may spend two weeks lifting heavier loads with a fast tempos for every four weeks of using lesser intensity with a slower tempo. A weightlifter might benefit more from two weeks of lower intensity with faster tempo for every four weeks of greater intensity with a faster tempo. Static Training Q: Mr. Staley, I usually spend the last four weeks of power meet preparation pyramiding up to my 1RM's in every workout. Do you think I should use some static sets as a change of pace? If you are always breaking PR’s in competition I would stay the course and only break out the pyramids for those last four weeks. Since you are looking for a change of pace, I’ll assume that you feel there may be a more effective technique out there for you. I happen to have a neat three weak peaking phase which I often use with Olympic lifters. Here’s I’ll modify that peaking phase for your needs as a powerlifter. In this cycle, you lift three days a week, and each competitive lift is trained twice each week. The workouts are arranged like this: Monday
Wednesday
Friday
Bench Press
Squat
Bench press
Deadlift
Squat
Deadlift How exactly should you progress? In preparation for lifting competition my athletes focus primarily on singles, performing many attempts that resemble competition lifts. Consistent use of belts, wraps, lifting shirts, and any other supportive gear is strongly encouraged in this final phase. After this phase, allow a full week as a super-compensation/ taper phase before you compete‹ don’t lift at all during this last week. Here’s a sensible progression of intensity for this peaking phase: Workout Sets & Reps Intensity (%1RM)
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Physically Incorrect Workout one: 7x1 80% Workout two: 6x1 82.5% Workout three: 5x1 85% Workout four: 4x1 87.5% Workout five: 3x1 90% Workout six: 2x1 92.5% When you first try this peaking cycle, don’t compensate for the lighter than usual load by accelerating faster or slower than you would perform with maximal loads, just try to simulate the speed you anticipate using at 100%. If the percentage doesn’t come out to a round number, simply round up or down (depending on how you feel that day) to the closest loadable weight. Lastly, I am a big fan of using brief rests between sets— usually between 1.5 and 2 minutes, which we time on a stopwatch. These shorter rests have been shown to improve relative strength, and they also create a sense of urgency— you really don’t have time to let your mind wander between lifts. Give this a try and e-mail me with your results! Intermittent Sets for Bench & Squats Dear Charlie, A few months ago you recommended "intermittent sets" of pull-ups for a great lat workout. Can you use them for exercises such as bench presses, squats, seated presses, etc? A: "Intermittent sets," which are also sometimes called "stutter sets," can produce an intense training effect that can quickly elevate relative strength (your "pound for pound" strength). Just as a quick review, intermittent sets are timed sets with brief (very brief) periods of relaxation within the confines of the set. My example of an intermittent set for pull-ups was to start the stop-watch, perform as many reps as possible in succession, then to drop down from the pull-up bar and rest for twenty seconds or so, then to resume with one or two more reps and so on until one minute was up. In other words, just do as many reps as possible in one minute, regardless of how many times you need to "stop and go."
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Physically Incorrect Intermittent sets are safest and most effective for exercises that don't take much time to prepare or "set up" for. One of the reasons intermittent sets work so well for pull-ups is that it's so easy to dismount and remount the bar during the set. However, if you were performing heavy dumbbell bench presses, half the battle is getting into position — you'd eat up all of your rest periods getting set up. Intermittent sets can also be implemented easily in most dumbbell-based bicep and tricep exercises. For example, pick a set of dumbbells that you can curl for six to eight reps. Get as many clean reps as possible, and then rest for 10-15 seconds and nail a few more, repeating this pattern until your minute is up. Three sets and a day later, you won't be able to raise a fork to your mouth to feed yourself. As a rule of thumb, if you're performing an exercise that requires a spotter, it probably is not wise to implement an intermittent set. For example, on back squats, I think the exhaustion that mounts during this type of training makes the walk back to the rack hazardous at best. On the other hand, squats performed in a Smith machine (note to Paul Chek: I am not recommending that anyone do this!) would be a candidate for intermittent sets. Powerlifting or Weightlifting? Mr Staley, I've competed in powerlifting and Olympic style weightlifting. Both sports appeal to me; however, I'm more of a stand-out in the Olympic lifting. Do you think I should bag the powerlifting competitively if I plan on getting seri ous about the Olympic lifting? Bag it? No way! If you're getting more serious, place greater emphasis on the discipline you plan on pursuing and plan phases to emphasize strength for the secondary sport around that. A basic philosophy of mine is that you should always be training all elements of your program, but just in varying proportions. I happen to think that powerlifting and Olympic lifting can enjoy a symbiotic relationship within the confines of a training program. With that, I'm sure I've pissed off athletes, coaches and waterboys clear across the strength world, but I think they'll get over it. Case in point: Mark Henry is a powerlifter. As a matter of fact, Mark Henry is a world record holding powerlifter. Mark joined a small club of big men who have deadlifted over 900 pounds a couple of years ago and then went on to represent the US men's Olympic weightlifting team at the Atlanta Olympics. 347
Physically Incorrect It can be done. If you're focusing on Olympic lifting, emphasize powerlifting about three to four months prior to an event during your maximal strength phase. To evaluate strength development in that phase, see if you can find a power meet and lift for fun. Competition may actually help get the projected numbers in your "assistance lifts." "Bigger Faster Stronger" Program Dear Mr. Staley: My son's high school baseball team just started their off season strength training. The coach says they will be using the "Bigger Faster Stronger" train ing program. My son is enjoying this immensely, but I just wanted to get your opinion on the BFS program. A: In a nutshell, 'Bigger Faster Stronger' (BUS) is a sports conditioning program devised to develop explosive strength and agility through the use of basic periodization and short and long term goal setting. The BFS program has six 'core' exercises: Bench Press, Squat, Power Clean, Towel Bench Press, Box Squat, and Deadlifts. A few optional "assistance" exercises are permitted but not deemed critical (i.e., Curls, Skull Crushers, Calf Raises, etc). Each of these exercises are performed once a week. During the first week, athletes perform five sets of five repetitions on each exercise. On week two, athletes perform three sets of three. Finally, on week three, athletes hit the whole spectrum, performing one set of five, one set of four, one set of three, one set of two, and a one rep maximum. On the forth week, athletes are encouraged to take an active rest, lifting only recreationally. BFS measures work output in any particular cycle by adding up the sum total of all pounds lifted in all repetitions performed in an exercise. For example, if you bench press 155 pounds for 5x5, your effort on that set would be represented by 775 pounds. In order to beat this, and athlete could perform 155 pounds for 4x5 and raise the bar to 160 pounds for one set for a work output of 780 pounds. Athletes are encouraged to break these records by as much as possible every time they train. The major problem I see in the BFS program is the "break the record" (any Super Dave fans out there?) mentality. Because the program encourages athletes to break their work output record each time they train, the byproduct is sometimes a sacrifice of correct exercise technique. I offer a simple solution to this problem — if a work output record cannot be recorded with proper technique, it's time to exchange the exercise for another exercise targeting 348
Physically Incorrect the same muscle and continue in the same set/rep scheme. Problems notwithstanding, this program far transcends the typical, static, marathon lifting session prescribed by most coaches. I just wish they employed a wider exercise menu and had a stronger emphasis on technique. Books and Careers in Sports Science Charles, I love reading Mesomorphosis— I literally can't get enough of it. I really want to pursue a career in the sport sciences. So I have two questions: 1) I've been following your career for the past several years, and I want to know which books have had the strongest impact on your thinking. 2) Could you give me some advice on how to get my career goals initiated? Thank you! OK, here are ten books that come immediately to mind. They aren't all specifically related to strength training, but they all have been very important to my personal evolution, for whatever that's worth (all of these books should be readily available at www.amazon.com): 1. Science and Practice of Strength Training by V. Zatsiorsky 2. Supertraining by M. Siff & Verkshansky 3. Science of Sports Training by T. Kurz 4. Theory & Methodology of Training by T. Bompa 5. The Charlie Francis Speed Training System by C. Francis 6. Tao of Jeet Kune Do by B. Lee 7. Encyclopedia of Weight Training by P. Ward 8. Weightlifter's Encyclopedia by A. Dreshler 9. The Warrior Athlete by D. Millman 10. Think on These Things by J. Krishnamurti. As for your career goals, there are a myriad of educational backgrounds within the exercise field. I know very successful exercise physiologists, physical educators, biologists, physicians, chiropractors, neuromuscular therapists, physical therapists and a plethora of other titles who convene on the field of 'sport science.' One fairly fast way to get the ball rolling is to become certified as a professional trainer. I genuinely think that the information in ISSA's fitness training curriculum will help refine your decisions about specializing in the fitness field. As a trainer, you will certainly benefit from the sheer volume of training 349
Physically Incorrect hours you'll accrue over time. ISSA members also enjoy free access to me (there's a bargain for ya!) on the ISSA tech support hotline. For more info on ISSA programs call toll free: (800) 892-4772. As for academics, if I were going to do it all over again, I'd emphasize chemistry big time. When I was in school, I didn't see the relevance of this, but from my current vantage point, I know now it's invaluable to understanding everything from training to nutrition. Workout Frequency Hi, I have been reading some of your articles and it appears that you favor a frequency of once per week for a muscle group without a large amount of vol ume. If this is correct, I am curious as to why you recommend such large periods of overcompensation and if not, what do you feel is the desirable amount of time between muscle groups. A: Excellent question. First, I would recommend greater frequency for novices and/or people who aren't or who don't know how to push themselves. Second, the programs you're speaking of normally place back and triceps together on one session, chest and triceps together on another, and legs (and possibly abs) on a third session. Another variant I commonly use will group chest and last together on one session, bi's and tri's together on another session, and quads and hams on a third In these types of scenarios, the larger muscle groups (e.g., quads, hams, pecs, and lats) are receiving stress once per week, which is appropriate for hard-working athletes. The smaller muscle groups (e.g., biceps, triceps) are trained twice a week— one time directly, and the other time indirectly, through pec or lat work. I know that for myself, after a hard pec, hamstring, or back session, I'm normally sore for 4-5 days. I don't consider it "backsliding" to have 2-3 days of no soreness before training the muscle again. I think one day of no soreness would be the bare minimum, in fact. I do sometimes prescribe higher frequencies for advanced athletes in "neural" phases of training. In fact, Olympic lifter Joel Senate is just coming off of a phase of back squatting 3 times a week. Two to three weeks of this followed by adequate rest leads to a really nice supercompensation, if you time it right. I should mention abdominal and calf work while I'm at it. In my programs, abdominal frequency depends on posture, how much the abs are stressed 350
Physically Incorrect during the athlete's sport practices, his or her abdominal strength levels, and what part of the year we're in. Often, an abdominal exercise is placed in every training session. At other times, weeks may pass with no direct abdominal training at all. Calves (more specifically gastrocs) tend to get really hammered during the athlete's main sport practices, but for bodybuilders, I normally suggest one session per week, as long as you absolutely murder those little guys (6-8 hard sets per session). Zig Zag Method of Weight Gain Charles, I really committed to putting on some weight this year. I increased my caloric intake significantly and gained five pounds in one month. I thought I found the key but I disappointingly stopped gaining weight and can't even think of eating any more than I do right now. Do you think I've simply achieved my genetic potential? From what you're telling me, and just as a matter of basic principle, I seriously doubt that you've reached your genetic potential! Few people even come close to training hard enough and/or smart enough to get anywhere close to their potential. When it comes to nutrition there are many approaches— low carb, high carb, low fat, glycemic this and metabolic that. Amid all the confusion one fact holds true and is universally agreed upon— if you consume more calories then you expend, you will gain weight; if you consume less calories then you expend, you will lose weight. The problem with this formula is that the body responds to eating like training— it habituates to unchanging stimuli over time. As your caloric intake increases, your metabolism elevates to process the greater amount of energy you are delivering to it. In your case, you seem to have adapted to the additional calories. You may be able to keep your total calories high and lower your metabolism for increased mass with the 'Zig Zag' method of weight gain as developed by Dr. Fred Hatfield. Here's how it works: 1) Figure out how many calories you consume in a day (presuming your bodyweight is constant). If you don't know how many calories you consume, log everything you eat in a food diary for seven days. Total all the calories you consume over the diary and divide the sum by the number of days you monitored it and you will have an average caloric intake. If you cannot estimate your caloric intake from reading labels go to a local book store and pick 351
Physically Incorrect from a thousand titles that will help you estimate calories of specific foods. 2) For four to five consecutive days "overeat" by consuming two calories per pound of bodyweight more than you normally eat (based on your diary). 3) For the remaining days of the week "undereat." Consume two calories per pound of bodyweight less than you normally eat (based on your diary). Keep the macronutrient ratios the same when you elevate the calories. If you're on a 40-30-30 nutrition plan, or whatever you prefer, increase and decrease the calories accordingly. Eat every two hours if possible. A lot of athletes I work with seem to like to alternate meal/ shake/meal/shake etc. This way, the low fiber content of the shakes is offset by the higher fiber contained in the "real" meal. Without this kind of meal/shake alternations, your toilet paper expense will begin to skyrocket, if you get my drift! Pregnancy and Exercising Charles, I'm pregnant with my first child. It seams like people are less and less con cerned about pregnant women exercising these days. Can I just continue with my usual training routine? Research suggests that staying as fit as possible leads to a safer pregnancy and a faster recovery. Although you should always prioritize the advice of your ObGyn, I have listed some precautions suggested by the ACOG (American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology) for exercise during pregnancy: • Regular exercise is preferable to intermittent activity. • Exercise should not be performed in hot humid weather. • Ballistic Movements should be avoided. • Deep flexion or extension of joints should be avoided due to connective tissue laxity. • Heart rate should be measured at times of peak activity. Use target heart rate range. • Take liquids before during and after exercise to avoid dehydration. • No exercise should be performed in the supine position after month four.
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Physically Incorrect • Don't hold your breath during exercise. Best of luck and congrats on taking a responsible approach toward your pregnancy. You'll both reap many rewards, I'm sure. Box Squatting & BFS System Mr. Staley, I am a competitive bodybuilder and personal trainer with a degree in exer cise physiology. I have learned a great deal from your website and articles. Recently a friend of mine who is a high school football coach started using a program called "Bigger, Faster, Stronger." In it they teach a box squat in which the athlete with a loaded bar on his back squats down to a seated posi tion on a box, then stands back up. I went to see the kids doing this and it was terrible. Kids hunching over with 135 pounds on their back while sitting on a box and then trying to stand up! What good is that? These kids are cer tainly going to get hurt. My buddy swears by BFS because the Nebraska foot ball team uses it. I can't sway him from these box squats. What do you think of BFS workouts and exercises? (especially the box squat) Maybe he will lis ten to you. Any help would be greatly appreciated. BFS is a well-organized, efficient system (check last month's archive for my summary and opinions on BFS), but box squats are problematic in my opinion, at least the way BFS does them (in powerlifting, a box squat normally refers to putting a bench parallel to the rack, and squatting down until the bench makes light contact with your hams). Certainly, sitting down all the way with a big weight on your back can be dangerous. Add to that the "lift more at all costs" philosophy as I mentioned in last month’s column, and you've got the makings of a disaster. Plain and simple. By the way, I did BFS-style box squats for a few years, with no problems, but who knows if I might have predisposed myself to an injury later on? In principle, I think BFS box squats are a problem. You've got to remember that lifting injuries are rarely acute, but rather, slow, long term damage that won't show up until years later. So you can't make the argument that "Well, I've never seen anyone get hurt doing box squats." Testosterone Boosters Dear Charles, If you had time to answer that question about Marilyn Manson, I would think 353
Physically Incorrect you could find time to answer my question, it’s a bit more serious then that one. I’m an energetic college student trying to gather up all the info I can about these testosterone boosters. Although anabolic steroids are tempting, they would prevent me from passing drug tests to enter the police academy, so I need to keep it natural. My eating patterns are quite irregular, so I’m looking for a good mass building product to make up for my irregular eating habits. Do you have any specific suggestions or brand names you recommend? Before I address your question I’d like to apologize to anyone who has not seen their question published and answered here. I receive more questions than I have room for, so I’m forced to answer the questions I believe will help or be of interest to the most people. Of all of the aspects of your training program, nutrition might seem paradoxical because the benefits of a well-conceived nutritional strategy, although irrefutable, are realized gradually -over months and years, rather than days and weeks. Maturity denotes the ability to forgo immediate pleasure in order to realize long term benefits. When you to talk to serious athletes in any sport, there seems to be a direct correlation between their age and the degree to which they understand the importance of optimal nutrition— the older they are, the more they stress it’s importance. So, I wish somehow that I could convince you that supplements cannot compensate for bad nutrition. In any event, here are the supplements I currently recommend to athletes: Vitamin & mineral supplements For most athletes, a good vitamin and mineral supplement is a good place to start when developing a supplementation plan. Many products are available, and theories abound as to the optimal proportions of various nutrients that should be present in a multivitamin. My recommendation is to seek out a reputable performance nutrition specialist for advice on the best formulation to take. Meal replacement shakes (MRP’s) One of the more difficult aspects of eating well is the preparation involved. On this front, MRP’s can really make a significant difference in the overall quality of your nutritional plan. MRP’s normally consist of all three macronutrients in various ratios, along with vitamins, minerals, and quite often, an array of the latest anabolic substances, such as creatine, BCAA’s, HMB, and so forth. Most MRP’s are designed to be mixed with water, milk, or fruit juice, and many mix well with a spoon, freeing you from the need for a blender. If you don’t like the macronutrient ratio of a particular MRP, you can adjust it 354
Physically Incorrect by adding fruit, flax oil, whey protein, or milk of varying fat levels. Although I use and recommend MRP’s, be cautious of products that are overlyprocessed with dozens of artificial ingredients and unproven ergogenic substances which are often included as an excuse to increase the price of the MRP. Protein shakes Protein shakes come in many formulations, but the most effective products are based on whey protein. I use protein shakes as MRP’s by adding milk, fruit, and/or flax oil as a way to create the optimal macronutrient ratio for myself. In this way, it’s easier to avoid all the processing and artificial ingredients which are so common in MRP’s. Incidentally, don’t try to live off of protein shakes or MRP’s -you need "real" food as well! I recommend alternating between MRP’s and whole food meals throughout the day, planning it in such a way that a MRP will occur post-training, if a session takes place that day. Branch-chain amino acids (BCAA’s) BCAA’s are considered to be "conditionally essential" when the body is under stress. During strenuous bouts of training, these three amino acids are catabolized at more rapid rates than the other amino acids, creating a "limiting amino acid condition." This means that your body will be unable to utilize the remaining amino acids present in your bloodstream, regardless of how much total protein you’ve eaten. BCAA’s can work wonders for your recovery rates when taken with juice immediately after every training session. L-Glutamine Once categorized as a "non-essential amino acid," (non-essential means that the body can synthesize it on it’s own if you don’t ingest enough of it) L-glutamine has recently attained "conditionally essential amino acid" status, meaning that in certain cases where the body is under stress, the need for LGlutamine outpaces the rate at which it can be made by the body. These conditions of stress include trauma, surgery, infections, fasting, and intense or prolonged exercise. Studies on L-Glutamine point to it’s ability to boost immunity, promote protein synthesis, increase GH (growth hormone) release, and improve carbo355
Physically Incorrect hydrate metabolism. All of these benefits are highly useful for athletes, to put it mildly. Although you can obtain L-Glutamine through your diet. according to exercise scientist Dr. Jim Wright, it’s unlikely that hard training athletes can get enough through diet alone. Wright recommends taking L-Glutamine in 5 gram doses (a slightly rounded teaspoon) 2-4 times a day. Suggested times include upon waking, before and after training, and just before going to bed. Take L-Glutamine either mixed in water, or by placing it under your tongue for a few minutes, and then following up with water. Flaxseed oil As a source of essential fatty acids, flaxseed oil helps to lower cholesterol levels, nourish nervous and brain tissue, reduce inflammation, and regulate the cardiovascular, immune, and digestive systems. Flaxseed oil does not contribute to bodyfat deposition like other fats because it must be converted metabolically in order to become saturated fat. Because the fatty acids in flaxseed oil are essential nutrients, they are the starting point, or the mortar and bricks if you will, for manufacturing all other fatty acids and hormone precursors necessary to support and build strong lean muscle, while prolonging stamina required for endurance sports. Flaxseed oil may be taken by itself, or put in shakes or on salads. Creatine monohydrate Of all the thousands of ergogenic (work enhancing) nutritional substances that have emerged over the past 20 years or so, one has stood out in start relief: creatine monohydrate. A natural substance found in all meats, creatine significantly increases short term endurance capacity, and is thought to aid in the process of protein synthesis. It is perhaps the most thoroughly investigated nutritional supplement, and the bulk of the scientific evidence strongly suggests that creatine is safe and effective. Although many dosing schedules are possible, the most common recommendation is to "load" for five consecutive days by consuming 1 gram of creatine for every 10 pounds of bodyweight per day (divided into 5 gram doses spread throughout the day), followed by a "maintenance" schedule of 1 gram per 2.5 pounds of bodyweight per day, taken in a single does (immediately after your workout on training days). Creatine is more easily assimilated by the body if ingested with a small quantity of a high GI carb, such as grape juice. As a matter of principle, all nutritional supplements should be "cycled," and creatine is no exception— after 10-12 weeks of continuous use, take a week or two off before starting another cycle. [Editor's note: See the December Research Update for more on creatine cycling.]
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Physically Incorrect Pro-hormones Although these substances are banned in many (if not most) sports governing bodies, they are otherwise legal, and because of the recent awareness (in part fueled by the discovery that baseball home run record holder Mark McGwire had used androstenedione) of pro hormones, and because these substances may indeed have anabolic and ergogenic properties, a brief discussion is warranted. Prohormones are chemical substances which, when ingested, provide the raw building blocks which enable the body to increase it’s endogenous (internal) levels of testosterone, the primary anabolic hormone. To date, most studies have focused on androstenediol (which was the first of the prohormones to emerge on the open market), and the conclusions of these studies vary widely. Nevertheless, many studies did show an increase in testosterone levels after androstenedione ingestion. Subsequent to these findings, several new prohormones have emerged, including 5-androstenediol, 19-nor-5androstenediol, 19-norestosterone, and 4-androstenediol. These substances all have potential anabolic effect, but appear to vary with respect to possible negative side effects, such as gynocomastia (breast development in men), according to Patrick Arnold, the man generally credited with bringing androstenediol to the US market. I think that the benefit-to risk-profile of all the various prohormones is still an open question. If your particular sports governing body does not ban these substances and you wish to try them, I’d strongly suggest doing so under medical supervision, to stay on the safe side. Hydration Another nutrient, almost always overlooked is plain 'ol water. Water is especially important for bodybuilders— the vast majority of whom are dehydrated at any given time. In such cases, increased water intake might lead to better performance improvements than any other supplement! One study showed that a loss of 1 liter of body fluids through perspiration resulted in a pulse increase of 8 beats per minute. This indicates a significant (and unnecessary) strain to the body. Although no exact hydration recommendations have been established, the old adage of "8 glasses of water a day" is only marginally acceptable for most people. Athletes with very demanding training schedules will need to increase their water intake accordingly. A simple "rule of thumb" guideline suggested by Donald Baker of The Balance Bar Company is to take your bodyweight in pounds, convert that number to ounces, and that’s the amount of water you should drink each day. 357
Physically Incorrect Developing Training Programs Charles, Can you write me a program? (I receive several permutations and offshoots of this question every month) Although I can’t create programs for everyone who requests my services for free (check out any musclemag to see what top bodybuilders claim to do in the gym), I can share 5 steps I have developed when determining each of the variables that will be incorporated into one of my athletes workouts. The 5 steps are as follows: 1) The phase of training determines intensity: Each phase a periodization scheme requires that exercises be done within a predetermined intensity range. Determine what phase you're in (i.e. maximal strength, mass building, fat loss, etc.), and you automatically should know what intensity range you should be using. 2) Intensity determines number of repetitions: Once the intensity range has been determined, the number of repetitions takes care of itself. Perform as many reps as possible (in good form) within the required intensity range. Note: Most people need not train "to failure," meaning to total collapse. "Failure" should be taken to imply erosion of proper technique due to fatigue. 3) The number of repetitions determines the number of sets. The number of sets performed is usually inverse with the number of repetitions. For example, when performing 25 reps per set, the number of sets will be between 1 and 3. Conversely, an athlete in the maximal strength phase performing 2 repetitions per set, will need between 6 and 12 sets to obtain the necessary training volume. 4) The number of sets determines the number of exercises. In the examples just mentioned, if the phase calls for 2x15, a relatively large (5-8) number of exercises can be performed. But if the program calls for 12x2, obviously, only 2 to 3 exercises can be performed within a reasonable duration. 5) The number of exercises determines the choice of exercises. For example: in a scheme in which the intensity is low and the volume is high, several "isolation" exercises are appropriate; however, in a scenario where volume is low and intensity is high, efficiency is critical. Therefore, multi-joint, or "compound" exercises, chosen for specificity to objective, must be selected. Note 358
Physically Incorrect that in this scenario, the choice of exercises (usually the first variable considered) is the last decision to be made. Firefighter Challenge Hi Charles I'm planning on doing the firefighter challenge in the spring, which consists of 8 events, mostly sprints with hoses, dragging a dummy for a short dis tance, etc. I've had cartilage removed from one knee, which doesn't bother me except after 2-3 mile runs. Weight training seems to be no problem. I wondered if you could suggest endurance training ideas which would take my knee into account. Any help would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks! I suggest that you develop your so-called "aerobic base" using non-specific means which are more forgiving on your knees, such as the EMX elliptical climber, which simulates a running stride fairly closely. After 6-8 weeks of aerobic work, gradually switch over to anaerobic means, using sprints, resisted sprints, and so forth, using intervals ranging from 20 seconds to 2 minutes. These drills should be tolerable on your knees, since you’re saying they do well in weight training situations. I’m guessing that it’s the duration, not the intensity, that irritates your joints. Good Lifts for a 16 Year Old? Charles, I’m 5’7’’ and max on my bench at 250, squat 190, and behind the neck press 150. Is that good for me at the age of 16? I want to get bigger and get up to 900 lbs in those lifts. Should I take a weight gainer to accomplish this? After reading your question, I’m wondering, do you walk on your hands? Look, your lower body is your strength foundation. Therefore I would rather see your squat appear with the most digits next to it. Yes, I would say that your stats look pretty good for a 16 yrs old. My greatest concern here is the behind the neck press. This lift creates excessive axial compression which, combined with forward flexion of the head, forces the nucleus of the C 6-7 cervical disk to migrate posteriorly. In lingo your generation may relate better to, you’ll harsh your neck! Take it from me— do presses from in front instead.
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Physically Incorrect What Burns More Calories: Bike or Treadmill? Charles, Someone told me that you burn more calories on a recumbent bike than on a treadmill. Is this true? There are simply too many variables involved to make a linear comparison, in my opinion. If you work harder on the bike, it’s burn more calories, and vice versa. Regardless of this argument, it’s never been my position that aerobics were ultimately the best way to "burn calories." Performing meaningless repetitions for long periods of time pales in comparison to the caloric expenditure you’ll experience by possessing larger muscles. Strength training is the most efficient way to increase your metabolism, because it increases the size of your fat burning machine (God, I think I just slipped into an info-mercial pitch!). Deadlift Training Dear Mr. Staley, I’m really enjoying this column and plan to buy your book. I find that your ideas and material to be insightful and well thought out. I am a master's candidate waiting to get get into a doctoral program in the molecular biology lab that I am doing research in. I am a big fan of the strength sports, Olympic lifting and combative sports. I do have a question on effective deadlifting. Charles Poliquin suggests that it be done on leg train ing day. I so, what suggestions would you have on this, and also, on grip training, since this has direct correlation to my martial arts training. Thanks! At the moment, I don't have the context that he made that recommendation for, but in any event, I think the frequency would be the same as for squatting— every 3 to 9 days— 3 days for beginners, 9 for extremely advanced. Between 5&7 days would be the norm. Basically, I view a deadlift as a squat with the bar in your hands rather than on your back — deads will have relatively more stress to hip extensors, of course. For grip training, martial artists, particularly grapplers, have to be quite careful, since the wrists, hands, and fingers get really hammered in martial arts training. If you’re just strength training, all variations of hammer curls do the trick nicely. I also like doing chine, pull-ups, etc, from hard to grip surfaces, such as from the square tubing of the top of a crossover machine (people look 360
Physically Incorrect at me like I'm an idiot, because the crossover at my gym actually has a pullup bar, and I use the top supporting beam of the machine instead!). But anyway, for athletes, if their grip is strong enough for what they do, I don't train grip in the gym -if your sport adequately trains certain muscles, hey, that's like a head start for me and we can concentrate on other things. How to Reverse Ageing Through Training Charles, My mother just turned 70 years old. She has been sedentary all of her life and seems to be paying for it now, exerting great effort just to get out of her recliner. Is it just too late to start figuring out how to strengthen her body at her age? Any suggestions to reverse this trend would be greatly appreciated and could potentially improve the quality of my mothers life. Look at the bright side. From what you’re telling me, your mother does not seem to have any debilitating musculoskeletal or neural disease and can still climb out of that recliner. She needs to start squatting! When we think of squatting, we usually think of an Olympic bar with dozens of 45 pound plates loaded on it, hoisted by belted, mummified giants who can barely be seen through the cloud of chalk they are training in. That’s not what we are talking about here. I have outlined a progressive plan to strengthen and stabilize your mother’s knees while increasing her range of motion slowly so that she can meet and maintain the daily challenges of her lifestyle. According to Dr. Paavo Komi, lean body mass decreases on average about 30% between the age of 30 to 70, and strength erodes at a parallel rate. Much of that loss of mass and strength is in the lower body. According to Dr. Sal Arria, the debilitating effects attributed to aging can arise from disuse more often than actual disease. The muscles trained in a squat are the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteals— all essential in normal daily activities such as walking, stair climbing, and getting into and out of a seated position. Whether you compete in triathlons, play golf on the weekends, or just getting off of the couch to answer the doorbell, you’re going to need your legs. Before explaining how to perform a squat or an exercise derived from a squat, let’s dispel some myths and misconceptions. First of all, the notion that "Squats are bad for your knees and back." Repetitive tension on a muscle, joint, or connective tissue will accumulate trauma which will culminate in an injury if periods of recuperation are not implemented into the plan; therefore, squatting is not bad for your knees and back, improper frequency is. A second fallacy that has permeated throughout every health club in the country is "Squats are for athletes." Although athletes do indeed squat, the variations they use usually resemble a position they are likely to find themselves in during the duration of a game or event that they participate in. Much like 361
Physically Incorrect an athlete, your goal should be to squat in a fashion that will enhance your abilities to meet the requirements of your day to day life and meet them with ease. Teaching the squat is not terribly complicated— it’s one of the most natural things we do (or should be, in any event). Besides a few postural points and safety tips, it’s a matter of sitting and standing. The real key is finding a progression that will allow us to improve strength and range of motion in stages. Regardless of which progression you have achieved, there are a few universal rules when performing a squat: maintain a straight back and natural lordotic curve (curvature of lumbar spine), keep the head in a neutral position, focusing your eyes on an object at head level in front of you. Avoid allowing the knees to move ahead of the feet. Point your toes slightly outward and make sure your knees remain aligned directly over the feet (i.e., don’t let them drift inward toward each other) throughout the exercise. Based on the abilities you informed me of, this would be the progression your mom should follow (I’ll describe this as if I was talking to the exerciser) : Eccentric Squat on Chair: Stand in front of a sturdy chair. Slowly lower yourself down to the chair (3 or 4 second duration) until you contact the chair. Ease into the chair as if you were lowering yourself onto a carton of eggs. Have a partner or trainer assist you out of the chair, returning to a standing position through the same plane of movement as the descent. Perform this movement as long as you can maintain proper form as described earlier. At the first sign of form deterioration, stop and rest. When you can achieve five repetitions for a couple of sets, try eliminating the assistance from your partner. Squat on Chair: Apply the same principles to this variation; however, with as little momentum as possible, rise from the chair without assistance. Once you feel you have mastered this and can complete four or five sets of five repetitions, see if you can dispense with the chair altogether. Squat: Athletes call this the "King of Exercises." Unfortunately, they tend to complicate it so much that you would believe that you have no place trying it! Of course, there are little intricacies and tricks that competitive powerlifters implement when muscling up hundreds of pounds, however, you will never need to use any of these techniques. Even after progressing from eccentric squats on the chair, to squats on a chair, you may surprised how awkward this most common variation feels at first. Lower yourself to a point that your range of motions comfortably allows, never rounding your back, then without ever relaxing return to an upright, standing position. From this point, as you see a need for greater resistance, you can rest a barbell behind your neck, adding weight to the bar as necessary. 362
Physically Incorrect The deterioration of the lower body is vicious circle. Loss of strength leads to inactivity, which leads to further losses of strength, and so on. Squatting may be more than a means to maintain a strong lower body, it may be a significant key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Weight Training or Aerobics for Fat Loss? Charles, over the past 6 months I lost 20 pounds (mostly fat) doing a weight training program that my boyfriend designed for me. I usually do between 5 and 10 reps per set, and between 3-4 sets per exercise every workout. Last week, I met a girl at the gym with the body I want (read "that I would KILL for) and she told me I was going to get bulky (which I think is already hap pening) if I don’t start paying more attention to aerobics and higher rep exer cises. Do you think she’s right, or can I just continue with what I’m already doing? Please— listen to what you’re saying! YOU LOST 20 POUNDS OF FAT DOING NO AEROBICS! I DON’T SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS HERE! Look, The girl who’s body you covet might be right if you had the same genetic make-up as her, but you don’t. Athletes make the same assumption— that doing the training program of their athletic hero will give them the same results. You cannot refute the preliminary results of your training program...it’s working! Understand that different body types exist and your adaptation to training cannot be exactly the same as someone else’s. Set goals for yourself that are lofty; however, attainable with your God-given attributes. So, keep up the great work— you’re already making better progress than most! Fiber Conversion Charles, My question concerns type IIB fiber conversion. I read on your web site and other places that trained IIB fibers disappear only to reappear after a layoff. I was wondering how to use this knowledge to plan relative strength training phases. In other words, what is an ideal way to train the IIB's? Research shows that our fastest twitch muscle fibers (which scientists categorize as "Type IIb") cannot be found when studied after periods of strenuous exercise. We don’t really know what happens to them, however, we do know that they reappear after a brief (1-2 week) layoff from training. This raises a question that is certainly controversial in the sport science community: Do we let them significantly recover over a seven to fourteen day period or do we let them stay in hiding and just maximize the efficiency of the muscle fibers that have weathered the storm?
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Physically Incorrect Incidentally, I dislike the use of the traditional classification system which classifies all motor units into three categories. When performing a muscle biopsy, we see a very wide and varied spectrum of fibers of differing twitch rates, mitochondrial densities, diameters, and so on. What I’m saying is that you cannot distinguish between different types of motor units as easily as you would your left and right arm. High tension efforts are the only way to access and train your high threshold motor units. Much like the axiom "you cannot wait until everything is just right in your life," you cannot wait until you are sure that every muscle fiber in your body has recovered before you perform your next workout. As a rule of thumb, try training the fast twitch- dominant muscle groups (i.e. pecs, lats, gastrocs and hamstrings) once a week. This should allow sufficient recovery. For some of the slower-twitch muscle groups (i.e. biceps, triceps, deltoids, and soleus) train twice a week because slow twitch muscles tend to have a higher tolerance to exercise. Make sure you track your progress, incidentally. If you are not progressing from one workout to the next in some measurable way then you have either adapted to your training stimulus or are not sufficiently recovered. OKG Charles, Do you recommend O.K.G. ? No. Intentional Overtraining to Prevent Muscle Development in Females Charles, I have a quick question for you. I am the fitness director at a local gym in my town. One of the trainers on my staff was putting together a pro gram for one of her female clients. Her approach was to intentionally over train her or in her words, "To break down some of the muscle" that this women had developed through rowing in college. Apparently this client was n't happy with her "rowing" build anymore. She wanted a more sleek and slender look. Is there any merit to training somebody like this? My gut feel ing is to say no. The trainer was basically going to train this client's more developed muscles everyday. Wouldn't this approach just put her into a cata bolic state? Your insight into this matter would be greatly appreciated. Oh yes, I love the idea of deliberately breaking down muscle! After all, it’s only good for elevating your metabolic rate and improving your functional capacity. So by all means, let’s get rid of it. Incidentally, I have a great nutritional plan that you can integrate with your training plan, which I first learned from a TV special called "Into Thin Air: The Tracy Gold Story." Basically, there 364
Physically Incorrect are two possible approaches: either eat whatever you want, and then perform reverse peristalsis soon thereafter (don’t give up after the first few times— you’ll learn to tolerate it eventually!), or, just learn to live without those pesky calories in the first place. The downside is that all your friends and relatives will become concerned with your "extreme" dietary habits, but few people can really understand what it takes to be a serious athlete, as I always say. Sarcasm aside, I must make it clear that it is unconscionable for a health care professional (which includes professional trainers) to contribute to deconditioning a client, even if that client instructs the trainer to do so. If such a case was presented to the International Sports Science Association, the trainer in question would be reviewed by a board of directors for possible revocation. Shoulder Clicking Charles, there’s an audible click in my left shoulder when I perform military presses. It doesn’t cause any pain— it’s really more annoying than anything. Should I be concerned about this? Although you are not experiencing pain (yet), your body is sending a message. The click is indicative of a problem (certainly one that couldn’t be diagnosed online), and is possibly precursory to something down the line. My recommendation is first have it checked by a qualified orthopedist so that you can develop some sense of what is going on. In the mean time, modify the angle and/or plane you press from in such a way that the click does not happen. Powerlifting/Olympic Lifting and Specialization Dear Charles, I am a 26 year old who has been powerlifting since I was 18, but recently I changed over to Olympic lifting. I had a coach for a while but since my car doesn't do long distances, I had to give that up as well. I have a local health club that I can get to and was wondering how combine train ing for both sports since I like them both. I know there will be a compromise in performance in all my lifts. When I make an attempt at one or the other then I will specialize instead of compromise. But being that I can't make up my mind and want to do both I was wondering if you had any suggestions. I recall touching on a similar question previously in Mesomorphosis. I apologize if there is any redundancy in my answer; however, it’s such a good question and I would like to reemphasize how well powerlifting and Olympic-style weightlifting synergistically mesh. Here’s a thought: How about throwing a little bodybuilding into the mix also? 365
Physically Incorrect There is a relationship between absolute strength improvement and hypertrophy, so as long as you are not trapped at the very top of a weight class, I would make a little time emphasizing hypertrophy. Here’s how I would approach a nine week macrocycle that improves muscular development, speed strength, and absolute strength. (For clarification of the various qualities of strength, read my article on speed strength in the December issue of Mesomorphosis). Spend the first three weeks of the mesocycle on hypertrophy. There is no argument in strength sports that bigger stronger muscles are preferable— the benefits are obvious. In this phase, train 3-4 days per week, using 34sets of between 6-8 repetitions per exercise. I recommend no more than four exercises per workout in this phase. It would be preferable to perform exercises that bear little or no resemblance to the competitive lifts you are training for. After three weeks of muscle mass development, it’s time for you to make that muscle work for you. The way you’re going to do this is by increasing your lifting intensely. This is a perfect time to implement the three power lifts. I recommend performing one of the power lifts on three evenly spaced days throughout the week (i.e., bench on Monday, squat on Wednesday, and deadlift on Friday). Start of with 3-4 sets of between 2-3 reps per set. and gradually "ramp up" to one rep maximum attempts by week three. By now your body will definitely ready for a break from this mesocycle! Having developed a foundation of hypertrophy and "peaked" that foundation by improving your maximal strength, now’s the perfect time to implement the Olympic lifts. I recommend slightly higher training frequency for the Olympic lifts because of the decreased intensity forced by the heightened skill element. For three successive weeks, perform snatches and front squats on Mondays, cleans and snatch pulls on Wednesdays, and finally, the competitive snatch and clean & jerk on Fridays. I would be surprised if you could actually perform this schedule without making at least minor adjustments. Instincts are an essential trait that you will need to bring these competitive lifts to a high level, so don’t be afraid to make modifications to any suggestions that I make! Arm Strength for Baseball Q: Dear Charles, I would like information on how to develop arm strength for Little Leaguers. My son is 11 and daughter is 8. Is there a difference in the development in a girl's arm than a boy's arm? Also what about batting and running? What kinds 366
Physically Incorrect of exercises can be done for strengthening for performance improvement for those activities? Is there a difference in exercises for throwing a softball than a baseball? Thanks for your help. A: I think both children may be a bit too young for "traditional" weight room training, however, they may certainly perform a variety of exercises to improve their strength levels. Your son at age 11 is right on the cusp of beginning a weight training program— maybe wait until his twelfth birthday. Both kids can develop skills and strength using basically the same exercises— I wouldn’t bias the training based on gender. However, I would recommend more structure in your son’s training (for now) and let your daughter develop in a "self paced" manner for a few more years. First I would like to clarify that throwing and batting are really not a function of arm strength per se. Throwing and batting power are both initiated from the lower body (glutes, quadriceps, and calves, specifically) extension and rotation which is transmitted through the abdominals, and finally, released through the upper body. As I would say with all sports, a whole body strengthening approach is indicated. Here are a few excellent exercises you can employ with your son and his teammates: Two hands ball put from knees: Have the athlete kneel down and hold a basketball centered on his chest. Have him throw the ball as far as he can (use an "up and out" direction — the ball should travel at about a 45 degree angle to the ground), using only extension of the arms. This will help develop upper body strength (chest, shoulder, triceps). One caution: The momentum of the throwing effort will cause the athlete to fall forward to the ground. Remind him to brace for the fall immediately after the ball leaves his hands. As he progresses, try incorporating medicine balls of various weights for additional challenge. Overhead throw (medicine ball): Standing with your back to the "target" area, dip down (much like the preparatory crouch for a vertical jump), swing the ball between the legs, and then extend and throw the ball overhead backwards. Standing long jump (perform into a sand pit): Have the athlete stand erect with a natural hang to the arms. Instruct him to quickly assume a shallow tuck position and swing his arms forward and leap 367
Physically Incorrect as far forward as possible. This popular exercise will help develop a strong lower body (hip flexors, hip extensors, and leg extensors). The enormous number of drills and exercises transcends what can be offered in a column of this nature. For a multitude of athletic drills with good instructions and illustrations, check out the following books, all of which should be available through http://www.amazon.com -Sports Agility by Frank Costello and E.J. "Doc" Kreis -From Childhood to Champion Athlete by Tudor Bompa -Kid Fitness by Ken Cooper (this is out of print, but is EXCELLENT and worth trying to get — more of a treatise about how to help kids enjoy exercise, sports, and good nutrition, rather than sports training per se). Isolation Exercises Q: Charles, Do isolation exercises (concentration curls for peaking biceps, etc.) really work? Can't you really only make a muscle bigger or smaller? A: I hope this doesn’t sound too hackneyed; however, I’ll say it none the less— you cannot isolate a muscle. With apologies to readers who may have already seen the following quote from Deane Juhan (Job’s Body, available through http://www.amazon.com), read and learn: "...let us imagine ourselves observing a person who is standing erect and executing the simple gesture of raising their straight right arm to the side until it is horizontal. The fibers in the deltoid, the supraspinatus, and the upper trapezius will contract to produce the primary motion, while the fibers of the pectoral major, the pectoral minor, and lattisimus dorsi must simultaneously extend to allow it. But the contraction of the right trapezius will not only raise the right arm, it will also tend to pull the neck toward the right; therefore the left trapezius, along with the other muscles of the neck, will have to contract as well in order to stabilize it. Furthermore, the extended right arm will overbalance the torso to the right, so the erector spinae muscles on the left side of the spine must contract to brace the whole torso and keep it erect. And since this contraction of the left erector spinae set will tend to pull the left side of the pelvis up as well, the gluteus medius and minimus of the left side must also brace to hold the pelvis level. Since not only the torso, but the body as a whole is threatened with tipping by the overbalancing weight of the extended arm, the right leg must brace as well, using fibers in the hip, the thigh, the calf, the feet, the toes." 368
Physically Incorrect Perhaps you now you can understand why I find it so irritating when personal trainers, equipment manufacturers, and other fitness professionals talk about "isolating" a muscle with a certain exercise or technique! Of course, you CAN perform exercises which place greater emphasis on a particular muscle and recruit less help from the muscles designed to assist the prime mover. So-called isolation exercises can be very useful for muscle development, but they will not create a shape that wasn’t predetermined by your skeletal structure. Cuts, rips, striations, peaks, lines, etc... are not results of adaptations to various exercises, but rather the result of decreasing your bodyfat and increasing muscle mass. Incidentally, the reason that a muscle cannot be shaped is that they are "noncontiguously innervated." In laymens terms, that means that the fibers assigned to "fire" under certain intensities (loads) are spread out throughout the muscle, not confined to a certain region of the muscle. How Much to Keep in Reserve on Each Set? Q: Charles, There's plenty of talk about low reps this, moderate reps that, blah, blah. That's all well and good, but let's take it one step further. How do I deter mine how much "reserve" to leave in each set according to the training objec tives? What I mean is, if a client is doing 6 sets for chest, at 10 reps per set (approximately), do I choose a weight that the client will fail on the 11th, 12th, 14th,10th rep? Which is optimal? A: No one ever talks about this, and it is an EXCELLENT question! If MAXIMAL STRENGTH (neural adaptation) is the goal, you want to leave 24 reps in reserve for every set, because you need to really concentrate on accelerating through the sticking point. If you were working at limit capacity with no reserve, you would just be concentrating on completing the set any way you could. It would be like trying to do a vertical jump with a 100 pounds weight vest, if you grasp my meaning. In other words, the extreme load would inhibit you from being able to maximally accelerate the bar. When HYPERTROPHY (metabolic adaptation) is the objective, you must exhaust the muscle, which means you'll get much closer to failure, maybe even reach failure. Now, here's the thing: strength depends upon hypertrophy, and vice versa. So, regardless of which objective you have, both of the above techniques should be employed, just at varying ratios (please see the speed strength 369
Physically Incorrect training program in my article of the same name in the December 1st Mesomorphosis archives. Build Chest Without Bench Presses Q: Charles, I'm 15 years old an have been working out for the last year. I have built up my arms tremendously by doing curls and other arm exercises, plus push-ups. Is there any way I can build my chest without doing bench presses? Any suggestions to my question plus any other workout tips will be appreciated. A: There are numerous other pectoral exercises beside the bench press. Incline and decline presses, dumbbell presses performed at various angles, pec-decs, flys, cable cross-overs, all serve to strengthen the pecs. The variations are nearly endless when you look at the variety of pec exercises and the variances of the variations! Now I have a question for you: why do you want to avoid the bench press? Dependent on a response from our reader who sent in this question, we will follow up on this next month. Eating on $30 Per Week Q: Dear Mr. Staley, I think you're doing a fine job. I have a problem. I am just getting into body building. However, I have been lifting for about six years. I know I need to change my diet. However, my money supply is not up to par. I need to eat about 4000 to 4500 calories per day on about 30 dollars a week. I am a col lege student and I am not able to ask my mom for assistance because she is poor. Thanks for your help. A: Firstly, thank for the kudos, our readership has been a great help with all the great questions. The disturbing reality is, if you do not want to live off pasta products, which used exclusively are not conducive to successful bodybuilding, you are going to have to get a job. I know this is a bitter pill to swallow, but you’re going to have to do it, or otherwise, the most palatable food on your plate is going to be Purina Cat Chow on off days and Iams "Science Diet" for post training nutrition. Nevertheless, since I find this an interesting intellectual exercise, let’s have a look. Your food budget breaks down to $4.29 a day. In an inexpensive whey protein supplement that would be about three servings and change, which 370
Physically Incorrect would amount to 90g to 100g or protein a day. The problem with this is, that amounts to 360 to 400 calories a day, all told. This diet would literally kill you. You’ll be ripped though, so as I always say, every approach has pros and cons. Here’s a sample of a day’s fair that a 200 pound bodybuilder could subsist on. This habit would cost about $7.00 day: Meal Meal One: 3 eggs Toast 2 slice 1 cup skim milk Grape fruit/2 cup
Protein
Carbs
Fat
18g 4g 10g 1g
<1g 22g 13g 10
15g 1g 0g 0g
Meal Two: Whey shake 25g 0g natural peanut butter 1 tbs (non-processed) 8g 6g one orange 1g 15g
16g 1g
Meal Three: Chicken Breast baked potato 1 ear corn
6 oz.
1g
30g 4g 2g
0g 51g 19g
3g 0g 1g
Meal Four: Whey Shake Natural peanut butter 1 tbs
25g 8g
0g 16g
1g
Meal five: Whole Tuna Can Mayo 1 tbs 1/2 cup broccoli
40g 0g 3g
1g 0g 5g
3g 12g 0g
Meal six: Whey Shake Natural Peanut butter 1 tbs
25g 8g
0g 6g
1g 16g
6g
Best of luck! Cravings Q: Dear Charles,
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Physically Incorrect During my cutting phase, I have no problem keeping my calories and carbo hydrates at a low range during the days when I take the ECA stack which is on the days of morning aerobics. I generally do not take the stack on nonaerobic days. But it is on those days that I have a heck of a time keeping my cals and carbs low. What do you recommend I do to help these cravings? A: You could plan your ECA stack into a zig zag method of fat loss. In other words, take the ECA stack for 5 days and stop on the weekend, during which time you slightly increase your caloric intake over your normal weekday levels. This way, your metabolic rate should have a chance to re-set, and psychologically, you have a light at the end of the tunnel each week, so to speak. You didn’t mention your meal frequency or macronutrient rations, so unfortunately, I’m a bit in the dark here. Also, check out Lyle McDonald’s archived columns for more info on proper ECA cycling, since he’s far more adroit on this subject than I. Proper Hydration Status Q: Charles, When one speaks of drinking a minimal 8 glasses of water per day, does it mean that all 8 glasses are strictly from water itself, or a combination of dif ferent fluids, such as milk, soup, or juices? I've always been confused about this theory because I find it rather hard as an individual to simply gulp down that much water per day, on top drinking other things such as the soup, juices, and milk. Please clarify this matter for me. Thank you! A: Yup, the advocates of the oft-quoted "8 glasses a day" method are talking about pure, unadulterated, unpolluted, H20. I know of one study that reported that the loss of 1 liter of body fluid through sweating resulted in the subject’s resting heart rate increasing by 8 beats per minute. That's indicative of a lot of stress to the body that can easily be resolved by maintaining adequate hydration levels. I recommend toughing it out and getting as close to that target amount as possible. Trust me, you will adapt to the volume of fluid and eventually feel its value. One tip, however: drink most of this water early in the day, or your repeated trips to the toilet a night will make you consider the possibility of catheterizing yourself so that you can get a decent night’s sleep! Shoulder Injuries Q: Dear Mr. Staley,
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Physically Incorrect The question I have is this. I'm 42 and have gone through various shoulder injuries and lower back injuries. My shoulder injury has always been easy for me to work around. All of my pressing moves are now done on a Smith Machine. It still gives me some pain from time to time but it's manageable. My lower back is a different story. I haven't been able to do decent squats for a long time. Not even on a Smith. I have been using a free weight leg press at the gym where I work out. I use good weights, and there's no pain, but I don't seem to get the work that really causes growth. Are there any other movements for my quads that won't cause pain, or is there a recom mended way to use the leg press to get the most out of it? Thanks. A: Before I give you suggestions, I wonder why you aren't getting your injuries diagnosed and resolved? If you don't, you'll continue to "slide down that slippery slope," and before long, your exercise options (and performance abilities) will be limited even further. To say nothing about your pain levels. There is a gym I visit about once a year in New York, and I always see the same people, except that they always have more support gear (i.e, wraps, straps, neoprene sleeves, etc.), and are smaller, fatter, and weaker. It doesn’t have to be that way. Now on to some constructive advice for you. The leg press can be a valuable tool, when used properly. The problem is that this machine often becomes a demonstration station for those looking to say that they lifted 1200 pounds. Loading the press with as many 45’s as you can find, and then performing choppy, 1/4 range of motion reps is not the most productive method to improve leg mass, but it’s about the fastest way I can think of to accelerate lumbar spine pathologies. Leg presses involve many of the same technique parameters as do squats: a parallel or slightly turned-out foot position, knees tracking directly over the feet (i.e, do not allow them to buckle inward), and the maintenance of neutral spinal curvatures. The concept of neutral spine is a bit controversial (see http://www.sirius.com/~farwood/ for more detailed analysis), but I’ll use it to describe a posture where the lordotic curves of the lumbar and cervical spine are maintained during the lift. Incidentally, lifting the heels off of the platform intensifies the load to the quadriceps and reduces stress to the hamstrings, despite what you’ll hear from hardened gym-rats with 20 years of training experience (or was it 1 year of experience repeated 20 times? I can never keep that straight!) Pressing with the heels maximizes contribution from the hamstrings. Here’s a way to really load up your quads with minimal stress to your joints: Pick a weight that you can perform 6-8 reps with, on your toes only. After you reach exhaustion, allow your heels to make contact with the platform on the con373
Physically Incorrect centric phase only. After reaching exhaustion with this, then use your entire foot any remaining reps you can complete. Leg presses may also be performed unilaterally, but make sure that your nonworking knee is kept out of harm’s way in case you fail to complete a repetition. Lastly, both lunges and step-ups are just brutal on the quads WHEN PERFORMED CORRECTLY. I believe I’ve covered both movements in previous columns. Best of luck! And for God’s sake, find a good orthopedist and get your musculoskeletal problems dealt with! How Long Does it Take to See Results? Q: Charles, I read in one of the answers to a trainer's question that "...wherever there's strength, size isn't far behind!" Okay, my problem is how long is the wait? I have a small chest but I can hit it with the same intensity as my workout partner who has a solid 5 inches on me. I had a 39 inch chest (not flexed) with a 275 bench about 6 months ago. It now measures 40 inches and the bench is now at 315. At this rate to get a nice 48 inch chest I would have to bench 715 (a joke, but c'mon is this genetics?). And I don't workout chest more than once every 5 days so I don't think its overtraining. A: It’s not overtraining, as a matter of fact, I think you already nailed it on the head. Without ever evaluating you or your exercise methods, I can assure that the results you get from training are greatly influenced by genetics. One strong possibility is that your partner may have more fast twitch muscle than you and a lower tolerance to exercise. If that statement applies, he would likely gain faster than you from intense training. When you see the quote "where there’s strength, size isn’t far behind," it’s really indicating that you will now have the strength to use more weight with rep ranges that are most conducive for adding size, which for you may be a few more reps than your partner. Try a few weeks of low intensity (lighter weight, not greater ease) pec exercise. With your 1RM going up as much as it has, I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised by how much weight you will lift for eight or ten reps. I remember something that Charlie Francis (Ben Johnson’s track coach) once said about sprinting: there is a lag between the time that you try to increase 374
Physically Incorrect you acceleration, and when you actually start to move faster. Put another way, there is a certain time span between the application of effort and the acquisition of desired results. Stay patient, keep learning. Best of luck! Synthrol for Mr Happy Q: Charles, I bought a bottle of Pump & Pose. I am seriously thinking of using it to increase my penis size. Are there any problems associated with it? A: I received this question a few months ago. I would have answered sooner; however, I thought my response would be most valuable this month with Valentines day upon us. For those who aren’t familiar, "Pump & Pose" is a muscle irritant better know as Synthol. Though sold as a topical agent, it’s effect are seen when injected into the belly of a muscle causing an inflammation, literally increasing the muscle’s mass soon after the injection. The penis is one of the most vascular parts of the body and has never proven to be one of the safer places for an injection (or so I have heard). In the past, a trend had developed where people were injecting cocaine into their penis for more intense sex (or so I have heard). The result— priapism: a condition of perpetual erection (or so I have heard). This condition is very painful (or so I have heard) and ultimately can lead to gangrene (or so I have heard), which could likely cause your penis to fall off (or so I have heard). None of the above has ever happened to me — I’m just telling you what I have heard. I suspect Synthol injections (or anything else for that matter) to the penis would potentiate the exact, if not more serious problems as the cocaine. My advice: Men, don’t inject Synthol into Mr. Happy. Just don’t. Women, keep it away from your breasts. Let’s take it one step further— don’t inject Synthol into your body— time will show that this stuff is bad news.
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Physically Incorrect PMS Q: Charles, Every month I end up missing a few workouts, suffering from a nasty bout with PMS. Is there anything female athletes are doing to deal with this? A: There is some anecdotal evidence that symptoms of PMS such as headache, irritability, bloating, depression, etc... can be reduced in severity with supplementation of vitamin B6. Incidentally, there was a very interesting study published in 1995 by esteemed strength researcher Dietmar Schmidtbleicher from Germany. One group of female subjects performed a strength training workout every third day over the whole menstrual cycle. The experimental group performed workouts every second day in the follicular and about once per week during the luteal phase. The result of the experiment showed a clear increase in the maximal strength (32.6% compared to 13.1%) of the second group of subjects. I have designed a number of training programs for several female clients based on the conclusions of this study, employing 4 sessions per week for two weeks, followed by two sessions a week for the next two weeks. The four week mesocycle starts the day after menstruation begins. Use higher intensity loads for the first two weeks, and somewhat lighter weights and higher reps for the second half of the mesocycle. So far I’ve been quite happy with the results of this model, so please give it a run and let me know how it works for you! Soviet Peaking Cycle Q: Charles, I vaguely remember a soviet six week peaking cycle from an old issue of Muscle & Fitness— it's different from the 6 week squat routine that you recently spoke about in Mesomorphosis. I wonder if you know of this rou tine, and if so, what do you think about it? A: I do remember, and I have used it with great success! It is a two-day a week cycle, as opposed the the "Soviet Squat Routine," which requires that you train the targeted exercise three days a week. For this reason, it's a bit hard to do on a "Monday, Wednesday, Friday" training schedule. I'd suggest training on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, and use Monday and Thursday for the targeted exercise. Use Friday for any remaining exercises that you'd like to include in your training. 376
Physically Incorrect Here's the cycle as it originally appeared in Muscle & Fitness magazine: Week One Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Week Two Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Day One 45%x 8-10 55%x6-8 65%x6 65-70%x6 65-70%x6 65-70%x6 65-70%x6
Day Two 45%x 8-10 55%x6-8 65%x5 75%x5 80%x5 80%x5 80%x5 75%x5 65%x6-8 50-55%x8-12
Day One 45%x 8-10 55%x6-8 65%x6 70%x5 70-75%x5 70-75%x5
Day Two 45%x 8-10 55%x6-8 65%x5 75%x4 80%x4 85%x4 85%x4 85%x4 80%x5 70%x6-8
Day One 45%x 8-10 55%x6-8 65%x6 70%x4 75%x3 75-80%x3 75-80%x3
Day Two 45%x 8-10 55%x6-8 65%x5 75%x4 85%x3 90%x3 90%x3 80%x5 55-60%x6-10
Week Three Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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Physically Incorrect Week Four Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Day One 45%x 8-10 55%x6-8 65%x5 75%x4 80-85%x3 80-85%x3
Day Two 45%x 8-10 55%x6-8 65%x5 75%x4 85%x2 90%x2 95%x2 75%x4-6
Day One 45%x 8-10 55%x6-8 65%x5 75%x5 75%x5
Day Two 45%x 8-10 55%x6-8 65%x5 75%x3 80%x3 85%x2
Day One 45%x 8-10 55%x6-8 65%x5 75%x3 80%x2 80%x2
Day Two 45%x 8-10 55%x6-8 65%x5 75%x3 85%x2 90%x1 95%x1 100%x1 102%x1 105%x1
Week Five Set Set Set Set Set Set
1 2 3 4 5 6
Week Six Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set Set
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Now, just a few comments: 1) If you choose to use this cycle for cleans, snatches, or deadlifts, I would recommend that you avoid exceeding 6 reps on any given set. Otherwise, accumulating low back fatigue may set you up for an injury. 2) The cycle is based on your current 1RM for the lift that you are trying to improve. So you either need to test for this, or estimate. If you estimate, err on the side of being too conservative— you'll thank me later! 3) In the past, I have used this cycle just prior to the Soviet Squat Routine, alluded to earlier, since it has a greater emphasis on hypertrophy. So for 378
Physically Incorrect example, you might use this program for your back squat, then take 3 weeks away from the squat altogether, then embark upon the Soviet Squat Routine, based upon your 1RM which was generated from the first peaking cycle. Enjoy! Rave Reviews Q: Hi Charles, I just want to say that I was recently at one of your seminars, and boy are you hot! On top of that, you obviously know more about training than all the other so-called "experts" combined, and I think Mesomorphosis is lucky to have you as a columnist. Beth A: Thanks for those nice words. Beth, it might be better for you just to call me or use my personal e-mail in the future. Oh, before I forget, would you stop for a gallon of skim milk on your way home tonight? Thanks! Mentzer’s at it Again Q: Hi Charles, Really enjoy reading your thoughts/ideas! I was wondering about the pro's and con's of Mike Mentzer's recommendations that he provides on his new ('97) audio tape series. Basically, it is 2 exercises per body part once every 8-28 days for a seasoned lifter using one working set to failure (6-20 reps depending on the exercise) after a 2 set warm-up. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Dr. Kirk McAnsh, D.C. A: Apparently this is the latest tweak to Mike’s system, which I have heavily criticized in the past. I often rely upon two exercises per bodypart/per workout, but his suggested training frequency is sparse to say the least. I know that in my own case, training a bodypart once every 8 days works fine (I usually use 7— why reinvent the calendar?!), particularly when using a welldesigned split, but 28 days...I have to assume that this is just Mike’s idea of marketing shock value.
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Physically Incorrect Incidentally, training volume and frequency depend upon the degree to which an individual is able to make the "mind-muscle" connection and really create a lot of microtrauma during a workout. If you can create profound soreness which lasts more than 3 weeks with 2 warm-up sets and a single work-set, then once every 28 days is an ideal frequency for you. Otherwise, you’ll need more sets (normally between 3-6 work sets per exercise/per session), and greater frequency (bodyparts trained once every 3-7 days). I once had exercise mad-scientist Jerry Telle put me through a biceps workout at last year’s Arnold Classic. It involved a single, multi-stage drop set lasting well over 4 minutes. Later that day, the very thought of doing a curl made me nauseous— literally. I was profoundly sore for days, and wasn’t ready to train until 7-8 days later. Telle, who has worked with thousands of athletes, told me that I had tremendous ability to push myself during a workout. So, add all this up, and you get an extreme case scenario of 7-8 days for a small muscle group for someone who trains extremely hard. So where does Mentzer come up with 28 days??!! I appreciate your question, and thanks for keeping me abreast of Mike Mentzer’s latest hijinks! Speed Strength Training Q: Thank you very much for the article Quality Strength for Human Athletic Performance: A Guide to Speed Strength Training. It was a good point to read it first before answering my questions. But as you know an answer leads to more questions, so here they are: 1. You say to adjust the box height to that equals to your best vertical jump. Are you then talking about standing on the spot, jumping up with both legs simultaneously? A: Yes. This is called a "strict" or "sergeant" vertical jump— no run up or preparatory steps allowed. 2. Where is the program you prescribe in article best suited? As a pre-com petition, in season or off-season? A: I'd say the beginning of the program is late off-season, and the latter part is early in-season. It depends on the sport/event and the degree to which the athlete is already prepared (his strength levels, etc.) 3. When doing accelerative sets you say "resist the temptation to train to exhaustion" Should the athlete be able to finish one or two reps at the end 380
Physically Incorrect of the set? A: You should be able to do an additional rep or two, but don't do it— if the loads are too heavy it "inhibits" your ability to be explosive. 4. You say that maximal strength motor ability is targeted for the first six weeks (rhythmic reps from 45-60 sec.) and the SS is the focus of the final six weeks. Why do you use 45-60 seconds for maximal strength when that is supposedly the time bracket for FOG (fast oxidative glycolytic) fibers, while sets lasting under 15 seconds are thought to be more suitable for FG fibers. Are you just increasing strength through increased muscle cross-section A: YES! Some call it cheating, I call it effective! 5. Is this program more designed for beginners, intermediate or advanced? A: Intermediate to advanced, but with little or no experience with plyos or Olympic lifts. ATP & the Nervous System Q: Dear Mr Staley, The question I have is, If a muscle cannot contract without ATP, then why not? I thought that muscles contracted just with the impulse from the nerv ous system. I am really confused about this. A: Great question! Think of the impulse from the nervous system as the "spark" from the spark plugs and the ATP as the gasoline— even if the battery is good, you still won't get anywhere if you don't have any fuel. Makes sense? Fourteen Year-old Progressing Too Quickly? Q: Mr. Staley, Please help if you can. My 14 year old son could not "bench" an unweighted bar last August. But, has progressed very quickly ( in the past 2 months, especially ) and can now "bench" 185 lbs. Albeit only a few reps. He seems to think he can continue to add 5-10 lbs. per week until he reaches 250 lbs. (or more). I've told him that this seems to be a dangerous strategy. His friends at school ( his brother included ) are very impressed and keep urging him to "go for it!". I am truly impressed, as well. However, I think he could be severely injured if he doesn't temper his enthusiasm with a little intelligence. And, not move 381
Physically Incorrect up in weight quite so fast. Am I wrong? What advice would you have for him regarding this matter? For instance, what kind of injury would most likely occur and how long might it take to recover? A Concerned Father, Jim Wallner A: I think the answer may be somewhere in the middle actually. Your concern is based in logic and warrants attention. An unfortunate truth is that no one pays attention to safety until they've been hurt already--it's just human nature. AND, bench pressing is in my opinion the most dangerous gym exercise statistically. On the other hand, teenage males are capable of making rapid gains in strength (those pesky hormones are responsible). So, if it were my kid, I'd be OK with it as long as technique is perfect. Although there is no way to really teach it in the context of an e-mail (or even a book or video for that matter) a few points may be useful for you: 1) ALWAYS keep thumbs wrapped around the bar, always. Even though for many lifters if feels less comfortable. I know of a lifter who used a "thumbless" grip for years with no problems, until one day he slipped. The result was catastrophic. 2) ALWAYS use a spotter. A SKILLED spotter who is attentive and capable of helping out if needed. 3) Lower bar slowly, under full control. Many lifters lower under control most of the way, and then lose control during the last 1-2 inches of descent, utilizing a bit of "chop" or "bounce" before driving the bar upward. Bad idea. Most bench press injuries occur during the transition between lowering and reversing upward. 4) Keep feet nailed to the floor--no "fidgeting" during the lift, which shows lack of control 5) Keep the butt on the bench at all times. There are more, but the above 5 are most important. One last point— every rep should have a degree of speed on it— avoid slow, maximal, grinding reps where you're twisting and squirming to get the bar up— not productive, and 382
Physically Incorrect makes you slow. The weight should be light enough that you can accelerate it. So for example, if your max is 185, you might do 160 for multiple sets of 2. Lastly, it's important, very important, that the training program has diversity (see my popular article entitled There is No Best Way). Lower body movements such as squats are more important athletically than bench presses. Benches should be just one tool in the arsenal, not the whole ball of wax. Hope this is useful to you! Fitness Woman’s Nasty Habits Q: Dear Charles, I recently have finished a relationship with a fitness woman. Many questions still are following through my head. She eat like a bird four or five small meals a day barely consisting of 1000 calories a day yet she still had ener gy. I was worried about her and asked her to see a doctor, eventually dis torting the relationship. She had an eating disorder. She smokes, is on the pill, works 60 hour a week. This scares me, should I say confuses me. These characteristics are all very common amongst the fitness woman I have met. Could you please give me a hand an clear some of the confusion with this subject. I am sure it is more physiological. Any help would be good help! How do they do it? Thank you Grant A: Only in America can smoking be "a common characteristic among fitness women"! Ya gotta love it. Personally, I’d rather eat a bowl of my cats vomit than kiss a woman who smokes, but that’s just me. I am afraid that I do not have the necessary credentials to help you. Perhaps you might try www.fitnesswomen.com/lungcancer.com. Best of luck! Positioning Strength and Endurance Components Q: Hello, I was browsing through your myodynamics website, specifically the section on women's strength training. I am a varsity rower at BU and do extensive weight training, so the article was of particular interest to me. One comment caught my eye: you said that it's better to do aerobic exercise AFTER weight 383
Physically Incorrect training, but I've always believed the contrary. I thought that if I start with my aerobic workout, I get the ball rolling for fat burning, and also muscle building. I also generally thought the aerobic work helps warm my body up. Any comments would be welcome. Colleen A: Hi Colleen, Thanks for your message. I should first say that all methods, devices, philosophies, etc., etc., have pro's & con's. However, when training for strength, it's important that the body is fresh, so that high threshold motor units can be optimally recruited. Also, I don't generally look at strength training as a fat loss method. As for warm-up, yes, perhaps 5 or so minutes of light cardio, fine (good, actually). But not an endurance work out per se. The other advantage is that the strength training will fatigue you, which gives you a head start on the endurance workout. In other words, you’ll be able to reduce the load of endurance training that you normally use because you’ll already be fatigued going into the endurance workout. Incidentally, there may be some situations where endurance would come first— in particular, a rower who has exceptional strength but poor endurance. Lastly, just to be clear, I think I said to place strength and endurance workouts as far away from each other as possible, and that doing one right after the other would be a second choice. Hope this is helpful! Plyos for Hypertrophy Q: Charles, I am currently working on gaining size. I am familiar with the utilization of eccentric activities and varying slow rhythms to optimize these gains. My question is whether or not plyometrics can be effectively used or if it is count er productive. Are there any studies that are looking at this? I know that slow eccentrics are optimal, but it seems that the tremendous power demands must help with the growth.
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Physically Incorrect Thank you for your attention, J. Pullman A: Be careful when you use the term "optimal." In my experience, no single training practice is optimal, nor is any single method or technique useless. Although the demands on the body are great when implementing plyos, they will not directly produce hypertrophy to any significant degree. Plyometrics are most effective when used to improve starting strength (innervating as many muscle fibers as possible, instantaneously). For example, an improvement in starting strength might improve one’s ability to throw a football farther, or accelerate out of the blocks during a sprint. Plyometrics DO expose lots of muscle fibers to extreme tensions; however, the tension is experienced too briefly to obtain a hypertrophy response. Muscular fatigue is a unavoidable prerequisite for hypertrophy. As a rule of thumb, the muscle must be challenged for 45-90 seconds per exercise "bout." in order to stimulate protein turnover within the target muscle(s). Incidentally, you do not need to be choosing between the two (plyos vs. eccentrics). What you do need to decide is how much time to commit to each. Honestly, I would not commit much time to plyos (have a look at my feature article on speed strength training and you’ll see that I don’t even use them much for that purpose!). Push/Pull & Powerlifting Q: Hello Mr. Staley, If you were primarily interested in 'specializing' in a Push/Pull Powerlifting style regime, how would you incorporate the squat into your training pro grams? Assistance or core exercise? Would Box squats be a sound choice? Thank you. Mike A: Mike, the squat is an interesting creature. It seams like almost all exercises can be fit into a "pushing" day or a "pulling" day. Where does the squat fit into such a system? Well, it really doesn’t: When the quads contract, they are primarily responsible for extending the knee (pushing). When the hamstrings contract, they extend the hip (pulling). You’re pushing and pulling at the same time. (Incidentally, technically speaking, muscles can only contract 385
Physically Incorrect to move a bone; therefore, we are really always pulling). The squat could be placed on a pushing or pulling day; however, most powerlifters reserve a day just for squatting. I think this works out quite well. Here’s a model of a common, successful powerlifting micro-cycle: Monday Deadlift Back and Biceps assistance work Wednesday Bench Press Chest/ Shoulder/ Triceps assistance work Friday Squat Lower Body assistance work In reference to the box-squat question: Sure, box-squats performed correctly can be a sound assistance exercise for the competitive squat. When performing box-squat, avoid settling down on the bench. I STRONGLY prefer the method of positioning a bench behind you such that your hams just lightly contact the edge of the bench on the descent, rather than BFS-style box squats where you straddle the bench, and then actually sit down completely before rising up out of the squat. Speed Strength Article Generating More Questions Q: I saw your material on Speed strength training and I want to know more about the specific exercises, such as how to modify if I do not have access to certain things. The Swiss ball crunch to be specific. A: You can simply perform a high-cable rope crunch, for example. Not a problem. On the other hand, it wouldn’t exactly take an act of congress to obtain a Swiss ball! Also, I am in the 7th week of a strength training routine and will be done in 3 more. I have gone that way to build up strength before I begin working on gaining size specifically. I have gained some size which has been really encouraging at my age. I am 38 and have lifted most all of my adult life. Never with the intensity as I have for the past 5 months though. I am feel ing like I have a lot of untapped potential and your article on this other type of strength training sounds exactly like what I want to get into.
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Physically Incorrect I wonder how you decide on the weight to use for each exercise. Do you use a percentage of your max or some other trial and error? A: Use a consistent weight load for the sets and reps indicated. In general, I am not a fan of percentages of 1RM, since you never really know what your 1RM is at any given time. I do not have ready access to any consistent partner to lift with is that a prob lem with this regimen? A: It is FAR preferable to have a knowledgeable, hard-working training partner, as opposed to the alternative. It is not strictly necessary however. I am currently using some protein supplement drinks and would like any advice on some specific supplements I could use to bolster strength and size. Some of the folks articles have also mentioned the use of yohimbe for fat burning effects. Is that an isolated supplement or found in several types of supplements? A: I’m not "up" on the yohimbe research— I’d suggest you ask Lyle, Pat, or Bill about that. As for supplements, just whey protein concentrate, creatine monohydrate, that’s about it. It’s more important to examine your diet and make sure that is in order first. Well, enuf! Just am pumped about this new routine and want to see if it real ly works. Sounds well thought out and thorough. Hope to hear soon. Take Care, Steve Hypertrophy Training Alternatives Q: Dear Mr Staley, What do you think is a better way (or are they both alternative ways) for hypertrophy training: Going to failure every set or leaving one or two reps ? The first for me would look like this: e.g. chest: Dumbbell press 80 lbs x 10, 70 lbs x 9 (fatigue!), 70 lbs x 8, 70 lbs x 7. The other way looks in my training like this: 80 lbs x 8, 80 lbs x 8, 80 lbs x 8 (failure), 80 lbs x 6 (obviously I'm able to work with the same weight til the last set, cause I'm not fatiguing that much as by giving all out in the first sets). So what gives ? I've read an article from you where you say that you don't have to train to failure every set. Thanks for answering. Torsten, MD Sports medicine, Germany
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Physically Incorrect A: Well, let’s do the math: In the first scenario, your total volume (weight multiplied by reps) is 2480 pounds, and the average intensity (volume divided by reps) is 72.94 pounds. In the second scenario, your total volume is 2400 pounds, and the average intensity (volume divided by reps) is 80.00 pounds. So, both methods generate similar numbers: the second method yields 9.6% greater intensity for a trade off of a 9.6% reduction in volume (Hey! Are you setting me up here??!!) In any event, If I had to choose, I’d opt for the latter method because volume probably has a more telling effect on hypertrophy than intensity. If strength development was my goal however, you’d be slightly better off using the first scenario. I also think that carrying a set to technical breakdown (by definition of failure) is appropriate for hypertrophy training, but not so for strength objectives. Box Squats: Good or Evil? Q: Dear Mr Staley, I am interested in your position regarding Box Squats wherein you actually sit on the box then rise. I read an article by Louie Simmons where he pro motes the above stated method of box squatting. I have begun to use this method and have found great results in terms of strength gains, I usually do 10 sets of 2 reps with 30 seconds of rest with no gear at approximately 60% of max. Should I discontinue? I keep my back tight at all times and sit in a very deliberate and controlled manner. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Sam A: Sam, please see my earlier response to this question in the Staley on Strength archives. In a word, however, I advise strongly against them— and I have performed them in the past, so I know whereof I speak! Aerobics: Good or Evil? Q: I know that aerobic exercise trains the slow twitch muscle fibers and resistance training trains the fast twitch muscle fibers, and I've been told that 388
Physically Incorrect if you do aerobics, it will take away from your muscle building by making your muscles more like slow twitch fibers. A: That’s a bit of an awkward way to state it, but yes, you’re correct— it can be a problem. Obviously, everyone who lifts wants a muscular build more like a bodybuilder and less like a marathon runner. Does doing aerobics really affect your upper body "look" that you are trying for? A: I don’t know— I guess it depends on what "look" you’re interested in! If so, why would doing aerobics change your upper body muscles if the lower body muscles are the primary one's being used? A: Although excessive aerobic activity of any type can potentially slow your efforts to build lean mass, I would speculate that, for example, lower body aerobic activity would have a more adverse effect on your lower body than your upper body, and vice versa. I think the reasons for this are intuitively obvious. Or is it possible for someone to do aerobics and continue to get closer to their goals of building big muscles? Just for you to get an idea of what I mean by doing both is for instance, lifting four days a week and running the other three. A: Better to cycle your aerobic activity in my opinion, don’t simply apply a standard "three days per week" approach. So for example, you can do your aerobic activity three times on week one, twice during week two, and once on week three. Then repeat the three week cycle. Life proceeds in cycles, and I feel that training should reflect this reality. The above cycle will allow for better recuperation than a symmetrical approach. Training for Bench Pressing; Arm Wrestling Dear Charles, First off I would just like to let you know that you are considered a tremen dous source of valuable info by all my fellow firefighter/police lifting partners. I will be competing in August at the Police/Firefighter games in the bench press and arm wrestling competitions. I have never competed in either one of these events before. I am 33 years old and have been lifting weights for about 15 years. I have a relatively good base of muscle at 6 ft. tall and about 225 lbs. I am injury free and have what I think would be considered good balance between all my muscle groups. Could you tell me a generic off the 389
Physically Incorrect shelf program of yours that I could use to train for the bench competition in 6 months? Also what specific exercises would you prescribe for the arm wrestling event? I know that you’re a very busy man and I would appreciate any help whatsoever that you could give me. Thank you for your time, Nick A: Nick, just for starters, let me offer you an initial impression: if you’ve been weight training for 15 years and at age 33 you are still injury free, you either are lucky, or are already doing a lot of things right, or both! Once in a while, I run into someone who has a refined intuitive sense about their body while allows them to avoid injuries— you sound like one of those people. In any event, if you’ll check out the last two installments of this column, you’ll find two peaking cycles which can be very effectively employed for the bench press— these should help you in that regard. For arm wrestling (which is kind of a misnomer— it really involves the entire body of course) I recommend paying particular attention to wrist flexion (can be done with dumbbell or barbell wrist curls), biceps, and rotator cuff muscles. In this discipline, the principle problem is managing fatigue over the course of a microcycle: between practicing and strength training, the tendency is to develop chronic overload and fatigue of the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and their respective musculo-tendinous attachments. I suggest that you employ skilled soft-tissue therapy, and supplement your diet with glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin (which is a good idea for any athlete anyway). Lastly, I couldn’t quite tell by your letter if you are competing in both these events during the same competition, but if so, training for bench press and arm wrestling concurrently, but if so, your shoulders, particularly the dominant-side shoulder, will be at risk. Maintain constant awareness for shoulder pain or symptoms, and use post-training ice applications after every upperbody workout, and also after every arm wrestling session. I’d also strongly suggest that you perform low-intensity, moderate volume internal and external rotations using a piece of elastic tubing attached to an immovable object at slightly higher than waist level. In both exercises, you grasp the tubing, walk away from the distal attachment to put tension into the tubing, anchor your "working" elbow against your side, and then perform slow, controlled external and internal rotations to promote blood flow and range of motion to the shoulder (an area which has notoriously poor blood flow). Perform 3-4 sets of 20-30 reps three days a week (after bench press 390
Physically Incorrect workouts whenever possible). Don’t work to fatigue on these— you’re just trying to pump blood into the shoulder— that’s all. Lastly, remember to taper for the competition— no need to train at all for the 5-6 days before the events, excepting the rotations described above. Powerful Legs for Hockey Q: Dear Mr. Staley, I want to know what exercise is the best to build powerful legs. I play hock ey and it is essential for me to have strong legs. I have gone to gyms were I have had a trainer who set a program specifically for my sport, but I didn't see any vast improvements in my game. I think squats are but I don't know, but is a leg press machine better. If you could answer this message I would be very grateful. A: The funny thing is, to a very real extent, the concept of sport-specific weight training is a bit of a scam. Yes, hockey players require a different approach than swimmers, for example, but when I construct strength training programs for my clients, believe it or not, the sport they happen to play isn’t the most defining characteristic. Instead, the first things I consider are the athlete’s health status, injury profile, posture, physical proportions, and past training history, for starters. If the athlete is 6"6," with long femurs and chondromalacia, you’re going to have a difficult time convincing me that squats should be the core component of his leg training program. In your case, I’d be willing to bet that the reason you didn’t see any improvements in your game was related more to periodization errors than it was with exercise selection, although both factors, as well as others, may have been responsible. For example, you haven’t given me details regarding set/rep parameters, etc. Don’t think in terms of best exercises. There really is no single best exercise, or program for that matter. Think of training like nutrition: there is no such thing as a "best" food, although there are a wide range of healthy foods, and some not-so-healthy choices as well. For hockey, you want healthy potions of squats, lunges, step-ups, reverse hypers (if you have access to a reverse hyper machine), leg curls, calf raises, deadlifts, and Olympic lifting variations such as power cleans and snatches.
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Physically Incorrect Vertical Jumping Fantasyland Q: Hi! My name is Dave. I would like to increase my vertical jump by 10-12 inches in 7-8 months. How would I go about doing this? A: Dave, you may want to consider having hydraulic jacks surgically implanted in your lower legs. I think it would be rare, if not impossible, to improve your VJ by 12 inches over your entire adult life! Let’s look at it this way: very few athletes in any sport every vertical jump past 36 inches. If you currently can do 24 inches (which most reasonably strong kids can do by the age of 18), then you’d reach your lifetime potential in 7-8 months! This would be similar to trying to put 300 pounds on your best squat in the same time frame. The answer is to get as strong as possible, and hope that you chose the right parents. In the mean-time, check out my article on speed strength training for more information on the subject. And if you do manage to add 12 inches on your VJ in 7-8 months, just tell everyone that my training program was responsible for it! Strength: What is it Good For? Q: I’m 18 years old, have been lifting seriously for the past 3 years. I think I’m fairly strong, but don’t know what path to take with my lifting. What I mean is, how can I tell if I should try to get involved with powerlifting, body building, Olympic weightlifting, strong-man contests, or what? I feel sort of unmotivated about lifting because I can’t really see what direction to go with it. I could just lift to stay fit, but that seems completely boring. What do you think? Thanks, Garth A: I think you probably have more insight than the average person— you should take your confusion as a sign that you’re an intelligent person. I’d suggest that you attend some competitions for all of the disciplines you’ve mentioned. Watch, listen, learn, and interview some of the competitors. Find out what kind of personality it takes to succeed, what are the skill levels required, what kind of body-types are best for the sport, what kind of injuries are common, and so on. Also find out if there are training centers or clubs in your area. In time, you’ll get a sense of what seems to "fit" your needs and talents the best.
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Physically Incorrect Incidentally, when I said that you probably have more insight than the average person, I’m referring to the fact that you seem to understand, even if only intuitively, that you’ll be more successful when you have specific goals in life, rather than just being a "hobbyist." Check out my article called Goal Orientation: Train Your Brain for Maximum Gains in a future issue of Mesomorphosis.com. I think you’ll find it informative and inspirational! Kristy: Good or Evil? Q: Hi, my name is Kristy and I just moved to this state. I need someone to chat with and maybe get together with, I am 21 and a cheerleader in college. I am 5'11" and have blond hair, and I am very sexy. This link takes you to my page where I have sexy pics and *FREE* porn links! Click Here Now! A: Hi Christy, if you are looking for strength training information for cheerleading, I think a personal consultation would be the best approach. Why don’t you e-mail me your phone number and... hey...wait a minute...what the hell??!! Hey, does anyone out there know of good antispam software for Macintosh? Jeesh! Stretching: Good or Evil? Q: I’ve heard you advise people not to stretch prior to strength training ses sions. I think you’re rationale was that stretching would make you weaker. However, if you are tight to begin with, wouldn’t it be wise to stretch so as to prevent injuries? Thanks! A: You have taken my advice slightly out of context— stretching may make you either weaker or stronger, depending on where you’re starting from. The microscopic functional units of muscle tissue, called "sarcomeres," contain two types of contractile filaments which interdigitate with each other to allow the sarcomere to shorten upon the command of the nervous system. The sarcomeres of normal, healthy muscle at rest have about 50 percent overlap of it’s actin and myosin filaments. From this position, the sarcomere has an optimal "length tension relationship," meaning that it is in an ideal position to shorten or generate tension. When a resting muscle is "tight," it means that either or both of the following conditions are present: 393
Physically Incorrect 1) All, or a large proportion of that muscle’s sarcomeres are more than 50 percent overlapped. When this is the case, the sarcomere cannot realize its full potential to generate force, because basically, it is already shortened. 2) The muscle in question contains "tight" connective tissue, such as fascia, perimysium, scar tissue, muscle spasm, and so forth. I have found in my practice with athletes that when you apply contract-relax type stretching (often somewhat incorrectly called "PNF" stretching), you can get a sense of which of the two above scenarios is predominant. If you get an immediate, significant improvement in muscle length after one or two stretch-contractions, the former cause is predominant (i.e., the nervous system, for whatever reason, has "set" the muscle’s length). However, if several "sets" of stretches fail to render a significant improvement, the muscle is probably tight due to restrictive connective tissue— a situation that is best addressed through skilled soft tissue therapy. Now that I’ve said all that, how can you tell if a certain muscle is too tight? Physical therapists use a battery of assessments to determine minimal acceptable length for most muscles in the body, but in the "real world," there are two primary things to look at: 1) Does the muscle prevent you from performing the skills of your sport and/or everyday activities? For example, can you easily turn your head to 90 degrees to each side? Is your range of motion the same on both sides? If the answer is "no" to either question, you may have inadequate range of motion in your neck, which could surface in a future injury. 2) Do you suffer from chronic injury patterns, such as constant pulled hamstrings or intermittent lob back pain? If the answer to either or both of the above questions is "yes," you may well have tight muscle groups which should be stretched— lightly before training, and more aggressively after training. There are numerous stretching methods (I prefer those which feature a contraction of the target muscle before it is stretched), but the key concept is to perform repeated, low effort stretches throughout the day, as opposed to a single heavy-duty stretching workout every day. You have to gently "teach" the nervous system that it’s "OK" for the muscle to achieve greater length— that won’t happen if the body perceives your stretching sessions as grueling sado-machochistic events! 394
Physically Incorrect When can stretching make you weaker? When you already have adequate or more-than-adequate muscle length. If you stretch such a muscle, it ends up with very little overlap between the actin and myosin filaments, and when exposed to tension during a strength training workout, it now has an increased risk of injury. Strength Training for Musicians Q: Dear Mr. Staley: I am a professional cellist, interested in beginning a bodybuilding program. As a group, my profession is subject to a very high rate of occupational relat ed injury, mostly in the form of various overuse syndromes (tendinitis, bur sitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.). The conventional wisdom is that training with weights is dangerous for string players, and can lead to increased risk of tendinitis, loss of sensitivity in the hands and fingers, and various other overuse related problems. It seems to me from what I've read that this need not necessarily be the case, and that strength training could benefit some of the more overtly athletic aspects of playing a string instrument. What in your opinion are the risks to a musician of taking up weight training, and how might they be avoided? Thank you very much, Ted Nelson A: Ted, thanks for your excellent question. In a nutshell, strength training can indeed be beneficial for you. I consider musicians to be athletes, and one of the greatest benefits of strength training is that you are providing yourself with complimentary stress patterns. In other words, resistance exercise provides your body with a form of stress which is different from the pattern provided by playing your instrument. This will help to prevent and reverse postural problems, muscle imbalances, and may actually improve your endurance while playing. Incidentally, an excellent strategy you can employ to avoid overuse injuries is to play your instrument left-(or opposite) handed for about 10% of your practice time. Try it! Also, like any athlete, you need to organize your lifting and playing in a way which will allow your to practice your instrument while as fresh as possible. Avoid a heavy practice session or (especially) a performance within 48 hours after a hard upper body lifting session. So for example, if you know you have a performance on Saturday night, avoid heavy lifting beyond Tuesday, or possibly Wednesday.
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Physically Incorrect Lastly, take some advice I always give to martial artists who are starting a weight training program for the first time: unless to introduce the strength training component very gradually, expect to experience a temporary decline in your skills (in your case, cello) as your body struggles to cope with this new challenge. So proceed gradually, and pay attention to your skills along the way, and you should end up benefiting from the experience. Hating Those Love Handles Q: Dear Charles Staley: I'm a 45 year old woman (5'9", 150 pounds, 20% body fat) and while I understand that isolating muscles doesn't work, I need to work the sides of my waist. I've got strong abs., lats and lower back, but while I don't have huge sloppy love handles, I 'm not firm between my waist and lower ribs. I've check out various books, etc., but nothing seems to hit this area. Any suggestions? You and Lyle have changed my life! Best, Kate A: Glad you’re enjoying the columns! The muscular topography between the ribs and pelvis consists primarily of the external obliques, and it’s outer layer of bodyfat. If your oblique muscle is already developed beneath the fat, then it’s going to be a matter of bodyfat reduction. However, if your obliques are under developed and you don’t particularly have a lot of fat on top of them (at 20%, it doesn’t sound like this is the case), you need to make sure this muscle is being properly trained. I’ll focus on this scenario in my answer to you. First, here’s a fact that few people appreciate: the obliques are actively involved in all trunk flexion exercises (such as all forms of sit-ups and crunches). So, although I’m going to suggest a few oblique exercises, but I’ll also urge you to make sure that you’re performing your crunches properly as well. The best movement is performed on a Swiss ball, which allows more range of motion than the same exercise performed on the floor. You’ll need to maintain a neutral cervical spine (do not allow your head to move independently from the rest of the body) as you flex your trunk until your pelvis and sternum approach each other at the top of the concentric phase of the exercise. Then lower back to the starting position by reversing this movement. Also, don’t perform your abdominal training at the end of workouts devoted to other muscle groups. Instead, devote a half-hour twice a week to your ab training. Perform two exercises per session, in the following manner: 396
Physically Incorrect Monday: 1. Swiss ball crunch: During crunches, you can modify your arm position in order to adjust the level of resistance. The least resistance occurs when the arms are straight and outstretched along the side of the body during the movement. A more difficult variation is to cross the arms against the chest. The most difficult variation is to place the hands such that the fingers are touching the head at a point just behind the ears. Avoid interlacing the fingers and clasping behind the head, which can strain the cervical vertebrae, and encourage participation from other muscles. Additional resistance (in the form of a medicine ball or weight plate) can be used when your bodyweight is no longer sufficient to cause an improvement in strength. If you use additional resistance, it becomes necessary to anchor the feet under an immovable object to stabilize your position. 2. Russian twist on ball Position yourself on the ball as you would when performing crunches. Grasp a medicine ball with both hands. Keeping your elbows extended and arms perpendicular to your torso, rotate to either side. Maintain neutral head and neck position, with tongue on the roof of your mouth. Also, do not allow your pelvis to rotate with your torso as you torn from side to side, as this unloads the obliques muscles. You can increase the difficulty of the exercise by using a heavier medicine ball, increasing the speed of the movement, or by positioning yourself further back on the ball (you may need to anchor your feet to prevent falling backward over the ball). Thursday: 1. Prone ball roll: From a kneeling position (use an exercise mat to cushion your knees), with a Swiss ball directly in front of you, place your clasped hands on top of the ball. Allow yourself to extend forward until your hips, shoulders, and elbows are fully extended. Return back to the starting position by reversing the motion. As you extend, the increased load on your abs will cause the tendency for the curve of your low back to increase. The goal is to counteract this tendency by tilting your pelvis posteriorly (as you would during the pelvic tilt exercise) as you extend. If you are unable to maintain constant low back curvature during this exercise, you’ll need to spend more time working on the pelvic tilt described earlier in this section. 2. Reverse trunk twist on ball: Lie face up on the ball, which is positioned in a power rack. Grab the sides of the rack for support. Flex the hips to 90 degrees with legs straight and together. The apex of the ball should be just under your low back. Start with feet pointing up at the ceiling, and then, in a "windshield wiper" like movement, allow your legs to lower to the right side until they are parallel to the floor. Then return back to center and repeat on the left side. Do not allow your shoulder girdle to turn toward the direction 397
Physically Incorrect that your legs are moving in, as this unloads the obliques muscles. When the legs are completely to the left, your right shoulder should be down, and vice versa. Repeat for the indicated number of reps. Use a medicine ball between your feet if additional load is necessary. You can increase the difficulty of the exercise by using a heavier medicine ball, or by increasing the speed of the movement. Repeat for indicated number of sets & reps. Squats or Deads: Which is Best? Q: Charles, Why is squat considered the "king of exercises" and given importance in ath letes training programs. Both exercises affect "basically" the same muscle groups with the deads having an added advantage of more back strengthen ing and some trap and arm. I know studies have been done showing the advantage of squat and athletic performance, has anyone seen any studies dealing with deadlift and athletic performance? With the exception of perhaps a greater chance of injuring back due to improper dead technique (of course the same can happen with squat) it seems there should be more importance put on deads. That is unless the clean is used in place of a deadlift and then this is a whole new can of worms. Larsen A: I have often said that a deadlift is essentially a squat with the bar in your hands instead of on your back. Detractors sometimes point to the fact that deads begin concentrically, which is opposite of most motor skills such as jumping and throwing. However, I usually have athletes perform deads by taking the bar from a power rack (much like you would when performing stiff-leg deadlifts) and then starting the exercise eccentrically. No need to perform these as a powerlifter would, unless of course, you’re a competitive powerlifter. So use a palms-facing grip rather than a "mixed grip" (use straps or a hook grip if you like), and don’t hyperextend your hips at the top— you’re not performing for powerlifting judges, after all. Maintain a neutral spine and keep the bar against the front of your body at ALL times. Deadlifts are also criticized for being an inefficient quadriceps exercise, but again, there is a tweak you can use here: at the beginning of the set, us as upright a posture as possible in both directions. Then, as fatigue sets in, allow yourself to stand up with the weight using additional assistance from your 398
Physically Incorrect hams, glutes, and spinal erectors by starting the lift with a slightly greater forward inclination of your torso. Then, during the eccentric phase (where you’ll be stronger), maintain the upright torso as you lower the bar, which will maximize stress to the quads. Another point: deads can eventually lead the athlete to clean pulls, and eventually power cleans if desired. It’s a good skill to have. All of the above can be further optimized through the use of a Gerard Trap Bar (see http://www.avalon.net/~middlecoast/trapbar.htm). This fantastic tool allows for a safer exercise performance, and more comfortable too, since your shins will be spared from contact with the bar. So Larsen, I’m with you— deadlifts are under-appreciated! Plyos for Young Athletes: Good or Evil? Q: Dear Charles, I am currently working with a prepubescent, 13 year old, female goalie. She has been training with a professional goalie who has her doing plyometrics along with goalie work. Is it safe for someone her age to be doing plyomet rics? I have her doing about 1/4 the drills he had her do, along with one day/week in gym. My focus with her has been general, all over strength and coordination, as well as a lot of stretching. We incorporate weights, medicine balls, stability balls, and wobble/balance boards. Am I on the right track? Should I leave out the plyos all together? Thanks for your input! Lisa A: To me it sounds like you’re on the right track. As far as plyos are concerned, there’s no point in frosting the cake before it’s finished baking. In other words, the goal is to develop "core" qualities such as maximal strength, anaerobic endurance, and flexibility. These qualities, after being brought to a high level of development, will form the basis for more complex qualities such as speed strength, agility, and speed endurance later on. It’s important for kids and young athletes to develop the widest possible "movement vocabulary." This way, the athlete is able to pick up new skills easily and efficiently when needed later in their athletic careers. So I like your approach on training diversity. And by the way— don’t completely ignore or forget the plyometric drills that your young athlete has learned— these drills can be valuable as she matures. 399
Physically Incorrect Indian Body-comp Q: HI Charles! I am a girl living in India. I am 5'8" tall & weigh 110 pounds. My problem is that I am developing a paunch which I want to get rid of. I want to know if just crunches will be enough as when I do aerobics I tend to lose weight which I cannot afford. Also what do you recommend for the lower stomach. Also my calves are quite thin. I want to develop the muscles there. What can I do? Please help. Thanks A: The shortest and most effective way I can answer your question is to say: train like a professional bodybuilder. Train all muscle groups using a welldesigned strength training program (such as the ones you’ll see on this site). I can’t effectively cover this topic within the confines of the column, so all I can say is to constantly educate yourself on the subject. The fact that you have internet access will be of great value here. Next, eat like a bodybuilder. There are different philosophies regarding this, but I think somewhere in the neighborhood of a 40-30-30 macronutrient ratio (carbohydrates, proteins, fats) is a great starting point for most people. I am not particularly savvy with regards to the cultural/ethnic aspects of what you might be eating, but in general, restrict or avoid processed foods, sugars, wheat and bread products, and minimize rice and potatoes. Based your diet on leansource proteins (fish and fowl, primarily), vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, eggs, and so forth. Use a good quality whey protein concentrate if possible as well. As you might assume, I’m making an educated guess that you just need to acquire more muscle. Some aerobic activity is healthy, too much isn’t, and will cause you to lose muscle, which I think you have already experienced. The answer is NOT in finding the "magic" abdominal exercise program— just put on the muscle, and the rest should fall into place. Benching Six Days a Week Q: Hey Charles, I recently tried a rather unorthodox bench-strengthening program I heard from a friend. I did flat bench six days a week for three and a half weeks. Four to six sets followed by two or three sets of flies, incline dumbbells, or decline dumbbells. Reps ranged from 2-8 until failure. I also did a one-rep max every two or three days. My other work was a normal 4-day split with medium to low volume. I was quite surprised and pleased by the results. 400
Physically Incorrect After the first week, my chest was blasted and my strength was way down, as to be expected. However, by the end of the second week, my pecs still felt very overtrained, yet I was putting up more reps per weight than I have ever done before. At the end of 3-1/2 weeks, my max had gone up by 15 pounds. I did not use any new supplements, eat more than normal, or gain any mass during this time. I have not made strength gains like that since my first 6 months of lifting. Have you had this kind of success with this kind of pro gram? Could it possibly be too likely to cause injury to use as a normal pro gram cycle? Richard M White A: Richard, the bench press Gods must have been smiling down on you because that is one hell of a nutty program! It’s amazing that you made progress on it, but I’ll venture a few guesses as to why you did: 1) The program may have been radically different from what you had been doing previously. If you were in a state of habituation from the previous training you did, then the new system simply shocked your body into continued growth. 2) You were taking enough gear to kill an elephant 3) You’re an ultra-slow-twitch guy and the huge amount of volume was just what all that mitochondra was looking for. 4) Some combination of the above. I really consider even three days a week to be quite a lot for a multi-joint movement like the bench press. Six is just absolutely incomprehensible to me. But it just goes to show, almost anything can work, at least temporarily, as long as you don’t become injured. Incidentally, I don’t know if it’s already too late, but I bet if you re-test your 1RM after 7-10 days of rest (i.e, no chest training), you’d further improve your 1RM. Strength Training for Throws Q: Hi! My name is Magnus Agren and I'm a PT and a Massage therapist from Sweden. I also coach the throwing event in track and field, foremost the dis cus. The reason I’m mailing you are because I’m training amongst others an 18-year old girl in the discus and trying to help her be the best she can. She’s not having the best of odds because she’s relatively small, but she loves to train and has a will that’s very, very strong and have gotten some "nice" 401
Physically Incorrect results despite. She has the potential to become one of the best in her age group. And even tough the training is going OK I’m always trying to improve my knowledge to become a better trainer and improve her training. And after reading your articles and seeing that yourself was a masters discus thrower, I thought you must be a gold mine of information. So the reason I’m mailing you is to ask if you have some tips to give on improving her training or just in general. Right know she’s training five times a week: Mon - technique and sprint Tue- strength, back and triceps some plyo before. Wed - rest Thu - strength, chest,shoulder and biceps Fri - rest Sat - technique Sun - strength, legs and some plyos before. The type of strength training resembles much the way you suggested in your article at Mesomorphosis with some alternations, I’m having an different approach on periodisation on bench, pushpress, squat and deadlift (which she does on Mondays "light", the reason she does these is because when she squats her "midsection" is to weak for her legs and when she maxes she can’t hold an "upright" position— so I’m hoping these will better her strength and posture on the squat.) The purpose of her training is to improve her explosiveness and better her technique in the discus. I can also say that she has a problem with her left shoulder, probably her supraspinatus but we are working on it and it’s showing great results in recu peration, so Olympic style lifting is out of the question but I’m surprised that the push press is going fine. OK, it became a very long mail and if you gotten this far I would be very thankful if you had the time, which I think is a problem for you, to give me some recommendations or tips to improve her training. If not I will fully understand and keep reading your very good and informative articles on the net and in the mags. The best ! Magnus Agren A: With discus throwers, it’s not so much height (although that’s still an 402
Physically Incorrect important factor) as much as it is arm length— a longer arm creates greater centripedal force during the throw. In any event, the set-up you’ve described is fairly standard as far as throwers go, but let me throw a few ideas at you. First, although it is common to work technique on one day and strength drills the next, what ends up happening is that you are working every day, which may not be the best strategy for recovery. It has been my experience that an intense (but not exhausting) strength training session first, followed by a throwing session about 4-6 hours later can actually result in an improvement in the throws. So for example, you might do a morning circuit where you perform bench presses, back squats, and snatch pulls for perhaps 5 sets of 2 reps each (a total of 15 work sets). These should be done briskly, with good acceleration, and only brief (1-2 minutes) rests between sets. For any given set of two, 45 reps should be possible— in other words, leave 2-3 reps to spare on each set. The training effect comes from the attempt to accelerate the weight. Then, later in the day, you do your throwing session, which will be fueled by the fact that the nervous system is in an enhanced state of readiness from the lifting done earlier in the day. During this session start with full competition throws, measuring each one, and noting which throw went the furthest (this data, collected over several sessions, will tell you the optimal number of warm-up throws that should be taken in competition). As soon as you notice that the quality of the throws is decreasing, switch over to drills, which should be selected on the basis of the athlete’s weaknesses. Star with drills which have a higher nervous system component (i.e, South Africans), and progress to drills with less neural drive (i.e, drills designed to promote a loose and relaxed delivery). On each drill, note the learning curve, and when the drill has begun to erode, move on to the next one. If all of the above was done on a Monday, for example, then Tuesday is spent on easy, aerobic-type drills (jogging, fartlek drills, skipping rope, and so on), as well as stretching and relaxation exercises. These exercises should help the athlete to recover and loosen up from the previous day’s work. On Wednesday, repeat the Monday workout, but use slightly different strength exercises (perhaps incline dumbbell presses, step-ups, and power cleans— shoulder permitting). This pattern will result in three hard training days a week, three easy days, and a day off. I’ve of course omitted larger periodization issues here in order to get my point across, so keep that in mind as you apply this advice— there are times during the year when you should emphasize hypertrophy in strength training, and so forth. 403
Physically Incorrect I wish you much success— throwing is a noble and under-appreciated discipline! Master’s Fighting and Advil Addiction Q: Mr. Staley, I'm not sure if I have a challenge for you or not. I am 43 years young. I am strong in body and mind. I am an avid judaka. My wife say's that's an ADVIL judaka. I have practiced and will continue to practice with some of the best judoka our country has to offer. I love the challenge of the sport. I recom mend it to everybody who wants to test their physical and mental fortitude. I also have access to a couple of exercise physiologist who have help me out immensely. But... when ever I want to improve on speed, endurance and explosive movements these guy's don't know what to say to me because I'm older. I know and they know that there is a physiological differences between my body and a 24 year old elite athlete's body. But can't I still improve? I want to be able to handle 4-5 minute intense matches in one day and still fight the way I like to. Which is very aggressive. My friends tell me that there isn't that much information available for some one my age. I ask them what did they learn in school and they say most of it didn't apply to a 43 year old total nut case. By the way that's my wife's description. Everyone says I'm in great shape for my age.I want to be in great shape for any age. Thank you for your consideration, any information from you would be invalu able. David A: I have recently worked with one of the best Jui Jitsu competitors of all time and I can tell you that he’s in top shape in his late 30’s, if that gives you any hope! I have a few thoughts for you though: 1) Older fighters should base their strategy on strength rather than quickness. This is because with age, the former remains at high levels while the latter dwindles. This is why boxers like George Foreman can do well at advanced ages, while speed-based boxers like Sugar Ray Leonard cannot. 2) Training frequency must decrease as we age, partly to recover, but also because your skills should already be at high levels, which therefore can be put on a "maintenance" schedule. So maintain the skills, and improve the 404
Physically Incorrect conditioning. 3) Work to prevent injuries, and/or to take care of them properly when they do arise. Massage therapy, once weekly, can be absolutely invaluable to keep tissues pliant and healthy, and to develop a source of feedback regarding tissues which may be on the verge of injury. 4) Train smart. The easiest way to accomplish this is to carefully read everything I’ve ever written, and then do it! OK, seriously, you’ve got to have plenty of diversity in your training, stretch tight muscle groups, ice your joints if you’ve got post-raining symptoms, pay attention to your posture, eat right, and so on. All the stuff you know you should do, but don’t. 5) Lastly, don’t let anyone accuse you of being an odd-ball because you’re serious about athletics at an age where most people have thrown in the towel. We need more like you! Gaining Weight for Rugby Charles, I am an amateur Rugby Player in Australia. Just recently my coach told me, it was time to change position. I am 24 years old and at 209 pounds and standing at 6ft, he felt I would need to change if I was to make the pro scene. He believes I have the skills and mental capacity to do it— but the physique will have to undergo a little change...... He feels that I need to bulk up another 15 - 20 pounds, especially in the legs and Neck/shoulder regions. I have weight trained for years, however the last 12 months saw me do a lot of fat burning exercise and plenty of aerobic exer cise. My body is far from being conditioned to a bulk weight training program. The coach also said I would need to start now and this would leave me 5 months to concentrate on the bulk process. Can you give me any hints? Nutrition will play a big key as well— any hints there? Especially advice on a cyclic program that would see the best results. Cheers, Andrew Five months is a reasonable time-frame for a 15-20 pound weight gain, in my opinion. There are a lot of variables that go into answering your question, but when it comes to a demanding sport like rugby, you really have to think in terms of energy balance. In other words, you have to make sure you con405
Physically Incorrect sume enough calories to allow a weight gain to occur. The process will be easier if you avoid "unnecessary" aerobic activities, by the way. If you’re currently maintaining your bodyweight, I’d suggest increasing your daily caloric intake by 300 calories. Keep track of your weight, and wee what happens in a two week time frame. If you didn’t budge, add another 300 calories. If you gained a few pounds, continue as is. If you gain more than about 2-3 pounds, cut back by about 100 calories a day. If at any point you stop gaining bodyweight, just bump up your calories a notch again, and so on. As far as the resistance training aspect is concerned, I’d suggest the following loading parameters as a starting point: • Training frequency: 2-3 days per week • Muscles trained per session: 2 • Exercises per muscle/per session: 2 • Work sets per exercise: 3-4 • Reps per set: 8-12 • Lifting Speed: Accelerative on the concentric phase, "controlled" (i.e., 2-3 seconds) on the eccentric phase • Exercise selection: Multi-joint, large muscle group movements such as any type of squat or deadlift, any type of bench press, chins, pull-ups, rows, and so forth. • Miscellaneous: Rather than performing "straight" sets of 8-12 reps, perform 2-stage drop sets whenever practical. Each stage should consist of 4-6 reps (for example, deadlift 315 for 6, then strip down to 275 and perform another 6 reps). In this way, you achieve a better strength adaptation than you would with straight sets. Training with Charles Mr. Staley, It seems like you only work with athlete-types, so my question is, is it pos sible for someone like me (i.e., slightly geeky but serious bodybuilderwannabe!) to train with you? Can I also ask what this would cost me? I appreciate all your efforts at Mesomorphosis, by the way!
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Physically Incorrect Thanks Colin Sanders I have extremely strict criteria for prospective clients: your money must be green. OK, yes, most of my clients are athletes, but about 10-15 percent are what I would term "serious non-athletes." To me, being an athlete is defined by what’s between your ears, so if you’ve got a good attitude about it (which is defined by the opposite of someone like Jonathan, who decided to use my column as a platform to humiliate himself in public— his question follows below). My fees depend on a variety of factors, including the complexity of the task at hand. For someone in your situation, I charge $115.00 per session, plus travel and accommodations if I need to come to you. If you need further information, please send me a note and we’ll get it arranged. Incorporating Power Cleans into Training Program Hi! I'm a new reader of your column in Mesomorphosis, and I do like very much your way of thinking, your logical way of explaining those issues of training, the common sense that many coaches don't have. I would like to ask you a question. How can I incorporate power cleans and hanging power cleans in my muscular development routine? I have been doing power cleans for 3 months, during every back-day— thanks a lot. Bye, Dr. Javier Saez Cleans involve so much musculature that they can’t be neatly fit into a single muscle group category. Although this exercise does make heavy demands on the traps, I am normally more comfortable placing this exercise at the beginning of sessions devoted to leg training, for a couple of reasons. First, the clean is primarily a full body extension, heavily involving the gastrocs, hamstrings, glutes, and spinal erectors, in addition to the traps. In other words, (except for the trap), these are all the same muscles you use during squatting, deadlifting, etc. So performing several brisk sets of cleans can actually serve as a warm-up for successive lifts. Second, if you perform cleans on "back day," you’re fatiguing your low back and legs, which may negatively affect your next leg training session. The 407
Physically Incorrect reverse is not the case, however: training your traps on "leg day" will not significantly affect your next back training sessions. Cleans are particularly effective performed immediately prior to deadlifts, because the movement patterns are so similar....if for example you perform 185 for 6x2 on the clean, you can start your first set of deads with maybe 225 and go up from there. A few other thoughts while we’re on the subject: 1. Cleans should normally be the first exercise of the session 2. Don’t go to failure, or even anywhere near failure on cleans— ever. Cleans must be performed acceleratively. 3. The most common technical flaw that "non-Olympic lifters" make during cleans is to allow the elbows to bend before the body is completely extended. Make sure your shoulders are completely shrugged before the elbows bend. 4. Make sure the bar you use spins easily, and do use collars. Supplementation for Bench Pressing Dear Mr. Staley, I am 16 years old and I can Bench 325 and I can Squat 500 pounds. I am going to be a Junior. I want to know what kind of supplement I should use so I can blast my bench to 400 and my squat to 600 by my senior year. So far I haven't taken any supplements. I am thinking about getting on Ultimate Orange. A number of thoughts crossed my mind as I read your question. If you are legitimately doing these lifts at your age, you’re quite strong. But so many people use reduced range of motion, crappy technique lifts while mummifying themselves with all manner of wraps, super suits, etc., etc., that I always doubt people’s claims (sorry!). But assuming that you’re doing these numbers legitimately, the second thing that blows me away is that the FIRST thing that crosses your mind in terms of improving your performance is what supplement to take!!! I take this to mean that your program design and biomechanics are absolutely perfect, your diet is perfect, and the only think left to improve is your supplementation schedule.
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Physically Incorrect OK, enough lecturing. Look into creatine monohydrate before Ultimate Orange. Make sure you’re using a good whey protein concentrate, a good multivitamin, and you should be in good shape. One Rep Max Formulas Dear Mr. Staley, Where would I find a matrix for roughly calculating one rep max's. I saw it in a magazine once but can’t find it now. Thank you Carter Morrison Actually, there are various formulas. In his book The Poliquin Principles, Charles Poliquin presents several of them, so, that would be the best single source for several 1RM formulas. More Bench Pressing... I like to think that someday I could be a world record holder in the bench press. Right now I am 28 years old, 6'0, 230 pounds. I can bench close to 405 without a bench shirt, nearly 460 with one, supplement free. I have come to a standstill, or plateau in my workout and cannot seem to gain any more strength. Do you have any ideas on what I should be doing? I read all the magazines and cannot seem to get anything from them. I must confess, I don't have a very strict diet. I eat a lot of skinless chicken breasts and drink a lot of water everyday. Could this be a problem for me gaining strength. Please respond back, I am going crazy. Also, I have been pondering over the thought of adding a supplement. My co-workers use creatine and they seem to think that it helps them. What are your views on supplements, which ones work? Your training program is much more likely to be the limiting factor in your progress, as compared to your diet, but yes, diet cannot be ignored. Although this is really more Lyle’s domain, the basic questions you need to ask (and answer) are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
What is the optimal amount of calories that I need? What is the idea macronutrient ratio for me? What is the ideal meal frequency for me? Am I getting a wide variety of quality protein sources each day? Am I getting adequate dietary fiber each day? 409
Physically Incorrect 6.
Am I well-hydrated?
After all of the above has been established, you can start thinking about supplementation. Start with creatine monohydrate (although I’m a bit cautious about supplementation, I don’t know why you would make it a point to deliberately avoid them!) As for training, I don’t have the ability to advise you without knowing what you’re doing right now, but you can scan this site for articles I’ve written about the subject to get some idea about how I would approach your situation. If I had to take a blind crack at it though, I’d wager that you don’t have enough diversity in your training program. Misguided Soul Hi Charles, I am a young guy in North Carolina, I have not really lifted a lot. I want to do a Mr, USA pageant and East Coast pageant. I also want to do night club dancing for a while. Well I want a body and kinda quick like. I know it takes a lot of work but I want to start roids. I will get a trainer while I take them but I also need to know about my diet. I know I will have to eat more of the right food so to go along with it. My problem is I don't know who to turn to if I need questions answered. I have a place to get them but its just a shipping company and I don't want to get the wrong ones. Where and who could I turn too. Everyone I find just keeps telling me, no I am not going to tell you anything about them they are bad. Could you help me in any way? Thank you for your time. Johnathan Either this is a joke, or you are profoundly immature. Best of luck— you’re going to need it! How Frequently Should One Change Training Program? Dear Charles, I am hoping you could share your insight on the following. I currently change the exercises I perform once I stop progressing (i.e. the weights or reps no longer increase— about every five or six workouts or so). I have always done this as I believe it to be indicative of the fact that my body has adapted to 410
Physically Incorrect this program and will no longer benefit from it. But I have been thinking about this and came up with the following hypoth esis. I noticed that my weights do seem to increase rather dramatically when I start a new exercise. For example, I began doing close-grip bench presses at 195 lbs for 5 reps and, by increasing the weight by five pounds per work out, have most recently performed 215 for 5. Let's suppose that I work out today and am only able to repeat my previous performance. Normally I would switch my workout next time. But I am thinking that these rapid increases in strength are highly unlikely to be from increases in muscular mass but rather from neural adaptations. Perhaps my nervous system was limiting my performance previously and the fact that I can't progress at my previous rate is indicative that my muscles are now being fully taxed (both the nervous and muscular systems are at the same level, 215 lbs. for 5 reps). Perhaps this would not be the time to switch and repeat the cycle but rather to persevere with this exercise as I now have an efficient enough nervous system to apply sufficient tension to the target muscle to cause an anabolic effect. I would greatly appreciate your opinion regarding this whenever you might have the time. Sincerely, Matt Bernard A: Excellent question, absolutely excellent. You are correct that short term (daily or weekly) strength gains are primarily from neural processes (increased rate coding, intramuscular coordination, etc.) — there simply wouldn’t be enough time to develop enough muscle mass to account for rapid short term strength gains. I remember chatting with my friend Jim Wright (you can find his articles in Flex magazine) about how frequently one should change their program, and he was of the opinion that is was indeed beneficial to struggle past the point of habituation— in other words, you might do the same program for 6-8 weeks, even though you find it nearly impossible to make progress past 3-4 weeks. In other words, don’t change your program the moment it starts getting hard to make progress! Also remember that program changes can run the gamut from slight to complete. So for example, I personally like to do the same exercises for 6-8 weeks, but I will change the set/rep format halfway through. So if I’m per411
Physically Incorrect forming weighted pull-ups, I may start with 3-4 sets of 4-5 reps on week 1, then continually attempt to increase reps every week for 3-4 weeks— I might be able to get 4 sets of 8 reps after 4 weeks. Then, on week 5, I’ll increase the load (i.e., add more weight to my belt), drop down to sets of 4-5 reps, and climb my way back up. After 8 weeks of this, you’ll be quite shot, and a change of exercise will be in order. Becoming a Strength Coach Charles, I have brooded over many careers in my life, and I have decided to give strength coaching a go. I really don't think that I'll be successful at any other career because this is the only thing that I have a passion for. I also want a decent lifestyle. In order to get that lifestyle, I'll need to shoot for the better jobs out there, but this means I'll have to get a degree. I already am close to finishing my SSC certification from ISSA, but it won't land me a high paying job in the professional or collegiate arena. My question is what kind of degree do I have to get to be a respectable strength trainer worthy of high paying jobs? Your reply will be most helpful. Thank You and God Bless, Steve There is no linear correlation between having a degree and landing a highpaying job. I actually find that many of my academically-oriented peers seem to have an unconscious disdain for making money...some kind of an intellectual purity thing I guess. Here’s how I look at it: you’ll make money if you’re effective, and if you can market yourself. If getting a degree helps you to accomplish either, then do it. Above all, I do feel very strongly that you must do what you have a passion for. In my own case, I can honestly say that if I won the lottery, I would continue to do exactly what I’m already doing. If you embark upon a career simply for financial rewards, you’re doomed (this doesn’t sound like you— I’m just exploring the topic). If you have an insatiable appetite for the subject matter (for example, in my own case, my life consists of training, studying, eating, and sleeping, and nothing else), you need to just jump in, rather than testing the water with you toe. Lastly, check out an excellent book called Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow. I should have written it myself! 412
Physically Incorrect Youth and Muscle Don't always Mix! (I will answer both of the following questions in a single response) Dear Charles, I have hit a hard wall in training and need some advise: I have been training for 18 months with little muscle development despite varying routines, exercises, repetitions, set structure, etc. Currently, I am zigzagging, protein supplementing, and working each body part one time per week with 6-8 sets per body part and 2-4 different exercises. I am almost six feet tall and weight 135. What am I doing wrong? Should I just be patient (after 18 months my patience is running low)? I zigzag to maintain weight. The only body part that looks great are my abs which I work three to four times per week! Plus my protein intake is well above adequate. Help! Thanks in advance!! Dear Charles, I am 18 years old and have been working out for two years. I am very cut, but lack mass. I'm 5'11'' and am about 165 pounds. I have tried creatine but had very weak results. I'm wondering what I can do to bulk up. I would be grateful for any advice you can give me. Tom Quinn Although the first reader does not stage his age, I will make an educated guess that he is a teenager, or slightly beyond. My best advice for both of you is to be patient, and learn as much as possible along the way. Using myself as an example, although I would never be mistaken as a bodybuilder, through most of my 20's I weighed between 145155 at a height of 6'1". Currently, at age 39, I weigh between 205-215, and I carry about the same bodyfat percentage as when I was younger, if not a little less. I found that as I got older, two things happened: my metabolism slowed down dramatically, and I gradually learned how to train. And I'm still learning, which is exciting for me after studying the subject intensively (some would say psychotically!) for over 20 years. Regarding metabolism, I can vividly remember my mother's distress when, as a child of 8, I would routinely go through a box of cereal plus eggs, toast, etc., etc., for breakfast, only to be hungry again an hour later. Today it takes about 3000 calories a day to maintain my bodyweight. Of course, as your 413
Physically Incorrect metabolism slows down, you have to learn how to eat right, or you'll just get fat. Lyle McDonald's column and articles are required reading on the subject. Finally, let me urge you to do things for the joy of doing them, not just for the external reward you hope to gain at some later date. Believe me, if I had my hopes pinned on becoming Mr. Olympia, it would have been over years ago. But along the way, I found training to be an irresistible exercise in problem-solving, and that's what's fueled my career in this field. You may have other reasons, but the point is, try to mould yourself into a process-oriented, rather than purely a results-oriented person. That way, you'll learn more, you'll be more consistent, you'll work harder, all of which will translate into reaching a greater proportion of your ultimate potential. Low Reps Versus High Reps OK: Everyone always says "High reps for mass, low reps for strength." The thing is, why? I've never heard anyone explain this logically or in a way that I can understand. Is it a nervous system thing, or just that you're working at a higher intensity, or what? Thanks for the great articles! Ben Opal In reality, it has more to do with the amount of tension that each rep puts on the muscle. As tension on the muscle increases, so does recruitment of greater and greater numbers of motor units. And motor units must be recruited before they can be trained of course. Let me give you a scenario that I often present in seminars: John performs 3 sets of 10 reps with 135 pounds on the bar Bill performs 6 sets of 5 reps, also with 135 pounds. In both cases, the total volume (weight x reps) is the same. Question: Who derives the best training effect for hypertrophy, and who ends up becoming stronger? The answer, as you may have surmised, is that John gets bigger, and Bill gets stronger. (Actually, they both get bigger and stronger, but Bill becomes stronger than John, and John becomes bigger than Bill). But why?
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Physically Incorrect Ok, let's dissect the question for a moment. Let's take a look at the force on John's bar, rep by rep. These values may not be absolutely correct, but the concept is accurate: Force on John's Bar Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep
1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9: 10:
164 161 158 155 152 149 146 143 140 137
pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds
of of of of of of of of of of
force force force force force force force force force force
Now, if John was working as hard as he could, the 11th rep might have yielded about 134 pounds of force, which means he would have failed. If you add the above numbers together and divide by 10, you get an average set force of 150.5 pounds. Now let's look at what Bill did, and we'll assume that his strength levels are exactly the same as John: Set 1 Rep 1: Rep 2: Rep 3: Rep 4: Rep 5:
164 161 158 155 152
pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds
of of of of of
force force force force force
Set 2: (these numbers are slightly lower to account for the fatigue which resulted from the first set) Rep Rep Rep Rep Rep
1: 2: 3: 4: 5:
162 159 156 153 149
pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds
of of of of of
force force force force force
If you add John's numbers together for each set and divide by 5, you get an average set force of 158 pounds for set 1 and 155.8 for set 2. The average force per rep for both sets combined is 156.9. So as you can see, because breaking the set of 10 into 2 sets of 5 results in 415
Physically Incorrect less fatigue per set, the lifter can produce more force, which recruits greater numbers of motor units, which results in greater strength levels due to enhanced neural drive. Also keep in mind that neither set was a maximal effort for Bill— in other words, he had at least 3-4 reps in reserve on both sets. That reserve is what allowed him to accelerate the bar, which is what puts tension on muscles. John, on the other hand, gets more hypertrophy out of the deal because of the fatigue that accumulated during his all-out set of 10. Although hypertrophy is a mysterious process, many scientists suggest that fatigue is a necessary precondition for protein turnover in trained muscles. Of course, the above example was not idealized by any means— performing say, 10 sets of 2 reps results in even greater strength gains, for reasons that should now be obvious. Hope you followed that admittedly long-winded explanation, and I hope it helps your understanding of how to achieve specific goals through intelligent program design. Mr. Spine Doesn't Like This One... Charles, my martial arts instructor always has us do these "leg push-downs" where you are on your back with legs straight up at the ceiling, and then a partner will push your legs down to the floor as you try to resist. I've never considered this exercise very safe, but want your opinion on it. Thanks, Cory Regent First, since this is primarily an eccentric drill, one problem is that it may have better application for hypertrophy than for absolute or speed strength. But my real problem with this exercise is that few people are strong enough to do it correctly. By correctly, I mean that you need to be able to keep your low back flat against the floor at all times. Since it's rare to see a person who can do this while simply lowering his legs to the floor under control, I'll go out on a limb and say that it'd be even more rare to find someone who can maintain this posture while his or her legs are being thrown to the floor by a partner! So, if you are in this minority, go ahead and enjoy the exercise. Otherwise, stick with ball crunches, high cable crunches, and so forth.
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Physically Incorrect Bizarre Exercise of the Month Mr. Staley, Last week at my gym I saw a woman doing an exercise I have never seen before: it was like a dumbbell front raise, where she would raise both arms out to the front, with her palms toward the floor, and then once her arms were horizontal to the floor, she would rotate her wrists so that her thumbs faced the ceiling. Then she would reverse the turn, and lower her arms again. have you ever heard of or seen this exercise? If so, is it worthwhile? Thanks for your time and expertise! Sarah Richmond Well, this is a new one on me. If you raise your arms with the palms facing downward as you describe, then it would be relatively effective as a middle deltoid exercise. But the wrist twist at the top makes absolutely no sense at all, if I'm understanding you correctly. What would happen is as you point your thumbs upward, the tension would shift from the middle delt to the front delt. But this would only be a brief, isometric contraction for the front delt, and I would thing this maneuver would have potential to grind up the shoulder joint as well. I wouldn't recommend it. What Are "Straight Sets?" Q: Charles, I was just at one of your seminars, and I think you said that you never use "straight sets," but I never got a chance to ask you about it— what do you mean by "straight" sets, and what do you use instead of them? Great seminar by the way— when are you doing another one? Janice Escher What I meant by a straight set is a set of 8, or 10, or whatever, with the same weight. And what I do instead is drop sets. So, in other words, instead of doing a set of 10 with 225, I'll do a set of 5 with 255 immediately followed by another 5 reps with maybe 225, or whatever I can manage. I just can't find a reason not to do it this way, because the increased neural drive provided by the first stage of the drop is too valuable to waste. About the only time I don't utilize this strategy is on exercises where it is impractical— barbell squats for example. As for seminars, I'll be in San Antonio, Texas on October 23-24, and in Phoenix, Arizona on November 13-14 of this year. I don't have next year's schedule fully hammered out yet, but it will be on my website when I do. 417
Physically Incorrect How Far to Lean on Squats? Mr. Staley, I know I lean forward a lot when I squat. I've never hurt myself, but I just wonder how much it's OK to lean— assuming that it can't be helped. — Thanks! Anthony In terms of safety, you can probably lean as much as you want, as long as you maintain normal spinal curvatures. It's funny, but I know some people who are insistent on super-upright posture during squats, but at the same time they're OK with doing good mornings, which, when you think about it, is just a bad squat taken to the extreme! However, if you're trying to develop your quads, it's a different story— in this case, you DO want to maintain as upright a position as possible, to avoid the glutes and hamstrings taking over most of the load. If you're having difficulty with this, work on stretching your soleus muscles (not your gastrocs, which are on a slack when the knee is bent). I am not of the camp that believes all people can perform a good "quadricep" squat, by the way— some people just have proportions that rule it out. But more often than not, tight calves and bad form are to blame for excessive forward lean.
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Physically Incorrect Epilogue: The Athlete's Most Important Virtue: The Open Mind For all the virtues that the martial arts can instill in people, unfortunately, open-mindedness doesn't seem to be one of them. For example, instructors commonly discourage students from studying other martial arts systems. For the most part, following tradition is encouraged; innovation and creativity are discouraged. Students are encouraged to blindly accept rather than to analyze or to question. This close-minded approach has benefits, but they come at a high cost: the security that comes with following time-worn approaches and philosophies allows one to fully commit to their training, knowing that many hundreds of thousands have taken the same path to success. This security is often an illusion, however, for at least two reasons: First, although we see many who succeed with the "traditional" path, we rarely see those who don't. In the sport of Olympic weightlifting, the tiny country of Bulgaria has had outstanding success in recent years, using training schedules which seem exceptionally brutal— training at very high intensities, up to six days a week and often using 2-3 sessions per day. Although this had lead many lifters to emulate the Bulgarian system, others question the validity of these methods, suggesting that it is used simply as a "weeding out" process. In other words, anyone who can survive the system is likely to end up as a champion lifter. For every champion the Bulgarian's produce, there may be many broken bodies along the way. Nevertheless, using this system, Bulgaria manages to find its most genetically gifted lifters without wasting resources on lifters who will never be champions no matter what training system they follow. Second, we never venture out to see if there are better methods (at least for us) than the one's we're currently using. For example, let's say that all your martial arts role models perform endless sets of pushups every day. So you decide "If it works for them, it's good enough for me." And for years and years, no one can talk you out of it. The problem is, pushups are far from an efficient exercise. Most martial artists do them simply because their instructor told them to, or because "that's what everyone does." The problem is, once you can do more than 10 reps, the exercise can only develop strength-endurance, which is not a quality that most martial artists need or want. For en exercise tobe beneficial for a speed-strength endeavor like the martial arts, it must be modifiable so that 419
Physically Incorrect very high intensities (1-5 reps) can be reached. Only in this way can the proper strength qualities be trained. I have often said that close-mindedness is a survival trait: thousands of years ago, a Neanderthal man looked under a rock, and found some grubs to eat. The technique obviously had value, and it made lots of sense to look under more rocks than it did to look up in the trees. But for this Neanderthal to go beyond mere survival, he should in fact look up in the trees, for if he did, he might find better food choices. In many ways, athletes are the same way— at some point in their athletic careers, they are convinced to train in a certain way, and because this way lead to a certain degree of success, they now pronounce this "way" as the "only way." If this makes sense to you, I would like to encourage you to look beyond the methods and techniques you're currently using. Don't simply discard what you're doing now, but remain open to the possibility that better ways might exist, at least for you; at least for now. And if you happen to stumble upon a better way, resist the temptation to follow it blindly for the rest of your life. Also, resist the temptation to classify new information as simply "bad" or "good." Simply listen. Observe. Consider. If the information seems logical and if you can't find a reason to discard it, then conduct an experiment of one, using yourself as the Guinea pig. Carefully integrate the new technique or method into your training. Give yourself a reasonable period of time to evaluate the effectiveness of the experiment. If it seems like your sport-specific fitness has improved, then you have at least a reasonable assurance that this new element has a place in your training (notice I didn't say that it should now BECOME your new way of training!). Finally, although I encourage you to cultivate an open mind, I'm not suggesting that it has to be gaping! When things seem to be too good to be true, or have absolutely no basis in science, your time is probably better spent researching more promising options.
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Physically Incorrect GLOSSARY OF TRAINING AND NUTRITION TERMS A Abduction -- Movement of a limb away from middle axis of the body, such as extending arms outward at shoulder height from a hanging-down position. Abs -- Slang for abdominal muscles. Absolute Strength -- Developed through heavy weight training, typically involving above the 80-85% of maximum effort for each lift. Its 3 components are concentric, eccentric and static strength. No ergogenic aids (e.g., drugs, therapies or nutritional products) are used in training for absolute strength, whereas such ergogens are used to acquire limit strength. 1. Concentric strength refers to the one-rep maximum for a movement. 2. Eccentric is the one-rep maximum lowering a weight under control (usually 40% more than concentric). 3. Static is the maximum holding strength in a given position (20% more than concentric). Accommodating Resistance -- A weight training machine which, through the use of air, fluid or clutch plates in tandem with a flywheel, controls the speed with which you are able to move. By controlling speed, the exertion you are able to deliver is always at maximum throughout the entire range of motion of an exercise. This technology is very useful during rehabilitation, when injuries are present, and also in sports training for speed-strength. (See Isokinetic Resistance, Variable Resistance and Constant Resistance.) Acetyl Coenzyme A -- Acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl CoA) is a chief precursor of lipids. It is formed by an acetyl group attaching itself to coenzyme A (CoA) during the oxidation of amino acids, fatty acids, or pyruvate. Actin -- Actin is one of the fibrous protein constituents of the protein complex actomyosin. It is a protein which, when combined with myosin forms actomyosin, the contractile constituent of muscle. Actomyosin -- Actomyosin is the system involved in muscle contraction and relaxation which is composed of actin and myosin protein filaments. Additives -- Substances other than a foodstuff present in food as a result of production, processing, storage or packaging. Examples: preservatives, col-
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Physically Incorrect oring, thickeners (gums), excipients and binders. Adduction -- Movement of a limb toward middle axis of the body. Returning arms to the side from extended position at shoulders. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) -- The body's energizer, an organic compound present in muscle fibers that is broken down through a variety of enzymatic processes. The resultant spark of energy released stimulates hundreds of microscopic filaments within each cell, triggering muscle contraction. Adhesion -- Fibrous tissue holding muscles or other parts together that have been altered or damaged through trauma. Aerobic exercise -- Activities in which oxygen from the blood is required to fuel the energy-producing mechanisms of muscle fibers. Examples are running, cycling and skiing over distance. Aerobic means "with oxygen." Aerobic strength -- Force produced footfall-per footfall (or movement-permovement) in the face of massive oxygen debt, such as that incurred in long distance training or competition. While many factors contribute to aerobic strength, there are 6 critical components: 1. Cardiovascular endurance relates to the efficiency in getting oxygenated and nutrient-rich blood to the working muscles, and "spent" blood back to the heart. 2. Cardiorespiratory endurance involves the efficiency of the "loop" where the blood goes from the heart to the lungs, gets rid of water and carbon dioxide, picks up oxygen, and returns to the heart for delivery to the body. 3. Max VO2 Uptake: Maximum Volume of Oxygen Taken up by the working muscles, expressed in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute (ml/kg/min). 4. Stroke Volume: The volume of blood pushed out of the left ventricle with each beat 5. Ejection Fraction: The percentage of the total volume of blood in the left ventricle that's pushed out with each beat 6. Heart Rate: The number of times your heart beats during each minute. Agonist -- A muscle directly involved in contraction and primarily responsible for movement of a body part. (Also called a prime mover.) Albumin -- Albumin is a type of simple protein widely distributed throughout 422
Physically Incorrect the tissues and fluids of plants and animals. Varieties of albumin are found in blood, milk, egg white, wheat, barley and muscle. Aldosterone -- Aldosterone is a mineralocorticoid which functions as the primary electrolyte-regulatory steroid hormone. It is secreted by the adrenal cortex. Allergen -- A substance that causes an allergy or hypersensitivity. Amino acids -- The building blocks of protein. There are 24 amino acids, which form countless number of different proteins. They all contain nitrogen, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. Amino acids are 1) essential, 2) conditionally essential, or 3) nonessential. The "L" isomer of the amino acids has greater biological value, and is distinguished from the "molecular mirror image" isomer which is called the "D" form. Thus, references to the individual amino acids often begin with the prefix "L." Essential aminos must be derived from food. There are eight of them: Lisoleucine, L-leucine, L-lysine, L-methionine, L-phenylalanine, L-tryptophan, L-threonine, and L-valine. Two others, L-arginine and L-histidine, are essential for children. An example of a "conditionally essential" amino is L-glutamine, which is not manufactured in sufficient quantity by the body during intense weight training, and therefore must be consumed to make up the deficit. Nonessential aminos are manufactured internally in the quantities the body requires during times where stress or other factors do not provoke a greaterthan-normal need for them. Their names are: L-alanine, L-asparagine, Laspartic acid, L-citrulline, L-cysteine, L-cystine, L-glutamine, L-glutamic acid, glycine, L-ornithine, L-proline, L-serine, taurine, and L-tyrosine. Some of their roles are: L-arginine -- An essential amino for prepubescent children, arginine is converted to ornithine in the adult body. It's usually used in supplement form by adults in combination with ornithine (another amino) for growth hormone stimulation, a practice of unproven efficacy. L-alanine -- An energy producer and regulator of blood sugar. L-asparagine -- An important factor in the metabolic processes of the nervous system. L-aspartic acid -- Involved in the conversion of carbohydrates to muscle ener423
Physically Incorrect gy. A building block of immune system immunoglobulins and antibodies. L-citrulline -- Helps detoxify ammonia, a byproduct of protein metabolism. L-cysteine -- Performs detoxification duties in combination with L-aspartic acid and L-citrulline. Helps prevent damage from alcohol and cigarette smoke. Stimulates hair growth. L-cystine -- A major partner in tissue anti-oxidant mechanisms. Contributes to improved healing, diminished pain from inflammation, and strong connective tissue. L-glutamine -- Lymphocytes and other white blood cells, front-line fighters in the immune system, are strongly dependent on glutamine. Glutamine also helps memory and concentration, and aids in neutralizing the catabolic effects of cortisol which is released upon strenuous exercise. L-glutamic acid -- An important metabolic factor in energy production, brain function and the immune system. In combination with vitamin B-6, glutamic acid is converted to L-glutamine in the liver, scavenging ammonia in the process. Glycine -- Vital for the manufacture of amino acids in the body and in the structure of red blood cells. Glucose and creatine phosphate (CP), two substances pivotal to energy production, require glycine in their synthesis process. L-histidine -- Along with growth hormone and certain other amino acids, vital to tissue growth. Important in the production of red and white blood cells. L-isoleucine -- One of the three branched chain aminos, so-named because of its branching molecular configuration. The other two are leucine and valine. Together, they are indispensible for muscle growth and recovery. See Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs). L-leucine -- See L-isoleucine. L-lysine -- Low levels can slow down protein synthesis, affecting muscle and connective tissue. Has inhibitory affect against viruses and used in treatment of herpes simplex. L-ornithine -- see L-arginine. L-methionine -- Removes poisonous wastes from your liver and assists in the regeneration of liver and kidney tissue.
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Physically Incorrect L-phenylalanine -- Enhances learning, memory and alertness. A major element in the production of collagen, the main fibrous protein tissue in the body. Very useful for pain reduction in its modified D,L,-phenylalanine form. L-proline -- A major ingredient in the formation of connective tissue. L-serine -- Important for the production of cellular energy and the formation of acetylcholine, a paramount brain chemical that aids memory and nervous system function. L-threonine -- One of the amino detoxifiers. Prevents fatty buildup in the liver. Important component of collagen. L-tryptophan -- Stimulates secretion of serotonin, a brain chemical that has a calming effect on the body. Used in the treatment of insomnia, stress and migraines. This essential amino acid was placed in the "drug" category by the FDA in 1988, an action which rendered virtually all commercially available essential amino acid mixtures worthless. Without any one of the 8 essentials present, none of the others can function. L-tyrosine -- Important to the function of adrenal, pituitary and thyroid glands. Elevates mood and is used in the treatment of anxiety, depression and insomnia. L-valine -- See L-isoleucine. Amino acids are one of the three major sources of energy in the human body, the other two being fatty acids, and monosaccharides such as glucose. Amino acids are linked together in construction of the body's proteins. Most amino acids are incorporated into proteins which are either structural or regulatory in nature. Structural proteins such as collagen and elastin, make up the muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones. Regulatory proteins, called enzymes, control the function of all of the metabolic pathways within the cells of the body. Some enzymes are general in their activity and help break down food. Class-specific enzymes regulate larger-scale processes. Ammonia scavengers -- Combinations of certain amino acids (especially glutamic acid in combination with vitamin B-6) and minerals that help remove ammonia from the blood. Ammonia is a toxic by-product of intense training (caused by the breakdown of amino acids for energy) and endurance events which can accumulate to cause severe fatigue. Anabolism -- The metabolic processes which build up body substances, that is, the synthesis of complex substances from simple ones. Example: musclebuilding. Anabolism uses the available energy generated by catabolic 425
Physically Incorrect processes to form the chemical bonds which unite the components of increasingly complex molecules. Anabolism is the opposite of catabolism. Anabolic steroid -- A synthetic chemical which simulates the muscle-building properties of the male hormone testosterone. Anaerobic exercise -- Short-term activities (usually highly intense) in which muscle fibers derive contractile energy from stored internal compounds without the use of oxygen from the blood. These compounds include ATP, CP and Glycogen. Short bursts of "all-out" effort, such as sprinting or weightlifting are examples of anaerobic activities. Anaerobic means "without oxygen." Anaerobic Strength -- Musculoskeletal force output not requiring oxygen. For example, energy for Anaerobic Strength Endurance comes principally from the glycolytic pathway. The emphasis is on repetitive muscular capacity such as required in boxing, wrestling, tug-o-war and high repetition training (more than 20 reps) without entering the aerobic phase of muscular energetics, and which involves the development of severe oxygen debt. There are two general types of anaerobic strength endurance: 1. Speed endurance involves maintaining maximum speed over times lower than 3-4 minutes (e.g., 100, 400, 800 meter dashes in track & field). 2. Strength endurance is exerting maximum muscular effort time after time with no appreciable decline in force output. Football linemen display this quality play-after-play for four quarters. Two other forms of anaerobic strength are limit strength and speed-strength, both of which derive energy from the ATP/CP pathway of muscular energetics. Anorexia -- Anorexia is a condition where a person experiences a loss of appetite; it is distinguished from anorexia nervosa, a serious nervous condition where the person, usually young women, experiences extreme aversion to food due to emotional reasons, resulting in life-threatening weight loss. Antagonist -- A muscle that counteracts the agonist, lengthening when the agonist muscle contracts. Antioxidants -- Certain nutrients, substances and vitamins and minerals that protect against free-radicals, highly unstable molecular fragments unleashed by strenuous exercise, chemicals, polluted air, and other factors, that can cause extensive damage to the body. Free radicals are involved in emphysema, wrinkled skin, cancer, blood clots, damage to cellular components and DNA, as well as muscle pains, cramps, and fatigue, and a host of other ail426
Physically Incorrect ments and diseases normally associated with ageing. Free-radical "scavengers" (another term for antioxidants) include vitamins A, C, E, selenium, zinc, many different botanical preparations such as pycnogenol and nordihydroguairetic acid (NDGA), glutathione, superoxide dimutase, and others. (See free radicals.) Atrophy -- Withering away, a decrease in size and functional ability of bodily tissues or organs, typically resulting from disuse or disease. ATP -- The organic compound found in muscle which, upon being broken down enzymatically, yields energy for muscle contraction. ATPase -- The enzyme which acts to split the ATP molecule. Three major isoforms of ATPase exist, and correspond to Type I, Type IIa and Type IIb muscle fibers. ATPase is released from the knobby ends of the cross-bridges located on the myosin myofilaments. ATP/CP Sports -- Explosive strength sports with movement lasting a second or two at most (examples: shot put, powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, vertical jump). B Ballistic -- Infers movement which is accelerative, of high velocity, and with actual projection into free space (10). Ballistic activities include throwing and jumping. Barbell -- Weight used for exercise, consisting of a rigid handle 5-7' long, with detachable metal discs at each end. Beta-carotene -- A carotenoid (pigment) found in yellow, orange and deep green vegetables which provides a source of vitamin A when ingested. This substance has been found to have antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. Biceps brachii -- The prominent muscle on the front of upper arm. Bioflavonoids (Vitamin P) -- Water-soluble substances that appear in fruits and vegetables as companions to vitamin C. By name, they are: citrin, rutin, hesperidin, flavone and flavonols. They increase the strength of capillaries and regulate their permeability for the countless biochemical transfers that occur between blood and tissue. No RDA. Dietary sources: Citrus fruit pulp, apricots, buckwheat, berries. Biomechanics -- The study of the mechanical aspects of physical movement, 427
Physically Incorrect such as torque, drag, and posture, that is used to enhance athletic technique. Biotin -- A member of the B complex vitamin family essential for metabolism of fat, protein, and vitamins C and B-12. It helps alleviate muscle pains, eczema, dermatitis. No RDA. Dietary sources: egg yolk, liver, whole rice, brewer's yeast. Blood Glucose -- Blood glucose (blood sugar) refers to sugar in the form of glucose. The blood sugar level in humans is normally 60 to 100 milligrams per 100 milliliter of blood; it rises after a meal to as much as 150 milligrams per 100 milliliter of blood but this may vary. Blood pressure -- A measurement of the force with which blood presses against the wall of a blood vessel. Blood pressure, as popularly used, is the pressure determined indirectly, existing in the large arteries at the height of the pulse wave. When a blood pressure reading is taken, the systolic over diastolic value is determined. Systolic pressure is primarily caused by the heartbeat or contraction. The diastolic pressure is taken when the heart is filling with blood between beats. Blood pressure values vary appreciably depending on age, sex, and ethnicity. A typical adult reading may be 120mm Hg over 80mm Hg, stated 120 over 80. Blood -- Blood is the fluid which circulates through the heart, arteries, veins and capillaries. It is composed of red blood cells, white blood cells and blood platelets, and an interstitial fluid called plasma. It derives its reddish color from the iron within the hemoglobin. Blood functions to provide nutrition and respiration for tissues located far from food and air supplies. it also transports waste from the tissues to the excretory organs. Blood provides chemical and thermal regulation to the body and helps in preventing infection by transporting antibodies. BMR (Basal metabolic rate) -- The rate at which the body burns calories while at complete rest -- lying down but not sleeping -- over a 24 hour period. Bodybuilding -- The application of training sciences -- particularly nutrition and weight training -- to enhance musculature and physical appearance. Bodyfat -- The percentage of fat in the body. In bodybuilding, the lower the percentage, the more muscular the physique appears. Boron -- Boron is a non-metallic earth element. It is required by some plants as a trace element and occurs as a hard crystalline solid or as brown powder. 428
Physically Incorrect Boron forms compounds such as boric acid or borax. Taken as a supplement (3 mg./day), it shows decidedly favorable anti-osteoporosis activity in middle aged women. Despite its widespread use as a bodybuilding supplement, there is no evidence that it has anabolic properties among otherwise healthy bodybuilders. Branched chain amino acids (BCAA) -- The amino acids L-leucine, L-isoleucine and L-valine, which have a particular molecular structure that gives them their name, comprise 35 percent of muscle tissue. The BCAAs, particularly Lleucine, help increase work capacity by stimulating production of insulin, the hormone that opens muscle cells to glucose. BCAAs are burned as fuel during highly intense training, and at the end of long-distance events, when the body recruits protein for as much as 20 percent of its energy needs. Brewer's yeast -- A non-leavening yeast used as a nutritional supplement for its rich content of vitamins (particularly B complex), minerals and amino acids. Bromelain -- A protein-splitting enzyme in pineapple juice. Used to reduce inflammation and edema and accelerate tissue repair. Pineapple eaten fresh is the best source. Buffed -- Slang for good muscle size and definition. Bulimia -- Bulimia is the abnormal and unhealthful intake of large amounts of food. It is often followed by the use of laxatives and/or self-induced vomiting. Bulking up -- Gaining body weight by adding muscle, bodyfat or both. Bursitis -- Bursitis is an inflammation of a bursa, the fluid sac located between joints for padding and lubrication. C Caffeine -- A chemical occurring in coffee, black tea and cola drinks with an ability to stimulate the nervous system. In small amounts, it can create mental alertness. In larger amounts, it can cause nervousness, anxiety, sleeplessness, and is used medicinally as a diuretic and headache remedy. Calcium -- The most abundant mineral in the body, a vital factor for bones, teeth, muscle growth, muscle contraction, the regulation of nutrient passage in and out of cells, and nerve transmissions.RDA: 800-1,400 mg. Dose increases with age. Dietary sources: milk and dairy, soybeans, sardines, salmon, peanuts, beans, green vegetables. 429
Physically Incorrect Carbohydrate -- One of the three basic foodstuffs (proteins and fat are the others). Carbohydrates are a group of chemical substances including sugars, glycogen, starches, dextrins, and cellulose. They comprise the body's main source of raw material for energy. They contain only carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Usually the ratio of hydrogen to oxygen is 2:1. Carbohydrates can be classified as either a simple carbohydrate or a complex carbohydrate. Digested carbohydrate enters the circulatory system in the form of monosaccharides, primarily glucose. Lesser amounts of fructose and galactose are also absorbed, but these are eventually converted to glucose in the liver. Before they can be absorbed into the bloodstream, polysaccharides and disaccharides must be broken down into monosaccharides by specific enzymes during the digestive process. Carbohydrate loading -- An eating and exercise technique used to build up ultra high reserves of glycogen in muscle fibers for maximum endurance in long-distance athletic events. Benefits only events over 60 minutes long, where glycogen can become depleted to inhibit work capacity. Cardiac muscle -- One of the body's 3 types of muscle, found only in the heart. Catabolism -- The breaking down aspect of metabolism, including all processes in which complex substances are progressively broken down into simpler ones. Example: the catabolism of protein in muscle tissue into component amino acids, such as occurs in intense training.Both anabolism and catabolism usually involve the release of energy, and together constitute metabolism. Chelate -- A chelate is a complex formation of a metal ion and two or more charged molecule groups. An ion is an atom or molecule which carries an electric charge; it can be either a cation or an anion. Cholesterol -- A lipid (or fatty substance), normally present in most body tissue, especially the brain, nervous system, liver and blood. Produced in the body to form hormones, vitamin D and bile, a fluid secreted into the small intestine to break down fat. Dietary cholesterol is obtained from meat, eggs, poultry, fish, milk and other dairy products. Dietary cholesterol raises blood cholesterol -- a factor in arterial disease -- but the effect is less pronounced than that of saturated fat. Choline -- A B complex vitamin associated with utilization of fats and cholesterol in the body. A constituent of lecithin, which helps prevent fats from building up in the liver and blood. Essential for health of myelin sheath, a principle component of nervous tissue, and plays important role in transmis430
Physically Incorrect sion of nerve impulses. No RDA. Dietary sources: lecithin, egg yolk, liver, wheat germ. Chromium -- Along with niacin, this essential micronutrient activates insulin for vital functions relating to blood sugar, muscle growth and energy, and helps control cholesterol. Chromium deficiency is widespread. Exercise and high consumption of sugar causes depletion. No RDA. Average adult intake should be 50 to 200 micrograms. Dietary sources: brewer's yeast. shellfish, chicken liver, oysters. Commercially available chromium supplements include picolinate (chromium bound to zinc) and polynicotinate (chromium bound to niacin) varieties. Research is unclear as to their respective "anabolic" activities, but both appear to act as glucose tolerance factor (GTF) regulators. That is, they aid in regulating your blood sugar (and therefore insulin) levels. Circuit training -- A system of weight training involving a series of 10 to 20 exercises for all body parts performed in sequence with short rest intervals between exercises. Used to develop both aerobic and anaerobic strength. Coenzyme Q10 -- Also called "Ubiquinone," it is a naturally occurring biochemical within the cells' mitochondria. Specifically, it acts as an electron carrier in the production of ATP. As a supplement, it is believed to be 1) a potent antioxidant, 2) an immune system booster, 3) energy enhancer, 4) an aid in preventing cardiac arrhythmias and high blood pressure, and 5) a performance enhancer for aerobic athletes, particularly if the athlete is in less than peak condition. Collagen -- The most abundant type of protein in the body. Forms tough connective tissue, the scaffolding holding a muscle in place which becomes the tendons that tie muscles to bones. Connective tissue literally keeps your body together -- skin, bones, ligaments, cartilage and organs. Colostrum -- The IGF-I and IGF-II found in colostrum are known to be critical "in vivo" for promoting growth. That's why it exists in mothers' milk during the critical first few days of lactation. "IGF" stands for "insulin-like growth factor." The voluminous research data on these powerful growth factors is compelling. The effectiveness of colostrum is measured by its "IG" (immunoglobulin) value. Most colostrum hitting the sports nutrition market is rated 8; better ratings are 22, 33 and 44. Of course, the 8 is cheaper and not as effective. Conversely, 44 is the best. Compensatory acceleration training -- A weight lifting technique used to develop explosive strength whereby you accelerate the bar as leverage improves through the movement. 431
Physically Incorrect Complete protein -- Refers to protein which contains all essential amino acids in sufficient quantity and in the right ratio to maintain a positive nitrogen balance. The egg is the most complete protein food in nature, with an assimilability ratio of 94-96 percent. That is, up to 96 percent of the protein in eggs will be used as protein. In contrast, about 60-70 percent of the protein in milk, meat or fish can be used as protein (see essential amino acids). Complex carbohydrates -- Foods of plant origin consisting of 3 or more simple sugars bound together. Also known as polysaccharides. The starch in grains is an example. Compared to monosaccharides (refined carbohydrates such as table sugar and white flour products), complex carbs require a prolonged enzymatic process for digestion and thus provide a slow, even and ideal flow of energy. This avoids fluctuations in glucose (blood sugar) levels which can affect energy. Complex carbs contain fiber and many nutrients. Concentric contraction -- Shortening of muscle due to muscle contraction. Connective tissue -- Tissue, primarily formed of collagen, that binds, supports, and provides a protective packing medium around organs and muscles. Constant Resistance -- Weight training technology wherein the weight you are lifting always remains the same, regardless of changing leverage throughout a given exercise movement. The standing example of constant resistance training is lifting a dumbbell or a barbell. (See Accommodating Resistance and Variable Resistance.) Contraction -- The shortening of a muscle caused by the full contraction of individual muscle fibers. Cool-Down -- The tapering-off period after completion of workout. Activities such as slow jogging, walking and static stretching are recommended. Copper -- A mineral that helps convert the body's iron into hemoglobin for oxygen transportation through the bloodstream. Essential for utilization of vitamin C. No RDA. Dietary sources: legumes, whole wheat, prunes, liver, seafood. Cortisone -- Cortisone is a hormone isolated from the cortex of the adrenal gland and also prepared synthetically. It is believed to be both a precursor and metabolite of cortisol (hydrocortisone). Prior to this conversion to cortisol it is largely inactive. Cortisol, however, is highly catabolic. Cortisone is important for its regulatory action in the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, sodium, and potassium. Pharmacologically as an antiinflammatory in various conditions, including allergies, collagen diseases and 432
Physically Incorrect adrenocortisol replacement therapy. Disadvantages may include temporary relief and also potential toxicity. Creatine Monohydrate -- Creatine monohydrate has been clinically used in improving plasma creatine concentrations by as much as 50 percent. Research shows this substance to be effective in improving training intensity and recovery. It is able to pass through the gut wall and into the bloodstream intact, and upon entering the muscle cells, is converted into creatine phosphate (CP), (See creatine phosphate.) Creatine Phosphate (CP) -- An organic compound in muscle fibers that is fractured enzymatically for the production of ATP, the body's basic fuel that generates contractions. Cross bridges -- Projections of myosin molecules that link with actin filaments to create a grabbing, pulling effect, resulting in contraction. Crunches -- An abdominal exercise which isolates the abdominals while, at the same time, eliminating unwanted action from the iliopsoas muscles (hip flexors). Cutting up -- Reducing bodyfat and water retention to increase muscular definition. D Deadlift-- One of three powerlifting events. A maximum (1-RM) barbell is lifted off the floor until the lifter is standing erect. Deltoids-- The large triangular muscles of the shoulder which raise the arm away from the body and is a prime mover in all arm elevation movements. Depletion -- Exhaustion following a workout before the body has fully recuperated. Never train when feeling depleted. dl-Phenylalanine -- DLPA is a mixture consisting of equal parts of the D- and L-forms of phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is a naturally occurring amino acid, discovered in 1879, essential for optimal growth in infants and for nitrogen equilibrium in human adults. DLPA is used in the control of pain, through a mechanism believed to involve a sparing effect on opiate-like substances naturally secreted by the brain (i.e., endorphins and enkephalins). DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) -- A complex protein present in the nuclei of cells.The chemical basis of heredity and carrier of genetic programming for the organism. 433
Physically Incorrect Dumbbell -- Weight used for exercising, consisting of rigid handle about 14" long with sometimes detachable metal discs at each end. E Eccentric contraction -- Muscle lengthens while maintaining tension. Ectomorph -- A thin person with a lean physique and light musculature. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) -- A fatty acid found in fish and fish oils which is believed to lower cholesterol, especially cholesterol bound to low density lipoproteins (LDL). Electrolytes -- Minerals such as sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium and magnesium that provide conductivity functions for fluid passage (osmosis) through cellular membranes. Electrolytes are molecules that dissociate into cations or anions (see ion) when fused or in solution, thus capable of conducting electricity. Endocrine -- endocrine refers to a secretion that flows directly into the bloodstream. It is the opposite of exocrine. Endocrine glands -- Organs which secrete hormones into the blood or lymph systems to regulate or influence general chemical changes in the body or the activities of other organs. Major glands are the thyroid, adrenal, pituitary, parathyroid, pancreas, ovaries and testicles. Endomorph -- A heavyset person with a predominantly round and soft physique. Endorphins -- Brain chemicals that ease or suppress pain. D,L-phenylalanine, an amino acid, intensifies and prolongs the effects of these natural painkillers. Energy transfer systems efficiency -- The ability of your body to continually synthesize ATP under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Enzymes -- Enzymes are a type of chemical ferment-protein secreted by or contained within cells, which act as catalysts to induce chemical changes in other substances without being changed themselves. Enzymes are specific in their actions, acting only on specific substances called substrates. They are present in the digestive fluids and in many of the tissues, and are capable of producing in small amount the transformation on a large scale of various compounds. They are divided into six main groups: oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases and ligases.
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Physically Incorrect Proteases such as renin and pepsin aid in breaking down the bonds between amino acids and proteins. Lipase is a fat-splitting enzyme which causes the hydrolysis of fats into glycerin and fatty acids. Bromelain, another protease found in abundance in the pineapple plant, is a milk-clotting enzyme. Papain is a mixture of enzymes. Its chief function is in digesting protein, and is often referred to as "vegetable pepsin" because it contains enzymes similar to pepsin. Betaine hydrochloride is a complex of betaine and hydrochloride. Betaine is a chemical used in the manufacture of several products. But betaine hydrochloride is used by humans as a gastric acidifier, important in digestion. Amylase is an enzyme responsible for aiding in the digestion of starches, glycogen and other simple carbohydrates into glucose and maltose. Cellulase breaks down the tough fiberous cell walls of plant foods, thereby allowing you to digest, absorb and assimilate the contents of the plant cells more efficiently and completely. An added benefit is that there will be less undigested food entering your colon where they would be subject to attack by putrefactive bacteria. Ergogenesis -- Substances and practices that improve sports performance are called ergogenic aids. Ergogenesis is a word coined by Dr. Fred Hatfield in the mid 80s which refers to a "genesis" (new beginning) for athletes attempting to divorce themselves of steroid use by utilizing nutritional, psychological, training, and biomechanical technologies. Estrogen -- Estrogen, the female hormone, is a generic term for estrus-producing steroid compounds which are formed by the ovaries, placenta, testes, and adrenal cortex. They can also be isolated from plants or produced synthetically. Besides stimulation of secondary sexual characteristics, they exert systemic effects, such as growth and maturation of long bones. Estrogens are used therapeutically in any disorder attributable to estrogen deficiency, to prevent or stop lactation, to suppress ovulation, and to ameliorate carcinoma of the breast and of the prostate. Estrone and estradiol, both estrogens, induce the growth of female genital organs and stimulate the changes characteristic of the estrus cycle.
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Physically Incorrect F Fast-twitch fibers -- White muscle cells that fire quickly and are utilized in strength-dependent anaerobic activities such as sprinting and powerlifting. Fat -- One of the three basic foodstuffs (along with carbohydrates and protein). The most concentrated source of energy in the diet, furnishing twice the calories of carbs or proteins. The components of fat are fatty acids -- saturated or unsaturated. Saturated fatty acids are generally solid at room temperature and are derived primarily from animal sources. Unsaturated fatty acids, on the other hand, are usually liquid and come from vegetable, nut, or seed sources. Fat deposits surround and protect organs such as the kidneys, heart and liver. Fats are the primary substance of adipose tissue. A layer of fat beneath the skin, known as subcutaneous fat, insulates the body from environmental temperature changes thereby preserving body heat. Fat-Soluble Vitamins -- The fat-soluble vitamins are vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K. They are vitamins which can be dissolved in fats or fatty tissue. Fat (total) -- Total fat describes the fat consumed from both saturated and unsaturated sources, High intake of total dietary fat increases risk of obesity, some types of cancer, and possibly gallbladder disease. Fatigue -- State of decreased capacity for work due to previous workload. Fatty acid -- One of the building blocks of fat. Used as fuel for muscle contractions. Fatty acids aid in oxygen transport through blood to all cells, tissues, and organs. They help maintain resilience and lubrication of all cells, and combine with protein and cholesterol to form living membranes that hold body cells together. They break up cholesterol deposits on arterial walls, thereby preventing arteriosclerosis. Fatty acids are necessary for the function of the thyroid and adrenal glands. Fiber (muscle) -- The long and string-like muscle cells which contract to produce strength. They range from microscopic size to one foot long. There are several hundred to several thousand individual groups (fasciculi) of fibers in each major muscle structure. These groups are something like pieces of string bound tightly together inside a protective sheath. Fiber (dietary) -- The part of plant food that is not digested by the human body, such as the husk of whole grains and the skin of an apple. Healthy intestines and regular elimination require adequate fiber, generally provided 436
Physically Incorrect by complex carbohydrates. A diet low in fiber is associated with constipation, intestinal disorders, varicose veins, obesity and heart disease. Fitness -- A layman's definition of fitness may be as follows: "Your ability to meet the exigencies of your lifestyle with ease -- and room to spare for life's little emergencies." Thus, what constitutes "fitness" for one person isn't necessarily fitness for another. Laborers need a different level of fitness than do office secretaries because the demands of their lifestyles are different. Coaches need not be as fit as the athletes they train, generals needn't be as fit as the soldiers they command, and older adults (past middle-age) require a different set of standards for lifestyle fitness than do younger adults. Listed below are the traditionally identified components of fitness and a down-to-Earth definition of each. The best methods for augmenting each fitness component are also mentioned. No single technology works best alone. An "integrated" approach which incorporates several (or all) of the available technologies is best. Limit Strength: How much musculoskeletal force you can generate for one all-out effort. The most effective means of increasing limit strength is through progressive resistance training -- weight training. Research indicates that 38 repetitions with 80-90 percent of maximum load works best. "Periodizing" your training intensity bodypart-per-bodypart (i.e., exercise-per-exercise) is essential because of the high likelihood of overtraining (cumulative microtrauma). Various therapeutic modalities as well as psychological techniques and supplements also have shown effectiveness in improving limit strength. Starting Strength: Your ability to "turn on" as many muscle fibers (muscle cells) as possible instantaneously. A combination of weight training and light resistance training works best for improving starting strength. Weights should be in the 55-75 percent of maximum range, and the exercises should gradually (over a predetermined "period") become more and more ballistic. Light resistance techniques include plyometric training, overspeed training and various forms of running and agility drills. Various therapeutic modalities as well as psychological techniques also have shown effectiveness in improving starting strength. Explosive Strength: Once your muscle fibers are turned on, your ability to LEAVE them turned on for a measurable period is referred to as "explosiveness." A combination of weight training and light resistance training works best for improving explosive strength. Weights should be in the 70-80 percent of maximum range, and the exercises should gradually (over a predetermined "period") become more and more explosive. Light resistance techniques include plyometric training, overspeed training and various forms of running and agility drills. Various therapeutic modalities as well as psycho437
Physically Incorrect logical techniques also have shown effectiveness in improving explosive strength. Agility: Your ability to combine limit strength, starting strength, explosive strength and dynamic balance in performing a series of directional changes in rapid succession. "Zigzag" running is an example of agile movement. As indicated in the definition, agility training should include the technologies as described in all of the above-listed fitness components. Adding to these forms of training such light resistance techniques as agility drills and dynamic balance drills will ensure maximum progress toward your goal of improved agility. Flexibility: Your ability to flex, extend or circumduct your body's joints through their full intended range of motion without substantial decrement in limit strength. Stretching is overemphasized typically, and having a good level of strength while in a stretched position is more important than merely having the ability to assume an extremely stretched position. The most effective means of improving flexibility is called "resistance stretching". It's a special form of light resistance training wherein strength is improved while you are in the stretched position. There is no point to improving your joints' ranges of motion unless you are also capable of strong contraction while in an extremely stretched position. Static and dynamic stretching techniques are also ok providing they're accompanied with a sound strength training program. Various therapeutic modalities as well as psychological techniques such as yoga also have shown effectiveness in improving flexibility. Static Balance: Your ability to maintain control of your body's center of gravity over the center of your base of support. Nothing works better at improving static balance than practice! Assuming that you have sufficient strength, flexibility and stamina to both assume and hold the desired position, distributed practice (many short practice sessions per day) is recommended. Dynamic Balance: Your ability to maintain control of your body's center of gravity while moving or in-flight. A combination of limit strength, starting strength, explosive strength and agility training techniques (described above) prepare you for practicing your dynamic balance skills. In other words, lay a foundation first, and then practice your specific skills. Distributed practice is best, with short practice sessions at least twice daily. Strength Endurance: Your ability to maintain limit strength output time after time without fatigue limiting force output. Pushing back the anaerobic threshold is the name of the game here. Forcing yourself to continue contracting your muscles at maximum or near-maximum intensity while under conditions of extreme fatigue facilitates enzymatic changes within your muscles. Special forms of both weight training and ("light") resistance training, coupled with careful dietary and supplementation habits are the technologies which work 438
Physically Incorrect best. Psychological techniques also can be significant. Local Muscular Endurance: Your ability to perform sustained, sub-maximum force output over an extended period. Pushing back the anaerobic threshold is the name of the game here. Forcing yourself to continue contracting your muscles at sub-maximum intensity while under conditions of extreme fatigue facilitates enzymatic changes within your muscles. Several forms of resistance training, coupled with careful dietary and supplementation habits are the technologies which work best. Psychological techniques also can be significant. Speed Endurance: Your ability to maintain absolute maximum speed while sprinting requires both starting strength and the ability to display it time after time after time. Operating within the ATP/CP pathway of muscle energetics is the name of the game here. Forcing yourself to continue contracting your muscles at maximum intensity while under conditions of rapid ATP/CP (energy substrate) depletion facilitates positive enzymatic changes within your muscles. Special forms of resistance training which emphasize maximumoutput linear movement (e.g., running is "linear"), coupled with careful dietary and supplementation habits are the technologies which work best. Psychological techniques also can be effective. Cardiovascular/Cardiorespiratory Endurance: The efficiency with which you get oxygen to your working muscles while, at the same time, removing metabolic wastes. Repetitive submaximal applications of muscular exertion (force), linear or non-linear in nature, forces your muscles to operate while in severe oxygen debt. Your training (which must include resistance training, dietary practices, supplementation, therapeutic modalities and psychological techniques) must emphasize this oxygen debt factor, ever-pushing the limits at which the debt becomes too great and you are forced to stop. Simple jogging or other such "aerobic" forms of exercise can reverse disuse effects, but a far more strenuous approach is necessary to up your max VO2 uptake past 60 ml/kg/min. Muscle Mass: For bodybuilders, muscle mass is critical. It's the point of the sport. But for fitness enthusiasts, strength-to-weight ratio is more important than sheer mass for its own sake. Certainly, it's "normal" to have each muscle in your body optimally developed. And, it's "abnormal" not to be. What does that make the average sedentary person? Abnormal! The best method ever conceived to improve muscle mass is through a "holistic" approach. That is, optimally developing each and every cellular organelle and component maximally through employing a variety of training stresses. This is best accomplished through a carefully planned, integrative multiple variable split training system.
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Physically Incorrect Percent Bodyfat: The percentage of your total bodyweight that is comprised of fat. Most fitness experts agree that 10-14% is "good" for men, and 1418% is "good" for women. Clinical obesity is defined as 20 and 28 percent for men and women, respectively, while chronic obesity (the point at which your overweight condition is considered a "disease") is 28 and 32 percent for men and women, respectively. Dietary practices and nutritional supplementation are obviously the most important technologies involved in reducing bodyfat levels. However, without some form of exercise -- especially some form of resistance exercise -- your task is greatly magnified. This is because bigger muscles burn fat more efficiently than little muscles. Simply reversing the effects of disuse in your muscles will ensure that your dietary efforts pay far greater dividends for you. Medical support, therapeutic modalities and psychological techniques are often called for in extreme cases of obesity or when there are other health considerations involved. By far the most important consideration is prevention -- don't let yourself get fat in the first place. Freedom From Stress: Many psychologists say that "stress" should be measured by how well you are able to "control" outcomes in your life. Removing yourself from the stressful elements in your life is best. However, that's not always possible. Simple lifestyle changes, psychological assistance, medical support and (more effective than heretofore recognized) exercise all stand out as significant stress-controlling technologies. Freedom From Disease or Injury: Years of living in a toxic environment, poor eating habits, inactivity and the myriad complications stemming therefrom can cause or exacerbate otherwise preventable disease and injury. One can certainly not consider himself/herself "fit" if disease or injury is present. Think of the word disease as "the absence of ease" or "dis-ease." Not so coincidentally, people who are happy and "at ease" are also generally more healthy and fit. Medical support will go far in ensuring good health. That's not enough, however. Careful and regular diet, supplementation and exercise over a lifetime is by far more important in maintaining health than occasional visits to your family doctor. Your diet and supplementation schedules must include an abundance of antioxidants (see ageing section in Unit Eleven), and your exercise must be both regular and of sufficient intensity that your muscles and cardiovascular systems are taxed. Preventive Past Lifestyle: Everything from wrinkles to osteoporosis, from arthritis to atherosclerosis, and from dental cares to dermatoses are signs of premature ageing. Most are preventable to a far larger extent than heretofore thought possible. Higher levels of "dis-ease" are suffered by those who have, over a lifetime, cast caution to the wind in regards to nutritionally sound health and fitness practices, than among those who have lived a fitness lifestyle. Medical support will go far in ensuring good health. That's not enough, however. Careful and regular diet, supplementation and exercise 440
Physically Incorrect over a lifetime is by far more important in maintaining health than occasional visits to your family doctor. Your diet and supplementation schedules must include an abundance of antioxidants , and your exercise must be both regular and of sufficient intensity that your muscles and cardiovascular systems are taxed. The Mirror & Photo Tests: Strip naked and look into a full-length mirror. What do you see? Do you like what you see? Remember, a mirror doesn't lie. Take many "before and after" photos -- several times yearly. These photos are your best chronicle of progress, lack of it, or extent of "deterioration" from disuse, misuse or abuse. Wear a very revealing bathing suit when these photos are taken -- wouldn't want to miss anything! Of course, the most important elements involved in your appearance are diet and weight training, as they have the most profound effect on physical (outwardly visible) appearance. As you can guess, looking good and feeling good are hand-and-glove. Flex -- Contracting a muscle (or muscles) isometrically, as in bodybuilding competition. It can also refer to joint movement (see Flexion). Flexion -- A bending movement in contrast to extending, as in leg flexions. Flush -- Cleansing a muscle of metabolic toxins by increasing the blood supply to it through exertion. Folic acid -- A B-complex vitamin essential in formation of red blood cells and metabolism of protein. Important for proper brain function, mental and emotional health, appetite, and production of hydrochloric acid. Very often deficient in diets. RDA: 400 micrograms. Dietary sources: green leafy vegetables, liver, brewer's yeast. Food allergies -- Sensitivities to certain foods which can cause both mental and physical symptoms. Force -- That which changes or tends to change the state of rest or motion in matter. Force may increase or decrease the velocity of an object. The SI unit of force is the newton (N) Forced repetitions -- Assistance to perform additional repetitions of an exercise when muscles can no longer complete movement on their own. Free Radicals -- Free radicals are highly reactive molecules which target your tissues' protein bonds, the DNA in your cells' nuclei and the important polyunsaturated fatty acids within your cells' membranes. Once initiated, a chain reaction begins that ultimately results in the total destruction of that cell. 441
Physically Incorrect Scientists have determined that over 60 age-related maladies are a direct result of long-term damage resulting from free radical activity. There are seven different "species" of free radicals. SPECIES OF FREE RADICALS CORRESPONDING ANTIOXIDANTS Superoxide Anion Radical Green Tea (GTA) Vitamin E Vitamin C Glutathione (GSH) Maria Thistle (assists GSH) Ginkgo Biloba Hydrogen Peroxide Green Tea (GTA) Glutathione (GSH) Maria Thistle (assists GSH) Ginkgo Biloba Hydroxyl Radical Vitamin C Ginkgo Biloba Singlet Oxygen Vitamin A Vitamin E Glutathione (GSH) Maria Thistle (assists GSH) Selenium & Bilberry (assists Vit. E) Ginkgo Biloba Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Radical Vitamin A 442
Physically Incorrect Vitamin E Selenium & Bilberry (assists Vit. E) Maria Thistle Organic /Fatty Acid Hydroperoxides Glutathione (GSH) Maria Thistle (assists GSH) Ginkgo Biloba Oxidized Protein Glutathione (GSH) Maria Thistle (assists GSH) Ginkgo Biloba G Gamma oryzanol -- A substance extracted from rice bran oil which some athletes believe has non-steroidal, growth-promoting properties when taken as a supplement. It allegedly helps increase lean body mass and strength, decreases fatty tissue, improves recovery from workouts, and reduces postworkout muscle soreness, particularly among female athletes. Recently, in preliminary testing, the active ingredient -- ferulic acid (aka "trans-ferulic acid") -- was reported to exert an even more pronounced effect than Gamma Oryzanol. The jury is still out. Ginko Biloba -- Native to China and Japan, the ginkgo tree lives over 1000 years! The active component of ginkgo leaves are quercetin and the flavoglycosides. Ginkgo extract is shown to 1) reduce clots or thrombi formation in the veins and arteries, 2) increases cellular energy by increasing cellular glucose and ATP, 3) scavenges free radicals, 4) prevents the formation of free radicals, 5) reduce high blood pressure, and 6) promotes peripheral blood flow (especially to the brain), and ameliorates inner ear problems. Ginkgo also has been shown to improve alertness, short-term memory and various other cognitive disorders. Glucagon -- Glucagon is a hormone secreted by the alpha cells of the pancreas, which stimulates the breakdown of glycogen and the release of glucose by the liver thereby causing an increase in blood sugar levels.
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Physically Incorrect It works in direct opposition to insulin. Liver glucose is freed when the blood sugar level drops to around 70 milligrams/100 milligrams of blood. Exercise and starvation both increase glucagon levels, as does the presence of amino acids in the blood after a high protein meal. Glucagon produces smooth muscle relaxation when administered parenterally. Glucose (blood sugar) -- A simple sugar, the breakdown product of carbohydrates that becomes the raw material for energy production inside cells. Glucose-lactate cycle (Cori cycle) -- The metabolic partnership between muscles and liver to support active muscle work. Refers to the sequence involving breakdown of carbohydrates, glycogen storage in liver, passage of glucose into the bloodstream and subsequent storage in muscle fibers as glycogen, the breakdown of glycogen during muscle activity, the production of lactic acid in this process, and the conversion of lactic acid to glycogen again. Glucose polymers -- A state-of-the-art low glycemic carbohydrate supplement that delivers a steady source of energy for workouts and restoration. "Branching" glucose polymers (i.e., glucose molecules comprised of differing glycemic indexes due to their structural complexity) are available as drinks, powders and tablets. Glucose Tolerance -- Glucose tolerance refers to an individual's ability to metabolize glucose. Gluteals -- Abbreviation for gluteus maximus, medius and minimus; the hip extensor muscles. Also called buttocks or glutes. Glycemic index -- A rating system that indicates the different speed with which carbohydrates are processed into glucose by the body. In general, complex carbohydrates are broken down slower, providing a slow infusion of glucose for steady energy. Refined, simple carbohydrates usually are absorbed quickly, causing energy-disturbing fluctuations of glucose. Glycogen -- The common storage form of glucose in the liver and muscles that is biochemically processed as part of the energy-producing cycle. Glycogen, a polysaccharide commonly called animal starch, is readily converted into glucose as the energy needs of the body require. Glycolysis -- Glycolysis is the anaerobic enzymatic energy-yielding breakdown of glucose into pyruvic acid or lactic acid. Glycolytic Sports -- Sports such as wrestling, boxing, 200 meter dash and other long sprint or mid-distance sprints wherein the glycolytic pathway of muscle energy production (the breakdown of muscle sugar, glycogen, in order 444
Physically Incorrect to produce more CP and ATP) is involved (see glycogen, ATP and CP). Golgi tendon organs -- Nerve sensors ("proprioceptors"), located at the junction of muscles and tendons, that pick up messages of excess stress on the muscle and cause the brain to shut off muscle contraction. Called "the feedback loop," this shut-off threshold can be pushed back or delayed (e.g., toward one's maximum strength potential) through "jerk training," where you carefully perform repeated submaximum jerks with weights. (See proprioceptors, proprioception). Green Tea -- Green tea, also known as GTA (green tea antioxidant) or GTE (green tea extract), has been clinically shown to be as much as 200 times more effective than vitamin E at scavenging hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anion radicals (see Free radicals). As such, it is perhaps the most potent antioxidant known to man in its ability to prevent 1) antibacterial and antiviral activity, 2) anti-platelet and hyocholesterolemic activity, 3) lung cancer due to smoking, 4) skin damage and skin cancer due to radiation, 5) a host of other age-related maladies. The active ingredients of green tea are called polyphenol catechins, with (-)-Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCg) being by far the most important. Green tea is unprocessed; black tea is the same plant but highly processed; Oolong tea, also from the same plant, is partially processed tea.. Growth hormone (GH) -- A growth hormone is any substance that stimulates growth, especially one secreted by the pituitary (somatotropin) which exerts a direct effect on protein, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and controls the rate of skeletal, connective (collagenous) tissue and visceral growth. H Hamstring -- The big muscle along the back of your upper leg from the hip to the knee. Heart rate -- The number of times your heart beats in one minute. Hemoglobin -- Hemoglobin is a crystallizable, conjugated protein consisting of an iron-containing pigment called heme and a simple protein, globin. It is the pigment of red blood cells. Hemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. Hormones -- Hormones are chemical substances which originate in an organ, gland, or body part, and are conveyed by the blood to affect functions in other parts of the body. Hyperglycemia -- Hyperglycemia is a condition of abnormally high concen445
Physically Incorrect tration of glucose in the blood, especially with reference to fasting level. Hyperglycemia accompanies Diabetes Mellitus and other conditions as well. Human Growth Hormone (hGH) -- A hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland in response to various stressful stimuli such as heat, starvation and intense physical stress (e.g., exercise), as well as by an innate pulsatile periodicity. The principal functions of hGH are to stimulate anabolism and to mobilize stored fat (triglyceruides) for energy, thus sparing muscle glycogen. Hyperplasia (muscle splitting) -- A controversial subject among sports scientists regarding the possibility of muscle fibers to actually split, giving more strength from increased contractile potential and/or connective tissue. Hypertrophy -- Increase in both gross muscle size as well as individual muscle cell size resulting from training (especially weight training); due to the adaptive process whereby the muscles add more mitochondria, sarcoplasm, myofibrils, interstitial substances such as water, fat, satellite cells, etc. in response to highly specific forms of stress. Hypoglycemia -- Hypoglycemia literally means "low blood glucose level". There are two general categories of this disorder: fasting (or spontaneous) and reactive. In fasting hypoglycemia, serum glucose levels are low in the fasting state (for example, before breakfast). This form of hypoglycemia is relatively uncommon and is not what most people generally refer to when they claim to have "hypoglycemic symptoms". In reactive hypoglycemia, fasting glucose levels are normal. They become abnormally low only in reaction to the increased serum levels of glucose which follow the ingestion of a meal. Hypnotherapy -- An effective method to shed accumulated negativity and self-doubt that can limit confidence and performance potential. I Impulse-inertial training -- A system originally designed for NASA space stations (where there's no gravity -- dumbbells and barbells would be useless in space) whereby a moving, weighted sled is alternately moved very rapidly back and forth on a set of tracks in order to effectively improve starting strength (see starting strength). Inertia -- The tendency of an object to remain in its current state (in motion or at rest). 446
Physically Incorrect Innervation Ratio--The number of muscle cells innervated by the axons of a single motor neuron. Muscles that require a high degree of control and precision (such as the eye) have a high innervation ratio (meaning that each motor neuron controls only a few muscle fibers), while muscles responsible for relatively gross movements require a low innervation ratio. Inosine -- Inosine is a naturally-occurring compound found in the body that contributes to strong heart muscle contraction and blood flow in the coronary arteries. As a supplement taken before and during workouts and competition, it stimulates enzyme activity in both cardiac and skeletal muscle cells for improved regeneration of ATP. What this means in training terms is that you'll be able to get a rep or two more out of yourself in each set. It means that you'll be able to do your wind sprints with greater stamina. Better workouts equals better gains. Inositol -- A B complex vitamin. Combines with choline to form lecithin, protecting against the fatty hardening of arteries and cholesterol buildup. Important in the nutrition of brain cells. Promotes healthy hair. No RDA. Dietary sources: liver, brewer's yeast, dried lima beans, beef brains and heart, cantaloupe. Insertion -- The attachment of a muscle to the more moveable or distal (farther from the center of the body) structure. Insulin -- Insulin is a peptide hormone made of two polypeptide chains, and is secreted from the beta cells of the pancreas. The function of insulin is to increase the ability of certain organs, such as muscles and the liver, to utilize glucose and amino acids. Insulin also increases the total quantity of protein in the body by increasing the flow of amino acids into cells, accelerating messenger RNA translation, and increasing DNA transcription to form more RNA. Insulin is essential for the proper metabolism and proper maintenance level of blood sugar. Secretion is primarily dependent upon the concentration of blood glucose, an increase of blood sugar bringing about an increase in the secretion of insulin. Inadequate secretion of insulin results in improper metabolism or carbohydrates and fats and brings on diabetes characterized by glucose accumulating in the blood and wastefully excreting in the urine. Various forms of insulin may be prepared and administered to temporarily treat a diabetic individual. Insulin-like Growth Factors (IGF-I & IGF-II) -- IGF-I and IGF-II are liberated into the interstitial spaces surrounding muscle cells (especially Type IIb fibers) damaged by severe stress (especially eccentric contractions). Their collective function is to ensure bonding between the nearby satellite cells with the damaged fiber, thereby decreasing that fiber's proneness to injury. It is 447
Physically Incorrect theorized to be the single most contributory factor in muscle hypertrophy. Insulinomimetics -- There are several herbs that have been widely used for centuries for their apparent insulinomimetic value: Pterocarpus marsupium, long used by Ayurvedic medical practitioners in India for treating diabetes, is believed to be capable of regenerating damaged cells in the pancreas (where insulin is synthesized). Momordica charantia contains insulin-like polypeptides which have been shown to help reduce high blood sugar. And, trigonella foenum-graecum (also known as fenugreek seeds) as well as vaccinum myrtillus (blueberry leaves) are both regarded as anti-hyperglycemic agents as well. Allium cepa and allium sativum -- specially prepared extracts from the common onion and garlic plants -- have been clinically shown to reduce blood glucose by competing with insulin for insulin-inactivating compounds, thereby increasing free insulin in your body. These powerful botanicals are reported to 1) have antihypertensive effects (lower blood pressure), 2) be capable of reducing blood lipids (e.g., cholesterol), and 3) provide general cardiovascular benefits. Not all garlic is the same, however. It has to be aged in a specific manner. One special method of ageing garlic, developed by Wakunaga of America Company (known as Kyolic garlic), preserves a compound called S-allyl-cystein. This compound has been well-researched and shown to have potent lowering effects on both blood lipids (fat) and blood glucose, while at the same time increasing insulin. Intensity -- In gym parlance, intensity refers to the difficulty of a workout or workout schedule. Intensity is often erroneously defined as how close you are to your maximum limit strength level in the amount of weight you are using in a given exercise movement. But to athletes other than bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts, intensity is defined as "psych." There is a need for a clear definition. (See related concepts, "Periodization" and "Recovery.") One's training "intensity" may be (but not necessarily) increased by: · amplification of mental effort -- getting "psyched" · approaching a game or training movement with maximum mental focus · approaching your training or competition with a burning passion, as though it were your LIFE · adding reps 448
Physically Incorrect · adding weight · decreasing rest between reps · decreasing rest between sets · increasing the number of exercises per bodypart · increasing the total number of exercises or bodyparts trained at one session · increasing the number of training sessions per day · increasing the speed of movement · increasing the amount of work done at the anaerobic threshold (maximum pain tolerance) · increasing the amount of eccentric work your muscles are required to perform. · increasing the "ballistic" nature of the transition portion of the lift or movement. (For example, quickly rearing back to throw (activating the muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs while at the same time violently prestretching the tissues of the shoulder such that you avail yourself of the natural viscoelasticity of the tissues surrounding the shoulder) and then reversing the direction (throwing) involves increased "ballistic" stress) . Intramuscular\intracellular friction -- The natural friction between and within muscle fibers caused by contraction (especially eccentric contraction). Leads to some reduction in strength output. The greatest amount of friction occurs in eccentric movements, such as the lowering of weights, where the muscle lengthens against resistance. This can be very damaging to contractile components inside fibers, and to the fibers themselves (called "microtrauma"). Iodine -- An essential element for the function of the thyroid gland, which regulates metabolism and energy. RDA: 150 micrograms. Dietary sources: All seafood, kelp. Ion -- An ion is an atom or molecule which carries an electric charge; it can be either a cation or an anion. The most important cations in the body are sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium (the electrolytes). The most important anions in the body are bicarbonate, chloride, phosphate and sulfate. Iron -- Combines with protein and copper to make hemoglobin, a pigment 449
Physically Incorrect that colors the blood red and which carries oxygen through the bloodstream from the lungs to all bodily tissue. Also forms myoglobin, which transports oxygen in muscle tissue for use in fueling contractions. Deficiency is common in athletes. Without enough iron, you cannot train. Iron is easily lost through sweat, urine, feces and menstrual flow. Runners in particular are suspected of inefficient absorption of dietary iron. RDA: 10 mg. (men), 18 mg. (women). Dietary sources: liver, oysters, lean meat, leafy green vegetables, whole grains, dried fruits, legumes. Isokinetic exercise -- Exercise equipment using accommodating resistance technology. For example, Keiser equipment uses compressed air to provide accommodating resistance. With this form of isokinetic movement, the harder you push the harder the machine resists, providing the net effect of controlling the speed of movement (see Accommodating Resistance). Isometric Contraction -- A muscular contraction in which the muscle retains its length while increasing in tension, but no movement occurs. Also called static contraction. Isotonic Contraction -- A concentric muscular contraction in which the load remains constant but the tension varies with the joint angle. Also called dynamic contraction. J Jerk -- The part of the Olympic lift known as the "clean and jerk," where the lifter drives the barbell from his or her shoulders overhead to a locked position. Jerk training -- A training technique involving carefully applied repetitive ballistic-type movements to the tissues surrounding a joint for the purpose of "deinhibition" -- preventing the protective cessation of muscle contraction. The Golgi tendon organ is, in theory, prevented from sending an inhibitory signal to the central nervous system upon being maximally stimulated by repetitive jerky stress. Joints -- A joint is formed where two bones come together. Not all joints have the same range of motion, and some joints don't move at all. The range of motion of a joint is limited by the structure of the bone and the attachment of muscle to bone. Described below are some important structures found in a joint. - Cartilage is a firm, elastic, flexible white material. It is found at the ends of ribs, between vertebrae (discs), at joint surfaces, and in the nose and ears. Cartilage provides shock absorption, a smooth surface between adjacent 450
Physically Incorrect bones, and structure. - Ligaments are relatively inelastic bands of white, fibrous tissue. They connect one bone to another at a joint. - Tendons are extensions of the muscle fibers. They are slightly more elastic than ligaments, but cannot shorten as muscles do. they connect muscle to bone. - Bursa are fluid-filled pads that absorb shock and provide a smooth surface upon which tendons move over bone. - Synovial fluid is a very viscous material that lubricates the working parts of a joint. K Ketone -- Keytone bodies are produced as intermediate products of fat metabolism. they are normally created in limited amounts when fat is oxidized. However, in drastic conditions where carbohydrate is insufficient or unavailable for energy needs such as starvation or untreated diabetes, excessive amounts of fat are oxidized and ketone bodies accumulate. This condition is known as ketosis. Kilocalorie -- Kilocalorie is a unit of measurement used in metabolic studies, being the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius at a pressure of 1 atmosphere. It is 1,000 times larger than the small calorie used in chemistry and physics. The term is used in nutrition to express the fuel or energy value of food. Kinesiology -- Study of human musculoskeletal movement, also referred to as biomechanics. Knee wraps -- Elastic strips used to wrap knees for better support when performing squats and dead lifts. Krebs Cycle -- Krebs cycle (citric acid cycle) refers to a complicated series of reactions by which fragments from any of the energy nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) are completely broken down to carbon dioxide and water, releasing energy for the formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). It is the final common pathway for all nutrient metabolites involved in energy production, and provides more than 90% of the body's energy.
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Physically Incorrect L L-carnitine -- A natural substance found in muscle tissue that helps release stored bodyfat (triglycerides) into the bloodstream for use in cellular energy production. Taken as a supplement, this nutritional factor may increase energy levels for long-term aerobic activity. Lactic acid -- A byproduct of glucose and glycogen metabolism in anaerobic muscle energetics. A minute accumulation causes muscular fatigue and pain, and retards contraction. Lactic acid is carried by the blood to the liver, where it is reconverted to glucose and returned as blood glucose to the muscles. It is this elevation of blood lactic acid in sustained strenuous exercise, such as in marathon running, which results in muscle fatigue and pain. Recovery follows when enough oxygen gets to the muscle, part of the lactic acid being oxidized and most of it then being built up once more into glycogen. The metabolic cooperation between contracting skeletal muscle and the liver to support active muscle work is called the Cori cycle. Lactose -- Lactose is a disaccharide of milk which on hydrolysis yields glucose and galactose. Bacteria can convert it into lactic acid and butyric acid, as in the souring of milk. It is used in infant feeding formulas, in other foods and as an osmotic laxative and diuretic. Lactose is not tolerated in many persons after weaning, owing to a reduced lactase activity. Lats -- Short for latissimus dorsi, the large muscles of the back that are the prime movers for adduction, extension and hyperextension of the shoulder joints. Lean body mass -- All of you, except your fat. Includes bone, brain, organs, skin, nails, muscle, all bodily tissues. Approximately 50-60% of lean body mass is water. Lever -- A rigid object (bone), hinged at one point (joint) to which forces (via muscle contraction or resistance) are applied at two other points. A lever transmits and modifies force or motion, and has three parts: 1) a fulcrum, 2) a force arm and 3) a resistance arm. There are three classes of levers, depending on the location of the three parts relative to each other. Ligament -- A strong, fibrous band of connective tissue that supports and strengthens a joint by linking bones or cartilage. Limit Strength -- Absolute strength enhanced by hypnosis, electrotherapy, ergogenic substances of any form (including nutritional supplements or 452
Physically Incorrect drugs) or other techniques. Such aids increase the potential for strength above normal capacity. Absolute strength is reached solely through training. Lower abs -- Slang for abdominal muscles below the navel. Conventional training wisdom holds that one can "isolate" the lower from the upper abs through leg raises or reverse crunches. In reality, when the abdominals contract, the contractile force is generated throughout the entire abdominal wall. M Magnesium -- A pivotal mineral important to protein synthesis, energy production, muscle contractions and a strong heart muscle. Essential for metabolism of calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium and vitamin C. Chronic muscle cramps is a typical sign of a shortage. RDA: 350 mg. (men), 300 mg. (women). Dietary sources: figs, lemons, grapefruit, yellow corn, almonds, nuts, seeds, dark green vegetables. Manganese -- A key enzyme activator. Also vital to the formation of thyroid and reproductive hormones, normal skeletal development, muscle reflexes, and the proper digestion and utilization of food. No RDA. Dietary sources: whole grains, egg yolks, nuts, seeds and green vegetables. Max -- Maximum effort for one repetition of a weight training exercise. Also expressed as one's "1-RM" or "one rep max." Max VO2 uptake -- Oxygen utilization as measured in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute. Mesomorph -- A person whose physique features powerful musculature. Metabolism -- The total of all physical and chemical reactions in the body, including catabolism (breaking down) and anabolism (building up). Metabolite -- Metabolite is any substance which forms as a by-product of the catabolism, growth, or anabolism of living tissue. Military press -- Pressing a barbell from upper chest upward in standing or sitting position. Minerals -- There are 96 times more minerals in the body than vitamins. As vitamins, they are necessary for life itself and combine with other basic components of food to form enzymes. Minerals are ingested through food and water. Many minerals are deficient in the diet because of mineral-poor agricultural soil, the result of intensive farming and long-term use of chemical 453
Physically Incorrect fertilizers and pesticides. Mitochondria -- Mitochondria are the rod-shape organelles found in the cytoplasm of cells. They are the source of energy in the cell and are involved in protein synthesis and lipid metabolism. Moment arm -- The perpendicular distance from the line of pull of a muscle to the axis of rotation. Moment Of Force -- See Torque. Motor unit -- The basic unit of movement: a motor nerve fiber and all of the muscle fibers it supplies. In the quadriceps muscle, one neuron can activate as many as 1,000 fibers. In the eye, where great precision is required, one nerve cell may control only 3 fibers. Motor unit recruitment -- One of the factors affecting strength. Refers to your ability to get maximum stimulation through the nervous system to trigger the maximum amount of muscle contractions. This can be built up over time through heavy resistance and explosive strength training. Muscle -- Tissue consisting of fibers organized into bands or bundles that contract to perform bodily movement. Muscle fiber -- Synonymous with muscle cell. See fiber. Muscle fiber arrangement -- Long fibers are created for large movements and speed rather than strength. Short fibers are designed for strength with a lesser movement capability. Knowledge of fiber arrangement can help you train muscle groups in a scientific manner. Muscle pull (strain) -- Major or minor damage to muscles from excessive stretching or use. The key to avoiding muscle pulls is proper conditioning and strict adherence to a thorough program of warm-up and cool-down. Muscle spasm -- Sudden, involuntary contraction of muscle or muscle group. Muscle spindle -- The "computer" of muscle tissue, a modified fiber which responds reflexively to mental impulses and muscle movement such as stretching. Measures and delivers the quantity of muscle force needed to perform a given action. Muscle tone -- The degree of tension and vigor in a gross muscle. Muscle tone is increased through weight training, which results in a greater number of muscle fiber "firing" while at rest. 454
Physically Incorrect Myofibril -- The functional units within muscle fibers that cause contractions. The more you have, the greater your strength. Myofibrillarization -- increasing myofibrils -- is achieved with the use of heavy weight training. Myofilaments -- The elements of a muscle cell which comprise myofibrils that actually shorten (thereby providing contractile force) by sliding across one another via action of "cross bridges." They are comprised of the proteins actin and myosin. Myofobia -- Fear of muscle Myoglobin -- An iron-containing protein responsible for oxygen transport and storage in muscle tissue, similar to hemoglobin in blood. Myoneural Junction -- The connection of a neuron to a muscle fiber. Myosin -- The most abundant protein (68%) in muscle fiber. It is the main constituent of the thick contractile filaments which overlap with the thin actin filaments in the biochemical sequence that produces shortening or contraction of the sarcomere. N Nautilus -- Variable resistance-type exercise machine which attempts to match the amount of resistance with the user's force output. Arthur Jones, developer of Nautilus equipment in the 1970s is considered one of the true pioneers of fitness technology. He coined the term "Nautilus" because of the sea shell appearance of his earlier machines' cams. However, the concept of varying resistance by using offset cams was invented and in use during the 1800s in Europe. Jones' marketing strategy involved his widely adopted "one set to failure" principle. He disavowed it in the mid 80s, however (right after selling his business), and his legion of disciples (i.e., owners or sellers of his equipment) all but vanished. Negative reps -- An eccentric contraction. One or two partners assist in lifting a weight up to 20 - 40% heavier than an individual could normally lift. Once hoisted to the extended position, the weight is slowly lowered without help. This type of exercise is extremely damaging to connective tissue, and (according to the "cataclysmic" theory of overtraining) is the elemental factor in overtraining and cumulative microtrauma. Neuromuscular re-education (NMR) -- Therapy involving deep rolfing massage and neurological stimulation to eliminate painful strength- and movement-limiting adhesions and scar tissue in muscles caused by trauma. Developed by Drs. Gary Glum and Joseph Horrigan, Los Angeles chiroprac455
Physically Incorrect tors specializing in soft-tissue injuries in sports. Neurotransmitter -- A biochemical that spans the gaps between nerve cells, transmitting an electrical impulse. Nitrogen balance -- An estimate of the difference between nitrogen intake and output in the body to measure protein sufficiency. Derived by subtracting amount of urea nitrogen in a urine sample from an individual's total protein intake. If urea value is larger than protein intake, the nitrogen balance is negative, indicating that not enough protein was eaten to meet the body's nutritional needs. In this situation, muscle protein is sacrificed to provide additional protein to fund metabolic processes. Prolonged negative balance results in muscle wasting. Positive nitrogen balance is achieved by ingesting complete protein to meet the body's metabolic needs. Non-resistance training -- Training without weights in which you pit muscle strength against body weight to develop general and aerobic fitness. Includes mild running, calisthenics, jumping, skipping, swimming, and bicycling. O Obliques -- Short for external and/or internal obliques, the muscles to either side of abdominals that rotate and flex the trunk. Octacosanol -- The active, energy-boosting component of wheat germ oil which is known to improve endurance, reaction time, and muscle glycogen storage. Taken as a supplement. Olympic lifts -- The two weightlifting movements used in Olympic competitions: the snatch, and the clean and jerk. The military press was eliminated as a contested lift after the 1972 Olympics. See weightlifting. Olympic set -- High-quality, precision-made set of weights used for competition. The bar is approximately 7' long. All moving parts have either brass bushings or bearings. Plates are machined for accurate weight. Origin -- The attachment of a muscle to the less moveable or proximal (closer to the center of the body) structure. Ornithine -- Ornithine is produced in the urea cycle by splitting off the urea from arginine and is itself converted into citrulline. On decomposition it gives rise to putrescine. It has been demonstrated to be of value as a growth hormone stimulator when administered intravenously; there is no solid evidence that it stimulates growth hormone to a significant degree (enough to stimulate muscle growth) when taken orally. 456
Physically Incorrect Overload principle -- Applying a greater load than normal to a muscle to increase its capability. Overtraining -- Excessive training, principally of the eccentric contraction phase of lifting weights or running. Can cause injuries, loss of body weight, insomnia, anorexia, depression, chronic muscle soreness and retard workout recovery. Overuse Syndrome -- Injury resulting from overtraining. Oxidation -- Oxidation is the chemical act of combining with oxygen or of removing hydrogen. Oxidative Sports -- Sports such as long distance running or cycling wherein oxygen must be present to allow movement to continue (see ATP/CP Sports and Glycolytic Sports). Oxygen debt -- The oxygen consumed in recovery from exercise above the amount that would normally be consumed at rest. In intense endurance activities, oxygen debt refers to the amount of oxygen that is "owed" to the system to oxidize lactic acid build-up. One's tolerance for an accumulated debt is generally proportional to the level of fitness. P "Paralysis by Analysis"-- Also called "choking," it refers to mental inhibition that interferes with the brain's control mechanisms during complex and/or difficult physical skills. Noted biomechanics expert Gideon Ariel notes that thinking is not the brain's primary function--it is really more of an "artifact that arises out of the complex computing mechanism required to generate and control highly complex behavior." Ariel continues by suggesting that sometimes, our ability to think is counterproductive to athletic skills, causing inhibition-related disruption to the brain's control mechanisms. (from "Injuries to the Throwing Arm, Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1985 Partial reps -- Performing an exercise without going through a complete range of motion. Exercise mythology has it that one must exercise a muscle through a full range of motion of the joint upon which the muscle acts in order not to become "muscle bound" and to derive maximum strength and growth. In reality, partial movements often provide better overload because more weight can be moved. Peak contraction -- Exercising a muscle until it cramps by using shortened movements.
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Physically Incorrect Pecs -- Slang for pectoral muscles of the chest. Peptide -- A peptide is any member of a class of compounds of low molecular weight which yield two or more amino acids on hydrolysis. Formed by loss of water from the NH2 and COOH groups of adjacent amino acids, they are known as di-, tri-, tetra- (etc.) peptides, depending on the number of amino acids in the molecule. Peptides ("polypeptides")form the constituent parts of proteins. Peridoxine Alphaketoglutarate (PAK) -- Vitamin B6 (peridoxine) is ionically combined with the complexing agent, alphaketoglutarate to form a high energy compound. It is widely used as a nutritional supplement by athletes wishing to improve energy output. Peripheral heart action (PHA) -- Developed in the early 60s by Chuck Coker (inventor of the "Universal" multi-station exercise machines), PHA training is an excellent all-around system of weight training whereby muscles are exercised in an alternating sequence of upper and lower body. This method keeps blood circulating constantly throughout the body, prevents undue fatigue in any given muscle, facilitates recovery and provides a holistic muscular development. It is mildly cardiovascular. Phosphorus -- Works with calcium to build up bones and teeth. Provides a key element in the production of ATP. RDA: 800 mg. Dietary sources: animal protein, whole grains. Physiology -- The study of the body's functions. Plyometrics -- A system of training whereby you use an implement (such as a medicine ball) or the ground as resistance to develop muscle tissue elasticity and stretch reflex threshold for quick explosive strength. Example: jumping off bench to ground, then quickly rebounding to another bench. Post-exercise muscle soreness -- Microtrauma to connective tissue releases an amino acid called hydroxyproline which, within 48 hours, causes irritation to local nerve endings, triggering pain. Typically occurs from exertion or concentrated movement after a long period of disuse but even affects the most physically fit athletes after excessively stressful exercise. Potassium -- Teams with sodium to regulate body's water balance and heart rhythms. Nerve and muscle function are disturbed when the two minerals are not balanced. Insufficient potassium can lead to fatigue, cramping and muscle damage. Physical and mental stress, excessive sweating, alcohol, coffee, and a high intake of salt (sodium) and sugar deplete potassium. No RDA. Dietary sources: citrus, cantaloupe, green leafy vegetables, bananas. 458
Physically Incorrect Power -- The rate of performing work. The SI unit of power is the watt (W). Powerlifts -- Three lifts contested in the sport of powerlifting: the squat, bench press and deadlift. Powerlifting was first organized in the USA in the early 60s from the "odd lifts" competitions which used to be part of almost all bodybuilding and weightlifting competitions. Of the over 40 odd lifts contested, these three lifts were chosen as being the most representative test of total body limit strength. Power training -- System of weight training using low repetitions and explosive movements with heavy weights. Preload -- The stretching of a muscle prior to contracting it, thereby providing both a "stretch reflex" and a viscoelastic component, adding to the total force output. Progressive resistance -- The basic principle of weight training where weight is increased as muscles gain strength and endurance. Protease -- Proteases are a category of enzymes which attack specific bonds between amino acids and proteins. The proteases break amino acid bonds to split up the protein molecule into smaller pieces of lined amino acids. Examples of proteases are renin and pepsin; these enzymes can be found in animals. Rennin is used in the thickening of milk and is isolated from the stomach of the calf; pepsin is found in the gastric juices of humans and other animals where it breaks down proteins at specific places. Protein -- One of the three basic foodstuffs -- along with carbohydrates and fat. Proteins are complex substances present in all living organisms. It comprises 90 percent of the dry weight of blood, 80 percent of muscles, and 70 percent of the skin. Protein provides the connective and structural building blocks of tissue and primary constituents of enzymes, hormones and antibodies. The components of protein are amino acids. Dietary protein is derived from both animal and plant foods. Protein is essential for growth, the building of new tissue, and the repair of injured or broken-down tissue. They serve as enzymes, structural elements, hormones, immunoglobulins, etc. and are involved in oxygen transport and other activities throughout the body, and in photosynthesis. Protein can be oxidized in the body, liberating heat and energy at the rate of four calories per gram. Protein efficiency ratio (PER) -- A system of rating the quality of dietary protein by the number and proportions of the essential amino acids contained in 459
Physically Incorrect it. Eggs rank highest. They contain all eight essential amino acids in a proportion regarded as the most readily assimilable and usable combination of naturally-occurring amino acids. Eggs are the standard by which all other protein sources are rated for assimilability. Proprioception-- An organism's detection of stimuli by sensory receptors called "proprioceptors." Proprioceptor -- Sensory organs found in muscles, tendons, joints and skin which sense and provide information about movement, body position and environment. Pulmonary (ventilatory) capacity -- The efficiency of gas exchange in the lungs. Pumped -- Slang term to describe the tightness in a muscle made large through exercise. The pumped sensation results from blood engorgement and lactic acid accumulation in the exercised muscle. Pumping iron -- Slang for lifting weights, a phrase used since the 1950s. Pyramid Training -- A training protocol incorporating an upward- then-downward progression in weight, rep-per-rep or set-per-set. Pyruvic Acid -- Pyruvic acid is the end product of the glycolytic pathway. This three-carbon metabolite is an important junction point for two reasons: it is the gateway to the final common energy-producing pathway, the Krebs cycle; and it provides acetyle coenzyme A (acetyl CoA), through which fatty acids, and in turn fat, are produced from glucose. Pyruvic acid converts to lactic acid as needed. Pyruvic acid increases in quantity in the blood and tissues in thiamine (vitamin B-1) deficiency. Thiamine is essential for its oxidation. Q Quads -- Short for quadriceps, the four thigh muscles that extend the knee (all but the Vastus Intermedius also flex the hip). They are: 1. Rectus Femoris (Dominant front thigh muscle) 2. Vastus Intermedius (Underlies the Rectus Femoris) 3. Vastus Lateralis (Bottom of thigh, outside above knee) 4. Vastus Medialis (Bottom of thigh, inside above knee)
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Physically Incorrect R Ratio of fast, intermediate and slow twitch fibers -- A fundamental strength factor relating to the distribution and specific capabilities of fibers within muscle tissue. "Fast twitch" (predominantly white fiber) muscles are stronger and more suited for strength activities. "Slow twitch" (red fiber) muscles are more enduring and suited for long-distance exercise. This ratio can be only slightly changed through training. You must train fast to be fast, and train long to be enduring. RDA (Recommended Daily Dietary Allowances) -- Estimates established by the National Research Council for nutritional needs necessary for prevention of nutrient depletion in healthy people. Does not take into account altered requirements due to sickness, injury, physical or mental stress, use of medications or drugs, nor compensate for the nutrient losses that occur during processing and preparation of food. RDA standards do not apply to athletes, who have extraordinary nutrient needs. RDAs are far too low for serious athletes and even for fitness enthusiasts who exercise regularly. Reciprocal Innervation -- A phenomenon in which the opposing muscle group is stimulated to relax while the prime mover muscle(s) is simultaneously stimulated to contract, thereby allowing movement to occur. Recruitment -- Activation of motor units; the greater the resistance encountered, the greater will be the recruitment necessary to overcome its inertia. Recuperation -- A physiological process involving full body and muscle recovery and subsequent muscle growth during a rest period between training sessions. Optimum increases in muscle growth or strength occurs only with complete recovery. When you increase the intensity of your workout, there's a price that must be paid. That price is DISCIPLINE in finding ways of improving your recuperative ability. The most important method is called "periodization" training. There are ancillary methods: · pre-workout meal of low glycemic index foods · pre-workout use of appropriate supplements · during-workout use of appropriate supplements · post-exercise cooldown (stretching, calisthenics) · post-cooldown whirlpool of affected muscles 461
Physically Incorrect · post-whirlpool massage of affected muscles · post-massage visualization training, autogenic training, TM or self-hypnosis · scheduling 5-6 meals daily · ensuring that each meal follows the 1-2-3 rule (1 part of each meal's calories come from fat, 2 parts from protein and 3 parts from carbohydrates) · taking at least one 20-30 minute nap per day · working closely with a sportsmedicine and or a sports sciences expert. Repetition -- One complete movement of an exercise. Slang: rep. Rep out -- Repeat the same exercise movement until you are unable to continue. Resistance -- The amount of weight used in each set of an exercise. Rest interval -- Pause between sets of an exercise which allows muscles to recover partially before beginning next set. Rest pause training -- Training method where you press out one difficult repetition, replace bar in stand, then perform another rep after a 10-20 second rest, etc. Ripped -- Slang meaning extremely visible muscularity resulting from both hypertrophy and subcutaneous fat removal. RM -- Acronym for "repetitions maximum." Thus, for example, 5RM stands for the maximum amount of weight you can perform for five repetitions. 'Roids -- Slang for anabolic steroid. Rotator cuff -- A band of 4 muscles that hold the arm in the shoulder joint. S Sartorius -- The longest muscle in the body, involved in the movement of the thigh at the hip joint. Saturated fat -- Dietary fat from primarily animal sources. Excessive consumption is the major dietary contributor to total blood cholesterol levels and is linked to increased risk for coronary heart disease. 462
Physically Incorrect Saturated Fatty Acid -- A saturated fatty acid is an acid which, by definition, has no available bonds in its hydrocarbon chain; all bonds are filled or saturated with hydrogen atoms. Thus the chain of a saturated fatty acid contains no double bond. The saturated fatty acids are more slowly metabolized by the body than are the unsaturated fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids include acetic acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, and steric acid. These acids come primarily from animal sources, with the exception of coconut oil, and are usually solid at room temperature. In the case of vegetable shortening and margarine, oil products have undergone a process called "hydrogenation", in which the unsaturated oils are converted to a more solid form. Other principal sources of saturated fats are milk products and eggs. Selenium -- A major nutrient antioxidant along with vitamins A, C and E. No RDA. Dietary sources: wheat germ, bran, tuna. Set -- Fixed number of repetitions of an exercise movement. Example: There may be 10 repetitions in a set of curls. Siberian ginseng (eleutherococcus senticosus) -- A cousin of traditional Oriental ginsengs widely used among Russian athletes for boosting stamina and endurance, speeding workout recovery, and as a health tonic to normalize systemic functions and counter stress. An adaptogenic substance that enables athletes over time to adapt to increased training intensity. Simple carbohydrates -- Simple carbohydrates are monosaccharides and disaccharides occurring naturally in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Some examples of simple carbohydrates are glucose, galactose, and fructose, all of which are monosaccharides and, sucrose, lactose, and maltose, all of which are disaccharides. Most simple carbohydrates elevate blood sugar levels rapidly, providing "instant energy" which is quickly utilized and dissipated. Fructose is an exception. Additionally, refined sources of simple carbohydrates, such as candy, contribute only calories to the diet. These "empty calories" are often consumed in place of foods which would provide important nutrients in addition to the energy. Skeletal muscle -- Muscle that attaches to the skeletal system and causes body movement by a shortening or pulling action against its bony attachment. Slow-twitch fibers -- Red muscle cells that fire slowly and are designed for aerobic (enduring) activities such as distance running and cycling. 463
Physically Incorrect Smooth muscle -- Involuntary muscle tissue found in the walls of almost every organ of the body. Snatch -- Olympic lift where weight is lifted from floor to overhead (with arms extended) in one movement. Somatotype -- (see Endomorph, Ectomorph and Mesomorph) Sodium -- An essential mineral for proper growth, and nerve and muscle tissue function. A diet high in salt (40% of salt is sodium) causes a potassium imbalance and is associated with high blood pressure. No RDA. Dietary sources: salt, shellfish, celery, beets, artichokes. Specificity -- Principle which states that your body will adapt in highly specific ways in response to variable forms of stress which you impose (through training) upon it. Speed-Strength -- A type of strength typically referred to as power. Power, however, is an inadequate term as it does not differentiate between the two important types of speed-strength. 1. Starting strength involves turning on a maximum number of muscle fibers instantly in any given movement. Ballistic athletes, such as a sprinter, need this strength the most to make his muscles fire simultaneously with each stride. A boxer does the same with each punch, a baseball pitcher each time he hurls. 2. Explosive strength describes the firing of muscles fibers over a longer period of time after initial activation, for the purpose of pushing, pulling or moving a weighted object. Examples: weightlifting, shotputting and football. Spinal nerves -- The 31 pairs of nerves radiating outward from the spinal cord which relay impulses to and from the skeletal muscles. Sprain -- Joint injury involving partial or total rupture of ligaments. Squats -- An upper leg and hip exercise usually performed with a barbell resting on the shoulders, and a deep knee bend is performed; the squatter then returns to an erect standing position. There are several methods of squatting, each having its own unique advantages and disadvantages. The squat is also one of the three lifts contested in the sport of powerlifting. Stabilizer -- A muscle that stabilizes (or fixes) a bone so that movement can occur efficiently at another bone articulating with the stabilized bone.
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Physically Incorrect Starch -- Starch is a polysaccharide made of glucose linked together. The body must convert starch into glucose which can be utilized for immediate energy or converted to glycogen and stored in the liver for later energy needs. It exists throughout the vegetable kingdom, its chief commercial sources being the cereals and potatoes. Steroids -- Naturally-occurring and synthetic chemicals that include some hormones, bile acids, and other substances. See anabolic steroids. Straight sets -- Groups of repetitions (sets) interrupted by only brief pauses (30-90 seconds). Strength -- The application of force in any endeavor -- such as to a barbell, a ball, or to the ground underfoot. There are 5 broad categories of strength, each with its own special training requirements: absolute, limit, speed, anaerobic and aerobic. General strength. In this category, you train all the muscle groups without concentrating on the muscles that assist your particular event. Training for general strength will give you a base for your event - specific strength. Specific strength. Training for specific strength is an intermediate type of training that takes into consideration only one aspect of a specific demand. It has an important function in joining general and special strength training together. Specific strength will help you improve your techniques as you develop the strength needed to execute the exact movements of your event, whether they are jumping, throwing, or running. Special strength. The term special, as it is used here, means "specialized." Each sport or event requires a specialized type of strength. Shot putters, for example, need starting strength and explosive strength, while wrestlers need anaerobic strength endurance. While the exercises for building specific strength are often of different intensity and duration than those of the typical agnostic movement, the exercises done for special strength training have to reflect all the components of the agnostic movement. The base of special strength drills is represented by the complete movement in that the development of the most peculiar physical properties (strength, speed, endurance) is applied. When strength training is poured into the complete movement, respecting its dynamical-mechanical characteristics, it is called "special strength training." Strength training -- Using resistance weight training to build maximum mus465
Physically Incorrect cle force is the traditional way of defining the practice of strength training. However, a more global definition would account for the metabolic circumstances under which force is being applied (i.e., the energy contribution from ATP/CP, glycolytic or oxidative sources). Stretch reflex -- To prevent overextension and serious injury to muscles and tendons, muscles are equipped with specialized nerve cells (spindles) that "apply the brakes" when elasticity maximum is reached. Careful ballistic training augmented with plyometric drills can heighten the threshold of the stretch reflex mechanism and improve strength-generating ability. Striations -- Grooves or ridge marks of muscles' individual myofibrils visible through the skin, and resulting from both hypertrophy training and extremely low subcutaneous fat deposits; the ultimate degree of muscle definition. Stroke volume -- The amount of blood forced into the circulatory system with each beat. Succinates -- Succinic acid's biological activities are varied. Their chief function is in their enzyme activity, but they also combine with protein to rebuild muscle fiber and nerve endings, and help fight infection. Sucrose -- Sucrose is a sweet disaccharide that occurs naturally in most land plants and is the simple carbohydrate obtained from sugarcane, sugar beet and other sources. It is hydrolyzed in the intestine by sucrase to glucose and fructose. Sulfur -- A mineral of major structural importance to proteins, enzymes, antibodies, skin and hair. No RDA. Dietary sources: beans, beef, eggs. Summation of Forces-- Biomechanical technique for producing greater speed of release in throwing, kicking, and striking. Force is initiated by the central segments of the body, which are larger (and thus stronger), and then transferred to more distal segments, resulting in an acceleration of force. The speed of the last segment of this "chain" is the total produced by adding all the individual speeds of all of the preceding segments with the appropriate timing. If a contraction of a distal segment occurs before the proximal segment has been introduced, a less efficient performance will result. Superset -- Alternating back and forth between two exercises until the prescribed number of sets is completed. The two exercises generally involve a protagonist and antagonist (e.g., the biceps and triceps, or the chest and upper back); however, common usage of the term also can mean any two exercises alternated with one another.
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Physically Incorrect Supplements -- Concentrated forms of nutritional factors, such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids, taken to augment the nutritional value of food. Synergism -- The combined effect of two or more parts of forces or agents which is greater than the sum of the individual effects. Example: the synergistic effect of a multiple vitamin and mineral formula compared to the benefits of one or two vitamins. T Tendon -- A band or cord of strong, fibrous (collagenous) tissue that connects muscles to bone. Testosterone -- The principle male hormone that accelerates tissue growth. Anabolic steroids are synthetic chemicals that mimic the muscle-building effects of testosterone. Testosterone is an androgen, a sex hormone produced by all humans. It is important in the development of male gonads and sex characteristics. In females, testosterone is an intermediate product in the production of estradiols. As a pharmaceutical drug, it is used to stimulate sex characteristics, to stimulate production of red blood cells, and to suppress estrogen production. Long-term use can lead to kidney stones, unnatural hair growth, voice changes, and decreased sperm count. Tiron -- Tiron (Sodium-4,5-dihydroxybenzene-1,3-disulfonate) is a chelator mentioned in the research literature which effectively clears vanadium from body tissues right from the first day of use. (See vanadyl sulfate.) Tissue elasticity -- Tissue elasticity ("viscoelasticity") is involved in all explosive sports, including shot put, boxing, the baseball and javelin throw, and powerlifting. After being stretched, most bodily tissues -- including muscles, but not so much with ligaments and tendons -- return to their original shape or length. The quicker they do, the more force there is added to the force output stemming from both stretch reflex and muscle contraction. Tissue (or interstitial) leverage -- The degree of extra mechanical advantage gained by superheavyweight strength athletes by packing sheer mass from extra fat, liquid and protein between and inside muscle fibers. Torque -- The effectiveness of a force to produce rotation of an object about an axis. Measured as the product of force and the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the axis of rotation. The SI (International System) unit of torque is the newton-meter (N.m) 467
Physically Incorrect Training effect -- Increase in functional capacity of muscles and other bodily tissues as a result of increased (overload) placed upon them. Training technologies -- Athletes can tap into eight broad categories of accepted methods to attain performance goals: weight training, light resistance training, medical support, therapeutic modalities (jacuzzi, massage,acupuncture, etc), psychological support, biomechanics, diet and nutritional supplements. Training to failure -- Continuing a set in weight training until inability to complete another rep without assistance. Transcendental Meditation (TM) -- An effortless meditation technique scientifically shown to sweep away energy-sapping mental and physical stress and deep-rooted fatigue. Among athletes it improves energy, reaction time, workout recovery, mental alertness and coordination. Traps -- Slang for trapezius muscles, the largest muscles of the back and neck that elevates the shoulder girdle and draws the scapulae medially. Triceps brachii -- The muscles on the back of the upper arm are the prime movers for extending the elbow. Trimming down -- Gaining hard muscular appearance by losing body fat (a more contemporary phrase is "trimming and toning"). Troponin -- A protein that reacts with calcium to set the contractile mechanism into action within muscle fibers. Triglyceride -- Triglycerides are a combination of glycerol with three fatty acids: stearic acid, oleic acid, and palmitic acid. U Universal machine -- One of several types of weight lifting devices where weights are on a track or rails and are lifted by levers or pulleys. Developed in the early 60s by Chuck Coker, the phrase originally referred to a multi-station gym. Unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) -- UFAs are important in lowering blood cholesterol and may thus help prevent heart disease. They are essential for normal glandular activity, healthy skin, mucous membranes and many metabolic processes. Unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) are fatty acids whose carbon chain contains 468
Physically Incorrect one or more double or triple bonds, and which are capable or absorbing more hydrogen. They include the group polyunsaturates, are generally liquid at room temperature and are derived from vegetables, nuts, seeds or other sources. Examples of unsaturated fatty acids include corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil and olive oil. A small amount of highly unsaturated fatty acid is essential to animal nutrition. The body cannot desaturate a fat, such as vegetable shortening or margarine, sufficiently by its own metabolic processes to supply this essential need. Therefore, the dietary inclusion of unsaturated or polyunsaturated fats is vital. The three essential fatty acids (those which the body is unable to manufacture) are linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and arachidonic acid. However, these fatty acids can be synthesized from linoleic acid if sufficient intake occurs. Linoleic acid should provide about 2% of total dietary calories. Corn, safflower and soybean oils are high in linoleic acid. Upper abs -- Abdominal muscles above navel (see lower abs). V Vanadyl Sulfate -- Vanadyl sulfate (VOSO4) has been very extensively studied for its insulin-like activity as a blood glucose lowering agent. In other words, vanadyl sulfate dramatically increases glucose uptake by your muscle cells. There are many benefits: - Increased energy for workouts; - More rapid recovery following workouts; - Muscle glycogen (what glucose becomes when stored in your muscles) is more abundant, thereby providing a protein-sparing effect; - This protein-sparing effect provides for better protein synthesis (muscle growth and repair); - Increased storage of muscle glycogen provides a fuller, more dense appearance to your visible muscles. Care must be taken with this substance however. Vanadium can build up in various tissues of the body, especially the kidneys. Tiron (see Tiron) is the only known chelator capable of eliminating this danger, although vitamin c, glutathione and other antioxidants can help.
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Physically Incorrect Variable resistance -- Strength training equipment which can, through the use of elliptical cams and other such technology, vary the amount of weight being lifted to match the strength curve for a particular exercise. Nautilus machines, for example, provide this feature. (See Constant Resistance and Accommodating Resistance.) Variable Split Training -- A weight training system developed in the mid 80s by Dr. Fred Hatfield that systematizes workout schedules according to the recuperation of individual muscle groups and body parts. This method maximizes development by eliminating effects of overtraining or undertraining. Also Variable Double Split and Variable Triple Split for multiple daily workouts. Vascularity -- Increase in size and number of observable veins. Highly desirable in bodybuilding. Velocity -- a change in either the speed or direction of an object, or a change in both the speed and direction of an object . Most people use the term velocity to describe a change in the speed of an object. Vitamin -- Organic food substances present in plants and animals, essential in small quantities for the proper functioning of every organ of the body, and for all energy production. Most are obtained from food, but supplementation is almost always advised, and regarded as critical for athletes in heavy training. Vitamin A -- A fat-soluble vitamin occurring as preformed vitamin A (retinol), found in animal origin foods, and provitamin A (carotene), provided by both plant and animal foods. Maintains healthy skin, mucous membranes, eyesight, immune system function, and promotes strong bones and teeth. Vital to the liver's processing of protein. RDA: 5,000 International units. Dietary sources: fish liver oil, liver, eggs, milk and dairy, green and yellow vegetables, and yellow fruits. Vitamin B complex -- A family of 13 water-soluble vitamins, probably the single-most important factor for the health of the nervous system. They are essential to the conversion of food into energy. When you exercise strenuously, your body quickly burns up its vitamin B supply. A shortage of Bs affects both performance and recovery. High consumption of sugar, caffeine, processed food and alcohol cause depletion. Vitamin B-1 (thiamine) -- Essential for learning capacity and muscle tone in the stomach, intestines and heart. RDA: 1.4 mg (men), 1.0 mg. (women). Dietary sources: brewer's yeast, wheat germ, blackstrap molasses, whole wheat and rice, oatmeal, most vegetables.
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Physically Incorrect Vitamin B-2 (riboflavin) -- An essential co-factor in the enzymatic breakdown of all foodstuffs. Important to cell respiration, good vision, skin and hair. RDA: 1.6 mg. Dietary sources: liver, tongue, organ meats, milk, eggs. The amount found in foods is minimum, making this America's most common vitamin deficiency. Vitamin B-3 (niacin) -- Essential for synthesis of sex hormones, insulin, and other hormones. Effective in improving circulation and reducing blood cholesterol. RDA: 19 mg. (men), 13 mg. (women). Dietary sources: lean meats, poultry, fish and peanuts. Vitamin B-5 (pantothenic acid) -- An important stress, immune system and anti-allergy factor. Vital for proper functioning of adrenal glands, where stress chemicals are produced. Promotes endurance. RDA: 10 mg. Dietary sources: organ meats, egg yolks, whole-grain cereals. Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) -- Essential for the production of antibodies and red blood cells, and the proper assimilation of protein. The more protein you eat, the more B-6 you need! Facilitates conversion of stored liver and muscle glycogen into energy. RDA: 1.8 mg. (men), 1.5 mg. (women). Dietary sources: brewer's yeast, wheat bran, wheat germ, liver, kidney, cantaloupe. Vitamin B-12 (cobalamin) -- Necessary for normal metabolism of nerve tissue and formation and regeneration of red blood cells. RDA: 3 micrograms. Dietary sources: animal protein. Liver is the best. Vitamin B-Complex -- Vitamin B-complex consists of the following vitamins: Biotin Choline Inositol Vitamin B-1 (thiamine) Vitamin B-2 (riboflavin) Vitamin B-3 (niacin) Vitamin B-5 (pantothenic acid) Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) Vitamin B-9 (folacin) 471
Physically Incorrect Vitamin B-12 (cyanocobalamin) These vitamins are grouped together because of their common source, distribution, and their interrelationship as coenzymes in metabolic processes. The best food source for vitamin B-complex is Brewer's yeast. All must be present together for the B-complex to work. Vitamin C -- A critical health-protection nutrient. Body stores are depleted rapidly by drugs, toxins, smoking, exercise and stress. Fortifies the immune system against virus infections, strengthens blood vessels, reduces cardiovascular abnormalities, lowers fat and cholesterol levels, as a natural anesthetic it reduces many kinds of pain, helps detoxify chemical and metal contaminants found in the air, water and food, slows down lactic acid buildup, helps heal wounds, scar tissue and injuries. Necessary in the formation of connective tissue. RDA: 60 mg, but tolerated in doses exceeding 10,000 mg (10 grams) daily. Dietary sources: citrus fruits, berries, green and leafy vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes. Vitamin D -- A fat-soluble vitamin, acquired through sunlight or diet. Aids the body in utilization of vitamin A, calcium and phosphorus. Helps maintain stable nervous system and normal heart action. RDA: 400 International units. Dietary sources: fish-liver oils, sardines, salmon, tuna, milk and dairy. Vitamin E -- This fat-soluble vitamin is an active anti-oxidant retarding freeradical damage, as well as protecting oxidation of fat compounds, vitamin A, and other nutritional factors in the body. Important to cellular respiration, proper circulation, protection of lungs against air pollution, and prevention of blood clots. Helps alleviate leg cramps and "charley horse." RDA: 15 International units (men), 12 (women). Dietary sources: wheat germ, coldpressed vegetable oils, whole raw seeds and nuts, soybeans. W Warm-Up -- An essential pre-workout routine that prepares the body for strenuous exercise ahead. Warming up generally consists of walking, and light, progressive movements that stimulate heart, lungs, and muscles. Flexibility exercises and stretching are NEVER advised as a warm-up strategy because of the damage that is easily caused to cold muscles. Weightlifting -- An Olympic sport where athletes compete in defined weight classes to lift the most weight overhead. The two lifts contested are the snatch and the clean and jerk. Three attempts are given in each of the two lifts. See Olympic lifts. Weight training -- Exercise that utilizes progressive resistance movements to 472
Physically Incorrect build strength. Practiced intensely by powerlifters, weightlifters and bodybuilders in particular, and by all athletes interested in developing any form of strength. Weight training belt -- Thick leather belt developed by weightlifters in the early part of the century, usually 4 inches wide in the back and 2 inches wide in the front, used to support lower back while doing squats, military presses, dead lifts, bent rowing, etc. Powerlifters opt for a belt that's 4 inches wide all the way around. White Blood Cell -- White blood cells are nucleated cells, originating from the bone marrow, that make up the infection-fighting components of the blood. White blood cells fight infections by producing antibodies, releasing immune factors, or ingesting invading bacteria or viruses. Work -- The product of an expressed force and the distance of displacement of an object, irrespective of time (7). The SI unit of work is the joule (J). To measure work, you would multiply the force applied by the distance the force was applied over. Y Yeast -- A one-celled fungus used in brewing and leavening bread. Some yeast, such as brewer's yeast, is highly nutritious. Many individuals are allergic to yeast. Candida albicans is a common yeast living within the body but which can multiply and produce sickness-causing toxins. Antibiotics, sugarrich diets, birth control pills, cortisone and other drugs stimulate Candida growth. Yerba mate -- An extract from a South American (especially Argentina and Paraguay) plant used extensively as a stimulating tea drink. Contains vitamins B-1, B-2 and C, and a natural substance called mateina, which enhances concentration. Molecularly described as a "stereo isomer" of caffeine, but without caffeine's "jittery" side effects. Z Zinc -- Has significant roles in protein synthesis, maintenance of enzyme systems, contractibility of muscles, formation of insulin, synthesis of DNA, healing processes, prostrate health and male reproductive fluid. RDA: 15 mg. Deficiencies are common due to food processing and zinc-poor soil. Excessive sweating can drain up to 3 mg. daily. Dietary sources: meat, wheat germ, brewer's yeast, pumpkin seeds, eggs. Zinc Chelate is the element zinc in supplemental form and coated with pro473
Physically Incorrect tein, thus increasing the percentage that it can be assimilated by the body. Deficiency in zinc is associated with anemia, short stature, hypogonadism, impaired wound healing, and geophagia. Zinc salts are often poisonous when absorbed by the system, producing a chronic poisoning resembling that caused by lead.
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Physically Incorrect APPENDIX: RESISTANCE TRAINING EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS (Note: for full photographic representations of these and other exercises, please go to www.myodynamics.com and click “EXERCISE INDEX”). LOWER BODY EXERCISES Back squat (Glutes, Low back, Quads, & Hamstrings) Position the barbell on the support pins inside of a power rack, such that the bar is level with your mid-chest. Place safety pins on each side, at a position slightly lower than your intended deepest position. Place your hands evenly on the bar (a close grip with elbows under the bar will allow for a more upright posture) and, with your feet squarely under the bar, lift it from the rack by extending your legs. Next, step back just enough to avoid bumping the rack during the exercise, and position feet at approximately shoulder width. The weight should remain centered over the back half of the feet, not on the heels or toes. Slowly descend into a near-bottom position, keeping the torso and back erect so that the hips remain under the bar at all times. Do not allow the hips to drift backward or the torso to incline forward. When viewed from the side, the angles formed at the knee joint and hip joint should be close to being equal. Also, your hips and shoulders should ascend together—if the hips rise before the shoulders, it means you’re using your back rather than your legs. Rise out of the squat position following the same path that you descended—your torso and back should remain erect and the hips remain under the bar throughout the ascent. Ball Bi-Lateral Leg Curl (Hamstrings) Lay face up on the floor, with the arms perpendicular to the torso, palms down to stabilize position on the floor. Legs are held straight and together, with feet on the top of a ball. Step one: raise the hips off the floor, so that the entire body forms a straight line. Step two: maintaining a straight (neutral) hip position, “curl” by flexing the knees until they are just past 90 degrees of flexion. Return to start position (hips up) and repeat for indicated number of repetitions.
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Physically Incorrect Ball Unilateral Leg Curl (Hamstrings) This is performed in the same manner as the bilateral curl, except of course, it is done one leg at a time, which makes the exercise far more difficult to perform. DARD (Tibealis Anterior) (Dynamic Axial Resistance Device) This is a very useful device created by John Abdo. Sit on a bench, with legs extended and ankles hanging off of the end of the bench. Attach the DARD, and keeping the knees stabilized, plantarflex the ankles, which will lengthen and stretch the tibealis. Then fully plantarflex against the resistance provided by a weight plate attached to the DARD. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions. Since the tibealis receives very little stress under normal conditions, perform this exercise cautiously at first, using a limited number of sets and repetitions. Otherwise, traumatized “tibs” will be unable to prevent one’s toes from dragging on the ground while trying to walk! Deadlift (Glutes, Low back, Quads, & Hamstrings) This exercise is normally safe when performed correctly. Place your feet so that they point straight ahead, or slightly angled out. Maintain neutral spinal curvatures, keep your weight on the middle of your feet, and make sure that the bar stays in close contact with the front of your shins throughout. Use a deliberate tempo with minimal momentum. When viewed from the side, your hips and shoulders should ascend together; if the hips rise before the shoulders, it means you’re using your back rather than your legs. Think of a deadlift as a squat, only the bar is in your hands rather than on your back. Decline Step-Up (Quadriceps) This is like a traditional step-up on a box or step, except the step isn't flat; it's declined, or slanted away from you. In other words, it's slanted so your toe is about two or three inches lower than your heel. This can also be done in a hack squat machine. If you use this option, you'll have to stand backwards in the machine. Donkey Calf Raise (Gastrocnemius) If this exercise is done in the traditional manner, it is guaranteed to receive stares from uninitiated lifters in a "fitness center" environment, as well as from young lifters who have never seen it performed. The traditional method requires a training partner with whom the lifter is very comfortable, and one is likely to feel pretty strange when performing this lift for the first time. 476
Physically Incorrect To perform this lift, the lifter positions a stable block at the end of a flat bench. Placing the balls of both feet on the surface of the block at the edge nearest the lifter, he or she then bends at the hips, placing both hands on the surface of the flat bench. In this position, the lifters back should be roughly parallel to the floor. The training partner then "mounts" the lifter back like a "bareback rider" on a donkey; thus, the name of this exercise. The training partners weight should be concentrated, as nearly as possible, over the lifter's hips and legs. Once the "rider" is in a stable position, the lifter allows the heels of both feet to sink as low as possible beneath the level of the block, and then presses upward on the balls of the feet, raising his or her hips as high as possible. This movement is then repeated for the desired number of repetitions. For those who are extremely uncomfortable performing this exercise in the traditional manner, there is a compromise. A dip belt, loaded with weight plates, can be worn low on the waist as an adequate substitute for the weight of the "rider." Donkey Seated Calf Raise (Soleus) Sit on a bench with your toes on a three inch block under a chinning bar. Your partner stands on your thighs near your knees and grabs the chinning bar for balance. Then you lift and lower your heels. You can use plates under your toes if you don't have a block. Front Squat (Glutes, Low back, Quads, & Hamstrings) During recent years, the front squat has rarely been used, and the reason is rather simple: the bar placement really hurts! Although the front squat exercises the same general muscle groups as the regular squat, it seems to place more emphasis on the frontal thighs (quadriceps femoris). The movement is generally the same as The Squat , but the back is held more erect, and instead of placing the bar on the back of the shoulders, behind the neck, the bar is placed at the front of the shoulders, resting on the anterior and medial deltoid muscles, with the lifter's arms held high, elbows protruding outward, and with the forearms crossed and the hands reaching backward to grasp the bar. This position allows the lifter to use more weight than could be used by simply grasping the bar in both hands and holding it at shoulder height as if to begin an overhead press, but it causes crushing pain in the deltoid muscles, and the bar has a tendency to roll back into the throat. Therefore, front squats are only practical if very light weights are used, or if additional equipment is available. Until recently, the only device available for relieving the pain of the bar placement in the front squat was the front squat harness. This device is a large 477
Physically Incorrect metal harness, with shoulder and abdominal pads, which curves over both shoulders of the lifter and partly down the abdomen, and which has forwardfacing pegs or hooks for placement of the bar. Although it is quite effective in stabilizing the bar and distributing the stress of the weight across the shoulders and abdomen, it is rather expensive and much too large to place in a gym locker or carry in a gym bag as a piece of personal equipment. And because so few lifters perform front squats, most gyms do not feel that the cost of such a device is justified. Recently, the makers of the Manta Ray® developed a front squat device called, appropriately enough, the Sting Raytm. It consists of two pieces of high-impact plastic, joined by a cord, which clamp onto the bar and fit comfortably over the outer shoulders and upper arms. These plastic forms distribute the weight of the bar, substantially reducing the stress on the deltoid muscles, and they prevent the bar from rolling back into the throat. More importantly, the Sting Ray costs significantly less than a front squat harness and is small enough to fit in a gym bag or gym locker. However, even with the assistance of such devices, front squats should intially be performed with lighter weights because the balance required to perform this lift is much trickier than that required for regular squats. Glute-Ham-Gastroc Raise (Glutes & Hamstrings) The unique value of this exercise is it’s ability to train the hamstrings with it’s kinetic “siblings,” the glutes and gastrocs. To perform this movement, use a GHG machine, such as the one made by the Atlantis company (see Preferred Vendors section). To perform the exercise, assume a position on the GHG machine so that the ankles are between the two pairs of rollers, and the midthigh rests directly over the curved pad. Begin the movement by allowing the upper body to lower while flexing from the hips. When the torso is perpendicular to the floor, first rise up until the entire body is parallel to the floor, and then continue by contracting the glutes and hamstrings so that the torso reaches a position 45 degrees to the floor, as indicated in the illustrations. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions. Special Instructions for this exercise include: 1) Athletes should fold their arms over their chest if new to the exercise. After developing the ability to do the movement properly, add resistance in the form of a weight plate or medicine ball held against the chest. 2) Use a slow to moderate tempo. 3) Do not attempt to perform this exercise on a standard back extension machine! Although they look similar, back extension units cannot accommo478
Physically Incorrect date this exercise. Harrop Curl (Hamstrings) To perform this very demanding hamstring exercise, anchor the lower legs, either by wedging the feet under the rollers of an adjustable sit-up board, or by having a partner lay across the calves with his torso. Slowly lower oneself eccentrically, keeping hips neutral. Return to the starting position by pushing back with the hands, push-up style. After gaining more strength in this movement, progressively use less and less assistance from the upper body until able to complete both eccentric and concentric portions of the exercise. One way to do this is to progress to the point of a push off with only three fingers of both hands, then with one hand, then just three fingers of one hand, etc. Hip Extensions (Glutes & Hamstrings) Perform this exercise on a standard machine made for this purpose, or on a glute ham-gastroc unit. Assume a position so that the hips are on the pad, which ensures that the pelvis can rotate during the exercise. Keep the feet pointing straight down, do not allow them to turn outward. Starting with the hips flexed at a 90-degree angle, raise up to a horizontal position by contracting the spinal erectors, glutes, and hamstrings. Pause, and lower back down to the starting position. It’s common to feel a bit dizzy when performing this exercise, and the low back “pump” which results often feel like low back pain to those unfamiliar with the exercise. However, the benefits are more than worth the minor discomfort. Athletes with short, tight glutes (those with a tendency to walk with their feet pointed outward) should avoid or minimize this exercise. Leg Presses (Glutes, Low back, Quads, & Hamstrings) Leg press machines come in two varieties: a vertical leg press, which provides for movement of weight along a vertical line, and a "leg press sled," which provides for movement of weight on rails at approximately a forty-five degree angle. Because of the angle of movement on a leg press sled, that device allows a given lifter to press more weight than would be possible on a vertical leg press. Either of these devices will allow a lifter to use more weight than he or she is capable of squatting. To perform this exercise, weight plates are loaded onto the machine's horizontal bar. The lifter places the soles of both feet against the plate attached to the bar, with his or her back pressed against a pad at the bottom of the machine. Pressing slightly upward with the soles of the feet, the lifter moves the weight a few inches to allow for the removal of the safety stops. The lifter then allows the weight to descend until the upper surface of the thighs press479
Physically Incorrect es against his or her abdomen. The descent of the weight should be slow and controlled to avoid the lifter's thighs slamming into the abdomen and cracking a rib. By exerting great force with the upper leg muscles, particularly the quadriceps, the lifter presses upward with the soles of the feet, completely extending both legs. This movement is repeated for the desired number of repetitions, and the last movement should end with the legs in the extended position so that the safety stops can be replaced. Many novice lifters will develop a quick preference for the ease of the leg press; they will feel particularly smug about the number of plates that they can move with this exercise. That attitude can lead to a rationalization that the leg press is an adequate substitute for squats. Wrong. The leg press does not develop the wide range of muscles that are developed by the squat, and contrary to popular belief, it can place more unhealthy stress on the joints than the squat does. The leg press should supplement squats, not replace them. Leg Press Calf Raise (Gastrocnemius) Assume a position in a leg press machine and press the platform to a straight leg position. Move both feet down until only the forefeet are in contact with the platform. From this position, plantarflex the ankles against the resistance. Relax to return back to the starting position. This exercise may also be performed unilaterally. Ensure the feet don’t slip off of the platform which could result in serious injury. Low Cable Abductions (Abductors) This exercise is performed by abducting the leg against the resistance supplied by a low cable. Attach the cable to the ankle with a cuff, bracing against the machine’s upright or support handle, and abduct the leg while keeping the torso erect. Monitor for leaning in the opposite direction, which reduces stress to the target muscle. To increase the exercise’s range of motion, allow the working leg to pass in front of and beyond the support leg. Low Cable Adductions (Adductors) This exercise is performed in a very similar manner as the cable abductions, except here, adduct the leg against the resistance. Attach the cable to an ankle with a cuff, bracing against the machine’s upright or support handle, and adduct the leg while keeping the torso erect. Monitor for leaning in the opposite direction, which reduces stress to the target muscle.
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Physically Incorrect Lunge (Quadriceps) With hands on hips, step forward with your weaker leg. You will not alternate legs each rep, but instead, complete all reps on the first leg, rest 30–60 seconds, and then switch legs. Keep chest up, and eyes forward. Rear heel will come up off of the floor as you sink down. On your first lunge session, keep the lead shin perpendicular to the floor. If you do not experience any knee pain and/or inflammation, you may allow the lead knee to more more forward as you sink down— this will increase the stress to the front quadriceps. Use dumbbells when additional weightloads are needed—not a barbell. If you ever lose your balance, you’ll thank me for this advice! Often, tight hip flexors cause the athlete to lean forward from the waist during lunges—monitor yourself for this, and implement the appropriate stretches if you seem to be tight in the hip flexors. Variations: Lunges may be performed with either the front or rear foot on a block to increase hip and knee range of motion, respectively. Multi-Hip Machine (Abductors/Adductors) Stabilize the body by grasping the handles, and then adduct or abduct the leg against the resistance provided by the machine. Multi-Hip Machine (Glutes & Hamstrings) Achieve a stable position by grasping the handles, and then extend the hip against the resistance provided by the machine. The advantage of this exercise is that it is performed from a standing position, one leg at a time. One-Leg Standing Calf Raises (Gastrocnemius) Balance is extremely important in this exercise; it should be performed near some type of upright support (eg., a structural support post, a large weight machine, or a squat rack) which the lifter can grasp with one hand to maintain balance. A stable block, at least four inches high (eg., a wooden block or a plastic "step aerobics" platform) should be positioned adjacent to the upright support. The lifter grasps the upright support with one hand and places the ball of opposite foot on the surface of the block at the edge nearest the lifter. In the hand nearest the foot on the block, the lifter holds a heavy dumbbell, and the other foot should be lifted so that the weight of the lifter (and the dumbbell) is supported by the single foot on the block. The lifter relaxes the calf muscles of the foot on the block, allowing the heel to sink as low as possible beneath the level of the block, and then presses upward on the ball of that foot, raising the whole body as high as possible. This movement is repeated for the desired number of repetitions, and the 481
Physically Incorrect lifter then switches the use of the feet and hands to the opposite side, repeating the same movement, hopefully for an equal number of repetitions. Prone Leg Curl (Hamstrings) The best leg curl machines feature a raised or arched bench, which facilitates a greater range of motion throughout the movement, as opposed to a flat bench. Keep the head down and pelvis stabilized (i.e., immobilized) during the movement. The knees should be aligned with the axis of the machine. If the roller behind the calves seems to slide up or down during the movement, adjust alignment by sliding forward or back on the bench. “Curl” the weight by contracting the hamstrings. Pause at the top, and then lower back to the starting position. One useful characteristic of prone leg curl machines is they allow for eccentric training. This is accomplished by raising the resistance with both legs, and then lowering with only one leg. The most common mistake during leg curls is “hiking” the pelvis as the hamstrings become fatigued. Reverse Hyper (Glutes, Low Back, & Hamstrings) This unique exercise allows an open-chain extension of the torso, essentially the reverse of the hip extension exercise. Assume a prone position on the machine, holding securely onto the handles. Attach the straps to your ankles. Using a strong contraction of the erector spinae, glutes, and hamstrings, raise the lower body until the entire body is parallel to the floor. Maintain a consistent curvature of the lower back. If the curve of the lower back increases during the exercise, contract the abdominals during the movement to prevent this from occurring. Seated Calf Raise (Soleus) Performed on a seated calf machine. Sit on the machine and wedge the lower thighs under the pads, positioning the forefeet onto the platform. Plantarflex the ankles against the resistance. Relax to return back to the starting position. Since the soleus is a predominantly slow-twitch muscle, low weight / high repetition protocols are most effective. Seated Leg Curl (Hamstrings) The benefit of this exercise is that the curl is initiated from 90 degrees of hip flexion and full knee extension, which “strings tight” the hamstrings at the start of the exercise. This exercise may be performed unilaterally as well.
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Physically Incorrect Standing Calf Raise (Gastrocnemius) Step onto the raised platform, wedge under the shoulder pads, and extend the entire body to lift the weight. From here, position the forefeet onto the platform, and plantarflex the ankles against the resistance. Relax to return back to the starting position. Standing Uni-Lateral Calf Raise (Gastrocnemius) If possible, perform these standing on the handle of a large hexagonal dumbbell. This allows for better conformity to the gastroc’s strength curve. Step-ups (Quadriceps) Perform on a low (6–8") step. To keep the stress on the quads, do not allow the non-working leg to rest on the floor at all. make sure that your working knee stays directly over the middle of the working foot (commonly, as the exerciser fatigues, the knee will begin to wobble from side to side).Complete all reps for first leg, then rest and complete reps for other leg. Refined exercise technique is critical to the success of this movement. Go as slowly as possible, and keep the tension on the quadricep at all times. Stiff-Leg Deadlift (Glutes, Low Back, & Hamstrings) Set up a barbell at slightly higher than knee level (use a power rack, or set the barbell on blocks). Using a pronated grip (palms facing oneself), grab the bar with a shoulder-width grip, and step back just enough to clear the rack. Inhale, slightly bend the knees, and begin the movement with one’s bodyweight over the heels. Allow the bar to descend, while ensuring it maintains contact with the front of the body. While descending, maintain the normal curvature of the lower back and neck, and allow the glutes to move rearward. Do not look up or down, but instead, maintain a normal head and neck alignment. This exercise is made more effective by maintaining bodyweight over the heels. Always use a controlled movement speed with this exercise. Never perform it rapidly or explosively. People frequently perform this exercise standing on a block, lowering the bar until it contacts the shoes. However, when maintaining proper spinal curvatures and knee position, few people, even those with very good hip flexibility, can lower the bar much past their knees. Swiss Ball Squat Have a partner place a Swiss ball at approximately waist height against an empty wall. Place your back against the ball and set your feet about shoulder distance apart, with toes pointing outward at about a 10° angle. 483
Physically Incorrect Maintaining a vertical torso (this is essential to minimize compressive stress to your lumbar discs), inhale, hold your breath, and descend into a squat, keeping your knees in line with your feet (i.e., do not allow the knees to drift medially, or inside the feet). Exhale once you pass the sticking point of the ascent. Use dumbbells for additional overload. Trap-bar deadlift (Glutes, Low back, Quads, & Hamstrings) This specially-designed bar is safer and more effective than a straight bar because it allows the combined center of gravity of the weight and your body to stay closer to the mid-line of your body. This reduces the amount of forward lean, and allows the quadriceps to take over a greater share of the work from the glutes, spinal erectors, and hamstrings. The trap bar may also be used for stiff-leg deadlifts and shrugs.You may either increase or reduce the range of motion by either standing on a 45 pound plate (to increase) or by placing 45 pound plates under the plates attached to the bar (to decrease). Unilateral Leg Curl (Hamstrings) There are two versions of this machine. One is when the opposite foot stays on the floor, and another where the opposite knee is supported by a pad. Some machines require standing with hips neutral, others ensure the hips are flexed (a better position, in general). Regardless of the above variations, create a position so that the working knee is in line with the pivot point of the machine. Curl the weight by contracting the hamstring, then return back to the starting position. ABDOMINAL/CORE EXERCISES Back Extensions (Glutes, Low Back, Hamstrings) Perform on a standard machine made for this purpose. Assume a position so that the navel is on the pad and the pelvis is stabilized. If the pelvis rotates during this exercise, the gluteals and hamstrings will also be recruited (this is not bad, per se, but undesirable if trying to maximally target the erector spinae). Hanging Circumduction (Obliques, Rectus Abdominus, Hip Flexors) Start the exercise by hanging from a chinning bar, palms facing away from you. Straps may be used. Ideally, the chinning bar is high enough so that your feet clear the floor as you hang. Keeping legs straight and together, trace a circle as you bring your feet to the left, arcing upward until your feet approach the bar, then continuing toward the right and finally down to the starting position. Alternate directions for each rep. 484
Physically Incorrect Performance Tips: • The legs must stay on the frontal plane at all times— imagine that there is a wall 18 inches in front of you. • Use a medicine ball between your feet if additional resistance is desired. • Use a deliberate tempo which minimizes momentum. According to Bill Phillips new book Body for Life, each rep should take long enough to recite the phrase “I’m building my body for life.” However, coach Staley insists that a much more effective technique is to recite this instead: “Make checks payable to Charles Staley, PO Box 370022, Las Vegas Nevada, 89137.” Take your pick... • The chinning bar must be situated such that there are no obstructions to the sides. • You’ll find it natural to point your feet in the direction you’re moving toward at the start of each rep. At the top, your toes will be pointing toward the wall behind you. • Minimizing or eliminating elbow flexion contributes to the difficulty of this exercise. • As your feet approach the top-most position, hang back and focus your eyes on the ceiling. • If you can’t keep your legs straight, it means your hamstrings are too short. • Generally speaking, this exercise is easiest for those with short and/or small legs and strong abs, and hardest for those with long and/or big legs and weak abs. Hanging Hip Flexions (Rectus Abdominus, Hip Flexors) Hanging from an overhead support, start with the entire body fully extended. Flex at the hips and knees simultaneously until the tops of the thighs are parallel to the floor, and then relax and return to the starting position. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions. High/Low Wood Chop (Obliques) This exercise is performed on a cable unit with the transducer in the top position. Grasp the handle with both hands, and step away from the machine. Using a side stance as shown, pull the handle diagonally from high to low, 485
Physically Incorrect using only the oblique muscles. Keep the pelvis stabilized throughout the movement, and monitor for leaning forward at the waist. Note: all wood chop exercises can be performed from a seated (on a bench), kneeling, or standing position. Horizontal Cable Rotation (Obliques) Position the cable transducer so that it is level with the shoulders. Grasp the handle with both hands, and assume a wide stance, right side facing the machine. Maintaining normal spinal curvatures (don’t flex at the hips), start with the arms pointing 45 degrees to the right side. Keeping the pelvis stabilized, contract the oblique muscles and pull the handle until facing 45 degrees to the left. Return to starting position. (These instructions pertain to training the left obliques; simply reverse for the opposite side). Low/High Wood Chop (Obliques) This exercise is performed on a cable unit with the transducer in the bottom position. Grasp the handle with both hands, and step away from the machine far enough so that the weight stack will not “bottom out” at the end of the eccentric portion of the exercise, but not so far that the stack will hit the top of the machine at the end of the concentric portion. Using a side stance as shown, pull the handle diagonally from low to high, using only the oblique muscles. Keep the pelvis stabilized throughout the movement, and monitor oneself for leaning forward at the waist. Lying Pelvic Tilt (Rectus Abdominus) This exercise trains the “lower abdominal function” of the rectus abdominus (stabilizing the pelvis during lower body movements such as running and kicking). Because it requires a higher degree of skill and coordination than other abdominal exercises, it should always be trained while the abdominals are still fresh. So, for example, if pelvic tilts and a second abdominal exercise are scheduled for the same workout, perform the pelvic tilts first. Lie back with knees bent to a 90-degree angle, feet on the floor. Contract the abdominals and force the lower back into the floor, breathing normally. There is a tendency to tense the neck and upper torso during this exercise, so monitor for unwanted muscular contractions from other muscle groups. This is primarily a static exercise which may be held for increasing periods of time as strength levels increase.
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Physically Incorrect Med-Ball Trunk/Hip Acceleration (Latissimus Dorsi, Hip Flexors, Rectus Abdominus) Here's a great exercise to perform if you've had a bad day at work. Start with the medicine ball overhead, stand with elbows and knees slightly flexed, and up on the toes. Accelerate the ball downward, attempting to burst the ball against the floor. If the ball has a minimal amount of bounce, you'll be able to catch it and smoothly continue to the next rep in one continuous motion. For greatest force production, there should be little or no hesitation between raising and smashing the ball downward. The amount of force generated can be roughly gauged by how high the ball bounces off the floor. Prone Ball Roll (Rectus Abdominus) From a kneeling position (use an exercise mat to cushion the knees), with a Swiss ball directly in front, place clasped hands on top of the ball. Extend forward until the hips, shoulders, and elbows are fully extended. Return back to the starting position by reversing the motion. While extending, the increased load on the abdominals will cause the tendency for the curve of the lower back to increase. The goal is to counteract this tendency by tilting the pelvis posteriorly (as during the pelvic tilt exercise) while extending. If unable to maintain constant low back curvature during this exercise, spend more time working on the pelvic tilt described earlier in this section. Reverse Trunk Twist (Obliques) Lie supine on the floor, with arms abducted 90 degrees to the torso to stabilize the body. Keeping knees straight, lift the legs until they are at a 90degree angle to the torso (legs are perpendicular to floor). Maintaining straight knees, and keeping the legs together and 90 degrees to the trunk, lower the legs to the right until the feet contact the floor. The opposite side shoulder should still be in contact with the floor. Raises back to center and then down to the left. Repeat for indicated number of sets and repetitions. Sit-Up (Rectus Abdominus, Hip Flexors) Sit-ups are performed much like crunches, except that the motion is taken beyond pure trunk flexion into hip flexion. Sit-ups can also be performed using pure hip flexion, with no trunk flexion involved.
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Physically Incorrect Swiss Ball Reverse Trunk Twist (Obliques) Lay face up on the ball, which is positioned in a power rack. Grab the sides of the rack for support. Flex the hips to 90 degrees with legs straight and together. The apex of the ball should be just under the lower back. Start with feet pointing up at the ceiling, and then, in a “windshield wiper” like movement, allow the legs to lower to the right side until they are parallel to the floor. Then return back to center and repeat on the left side. Do not allow the shoulder girdle to turn toward the direction that the legs are moving in, as this unloads the obliques muscles. When the legs are completely to the left, the right shoulder should be down, and vice versa. Repeat for the indicated number of repetitions. Use a medicine ball between the feet if an additional load is necessary. The difficulty of the exercise may be increased by using a heavier medicine ball, or by increasing the speed of the movement. Repeat for indicated number of sets and repetitions. Med-Ball Russian Twist (Obliques) Assume a position on the ball as when performing crunches. Grasp a medicine ball with both hands. Keeping the elbows extended and arms perpendicular to the torso, rotate to either side. Maintain neutral head and neck position, with the tongue on the roof of the mouth. Also, do not allow the pelvis to rotate with the torso while turning from side to side, as this unloads the obliques muscles. The difficulty of the exercise may be increased by using a heavier medicine ball, increasing the speed of the movement, or by positioning further back on the ball (anchor the feet to prevent falling backward over the ball). Swiss Ball Crunch (Rectus Abdominus, Hip Flexors) Sit on the ball, and “walk” forward until lying on the ball. Perform crunches in the normal manner, keeping in mind that a greater range of motion is achieved as the back drapes over the ball. The ball’s instability and curved surface increase the level of difficulty of the crunch exercise, while simultaneously increasing the comfort of the movement. During crunches, modify arm position in order to adjust the level of resistance. The least resistance occurs when the arms are straight and outstretched along the side of the body during the movement. A more difficult variation is to cross the arms against the chest. The most difficult variation is to place the hands such that the fingers are touching the head at a point just behind the ears. Avoid interlacing the fingers and clasping behind the head, which can strain the cervical vertebrae, and encourage participation from other muscles. Additional resistance (in the form of a medicine ball or weight plate) can be used when bodyweight is no longer sufficient to cause 488
Physically Incorrect an improvement in strength. When using additional resistance, it becomes necessary to anchor the feet under an immovable object to stabilize position UPPER BODY EXERCISES 45/30/15 Dumbbell Bench Press (Pectoralis Major, Deltoids, & Triceps) (See bench press description above for general technique guidelines).You’ll need a partner to complete this exercise. Set the bench at a 45° incline. Perform 4 repetitions, and then have your partner drop the bench to a 30° incline. Perform 4 more reps, and re-set to a 15° incline, and then perform 4 more reps. Complete for the indicated number of sets. ALWAYS employ a competent spotter when performing any bench press variation. 45-Degree Incline Dumbbell Curl (Biceps) Do not allow the elbows to shift forward during the concentric portion of the lift! Allow the arm to completely straighten on the bottom. Squeeze hard at the top. Arnold Press (Deltoids, Triceps) From a seated position, begin with arms in front with elbows flexed. Raise the dumbbells upward using the anterior deltoid, then “open” the elbows into a standard seated press position, and lower. Next, “close” the elbows, and start again for the indicated number of sets and repetitions. Ball Dumbbell Bench Press (Pectoralis Major, Deltoids, & Triceps) This is performed much like the preceding exercise, except that you’ll use a Swiss ball instead of a bench. Although very effective, this is a difficult exercise and certain precautions must be observed: 1) Only use a Duraball from Durabody (please see Preferred Vendors section for more information). This is the only ball on the market guaranteed never to burst (I’ve tested these balls personally many times). 2) Check the ball surface and the floor for sharp objects such as staples, gravel, etc. 3) Ensure that you don’t have zippers, rivets, or anything else on or in your pockets that might puncture the ball.
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Physically Incorrect 4) Replace Swiss balls every 6 months. 5) Always use a competent spotter. 6) Stay well within your capabilities; this is not the place to try for a new 1RM. Start conservatively, and progress gradually. Using proper lifting technique, remove the dumbbells from their rack, and walk back to the ball (if possible, position the ball adjacent to the dumbbells you’ll use beforehand). Sit down carefully, with a dumbbell on each thigh, as shown. Carefully lay back on the ball, allowing the dumbbells to move into the starting position. Position your feet apart to form a stable base, and lift your hips until your torso becomes parallel to the ground. Press the dumbbells upward until your elbows are extended, but do not allow the dumbbells to touch at the top. Repeat for indicated number of reps. Exit the set by dropping the dumbbells to the floor one at a time. ALWAYS employ a competent spotter when performing any bench press variation. Barbell Curls (Biceps) Barbell curls are the primary exercise for developing the biceps brachii, the large rounded muscles covering the inner, forward surface of the upper arms. Although there are numerous techniques for performing barbell curls, the simplest and most basic is also the most favored. Standard barbell curls may be performed with a straight bar, such an Olympic bar, or with a slightly curved bar, known as an EZ-Curl bar, which tends to reduce excessive stress on the lower tendons of the biceps by placing the lifter's hands in a position that is angled slightly upward from the horizontal path of the bar. While some lifters avoid the EZ-Curl bar in favor of the straight bar, my personal observations indicate that there is very little difference in their effectiveness. To perform a standard barbell curl, the lifter extends both arms downward and grips the bar with a supinated grip; this means that the lifter's palms will initially be facing upward and outward with both arms extended downward, although both palms will be facing the lifter's body when the bar is raised. After gripping the bar firmly, the lifter stands erect, with each elbow pressed firmly to the side of his or her body. Without moving at the shoulders, and with each elbow locked firmly in place, the lifter flexes the arms at the elbow, raising the bar in upward arc until both arms are completely flexed with the bar pressed against the lifter's chest. The bar is then lowered through the same arcing path, and this movement is repeated for the desired number of 490
Physically Incorrect repetitions. To achieve the full effect of barbell curls, the elbows should not be thrown forward, nor should the back be arched, to add momentum to the upward movement of the bar. However, this sort of "cheating" may be used occasionally to assist in completing the last repetition of an exhaustive set. Bench Press (Pectoralis Major, Deltoids, & Triceps) Bench presses may be performed with a bar or with dumbbells. The bench may be flat (overall pectoral stress), inclined (more stress to the clavicular pectorals), or declined (more stress to the lower pectorals). Lay on the bench, placing both feet on the floor (if this causes the curvature of your low back to increase, find a lower bench or place your feet on solid blocks to elevate them). Grasp the bar such that both hands are equidistant to the center, and make sure your thumbs are wrapped around the bar, rather than on the same side as your other fingers. At the start, the bar should be directly over your nose—if it isn’t, slide yourself up or down on the bench until it is. Inhale and unrack the bar from the supports. As you lower the bar to your chest, keep your elbows directly under the bar, rather than in front of, or ahead of the bar. At the bottom of the movement, the bar lightly touches your chest at nipple level. Return the bar to the starting position (it should actually travel up, as well as slightly back) by contracting your pectorals. Grip width: Viewed from the head of the bench, your forearms should be perpendicular to the floor at the bottom position. Depth: Although the most common variant is to bring the bar down until it touches the chest, for some athletes with poor shoulder flexibility, this position may be too deep. As a rule of thumb, the bottom position you choose should not use up all the shoulder flexibility you have—you should be able to go deeper with no discomfort if you had to. For novice athletes with adequate shoulder flexibility, you can use depth as a method of progression, by using a constant weight over several workouts, slightly increasing the depth every session. Transition position: most bench press injuries occur during the transition between the eccentric and concentric phase, according to Dr. Sal Arria, Executive Director of the International Sports Sciences Association. A common technique flaw involves the fatigued lifter allowing the bar to “bounce” or “chop” down onto the chest, which subjects the pectoral attachments to sudden loads, which is often the stimulus for injury. A 200 pound bar lowered very slowly exerts about 200 pounds of pressure. But this same bar lowered quickly, may put many hundreds of pounds of tension on the target muscles and their attachments. 491
Physically Incorrect ALWAYS employ a competent spotter when performing any bench press variation. Bent Barbell Rows (Latissimus Dorsi, Posterior Deltoid) The upper back muscles are the body's primary "pulling" muscles. Optimal development of these muscles involves pulling weights from different angles, and the lifts used to exercise these muscles should not be limited to overhead pulls, such as pullups or the use of a "lat pulldown" machine. Therefore, it is important for lifters to add a "rowing" routine to their upper back workouts, and my preference is bent barbell rowing. To perform this lift, a heavily-loaded bar is laid on the floor or on a low rack. The lifter stands over the bar, and leans down to grasp it with a pronated grip; this means that the lifter's palms will be facing outward, although with the arms extended downward, the palms will be facing the body once the bar is grasped. The bar is then lifted off the rack or floor, and the lifter stands grasping the bar, both arms fully extended, very slightly bent at the knees, and bent at the hips to the extent that the upper body is nearly parallel to the ground. The lifter then pulls upward on the bar, flexing at the elbows and drawing the bar up to his or her lower chest at the bottom of the ribcage. This motion should be limited to the arms and upper back, and the lifter should remain motionless at the legs and hips. Once the bar has been brought to the lower chest area, the lifter then extends both arms, lowering the bar, and repeats the full motion for the desired number of repetitions. Because the lifter is pulling a heavily-loaded barbell from a position that is deeply bent at the hips, considerable stress is placed on the lower back muscles. For that reason, the lifter should not attempt to add momentum to the lift by jerking upward with the lower back muscles and slightly extending the body. By remaining motionless at the hips, the lifter reduces the risk of lower back strain and forces the muscles of the upper back to pull the weight upward. If a little additional momentum is needed to pull very heavy weights, or to complete one last repetition, my personal preference is to push upward from the toes in a short "toe raise," which causes a slight upward movement of the bar, just enough to get it moving. California Press (Triceps) This is a hybrid between a close grip bench press (concentrically) and a lying triceps extension (eccentrically). Position yourself face up on a bench or swiss ball. Using dumbbells or a straight bar, “bench press” the weight until your arms are perpendicular to your torso. From this position, stabilize your elbows while relaxing your triceps to allow your elbows to flex until the dumbbells touch your shoulders (when using a bar, full flexion is realized when your 492
Physically Incorrect biceps make contact with your forearms). Return to the starting position by extending your shoulders until you arrive at the starting position for the press. Chin-Ups (Latissimus Dorsi, Biceps, Posterior Deltoid) Performed the same as pull-ups, except that chin-ups are performed with a supinated (palms facing) grip, which increases biceps involvement. The closer the grip, the more the biceps are involved. Chalk or lifting straps may be used to secure a good grip. Close-grip Bench Press (Pectoralis Major, Deltoids, & Triceps) Bench presses performed with a close (10–16" between the thumbs) grip preferentially recruit the triceps, since the elbows achieve greater flexion at the bottom of the movement. Be careful that your grip is not so narrow that you compromise control of the bar, especially at the end of the set when you’re fatigued. Also make sure to avoid a “thumbless” grip, described in the bench press section of this chapter. ALWAYS employ a competent spotter when performing any bench press variation. Dips (Pectoralis Major, Deltoids, & Triceps) Dips are contraindicated for athletes with shoulder pathology, but for all others, it is a very effective exercise for the pectorals, front deltoids, and triceps. Maintain a vertical torso for more shoulder and tricep involvement, and a forward lean to increase pectoral recruitment. Descend slowly and under complete control, and be careful not to exceed your shoulder’s range of motion. Return back to the top position by contracting your pecs, deltoids, and triceps. Repeat for indicated number of reps. If needed, extra resistance may be provided through weight plates attached to a belt, or by placing a dumbbell between your calves. Drag Curl (Biceps) Drag curls are used to concentrate muscular stress on the outer half (long head) of the biceps. This isolated stress causes greater development of the outer biceps, which tends to create a more defined separation between the lifter's bicep and tricep muscles. Starting from the initial position for standard Barbell Curls, the lifter holds the bar with both arms extended downward, gripping the bar with a supinated grip. The lifter then lifts the bar upward, but instead of keeping both elbows 493
Physically Incorrect locked to the side and lifting the bar in an arc, the lifter allows both elbows to move rearward and "drags" the bar in a straight line directly up the front of the lifter's body. Once the bar reaches the lifter's lower chest area, the lifter allows the bar to descend in the same straight line down the front of the body until both arms are again fully extended. This movement is then repeated for the desired number of repetitions. Dumbbell Bench Press (Pectoralis Major, Deltoids, & Triceps) Performing the bench press with dumbbells adds an element of difficulty because of the instability and balance which is required. Using proper lifting technique (refer back to squat and deadlift descriptions), remove the dumbbells from their rack, and walk back to the bench (if possible, position the bench adjacent to the dumbbells you’ll use beforehand). Sit down GENTLY to avoid spinal compression, with a dumbbell on each thigh, as shown. Carefully lay back on the bench, allowing the dumbbells to move into the starting position. Press the dumbbells upward until your elbows are extended, but do not allow the dumbbells to touch at the top. Repeat for indicated number of reps. Exiting the bench after a set: there are two ways to exit the set safely. If the dumbbells are light enough, you can return them to your thighs and roll forward to a seated position, and then stand up and return the dumbbells to their rack. However, if the dumbbells are too heavy, this won’t be a viable option. In this case, lower the dumbbells, under as much control as possible, one at a time, to the floor. DO NOT lower them simultaneously, as this is likely to exceed the range of motion in your shoulder joints and cause injury. ALWAYS employ a competent spotter when performing any bench press variation. Dumbbell Row (Latissimus Dorsi, Posterior Deltoid) (These instructions pertain to training the right side). Rest the left knee and hand on the bench, as shown. Grasp a dumbbell with the right hand, palm facing in toward the body. Maintaining neutral spinal curvatures and keeping the torso parallel to the floor, pull the dumbbell upward in a straight line, keeping the elbow close to the torso throughout. At the top of the movement, the right hand should be adjacent to the right ASIS (hip bone). Slowly lower back to the starting position, and repeat for the desired number of repetitions. As with all back exercises, the exercise should start with fully protracted scapulae, and finish with fully retracted scapulae. Dumbbell Upright Row (Deltoids) At the top of movement, shoulders, elbows, and hands should all be the same 494
Physically Incorrect distance from the floor (all in a straight line from a front view). Keep the bells as close to the body as possible throughout. Fat Bar Curl (Biceps) A standard curl performed with an “oversized” barbell to increase the difficulty. Final caution exercise for grapplers. French Press (Triceps) Grasping a single dumbbell with both hands, assume a seated position at the end of a bench. Work the dumbbell to one shoulder, and then maneuver it behind you. From here, press the dumbbell to a straight-arms position by contracting your triceps, being extremely careful not to lose your grip and risk dropping it on your head (a competent spotter is strongly advised). Relax your triceps to return to the starting position. Note: your elbows must remain stabilized, pointing to the ceiling, throughout. Hammer Curl (Brachoradialis) This is simply a curl performed with a “thumbs up” position, which increases the involvement of the brachialis muscle (an important muscle for grip strength). Grapplers must implement this exercise judiciously since the gripping muscles are exposed to constant stress during skills sessions. Lat Pull-Downs (Latissimus Dorsi) These are only prescribed when an athlete’s training facility does not permit chin-ups or pull-ups, or when the athlete cannot perform more than two repetitions on these exercises. This is because chin-ups and pull-ups develop the ability for athletes to overcome their own bodyweight, and also because lat pulldowns present too many opportunities to “cheat” by employing the low back musculature during the exercise. Typically, lat pulldown stations feature a variety of bars (for different grip positions). Most also feature a support pad to wedge the knees under, which prevents being pulled upward during the exercise. The grip on the bar should be equidistant from the center, and about 1.5 times shoulder width. Lifting straps may be used to secure bar grip. Assume a seated position under the bar, and pull the bar down to the clavicles (never behind the neck, which lessens the exercise’s benefit and increases the possibility of neck injuries). This is done not simply by flexing at the elbows, but also by simultaneously retracting the shoulder blades and arching the back slightly. Think of “pushing the chest to the bar” rather than 495
Physically Incorrect pulling the bar to the chest. Do not lean backward during the pull, even slightly. Many lifters unconsciously do this as a matter of habit as fatigue increases. When using a close grip, the same general technique applies, except that athletes will experience a greater degree of elbow flexion, which increases involvement of the biceps muscle. Despite myths to the contrary, varying grips do not have different effects on the ultimate shape of the lats. However, regularly varying the grip will probably result in more complete development, and better strength through a variety of angles. Low Cable Hammer Curl (Brachoradialis) Attach a triceps rope to the low cable. Sit on a bench positioned perpendicular to the cable’s line of pull. Sit on the bench, bracing the feet against the floor or, if possible, against the lower supports of the cable unit. Lean back to a 45-degree angle, anchoring the elbows to one’s sides (similar to performing a triceps pushdown), and perform a hammer curl. Once again, grapplers must implement this exercise judiciously since the gripping muscles are exposed to constant stress during skills sessions. Low Pulley Row to Neck (Trapezius) This is a seated row done with a rope handle. Pull your hands to your neck, keeping elbows high. At the end of the concentric phase, your elbows will be high, as in an upright row. Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions (Triceps) Position yourself face up on a bench or Swiss ball. Using dumbbells or a straight bar, extend your arms until they are perpendicular to your torso. From this position, relax your triceps to allow your elbows to flex until the dumbbells touch your shoulders (when using a bar, full flexion is realized when your biceps make contact with your forearms). Reverse this action to return to the starting position, keeping your elbows stabilized (motionless) throughout the exercise. Lying “L” Flyes (Infraspinatus, Teres Minor) (Directions are for the right side) Lie on a bench or the floor, on the left side. If on a bench, stabilize by placing the left palm on the floor. Using a very light dumbbell (even an empty hand is sufficient in many cases), start the exercise with the right arm fully against the right side, with the right elbow flexed to 90 degrees and “pinned” to the left ASIS (hip bone). Raise the dumbbell by externally rotating the right arm, maintaining the 90-degree elbow posi496
Physically Incorrect tion. At the bottom position, the right arm will drape across the waist. Repeat for the other side. Note that this is a very small muscle. Use light weight/high repetition protocols. Strictly monitor to prevent any movement of the torso during the exercise. Manual Neck Strengthening Exercises (Neck Musculature) The athlete assumes a seated position. With both hands, hold the athlete’s head firmly, as he attempts to flex forward, backward, or to either side as you resist his movement. Avoid rotational or twisting movements. One & 1/4 Bench Press (Pectoralis Major, Deltoids, & Triceps) (See bench press description above for general technique guidelines). Lower the bar (or dumbbells) to your chest, then raise it 1/4 of the way back up, then back to the chest, and then back up to arm’s length; this constitutes one repetition. Complete for the indicated number of reps for each set. ALWAYS employ a competent spotter when performing any bench press variation. Pull-Ups (Latissimus Dorsi, Posterior Deltoid) Pull-ups are performed with palms pronated (facing away from onself). Perform the pull-up just like a lat pulldown, except that the body rises up to the bar, rather than the reverse. Keep the hip’s neutral (knees may be flexed to avoid contact with the floor). A common technical error is to flex at the hips as fatigue accumulates. Ensure clearing the bar with the chin at the top, and fully protract the scapulae at the bottom position. Think of “pulling the elbows to the ribs” rather than lifting the chin over the bar. Chalk or lifting straps may be used to enhance the grip. Repeat for indicated number of repetitions. If needed, extra resistance may be provided through weight plates attached to a belt, or by placing a dumbbell between the calves. Pushdowns (Triceps) This is performed from a high cable attachment, using either a bar or a “triceps rope.” Grasp the handle and pull yourself into position using your lats to extend your shoulders until your elbows are against your sides. From here, fully flex and extend your elbows while keeping your elbows “pinned” to your sides. With heavier weights, it will become necessary to lean forward somewhat—athletes will also tend to place one foot ahead of the other to stabilize their position. Note: With all triceps exercises, keep the back of the wrists flat.
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Physically Incorrect Reverse Curl (Brachialis) This is simply a curl performed with a “palms down” position, which increases the involvement of the brachio radialis muscle (an important muscle for grip strength). As in the previous two exercises, this is yet another method that grapplers should use judiciously. Seated Row (Latissimus Dorsi) Performed on a machine or with a low cable. A variety of grip positions are possible. In all cases, the following points should be observed. Maintaining normal spinal curvatures, pull the handle to the torso at about navel height (not higher). At the finish of the concentric phase, shoulder blades should be retracted. Next, allow the shoulder blades to separate while returning back to the starting position. When using a low cable, a variety of torso inclinations are possible, but keep the torso perpendicular to the floor, or lean slightly back. Whichever position is chosen, maintain it throughout the exercise. Shrug (Trapezius) This exercise can be performed using either a barbell or a pair of dumbbells for resistance. Additionally, when using a bar, it can be positioned in front of, or behind your body. The dumbbell variant may be performed seated or standing. Position the barbell on a rack at approximately knee level. Face the bar, grasp and unrack it, stepping backward just enough to clear the rack. From this point, simply “shrug” the barbell, straight up, and back down, for the desired number of reps. Static Barbell Curl (Biceps) Load a barbell and place it on pins inside of a power rack. Set a second pair of pins at a height where the bar will hit them when the elbows are flexed at approximately a 90-degree angle. Grip the bar so that the hands are slightly wider than shoulder-width. Curl the bar, and press against the pins with maximal force for six seconds, then release. This is one set. Two important considerations are holding one’s breath throughout the repetition and not allowing the lower back to increase or decrease it’s normal curvature. Static curls may also be performed at the end of a “standard” set, by touching the pins at the end of each repetition for the desired number of repetitions, and then performing the static hold on the last repetition.
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Physically Incorrect Supraspinatus Raise (Supraspinatus) (Directions are for the right side) Lie on a bench or the floor, on the left side. If on a bench, stabilize by placing the left palm on the floor. Using a very light dumbbell, start the exercise with the right arm fully against the right side. Raise the right arm directly upward until it forms a 45-degree angle with the floor, and return. At the bottom position, do not rest the arm against the side, but instead, keep tension on the target muscle. Repeat for the other side. Once again, this is a very small muscle so use light weight / high repetition protocols. Swiss Ball Preacher Curl (Biceps) Position the upper arms over the ball as when using a preacher bench. Use either a straight handle, pair of dumbbells, or a handle attached to a low cable, and perform the curls for the desired number of sets and repetitions. Tellekinetic Unilateral Triceps Pushdown (Triceps) (Directions are for right arm) Performed from a high cable attachment, using a triceps rope. Grasp the rope with your right hand and pull yourself into position using your lat to extend your shoulder until your right elbow is against your right ASIS (hip bone). From here, fully flex and extend your right elbow while keeping it pinned to your ASIS. The movement pattern is somewhat diagonal as your right hand travels from your left shoulder down across your body. Note: With all triceps exercises, keep the back of the wrist flat. Yates Rows (Latissimus Dorsi, Posterior Deltoid) As with bent barbell rows, a heavily-loaded bar is laid on the floor or on a low rack. The lifter stands over the bar, and leans down to grasp it with a pronated grip; this means that the lifter's palms will be facing outward, although with the arms extended downward, the palms will be facing the body once the bar is grasped. The bar is then lifted off the rack or floor, and the lifter stands grasping the bar, both arms fully extended and very slightly bent at the knees. However, unlike the former exercise, the lifter is only moderate bent at the hips; the upper body is bent only about thirty (30) degrees from fully upright. From this position, the lifter then pulls upward on the bar and drawing the bar up to his or her lower abdomen, just below the umbilicus (navel). Although this range of motion is rather short, the specific form used is the key to this exercise. The lifter should pull both elbows to the rear and inward towards one another; at the same time, he or she should push outward and downward with the chest and pull both shoulder blades (scapulae) together. This creates an intense flexion of the upper back (latissimus dorsi) muscles. 499
Physically Incorrect Zottman Curl (Biceps, Brachialis) Performed with dumbbells, the Zottman curl is a hybrid between the standard curl, the reverse curl, and the hammer curl. Performed seated or standing, curl the dumbbells up with a palms-up grip, then, at the top of the concentric phase, turn the palms down and lower back to the starting position. OLYMPIC LIFTS Power Snatch (Extensor Chain) With the bar on the platform, stand over the barbell, look down and line the bar over the balls of the feet. The feet should be hip-width or slightly wider apart. Assume the starting position by bending the knees and lowering the hips while gripping the barbell with a wide grip. The grip should be wide enough to allow a semi-squat with the bar at arms length overhead. In the starting position, the shoulders should be over the bar and the back should be arched tightly. To start the pull, imagine pushing one’s feet though the floor. As the barbell reaches knee height, the back stays arched and maintains the same angle to the floor as in the starting position. When the barbell passes the knees, vigorously shrug the shoulders, keeping the bar as close to the legs as possible. When the bar passes the upper thighs it should touch the thighs. At this point, drive with the legs in a vertical jumping motion and finish the full extension of the body. Once the body is fully extended, shrug the shoulders and start pulling with the arms, still keeping the barbell close to the body. (This is accomplished by lifting the elbows out to the side, keeping them over the bar as long as possible.) From this position, aggressively pull one’s body under the bar. Catch the bar at arms length overhead while jumping into the semi-squat position. As soon as the barbell is fixed on locked-out arms in the semi-squat position, complete the lift by returning to a standing position. Power Snatch from “Hang” Position (Extensor Chain) The hang position simply means that the lift is not initiated from the floor, but from a standing position while holding the bar with arms straight. In this technique, dip by flexing at the knees and hips and then reverse motion, exploding upward and aggressively pull one’s body under the bar. This motion 500
Physically Incorrect biomechanically resembles a vertical jump. Snatch Pull (Extensor Chain) The snatch pull is identical to the power snatch previously described except that the pull commences at the top of the shrug, rather than continuing upward to catch the bar at arms’ length. This greatly simplifies the lift, while maintaining the majority of its benefits. When first learning the power snatch, a good place to start is the snatch pull. Snatch Pull from “Hang” Position (Extensor Chain) This is a snatch pull performed from the hang position rather than from the floor. Power Clean (Extensor Chain) The clean, like the snatch, start off with the athlete standing over the barbell looking down, and position the balls of the feet under the bar. The feet will be slightly wider apart than hip-width. The lifter assumes the starting position by bending the knees, lowering the hips while gripping the bar with a slightly wider than a shoulder-width grip. In the starting position the shoulders will be over the bar and the back should be arched tightly. The pull is initiated by the mental picture of “pushing the feet through the floor.” As the bar reaches the knees, vigorously raise the shoulders while keeping the barbell close to the thighs. When the barbell passes mid-thigh, it will touch the thighs (because of the closer grip, it will touch lower on the thighs than in the snatch). When the bar touches the thighs the lifter will drive with the legs to do an attempted vertical jump (don’t leave the ground, of course) and finish by extending the body. When the body is fully extended, shrug the shoulders and begin pulling with the arms. When pulling with the arms, the elbows will go out to the sides (this helps keep the bar close to the body). At this point, aggressively pull one’s body “under the bar,” rotating the elbows around the bar and receiving the bar on the shoulders while moving into the semi-squat position. The lift is completed by returning to a standing position. Power Clean from “Hang” Position (Extensor Chain) The hang position simply means that the lift is not initiated from the floor but from a standing position while holding the bar with arms straight. Following 501
Physically Incorrect the same general guidelines presented above, dip by flexing at the knees and hips, and then reverse motion, exploding upward and then aggressively pulling the body under the bar, racking it on the shoulders. This motion biomechanically resembles a vertical jump. Clean Pull (Extensor Chain) The clean pull is identical to the power clean (described above), except that the pull commences at the top of the shrug, rather than continuing upward to catch the bar on the shoulders. This greatly simplifies the lift, while maintaining the majority of it’s benefits. When first learning the power clean, a good place to start is the clean pull. Clean Pull from “Hang” Position (Extensor Chain) This is a clean pull performed from the hang position, rather than from the floor. Military Presses (Deltoids and Triceps) Military presses are consistent with a very traditional concept of weightlifting: the idea of pressing a heavily-loaded bar over one's head. In that sense, they are much like the familiar Olympic "clean and press." However, they must be performed with a much lighter weight because, unlike the "clean and press," they are performed from a seated position, which prevents the lifter from using body momentum to press the weight upward. Therefore, the muscular stress in this exercise is concentrated in the outer shoulders (deltoids) and inner shoulders (trapezoids), as well as in the triceps of the upper arms. Ideally, military presses should be performed while seated on a flat bench with no backrest. Although some lifters prefer to have a completely vertical backrest, the presence of the backrest tempts the lifter to lean backwards and incorporate the stronger chest (pectoral) muscles, thus converting the exercise into Incline Bench Presses and reducing the use of the shoulder muscles. This should be avoided. To perform this exercise, the lifter begins by straddling a flat bench, with the length of the passing between his or her legs. The lifter's back should be upright and slightly arched. A loaded bar should be placed on a rack at the height of the lifter's upper chest. This may be accomplished by sitting "backwards" at the head of a standard bench-press bench, with the upright supports directly in front of the lifter's chest, or by placing a simple flat bench between the upright supports of a "squat rack" or "squat cage." The lifter grasps the bar with both hands, lifting it off the rack and holding it at his or her uppermost chest. Then, with the strength of the shoulders and triceps of 502
Physically Incorrect the upper arms, the lifter presses the bar upward until it is directly overhead with both arms extended and locked at the elbows. The bar is then allowed to descend back to the lifter's uppermost chest area, and the movements is repeated for the desired number of repetitions. Some lifters perform "behind the neck" military presses by lowering the bar to a position behind the neck after each press. I personally prefer to avoid this method. The advantages of the "behind the neck" movement are limited, and the risk of excessive stress to the lower, rear portion of the shoulder joint (articular capsule) is significant. Push Jerk (Deltoids and Triceps) Position the barbell on the support pins of a power rack, such that it is at midchest level. Grasp the bar with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width and rotate the elbows up, positioning the bar on the deltoids (if the elbows remain pointing downward, the bar will rest on the clavicles, which is too painful when the weight load becomes significant). Fill the lungs with air and keep the chest up and torso tight. Unrack the bar and step back away from the rack. Keeping pressure on the heels, dip down by bending the knees and ankles slightly, then explosively drive upwards with the legs, driving the barbell vertically off the shoulders. Now change directions and split the feet out to the sides as fast as possible, while vigorously extending the arms overhead. When in the split position the front shin should be vertical to the floor and the front foot flat on the floor. The rear knee should be slightly bent and the rear foot on the toes. The back should be straight and the bar directly over the ears at arms length. To recover from the split, simply straighten the knees and step back, one foot at a time, to a normal standing position. When the bar is under control and the feet are in line, the lift is complete.
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Physically Incorrect About the Author Charles Staley began his exploration of strength and athletic performance as a martial arts instructor and competitor in New York state during the 1980's. Charles subsequently studied and coached the sport of Olympic weightlifting, eventually producing several state and national level competitors in that sport. Along the way, Charles has also coached track & field, and has competed as a Master's level discus competitor, placing 3rd. in the Master's Nationals in Provo, Utah, in 1994. Since 1992, Charles has developed policies and course content for the International Sports Sciences Association, and currently teaches several certification seminars per year for the ISSA. Charles has written over 200 published articles for such magazines as Muscle Media 2000, Inside Kung Fu, Muscle & Fitness, Martial Arts Training, Ms. Fitnes, and several others. He is also author of The Science of Martial Arts Training, a training textbook for combat sport atletes and coaches. His award-winning web site (“Fundamentals of Strength Training for Sport,” located at www.myodynamics.com) is consistently ranked among the top fifty in the world in the health and fitness category.
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Physically Incorrect Preferred Vendors Atlantis Fitness Equipment. After using virtually every type of weight training equipment in existence and finding many that are good, only Atlantis can be considered “great.” The design, workmanship, and professional service are of the highest standards. Atlantis equipment is also very competitively priced. Call (514) 962-5195 or go to http://www.atlantis-fit.com. The Balance Bar Company. Makers of “Balance 40-30-30” food bars and shakes. The author served on The Balance Bar Company’s advisory board for several years, and personally used and referred their products to clients. The Balance Bar Company is currently conducting breakthrough research on the effects of higher fat, lower carbohydrate diets for diabetes management and athletic performance. Call (800) 678-4246 or on the Internet, go to www.balance.com. Dianna Linden: Dianna is far and away the most skillful soft-tissue therapist I have ever worked with. Her work with athletes enables them to speed their recovery rates by up to 50%. Call (310) 394-1450, or e-mail
[email protected]. DuraBody. Makers of the World’s finest exercise balls. This is the only ball which is guaranteed never to burst. These are the only exercise balls used with Myo-Dynamics clients. DuraBody also offers high quality medicine balls and back-care products. Call (887) 387-2263, or on the Internet, www.durabodies.com. Dragon Door Publications: “Bringing You the World's Most Effective Methods for High Performance, Radiant Health and Peace of Mind.” On the internet: http://www.dragondoor.com. Fundamentals of Strength Training for Sport. The official web site for MyoDynamics, the author’s strength training consultancy. Free content, training information and specifics on the Myo-Dynamics Training-Nutrition Manager software. On the Internet at www.myodynamics.com.
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Physically Incorrect Human Kinetics: Your one-stop source for fitness and sports training books and other media. Point your browser to: http://www.humankinetics.com. Infinityfitness.com is a resource dedicated to providing helpful fitness information for trainees and coaches seeking their individual concept of success. • High quality fitness supplements at competitive prices • Special Discounts and Incentives for Trainers and Coaches • Comprehensive consultations • Expert audio interviews • FREE (printable) training/nutrition log sheets and programs For more details, visit http://www.infinityfitness.com Ironmind. Great source of hard-to-get equipment such as “bumper” plates for the Olympic lifts, oversize bars and dumbbells, grip-strengthening devices, and much more. Call (916) 265-6725. The ISSA acts as a teaching institution and certification agency for fitness trainers, athletic trainers, martial art instructors, and medical professionals in every field of health care. ISSA hosts seminars in most states as well as numerous countries around the world. The ISSA has set new standards in exercise assessment, nutritional planning, fitness instruction, sports medicine practice, and post-rehabilitation training. ISSA’s certification and continuing education programs are universally recognized. For more information, call (800) 892-ISSA, or go to www.issaonline.com. Lifeline USA Training Equipment: This site has functional equipment for fitness, sports specific & rehabilitational training. Lifeline uses dipped latex (resistance cables) for their resistance products like portable gyms, resistance running & jumping devices and most recently the Power Push Up which resists 20, 40, 60, 80 or even 160 lbs. of resistance for push ups, dips, rear delt flys and even jump squats. They also have the #1 rope in the World, the Lifeline Power Jump Rope! It's definitely a good site to visit for strength coaches, personal trainers or people who just like to workout at home or on the road.
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Physically Incorrect Muscle Monthly is a free bi-weekly publication that is published on the 1st and 15th of each month. Muscle Monthly provides a forum for some of the most brilliant minds in the world (including the author) dedicated to the sciences of bodybuilding, training, performance enhancing pharmaceuticals, nutrition, dietary supplementation, weight management, anti-aging, rehabilitation, health care, sports and political issues as they relate to the bodybuilding subculture and the mainstream health and fitness world. On the Internet at www.musclemonthly.com. The Reverse Hyper. This unique device allows for a resisted “open chain” hip extension movement. It promotes explosive strength development of the posterior kinetic chain in the concentric phase, while serving as a rehabilitation mechanism in the eccentric phase by gently stretching and depressurizing the spine and creating, in essence, an internal pumping mechanism, filling the spinal column with spinal fluid and the low back muscles with blood. Many athletes credit the reverse hyper for saving their athletic careers after debilitating low back injury. On the Internet at: http://www.elitefitnesssystems.com SmartFUEL: Perhaps the best tasting and highest quality food bars and shakes avalable anywhere. I LOVE these products. On the Internet at: http://www.smartfuel.com. TESTOSTERONE MAGAZINE (T-Mag, as it's affectionately known by its readers), has essentially attained cult status among strength and physique athletes. They routinely feature works by the world’s best strength coaches and trainers (yours truly included), along with groundbreaking information on performance-oriented supplements. Existing first as a weekly webzine (Testosterone.net) and growing to the point where it now gets approximately 14 million page-hits a month, they soon began publishing a bi-monthly newsstand magazine, too. In addition to its elite status as a training journal, it’s also a fun read. Point your browser to: http://www.testosterone.net. Think Muscle publishes the latest news and research on health, nutrition, bodybuilding, fitness, exercise physiology, dietary supplements and performance enhancement. Think Muscle is dedicated to providing unbiased, scientifically-based information. You’ll find regular articles and columns by some of the most talented minds in the industry (including me!). Direct your browser to: http://www.thinkmuscle.com.
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Physically Incorrect INDEX 1RM, 17, 19, 43, 53, 64-65, 82, 84, 92, 100-101, 122, 126, 136, 176, 186196, 199, 225-226, 230-231, 234-235, 239, 369, 375-376, 387-388, 421, 426, 436, 453, 462 1RM Testing, 230-231, 234-235, 239 40-30-30, 341, 349, 395, 451 A absolute strength, 5, 53, 60, 172-174, 199, 201, 205, 275-276, 411 acceleration, 14, 18-19, 62, 65, 90, 92, 96-97, 116, 137, 175, 201, 206, 268, 384, 421, 455 accelerative lifting, 95, 97, 137-138, 206 adhesions, 15-16, 133, 287, 291-292, 299-300, 302, 305-306, 313, 315, 354 adhesive capsulitis, 315 aerobic base, 241, 245, 247, 403 aerobic capacity, 242, 245, 248, 255 aerobic exercise, 18, 123, 163, 241, 246, 252, 256, 258, 358, 432, 438, 457 aerobic fitness, 146, 245 aerobic system, 245 aesthetics, 69, 360 agonists, 204, 273 anaerobic endurance, 242 anaerobic system, 146, 245 androstenedione, 346, 380, 401 antagonist, 109, 115-116, 165, 175, 204, 206, 355, 364 antagonistic, 43, 109, 115-116, 129, 164, 379 antagonists, 109, 176, 206, 223, 273, 285, 354, 355 Arthur Dreshler, 207 Arthur Jones, 80, 139 athlete, 4-5, 7-8, 16, 26, 29, 30-31, 34-35, 44, 52, 54, 68, 76, 78, 82-83, 86, 102, 104, 121, 131, 136, 138, 146-147, 149, 152, 163, 196, 198-200, 202, 206-208, 241-242, 244, 246, 249, 250, 260, 270, 276-279, 283, 286, 289-291, 297, 299, 301-304, 306, 310, 347, 354, 355-356, 361-362, 370, 374, 380, 385-386, 391, 394, 396, 402, 406, 410, 413, 428-429, 440-441, 446, 450-451, 455-456, 459 B back squat, 8, 28, 267, 426 ballistic exercises, 206 ballistic training, 206 barbell, 19, 27, 45, 85, 97, 110, 115, 134, 140, 153, 158, 198, 206-207, 508
Physically Incorrect 365, 372, 377, 407, 440, 471 bench press, 8-9, 19-20, 27, 53, 58, 68, 85, 92, 97, 103, 112-113, 116, 121, 124-125, 129-130, 134, 147, 151-153, 160, 166, 168-169, 171, 176, 178179, 181, 183, 185, 187, 189-190, 192, 194, 196, 202, 204, 212, 214, 217, 219-220, 223, 225, 227-233, 235-239, 262, 267-268, 275, 284, 313, 359, 360, 376-377, 382-383, 387, 391, 416, 431, 435, 439-440, 452-453, 458, 462 bench pressing, 21, 52, 75, 151-152, 160, 173, 206, 265, 313, 364, 430, 439, 460, 462 BMI, 117, 118, 119 body composition, 49, 72, 145, 158, 170, 210, 246, 250-251, 254, 350, 352 bodybuilding, 8, 10, 26, 47, 49-50, 53, 80, 85, 106, 120, 122, 127, 131-132, 139, 149-150, 154-155, 198, 201, 206, 254, 263, 268, 270-271, 273, 275276, 357, 365, 373, 376, 379, 384, 411, 416, 442, 445 brachialis, 224 brachioradialis, 224 branch-chain amino acids, 344 C cable crossovers, 225 calisthenics, 5 carbohydrate, 127, 132, 338-339, 344-347, 373, 381, 399 carbohydrates, 127, 337, 339-341, 347-349, 351, 418, 451 CAT, 97, 119 Charles Staley, 1-2, 4, 12-13, 286, 301, 353, 446 Charles Poliquin, 12, 15, 46, 77, 91, 120, 124, 148, 163, 169, 239, 318 cheating, 86-87, 151, 161, 380, 429 chest-supported seated row, 231-235 chin-up, 110, 112, 114, 227-230 chin-ups, 123, 363 chiropractic adjustments, 327 chondromalacia, 321 circuit training, 162-163, 175 combat athletes, 4, 13 compensatory acceleration, 175 competitive bodybuilders, 90, 139, 156, 262 concentric, 81, 83, 87, 95, 131, 137, 199-200, 202, 206, 263-264, 320, 355, 361, 366, 386, 420, 447, 458 connective tissues, 133, 254, 367 convergent phase training, 222 core lifts, 225-226 cortico-steroids, 330 CPT, 222, 225-226 CRAC stretches, 309 509
Physically Incorrect creatine monohydrate, 11, 47, 104, 346, 380-381, 400, 436, 461-462 cryo-kinetics, 326 D Dan Millman, 156 deadlift, 40, 121, 124, 136, 223, 299, 322, 365, 405, 411, 449, 454, 458 decatheletes, 173 deceleration, 206, 312, 379 decline step-up, 227-231 deltoids, 8, 68, 111, 268, 312, 409 density, 17, 27, 62-63, 69-70, 72-73, 86, 100, 123, 341 depth jumps, 215, 218 Dianna Linden, 15, 104, 285-286, 300, 353 diathermy, 329 dips, 27, 43, 64, 65, 103, 110, 112-113, 129-130, 213, 216, 223, 225, 231240, 359, 377 discus throw, 4 donkey seated calf raise, 231-235, 237-240 downward ball smash, 231-235 Dr Verkhoshansky, 302 Dr. Marc Breehl, 246, 255 Dr. Mel Siff, 302 Dr. Sal Arria, 84, 132, 157, 311, 315, 322, 375, 406 drop sets, 122, 165, 366, 458, 471 dumbbell flyes, 225 dumbbell hammer curl, 112, 227-231 dumbbell preacher curl, 227-231 dumbbells, 19, 45, 49, 102, 143, 153, 156, 159, 176, 204, 223, 227-230, 272, 280, 284, 314, 359, 371, 389, 452 dynamic correspondence, 176, 186, 223 dynamic tension, 5 E eccentric, 86-87, 95, 108, 131, 137, 165, 186, 196, 199-200, 202, 224, 359, 361, 378, 386, 407, 433, 450, 458, 470 elastic tubing, 6, 440 elbow problems, 327-328 electro-stimulation, 329 endurance, 7, 11, 15, 31, 47, 49, 64, 65, 121, 147, 158, 172, 173, 175, 178186, 188-196, 203, 241-244, 246, 248-251, 258, 261-262, 270, 282-284, 307, 345-346, 348-349, 368, 400, 403, 433, 446, 450, 456, 474 exercises, 1, 5, 8, 28, 40, 43, 46, 50-51, 64-66, 77-78, 80, 86, 93-95, 97, 103, 110, 112, 115-116, 123-124, 126, 128-131, 136, 140, 144-145, 151, 510
Physically Incorrect 158, 161, 163-166, 169-171, 176-177, 186-187, 196, 211, 222-226, 254, 261, 264-265, 267, 272, 278-280, 325, 355, 359, 364-365, 368-373, 375-376, 382-383, 402-403, 408, 411-416, 424, 427, 434-435, 439-441, 465-466, 471 external rotation, 38, 313 extreme fighters, 172
202, 285, 385, 447,
204, 304, 389, 449,
206, 313, 391, 455,
208, 315, 396, 463,
F fatigue, 8, 14, 19, 40-42, 47, 50-52, 63-64, 66, 81-87, 91-92, 96, 115, 120, 122, 124, 137, 138, 162, 164, 167, 169, 178-195, 203, 208, 210, 242, 258, 261, 266, 268, 281, 289, 292, 299, 323, 350-351, 368, 380, 382-383, 402, 426, 433-434, 436, 440, 449, 469 fats, 336, 339, 341 fiber conversion, 133, 226, 408 finger extension, 224 flaxseed oil, 11, 345, 400 flexibility, 5, 15, 31, 35, 78, 158, 262, 276, 336, 372, 384-385, 450 food bars, 352 Frank Carrino, 243 Fred Hatfield, 84, 88, 91, 97, 161, 201 french press, 62, 123, 231-234, 235 fried foods, 340 front delts, 224 front squat, 168, 213, 216, 218, 231-232, 233-235, 237-239, 369 Fumio Demura, 263 G gastrocs, 224, 227-239 genetics, 15, 18, 47, 69, 74, 106, 253, 380, 421 Ghandi, 149-150 glute-ham-gastroc raise, 227-230 grip spacing, 152, 363 grip strength, 224, 227-240 H habituation, 69, 70 half-Squat, 227-229, 231-239 hamstrings, 116, 151, 153, 224, 227-239 hang clean, 226, 228-236, 238-239 hanging pikes, 227-230 heart rate, 246, 248, 252, 282, 325, 396, 419 511
Physically Incorrect HIT, 135, 139 hot/cold alternating showers, 302 I IDEA magazine, 246, 255 impingement, 315 incline dumbbell curl, 169, 231-235, 237-240 incline dumbbell press, 111, 214, 216, 219, 227-231 injuries, 78, 84-85, 94-95, 102, 132, 148, 155, 286, 289-290, 298, 300-304, 312-314, 317, 322, 328, 357, 397, 419, 431, 439, 442-443, 446, 457 intensity, 7, 17-19, 27, 35, 45, 47-48, 57, 62, 65, 69-73, 77, 81-84, 98-101, 110, 122-124, 126, 135, 157, 174, 177, 198, 201, 225, 242-243, 245-246, 248, 251, 254, 257, 271-272, 276, 289-290, 308-309, 319, 326, 358-359, 362, 364, 368, 375, 378, 383, 387-388, 402-403, 412, 421, 423, 435, 437, 440, 467 International Sports Sciences Association, 13, 84, 91, 119, 129, 144, 145, 161, 202, 221, 265, 286, 357, 381 J Jackie Joyner Kersee, 303 jerk, 5, 137, 160, 165, 207, 265, 370, 412 Jerry Robinson, 243 Jerry Telle, 18, 122, 131, 350, 352, 365, 367, 428 Jim Wright, 79, 345, 399, 464 Jimmy "the Iron Bull" Pallechia, 156 Joel Senate, 156, 393 joint lockout, 211 jump drills, 6 jumps in place, 227-230 K Katerina Witt, 10 knee wraps, 318, 321 L lactate threshold, 241-245, 247, 250-251 lactic acid, 8, 47, 49, 167, 242-243, 245, 248, 268, 324, 361, 373 lats, 116, 224, 227-239 Lee Haney, 157 leg curls, 14, 124, 126, 152, 441 leg press calf raise, 111, 178, 180, 182, 184-185, 188-190, 192-193, 195, 512
Physically Incorrect 231-235 leverage, 5, 206, 250, 312, 328 L-Glutamine, 345, 399 loading parameters, 224, 365, 458 long term seated postures, 330 low back pain, 279-280, 298, 333 lying EZ bar triceps extension, 230 M macrocycle, 174, 199, 245-246, 411 macrocycles, 173 macronutrient Ratios, 340 macronutrients, 336 Mariam Power, 9, 262 martial artist, 4-8, 10, 68, 106, 260, 261, 271, 273, 277, 344, 356 massage, 15, 16, 104, 127, 143, 286-296, 299-305, 307, 310, 327-328, 353-354 meal planning, 352 medial collateral ligament, 318, 320 medicine balls, 144, 208, 285, 372, 413, 450 mesocycle, 211, 225, 411-412, 423 metabolic rate, 9, 118, 341, 410, 418 Michael Chang, 6, 384 microcycles, 210, 224 micronutrients, 342 military press, 111, 168, 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 motor ability, 174, 199, 211, 270, 429 motor units, 45-46, 48-49, 59, 61, 64, 87, 198, 201, 203, 207, 384, 386, 409, 432, 468-469 MRP’s, 352, 398-399 muscle, 9-11, 13, 15, 19, 24, 29, 34-35, 40, 43, 45-46, 48-51, 55, 58-62, 64-66, 76-78, 80, 84, 86-87, 91, 96, 99, 104, 109-110, 114-116, 118-125, 131, 133, 136-138, 143, 146-147, 149, 157-158, 160, 164, 167, 169, 175176, 196, 199, 201, 203-205, 207, 215, 223, 225, 246, 252-255, 257-258, 260-263, 266, 270-273, 275-276, 278, 279, 284, 288, 290-293, 297-300, 303-304, 309, 312-313, 315-317, 319, 322-324, 327, 345-346, 348-349, 354-358, 360-361, 365, 367-368, 371, 373, 375-384, 387, 391, 393, 400, 406, 408, 409, 410, 411, 414, 415, 421, 422, 427-429, 432, 434, 438, 439, 444, 445, 446, 447, 449, 451, 457-458, 460, 464, 466, 468 Muscle & Fitness, 1, 13, 79, 311, 315, 322, 327, 330, 424 muscle fibers, 9, 59, 60, 77-78, 104, 122, 167, 176, 203-204, 223, 260, 272, 276, 315, 361, 368, 380, 383-384, 408, 434, 438 muscle imbalance, 313 muscle magazines, 9, 133, 253 513
Physically Incorrect Muscle Media 2000, 1, 13, 44, 98, 106, 142, 352 muscular contraction, 59, 199 Muscular Development magazine, 246, 255 Myo Dynamics Training-Nutrition Manager, 13, 71 myofascial release, 309 N necrosis, 246, 255, 358 nutrition, 1, 11, 17, 18, 72, 76, 104, 127, 131-132, 305, 336-337, 340-341, 343, 351, 393-397, 398, 414, 417, 441 O Olympic lifting, 135, 206-207, 390, 405, 411, 441 Olympic lifts, 13-14, 111, 138, 160, 165, 170, 207-208, 276, 370, 412, 429 omega-3 essential fatty acids, 339 one rep max, 92, 226, 241, 461 overuse, 132, 211, 292, 299, 301, 304-306, 313, 321, 328, 357, 367, 445446 P PACE, 162 pain scale, 307 patellofemoral pain syndrome, 321 Pavel Tsatsouline, 263 performance testing, 226 personal trainers, 152, 253-254 Phil LeClair, 132, 143 physical therapists, 293, 304, 392 plyometric, 35, 134-135, 138, 208, 451 plyometric training, 208 plyometrics, 140, 165, 200, 206, 224, 273, 276, 433, 450 power, 15, 23, 24, 31, 56, 64, 90, 94-95, 103, 114, 122, 130, 138, 140, 155, 172-173, 197-198, 200, 207, 242, 262, 272-273, 284, 289-290, 328, 360, 364, 370, 372, 382, 387, 390, 411-412, 433, 441, 448-450, 455, 459 power clean, 155, 200, 207 powerlifting, 9-10, 13, 64, 80, 84, 90, 136, 143, 196, 374, 386, 390, 397, 411, 434, 442, 449 preacher hammer curl, 232-240 prime movers, 46, 81, 84, 86, 204, 272-273, 277, 285, 359, 376 progression, 30, 31, 70, 83, 88, 95, 99, 101-102, 104, 123, 131, 134, 136, 138, 163, 254, 388, 406-407 pro-hormones, 346 514
Physically Incorrect protein, 11, 49, 61, 76, 104, 132, 150, 276, 336-337, 340, 344-347, 348, 358, 373, 381, 398-400, 417, 434, 436, 451, 461-462, 466, 469 protein shakes, 11, 132, 344, 399 Q qualitative approach, 68 quantitative approach, 69 R range of motion, 35, 40, 50, 82, 97, 103, 130, 136-137, 153, 161, 313-315, 354, 359-360, 376, 385, 406, 420, 440, 444, 447, 461 rate coding, 59-60, 205, 464 recovery, 18, 47-49, 78, 84, 102, 104, 133, 150, 175, 177, 197, 201, 208, 210, 225, 251-252, 287, 289-292, 300-304, 306, 322-326, 329, 336, 345, 348, 353-354, 395, 399, 409, 454 redundancy, 223, 225, 411 rehabilitation, 45, 304 rest intervals, 14, 69, 93, 94, 103, 115, 130, 247 rest periods, 14, 48, 49, 80, 128, 137, 248, 389 reverse hyper, 113, 178, 180, 182, 184, 185, 213, 216, 218 reverse trunk twist on ball, 232, 233, 234, 235, 237, 238, 239, 240 Rich Phaigh, 288, 295, 300, 301 Rolfing, 287, 292, 294, 304, 309 russian twist, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231 S seated calf raise, 227-231, 236 sets, 7, 14, 17 shoulder pain, 303, 311, 314, 440 sitting, 305, 320-321, 324, 331-332, 396-397, 406 soleus, 224, 227-240 Soviet squat routine, 363, 424, 426 sparring, 7, 281, 282 specificity, 132, 136, 176, 197, 223, 272-273, 403 speed, 5, 15, 31, 34, 49, 52, 55, 65, 66, 81, 83, 89-90, 92, 99, 104, 108, 116, 136, 139-140, 144, 158, 161, 167, 170, 172-176, 198, 200, 202, 205208, 211, 223, 245, 248-249, 261-263, 266, 270, 272-273, 275-276, 283, 299, 300, 302, 304, 315, 323, 324, 336, 370, 375, 384, 388, 411, 416, 431, 434, 442, 448-450, 456, 470, 474 speed Strength, 174, 186, 197, 200-201, 205, 208, 428, 435 squat, 9, 14, 22, 25, 28, 50-51, 62, 70, 77-78, 83, 90-91, 97, 101, 111, 121, 144-145, 156, 163, 177, 202, 206-207, 223, 265, 270, 317, 319-321, 322, 515
Physically Incorrect 362, 369-370, 372-374, 376, 386, 396,-397, 404-406, 411, 424, 426, 434435, 442, 449, 454, 458, 461, 472 squat clean, 207 squats, 88, 161, 377, 388, 406, 437, 449, 472 stabilizer, 19, 45, 46, 86, 204, 272, 277 standing long jump, 210 static bar holds, 231-235 Steffi Graf, 6 stiff-leg deadlift, 111, 168, 231-235 straight bar reverse curl, 227-230 straight sets, 224, 458, 471 strength, 4-9, 13-17, 27, 31, 35, 46-49, 51-53, 56, 58-60, 66, 69, 72, 76, 82-83, 86, 90, 95, 98, 101, 103-104, 110, 116, 118, 122, 125-126, 129-130, 138-140, 144, 147, 157-158, 161, 166-167, 169-206, 208, 210-211, 222246, 249-250, 252, 254-255, 258, 260-263, 265, 266, 268, 270-280, 282, 284-285, 296, 313, 329, 336, 348-349, 355-356, 359-364, 367-370, 372373, 377-378, 383-386, 388, 389, 390-392, 394, 402, 404-408, 411-413, 416, 421, 423, 428-430, 432-437, 440-446, 448, 450, 451, 452, 453-456, 458, 462, 464-465, 467, 469-470, 474 strength endurance, 5, 52, 53, 172, 173, 174, 199, 200, 336, 383, 384 strength training, 5-9, 51, 86, 110, 147, 157, 166-167, 169-171, 197, 201202, 206, 208, 246, 270-272, 274-276, 282, 284, 285, 349, 355, 356, 359, 361, 372, 377-378, 383-385, 390, 392, 405, 408, 416, 423, 432-435, 440443, 445-446, 451, 454-455 stress, 17, 30, 46, 70, 79, 87, 95-97, 99, 104, 117, 133, 135, 137, 138, 152153, 156-157, 187-195, 201, 225, 248, 263-264, 266, 270, 272, 279, 288289, 313, 320, 323, 328, 332, 343-345, 351, 374, 383, 393, 398-399, 405, 419, 420, 446, 450 stretch, 10, 33, 35-36, 38, 95, 124, 125, 137, 143, 215, 248, 307, 370, 386, 443-445, 457 stretching, 33, 35, 40, 124, 147, 160, 202, 290, 293, 294, 309, 326, 385, 443-445, 450, 455, 472 submaximal accelerative efforts, 116 supplementation, 10, 127, 343, 460 supplements, 10, 104, 126, 132, 289, 343, 346, 381, 398, 400, 436, 452, 461-462 Susan Powder, 145 Swiss ball, 27, 110, 125, 144, 364, 372, 377, 435, 447-448 synergist, 204, 304, 383 synergists, 84, 204, 293 T talk test, 245 Tellekinetics, 122, 161, 224, 365, 366 516
Physically Incorrect tempo, 49, 81-82, 87, 99-100, 103, 111-112, 122, 128, 129-130, 136-137, 211, 280, 361, 366, 370, 387 tension, 13-14, 19, 35-36, 38-39, 47, 59-62, 66, 73, 91-92, 97, 99, 103, 116, 130-131, 135-136, 169, 175, 198-199, 201, 203-206, 211, 266, 288, 359, 365-368, 384, 386, 406, 409, 434, 440, 444-445, 464, 468-469, 471 testosterone, 48, 78, 339, 346, 380, 397, 401 The Manga Report, 333-335 thirty meter sprint, 210 tone, 146, 357 training, 1, 4-7, 9-19, 23, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 40-53, 56-58, 61-62, 64-66, 68-70, 72-87, 91, 92, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 108-109, 111, 114-115, 117, 120-121, 123-124, 126-139, 142-144, 147, 155-160, 162, 163, 165, 166-167, 169-177, 186, 196-199, 201, 206, 208, 211, 222, 224-226, 240-241, 244-258, 266-302, 304, 306-307, 310, 312-314, 317-318, 320, 322-328, 330, 331, 336, 337, 342-349, 351, 353362, 367-371, 373-377, 379, 380-381, 383-386, 389-390, 392-395, 397, 399-400, 402-406, 408, 409-412, 414, 415, 417, 420-421, 423-424, 426427, 431-442, 445-447, 449-455, 457-460, 462, 466-468, 473-474 traps, 224 tricep pushdowns, 123, 212, 214, 217, 220-221 triceps, 116, 187, 189, 191-192, 194, 224, 227-239, 377, 435 trigger point, 300, 309 trunk-hip flexion, 224 type I fibers, 133, 203 type IIb fibers, 133, 203 U United States Weightlifting Federation, 139 V V02 max, 242-245 valsalva maneuver, 264-265 vitamins, 342 volume, 1, 7, 17, 19, 27-28, 41, 44-45, 48, 57, 60, 62-63, 65, 69-70, 7273, 81, 83-86, 91, 98-101, 103, 110, 116, 126, 138, 157, 174, 206, 209, 225, 230, 234, 239, 245-248, 254, 256, 260, 267, 271-272, 282-283, 289290, 328, 348, 356, 392-393, 402-403, 419, 427, 437, 440, 452, 468 W warming up, 124 water, 15, 24, 145, 292, 299, 310, 326, 343-345, 347, 370, 381, 398, 400402, 418-419, 462, 466 517
Physically Incorrect weight training, 5, 6, 16, 24, 34, 133, 139, 142, 150, 155, 197, 199, 253, 258, 273, 348, 354, 356, 358, 367-368, 378, 403, 408, 412, 432, 439, 441, 445-446, 457 weightlifting, 13, 64, 80, 139, 142, 160, 201, 207, 328, 390, 411, 442, 473 weights, 5, 25, 27, 42, 44, 45, 50, 62, 64, 66, 69, 71, 78, 85, 89-90, 92, 95, 98, 116-117, 135, 136-137, 140, 144, 146, 155-156, 159, 165, 174, 176, 207, 223, 225, 256, 260, 262, 265-266, 268, 273, 276, 374, 386, 413, 419, 423, 439, 445, 450, 463-464 workout, 17-19, 27, 33-35, 37, 40-41, 43-44, 46-49, 52-53, 55-56, 62-63, 65-66, 69-73, 82, 85-86, 89, 92, 95, 100, 102-104, 109-112, 114-115, 120123, 125, 127, 129-131, 137, 143, 155-156, 158, 160-164, 169, 173, 175, 178-195, 215, 218, 223, 225, 245, 254, 281, 291-292, 304, 316, 324-326, 348, 351, 353-354, 357, 359, 361-363, 367, 376, 382-383, 387, 389, 400, 408-409, 411, 416, 421, 423, 427-28, 432-433, 440, 445, 455, 462, 464 workouts, 47, 48, 52, 62, 66, 71-72, 74, 96, 100, 103, 106, 108-112, 114115, 120-122, 124-127, 134, 163, 175, 250, 254, 299, 304, 322-323, 325326, 347, 353, 358, 360-361, 364, 375, 377, 383, 387, 396, 402, 423, 433, 440, 447, 463
518
