The Least Understood Stage of Fat-Loss

fat-loss, body-fat, natural bodybuildingWe all recognize that on some level fat-loss is more of a mental challenge than a physical one.  Typically, if you follow a plan you lose body-fat.  The trouble is following the plan.

One of the stumbling blocks that I haven’t heard any coaches or nutritionists talk about (which doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been talked about) that is common among nearly every individual—natural bodybuilder or every day Jane—is best summarized by a recent conversation I had with a female client who is prepping for her first natural bodybuilding contest.

She’s made incredible strides with fat-loss in the past 5 months.  But despite being her all-time leanest and extremely well defined by competition standards she said, “My body looked better when I was a few pounds heavier.” 

Similarly I’ve been told the same from non-bodybuilding clients who although overweight, reached a certain point in their fat-loss where their body looked—for lack of a better term—“awkward”, compared to being just a few pounds heavier.  Mind you they were still overweight at this point.

And I’ve noticed the same of myself during competition prep.  There typically comes a time early on in my prep when despite being leaner I’m not lean in the areas I need it most resulting in that “awkward” appearance.

This is a critical juncture for anyone losing weight because when you’re at this stage it is very easy to abandon what you’re doing.

I mean heck, if you don’t look as good as you did just a couple of pounds heavier, why keep pushing to lose more, right?

However this is the time when you have to ignore the mirror and keep pushing forward.  It’s an unfortunate fact that we lose body-fat indiscriminately.

You don’t get to pick and choose where fat comes off first.  And even more unfortunately, where you want it to come off most is usually where it comes off last.  This is the real culprit and reason for the disproportionate appearance being discussed.

So what’s the point?

The point is, don’t quit!

Don’t allow a momentary inconvenience or displeasure with your appearance prevent you from attaining the physique you desire most.  Celebrate this stage in your fat-loss because it indicates what you really want is right around the corner.

BODYBUILDING RAMBLINGS: A Torrid Love Affair with Machines

Does it make me less of a tough guy because I prefer machines over free weights?  Am I now required to relinquish my “Hardcore” membership card because of this admission?  A mindless iron-pumper who’s never done a critical evaluation of machines versus free-weights will surely answer with a resounding yes.  (He’s probably calling me a pussy too.)

I pay it no mind though.  I still squat, deadlift, bench press, military press, do barbell rows and use dumbbells just as much as the hardcore. And I recommend you do too.

Mike Squating

You see, I;m not here to lambast free-weights for all their imperfections nor do I view machines as being of superior value.  I see value in both and thus implement both.  When experts in either camp pits one against the other it displays their own fundamental misunderstanding of what matters when it comes to muscle hypertrophy.

It’s Not the Wand, It’s the Magician

If you think machines somehow do the work for you, you’re deluding yourself.  If you think free-weights are always more demanding than machines you’re further deluding yourself.

How demanding an exercise is has more to do with how it’s being performed than the exercise itself. True, some exercises are inherently more demanding because the number of muscles involved and the complexities of the movement—think squats.  But a set of heavy leg presses taken to the point of muscular failure or beyond can be just as demanding or more, than a set of heavy squats stopped a few reps short of failure as most of us do for safety reasons.

Hard versus Hard on the Muscles

If you train like a wimp—and by wimp I mean you terminate your sets just as the burn sets or always stop a couple of reps short of failure because you’re a cream puff—then free-weight exercises will feel harder than machines.  As mentioned, free-weight exercises tend to have greater involvement of assistant movers and stabilizer muscles and this contributes to the overall systemic stress you experience.  But don’t mistake the exercise feeling harder as actually being harder on the target muscles.

If your goal is muscle hypertrophy then maximizing the mechanical tension and cellular fatigue (metabolic stress) of the muscles being targeted should be your focus.  Dispersing muscular tension amongst multiple muscle groups diminishes what’s experienced by the target muscles.

This leads to the primary reason I find machines more beneficial than the conventional bodybuilder.

Pain as a Rite of Passage

Creating an environment wrought with deep cellular fatigue and metabolic stress is not fun.  It’s typically accompanied by a degree of muscular burning equal to being branded with a 1300°F iron. (Okay, maybe not that bad but if feels like it  3/4 of the way through leg extensions.)

Gym fitness club indoor with young women training weights with legs

The discomfort is just part of the process. It’s the price we pay for “Gainzzzzzz” as every meathead lifter (male and female) likes to say these days.  …I love you all BTW.

Creating the aforementioned environment is more easily accomplished using machines which is why I’m not just the machine club president but I’m also a client.   For all the great benefits big compound free-weight exercises give us the one drawback is that the weakest muscle group gets worked the hardest.

In order to balance the scales of muscle stimulation, exercises that help isolate each muscle group are necessary.  Properly designed machines help to nullify weak points and maintain constant tension on the target muscles…

But Not all Machines are Created Equal

Shout-out to my good friend and groomsmen at my wedding, Mark Houghton, who posted this study to my Facebook wall:  EFFECTIVENESS OF ELBOW FLEXORS TRAINING ON MACHINE WITH VARIABLE-CAM AND DISC
Karczewska, M., Urbanik, C., Madej, A., Iwańska, D., Staniszewski, M., Mastalerz, A. Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw
.

The researchers of this study compared biceps training on machines with a variable resistance cam (ala Nautilus) whereby the resistance changes relative to the strength of the muscle at various joint angles versus machines that used a circular disc and the resistance remains constant despite joint angle.  The results of the study showed an increase in peak muscle torque (13%) and power (20%) by the variable-cam group and 6% and 10% respectively for the disc group.

NautilusCam1ENG-272x300

And although not statistically significant it should be noted that a greater increase in muscle circumference at rest was observed in the variable-cam group (1.7cm vs. 1.1cm Right arm and 1.6 vs. 0.9 Left arm).  Read the full study here.

Unfortunately there are very few quality studies comparing variable resistance machines to free-weights.(1,2,3,4,5)  However, of the research that does exist, most of the data points to a slight edge in strength gains for variable resistance and no significant difference in hypertrophy.

All Results being Equal

As I pointed out at the start of this article I don’t necessarily find machines to be superior to free-weights I just prefer them over free-weights.  I use both because I believe variety matters for the purpose of having a well-balanced physique and I see the pros and cons of each.  Research gives a small nod to variable-resistance machines for strength gains and hypertrophy is [for now] equal.  So why my preference?

First, I value efficiency.  Some people live to be in the gym, I live to get a result from it and then move onto other activities and interests (like writing these articles for you).

Second, I’m not a sadist but I relish in the deep fatigue and discomfort experienced when I can precisely target a muscle group.

Third, I like taking the skill out of the exercise so I can focus squarely on intensity of effort and training to failure without needing someone to spot me (I usually train alone).

Fourth, I love not having to rack my weights!

 

References

[1] Pipes TV, Wilmore JH.
Isokinetic vs isotonic strength training in adult men.
Med Sci Sports. 1975 Winter;7(4):262-74.

[2] Pipes TV.
Variable resistance versus constant resistance strength training in adult males.
Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1978 Jul 17;39(1):27-35.

[3] Walker S1, Hulmi JJ, Wernbom M, Nyman K, Kraemer WJ, Ahtiainen JP, Häkkinen K  Variable resistance training promotes greater fatigue resistance but not hypertrophy versus constant resistance training
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2013 Sep;113(9):2233-44. doi: 10.1007/s00421-013-2653-4. Epub 2013 May 1.

[4] Manning RJ1, Graves JE, Carpenter DM, Leggett SH, Pollock ML.
Constant vs variable resistance knee extension training.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1990 Jun;22(3):397-401.

[5] Boyer, B. T. (1990).
A comparison of the effects of three strength training programs on women.
Journal of Applied Sport Science Research, 4, 88-94.

Fitness Professionals in MLM = Not Professional?

I’m stepping away from my usual blog posts about the art of muscle and strength science for a moment to address something that has become a burning itch under my skin.  I’m sure I’ll lose a few of my fitness professional friends over this one, but that’s okay.  And I’m sure I’ll make a few new friends as a result of this, and that’s okay too.

My purpose here is not to rearrange my “friends” list but to explain why I and many others in the health and fitness arena choose to align with MLM (multi-level marketing) companies that produce health and wellness products.

Several times I’ve heard fitness professionals and personal trainers—some of whom I respect immensely—make a statement along the lines of, “If you’re involved in an MLM you should not even call yourself a fitness professional.”

Okay…well…I’m going to challenge that attitude.  And I’m well equipped to because that was my stance for the first fourteen years of my fitness career.  (The past two years have decimated those beliefs.)

On the most primitive level you don’t like MLM’s because you don’t understand them.

And you don’t understand them because you’ve never been involved in one.  Or you had a bad experience with an MLM and feel like you got “burned”.

You think you know how they work but how could you—you’ve never been involved in one.  You only have your perception of what an MLM is and how it works.  That, combined with the bullet points from what others have told you, leads to your baseless belief that “It’s a scam.  It’s a get rich quick scheme.”

I know all the reasons Fitness Professionals think MLM’s are “Unprofessional”.

  • Low-barrier of entry.
  • People in MLM’s are not qualified professionals.
  • It’s a sales job and you don’t like “selling”.
  • It’s a pyramid that preys on people.
  • If the products are so good then why are they not in stores?
  • You can’t make any real money.

I will not dispute that there is some legitimacy to the above claims.  After all, the first thing that turned you off was that your Aunt Debbie started her MLM business in the amount of time it takes you to walk to your mailbox.  Barrier to entry is low.  One needs to be willing to part with a few hundred dollars and start buying the products and voila, you’re in business.

Which leads into one of the primary reasons you despise MLM’s.

You don’t respect anyone who’s not a trainer or fitness professional by trade talking to people about products to improve their health, lose weight or help prevent disease.

“They’re not qualified!” you’ll cry.

And yet half the personal trainers with this nose in the air attitude became trainers following a ridiculously easy online or weekend certification course.  Talk about a profession with a low-barrier of entry—look who’s calling the kettle black.

But if you are one of those that had to work hard to earn your credentials, and consider yourself in the top 20% of trainers, you would actually admire what the top 20% of MLM people do to get where they are.  (It’s not all about getting people to join. More on this later.)

Let’s peel back the layers on the “qualification” issue.  I’ll start by asking, you, my fitness professional brethren a question:  When was the last time you recommended a supplement or suggested an approach to nutrition after reading a few articles, research papers, or books?

Don’t say you’ve never done it.  Truth is, unless you’re a licensed nutritionist, dietetic, or have a background in nutritional biochemistry you are no more qualified than anyone else to educate others on these topics.

But because you investigate these topics and learn from reliable resources that have extensive insight and knowledge, you feel confident in your ability to pass along the information.  You guide people to what you think is best for them—and there’s nothing wrong with it.  As long as it’s you doing it, or those you think have the right to.

(Keep in mind, there’s someone out there smarter and more versed than you who thinks you have no right to educate people.  …Just saying.)

Science and education are what you’re looking for, right?

I can’t speak for every MLM but Shaklee (whom my wife and I have been partnered with for just over two years) does an incredible job educating their distributors and customers.  As you’ll soon see, their entire business model depends on education.

Shaklee has poured millions of dollars into creating in-depth educational programs and resources and staffs over 70 full-time doctors, scientists, and nutritionists at their headquarters in Pleasanton, CA.   Not only are they actively involved in the development of products but they are accessible to distributors and customers to educate them on the products’ use and health implications.

They also host weekly webinars, conference calls, and speak at live events discussing the science behind the products and the results of clinical trials.

Speaking of research…

I find it ironic that so many of my Exercise Science Research Geek friends as I affectionately refer to them don’t demand more from the companies whose products they use.  In their eyes “the research” behind a product is the true worth of a product.

Well here’s a challenge to you all.  Go to your favorite vitamin or health food store and pick a product from five of the companies you believe to be the most reputable.  It could be something as common as a B vitamin or Multi.  Now call the company and request a copy of their clinical trials on that product.

I’ll bet they have nothing to offer.  Maybe except a reference to a study about that type of product/ingredient (but not theirs specifically) and a discount coupon.  My wife has done this more times than I can count—and with companies you all know and trust.

On the other hand Shaklee has over 90 abstracts and manuscripts in peer-reviewed scientific journals to support product efficacy and safety.  They run trials on THEIR finished product before it’s released for distribution.  And if even one ingredient (from a supplier) in a product is not up to their standard they halt production of that product (no matter how popular) until the right one is found.

This coming year (2015) Shaklee will spend $250 million on science and research.  That’s a quarter of a billion dollars just on research.  I wonder how many of your favorite brands are willing to pony-up a quarter of a billion just to improve their current batch of products and develop new ones.

I am not implying this is the standard for all MLM’s but for the one I work with it is.  For me it’s about…

Money spent the way it should be.

Remember bullet point number five: If the products are so good then why are they not in stores?

Someone once asked this of the founder of our company, Dr. Forrest Shaklee back in the late 1950’s.  To paraphrase his response; A product on a shelf cannot tell a person what makes it better or different from all the other products. That’s why you need people—people that are knowledgeable about the product and can communicate what it has the power to do. 

Seems like a rational answer to me.  I know that I do a much better job of explaining to someone in person what training at my fitness studio will do to help them than even the most comprehensive marketing pieces we produce.  You just can’t beat face-to-face communication, especially when you’re discussing someone’s health and wellness.

You’re smart enough to realize that companies spend billions of dollars a year to grab your attention in hopes that you’ll reach for their product on the shelf, right?  And you’re also smart enough to know that half the stuff they tell you is BS.  So I don’t quite understand the logic that, if a product is not on a shelf then it must be poor quality.

The reasons [most] MLM’s don’t spend money on advertising.

  • Instead of spending money on advertising they spend it on R & D.  (Again, Shaklee will invest $250 million next year in this area.)
  • Instead of spending money on advertising or celebrity endorsements they spend it on educating distributors about the products.
  • Instead of spending money on advertising they use it to pay people to spread their message.
  • Instead of spending money on advertising they use it to reward people for business growth.

You don’t bat an eyelash or voice your displeasure over products endorsed by athletes who likely never heard of the company before they got paid to know and talk about them.  Your rational senses tell you there is no reason to believe that the products they are pitching actually work, but you consider using them anyway.

That’s the power of seductive marketing.  It can turn the most cynical person into a buyer in a few thirty-second snippets.  And worse, you know what they’re doing as they do it.

So why vilify a company that chooses NOT to spend millions, if not billions of dollars on deceiving you?

Do you actually trust a paid celebrity over people that really use, benefit from, and are educated on the products they are recommending to you?

Our logic is severely flawed.  …But I guess that’s why marketing is designed to appeal to emotions and not logic.

It’s sales and I’m not a salesman

My sister is in sales and my father was a salesman too.  Both are exceptional at it due to a combination of their personality and drive to succeed.  I’m a personal trainer…I’m not a salesman.  But like so many other trainers I can “sell” the heck out of my services.

Why?  Because I believe in what I do. Because I know with absolute certainty I can change peoples’ lives.  And if you’re a trainer or fitness professional of any kind I know you feel the same way.

Does it bother you that some people don’t buy into what you do?  That they don’t really think your services are necessary to get in shape or be healthy?

Of course not!

You realize that what you do won’t be for everyone and you’re only concerned with those that it is for.  And you are certainly not going to spend your time trying to hard sell people on what you do—if they don’t want your help, it’s their loss.

Well the same goes for the products I recommend and proudly “sell”.

I’ve done my due diligence, I’ve read the research, and I use the products.

In fact, I used them for several months before ever recommending them.

Providing people with proven alternatives that can improve their health and wellness is not selling, it’s my job, and if you are a fitness professional it is yours too.  People come to us because they need the help of an expert.  This is not snake oil sales.  It’s sharing a gift with people that can permanently change their lives.

It’s a Pyramid and preys on people.

This is my very favorite objection fitness professionals cite for not joining an MLM.  The reason is, many are already part of a pyramid.

Wait, what?  Huh?

Yup, that’s right.

Ask yourself what a pyramid looks like?

There is a person at the top and then there are people underneath that person…and then people under those people…and others under them.

The traditional companies we all support are the real pyramids.  Think about it.  Who gets paid the most?  The CEO.  Who next? The Presidents of each division.  Next?  Vice Presidents, then Middle Managers, then Supervisors, and dooooooooooown the line it goes.

Even in small businesses there’s always a hierarchy.  You have one or two owners and then everyone else is “underneath” them, right?

So help me understand the concern about someone earning a percentage from the work you do?  The work they have to spend time teaching you to do.  It’s already happening unless you are the sole owner and operator of your business.  (And the percentage of what’s being made off your work in a “regular job” is no less—often grossly more—than that of MLMs.)

In reality, no one earns anything without adding value.

Anyone who has ever earned a good living in an MLM will tell you that you don’t make money simply by getting people to join.  Your earnings are tied to what happens after the initial purchase.  Specifically, the amount of value you are adding to people’s lives.

The folklores about people signing up their family and friends so they can advance themselves in an MLM and become a multi-millionaire is typically a) complete bullshit or b) a Ponzi scheme akin to The Wolf of Wall Street.  The latter resulting in imprisonment.

I can’t speak for every MLM but in Shaklee we get paid based on the quality and volume of work we put in.  We don’t earn anything if we’re not helping others be successful.   In every way we are like a 24 hour support staff for those we bring into the business.

The super slimmed down version of how my wife and I operate our Shaklee business goes something like this:

  • Someone decides to join our Team and start making a difference in the lives of others and themselves.
  • We then work with them day in and day out to assist in their personal and professional development (notice which one I listed first) and make a full time living from their business if they choose.
  • We then teach them how to do the exact same thing for others.
  • We remain right by their side coaching them every week to grow and achieve their goals.

Interestingly enough this is exactly what I have done with every trainer who has ever worked for me in my fitness studio.  And I’m sure many of you who own a fitness business or any business have done the same as well.  You recognize that your job as the leader is to develop your people so they can better serve other people (your customers).

Oh, and as far as those who bring you into an MLM living the life off all your hard work.  There are thousands of people in Shaklee and other MLM’s, my wife and I included, who earn more than the people who sponsored them into the business.  Because as with any business it’s the depth, quality and commitment to your work that determines earning potential.

If you are not adding value and helping others improve their quality of life, your quality of life will suffer.  That is why those who think this business is all about signing people up never make it long-term.  This business is about connecting with people and being a Quality of Life Ambassador to them.  You can’t be that—and won’t survive—if you con people into joining.

It’s your reputation, I get it.

No one could be anymore apprehensive about joining an MLM than me.  It took me eight years since first being introduced to Shaklee to even consider moving forward with the business.  And even then it took me several months to embrace it (despite the great results I experienced from the products) and make it a bigger part of my fitness studio.

I was fearful of the blowback from clients and colleagues if something was wrong with the products or they didn’t work.  I also didn’t want to be seen as a self-serving pushy salesperson.

The Cliff Notes version of my story is that the science and real-world proof won me over.  As a result, my clients have improved their health and achieved fat-loss, body composition and strength goals more quickly and with greater ease.

Closing Thoughts.

There are bad salespeople, business people, and service providers in EVERY industry and profession.  Does that stop you from using those products or services?

Have you stopped going to all restaurants because the food and service was bad at one of them?  Or did you chalk it up to that being a bad restaurant and move on?

If you’re a fitness professional reading this, I know how you feel.  I felt the same way too.  But what I found—when I set aside my preconceived notions and negative experiences with certain MLM distributors—is that the business is like any other.  The model is completely legit and the quality of products were SIGNIFICANTLY better than 98% of those found on a shelf.

As I said at the start, if you have never been a part of an MLM (or a Network Marketing company as many now refer to them) you have little basis for judging them.  Sure you can continue judging them based on the few (bad) people you know involved in them and say they’re Money Sucking Vampires.  But that would be like people refusing to consider your services because their first encounter with a personal trainer, chiropractor, nutritionist, coach, or whoever was an off-putting experience.

Just (whole) food for thought.  :-)

EXERCISE VARIATION IS A MUST, MUSCLE CONFUSION IS MORONIC

Think variation and muscle confusion are one in the same?  They’re not.

You cannot “confuse” or “trick” muscles into hypertrophy and strength gains.  When you nestle under the bar there is no hesitancy or confusion on your muscles part about what they must do—which is contract.  And if you’re doing it right, they’re contracting pretty frickin’ hard.

muscle-confusion

And when you work your muscles to exhaustion and finally call it quits, it’s crystal clear to them what needs to happen next.  They need to adapt.  It’s their evolutionary duty.

Hypertrophy and Strength Adaptations Result from Muscles being subjected to Specific Conditions.

The basic requirements for building muscle and strength are no secret.  Challenge the muscles with relatively heavy loads, use enough volume to sufficiently exhaust mechanical and chemical resources, progressively increase training demands, repeat the process frequently enough to maintain and elicit new gains, but not so frequently that you inhibit recovery.  Bam!  That’s it!

Keeping up with these requirements as you develop more muscle and strength, in and of itself creates variation.  But you and I know that is not the type of variation implied when fitness gurus speak of variation.

No, we’re told to switch things up.  That we shouldn’t keep doing the same thing.

But exactly what does that mean?

Change some Elements—Don’t do an Overhaul

As pointed out, if the goal is muscle hypertrophy and strength gains there are certain conditions your training must meet.  It’s what we refer to as the S.A.I.D. Principlespecific adaptation to imposed demands.  In the same way, if your goal is to run a marathon your training must reflect the best means of improving aerobic output and muscular endurance.

The idea is not to keep your muscles “guessing” (they don’t sit around between workouts wondering what’s coming next) but to give them exactly what they need to get the result you’re looking for.   If the foundation of your training remains intact and in alignment with your objective then varying some of the elements can help enhance results and circumvent plateaus.

The Many Faces of Exercise Variation

The elements we most commonly think of altering are the exercises, rep and set schemes, intensity, rep performance, and the type of workout.  I’ll address each individually.

Exercises – Varying exercises can be anything from performing the same exercise at various angles (i.e. flat chest press, incline press, decline press), performing vastly different exercises for the same muscle group (i.e. leg extensions and sissy squats)  or performing the same exercise using different equipment (i.e. barbell deadlifts vs. trap bar deadlifts or dumbbell curls vs. cable curls).

Those who implement a variety of exercises, cyclically, tend to have more well-rounded physiques with better balance between or within muscle groups.  There is also a reduced risk of overuse injury (barring excessive volume or frequency) resulting from working in the same plane of motion over long periods.

Reps & Set Schemes – Increasing or decreasing your rep range, set length (Time Under Tension) or the number of sets performed is a play on volume.  It’s a means of ensuring that all muscle fiber types (Type I, Type IIa, Type IIb) are subjected to the appropriate workload to maximize development.

muscleconfusion

It is also the easiest way to alter training demands. When your muscles acclimate to a particular workload an increase in volume is an effective means of challenging them to a higher level of conditioning.  However, this increase in your total demands—which is necessary—will affect recovery ability.

Conversely, lowering your volume by performing fewer sets is effective in providing for more recovery time.  Cycling between high, low, and moderate volume training affords you periods of heavy demands to stimulate gains and periods of lower demands to boost recovery and sensitize you to higher volume training.

Intensity – Just as with reps and sets, increasing your intensity of effort—by training to muscular failure or beyond—can heighten training demands and stimulate muscle hypertrophy and strength increases.  Taken too far for too long it can also stifle recovery by exhausting your CNS which is why it should be implemented judiciously and cycled.

Rep Performance – Changing repetition speed and the execution of your reps (i.e. stutter reps, partials, Zone Training, 21’s, negatives, etc.) is a means of disrupting motor patterns, influencing fiber recruitment, and increasing training demands.

Watch this tutorial on Zone Training for an alternative way of performing your reps and check out the related article: The Pump, Occlusion Training, and How to Enhance Them.

Why would you want to disrupt motor patterns?  After all, you’ve worked so hard to get your form right so you can properly target your muscles and handle the most amount of load safely, right?

The reason is, sometimes the adaption you get is not the one you want.  We want to develop our muscles, we want them to get stronger—but not all of the increases in strength you see in the gym is the result of increased muscular development. The more practiced and technically sound you are at certain lifts the less energy and resources you will use to perform them.

If the end game is to thoroughly fatigue your muscles and give them cause for further development then performing exercises in a manner they are unaccustomed to can present a new set of demands to adapt to.

Research on repetition speed has shown that faster repetition may hold a slight advantage over slow reps in increasing strength but there is no statistical difference in the effect on muscle hypertrophy. However both fast and slow reps have several advantages and disadvantages.  Watch this video for a breakdown of each.

Type of Workout – Different workouts lend themselves to different adaptations, this much is obvious.  A trainee who performs several different modes of exercise or engages in various styles of training may have greater overall fitness than someone focused on only one mode with one objective.  But they won’t necessarily excel or achieve their ideal level of development in any one area unless by genetic chance.

And this is where must be intentional about using blatantly different styles of exercise for variation versus altering the elements like mentioned previously.  If you can accept the potential for regression in certain aspects of your development by abandoning one type of training or exercise for another then by all means, go for it.

The Final Word

I understand what the “muscle confusion” guys are getting at. The need for exercise variation is overwhelmingly valid.  It just bugs the hell out of me—as well as every other sensible fitness instructor—when we have to explain to a neophyte that muscle confusion is nothing more than marketing bullshit.

Thanks for reading this far!  If you found this information useful please share it. 

Annihilate Physical and Mental Plateaus in Your Training

Success is the enemy of progress.

From the time we decide to pursue a goal until the time we achieve it we experience tremendous growth. In the world of bodybuilding and fitness we have the added benefit of that growth not only being mental and emotional, but physical as well.

The trouble is…

Achieving our desired outcome can put the proverbial breaks on further gains.

The great business coach Dan Sullivan referred to this phenomenon in his book, How the Best Get Better, as, “The ceiling of complexity”.

But since we’re not talking business let’s look at an example from the standpoint of exercise.

We decide one day that we need to dial our training up a notch.  We look to a challenging exercise like squats and we say to ourselves, “I’m going add thirty pounds to my personal best on this exercise no matter what it takes”.

squats 3

Over the next 7, 8, 9 weeks you make steady progress toward your goal.  You’re in the gym grinding, you’re constantly analyzing your form and looking for ways to overcome your weak points, you’re slugging back your protein shakes and carbing up before your workouts, and making sure to get plenty of beauty sleep.

Then, on week 10, you do it.  You smash your previous bests as you hoist thirty more pounds on your squat.  You’re glaring back at the old you and laugh at what a wimp he was.

The accomplishment was great, but here comes the ceiling of complexity.

Over the next couple of weeks things are great as you post videos of your new found strength all over Facebook and collect a ton of “Likes”.  Your motivation is still very high.

But gradually things start to get stale.  Motivation is waning and you are no longer doing all the little things that helped propel you to the top of the mountain.  Instead of standing at the peak you settle on a plateau.

Plateau Point sign

As frustrated as plateaus make us there is solution for overcoming them, and the ceiling of complexity.

Set your sights on a greater goal BEFORE achieving the original one.

A friend recently asked, How do I mentally and physically work through plateaus in training and progress. Specifically when trying to maintain muscle mass and strength while also cutting body-fat.”

Losing body-fat while maintaining muscle and strength is hard and there are a lot of moving parts and details to be addressed.  But it is something many bodybuilders routinely accomplish.

The answer to working mentally and physically through plateaus is to avoid them altogether (unless you’ve planned for down period.).  In order to evade plateaus you need to keep growing as Dan Sullivan would say.

You only grow when you are intensely focused on an objective.  The goal is what keeps you mentally in the game, and that translates to keeping you physically in it as well.

Some may view this as Goal Setting 101 but it goes well beyond that.

It’s about anticipating success and guarding against its ugly side-effect…complacency.  Complacency is what results in plateaus, and plateaus result in relapses.

Bruce Lee put it best when he said,

“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life.  There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and yo must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”

The Truth about Missed Workouts and Detraining on Muscle & Strength Gains

He felt panic stricken.  What was he going to do?  He spent at least seven hours a week, every week for the last eleven months working to increase is bench and add more muscle.  At nineteen years old he was at his peak (so he thought) and this upcoming week was about to squash all the work he’d put in.  The same thing happened to him last year during the same week so you thought he would have learned by now.

It was June and he was home from college for the summer.  As a lacrosse player, he loved the sport but loved training more.  The hours spent in the gym smashing personal bests gave him more satisfaction than scoring goals.

That’s what made this week so hard.  There would not be a single minute for him to spend in the gym.  The lacrosse camp he was a coach and counselor at for this one week each June was massive—thousands of kids.  And with so many kids running around on and off the field there was not a spare minute in the day.

Not being able to train ate way at him every day.

He was excited when day six finally arrived.  Time to go home!

He walked in the door said a quick hello to his parents and within minutes he was back out the door, in the car, and heading to the gym.

Gym time

He got under the bench for his first couple of warm-up sets.

“Whoa, that felt easy” he thought to himself.

And then he moved onto his working set.  With one-eighty-five on the bar he was expecting to push out his usual six reps.  But after he completed eight it hit him that the week off didn’t hurt him one bit.

Not the type to put two and two together he just thought how “lucky” he was to have not lost any strength.  Never mind that he just bested his last four bench press workouts.

What can I say, I’m a slow learner.  :-)

People get neurotic about their training.

Missed workout

We all agree, a healthy commitment to exercise and nutrition is great.  But when a commitment turns into an obsession—usually in the case of body dysmorphic disorders—it’s never a pretty sight.  I would not go so far to say I suffered from a disorder (I always maintained some sensibility about how I looked) mine was more of a compulsion.

I worked hard, earned my gains and yearned for more.  I would guess you and I are probably similar that way.  It’s very normal to be concerned that too much time away from the gym will result in regression.

But…

Is all the unrest we feel about time away from the gym warranted?

If we rely on the empirical evidence the answer is, no.

If rely on the research, the answer is still, no.

Research published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology in 2013 (Ogasawara R1, Yasuda T, Ishii N, Abe T.) [1] compared the effects of a periodic resistance training (PTR) program with those of a continuous resistance training (CTR) program on muscle size and function.

The CTR group trained continuously over a 24-week period, whereas the PTR group performed three cycles of 6-week training (or retraining), with 3-week detraining periods between training cycles. After an initial 6 weeks of training, increases in cross-sectional area (CSA) of the triceps brachii and pectoralis major muscles and maximum isometric voluntary contraction of the elbow extensors and 1-RM were similar between the two groups.

 

In the CTR group, muscle CSA and strength gradually increased during the initial 6 weeks of training. However, the rate of increase in muscle CSA and 1-RM decreased gradually after that.

 

In the PTR group, increase in muscle CSA and strength during the first 3-week detraining/6-week retraining cycle were similar to that in the CTR group during the corresponding period. However, increase in muscle CSA and strength during the second 3-week detraining/6-week retraining cycle were significantly higher in the PTR group than in the CTR group.

 

Thus, overall improvements in muscle CSA and strength were similar between the groups. The results indicate that 3-week detraining/6-week retraining cycles result in muscle hypertrophy similar to that occurring with continuous resistance training after 24 weeks.

Another study from 2000; Neuromuscular adaptation during prolonged strength training, detraining and re-strength-training in middle-aged and elderly people (Häkkinen K1, Alen M, Kallinen M, Newton RU, Kraemer WJ) [2] provides further evidence that 3 weeks of not training will have an inconsequential impact on muscular size and strength.

According to the researchers findings:  Short-term detraining (3 weeks) led to only minor changes, while prolonged detraining (24 weeks) resulted in muscle atrophy and decreased voluntary strength…

Barring injury or some traumatic event anyone moderately committed to maintaining their fitness is unlikely to miss 24 straight weeks of training.

More is to be gained, not lost, from detraining.

Most encouraging about this study and confirmed by others [3,4] is that there is no inhibition of muscular or strength adaptations upon returning to training.  But all of us life-long lifters already recognized this, we call it “Muscle Memory.”

In fact in many instances results upon re-training after a week or two of detraining exceeded previous bests.  This was my experience at nineteen after returning from a [forced] week off from training.  And the scenario has played out hundreds of other times with personal training clients who—fearful that the past 4 months of progress would be wiped away by their upcoming two week vacation—would come back stronger and sometimes looking better.

We shouldn’t be surprise when we consider the effect continuous training can have on the Central Nervous System (CNS) and General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), as well as how it can blunt anabolic signaling.  Taking a week or more off can help all of our physiological systems fully recover and desensitize us to training.  All of which are necessary for long-term gains.

Periodization has shown us the way.

As someone who is focused primarily on muscle hypertrophy and building functional strength, and not demonstrating strength (as in the case of a powerlifter or O-lifter), I’m not a big fan of Western Periodization.  However, conceptually, it’s spot on.  Especially when you view it through the prism of the GAS.

GAS

Periods of exercise stress must be followed by periods of rest so the body can overcompensate for and adapt to the stress.  In the same way Western Periodization breaks up your training into cycles that focus on a particular adaptation, you want to have specified periods of increased or varied training demands accompanied by periods of lesser demands and layoffs.

As I’ve mentioned many times before, almost to the point of sounding like an iPod stuck on repeat—building muscle is metabolically demanding.  Our body will seek out any way, other than building muscle, to increase strength and contend with the demands placed on it through exercise.

That’s why a linear training and recovery model is only beneficial to advanced trainees striving to maintain their gains.

The more our intensity, volume, frequency, method of rep/set performance, exercise selection, etc. remains the same the more sensitized we become to it.   The stubborn nineteen year old couldn’t wrap his thick skull around the idea that time away from the gym is good for gains.

What-Rest-Days-Feel-Like

But that’s not to say there are not legitimate concerns about detraining.

The two that most quickly jumps to mind for those aesthetically ambitious is fat accumulation resulting from diminished activity and a loss of muscle fullness.

However these are concerns that can easily be addressed and rectified:

To avoid fat gain requires a simple recalculation in caloric intake.  Accounting for the calories you won’t be burning through exercise while remaining at or below your maintenance levels will impede any potential fat storage. …Simply solution to a simple problem.

Next, loss of muscle fullness is the result of glycogen degradation.  Meaning your muscles are not overcompensating for the glycogen depleted during muscular contractions.  This trend reverses immediately upon returning to training.

If you’re taking a week off from training this change is nearly unnoticeable.  But if you plan to take more than one week off from purposeful training then you might implement one or two very light workouts a week in which you get a moderate pump, deplete some glycogen, but do not disrupt systemic recovery.

Aside from unease about potential aesthetic deviations the only other observed negative effect in some studies (and validated through personal experience) is a short lived decrease in metabolic conditioning.  Upon resuming training subjects/clients fatigued after fewer exercises than is typical or required slightly longer rest between exercises.  In my experience most trainees regain their previous level of conditioning after 1-4 workouts.

One step back and two steps forward.

As much evidence as there is to support detraining it should be understood that it is not a license to fly by the seat of your pants.  These periods must be planned.  They should be built around periods of heavy demands so you can take advantage of heightened anabolic signaling (5) and desensitization to training on the frontend (like when you were a beginner and made rapid gains) and unimpeded recovery on the backend so you can overcompensate and adapt to the demands.

The question is: are you willing to give little in order to get a little more?

References:

1. Ogasawara R1, Yasuda TIshii NAbe T.  Comparison of muscle hypertrophy following 6-month of continuous and periodic strength training. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2013 Apr;113(4):975-85. doi: 10.1007/s00421-012-2511-9. Epub 2012 Oct 6. 

2.  Häkkinen K1, Alen MKallinen MNewton RUKraemer WJNeuromuscular adaptation during prolonged strength training, detraining and re-strength-training in middle-aged and elderly people.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 2000 Sep;83(1):51-62.

3. . Ogasawara R1, Yasuda TSakamaki MOzaki HAbe T.  Effects of periodic and continued resistance training on muscle CSA and
strength 
in previously untrained men. Clin Physiol Funct Imaging. 2011 Sep;31(5):399-404. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-097X.2011.01031.x. Epub 2011 May 31

4.  Bruusgaard JCJohansen IBEgner IMRana ZAGundersen KMyonuclei acquired by overload exercise precede hypertrophy and are not lost on detraining.  Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Aug 24;107(34):15111-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0913935107. Epub 2010 Aug 16

5.  Ogasawara R1, Kobayashi KTsutaki ALee KAbe TFujita SNakazato KIshii NmTOR signaling response to resistance exercise is altered by chronic resistance training and detraining in skeletal muscle. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2013 Apr;114(7):934-40. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01161.2012. Epub 2013 Jan 31

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Thanks for reading this far.  If you found this information useful please share it.  I’d greatly appreciate it!  :)

Why You Should Train Like a Bodybuilder Even Though You Don’t Want to Look Like One

I’m writing this for you, the mom, dad, man, woman, busy professional, student, and slacker (J/k I know you’re not a slacker. Slackers don’t read my stuff) who seek out the help of personal trainers and to my personal training brethren who routinely have to talk people off the ledge when it comes to training heavy and hard…like a bodybuilder.  The statement: “I don’t want to look like a bodybuilder” drives me crazy.  I understand where it comes from which drives me even crazier than when my wife insists on plucking my eyebrows.  (I don’t care what women say, that shit hurts.  I’d rather sit through 6 hours of tattooing.)

The conversation when a new client comes in—especially the ladies—typically goes like this after I’ve explained our inclination for training heavy and hard relative to their abilities (I’ll skip on all the niceties and small talk):

Client:  But I don’t want look like a bodybuilder.

Me:  You won’t…you can’t.

Client: Yeah but I see those women/guys on the magazines and I don’t to get that.

Me: Let me ask you.  Are you currently taking steroids, testosterone, or growth hormone that you obtained from a black market dealer?

Client: No

Me: Then I think you’re safe.  Genetically speaking 99.6% of people don’t have the genetic aptitude to get huge.  They don’t have the muscle fiber make up, muscle length, or in the case of women, the testosterone levels needed to pack on mass. Just look at all the teenage and twenty-something guys whose testosterone levels are shooting through that are TRYING to look like the guys in the mags never get there without PED’s.

(I point to a picture of me in bodybuilding competition shape)

IMG_4883

Client:  That’s you!

Me:  Geez, don’t act so surprised.  Yes, that’s me about 10 pounds lighter than I am right now. 

Client: You’d never know you’re a bodybuilder.

Me:  (Think to myself: “Thanks again for reinforcing my bodybuilding inferiority complex,)  If you walked down the street and ran into one natural bodybuilder or physique competitor after another at best you would say they look like they’re in really good shape and that’s how you want to look.  Nothing freakish or unusual about them, just extremely shredded when it’s time to step on stage. 

Bodybuilding is an illusion.  Exceptionally low body fat levels and bright lights shining down on the body help muscles stand out and appear more pronounced.  Once the shirt and pants go back on they look like “normal” people (but we know even natural competitors are anything but normal).  Even the biggest and baddest natural competitors look like they could be your exceptionally fit co-worker or friend. 

Here’s the scenario plain and simple.  YOU CAN’T LOOK LIKE A FREAK OF NATURE STEPPING OUT OF FLEX MAGAZINE UNLESS YOU’RE PUMPNG YOURSELF FULL OF STEROIDS, TESTOSTERONE AND GROWTH HORMONE.

The purpose of Bodybuilding

While people might not want to look like bodybuilders, training like one—from the standpoint of heavy loads and high intensity—is what results in the toned (I freakin’ hate that buzz word), and fit look they are aiming for and developing greater functional strength (dammit that’s two buzz words in one sentence, I’m going to have to take a shower after I’m done writing this).  So long as exercises are performed under controlled conditions with exceptional execution, minimizing ballistic movements, then training like a bodybuilder will do more to prevent injuries than cause them.  (If you want increase your chance of injury from lifting just do some of that silly shit people do on the Bosu and fit ball.)  The increased strength, muscular endurance and muscle development you achieve through “bodybuilding” will have a greater impact on more aspects of health and fitness than any other form of exercise.

In a nutshell, bodybuilding is all about improving your quality of life.  And besides if you’re not actively trying to “build” your “body” what the heck are you exercising for?

Different Way to Approach #Exercise

There’s literally hundreds of exercise methods, and every one of em’ has its own “spin”. Which one is right for you depends on your ability to answer the question, “What’s your outcome?”.

I believe in implementing various training methods to achieve specific results but anything put into practice is done with a single strategy in mind.  Check it out in this video I made for you.  (6 minute view)

The Indisputable Principles of Exercise and How the Experts Screw Them Up

I have nothing against “fitness experts.”  In fact I regularly seek out, read, listen to, and pick the brains of people (not in a Walking Dead sort of way) that I consider to be experts in various areas of exercise because in quiet moments of self-reflection I realize that I don’t know it all.  Hard to believe I know.  I like hearing different points of view, especially the diametrically opposing ones.  As Stephen Covey put it in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “seek to understand.”  If I’m able to understand their point of view then I’ll either glean new insight and apply it to what I do, ooooooooor I’ll bang my head against a wall thirty-two times as a preventative measure to ensure the information doesn’t settle into my brain.

Arguing Over Exercise Principles

It’s really simple.  Every workout program ever designed has these four principles present; intensity (as in effort, not a percentage of 1RM), volume (some number of sets), load (any resistance being used or % of 1RM) and frequency (scheduled occurrence).  The way some experts talk about these principles individually you would think that one holds the key to success and the others should sit back and remain silent.  And it comes from both sides of the aisle, as well as the front and back of the room.

Experts dedicate an inordinate amount of time to the study and practice of what they do which is what makes them experts in a particular area.  But it can also blind them from everything else going on around them.

The HIT experts bang on the volume guys for wimping out on their sets as soon as discomfort sets in lieu of performing more sets.  The Volume Guys laugh at the HITters for spending more time talking about training than they do actually training.  Both point to studies done by people on their side of the aisle to substantiate their position.  Each misses the valid aspects of what the other does.  All agree that Crossfit is completely nuts.  And anyone professionally involved in fitness who is over the age of 70 can prove that none of this new shit is actually new, they were doing it in the 50’s.

Where the Fitness Experts Blow It

How the principles listed above are arranged—the measure of each ingredient—is determined by three other components; S.A.I.D. (specific adaptations to imposed demands), diminishing returns, and the mother of them all, the sole determinant of why or why not a program is suitable, individualism.  For any fitness expert to make blanket statements about theirs being a superior approach is naive and arrogant. It assumes that intensity, volume, load, and frequency exist in a vacuum and are uninfluenced by S.A.I.D., diminishing returns, and individualism, as well as other external factors.  They fail to recognize that the only superior approach is the one that’s most appropriate at that particular time for that particular individual because of his/her particular circumstance.

Exercise Principle Pimps

Most fitness experts mean well.  I sincerely believe that.  But well-meaning doesn’t excuse you from pimping out certain exercise principles to push YOUR preferred way of training.  We all have a “home base.”  But it doesn’t mean you cannot and should not explore things outside of that circle if it could mean better results for you or those you provide professional services to.

Though no one likes to think in broad terms that’s precisely what the best experts do.  They understand all the principles and how they interrelate, and how they should be adjusted according to an individual’s current physical and mental state. In society we have to abide by many laws not just the ones we prefer.  Exercise is no different.

Small Change = Significant Result on Fitness

It’s unfortunate that the large majority of people interested in achieving greater fitness results that read this will regard the information as not being applicable to them and ignore this one simple suggestion that could have a dramatic effect on their physical development and overall health.  Or worse, they know the information directly relates to their needs but they won’t follow it anyway.   Not to go off on a tangent but we as humans have this strange way of ignoring things that seem too simple.  Maybe we just want things to be difficult so if we don’t follow through we don’t feel distressed by it.  Who knows?  But for those that will follow through and appreciate that the little things add up here’s the suggestion.   Get thirty more minutes of sleep each night.  (Insert sound of crickets)

Not that cricket

This recommendation is so simple that some of you are questioning whether or not it’s worth reading any further.  But if you do I promise another gleaming piece of insight that has a bit more of a complicated (but not too difficult to understand) twist, will come out of it.   In fact before I lose you, let me just give you the “complicated” piece right now.  The reason why an extra thirty minutes of sleep each night can impact your fitness results is grounded in the science of stress physiology.

Our ability to physically develop and grow stronger hinges on how fully we recover from the stress of exercise as well as any other external and internal stressors.  Yes Virginia, exercise IS a stress.  If you’re smart about how you structure your exercise you are doing only that which will have the greatest impact on your muscular development, strength, and functionality, as well as your metabolism.  In a nutshell, weight training is the center of your exercise universe.  You are also focused on doing the least amount of exercise necessary to get the desired result because you recognize the importance of having plenty of recovery time.

Assuming that your workouts are effective enough in signaling the body to get stronger and develop then the only thing you need to do is allow the process to unfold by resting.  Going to bed just thirty minutes earlier adds up to three and a half extra hours of recovery time each week.  That’s one hundred eighty-two hours in a year!  Given the amount of stress our bodies are under do you think this could make a difference?  Test it and tell me.