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!
Be Your Own Scientist: Things from my own training
The Professor in His Lab
What is a scientist?
A scientist is simply someone who tests things.
Do you need an advanced degree to do this? Nope. I would not recommend that people spend 16+ years in college to the tune of over $250,000 like I did just to test things. Let me save a ton of money and time.
Don’t get me wrong. Education is great, but if you want to talk about overkill, that is pretty much it if your goal is to test exercises on yourself.
Testing 101
You should find a way to test everything.
Do you want to build bigger muscles and increase strength?
Find a way to test it.
I have been using the testing as shown in the Grip n Rip DVDs for about 3.5 years now. The system was not as refined when I started, so you have a huge head start. Frankie was the first one to test it and then I was right after him. Now you can go to www.twitter.com and type in “#PReveryday” and see hundreds of people using it.
If your goal is more muscle and less fat, then you progressive overload. What is that? Do more volume, density (volume/time) and intensity (weight on the bar). Do a bit more in one of these 3 areas each time you enter the gym and score a PR (personal record). Rinse and repeat. I can be that simple. Really.
What Have I Learned?
I recently went back through my training journal to look at the first year of training that I did using biofeedback. This was starting about 2 years ago and I looked for about a 1 year time span.
Here is what I found
Deadlift- Volume work
I responded much better to more volume. I did volume work at a lower percentage of my max and still made progress. Even doing high rep work on the trap bar deadlift helped.
Bench Press – Intensity Work
For bench I responded better to more higher intensity work. My best gains were made when I was at a heavier body weight and working at about 90%+ percentage. For a 9 month period I was routinely doing 5-10 sets of singles at 90-98% of my 1 rep max once a week.
Squat – Nothing
This one did not test well at all, most likely to my spine issues. I could lunge and do deadlifts, but a standard barbell squat did not test well. Once I got my spine fixed up a bit, it started to test well again. More on that below.
Variety – Great!
The more new exericses I did, the better I felt and could increase relatively fast. I found that this helped other things I did the most. I was much better kiteboarding, playing broomball and volleyball. I could kiteboard for 3 hours at a shot, just cranking it for most of the time with very little body fatigue. AWESOME! Nothing worse than going to some place new and finding out your body hates you and you are limited. Boo.
Wow, 2 of the best kiteboarding days I have ever had in Minnesota!
Vision+Scar Work
I have a scar of over a foot long on the middle of my torso from open heart surgery when I was about 4.5 years old. I was born with a cogenital issue called an “atrial septal defect” see the video below
What is an ASD?
My heart was enlarge and I went into heart failure at a very young age. Without surgery, I would be lucky to live to about age 18 due to the increased strain on my heart. They went in, took a bone saw and cut my sterum (chest), cut through the right atrium and repaired the hole. Even on x-ray now I still have the “twist ties” in my chest that they used to put me back together.
Scars are nothing more than areas of limited mobility, but in the skin/fascial layer.
I did some specific work taping my scar into a position with kinesiotape before my lifting sessions. I taped it in the direction that resulted in the greatest increase in my active range of motion.
I worked on specific exercises that would stress that area and cause it to remodel. During this time many lifts that I wanted to do did not test well. My performance on my “standard” lifts dropped.
This went on for about 6-9 months and then I needed to tape it less and less. Since then I have not had to do any taping at all and my structure is much better.
Keep in mind that loading (weight training) is a powerful stimulus to cause changes to
bone
skin
fascia
muscle
tendons/ligaments
It is probably the best way we know to change our structure
Vision
I am currently stereoblind – I don’t see in 3D. I suppress the image from my right eye. You have 2 eyes that your brain uses to construct a 3D view of the world since each eye is off just a bit from the other one, so it sees things just a bit differently. Your brain uses this to allow you to see in 3D. I can “see” from both eyes, but when I am giving specific tests to analyze 3D vision I fail them out right. My right eye is set out and up a bit since I had a “lazy eye” as a kid.
Through help from Dr, Cobb of Z-Health, at the time, I found that my scar seemed to be linked to my ability to turn on and off (unsupress) my right eye by using a simple Brock string device. As my movement got better, I did less scar taping as described above, my vision started to get better. Currently I find that kettlebell juggling is a huge help. My next step is that once I get a few things off my plate and bit more money I will start some more intensive visual therapy as my structure seems to have stabilized.
A Must Read For Anyone with Vision Issues
Sleep
I found that I need about 9-9.5 hours of quality sleep a night.
At first I was pissed about this and spent months and months trying many things to get by on less. I could operate on less, but my strength gains and the amount of volume and intensity I could do in the gym dropped off pretty fast. I learned to be a master of the nap and would drive around with a pillow in my car. I was known to slip out of the lab between sessions and catch a short nap in the back of my Jetta. If you do it right, a 6′3″ guy can find the back with the seat down. I used caffeine power naps too.
I have also been using an Earth Pulse Unit for a few years now. I have not noticed as much strength gains as others have reported, nor could I cut back on sleep duration; but I noticed I don’t have to do much of any cardiovascular (conditioning) as I had to in the past to keep it at a decent level. I don’t use it for a few days and CRF (cardiorespiratory fitness) drops quite fast. It should be pointed out that I have never really had any issue with quality sleep, so others with sleep issues may respond differently.
Stress Sucks
Stress would kill my gains in the gym pretty fast. While you may not be able to change what you are doing (maybe you can), if not, you need to change how you PERCEIVE it. This is a bit beyond this post, but keep in mind that you are in control and that you make the decisions. Are you getting better or worse?
No PRs = No Progress
Seems so obvious I know, but I did not get it at that time. I did not think it was possible to make a PR every time you go to the gym. It is possible and for the fastest progress you need to do it!
Summary
So I would encourage you to take a look at your training journal and see what trends you find. Figure out a way to test it. If you don’t have a training journal, get one now! Just a standard notebook works great for me. Probably the only thing I did correct when I started about 18 years ago was keeping a training journal. I still have ever one of them too. Study the past to help predict the future and test it.
I was cleaning the archives the other day and realized I gave this away as a gift, but never published it on my blog! I figured many of the new readers would like to open the time capsule and see what is inside.
Note: the answers collected here were from Jan 2008, so almost 2.5 years ago! Keep this in mind when you are reading since I know many of the authors have evolved and changed their mind, so this is a snapshot in time from 2.5 year ago.
Still, there is plenty of awesome information on muscle hypertrophy (how to get bigger muscles) below. Enjoy!
So what do you get when you through 2 powerlifters (Brett Jones, Mike Robertson), an Olympic lifter (Geoff Neupert) and a Martial Artist (Frankie Faires) who are all also accomplished trainers into the mix and pepper them with questions about hypertrophy?
I don’t know, but we are about to find out so hold on and here we go on the wild hypertrophy ride. (notes, my comments will be in bold under some of the names, so don’t BBQ them and send any comments to me)
1) Please introduce yourself and don’t be so darn modest this time!
Mike Robertson
My name is Mike Robertson and I’m a personal trainer/strength coach from the Indianapolis area. I work with a variety of clients, from high school athletes to weekend warriors. Mike Robertson the web at http://www.robertsontrainingsystems.com/
Brett Jones
Now Master Trainer Brett Jones
Brett Jones, Master RKC Instructor, CSCS, R-phase Z-Health certified
I have over 18 years of experience in both athletic training and strength and conditioning. Brett Jone on the web at Applied Strength http://appliedstrength.blogspot.com/
A note, my answers will not be laden with scientific references and supplement recommendations. Gaining mass is not a mystery. It only confuses those who refuse to squat and eat a lot. Secret routines and supplement recommendations are the way people get money from people in my opinion.
There goes my new super training 10000 manual I was writing. Drat!
Frankie Faires
Mike, first off, thanks for including me. My name is Frankie Faires. I am Levels 1-4 (RIST) certified Z Health trainer. In times past, I have been certified in NASM as well as RKC. I focus on physique transformation, performance enhancement and pain relief. I am a lifetime Martial Artist and currently train in BJJ and combatives. Frankie can be found on the ole interwebz at Pain Makes You Stupid – Purposeful Joint Mobility
Geoff Neupert
Geoff Neupert, CSCS, SrRKC, Z-Health Level 2, Owner Rapid Results Fitness and Integrated Fitness Solutions. 15 years experience including 3 1/2 years as a Division 1 Strength and Conditioning Coach. Competitive Olympic weightlifter.
2) What are the top 3 factors for optimal muscle hypertrophy and why?
Mike Robertson—
1 – Optimal posture (i.e. length/tension relationships).
2 – Optimal mobility/stability (i.e. the ability to assume the appropriate posture for any given exercise)\
The first two are going to be highly inter-related. Quite simply if you don’t have proper alignment, you’re not going to be able to optimally stimulate a muscle.
Here’s the best example I can give here. I’ve seen numerous kids who are too kyphotic (hunchback) in the upper thoracic region, and they all complain that they can’t stimulate their pecs. The fact of the matter is, their pecs are always shortened, and thus unable to produce optimal force. Suboptimal force = Suboptimal hypertrophy!
You can look at it from either side of the coin. From a strength/power standpoint, you’re unable to optimize these qualities because the pecs are too short. From an injury prevention standpoint, your body “knows” that it’s out of alignment. So your body knows it’s not in an optimal position to produce force, so it’s not going to allow you to keep progressing, because it doesn’t want to injure itself.
The second point is the ability to assume appropriate postures/body positions – basically, balancing mobility and stability. If you’re out of alignment statically (when just standing around), there’s virtually no chance you’ll be able to assume the appropriate posture dynamically.
However, if you do have the appropriate mobility/stability to perform exercises through a full and complete ROM, you’re going to optimize ROM, muscular recruitment, and in the long run, the kind of weights you move.
3 – Heavy weights.
This one isn’t difficult at all. Once you’ve optimized alignment, mobility, and stability, the fact of the matter is you need to get stronger. You can play around with workout “density”, speed work, or a host of other factors, but nothing will get you bigger, faster, than getting more weight on the bar.
Sounds like all the Quasimodo’s out there are screwed for starters until they fix their posture.
Load + volume –stimulating growth is related to these two factors
Nutrition – overeating and ensuring enough calories is essential
Recovery – not allowing time for recovery will “prevent” growth
Caveat #1:
All of the above comments are made under the assumption that the individual trying to gain mass is also working on achieving and maintaining optimal movement skills. Using Z Health or some other technique the person who sacrifices movement skill for mass is headed in the wrong direction. Movement skill is the foundation for all training.
Brett is cornering the market on best and basics! Hard to argue with that.
Frankie Faires–
You must require your body to become bigger. The body must believe that getting bigger is the path of least resistance. That being said -
Quality of nutrition, quality recovery and quality and quantity of movement (some movements under extra load) is the way you require it.
That is a lot of quality. JD Powers watch out!
Geoff Neupert—
I personally think it all depends on the individual, his fiber type biases, and his training age. Any of those parameters CAN work. Personally and professionally, I think you can’t fail with the age old 5×5 program–an oldie but goodie for sure. I think there are actually five, so I’ve taken the liberty of adding the other two. Hope you’re OK with that.
1. Neurological Efficiency
2. Tension
3. Volume
4. Caloric Intake
5. Recovery
1. Neurological Efficiency: Simply defined as all the muscles working that are supposed to be working in a given movement; free from compensations. I noticed this in myself after rehabilitating my injuries with Z-Health. Pre-Z-Health, I had too many compensation patterns and I couldn’t train long enough for an adaptive response without getting injured. Eventually, with compensations, you just run out of options for exercises–thus limiting your muscular growth.
2. Tension: Simply defined as the load on the bar. Even more simply put, you must lift the appropriate loads. There are two ways to do this: Move moderate to heavy weights (65-75% 1RM for novices, and 75-85% for advanced) and light to moderate weights as fast as possible (Olympic lifts and Kettlebell variations).
3. Volume: Simply put, (sets * reps * load) = total tonnage per training session. Some coaches recommend between 25-50 reps per exercise for hypertrophy. Others, up to 100. Some, even lower.
4. Caloric Intake: You can’t grow if you won’t eat. Period. End of story. There’s no such thing as a “hardgainer” only someone who won’t eat as much as humanly possible and train as heavy as possible.
5. Recovery: If you can’t recover from your training, you won’t grow. Powerlifters have a saying: “Don’t run if you can walk. Don’t walk if you can stand. Don’t stand if you can sit. Don’t sit if you can lie down.” You get the picture. Make sure you also get 8-10 hours of sleep per night and a nap during the day.
Those are all good ones, so 5 is allowed.
3) Related to the top 3 factors for optimal muscle hypertrophy, what are the limiting factors for muscle hypertrophy?
Mike Robertson—
See my above answers
Brett Jones–
Not training with enough load and not eating enough
My Spidy sense is on to a trend here.
Frankie Faires—
Health. The movement you load must be good for you. The solids and liquids you ingest must be good for you. Even the bed you sleep on must be good for you. Anything that deleteriously affects your health is going to slow down if not halt hypertrophy. (Note, We’ll get into how to find out what’s good for you in a little bit.)
So I must get healthier to get bigger? Shhh don’t tell any of those big professional body builders. If that is one of you, please note that I did not make any such comment.
Geoff Neupert—
Take out one of the five from the previous question.
4) Can you gain lean body mass (LBM) at the same time as losing fat? If not, what is an acceptable ratio of LBM to fat gain?
Mike Robertson—
Sure, but it all depends on your starting point!
If I get someone who’s sitting at 30% body fat and has never worked out a day in their life, then I can absolutely increase their lean body mass while simultaneously losing fat.
However, if you give me an advanced trainee who has been training for years, has a dialed in diet, etc., then it’s going to much tougher to do so. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s highly dependent upon what that trainee is willing to do to achieve those results. Your margin of error is MUCH smaller in this demographic than the previous one.
Excellent point Mike
Brett Jones—
Rates of LBM gain and fat loss or gain are related to a wide variety of individual factors and dietary factors – exact answers here are speculative at best.
Frankie Faires—
I have only anecdotal evidence – but on a month to month basis – I have seen clients gain lean mass and lose fat at the same time over and over again.
I have had long time clients that have put on muscle and lost fat from a previous measurement – this correlated with a new (novel) loaded movement program.
Frankie, so you feel that adding new and novel movements is needed then? How would you determine when and what?
Hold your horses. We’ll get into testing in just a bit.
Once again, Mike, ROM testing from the end of the article.
Geoff Neupert—
Yes, but it is challenging and it’s based on lifestyle issues.
5) What rest periods would you recommend and why?
Mike Robertson—
Rest periods are largely dependent upon the end goal of my training. If I’m looking at it from a “metabolic hypertrophy” perspective, I’m going to keep rest relatively low, somewhere between 60-120 seconds. This is also dependent upon the training age of the athlete at hand. If someone’s a relative newbie, they won’t incur the same level of stress, and therefore won’t need as much recovery time. Someone who has been at this quite some time and can incur a lot of stress in one set, so they’ll need more rest in between sets to recover.
On the other hand if I’m using lower rep sets and striving for “neural hypertrophy,” I’m going to draw out those rest periods and allow the nervous system time to recover. For big exercises like squats and deads, I may rest anywhere from 2-5 minutes.
It’s probably annoying to hear me say “It depends” all the time, but it really does. It depends on the goal of your training phase, the training age of the athlete, your sets/reps, recovery, etc.
My notes, I think of “neural” as strength via only the nervous system (learning to lift heavier) and “metabolic” hypertrophy as more structural – increasing the amount (muscle size) of the actual fibers doing the work.
Brett Jones
I prefer 3-5 minutes rest between sets – this ensures focus and form. Shorter rest periods (1-2 minutes) can be used as long as the load can remain heavy enough and form stays perfect.
Frankie Faires—
I don’t stray from the general rest periods of 30-120s. That being said, a trainee must pick the appropriate movement, speed, resistance and rep range to utilize this rest period.
Geoff Neupert—
Depends–anywhere from 1 minute to 5 minutes. Novices should use a longer rest period to focus on technique. More advanced trainees with “time under the bar” can use shorter rest periods and still keep good technique. The longer rest periods allow for heavier loads and therefore more tension. Conversely, shorter rest periods can still stimulate growth, especially when using “ballistic” type exercises, i.e.: KB exercises and Olympic lifts and variations.
6) How important is overall volume for hypertrophy?
Mike Robertson—
I think overall volume is important to a degree, but I think it’s overused as well.
When compared to bodybuilders, powerlifters typically use much less volume. Yet when you put them side-by-side, the powerlifter (while they may look “stocky” or less aesthetically balanced), generally has very similar levels of muscular development.
In that same breath, Olympic lifters are much the same as well. I think power and Olympic lifters have a better understanding of what “quality” work really means. Rather than taking an entire day to work on “arms”, they are incorporating plenty of “arm” work in their programming via heavy chins, rows, pulls, etc.
I think the most important concept here is understanding that “more” volume isn’t necessary, unless it’s “quality” volume. If you’re just filling up your routine with junk sets, then you’re probably not getting a whole hell of a lot out of them.
Gotta love that instant feedback in Olympic lifting—you either made it or not! What do you say Mr. Olympic lifter?
Geoff Neupert–
Very. The best way to get stronger without muscular growth is a very low volume routine. Therefore, the opposite holds true up to a point.
Brett Jones–
You must accumulate volume for growth – we know that we can limit growth by following a low volume routine.
Frankie Faires—
After quality of movement, volume, or quantity is key. Density is also important and all of these assumes your are using perfect form.
7) What would be a good template for a typical “weekend warrior” athlete in his mid 30s to early 40s.
Mike Robertson—
Again, my “powerlifter” side may be coming out here, but I think a weekend warrior is going to do best with one of two templates:
- A three day, total-body routine
- A four day, split body routine (two lower body days, two upper body days)
The primary focus with people in their 30’s and 40’s is recovery capacity. Can they recover from four workouts in a week? That’s tough to say. Remember that your body doesn’t interpret stress differently; whether it’s training stress, job stress, spousal stress, kid stress, or anything else, stress is stress! The thing most trainees don’t understand is that training stress is the factor they have the most control over.
If someone in their 30’s or 40’s is serious about getting bigger and stronger, they absolutely must understand that if they aren’t recovering from workouts, they aren’t growing. If stress is cranked up, gear your workouts back and allow your body time to recuperate. Get through the obstacles you have in your life, then go back to the gym with a vengeance.
Excellent points Mike! Training stress is under your direct control is a great way to put it.
Brett Jones—
Squat – Bench (Monday and Friday) – Deadlift – Chin-up (Wednesday)
5×5
2-3 days a week
Ah, looks like the old Bill Starr program me thinks.
Frankie Faires—
I like upper body pushing or pulling in a vertical position. Juan Carlos Santana has some fancy name for this – I don’t recall it.
I think being in Stance Lunges ala the I-Phase lunges from Z-Health with rotation is often appropriate. (My note, this is a lunge done in various degrees, such as your leg straight in front, out in front at 45 degrees, to the side at 90 degrees, then behind you and then switch feet).
I think rotation and asymmetrical stances are underutilized in all resistance training.
It is hard to beat squats and deadlifts for full body but especially lower body development.
The caveat for all of these movements is that they must test well for the individual…and yes, how to test is coming up. (Frankie is such a tease!)
Frankie, you mentioned rotation and asymmetrical stances are not used enough—why is that?
I can only speculate. I think it came from the predominant use of barbells which require symmetrical stances and bilateral synchronous movement.
Geoff Neupert—
The old “A-B” split performed 2-3 times per week. An example:
A. Squat, Parallel Dips, Barbell Rows 3-5 x 3-5
B. Deadlift, Bench Press, Chins 4-6 x 4-6
Classic!
8 ) Would it change much for other populations?
Mike Robertson—
Keeping it brutally simple:
- Kids can handle more stress (because their overall “life” stress is lower), and their recovery capacities are greater
- The older you get, the slower your recovery capacities are. Take this into account. Perform less volume. Take more time in between workouts. Do fewer “heavy” workout per week. Basically, get better at balancing training and recovery.
Brett Jones—
Individual factors always come into play but from a general blueprint – no.
Frankie Faires—
If by other pops, you mean those more physically disadvantaged, then probably only in degree and depth of movement. Everyone needs to squat and lunge but not to the same depth, direction and load.
Geoff Neupert–
No and Yes. The more recovery time one has, the greater the loading possibilities/potential. But the general population would do well to train 3 days and recover 4 based on lifestyle factors. That being said, younger athletes–15-21 years of age can generally stand more frequent exposures to loading for hypertrophy.
9) What is a cool tip for muscle hypertrophy that you have found recently?
Mike Robertson—
I hate “cool tips”, so here’s my smart-ass remark:
I found that the more weight I can put on the bar, the bigger I get. Funny, eh?
Seriously, I think too many people want cool tips and tricks, versus the understanding that you just need to work your ass off. A smart plan, coupled with consistency and dedication in the gym will help you achieve almost any goal, in or out of the gym.
I knew my “cool tip” question would get a rise from someone!
Brett Jones–
Squat – heavy!
Frankie Faires—
Not a tip so much as an insight.
I have noticed the most formidable MA’s and strength athletes are those with bigger joints.
I am a believer in joint hypertrophy training.
Whooa, hold on there Tex, joint hypertrophy? Why focus on the joints, I want bigger muscles?
This one is a little complicated. I think there is sufficient theory to back up the testing of this practice. I believe the limited movements we use to train our muscles bring about limited joint hypertrophy. I believe if we specifically target the joints for hypertrophy, we’ll be able to get even more muscular hypertrophy.
Geoff Neupert—
Nothing recent. Just good old-fashioned hard work with basic exercises such as the following: Squat, Deadlift, Parallel Dips, Chins/Pull-ups, Military Press, Rows, Bench Press, etc.
10) How important is nutrition?
Brett Jones—
Very – but not from a perfect eating perspective. People just will not eat enough and put too much reliance on supplements. 6 meals a day + additional protein shakes + waking up at 3 am to have another shake can be the right amount of eating and most people will not do this and consider extra bananas to be “eating like a maniac” – having an extra pizza between meals is eating like maniac – fruit doesn’t count!
You’re killing me here Brett. So your saying my eating bananas and dumbbell flys routine won’t get me hyoooge?
Frankie Faires—
Extremely important. We literally are what we eat (and how we eat and when we eat and even why we eat). Of course, we also are what and how we move.
I agree, even though that it getting a little Paul Chek na na woo woo for me.
Geoff Neupert–
Very. You must eat if you want to grow. And you must eat carbohydrates too. Many this day and age are “carb-o-phobic.” Don’t be.
Got it. Bring on the squats, carbs and pizzas!
11) Do reps need to be taken to “failure”?
Mike Robertson—
No. This is another one of those myths that’s been around forever, but I’ll use myself as an example here.
When I was heavily involved in powerlifting, I hated missing reps. In fact, over a one-year period, I’d rarely miss more then four or five reps TOTAL! Now that doesn’t mean that you don’t push yourself, because that’s not the case at all. You just have to be smart about picking your loads, and confident in the fact that you’re ready to move them.
I’ve also discussed this with Jim Wendler of Elite Fitness, and he agrees whole-heartedly. He hated missing reps as well. Another example would be Pocket Hercules, the world famous Olympic lifter. He’d rarely, if ever, miss reps.
I think missing reps not only puts you in danger of getting hurt, but affects your confidence and drastically steeps your recovery curve. I just don’t think the cost:benefit ratio is there to be missing reps.
Good point! Success breeds more success and Wendler is well, Wendler.
Brett Jones—
No – as a recovered HIT Jedi who was convinced of going to failure and being a “hard-gainer”, I have put on 20 unwanted pounds by increasing my squat and not training to failure.
Can I take some of those unwanted pounds since you don’t want them? Wow, I never knew you had that HIT skeleton in your closet Brett! Investigative journalism at its best right here folks!
Frankie Faires—
Believe it or not, I am a believer in periodic failure – maybe once (one rep in one set of a movement) every 3-12 weeks.
Otherwise, cut your reps before you build up excess tension and/or change your breathing patterns.
How do you define excess tension and what type of breathing do you use?
I would define as tension in places where it wouldn’t be if you were performing that same movement relaxed. Your glutes shouldn’t be hypertonic if you are doing a biceps curl. The type of breathing I use is exhale under lung field compression and in most cases exhale under exertion.
Geoff Neupert—
No. I have actually seen instances where training to failure has the exact opposite effect–it rips the muscle off you.
Yikes, we don’t want that unless we opt to be a cardio bunny.
12) What is one thing for optimal hypertrophy that would be the biggest bang for the buck, but most people are not doing?
Mike Robertson—
I discussed this at length above, so I won’t drone on about this. I feel if more people would improve their alignment, mobility and stability, they’d be putting themselves in a better position to grow, regardless of what their programming looked like. Essentially, any program would be “better” because they are using the appropriate muscles for the task at hand.
Brett Jones
Squat – Heavy! Eat a lot.
Fact #1:
When you can squat 405 (or more) for 5 sets of 5 reps you will not be crying about being a “hard gainer”. Nothing is as effective as squats for gaining mass – period.
People spend too much time worrying over the perfect program and supplement protocol and not enough time under the bar.
Fact #2:
In general terms there are two known methods for gaining size – powerlifting and bodybuilding. There are no mysteries or secret programs – period.
The fact is that gaining mass is simple – but not easy!
Wise words by both and very similar. Looks like my bananas and DB flys programmed is doomed before it even starts.
Frankie Faires—
OK, now it is time to talk about testing – testing – testing.
OK, I will be the “woo-woo” guy.
If something (food, movement) is good for you, doesn’t it make sense that it would make your body stronger and more flexible?
It does! One way to instantly measure movement efficacy it is to test your ROM.
For lower body movements, test arm flexion (reach directly upwards and backwards) For upper body movements, test using a soft locked knee toe touch.
If after performing the movement, your ROM did not increase, that movement is not good for you and probably will slow down hypertrophic gains.
Whooo. Hold on there Mr Woo Woo with your can of worms. Why would I test a lower body motion after upper body work? Do I have to do this after every set? Why would this slow down hypertrophic gains if my range of motion decreases? Last time I checked most powerlifters are trying to decrease their range of motion and they are some big dudes. What gives?
What we are testing isn’t exactly ROM. ROM is the method but it isn’t the measure. We are measuring how overall relaxed you are (which is a function of how relaxed your nervous system will be). Doing KB swings will directly increase your hamstring flexibility. For it to be a good test, you need to test another place that wasn’t targeted in the exercise.
Losing ROM is ultimately bad for you. It may not be bad right away but it will be. If you make health your first priority, I predict fewer plateaus and an incredibly low chance of injury…which leaves you more time to be bigger.
My notes, I have been testing my ROM after exercises for quite some time now and it works VERY well when done precisely.
Geoff Neupert—
There isn’t “one” thing–there’s “two:” Performing the “hard” exercises like squats and deadlifts and eating. I went from 165lbs to 252lbs in 4 years in college following this exact “blueprint.”
Hard to argue with those results!
So there you have it folks. We even made it through with no bloodshed other than a few attempt to bench press Frankie who then offered to karate chop them if they tried and peace was restored.
Now it is your turn to put this knowledge into practice. Knowledge is not key, APPLIED knowledge is key go out and start applying!
Special thanks to Brett Jones, Mike Robertson, Geoff Neupert and Frankie Faires for their time on this. Much much appreciate!
Flash forward to 2.5 years after Frankie talked about testing for more muscle and strength, and you can get it on the Grip n Rip DVD set HERE
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So what do you get when you through 2 powerlifters (Brett Jones, Mike Robertson), an Olympic lifter (Geoff Neupert) and a Martial Artist (Frankie Faires) who are all also accomplished trainers into the mix and pepper them with questions about hypertrophy? I don’t know, but we are about to find out so hold on and here we go on the wild hypertrophy ride. (notes, my comments will be in bold under some of the names, so don’t BBQ them and send any comments to me, Mike T Nelson at michaelTnelson@yahoo.com)
1) Please introduce yourself and don’t be so darn modest this time!
Mike Robertson—
My name is Mike Robertson and I’m a personal trainer/strength coach from the Indianapolis area. I work with a variety of clients, from high school athletes to weekend warriors.
I have over 18 years of experience in both athletic training and strength and conditioning
A note, my answers will not be laden with scientific references and supplement recommendations. Gaining mass is not a mystery. It only confuses those who refuse to squat and eat a lot. Secret routines and supplement recommendations are the way people get money from people in my opinion.
There goes my new super training 10000 manual I was writing. Drat!
Frankie Faires—
Mike, first off, thanks for including me. My name is Frankie Faires. I am Levels 1-4 (RIST) certified Z Health trainer. In times past, I have been certified in NASM as well as RKC. I focus on physique transformation, performance enhancement and pain relief. I am a lifetime Martial Artist and currently train in BJJ and combatives.
Geoff Neupert
Geoff Neupert, CSCS, SrRKC, Z-Health Level 2, Owner Rapid Results Fitness and Integrated Fitness Solutions. 15 years experience including 3 1/2 years as a Division 1 Strength and Conditioning Coach. Competitive Olympic weightlifter.
Z Health, Kettlebells, CSCS, a recovering NASM guy, this will be good!
2) What are the top 3 factors for optimal muscle hypertrophy and why?
2 – Optimal mobility/stability (i.e. the ability to assume the appropriate posture for any given exercise)\
The first two are going to be highly inter-related. Quite simply if you don’t have proper alignment, you’re not going to be able to optimally stimulate a muscle.
Here’s the best example I can give here. I’ve seen numerous kids who are too kyphotic (hunchback) in the upper thoracic region, and they all complain that they can’t stimulate their pecs. The fact of the matter is, their pecs are always shortened, and thus unable to produce optimal force. Suboptimal force = Suboptimal hypertrophy!
You can look at it from either side of the coin. From a strength/power standpoint, you’re unable to optimize these qualities because the pecs are too short. From an injury prevention standpoint, your body “knows” that it’s out of alignment. So your body knows it’s not in an optimal position to produce force, so it’s not going to allow you to keep progressing, because it doesn’t want to injure itself.
The second point is the ability to assume appropriate postures/body positions – basically, balancing mobility and stability. If you’re out of alignment statically (when just standing around), there’s virtually no chance you’ll be able to assume the appropriate posture dynamically.
However, if you do have the appropriate mobility/stability to perform exercises through a full and complete ROM, you’re going to optimize ROM, muscular recruitment, and in the long run, the kind of weights you move.
3 – Heavy weights.
This one isn’t difficult at all. Once you’ve optimized alignment, mobility, and stability, the fact of the matter is you need to get stronger. You can play around with workout “density”, speed work, or a host of other factors, but nothing will get you bigger, faster, than getting more weight on the bar.
Sounds like all the Quasimodo’s out there are screwed for starters until they fix their posture.
Brett Jones—
1. Load + Volume (load – 75-85% of 1 rep maximum)
2. Nutrition
3. Recovery
Load + volume –stimulating growth is related to these two factors
Nutrition – overeating and ensuring enough calories is essential
Recovery – not allowing time for recovery will “prevent” growth
Caveat #1:
All of the above comments are made under the assumption that the individual trying to gain mass is also working on achieving and maintaining optimal movement skills. Using Z Health or some other technique the person who sacrifices movement skill for mass is headed in the wrong direction. Movement skill is the foundation for all training.
Brett is cornering the market on best and basics! Hard to argue with that.
Frankie Faires—
You must require your body to become bigger. The body must believe that getting bigger is the path of least resistance. That being said -
Quality of nutrition, quality recovery and quality and quantity of movement (some movements under extra load) is the way you require it.
That is a lot of quality. JD Powers watch out!
Geoff Neupert—
I personally think it all depends on the individual, his fiber type biases, and his training age. Any of those parameters CAN work. Personally and professionally, I think you can’t fail with the age old 5×5 program–an oldie but goodie for sure. I think there are actually five, so I’ve taken the liberty of adding the other two. Hope you’re OK with that.
1. Neurological Efficiency
2. Tension
3. Volume
4. Caloric Intake
5. Recovery
1. Neurological Efficiency: Simply defined as all the muscles working that are supposed to be working in a given movement; free from compensations. I noticed this in myself after rehabilitating my injuries with Z-Health. Pre-Z-Health, I had too many compensation patterns and I couldn’t train long enough for an adaptive response without getting injured. Eventually, with compensations, you just run out of options for exercises–thus limiting your muscular growth.
2. Tension: Simply defined as the load on the bar. Even more simply put, you must lift the appropriate loads. There are two ways to do this: Move moderate to heavy weights (65-75% 1RM for novices, and 75-85% for advanced) and light to moderate weights as fast as possible (Olympic lifts and Kettlebell variations).
3. Volume: Simply put, (sets * reps * load) = total tonnage per training session. Some coaches recommend between 25-50 reps per exercise for hypertrophy. Others, up to 100. Some, even lower.
4. Caloric Intake: You can’t grow if you won’t eat. Period. End of story. There’s no such thing as a ”hardgainer” only someone who won’t eat as much as humanly possible and train as heavy as possible.
5. Recovery: If you can’t recover from your training, you won’t grow. Powerlifters have a saying: ”Don’t run if you can walk. Don’t walk if you can stand. Don’t stand if you can sit. Don’t sit if you can lie down.” You get the picture. Make sure you also get 8-10 hours of sleep per night and a nap during the day.
Those are all good ones, so 5 is allowed.
3) Related to the top 3 factors for optimal muscle hypertrophy, what are the limiting factors for muscle hypertrophy?
Mike Robertson—
See my above answers
Brett Jones–
Not training with enough load and not eating enough
My Spidy sense is on to a trend here.
Frankie Faires—
Health. The movement you load must be good for you. The solids and liquids you ingest must be good for you. Even the bed you sleep on must be good for you. Anything that deleteriously affects your health is going to slow down if not halt hypertrophy. (Note, We’ll get into how to find out what’s good for you in a little bit.)
So I must get healthier to get bigger? Shhh don’t tell any of those big professional body builders. If that is one of you, please note that I did not make any such comment.
Geoff Neupert—
Take out one of the five from the previous question.
4) Can you gain lean body mass (LBM) at the same time as losing fat? If not, what is an acceptable ratio of LBM to fat gain?
Mike Robertson—
Sure, but it all depends on your starting point!
If I get someone who’s sitting at 30% body fat and has never worked out a day in their life, then I can absolutely increase their lean body mass while simultaneously losing fat.
However, if you give me an advanced trainee who has been training for years, has a dialed in diet, etc., then it’s going to much tougher to do so. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s highly dependent upon what that trainee is willing to do to achieve those results. Your margin of error is MUCH smaller in this demographic than the previous one.
Excellent point Mike
Brett Jones—
Rates of LBM gain and fat loss or gain are related to a wide variety of individual factors and dietary factors – exact answers here are speculative at best.
Frankie Faires—
I have only anecdotal evidence - but on a month to month basis - I have seen clients gain lean mass and lose fat at the same time over and over again.
I have had long time clients that have put on muscle and lost fat from a previous measurement - this correlated with a new (novel) loaded movement program.
Frankie, so you feel that adding new and novel movements is needed then? How would you determine when and what?
Hold your horses. We’ll get into testing in just a bit.
Once again, Mike, ROM testing from the end of the article.
Geoff Neupert—
Yes, but it is challenging and it’s based on lifestyle issues.
5) What rest periods would you recommend and why?
Mike Robertson—
Rest periods are largely dependent upon the end goal of my training. If I’m looking at it from a “metabolic hypertrophy” perspective, I’m going to keep rest relatively low, somewhere between 60-120 seconds. This is also dependent upon the training age of the athlete at hand. If someone’s a relative newbie, they won’t incur the same level of stress, and therefore won’t need as much recovery time. Someone who has been at this quite some time and can incur a lot of stress in one set, so they’ll need more rest in between sets to recover.
On the other hand if I’m using lower rep sets and striving for “neural hypertrophy,” I’m going to draw out those rest periods and allow the nervous system time to recover. For big exercises like squats and deads, I may rest anywhere from 2-5 minutes.
It’s probably annoying to hear me say “It depends” all the time, but it really does. It depends on the goal of your training phase, the training age of the athlete, your sets/reps, recovery, etc.
My notes, I think of “neural” as strength via only the nervous system (learning to lift heavier) and “metabolic” hypertrophy as more structural – increasing the amount (muscle size) of the actual fibers doing the work.
Brett Jones
I prefer 3-5 minutes rest between sets – this ensures focus and form. Shorter rest periods (1-2 minutes) can be used as long as the load can remain heavy enough and form stays perfect.
Frankie Faires—
I don’t stray from the general rest periods of 30-120s. That being said, a trainee must pick the appropriate movement, speed, resistance and rep range to utilize this rest period.
Geoff Neupert—
Depends–anywhere from 1 minute to 5 minutes. Novices should use a longer rest period to focus on technique. More advanced trainees with ”time under the bar” can use shorter rest periods and still keep good technique. The longer rest periods allow for heavier loads and therefore more tension. Conversely, shorter rest periods can still stimulate growth, especially when using ”ballistic” type exercises, i.e.: KB exercises and Olympic lifts and variations.
6) How important is overall volume for hypertrophy?
Mike Robertson—
I think overall volume is important to a degree, but I think it’s overused as well.
When compared to bodybuilders, powerlifters typically use much less volume. Yet when you put them side-by-side, the powerlifter (while they may look “stocky” or less aesthetically balanced), generally has very similar levels of muscular development.
In that same breath, Olympic lifters are much the same as well. I think power and Olympic lifters have a better understanding of what “quality” work really means. Rather than taking an entire day to work on “arms”, they are incorporating plenty of “arm” work in their programming via heavy chins, rows, pulls, etc.
I think the most important concept here is understanding that “more” volume isn’t necessary, unless it’s “quality” volume. If you’re just filling up your routine with junk sets, then you’re probably not getting a whole hell of a lot out of them.
Gotta love that instant feedback in Olympic lifting—you either made it or not! What do you say Mr. Olympic lifter?
Geoff Neupert–
Very. The best way to get stronger without muscular growth is a very low volume routine. Therefore, the opposite holds true up to a point.
Brett Jones–
You must accumulate volume for growth – we know that we can limit growth by following a low volume routine.
Frankie Faires—
After quality of movement, volume, or quantity is key. Density is also important and all of these assumes your are using perfect form.
7) What would be a good template for a typical ”weekend warrior” athlete in his mid 30s to early 40s.
Mike Robertson—
Again, my “powerlifter” side may be coming out here, but I think a weekend warrior is going to do best with one of two templates:
- A three day, total-body routine
- A four day, split body routine (two lower body days, two upper body days)
The primary focus with people in their 30’s and 40’s is recovery capacity. Can they recover from four workouts in a week? That’s tough to say. Remember that your body doesn’t interpret stress differently; whether it’s training stress, job stress, spousal stress, kid stress, or anything else, stress is stress! The thing most trainees don’t understand is that training stress is the factor they have the most control over.
If someone in their 30’s or 40’s is serious about getting bigger and stronger, they absolutely must understand that if they aren’t recovering from workouts, they aren’t growing. If stress is cranked up, gear your workouts back and allow your body time to recuperate. Get through the obstacles you have in your life, then go back to the gym with a vengeance.
Excellent points Mike! Training stress is under your direct control is a great way to put it.
Ah, looks like the old Bill Starr program me thinks.
Frankie Faires—
I like upper body pushing or pulling in a vertical position. Juan Carlos Santana has some fancy name for this - I don’t recall it.
I think being in Stance Lunges ala the I-Phase lunges from Z-Health with rotation is often appropriate. (My note, this is a lunge done in various degrees, such as your leg straight in front, out in front at 45 degrees, to the side at 90 degrees, then behind you and then switch feet).
I think rotation and asymmetrical stances are underutilized in all resistance training.
It is hard to beat squats and deadlifts for full body but especially lower body development.
The caveat for all of these movements is that they must test well for the individual…and yes, how to test is coming up. (Frankie is such a tease!)
Frankie, you mentioned rotation and asymmetrical stances are not used enough—why is that?
I can only speculate. I think it came from the predominant use of barbells which require symmetrical stances and bilateral synchronous movement.
Geoff Neupert—
The old ”A-B” split performed 2-3 times per week. An example:
A. Squat, Parallel Dips, Barbell Rows 3-5 x 3-5
B. Deadlift, Bench Press, Chins 4-6 x 4-6
Classic!
8) Would it change much for other populations?
Mike Robertson—
Keeping it brutally simple:
- Kids can handle more stress (because their overall “life” stress is lower), and their recovery capacities are greater
- The older you get, the slower your recovery capacities are. Take this into account. Perform less volume. Take more time in between workouts. Do fewer “heavy” workout per week. Basically, get better at balancing training and recovery.
Brett Jones—
Individual factors always come into play but from a general blueprint – no.
Frankie Faires—
If by other pops, you mean those more physically disadvantaged, then probably only in degree and depth of movement. Everyone needs to squat and lunge but not to the same depth, direction and load.
Geoff Neupert–
No and Yes. The more recovery time one has, the greater the loading possibilities/potential. But the general population would do well to train 3 days and recover 4 based on lifestyle factors. That being said, younger athletes–15-21 years of age can generally stand more frequent exposures to loading for hypertrophy.
9) What is a cool tip for muscle hypertrophy that you have found recently?
Mike Robertson—
I hate “cool tips”, so here’s my smart-ass remark:
I found that the more weight I can put on the bar, the bigger I get. Funny, eh?
Seriously, I think too many people want cool tips and tricks, versus the understanding that you just need to work your ass off. A smart plan, coupled with consistency and dedication in the gym will help you achieve almost any goal, in or out of the gym.
I knew my “cool tip” question would get a rise from someone!
Brett Jones–
Squat – heavy!
Frankie Faires—
Not a tip so much as an insight.
I have noticed the most formidable MA’s and strength athletes are those with bigger joints.
I am a believer in joint hypertrophy training.
Whooa, hold on there Tex, joint hypertrophy? Why focus on the joints, I want bigger muscles?
This one is a little complicated. I think there is sufficient theory to back up the testing of this practice. I believe the limited movements we use to train our muscles bring about limited joint hypertrophy. I believe if we specifically target the joints for hypertrophy, we’ll be able to get even more muscular hypertrophy.
Geoff Neupert—
Nothing recent. Just good old-fashioned hard work with basic exercises such as the following: Squat, Deadlift, Parallel Dips, Chins/Pull-ups, Military Press, Rows, Bench Press, etc.
10) How important is nutrition?
Brett Jones—
Very – but not from a perfect eating perspective. People just will not eat enough and put too much reliance on supplements. 6 meals a day + additional protein shakes + waking up at 3 am to have another shake can be the right amount of eating and most people will not do this and consider extra bananas to be “eating like a maniac” – having an extra pizza between meals is eating like maniac – fruit doesn’t count!
You’re killing me here Brett. So your saying my eating bananas and dumbbell flys routine won’t get me hyoooge?
Frankie Faires—
Extremely important. We literally are what we eat (and how we eat and when we eat and even why we eat). Of course, we also are what and how we move.
I agree, even though that it getting a little Paul Chek na na woo woo for me.
Geoff Neupert–
Very. You must eat if you want to grow. And you must eat carbohydrates too. Many this day and age are ”carb-o-phobic.” Don’t be.
Got it. Bring on the squats, carbs and pizzas!
11) Do reps need to be taken to ”failure”?
Mike Robertson—
No. This is another one of those myths that’s been around forever, but I’ll use myself as an example here.
When I was heavily involved in powerlifting, I hated missing reps. In fact, over a one-year period, I’d rarely miss more then four or five reps TOTAL! Now that doesn’t mean that you don’t push yourself, because that’s not the case at all. You just have to be smart about picking your loads, and confident in the fact that you’re ready to move them.
I’ve also discussed this with Jim Wendler of Elite Fitness, and he agrees whole-heartedly. He hated missing reps as well. Another example would be Pocket Hercules, the world famous Olympic lifter. He’d rarely, if ever, miss reps.
I think missing reps not only puts you in danger of getting hurt, but affects your confidence and drastically steeps your recovery curve. I just don’t think the cost:benefit ratio is there to be missing reps.
Good point! Success breeds more success and Wendler is well, Wendler.
Brett Jones—
No – as a recovered HIT Jedi who was convinced of going to failure and being a “hard-gainer”, I have put on 20 unwanted pounds by increasing my squat and not training to failure.
Can I take some of those unwanted pounds since you don’t want them? Wow, I never knew you had that HIT skeleton in your closet Brett! Investigative journalism at its best right here.
Frankie Faires—
Believe it or not, I am a believer in periodic failure - maybe once (one rep in one set of a movement) every 3-12 weeks.
Otherwise, cut your reps before you build up excess tension and/or change your breathing patterns.
How do you define excess tension and what type of breathing do you use?
I would define as tension in places where it wouldn’t be if you were performing that same movement relaxed. Your glutes shouldn’t be hypertonic if you are doing a biceps curl. The type of breathing I use is exhale under lung field compression and in most cases exhale under exertion.
Geoff Neupert—
No. I have actually seen instances where training to failure has the exact opposite effect–it rips the muscle off you.
Yikes, we don’t want that unless we opt to be a cardio bunny.
12) What is one thing for optimal hypertrophy that would be the biggest bang for the buck, but most people are not doing?
Mike Robertson—
I discussed this at length above, so I won’t drone on about this. I feel if more people would improve their alignment, mobility and stability, they’d be putting themselves in a better position to grow, regardless of what their programming looked like. Essentially, any program would be “better” because they are using the appropriate muscles for the task at hand.
Brett Jones
Squat – Heavy! Eat a lot.
Fact #1:
When you can squat 405 (or more) for 5 sets of 5 reps you will not be crying about being a “hard gainer”. Nothing is as effective as squats for gaining mass – period.
People spend too much time worrying over the perfect program and supplement protocol and not enough time under the bar.
Fact #2:
In general terms there are two known methods for gaining size – powerlifting and bodybuilding. There are no mysteries or secret programs – period.
The fact is that gaining mass is simple – but not easy!
Wise words by both and very similar. Looks like my bananas and DB flys programmed is doomed before it even starts.
Frankie Faires—
OK, now it is time to talk about testing - testing - testing.
OK, I will be the ”woo-woo” guy.
If something (food, movement) is good for you, doesn’t it make sense that it would make your body stronger and more flexible?
It does! One way to instantly measure movement efficacy it is to test your ROM.
For lower body movements, test arm flexion (reach directly upwards and backwards) For upper body movements, test using a soft locked knee toe touch.
If after performing the movement, your ROM did not increase, that movement is not good for you and probably will slow down hypertrophic gains.
Whooo. Hold on there Mr Woo Woo with your can of worms. Why would I test a lower body motion after upper body work? Do I have to do this after every set? Why would this slow down hypertrophic gains if my range of motion decreases? Last time I checked most powerlifters are trying to decrease their range of motion and they are some big dudes. What gives?
What we are testing isn’t exactly ROM. ROM is the method but it isn’t the measure. We are measuring how overall relaxed you are (which is a function of how relaxed your nervous system will be). Doing KB swings will directly increase your hamstring flexibility. For it to be a good test, you need to test another place that wasn’t targeted in the exercise.
Losing ROM is ultimately bad for you. It may not be bad right away but it will be. If you make health your first priority, I predict fewer plateaus and an incredibly low chance of injury…which leaves you more time to be bigger.
My notes, I have been testing my ROM after exercises for quite some time now and it works VERY well when done precisely.
Geoff Neupert—
There isn’t ”one” thing–there’s ”two:” Performing the ”hard” exercises like squats and deadlifts and eating. I went from 165lbs to 252lbs in 4 years in college following this exact ”blueprint.”
Hard to argue with those results!
So there you have it folks. We even made it through with no bloodshed other than a few attempt to bench press Frankie who then offered to karate chop them if they tried and peace was restored.
Now it is your turn to put this knowledge into practice. Knowledge is not key, APPLIED knowledge is key go out and start applying!
Special thanks to all 4 for their time on this. Much much appreciate!
Motivation Monday: Insane Raw Deadlift by Konstantin Konstantinovs!
Deadlift training 413kg (910lb) raw and not even a belt at a bodyweight of 132kg (291lb) by Konstantin Konstantinovs!
INSANE!
I will bet money that he will pass 1,000 lb deadlift as he is only 30 years old.
I love how he makes it look just stupid easy. Wow.
Only 2 people have pulled over 1,000 lbs in competition, with the current record holder being Andy Bolton.
True, that was done with a deadlift suit and it is debatable how much that will help a deadlifter. Most get around 50 lbs more (conventional deadlifters).
Time for me to go pull something heavy. Well, heavy for me.
Comments!
What do you think of this? Let me know as comments make me feel warm and fuzzy.
USPAL Meet Twin Ports Open for Mike T Nelson: Part 1-Results
Mike T Nelson, USAPL Raw Meet Deadlift 413 lbs
As you know I am a firm believer in testing yourself on occasion. If you want to get stronger in the bench, squat and deadlift, testing yourself in a local meet is a great way to do it.
Confession
I have a confession to make. I currently don’t get super excited to do meets. If I was left to myself, I would skip the whole process all together and save myself some time and money.
Why do I do it?
I work with athletes of all types and many of them compete. There is a whole mindset to competing. How am I ever going to understand that if I don’t compete myself?
If you want to learn how to run, at some point you must run.
You don’t have to be a World Record holder, but you have to TRY.
Advanced Notice
This time I planned out my meet more than the last time I did one where I signed up on a Tues night and did the meet that Sat.
I did learn something very interesting though at that meet. I was not nervous hardly at all where as the 2 previous ones (USAPL meets, not the Tactical Strength Challenge) I was about ready to crap my pants about 2 weeks out on a moment’s notice.
My last meet in Fall, was by far my best meet too. I did not taper much at all and basically broke about every “rule” you can break. Hmmm.
So I took the same approach to this meet. I will have all the full details in part 2 coming soon, but my mental outlook was completely different.
Duluth in May and Rollins
When I planned to do the meet in early Jan I figured it would be great for Jodie and I to spend a nice long wekeend in Duluth. Then it got moved to the College of St. Scholastica and since I did my undergrad there, I had to sign up.
The downside was that Henry Rollins was doing a spoken word tour and as luck would have it, he was playing in the Twin Cites the night before the meet!
Crap. Screw it. I am going to do both. So Jodie and I met up with my sister who was in town and some friends for the Rollins show on May 14 and it was awesome!
“Knowledge without mileage equals BS.”
— Henry Rollins
“I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts. Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate”
-Henry Rollins taken from Iron and the Soul
So at almost midnight, Jodie and I headed up 2+hours to Duluth, MN
I got all checked in and they inspected my shoes, socks, wrestling singlet, shirt and even my underwear to make sure I was all in spec. I left my Vibram Five Fingers at home since they are illegal by USAPL standards. Crazy I know!
I predicted I would weigh in at 212.0 and I weighed in at 211.2 so very close. I did not cut any weight per say, just a small meal late Friday evening, and then nothing to eat or drink until I weighed in on Sat AM. Before the weigh in at home I was around 215 lbs in the AM before breakfast. This is up 6 lbs from the last meet I did in Sept under the same conditions.
I was overall relatively happy with my squats considering I did not really train them much since this past Fall to be honest. I found that if I pick more than 1-2 goals at a time, I shoot myself in the foot. I can focus on deadlifts or squats, but trying to bring up both at the same time does not work.
I picked up a few pounds on my squat, but I literally did not squat for about 6 weeks before the meet; more on that in part 2.
My new goal is to bring my squat up and hit 275 x 1 by July 20 and 315 x 1 by the end of the year. Onward and upward.
Time for Bench Press!
For those new to meet standards, you have 3 commands
start
press
rack
Once you get the hand off, you have to hold the bar at lock out until you hear “start.”
You lower the bar to your chest where you pause until you hear the “press” command.
Then at lock out, you hold it there until you hear “rack.”
Violation of any one of these commands is a bad lift.
Been there, done that in the past.
Deadlift was my second highest priority.
At the Fall meet I did
365 x 1 opener
390 x 1
413 x 1 –double body weight deadlift (weighed in at 206.5 lbs)
This last meet I did
385 x 1 opener
413 x 1 good speed
437 x miss
I was pissed that I missed 437. I mis-gripped on my right hand as the bar was on my fingers instead of in my hand. I had recently changed my set up, so I did not practice the top start as much as I should have in hindsight.
I also noticed that my knees came in a bit too, and I think I was standing wider there than in practice; so I will need to keep a close eye on that. No pain or any knee issues at all with it though (although I do train my knees in a wide variety of angles–more on that in part 2).
A HUGE thanks to my wonderful wife Jodie for going with and being so supportive the entire time and during training. I try very hard not to have training rule my life, but there are no short cuts you have to put the time in lifting.
A HUGE shout out to everyone that I met there! All the competitors were awesome and extremely helpful and very very supportive.
Big thanks to Joe Warpeha, the College of St Scholastica, the spotters (Brett and others) and everyone that helped out with the meet. It went great. The facility was top notch and there was even enough room to warm up, which can be cramped and rushed at times. Everyone was very friendly and went out of there way to help. Heck, Joe even personalty got me some hot water for my oatmeal! Excellent work all!
You can find a great write up on the whole meet complete with results HERE.
Many think that their currents lifts are not good enough for a meet. I say BS to that!
How are you going to get better and learn more? Sign up and do one!
Everyone at every meet I have been to has been nothing more than extremely supportive. No matter what you are lifting, it takes some cajones to commit to lifting 9 lifts on a set day, at a set time, by someones rules on their schedule in front of a crowd. You will learn a ton.
Comments
Let me hear what you think.
I hope I inspired you a bit to do more than you thought you could before.
I personally don’t give two rat’s behinds where I place, as long as I got my personal records (PRs).
When are you going to compete? How are you going to be better? I want to hear about it in the comments!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson
PS
Here is the full report of what I learned at the meet this past Fall
Here we go again, a tip inside my brain as to what is rattling around in there. Trust me, you have been warned!
1) Mushroomhead is a highly underrated metal band
Adam T Glass just found them and was blown away. Great stuff. I prefer their earlier work with J Mann, but the new upcoming CD still sounds pretty cool. Awesome live shows if you ever get the chance to see them–go!
2) One of my favorite quotes of all time
“The iron never lies to you..the iron will always kick you the real deal. The iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go, but two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.” – Henry Rollins
3) Axial loading is key for muscle hypertrophy
It seems that loading the body axially like squats and overhead pressing seems to have a greater trigger for muscle hypertrophy (bigger muscles).
There is not any direct research that I have seen on this looking at similar loads (volume), but adding squats and kettlebell clean and jerks into your routine can pack on some mass quite fast.
I added about 3-4 lbs in the past month by adding these in. I also increased my calories again and my stress level was a bit lower too. Make sure those movement test well though (ala Grip n Rip).
4) Corrective exercise
I think we are making it entirely too complicated. An exercise/movement either makes you better or worse. If it makes you worse, you are not doing it correctly for YOUR body, or it is not good for you at THAT time. We are either getting better or worse. Is corrective exercise any more complicated than that?
5) Bad foods
We need to stop putting foods into categories as “good” or “bad.” Very few foods are really bad. If something is really bad it will kill you fast. That is bad. A poorly prepared puffer fish will kill you very fast. I say avoid it, but even eating twinkies for a week straight will probably not kill you. You may look similar to a twinkie by the end of the week though.
Twinkies in their natural state
6) The goal of health
Along those lines our goal of health is backwards. People think they need to eat “clean” 100% of the time. Even the most strict, pre-competition bodybuilder types don’t need to do that 100% of the time and even then the pre contest period is short compared to the rest of their life.
Having people try to get to a goal of 100% is not realistic and will set them up for massive failure.
The goal should be to eat as “BAD” as possible WHILE maintaining health (blood tests) and body composition goals.
If you can do this at a 70% compliance vs a 90% compliance, 70% is better!
The ability to take in virtually any food item and convert it into fuel (termed Metabolic Flexibility) is key to health.
Do you want to have more freedom with your diet and eat the foods you love, or feel like you are boxed in and “never good enough”?
7) PhD programs are long, really friggin’ long
I knew when I start this, that it would be a long road. I had other warn me about it. I thought they were nuts. No way I was going to be in school for another 5-7 years after the 11 years I had already done. Screw that.
Well, fast forward to many years later and I am still plugging away at it. Very few things have I started that I have though long and hard about quitting and this is at the top of the list. The good part is that I am fully determined to finish, no matter how long it takes. I have decided it will not rule my life and as long as each day I am making progress, the end will come. And I can’t wait for that day. Wow. Once I graduate, all hell is going to break loose as my ability to output will go through the roof. You have been warned.
8 ) Poor exercise form
Adam mentioned this on a conference call and some are now sooooo scared of not doing an exercise correctly that they will not even TRY.
How can you get better at say a kettlebell clean and press, without ever doing one? The answer is you CAN’T.
The first rep is always the worst rep.
I am NOT recommending that you go load up the bar with a max load and do your first deadlift attempt ever with it. That is just stupid. But starting with the bar and doing a few reps and measuring your range of motion (biofeedback) to see if it is good is an excellent start. Then work to make it better every time. Not starting will not help you. To get better, you can video your movements and keep testing or find a local qualified coach to help determine what is best for YOUR body; not what looks picture perfect. The goal is better, not initial perfection.
9) I still love the TRX
Very fun to use and easy to travel with too!
10) You should train for falling and ill movements
I believe that if you may fall in life (which is all of us), you need to train for falling. Special thanks to Frankie for pointing this out and covering it in the Movement Certification.
Great discuss on this at Charlie Weingrofts blog.
11) Joint mobility is just one movement
Joint mobility,while it can have its place and does work, is only a handful of movement the human body can do. Plus, we learn by performing large (gross) movements first and then work to refine them over time. Why would we start with the smallest movements FIRST?
If you want to learn how to squat, I want to see you friggin squat first! I don’t give a crap at that point about your ankle dorsiflexion or the ability of you to active control your pinky finger. I don’t care. If I can’t correct your squat movement, I will then start to go to more fine and fin movements. I may end up with ankle work or even thumb mobility work, but I would not START there.
You must read this post on Joint Mobility from Frankie below. It is a MUST read.
I have changed how I look at things this year once again. Here are the top things I learned in 2009 below. Can you see how I do things differently now? If so, place a comment below
13) B-Stance Deadlifts are one of the most underrated versions
If you have a weakness in one leg (most of use do) and you want to bring up your deadlift, doing a B-Stance deadlift where once foot is closer to the bar than the other (think of a very mild or shallow lunge where one leg is about 4 inches back from the bar in an asymmetric stance). Check it out at
I am still not happy with modern shoes and we would all be better off training in a pair of Vibrams, flat shoes, or no shoes at all.
15) Joint Pain
I love GLC 2000 for joint issues. I have been using it for several months now and it is great. Others that recommended it to have tried it love it too. I have tried similar supplements like it in the past and they did nothing for me.
While I don’t have many joint issues, they did get a bit achy after many weeks of increased volume. I even tried to push it a bit more and still had no issues. I stopped taking it and within a few days to weeks, they got a bit touchy again.
GLC 2000 has a very high form of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, which are natural substances found in and around the cells of cartilage (joints). Glucosamine is an amino sugar that the body produces and distributes in cartilage and other connective tissue, and chondroitin sulfate is a complex carbohydrate that helps cartilage retain water.
I have some other theories that this should help connective tissue health, which then should help maximal strength.
If you go to the link below, you can pick up 2 for the price of 1 from Carl at Super Human Radio (which you MUST listen to).
There are only 115 available copies, -so I can’t promise how long they will be around. I would be surprised if there are any left by this Sat afternoon. Don’t send me hate mail if you miss out.
Are you stuck at a plateau in your training?
Are you bored to tears with your current exercise program?
You have an exercise program, right ? (Check, readers of this blog know what is going on, so I don’t need to worry about that one)
The Grip & Rip 2.1 DVD is focused solely on how to use biofeedback testing much better results and break a PR every time you enter the gym.
Part 2 – Fat Loss & Physique Transformation (29 Minutes)
Part 3 – Secrets of The Deadlift (31 Minutes)
Part 4 – The Secrets Of Pressing (34 Minutes)
Part 5 – The Truth About Grip Training (13 Minutes)
That’s almost 3 hours of content. No ads for crazy abstract supplements, just killer content to allow you to reach your goals.
Yes, I do make some money from selling this DVD, but I would never sell you anything that I have not used and believe in 100%.
My integrity has no price.
What is NEW for Grip n Rip 2.1?
The following is just the NEW stuff included in Grip n Rip 2.1 I will have a complete list of everything in the DVD set very soon.
An all new Grippers section where you’ll learn:
* Why the “SET” is vital to gripper domination, ignore this and you will always suck at grippers.
* The easy way to position the gripper for maximum strength gains and forearm size increases.
* How to make an easy gripper harder and get more use out of it, so simple you will slap yourself for not thinking of this first
* And more.
An all new Pull-Up section which includes:
* Brad’s little-known super simple progression to your first one-arm pull-up.
* How to take your your pull-up strength to a level you never thought possible.
* A simple tip to move you right along on that first pull-up.
* And more.
A completey new quick start section where you can learn:
* EXACTLY how to choose the exercises that will benefit YOUR body the most THAT day.
* EXACTLY how to select the load that YOU will respond to. This might shock you when you try it.
* EXACTLY how to determine how many reps to do per set.
What is NEW for Grip n Rip 2.1?
The following is just the NEW stuff included in Grip n Rip 2.1 I will have a complete list of everything in the DVD set very soon.
An all new Grippers section where you’ll learn:
* Why the “SET” is vital to gripper domination, ignore this and you will always suck at grippers.
* The easy way to position the gripper for maximum strength gains and forearm size increases.
* How to make an easy gripper harder and get more use out of it, so simple you will slap yourself for not thinking of this first
* And more.
An all new Pull-Up section which includes:
* Brad’s little-known super simple progression to your first one-arm pull-up.
* How to take your your pull-up strength to a level you never thought possible.
* A simple tip to move you right along on that first pull-up.
* And more.
A completey new quick start section where you can learn:
* EXACTLY how to choose the exercises that will benefit YOUR body the most THAT day.
* EXACTLY how to select the load that YOU will respond to. This might shock you when you try it.
* EXACTLY how to determine how many reps to do per set.
Special Offer
NOTE: the bonuses below were only for the first launch and are out right now
If you order the Grip-Rip DVD from this site, you will also get these special bonuses
Adam T Glass
Bonus #1
I was able to pull Adam T Glass away from his dark hole in North Dakota for a very special conference call. Adam and I will spend 1 hour answering all your questions that you had about the program. Adam provided some amazing information that you can use right away to jump start your progress.
Keep in mind that for 1 hour of both our times, it will cost you $250, but it will be free if you act now!
Special Report – Advanced Recovery Techniques E-Book by Sean Casey
I twisted the arm of my buddy Sean Casey to spill the beans on some advanced recovery techniques. Sean is also a man of research, so he dug deep into the research to produce this 4 part ebook that clocks in at over 40 pages and very well referenced! This report took Sean hours to complete and you will be very impressed with the depth he goes into here. This will give you an amazing place to start testing, based on the most current research to date! Grip n Rip DVD
Bonus #3
Passing the Russian Kettlebell Certification Template
I pulled this one out of the vault and it is the EXACT template I used to walk an athlete through the steps to pass the RKC 3 day weekend this year. This is not some old program I just blew the dust off and it has been tested and verified.
For those that are not interested in taking the RKC any time soon, this is a great way to drop some fat!
It details where to start your testing, what to focus on and guides you along the way.
Think of this as training wheels for when you are learning to ride a bike. It gets you up and running very fast!
Another bonus that will be revealed tomorrow, but I know you are going to love it!
Frankie Faires
Free Bonus #5 For Everyone! No Purchase Needed, Get It NOW!
Since I am in a giving mood, I am giving you a full audio interview that I did with Frankie Faires, the creator of the Biofeedback System used in Grip & Rip.
The call is below and you do NOT need to buy anything! Totally free. Just scroll to the bottom for the player or click HERE.
I consider Frankie in the smartest guy I know. I have been able to pick his brain for years now over many many multi hour conversations and it has always been mind blowing. Each time I learned something new. Frankie has an extensive background in many of the popular fitness systems today in addition to being a MMA teacher in Dallas, TX
WARNING
If you are easily offended by “off color” language, you have been warned. Don’t listen to it around young kids or be ready to put “ear muffs” on them. The information is well worth your time though, I guarantee it. The one and only Adam T Glass stops in too!In this free call you will learn
What is pain?
The effect of pain and performance
Why bother testing?
Why you should NEVER listen to the gurus. EVER!
Training for basketball and any skill
More testimonials, honestly, I did NOT script these at all. Dean calls in from New Zealand and explains how he took an athlete that had did not run at all really without pain, and is now the fastest guy on sand in all of New Zealand in 6 months!
And much much more
Summary
Only 115 copies available. Act as soon as they open up Friday May 21 at noon Central time!
Bonus #1 Conference call with Adam and Myself, worth $250
Bonus #2 – Advanced Recovery Techniques Ebook by Sean Casey
Bonus #3 – RKC/ Fat Loss Template
Bonus #4 – Top Secret Bonus (revealed on Friday)
NOTE: Bonuses are currently out since this was only for the launch
Any comments on this, let me know below! The bonuses are ONLY available if you purchase the Grip n Rip DVD at this site! They will be sent to you on Monday or sooner as I need to verify all the orders first. They will be sent to you automatically by email.
The Perfect PushUp Biofeedback Style and Grip n Rip 2.1 DVD Set Update
Bombardier Wells Circa 1915
If you go to most gyms you will see some horrible looking push ups. I mean bad.
Here is what you will typically see
1) The Floor Humper
The athlete will have their butt way too far down, with a crazy bend in their back and it looks like they are humping the floor as they crank out horrible partial reps.
2) The Sky High Butt
Their butt will be super high in the air and their body almost looks like a V as they stick their neck out to reach the floor and then back up.
3) Partial Rep King
The one goes hand in hand with “invisible chest syndrome” where they think their chest is so massive that it must be getting close to the floor, so they only need to go down about 2-3 inches. The reality is they are doing massive amounts of horrible partial reps.
The Fix Is In
Now I know none of you are doing the above, but I want to arm you with some simple tips and tricks to help anyone in the gym.
Why Push Ups?
Pushups are a great exercise for multiple reasons
1) You can do them anywhere
I have literally done push ups in hotel rooms, when traveling on kiteboard and business trips to WA, La Ventana and Puerto Vallarta Mexico, to even a weekend trip up north, airports and pretty much anywhere.
2) You can do higher reps In a recent post, Dr. Lowery talked about how a load as low was 30% 1 rep max done for higher reps can be a great trigger for muscle hypertrophy (read, a bigger chest). Even if you are a big bench presser, pushups may just be the ticket for some new muscle and it is a new stimulus if you have not done them in some time.
3) Scapular movement
When you are doing a bench press, your scapula (shoulder blades) don’t move much. When you do a push up, the scaps move much more and this is a good thing for most. Many people that I have worked with could not bench press without pain, but could do push ups pain free. The scapula should move quite a bit in a normal functioning shoulder, so getting them to move again is a good idea.
How To Do a Perfect Push Up Using Biofeedback Video
Pushup Variations: With Bands, Chains and More!
TRX Suspension Trainer for Pushups (I love the TRX)
Action Time
Try is out now and let me know how it goes. The tip of putting your feet against the wall I got from Dr. Cobb.
More Biofeedback Information
Much much more information on biofeedback is covered in the Grip and Rip 2.1 DVD set. This will be the last fitness product you will ever buy for exercise program design. It will show you how to set a PR (personal record) in the gym EVERY time!
Yes, perpetual progress is entirely possible. I’ve been doing it for a long time now and the clients I have worked with have been setting PRs every time for either density, volume or intensity (amount of weight lifted).
The DVD set goes on sale early this Friday AM (May 21, 2010) and based on the questions I’ve been getting and the great feedback from Grip n Rip 2.0, I won’t expect the 115 copies to last long at all.
I would be surprised if they last much past the first 24 hours to be honest.
I will have a post up very soon with all the sweet bonuses I will be giving you when you pick up your copy through my site. Yes, I do make a few bucks off selling them, but it is an amazing product that I recommend you pick up (and I don’t recommend many products).
Those who attended the last Grip n Rip workshop paid $500 to go and everyone one of them said it was money very well spent.
What is NEW for Grip & Rip 2.1
The following is just the NEW stuff included in Grip n Rip 2.1 I will have a complete list of everything in the DVD set very soon.
An all new Grippers section where you’ll learn:
* Why the “SET” is vital to gripper domination, ignore this and you will always suck at grippers.
* The easy way to position the gripper for maximum strength gains and forearm size increases.
* How to make an easy gripper harder and get more use out of it, so simple you will slap yourself for not thinking of this first
* And more.
An all new Pull-Up section which includes:
* Brad’s little-known super simple progression to your first one-arm pull-up.
* How to take your your pull-up strength to a level you never thought possible.
* A simple tip to move you right along on that first pull-up.
* And more.
A completey new quick start section where you can learn:
* EXACTLY how to choose the exercises that will benefit YOUR body the most THAT day.
* EXACTLY how to select the load that YOU will respond to. This might shock you when you try it.
* EXACTLY how to determine how many reps to do per set.
Comments
Let me know what you think! I want to hear about all your upcoming push-up PRs! If you have not signed up at Grip n Rip and viewed the free video, so so now by clicking here.
Grip and Rip 2.1 Coming Soon and Clocks and Clouds of the Fitness World
Grip and Rip 2.1 will be released this coming Friday, May 21, 2010
If you missed it last time, now is the time. Adam has gone back and added even more material since the Movement is always getting better. Yes, the price will be higher too, but this will make all your other exercise program designs obsolete. It will be well worth the high cost.
In the conference call I did with Frank who has been using the Grip n Rip protocol for several months now with great success, he stopped buying any new fitness products! He had almost 70 of them before Grip and Rip!
We have even spotted those that bought Grip n Rip 2.0 selling their fitness products, books and DVDs on ebay since they “did not need them anymore” Insane, I know.
Stay tuned here and make sure you are on my newsletter list (if not, sign up here) to be the first to be able to get it once the page is live this coming Friday.
I will have some amazing bonuses again for those that purchase from my site, but you will have to purchase it from this site only. I want to do everything I can to get this in as many hands as possible. True, I do make money off it, but this is the only protocol that I use now with myself and the athletes I work with currently. I can’t think of using anything else at this point.
Clouds and Clocks
Karl Popper once divided the world into two catagories: clocks and clouds.
Clocks are neat, orderly systems that can be solved through reduction; clouds are an epistemic mess “highly irregular, disorderly, and more or less unpredictable” (reference Wired magazine 18.05)
I propose that exercise physiology is much more of a cloud. As I’ve stated in one of my very first posts here almost 3 years ago (The Body as a Black Box and Mechanical Properties of Tissue) , physiology is associated with every “bad” engineering word – anisotropic, nonlinear, complex, etc.
How Does This Help?
In the Grip and Rip 2.1 DVDs, Adam goes over how to test your exercises, rest periods, weights, everything in your training program.
The human body is sooooo complex and cloud-like, that trying to figure everything out is an adventure in failure. Trust me on this. I’ve spent years just trying to figure out one very small aspect of exercise. Even a “simple” question like “Why do you stop a certain exercise?” involves multiple theories upon theories, but the end result is still the same –at some point you stopped the exercise.
A way around this it so to test it and then apply the results.
I know Adam gets these emails like I do too stating that the protocol from Grip n Rip is working great, they have less pain, weights are way up, but they can’t figure out why certain exercises are better than others.
Don’t worry about it for now, act first, get the result and then later try to figure out why.
Simple In and Out
If you test it, you can reduce all the complexities of the human body to a simple input and output.
I just bought a droid phone (thanks to the recommendation of the wonderful readers here) and it does all sorts of really crazy stuff like talking navigation, can find the nearest coffee shop and probably tons of other stuff I have not figured out yet. Adam says it can pilot underwater submarines too.
The input into the phone is very simple though –I can even speak to it “navigate to Caribou coffee, White Bear Lake, Minnesota” and boom, directions pop up and one button later it is talking to me turn by turn.
Tons of stuff going on in the background, but the input and output are simple.
Why should exercise by any different?
Test, do an exercise, retest. Better or worse? If better, awesome. If worse, try again.
It can be that simple. Really, it can be. If you are ready, head on over to the Grip n Rip page and make sure you are signed up today.
Heretics in the High Country: Muscle Growth (Hypertrophy) Research from Dr. Lonnie Lowery
Dr Lonnie Lowery and Me
One of the great things I love about my job is that I get to talk to really smart people. One of those uber bright guys is Dr. Lonnie Lowery. Not only is Lonnie a PhD and an RD, he has spent a lot of time under the bar in the gym too.
Below is a great article on some brand new research on how to get bigger muscles (muscle hypertrophy), effects of cortisol, fat burning drugs, and set new personal records in the gym.
Be sure to check out the bio below and Dr. Lowery and friends on Iron Radio. It is an awesome podcast that you will love.
Take it away Dr. Lowery
Heretics in the High Country: Muscle Growth (Hypertrophy) Research from Dr. Lonnie Lowery
Not all scientific conferences are of interest to strength athletes. Sometimes I find myself wading through oceans of obscure biochemistry or data with unsure applicability. Sometimes the topic matter veers too far into food and nutrition, or some clinical treatment, with no immediately apparent implications for those who are laser-focused on bigger guns or a broad back. But when I go to ski country in Barrie, Ontario in late January each year, I expect cutting edge science and an element of controversy that is sure to intrigue most bodybuilders. This year I saw some early data that seemed absolutely heretical; if the physiology and nutrition labs up there weren’t absolutely world class, I wouldn’t even have sat through some of the lectures. Some of the data and audience discussion flatly flew in the face of what many of us have long-accepted.
As a preview, here are some of the topics:
· Cortisol: friend or foe to body fat?
· New insight into satellite cells and muscle size
· The optimal number of sets beyond which one is wasting time
· The pros and cons of clenbuterol
· Why women are tougher than men
· Stacking stimulant drugs for maximal performance and alertness
· The importance of insulin compared to leucine in muscle gain
· The single best training intensity for muscle hypertrophy
If you’re interested, read on for a brief synopsis of some of the outside-of-the-box thinking I saw and what it might mean to scientific training recommendations in coming years. Of course, not every little study warrants an immediate change in your training or eating regime; nonetheless, I‘ll make some speculative or clarifying comments after each section as food for thought. Whether or not a particular study is revolutionary or game changing, having new knowledge is always good in my opinion.
Cortisol: friend or foe to body fat?
Dr Lowery and the Mighty Fortress
Glucocorticoids, as stress hormones, have long been known to increase lipolysis (fat breakdown and mobilization) and yet cause fat deposition on the torso. This study helped explain this seeming contradiction. It revealed how basal concentrations of corticosterone (think “rat cortisol”) enhance certain lipolytic enzymes in adipose tissue (which sounds good for leanness) but high concentrations induce fat cell hyperplasia (multiplication) over time. If the same holds for humans – and it probably does (consider the appearance of Cushing‘s Syndrome patients) – I personally don’t want high levels of stress causing new fat cells to slowly start appearing across my torso. Further, these researchers suggested that a high-fat diet (they weren’t specific about which type of fat) doubled corticosterone in rats. To me, this offers some insight into why stressed-out, fast food-swilling Americans (and Canadians) are sporting giant bellies and uni-pecs.
What this could mean to you: We now have even more understanding of why cortisol in excess (which is elevated by emotional stress, coffee, potentially diets high in total fat, and overtraining) is not the friend of the physique athlete. Keep in mind that the data above are from rats, not humans, but that this is indeed a valid model that offers solid information which is probably relevant to humans. It looks as though cortisol – although necessary at modest concentrations – could lead to more detriment than simply degrading muscle tissue or temporarily storing fat in certain anatomical regions; it could literally multiply one’s number of fat cells making future dieting attempts harder.
New insight into satellite cells and muscle size
Dr Lowery teaching a Staley’s Seminar 2008
Exercise,especially eccentric lifting (“negatives”) not only causes muscle soreness but is also great at activating satellite cells. Among other things, these are cells that lie among the mature muscle fibers and “wake up” to donate their nuclei to help maintain a larger muscle fiber. They can also fuse together themselves into a new entity. This research group was showing a new lab technique that can quickly count how many muscle building satellite cells get activated in response to a new anabolic stimulus. In a matter of hours this automation will offer valid results, eliminating the weeks and weeks of forcing a hapless grad student to physically count stained muscle samples under a microscope.
What this could mean to you: New training techniques can now be tested for this aspect of hypertrophy (increasing muscle cell number or muscle cell “permanent size” in a sense) at a realistic pace. This could mean less speculation and more rapid progress in the science of muscle gains. Cool.
The optimal number of sets beyond which one is wasting time
Dr Lowery looking very professosorial
A graduate student from Stu Phillips’ noteworthy lab shared insider data that three sets appears to maximize the protein synthetic response in a muscle. Earlier work from a partner lab showed that six sets were no better than three and these grad students were taking it a step further: looking at three sets versus one. Using a 70% of one-rep max (moderately heavy weight) protocol, combined with 20g whey protein immediately post-exercise, their data was such that significant elevations in fractional synthetic rate (read “anabolism”) was possible at 5 hours post-exercise from either three sets or one set, but that only the three set protocol still had anabolism kicking at 29 hours post-exercise. Note that although they’re looking at just synthesis here and not breakdown, it is muscle protein synthesis that’s largely responsible for net gains post-workout.
What this could mean to you: If you are the kind of person who performs many many sets for each muscle group in the gym, it might be worth planning certain mesocycles to purposefully cut back on the total number of sets you do, perhaps down to just three per muscle group. This is strictly from a protein synthetic (muscle size) perspective. This is not to say that extra sets might not be good for overall leanness of other benefits. Also note that they used one particular, common intensity level (70% of max) and other intensity levels may alter the picture to some extent. I think this study does make one wonder how much time he or she might be wasting in the gym if strict bodybuilding (size gains) are the immediate goal.
The pros and cons of clenbuterol
Yes, there was actually a study on the usually taboo bodybuilding drug clenbuterol – in rodents. The inhumanly large doses often given in animal studies were again present here: 30mg per liter of drinking water. The study revealed a decrease in mitochondrial (aerobic) function, including less fat oxidation (“burning”). There was also a rise in glycolysis (carb breakdown) capability. It was all suggestive of a switch toward a faster muscle fiber type. What struck me during this session was a comment from the audience (to paraphrase): “So, this stuff is bad. If it is given clinically to patients, we need to warn them of the aerobic declines and risk of fatigue.” After witnessing hard data on increased muscle mass and a significant drop in body fat, the main conclusion from this attendee was “so this stuff is bad”? Maybe I’m biased toward bodybuilding but I for one saw a few pros among the cons.
What this could mean to you: If you are someone who has used clenbuterol or are considering it, this study suggests that you may shift toward a faster, more carb-focused muscle fiber type, possibly meaning less aerobic (endurance) capacity. Of course, this is an arena where self-administering bodybuilders and even Hollywood celebrities probably know more on a practical level than do the cautious scientists: At tolerable microgram (not milligram) doses, body fat can indeed decrease dramatically (for gross calorie expenditure reasons) and strength can climb significantly. (Sheer muscle mass is not altered very much at human-tolerated doses.) In any case, I sure hope researchers start giving clenbuterol a closer look in humans before any stigma creates a bandwagon of negativity that‘ll keep its possibilities in the dark forever.
Why women are tougher than men
Many readers know that women exhibit less post-exercise muscle damage than men. Estrogen is a big part of this. These researchers went further, showing data that exercised women also exhibit less fatigue during recovery days than men do – at least when it comes to “lighter intensity“ (lower frequency) testing. The study had an almost comical title: “The effects of sex on human skeletal muscle fatigability” and used repeated bouts of electrically-stimulated isometric knee extension exercise as the initial stressor. They concluded: “These results suggest that females are more fatigue resistant than males and are able to recover force at an accelerated rate following an acute bout of intermittent isometric exercise.” Wow.
What this could mean to you: If you’re a woman, this talk provided evidence that not only do you resist muscle damage better than guys but in some respects, you outperform them. I’ve often wondered why we don’t see a sport designed around less intense but more punishing, ongoing demands. It looks like women would dominate such an event.
Stacking stimulant drugs for maximal performance and alertness
An ironically calm student was sharing a proposal to stack caffeine (in an extra strength military gum) with a drug called modafinil to max-out alertness and performance among emergency workers and/or military personnel. Earlier work from his mentor suggested 22% increased time to exhaustion with modafinil and other data suggest around 5-30% improvements on cognitive tests of memory, reaction time, etc. after sleep deprivation. We all know caffeine has similarly energizing effects. The researchers weren’t very concerned that a dose of caffeine typically peaks at 60 min. (entry into blood is fast, starting in about 5-15 min.) while modafinil doesn’t peak until 120 minutes; both drugs have lingering improvements for a few hours.
What this could mean to you: Although at the proposal stage, this talk offered information on the pharmacokinetics (onset of action, blood levels over time) of these stimulant drugs and how they might “stack“ (additive effects). I may live under a rock, but I haven’t heard much about modafinil before. It’s cognitive and physical performance benefits are intriguing. Stay tuned for future results.
The importance of insulin compared to leucine in muscle gain
Many of us know that insulin and the amino acid leucine both stimulate the protein synthetic “mTOR pathway” in skeletal muscle. This group wants to see just how crucial the insulin aspect really is. They compared the anabolic effects of leucine in mice with and without pancreases (surgical removal in half of the animals). What happened? The normal pancreas-sporting (and thus insulin-capable) animals responded as expected to leucine, with a full anabolic response. The muscles of the insulin-lacking critters were not uniform in their ability to respond to leucine, however. It looks like different muscle groups (probably due to slow- versus fast-twitch fiber differences) react differently to leucine when insulin isn‘t around. Some can respond (at least on some level) and others cannot. Particular aspects of the mTOR pathway responded well in slow twitch muscle fibers but not in fast twitch fibers. Of course, fast twitch (and moderately fast-twitch) fibers are what strength athletes typically value for size and strength, so this suggests insulin remains an important part of the picture for us.
What this could mean to you: If you’re an endurance athlete or just interested in maintaining slow-twitch muscle fibers, leucine in a fasted state seems like an effective strategy for you. Of course it’s very preliminary (i.e. new research) but it will be interesting to see if endurance guys or those trying to hold on to endurance muscle fibers can get away with leucine-only meals at otherwise unfed times of the day. (I realize some dieting bodybuilders already try this.) If you‘re all about fast twitch muscle fibers, however, it currently looks as though regular meals throughout the day maintain insulin levels that help leucine induce fast-twitch-specific growth. A final caveat: even in a fasted state you have basal (“single digit”) concentrations of insulin and not essentially zero insulin as in the pancreas-free animals; it’s an experimental model trying to tease apart mechanisms. I for one am very interested in how important leucine is versus insulin. Perhaps one day we’ll see a consensus that humans can get away with leucine-only meals during periods of fasting.
The single best training intensity for muscle hypertrophy
This presentation from Nick Burd in Stu Phillips’ impressive lab at McMaster University was almost blasphemous. Here’s the title: “Low intensity-high volume resistance exercise promotes greater anabolic signaling and myofibrillar protein synthesis versus traditional and work-matched resistance exercise paradigms”. Come again? I’m going to get bigger with light weights? It appears so, based solely on protein synthesis data. These guys compared heavy, 90% of one-rep max lifting (subjects failed at five reps) with a work-matched set at just 30% of one-rep max (subjects were stopped at 14 reps) and finally a set to failure with 30% of one-rep max (subjects failed at 23 reps). Although protein synthesis was up at four hours-post exercise in all groups, muscle protein synthesis was still elevated at 24-hours only in the 30% to failure group. Longer periods of lingering heightened protein synthesis sound good to me.
What this could mean to you: You may benefit from (at least considering) periods of the year in which you cycle-in light, 30% of max lifting exclusively to max-out muscle size. This may be doubly true if you’re an intensity hound like me and haven’t done a set over 8 reps in ages. I was so intrigued by the protein synthesis data and with subsequent talks with Nick on www.IronRadio.org, I’m trying a “two week light (30%) / two week heavy (85-90%)” type of periodization. (A recent and timely snowboarding accident sort of forced me away from heavy lifts for a couple weeks anyway.)
I’m still trying to get my head around barbell curls with an empty Olympic bar and benching with 95-135. I’ve got to admit, this one is tough to swallow but a combined effort from universities like McMaster and Nottingham has me suspending my disbelief until their planned training study is completed. It’s then that we’ll know with more certainty whether the very light, roughly 23-rep per set protocol will be as effective or even more effective than the heavy training for mass gains.
Dr. Lonnie Lowery is a former regionally-competitive bodybuilder, exercise physiologist and nutrition professor who travels to scientific conferences often, looking for new data and new ideas that may progress the field of bodybuilding and sports nutrition. He can be reached and listened-to by way of www.IronRadio.org.
Thanks again Dr. Lowery!
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