Bodybuilding & Shape
By taro

Heed The Exercise Hierarchy

I often hear fitness influencers state: “there are no best exercises”. This is nonsense. An exercise hierarchy exists. Exercise value is absolutely subject to a set of logical, objective criteria. This set of criteria will vary by goal. The criteria for the best exercises for hypertrophy are as follows:

(ONE) STABLE

You must feel stable to lift heavy weights. Heavy weights impose high tension on target muscle fibres. Tension is half of the equation with regard to building muscle. Avoid any exercise which feature a weight limiting wobble.

Overhead Squats on gimmicks feature a narrow base and a high centre of gravity. Jodi can barely manage a half pound stick!
Deadlifts feature a broad base
and a low centre of gravity. Jodi
can place 175 pounds of external resistance
on her glutes

(TWO) FITS THE FUNCTION OF THE TARGET MUSCLE FIBRES

The exercise (and the technique) you choose determine which muscle of the body is activated. This is way more nuanced than people think and is responsible for much failure in all fields concerned with muscle (health, performance and bodybuilding). Posture (body position) and intent (movement command) must be congruent with the functional characteristics of the target tissue.

(THREE) EMPHASIZES THE RIGHT ACTION

Muscle action is critical in regards to determining the effects of an exercise. Muscles have multiple ways they can contract and exert force. Fast, slow, statically, concentrically and eccentrically.  Too fast and the muscle cannot generate enough tension and/or will rely on its elasticity . Too slow or statically and heat (from friction between filaments) will not accumulate. Emphasis on overcoming the resistance of a load (concentric action) rather than its relinquishment  (eccentric action) is  a HUGE muscle building mistake. I tell all my clients (those focused on building muscle) to imagine the filaments of their muscle fibres sliding apart prior to contraction.

(FOUR) FEATURES CONCENTRATED SLIDING

Friction occurs as muscle filaments slide past one another. This friction causes heat to accumulate. Sufficient heat spurs inflammation and muscle growth. Too short a range of motion and muscles rely on their elasticity (not allowing any sliding to occur). Too large a range of motion and segments of muscle filament (where heat should be building) do not have sufficient frequency of contact. Trim your rep range in exercises like squats, pectoral flyes and lateral raises but make sure enough movement is occurring to force intramuscular sliding.

(FIVE) EMPHASIZES TENSION WHEN THE MUSCLE FIBRES ARE STRETCHED

Dynamic exercises feature repetitions which occur over a range of motion. Within the range of motion is a point where, because of joint mechanics, tension is greatest. That point of peak tension must occur when the muscle is in a lengthened state. Muscles are more capable of tension (and likely damage) while in a stretched position. For HYPERTROPHY, an exercise’s mechanics must emphasize effort while the muscle is in a stretched position!

When it comes to muscular growth, reject any exercise that wobbles, bounces, is slow or completely stationary, emphasizes the contracted position, has bands or features a complex machine. Stubborn body parts, poor genetics and advancing age means most of us will struggle with building muscle mass. We will not succeed with second best.
By taro

Build Your Yoke

Bodyweight Neck Exercises

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By taro

The Victory Vein

The best biceps long head exercise.

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By taro

Glycogen Assassination Program

Ultimate home workout for creating definition.

Target glycogen – not fat!

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By taro

The Dragon Slayer

Adds pounds of muscle with bodyweight squats.

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By taro

Tips For Summer Fat Loss Success

Without fail, at the change of season, hysteria grips the population. The removal of winter clothes triggers Extreme Self Consciousness Syndrome. The most common symptoms are the sudden urge to control calories and begin exercise. During this time of hysteria sufferers are especially vulnerable to gimmicks and gizmos. Follow the tips below and thrive while others suffer.

 

Commit to your mission:   

 Without fail, as soon as anyone sets a goal for themselves obstacles appear. Anticipate the usual setbacks; social occasions, travel, injuries, illness, stress, haters and saboteurs. Those whom are prepared will prevail! Instead of pacifying yourself with food deal with the important issues of the day and be confident in your ability to surmount adversity.

 

Limit the damage:

The first step for many clients is to limit their eating to between 2 pm and 10 pm. This strategy is effective for a number of reasons:

  • Food cramming (squeezing a day’s diet into eight hours) causes fullness yet results in fewer calories being consumed.
  • The body is given a longer period of time in a fasted state which has a number of benefits including improved insulin function
  • Impulsive, unproductive grazing is eliminated
  • When the opportunity to eat is restricted, people automatically become aware of every morsel that enters their mouth. This results in a well ruminated diet with consistent food choices and portions – the basis of a successful diet! 

 

Base your diet on protein:

Protein is the fundamental food of  choice for these reasons: 

  • During metabolism, 20 to 30 % of protein calories are lost to heat production (only 15 to 20% and 2 to 5 % for carbohydrates and fats respectively)
  • Protein is more satiating than carbohydrates or fat
  • A high intake results in simultaneous muscle mass increase and fat loss
  • Nutrients (Vitamin B12, heme iron, zinc, carnitine, carnosine, glutathione, creatine, EPA, DHA, BCAAs etc.) derived from meat, fish and whey protein are vital for vigour and performance.

Recent evidence indicates .8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight is not enough. Target between 1.6 and 2.4 grams of protein per kilogram bodyweight daily.

 

Target Glycogen Not Fat 

Encourage your body to burn glycogen and it will respond by storing more glycogen. Encourage your body to burn fat and it will respond by storing more fat! Fat burning aerobic exercise reduces metabolic rate and diminishes muscle mass and power. Glycogen burning anaerobic exercise boosts metabolic rate and increases muscle mass. It also diverts calories from fat storage (in belly fat, hip fat etc.) to glycogen storage (in biceps muscle, butt muscle etc.). To ensure that your workout is burning glycogen and not fat keep exercise intensity above what can be sustained for two minutes. Take breaks that are both frequent and long enough to ensure maintenance of this intensity level. Activities conducive to anaerobic training include: sprinting, rowing and strength training.  

 

Get Into Cyclical HIIT Training

High Intensity Interval Training rips fat off the body but sustaining peak volume is impossible. To avoid premature HIIT burnout, program your weekly volume progressively. Build to maximum levels and then reduce to beginning levels. Repeat this cycle according to tolerance. Below is an average example of this concept:

1 set is composed of a 30 second maximal or near maximal sprint followed by a 30 second walk. Make sure to warm-up prior to your first set!

 

Week 1           Week 2         Week 3         Week 4          Week 5         Week 6

6 sets              7 sets           8 sets           9 sets            10 sets         11 sets

    Week 7           Week 8         Week 9         Week 10        Week 11       Week 12        

12 sets           13 sets         14 sets          15 sets           6 sets            7 sets

ETC!

 

Do a lot of strength training:

Your muscles are sponges saturated with calories. Squeeze them dry and they will suck calories away from fat cells. Squeeze them too much, however, and their calorie sucking ability will be impaired. Maximize calories sucking ability by draining as many muscles as possible rather than pummelling a select few. The usual split of chest and triceps Monday, quads and abs Tuesday, back and biceps Wednesday, shoulders and traps Thursday, lower back and hamstrings Friday is inadequate. Far too few muscles are being drained of their glycogen. A more sophisticated program of sufficient variety looks like this:

 

Monday: 

Back (Scapular Depressors)

Chest (Lower Fibres and Pec Minor)

Elbow Flexors (Supinators)

Triceps (Long Head)

Tuesday:

Quads

Adductors of the thigh

Calves (Supinators)

Wednesday

Shoulders (Medial Rotators)

Abs (Upper Fibres and Obliques)

Neck (Flexors) and Traps

Thursday:

Back (Scapular Retractors)

Chest (Upper and Mid Pec)

Elbow Flexors (Pronators)

Triceps (Lateral and Medial Heads)

Friday:

Low Back/Hamstrings

Abductors of the thigh

Calves (Pronators)

Saturday:

Shoulders (Lateral Rotators)

Abs (Lower abs and Hip Flexors)

Neck (Extensors)

 

Cook Enough for Leftovers

Pasta, rice and potatoes change molecular structure after they have been cooked and then allowed to cool. A large (10 to 50 percent!) portion of the original carbohydrate content gets converted to undigestible resistant starch. Monday’s pasta dinner, despite being of equal portion size, will have less fattening impact when consumed Tuesday night. Cooled foods can be reheated without affecting the molecular transformation.

 

REFERENCES

Keenan, M. J., Zhou, J., McCutcheon, K. L., Raggio, A. M., Bateman, H. G., Todd, E., … & Hegsted, M. (2006). Effects of Resistant Starch, A Non-digestible Fermentable Fiber, on Reducing Body Fat. Obesity, 14(9), 1523-1534

Layman, D.K.(2009). Dietary Guidelines should reflect new understandings about adult protein needs. Nutrition & Metabolism, 6(12), Lemon, P. (1998). Effects of exercise on dietary protein requirements. International Journal of Sports Nutrition, 8(4), 426-447.

Westerterp, K.R. (2004). Diet induced thermogenesis. Nutrition & Metabolism, 1, 1-5
By taro

Seven Reasons Why You Can’t Build Muscle

Some people have a very difficult time developing muscle. Hardgainers, despite their greatest efforts, yield little progress. Conversely, “growers” reap amazing results despite what seems like minimal effort. The disparity between the two is often ascribed to genetics but the typical hardgainer has flaws in their approach to building muscle.  Below are ten of the most common.

  1. Conflicting Goals: Most of the hardgainers I meet want to build muscle and lose fat. While successfully addressing both goals at the same time is possible (especially for those new to exercise and gifted), the potential for change is smaller in comparison to addressing the goals separately. Maximum muscle growth requires increased calorie intake and minimal activity (especially aerobic activity) outside of muscle-building workouts. Maximum fat loss, conversely, requires reduced calorie intake and high levels of activity outside of muscle-maintaining workouts. To avoid nullifying their efforts, hardgainers need to go hard in one direction at a time. For example, they should focus solely on building muscle for three months and then switch to focusing on fat loss for three months. Separating goals into distinct periods of time (known as periodization) should be the foundation of all programs.

2.  Having a phobia of gaining fat. Clients often jeopardize their muscle building efforts to pacify their fear of gaining fat. Closet cardio and fatty food abstinence are common, highly counterproductive behaviours. The key to building muscle is to support your body’s anabolic drive. Aerobic exercise is catabolic and fats (as well as other nutrients) contained in meat, fish and whole eggs are necessary for a vigorous metabolism. Your self-esteem needs work If the thought of gaining half a percent body-fat frightens you. Favour the identity of a goal assailing beast as opposed to a pretty (and procrastinating) princess.

 

3. Pusillanimous Exercise Choices: If you need to find a group of hardgainers in your gym, just venture over to the functional trainers and inflatables – preoccupy yourself with these devices and just maintaining your physique will be a major victory! Pusillanimous exercises have common traits:

a. They occupy the extremes of the stability continuum. That is, they are either too unstable (involving wobble boards and balls) or too stable (involving machines). Too much instability limits target tissue strain by sacrificing load. For example, most reasonably strong people (with their feet well based on the floor) can strain their biceps with a curl equalling fifty percent of their bodyweight. However, if that strong individual compromises their base by standing on a wobble board their ability to curl will drop to pusillanimous poundages. Someone with good balance might be able to tax their biceps with twenty percent of their bodyweight – lifting toddlers requires more strength than that! (note: never lift toddlers while standing on an unstable surface) Too much stability, on the other hand, limits whole-body strain which is important for eliciting a general physiological response (the release of testosterone, growth hormone etc.). Machines, which feature benches, supports and guided resistance eliminate much of the muscular engagement necessary to control posture, base and movement.

b. They feature plastic or rubber.

c. Are often unilateral. The best leg exercises for muscular mass use both legs and both arms at the same time. Single limb leg exercises simply do not support enough load for hardgainers. Less load means less tension on postural and target muscles. No legitimate hardgainer will satisfy their need for leg development by using lunges, step ups, split squats or pistol squats.

Effective exercises also have common traits:

a. They occupy the middle of the stability spectrum (neither too unstable nor artificially rigid). Free weight and bodyweight exercises place an enormous demand on muscles. Maximal muscle engagement is required to support posture, base, movement and load. The high level of whole-body strain triggers a big physiological response. With little practice, effective exercises allow the use of functional loads – loads stimulating enough to cause growth in target muscles.

b. They feature bodyweight and iron.

c. Are usually bilateral. As mentioned above, static leg exercises should be supported by the optimal placement of both feet. You are most stable when you can support the most weight. Bilateral barbell deadlifts and back squats are the most important exercises for the hardgainer. There exists no other alternative.

 

4. Horrendous Technique: A hoisted weight does not mean successful stimulation of the target muscle. I am amazed at the ability of some individuals to complete a repetition despite completely bypassing the appropriate musculature. Watch out for inappropriate leg drive, swinging, bouncing, kipping, non-existant negatives and minimal change in target joint angle. The vast majority of exercisers need to reduce the amount of weight they are using and slow their tempos until they improve their technique.

 

5. Piss-poor programming: All muscles have an adaptive niche. That is, a specific level of stress that causes the greatest result. For example, the lats respond best to fairly frequent training featuring low reps, heavy weights and multiple sets. Don’t settle for the generic prescription of 3 sets of 10 reps. Find the adaptive niches for your muscles through careful planning, observation and documentation. These programming “sweet spots” will greatly accelerate your results.

 

6. Inconsistency: Gifted exercise responders can miss workouts, swing from program to program and still build an awesome body. Hardgainers, without consistency, will achieve nothing. If you are a determined hardgainer, missed workouts must be rare. Plan on having to grind (with joy) on effective programs for a long time before making a switch. Hardgainers, trying to build muscle, have to battle just as hard as overweight people trying to lose fat.

 

7. Lack of Aggression: The gym is society’s most important emotional outlet. Challenge heavy barbell and body-weight exercises. Dig out your life’s bane and use it to ignite fury just prior to your most demanding lifts. Stop interrupting your drive and focus with moments on the phone as well as social dilly-dallying. Not only will your results improve – your mind and spirit will thank-you!

 

Compared to those gifted, it is very challenging for hardgainers to change their appearance. However, every hardgainer I have worked with has built major muscle after addressing the flaws above. Have patience, be methodical and you will persevere!
By taro

On the Path To the Most Effective Leg Workout

It’s all about the deadlift. If you struggle to build leg mass your only hope is to hoist heavy weights from the floor. Squats alone aren’t enough – they need to be potentiated by weekly deadlifting.

The deadlift is key for several reasons:

  • Deadlifts are the ultimate stressor. If you disagree with this statement you have too little horsepower to tax your fuel tank. Using your whole body to lift gland busting weights is guaranteed to trigger adaptation. Your metabolism will boost muscular growth and your nervous system will become more powerful. Deadlifts make you more capable at all physical tasks.
  • It is the ultimate spinal erector exercise. A weak back will limit the development of massive legs.
  • Deadlifts feature a low centre of gravity. This facilitates greater stability. Stable exercises allow greater loading then unstable exercises. Greater loading means higher levels of tension within target muscle tissue.

Complete muscle activation is another major key to leg growth. Always stretch the antagonists of target muscle tissue prior to a set. The increase in activation will result in better growth and muscular balance. For the quadriceps, try stretching your calves prior to sets of squats. Although most believe the hamstrings are the only antagonists of the knee extensors, if the heads of the gastrocnemius are tight they will also impede quadriceps contraction.

Add maximum mass to your thighs by including this routine in your program:

 

Monday

A1. Perform a lateral gastrocnemius stretch for 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds.

A2. Perform a set of full squats with your heels on the floor for 10 reps. Rest 3 mins before repeating A1 and A2 three more times.

B1. Medial gastrocnemius stretch 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds.

B2. Perform a set of 3/4 squats, with your heels elevated by 1 to 1.5 inches (omit the top 1/4 of each repetition), for 10 reps. Without rest, repeat B1 and B2 three more times.

 

Thursday

A1. Perform an Iliacus, psoas or abdominal stretch for 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds.

A2. Perform a set of bent-knee deadlifts for 5 reps. Rest 4 minutes before repeating A1 and A2 six more times.

 

Insert this routine into a complete, periodized program. While it is very simple it is also brutal – requiring very high dedication to recovery. Avoid spine extension intolerance. If you survive, it will provide the greatest gains possible.

 

Old timers will tell you. The gains were greatest during the glorious days of the deadlift!
By taro

How To Find a Good Personal Trainer

A personal trainer can have a profound impact on your quality of life. Exercise is the best medicine – capable of improving and maintaining physical and emotional health. Unfortunately, personal trainer quality varies tremendously. Luckily, good trainers leave clues. Due diligence begins by following the steps below!

STEP 1 Drop Your Biases

Physical Bias: Try not to immediately gravitate toward the prettiest or best built male or female in your gym. While this can be tempting, remind yourself that great genetics (and chemicals additives) can easily mask horrible training practices. Less spectacular looking specimens often have to fight tooth and nail to achieve moderate results. Genetically challenged individuals cannot make mistakes in their training and are intricately connected with methods that work.

Academic Bias: A degree or diploma does not automatically qualify someone as the best trainer for your goals. Even a trainer with a post-graduate degree may have little practical experience in your field of concern. Fitness and health information is evolving rapidly – trainers must keep their knowledge contemporary. Without maintenance, a degree quickly becomes obsolete! Balance your perspective and consider the tremendous value of experience as well as passionate, self-directed learning.

STEP 2 Observe

If you want to choose a trainer within your current gym environment, take some time to watch him or her in action. All behaviours give clues and you should take note of the following:

Professional Behaviour: How the trainer behaves with clients. Try to answer the following:

– Does the trainer arrive on time?

    • Are they preapared?
    • Are workouts preconceived or improvised on the fly?
    • Are observations and results documented?
    • Is their posture alert and attentive?Disqualify trainers that are consistently late, sitting, laying down, texting, preoccupied with themselves or their surroundings. Trainers should be active and engaged with their clients, either spotting, assisting with stretching, taking notes, mentoring or managing equipment.

Leisure Behaviour: How the trainer behaves when not with clients. Good trainers can often be seen doing the following:

    • working on fitness blogs (!)
    • creating programs
    • reading to improve their knowledge base
    • experimenting with exercises
    • managing their businessDisqualify front-desk flirters, perpetual phone-scrollers and general lollygaggers.

STEP 3 Interview

Speak to a few of the prospective trainer’s clients. Find out how long they have worked together and their general impressions. Good trainers have long-term relationships with many of their clients.

Most trainers will offer a free, initial consultation. Use this session to ask the following questions:

  1. Do you perform an assessment ? (to determine a client’s state of physical readiness, prescribe a course of action and to document starting statistics)
  2. What fitness skills and certifications do you have?
  3. How do you keep your knowledge current? (a great indication of a good trainer is an immediate ability to name several inspirational authors, fitness leaders and publications)
  4. Have you worked previously with someone like myself? (in terms of goals, attributes and circumstances)
  5. What are your goals for the future? (keen trainers have clear, industry related ambitions – half hearted trainers can’t wait to move on to becoming real estate agents, insurance brokers or interior designers)

STEP 4 Weigh Personality Wisely

Beware! First impressions are performances and the best performers are often miserable.

Even though your personal training candidate survived the first three steps of scrutiny make sure their personality suits yours. Throughout the years I have defined several trainer personality types:

  1. The Narcissist: Narcisists are drawn towards becoming personal trainers. They can be quite astute in their fitness knowledge but have the character of an overgrown baby. When you form a partnership with someone make sure there is at least one adult.
  2. The Cheerleader: These are the trainers which spew a continous loop of baseless, positive drivel. If you can tolerate a lack of meaningful insight from your fitness leader then the simplicity offered by this relationship is bliss!
  3. The Drill Sargeant: The type most featured in media, Drill Sargeants can be great motivators. However, constant shouting and dirision gets tiresome – you will probably want to drill the sargeant in the head after a couple of months. Great choice for short-term bursts of intensive fitness.
  4. The Fitness Nerd: Ususally underdeveloped trainers who compensate by having vast knowlege. Knowlege is great but if its application failed to render results in the Nerd it may also fail to render results in clients. Consider a nerd if all you want is a few sessions of basic, exercise information.
  5. The Believer: These personality types buy into every new trend and gadget that hits the fitness market. They love rubber, magnets, vibration, inflatables, electronics and other gizmos. Unfortunately, few trends stand the test of time and followers lose time, money and dignity.
  6. The Adaptive Personality: The very best trainers adjust their personality to best suit the changing needs of the client. They can be tough, gentle, loud, quiet, personable or professional. Their character and mood are consistent from day to day and workout to workout. The best personality for most.

Without regulating bodies or standards the responsibility of finding a high-quality trainer is entirely up to the consumer. Use the steps outlined above to cut through the fluff. Don’t commit to a large number of sessions at first and try several trainers. Look for honest referrals. Never underestimate the value of a good personal trainer!
By taro

Fallacies in Fitness – Episode III

1. The chin-up is a great exercise for the biceps.

Contemporary fitness articles are continuing to promote the chinup as a great exercise for building the biceps. This fallacy contradicts basic functional anatomy – the biceps are muscles which flex the shoulder joint, the chinup is an exercise which extends the shoulder! Every year, I set asisde a couple of months to target my pulling ability and devote myself to chinups and pullups. During this period of specialization I eliminate or greatly reduce all other upper body exercises, including biceps curls. Although my chin up performance improves, my upper arm girth always shrinks (by at least half an inch!). For further proof consider an independent study the next time you have biceps tendinitis (not brachialis or brachioradialis tendinitis). Despite the biceps soreness, performimg chinups and pullups will be tolerable. On the other hand, proper dumbbell curls will be excruciating (due to the superior level of biceps recruitment). Choose biceps curls if you want biceps development!

2. Compound movements are more functional than isolation exercises

This blanket statement drives me nuts for three reasons:

First, no exercise is universaly functional! Functionality is limited to a specific goal; that is, an exercise which improves one type of physical task may be irrelevent or even detrimental to another physical task. The chin-up, for example, is an invaluable tool for grapplers – strengthening sport-specific muscles, reinforcing key movements and serving as a tool for managing injuries. For boxers, however, the chin-up is largely irrelevent – it does not strengthen key muscles or reinforce any pertinent movements. In fact, weight gained from dedicated pulling would be detrimental to endurance and making weight.

Second, isolating and strengthening an individual muscle can unleash enormous potential in complex movements. Most clinicians (countless times I am sure!) have observed marked improvement in strength, power and efficiency when a single, performance limiting muscle has been activated. If your isolation exercises are not improving a specific ability you are probably not strengthening the correct muscle.

Finally, many people confuse complexity with function. An exercise is not automatically “functional” just because it requires inspiring skills. Physical tasks are made distinct by the muscles used, the physiology that is engaged, balance type, timing, co-ordination, environmental cues, state of mind etc. etc. Most flashy attempts at functional training are completely irrelevent to any goal.

3. Quadriceps to hamstring strength ratio is crucial for injury prevention

Incorrect notions in regards to muscular balance are often used to explain the occurence of injuries. Most often, it is the strength relationship between angonist and antagonist that is blamed. In truth, the strength relationship between synergists is much more important. The vast majority of muscular injuries (that are not the result of violent trauma) are the result of strain born from compensation. The hamstring has four heads – each reliant on the other to help with functions at the knee and hip. A weak or inhibited head (caused by postural issues) forces the active heads to pick up the slack. Overtime, the active muscle fibres become overstressed and tight. When the final straw imposes its stress the vulnerable heads are either strained or torn. Balance the strength amongst synergists and the incidence of injury will go down!

4. Just About Anything Overly Esoteric

Esoteric health and fitness trends often prove to be fallacies. When promised effects cannot be readily observed, experienced or logically validated there is good reason for strong skepticism. I am not sure where the threshold for skepticism exists for some followers of esoteric ideas but it seems to be way too high. Novel ideas are great (I hope to share a few!) and certainly don’t require published, peer reviewed data to at least be contemplated. However, reality tends to be grounded in the fundamental sciences of anatomy, physics, chemistry and biology. Some fitness and health trends that should provoke healthy skepticism:

  • breathing interventions
  • cold exposure (I would bet 20 minutes of sun exposure is more beneficial)
  • bowel interventions
  • physical therapies which don’t feature physical contact at the affected area
  • mostly anything that requires batteries or is made of plastic

5. Some types of exercise build long and lean muscles

Another fallacy that drives me nuts every time I hear it. Leaness is forever determined by the balance between caloric ingestion vs expression! No exercise will build a “lean muscle” in a fat environment. If special exercise classes built long muscles then the instructors would have muscles that exceed the length of their bones! Their muscular system would drag behind their skeleton like an oversized sweater or fallen socks. If I had a special power it would be to evoke a world-wide reflex to think twice before adopting any notion as a belief!

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