If you want to add some size, strength and a bit of conditioning too in little time, I have a “treat” for you.
This will also activate your “core” like crazy, requires little technique and it pretty straight forward.
As shown in the video above, you will do a farmers walk (walk while holding weight), but you will hold it in the crook of your elbows, also known as a “Zercher.”
You may have heard of the Zercher Squat which was credited to strongman Ed Zercher (1902 – 1995).
This is simply walking with weight in the zercher position.
Sounds easy right? ha!
Seriously, you have to try this out to really get it.
Let me know what you think by placing a comment below.
When you are doing them you will probably not like me and curse Ed Zercher, but the gains will be worth it as it will work virtually every muscle in your body at once.
Rock on Mike T Nelson
PS
If you missed the video, be sure to check out the progressions I provide for you also.
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.
a HUGE thanks to all that picked up the webinars from the sale. The sale is down now and they are back in the vault. Thanks to all that picked them up as I really really appreciate it!! The feedback so far has been great. Thanks again!!
Off to Dallas, TX
Jodie and I are off in a few hours (I miss sleep) to Dallas TX since she has a Mary Kay conference and I am going to bug my good friend Craig Keaton at The Movement Dallas and Frankie during the day.
You can also find me at the local coffee shop drinking tons of dark goodness cranking on a book chapter for an upcoming academic book all about protein which is due very very soon. I love reading about protein and have done work in the lab related to metabolic “stuff” and exercise, so it is kind of fun. I don’t particularly enjoy the whole formal writing process, but just feel totally honored I was asked to help with one of the chapters. More info later once it is public.
Minnesota NSCA
Had a blast at the MN NSCA regional meeting today too. Great stuff and awesome talking to many old friends and making a few new ones too.
Vit D part 2
Coming up soon and more stuff from the ISSN trip, videos and perhaps some info from my time in Dallas. I predict some epic chats with Craig and Frankie about metabolic madness. Maybe the professor will even show up.
What do you think about this? The last time I put this up I got some people that were not happy with me at all. They stated that I was promoting unsafe lifting. Untrue. You should work within your limits, but you need to see what is possible!
Weight Training Better for Flexiblity than Static Stretching? Yes!
By now, you all know my no love for static stretching. I have not done any static stretching for a long time now and I feel better and move better than ever before. Heck, I even hit my highest bodyweight ever at 225 lbs this past Sunday. While my body composition is not where I want it to be long term (not horrible at 16%, but higher than I like), I know I can drop 5 lbs of fat easily in the next 4 weeks. It took me months to slowly build up that weight and body composition started to drop off at the end, so I knew it was time to cut back.
Ok, back on track ot the topic at hand!
Research Says…..
While this study is not published yet, and was presented recently at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting, it is very interesting! Too bad I did not make the ACSM meeting this year, but I hope to make it next year as it is always a blast the previous 2 years. I need to thank my buddy Bret Contreras “The Glute Guy” for pointing out this study.
“Our results suggest that full-range resistance training regimens can improve flexibility as well as, or perhaps better than, typical static stretching regimens,” says James R. Whitehead, EdD, of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.
The old dogma that strength training (weight lifting) will make you “muscle bound” and is bad for sports, has to be dead by now. Anyone seen a professional gymnast?
“Resistance training produced greater improvements in flexibility in some cases, while also improving strength,” Whitehead says.
The preliminary study was small and the findings need to be replicated in larger numbers of people, he says.
“But if they hold up with replication, people really don’t have to be worried about doing stretch exercises whenever they’re doing resistance exercises,” Whitehead says.
The basis of the Gym Movements Biofeedback (as featured on the Grip n Rip DVD) is that good weight training makes your WHOLE body better. This includes range of motion. Do a movement that your body likes, and your range of motion (ROM) will increase.
Do one that is not the best for your body today, and ROM will decrease. This gives you immediate feedback to make the best choice with every exercise. You are assured to be moving in the right direction.
Most can not take a completely linear approach to their goals.
If they want to bench more, they can not bench heavy every day. One day may be more volume, the next more density (volume/ time) and the next is 2 board press, then inverted rows (working the opposite muscle groups). Biofeedback (ala Gym Movements) allows you to test which direction is best on THAT day at THAT time for YOUR body.
Awesome that we have some evidence starting to show based on research (although preliminary) that this is correct.
If I could do only one thing to optimize an athlete’s performance, I would optimize the stimulus (via weight training) first and foremost.
Comments
Let me hear ‘em! What do you think? What has been working for you?
For the long time readers of this blog, you will know I am not a fan of static stretching. While it will not kill you or make your patella fly across the room and knock someone out, I still put it at the bottom of my list of things to try.
Carson at Boddicker Performance had a great video awhile back about static stretching that got me thinking again about it.
I did a MS in Mechanical Engineering, so I am familiar with the whole mechanical properties and geek speak that goes with it as most of my classes were in biomechanics and solid mechanics. Solid mechanics is the advance study of how crap breaks. I do confess that I can’t remember all the little details (ok, most of the details) from my Advanced Mathematical Theory of Plasticity class other than it made my life hell at the time.
Why No Love For Static Stretching?
My biggest concerns are
1) Push Into the Stretch
Somebody pushing an athlete into a stretch with no regards for the response from their body (again, not saying the viewers here are doing that, just in general) is a very bad idea. I see videos of this all time and I have to shake my head about the risk/reward of doing it.
This just seems like a bad idea
I am sure there are probably some cases where it helps, but I don’t think the average trainer is skilled enough to do it and there are much much better ways to get athletes to move better. Pushing their limbs into an end range of motion and holding them there for a magical 5 count seems nuts.
2) What are you really teaching the body by stretching?
I believe you are teaching it weakness at an end range of motion.
Take any limb, push it to an end range of motion and hold it there until it gets “weaker” (yes I understand the differences in stiffness, vs flexibility etc).
I don’t want my athletes (nor myself) to be WEAK at END ROM.
3) Static stretching before an event reduces power output.
We don’t need more studies on this (see references at the end), but I see more and more studies on this all the time. Enough with the friggin studies, go find some better questions to ask.
Yes I know waiting or a dynamic mobility routine will change this, but if it decreased power and something else made them better, why would we waste time on static stretching?
4) Stillness = Rigid tissue
Thanks to Frankie for this one. Holding a stretch is stillness (no movement) at an end range of motion = more rigid tissue.
The body will adapt by increased the rigidity (stiffness) of the tissue. This is not a good idea. Scar tissue is more rigid and is a good work around, but not as good as the original tissue.
Everyone agrees that the hip flexors and especially the psoas are “short” and tight now in most athletes. How did they get that way? Probably from all that sitting on your butt you are doing (myself included in that one too).
It is just an adaptation to a shortened position (the hip flexors are shorter in a seated position). The body is ALWAYS adapting.
So why is it such a stretch (hahahaha, I make bad joke) to think that the body will not adapt to an end position of a static stretch? I agree you may “lengthen” the tissue a bit, but at what cost? What tissue properties have you altered?
Movement = more flexible “happy” tissue
Making flexibly tissue rigid is a very bad idea.
Big Can o’ Worms Opened Up- Bonus Item!
Isometrics are not much better either.
Long plank holds are teaching tissue to be rigid. Yes I understand all the studies that look at this, but it is also not very specific. When does an athlete ever stay in a plank position for 60 seconds at a time in a game? Hmmmm, how about never.
I understand that it is hard for many athletes to do long plank holds and they may shake like a leaf in a tornado and there is evidence that it may be a SCREEN for low back pain (reference McGill), but I don’t think athlete should be TRAINING this way.
I doubt a long plank hold will do crap for a fast volleyball spike in regards to core force transfer or a baseball player hitting a home run.
Low load, long duration movement has a very low chance of positively transferring to a very high output, short, explosive movement (hitting a baseball, volleyball serve/spike, etc)
We want the CORRECT tissue for the CORRECT job.
So If You Don’t Use Static Stretching, What Do You Use?
As I pointed out in this post on corrective exercise, I actually use exercise to correct issues. Go figure. But I don’t use tons of “corrective exercise work”
I have the athlete test the exercise (as shown in the Grip n Rip DVD) via range of motion and if it is good, the athlete is moving in the right direction. The exercise is then showing a positive adaptation (instead of a negative one where range of motion decreases). Simple.
Sometimes I will use some joint mobility work, but only when needed. I only get as fine as needed and start with gross movements first based on this post on Purposeful Joint Mobility
Correct exercise under load is a powerful stimulus.
Yikes, off my soap box I go.
Comments
What do you think? Do you use static stretching? Has it helped? What have you found that works?
If you want to make the best progress of your life just like over 100 other people, pick up a copy of Grip n Rip today!
REFERENCES on static stretching
1. Avela J., H. Kyrolainen, P. V. Komi. Altered reflex sensitivity after repeated and prolonged passive muscle stretching. J Appl Physiol. 86(4):1283-1291, 1999.
2. Behm D. G., D. C. Button, J. C. Butt. Factors affecting force loss with prolonged stretching. Can J Appl Physiol. 26(3):261-272, 2001.
5. Church J. B., M. S. Wiggins, F. M. Moode, R. Crist. Effect of warm-up and flexibility treatments on vertical jump performance. J Strength Cond Res. 15(3):332-336, 2001.
9. Cornwell A., A. G. Nelson, B. Sidaway. Acute effects of stretching on the neuromechanical properties of the triceps surae muscle complex. Eur J Appl Physiol. 86(5):428-434, 2002.
10. Cramer J. T., T. J. Housh, G. O. Johnson, J. M. Miller, J. W. Coburn, T. W. Beck. Acute effects of static stretching on peak torque in women. J Strength Cond Res. 18(2):236-241, 2004.
11. Cramer J. T., T. J. Housh, J. P. Weir, G. O. Johnson, J. W. Coburn, T. W. Beck. The acute effects of static stretching on peak torque, mean power output, electromyography, and mechanomyography. Eur J Appl Physiol. 93(5-6):530-539, 2005.
13. Evetovich T. K., N. J. Nauman, D. S. Conley, J. B. Todd. Effect of static stretching of the biceps brachii on torque, electromyography, and mechanomyography during concentric isokinetic muscle actions. J Strength Cond Res. 17(3):484-488, 2003.
14. Faigenbaum A. D., M. Bellucci, A. Bernieri, B. Bakker, K. Hoorens. Acute effects of different warm-up protocols on fitness performance in children. J Strength Cond Res. 19(2):376-381, 2005.
15. Fletcher I. M., R. Anness. The acute effects of combined static and dynamic stretch protocols on fifty-meter sprint performance in track-and-field athletes. J Strength Cond Res. 21(3):784-787, 2007.
16. Fletcher I. M., B. Jones. The effect of different warm-up stretch protocols on 20 meter sprint performance in trained rugby union players. J Strength Cond Res. 18(4):885-888, 2004.
17. Fowles J. R., D. G. Sale, J. D. MacDougall. Reduced strength after passive stretch of the human plantarflexors. J Appl Physiol. 89(3):1179-1188, 2000.
21. Knudson D., K. Bennett, R. Corn, D. Leick, C. Smith. Acute effects of stretching are not evident in the kinematics of the vertical jump. J Strength Cond Res. 15(1):98-101, 2001.
27. Marek S. M., J. T. Cramer, A. L. Fincher, et al. Acute Effects of Static and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Stretching on Muscle Strength and Power Output. J Athl Train. 40(2):94-103, 2005.
30. Nelson A. G., N. M. Driscoll, D. K. Landin, M. A. Young, I. C. Schexnayder. Acute effects of passive muscle stretching on sprint performance. J Sports Sci. 23(5):449-454, 2005.
31. Nelson A. G., I. K. Guillory, C. Cornwell, J. Kokkonen. Inhibition of maximal voluntary isokinetic torque production following stretching is velocity-specific. J Strength Cond Res. 15(2):241-246, 2001.
32. Power K., D. Behm, F. Cahill, M. Carroll, W. Young. An acute bout of static stretching: effects on force and jumping performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 36(8):1389-1396, 2004.
34. Wallmann H. W., J. A. Mercer, J. W. McWhorter. Surface electromyographic assessment of the effect of static stretching of the gastrocnemius on vertical jump performance. J Strength Cond Res. 19(3):684-688, 2005.
35. Weir D. E., J. Tingley, G. C. Elder. Acute passive stretching alters the mechanical properties of human plantar flexors and the optimal angle for maximal voluntary contraction. Eur J Appl Physiol. 93(5-6):614-623, 2005.g
Building Strength and Setting Personal Records with Gym Movement Biofeedback: An Interview with Chris Smith
Let’s get right to the point, you just recently did a powerlifting event and broke 2 state records, tell us about that. You were even on the USAPL Powerlifting Watch.
First off Mike I want to thank you for contacting me for the interview!
I recently competed in the Orange County Powerlifting Championships in Pine Bush, NY. It was a USAPL meet and was my first powerlifting event. Everyone there was great and extremely helpful and I want to take this chance to say thanks one more time to everyone who took time to help me out. I competed in the Men’s Raw 148lb division and set two NY State Records: the squat with 303lbs and one in the bench press with 198lbs. Those were done at a weight of 137.4lbs. It was an amazing experience and I highly suggest that anyone thinking about competing give it a try. There is something truly awesome about going for a max lift and hearing people who you’ve never met before that day yelling for you.
Here is Smith’s 303 pound NY State Record Squat at 148
Here is Smith’s 198 pound NY State Record Bench Press
Here is Smith’s 402 pound deadlift
Awesome! Are you doing another meet soon?
Yes and I can’t wait. I will almost certainly be doing another USAPL meet at the end of July, but nothing is 100% just yet. I’m training with that as a goal in mind.
What is your background and how did you get into powerlifting?
I’ve been working in health and fitness for about 5 years now, but I started working out and weight training when I was a freshman in high school. I was always the small kid and actually started training heavy right the start. I wanted to be as strong as possible and and that has always been my primary goal. Recently, I also started performing some feats of strength like nail bending and card and book tearing. I’m also a certified personal trainer with the American College of Sports Medicine and started Train Better Fitness in 2009.
With respect to powerlifting, I honestly just sort of landed on it. Like I said I have always trained heavy with strength and power as my primary objective, but never really with any competitive goal. It’s funny because I remember a while back a few people at my gym had suggested that I consider competing in powerlifting. At the time I didn’t even really consider it an option. Eventually it just ended up being something I decided I wanted to try.
I heard you were using some crazy biofeedback training as talked about in the Grip n Rip DVD, tell us about that.
I first heard about biofeedback training from Adam Glass when he posted his series of videos about it. I’ll be honest, I was really skeptical about it at first. But I trust Adam and believe that he would never promote something that didn’t work or that he didn’t firmly believe in. At first I just started playing around with testing ROM of different exercises, just to see if there really was a difference. I noticed other people I know say they were using the protocol and seeing some pretty good results so I figured I’d give it a try. I contacted a couple of people who I knew were following the protocol (such as yourself) for a little bit of help and started using it in different ways in my own training.
I’ve definitely noticed a correlation between exercises testing well with ROM and how well they feel while doing the movement. Recently I have been using my own intuition more and testing with ROM less. I remember hearing someone say that testing is a supplement to your intuition, not a replacement and I’ve found that to be true.
My favorite principles from the biofeedback protocol are the markers for terminating a movement. Stopping when you get excessive tension, posture shift, change in breathing pattern or when a rep becomes significantly more difficult than the one before it. I also watch for quality of movement and any speed changes. Those are great rules to follow, especially when looking to get stronger.
Nice! Have you used biofeedback trainig on your clients? What have been their results?
I have applied a lot of the biofeedback principles with my clients. When they first try the ROM testing most of them are really amazed at how different exercises can have such different results with respect to ROM. They’re even more amazed when I can tell them before they test whether the exercise will increase of decrease ROM. More than anything, just like with myself, I apply the markers for termination of a movement. They have been getting great results using it too. One of my female clients has recently gotten strong enough to do a few bodyweight pullups with no assistance at all. That’s something that a lot of guys in my gym even have a hard time with!
Thanks again for taking the time to chat with us today, how can the readers get ahold of you (shameless plug time, so plug away man).
No, thank you for having me here on the blog. If anyone wants to reach me they can check out my site at http://www.trainbetterfitness.com There is a contact form on the site that they can use to get in touch with me. While they’re there they can also sign up for my free newsletter. They can also follow me on Twitter@TrainBetterFit
Much appreciate your time Chris!
Comments!
Do you like these interviews? What do you want to see here? Let me know by placing a comment!
If you want to get the best gains of your life and reduce pain, you need to see THIS!!
Sign up to my RSS feed and any time I update a post, you will know about it instantly!
You can also help out by hitting this
SITUATION: When we write documents, physicians usually stamp their
names and information in the vicinity of their signatures. My colleages
and I need some stamps made that we can easily carry around with us as
we do our work.
MISSION:
TASK DESCRIPTION:
1. Add this task’s deadline to the green “Task
Scheduler” in my MobileMe.
2. Go online and find the best deal on the “Trodat
mobile printy 9411″ model stamper
3. Get an estimate on how much it would cost to get
these five stamps made:
FONT: BLOCK/ARIAL
SIZE: 11PT
ALIGNMENT: LEFT JUSTIFIED
INK: BLACK
J.F. HARRIS, MD
4560
CDR MC USN
ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY
C.J. MAURER, MD
6003
LCDR MC USN
ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY
J.R. LYNCH, MD
1462
LCDR MC USN
ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY
B.J. HUMBLE, DO
2635
LCDR MC USN
ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY
A.E. ATIENZA, DO
1675
LT MC USN
4. Please limit search to stamp makers that accept
PayPal for payment.
5. Provide estimate by email to addy below. Thank you!
FREE Teleseminar Call Reveals the #1 Secret FUN Exercise for Explosive Strength, Fun, and Never-Quit Conditioning!
Do you want to awe your friends and coworkers?
Want conditioning that never stops, while having fun?
Develop fingers of steel and stong hands up to any task. Never be defeated by another pickle jar!
Want to explode with speed and strength from ANY position?
In this FREE teleseminar Logan reveals the #1 exercise to ensure you never expercience another boring workout and you reach a new level of conditioning and strength in record time.
These exercises and techniques have been refined from years and years of training.
Just enter your name and email address and click on the “Sign Up” button and I’ll send you the teleseminar log in information right away, no strings attached.
The teleseminar is Thursday June 16, 2010 at 7pm Central Standard Time
Your information is safe with me, I will never sell, share, rent, or give away your information to anyone for any reason. I promise.
Minimizing the Performance Decrements During Times of Required Weight Loss
By Kevin Kocos CSCS, USAW
A special article from my buddy Kevin Kocos, so sit back and enjoy! Take it away Kevin!
It is one of the most unpleasant aspects in the preparation for that big meet, competition, show, game, or whatever you’ve been training so hard for. This dreaded thing I’m speaking about is cutting weight. If you’ve ever had to fit into a weight class for a certain sport or your coach is demanding you lose weight you know what I’m talking about. In the article to follow I will detail some nutritional, supplemental and recovery protocols that can help to maximize the chance that you’re efforts in training and weight loss will be rewarded with a personal best and/or a victory in whatever you’re competing in. These strategies can also help minimize the chances you’ll be lashing out like the Incredible Hulk at your colleagues and loved ones while they’re throwing bacon wrapped doughnuts down their gullet during your diet. I will use some of my own experiences of what has helped me while competing at the national level in Olympic Weightlifting while being a full time strength and conditioning coach as well as a full time graduate student.
How Much and How Long in Advance?
Know that experience counts while attempting weight loss and you need to find what is the maximum amount of weight that you can lose without having too much of a decrease in performance. Each individual’s ideal amount of weight for cutting will vary depending on how much bodyfat they carry. The leaner athlete obviously has less weight to lose before they are sacrificing muscle mass and critical fluid stores within the body. The more experienced you are in losing weight, the closer to competition you can accomplish it. I can also accomplish my weight loss fairly easily within three weeks and sometimes even two weeks. For example I compete in the 77 kilogram weight class so I have to be about 169 pounds for competition. I know that my cut off for my “ideal cut” is about 12 pounds. That means if I can stay at around 181 pounds between competitions, my final cut of weight will be a lot easier. Any more than 12 pounds for me becomes very difficult due to the great deal of calorie restriction and dehydration.
Food and Meal Choices
The only way to know which specific nutrient ratios are right for each individual is to have a hair mineral profile or genetic testing done by a professional lab and nutritionist. If you do not have access to these, we all know that one of the most effective strategies for weight loss is carbohydrate restriction. Despite what many dieticians will tell you, your body is able to adapt and utilize other sources for energy while you’re restricting your carbohydrates. By tweaking our diet, you can better utilize body fat stores as fuel as well as the process of gluconeogenesis, which utilizes amino acids and some other substances in order to create enough glucose for the brain and muscles.
Evolution will also tell us that this short-term restriction on carbohydrates can a good thing as well. Human beings only developed agriculture 10,000 years ago. Before we had an easy way of obtaining refined carbohydrates and were hunters and gatherers, humans never had saturated levels of liver glycogen all year round. Humans now have food manufacturing practices, that make refined carbohydrates such as pasta, bread, rice, etc. available to us at all times to constantly elevate our insulin levels. When these food manufacturing processes are paired with outrageous suggestions of the food pyramid we have incidences of diabetes near epidemic proportions. Although healthy active athletes usually don’t have to worry about diabetes, occasional carbohydrate restriction can be done without detriment to health.
I do use carbohydrate and overall portion restriction when I am cutting, however I never count calories and rarely even count grams of carbohydrates. I concentrate on the quality of foods I eat. It’s extremely important if you’re restricting food choices, to choose foods that have a maximum amount of protein, fat, vitamin, enzyme and mineral content per serving. That’s why the biggest source of my calories comes from raw meats, raw eggs, and raw vegetables while I’m cutting weight. This ensures that the food is in it’s most natural state and none of the nutrients will be destroyed from the heating process.
The guideline that I try follow is to limit carbohydrates very close to pre and post workouts times while trying to consume them mainly from vegetables and fruit sources that have a low glycemic response, meaning that they will not spike blood sugar levels and can be utilized by the body as fuel for a longer period of time. For example, broccoli, unsweetened berries, honeydew melon and squash are acceptable fruits and vegetables. However pineapples and carrots would be out of my menu due to their high glycemic response.
One rule I always try to follow is to avoid foods with a high glycemic response at all costs. This can be killer for cutting weight as the spike in blood sugar and insulin can cause you to store a greater amount of fat as well as a potentially high inflammatory response on the body. This very rapid rise and fall of blood sugar levels can be the cause of some very powerful cravings soon after you eat.
With that in mind I also know that things come up and there must be room for flexibility. Cheat meals have been important for my overall success. For example, Mauro Di Pisquale’s book, The Anabolic Solution, suggests adding in a higher carbohydrate day in the middle of the week or using the weekends “carbo-load”. This can replenish glycogen stores in the body while cutting weight with a low carbohydrate diet and is especially helpful if you’re going low carb for a significant amount of time.
I found out the hard way for myself how very important it is to intermittently cycle on and off carbohydrates. Before one of my competitions, I had let my weight go to about 20 pounds over my required weight. I then panicked and decided to go on a strict low to no carbohydrate diet for five weeks before competition. My weight loss quickly stalled out and I was lethargic and irritable from the lack of glycogen. With two weeks to go before competition and training not going very poorly, I gave up on getting into my 77 kilogram weight class and decided to lift in a higher weight class in hopes that I could still salvage a decent total.
For three days I ate whatever I wanted whether it was cookies, sandwiches with white bread or fried foods, nothing was off limits. Training then started to progress once again during those days that I was “re-feeding”. After I came back from those three days of what I thought was bad eating, I had actually lost five pounds! (Editor’s note, Metabolic Flexibility anyone?)
I felt so good that I decided to finish my weight cut in the final eleven days, got into the 77 kilogram class for the meet and lifted only two kilograms away from a lifetime best total.
Supplements
By far and away, the supplement that has proved most vital for me while cutting weight is a quality fiber supplement. Fiber will bind to the fat content and actually slow down the glycemic effect of your food and make you feel full for longer and help to fight off cravings. Having sufficient fiber in your diet can help keep you “regular” and ensure that none of your precious bodyweight is wasted on toxic, fecal buildup. I have tried a few different brands and feel that Konsyl is the best fiber supplement as there are no fillers and no carbohydrates, just pure psyllium fiber.
Amino Acids- 2 different sources
Dessicated Liver Tablets is a supplement that was a favorite among the old time body-builders. It’s loaded with Essential Amino Acids (EAA’s) which cannot be manufactured within the body and need to come from dietary sources. It also includes a significant source of branch chain amino acids (BCAA’s) that make up almost a third of muscle tissue. I’ll take four to six of these tablets every two or three hours while I’m cutting weight. The amino acids help to keep metabolism high and if your body is trying to make energy through gluconeogenesis, as I mentioned earlier, it ensures that you keep an adequate supply without having to breakdown skeletal muscle. Universal Nutrition makes their dessicated liver from Argentinian grass fed beef liver. Cattle from Argentina are also free of the use of steroids and other hormones.
Arginine and Ornithine are two amino acids that have been known to help with the release of growth hormone during sleep cycles. Maximizing growth hormone release is essential to the healing and recovery process as well while you’re restricting your food intake. Advocare makes a great product for this purpose called Nighttime Recovery, which also contain other minerals and adaptogens.
Caffeine can be a very effective tool in both helping with the weight loss and aiding workouts, depending on how you metabolize it. Research has shown that moderate doses (3-6 grams), are effective in speeding up metabolism, stimulating the nervous system for high intensity activity and does not adversely affect hydration status. For many people caffeine can also act as a mood enhancer during those tough days of trying to take off weight. You need to adjust your caffeine intake to aid you in weight loss and training limit intake to not interfere with your required sleep. I will ingest steady doses of caffeine throughout the morning while I’m cutting weight to keep metabolism high and get me through intense workouts. Again it depends on how you respond but I know if I need to cut off caffeine intake after about 3 pm or I’ll probably have trouble sleeping at night
What Not to Do
Although creatine supplements work great and are safe for enhancing bouts of intense work, taking a separate creatine supplement while you’re trying to cut weight will be counterproductive. Creatine molecules will help to keep extra water in the muscle cells and can actually help cause weight gain depending on how some athletes respond to them. Save the creatine for the offseason when you’re not concerned about cutting.
It’s vital to keep outside stresses to a minimum while trying to keep your weight down. High amounts of stress will release greater amounts of stress hormones, such as cortisol, that will increase catabolism (muscle breakdown) and cause more fat storage.
Staying up late and keeping bright lights on will keep insulin levels and disrupt sleep cycles. This also trips a survival mechanism that tells your body that it is daytime and you need to search for food. It’s almost inevitable that you’ll be craving carbohydrates at this point. I realize that those people who live in the real world and have outside stressors such as job, school, family, etc. simply do not have enough hours in the day but to put it plainly, if you do not sleep, you will not lose weight.
Do not think under any circumstances that you can achieve your weight loss and performance goals by starving yourself. Due to the fact our body is wired for survival and not performance (Humans would have never lasted this long if we weren’t), your body does not know you’re simply trying to lose weight temporarily for a competition. When you starve yourself, your body believes that it must prepare itself for famine, and will alter its functions anyway it can to keep critical body mass on and prevent you from starving.
Conclusion
Minimizing the negative effects from cutting weight is crucial for performance at high level in competition and in your personal life. These have been strategies that have helped me compete at my best while still managing other aspects of my life. Each individual must find what works for them and hopefully some of these strategies can be you used in your own training and daily life.
References
Di Pisquale, M. (2002). The Anabolic Solution.
Dietz, C. (2009). Professional Communication.
Goldstein, E., Ziegenfuss, T., Kalman, D., Kreider, R., Campbell, B., Wilborn, C., et al. (2010). International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition .
Mercola, J. (n.d.). Mercola Natural Health. Retrieved 2010, from www.mercola.com
Nelson, M. T. (2010). Extreme Human Performance. Retrieved from www.extremehumanperformance.com
Stout, J., & Antonio, J. (2008). Essentials of Creatine in Sport and Health. Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press.
Wiley, T. (2000). Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar and Survival. New York: Pocket Books.
Biography
Kevin Kocos is an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach to Olympic Sports at the University of Minnesota. In his two years with the Gopher’s, Kevin has been part of 6 conference championships and has trained numerous All-Americans. Prior to coming to Minnesota, Kevin worked as an Strength and Conditioning Intern for the Chicago Bulls. He has worked with a wide array of athletes from the NBA, NHL, AHL and USHL as well as high school and collegiate athletes. Kevin also competes as a Senior Athlete in USA Olympic Weightlifting. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist from the NSCA and a certified club coach through USA Olympic Weightlifting.
My Thoughts
First off, a huge thanks to Kevin for writing up this exclusive article for us here at Extreme Human Performance! Sweet!
While I don’t “agree” per say on some of his thoughts for a reason why, the end result is what matters. We can debate the reasons why until the cows come home, but the results are more important than the whys. Kevin has significant experience in the process and through much research and testing, he wa able to find what works FOR HIM. This is a great starting point for you, but you may respond differently. Kudos to Kevin for taking his interpretation of the research and applying it in the real world, under contest conditions.
I do confess to the part about where he ate whatever he wanted and dropped 5 pounds. Awesome! I like that he referenced me too, haha!
Comments RSS 
