Slow VS Explosive Lifting: The Controversy Continues…

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com/ecm8/ezGaffurl.php?offer=xxxxx&pid=1

“Injuries are not caused by methods per se, but by the inappropriate, premature, and/or excessive application of methods.”
– Charles Staley

In all the years I’ve been involved in sports conditioning, I’ve never seen an issue with as much longevity and potential for heated debate as the question of whether or not it is necessary, safe, and or effective to perform “explosive” or “ballistic” movements in the weight room.

If you’re active on the internet, you’ll discover endless, passionate (and often, ugly) confrontations between those who advocate slow lifting speeds, and those who espouse so-called explosive training techniques, such as Olympic lifting and it’s derivatives, and plyometric training methods.

While it is true that explosively-performed (i.e., high velocity) repetitions can be potentially more dangerous than low velocity movements, it’s just as true that heavier weights, since they put more tension on the musculoskeletal system, are potentially more dangerous than lighter weights. So it really becomes an issue of using the right tool for the right job.

Remember, in order to train a biologic system, you must apply stress to that system. Too much stress leads to injury; too little leads to little or no effect; just the right amount leads to a training effect.

As you read this article, please refer to the section below which outlines the more technical terms used herein (click here or scroll down). These terms are often used inappropriately, which leads to even more confusion.

Also, please resist the human instinct to either agree or disagree with the statements I will make. Instead, simply listen. Observe. Correlate the material to your own experiences. In this way, you’ll give yourself the best opportunity to come to an intelligent decision regarding this issue.

What is Training?

Training involves the exposure of a biologic system to the systematic application of increasing stress at a frequency, intensity, and duration below that system’s maximal tolerance limit, which, over time, causes a resultant increase in that system’s tolerance limit (1).

Different training methods cause different adaptations. For example, sets lasting between 20 and 70 seconds seem to promote hypertrophy better than sets of greater or lesser duration (2). Sets performed with incomplete rests develop anaerobic capacity through a greater proliferation of capillaries in the muscle(s) being trained (3). High repetition sets develop Type I (slow twitch) fibers, while low repetition sets with heavy weight challenge Type II (fast twitch) fibers.

Long-term performance of an exercise which takes a muscle through less than it’s full range of motion promotes a shortening of that muscle, while chronic use of exercises which take the muscle through it’s full range of motion encourage the muscle to become longer (4).

These examples of the specificity principle strongly imply that the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems are capable of adapting to explosive movements just as they are capable of adapting to any other type of stimuli provided.

This is the real key to understanding this issue…that the athlete moves through an appropriate series of progressions which allow a sequential exposure to a gradually increasing stimulus. If you skip any part of this progression, or if you progress too quickly, injury may result as you exceed the body’s “maximum tolerance threshold” to that stimulus.

Defining the Issue

Before we proceed further, please appreciate that this issue is a difficult one to analyze, since there are several ways to lift a weight.

For example, powerlifting is not normally considered an “explosive” event, since at 1RM levels, the bar moves very slowly, due to its mass. Nevertheless, the lifter is attempting to maximally accelerate the bar. So, are we discussing the actual speed of the lift, or the attempt to maximally accelerate the weight (even if the implement speed is low to to its mass)?

Also, we must distinguish between lifting weights at a fast tempo, and lifting weights in an accelerative manner (increasing the speed over the duration of a repetition). Further, are we speaking of lifting light to moderate weight, or heavy weights?

For instance, when performing the deadlift, using a fast lifting speed with a light weight would simply reduce both the tension, as well as the time under tension, of the involved musculature, leading to a compromised training effect.

However, when deadlifting a challenging weight, you stand a better chance of making the lift if you attempt to accelerate the bar. It is important to understand that this is a smooth acceleration, not a rapid “jerk” on the bar, which would in fact, increase the likelihood of injury.

Incidentally, I define “good form” a bit differently than most. If you enter a workout with pre-determined parameters such as number of sets and reps, tempo, optimal body alignment, range of motion (which may be complete or partial) length of rest periods, and you maintain these parameters, you’re using “good form.”

So for example, you may set out to use a 2 second tempo, which is relatively fast (and may or may not be safe, depending on the exercise, your experience, the weights being lifted, and a host of other factors). However, if you set out to do a 4 second tempo, and due to fatigue or inattention it ends up being a 2 second tempo, this shows a lack of control, which in my opinion, heightens the potential for injury.

So, although many people cite the dangers of “fast” or “explosive” lifting, I hope you can now appreciate that the issue is far more complex than most people consider. During this article, I will make reference to explosive, ballistic, and accelerative lifting techniques, in an effort to cover the various possible methods.

Is Accelerative Activity an Inherent Characteristic of Human Movement?

The phenomenon known as the stretch-shortening cycle (or SSC) strongly hints that the body is, in fact, designed for ballistic and accelerative stress (5).

To illustrate this concept, I’ll ask you to imagine the act of throwing a baseball, overhand style.You grab the ball, extend your throwing arm behind you, and, just as the arm nears complete extension (the eccentric portion of the throw), you rapidly reverse the motion (the concentric phase) and release the ball.

Now, just as an experiment, extend the arm back, and pause for three seconds before you throw. It’s intuitively obvious that the second throw, aside from feeling totally unnatural, will travel much slower and result in a shorter throw.

When you throw (or jump, hit, etc) correctly, the musculo-tendinous unit stores potential kinetic energy during the eccentric phase of the movement. At full stretch, the muscle begins its reversal into the concentric phase. If you use proper timing (the “switch” between eccentric and concentric must be very rapid), you can recover all that potential energy and return it during the concentric phase. If you wait-even for a split second- the energy will dissipate.

A simpler way to visualize the SSC is to imagine the muscles as elastic bands that stretch during eccentric activity, and contract during the concentric portion of the movement. (Incidentally, plyometric training programs, usually consisting of various jumps and throws, are designed to train the elastic potential of the musculoskeletal system.)

If you watch people carefully in various situations, you’ll notice that, whenever there is an option to accelerate a load, people will take that option.

On stairclimbing machines, people will, especially as fatigue sets in, tend to step in a bouncy, choppy manner. When a heavy box must be lifted from the floor to a high shelf, a person will accelerate the box throughout the lift.

Further, the motor cortex will normally choose a movement pattern where more muscle groups can participate in the effort, in order to conserve energy and avoid dangerous levels of stress to any single muscle involved in the movement.

Optimal Progression Ensures Safety

Now the question becomes “If this is how muscles work in everyday activities, should we train muscles this way?” My colleague Paul Chek often asserts that “First isolate, then integrate.” What Paul means by this is that before asking the chain to produce high levels of force, one should first strengthen each link of the chain, especially the weakest links.

When training a link, you must “isolate” that link…in other words, create a movement or exercise where associated links have no ability to assist in that movement.

Since muscles are the links in any kinetic chain, another way to view this progression is to “First, train muscles, then train movements.” Either way you choose to conceptualize it, most accelerative lifting movements (such as modified Olympic lifts such as power cleans & snatches, push-jerks, jumps, throws, etc.) involve large numbers of muscles.

Therefore, if these individual muscles are brought to maximum strength levels prior to accelerative, multi-joint movements, the athlete lessens the potential for injury. However, if any link in the chain is relatively weak, that link would logically have a greater potential for injury during any explosive type exercise that involves it.

As an example of the proceeding progression, an athlete wishing to perform power cleans might spend 6-9 weeks developing strength in the quads, hamstrings, spinal erectors, trapezius, glutes, scapular retractors, and gastrocs, and then gradually switch to more explosive training methods, while maintaining the strength of the individual muscle groups, using a reduced volume (about 30 to 50 percent) of work.

In my experience working with Olympic weightlifters, I have used various permutations of this progression and have never witnessed a serious injury.

A recent study by Brian P. Hamill (please see sidebar entitled Multi-Sport Comparative Injury Rates) collaborates my observations (6). In his analysis of statistics derived from surveys and competitions, Hamill found that competitive weightlifting is safer than many other sports, including soccer, recreational weight training, and (believe it or not) badminton.

In his analysis, Hamill suggests that qualified supervision is the most important precondition for safe participation in both competitive weightlifting and recreational weight training.

Should Bodybuilders Perform Ballistic, Explosive, or Accelerative Weight Training?

Legions of successful competitive bodybuilders have achieved their goals without using these techniques. However, it has been my experience that many top physique stars have achieved their success in spite of their training methods and habits, not because of them.

When you have a superior somatype and a favorable hormonal system to support it, and when you have a superior ability to train hard on a consistent basis, you don’t need to sweat the details. Recreational pharmacology should be factored in, also.

But let’s assume that you’re at least the fourth generation of your family to stand upright. Let’s also assume you have a job, and limited chemistry skills. Let’s further assume that your training program could benefit from a bit of variation, and even some fun.

If you fit this profile, and if you employ qualified supervision (I’d recommend calling the United States Weightlifting Federation at 719-578-4508 in order to find a qualified weightlifting coach in your area), I would urge you to explore these methods.

The downside? For starters, HIT Jedis will call you a fool. Also, you may abandon bodybuilding for the sport of Olympic weightlifting. You also run the risk of slow twitch fiber atrophy, as your Type II fibers hypertrophy to unprecedented size. Finally, you may suffer guilt pangs as you find yourself actually enjoying training again. On balance, I’d say it’s worth the risk.

SIDEBAR – Is “HIT” Dead?

For years, the most vocal faction of coaches and athletes in opposition to explosive lifting techniques has been known as “HIT” an acronym meaning “High Intensity Training.”

The HIT doctrine took root through the teachings of Arthur Jones, and has been furthered by Mike Mentzer, and several collegiate strength coaches. HIT has traditionally favored single set, low-speed, machine based movements, and has been vehemently opposed to multi-set periodized approaches, explosive lifts and plyometrics, and free weight exercises.

Recently, however, the HIT “Jedi” (the self-appointed term for adherents of the HIT philosophy) have all but merged with the mainstream on issues of number of sets, repetition ranges, and the use of free weights. They remain steadfast on the use of explosive lifting techniques, however.

In the recently released HITFAQv2.0a , the section describing “proper form” advises “raising and lowering the weight in a deliberate, controlled manner.” The FAQ continues “Anytime, anyone, be they Mr. Universe, or whomever, tells you to move a weight fast, in an ‘explosive’ style, just walk away. That person is a fool.” (I always thought that anyone who took comfort in applying blanket statements to a wide range of circumstances was a fool, but maybe I’ve got it wrong!)

Important Terminology

1) Torque:

The effectiveness of a force to produce rotation of an object about an axis (7). Measured as the product of force and the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the axis of rotation. The SI (International System) unit of torque is the newton-meter (N.m)

2) Force:

That which changes or tends to change the state of rest or motion in matter (7). Force may increase or decrease the velocity of an object. The SI unit of force is the newton (N).

3) Work:

Tthe product of an expressed force and the distance of displacement of an object, irrespective of time (7). The SI unit of work is the joule (J). To measure work, you would multiply the force applied by the distance the force was applied over.

4) Power:

The rate of performing work (7). The SI unit of power is the watt (W). To measure power, you would

5) Velocity:

A change in either the speed or direction of an object, or a change in both the speed and direction of an object (8). Most people use the term velocity to describe a change in the speed of an object.

6) Explosive Strength:

One of two elements of speed strength (power) -the ability to apply a maximal force against an external object (such as a shot put or barbell), or ones own body, as in sprinting or jumping, in minimum time (9).

7) Ballistic:

Infers movement which is accelerative, of high velocity, and with actual projection into free space (10). Ballistic activities include throwing and jumping.

Multi-Sport Comparative Injury Rates

Sport Injuries (per 100 participation hours)

• Schoolchild soccer 6.20
• UK Rugby 1.92
• South African Rugby 0.70
• UK Basketball 1.03
• USA Basketball 0.03
• USA Athletics (Track) 0.57
• UK Athletics 0.26
• UK Cross-country 0.37
• USA Cross-country 0.00
• Fives 0.21
• P.E. 0.18
• Squash 0.10
• USA Football 0.10
• Badminton 0.05
• USA Gymnastics 0.044
• UK Tennis 0.07
• USA Powerlifting 0.0027
• USA Tennis 0.001
• Rackets 0.03
• USA Volleyball 0.0013
• Weight Training 0.0035 (85,733 hrs)
• Weightlifting 0.0017 (165,551 hrs)

References:

1) Gross, J., Fetto, J., & Rosen, E, . Musculoskeletal Examination, 1996. Cambridge, Blackwell Science, p.p.5.

2) Poliquin, C., The Poliquin Principles, 1997, Napa, Dayton Publisher’s Group, p.p. 24

3) Fleck, S.J., & Kraemer, W.J., Designing Resistance Training Programs, 1987, Champaign, Human Kinetics, p.p. 58.

4) Komi, P.V (Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport (1992). London. p.p.29

5) Komi, P.V (Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport (1992). London. p.p.169

6) Hamill, B.P., Relative safety of weightlifting and weight training. J. Strength and Cond. Res. 8(1);53-57.1994.

7) Knuttgen, H.G., Force, Work, and Power in Athletic Training. Sports Science Exchange. 8(4). 1995.

8) Norkin, C.C., & Levangie, P.K. Joint Structure & Function. F.A. Davis Company (1992), Philadelphia. p.p.17.

9) Kurz, T. Science of Sports Training. Stadion (1991), Island Pond. p.p. 85

10). Kraemer, W.J. & Newton, R.U., Muscle Power. Muscular Development. March, 1995, p.p. 130-131.

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About The Author

Charles Staley…world-class strength/performance coach…his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Click here to visit Charles’ site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with “Escalating Density Training,” Charles’ revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.

http://www.staleytraining.com/ecm8/ezGaffurl.php?offer=xxxxx&pid=1

Get Out of the Rut!

Get Out of the Rut! Ten Powerful Ideas to Road to Get Back On the Progress

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com/ecm8/ezGaffurl.php?offer=xxxxx&pid=1

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”
— Anonymous

Despite what many people think, the road to the top isn’t usually linear. It’s not simply a matter of adding more weight every workout until one day, you wake up looking like a comic book super hero.

Instead, the path which leads to the fulfillment of your ultimate potential looks much more like a maze. People who don’t understand this fact never reach their true potential— in bodybuilding, or in life.

Here’s an example of what I mean: About once a year I visit a gym on the east coast where I used to train. Each time I go back, I always encounter a handful of people, who, despite their consistency and longevity, make a mistake common to most people who are not making progress: they NEVER change anything about their training. Each year, they get smaller, fatter, and weaker.

In other words, these people are like lab rats in a maze, who, upon reaching a dead end, continue to bump into the wall over and over in a fruitless attempt to reach their goal. Smart lab rats (and athletes) realize that, when faced with a barrier on the path they’re on, the answer is to turn back, even if it means going in the opposite direction for a while, and find a new route to the target.

So if the path you’re on isn’t yielding the results you’re looking for, consider the following ten suggestions— all of which have helped scores of my clients reach new levels of progress, even in cases when all hope had been abandoned.

1) For the next six weeks, use only exercises which you have not used for at least one year.

You do keep a training log, right? OK. Compile an inventory of all the exercises you’ve used for the past year. If you’re like most lifters, this number will be less than 30. Next, pick up a copy of Bill Pearl’s Keys to the Inner Universe. Bill knows more exercises for the tibialis anterior than most people know for the entire body.

Finally, construct a six week training program using only movements you haven’t done in at least a year. Better yet, use only exercises you’ve never done. Prepare for some soreness for the first few weeks. When you’re no longer getting sore, change the exercises again.

I’m not sure why people so commonly rely on such a small variety of movements, given the immense number of available options. I suppose there’s a certain comfort in things familiar. However, to the same degree that muscles yawn at familiar movements, they rise to full alert status at unfamiliar ones.

2) Use a clock & metronome.

I hope that by now, you understand the importance of monitoring tempo and rest periods. Here’s a fun way to do it: Go to a music store and buy an electronic metronome— the kind that emits an audible “click” every second so you don’t have to watch it.

Now, select two antagonistic exercises. Let’s assume you’ll perform bench presses and hammer curls, for sets of 5 with a 6 second tempo. Let’s also assume you’ll start your work sets at exactly 4pm.

Time your warm-up to end at about 3:55. Turn on the metronome, and at 4pm, do your first set of five reps on the bench press— if you follow the tempo described above, the set will last exactly 30 seconds. Next, perform the set of hammer curls. Do them any time you want, but at exactly 4:05, you’ll do your next set of bench presses.

Training this way, you’ll be able to perform 10 sets of each exercise in just over 45 minutes— the bench presses will occur every 5 minutes, with the hammer curls done in between these sets. The value of this approach is that it puts a fire under you. How many times have you started a workout, and after a few sets, you start thinking of ways to justify bailing out on the workout?

By using the clock, you’ll look up, and see the second hand on it’s way to 12, and you have to decide what you’re going to do. Chances are, you’ll jump on the bench for the next set. Other effective exercise parings include pull-ups and lying tricep extensions, front squats and stiff-leg deadlifts, bent rows and dips, and ball crunches and standing calf raises.

3) Put your ego aside and hire an expert coach or trainer.

Successful people have a tendency to seek out those who know more than they do, in an effort to learn more. But this requires the ability to put your ego aside for the better good. If you’re really interested in improving your abilities, forget what you know— it’s already been applied. Find out what you don’t know. Let’s say you know more than 90% of all fitness trainers and strength coaches. This means that there are still a lot of people who can show you a few tricks. Ask around and find out who’s got the best reputation for producing results with their clients. Then pay that person for 12 weeks, even if they don’t require you to. Commit yourself. If you learn one thing, it will be worth far more than you paid for it.

If you’re not sure of how to find a great strength coach or fitness trainer in your area, call the International Sports Sciences Association at (800) 892-ISSA. They’ll be glad to help you find an expert in your town or city.

4) Check your training log for past successes (and repeat!)

Think back to a point in your life when you were in your best shape. Then examine your training log for the 12-16 weeks of training that preceded it, and do this training again. Can you use the same poundages or better for the same sets and reps?

Without a training log, your workout has no objective— OK, you plan to work hard, but how do you know if you’re improving upon your last performance? Busy schedules and daily commitments tend to make you forget last weeks workout, so write it down. If you performed 225 pounds for 5 sets of 3 reps using a 5-0-1 tempo and 2 minutes rests between sets, you can improve upon this in several ways:

1) Increasing time under tension. Each workout, increase the tempo by one second per rep, until you reach 10 seconds per rep.

2) Increase the weight lifted. Keeping all other variables constant, add between 2.5 and 5 pounds to the bar each session, for up to six sessions. After this, use a different exercise for the following 6 sessions.

3) Increase the number of reps per set. This method is useful with exercises where you initially have a low level of strength, such as pull-ups or dips. Using the same load each workout, add one rep per set each workout. Once you reach 12 reps per set, you should then employ more weight and/or slower tempos.

4) Increase the number of sets per workout, up to a maximum of (in this case) 12 sets. For a more thorough treatment of the relationship between sets and reps, I highly recommend Charles Poliquin’s book “The Poliquin Principles.”

5) Increase the range of motion. Using the same load each workout, start with a reduced ROM, say the top 3″ of a bench press, working off the pins in a power rack. Each workout, drop the pins one inch, until you reach full ROM.

6) Reduce the rest intervals between sets. This has particularly good results when attempting to improve relative strength. Using the same load, number of reps, and tempo each workout, simply reduce the rest intervals by 10 seconds each workout. Once you get down to 30 seconds rests between sets, increase the weight load and the rest intervals, and start again.

7) Use “stutter” or interrupted sets. Rather than performing a continuous set, you can select a heavier weight, and rest briefly (5-10 seconds) between each rep.

Sometimes, two or more methods of progression are used simultaneously. For example, from workout to workout, you may choose to add both weight and reduce rest between sets. This is usually employed in situations where a trained athlete is coming back after an extended layoff, and is able to make rapid improvements from workout to workout due to his extensive training experience.

My point is that there is always a way to continue improvement— don’t limit yourself to the obvious (and limited) method of simply adding weight to the bar.

5) Do the opposite.

On my favorite episode of Seinfeld, George Costanza makes a remarkable discovery: he finds that in any given situation, doing the exact opposite of what he usually does leads to unprecedented success. In one instance, he meets a gorgeous young woman, and after he tells her that he’s unemployed, lives with his parents, and got fired from his last job for sleeping with the office cleaning girl, the young woman becomes infatuated with him.

While this approach is unlikely to yield much success in your dating life, it does work with training. The vast majority of us tend to cling to an extremely narrow pattern of training habits for long periods of time. So, logically, if whatever you’re doing is taking you nowhere, what’s the risk in doing adopting a VERY different approach?

There are endless applications of this concept. Here are a few to get you started:

• If you’re a free weight advocate, use machines. Really. Not forever. Maybe for 4-6 weeks. Just don’t tell Paul Chek or Jerry Telle about it.
  
• If you’re from an Olympic-lifting background, give more standard bodybuilding methods (i.e., higher reps, slow tempos, short rests) a try for a while.
  
• If you’re always used multiple sets, give one-set-to failure an honest run for a month or so. You’ll be surprised how much hard work you can do in such a short period of time, leaving time an energy for the rest of your life.
  
• Almost all exercises start with the eccentric phase. So for 3 weeks, do all your exercises with the concentric phase first. For example, with squats, set the bar on low pins in a rack, duck under the bar, and lift the weight. Return to the pins, pause long enough to eliminate any eccentric muscle tension, and repeat. You’ll be shocked at how weak you’ll be compared to the “normal” way of lifting.

6) Accept the fact that nutrition and supplementation DO make a difference

The relative value of training versus nutrition has been debated ever since the day Milo of Crotona lifted his first calf. Some say nutrition is 90% of the battle. Others say training is 90% (there’s a math joke in here somewhere, but it’s not coming to me). The truth is, if you don’t support your training efforts with optimal nutritional practices, you’ll never. EVER, come close to your potential. The most common errors include excessive processed carbs, insufficient protein and fat, and inadequate hydration.

Once you see the light with regards to eating right, the next step is planning and preparation. When 3pm rolls around and it’s time for your next meal, do you have something planned, or will you simply “wing it.”? Planned meals tend to be healthier than improvised ones. Perhaps the greatest value in protein shakes, nutritional bars, and similar products, is that they make it easier to eat well when time is tight and you’re not up to cooking a meal.

“Individuals tend to mis-interpret the definition of a snack.” says Phil LeClair, staff nutritionist of Bio-Foods, Inc., based in Carpenteria, California. “A snack should be a smaller, planned nutrient-dense meal— not a bag of potato chips and a soda you grab when you’re so hungry you’re about to feint. In addition to convenience, select ‘meal’ replacement powders and bars are excellent snacks because they produce a favorable glycemic response.

Unlike their high-carbohydrate, low-fat counterparts, they are formulated with moderate amounts of carbohydrate and contain more protein and fat (those companies whose powders lack fat often recommend adding some in the form of flax oil). This provides satiety and stabilizes energy levels for an extended period of time— characteristics consistent to those found in a well-balanced whole food meal.”

While many “ergogenic” supplements are highly questionable for most people, a few— particularly creatine (preferably in a high-glycemic carrier solution), protein, and antioxidants— are standard fare among serious bodybuilders. Use them.

7) Get Involved in an athletic activity aside from bodybuilding/lifting

Most bodybuilders take the concept of specificity a bit too literally. While too much extracurricular athletic activity can be detrimental, so can too little.

Most people take advantage of less than 1% of the huge array of available movement patterns. When people pursue very limited patterns of training for long periods of time, they end up injured. According to Dr. Sal Arria, Executive Director of the ISSA, “Variation in your training program is a valuable tool to avoid overuse syndrome in sports. ALL activities can cause overuse injuries if repeated often nough, including weight training. Knowing how to strike the ideal balance between specificity and variety allows you to make continued progress over extended periods of time.”

Although many bodybuilders avoid outside athletic activities in an effort to conserve energy, a moderate amount of swimming, cycling, skating, martial arts— pick what you like— actually helps to facilitate recovery by loosening up micro-adhesions and increasing blood supply to muscle and connective tissues. And if you’re looking to get leaner, spending a few hours a week in one of these activities can make a very significant difference by burning calories and elevating your metabolism.

8) Take some time off

News flash: If you stop lifting for a month, you won’t begin to resemble a bulimic triathlete. In fact, a very common phenomenon happens to almost every competitive bodybuilder at one point or another: they look flat and strung out the day of the show, and then, as they rest and begin to eat normally again, they look fantastic the week or two after the show. This is in part due to a phenomenon called Type IIB fiber conversion.

When trained, Type IIb fibers seem to “convert” or take on the characteristics of the slower Type II and Type I fibers. Some theorists suggest that the Type IIb’s are “emergency” fibers that only contract under conditions of unusual stress, and that once this happens, they undergo conversion, for unknown reasons. Given several days of rest, however, these fibers re-emerge, making you look (and feel) better than ever.

Just as importantly, occasional planned layoffs help you to psychologically as well. Everyone would agree that if you never need to end a set, the weight isn’t heavy enough. I’d take this a step further and say that if you never need a layoff, you aren’t training hard enough. From my experiences, most people should take between 4 and 8 weeks off per year, ideally in one week intervals.

9) Use training programs from muscle magazines.

A few years back, I noticed an unusually large number of people performing deadlifts in the gym I trained in at that time. It turned out that Ironman magazine had run a feature article on deadlifting that month.

The next month, I noticed several people doing one-arm seated rows. Sure enough, another magazine had a feature on back training secrets of the current Mr. Whatever. I used to think is was comically naive to follow these programs every month, but now I don’t.

Even if it’s a goofy program that violates every known principle of training, you’ll only be doing it for a month, and if it’s different than what you’ve been doing for the past 15 years’ I’ll bet you’ll make progress on it. A word of caution, however: my sources tell me that Poliquin is planning a piece on plyometric kegel training for next month on T-Nation, so you may want to wait a while before you employ this suggestion.

10) Learn and practice optimal exercise technique

I frequently get calls from people who want to hire me to write training programs for them. These people make the mistake of thinking that as long as they are on a great program, they’ll make great progress. However, if your hams are sore after a bench press session, you’re not going to derive any benefit from any program. I once saw two individuals, one spotting the other on barbell curls. Their form was so bizarre, I couldn’t tell who was supposed to be the lifter and who was supposed to be the spotter.

Of course, leading experts often disagree on what constitutes good form. The point is, investigate, learn, take seminars, buy videos, experiment, find a mentor. Keep an open mind. If you’re a competitive weightlifter or powerlifter, the objective is to find the easiest way to lift a weight. But if you want bigger muscles, the objective is to find the hardest way to lift a weight.

In general, any posture or practice which makes the exercise harder to perform tends to be a sign of good form. For example, when performing hammer curls, many trainees allow their thumbs to contact the inner aspect of the dumbbell. This allows you to relax your grip, as opposed to keeping your hand directly at the center of the handle.

Lastly…

The aforementioned suggestions have a common theme— change. Variation permits progression. For example, if you perform a barbell bench press every six days, after a certain number of workouts, you’ll be unable to increase your training load for that exercise, and muscular growth will stall.

But if you then switch to say, dumbbell incline presses, you’ll be able to increase your training load for another series of workouts, and hypertrophy will continue once again. Because there are an almost infinite number of ways you can manipulate your training schedule (notice I’m not using the word “routine”), there is no logical reason to ever hit a plateau.

 

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About The Author

Charles Staley…world-class strength/performance coach…his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Click here to visit Charles’ site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with “Escalating Density Training,” Charles’ revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.

http://www.staleytraining.com/ecm8/ezGaffurl.php?offer=xxxxx&pid=1

Smart Cardio For Strength, Mass, And Fat Loss…

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com

If you’re a typical guy who loves to lift big weights, but considers anything over 3 reps to be “endurance” training, you might not be interested in this article. However, if you can bench press a Buick but get winded when you bend down to tie your shoes, maybe I have an audience.

Look, we all do what we LIKE to do, but only the most successful among us find a way to also do what we NEED to do. If you think you’re in the latter category, listen up. I’ve got a quiver full of fun, challenging, cardio workouts that help you lose fat without losing strength or muscle.

Why You Need Cardio

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that cardio will turn you into a wispy, estrogen-soaked shadow of your former self – too many guys use this mindset as an excuse to avoid what they know they should be doing. In fact, the benefits of smart cardio training are too numerous to ignore. They include:

 

• Cardiovascular Health: This might not sound so exciting, but believe me, a heart attack or stroke won’t help you lift bigger weights, will it? Good health is the foundation of everything else, including your weight workouts.

  Think back to the parable of the farmer who discovered a goose who laid golden eggs – after a while, the farmer lost patience, and killed the goose to get all of the eggs all at once. Of course, when he opened the goose, there were no eggs inside. Don’t kill the goose (your health) that lays golden eggs (a lifetime of productive workouts).

• Fat Loss: If I still haven’t convinced you by using the health argument, then this benefit should catch your attention. While it’s POSSIBLE to get super lean by lifting alone, it’s a lot easier if you add a cardiovascular component to your program.

  Cardio workouts create a greater energy deficit, elevate metabolism, and initiate the secretion of important fat-mobilizing hormones. Don’t worry, you won’t lose muscle or strength, if you follow my suggestions in this article.

• Active Recovery: We’ve known for a long time that ANY form of “contrasting” stress promotes a faster recovery from your primary training activity. For guys who primarily lift weights, that means cardio. Now if you’ve tried this approach before and it didn’t work, it’s almost certainly because you failed to carefully integrate the cardio into your existing program. More on that later.

• Injury Prevention: Cardiovascular exercise mobilizes joints, increases blood flow to various tissues, and generally improves overall functioning. Really. Just trust me.

• Everyday Function: I hate to be the one to clue you into this, but there are some very important everyday functions that require more than the ability to exert maximum force for 1-2 seconds. Things like walking across the street, playing with your kids, taking a shower, stuff like that.

  Now, you might not have terrible endurance capacity now, but after a few decades of cardio avoidance, you will. So don’t even go there – you really CAN have it all – impressive muscularity, scary levels of maximum strength, and a healthy heart to boot. Follow along…

Four Principles Of Effective Cardio Training

Before I introduce you to my favorite cardio tricks, I’d like to share a few general principles that will make your cardiovascular sessions a lot more fun and rewarding:

1) Variation Prevents Injury, Boredom, and Dropout:

Here’s a little analogy that I use with my athletes: unfurl a paper clip into a straight piece of wire, and then start bending it back and forth, eventually you’ll break it. Think of your body that way.

There’s no need to use a single activity (such as running or biking) for your cardio workouts. After all, your heart, lungs, and circulatory system don’t know what exercise activity is taking place – but your joints sure do. If you use running for all your cardio workouts for example, your knees and feet take a heavy beating. But if you distribute the workout among 2-3 activities, such as running, swimming, and cycling, you’ll be less prone to overuse injury, and you’ll have more fun to boot.

2) Quality Before Quantity:

We all pay lip service to this principle, but how few of us actually employ it! Make sure your exercise technique is consistent at all times, no matter what. Know your best times for the various distances you cover and then, in your workouts, always stay close to those times. Finally, a quality performance is a pain-free performance. If you’re experiencing elbow pain during a swim for example, change gears until you determine what’s wrong.

3) Challenge Yourself And Have Fun:

I have a neighbor who’s simultaneously fascinated and disturbed by my devotion to physical training. He’ll often walk past my garage while I’m lifting and exclaim “Better you than me” or words to that effect. I always respond that I only train because I love it.

Look – if you can’t find some fun in your training, you’ll never last. So if you hate cardio, you’ll need to play some games with yourself to get in the mood. I think the best way to accomplish this is to challenge yourself. Keep a detailed training journal and record your PR’s for everything you do. This adds purpose and excitement to your training.

4) No Fuss Gets The Job Done:

I think the reason that a lot of people find exercise so tedious is because of all the pre-workout preparations – getting dressed in your “workout gear,” waiting for the perfect weather conditions, and taking your pre-workout supplements, just to name a few.

Try to adopt a “no preparation” attitude toward training. Don’t worry what your hair looks like, if it’s raining out, if you’ve got your running shorts on, or if you’ll be sweaty while you’re at the grocery store afterwards.

People often tell me that they dread the thought of doing cardio, but once they’re doing it, it’s not so bad. If you can relate, try to minimize the pre-workout gyrations. Just get out and do it.

Lose The Fat, Keep The Muscle: My Favorite Cardio Training Methods.

The following 8 training methods have a few things in common: They’re efficient, fun, challenging, time-efficient, practical, and most of all, they deliver.

1) Out & Back:

This is both a training method and an assessment tool, especially for beginners or lifters who haven’t done any cardio in a while. The idea is to cover a measured distance (you can run, bike, swim, skate, or whatever form of locomotion you happen to like) such that the “return” trip is performed in the same time (or less) than the “out” trip.

Let’s say you decide you’re going to go out for a jog for example. Your goal is to jog to a nearby park and then turn around and come back. With the out and back method, your goal is to establish a pace that enables you to complete your return trip in the same time as your out trip. If the return trip takes longer than the out trip, it indicates that you’re fatiguing faster than you should be – in other words, you’re running beyond your current abilities.

You can even use the out and back method with cardio machines in your gym – if, for example, you plan to use the elliptical trainer for 20 minutes, notice how much work you do in the first 10 minutes (usually this will be displayed as distance, or, alternatively, in watts). Then strive to equal or surpass this workload in the remaining 10 minutes.

2) Timed Miles:

If you haven’t done any running in a while, you might be surprised at how much you suck at it. In fact, if you go out and try to run one mile, chance are you won’t be able to finish at all. So don’t even try. Instead, measure a one mile course (maybe 1/2 mile out, and 1/2 mile back), and go out and cover that course, through a combination of walking, running, jogging, whatever.

The main thing is to record your time, no matter how bad it might be. Then, the next time you go out, simply beat that time. And you will. Gradually, workout by workout, you’ll be running more and walking less. And you’ll experience a steady stream of PR’s to keep your motivation flying.

3) 400’s:

400’s are one of the best fat-loss workouts you can ever do – just look at the physiques of top 400-meter sprinters if you still need convincing! Get on out to your local high school track (if it’s close to home, walk instead of drive – that’ll be your warm-up). Once around is 400 meters.

The current men’s World record is less than 44 seconds, which will soon strike you as un-Godly as you try your hand at this simple but punitive track & field event! So first time out, go VERY easy for the first 200 meters, and then pick up the pace for the final kick if you still have anything left in the tank.

Record your time. After about 4-5 minutes rest, run one more and try to beat your PR. That’s it for the first workout. You can run 400’s about twice a week, but start small and increase your reps very gradually. After several months, you’ll find you can do maybe 5 repeats per workout.

4) Hills:

Running hills is a fun but intense cardiovascular workout with important strength-enhancing benefits to boot. Best of all, the inclined surface minimizes impact and spares your joints.

Find a moderate slope that tapes you about 10-20 seconds to climb at maximum effort. First time out, limit yourself to 3-5 reps. Gradually increase to 10-12 reps after several weeks. And of course, time every sprint and always seek to beat your PR’s!

5) Tabata Protocol:

Recently, Dr. Tabata in Japan conducted a study in which he investigated the benefits of high intensity anaerobic exercise. Tabata discovered that a protocol consisting of 20 seconds of all-out cycling followed by 10 seconds of moderate cycling for a total of four minutes (8 repeats) was just as effective as forty-five minutes of aerobic exercise.

Interestingly, and perhaps surprisingly to some, the Tabata Protocol increases aerobic fitness in addition to its anaerobic benefits. This finding is consistent with my “ladder” paradigm that states that higher intensity training develops a wider spectrum of fitness benefits than lower-intensity exercise.

Clearly, the hallmark of this method is it’s time-efficiency, but there is a price to pay in pain and sweat – choose your poison!

6) Dot Drill:

I realize that most weight-trainers think they own the market on pain-tolerance, but the dot drill makes 20-rep squats look like a trip to Baskin Robbins by comparison. Particularly insidious is the fact that, unlike resistance training, repeated exposures to the dots will not make subsequent exposures any easier.

First conceived by basketball coach Adolph Rupp in the 1940’s, and then later popularized by Bigger Faster Stronger Inc. a few decades later, the dot drill is both a remarkable agility, foot strength, and anaerobic conditioning exercise, as well as a superb and easy-to-administer testing tool.

It is unique in that it creates not only a high level of fatigue, but also a high quality of fatigue- fighters in particular will be able to relate to the feeling of panic that ensues when your heart rate soars to about 120% of age-predicted maximum.

The dot drill is a battery of 5 separate drills, performed in rapid succession, with each drill performed six times in a row before proceeding to the next drill (please refer to the diagram as you read the description).

Dot Drill Schematic

D E

 C

A B

The dot drill features (5), five-inch diameter dots orientated in a pattern similar to the five dots on a pair of dice, expect that the “square” is three feet by two feet. Use a solid surface such as weight room matting, and tie your shoelaces. Tight.

Begin the drill as follows:

1) First drill: Starting position: your left foot is on “A” and your right foot on “B.” Hop forward and touch “C” with both feet simultaneously, then continue forward so that your left foot lands on “D” at the same instant your right foot lands on “E.” (a total of 2 hops). Now go back to the starting position by reversing what you just did (hopping backward). That’s one rep. Repeat for a total of six reps.

2) Second drill: From the starting position, lift your left foot in the air and with right foot only, hop to “C,” “E,” “D,” “C,” “A,” and back to “B.” That’s one rep. Repeat for a total of six reps.

3) Third drill: Repeat the last drill but using the left foot only (hop to “C,” “E,” “D,” “C,” “A,” and back to “B.”) That’s one rep. Repeat for a total of six reps.

4) Fourth drill: Repeat the last drill but using both feet, keeping the feet together- this looks somewhat like a skiing drill. Repeat for a total of six reps.

5) Fifth drill: This is very similar to drill number one, with a slight variation: When you reach the top of the pattern (left foot on “D” and your right foot on “E.”), instead of hopping backward to get back to the starting position, you instead jump-spin and land on the same two dots (only now your left foot will be on “E” and your right foot on “D.”), facing the opposite direction. Then hop forward and touch “C” with both feet simultaneously, then continue forward so that your left foot lands on “B” and your right foot on “A.” Lastly, jump-spin again to assume the starting position. That’s one rep. Repeat for a total of six reps.

Errors: Subtract .10 seconds for every missed dot from the total time.

Once you’ve done the drill a few times, you’ll notice that you can’t help but be competitive once you start. Even if you don’t feel terribly motivated, you’ll bust a gut trying to get a good time. Or maybe it’s just that you want to get it over with. Either way, the dot drill brings out your best (and I’m not referring to your last meal).

Implementing the Dot Drill

The five dots of death (as my athletes refer to it) can be used as a warm-up for a strength training session (one drill will bring your heart rate to 100% and will get you sweating big-time), as anaerobic conditioning, and/or as a fantastic foot and calf strengthening tool. One precaution however: I suggest never doing more than 4 repetitions of the dot drill on any given day, and not more than 12 dot drills on any given week.

Dot Drill Standards

OK, you’ve done the dot drill a handful of times and you think you’re a stud (or studette) because you finally broke the two minute barrier? According to Bigger Faster Stronger, you’ll need to break the 60 second barrier to be considered fast.

7) Tethered Pool Sprints:

I live in Phoenix and hot weather is fast approaching. It often becomes tedious to get out there for sprints when the temperature is well over 100 degrees. If you’ve got a pool, and it’s never occurred to you that you can use it for exercise because it’s too small, try this: call around to some pool supply and/or diving shops and find an elastic cord with a nylon waist-belt. You attach the band to one side of the pool, and attach the band to your waist.

Attach the band in such a way that you can just barely reach the other side of the pool through an all-out sprint. Once you touch the other end, relax as the band pulls you back. Then repeat for the desired numbers of reps. This is a brutally tough and effective form of anaerobic exercise that delivers the fat loss goods in spades.

8) Fast High Repetition Overhead Lifting:

I’ve added this last option for those of you who still have a hard time stomaching any “non-lifting” form of cardio. In this case we’re talking about various forms of snatches – a fast lift where the weight is “snatched” to an overhead position.

Of course, the snatch is one of the two Olympic lifting events, but there are several one-arm variants as well, including the one-arm dumbbell snatch, the kettlebell snatch, and the one-arm barbell snatch. All of these lifts create high levels of cardio-respiratory fatigue, in addition to the obvious speed strength and shoulder-function benefits. On top of that, snatches are actually fun!

Integrating Cardio With Weights

One final note – as you begin to initiate some of these cardio workouts, realize that you’re significantly increasing the demands on your body. I strongly suggest cutting back on the volume of your weight training exercises to make way for these new workouts.

The simplest way to do this is to cut your sets in halfó in other words, if you normally do 4 sets of 8, cut it back to 2 sets of 8 – at least for the first few months. You’ll find that this approach will allow you to maintain both your strength and orthopedic health as you begin to address your cardiovascular fitness needs.

Following the suggestions I’ve presented here, you’ll enjoy the health and fat loss benefits of a cardiovascular exercise program, and, who knows, you might even become a “former” cardio hater.

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About The Author

Charles Staley…world-class strength/performance coach…his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Click here to visit Charles’ site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with “Escalating Density Training,” Charles’ revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.

http://www.staleytrainingprograms.com

10 Overlooked And Misunderstood Facts About Ab Training (Part Two)

10 Overlooked And Misunderstood Facts About Ab Training (Part Two)

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com

Last article we discussed a number of common fallacies about ab training, including belt use, diet, and force production.

Click here to read that article if you missed it. [link to part 1 on your site here]

This week I’ll continue with more little-known facts about your elusive six-pack.

Enjoy!

 

4. Training Your Abs Correctly Helps Your Back. Training Them Incorrectly Hurts Your Back

The average fitness wannabe will gravitate toward doing dozens, maybe hundreds of crunches per day. After all it worked for Brittney, right? There are at least two problems with this not so innocent approach to ab traning:

1) The reason you can’t see your abs is- you’re too fat. Why then, would you focus your training on one small muscle group that will not result in significant caloric expenditure? It’s a waste of time.

2) Actually, it’s worse than a waste of time- it could increase your chance of spinal injury. Here’s how: Over weeks, months, and years of sit-ups and crunches, your rectus abdominus is likely to chronically shorten as an adaptation to said training. Stand up right now and contract your abs, like you’re doing a standing crunch. Notice how it takes the curvature out of your lower back?

That’s what can happen when you do too many crunches and sit-ups. And when you can’t maintain a neutral spine, you’re much more likely to injure yourself the next time you lift something heavy.

A better approach is to focus more on static training for your rectus abdominus, as well as rotational ab drills, which don’t have the same potential to shorten your abs. Here are a few examples from our You Tube Channel (these links will open in new windows).

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRCb3syDYos
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meZfHqsab9Q
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWUBMXPzs2g
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwzLoYuIzFQ

5. You May Be Training Your Abs More Than You Think

Most people under-estimate how much work their abs receive through their regular training schedule. Squats, cleans, deadlifts, snatches, farmer’s walks, kettelebell work, and even heavy dumbbell upper-body exercises result in very high levels of abdominal activation. And honestly, probably as much as you really need.

6. Your Abs Don’t Need High Reps

If and when you do decide to do direct ab training, just use normal loading scenarios, just like you would with any other exercise. Where did the high-rep myth come from? Hard to say, but I suspect is has something to do with the (also) mistaken notion that you can “melt” fat off of your midsection through lots of reps- I guess people think that since high reps make them sweat, that heat helps to burn their fat off.

This myth may also stem from the idea that the abdominal muscles are composed mostly of slow-twitch fibers, and therefore benefit most from high-repetition training. While this is at least a plausible premise, I’d also suggest that muscles should be trained based on what they need to do, as opposed to what they’re composed of. If you should happen to slip on some ice, your abs need to explosively contract to keep your spine in neutral. If you’re a discus thrower, a golfer, a tennis player, or any other rotational athlete, you need explosive abdominal functionality.

7. There Is No Direct Metabolic Pathway Between Your Abs And The Fat That Covers Them

Or to use more conventional language, there’s no such thing as isolating a muscle or sport reduction. I covered this in an earlier point, but it bears repeating: Your pattern of bodyfat deposition is genetically pre-determined. Guys tend to carry fat on their midsections (android fat deposition) and women tend to carry it on their hips and thighs (gynoid deposition). You’ll always have this pattern, no matter how lean or fat you become. So just train the large muscle groups using “big” exercise and heavy weights, and maybe add some heavy cardio (if you’re in the mood), and you should create the caloric deficit you’ll need to get leaner.

8. The Best Way To Train Abs Is With A Stability Ball

Obviously you already know part of my argument against this idea from my earlier comments, but given the popularity of stability balls lately, I thought I’d add a few remarks on the topic here. First, I actually like the ball for certain exercises, because it 1) increases the range of motion you can employ, and 2) because it’s more comfortable than the floor.

Also, the ball allows for some creative exercises, such as the ball scissors that I provided a video of earlier. With that said however, stability balls are a tool, and like all tools, they provide benefits as well as drawbacks, depending on how you use them. If, for example, you labor under the mistaken impression that you need to do thousands of crunches per week, and that the ball is better because it provides greater range of motion, all you’ll do is end up shortening your trunk flexors and lose your lordodic curvature. SO the ball’s OK, as long as you keep things in context.

9. The Best Ab Exercises Are The Ones You Can Really FEEEELLL…

Uhh, wrong. Muscles respond to the training stress they experience, not how that stress feels. Just like any other muscle. Whether or not you feel a particular exercise is inconsequential. Perhaps one of the most productive ab exercises is heavy squats while wearing a belt, but I doubt that you consciously feel your abs while doing those squats.

10. Your Abs Can Get Too Big If You Train Them Too Much

Unlikely. Actually, let’s just go with nearly impossible. The structure and function of the abdominal musculature makes this scenario highly unlikely. If you happen to subscribe to this myth based on seeing lean bodybuilders with big guts, relax: you’re looking at enlarged livers from GH and other drug use. Unless you use these substances, you won’t suffer the same fate.

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About The Author

Charles Staley…world-class strength/performance coach…his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Click here to visit Charles’ site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with “Escalating Density Training,” Charles’ revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.

http://www.staleytrainingprograms.com

Ab Training by Charles Staley

10 Overlooked And Misunderstood Facts About Ab Training (Part One)

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com

Here are 10 of the most overlooked and misunderstood facts about abdominal training – some of these may fly in the face of what you THINK you know to be facts! Keep an open mind and read the explanations.

You may still not agree but it might just change your ideas on how your abs should be trained.

This is Part 1 – keep your eyes peeled for Part 2, coming soon!

1. Using A Belt Makes Your Abs Stronger, Not Weaker.

This is perhaps on of the most pervasive myths that people hold about abdominal training, and about training in general. Let’s apply some simple common sense to the issue: if you can lift more weight with a belt than without (and virtually all people can), are your abs “asleep” as many people who have you believe? Or, are they working harder than they would be without a belt?

The reason you’re stronger with a belt is that it gives your abs something to contract against. Imagine you want to train your legs and all you have is two primitive options:

1) You can “leg press” a heavy box by pushing against it with your feet while sitting on a slick floor. Or…

2) You “leg press” a heavy box by pushing it with your feet while sitting on the floor with your back against a solid wall.

Which option do you think will result in more tension for your leg muscles? Obviously the second option is far preferable, because by wedging yourself between an immovable object and a heavy moveable object, you can create a high level of tension on the muscle’s you’re trying to train.

Using a belt during heavy squats, deadlifts, or Olympic lifts works the same way- by giving your abs something to push against, they can create greater intra-abdominal pressure, allowing you to 1) lift more and 2) lift more with less chance of spinal injury.

Just having a belt however, doesn’t ensure success- you’ve gotta use it properly. The three key things to remember are:

1) Wear the belt high enough so your abs can exert pressure against it- many people wear a belt too low and rob themselves of the potential benefit

2) Don’t wear the belt too tight- a looser fit allows your abs to get better leverage against the belt. And finally…

3) Get a high quality belt- some nylon/Velcro belts won’t stand up to heavy use. Case in point: I recently purchased such a belt from my local Sports Authority and broke the buckle the first time I used it (must be my weakened abs from excessive belt use). Thinking it was a fluke, I returned the belt for a new one, and once again, broke it the first time I used it.

2. Having A 6-Pack Is About Diet, Not Training

You can train abs, all abs, nothing but abs, all the time, and still not have a six pack UNLESS- and here’s the kicker- unless you’re below 10% bodyfat. And probably you’ll need to be below 8% bodyfat. The truth is you already have abs- you just can’t see them. Since this isn’t a nutrition article, I won’t elaborate on how you should eat, so if you need help in that area, you might consider an expert nutrition consultation.

Now of course, you can drop bodyfat through training as well, but not “ab training per se:” instead, focus your efforts on challenging the largest possible muscle groups. My favorites include heavy weight circuits including a mix of Olympic lifts, power lifts, and strongman lifts.

3. The Main Function Of Your Abs Is Not Force Production

Although the abdominal muscles can and do function to flex and rotate the trunk, I’d argue that their primary function is to prevent unwanted motion. Specifically, strong abs help to protect the spine in two ways:

1) They create intra-abdominal pressure which helps to counteract compressive forces resulting from axial loading (e.g., squats, deadlifts)

2) They help to prevent forces that take the spine out of its preferred neutral position. More on this in the second installment next week….

Stay Tuned For Part 2!

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About The Author

Charles Staley…world-class strength/performance coach…his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Click here to visit Charles’ site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with “Escalating Density Training,” Charles’ revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.

http://www.staleytrainingprograms.com

How Much Ya Bench by Charles Staley

How Much Ya Bench

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com

The bench press has achieved almost cult status, reaching even into popular culture. It wasn’t always this way – prior to the 1960’s the most popular upper body lift was the military press – at that time, one of the three lifts contested in the sport of weightlifting (the press was removed from competition in the early 1970’s due to fears that lifters were using dangerous lifting postures in the attempt to press larger and larger weights).

Despite the fact that men tend to turn this lift into a demonstration event, and that women tend to shy away from the lift altogether, bench pressing (and it’s variations) remain the premier upper body development tool for physique and strength enthusiasts. Like any tool, used properly, you’ll get a great result; done improperly, then bench press can tear up shoulders like nobody’s business.

Here are my suggestions for safe and effective bench pressing:

Bench presses may be performed with a bar or with dumbbells. The bench may be flat (overall pectoral stress), inclined (more stress to the clavicular pectorals), or declined (more stress to the lower pectorals).

Lay on the bench, placing both feet flat on the floor (if this causes the curvature of your low back to increase, find a lower bench or place your feet on solid blocks to elevate them).

Grasp the bar such that both hands are equidistant to the center, and make sure your thumbs are wrapped around the bar, rather than on the same side as your other fingers. You only have to drop a big weight on your chest one time to become convinced that a thumbless grip is a big mistake (assuming you survive it).

Although it is difficult to articulate this concept in writing, the shoulder blades should be tucked together prior to unracking the bar. Do this while your hands are on the bar – lean to your right side and pull the left scapula inward, and then put your weight down on it. Then, leaning on your left scapula, tuck your right side in and then center your bodyweight. When the scapulae are tucked (retracted), the shoulder joints will be afforded additional range of motion as the bar descends, thus adding a measure of safety to the lift.

Immediately prior to unracking, the bar should be directly over your nose – if it isn’t, slide yourself up or down on the bench until it is. Inhale and unrack the bar from the supports. Pause in the top position for a brief moment, rather than making a “B-line” from the supports to your chest.

At this time, take in as much air into your lungs as possible and hold until the bar has ascended through the sticking point. Why? Ever notice that great bench pressers have “barrel” chests? This gives the pecs better leverage. You can give yourself a temporary, artificial barrel chest by inhaling as deeply as possible and holding throughout the lift.

As you lower the bar to your chest, keep your elbows directly under the bar, rather than in front of, or ahead of the bar. At the bottom of the movement, the bar lightly touches your chest at nipple level. Return the bar to the starting position (it should actually travel up, as well as slightly back) by contracting your pectorals.

(Note: there are in fact many different variations regarding grip width, elbow position, and contact area on the chest. The variation I’m describing here is intended for muscular development more so than maximum bench press strength. Competitive powerlifters use an array of techniques designed to maximize leverage, but I assume readers who are also competitive powerlifters will already be familiar with these techniques).

Grip Width

Viewed from the head of the bench, your forearms should be perpendicular to the floor at the bottom position.

Torso

Keep your torso flat on the bench at all times – the bench press is not intended to be a hamstring exercise, despite my sarcastic article called Bench Pressing: The Forgotten Hamstring Exercise.

Speed

Although a variety of speeds can be employed, the eccentric phase should always be “tight and controlled.” If in doubt, allow two seconds to lower the bar. If you wish to eliminate the stretch shortening aspect of the lift, you can pause for two seconds at the chest, but don’t relax while doing so.

Depth

Although the most common variant is to bring the bar down until it touches the chest, for some athletes with poor shoulder flexibility, this position may be too deep. As a rule of thumb, the bottom position you choose should not use up all the shoulder flexibility you have – you should be able to go deeper with no discomfort if you had to.

For novice athletes with adequate shoulder flexibility, you can use depth as a method of progression, by using a constant weight over several workouts, slightly increasing the depth every session.

Transition Position

Most bench press injuries occur during the transition between the eccentric and concentric phase, according to Dr. Sal Arria, Executive Director of the International Sports Sciences Association. A common technique flaw involves the fatigued lifter allowing the bar to “bounce” or “chop” down onto the chest, which subjects the pectoral attachments to sudden loads, which is often the stimulus for injury.

A 200 pound bar lowered very slowly exerts about 200 pounds of pressure. But this same bar lowered quickly, may put many hundreds of pounds of tension on the target muscles and their attachments.

Bench Press Standards

According to Strength and Speed (Dale Harder, © 2000 Education Plus), a man who weighs 181 pounds is World Class if he can bench 435, National class at 420, College star at 330, College letter at 275, and HS star at 215.

Anthony Clark, weighing 372, bench pressed 780 in 1996, and I recall hearing that he did 800×2 in the gym recently. Chuck Ahrens, weighing 280, benched 400 for 28 reps. Chris Confessore was the heaviest man to bench press triple bodyweight – 741 pounds. Tamara Rainwater was the first woman to bench 400 pounds. The heaviest woman’s bench press may have been an unofficial 440 by Fibingerova, a Chech shot putter.

Safety

ALWAYS employ (or become!) a competent spotter when performing any bench press variation.

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About The Author

Charles Staley…world-class strength/performance coach…his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Click here to visit Charles’ site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with “Escalating Density Training,” Charles’ revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.

http://www.staleytrainingprograms.com

New Feature

The great thing about true strength coaches and true trainers is that they realize that information is something that should be shared. I have always been amazed at the willingness of others in this field to help and teach. There are so many great coaches out there who have invaluable information. One such is Charles Staley. He writes some great articles with tons of solid information. The best part is that he allows a great deal of his information to be used for free on such outlets at this. So, since I am a reader of his material, I would like to share some of his great information with you. If you get the chance to check out his site, please do so. Also, don’t forget to check out the side of the blog for links to some of my favorite coaches and their sites. I learn a lot from them and you can too!

 

5 Practical Suggestions

For

Effective Programming

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com

1 – Don’t Use “Bodypart Splits”

Here are two big problems with bodypart splits:

1) You limit yourself to relatively ineffective exercises. For example, if you have a “hamstring day,” you can’t really do squats of any kind, or deadlifts of any kind (The most effective hamstring exercises), because both involve not only hams, but also quads, low back, and core stability, among other things. On a “chest day” you can’t do any form of bench (The most effective “chest” exercise), because it involves delts and triceps as well as pecs.

So if you go on the assumption that each “bodypart” needs to be trained at least twice a week (an assumption I happen to ascribe to), you’d need a schedule like this:

Monday: Chest & Back
Tuesday: Hams & Shoulders
Wednesday: Biceps & Triceps
Thursday: Abs & Calves
Friday: Chest & Back
Saturday: Hams & Shoulders
Sunday: Biceps & Triceps, Abs & Calves

2) Which leads to the fact that: of course you can arrange things differently, but anyway you slice it, you’re training 6-7 days a week, using inefficient exercises.

A somewhat better “compromise” might be to have 2 “upper body” days and two “lower body” days. Now your weekly split looks something like this:

Monday: Lower body
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: Upper body
Thursday: Lower body
Friday: Off
Saturday: Upper body
Sunday: OFF

A schedule I prefer even more is to involve as much of your body as possible on every workout. This requires a bit more creativity in order to avoid redundancy (see point # 3 below), so here’s an example to get your started:

Monday: Back Squat, Bench Press, Low Cable Row
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: Step-Ups, Dumbbell Overhead Press, Chins
Thursday: Front Squat, Dumbbell Bench Press, Suitcase Row
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Lunges, Barbell Military Press, Pullups
Sunday: OFF

With these last two examples, you have 3 days off, plus you can do the best exercises: squats, pulls, Olympic lifts, rows, lunges, presses, etc.

2- Use A Weekly Cycle

By a “cycle” I simply mean a recurring or repeating unit of time into which you place every exercise you think you must or should do. Using my last example, you obviously wouldn’t (or actually couldn’t) try to back squat, front squat, lunge, step-up, chin, row, bench press, etc., etc., all in one day. You’ve gotta spread them out into a cycle.

If your cycle is too small (compressed) you won’t be able to recover from all the work you’ve placed into it. On the other hand, if the cycle is too large (expanded), you’ll get too much recovery, meaning, you’ll be starting from scratch on each new cycle. The trick is to make your cycles just long enough to be able to achieve a full recovery, but not so long that your fitness levels recede back to the starting point with each new repeat.

The smallest possible cycle (in my opinion) is about 4 days. This would assume that you accomplish all desired work in two training sessions. The upper body-lower body split described earlier is one example. Using this, here’s what your 4 day split would look like:

Monday: Upper Body
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: Lower Body
Thursday: OFF

Or, the 2 sessions could be distributed toward the front of the cycle, and the rest days placed at the rear:

Monday: Upper Body
Tuesday: Lower Body
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: OFF

Either of these two cycles could be repeated over and over with a good degree of success, for an indeterminate length of time. The problem I have with this split however, is that modern Western civilization is based on a 7-day week. It only makes sense therefore, to align your training cycle with your work/life schedule, which happens to be a 7-day cycle. For this reason, I think you’re best off using a weekly split. Using the last example, it might look something like this:

Monday: Upper Body
Tuesday: Lower Body
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: Upper Body
Friday: Lower Body
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: OFF

3 – Seek Maximum Diversity And Minimum Redundancy

If you look back at the earlier example of a “whole body” split, you’ll notice that although there is a repetition of fundamental movement patterns, there is minimal redundancy of specific movements. Here’s that split again so you don’t have to scroll back up to find it:

Monday: Back Squat, Bench Press, Low Cable Row
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: Step-Ups, Dumbbell Overhead Press, Chins
Thursday: Front Squat, Dumbbell Bench Press, Suitcase Row
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Lunges, Barbell Military Press, Pullups
Sunday: OFF

So again, you’ll notice that we’ve covered pretty much every major movement pattern: vertical and horizontal pressing, vertical and horizontal pulling, squatting, lunging, etc.

4 – If A Movement Pattern Hurts, DO SOMETHING About It

Typically, if a lifter has a particular movement scheduled for a workout, and then the initial warm-up sets for that movement cause pain, the typical response is to simply skip the movement and hope it feels better the next time around. Bad idea. The solution is beyond the scope of this article, but let me suggest getting some medical advice for anything that hurts more than a week or so (as opposed to a year or so). Until you get a diagnosis, you don’t know what you’re dealing with. And you can’t fix a problem if you can’t define the problem.

5- Stay Flexible With Loading Patterns

Anyone who’s followed by work for any length of time knows that I’m not a periodization fan. It’s just simply impossible to predict how you’re going to respond to a specific stimulus weeks in advance. So on each workout, go in with a plan, but also don’t be afraid to modify the plan if things aren’t panning out the way you hoped. If you were planning on 3 sets of 8, and on the first set it becomes obvious that you could probably hit a new PR for a single, I’d take that PR. Conversely, if you’re planning on maxing out and it quickly becomes apparent that a new PR isn’t in the cards, take the opportunity to get some volume in instead.

If you don’t plan on being flexible, you’re likely to fall apart and lose motivation when your workout fails to go your way. So prepare for the unexpected, and have a back-up plan in place before you go in. This way, you’ll almost always have great training sessions, your motivation will stay high, and that leads to intense and consistent training. And that leads to great results.

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About The Author

Charles Staley…world-class strength/performance coach…his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Click here to visit Charles’ site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with “Escalating Density Training,” Charles’ revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.

http://www.staleytrainingprograms.com