Training

Aug 04, 2020

Tips of the week Try out hollow-body holds

Hollow body holds are a fantastic abdominal exercise. Never heard of this exercise? Gymnasts perform them regularly as part of their training program, as they mimic the position of the pelvis and lumbar spine that they regularly require in some of their competitions. What's great about this exercise is that they train strength and endurance in the posterior tilt of the pelvis.

Hollow body holds are performed as follows:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQCdzRPE9Ao

Lie on your back with your arms and legs in the air and your knees bent. The lumbar spine should lie flat on the floor so that there is no space between your lower back and the floor. The upper body is slightly bent upwards towards the center of the body, but you are not actively trying to do this - it is a result of the lumbar spine lying flat on the floor.
Gradually lower your arms and feet towards the floor while maintaining the position of your pelvis and lumbar spine.
Hold this position for a while and press your lower back to the floor for the entire duration of the set.

Perform 2 sets of 20 seconds at least once a week.

Tip: Train one-arm bench presses with isometric holds

Adding isometric holds to this classic exercise will give your pecs a workout and boost your core strength.

By Ben Bruno

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-the-one-arm-bench-press-with-iso-hold

Single-arm variations of the bench press are typically performed in one of two ways:

You use only one dumbbell and perform all reps for one side before switching sides.
You take two dumbbells and perform the reps in alternating order: right, left, right, left, etc.

Although both versions work, if you want to give your chest muscles the rest, you should try the following challenging variation:

One-arm bench press with isometric hold

Use two dumbbells and press with one arm while holding the other at a 90 degree angle. Repeat the same with the other side in one continuous set.

The non-pressing arm should be bent at about 90 degrees so that the dumbbell is slightly above the chest, forcing the pecs on that side to contract hard the whole time. I prefer a neutral grip.

When should you perform this exercise

Perform this exercise after you have done the other press exercises of the day: 1 to 2 sets of 5 to 8 repetitions per side. Lower reps tend to work better as it would otherwise be necessary to drop the weight to ridiculously low levels, which studies have shown can have devastating effects on the ego.

As an added bonus, the core is substantially challenged to keep the body stable.

Tip: Are you natural? Then train more often

Here's why steroid-free exercisers need to train at a higher frequency to achieve optimal gains

By Christian Thibaudeau

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-natural-train-more-often

Many people believe that training more often is the key to muscle growth. Well, they are usually wrong.

The logic behind less frequent training (three or fewer workouts per week) is that the muscle grows while it recovers. Advocates of lower training frequency claim that only users of performance-enhancing substances can train often and recover from it. They say that steroid-free exercisers need a lot of rest days to grow as a result of their efforts.

Here's why this is wrong

First of all, physical activity and more training can speed up the recovery process through a release of cytokines. Exercising more often will likely make it easier for you to recover from exercise, as long as the intensity and volume are properly adjusted.

Secondly, the more often you push your body to perform and recover from your training sessions, the better your body will become at recovering from them. Your body is designed to adapt, which means that the more often you put it through a certain type of exertion, the better it will become at dealing with the demands you place on it. So if you train less often, you prevent your body from being able to recover effectively from your training.

The training frequency describes how often you train per week. By a low training frequency, I don't mean that you train every muscle at a low frequency (once a week). You could train every day and only train each muscle group once a week. This would be a high training frequency.

Exercise has a systemic effect on the nervous system, the hormonal system and the immune system. Not to mention that there is always overlap in training. For example, the latissimus is involved as a supporting muscle in the bench press, deadlift and squat. So even if you don't train your back, your latissimus can still be involved in training.

But what if it leads to better recovery?

Let's say that a lot of rest days per week actually helped you recover. The benefit of a lower training frequency would be that it allows you to do more physical work on the days you train. For this reason, a low training frequency with a high training volume on training days can actually work quite well for some people. Get ready for every training session, but allow yourself enough time for recovery.

A low training volume combined with a low training frequency will not challenge your body's recovery abilities, which will result in low or no positive adaptations (muscle growth, strength gains). There would also be no need for 4 to 5 recovery days per week. Even the lower end of the genetic food chain can recover quite quickly from a low volume of work.

If you are someone who doesn't do well with volume, then you should use a lower daily training volume. However, the weekly training frequency will need to be higher if you want to maximize results while helping your body become better at recovering from physical stimulation.

A low training frequency combined with a low training volume would only be the best solution for those who work physically. The demands of a physical job mean that you don't have as much energy left over for training. But the physical aspect of the job will also initiate the cytokine response that helps with muscle recovery and since these people are physically working every day, they will reap the benefits of a high training frequency in terms of the ability to recover from physical labor.

Ironically, those who make good gains with a low training frequency/low training volume are the people who are genetically predisposed to build muscle quickly because they don't need much stimulation to grow.

Tip: Strengthen your ankles and your feet

This strange-looking exercise can help you avoid injury

By Joel Seedman, PhD

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-strengthen-your-ankles-and-feet

Poor innervation of the feet and ankles minimizes signaling and recruitment through the kinetic chain, especially to the hip. If you have weak feet and ankles, you will find it even harder to activate your gluteus.

To avoid this, you should often walk barefoot, wear minimalist shoes and perform the following exercise:

Single Leg Kettlebell Swaps

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYhQy0dj-w)

For this exercise, take a kettlebell in one hand, stand upright on one leg and place the other leg in front of the standing leg. Then take the kettlebell alternately in your left and right hand while keeping your balance on one leg.

One-legged exercises of this type are excellent for improving strength and function.

Tip: Test your lower body strength

Choose either squats or deadlifts and do this test.

By Jim Wendler

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-test-your-lower-body-strength

Test either squats or deadlifts. Since some people are better built for pulling exercises or squats, this gives the athlete more leeway. I also have no problem with an athlete choosing deadlifts with the trap bar. I know that every powerlifting purist will now cry "heresy!" regarding the trap bar, but I think I can safely say that powerlifters don't have to make the choices for other athletes.

The test can consist of a maximum weight for one repetition (1RM) determined using an online calculator from the maximum weight for up to 10 repetitions. (No, such a calculator will not give you the estimated 1RM weight with a high degree of accuracy. It is merely a tool that can help you estimate your performance). But using the 1RM exclusively as the only way to test an athlete's strength is quite pointless.

And let's be honest, is it really interesting to anyone whether an athlete performs a single repetition with 250 kilos or five repetitions with 210 kilos?

To convert your maximum weight for a certain number of repetitions into the estimated 1RM weight, you can use the following simple formula:

Moved weight x reps x 0.0333 + moved weight = estimated 1RM weight.

2.5 times body weight: excellent
2 times bodyweight: good
Less than 2x bodyweight: work harder

Tip: Avoid these mistakes with lat pull-ups and chin-ups

Some people actually believe that these technique mistakes represent the correct form of exercise execution, but they're wrong

By Joel Seedman, PhD

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-avoid-this-pulldown-pull-up-mistake

Mistake: pulling too far

Both beginners and experienced exercisers try to pull the bar too far down or pull themselves too far up during vertical pulling exercises such as lat pulldowns or pull-ups. Instead of trying to touch the chest with the bar or move the chin over the bar (both of which lead to dysfunctional mechanics), the goal should be to achieve proper activation of the upper back and latissimus. This requires several components:

Ensure adequate extension of the cervical spine. This is particularly important in the contracted position. This helps to center the glenohumeral joint. Insufficient extension of the cervical spine promotes a very unstable shoulder joint and allows for excessive range of motion, as well as incorrect mechanics of exercise execution. This is the main reason why many exercisers touch their chest with the bar when doing pull-ups or lat pull-downs. This is in no way a sign of good mobility or strength, but rather indicates faulty activation patterns and a dysfunctional movement.
Pull to the sternum. Another important cue that promotes ideal vertical pulling mechanics is to pull toward the sternum and not the clavicle. Pulling toward the collarbone minimizes latissimus activation because the shoulders and shoulder blades cannot be fully pulled down and rotate medially toward the spine. Pulling towards the sternum not only brings the shoulders into the best biomechanical position, but also requires a large amount of activation of the latissimus, regardless of weight. One tip that can be helpful is to imagine pulling the body away from the bar instead of towards the bar.
The elbows should be pointing straight ahead. Rotating the elbows forward is another critical mistake when performing pull-ups and lat pull-downs. Regardless of the grip (underhand grip, overhand grip or neutral grip) or the placement of the hands (wide, medium or narrow), the elbows should always point straight ahead instead of to the side. This helps to activate the entire latissimus muscle instead of just the upper part. It also ensures that you are not pulling with the upper trapezius and shoulders.
The bar should not touch your chest. If you follow these tips, the range of motion for pull-ups or lat pull-downs will be more compact than most exercisers would expect. In fact, using proper vertical pulling mechanics with the bar, the concentric phase ends a few centimeters above chest height instead of with the chest touching the bar.

Tip: Discover the best calf exercise

It looks weird, but it works

By Chad Waterbury

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-discover-the-single-best-calf-exercise

Of all the muscle-building challenges I've faced over the years, my calves have proven to be the toughest opponent. I've tried a dozen different calf training philosophies to get these beasts to grow. Eleven of these twelve have proved unsuccessful.

Since the calves receive continuous stimulation from walking throughout the day, I came up with the idea that an opposite approach might work. First, I performed calf raises at high intensity until muscle failure. That didn't work.

Then I started working with different tempo protocols, holding the stretched position for a few seconds to break the stretch-shortening cycle. I kept the training frequency at twice a week. That didn't work either.

So I increased the frequency. But I was persistent and thought it would still be a good idea to break the stretch-shortening cycle. I assumed that the elastic component of the calf muscles would interfere with muscle growth. Again, I was wrong.

Let's look at real-life evidence

I observed the best calf development in sprinters, volleyball players and soccer players. None of these athletes performed calf raises with a pause at the lowest point of the movement. In fact, their training emphasized the extension-shortening cycle. And none of these athletes trained their calves only once a week.

When I looked at the muscle actions their sport required, I realized that one important component I had overlooked was deceleration. This includes slowing down after a sprint, landing after a jump, or quickly changing directions with a soccer ball.

For this reason, I incorporated calf exercises into my training program that train this extension-shortening cycle and emphasize the eccentric phase of muscle contraction. When I combined these types of calf exercises with a relatively high training frequency per week, I had found my solution. Here is the most convenient way to perform this type of exercise:

It involves simply jumping upwards on one leg, holding a dumbbell in your hand on the side of the active leg. If nothing has worked for your lagging calves, this will give you the results you've been looking for.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-try-hollow-body-holds

By Bret Contreras

Jul 30, 2020

Correct your breathing, build up more muscles

Optimized breathing for more growth?

You've been doing it since you were born. If you didn't instinctively know how to do it, you would already be dead. Yes, you breathe continuously, but do you breathe optimally? And are you doing it in a way that helps you as an exerciser who does more than just sit, stand and lie down? Probably not.

If you have reached a plateau or you feel exhausted after training, then it may not be your training sessions or your diet that you need to optimize. It could be your recovery. And better breathing can actually help with this.

Think about it. You've all heard the standard recovery advice: monitor your weights, be careful with volume, prioritize protein and increase carbohydrate intake around your workouts to support your performance. But the one thing that's missing is also the thing you do continuously, tens of thousands of times a day.

The 3 techniques

Believe it or not, breathing is about more than just inhaling and exhaling. You can significantly improve your breathing with just 3 techniques. These will improve your performance under the bar and, more importantly, your recovery between workouts.

1 - Crocodile breathing

Breathing is like any other movement pattern. If you look at breathing as a motor skill, then you start to see how you can improve it with corrective and activation-based strategies in the same way as squats and deadlifts.

But it's a challenge. Why? Because most people breathe incorrectly. The average person takes over 20,000 dysfunctional breaths per day. And often verbal instruction is ineffective, which means there is a need for more tangible cues to create a mind-muscle connection that will help you begin to improve your breathing mechanics.

The most effective corrective exercise for breathing is known as 'crocodile breathing', developed by Gray Cook. Using a prone position and the floor as a tangible cue, this strategy is a game changer that will help you feel what it is like to correctly expand your abdomen over 360 degrees. This exercise is ideal because it helps you to leave secondary breathing muscles out of the process.

The correct execution

The focus needs to be on the quality of the movement rather than the quantity or intensity. Breathe perfectly and it will eventually become a habit.

The steps

Start lying on your stomach on the floor.
Bring your fists together and let your forehead rest passively on yours.
Keep your legs straight with your toes pointing downwards
Relax your body in this central position.

Your hand and head position will feel a little unnatural at first. The reason for resting your head on your fists is based on two things. Firstly, the head and neck need to remain in a neutral position (with the head straight and not turned to one side) to keep the airway open. Secondly, the raised hands and arms move the secondary breathing muscles - primarily muscles of the neck and upper trapezius - into a more relaxed position, away from stretch and tension.

You use positions to make it as easy as possible to breathe correctly. Once you have positioned yourself correctly, your focus will be on the execution and quality of your breathing to allow for motor learning and skill transfer.

Pace of breathing

Inhale 4-6 seconds
Hold 2-4 seconds
Exhale 4-6 seconds

Although the pace is important, your focus should first be on expanding the abdomen and the movement pattern itself. Since your abdomen is in direct contact with the floor, this is the perfect setup to breathe into the floor and expand the abdomen through the diaphragm (the breathing muscle located at the bottom of the rib cage).

We also want a 360 degree expansion, which means not only breathing into the belly against the floor, but also expanding our breath over the sides of the torso along with the lower back. To get a feel for this, a training partner can touch your sides. You can also use a block or a ball on your lower back, which you push upwards with each breath.

Once you have mastered this pattern, the focus shifts to the tempo of the breathing itself. Even though the tempo suggestions above (4-6/2-4/4-6) are not written in stone, you should make sure that the exhale takes longer than the inhale to optimize gas exchange and slow down the process to avoid compensation.

Also, make sure to pause and hold your breath for a split second at the highest point to experience the sensation of 360 degree expansion. That is the goal.

When should you use this technique?

This technique should mainly be used in the early stages of breathing realignment for athletes who are struggling with the transition between compensatory chest breathing and abdominal breathing. Think of this exercise as a corrective exercise. Once you have made noticeable progress, you can finish the exercise. The skill will then be maintained during daily activities and your training.

As diaphragmatic breathing is a motor skill, you need to train it to relearn it and repeat it continuously. Start with 1 to 3 minutes of crocodile breathing per day, preferably as the first component of a dynamic warm-up sequence. This will help you to break old habits and internalize new ones.

2 - Tactical breathing

In my time in San Diego working with some members of the Special Forces, I learned as much from these amazing people as they learned from my training. It is one method in particular that revolutionized my training - tactical breathing. And because of this technique, my athletes are able to train at a relatively high intensity while increasing the overall volume of the workout.

How does it work?

First, dysfunctional breathing patterns need to be addressed and improved. Imagine the goblet squat before classic squats. Once you have mastered abdominal breathing, you can progress further. From prone to kneeling to standing, make sure you maintain the ability to breathe correctly, which will eventually become a habit. Once you have achieved this, you can begin tactical breathing.

During a training session is NOT the best time to start tactical breathing. Instead, you should practice this skill in a non-threatening situation first. My favorite position is to have the athlete start sitting on the floor with legs crossed.

The steps

Sit cross-legged on the floor with your spine supported by the wall.
Place your hands in your lap.
Close your eyes and relax in this position
Inhale for 4 seconds, using your abdomen, chest and shoulders in that order.
After inhaling, hold the air in for 4 seconds.
Exhale through your mouth for 4 seconds.
After exhaling, pause for a few seconds between breaths.

Continue practicing this type of tactical breathing to make it an automatic process and gradually move to a kneeling and then a standing position. Once you have mastered this type of breathing, add it to your training session. The last thing you need between heavy sets of squats is to hyperventilate. You've been warned - master this skill before you use it in your training sessions.

Breathing tempo

Inhale 4 seconds
Hold 4 seconds
Exhale 4 seconds

This technique is also known as "box breathing". There is a 4 second rhythm for each part of the breathing. Although this pace is successful in helping people during physically, emotionally and mentally demanding situations, when it comes to training, I teach my trainees to use a shorter pause at the lowest point of the movement.

You want to make sure there is an optimal amount of exchange in the lungs and cardiovascular system. While a 4 second pause has some value when it comes to reducing the sympathetic response of the nervous system, the active tissues need better local blood flow and oxygen exchange during exercise. We need more breaths during our rest periods to speed up recovery.

Reduce the 4 second pause at the bottom of the breath to about 1 second and you can increase the number of breaths during a given rest pause. By reducing the pause after exhaling to 1 second, one breath will now only take 13 seconds. This may not sound like much, but it is these few breaths that will boost recovery when you need it most.

When should you use this technique?

Tactical breathing was born out of necessity. I first began formally studying tactical breathing under the guidance of former Navy Seal Mark Divine.

In a firefight, there is no such thing as routine - no matter how much experience you have in the field. Our human nature is to heighten our senses with a sympathetic response that increases the heart rate, raises the blood pressure, dilates the pupils and prepares the body for a fight for survival.

Even though this is a primitive response, it is less than ideal for the fine and gross motor skills needed to perform tasks perfectly. Imagine Chris Kyle getting sympathetic tremors every time he sees a threat in his sniper sights. That wouldn't exactly be ideal when it comes to accomplishing his mission. The same can be said for training - to a much lesser extent, of course.

Although hyped-up training at the limit under the bar can sometimes create physical and neurological benefits, in most cases it's better to learn to harness the potential of the sympathetic nervous system by dialing down your activity. Not every training session is treated like a competition, especially because volume, relative intensity and cumulative capacity change over the course of training sessions.

Simply put, tactical breathing can optimize the recovery window during rest periods. How? By allowing you a more complete mechanical and systemic recovery. The faster you can recover, the more effective your training will be. And the more effective your training becomes, the less you waste and the more you can invest in your training itself.

You shouldn't have to sit around huffing and puffing for 5 minutes after every hard set of squats. Instead, use tactical breathing to calm your CNS, optimize your recovery between sets and train repeatedly at your highest level.

3 - Parasympathetic recovery breathing

Optimizing your training is all about weight control and recovery between workouts. However, most exercisers only focus on training and forget about the all-important process of recovery, which is needed to recover from the stress of training sessions.

So how can we recover faster to train harder and more often? Sure, nutrition, hydration and stress all play a role, but what about the time it takes to switch from a sympathetic based CNS response in training to a parasympathetic response that allows the recovery process to begin?

This phase between your last set and the time it takes for your CNS to exit the sympathetic arousal state it has adopted during training needs to be minimized. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is to use recovery breathing as the last "exercise" of the day before you leave the gym.

How does this happen?

Recovery breathing is all about position and setup. Passive positioning of the arms and legs helps with centralized drainage of lymphatic fluid. The spine remains in a relatively neutral position to reduce the body's threat response.

So basically you are making your body as comfortable as possible to achieve a reversal of the CNS response to exercise.

The steps

Try to find a quiet corner of the gym, away from music and noise.
Lie on your back with your head on the floor.
Raise your legs by placing them on a box or something similar, above heart level with your knees slightly bent
Place your arms to the right and left of your head
Close your eyes and relax your body

From this position, you should be able to relax every muscle in your body to allow a completely passive response. From here on, focus on just one movement: Your breathing.

Breathing pace

Inhale: 3-4 seconds
Hold: 2-3 seconds
Exhale: 6-8 seconds

The main focus of the breathing tempo is on a slow and controlled inhalation and exhalation. Since most athletes and strength athletes have trouble slowing down, especially in the presence of iron, the use of specific tempos can be very useful in this strategy.

Inhale to the max within 3 to 4 hours, hold your breath for a few seconds and then try to extend the exhale to about 8 seconds. This pace should be slow and controlled, but also become so habitual that it happens more or less passively. The last thing you should do during recovery breathing is worry about the exact duration of your breaths. Relax.

How long should you lie like this? As long as it takes you to turn off the sympathetic switch before you leave the gym. And since this is the whole purpose of this exercise, you should use techniques such as positive mental imagery to get the most out of these few minutes. Set a timer for the recommended amount of time to avoid constantly checking the clock and simply enjoy a few minutes on the floor celebrating the killer workout you just completed.

When should you use this technique?

If you feel hyped up for hours after a workout followed by a major slump, this strategy will change everything. You'll be able to recover faster and relax better from day to day, which is priceless.

What happens to exercisers - especially those who exercise in the morning - is that they stimulate a sympathetic response through their workout and can't come down from it. They remain aroused throughout the day until their system finally breaks down and a hard slump occurs. This can limit recovery and prove to be a huge barrier to strength, muscle and performance - not to mention quality of life.

You can rid yourself of more stress in just 3 to 5 minutes. This will stop your body from holding down the gas pedal on the CNS and keep you aroused for hours after your workout.

It will seem a little strange at first to lie on the floor with your eyes closed while others are lifting weights. But when you recover from your workout in record time and have more strength and energy, you'll see that those 3 minutes were well spent.

I learned this strategy years ago from legendary strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris, who used this technique in the NFL and other high performance sports. If this technique is good enough for professional athletes who make a living from their athletic performance, then it's probably good enough for you.

How do you know it works?

You should feel calm after a round of this. If you're struggling to get a positive response, then go back to crocodile breathing and improve your skills. And if that doesn't work, get a training partner to check in with you to help solve your problems.

https://www.t-nation.com/training/fix-your-breathing-build-more-muscle

By Dr. John Rusin | 06/07/17

Jul 21, 2020

Tips of the week Perform Peterson step-ups for your quadriceps

Even though this exercise is usually only performed with your own body weight, you should not underestimate this exercise - especially as preparation for quadriceps exercises. It can also be used as a finishing exercise with a high number of repetitions on leg day. The muscle burn will be intense.

Peterson Step-Ups involve a forward movement of the knee beyond the toes along with a contact point of the ball of the working leg, both of which promote quadriceps activation with an emphasis on loading the area of the quadriceps closer to the knee.

Peterson Step-Ups

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FZ9B0v1hz8)

Avoid pushing off the floor with the non-working knee. Let the working leg bear the entire load.
In the end position you should stand upright.
Remember that the quadriceps are knee extensors. To get the VMO (vastus medialis oblique, the teardrop-shaped muscle on the inside of the knee) to do most of the work, you should squeeze your thigh hard at the top of the movement.
If the repetitions become too easy, increase the range of motion with a higher level instead of a heavier weight.

Pay close attention to the movement of the knee. In a good repetition, there should be no visible compensatory action such as a lateral buckling of the knee towards the center of the body. The knee should point in the same direction as your toes the whole time.

Tip: Avoid cheat meals

Cheat meals are justified, but not if you are already too fat. It's time for a reality check. Read this tip...or take flight and stay fat.

By Chris Shugart

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/tip-drop-the-cheat-meals

You don't need anyone to tell you that sweets, cookies, soft drinks, junk food, fast food and excessive alcohol consumption are ruining your body, or at least hindering your progress.

But maybe what you really need is someone to do this for you. That's because there are a lot of ad execs and spineless crowd pleasers out there telling you that this crap is okay in moderate amounts. This is the sad new state of the diet and fitness industry today: really fit people telling fat people that it's okay to eat junk...because of "body love" or because of "science" or because they've run out of marketing ideas.

They also like to say that there is no such thing as "bad food" because they obviously define food as anything you can swallow that won't kill you instantly.

Well, they're wrong. Every time an overweight person consumes something that we'll classify here as "obvious junk", that person takes a step back or temporarily halts their progress. And since many of these foods have addictive properties or upset the gut flora in such a way as to cause extreme cravings, moderation can go down the drain faster than you'd like.

Avoid cheat meals

If your goal is to lose fat, keep fat off permanently and boost your performance, then you need to put cheat foods to the side. Yes, there are a lot of plans out there that encourage cheat meals, but these compliant plans will be just as successful in the long run as Weight Watchers was for your fat aunt.

Maybe it's time to grow up and stop being so eager for a food reward every time you finish your exercise session. Sure, a few scrawny young men and users of large amounts of steroids can get away with eating junk food for a while, but try to stay lean at the age of 30 to 40 or above when you're eating like a spoiled fat kid every weekend.

Like a good strength or conditioning coach, a nutrition coach must first patch the cracks in the foundation and then build a solid and strong structure. This is easy because the athlete usually knows damn well what they're eating that they shouldn't be eating. And you know that too.

Oddly enough, it's human nature to make these obvious mistakes until someone tells you to stop. Here's that wake-up call: stop it.

Tip: Get your diet in order. Stop ignoring the obvious

Ignore the quick-fix advice promoted by most women's magazines.

By Dani Shugart

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/tip-fix-your-diet-stop-ignoring-the-obvious

Women often look for obscure missing components of their diet instead of focusing on the obvious behaviors that are causing the real problems. Many would rather find out what Dr. Oz's secret fat loss formula is instead of stopping their obvious bad food choices.

No, it can't be the margarita nights, the sugary soft drinks or the ice cream. It has to be a lack of Amazon Koo-Koo berry juice! It's easier for some to sugarcoat what they eat, preferring to believe that there is another way that will help them achieve their goals.

Alcohol-fueled weekends that lead them to eat unrestrained unhealthy foods, continuous snacking between meals, liquid coffee calorie bombs and even too many semi-healthy snacks of dried fruit and nut butters - these are all examples of gross blunders that women overlook while looking for the secret to instant fat loss.

Most of the time, women have an idea of what their vices are, but without someone to tell them to "stop it," they will habitually leave the junk in their diet and just reduce portion sizes. For some unfathomable reason, women believe that eating small portions of unhealthy food will help them achieve a lean body.

The solution

Women need to take an honest look at what they eat. A food diary or app can help them develop an awareness of this. They need to pay attention to what they eat, when they eat, why they eat and how they feel after eating certain foods.

They need to find out if they are subconsciously snacking throughout the day, opting for the worst possible drinks or automatically eating the leftovers on their children's plates without considering that they have already eaten.

Monitoring their food intake can even help them identify which seemingly harmless snacks are actually so-called trigger foods that lead to overeating. It will also show them that healthy foods can be more satisfying in the long run than the junk they used to eat. No koo-koo berry juice needed for this one.

Tip: Use the Anti-Press for true core strength

Increase core stability and improve shoulder strength and mobility with this advanced exercise.

By Ben Bruno

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-the-anti-press-for-real-core-strength

In response to Dr. Stuart McGill's research on spinal health, much of the current training for the core focuses on "anti" movement stability training: anti-rotation, anti-extension (anti-extension) and anti lateral flexion. I call the exercise described here an "anti-press" because it addresses all of these categories simultaneously.

How do you perform the anti-press?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN_NZ7Vu2fk

Grab the handle of a suspension strap (TRX, blast strap, etc.) and turn to the side. Lean to the side so that your body forms a 60 degree angle with the floor.
Now tense your core to avoid twisting and push the handle straight forward until your arms are fully extended. This part of the movement is reminiscent of pallof presses, which you can perform with bands or on the cable pulley to train anti-rotation.
From this position, move your arms straight overhead and pause for a second. At this point, focus on anti-extension and anti-lateral flexion.
Repeat until you have achieved the desired number of repetitions.

In addition to building tremendous core stability, this exercise also supports strength and mobility in the shoulders.

Progression and regression

It is easy to achieve progression or regression with this exercise by simply adjusting the position of your feet and/or the length of the suspension strap. The further away your feet are from the anchor point of the suspension strap, the easier the exercise will be. As you get stronger, move your feet below the anchor point and increase the length of the suspension strap.

This is a very advanced exercise, so it may make sense to start with the overhead position only.

Tip: Prevent knee injuries through correct tracking

You should pay attention to the position of your little toe during squats and lunges. Read on to find out why.

By Dr. John Rusin

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-prevent-knee-injuries-with-proper-tracking

Most exercisers assume that the knee is highly susceptible to injury. There may be some truth in saying that the knee is more prone to injury than other joints due to its anatomical characteristics and orientation relative to the ankle and hip complex, but that's not the whole story.

First of all, the structure of the knee joint is inherently very immobile. It is a hinge joint with only two directions of movement, which means that it can only move in the direction of extension or flexion of the leg. Less relative movement of the knee combined with poor movement of joints that are very mobile can put excessive stress on non-contractile tissue types such as tendons and articular cartilage.

This type of kinetic chain is most noticeable in exercisers with quadriceps dominant movements such as squats and variations of lunges. While global knee instability can be a "chicken and egg" problem with other negative co-factors such as stiff limbs and immobile joints above and below the knee level, many injuries of a chronic nature also become symptomatic through the front of the knee and around the patellar tendon.

Increased tone and stiffness of the quadriceps can increase compression and shear forces around the patella, which can lead to an increased rate of friction and irritation between the patellar tendon and the femur.

The situation with functionally shortened and stiff quadriceps combined with poor movement of the patellar tendon is exacerbated by poor squat mechanics such as knees drifting outwards, which also applies to variations of lunges when the knee is forced into full extension.

This sounds like a pretty big problem for most exercisers to address, and it is. The simple tip described below can improve your movement patterns and give your offending knees enough time to recover.

Prevent it

Pay attention to tracking your knees. There are numerous different lower body exercises that include squat and lunge variations. While each exercise is unique and their proper execution involves many important factors, understanding how your knee should be positioned relative to your foot can improve even the worst form of exercise execution quite quickly.

When you reach the lowest position in both squats and lunges, the patellar tendon should be over the lateral aspect of the foot. Some coaches try to explain this exercise to their students with the knee directly over the midline of the foot, but I have also observed that this advice has not led to success in terms of the mechanics of the movement.

On the other hand, if you aim for the midline of your kneecaps to be directly over the little toe, you can target the gluteus and hamstrings with just enough torque and spiral load to almost automatically minimize inward and outward buckling of the knees.

Tip: Strengthen your grip strength in four different ways

There is more than one type of grip strength and you need to train all of them to develop a powerful grip.

By John Sullivan

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-strengthen-your-grip-4-different-ways

Different types of grip strength are quite distinct and different. Grip strength can be divided into four categories.

1. squeezing grip

Squeezing a gripper (or even a tennis ball) exemplifies this type of grip strength, but you need more for a strong, well-rounded grip.

2. pinching grip

The best example of this is holding 2 weight plates together with your fingers and thumbs with your arms hanging down at your sides. You need to squeeze the two plates tightly together as you lift them off the floor and this requires superior thumb strength. Work your way up until you can squeeze two 20 kilo disks together.

3. supportive grip

This form of grip strength is best demonstrated by holding a heavy barbell, dumbbell or farmers walk equipment with your arms hanging down for an extended period of time.

4. wrist strength

Exercises such as forearm curls, where the wrist is maneuvered through different ranges of motion, characterize what can be called wrist strength.

Train all four types

You may excel at squeezing a heavy gripper, but could still perform modestly in exercises such as the farmer's walk, which requires large amounts of supporting grip strength. In addition to this, I have observed that the correlation between holding a thick bar and a normal bar is quite low. The larger the diameter of the bar, the more you have to open your hand, which shifts the emphasis towards the thumb.

The bottom line for all grip strength training sessions is that you need to train specifically what you want to improve.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-the-peterson-step-up-for-quads

By Lee Boyce | 03/06/16

Jul 09, 2020

Tips of the week Prioritize multi-joint exercises with free weights

The term "functional" is overused and regularly misused. However, it is an appropriate description for the type of strength that most people want to build. Basically, functional means being strong in movements that are used in daily life.

Some may argue that all strength is usable in daily life, but there are definitely exercises and movements that are more functional than others. Squats, for example, involve activating muscles and performing movement patterns that we use to sit down and stand up, whereas leg curl machines only seem to activate the muscles used for selfies.

When designing your exercise program, the easiest way to think of functional vs. non-functional exercises is to categorize exercises along a continuum:

Standing  sitting/lying  machine

Dumbbell  Barbell  Machine

Fortunately, if you focus on prioritizing multi-joint exercises with free weights, you'll always be at the top end of the continuum. The other reason you should prioritize basic exercises or multi-joint exercises is that these recruit the most motor units and elicit a stronger hormonal and neurological response.

This is also the case if you prioritize free weights over machine exercises. Squats with a barbell or dumbbells are always much more strenuous than leg presses and result in a more significant neurological response at the same intensity.

Multi-joint exercises with weights also allow a greater range of motion. A muscle is exercised through its full range of motion when it is moved from its fully extended position to its fully contracted position. More extension and more contraction means more motor units recruited and better muscle development. Although not all movements performed with free weights cover the full range of motion of the muscles being trained (such as barbell bench presses), they generally allow a greater range of motion than machines. In addition to this, unlike machines, there is usually an alternative (such as using) dumbbells that allow a greater range of motion if required.

This also means that multi-joint exercises with free weights are useful for injury prevention. The stronger your stabilizing muscles are and the more familiar they are with loading from different angles and through different ranges of motion, the lower the risk of strains or muscle tears if they are placed in an overstretched position.

Tip: Perform cobra lat pulldowns for your latissimus muscles

Can't feel your latissimus working during training? Can't get your latissimus to grow? This exercise will solve both problems.

by Lee Boyce

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-the-cobra-pulldown-for-lats

Cobra lat pulldowns (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPbdPDLMn0Q ) are a great way to work your latissimus over a greater range of motion than regular lat pulldowns. Due to the position of your hand in the starting position (almost directly above your head), the latissimus must contract from a much more extended position. The cable and single grip also allow for more integrity of movement of the elbow, which can be a crucial adaptation.

The correct execution of the exercise is as follows:

Make sure you are just in front of the cable pulley tower and relax your shoulder blade as you extend your arm.
Move your shoulder down and pull from the latissimus, making sure that your elbow is in line with your wrist and not behind it.
Contract your latissimus as hard as possible at the end position.

Tip: Try this quick and easy fix for your calves

Do you have small calves? Stop blaming your genetic predispositions and use this shock training method.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-try-this-quick-dirty-calf-fix

Talk to exercisers and bodybuilders about calves and you will hear the word "stubborn" quite often. Calves just don't seem to want to grow when you train them with standard resistance training. That's why many strength coaches use shock techniques to force muscle damage and subsequent growth. Here is one of those techniques:

Start standing on the standard calf raise machine. Perform 8 repetitions with 2 seconds rest at the highest point of the movement.
Pause for 10 seconds
Take a barbell loaded with 25% of your body weight and assume a squat position. In this position, jump up and down with minimal bend in the knees, with the movement coming from the calves on each repetition. Do this 30 times. The eccentric damage caused by the landing phase promotes hypertrophy
Repeat this superset four more times.

Tip: Squats and deadlifts: Find your ideal strategy

Do you need to do these exercises twice a week? Or once a week? Find out what's best for you here

By Bret Contreras

Source:https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-squats-and-deads-find-your-ideal-strategy

There is an optimal frequency that can best boost your squat and deadlift performance, but you have to find it yourself through trial and error. Here's how it works:

For squats

Spend two months trying all of the following variations:

Squat training once a week
Squat training twice a week
Squat training three times a week
Knee flexor training four times a week.

Stick to 3 to 5 work sets per training session. Pay careful attention to your strength level and how your body responds so that you can determine your ideal training frequency.

If your anatomy is well designed to cope with squats, then 3 to 4 workouts per week will probably be ideal for you. If your hips, knees or lower back feel overloaded, then 1 to 2 sessions of squats per week will be more beneficial in the long run.

For deadlifts

There is also an optimal deadlift strategy that will best improve your deadlift performance. However, finding this requires some experimentation.

Take a few weeks to try out the following:

Heavy deadlift every other week
Heavy deadlift once a week
Heavy deadlift twice a week
Heavy deadlift once a week and lighter on speed on another day of the week
Deadlift three times a week with moderate volume and moderate effort
Try to avoid deadlifts completely

Some exercisers get the best results with specificity, while others do better with variety and a focus on supporting exercises. Experiment to find what works best for you, but remember that what works best for you now may not necessarily be what works best for you two years from now. That's what makes strength training such fun (or frustrating, depending on how you look at it).

Tip: Eat offal

Predators in the wild always eat the soft parts of their prey first, and you should do the same - at least occasionally

by Erick Avila

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/tip-eat-gross-organ-meats

For those who grew up on a traditional Western diet, the thought of eating kidneys or other offal can be a less than appetizing idea. But offal has always been the preferred source of animal protein for hunters from a wide range of cultures. Even in the animal kingdom, most predators eat the organs first before going for the muscle meat. What do all these hunters and predators know about offal that most humans don't?

The secret is the nutrient density

Offal is one of the foods with the highest nutrient density. They are high-quality sources of protein that are also rich in essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. When classifying the nutrient density of foods (nutrients per portion divided by weight), offal is always at the top of the list.

Compare 120 grams of beef liver with 120 grams of chicken breast (skinless). While liver and chicken provide fairly similar amounts of protein and essential amino acids, liver makes chicken breast look old when you look at the vitamin and mineral content.

The best cuts

Liver

Liver can be prepared in many different ways: fried, as jerky, as part of a pâté or minced and mixed with other minced meat to make burgers or meatballs. Liver is a good source of vitamin A, all B vitamins, vitamin C, iron, phosphorus, selenium, copper, manganese and zinc.

Vitamin A plays a role in immune function through the development of T-cells and B-cells. Manganese plays a role in the metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids and cholesterol. Zinc has been shown to enhance the effects of strenuous exercise on thyroid hormone levels and testosterone levels. The subjects in the relevant studies who supplemented zinc showed higher hormone levels after four weeks.

Widely used sources: Beef, lamb, buffalo, chicken, turkey, duck and goose.

Heart

Since the heart is a tough muscle, the meat is more like a steak or roast. Heart can be grilled, marinated or roasted. It is a good source of B vitamins, iron, selenium, phosphorus, copper and CoQ10.

B vitamins play a role in cellular energy production, the formation of red blood cells and the metabolism of amino acids and glycogen, as well as fatty acid synthesis. Copper helps with iron absorption and thyroid function. Iron is required for the transport of oxygen and plays a role in cellular energy production.

CoQ10 is an antioxidant that can reduce lipid peroxidation, lower blood pressure and increase blood flow. Another benefit of CoQ10 is related to the fact that when used by the body, it is reduced to a compound called ubiquinol. Studies have shown that ubiquinol can significantly improve maximum power release.

Widely used sources: Lamb, pork, beef, poultry.

Kidneys

Grill them or mix them with sauces or use them as part of a vegetable dish. Kidneys are a good source of all B vitamins, iron, phosphorus, copper, selenium, zinc and vitamin C.

A lack of phosphorus has been linked to muscle fatigue. Selenium offers neuroprotective benefits, is required for the synthesis and metabolism of thyroid hormones and studies have shown that it can increase testosterone levels at doses as low as 200 mcg. Widely used sources: Lamb, pork, beef, goat.

Tongue

Tongue is one of the most tender types of meat due to its fat content. It can be braised, pickled, cooked at a low temperature or poached. Tongue is a good source of zinc, potassium, B vitamins, choline and monounsaturated fatty acids.

Choline plays a number of roles in the body, including the maintenance of cell structure and the synthesis of neurotransmitters. Potassium regulates fluid balance and plays a role in controlling the electrical activity of the heart and muscles.

Widely used sources: Lamb, pork, beef, goat.

But wait, what about...

The high cholesterol and saturated fat content?

For years, nutritionists, doctors and other health experts have told us about the dangers of cholesterol. Now, as part of a 15-year study, scientists followed over 12,000 adults and found that the groups with cholesterol levels below 160 mg/dl and above 240 mg/dl had the highest risk of coronary heart disease. The distribution of dangerous cholesterol levels followed a U-shaped curve. When consumed in moderate amounts, cholesterol and saturated fats are beneficial as they play a role in regulating hormone balance, vitamin D3 production, neuronal signaling and immune function.

Toxicity?

Yes, the liver and kidneys act as filters. However, it is important to remember that the job of these organs is to eliminate toxins from the body, not store them. If this is still a concern, you should choose offal from younger animals that have been exposed to fewer pesticides or opt for offal from grass-fed animals.

Taste?

Taste is subjective. Our taste is shaped by a combination of personal preferences and our sensitivity to certain flavors. The foods we come into contact with also play a role. Some people rave about the unique flavor of offal, others say they've grown accustomed to the taste, and still others simply don't like its flavor. Start slowly by beginning with muscular species such as heart or tongue, which have a flavor and texture more reminiscent of the meats you typically consume. Later, you can move on to offal such as liver and kidney, which have a distinctive flavor.

References

Kilic, M. (2007). Effect of fatiguing bicycle exercise on thyroid hormone and testosterone levels in sedentary males supplemented with oral zinc. Neuro Endocrinology Letters, 28(5), 681-685.
Kil, M., Baltaci, A., Gunay, M., Okudan, N., & Cicioglu, I. (2006). The effect of exhaustion exercise on thyroid hormones and testosterone levels of elite athletes receiving oral zinc. Neuro Endocrinology Letters, 27(1), 2nd ser., 247-252.
Alf, D., Schmidt, M. E., & Siebrecht, S. C. (2013). Ubiquinol supplementation enhances peak power production in trained athletes: A double-blind, placebo controlled study. J Int Soc Sports Nutr Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 10(1), 24.
Safarinejad, M. R., & Safarinejad, S. (2009). Efficacy of Selenium and/or N-Acetyl-Cysteine for Improving Semen Parameters in Infertile Men: A Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled, Randomized Study. The Journal of Urology, 181(2), 741-751.
Bae, J., Yang, Y., Li, Z., & Ahn, Y. (2012). Low Cholesterol is Associated with Mortality from Cardiovascular Diseases: A Dynamic Cohort Study in Korean Adults. Journal of Korean Medical Science J Korean Med Sci, 27(1), 58.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-prioritize-free-weight-compound-exercises

by Mike Sheridan

Jul 07, 2020

Should you use supersets to build muscle faster? Here's what 18 studies say on the subject!

In the first part of this article, we first took a look at what exactly supersets are and then looked at whether supersets can help you build strength and muscle faster than traditional sets. As studies have shown that this is not the case, in this second part we will look at other potential benefits of supersets and then look at a better way to use supersets.

Can supersets help you build strength faster?

Supersets are usually seen more as a bodybuilding training technique than a strength training technique, but some people claim that they can also be used to get stronger faster.

The reasoning for this is usually quite flimsy and usually comes down to the fact that more reps and sets will result in more strength over time, which is not inherently wrong. Increasing volume over time is indeed a valid way to increase your strength (1).

However, as we've seen before, your body doesn't respond to all that volume in exactly the same way. Some repetitions are more 'anabolic' than others.

We should also remember that in the case of supersets, we sacrifice intensity and performance by reducing rest intervals, which is great for increasing pumps and metabolic stress, but terrible when it comes to achieving maximum progressive overload.

To achieve the latter, you need to use as much weight as you can for the repetition range you're training in (2), and to achieve this, you need to rest longer than usual between sets to ensure your body and muscles have fully recovered and are ready for another set of intense effort (3).

As you can see, supersets are at odds with this.

However, you can focus on increasing your full-body strength while incorporating supersets into your training program. Read on to find out how this can work.

Can supersets help you lose fat faster?

If you've done any research into training and fitness, you'll know that you need an energy (calorie) deficit to lose fat. So anything that helps you burn more calories can help you lose fat by helping you maintain that energy deficit.

Many people believe that supersets are better than traditional sets in this regard because they are more strenuous and involve performing more repetitions in a shorter period of time.

This is partially true.

The primary factor that determines how many calories you burn during a training session is how much total work you perform during that training session (4). So if you use supersets to perform more repetitions during your training session, then you will also burn more calories.

Depending on how many extra reps you can pack into your training session, this can add up to a significant amount (5) - perhaps as many as 100 to 200 extra calories burned per session.

On the other hand, if you use supersets simply to complete a training session faster, you won't burn any more energy than you would have burned with longer rest intervals.

So if you take what is normally a 60 minute workout and change nothing except the rest intervals to make it a 45 minute superset workout, you won't burn any extra calories.

In fact, you will probably burn fewer calories than with a traditional training session, as you can use heavier weights (6).

Provided you follow a sensible diet, every extra calorie burned through supersets can indeed lead to slightly more fat loss over time. The problem, however, is the price you have to pay for this extra energy expenditure, which we have already discussed in detail.

By replacing heavy traditional sets with supersets, you can burn more calories, but you can't maximize progressive overload at the same time, and therefore you can't maximize your gains in strength and muscle (which is probably the reason you're training with weights in the first place).

Of course, you could argue that this doesn't matter because you can't build significant amounts of strength and muscle mass while losing fat anyway, but this is not entirely true.

Advanced exercisers shouldn't expect big gains during fat loss, but most gym-goers can actually build muscle and lose fat at the same time if they know what to do.

In addition, scientific research suggests that heavy, traditional training with weights may be best for advanced exercisers who want to maintain a maximum amount of muscle mass during fat loss (7).

Some people also claim that supersets can somehow improve muscle definition and produce cuts.

However, even though supersets can make your muscles burn more, this does not lead to better muscle definition, which is primarily a product of what level of muscle development you have achieved and how low your body fat percentage is.

You can't lose fat in a targeted area (at least not to any significant degree) by performing specific exercises for those areas of your body or specific muscle groups, so the only way to improve the definition of your arms, chest, abs or any other area is to reduce your body fat percentage.

Can supersets replace cardio?

If you train with weights, then you probably won't be a big fan of cardio. And even if you like cardio, there's only so much time you can invest in your pursuit of the perfect body and cardio only plays second fiddle here because training with weights can do so much more for your body composition.

This is the reason why many people claim that you don't need cardio training if you make your workout harder with weights through supersets.

Well, while there are some benefits (8) to including cardio in your training program, there's not really a reason to do so as long as you're doing several hours of resistance training per week.

However, even though supersets can turn you into a sweaty, breathless heap of misery with a pounding heart, much like cardio, this doesn't necessarily mean they work just as well when you look at the underlying physiology.

We can find evidence of this in a study conducted by scientists at Southampton Solent University (9), which involved two groups of strongmen and powerlifters who completed the following training protocols:

One group performed a high repetition training program of squats and deadlifts with short rest intervals, which is basically equivalent to superset training.
The other group performed HIIT cardio training sessions on an exercise bike.

After 8 weeks, the researchers found that both groups had built roughly the same amount of leg strength, with the HIIT cardio group significantly improving their aerobic fitness.

Other studies on this topic have reported similar results (10).

So the bottom line on the topic is this:

Strength training can do many wonderful things for your body (11), but it can't deliver the same benefits as cardiovascular training (cardio).

Cardio training with at least moderate intensity burns more calories per minute than training with weights (12) and is also the better choice when it comes to improving blood lipid levels, blood pressure, heart health and blood sugar levels (13, 14, 15, 16).

Thus, supersets cannot replace cardio training. In a sense, nothing can replace cardio training. Either you do cardio and reap the benefits, or you don't.

A better kind of superset

Taking all this into account, supersets, when performed in the way they normally are, are not particularly beneficial.

They are no better for muscle growth than traditional sets, they make it harder for you to use heavy weights and increase the weight on the bar and they don't save you that much time (do those 15 minutes really matter?).

So what are supersets good for?

Well, I like supersets when they are used as supersets with antagonistic pairing. In an antagonistic-pairing superset, you perform one set of an exercise, followed without rest by a set of an exercise for the muscle group that trains the antagonist of the muscle group that was trained in the first set.

Technically, a muscle that contracts is considered an agonist and the muscle responsible for the opposite movement is considered an antagonist. An antagonist muscle is simply a muscle that has the opposite function of another muscle.

For example, the biceps serves to flex the arm, while the triceps is its antagonist, as it causes the opposite - an extension of the arm.

If both of these muscles were to contract hard enough at the same time, it could cause serious damage to muscles, ligaments and tendons, which is why our bodies generally inhibit one muscle group while contracting another.

The difference between traditional supersets and supersets with antagonistic pairing is as follows:

In traditional supersets, you increase the fatigue of a single muscle group
In supersets with antagonistic pairing, you train two muscle groups and simply perform more sets in less time without increasing fatigue in either muscle group compared to single sets.

Basically, in supersets with antagonistic pairing, you use the sets for one muscle group as rest intervals for the other muscle group, which is not involved when the agonist takes control.

This also works for muscle groups that are not antagonists but are far enough apart that training one muscle group does not affect the other muscle group.

For example, you can easily switch back and forth between shoulder exercises and calf exercises without affecting the performance of the other muscle group.

This has also been observed in scientific studies. A 2010 study review conducted by researchers at the University of Ballarat concluded that sets with antagonistic pairing allowed athletes to complete their workouts in less time while using weights that were just as heavy (or in some cases heavier) than traditional training programs (17).

With this information, let's take a look at how you can perform supersets the smart way.

1. use traditional sets for your heavy multi-joint exercises

Although you can use supersets with antagonistic pairing for your multi-joint exercises, I don't recommend it.

Exercises such as squats, bench presses and deadlifts are full body exercises, which means that any kind of supersets will reduce your performance on these exercises. Considering the importance of these exercises, it's simply not worth compromising your progress on these exercises just to finish your training sessions faster.

This is also the reason why scientific research shows that it's best to perform your heavy multi-joint exercises in a row, without other exercises in between, and use supersets with antagonistic pairing afterwards in your isolation exercises (18).

Your training session could look like this, for example:

Bench press

Set 1
Set 2
Set 3

Barbell curls set 1
Tricep press set 1
Barbell curls set 2
Tricep press set 2
Barbell curl set 3
Tricep press set 3

2. combine exercises as a superset that do not interfere with each other

This of course means antagonists, but as I mentioned before, this also includes muscle groups that are far enough apart to not be connected in their function.

So you can combine exercises for many different muscle groups like the following:

Biceps and triceps
Quadriceps and hamstrings
Chest and back
Shoulders and back
Back and quadriceps
Calves and shoulders
Shoulders and quadriceps
Triceps and back

When I personally perform supersets, I like to do them as follows:

I perform two heavy multi-joint exercises with traditional sets (finishing all sets of one exercise first before moving on to the next exercise) and then I perform supersets with antagonistic pairing for two or three isolation exercises.

Here's an example of a leg training session:

Classic squats: warm up and then 3 sets of 4 to 6 reps with 80 to 85% of my 1RM (max weight for one repetition) and 3 minutes rest between sets - Romanian deadlift: 3 sets of 4 to 6 reps with 80 to 85% of my 1RM and 3 minutes rest between sets
Leg press and leg curls as a superset with antagonistic pairing: 3 sets of 6 to 8 repetitions per exercise with 75 to 80% of 1RM weight and 2 minutes rest between supersets

3. rest at least 1 to 2 minutes between supersets

Even if the muscle groups in your superset do not directly affect each other, you will still be a little exhausted after each set.

For example, if you've just done a set of leg extensions, you won't be able to do leg curls as well as after 1 or 2 minutes rest (19). You need to allow your heart rate to drop back into the normal range and mentally prepare yourself for another heavy set.

For this reason, it's best to rest at least 1 to 2 minutes between your supersets - or as long as you need to feel fully ready for the next set (20).

Personally, I rest 1 minute between supersets for biceps and triceps and 2 minutes between supersets for larger muscle groups such as quadriceps and hamstrings.

The bottom line on supersets

A superset is two exercises performed one after the other with minimal rest.

Supersets can help you finish your training sessions faster, but that's almost all they have to offer.

They are no better than traditional sets when it comes to building muscle and if used incorrectly (as most people do) they can actually hinder your progress by making progressive muscle overload harder.

Also, when it comes to strength gains, supersets have nothing to offer. They make it impossible to maintain the intensity, volume and frequency needed for optimal strength gains.

However, supersets can have a place in a well-planned training program. When used in the form of supersets with antagonistic pairing, they can allow you to do more work in a shorter period of time without sacrificing your performance or results.

To do this, simply alternate between agonist and antagonist muscle groups such as biceps and triceps and rest for a minute between supersets.

You can also do this with muscle groups that aren't technically agonist and antagonist, but are far enough apart to be unrelated in function.

As long as you...