Stretching is an important element to proper fitness training. Here's one great reason why.
Thanks for the video TJ.
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Friday, September 28, 2007
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Spring Project: Conclusion
I haven't been actively updating this blog with the results from the summer project mainly because I keep the details on AC Fit Log but I thought I'd comment on the project and what's happening next.
Today we finished the Spring Project. If you're looking for a great program to cut fat then this is the one to try. I have to warn you it's fairly intense and a lot of the exercises are on the advanced side. Either train with someone familiar with the exercises or study them and take the time to learn the movements with very light weight before you get into the program.
The last week was, in my opinion, very difficult. It's been a long time since I've seriously felt like puking. This morning I was dangerously close...so close I had to lean out of the car at a red light. False alarm though.
So, now we're on to the next program. I've designed this program with the help of a premier strength/fitness instructor, Alwyn Cosgrove. I've combined his complexes and prescribed undulating periodization rep/set parameters to a set of exercises I've compiled for a 4 day split.
The details are already up at AC Fit Log. Check it out and as always feel free to follow my progress through out the program, offer words of encouragement, ask questions. . .or anything else you want to add.
Today we finished the Spring Project. If you're looking for a great program to cut fat then this is the one to try. I have to warn you it's fairly intense and a lot of the exercises are on the advanced side. Either train with someone familiar with the exercises or study them and take the time to learn the movements with very light weight before you get into the program.
The last week was, in my opinion, very difficult. It's been a long time since I've seriously felt like puking. This morning I was dangerously close...so close I had to lean out of the car at a red light. False alarm though.
So, now we're on to the next program. I've designed this program with the help of a premier strength/fitness instructor, Alwyn Cosgrove. I've combined his complexes and prescribed undulating periodization rep/set parameters to a set of exercises I've compiled for a 4 day split.
The details are already up at AC Fit Log. Check it out and as always feel free to follow my progress through out the program, offer words of encouragement, ask questions. . .or anything else you want to add.
Friday, June 29, 2007
T-Nation Truths
As many of you know I've been a long-time reader of T-nation.com (Testosterone Nation). If you're interested in being fit (even mildly), you enjoy well written, informative, entertaining and funny material give it a read. A lot of it is directed toward more advanced training/fitness methods and science but a lot is also just interesting to read.
The following is a copy/paste from TC Luoma of T-Nation. This is the T-Nation list of truths. You can read the article in its entirety here.
1. It's not necessary to train 2 hours a day, 7 days a week to build a superlative physique.
2. How long you rest should be inversely related to the intensity of your last set.
3. You should use more free weights and compound (multi-joint) exercises than machine-based and isolation exercises. Free weights build more muscle, burn more calories, and allow more carryover into real world activities. That way, you'll be able to lift bags of fertilizer, open peanut butter jars, and hoist naked women over your shoulder.
4. Don't take your multivitamin/mineral capsule with your morning oatmeal.
[AC's note: Some of the minerals in your multi-vitamin bind with the fiber in oatmeal and essentially pass right through your system.]
5. If hypertrophy is your goal, eliminating the stretch-shortening cycle will do more to recruit additional muscle fibers than almost anything else you can do.
6. It's impossible for two straight men to look each other in the eyes while whistling the theme song to The Andy Griffith Show.
7. Before doing a set for biceps, triceps, chest, or back, stretch the antagonist muscle beforehand. It'll increase your performance on that next set.
8. Olympic lifts will, if added to a bodybuilder's routine, ultimately build muscle by recruiting high-threshold muscle fibers.
9. Paris Hilton has a boney ass, and I wouldn't have sex with her using your dick, let alone mine.
10. As your training age increases, you can get away with fewer reps per set.
11. Chin-ups and pull-ups on a fixed overhead bar are far superior to pulldowns or reps done on an assisted pull-up machine.
12. It's counterintuitive, but you don't need to do as many reps and sets while using steroids.
13. Sadly, the IPEX bra by Victoria's Secret, touted as the most advanced bra ever developed, "two years in the making," makes chicks look as flat as Leonardo DiCaprio. All men of conviction should stand up against this evil invention.
14. "Spinning" eats away muscle. Besides, they have this new thing where you can actually take the bike outside and ride it around in the fresh air and look at things other than the sweaty butt crack of the loser in front of you.
15. Don't neglect training major muscle groups like back and hamstrings or you'll experience muscle imbalances, a lopsided physique, injury, and weakness. And then we will point and laugh.
16. Your meals should consist of protein and carbs or protein and fat.
17. If you want to put on size, can the cardio, Cookie.
18. If you do most of your training on a balance board, a Swiss Ball, or a Bosu ball, you'll have a tremendous core and a small, weak body that we'll all laugh at.
19. Kettlebells are not the answer to every physique problem ever confronted by man. They are not the cornerstone of a religion or philosophy. They're simply a semi-useful tool, that's all.
20. Squats, overhead squats, and front squats work the core better than any exercises done on an unstable surface.
21. There's no one perfect training system or strength training philosophy. Everything works...for a while.
22. Do your heavy weight, low-rep, multi-joint movements first in your workout.
23. If you've only got a few minutes to train, try the Tabata Method.
24. Ben Wallace of the Chicago Bulls has lovely hair.
25. When doing subsequent sets and experiencing fatigue, it's better to reduce the weight and keep the rep range the same, rather than doing fewer reps per set.
26. If you've got a choice of doing a movement sitting or standing, choose standing every time. This doesn't necessarily apply to sex, though.
27. Most advanced lifters adapt to a routine after 6 times.
28. Juggle rep ranges, from 1-3 reps to 4-6 reps to 8-10 reps to 12-15 reps. Doing 8 sets of 3 has just as much merit as doing 3 sets of 8.
29. There is absolutely no proof that the human body can only absorb 30 grams of protein in one meal.
30. The real T-man does not put up with intolerance or sexism, especially from pansies and fat broads.
31. Steroids, used properly, can improve health and increase life span.
32. It's not something you can get most strength coaches to admit, but for tall lifters, the leg press can often lead to more hypertrophy than the squat.
33. Work your weak body part first before working any other body parts.
34. Creatine is a good supplement, but stop talking about it. It's like, yesteryear.
35. Generally speaking, the ideal time under tension for hypertrophy is 30 to 70 seconds.
36. When doing cable curls with the left arm, keep the right foot slightly in front of the left foot, and vice versa for the right arm. (It'll increase strength.)
37. When working abs, place your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
38. Men look ridiculous in Hawaiian shirts and short pants. Don't wear them.
39. Testosterone is the ultimate recreational drug (the man pictured above has none, however).
40. Ephedrine is dead, but more efficient compounds have replaced it. For increased metabolism, look to HOT-ROX Extreme. For increased energy and mental acuity, look to Spike.
41. Dead lifts are a far better barometer of total body strength than squats or bench press. Too bad only about two guys in the whole world — both named Ivan — do them.
42. You'll achieve better recuperation between sets if you bounce back and forth between antagonistic exercises.
43. Weight training won't make women "too big." It'll make them tight and hard, and our girlfriends.
44. Wave loading is a hugely effective method of increasing strength and muscle size.
45. You should avoid soy protein, especially if you're a male who wants to gain muscle and avoid lactating.
46. Your color of underwear should reflect your mood. I find that "Misty Morning Blue", "Autumnal Slumber Brown", and "Savage Temptress Red" do the job nicely.
47. Whey is great, but overrated and over-hyped as being the protein end-all and be-all by some supplement companies.
48. However, whey-protein hydrolysate is the best protein to consume right after strength training.
49. Don't use the power rack to do curls...unless you're using at least 135 pounds to do said curls. To do otherwise tells the world that you're nothing but a neophyte loser with poopie-stained shorts.
50. The most anabolic form of protein is micellar casein, mainly because of its ability to amplify nitrogen retention, the condition essential for muscle growth. In case you don't know what I'm getting at, drink Low-Carb Metabolic Drive with micellar casein.
51. The perfect protein shake or MRP contains a blend of proteins (whey, casein, milk protein isolates), not just whey. In case you don't know what I'm getting at, drink Metabolic Drive Complete!
52. The Smith machine pretty much stinks. Don't use it for squatting or benching or anything other than drying out your wet, mildewy shorts.
53. Include a back-off week in your training every 12 weeks or so. That pretty much means stay away from the gym.
54. Shana Hiatt has left the Travel Channel's World Poker Tour. All living things shall weep forevermore.
Shana Hiatt
55. Don't take magnesium and calcium together.
56. Have some micellar casein at bedtime.
57. Carbohydrates are the trickiest of all the macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fat). Carbs aren't evil; they just need to be timed properly and consumed wisely. In other words, eat protein and carbs together before midday, and protein and functional fats after midday.
58. Take it from me, there's nothing more ornery than a dwarf girlfriend hopped up on meth who caught you giving a bath to her best friend, Squeaky.
59. Inflammation lies at the root of many human ailments. To control this red demon, suck down large amounts of EPA and DHA.
60. Improving post-workout nutrition is probably the easiest and most efficient way to grow muscle.
61. Competitive bodybuilding is hokey. We want to — for lack of a better term — power build, i.e. build esthetically pleasing, yet powerfully functional bodies.
62. Glucosamine, while good for the joints, could negatively affect insulin sensitivity.
63. The most exciting sexual position is "The Rodeo." Enter your partner from behind, place one arm firmly around her waist, and then whisper, "You've got the fattest ass I've ever seen" into her ear.
64. I feel perfectly at ease standing around totally naked except for white gym socks, but if I'm standing around naked wearing black socks, I feel silly, almost conspicuous.
65. Avoid environmental or dietary estrogens to avoid developing prostate cancer and growing porky-man breasts.
66. It's easy to maximize Testosterone levels through the use of the herbs Tribulus Terrestris and Eurycoma longifolia and Vitex agnus castus.
67. Don't train really hard and neglect nutrition. That's dumb. As they say, you can't build a house without bricks. You also should throw in some wallpaper and drapes, too, just to make it, you know, homey.
68. Increasing the conversion of T4 to T3 is the secret of high metabolism.
69. Control insulin and you control the physique enhancement world.
70. Performance and productive longevity are great reasons to lift weights. But we do it mainly to look good naked.
71. Don't hit on hard-training women in the gym. That's our job.
The list could well be much, much, longer, but if even one "truth" saves you from wasting any time, we'll sleep easier, secure in the knowledge that the number of people who want to stick an ax in our chest has shrunk by at least a few.
The following is a copy/paste from TC Luoma of T-Nation. This is the T-Nation list of truths. You can read the article in its entirety here.
1. It's not necessary to train 2 hours a day, 7 days a week to build a superlative physique.
2. How long you rest should be inversely related to the intensity of your last set.
3. You should use more free weights and compound (multi-joint) exercises than machine-based and isolation exercises. Free weights build more muscle, burn more calories, and allow more carryover into real world activities. That way, you'll be able to lift bags of fertilizer, open peanut butter jars, and hoist naked women over your shoulder.
4. Don't take your multivitamin/mineral capsule with your morning oatmeal.
[AC's note: Some of the minerals in your multi-vitamin bind with the fiber in oatmeal and essentially pass right through your system.]
5. If hypertrophy is your goal, eliminating the stretch-shortening cycle will do more to recruit additional muscle fibers than almost anything else you can do.
6. It's impossible for two straight men to look each other in the eyes while whistling the theme song to The Andy Griffith Show.
7. Before doing a set for biceps, triceps, chest, or back, stretch the antagonist muscle beforehand. It'll increase your performance on that next set.
8. Olympic lifts will, if added to a bodybuilder's routine, ultimately build muscle by recruiting high-threshold muscle fibers.
9. Paris Hilton has a boney ass, and I wouldn't have sex with her using your dick, let alone mine.
10. As your training age increases, you can get away with fewer reps per set.
11. Chin-ups and pull-ups on a fixed overhead bar are far superior to pulldowns or reps done on an assisted pull-up machine.
12. It's counterintuitive, but you don't need to do as many reps and sets while using steroids.
13. Sadly, the IPEX bra by Victoria's Secret, touted as the most advanced bra ever developed, "two years in the making," makes chicks look as flat as Leonardo DiCaprio. All men of conviction should stand up against this evil invention.
14. "Spinning" eats away muscle. Besides, they have this new thing where you can actually take the bike outside and ride it around in the fresh air and look at things other than the sweaty butt crack of the loser in front of you.
15. Don't neglect training major muscle groups like back and hamstrings or you'll experience muscle imbalances, a lopsided physique, injury, and weakness. And then we will point and laugh.
16. Your meals should consist of protein and carbs or protein and fat.
17. If you want to put on size, can the cardio, Cookie.
18. If you do most of your training on a balance board, a Swiss Ball, or a Bosu ball, you'll have a tremendous core and a small, weak body that we'll all laugh at.
19. Kettlebells are not the answer to every physique problem ever confronted by man. They are not the cornerstone of a religion or philosophy. They're simply a semi-useful tool, that's all.
20. Squats, overhead squats, and front squats work the core better than any exercises done on an unstable surface.
21. There's no one perfect training system or strength training philosophy. Everything works...for a while.
22. Do your heavy weight, low-rep, multi-joint movements first in your workout.
23. If you've only got a few minutes to train, try the Tabata Method.
24. Ben Wallace of the Chicago Bulls has lovely hair.
25. When doing subsequent sets and experiencing fatigue, it's better to reduce the weight and keep the rep range the same, rather than doing fewer reps per set.
26. If you've got a choice of doing a movement sitting or standing, choose standing every time. This doesn't necessarily apply to sex, though.
27. Most advanced lifters adapt to a routine after 6 times.
28. Juggle rep ranges, from 1-3 reps to 4-6 reps to 8-10 reps to 12-15 reps. Doing 8 sets of 3 has just as much merit as doing 3 sets of 8.
29. There is absolutely no proof that the human body can only absorb 30 grams of protein in one meal.
30. The real T-man does not put up with intolerance or sexism, especially from pansies and fat broads.
31. Steroids, used properly, can improve health and increase life span.
32. It's not something you can get most strength coaches to admit, but for tall lifters, the leg press can often lead to more hypertrophy than the squat.
33. Work your weak body part first before working any other body parts.
34. Creatine is a good supplement, but stop talking about it. It's like, yesteryear.
35. Generally speaking, the ideal time under tension for hypertrophy is 30 to 70 seconds.
36. When doing cable curls with the left arm, keep the right foot slightly in front of the left foot, and vice versa for the right arm. (It'll increase strength.)
37. When working abs, place your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
38. Men look ridiculous in Hawaiian shirts and short pants. Don't wear them.
39. Testosterone is the ultimate recreational drug (the man pictured above has none, however).
40. Ephedrine is dead, but more efficient compounds have replaced it. For increased metabolism, look to HOT-ROX Extreme. For increased energy and mental acuity, look to Spike.
41. Dead lifts are a far better barometer of total body strength than squats or bench press. Too bad only about two guys in the whole world — both named Ivan — do them.
42. You'll achieve better recuperation between sets if you bounce back and forth between antagonistic exercises.
43. Weight training won't make women "too big." It'll make them tight and hard, and our girlfriends.
44. Wave loading is a hugely effective method of increasing strength and muscle size.
45. You should avoid soy protein, especially if you're a male who wants to gain muscle and avoid lactating.
46. Your color of underwear should reflect your mood. I find that "Misty Morning Blue", "Autumnal Slumber Brown", and "Savage Temptress Red" do the job nicely.
47. Whey is great, but overrated and over-hyped as being the protein end-all and be-all by some supplement companies.
48. However, whey-protein hydrolysate is the best protein to consume right after strength training.
49. Don't use the power rack to do curls...unless you're using at least 135 pounds to do said curls. To do otherwise tells the world that you're nothing but a neophyte loser with poopie-stained shorts.
50. The most anabolic form of protein is micellar casein, mainly because of its ability to amplify nitrogen retention, the condition essential for muscle growth. In case you don't know what I'm getting at, drink Low-Carb Metabolic Drive with micellar casein.
51. The perfect protein shake or MRP contains a blend of proteins (whey, casein, milk protein isolates), not just whey. In case you don't know what I'm getting at, drink Metabolic Drive Complete!
52. The Smith machine pretty much stinks. Don't use it for squatting or benching or anything other than drying out your wet, mildewy shorts.
53. Include a back-off week in your training every 12 weeks or so. That pretty much means stay away from the gym.
54. Shana Hiatt has left the Travel Channel's World Poker Tour. All living things shall weep forevermore.
Shana Hiatt55. Don't take magnesium and calcium together.
56. Have some micellar casein at bedtime.
57. Carbohydrates are the trickiest of all the macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fat). Carbs aren't evil; they just need to be timed properly and consumed wisely. In other words, eat protein and carbs together before midday, and protein and functional fats after midday.
58. Take it from me, there's nothing more ornery than a dwarf girlfriend hopped up on meth who caught you giving a bath to her best friend, Squeaky.
59. Inflammation lies at the root of many human ailments. To control this red demon, suck down large amounts of EPA and DHA.
60. Improving post-workout nutrition is probably the easiest and most efficient way to grow muscle.
61. Competitive bodybuilding is hokey. We want to — for lack of a better term — power build, i.e. build esthetically pleasing, yet powerfully functional bodies.
62. Glucosamine, while good for the joints, could negatively affect insulin sensitivity.
63. The most exciting sexual position is "The Rodeo." Enter your partner from behind, place one arm firmly around her waist, and then whisper, "You've got the fattest ass I've ever seen" into her ear.
64. I feel perfectly at ease standing around totally naked except for white gym socks, but if I'm standing around naked wearing black socks, I feel silly, almost conspicuous.
65. Avoid environmental or dietary estrogens to avoid developing prostate cancer and growing porky-man breasts.
66. It's easy to maximize Testosterone levels through the use of the herbs Tribulus Terrestris and Eurycoma longifolia and Vitex agnus castus.
67. Don't train really hard and neglect nutrition. That's dumb. As they say, you can't build a house without bricks. You also should throw in some wallpaper and drapes, too, just to make it, you know, homey.
68. Increasing the conversion of T4 to T3 is the secret of high metabolism.
69. Control insulin and you control the physique enhancement world.
70. Performance and productive longevity are great reasons to lift weights. But we do it mainly to look good naked.
71. Don't hit on hard-training women in the gym. That's our job.
The list could well be much, much, longer, but if even one "truth" saves you from wasting any time, we'll sleep easier, secure in the knowledge that the number of people who want to stick an ax in our chest has shrunk by at least a few.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Spring Project: Update 2
Requests have been pouring in for an update to the 8 week spring program Kbob and I have been working through, so here it is. Readers get what readers want.
Last week was the end of the 2nd phase to the program designed by Chad Waterbury. If you haven’t taken time to follow the link, no problem I’ll briefly outline what we’ve done for the last 2 weeks. The concept is to do 3 full-body training sessions along with 3 sessions of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Each day we increase or alter the work load with what is known as an undulating progression.
Training set/reps look like this:
Day 1 - 6 sets of 4 reps. Rest 60s
Day 3 – 3 sets of 15 reps. Rest 70s
Day 5 - 1 set 100 reps. Rest 120s (This is not a typo. We had to do 100 reps on Friday.)
HIIT progressed similarly.
Day 2 – 16 minutes (75s walk/45s sprint)
Day 4 – 18 minutes (75s walk/45s sprint)
Day 6 – 20 minutes (75s walk/45s sprint)
I found the program phase to be very demanding, so demanding in fact I didn’t do the HIIT for a few days. (Note: Kbob did most if not all of the HIIT and training for this phase and it seemed to pay off.)
If you’re interested in the specific exercises follow the link to the program and check it out there. I am considering adding a page dedicated to logging specific training work and nutrition on a daily basis. If you’re interested in seeing that done your support or could help inspire it or I may just forget about it at this point.
Anyway, that was last week…now on to a new phase!
Phase III
Training set/reps look like this:
Day 1 - 10 sets of 3 reps. Rest 45s
Day 3 – 4 circuits of 10 reps. Rest 10s with in circuit/90s between 3 separate circuits.
Day 5 - 1 set 15 reps. Rest 120s
HIIT progressed similarly.
Day 2 – 16 minutes stationary bike (90s moderate/30s sprint)
Day 4 – 17.5 minutes stationary bike (90s moderate/30s sprint)
Day 6 – 19 minutes stationary bike (90s moderate/30s sprint)
The Exercises
Day 1:
A) Deadlift
B) Decline Barbell Bench Press
C) Chin-ups (body weight)
D) Jumping Jack/Rope Jumping for 10 minutes straight
Day 3:
A1) Good Mornings
A2) DB Romanian Deadlifts
A3) Reverse Lunges
B1) Incline Barbell Bench Press
B2) Standing Military Press
B3) DB Side Raise
C1) Chin-ups or Pull-downs
C2) Bent over Barbell rows
C3) DB Barbell rows.
D) Jumping Jack/Rope Jumping for 11 minutes straight
Day 5:
A) Front Squats
B) Bent over Rows
C) Step-Ups
D) Dips
E) Hack Squat
F) Reverse Crunches
G1) 1-Arm DB Snatch
G2) Clap Push-Ups
G3) Forward Lunges
H) Jumping Jack/Rope Jumping for 12 minutes straight
As you can probably imagine the fifth day usually hurts! The following week we will either add reps or lower rest intervals.
Wish us luck!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Spring Project: Update 1
Starting a new program can be a humbling experience. If you haven’t seen the program, the basics are weight training for 3 days (M, W & F) and HIIT for 3 days (T, TH, S) with a rest day on Sunday. HIIT is High Intensity Interval Training which really is nothing more than walk (jog)/sprint intervals. After 2 days of weight training Kbob and I were both extremely sore from, but are still feeling motivated with the program. Motivation is extremely important when you consider we’re in the gym by 5:40am and I am NOT a morning person. So far, I feel confident the program will shed fat while maintaining muscle mass as expected. Stay tuned for more on weight training after we finish tomorrow’s deadlift, push-up, back squat & pull-down circuit for 3 sets of 2 minutes with each exercise. It’ll be a killer.
Tuesday morning we tried HIIT on the treadmill at the Y. Let me warn you now. Unless the treadmill you are using allows you to program the intervals DON’T DO IT. Ride a bike or go outside. This morning we decided to run along the River Raisin. The program, which today only lasts for 18 minutes consisting of 90 seconds walking and 30 seconds sprinting, absolutely crushed me. I haven’t felt like that since about 1996 when I played soccer and ran track. I can not put my post-run feelings into words so just believe me when I tell you it was horrible. Saturday will be 20 minutes of the same…I can’t wait.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Spring project
With summer around the corner it’s time to put away the mass building workout program and diet (read: get off my ass and stop eating junk) and start a routine that will melt away the winter blubber. Kbob and I have been going through the motions the past few months with a great training routine (OVT) created by one of the industry’s leading coaches, Christian Thibaudeau. On this program, Kbob has seen good gains in terms of increased strength as well as fat loss. To no fault of the program, I have not experienced the same results. I attribute the difference to Kbob’s dedication to a decent diet and my lack of training intensity in the gym. Anyone who’s trained with me knows I typically keep the intensity high throughout the session with little to no talking while paying close attention rest intervals. That has not been true of my time in the gym as of late.
I’ve decided it’s time to stop the BS, buckle-down and return to my old ways with a real diet plan and a new program that would strip the fat off even the most “genetically challenged” tubby bastard. (Another day we’ll get into the difference between truly genetically challenged and just plain ol’ laziness) The new program was designed by Chad Waterbury, professional trainer, author of Muscle Revolution and frequent contributor to a number of magazines and e-zines. Follow link to program details.
A couple times per week I will log our experience and results with the program for the next 8 weeks. Ideally we’d have body fat measurements taken but for now we’ll just post our thoughts, observations and perhaps tape and weight measurements. We started yesterday so look for comments on the program soon.
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