A few weeks ago, on one of those unusually warm February days, my brother in-law and I drove past an obese woman jogging on the side of the road. I commented, “That’s awesome.” Apparently, he thought I was making fun of her, as he replied, “Hey, at least she’s trying.”
“No, I’m serious, it’s awesome. It brings me great joy to see fat people running. She won’t be fat for long if she keeps that up!” was my exact response.
It’s officially spring and this is a time when chubby suburbanites all across the country flood the streets and the gyms to shed off their winter weight in preparation for summer. And you know what? It’s a beautiful thing.
I think seasonal exercise habits are a great idea! If you remember last winter I recommended a muscle building phase to coincide with your holiday eating schedule. It makes sense; more muscle requires more calories, and increased calories usually means an increased waistline. So you put a little flab on over the winter – so what?! That’s a small price to pay for enjoying a little holiday gluttony with your family.
But now, the weather is warming up and the clothes are coming off. If your butt is bigger than it was the last time you had shorts on, I hope that’s because you’ve been squatting heavy the last couple months and you have well developed glutes. If so, it’ll be that much easier to shed your winter coat and your legs will be that much stronger to do what I’m about to recommend… and that is to get out and run!
No gyms, no machines, no non-sense; just you and a pair of running shoes (I recommend www.vibramfivefingers.com) out in the fresh air. Run your neighborhood, hit the trails or find a good hill to do sprints on. No experience necessary. Just go out and enjoy the weather and be thankful that you can run.
Like anything else, start off gradually. Try to establish a habit of running before you attempt to break any records. As soon as you find yourself in a routine, I’d recommend that you start trying to run faster, at least on occasion. Sprints and high intensity intervals. There are many additional benefits associated with higher intensity (increased metabolism, better muscle building, improved work capacity, etc) and by keeping your heart rate elevated you can reap all of the aerobic benefits of longer duration steady-state exercise as well.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Strength Training and Muscle Building
“Strength is absolute. It’s unequivocal, you either have it or you don’t. You can call upon it and use it or you cannot.”
-Dr. Ken Leistner
Let’s get one thing straight – strength is always a good thing. Getting stronger is like putting money in the bank, and like money, you can never have too much strength. If you have strength, you will find a time to use it, if you don’t have strength, you will find a time you wish you did.
Everybody should be doing some form of strength training. If you are not making an effort to strengthen your body, you will get weaker. Even children learning to walk are on a progressive strength training journey; from crawling, to walking, to running and jumping – kids get stronger. In healthy older adults, the only thing that separates them physically is their muscle and strength; posture, frailty, energy levels and ultimately their ability to live independently are all largely based on strength. Assuming you fall somewhere in between child and senior, you should be training for strength as well, if for no other reason than you’re going to be old one day too! It’s in your best interest to enter into the golden years with some muscle and strength because it’s going to be on a rapid decline after you get into your 50’s.
Muscle building is a little bit different than strength training; bigger muscles doesn’t necessarily mean stronger muscles, and getting stronger doesn’t necessarily mean getting bigger. The actual size of a muscle has a lot more to do with non-contractile properties than it does functional strength, and building bigger muscles has a lot more to do with the individual and the way they eat than it does their training alone.
Generally speaking, muscle building requires a high calorie, high protein diet with a heavy dose of the male hormone testosterone. The more testosterone you have the more potential you have for muscle building. Women, children and older men will find it very difficult to build muscle. Years of hard training and an animal like appetite is what it takes for the average man with good genetics to build significant muscle, so ladies need not be concerned about “bulking up.”
Unfortunately many women are still under the impression that lifting weights will cause them to “bulk up” and they miss the incredible benefits of strength training. Somewhere along the line the idea of “toning” came into vogue which focused on “shaping” a muscle instead of building it and making it stronger. Understand that you cannot shape a muscle other than making it bigger and to “tone” you need more muscle AND less fat. High repetition, light weight, low intensity training is an ineffective way to do either.
Take a look at the picture below. All of these women are professional athletes and with the exception of the bodybuilder and the long distance runner (neither the “toned” look most women are after), they all have similar levels of bodyfat. With that in mind, the only difference in “tone” is the amount of muscle they have. The weightlifter, Tara Nott, though certainly muscled, is not as big as the bodybuilder but she is much stronger. She’s the only American to win a gold medal in Olympic weightlifting in the last 50 years and she can lift 220lbs overhead. You can imagine how many years of hard and heavy training she put in at the US Olympic training center to build the muscle she has. It did not come over night, in a couple months or even a year. Tara has been lifting limit weights for over a decade. The bodybuilder, Kim Chizovsky, has been lifting weights for a similar time period but competes in a sport where anabolic steroids (read: testosterone) are not tested for. It’s safe to say that it’s “unnatural” for a woman to build so much muscle.
The take home message here is that muscle and strength is not built easy. It takes long hard hours in the gym over a period of years to build either, and the training and dietary regimen is totally different. It’s good to be strong – it makes you harder to kill (all cause mortality). Tone is the absence of fat and the presence of muscle in a relaxed state, and bulking up is not something women should worry about.
“Here’s an amazing photomontage that appeared in the unfortunately short-lived Sports Illustrated for Women many years ago. It features a selection of female Olympic athletes from different sports. That’s right — Olympic athletes. You can’t really be in much better shape than this. I think it speaks for itself.” – Mistress Krista of stumptous.com
(Click the picture to be directed to Krista’s article “Why Don’t You Look Like a Fitness Model”)
-Dr. Ken Leistner
Let’s get one thing straight – strength is always a good thing. Getting stronger is like putting money in the bank, and like money, you can never have too much strength. If you have strength, you will find a time to use it, if you don’t have strength, you will find a time you wish you did.
Everybody should be doing some form of strength training. If you are not making an effort to strengthen your body, you will get weaker. Even children learning to walk are on a progressive strength training journey; from crawling, to walking, to running and jumping – kids get stronger. In healthy older adults, the only thing that separates them physically is their muscle and strength; posture, frailty, energy levels and ultimately their ability to live independently are all largely based on strength. Assuming you fall somewhere in between child and senior, you should be training for strength as well, if for no other reason than you’re going to be old one day too! It’s in your best interest to enter into the golden years with some muscle and strength because it’s going to be on a rapid decline after you get into your 50’s.
Muscle building is a little bit different than strength training; bigger muscles doesn’t necessarily mean stronger muscles, and getting stronger doesn’t necessarily mean getting bigger. The actual size of a muscle has a lot more to do with non-contractile properties than it does functional strength, and building bigger muscles has a lot more to do with the individual and the way they eat than it does their training alone.
Generally speaking, muscle building requires a high calorie, high protein diet with a heavy dose of the male hormone testosterone. The more testosterone you have the more potential you have for muscle building. Women, children and older men will find it very difficult to build muscle. Years of hard training and an animal like appetite is what it takes for the average man with good genetics to build significant muscle, so ladies need not be concerned about “bulking up.”
Unfortunately many women are still under the impression that lifting weights will cause them to “bulk up” and they miss the incredible benefits of strength training. Somewhere along the line the idea of “toning” came into vogue which focused on “shaping” a muscle instead of building it and making it stronger. Understand that you cannot shape a muscle other than making it bigger and to “tone” you need more muscle AND less fat. High repetition, light weight, low intensity training is an ineffective way to do either.
Take a look at the picture below. All of these women are professional athletes and with the exception of the bodybuilder and the long distance runner (neither the “toned” look most women are after), they all have similar levels of bodyfat. With that in mind, the only difference in “tone” is the amount of muscle they have. The weightlifter, Tara Nott, though certainly muscled, is not as big as the bodybuilder but she is much stronger. She’s the only American to win a gold medal in Olympic weightlifting in the last 50 years and she can lift 220lbs overhead. You can imagine how many years of hard and heavy training she put in at the US Olympic training center to build the muscle she has. It did not come over night, in a couple months or even a year. Tara has been lifting limit weights for over a decade. The bodybuilder, Kim Chizovsky, has been lifting weights for a similar time period but competes in a sport where anabolic steroids (read: testosterone) are not tested for. It’s safe to say that it’s “unnatural” for a woman to build so much muscle.
The take home message here is that muscle and strength is not built easy. It takes long hard hours in the gym over a period of years to build either, and the training and dietary regimen is totally different. It’s good to be strong – it makes you harder to kill (all cause mortality). Tone is the absence of fat and the presence of muscle in a relaxed state, and bulking up is not something women should worry about.
“Here’s an amazing photomontage that appeared in the unfortunately short-lived Sports Illustrated for Women many years ago. It features a selection of female Olympic athletes from different sports. That’s right — Olympic athletes. You can’t really be in much better shape than this. I think it speaks for itself.” – Mistress Krista of stumptous.com
(Click the picture to be directed to Krista’s article “Why Don’t You Look Like a Fitness Model”)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Resolution Dissolution
It’s February and by now something like 80% of New Years Resolutions have already been broken. I’ve never seen any specific survey results but I’m sure many of these were diet and exercise resolutions that fell short. It’s too bad, and I feel for the people who are really trying to make a difference (although I’d argue that if you didn’t even make it a month you’re not trying hard enough). Habits can be hard to break and lifestyle changes are difficult for many people to make on their own. Of course, a lot of it comes down to how bad you want it. I have little sympathy for the people whose only effort at making change is lip service. Exercise is a participatory activity - you have to get out there and “do” it. Same thing with your diet – don’t cry the blues on your way home from McDonalds – I don’t want to hear it! Either you are ready to take control over your health or you aren’t.
Yet still there are others who are ready to take control but just aren’t sure what to do. With all of the information out there, all of the gadgets, all of the programs and all of the people out there trying to make a buck, it’s not hard to see how folks are being led in the wrong direction. I bet a lot of those broken resolutions are because of a lack of results. Let’s get real though, 4 weeks is hardly enough time to see changes in body composition, and I know that’s what most people are looking for. You’d really need to work hard to see results in 4 weeks and the reality is that most people don’t LIKE to train hard, don’t know HOW to train hard or don’t know they HAVE to train hard.
Look at any new fitness gadget that hits the shelves at Wal-Mart or makes a debut on late-night infomercials. Almost without exception, they are designed to make exercise easier or more comfortable. This is aiming at people’s natural desire to take the path of least resistance, but this is also aiming in the wrong direction! Training is about making progress! This is why people lift heavier weights and run longer distances. It’s about stepping outside of your comfort zone and making things harder, not easier!
Getting fit is a very simple process but it is anything but easy. You should be skeptical of anyone claiming otherwise (although eating right actually IS pretty easy). Much of training is really just common sense and the need for progressive resistance is not that hard to figure out. The hard part is committing yourself to progression and make a habit out of pushing your limits.
“The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense."
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Progressive Pulls Workout
This was a good workout. Not the heaviest lifting I've done but I feel pretty good about my form. I originally edited this video to look at my pulling technique and how it changed with different exercises and as the weight got heavier. Once I put it all together I just had to put a title and some music to it.
I haven't lifted like this in over a year. Just didn't have any desire. I had other things I was focusing on. Now, I've got a goal to deadlift 600 on December 31, 2010 and I am totally fired up about doing heavy barbell work again.
Whether or not you are into posting your workouts on the internet, I highly encourage you to video yourself so you can analyze your form, especially on the more technical exercises. You can also ask others who know more than you do to have a look as well. Master RKC Geoff Neupert was kind enough to point out that I was leaking power in my snatches. Notice how my back rounds as the bar leaves the floor. That's something I missed; I was just happy that I was getting full extension and not bending my arms early (something I've had problems with in the past).
As always, I've got some things to work on. I've been practicing the quick lifts on and off for nearly 10 years now and I still have haven't mastered them. Maybe I never will? That's OK, I enjoy working on it and I get stronger in the process.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The 100 Rep Test
"100 REP Challenge is the Simple Strength practice of performing 100 Reps everyday. It's up to you what exercises you use and how you divide the reps. The only thing that matters is you get your 100 reps, no matter how, no matter what, everyday!"Taken from Rannoch Donald's "The 100 Rep Challenge" Facebook page
I don't know about everyday, but I do know about the 100 rep challenge, or the "100 rep test" as I like to call them.
What's so special about 100 reps? Nothing, other than it's a three-digit number. It's not much different than 10 or 1000. Who cares? Do whatever you want. Just be sure you time it and seek to improve - that's what makes it a 100 rep test.
There are all kinds of 100 rep tests. The Marines do 100 sit ups in 2 minutes, the RKC does 100 snatches in 5 minutes, random guys in their basement are doing 100 push ups as fast as they can.
Sometimes the goal isn't even in reps but in weight. 100lbs can be a milestone lift of any exercise for any person who follows the United States customary system (English units). There were oldtime strongmen who used to make their students do 100lb turkish getups before they were allowed to do any other exercise!
100lbs in the turkish get up is not that big a deal to an intermediate lifter of average build (which I suppose is why the oldtime strongmen required them). I've been doing 100lb TGU's for years now. Also, for years, I've been hearing about people doing 100 REPS in the TGU. Certainly not as popular is the 100 rep TGU. Everytime I heard anything about that kind of volume I rolled my eyes. I had absolutely NO interest in doing that and could only imagine how boring that would be.
I could only imagine. I had no first hand knowledge because I lacked the experience. Yes, I was ignorant.
Nothing wrong with being ignorant so long as you eventually move out of it. Without getting too philosophical, the more you learn and the more you do the better, right?
Well today I learned what it was like to do 100 reps in the turkish get up. I did 100 reps with the 16kg in 44 minutes. Which doesn't matter at all because nobody cares. There's no military agency or fitness organization testing peoples ability to do 100 turkish get ups. Except me. I'm the random guy in the basement and I'm the only one who knows what it was like to do that workout.
I'm willing to bet you don't know what it's like to do 100 reps in the TGU. You're probably like I was, ignorant. You're either thinking, 1) "What's a turkish get up?" 2) "Not worth my time" or 3) "No way, it's too hard!"
Here's a tip: it is worth your time and it is hard!
If you have done it, congratulations! You basically did 100 sit ups, 100 bridges, 100 lunges and 100 presses - a good workout by anyone's standard! Lots of individual exercises make up the TGU and stringing them together into one balanced and fluid movement is what makes them special.
I've honestly never been a much of a fan of TGU's. It's one of those exercises that I know is good for me and even though it offers a lot of benefits, I've never been excited about doing them. I can't say this workout has changed that. If anything, I probably dislike them even more. I do however have a new appreciation for them. I have new insight. I have learned something, if you will. I have learned that this is a VERY difficult workout and once again reinforced that the "100 rep test" can be a great workout, warm up or finisher. It all depends on the difficulty of the exercise that determines if you should do 10, 100 or 1000.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Overhead, off the ground and carried
Hi everybody,
I just wanted to do a quick post about this last training week.
Saturday I did a strongman show at York Barbell for the Kettlebells for Warriors event (a great event put on by Mike Krivka ) and came home with bunch of cool new training tools!
150lb pressing stone, two 50lb chains and two 25lb chains. I got a few more things that I'll save for another time. Lets talk about rocks and chains!
After the show, and before we went out for my birthday dinner at Fogo de Chao, I had to hit a quick workout. NO WAY am I going to miss the opportunity to precede a red meat buffet with a good workout!
It took me three attempts to press the rock but in about 10 minutes I did 3 sets of 3 and went in for a single set of deadlifts at 245 x 20. Cleaned up and had a huge feast with good friends!
On Tuesday I was dying to do something with the chains. Once again, I was a little pressed for time so I simply slung the 50lb chains (100lbs) over my shoulders and went for a walk. I walked to the closest hill I knew of and walked up, down and around a graveyard. I'd estimate about a mile in 15 minutes. I felt pretty good the rest of the day.
Today I had a little more time and did a workout I've done many times before.
Overhead press
Pull up
Farmers Walk finisher
I used a ladder format for the presses & pulls.
2, 3, 5 reps each set and matching every press with a pull up.
Example:
2 reps press, 2 pull ups, 3 reps press, 3 pull ups, 5 reps press, 5 pull ups. Repeat 5 times.
Beast farmers walk (106 per hand) for 1/4 mile in 7:45.
Great workout! Picked some berries out of the garden and made a protein shake.
It just goes to show you that you don't need a lot of time or anything too complicated to get some good training in. I pressed and pulled twice this week, and I did two carries.
I hope your training is going well and that you are enjoying the summer!
-Dan
I just wanted to do a quick post about this last training week.
Saturday I did a strongman show at York Barbell for the Kettlebells for Warriors event (a great event put on by Mike Krivka ) and came home with bunch of cool new training tools!
150lb pressing stone, two 50lb chains and two 25lb chains. I got a few more things that I'll save for another time. Lets talk about rocks and chains!
After the show, and before we went out for my birthday dinner at Fogo de Chao, I had to hit a quick workout. NO WAY am I going to miss the opportunity to precede a red meat buffet with a good workout!
It took me three attempts to press the rock but in about 10 minutes I did 3 sets of 3 and went in for a single set of deadlifts at 245 x 20. Cleaned up and had a huge feast with good friends!
On Tuesday I was dying to do something with the chains. Once again, I was a little pressed for time so I simply slung the 50lb chains (100lbs) over my shoulders and went for a walk. I walked to the closest hill I knew of and walked up, down and around a graveyard. I'd estimate about a mile in 15 minutes. I felt pretty good the rest of the day.
Today I had a little more time and did a workout I've done many times before.
Overhead press
Pull up
Farmers Walk finisher
I used a ladder format for the presses & pulls.
2, 3, 5 reps each set and matching every press with a pull up.
Example:
2 reps press, 2 pull ups, 3 reps press, 3 pull ups, 5 reps press, 5 pull ups. Repeat 5 times.
Beast farmers walk (106 per hand) for 1/4 mile in 7:45.
Great workout! Picked some berries out of the garden and made a protein shake.
It just goes to show you that you don't need a lot of time or anything too complicated to get some good training in. I pressed and pulled twice this week, and I did two carries.
I hope your training is going well and that you are enjoying the summer!
-Dan
Thursday, July 8, 2010
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