Motivation Monday: Derek Poundstone Huge Squats and Deadlifts for Reps
Some more crazy stuff from Derek!
I love watching this video below as it is in a commercial looking gym again.
The people on the stairmasters must think he is completely insane!
Keep in mind that Derek is a strongman competitor, so the form used in his training will be a bit different and is specialized to HIS body and HIS structure. This is built up over YEARS of training, so don’t think you can go to the gym and do this on day 1.
If you have ever even tried to deadlift with an axle, which is 2 inches in diameter vs a standard 1 inch diameter; you are in for a rude awakening with both palms down (double overhand). I found out recently at the Grip Competition at the Movement Minneapolis.
If you missed Adam’s Grip series, check it out below
When does something change from an activation exercise to a strength exercise?
Why do we do activation work with bodyweight only?
If we add a 10 lb plate is that strength work then?
What is the point of an activation exercise?
If it is to activate more tissue (muscle), we know the Henneman Size Principle (1) dictates that the heavier the load, the more muscle is activated.
Higher recruitment = stronger muscle contraction
Before the pubmed ninjas go crazy on me, I agree that rate coding can and an effect too, but will table that one for now.
So
More weight = more recruitment
If we agree on that, then why would you not add more weight to the exercise?
Progressive Overload
If you are always doing endless reps of a bodyweight glute bridge (a common activation exericse), what stimulus is there for your body to get stronger?
Um, there is none unless you are adding more body fat to your midsection. You are getting worse at that point.
You can increase overload primarily by
1) Volume: the amount of work done (sets x reps)
2) Density: the amount of work done in a set period of time (volume / time)
3) Weight or % 1 rep max: how much weight you are using
As my buddy Frankie says
“Adaptation has no off switch”
The stimulus provided by an exercise is very very key! Work to increase volume, density and weight to trigger positive adaptation
Movement
If an exercise makes you move better (better gait, increased range of motion before tension, etc), then it is good for your body and highly “corrective” at the same time. You can stop doing all that crazy “corrective exercise” too
If hip thrusts (as shown in the video above) improve your movement and you can use them with more load, I would argue they are superior for your goals (better looking butt, more hip power, bigger deadlift,etc)
4 Steps to End All Activation Work
1) Measure active range of motion (as shown in the Grip and Rip DVD)
2) Perform an exercise to target the area you want to work
3) Measure active range of motion again. If better, continue to add load until you reach your rep range
4) Stop sets at the first sign of altered breathing or increased tension
If you are looking for more glute activation, hip thrusts and perhaps kettlebell swings may be a good place to start
If you are looking for more upper back work to fix up your posture, test some inverted rows or pull ups.
Frequency
Here is a trick. If you are looking to bring up your glutes, I say blast them every day. I would test a hip thrust every day and if it tests well, go for it. Maybe you add this as a finisher to your training sessions even 3-4 times a week. If you want to make a faster change, you need to test it more often for greater frequency. I think you will be amazing how often you can do an exercise. I’ve done some exercises for many days in a row and still made progress. Others have done much more than I have as I tend to follow a bit more of a windy path. I think Adam at one point tested good for the kettlebell clean and jerk for months at a time.
Another tip. Start VERY light.
When I started doing the Contreras Hip Thrusts, I just used bodyweight. Then the next session I used a bar, then 95 lbs, then 135, etc. Remember progressive overload? This was a brand new exercise for me, so why try to blast my body into oblivion on rep 1? In a perfect world, we would provide just enough stimulus to trigger adaptation and then no more. While science has not shown exactly how much is needed yet, from my own experience and talking to others, it appears to only be about 5-10% MORE.
Constant, consistent progress is key. As above–a bit more volume, a bit more density, a bit more weight. Most ONLY focus on weight and that is a mistake. They will plateau very fast.
Summary
More load = more muscle recruitment
More frequency = more stimulus for adaptation
Test your movement to ensure you are getting better
If you move better after the exercise, why not do that more often with more weight as compared to endless amount of bodyweight “activation” drills?
Plus, this is waaaaay more fun. Screw the pink dumbbells.
Comments
What do you think? I want to hear your thoughts on this one for sure!
PS
The Crazy Professors Birthday Webinar Sale end tonight, Tuesday Aug 24, 2010 at midnight CST! They go back into the vault then until who know when, so check out all the details below now!
The Professor Does A Grip Competition: World’s Strongest Hands, The Movement Minneapolis Minnesota August
The Professor: Euro Pinch Test, August 2010
Adam T Glass convinved me to compete in the latest grip contest.
I have not done much grip stuff to be honest, so I figured it would be a great baseline and something fun to try. I have never done a single rep of the 3 grip events that were in the contest until that day.
I could have sat at home and talked about getting better, but that is too easy. Time to sign up and see how it goes.
Adam added a few other fun events too like 2 inch vertical bar, 2 inch diameter axle deadlift (double overhand, so both palms down) and rolling thunder.
Check out the video below and see if you can spot the Professor
The Tactical Strength Challenge (TSC) is coming up on Sept 25, so that will be a great one. Max deadlift, pullups and kettlebell snatch.
The second part of the Grip Contest will be at the Movement Minnesota on Sept 11 and if you missed the first one, there are still 2 more chances after the Sept 11 one, so come on out.
Drop a comment on who is going to compete.
The goal is not to win, the goal is to be better first. Winning will come once you are better and better and better.
No excuses, sign the line now! If you want someone to guide you through your first meet or TSC, hit me up at the “services” tab above and I will help you out.
Rock on Mike T Nelson
PS
HUGE thanks to Adam for doing the contest and David Horne for the idea. You can see Adam’s blog post at
I remember reading Arnold’s biography when I first graduated from college the first 7.5 years. It was a kick to the nuts to be working at a local supplement/vitamin store after 7.5 years of college and paying just short of $100,000 in tuition and living in my parents basement since it was Dec and
nobody was hiring for engineering jobs.
I found Arnold’s journey very inspiring that he showed up in the USA, barley speaking any English and went on to be very successful.
Listen above to Arnold’s rules. While I don’t agree with all of them for me personally, it is hard to argue with the results for Arnold. Results first.
Comments
What do you think? Do you agree with all of his rules? Let me know!
Rock on Mike T Nelson
PS
More coming soon as I am holed up in Dallas TX working on the protein book, seeing a client down here and learning more!
Sign up to my RSS feed and any time I update a post, you will know about it instantly!
If you are in the military, I highly recommend these. They are flexible and very light weight.
Make sure you get them in time to do your training in them too and start slow.
Motivation Monday: David Dellenave pulls 520lbs at 180lbs and less than 8% body fat
Awesome work to Dave for a HUGE deadlift, especially at such a low body fat percentage.
The body fat was measured on the Bod Pod at the U of MN, so it is not some lame person taking a guess at what his body fat levels are.
Dave has been training with Adam using the Gym Movement protocol.
I spent all weekend again with Dave, Dave “Athlete Creator”, Adam T Glass, Frankie and a bunch of others at Adam’s gym learning and testing all sorts of things.
Great time and I have more things to try once again, even though I have been working with Frankie for almost 3 years and Adam for about 2 years now.
I will be in Dallas, TX next week at the Movement site down there learning more too.
Your Turn!
If you are looking to move better, look better with less pain, hit me up via the contact tab above as I have a few spots open for physique transformation. I am about 10 minutes north of St Paul.
If you email me via the contact tab within the next 48 hours, I will give you an amazing deal too. I can’t publish it here though.
Adam will have his gym open on the West side of the Twin Cities Aug 1. If you are on the east side of the Twin Cities, you can train here in White Bear Lake at the Extreme Human Performance Center.
Either way, I would highly suggest you hunt one of us down and get on board with the Gym Movement as soon as you can. Take action now to feel and look better ASAP!
Rock on Mike T Nelson
PS
If you want to transform your physique in the fastest time possible with less pain, email me via the contact tab TODAY!
In the video above, you can watch me do my first Vitamin D test. Yes, I am a huge pussy and I HATE needles, even though the needles used (as I found out) are really really small. Stay tuned to this article, as I will reveal how you can get your levels tested for better than free–they may pay YOU to have it done. Read on….
Vitamin D and D is for Defficiency
I am sure you have heard of Vitamin D by now, and for good reason. Currently there is an epidemic of low Vitamin D level almost everywhere!
Just like Omega 3 status, it is critical to know your Vit D status, especially if you live in a more northern climate. Even if you are not, there is a good chance that you are low since many people in states like Arizona, Texas, etc do not go outside much during the day since it is so hot!
At the ISSN conference I went to a great presentation on the vitamin D and the presenter (Rikki Keen) has tested athletes from all over and has found that even track athletes in FL were low, since due to heat, most of their practices were later in the day when the rays from the sun were too low to allow sufficient vitamin D production.
8 Time Olympian Ronnie Coleman
Background: Steroids!!
Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble “steroid.” Yes a steroid! Aaaaah. Call the FDA right now.
This is using the formal classification of the term steroid as cholesterol is technically a steroid too. These compounds are naturally occurring in the body and different from anabolic steroids that athletes may use (which are illegal here in the US unless under supervision for hormone replacement under a physician).
The two major forms of which are vitamin D2 (also known as ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (known as cholecalciferol). Vitamin D3 is produced in the skin after exposure to ultraviolet B light from the sun or artificial sources. Ultraviolet A (UVA) does not seem to raise vitamin D levels.
We can get some from food sources such as milk, fatty fish like salmon, cod liver oil, and a few other foods that are artificially fortified with vitamin D.
The sun is still the best source, and it is also available as a supplement in pill form. If you supplement, the D3 form is going to be best and is also very cheap.
What Is Optimal?
From the Vitamin D Council’s website, it states
“25(OH)D levels should be between 50–80 ng/ml (125–200 nmol/L), year-round.”
Vitamin D is measured by 25(OH)D levels and can be done by a simple blood test as shown in my video above.
When you go in for your physical, you can request a Vitamin D test and most of the time your insurance will pay for it (check to make sure). Make sure it is the 25(OH)D test though NOT 1-25(OH)D test. As Rikki Keen pointed out in her presentation at the ISSN in FL recently, she stated that there still are some docs that will request the wrong test. She writes it down for her clients and has them bring in the piece of paper to give to them to make sure they get it right.
A Better Than FREE Test?
If you order the test from the Vitamin D Council’s website, it is a few buck cheaper and you may be able to get paid to get your levels checked!
I was at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual conference last year and did a short interview with Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D council. Check it out.
“Water is more toxic than Vitamin D” -Dr John Cannell
Part 2 Coming Soon?
If people are interested in more info on vitamin D, drop a comment below and in part 2 I will tell you
What my levels of Vitamin D were
How much I needed to increase them into a normal range (the answer will surprise you)
Common doses/types of Vitamin D used
I need 15 comments by this Sunday at 7pm EST (as I will be gone helping with the Movement Certification here in Minnesota until then)
Summary
What do I do now?
Get your vitamin D levels tested via a lab or your doc’s office
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X5. heather.hanwell@gmail.com
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Recent sun exposure should correlate with circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] due to ultraviolet B (UVB)-catalyzed cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D. METHODS: A Sun Exposure Score was calculated for healthy adults using a recall questionnaire assessing daily Time in Sun (<5 min, 5-30 min, >30 min) and Skin Exposure (face/hands; face/hands and arms; face/hands and legs; and “bathing suit”) for 1 week in each of the winter and summer (n=47 and 23, respectively; n=18 participated in both). Concentrations of 25(OH)D were measured by DiaSorin RIA on end-of-week sera. RESULTS: Mean serum 25(OH)D was higher in summer than winter (58.6+/-16.5 nmol/L vs. 38.8+/-29.0 nmol/L, respectively, P=0.003 unpaired). The calculated Sun Exposure Score correlated strongly with serum 25(OH)D during summer (Spearman’s rho=0.59, P=0.003); based on the Pearson coefficient of determination, summer Sun Exposure Score explained 38% of the variability in summer serum 25(OH)D. The Sun Exposure Score did not correlate with 25(OH)D in the winter (rho=0.19, P=0.210). The summer correlation was largely explained by the Time in Sun (rho=0.58, P=0.004) rather than area of Skin Exposed (rho=0.10, P=0.660). Although there was a correlation between winter and summer Sun Exposure Scores (rho=0.63, P=0.005), there was no summer vs. winter correlation in serum 25(OH)D (rho=0.08, P=0.76). CONCLUSION: This simple 1-week sun exposure recall questionnaire predicted summer serum 25(OH)D concentrations, accounting for 38% of the variability in 25(OH)D among healthy Italian adults. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Comment in:
Diabetes Care. 2010 Jul;33(7):e99; author reply e100.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine cross-sectional associations of serum vitamin D [25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25(OH)D] concentration with insulin resistance (IR) and beta-cell dysfunction in 712 subjects at risk for type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Serum 25(OH)D was determined using a chemiluminescence immunoassay. Insulin sensitivity/resistance were measured using the Matsuda insulin sensitivity index for oral glucose tolerance tests (IS(OGTT)) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance HOMA-IR. beta-Cell function was determined using both the insulinogenic index (IGI) divided by HOMA-IR (IGI/IR) and the insulin secretion sensitivity index-2 (ISSI-2). RESULTS Linear regression analyses indicated independent associations of 25(OH)D with IS(OGTT) and HOMA-IR (beta = 0.004, P = 0.0003, and beta = -0.003, P = 0.0072, respectively) and with IGI/IR and ISSI-2 (beta = 0.004, P = 0.0286, and beta = 0.003, P = 0.0011, respectively) after adjusting for sociodemographics, physical activity, supplement use, parathyroid hormone, and BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D may play a role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, as 25(OH)D concentration was independently associated with both insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function among individuals at risk of type 2 diabetes.
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Abstract
Vitamin D has an important role in skeletal muscles. Previously recognized for its effects on bone, it is now known that vitamin D has a much wider spectrum of usefulness for muscle. Studies indicate that vitamin D deficiency is pandemic. Those affected include the young and otherwise healthy members of the population, including athletes. Controversy exists regarding the amount of supplementation required to reverse deficiency and the relative effect of such a reversal on overall health. This article reviews current data on the role of vitamin D on muscle function, and explores the potential implications of its deficiency and supplementation on physical fitness and athletic performance.
ASPETAR, Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar. bruce.hamilton@aspetar.com
Abstract
Vitamin D deficiency is an increasingly described phenomenon worldwide, with well-known impacts on calcium metabolism and bone health. Vitamin D has also been associated with chronic health problems such as bowel and colonic cancer, arthritis, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In recent decades, there has been increased awareness of the impact of vitamin D on muscle morphology and function, but this is not well recognized in the Sports Medicine literature. In the early 20th century, athletes and coaches felt that ultraviolet rays had a positive impact on athletic performance, and increasingly, evidence is accumulating to support this view. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies allude to a functional role for vitamin D in muscle and more recently the discovery of the vitamin D receptor in muscle tissue provides a mechanistic understanding of the function of vitamin D within muscle. The identification of broad genomic and non-genomic roles for vitamin D within skeletal muscle has highlighted the potential impact vitamin D deficiency may have on both under-performance and the risk of injury in athletes. This review describes the current understanding of the role vitamin D plays within skeletal muscle tissue.
Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, 711 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA. lisa.ceglia@tufts.edu
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Vitamin D is best known for its role in regulating calcium homeostasis and in strengthening bone. However, it has become increasingly clear that it also has important beneficial effects beyond the skeleton, including muscle. This review summarizes current knowledge about the role of vitamin D in skeletal muscle tissue and physical performance. RECENT FINDINGS: Molecular mechanisms of vitamin D action in muscle tissue include genomic and nongenomic effects via a receptor present in muscle cells. Knockout mouse models of the vitamin D receptor provide insight into understanding the direct effects of vitamin D on muscle tissue. Vitamin D status is positively associated with physical performance and inversely associated with risk of falling. Vitamin D supplementation has been shown to improve tests of muscle performance, reduce falls, and possibly impact on muscle fiber composition and morphology in vitamin D deficient older adults. SUMMARY: Further studies are needed to fully characterize the underlying mechanisms of vitamin D action in human muscle tissue, to understand how these actions translate into changes in muscle cell morphology and improvements in physical performance, and to define the 25-hydroxyvitamin D level at which to achieve these beneficial effects in muscle.
3 Things for Thursday: Adaptation to Strength Training, Iron Radio and the Winner Is….
Adaptation: How Much Do We Need to Train?
Adaptation happens. I don’t think we can even stop it.
As my buddy Frankie says “adaptation has no off switch”
The Adam T Glass corallary is “………but we can slow it way the F down”
End stage heart failure patients that sleep with 4 pillows at night because their heart is so bad and their lungs are filling with fluid still show acute adaptations (but with a long term consequence). It is a horrible disease and my uncle actually died from it years ago. Even in this patients, the heart is still adapting, despite all the other stuff in their body has gone awry. The body is still trying to adapt as best it can.
Injury your right ankle (as I have done from a snowboarding incident several years ago) and watch it swell up to the size of a large grapefruit (no joke) and you WILL walk funny for several months (even when the cast comes off and you ditch the crutches). The body is adapting. Long term you don’t want to walk funny, but you can still walk.
The key questions is
“How much do we need to do to trigger adaptation?”
I think it is only 5-10% more each session. This is an educated guess and I am interested in your feedback on that number.
Adaptation results from overload.
In general, overload in the gym is from 3 things
1) % 1RM (intensity, wt on the bar)
2) volume (sets x reps)
3) density (volume /time).
Add 5-10% to any one of these (the one that is best for your body on that day viaGym Movements biofeedback) and adaptation WILL happen.
It HAS to happen.
Thoughts? What has worked for you? Let me know in the comments
Iron Radio this Friday: Supplement Insider Blows the Whistle
Dr Lonnie Lowery gave me a heads up that this Friday’s show is going to be a good one.
Just a heads up that some time next week I will have a super special deal on the Grip n Rip DVDs. This is your advance notice, so stay tuned here for the details coming soon!
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