Categoriesmuscle growth Program Design

6 Week MASS Building Routine: Your Quest for a Bigger, Stronger Physique Begins Here

I’m traveling back to Boston from London today. I’ve been away for two weeks presenting at three different workshops. I’ve had a lovely stay, but am looking forward to heading home and my wife handing Julian over to me as soon as I walk through the door.

Thanks to Boston based personal trainer, George Kalantzis, for contributing today’s guest post.

Copyright: shevtsovy / 123RF Stock Photo

6 Week MASS Building Routine: Start Here

Labor day has come and gone, the days are shorter, and the nights are colder.

That means it’s bulking season.

But you don’t come to Tony’s website for some cookie-cutter bullshit program. Over the next six weeks, you will craft a new physique using intense workouts, discipline, and commitment to add mass.

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Setting the Expectations For A Clean Bulk

Nothing gets me more fired up than people who are not willing to put in the work to get desired results.

When I competed in natural bodybuilding last year, I heard questions like “how do you gain muscle and shred down,” how can I look bigger without gaining fat?” What supplements did you take?

The list goes on.

I hate to burst your bubble, but the universe does not bend at the whims of your desire. Contrary to popular belief, you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

So how do you bulk without gaining excessive weight?

To achieve a clean bulk, you must learn how to gain 2-5 pounds per month with half of that weight being muscle, and half of that weight being fat. This will keep your composition in an ideal state for optimal performance.

So just eat more food, right?

Not quite, too much junk food during a bulk is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Nutrition does matter, and most people will either eat a surplus of shitty food or not eat enough. That is one of the toughest things about adding solid mass.


You can expect to gain some body fat during a bulk, but not an excessive amount.

We are aiming to build a stronger engine so that you can increase size, which means you’ll need to gain healthy amounts of body fat.

Don’t get discouraged if you see others gain size quickly or achieve different results, gaining mass is about putting in the work, and for some, adding quality size can take time.

Your Blueprint For Success

Life is motion.

The world continues to rotate on the axis, and every day is an opportunity to grow. Your body is the secret to many things. Yet more often, many of us cheat our way through training, going through motions and we never achieve the results we look for.

Today is the day we put an end to all of that.

Very specifically, this template is designed to form the basis of your training to put on size using bodybuilding methods. Because this is a hypertrophy program, it will help with putting on size, but if you are a powerlifter or strong man, this might not be the best program for you.

An additional benefit of this program is that it will help raise your work capacity and thus prepare you even better for the strength phase training you’ll do after.

What’s more, this program will help spare muscle loss when you decide to cut back down.

This will be your blueprint for a six-week mass building phase.

You’ll notice it is broken down into two three-week phases, each phase using a combination of compound exercises and machines to maximize your results. It is these movements where we will construct a blueprint for adding some serious size.

Phase I

Our first phase consists of flooding the muscles by using compound exercises performed in the optimal range to transform your energy into muscle mass.

During the first three weeks, you’ll be training five days a week in a split that is three days of training, with two days off.

You’ll repeat 3/2 for three weeks in the following format: legs, push, pull.

The great thing about a 3/2 cycle is you can alternate it according to your life.

As long as you train three out of every five days, you’ll provide enough stimulus for growth.

At first, you’ll notice that the program does not look lie much, but to prevent overtraining and generate the highest anabolic response, you’ll stick to three working sets, not including your warmup sets.

Phase II

Now that your muscles are primed for growth, this phase makes insane changes to your physique.

You’ll go from training five days to six days, and you’ll do different exercises and reps ranges. As with the first phase, adjust the days according to your lifestyle, but keep the days in order and make sure to train all six days.

Conclusion

It is human nature to fear the unknown, but it would be inhuman to not yearn for something greater. If you want to experience changes in your physique, you must pushup yourself past your comfort zone. This six-week bulk will give you the tools you need to pack on some serious size.

About the Author

George Kalantzis began his career as decorated Marine with over ten years of faithful service and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He’s worked with everyone from professional athletes, celebrities, busy executives, and alongside some of the top strength coaches in the world.

Today he spends most of his time coaching at Equinox in Boston, and outside of work with his gorgeous little daughter. Please feel free to say hi over on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, as he loves meeting and connecting with new people.

CategoriesExercise Technique muscle growth

Blood Flow Restriction: The Holy Grail of Gimmicks?

As this post goes live Lisa and I are en route to Australia. I’d like to sit here and say I’m doing something productive with 20 hours on a plane like reading a book, catching up on some writing, or, I don’t know, looking lovingly into my wife’s eyes.

But in reality I’m probably watching John Wick or something.

Anyway, I didn’t forget about everyone and I do have a bunch of great content prepared  for while I’m away. Today’s pinch writer is Baltimore, MD based trainer, Tim Hendren.

Let’s get jacked.

Copyright: piotrkt / 123RF Stock Photo

Blood Flow Restriction Training: The Holy Grail of Gimmicks?

The fitness world is usually full of shit.

What seems like every 30 seconds, a new product pops up in gyms or online that’s hailed as the next cutting-edge tool to take your training to the next level. From the thigh master to waist trainers to oxygen deprivation masks, bullshit peddlers have been taking advantage of the insecurities of fitness enthusiasts for decades.

Tell someone that it takes ten years of consistency with training and nutrition to achieve their desired results and you will struggle in the fitness space. Tell someone to strap a belt around their waist and magically lose 10 lbs. for three easy payments of 12.99 and you’re a millionaire.

Unfortunately, that’s where we’re at.

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I’m skeptical at this point when I see something gimmicky.

My stance is guilty before proven innocent for almost everything that doesn’t involve getting stronger using basic core lifts and eating the right amounts of the right foods for your goals.

When I saw blood flow restriction (BFR) for the first time, my brain immediately filed it in the category of useless shake weight’esque type nonsense.

Then I gave it a shot after I saw some trusted coaches (John Meadows, Ben Pakulski, and others) advocating it.

Ok, maybe there’s something to this.

I gave it a shot and the massive pump it provided my arms was undeniable.

Keeping blood trapped in the targeted muscle and reaching failure with an absurdly light weight had to have some legit benefits.

It was time to dig deeper.

What is BFR?

BFR refers to a training strategy that employs the use of cuffs, wraps, bands, or a BFR device placed strategically on the extremities to occlude venous blood flow away from the muscle while maintaining arterial flow into the muscle during an exercise.

In other words, blood goes into the muscle when it’s contracting and gets stuck there while you’re wrapped up.

When done properly and to failure, BFR is quite painful. Want to see someone humbled? Take the baddest dude at the gym, put him through a BFR exercise and watch him writhe in pain and hit failure with 20-35% of his 1 rep max.

To put that in perspective, that’s failing with a 60 lbs. squat when you max 315.

The duration of the exercise and total time with wraps on is under 4 minutes, light speed in terms of reaching muscular failure using a weight you typically warm up with.

What Does the Research Say?

This is all fine and dandy but who cares about the pump (I’m that guy with his hand raised) if it’s not producing any lasting results? When you take a closer look though, it turns out BFR isn’t just a tool for a bro to get a massive arm swell before he puts on his smedium t-shirt and hits the club.

In a recent meta-analysis of almost 50 studies (Lixandrão 2018) comparing traditional heavy load training and training using low loads with BFR, it was a wash with regards to muscle hypertrophy.

Think about that.

Almost 50 studies and the differences between traditional heavy training and light lifting with BFR were statistically insignificant when looking at muscle growth.

I guess this isn’t in the shake weight category after all.

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It must be stated that in the same meta-analysis, it was determined that differences in strength were in favor of the heavy load groups by a wide margin.

Training for specificity still reigns supreme, especially regarding maximal strength.

In another study (Takarada Y 2000), patients fresh from ACL surgery were observed.

One group was given traditionally loaded exercises for the quadriceps and another group were given low load exercises combined with BFR. The group using BFR showed markedly less atrophy in the quadriceps when compared with the traditional group and certainly what is typically seen in patients after an ACL repair.

Another win for BFR as a prehab/rehab tool!

Practical Uses

When programming BFR into your training sessions, it’s important to keep in mind that its efficacy is limited to the biceps, triceps, quads, hamstrings, and calves due to the location of the occlusion sites. Sorry folks, it doesn’t matter where you put those wraps, you aren’t occluding your glutes or pecs.

Another limitation is its reluctancy to produce strength gains.

Based on the available research, while BFR hasn’t shown to increase maximal strength anywhere close to traditional lifting, it could be an effective way to maintain strength when dealing with an injury or joint issue that inhibits the trainee from lifting with heavy weight.

Other Scenarios Where BFR is Useful

1. Golfer’s or Tennis Elbow

The dreaded medial or lateral epicondylitis has provided quite a roadblock for arm gains.

There is nothing quite like attempting an overhead triceps extension with an inflamed elbow and the searing pain that follows. One of the more effective strategies I’ve found personally and with clients is taking the weight down, applying the cuffs, and pumping away pain free.

Typically, under these conditions, if the weight is light enough, you can get away with performing the exercise.

Add in the pillow-like effect of blood pooling around the joint due to BFR, and you’ve created an anabolic environment for the muscle minus the pain and risk for more inflammation.

2. Knee Issues

Whether it’s arthritis or simply cranky knees from heavy compound lifts, BFR can be a great way to hammer the quads and hamstrings without placing more stress on the knees. The same concept from #1, your inflamed knees will appreciate the low loads and allow the targeted muscles to reach failure without pain in a full range of motion.

3. Added Frequency

When working with heavier weights in a strength phase, it may be helpful to limit the load of isolation work for arms and legs. Training with BFR can provide an intense stimulus to the targeted muscles without anywhere close to the amount of muscle damage or joint stress from high loads. Furthermore, if you are using low loads and BFR, you can do the isolation lifts more frequently without sacrificing performance in the heavy lifts.

4. In-Home or On-the-Road

If you are training at home or in a hotel gym working with weights that resemble “My First Weight Set” by Fisher-Price, BFR can be a great way to jack up the intensity and train closer to failure regardless of load.

We’ve all been burned by bullshit online hotel gym pictures. You book the room thinking it’s an acceptable gym then show up to lift and they don’t have any dumbbells over 25 lbs. Infuriating.

Pack your wraps or cuffs just in case.

5. Prehab or Rehab

As stated earlier, the resulting atrophy from an injury or operation can be mitigated with low loads and BFR.

6. During a Deload

Taking a week off to recover from an intense training block? Sprinkle in BFR to provide the muscles a stimulus that won’t require much recovery or tax the central nervous system.

7. When You Need a Sick Pump Without Sacrificing Recovery from Programmed Training

Don’t act like you haven’t done this.

You’re about to head to the pool or beach and need to catch a quick arm swell.

You have exactly 2 ½ minutes to bang out 12,000 reps of curls and close grip push-ups to get the arms poppin’.

Wrap up, use BFR, and ensure that swell lasts well into the outing. You’d hate to lose that pump if someone starts snapping poolside pics for the gram’.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Finally a pool day!! Happy summer.

A post shared by Dr. Lisa Lewis (@drlewisconsulting) on

Note From TG: No BFR was done prior to the snapping of this pic…;o)

Get the pump you need without digging into your recovery from programmed training.

How to Wrap Up Safely and Effectively

Upper body: Place the wraps, cuffs, or BFR device directly under the deltoid tuberosity located at the attachment of the deltoid and humerus. Wrap your arms with a perceived tightness of 7/10 as this will provide enough pressure to occlude the cephalic vein but ensure you are still allowing arterial flow.

Check for a distal radial pulse after you are wrapped to make sure you didn’t go too tight. Do not perform the exercise if you can’t find your pulse.

Lower Body: Place the wraps, cuffs, or BFR device as far up your thigh as you can. Wrap your thigh with the same 7/10 tightness as upper body. Make sure the wrap, cuff, or device is lying flat and not wrinkled or bunched up. The goal here is to occlude the deep vein and femoral vein.

Make sure you have a posterior tibial pulse before you perform the exercise.

For a more detailed description, head to Dr. Mario Novo’s guide to everything BFR.

Programming

The best exercises to use with BFR are isolation movements such as leg extensions, leg curls, bicep curls, and triceps extensions. Play around and find your favorite variations.

The most heavily utilized and researched rep/set scheme of 30-15-15-15 is considered the gold standard by practitioners.

Set 1: 30 reps

Set 2: 15 reps

Set 3: 15 reps

Set 4: 15 reps

Take :30 rest between each set. Unwrap after set 4. Breathe.

Perform BFR up to 2-3x per week per muscle group for best results.

About the Author

Tim is an exercise science graduate and CSCS who has been training in Baltimore MD since 2004. While his specialty is body composition, he has extensive experience working with clients from young athletes to cardiac rehabilitation patients. Tim has been published in a variety of fitness publications and writes for his blog when he isn’t helping clients get stronger, leaner, and generally more awesome in person.

Earlier this year, Tim published his first book “Ignition Protocol”, available on Amazon.

Being a former fat boy, Tim developed a deep seeded passion for training and nutrition in his teenage years after a major body transformation. This passion is what drives him to seek the best results for his clients and readers. Tim combines a knowledge base earned from years of practice in the field, research, and time spent under the bar with practical advice to help his clients accomplish their goals.

You can find Tim on Instagram HERE or his blog HERE.

Categoriesmuscle growth Program Design

How to Optimize Your Training For Maximal Hypertrophy

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of strength and conditioning coach Kevin Finn.

It’s a doozy with tons of information related to how to add slabs of muscle to your frame in the most time efficient and scientifically backed way possible.

So, pretty much everyone will be interested in reading it.

Enjoy!

\Copyright: shevtsovy / 123RF Stock Photo

Step One: Optimize Your Training Split and Rep Ranges for Volume Accrual

First off, if you’re still doing a “bro split” and hitting your muscles once per week, you need to “get woke” as the kids say these days. It’s time to get out of the 90s and get that frequency up. Besides optimizing muscle protein synthesis rates over the course of the week, higher training frequencies allow you to accumulate more quality volume—both throughout the week and on a per session basis.

Consider this:

We know that 10 sets per muscle, per week is likely the minimum threshold for maximizing muscle gains, but there is also evidence that suggests there may be a per session cap on volume, beyond which, progress is actually impaired. One study, for example, showed that 10 sets of 10 (a popular protocol utilized in German Volume Training) offered no additional benefits when compared to 5 sets of 10. In fact, the group that only performed 5 sets had greater strength gains and slightly higher increases in lean body mass!

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This is one of the reasons higher training frequencies are so beneficial. By upping your training frequency, you can still hit 10+ weekly sets per muscle while sidestepping that potential “per session cap” on volume.

With this in mind, utilize a split that allows you to hit each muscle a minimum of twice per week, and consider even higher frequencies for the upper body or for smaller muscle groups that recover well (calves, shoulders, arms).

Now that you’ve got your training frequency sorted out, you need to consider your rep ranges.

As you attempt to push volume, an issue that will invariably crop up is time. As much as I’d love to stay in the gym for 2+ hours, as a working dad, it’s simply not going to happen.

Some days I’m lucky to get an hour.

So, if time is going to be an issue, you should strongly consider ditching most of your lower rep strength work. In fact, if you’re trying to build muscle as your number one goal, you don’t have any business doing much work below the 5 rep range.

What? Blasphemy you say?

Well, there’s a couple facts to keep in mind when it comes to rep ranges:

1) Utilizing higher rep ranges is a much more time efficient way to accumulate volume: Higher reps allow you to perform more total volume as they require shorter rest periods, less warm-up, and they don’t beat your joints up like heavy loading does.

2) Even when sets are equated, moderate rep ranges (8-12) have been shown to produce more hypertrophy than high load sets in the 2-4 rep range.

If the goal is to build muscle and you’re seeking to push volume, stick to moderate and higher rep ranges. Keep the bulk of your training based around 6-15 reps, and don’t be afraid to play around with reps as high as 15-30 on some of your accessories.

As long as you come sufficiently close to failure, you’ll build just as much muscle and you’ll be able to accumulate a lot more volume in less time.

One more time-saving tip:

If you’re still having issues fitting in the amount of volume you need to progress, I suggest following a split that will allow for the pairing of antagonist muscle groups so you can perform antagonist paired sets (APS). By performing APS, you get the time saving benefits of supersetting without tanking your performance.

Here’s how they work:

Take two exercises that work opposing muscle groups—like a shoulder press and a pulldown.

Perform one set of shoulder presses, rest about a minute or so, and then do a set of pulldowns. Rest for another minute and then repeat until you’ve completed all your sets for both exercises.

If you typically rest 2-3 minutes between sets, this will save you quite a bit of time, since you will be utilizing a portion of your rest periods to perform another exercise.

And, unlike with supersets, your performance won’t suffer due to excessive fatigue; in fact, there’s even some research that suggests performance may be enhanced.

APS work best with movements that don’t inflict a lot of systemic fatigue, so don’t try these with squats or deadlifts.

Key Takeaways:

  • Use higher training frequencies (2-4 times per week) to facilitate higher training volumes and increase the average quality of your per session volume.
  • Do the majority of your work in the 6-30 rep range as this is the most efficient way to accumulate volume and is less likely to leave you beat up and burnt out.
  • If time becomes an issue limiting your total volume, consider using protocols such as APS to get in extra volume without tanking performance.

Step Two: Be Flexible with Exercise Selection

Listen, if it takes you 40 minutes of warm-up, mobility work, and movement prep in order to get to your first working set of squats, we need to talk…

And if deadlifts tire you out so much you need 5-10 minutes between sets to recover, perhaps you need to consider a different approach…

Because the truth is, unless you’re a powerlifter, there’s no need to stay married to the big three, especially if hypertrophy is your main goal.

I love squats and deadlifts as much as the next guy, but these movements tend to be uniquely time-intensive and fatiguing. If you’re not careful, they can “crowd out” other movements that may give you more bang for your buck in terms of volume. Furthermore, some of us are simply not well-suited to these specific exercises and would do better with other movements.

Maybe hitting some heavy leg presses first and following that with some front squats and Romanian deadlifts would allow you to accumulate a lot more volume in a lot less time while still maintaining those same basic movement patterns?

Key Takeaways:

  • Unless you’re a powerlifter, there’s no reason to stay married to the big 3.
  • Do a “cost benefit analysis” on movements that cause a lot of fatigue or eat up a lot of your training time.

Step Three: Work Smarter, not Harder

There’s a fair amount of evidence showing you do not need to train to complete failure to grow your muscles. In fact, by avoiding failure altogether on most sets, you not only reduce the risk of injury, you also open up the possibility of performing more total volume. And more volume is generally associated with more hypertrophy.

Not a bad trade-off, right?

When attempting to maximize volume and recovery, the key is to come close enough to failure to maximize muscle fiber recruitment and adaptations without actually hitting failure—all while maintaining good form.

In general, the higher the intensity (in terms of percentage 1RM), the farther you can be from failure while still maximizing muscle fiber recruitment. Conversely, the lower the intensity, the closer you must come to failure.

Here’s a general rule of thumb I like to follow regarding average RPE ratings:

  • <10 reps = RPE 6-8
  • 10-15 reps = RPE 7-9
  • 15-30+ reps = RPE 8-10

There will always be exceptions to the above of course, but this will get you in the right ballpark.

Key Takeaways:

  • You don’t have to train to complete failure to achieve full muscle fiber recruitment.
  • For lower rep sets you can leave quite a few reps left “in the tank” and still maximally recruit muscle fibers.
  • For higher rep sets, you should come a little closer to failure.
  • In managing your “per set fatigue” by avoiding failure, you will be able to perform more total volume in that session and throughout the week.

Step Four: Mitigate Muscle Damage

I came up as a young lifter thinking the goal of training was to tear down your muscles so they are rebuilt bigger and stronger than before (no pain, no gainz). This lead me to pursue protocols that focused disproportionately on muscle damage. I’d take pride in my levels of soreness and relish the pain–never mind the fact that my recovery and performance were compromised for the rest of the week and I was hobbling around like an old man…

Now I know better.

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As more research comes out, it seems of the three proposed mechanisms for muscle growth (mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscle damage), muscle damage is likely the least important factor.

In fact, recent studies show excessive muscle damage can have a detrimental effect on your gains because your body must spend time and resources repairing the damage before it can begin to build new muscle

So the key is to allow for some muscle damage as a natural consequence of training hard and progressing, but not so much that your total weekly volume is compromised by impaired recovery and/or performance.

How do we do that?

One way is by taking advantage of the repeated bout effect.

The repeated bout effect is the phenomenon by which a single session, or bout, of a given exercise protects against muscle damage from future bouts. Put more simply, the more you perform an exercise, the more resistant to damage (and adaptation) the muscle becomes.

This is often viewed as a bad thing; after all, if the muscle becomes resistant to adaptation, doesn’t that make it harder to progress?

That may be true, but there’s another way to look at it…

Becoming more resistant to damage means your muscle are able to perform more volume with less damage per session. This is key because it can allow us to incrementally increase training volume to levels high enough to maximize hypertrophy while protecting against excessive muscle damage that will impair recovery and progress. One way I like to take advantage of this is by incorporating “intro weeks” into my training cycles.

When you first start a new training cycle, you’ve most likely changed quite a few variables—reps, progression schemes, exercises, etc.—and these changes will temporarily result in higher levels of muscle damage due to the novel stimuli.

By starting off with an intro week with slightly lower volume and intensity, you’ll still get a strong training effect and the easy dose of volume will inoculate you against the higher volumes and intensities coming down the line.

How low one should keep the training volume and intensity during an intro week will vary based on the individual, but I like to put the intro week somewhere in between a deload and an average “meat and potatoes” week of training. Think of it like a bridge between the two.

Another thing to consider in regard to mitigating muscle damage is exercise selection.

If deficit, stiff-legged deadlifts consistently leave you so sore you’re crippled for a week, you’re not doing yourself any favors by maxing out on them on the regular. Sure it feels like you’ve accomplished something (gotta sacrifice to win, brother), but it’s a short-sighted approach.

Don’t get me wrong, being sore is not a bad thing per se. And I think it’s good to include a few movements that load a muscle in a stretched position—especially if hypertrophy is the goal, but you need to do a cost-benefit analysis with these types of movements.

You may not need to give them up entirely, but tweaking the volume, rep range, and proximity to failure can help attenuate some of the excessive damage while still allowing for the positive aspects of the movement.

Key Takeaways:

  • Excessive muscle damage should not be the goal of training and may even negatively impact gains.
  • Take advantage of the repeated bout effect’s ability to protect against muscle damage by using intro weeks and gradually increasing volume and intensity as the mesocycle progresses.
  • Consider modifying the loading and progression schemes for particularly damaging exercises if excessive soreness is impairing recovery.

Step Five: Include Overreaching Weeks and Deloads

Just as you are most sensitive to volume at the beginning of a mesocycle, you are most resistant to volume toward the end. Thus, the natural counterpart to an intro-week at the beginning of your mesocycle, is an overreaching week to close it out.

An overreaching week is a week where you intentionally push volume a little higher than normal in an effort to maximize potential progress. When done in an intelligent manner, this can be an extremely productive and fun week of training. During this week you can go for slightly more damaging protocols, push a bit closer to failure, and/or up the volume to a level higher than you could normally sustain.

Immediately following an overreaching week, you should perform a deload week. The two go hand-in-hand.

A deload is more than just a preventative measure to protect against injury, it’s the second half of a “one-two punch” that allows you to expose your muscles to higher levels of volume by providing a window for recovery.

During a deload, you should reduce volume and both intensity of load and intensity of effort to allow for active recovery to occur. Without the recovery period, you would not be able to peak volume as high and your muscles would not have been exposed to those superlative levels of stress.

The higher the peaks, the lower the valleys.

Overreaching strategies:

While I consider deloads a mandatory part of a good training program, overreaching weeks are more of an optional piece. For some lifters (particularly those who tend to run themselves into the ground), any small benefits that may arise from the overreach could easily be outweighed by the increased risk of injury or burnout.

Thus, it’s important to remember an overreach is not an excuse to get sloppy with form or drastically change things up.

If hypertrophy is the main goal, you are primarily just looking to get some extra volume in and perhaps vary the training stimulus a bit. One method of doing this is to add a drop set or two to your last movement for a muscle group in a given session.

Research has shown that drop sets can be just as effective as straight sets. And because they are so time efficient, it’s easy to tack them onto your workouts without a huge time investment.

Thus, drop sets can add a nice little punch of volume without making your workout significantly longer, and we’re not so concerned with the fatigue because the deload in the following week will ensure recovery is adequate.

Key Takeaways:

  • Pushing a bit harder towards the end of a mesocycle can be a valuable strategy to potentially eke out some additional progress.
  • You must pair an overreach with a deload to allow the higher levels of fatigue to dissipate and any potential supercompensation to occur.
  • Regardless of whether you utilize overreaching strategies, regular deloads should be incorporated in your training.
  • Drop sets can be a very time efficient way to add some quality volume during an overreach.

Parting Thoughts and a Word to the Wise

You’ll note I didn’t include a sample training program with this article. This was intentional. I’ve instead chosen to outline some “broad strokes” concepts so that you can use these principles to improve on your programming now and for years to come.

By following the steps outlined above, you may find you now have the potential to double your training volume.

But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Let’s say you’ve been doing around 10-12 sets per muscle group, per week on average. You’re training hard, eating well, and feel well-recovered between sessions, but you’ve hit a plateau. It’s very likely that you’ll benefit from bumping up your training volume. It’s the most logical next step. By using the strategies outlined above, you may find you are now able to fit in 20 quality sets per week.

Don’t jump straight to 20.

Just as you should progress incrementally when adding weight to the bar, you should view volume in the same way. So rather than doubling your volume right off the bat, simply add about 10% or so and see how you fare.

Did you progress? Was recovery okay?

If so, run it again. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Milk as much progress as you can out of your current level of volume, but keep an eye towards progressively and incrementally adding volume—both to test your limits and to keep those adaptations rolling. Your ideal volume is a moving target, but if you are paying attention to your training, tracking variables, and keeping your eyes on the prize, it’s a target you should be able to hit fairly consistently.

It doesn’t have to be a bullseye.

About the Author

Kevin Finn is a strength and conditioning specialist, online trainer, and the owner and creator of FitnessWalkthrough.com.

As a coach with a master’s degree in education, he specializes in breaking down complex information and arming people with the knowledge and tools necessary to transform their physiques and take their performance to the next level.

He has created some of the most comprehensive guides available online for skinny guys and girls who struggle to build muscle. Visit http://fitnesswalkthrough.com/get-jacked.html to get a free copy and learn more.

Categoriescoaching muscle growth Program Design

When to Bench Press With Your Feet on the Floor, and When Not To

I received an email awhile back from someone asking a simple question:

“What are the reasons one would or would not bench press with their legs on the bench as opposed to the floor? Just personal preference? Back issues?”

Tony of a few years back would have been like, “When would someone bench with their feet on the bench? WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER, THAT’S WHEN.”

Then that would have been followed by a guttural scream, dramatic desk clearing, and door slam.

You know, a mature, rational response.

Tony of today has a different viewpoint. Read below to hear allllll about it.

Copyright: spotpoint74 / 123RF Stock Photo

Why Bench Press With Feet On the Floor?

Why do we look both ways before crossing the street, or wash our hands after using the bathroom, or, I don’t know, wear pants to the dinner table?

It’s just the way stuff is done.1

The same can be said about the bench press. We perform it with our feet on the ground because that’s the way it’s supposed to be done.

To be a bit more colloquial, we perform it that way because:

  1. With the feet on the floor we can defer to a bit more leg drive which can help with lifting more weight; if that’s what you’re into.
  2. Moreover, as strength coach and competitive powerlifter Tony Bonvechio notes, “leg drive can help you get a bigger arch via hip extension.”

Now, admittedly, this last point is catered to more of the powerlifters in the room who are solely interested in one thing (well, two, after “where’s the nearest pizza buffet?”)….bench pressing as much weight as possible.

An arch in the lower back = a more biomechically sound position to shorten the distance the barbell must travel.

Both feet on the ground allows one to solidify the arch.

I love this analogy from Strength House coach Greg Robins:

“Think of it like a structural arch. In order to make an arch you need pressure from two sides. Like if you put a piece of paper on the table, and gently push from both ends simultaneously what do you get?

An Arch.”

A Slight Conversational Detour

For those who are about to hyperventilate into a brown paper bag at the mere notion of arching your back during a bench press, relax.

A kitten won’t die if it happens and it’s not inherently more dangerous to do so. Your lumbar spine has a natural lordotic curve to it anyways (an arch), sooooooo there’s that. And no one is sitting here insinuating you have to adopt a Marissa Inda bench set-up in order to bench press (and to do so with a high degree of success).

Much of what dictates how much of an arch to use is predicated on personal preference, goals, and what feels comfortable to each individual lifter.

Do you have to arch as much as the photo above? Nope.

Are you likely arching your back when you bench press, even if not on purpose, because that’s what your body is designed to do? Yep.

Will you please STFU and stop telling people arching is bad? ——> watch THIS.

Okay, Back to Benching With Feet on the Floor

I don’t have much more to say here.

If you’re interested in benching more weight, putting your feet on the ground is a splendid approach.2

Also, it decreases the chances you’ll drop the barbell on your face.

Why Bench Press With Feet On the Bench?

I’m not kidding when I say there used to be a time where I felt benching with the feet on the bench (or in the air) was one of the stupidest things someone could do, on par with texting while driving, thinking you can read a Thomas Pynchon novel in one sitting, or trying to take a selfie with a panther.

Pretty dumb.

However, we all marinate in our own ignorance sometimes.

As with anything in strength & conditioning there’s a time and place for everything.3

A drill I’ve been using in my own programming (and that of my clients) of late is the Larsen Press.

 

To explain the advantages of this stellar movement I’ll lean again on the shoulders of Tony Bonvechio and Greg Robins:

Tony:

“The main benefit of putting the feet up on the bench is teaching lifters to maintain their upper back arch and shoulder blade position. One of the biggest mistakes we see lifters make is collapsing the upper back as they bring the bar down, which can tip the shoulder blades forward and push the bar in front of the elbows. If you take away the legs, it’s much harder to keep the upper back arched, especially as you bring the bar down to the chest. Hook lying position, Larsen press and floor press are all variations of a no-legs press that work well.”

Greg:

“The biggest advantage I see to using feet up is to purposefully make the exercise harder. When the feet go up you have more range of motion and more instability which means more work for the muscles that move the weight – pecs shoulders triceps. I think this is really important for those who rely on big arches, and thrusting weights off their chest with their whole bodies.

There are other benefits as well:

– Create higher relative intensities with less weight on the bar.
– Awareness as Tony B said in how to stay tight.
– Relief on back and hips from being in contorted bench position.”

So There You Have It

So there you have it.

Categoriesmuscle growth Program Design

The Lost Art of Time Under Tension

I think many of us get caught up in the sets x reps trap.

Meaning, we’re so focused on the number of sets and reps we perform in any given set or workout, that we often forget there are many other components to garnering progress in the gym.

In today’s guest post by Upstate NY based trainer, Matt Phelps, he reminds us of a facet of training often neglected…Time Under Tension.

Enjoy.

Copyright: thesupe87 / 123RF Stock Photo

In The Beginning

Think back to when you very first started training.

To when you very first got into this stuff.

I mean like, REALLY into this stuff.

If you were anything like me, you fanatically researched what the best routines were to get bigger arms, a fuller chest, monster traps, diesel delts, and the elusive “wings” that belong to those with huge lats.

PS: I hate you.

Once I found the magical exercise that would grant me super powers, and the 21 inch pythons that came with them, I immediately asked the same question you have asked yourself, countless times:

“How many sets and how many reps do I do?”

Exposing a Flaw

It was not until recently, in the past couple of years, did I realize how flawed this question actually was.

Let’s say I prescribe 3 sets of 10, the classic set and rep scheme for most beginners.

Those 3×10 sets can look DRASTICALLY different from one individual to another. But if all we do is prescribe “sets x reps” then we are presuming the quality of work is the same. What if it takes one person 20 seconds to do 10 reps, and another person 40 seconds?

Will this have the same response on the body, over time?

I highly doubt it.

When it comes to muscular adaptation, most of us know that in order to induce change, and keep progress coming, there needs to be a system of progressive overload. We know that over time, we need to train with the same load for more “reps” or a heavier load for the same “reps”, in order to see the size and strength gains coming.

While in theory, this makes total sense, the application get messed up.

Many of us are smart from years of having read the awesome content available to us from resources like this website.

However, because we are so educated, so wise in the weight room, whether it is conscious or not, we “cheat” the system.

We chase reps.

We let form breakdown so we can say we got a “rep”.

We take the emphasis off of the eccentric to gain the ability to do more concentric contractions.

We use inertia and momentum to help us get those “reps.” Like I said, this is quite often unintentional, but the fact remains, it happens.

To Rep Count, or Not to Rep Count?

The fact is, our muscles do not have a “rep counter” that figures out training volume so neatly, like it does on many of your excel spreadsheets.

While volume can most easily be identified and tracked through load x reps x sets, this presumes that all sets are the same, not only within one individual’s training program, but also from person to person.

Our muscles know time under tension and load.

These factors elicit the metabolic damage needed to grow, adapt, and get the results we’re looking for.

I really think it is that simple.

What is a drop set doing?

It is increasing the Time Under Tension (TUT).

What is a rest pause set doing?

It is increasing the TUT.

What is a superset of 2 exercises using the same muscle group doing?

It is increasing the TUT.

So why, then, wouldn’t we place a huge emphasis on doing sets for TUT, rather than just counting reps?

Making the Case For TUT

Look, I get it.

Sometimes it is fun just to lift heavy shit, and not give a damn about tempo.

Guilty as charged.

I love that style of training too, and always will.

HOWEVER, I think, as with most things, there is a time and place for it.

You could easily perform a “5/3/1”, 5×5, or any other of the myriad of powerlifting programs out there, before an “accessory block,” where the goal is to build size and repeated effort strength.

While I will admit, strength gains come from a lot of neurological adaptation, size gains will come from breaking down the muscle fibers, and that is where TUT reigns supreme.

Don’t believe me?

Let’s say you perform Hammer Strength Chest Presses after a heavy Bench Press session.

Instead of doing your typical 4 sets of 10-15, perform 4 sets :45 of work, STICKING to that 10-15 rep speed.

I can promise you, 99% of you will be forced to slow it down, place a peak contraction on the targeted muscle, and dramatically increase the metabolic “bang for your buck” that the set is providing.

Here are several reasons why all of us should make TUT training the focal point of our resistance training programs:

1. It Makes Your Training Efficient. MUCH More Efficient

When you train with TUT, you will quickly realize that it forces you to cut through the bullshit and white noise that a lot of high volume training programs encourage, and allows you to get right down to business.

You will find yourself getting what you used to get out of 4-5 sets, in 3-4 sets, and that, my friends, is amazing.

By timing your work and rest periods, you can hold yourself accountable, and also receive a great cardiovascular benefit as well. This principle forms the cornerstone of my training philosophy, Metabolic Training.

Time is the most valuable asset you have (I am not laying claim to this statement, it has been said many times before), so make the most of it.

2. It Makes the Strength Gains More Genuine

When you add reps and set PR’s, particularly for higher rep sets, there are SO many factors that go into your performance from one day to the next.

Maybe the week before you rested for 5 seconds between reps.

Maybe you used a faster eccentric and “bounced” out of the hole.

I have seen many people in the gym train with weights they have no business training with, and guess what?

Their “sets of 10” usually last for :17s.

If I had walked up to these same people, whose intention was to get 10 reps, and made them do the same 10 reps over the course of :40, they would have failed miserably.

When you train for TUT, you can be certain that you placed your muscle under a certain amount of mechanical tension, and that when you progress in load, you are doing so at an appropriate rate.

When you go from floor pressing the 80s for :40 to the 95s for :50, your pecs will most certainly feel the difference, and you can confidently know that you are, without a doubt, stronger.

 

3. It Forces You to Use an Appropriate Load, Increasing Safety

Tying into the previous point, if you need to perform a set for :35, and get 8-12 reps in that time period, with a full ROM, it is almost impossible to use an inappropriate training load.

If you can only get 6 reps in this time period, or fail before the time lapses, then guess what?

The weight is too heavy.

If you get 23 reps, it is far too light.

If we simply prescribe a set number of reps to do, often times we start seeing a lot of the crazy shit we see in most commercial gyms, with terrible technique being implemented just to “get the reps.”

TUT is incredibly humbling, but your joints will feel better, and your muscles will be fuller. Sounds like a win-win to me!

4. It Is Never Boring

With TUT, the possibilities are endless, and the different combinations you can deploy will keep you excited to train, and isn’t that what this is all about?

With the new focus being placed on TUT, you can start to take a ton of creative liberty with your programming.

If you are a sadist, you can do Tabata Front Squats, Ben Bruno style, :20/:10 for 4:00.

 

If you want to do something completely different, perform a set for :90.

It will rock your world more than it did the first time you….well, you know.

Training will become FUN again, and when you do something you love doing, you are always more likely to get more out of it.

5. It Emphasizes QUALITY

This is crucial for eliciting the needed metabolic damage to occur on the cellular level.

Training for TUT takes the emphasis OFF of the actual performance (i.e. rep count), and ONTO the muscle (more controlled reps, squeezed contractions, full ROM).

If you start using a tiny range of motion, and spastically blast through your sets like a jackrabbit in mating season, you will be punished, because the clock doesn’t stop even though you got your “reps”.

6. It Increases Intensity

By using TUT, the focus shifts from ending the set as soon as you can, to getting the most out of each set you do.

You will find yourself slowing down on your rows, going deeper on your squats, and really squeezing your glutes at the top of a hip thrust.

For those of you who are former athletes, or are competitive, TUT will challenge you by pitting you against the clock, daring you to survive the duration of the set.

 

For those of you who have what it takes to make it, I can assure you that this “set” will feel far different than anything you have done before.

TUT In Action: Matt’s Chest & Back Blitz

I don’t expect all of your to become instant converts to the world of TUT, but I encourage you to give it an honest chance.

Fitness is all about balance.

I still use components of “rep counting” in my training, but these days, 90% of it comes from TUT, and I have never felt better.

Here is my favorite Chest & Back routine, using TUT.

It only takes 35 minutes, so if you are hesitant or skeptical, you have nothing to lose, just try this out…your pecs and lats will thank me later.

Block 1

  • Incline Bench Press x :25, utilizing a “smooth” tempo (this should land you around 8 Reps)

Rest :25

  • Barbell Row x :25, utilizing a “smooth” tempo (8 Reps)

Rest :50, Repeat for a TOTAL of 5 cycles

Rest :90

Block 2 “747 Jet Sets”

  • DB Bench Press, 3 Second Eccentric x :30 (7 Reps)

Rest :30

  • DB Bench Press, 3 Second Eccentric x :18 (4 Reps)

Rest :30

  • DB Bench Press, 3 Second Eccentric x :30 (7 Reps)

Rest 1:00, Repeat for 2 Cycles

Rest :90

Block 3

  • Incline DB Row, 3 Second Isometric Holds x 1:00 (15 Reps)

Rest :20

  • Incline DB Row, 3 Second Isometric Holds x :50 (12 Reps)

Rest :20

  • Incline DB Row, 3 Second Isometric Holds x :40 (10 Reps)

Rest :20

  • Incline DB Row, 3 Second Isometric Holds x :25 (15 Reps)

Rest :90

Block 4

  • Med Ball Pushups, “Smooth” Tempo x :30 (10 Reps)

Rest :10

  • DB Fly, “Smooth Tempo x :30 (10 Reps)

Rest 1:00, Repeat for a total of 3 cycles

Rest :90

Block 5 “Crazy 5’s”

  • TRX Strap Row “5 Second Concentric/5 Second Isometric/5 Second Eccentric” x 1:15 (5 Reps)

Rest 1:00, Repeat for 2 Cycles

Notes

– You will notice certain “rep recommendations” in parentheses next to the TUT. If you are finishing your rep counts 5 seconds before your time is complete, or 5 seconds after, you need to adjust your tempo accordingly.

– The first 1-2 rounds of Block 1 should be light, as you “ramp” the weight up.

– On the “Jet Sets”, it should be relatively “easy”…until the 1-2 reps of the 3rd set. You may need to decrease load on the 2nd round, that is absolutely acceptable

– Drive with those ELBOWS on the rows, and put those lats to work! Resist the urge to pull with your hands, and over exert your biceps and forearms

– Lastly, have fun.

About the Author

Matt Phelps is the owner and founder of Metabolic Meltdown, a fitness business with 6 locations in Upstate New York that specializes in Metabolic Training.

Matt is on a mission to educate the world about Metabolic Training, which is a unique training philosophy that combines strength training with cardiovascular training in an efficient full body workout that delivers more muscle, less fat, and pretty much makes you invincible.

Matt’s work can be found on www.trainmetabolic.com and www.metabolicmeltdown.com. He welcomes you to come check out his content, and reach out to him with any questions you might have. To see specific examples of Metabolic Training in action, along with as many photos of German Shepherds and 18 month old babies that you can handle, you can check out his Instragram account HERE.

 

Categoriesmuscle growth Strength Training

Tuning Tension: Getting the Most From Your Muscle

A few weeks ago I presented at the Spurling Spring Seminar up in Kennebunk, Maine. The first presenter of the day, Portland based physical therapist Noah Harrison, blew me away with his talk on muscular tension.

Honestly, the only way his presentation could have been better is if he somehow included a pair of nunchucks.

Or a t-shirt cannon.

His message resonated with me and after he spoke I asked if he’d be interested in summarizing his thoughts in an article for my site. He was more than happy to oblige.

Enjoy (it’s REALLY good).

Copyright: tatom / 123RF Stock Photo

Tuning Tension: Getting the Most From Your Muscle

There are two aspects to what dictates the strength of a muscle; how big it is and how hard it can contract at any given moment, with any given movement. Keeping that in mind there are then two ways you can train a muscle to become stronger:

  1. Make it bigger and give it more leverage.
  2. Teach it to contract harder by creating more tension.

While hypertrophy obviously has its use, there are times our goal is simply to increase strength without having to buy a new wardrobe, or jump a weight class. There are also times we have a little more strength in our muscles as they already are, and it is simply a matter of getting them to work fully in the moment.

This article is about ways in which you can train your muscles to fire a little (or a lot) harder, instantaneously, and apply it to nearly any exercise you are performing.

Yes, you can practice tensing your muscles like a body builder during “X” movement, and if an EMG was attached to your area of focus it would read a spike.

The problem with consciously focusing on flexing your muscles during a movement is that this does produce increased tension locally where you are focusing, but often times at the expense of your performance. Quite often tensioning your muscles consciously while moving will result in you simply working harder, moving slower, and experiencing premature fatigue (1).

So how do you get your muscles to pump out more power without destroying your performance?

Simple: you will not do it consciously.

Instead you will do it reflexively. You will use the reflexive reactions you already have.

What I will map out are three body areas/actions that you can focus on with any given activity, and depending on what you do with these areas/actions will either elicit a reflexive increase or decrease in body wide muscular tension.

Again, this article will solely focus on increasing muscular tension.

The three areas/actions are:

  1. What you do with your breath.
  2. What you do with your hands.
  3. What you do with your face.

Now there is no better place to begin talking about changing bodily tension than talking about…

What You Do With Your Breath

The general rule is that if you want to increase muscular tension then either hold your breath or forcefully exhale.

The latter, a forceful exhale, is preferred.

Why?

First, let’s look at what is happening with both these situations.

In one case you hold your breath and barrel down (a valsalva maneuver) and in the other you forcefully exhale through resistance. In both situations you are jacking up your intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), which is necessary to keep your trunk stiff and give your limbs leverage with anything difficult.

Core strength is pressure production, and if you want to be strong, you need to be able to make a lot of it.

However the valsalva maneuver (VM) has a few significant draw backs. The most notable is that you really cannot do many repetitions this way. One rep, maybe, but once you get to two or three repetitions deep into an exercise you will need to breathe.

The second drawback is that a VM is associated with some negative cardiovascular effects, including a sharp increase in your heart rate, blood pressure, as well as an increased risk of cerebral hemorrhage (2). Again, if it doesn’t kill you, holding your breath is going to gas you quicker than necessary.

The third problem is that a VM is associated with an increased risk of incontinence in certain populations (3, 4), which is not desirable if you or your client is trying to be active. Nobody, regardless of what Adam Sandler says, likes to pee themselves, and especially in the middle of a fierce effort.

via GIPHY

Performing a forced exhalation (FE) has none of these issues, and has been shown to be as equally effective at spiking your IAP as a VM (2).

Additionally, a forced exhalation has been shown to increase the activation of your abdominal wall (5), is as effective at stiffening the trunk as bracing your abdominals (6), and even result in an instantaneous increase the strength of your grip and several large muscle groups throughout the body (2, 7).

We all know that a tight midsection is necessary to keep the body from crumbling during a strenuous task, but the take home from this should be to focus less on bracing your abdomen consciously.

Just forcefully exhale with the movement, and the abs will kick in automatically.

You have to breathe anyway; you may as well make it work in your favor. The general rule is to exhale with effort, and ingrain it with the movement you are performing.

How do you ingrain it? Every movement has a sticking point, you simply exhale through it.

See the video below for a demonstration of how to ingrain this into any exercise.

 

What You Do With Your Hands

This one is pretty simple.

If you want to increase body wide muscular tension, maximally tense your hands, preferably in a fist. If you are holding something, grip it hard (very hard). As a result, the rest of your body will “grip” harder as well.

In matters of strength, this is very convenient, because very often we are gripping something and either trying to move it (A barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell, etc) or ourselves around it (a pull up or dip bar). Simply aim your attention on what you are already doing.

How or why does this work? It probably comes down to both the law of irradiation, and how your cerebral cortex is organized.

Irradiation is a principle stating that the activity of a group of muscles will have a ripple effect on its neighboring parts (8). Meaning as you clench your hand harder, not only does your forearm tighten up, but your whole arm and shoulder does as well.

Grip even harder and your whole torso will become engaged. If you are not already trying this I encourage you to begin.

This has actually been measured, as research has shown that the harder you grip your hands, the harder your rotator cuff fires (9, 10). This is convenient, because if you are gripping a hold of something you would really like your shoulder to grab a hold of your body as well. Not only does gripping effect your shoulder, but your body as a whole; postural stiffness will increase the harder you grasp an obect (11). The utility of these reflexive responses with any pressing movement should go without saying.

So that is one factor, how about the second; your brain?

Well what is known is that there is a very large sensory and motor representation of both your hands and your face in the brain. Google “Homunculus Man” and you will see a model representation of this. It is a distorted image demonstrating the density of neurons in our cerebral cortex as it relates to sensing and moving our bodies in our environments.

You can think about this as that your brain both perceives and interacts with the world primarily via your face and hands, so whatever you do at these places will reverberate throughout your body.

If your hands are relaxed, your body will be as well. If your hands are tensed, then your brain will take you seriously and give you more juice. And in matters of strength, we all want juice.

So now we come to our third and final place to consider…

What You Do With Your Face

You may have a hard time believing your face matters so much in terms of strength, but it is true.

Do not forget that strange little homunculus man. Remember; your brain thinks the vast majority of you is face and hands. What you do in these places will resonate through your body.

What you do with you face can be further broken down into three factors;

  1. Your eyes.
  2. Your jaw.
  3. Your facial expression as a whole.

Eyes

What you do at your eyes can be thought of as more steering your bodily tension than necessarily jacking it up or down.

It is well established that the body follows wherever the eyes gaze (12).

This means that if you look to the left, you will have a reflexive weight shift to the left, and the same goes for looking to the right, up or down. Although gymnasts, power lifters and weight lifters will use this often to their advantage to drive extension or flexion with a movement, the vast majority of us should stick to simply looking relatively forward with whatever movement we are performing.

So, for maximal tension; fix your eyes when doing something hard, and do not let them wander.

Jaw

Just as the tension in our hands seems to reverberate through our bodies, what we do at our jaws does as well.

No different than our hands, the amount of tension that we hold at our jaw has the ability to increase reflexive activity as distant as our forearms and calves (13, 14).

Yes you read that correctly; clench your jaw and your forearms and calves will fire harder. In fact, clenching your jaw has been shown to improve your athletic performance across varying endeavors, including a back squat and vertical jump (15, 16).

I would advise caution with this (and for some a mouthpiece), as some people have trouble relaxing their jaws then necessary engaging it. Other people may not have a fully congruent bite, and heavily clenching may cause more of a problem than a help.

Simply focus on setting your jaw and keeping your teeth touching firmly when you need more muscular effort.

Facial Expression

Think about it: setting your eyes and jaw is pretty much a game face now isn’t it?

Besides focusing on where your eyes look and keeping your mouth shut, it is common sense to be serious during a heavy or difficult lift.

Laughing is completely out, as it has been established that there exists a body-wide inhibition of muscular tension for up to 45 minutes after a bout of laughter (17, 18).

So, save the jokes for after the work is done.

Putting It All Together

Here it is; the meat and potatoes of it all.

If you want to increase body wide muscular tension, then simply:

  1. Exhale with resistance.
  2. Clench your fists.
  3. Fix your eyes.
  4. Set your jaw and be serious.

This comes down to learning to place your mental effort on these choice few factors with whatever challenging movement you are performing.

By doing this you set yourself up for the best chance at eliciting the highest potential your muscles and body as a whole has in that given movement, on that given day.

Integrate this into your training, and you will likely find that you become stronger not simply because your muscles have grown, but because they have learned to work together, better.

Enjoy!

[List of references below]

About the Author

Noah is a Physical Therapist and Strength Coach based out of Portland, Maine.

He is the owner of Portland Integrative Physical Therapy, through which he provides one-on-one musculoskeletal rehabilitation with a holistic, full body approach.

Noah has extensive training in a variety of rehabilitative approaches, and combines this with progressive strength training in order to build and restore strong and capable individuals.

He lives in Portland, Maine with his wife Heidi and their young daughter, and can best be reached via his website www.portlandintegrativept.com and email [email protected]

References

  1. Makaruk, H, Porter, JM “Focus of Attention for Strength and Conditioning Training” Strength and Conditioning Journal Feb 2014, 36:1 16-22
  2. Ikeda, ER, et al “The Valsalva Maneuver Revisted: the Influence of Voluntary Breathing on Isometric Muscle Strength” J Strength Cond Res 2009 Jan: 23(1): 127-132
  3. Nitti VW, et al “Correlation of Valsalva leak point pressure with subjective degree of stress urinary incontinence in women” J Urol 1996 Jan; 155(1): 281-5
  4. Peschers UM, et al “Difference between cough and Valsalva leak-point in stress incontinent women” Neurourol Urodyn 2000; 19(6): 677-81
  5. Ishida et al “Maximum expiration activates the abdominal muscles during side bridge exercises” J Back Musculoskeletal Rehabil. 2015; 27(4): 481-4
  6. Ishida et al “Comparison between the effectiveness of expiration and abdominal bracing maneuvers in maintaining spinal stability following sudden trunk loading” J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2016 Feb; 26: 125-9
  7. Li S, et al “Forced ventilation increases variability of isometric finger forces” Neurosci Lett 2007 Feb 2; 412(3): 243-7
  8. Gontijo LB, et al “Evaluation of Strength and Irradiated Movement Pattern Resulting from Trunk Motions of the Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation” Rehabilitation Research and Practice Volume 2012, 6 pages
  9. Sporrong H, et al “Influences of handgrip on shoulder muscle activity” Eur J Appl Occup Physiol 1995; 71(6): 485-92
  10. Sporrong H, et al “Hand grip increases shoulder muscle activity, an EMG analysis with static hand contractions in nine subjects” Acta Orthop Scand 1996 Oct: 67(5): 485-90
  11. Ustinova KI, et al “Postural stabilization by gripping a stick with different force levels” Gait & Posture 2013 May: 38(1): 97-103
  12. Ivanenko YP, et al “Effect of gaze on postural responses to neck proprioceptive and vestibular stimulation in humans” Journal of Physiology 1999; 519(1): 301-314
  13. Takashi T, et al “Modulation of H reflexes in the forearm during voluntary teeth clenching in humans” European Journal of Applied Physiology 2003 Nov; 90(5-6): 651-3
  14. Miyahara T, et al “Modulation of human soleus H reflex in association of voluntary clenching of the teeth” J Neurophysiol 1996 Sep; 76(3): 2033-41
  15. Ebben, WP, et al “Jaw clenching results in concurrent activation potentiation during the countermovement jump” J Strength Cond Res 2008 Nov; 22(6): 1850-4
  16. Ebben WP, et al “Kinetic analysis of concurrent activation potentiation during back squats and jump squats” J Strength Cond Res 2010 Jun; 24(6): 1515-9
  17. Paskind, J “Effects of laughter on muscle tone” Arch Neurol Psychiatry 1932; 28: 623-8
  18. Overeem S, et al “Is motor inhibition during laughter due to emotional or respiratory influences?” Psychophysiology 2004; 41: 254-8
CategoriesFemale Training muscle growth

Women and Hypertrophy: Why Should Jill Get Jacked?

I train a lot of women.

In fact, if I broke down my client roster I’d say it’s about a 50/49/1% split (women/men/Centaur4). I live in a little strength & conditioning bubble where the bulk of women I work with don’t blink an eye at the idea of adding muscle to their frame.

In fact, most want that to happen.

Today’s guest post by my boy, Dean Somerset, explains why most women can (and should) want the same thing.

NOTE: Dean and Dr. Mike Israetel released an amazing resource this week, The L2 Fitness Summit Vol 1, which delves deep into assessment and how to get your clients results (specifically, how to get them diesel).

It’s really, really good (and it’s on sale for this week only)

Copyright: annotee / 123RF Stock Photo

Women and Hypertrophy: Why Should Jill Get Jacked?

The vast majority of my clients are female, somewhere around 70% at any given time. The reason these women are training with me varies a lot, either they’re working against some medical disorder, an injury, or other significant problem, or they’re training for some performance goal like running a faster marathon or deadlifting twice their bodyweight.

In most of their goals, the thought of getting bigger muscles often ranks somewhere between stubbing their toe and waxing their eye lashes off.

In some instances it’s a pragmatic element.

If a client has invested a significant amount of money into their wardrobe and suddenly their lats are just too gunny, they’re going to have to spend a lot of money on alterations or worse, go shopping for new clothes.

 

It might come down to spousal support too.

It’s all too common for a female client to say their husband told them they don’t want them to turn into a man, a statement so ridiculous to hear that it’s hard to bite my tongue.

Guys, 3 lbs of muscle on a female will not make them manlier than you. Maybe you should put on a couple pounds of muscle and not worry so much about your girlfriend or wife out lifting you.

In any case, training to gain some muscle (read, some. It’s very hard for anyone to gain a lot, male or female) is very much a good thing for most if not all goals you could have in the gym.

  • Muscle looks better at almost any body fat percentage than not having it.
  • Muscle helps performance goals, like doing a chin up or deadlifting a dump truck
  • Muscle improves cardio performance, making you a faster runner, cyclist, or whatever the rage is these days
  • Muscle demands calories, which means you can justify eating a little more without affecting your body composition
  • Muscle can improve bone density, hormonal function, and sleep quality.
  • Muscle helps yoga pants or your favorite pair of “butt jeans” fit better.
  • Science.

Now, will training for hypertrophy make you bulkier?

Possibly, but there’s a lot of factors that have to go into that.

First, it’s a long process to see notable increases in muscle, and for the purpose of this article we’ll assume a 5% increase in body mass as notable.

So for someone who weighs around 130 lbs, a 5% increase would be around 6.5 lbs.

Male or female, an individual would look notably different with an extra 6.5 lbs of muscle on their build.

If you talk to most competitive physique or figure competitors, a 6.5 lbs gain of muscle can take a very long time of very dedicated workouts, nutrition, and frequency. What would be reasonable would be to see about 3 lbs a year of actual muscle gain in a caloric surplus, so if you’re looking to gain, you’ll likely be dedicated to 4-6 hypertrophy-focused workouts a week for a full 12 month phase while eating enough to support that development.

This isn’t to say it’s impossible to gain more than this in shorter time frames, but just what seems reasonable for a lot of female lifters.

Here’s an example of this process in action with a friend of mine, Kait Cavers. She looks to compete in figure competitions and dedicates a large portion of her training calendar to gaining muscle.

She recently posted a before and after pic of her at the same weight, and you should see how awesome a comparison it is:

To be clear, as she stated in her post, it’s not about one being better than another, or which one would be preferred, but just showing that you can look vastly different at the same body weight with differences in muscle and body fat.

She’s considerably more muscular in the right pic, but her waist and hips are miniscule compared to the left.

Now if you didn’t want to dedicate to this kind of work load, the gains of muscle will be much less, and if you wanted to phase in hypertrophy training for a few months out of the year versus make it your whole focus all the time, you could do different things without worry about packing on some lat muscle or thicker delts.

That’s the great thing about training: you don’t have to do the same thing all the time and can cycle your training calendar throughout the year to focus on different stuff as you see fit. Hypertrophy can fit into the flow, be the entire goal, or just have a sprinkling for flavor on other stuff as you go.

This is a concept used by another friend, Ben Bruno, when he trains a lot of Victoria Secret supermodels. None of them would be judged to be too bulky, but most of their training uses heavier resistance training, hypertrophy protocols, and intense conditioning elements.

Example #1

Big congrats to @barbarafialho1 for crushing it at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. Hard work pays off! A lot of women who want to have a body like Barbara steer clear of weights out of fear of bulking up, but I want you to know that 70% of Barbara’s routine is comprised on heavy strength-based circuits consisting of deadlift variations, hip thrusts, sleds, chin-up variations, and core work. The other 30% is a mix of high-intensity interval cardio on the ski erg, endless rope, and Airdyne bike mixed in with some lower-intensity cardio in the form of hiking outside in the sunshine. The analogy I like to use is to think of strength training as the entree and cardio as the side dish. If you’re a woman who is hesitant to strength train, or if you’re a trainer who works with women, I hope Barbara can serve as inspiration to get out there and get STRONG!

A post shared by Ben Bruno (@benbrunotraining) on

Example #2

Example #3

Example #4

Facebook reminded me that it’s been five years since my friend and former client @megangrahamfitness earned third place in the Miss Bikini Universe contest. This was so exciting. We trained very hard for 12 weeks with a program centered around getting STRONG on RDLs, hip thrusts, reverse lunges, inverted rows, sleds, etc. She was also very disciplined with her eating (but didn’t starve herself) and cut way back on drinking alcohol. She completely transformed her body, yet we never once stepped on the scale for the whole 12 weeks, and interestingly, she didn’t lose any weight (may have even gained a few pounds, actually) even though she looked MUCH more slim and toned. And as you can see, she clearly didn’t “bulk up”. After the contest, I wrote a blog post titled “Look Like Barbie, Lift Like Ken” where we showed videos of her crushing 225×10 on hip thrusts, 12 feet elevated inverted rows, and several other impressive feats of strength, and the blog ended up going viral because tons of women shared it amongst themselves, which I think is so cool because it’s such a great message.

A post shared by Ben Bruno (@benbrunotraining) on

Aside from gaining muscle, what other good could training for hypertrophy offer?

If you’re training for a specific goal, such as powerlifting, running, or even weight loss, shifting gears for a phase or two can offer a type of cross training that can help refresh your mind about training, and give your body a break from the stuff you were doing consistently.

An example of this is my own wife. 10 months of the year she puts in a lot of miles on her bike as a competitive road and track cyclist. During the bulk of her in-season, she’s on the bike upwards of 15-20 hours a week with a mix of long duration low intensity rides and max effort sprints.

During the offseason, she wants to jump into some heavier weights, which definitely have their place in her program, but going straight from cycling and minimal weight training into maximal resistance training isn’t that great of an idea, so we involve a phase of 6-8 weeks of hypertrophy training due to the lower relative loads, and easier recovery compared to max lifting.

This helps to prepare her for the heavier stuff, give her body a break from the bike, and still look to gain a small amount of muscle after a hard in-season, which will help her performance on the bike next year, but also prepare her for the heavier weights of the off season.

Another example was a recreational skier who tore her ACL and needed surgery to fix the injury. During the pre-op phase, we involved work to keep some muscle mass through the quad with lighter loading and moderate volume, and following the surgery her workouts progressed from next to no loading, through to loading to technique failure, and then on to muscular failure through drop sets or extended set options.

A major goal of ACL rehab is to regain quad volume, so we went after it, using the progressive range of motion her knee was re-establishing, and as her strength development allowed.

She’s back on the ski hill now and having a great time 6 months after her surgery.

Gaining muscle can be a very challenging goal, especially if someone is already somewhat well established in their training and have been at it for a while. Because of the requirements to see notable increases in muscle, women shouldn’t fear training for hypertrophy, but should involve it in their programming on a regular or even occasional basis to help augment their goals, what ever those may be.

Having some extra muscle is often a major benefit under any goal set, including fetching water from up the hill.

Maybe if Jill lifted a bit more, she wouldn’t have come tumbling down after Jack, but would have farmer carried that shit all the way back home with Jack on her shoulders, straight up Medal of Honour style, so he could get some medical attention to fix that broken crown.

She could use that water to make some tea to sip while thinking if only Jack had trained he wouldn’t have fallen from such a simple task, but that’s none of Jill’s business.

Special Limited Time Offer

Dean Somerset and Dr. Mike Israetel filmed 11 hours of amazing content at the recent L2 Fitness Summit and it’s nuts.

Half of it is Dean breaking down assessments and the other half is Dr. Mike talking about getting people jacked and swole.

 

It’s on sale THIS WEEK ONLY (12/5-12/10) at a heavily discounted price of $50 off the regular price. As if the content and quality of presenters isn’t enough to entice you: If you’re still seeking CEUs to finish off your certification requirements this bad-boy offers 1.2 CEUs via the NSCA.

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—> Get Jacked and Swole and Stuff <—

Categoriesmuscle growth

Blood Flow Restriction Training: Real Deal or Are We Wrapped Up in the Latest Trend?

I’m still in Florida enjoying my vacation (and eating copious amounts of carrot cake). Actually, after reading this article myself and looking at all the jackedness, I’m kinda grossed out by how much carrot cake I’ve been ingesting.

Nevertheless, if you’ve ever been curious as to whether or not there’s any validity to blood flow restriction training and whether it’s something that’s a good fit for you today’s guest post by Dr. Nicholas Licameli will help answer those questions.

Enjoy.

Copyright: lyashenko / 123RF Stock Photo

 

NOTE: Be sure to check with a healthcare practitioner before using blood flow restriction, especially those with cardiac or circulatory pathologies.

For a more in depth look at this topic as well as explanations and details of the studies referenced, be sure to check out my podcast HERE.

Blood Flow Restriction Training: Real Deal or Are We Wrapped Up in the Latest Fad?

In order to fully understand the theory behind BFR, it’s important to quickly review how blood flows through the body. This quick review of the circulatory system also appears in my article on compression garments, which can be found right here.

 

“The system is a cycle with the heart at the core.

Oxygenated blood enters the heart and is pumped (with great force) into the arteries. The arteries carry oxygen rich blood to all the tissues of the body, including muscle.

For simplicity, let’s use the biceps as an example.

As the arteries approach the muscle, they become thinner and thinner until they become so thin that the nutrients and oxygen diffuse across its walls and into the tissue. These super thin blood vessels are called capillaries.

After the blood “drops off” its oxygen and nutrients, it is picked up by more capillaries, which feed into larger blood vessels called veins. The veins passively carry the deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Once back at the heart, the deoxygenated blood gets sent to the lungs to get re-oxygenated, sent back to the heart, and is pumped back into the arteries to start the cycle all over again.

So the force from the initial pump from the heart is enough to send the blood from the heart, through the arteries, through the capillaries, into the veins, and back to the heart all while fighting gravity, plaque build up, etc. (pretty amazing huh?).

So it is easy to see that the velocity of blood flow is MUCH greater in the arteries than it is in the veins. Think of pushing a toy car across the floor. The initial push (the heartbeat) gives the car a decent amount of velocity, however as the car travels further and further away, its velocity lessens.”

What Is Blood Flow Restriction Training?

The goal of BFR training, or occlusion training, is to maintain arterial inflow of blood while occluding venous return during exercise: We want to get that nutrient, hormone, and oxygen-rich blood to the muscle, while delaying its escape.

This is accomplished by the application of a blood pressure cuff, knee wrap, or anything that can be tightly secured around the most proximal (closest to the midline of the body) part of a limb. If we use the arm muscles as an example, the wrap would be tightly secured around the upper arm, as close to the shoulder as possible, causing the blood to pool in the arms.

It is thought to have a positive effect on hypertrophy while using much lighter loads than conventional weight training.

How is it possible to restrict venous return without restricting arterial flow?

Let’s think back to our circulatory system review.

The blood in arteries has a much higher velocity and propulsion force than the veins, so in order to occlude arterial blood flow, a much higher pressure is needed. It is easier and requires less pressure to restrict blood flow in the veins because at that point, the flow of blood is not as forceful. Think of in the movies when someone gets an injury and the blood is squirting and pulsing out. The movie is depicting an arterial injury because of the high velocity of blood.

If a vein were injured, the blood would just ooze out.

 

Note From TG: I added this scene from Kill Bill because 1) why not? and 2) it repeatedly shows “arterial injuries” Nick referred to above. Also, 3) it’s badass.

How Does It Work?

The exact mechanism by which BFR works is unclear, however, the most likely and agreed upon theory has to do with greater metabolic stress.

Muscles release growth factors and metabolic by-products, such as lactic acid, into the bloodstream as a result of resistance training. These growth factors and metabolic by-products are washed away with normal blood flow. By restricting venous return and allowing the blood to pool, these growth factors and metabolic by-products remain in the muscle for a longer period of time and therefore have more time to interact with corresponding receptors in muscle tissue.

The accumulation of metabolic by-products, such as lactic, increases intramuscular acidity and may promote hypertrophy as well as the release of growth hormone (although acute increases in growth hormone have not been shown to significantly impact hypertrophy, it is still worth noting).

The increase in acidity and the buildup of lactic acid are responsible for “the burn” that we all know and love.

Even though we love the feeling, our bodies do not.

Our bodies fight tooth and nail to increase oxygen flow to the area in order to decrease the acidity and restore homeostasis. It does this by increasing respiration (increased breathing rate) and increasing arterial/oxygen-rich blood flow (vasodilation…the pump), but it can only fight for so long.

When the body is no longer able to manipulate breathing and blood flow enough to balance the acidity of our tissues, we enter an anaerobic (“no oxygen”) state. As we keep working through the burn, the acidity continues to increase until we reach muscle failure. Type II muscle fibers are recruited during this anaerobic state, which is important because they have the most potential for growth.

Blood flow restriction increases the amount of deoxygenated blood in the area, which helps facilitate the creation of an anaerobic environment. The result? We reach an anaerobic environment faster and for a longer duration.

How Do We Do It? How Tight? What Set & Rep Ranges? How Often?

As mentioned above, apply the wrap at the most proximal area of your arms and legs. It is difficult to establish an optimal tightness of application due to individual factors such as limb circumference, body fat level, skin thickness, etc. Studies seem to agree on is a simple rating of 7/10 self-rated tightness.

Photo Credit: John Rusin

Perform 3-5 sets to failure with 20-50% of 1 rep max with the muscle occluded the entire time. Rest periods should be 30-60 seconds between sets. After the final set, remove the wraps and restore blood flow to the muscle.

As far as how often BFR should be used, it is my personal opinion that BFR should be used like any other intensity technique that aims to increase metabolic stress, such as rest pause, drop sets, etc.

Is BFR Better Than Just Lifting Weights? I Mean, People Have Been Lifting Heavy Things and Getting Bigger and Stronger for Centuries…

Keep in mind that research only points us in the right direction for further study and isn’t meant to be the end-all be-all.

Research gives us trends and averages, however we each are n=1.

That being said…

Research shows that BFR training may be more effective for hypertrophy than conventional hypertrophy training with matched loads and just as effective as conventional training with unmatched loads.

This means that BFR causes the same amount of hypertrophy as conventional training while using significantly lighter loads. BFR training has been shown to enhance hypertrophy with weights of about 20-30% of 1 rep max, which is significantly lighter than what is typically required for conventional training.

When comparing BFR training to conventional strength training, research has shown BFR and conventional training to have a similar effect on strength with unmatched loads. This means that lifting lighter loads with BFR can increase strength just as much as conventional training with heavy loads.

When loads were matched (both groups lifting the same weight), BFR was shown to improve strength to a greater degree than conventional training.

That being said, there are studies that show BFR to be inferior to conventional heavy training to improve strength. Research supports that, when it comes to strength, specificity of training is key.

What’s the take home regarding strength? As the saying goes, “If you want to lift heavy things, you have to lift heavy things.”

BFR has also shown some promising results in physical therapy and rehabilitation.

Research has shown that subjects experienced increased serum growth hormone, thigh muscle size, and 1 rep max isometric strength just by walking on a treadmill with BFR applied to the legs.

Research also shows that when BFR was applied to the legs following ACL reconstruction surgery, subjects experienced more strength retention and less atrophy when compared to a control.   Strength retention and less atrophy were also observed using BFR following a period of ankle immobilization and a non-weight bearing protocol.

It seems BFR may be quite an effective tool with a wide variety of implications. Variables such as power, speed, endurance, etc. still require further investigation at this time.

Is It Safe?

Be sure to check with a qualified 5healthcare practitioner before adding BFR to your training toolbox.

Contraindications to blood flow restriction training include a history of deep-vein thrombosis, pregnancy, varicose veins, high blood pressure and cardiac disease.

Excessive pressure and prolonged ischemia (decreased blood flow) can lead to necrosis of tissues (cell death). Even though the BFR guidelines outlined in this article do not use excessive pressure and are not being applied for long periods, caution should always be taken.

Stop use immediately and consult a qualified healthcare practitioner if you experience severe pain, dizziness, nausea, or numbness/tingling.

Keep in mind that every time you enter the gym, you are taking a risk. If not respected or properly executed, anything can be harmful. Even with perfect form, injury is a risk.

What’s the Take Home?

  • With BFR, the goal is to induce fatigue, blood pooling, and muscle burning quicker and withless weight/work.
  • Wrap at the most proximal area of your arms and legs (under your shoulder and high on your inner thigh) with a 7/10 self-rated tightness.
  • Perform 3-5 sets to muscular failure using 20-50% of your 1 rep max with the muscle occluded the entire time.
  • Rest periods should be 30-60 seconds between sets.
  • After the final set remove the wraps and restore blood flow to the muscle.
  • While BFR has been shown to enhance hypertrophy and strength, it seems to have more of a positive impact on hypertrophy than strength. For strength, it may be more beneficial to stick to traditional heavy training.
  • BFR seems to be safe, however a qualified1 healthcare practitioner should be consulted prior to implementing BFR.

Don’t forget… For a more in depth look at this topic as well as explanations and specifics of the studies referenced, be sure to check out my podcast right here. 

About the Author

Dr. Nicholas M. Licameli, PT, DPT

NGA Pro Bodybuilder/Doctor of Physical Therapy

Every single thing he does, Nick believes in giving himself to others in an attempt to make the world a happier, healthier, and more loving place. He wants to give people the power to change their lives. Bodybuilding and physical therapy serve as ways to carry out that cause. His knowledge of sport and exercise biomechanics, movement quality, and the practical application of research combined with personal experience in bodybuilding and nutrition allows him to help people in truly unique ways. Love. Passion. Respect. Humility.  Never an expert. Always a student. Love your journey.

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References

In addition to the references listed below, please be sure to check out the work of Jeremy Loenneke on BFR as well as StrengthandConditioningResearch.com.

Abe T, Kearns C, and Sato Y. (2006) Muscle size and strength are increased following walk training with restricted venous blood flow from the leg muscle, Kaatsu-walk training. J Appl Physiol 100: 1460–1466.

Boucourt, B., Bouhaddi, M., Mourot, L., Tordi, N., & Ménétrier, A. (2014). Changes in tissue oxygen saturation with calf compression sleeves-before, during and after a cycling exercise. The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness. 55(12):1497-501

Egerton, T., Beardsley, C. Blood Flow Restriction Training. Strength and Conditioning Research. Retrieved on 7/21/16 from https://www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com/blood-flow-restriction-training-bfr

Kubota, A., Sakuraba, K., Sawaki, K., Sumide, T. & Tumara, Y. (2008). Prevention of disuse muscular weakness by restriction of blood flow. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 40(3), 529-34. [

Loenneke JP and Pujol TJ. (2009). The Use of Occlusion Training to Produce Muscle Hypertrophy. Strength & Conditioning Journal. 31(3): 77-84.

Menetrier, A., Mourot, L., Bouhaddi, M., Regnard, J., & Tordi, N. (2011). Compression sleeves increase tissue oxygen saturation but not running performance. Int J Sports Med, 32(11), 864-868.

Takarada Y, Takazawa H, and Ishii N. (2000). Application of vascular occlusion diminish disuse atrophy of knee extensor muscles. Med Sci Sports Exerc 32: 2035–2039.

CategoriesExercise Technique muscle growth Strength Training

Dumbbells Are Better Than Barbells For Pec Development: There, I Said It

This post is about training the pecs.

Sha-ZAM.

Copyright: pjphotography / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Full disclosure, I was going to use this picture as the main image for today’s article:

Copyright: wrangel / 123RF Stock Photo

However:

1. This guy’s pecs weren’t “pecy” enough.

2. Yellow peppers are gross.6

Every dude who lifts weights wants an impressive, well-defined chest.7

For men I think it’s pretty much engrained in our genetic code to A) miss the toilet seat when peeing and B) to want to train our chest whenever possible. In the most primal sense possible, we could make the case that a muscular looking chest is our version of a peacock spreading his feathers.

It’s a sign of masculinity, bravado, (perceived) sexual prowess, and encourages the ability to do this in public whenever the occasion arises…which, is all the time:

via GIPHY

I am no different.

Throughout my lifting career I’ve always placed a premium on training my chest and it should also come as no surprise that 97% of the guys I’ve coached throughout the years have prioritized the same.

We’ve been programmed to think that barbell variations are the best way to build an impressive chest. And although I’d be remiss not to note that many guys with big bench press numbers do, in fact, have enviable pecs, I’d note there are far more guys with average (if not laughable, by powerlifting standards) bench press numbers who would make He-Man swoon with their chest development.

Having a 300 lb bench press – while baller and worthy of a fist-bump – isn’t a requirement for building respectable pecs.

Again, to reiterate, this is not to downplay the bench press.

Hoisting some heavy-ass weight off your chest, repeatedly, is never a bad approach. But if we take a look at the actual anatomy of the Pectoralis major muscle and it’s function(s) we can note why, from a developmental standpoint, dumbbells are almost always a better option.

Pectoralis major

Actions:

1. Flexion of humerus.

2. Adduction of humerus.

3. Medial rotation of humerus.

4. Cutting of diamonds (when maximal pecification is achieved).

NOTE: We could, also, divide the Pectoralis major into two separate “areas.” The sternal head, mostly responsible for humeral extension, as well as adduction, and the clavicular head which is mostly responsible for humeral flexion.

Barbell variations limit things because they don’t allow for any humeral adduction. This is why, if pec development is the goal, dumbbell variations are a better play because THEY ALLOW MORE ADDUCTION, GOSH! How many times do I have to tell you.

Regular, plain ol’ DB Bench Presses are fine and will get the job done. However, what kind of post would this be if all I did was say “go do some DB Bench Presses.”

Lame. That’s what.

So, here are some of my (other) favorite dumbbell variations that are (hopefully) new to most of you reading.

1. DB Press – Accentuated Eccentric

 

Nothing too revolutionary here. All I’m doing in this video is accentuating the lowering (eccentric) portion to help attenuate more muscle fiber damage and subsequent muscle growth.8

I like to keep people in the 3-5s range as far as the lowering portion is concerned and aim for 8-12 repetitions. A sneaky trick I’ll often implement is a MAX set on the last set. So it may look something like this:

Set #1 = 10 reps

Set #2 = 8 reps

Set #3 = MAX reps

But you can always use straight weight or a pyramid scheme or whatever. It’s all good.

2. DB 1-Arm (Offset) Press

 

This is a nice way to address any strength imbalances between one side and the other. Too, it adds an intense core-stability (rotary stability) component as well, as you have to fire all you have as to not fall off the bench.

3. DB Alternating Press

 

This is a classic variation I always revert back to. I like this one as it kinda-sorta emulates a 1-arm press. Plus, it requires a fair amount of scapular stability on the straight-arm side as you perform the set.

4. DB Elevator Press

 

This is a play on something Ben Bruno discussed with Goblet Squats not too long ago. Here, the idea is to lower the DB 1/4 of the way, then back up, then lower 1/2 down, then back up, then lower all the way down, then back up again.

That’s one rep.

It sucks, but in a “holy shit, my pecs are so juicy right now kind of way.”

I’ll often shoot for 6-10 repetitions.

5. DB “Reverse Batwing” Press

 

This variation is the counterpoint to Dan John’s Batwing Row exercise. Here, you’ll hold one DB a few inches above the chest as you perform all your repetitions on the other side.

Switch, and repeat on the opposite side.

Ouch.

6. DB Squeeze Press

 

This is probably my favorite DB exercise to hammer the pecs. Here you promote both actions of the pecs into one hybrid exercise.

The idea here is to squeeze the DBs together as you press up and down.

7. DB Press w/ Intraset Iso Holds

 

Hot off the presses – at least for me – I stole this one from Jim Smith of Diesel Strength & Conditioning.

The idea here is to, again, increase time under tension (TUT) in an effort to increase metabolic demand and muscular damage.

Start with a 10s isometric hold at top. Another 5s hold half-way down. And then another 5s hold a few inches above the chest. Then perform 8-10 repetitions.

If you really want to hate life, after you perform your reps, repeat the three separate iso-holds again on your last set.

8. DB Floor Flye – Hollow Position

 

This isn’t a press, but it’s still a very effective exercise to build the pectorals since it’s 100% adduction. I got this idea from strength coach Joel Seedman as it’s also a nice variation that hammers the core too.

Moreover, since it’s performed on the floor it can be considered a more “shoulder friendly” flye variation since it limits the ROM and keeps trainees out of the “danger zone.”

And there you go.

Now go pecify those pecs people.

Categoriesmuscle growth Strength Training

It’s Not Just About the Weight…

In today’s guest post, regular contributor and resident Texan badass, Shane McLean, explains why the way to get bigger, faster, stronger isn’t to only put more weight on the bar.

Don’t get me wrong, it helps (and would be a nice starting point for some people)….but it’s not the only way.

Shane shares some examples below. Enjoy.

Copyright: jtrillol / 123RF Stock Photo

 

It’s Not Just About the Weight…

Progress in the weight room is much like life. It’s never in a straight line.

When you first started out on this lifting journey, progress (mostly likely) came easily and slapping more plates on the bar was second nature. You’d also look in the mirror, strike a pose and realize you’d gotten a little sexier.

Ah yes, those were the days.

As you move further along in this journey, the newbie gains start to wear off and it becomes more of a struggle to get bigger, faster and stronger.

When this started happening to me, I thought I was doing something wrong. I would workout harder and longer and would hop from program to program hoping to regain the gains.

But all I got was….

After some trial and error and having the benefit of some world class coaching, (hint hint Tony) I realized that changing a few variables was just the kick start I needed.

The following techniques have been around longer than you and me (and I’ve been around for a while) because they work. It’s not as sexy as twisting yourself into a pretzel or squatting on a Bosu ball, but your gains will thank you.

I’m bringing flexing back. The Bodybuilders don’t know how act.

1) Cluster Sets

I first came across cluster sets in Eric Cressey’s Maximum Strength program. After doing these for the first time, I felt like JJ Watt had taken me out. Ouch was an understatement.

Cluster sets involve inserting a short 10-second rest within a straight set which enables you to lift more weight without having to reduce volume. With a typical straight set, you lift the weight for a certain amount of reps and then put it down.

But with cluster sets, you’ll work with your 5 RM, lift it twice, rest for 10 seconds and complete 3 more 2 rep mini sets with 10 seconds of rest between each. You’ll do 4-5 total sets like this, which adds up to 40 reps with a 5RM weight.

Cluster sets work best with compound movements that don’t require a lot of set up time. For instance, barbell bench press variations, chin ups, barbell row variations or the Humble Goblet Squat.

For example:

1A. Flat barbell bench press (4 x 2) mini sets with 10 seconds of rest between – 5 sets

1B. Weighted chin up (4 x 2) mini sets with 10 seconds of rest between – 5 sets

A Little Sumthin on Bench Press Set-Up

 

And, I Little Sumthin on Chin-Ups

 

2) Pauses

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand for the past few years you should know the three main triggers for muscle hypertrophy are mechanical tension, metabolic stress and muscle damage.

If you want to geek out and get more in depth with this topic, click here.

Adding a pause in your lifts covers these bases, if somewhat brutally. But lifting weights isn’t meant to tickle and pausing while the working muscle is under tension will test you in ways that you’ve never thought possible.

Which is another way of saying they suck. ?

Pauses work best with compound lifts like deadlifts, squats, presses and rows but can also used for isolation exercises (Bicep curls, anyone?) to bring up a lagging muscle group.

Pauses can work on weaknesses, such as being slow off the floor when deadlifting or getting into a good squat position. Because if you’re struggling with certain positions within your lift, it helps to spend more time there, not less.

 

If you plan on using this technique, a 2- 3 second pause with a load between 60-80% 1 RM and lifting between 5- 10 reps works well. However, please feel free to experiment if you’re feeling particularly sadistic.

 

3) Every Minute on the Minute (EMOM) Sets for Strength

This method is synonymous with metabolic training and workout finishers at the end of a training.

Starting a set every minute on the minute holds you accountable for work you do in a certain period.

However, if you dare, they can be used for strength also because strength is a skill that needs to be practiced and this method allows you to spend some quality time under the bar not at the bar. ?

Load a barbell with 90% 1 RM for lifts such as squats, deadlifts, presses or pulls. Set the stopwatch for anywhere between 10 – 20 minutes and do one rep every minute on the minute.

This will help you hone your technique and get stronger and better conditioned.

However, this is neurologically demanding and should be done with only one lift per workout. This is best done periodically to shake things up and to bust through plateaus. Please enter at your own risk.

Wrapping Up

You don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater when your progress stalls. Just adding some small changes to the basics will have you flexing, smiling and loving the mirror again.

About the Author

Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Texas. Shane believes in balancing exercise with life while putting the fun back into both.