Entries Tagged 'Building Muscle' ↓

Here’s a list of techniques you can employ when new muscular growth is no longer in your favor:

1. The Mind-Muscle Connection. Direct as much focus as you can toward the muscular contraction. This requires you to have a clear mind and full attention on what you are lifting. It’s a great way to overcome strength barriers, and guess what, that means more growth in the long run!
2. 21’s. Simply put, these are partial reps - perform 7 reps for the lower half of the motion, 7 reps for the upper half of the motion, and finish with 7 full-range reps.
3. Century Sets. A century is 100 years, so a century set is 100 reps. Easy enough… or is it?
4. Reduced Rest Periods. Causes an influx of growth hormone release for new lean mass and less fat, depending upon how much or how little rest you give yourself.
5. Isolation. While isolation exercises shouldn’t be your only tool, they make good finishers for additional growth.
6. Squeeze the Hell Out of the Bar! This will cause surrounding fibers and joints to contract and expand more forcefully, not to mention, stronger forearms!
7. Super-slow! Take your sweet time with this technique and slow down your cadence to about 10 seconds down and 10 seconds up. Ouch!
8. Cheated Reps. Yes, you’ve been told that bad form doesn’t have its place. And it’s true. Don’t say I didn’t warn you first!
9. Burn Outs. Lift until you can’t lift anymore. Lift until it hurts so bad you want to run home crying. Lift until those funeral plans start running through your mind!
10. I Lift, Then You Lift. Grab a buddy to come join in on some fun. You can even turn it into a little competition if you wish! Perform one rep, then your buddy does the same. You for 2 and then him/her for 2, all the way to 12-15 reps, and then go backwards! A prime grunt-fest!

“More is better,” says America. In fact, with weight training, it’s the exact opposite- more can be worse.

Johnny Boy is a hard gainer. He’s was making great progress in the gym the past few months since he started working out, but now his progress has come to a screeching halt. Out of confusion and desperation, Johhny decides he will ramp up the time he spends in the gym and the number of days a week that he coasts the gym floor. Week by week, he grows smaller (yes, he grows smaller!) and finds himself in a world of hurt.

As if his newly shrunken muscles weren’t enough, Johnny begins to feel overly fatigued and very lethargic. He experiences delayed soreness- it’s not that immediate soreness he is used to feeling. He begins to lose motivation. Johnny feels so irritable. He begins losing sleep. A look in the mirror shows he’s developing a spare tire around the waist- he’s getting fatter. Frightened at the lack of progress, he hits it harder in the weight room. Come Monday, while on the bench press, his ego takes over and he slaps on more weight than he can handle. On the way down, *snap*! He’s just torn his right pectoral muscle! He’s now a victim of injury.

Now, while the story above is entirely fictional, it entails the process of overtraining. But what causes overtraining?

• Lack of sufficient rest and recovery
• Malnutrition
• Workouts with too great a volume (too many sets)
• Workouts with too great an intensity for too long in duration.

The best thing to do is avoid overtraining altogether. Here’s how it’s done:

• Make sure you give the body part worked 48-72 hours of rest.
• After 6-8 weeks of training, take a week off from the weights.
• Sleep for 8-9 hours every night or get in at least a few “power-naps” to recoup lost sleep.
• Eat at or above maintenance if your workouts are demanding.
• If you intend on training with a higher volume, keep the intensity low.
• If you intend on training with higher intensity, keep the volume low.

The Rest-Pause Technique:

I’ve outlined an entire routine for rest-pausing for strength and size gains in a previous post. Here’s the general consensus of the rest-pause technique: Lift a weight at 70-80% of your 1 RM for 1 or 2 reps at a time and then rack it. Assume a very short rest (enough to catch your head and your breath) and get back to the weight. Continue single reps and racking the weight until you can’t get 1 rep yourself.

Most Beneficial for: Strength gains (but strength can also precede size, so hypertrophy is definitely possible).

Best Performed During: The beginning of your workout (or your entire workout).

X-Reps:

X-Reps are intense in nature and may be difficult for beginning lifters. Much neuromuscular connection is needed to successfully perform this technique. X-Reps are used as a finisher for a work set. Basically, the x-rep is a partial rep performed in a pulsating manner - it’s very rapid in tempo. For instance, when you are on bench press, you would perform full range reps (full extension in lifting and full contraction in the lowering phase), followed by partial reps (performed at the bottom position of the bench press up to the mid-range) - just shy of half a rep. This is supposed to activate additional motor units, thereby stimulating more than the typical Type-II fibers. For more information on x-reps and the physiological descriptions behind it, visit the official X-Reps website.

Most Beneficial for: Hypertrophy.

Best Performed During: The end of a work set.

Static Holds

This one is easier said than done. While it is really only a static (non-moving) contraction, it will really fatigue the muscle and induce micro-tears (great for additional muscle growth). Perform a typical work set on the exercise of your choice and when you finish the last rep, hold the weight for 10-20 seconds in full extension or near full extension. Get ready to scream!

Most Beneficial for: Strength and Hypertrophy.

Best Performed During: The end of a work set.

One and a Half Reps

I wrote a guest article for Israel at Fat Man Unleashed for One and a Half Squats. This deals with one and a half reps, the basis behind the squatting technique, except you can apply it to additional muscle groups and exercises. Here’s how it works: You’ll take the weight through the eccentric (lowering) phase, fire the weight up mid-way, lower it through the eccentric again, and the fire it up through the concentric (lifting) phase. That’s rep number one. This is best done in a smith machine so you don’t end up looking like the pancake you ate this morning.

Most Beneficial for: Hypertrophy

Best Performed During: your first full set. It’s too hard to perform this in a pre-exhausted state! Start this one fresh!

Super Sets

You’ve probably heard of a super set before. In case you haven’t, you’re really missing out! A super set is a super way to induce size gains and a great way to break a plateau. Pick two exercises for the target muscle and as soon as you finish one set on the first exercise, bounce to the next without rest. Continue for two or three total sets.

Most Beneficial for: Hypertrophy and Fat Loss! (due to natural stimulation of growth hormone and the induction of lactic acid, which will positively affect body composition).

Best Performed During: The entire workout or the end of the workout.

Weight loss can be a real drag. Boring. Uninspiring. Anti-social. Between the calorie cutting and hour-long treadmill sessions, it just plain sucks. Isn’t there a better way to go about shedding the globs of fat that you have accumulated over the years?

You bet. You see, I’ve got the ultimate formula for blasting fat off of your body in record time.

My new e-book, Fat Loss Inferno, encompasses the following:

• The real way you can lose body fat and keep it off, in less time.
• Exercises that will shred you up.
• Recomposition- the new way to build lean mass and reduce fat!
• Why traditional cardio methods are obsolete. (The truth will shock you!)
• An easy-to-understand nutrition primer that will show you how to eat the right way, without starving yourself or screwing up your metabolism!
• Sixteen full weeks of pre-planned fat loss routines and meals. That’s four whole months!
• Custom Food and Workout Logs to keep track of your progress.

I’d tell you more, but I don’t want to spoil it for you! Just keep your eyes peeled and remember to subscribe to our RSS feeds, so I can update you on when Fat Loss Inferno becomes available. I’ll also tell you how you can win a free copy of the e-book!

After some time following standard body splits and run-of-the-mill routines, you’ll eventually hit a wall with your gains in muscle mass and strength. Now, for those of you who are used to workouts with greater volume, this might feel awkward. Don’t give it too much thought and just do it!

With this technique, you will be reducing the volume (number of sets and exercises) of your workout to one total set and turning up the intensity dial. It’s essentially the opposite approach. You will also have a hard time grasping how one true “work set” can promote progressive strength and size gains at first, but you’ll soon discover its’ worth when you move around like a zombie in the days following your workout.

Here’s the basis of this workout:

• The routine lasts three days a week. M-W-F or T-TH-SAT, your choice.
• Body part splits are as follows:
  • A - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
  • B - Back, Legs, Biceps
• You alternate between A and B on workout days (i.e. Monday is Group A, Wednesday is Group B, Friday is Group A, the following Monday is Group B, etc)
• One work set at a weight that is between 70-80% of your 1 RM (single rep max)
• Only one exercise per body part
• Compound, multi-joint exercises only (Bench Press, Shoulder Press, Squats, Deadlifts, Barbell Curls, etc)
• Perform abs twice a week on days of your choice. Be sure to spread them apart to ensure sufficient recovery.

By using a tri-split (three muscle groups), we are able to use pre-exhaustion as a technique to slightly increase volume and overload. When you are working bench press, you exhaust your shoulders and triceps secondarily. The same with back and biceps - you inadvertently work your biceps when you perform back exercises, thus eliminating the need for more than one set per body part. And because we only have two groups, we are able to attack the muscles with more intensity and frequency. You’ll be able to recover quickly and hit the muscles more times per week, and that means more strength and greater muscle mass!

Here’s a standard template that I follow :

Group A

• Chest - Incline Bench Press - 1 Rest-Pause Set
• Shoulders - Barbell Shoulder Press - 1 Rest-Pause Set
• Triceps - Close-Grip Bench Press - 1 Rest-Pause Set

Group B

• Back - Deadlift - 1 Rest-Pause Set (perform a set of pull-ups to failure following this for lats)
• Legs - Back Squat and Front Squat* (2 x 10, 8 for Back Squat, 2 x 10, 8 Front Squat)
• Biceps - Barbell Curls - 1 Rest-Pause Set

* Legs are the only exception to the rule - rest-pausing with legs can be dangerous, so more exercises are performed with slightly less weight.

How Rest-Pausing Works:

Rest-Pausing is quite simple. You choose a weight that is 70-80% of your 1 RM and you try to lift it until personal failure - if you can’t get the next rep alone, rack the weight. Rest 20-25 seconds. Again, lift for as many reps as you can before failure - don’t go beyond it. Rest another 20-25 seconds. Once again, lift for as many reps as you can on your own. The trick here is lifting it without assistance, but keep a spotter handy so you don’t kill yourself (in the absence of a spotter, perform those lifts on a smith machine with hooks and guide rails). The rep progression is usually 6-8 reps on round one, 3-4 on round two, and 1-3 on round three. If you go beyond 15 reps, add 5 pounds to your next workout. Also, remember that this was your “work set” so you are done with this exercise and body part. Time to move on to the next muscle group!

I’d perform this routine for at least four to six weeks, and when you feel like you are nearing a plateau in particular exercises, change that exercise to another multi-joint exercise. Bring a log book too so you can remember your weight and reps performed.

Have fun!

Escalating Density Training. Sounds promising, does it not? Well, here’s my story before I delve deeper into the almighty glory and mystique that it is. Yesterday marked my bi-weekly trip to Barnes and Noble and I happened to catch a glimpse of an interesting book called Muscle Logic. Had it been any ol’ book, I’d have put it back on the shelf, but I noticed it was written by Charles Staley. If you haven’t heard of the man, he’s a nationally-recognized training coach, and a darn good one I might add (he’s got plenty of credentials to go along with his ways too). He is certainly visionary and his methods produce incredible results. Anyway, I skimmed through the book and ran up to the counter to buy it. I found what I was looking for.

Before my trip to the bookstore, I was lingering between all these different training methods we have today. Let’s see, there’s the mediocre-at-best, purely overtraining, for-steroid-users-only magazine routines. There’s German Volume Training (GVT). There’s High-Intensity Training (HIT). There’s DOGGCRAPP Training (DC). There’s Hypertrophy-Specific Training (HST). There’s Max-OT. There’s Westside Training. There’s Power/Rep Range/Shock (P/RR/S). There’s Starr’s 5×5. And then there’s Escalating Density Training (we’ll call it EDT). And let me tell you, EDT is a different kind of beast.

EDT is the culmination of many age-old strength principles, which is perhaps why it is so effective. It goes by the Principle of Progressive Overload, the Principle of Specificity, the Principle of Variation, the Principle of Individuality, and several others, all which contribute to a highly functional short and long-term program.

Here’s How EDT Works:

• Every workout contains three 15-minute segments nicknamed “PR Zones.”
• Each PR Zone typically consists of two or three exercises in antagonist pairings (opposing muscles), performed in a superset-style fashion.
• In each 15-minute PR Zone, you set a stopwatch for 15 minutes and continuously switch between the two exercises with the goal of amassing as many reps in that time limit as you can.
• The exercises are performed at a weight that would be your 10-12 rep max.
• For the first exercise, you stop reps short of fatigue and switch to the next exercise in that PR Zone. After a few reps, you switch back to the first. Repeat until time is up.
• You log the total number of reps for the each exercise within each PR Zone. The objective is to accumulate more reps on your next session. If you end up with 20% more reps than your last workout, you increase the weight.

It’s a bit confusing at first since it’s a relatively uncommon style of lifting, but once you grasp the basics and perform your first workout, you’ll understand just how much more simple it is than regular routines to gauge your progress.

Here’s an EDT routine written up by Staley as per T-Nation.com:

EDT Program

Day One (Monday)

First 15-Minute Segment:

• A-1: Machine Bench Press

• A-2: Straight Barbell Curl

Second 15-Minute Segment:

• A-1: Pec Dec

• A-2: EZ-Bar Preacher Curl

Third 15-Minute Segment:

• A-1: Flat Dumbbell Flye

• A-2: Left Arm Preacher Curl

• A-3: Right Arm Preacher Curl

Day Two (Wednesday)

First 15-Minute Segment:

• A-1: Machine Hack Squat, Feet Low on Platform, Heels-Elevated

• A-2: Seated (Supine) Leg Curl

Second 15-Minute Segment:

• A-1: Left Leg Stationary Lunge (i.e., quad emphasis)

• A-2: Right Leg Stationary Lunge (i.e., quad emphasis)

Note: Assume a short stance that promotes maximal flexion of the front knee and use dumbbells for additional loading, if needed.

Third 15-Minute Segment:

• A-1: High Cable Crunch

• A-2: Back Extension

Day Three (Friday)

First 15-Minute Segment:

• A-1: Close, Parallel-Grip Pullup

• A-2: Lying EZ-Bar Tricep Extension

Second 15-Minute Segment:

• A-1: Wide-Grip, Straight-Arm Pushdown

• A-2: Bench Dips

Third 15-Minute Segment:

• A-1: Machine Seated Row

• A-2: Reverse-Grip Tricep Pushdowns

Additional Notes

• Taking 500 mg of vitamin C a few hours prior to the workout may help to reduce post workout soreness.

• Workouts should be performed on non-consecutive days (e.g., Monday, Wednesday, Friday.)

• I recommend 10-15 minutes of light to moderate cardio, followed by 10-15 minutes of light stretching on “off” days for the purpose of promoting active recovery and reducing soreness.

• It’s OK to make exercise substitutions if you don’t have the equipment or experience required to perform a particular exercise. However, it must be kept in mind that EDT generates massive amounts of fatigue. Therefore, this program isn’t particularly suited to exercises that require high levels of skill and concentration (e.g., power cleans, squats, deadlifts, etc.). Please use good judgment and caution should you choose to make substitutions.

• Each workout consists of (3) 15-minute time frames separated by short (5-minute) rest periods. In each time frame, you’ll perform two exercises, for a total of 6 exercises per workout.

• In each time frame, the two exercises are performed in alternating fashion, back and forth, using the same weight for all sets, until the time frame has elapsed.

• After warming up the first exercise(s), select a load that approximates a 10-12RM for each exercise. Ideally, the weight used for each exercise should be equally difficult.

• Sets, reps, and rest intervals: Most people will find it most productive to do higher repetition (but not maximal effort) sets and shorter rests at the beginning, and then gradually progress to less reps per set and longer rest intervals as fatigue accumulates. As an example, you might begin by performing sets of 6 with very short (15-30 second) rests. As you begin to fatigue, you’ll increase your rest intervals as you drop down to sets of 4, then 2, and as the 15-minute time limit approaches, you might crank out a few singles in an effort of accomplish as many repetitions as possible in 15 minutes.

• Do not perform early sets to failure, or even near failure. My recommended starting point is to do 1/2 of what is possible (e.g., 5 reps with a 10RM weight) at the beginning of the time frame. As the time limit approaches however, you’ll find yourself working at or near failure as you attempt to break your rep record.

• Progression: Each time you repeat the workout; your objective is to simply perform more total repetitions in the same time frame. As soon as you can increase the total number of reps by 20% or more, start the next workout with 5% more weight and start over. Now pull out that stopwatch, let everybody around you know that you’re not available for schmoozing, and get to it!

The routine above is an absolute killer so you may want to start with lighter weights than you normally would, so you can establish a baseline that you can exceed on your next workout. If you want to know more about EDT, the science behind it, and how you can go about creating your own routines to follow, I recommend that you purchase the book:

Muscle Logic: Escalating Density Training by Charles Staley

If you are tired of the same old monotonous, boring workouts, give EDT a go. It’s a lot of fun pushing yourself to beat your PR’s and you’ll be glad you tried it!

1. Stay hydrated. With the body being composed of sixty percent water, it is vital that you consume enough water. A lack of water leads to dehydration and that leads to excess water retention, catabolism, fatigue, and a whole host of other complications. Aim for a full glass of water with each meal and one-two glasses post-workout.
2. Shift calories post-workout. Adjusting calories to support more calorie consumption in the hours following your workout not only replenishes nutrients you have lost, but it also allows to maximize anabolism (a state of muscle-growth) without additional fat gain (due to an elevated metabolism).
3. Consume carbohydrates. Eating a meal higher in carbohydrates in that one to two hour window following strenuous activity will replenish glycogen reserves that have been burnt out.
4. Consume protein. Having some protein within an hour after your workout will ensure you have an ample supply of amino acids necessary for tissue growth and repair.