Training

Aug 19, 2019

Do you know these 8 signs of overtraining? Part 2

After explaining in the first part of this article what overtraining is, how it occurs and what warning signs there are that can help you recognize overtraining, in this second part of this article I will go into more detail about what you can do to avoid overtraining in the first place.

4 ways to prevent overtraining

Now that we know what overtraining is and how you can recognize it in order to take action and prevent worse, I would like to talk about how you can prevent overtraining from happening in the first place.

The most reliable strategies for preventing overtraining are the ones you probably already expected. They aim to support your body's natural recovery mechanisms. They're free of any fancy bells and whistles, but they work.

If you do the following, it is very unlikely that you will ever be affected by overtraining syndrome.

1. make sure you get adequate amounts of sleep

According to surveys conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, 43% of Americans between the ages of 13 and 64 rarely or never get enough sleep during the week (12). 60% said they suffer from sleep problems every night or almost every night.

Now, too little or poor sleep is far worse than most people will believe (13). Insufficient sleep increases the risk of mortality and chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, obesity and cancer, and can also severely affect quality of life and productivity.

Poor or inadequate sleep can even slow weight loss, lead to weight gain and muscle loss, and decrease the body's production of testosterone (14, 15).

The bottom line is that your sleep hygiene is like your diet: it either works for you or against you - whether you realize it or not.

Sleep poorly over an extended period of time and the consequences, which are inevitable, can be devastating. Sleep well and enough and the benefits will be surprisingly far-reaching.

2 Eat enough food

Many people know that the amount of protein they eat affects recovery, but not as many realize that this also applies to the amount of calories they consume.

The reason for this is quite simple: if you supply your body with less energy than it burns, then you generate an energy (or calorie) deficit. While this may be necessary for fat loss, it also impairs your body's ability to build muscle protein and can lower levels of anabolic hormones and increase levels of catabolic hormones (16, 17, 18).

All of this, of course, impairs recovery and slows - or stops - your muscle growth.

3. control your stress levels

Many people think that stress is purely negative - something you should avoid at all costs. However, this is not well thought out. Our bodies are designed to cope with acute stress, which is one of the reasons that exercise has so many health and wellbeing benefits.

Too much stress, however, can cause problems. Chronic stress causes us to age faster, makes us more susceptible to disease and increases levels of systemic inflammation (19, 20, 21). In addition, excessive stress causes a chronic increase in cortisol levels, which, among other things, impairs our body's ability to recover from our workouts (22, 23).

For these reasons, good stress management is an important step in preventing overtraining. I would even go so far as to say that your quality of life and longevity will greatly depend on how well you manage stress.

4. rest or unload

As much as we like our workouts, it is also necessary for us to refrain from them occasionally. There are two ways to achieve this

1. stay away from the gym for a week

Spend the time you would normally spend working out doing something relaxing.

2. plan a de-loading week

A de-load week involves a reduction in weekly training intensity (training weight used) and/or volume (number of sets performed).

For example, if your training consists of five workouts per week with 70 to 80 heavy repetitions of multi-joint exercises, then a de-load week might include halving the volume (35 to 40 repetitions) or dramatically reducing the intensity (training at 50 to 60% of 1RM weight instead of 80 to 90% of 1RM weight).

What about supplements?

I saved this part for last because, quite frankly, I see it as less important than proper nutrition and training.

However, even though there are unfortunately a lot of products in the supplement industry that promise far more than they can ever deliver, there are also many natural substances that have been scientifically proven to have positive effects on muscle growth, performance, recovery and much more.

In my experience, the following supplements have proven their worth when it comes to supporting regeneration:

Creatine

Creatine is a compound that occurs naturally in the body and in many foods such as red meat. Creatine is probably the best and most studied molecule in the field of sports supplementation and the results of hundreds of scientific studies are quite clear:

Supplementing with creatine can help

Build muscle and strength (24)
Increase anaerobic endurance (25)
Reduce muscle damage and soreness (26)

If there's one supplement I would really recommend to anyone, it's creatine. Creatine is safe, inexpensive and effective.

Although creatine is sometimes claimed to be bad for the kidneys, such claims have been clearly and categorically refuted by many studies (27). In people with healthy kidneys, creatine has no harmful side effects, even when taken long-term (28).

Only people who suffer from an existing kidney disease should refrain from using creatine to be on the safe side, or discuss its use with their doctor (29).

Whey protein

You don't necessarily need protein supplements to recover effectively from your training sessions, but considering the amount of creatine you need daily for optimal recovery and maximum muscle gain, adequate protein intake from whole foods alone may be impractical. This is the main reason I recommend the use of protein supplements.

Multivitamin products

Similar to protein supplements, multivitamins won't speed up your recovery per se, but they can make it easier for you to get all the micronutrients your body needs for optimal recovery. The problem with our Western diet is that it has more holes in it than a Swiss cheese when it comes to getting enough of all the important nutrients, which can make getting enough from whole foods alone a laborious undertaking.

Greens supplements

Greens supplements are an extension of the concept of multivitamin products and, in addition to essential vitamins and minerals, provide other healthy phytonutrients that are important for the body and can support regeneration and muscle building.

Sleep supplements

As we have already seen, the better you sleep, the better your body can recover from the stress of training and daily life. Good sleep hygiene is like a good training program: it improves your life and your quality of life in every area.

Many people use pharmaceutical sleep aids and tranquilizers to solve their sleep problems. Unfortunately, these medications can be addictive and are associated with a variety of concerning side effects and risks, including the following:

Depression (31)
An increased risk of cancer and higher overall mortality (32)
An increased risk of infections
Delirium, nightmares and hallucinations

A better approach is to first address lifestyle issues and other factors that can affect sleep.

If this alone is not enough and you continue to suffer from sleep problems - or simply want to sleep better - it may make sense to use sleep support supplements made from natural and safe ingredients.

The bottom line on overtraining

Overtraining syndrome is a real phenomenon, but our bodies are nowhere near as fragile and breakable as some gurus would have us believe. You can probably train much harder than you think without risking overtraining.

The latter is especially true if you follow the advice in this article and do everything you can to maximize your body's ability to recover from the stress of training and daily life.

Of course, there may be times when you go a little too far with training frequency and intensity, or when you don't sleep or eat enough. If this is the case, look out for the signs of overtraining described above and respond to them. If you do this, serious overtraining should not be a problem for you in the future.

References:

Source: https://legionathletics.com/signs-of-overtraining/

By Mike Matthews

Aug 16, 2019

Forced growth: A new way to build muscle Advanced rest break training for bodybuilders

Training to muscle failure is the most effective way to build muscle - but only if it is used in the right way (low training volume) and the right exercises are used (isolation exercises and exercises that do not put too much strain on the body). So what is the best method for training to muscle failure? The answer is rest-pause training. No other training method will lead to faster hypertrophy.

Rule 1: Train to contractile muscle failure

Contractile failure is the primary trigger to stimulate muscle growth. The key with rest-pause is not to accumulate fatigue, but to achieve muscle failure multiple times during the same set.

Perform the maximum number of FULL repetitions you can. You cannot cheat yourself here - you must be sure at this point that you are no longer able to perform even one more complete repetition. On the other hand, you shouldn't try to do another repetition that you can't finish. Even though this is effective in stimulating muscle hypertrophy, the stress on the CNS is so high that you could only perform 1 to 3 sets in this way during your entire training session and still be able to recover sufficiently from that training session.

By going to the point where you know you would not be able to perform another full repetition, you will achieve the stimulus needed to stimulate growth without overloading the CNS too much.

Rule 2: Keep the muscles under maximum tension

Perform the repetitions in such a way that the target muscle is kept under maximum tension the entire time. This means avoiding accelerating the weight during each repetition.

The best way to describe how you should perform the repetitions is "smoothly" or at a constant speed. The lifting phase should last about 2 seconds. Concentrate on tensing the muscle as hard as possible at each point of the range of motion. The eccentric phase of the repetition (lowering the weight) should also be performed under control (about 2 seconds) or deliberately slowly (about 5 seconds), depending on the method.

If you perform the repetitions using too much acceleration on the upward movement, then you will lose a lot of stimulus from this set. Yes, you will need to use less weight if you perform consistent reps at a constant speed. But the weight used doesn't matter that much when it comes to stimulating muscle growth, as long as you reach the point of muscle failure.

5 proven rest-pause variations

1 - Tempo contrast rest-pause

Tempo contrast refers to a change in the speed of movement during the set. In a rest-pause set with two pauses (three mini-sets), you use a slower, more controlled tempo during the first mini-set and increase the speed a little more with each subsequent mini-set.

This approach works for two reasons:

First, the slower eccentric phase in the first part of the rest-pause set activates mTOR to a greater extent, which activates more protein synthesis. The slower eccentric phase performed at maximal tension in the target muscle also increases the quality of the subsequent contraction, making the repetitions more effective in activating more muscle fibers. As the slow eccentric repetitions are more strenuous, you will need to use less weight than during a normal rest-pause set.
Secondly, each phase of the rest-pause set is performed with progressively lighter repetitions. This allows you to use a higher total load compared to a normal rest-pause set. This higher mechanical workload, combined with reaching muscle failure three times within a set, will provide a very strong stimulus for increased protein synthesis.

What such a set looks like:

Perform two rests during each set, which means three mini-sets. The pauses are 10 to 15 seconds long. Use a weight with which you can perform about 12 normal repetitions.

Perform slower repetitions in the first mini set, especially in the eccentric (lowering) phase. Lower the weight over a period of 4 to 5 seconds. In the concentric part of the movement (lifting phase), the actual speed is not so important. However, it is important that you try to accelerate the weight as little as possible. As soon as the weight starts to move, you move it with the same controlled speed through the entire range of motion while tensing the target muscle as hard as possible.

If you do this correctly, you should be able to do 6 to 8 repetitions. If you can do 10 to 12 reps, then you have either chosen the wrong weight or are not working the muscles hard enough with each repetition.

Go to the point of muscle failure - until you reach the point where you know the next repetition won't be possible. Go to the point where the last repetition is extremely difficult, but don't resort to techniques such as bending or changing position to be able to perform more repetitions. The goal is to reach the point where you can no longer contract the muscle hard enough. You thwart this by shifting the load to other muscles during the set.

When you reach the point of failure, pause for 10 to 15 seconds. Use the same weight and perform the second mini set. Change your repetition style to "normal" repetitions. This means that you can speed up the weight slightly on the upward movement, but you should still control the weight and focus on tensing the muscle. This is the way you will perform your normal isolation repetitions. You may be able to do 5 to 8 extra reps, but this doesn't really matter as long as you go to the point of muscle failure.

When you reach the point of muscle failure again, pause for 10 to 15 seconds and move on to the third mini set. Now use a looser repetition style. However, don't use a terrible form of exercise execution. Just use enough momentum to get the weight moving. Ideally, you should be able to do another 3 to 5 repetitions.

If you can do more than 5 reps, then this most likely indicates that either the weight was too light on the first two mini sets, or that you used too much momentum on the third mini set. Remember that the goal is not to perform more reps, but to exhaust the muscle fibers more.

2 - Death by rest-pause

"Death by" means that you keep doing mini sets until you can't do any more. For our purposes, this means that after every 10 seconds of rest, you perform further mini sets until you cannot perform another mini set with even one repetition. As these sets are extremely effective, but also very demanding on the body, you should only perform one or maybe two of these sets per exercise.

What such a set looks like:

The working set does not have a predetermined number of mini sets. You continue until you can no longer perform any more repetitions with the correct quality. Start with a weight with which you can perform 6 to 8 repetitions. The number of actual repetitions does not matter. This is only to help you choose the weight.

Go to muscle failure and then pause for 10 seconds. Continue the set using the same weight and go to muscle failure again. Continue this pattern: repetitions to muscle failure, 10 seconds rest, repetitions to muscle failure, 10 seconds rest...until you reach the point where you can't do another full repetition.

Continue the whole process until you can only perform a single full repetition as part of a mini-set and you know that a second repetition would not be possible.

3 - Omni-contractions rest-pause

The goal of this type of rest-pause is to achieve contractile muscle failure in all three types of muscle actions: concentric, isometric and eccentric. This approach is undoubtedly the most powerful hypertrophy stimulation you can achieve. The only disadvantage is that you need a training partner to perform it.

What a set looks like:

Each set consists of three mini-sets. The pauses are 10 to 15 seconds long. Start with a weight with which you can perform 8 to 10 technically correct repetitions and go to contractile muscle failure. Pause for 10 to 15 seconds.

Move the same weight up until you reach the position with the highest tension (most strenuous position of the range of motion). In most exercises, this position is somewhere in the middle of the range of motion. Hold this position while tensing the target muscle as hard as possible until you can no longer maintain the contraction and you reach the point of isometric muscle failure. Pause for a further 10 to 15 seconds.

Continuing to use the same weight, a training partner will assist you in the upward movement of the weight, while you then slowly lower the weight without assistance over a period of 4 to 5 seconds. Perform as many repetitions in this way until you can no longer control the weight during the lowering phase.

4 - Stage rest-pause

This technique works best with isolation exercises and pressing exercises (but not pulling exercises). You go to muscle failure and then use only partial repetitions on the second and third mini sets, which are performed to muscle failure.

It is important to understand that the partial repetitions must be performed slower than the full repetitions if this approach is to be effective. The range of motion is short. If too much acceleration is used from the start, the muscle will never be under enough tension to effectively stimulate growth. Perform the partial repetitions with as little change in speed or acceleration as possible. Imagine that the partial repetitions should last as long as a full repetition.

What such a set looks like:

Each set consists of three mini-sets. The pauses between the mini-sets are 10 seconds long. Start with a weight with which you can perform 8 to 10 repetitions. Perform full repetitions until you reach the point of contractile muscle failure.

After reaching muscle failure, pause for 10 seconds. Then continue the set, but only move the weight through the upper half of the range of motion - from the middle position to the highest position. Perform as many partial repetitions until you reach the point of muscle failure. Pause for another 10 seconds.

Initiate the last mini-set by performing partial repetitions across the lower half of the range of motion, starting at the lowest point of the movement and working up to the middle point of the range of motion. Go to muscle failure here too.

5 - Descending rest-pause sets

This approach, which has been used successfully by many bodybuilders, is probably the most challenging of all rest-pause variations. It combines rest-pause and descending sets. You reduce the weight when you reach the point of muscle failure and continue the set.

Think of each set as a set with two rest-pause episodes. The second episode is lighter than the first rest-pause. This type of rest-pause allows you to work each muscle fiber harder, resulting in greater growth stimulation. As you might imagine, this is very demanding and no one should need more than two sets of this per exercise. In most cases, one set will be sufficient.

What a set looks like:

Each set consists of four mini-sets: two rest-pause episodes, each consisting of two mini-sets. The pauses between all mini-sentences - including the descending sentences - are 10 seconds long.

Start with a weight where you think you will reach contractile muscle failure after about 8 to 10 repetitions. Perform as many repetitions until you know that one more repetition will not be possible. Pause for 10 seconds and continue the set with the same weight until you reach the point of contractile failure again.

Pause for another 10 seconds while you reduce the weight by about 20% and continue the set with the new, lighter weight until muscle failure. Pause again for 10 seconds and perform a final mini-set to muscle failure.

How you can incorporate rest-pause into your training program

For the big multi-joint exercises, I perform a heavy workout where I don't go to muscle failure and combine this with a workout to muscle failure with isolation exercises. For hypertrophy, I only use rest-pause. I don't know of any other method that is more effective. The only reason some exercisers don't get the results they want with rest-pause is because they do too many sets per exercise.

Rest-pause is an intense and effective method and proper training nutrition is a must. If you go to true contractile failure (and multiple times per set), one set will be sufficient for most, though individuals with primarily slow contracting muscle fibers will need more sets. These people will need two sets per exercise. So far, I have yet to see a case where a person has needed three sets per exercise to achieve maximum growth. It's better to move on to another exercise than to do more sets with the first exercise if you've already achieved all the growth stimulation it has to offer.

Give rest-pause a serious try. If you are tough enough to handle multiple points of muscle failure per set, then you will be rewarded with maximum growth.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/forced-growth-a-new-way-to-build-muscle

By Christian Thibaudeau

Aug 15, 2019

Are free weights or machines better for building muscle?

If you want to know more about the pros and cons of free weights and machines and which is better for building muscle, then this is the article for you.

Here's a quick summary:

Exercises performed with free weights activate more muscle mass than exercises performed on machines, which makes them better for building muscle in the long run.
Machine exercises can be helpful when it comes to building muscle groups that are lagging behind in their development.
To get the best possible results, you should do most of your training with free weights and use machines to help grow stubborn muscles.

Go to any gym and you will always see the same thing. Most people are gathered around machines like butterfly, deadlifts and cable curl machines. Then there's a minority of people who stick to the flat bench, squat rack and dumbbells.

And if you ask these two groups why they train the way they do, they'll both give you reasonable-sounding answers.

Some will say that machines are better when it comes to training individual muscle groups such as pecs, biceps and triceps. They will also tell you that machines are safer than free weights.

Those in the other camp will say that free weights are better for building full body strength and will give you more value for your efforts and that training machines can't hold a candle to free weights in any respect.

Which side should you listen to?

Well, the short answer is that if you want to build muscle as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible, you should use free weights for the majority of your training. However, this doesn't mean that machines are useless - and you'll usually make faster progress if you use both machines and free weights.

By the end of this article, you will know the difference between free weights and machines, the pros and cons of both training methods and how you can benefit from the advantages of both training styles.

Let's start at the beginning.

What is the difference between machines and free weights?

There is no definitive definition of what is considered a "machine exercise" and what is considered a "free weights exercise", but in general, people differentiate these exercises in the following ways:

A machine exercise gives you a fixed range of motion where you only have to focus on pressing the weight.

The bench press machine is a good example of this. On this machine, the handles move along a fixed path and all you have to do is press. Machine exercises usually require specialized training machines like a bicep curl machine, or can be as simple as a handle attached to a cable.

An exercise performed with free weights is an exercise that forces you to control the direction of a weight as you move it, using many other muscles to move the weight in the right direction.

The bench press is a good example of this. In this exercise, you use stabilizing muscles in your shoulders, back and legs to push the bar in the right direction, with your legs and chest muscles doing the lion's share of the actual pushing of the weight.

Most free weight exercises utilize dumbbells and barbells, but this category of exercise can also include the use of kettlebells, sandbags, medicine balls or other equipment.

There is some area of overlap between exercises using free weights and machines, but there are also some key differences that make free weights superior.

Why are machines usually not as good as free weights?

Talk to any group of exercisers with several years of training experience and 99% of them will tell you that free weights are better than machines. And for the most part, they're right.

Free weights generate more muscle activation (1), which means they usually activate more muscle growth (2). For example, classic squats performed with a barbell produce 43% more muscle activation than squats on the multi press (3).

This means that you use more total muscle mass with each repetition of an exercise with free weights than you would with a machine exercise.

Barbell squats, one of the most common free weight exercises for leg training, work your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, back and even your abs. A machine exercise for the quadriceps such as leg extensions is good for training the quadriceps, but it hardly trains any other muscles.

Overall, you'll get more for your time in the gym if you focus on heavy multi-joint exercises performed with free weights, such as barbell squats, deadlifts, standing shoulder presses and bench presses.

Free weights also have the advantage that they will always be the same no matter where you train. Barbells and dumbbells in the USA are exactly the same as their counterparts in Germany or anywhere else in the world.

Machines, on the other hand, are more specialized. One manufacturer's leg extension machine may feel different than another manufacturer's leg extension machine, and that can make it hard for you to gauge your progress if you change gyms frequently.

For the same reasons, free weights are a better option for an at-home workout. You can effectively train every muscle in your body with a barbell, a few weight plates and some dumbbells. This is not possible with machines.

To equip a home gym you will need a larger amount of machines, which will cost a lot more and take up a lot more space than free weights.

So if you had to choose between training exclusively with free weights or machines, you should opt for free weights.

The good news, however, is that you don't have to.

Good reasons to use machines

Despite their drawbacks, it's wise to incorporate a few machine exercises into your training program. Some muscle groups are difficult to train with free weights, with calves being one of the most well-known examples.

Sure, you can do calf raises with barbells, but it will be very difficult to perform this exercise efficiently when you start using heavier weights. The calves respond best to a combination of calf exercises with bent and extended legs, both of which are easier to perform with machines.

Take seated calf raises as an example. Would you rather use a machine or put a heavy barbell on your thighs? I would bet that you would prefer the calf machine.

Another benefit of machine exercises is that they can be useful for training muscle groups that are lagging behind in their development. As you've just learned, machine exercises don't involve as many muscle groups as free weight exercises.

Normally this is a bad thing, but what if you want to focus on a specific muscle group? This is where machines can come in handy.

Let's say you've already done several heavy sets of bench presses and your arms and shoulders are already completely finished. You feel like your chest could use a little more volume, so you head over to the chest press machine and do a few more sets.

Or maybe your chest is already completely exhausted and you want to train your arms a little more. In this case, you could do a few more bicep curls or some tricep presses after the bench press.

Here are a few more examples of how you could use machines to train muscle groups that are lagging behind in their development:

Use leg presses or leg extensions on the machine after squats to target your quadriceps.
After bench presses, use machine chest presses or butterflies to target your chest.
After deadlifts, use lat pulldowns or the scott curl machine to target your back and biceps.

How much time should you spend training on machines?

You know that you should spend most of your training time with free weights. You also know that machines can be helpful for training your lagging muscle group. So when should you train with free weights and how often should you use machines?

Well, there's nothing wrong with jumping right into the deep end with free weights from the start. In fact, some of the best workout programs for beginners like Starting Strength are based on barbell exercises.

If you don't feel ready to start with barbells and dumbbells, you can still make rapid progress with machines at the beginning of your workout. You can use the following table as a rough guide to how much time you should spend with machines and free weights.

Training experience	% of time with machines	% of time with free weights
0 to 1 month	80%	20%
1 to 2 months	60%	40%
2 to 3 months	40%	60%
3 months and after	20 to 30%	70 to 80%

Start your training sessions with several sets of free weight exercises such as squats so that you can work on your technique before you get tired.

Once you feel confident enough with a free weight exercise, you can replace some of your machine exercises with more free weight training. Keep doing this until you are doing 70 to 80% of your training with free weights.

The best machine exercises for building muscle

In most cases, the question of which machines to use will answer itself based on what's available and your preferences.

Typically, you should prioritize machine exercises that involve as many muscles as possible. Chest presses on the machine, for example, will work more muscles than butterflys.

However, as long as you perform most of your exercises with free weights, it doesn't matter which machine exercises you use. Pick a few exercises that target the muscle groups you're most interested in growing, get as strong as you can on those exercises, and swap them out for other exercises once you reach a plateau.

If you're putting together a training program, here are a few good machine exercises to start with:

Chest

Chest press on the machine
Chest press on the cable
Flying movements on the machine
Butterflys

Back:

Machine rowing
T-bar rowing
Lat pulldown

Shoulders:

Shoulder press sitting on the machine
Lateral raises on the cable pulley
Side raises on the machine

Biceps:

Scott curls on the machine
One-arm cable curls
Cable curls with a straight bar
Cable curls with a rope handle

Triceps:

Dips machine
Tricep presses with a rope handle
Tricep presses on the cable with a straight bar

Quadriceps:

Squats on the multi press
Hackenschmidt squats on the multi press
Leg presses
Leg extensions

Leg curls:

Lying leg curls
Sitting leg curls

Calves:

Calf raises standing on the machine
Calf raises sitting on the machine

Gluteus:

Leg presses
Squats on the multi press
Hackenschmidt squats on the multi press
Butt blaster machine

The bottom line on free weights vs. machines

If you take all factors into consideration, exercises with free weights are better than machines. They activate more muscles with each repetition, which leads to more muscle growth in the long run.

However, you don't have to choose one or the other. Machine exercises can be helpful for training lagging muscle groups - especially arms, shoulders and calves.

If you want to build as much muscle as possible, then you should use machines for the majority of your training and use them strategically to work on the muscle groups that you want or need to grow the most.

References:

Source: https://www.muscleforlife.com/are-free-weights-better-than-machines/

From: Armistead Legge

Aug 13, 2019

The guide for natural trainers

In this four-part article series, I will cover everything a natural trainer should know about building muscle without using banned performance-enhancing substances.

The first thing I want to cover is what the training should look like.

I have a few friends who use steroids and I have had numerous conversations with athletes about their desire to use performance enhancing substances during the competitive season. At the end of the day, this issue is far more complex than most would think....

Are blood tests carried out regularly and the results discussed with an edocrinologist?
What are the sources of the substances used and how can you ensure they are genuine?
What dosages should be used and why?
Are there potential interactions between the individual substances used?
Are there potential interactions between the individual substances used and medications you need to take for health reasons?
What will you do if you run out of these compounds? Do you have a plan for a weaning phase?
When did you last have a complete blood count done? Are you sure that your health allows you to consider using performance-enhancing compounds?
Have you considered the psychological effects of performance-enhancing substances on you as an individual? Are you willing to openly admit their use or will you force yourself to lie to others about it?

I am not an endocrinologist and do not pretend to be one. But I can tell you that the use of performance-enhancing substances is much more complicated than simply injecting 250 mg of testo every week.

For this reason, I will not address this topic in this series of articles, but instead provide you with a framework that will help you maximize your muscle hypertrophy while keeping the training process as such as simple as possible.

This series of articles will cover other important pieces of the puzzle besides training such as recovery, supplementation and nutrition for maximizing muscle hypertrophy without pharmaceutical support.

The virtual wild west

Social media is a microcosm of endless amounts of witty quotes and generic motivational videos. You don't have to look far to find a million and one trainers wanting to tell you about their "unique systems that will get you guaranteed results".

Unfortunately, there is very rarely anything new or even "revolutionary" in the world of training and nutrition. The basics always work, but these are hard to sell because they are not sexy or exciting.

But it's important to pick the lowest hanging fruit first, isn't it? In the world of business management, this is also known as the Pareto Principle.

Pareto Principle (i.e. the "80/20 rule") - for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

The same can be said about training - most individuals experience 8% of their growth from a few select exercises. However, you'll typically see most try to justify additional useless volume in their programs (i.e. mass supportive training that doesn't provide enough overload to stimulate significant growth).

If you talk to most exercisers, they'll probably tell you that their biceps exploded from barbell curls - when in reality it was more likely the high volume of pull-ups with added weight they were doing at the same time that provided a much stronger growth stimulus.

Most exercisers recognize that volume is needed for growth. Supportive training is important and your overall workload will ultimately determine how much homeostatic disturbance you can generate within your body systems.

The point is that you probably already have a pretty good idea of what you CAN do - but the more important question is what you actually SHOULD do.

My aim is not to provide you with more complex information - there is already enough of that on the internet. Instead, I want to provide you with a concentrated dose of reality. This is not a discussion, but a simplification of ideologies.

This is not a scheme F program, this is not a cheap 5x5 copy and this is not your stereotypical "3x10" with 8 to 10 exercises. This is a real program for real athletes.

Come to the gym
Train hard
Follow the program
Make progress

The basics of training for natural athletes

Day 1

Exercise	Sets
Barbell Floor Press	3	7, 5, 3
Barbell Floor Press	1	20*
Barbell Z Press(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbKw7rkL2wQ)	4	6
A1. Tricep press with bands overhead(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YburvTaTr_o)	4	AMRAP
A2. Sit-ups with additional weight on the reverse incline bench	4	AMRAP

*Note: Use 50 to 60% of the maximum weight for the first three sets. Start conservatively (50%) and work your way up progressively from week to week.

AMRAP: As many repetitions as possible (As many Repetitions as Possible)

Day 2

Exercise	Sets
Trap Bar Deadlift	3	7, 5, 3
Trap bar deadlift	1	20*
Squats	4	12
A1. Dumbbell rowing	4	12
A2. Reverse crunches	4	AMRAP

*Note: Use 50 to 60% of the maximum weight for the first three sets. Start conservatively (50%) and work your way up progressively from week to week.

Day 3

Exercise	Sets
Barbell shoulder press	3	7, 5, 3
Barbell shoulder press	1	20*
Dips (with additional weight if possible)	5	AMRAP**
A1. Bench press with close grip on the multi press	3	12
A2. Sit-ups with additional weight on the reverse incline bench	4	12-14

*Note: Use 50 to 60% of the maximum weight for the first three sets. Start conservatively (50%) and work your way up progressively from week to week.

**Note: Finish each set 1 to 2 reps before reaching muscle failure. Do not go to muscle failure

Day 4

Exercise	Sets
Front squats	3	7, 5, 3
Front squats	1	20*
Pull-ups with neutral grip (with additional weight if possible)	5	AMRAP**
A1. Leg curls	4	6-8
A2. Reverse crunches	4	AMRAP

Remember that training is only one piece of the puzzle. Everyone likes to talk about what's going on in the gym, even if progress in reality happens during the other 23 hours of the day you spend outside the sanctuary of the iron.

FAQs

Q: "What if I want to do more?"

Start by adding one extra set per week to your last superset for supportive training. If this is easy, then you can add an additional set of moderate supportive training for the basic exercises to your workout before the final superset. Day 1 would therefore consist of:

Exercise	Sets
Barbell Z Press	4	6
A1. Tricep press with bands overhead	4	AMRAP
A2. Sit-ups with additional weight on the reverse incline bench	4	12-14

About this one:

Exercise	Sets
Barbell Z Press	4	6
A1. Tricep press with bands overhead	5	AMRAP
A2. Sit-ups with additional weight on the reverse incline bench	5	12-14

And then change to this:

Exercise	Sets
Barbell Z Press	5	6
A1. Tricep press with bands overhead	5	AMRAP
A2. Sit-ups with additional weight on the reverse incline bench	5	12-14

Don't make the whole thing too complicated. You need to build a base before you overdo it and destroy yourself with 25 sets of chest training. If you're desperate to add extra training volume after your first training session, chances are your work sets weren't heavy enough. Train harder before you assume you need more volume. Stimulate instead of destroy.

Q: "How long can I use this program?"

Don't try to fix something that isn't broken. If you like the format (exercise selection, set and repetition scheme, frequency, duration, etc.) and you're making steady progress, your joints feel good, and you don't wake up in the morning after your workout feeling like you've been run over by a truck, then stick with this program.

Over time you will find that you become more and more accustomed to this program and therefore it is perfectly fine to change it slightly. Please note that I said change and not completely throw out. Use a slightly different variation of presses or squats - for example, choose Hackenschmidt squats instead of front squats or incline bench presses instead of floor presses. Small variations can make a big difference. It is not necessary to overhaul the entire system if the basic structure is solid.

Remember that small hinges move big doors.

Adherence and following the program is what counts.

I can give you everything you need, but if you decide to add a ton of extra volume to this program, I can't guarantee you'll get the same results. Sure, there is the element of customization that is necessary within a program, but unless you've tried the base template, you won't know what to customize.

Don't add another 12 sets for the arms or 2 supersets for the legs just because you read something about it in another article. Keep your training ADHD under control for 8 to 10 weeks. Show up at the gym, think less and work harder.

Source:https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/natty-lifters-guide-to-training

Aug 12, 2019

Paralysis by analysis: 10 reasons why you're not making progress

Think less and train more. These are words to live by if you are the type of exerciser who thrives on details but never makes progress. I can't tell you how many pointless Facebook discussions I've witnessed between coaches and exercisers discussing minimal details that will make maybe a 1 to 2% difference when it comes to body composition and strength.

Sure, 1 to 2% can make a noticeable difference when you're competing against the best in the world. However, chances are you're not competing in Mr. Olympia, you're just a recreational athlete who wants to look good naked and impress a few people with your strength performances.

At the end of the day, remember one thing - it's not about doing fancy and fashionable things, it's about relentlessly applying the basics until you become a master of the mundane.

If you struggle with chronic over-analysis, then you should read on. It's time to change things up and stop treading water once and for all.

1. program design

Have you ever met one of those guys who are literally married to their program? These guys can literally tell you exactly what percentage they will be moving on squats three weeks from today.

Now don't misunderstand what I'm saying - program design and periodization are both very important to ensure long-term progression. But what are you going to do if you feel absolutely knackered or bad and your program includes a session of deadlifts at max effort?

Let me guess - 3 scoops of pre-workout booster and Metallica on max volume? That might work once or twice, but you'll quickly find out that this kind of strategy is anything but sustainable in the long run.

If you want to make gains for the rest of your training career, you need to learn to interpret your body's signals correctly and respond to them appropriately. Despite what most motivational images will tell you, your body isn't lying to you and it's not always about punishing it even harder. On the contrary, I think you should be more concerned about your recovery than your training if you want to ensure the best possible growth.

2. technique

I am a technician by nature, which means that this trait is ingrained in my personality in some way, but I also try to combine the right technique with an adequate level of intensity to ensure that my priorities remain balanced.

Technique will always have its place and justification, but it should be reserved primarily for sub-maximal training. Once you get into the 90%+ range, then you need to remember one thing (in the case of deadlifts): "Pull more and think less."

Of course, you should work to continuously improve your biomechanics through a variety of internal and external cues, but you need to choose your words carefully as these cues are very individual in nature. Many cues can be misinterpreted and overused, as I will explain in more detail below.

3. personal inclinations and preferences

No, your muscle group split is not superior to any other training style, regardless of how many PubMed links you provide. Science is great, but you shouldn't try to force a square peg into a round hole just because a study says one method is better than another.

One of the most important aspects of program design is how much fun you have exercising and how well a program can be maintained over time. However, most people don't realize that these components are inextricably linked. In other words, you will be able to stick with a program longer if you enjoy what you are doing.

There will always be scientific research to support one side or the other, but when push comes to shove, if you don't enjoy what you're doing, you won't be motivated enough to make exercise a habitual part of your life.

4. supplements

Here's an earth-shattering thought: what if you actually listened to your body and got more sleep instead of abusing tons of pre-workout boosters to get you through another mediocre training session?

Not to mention, if you need a pre-workout booster to get you motivated to train, it might be time to rethink your goals or maybe even your attitude towards the gym.

I hate to break this news to you, but supplements are only responsible for roughly 5% of your body composition changes. You can't compensate for a poor lifestyle, inadequate recovery or miserable biomechanics with supplements.

5. intensity

You're probably lazier than you think. Let me clarify something - laziness is largely a societal result of mechanization combined with our ingrained tendencies to produce as little effort as possible.

Your body is a master of homeostasis, which is why it won't expend excess energy when survival is the primary goal. But not only that - we also tend to overestimate our efforts during exercise and underestimate our calorie intake (1, 2, 3).

In other words, there's a good chance you're eating more than you think and that you don't know your physical limits because you've never tested them.

As I mentioned above, program design needs to be based on having fun while training, but at the end of the day, it's not just about what a person wants, it's also about what they need to do to get there.

6. basics before supplements

So you've learned how to count macronutrients, read a few studies in the Journal of International Society of Sport Nutrition (JISSN) and competed in your first bodybuilding competition. That's great. But it certainly doesn't mean you know the full scope of nutrition, nor does it make you an experienced trainer.

The basics are pretty simple - calorie balance, food quality, satiety and portion control are all pretty easy to understand and teach. Yet most want to jump right into supplements, meal timing or nutritional biochemistry.

I've got news for you - if your life revolves around counting macronutrients, swolfies on Twitter and logging your workouts, then you're not even close to mastering the fitness lifestyle. Fitness should enrich your life outside of the gym, not distract you from it.

7th Frequency

I know you're a member of the #keinetrainingfreedays team and you remind everyone of this with your daily Instagram posts. However, you should know that giving yourself a workout-free day won't kill you. Not to mention, you might even start to get stronger if you make rest and recovery a priority.

However, I'm not talking about just sitting around watching Netflix either. Do some low-intensity exercise (e.g. a solid dynamic warm-up), get your diet in shape and make sure you get enough sleep.

8. training environment

No one makes progress at Planet Fitness...no one. Okay, I lied, I know a few people who train hard there despite the lack of squat racks and the terrible playlist.

What I'm really getting at is that you need to find a training environment that is conducive to your physical and mental growth. However, keep in mind that growth comes from discomfort and that your body is a master of homeostasis.

For example, I routinely drive an easy 45 minutes to train at a performance center across town. The equipment there, combined with the general atmosphere and coaches there, makes me want to come back despite the long drive.

Most won't find this type of environment at a commercial gym, which is why it's important to find like-minded people who are willing to push you.

9. training duration

As it turns out, the cortisol bogeyman is complete nonsense. You've probably seen a million articles describing the devastating effects of workouts that last longer than an hour, and to stick with the truth, this could actually be a problem in certain populations.

However, the vast majority of gym-goers posting on Facebook while working out probably need to train harder and worry less about a supposed "hormonal cascade" from excessive workout duration.

10. science

You too, science? It seems like everyone is an evidence-based professional these days. Cool, more power to you. However, we need to be careful that we don't get to the point where we can't see the forest for the trees when it comes to interpreting data and prioritizing specific variables.

For example, when discussing digestion and mixed macronutrient meals and their impact on nitrogen balance, it is often recommended that meals be consumed 3 to 4 hours apart due to the recalcitrant nature of protein synthesis (4, 5).

Let's consider this scenario for a moment - if someone is awake for around 16 hours, this would amount to a maximum of 5 meals if that person follows the lower end of the suggested meal frequency guidelines.

But what is this person to do if they need to eat 5,000 kcal on a daily basis and can't manage 5 meals of 1000 kcal each? Obviously, more frequent meals are needed to spread the calories throughout the day and ensure that this person achieves their performance goals.

Strength coach Dan John once said "The goal is to maintain the goal as the goal." Don't get caught up in the details of the science and overlook the larger principles of basic physiology and thermodynamics.

The anonymous on the spot kicker

The internet is both a curse and a blessing. You have access to extraordinary information, but often it can be quite confusing due to the conflicting studies and opinions of experts.

Again, I would like to quote weight training coach Dan John who once said "Repetition is the mother of putting it into practice." With all this information overload, it's time to take a step back and master the basics. Learn to love simplicity, as complexity risks a lack of long-term adherence to a program.

The vast majority of all exercisers will make the best improvements to their body development and strength by focusing on the basics - adequate caloric intake, multi-joint exercises, quality nutrition, sufficient sleep and improved lifestyle factors.

It's not about where you start, it's about where you end up and the path that gets you there. Don't make it any harder than it has to be.

References:

Difference Between Self-Reported and Accelerometer Measured Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity in Youth
Discrepancy Between Self-Reported and Actual Caloric Intake and Exercise in Obese Subjects
Individuals Underestimate Moderate and Vigorous Intensity Physical Activity
Protein timing and its effects on muscular hypertrophy and strength in individuals engaged in weight-training
Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window?

Source: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/reasons-youre-not-making-gains

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Do you know these 8 signs of overtraining? Part 2

4 ways to prevent overtraining

1. make sure you get adequate amounts of sleep

2 Eat enough food

3. control your stress levels

4. rest or unload

1. stay away from the gym for a week

2. plan a de-loading week

What about supplements?

Creatine

Whey protein

Multivitamin products

Greens supplements

Sleep supplements

The bottom line on overtraining

References:

Forced growth: A new way to build muscle Advanced rest break training for bodybuilders

Rule 1: Train to contractile muscle failure

Rule 2: Keep the muscles under maximum tension

5 proven rest-pause variations

1 - Tempo contrast rest-pause

What such a set looks like:

2 - Death by rest-pause

What such a set looks like:

3 - Omni-contractions rest-pause

What a set looks like:

4 - Stage rest-pause

What such a set looks like:

5 - Descending rest-pause sets

What a set looks like:

How you can incorporate rest-pause into your training program

Are free weights or machines better for building muscle?

If you want to know more about the pros and cons of free weights and machines and which is better for building muscle, then this is the article for you.

Here's a quick summary:

What is the difference between machines and free weights?

A machine exercise gives you a fixed range of motion where you only have to focus on pressing the weight.

An exercise performed with free weights is an exercise that forces you to control the direction of a weight as you move it, using many other muscles to move the weight in the right direction.

Why are machines usually not as good as free weights?

Good reasons to use machines

The best machine exercises for building muscle

References:

The guide for natural trainers

The virtual wild west

The basics of training for natural athletes

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

FAQs

Q: "What if I want to do more?"

Q: "How long can I use this program?"

Adherence and following the program is what counts.

Paralysis by analysis: 10 reasons why you're not making progress

1. program design

2. technique

3. personal inclinations and preferences

4. supplements

5. intensity

6. basics before supplements

7th Frequency

8. training environment

9. training duration

10. science

References:

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