Friday, February 28, 2014

Progressive Overload: Your Key to Consistent Muscle Gains

At a plateau? Want to start adding muscle? Don't know where to start? Want consistent changes to body composition? I introduce the one, the only, progressive overload.



What is progressive overload?

Progressive overload is the gradual increase of stress placed upon the body during exercise training. It was a principle founded during World War II by Thomas Delorme, and today it's a method used worldwide in physical therapy, strength training, and power lifting.

Basically, by adding more stress through each workout, your body will continuously adapt. Whether you're increasing one more rep from your squats last week, or adding 2.5 pounds to your bench press, progressive overload can consistently make sure you're improving.

Why is progressive overload important?

Well if you want to continue to see strength increases, body composition changes, or just improve your overall fitness status, you should incorporate some form of progressive overload.

How do I incorporate progressive overload?

Now here's the fun part. There's a myriad of different ways to incorporate progressive overload into your training routine to continue to see gains.

Before I get into these different methods, I would like to suggest that if you aren't already tracking your performance in the gym, you should probably start. Whether you write it down when you're done lifting, or bring a training journal with you to the gym, knowing exact numbers can be extremely beneficial in the long run.

I personally use bodybuilding.com's BodySpace app to track my workouts, my measurements (weight, body fat, leg size, etc) and to consistently check my performance to make sure I'm improving.
So now on to the good stuff, the different ways to go about progressive overload.

Increase Weight

The first and most obvious way of performing progressive overload is to increase the amount of tension your muscles are placed under. In simple terms, lifting more weight. Now if you're thinking, "I need to slap another 30 pounds on my bench press to see gains," that's not true at all.

Small incremental increases is all you should strive for. By literally adding those small, dinky, who-actually-uses-these, 2.5 pound circle weights to the bar, you can continue to add tension and encourage the muscle to grow. You might think "what's 5 pounds" in the grand scheme of things, but overtime this approach really pays off.

I don't recommend attempting progressive overload in this situation...

When you're doing 6-10 reps of that weight, add another 5 pounds. Initially you might think 5 pounds isn't doing you any good, but in the long run, you'll continue to make progress and get stronger.

Remember, weight training, bodybuilding, dieting or any fitness goal is not a sprint. Its a marathon and you should be in this for the long haul, not for a quick fix.

Increase Reps at a Given Weight

Another method of progressive overload is to add additional reps. By beating your previous attempt at a weight or an exercise by just one rep (one!), you just added more stress to the body to encourage muscle growth without going crazy.

For example, if I'm trying to develop my chest and I'm doing incline dumbbell chest press, all this method prescribes is beating my previous attempt. So if I did 80 pounds for 5 reps, this time through I'll go for 6 or 7. The time after that? I'll shoot for 8 reps.

I don't necessarily have to jump to a heavier weight that I might not be ready for, which, with dumbbells, can be dangerous to your joints.

Increase Set Workload

Increasing your workload is another form of progressive overload. Say you usually do 5 sets of 8-10 reps of squats. You've reached a plateau and past knee issues don't allow you to go heavier.
One method is to increase the actual workload and add another set to the exercise. So doing 6 sets of 8-10 reps.

I don't always recommend this route at first because someone will take it to the extreme and do 12 sets of squats, but its good to do in order to breakthrough a plateau, then return to your normal set/rep scheme.

Decrease Rest

My personal favorite of the progressive overload methods is to decrease rest time between sets and exercises. It is truly an excellent way to continue to grow.

My personal way of decreasing my rest is to plan a workout ahead of time and perform it as I normally would and keep note of how long it takes me. If it takes me 70 minutes to perform my routine, the next time out I'll try to do it in 50 minutes.

The exact same weights, reps, sets, and exercises. Just less time. This increases the stress your body is placed on by providing less rest for your body to fully recover. Again, it's another stressor in place, and in the realm of progressive overload, that's what we're looking for.

Increase Intensity

Increasing intensity might sound vague, "just work harder!" you might say. But I'll show you some simple ways to increase intensity.

Drop Sets

A drop set is one of my favorites. Perform a set as you normally would, and when you finish, immediately lower the weight and continue to press on. Say you do 8 reps of 60 pounds of triceps pushdown, then drop down to 40 pounds and go for 12-15 reps!



Super-Sets and Tri-Sets

Super-sets are when you perform two different exercises back to back with no rest in between. They can work the same muscle group, or work opposite ones. So two different styles could be biceps curl with the EZ Bar and then immediately performing biceps curls with dumbbells.

Another style is to do biceps curl with the EZ bar and then work the opposite muscle group, in this case the triceps, with a different exercise (say triceps kick backs). It allows one muscle group to rest, while you're simultaneously working another.

Tri-sets are simply super-sets but with three different exercises in a row. So for a cheat tri-set, I like to end with low weight/high rep bench press, to incline cable fly's, and then finish off with push ups! 3 sets and I'm good to go.

Increase Frequency

By increasing the frequency you train for a lagging body part, you force the muscle to adapt yet again. 

So if you're used to training each body part once a week, try training each body part twice a week in a different split to change it up, and do this for 4 weeks. 

I like to do a 5 day split hitting every body part twice: Shoulders & Back & Dead lifts/hamstrings (Full Body), Chest & Arms, Rest, Legs & HIIT, Shoulders & Back, Chest & Arms, and then either low intensity cardio or a short core workout. Then, I'll repeat.

I'm personally a fan of higher training frequencies, and one in particular I recommend is Layne Norton's PHAT program. I've done it before, and I like to cycle between what I'm doing now and his.

Increase Time Under Tension

One of the most overlooked ways of incorporating progressive overload is increasing time under tension. Time under tension refers to the actually time your muscle is contracted, extended, or even squeezed.

I love using this method for back exercises, such as lat pulldowns. When I want to continue to see results, I'll incorporate increased time under tension.

I'll pull the weight down using my latissimus dorsi, and then contract the isometric squeeze after the concentric movement. Then I'll slowly return the weight back but consistently make sure my lats are engaged in the exercise. Then repeat.

This style of training is also known as eccentric training. Eccentric training is the idea of making the eccentric phase of an exercise longer to train the muscle in a different way. The eccentric phase is the portion of the movement that lengthens the muscle and/or returns it to its starting point.

For example, the eccentric phase of the lat pulldown is the part where you are returning the equipment above your head. Now instead of letting the weight pull you up quickly, hold the contraction point with your lats, and slowly let the weight return. You'll feel a great burn and its a completely different style of working out!

So as a quick recap, say your bench press is stuck at 185 pounds. You can go about increasing this in any of the ways given above. Maybe you need to try 190 pounds instead of going for 200 pounds.  You can drop down to 170 pounds and try to do 8 reps instead of 6. You can perform some drop-sets from 155 pounds down to 95 pounds. You can do a set, and then bang some push ups out. The possibilities are truly endless!


So next time you're stuck at a certain weight, or you're struggling to see results, incorporate one of these methods to keep pressing on!

Monday, February 24, 2014

Why CrossFit Isn't the Safest Route to Your Fitness Goals

Man, has CrossFit stood the test of time. I mean it has undoubtedly become more and more popular by the day, for reasons I cannot understand. But I digress. CrossFit’s National Games are on ESPN, the athletes are becoming more and more well known, and the affiliations with major corporations and companies in America prove that the people love CrossFit. I have the utmost respect for those who practice CrossFit professionally, and if doing CrossFit is your way of getting in shape and it’s something you genuinely like, then so be it, all the power to you.

But there’s one thing people need to realize before they start doing CrossFit, whether it’s on their own, at a CrossFit certified gym, or with a CrossFit certified trainer. In my opinion, there is no doubt that CrossFit comes with a higher risk of injury in comparison with normal strength training and cardio workouts.

Why CrossFit Isn't the Safest


People fail to realize that the CrossFit pros are ridiculous athletes. And a quick thirty-second YouTube search for “CrossFit fails” can show you some of the scariest moments in exercise history. It’s just a riskier form of exercise, a greater hazard to burn calories, and a more dangerous method to build strength.

Do people really love doing ridiculously inefficient movements with extremely high risk of injury? Before I get to why you should think twice before you do CrossFit, let me reiterate: do whatever type of fitness it is that makes you enjoy the process and get results. But just realize there are safer ways to go about this.

Too Much Emphasis on More Weight and More Reps

The first problem I have with CrossFit is the constant obsession to put up higher weight and perform more reps in a smaller time frame. Is it great to better yourself and strive for improvement? Of course. But when you’re sacrificing proper form and safe movements to just squeeze out a few more reps of “snatches,” you’re putting yourself at a greater risk for injury.

Your average CrossFit athlete will just completely disregard his form in an effort to put in more work. They’re addicted to beating their previous times, almost to a fault. Whether this work is more weight, more reps, or a shorter duration, often time form is thrown out the window. When someone is performing reps of Squat Jumps and trying to get more reps in a 60-second window than last time, they become obsessed with the results and not the form or process. They begin to let their knees cave in, knees extend over their toes, or fail to keep their chest up and back erect. Or they barely go down low enough to really engage the hamstring and gluteus muscle. Now not only are you at a greater risk of injury, you’re performing an inefficient exercise and not working the intended muscles to their full range of motion.



Instead of focusing on more, I always implore clients to focus on doing it right.  It’s great that you can do 50 pull-ups in a row. But if the form is a swinging motion that is more for your forearms and shoulders and not your latissimus dorsi and other back musculature, then it defeats the purpose of performing a pull up.

Lack of Attention In CrossFit Classes

Most, not all, but most CrossFit classes are really just 10-15 people following a dry erase whiteboard of exercises and trying to complete it as fast as they can with one trainer trying to watch the form of everyone. It’s impossible. A good trainer can watch and ensure proper form of maybe 5 people in one sitting, maybe one or two more. Any more than that and you simply need more eyes to watch those being instructed.

So when you have 15 people doing barbell clean and presses in a ratio to one instructor, you have an environment that is more predisposed to someone getting hurt. Professional CrossFit athletes know what they are looking for in proper form, and know what they did wrong when they perform a rep incorrectly. A beginner cannot make that necessary adjustment, and shouldn’t be expected to make that adjustment. Because of this, more attention must be paid to the beginners in order to ensure proper form during the exercise, and safety. Having one trainer watching and instructing 15 or sometimes more people is not a great way to ensure the safety of others.

CrossFit Isn’t Training, It’s Exercise

You want to get bigger, faster, and/or stronger? Well then CrossFit is not for you, in my opinion. While you can train your lower body to have stronger legs when your doing prowler sprints, CrossFit is just a form of exercise. Lifting weights and using progressive overload is the most efficient way to make your legs stronger. Doing CrossFit type movements such as these prowler sprints or squat thrusters are far less efficient to building leg strength.

CrossFit athletes don’t perform all CrossFit style workouts day in and day out to improve. To improve their overhead squat, they do normal barbell back squats and other leg exercises to strengthen their legs. They do core work to stabilize the spine while holding a massive load over their head. They don’t do countless reps of the exercise to improve; they train their body and other muscles to be better at the exercise. There’s a difference.

And unfortunately many won’t realize this difference. They’ll attempt to keep adding weight to their overhead-squats, and since this is a much more dangerous and advanced exercise than say, a back squat, they are again at risk of injury. The athlete should focus on improving overall leg strength and core stability before adding more weight to their overhead squat. Not add weight to the overhead squat to improve that exercise.

Injury

Unfortunately, of the insane amount of people who sign up for these CrossFit classes, many of them get injured. Some aren’t as serious as others, maybe some calluses or rolled ankles, but others are much more serious.

Case in point: Rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis is a potentially fatal condition, which is caused by the breakdown of muscle cells. Under extreme conditions, your muscle cells explode and they expire. They then leak out excess amino acids and protein into the blood stream. Among these proteins that are broken down is myoglobin. Normally the body would just get rid of the waste, but myoglobin in the blood is extremely taxing to the kidney and can potentially do great harm to your kidney in a short amount of time.

Now am I saying this is going to happen? No. But it’s something to think about when your CrossFit trainer and all of CrossFit society are pushing you beyond your limit, exercise after exercise. What’s crazy is Rhabdomyolysis, or more commonly known as Rhabdo, is something some CrossFit instructors actually know about; yet continue to push people beyond their limits regularly.

Why CrossFit Isn't the Safest


Another problem with pushing yourself constantly is elevated fatigue levels. By exhausting yourself constantly, you’re tiring out the rest of your muscles and your central nervous system. After being exhausted and barely being able to move, try to go do some jump-ups on a 2-foot platform, and see how hard it is. Unfortunately the culture of CrossFit says push, push, push, and for those who aren’t ready to handle it put themselves at a greater probability of injury.

Regrettably, those new to CrossFit view this culture as a push-it-to-the-limit constant type of exercise, and that’s when injury, both minor and serious, can really wreak havoc in someone’s life. And as CrossFit’s founder, Greg Glassman once said about the “sport”, “It can kill you, I’ve always been completely honest about that.”

Talk about reassuring.

Those Sissy Pull-Ups

Sorry, this truly gets to me. I hate when I see people claiming they can do 30 pull-ups in a row. Normally it’s an incredible fitness feat, but when you’re swinging and using momentum to do 50% of the work, you’ll unfortunately see 50% of the results.

Do a real pull-up – go all the way down, and use your back, not your arms, to perform the exercise.





So should you completely avoid CrossFit? No, not completely, but before you engage in CrossFit type training you need to understand the risks involved. You should do this for any type of exercise, but with the amount of injuries seen in CrossFit it’s apparent there’s a greater risk of injury there. It comes down to the age-old question, “is it really worth the risk?”

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Training Vs. Lifting

When you go to the gym, what’s your primary goal? I ask this because I bet more than half of the responses would be the same: “To get strong and look good.” Great, that’s an awesome goal. But how are you going to go about it? Are you going to eat better? Lift Heavier? Lift more? More cardio? There are hundreds of different protocols you can follow to hit such a generic goal, but how many go about the weight training aspect of the gym is very inefficient. I say inefficient because 90% of people I see in the gym are lifting weight, heavy or light, and not training the muscle they intend to develop.

Woah. But if you’re lifting, aren’t you training your muscles. To an extent, yes, but are you optimally training that muscle? No, probably not.

A scenario: You see someone bench pressing, and they’re lifting say 225 pounds for 5 reps. His form is awful: his elbow’s are going past the 90 degrees mark, his lower back is arching up, his neck is lifting off of the bench for that extra oomph, and he’s not controlling the weight in the eccentric phase (Dropping the barbell towards you), rather just letting drop down fast and bouncing it off of his chest. He feels big, he feels macho. What he doesn’t realize is of that entire balls-to-the-wall-max-out effort; he blatantly missed the point of the exercise.



To train his chest effectively and efficiently.

How’d he not train his chest effectively? First, by not controlling the weight downwards in the eccentric phase, he’s losing out on recruiting valuable muscle fibers to decelerate the weight. Second, dropping the bar all the way to his chest, and bringing your elbows below your shoulders and past 90 degrees, he’s using his anterior deltoids to initially push the weight back up. Not only is that not your chest, but also that’s an excellent way to develop a biceps impingement and not be able to wash your hair later when you are 40 years old, let alone bench press in the future.

How was it not efficient? Well for starters, his chest sure as hell didn’t lift that 225 pounds. A lot of different muscles did, and a lot of different muscles are not meant to perform that movement. By design, the bench press is meant to train your chest, not your anterior deltoids, lower back, quads, or whatever else you want to throw in there. While some will challenge this view, your goal should be to train specific muscles and their functions, not lifting heavy ass weight to look huge and possibly get yourself hurt.

The same could be said for most abdominal exercises unfortunately. Too many times I see many people banging out 100’s of crunches, and because they’re not focusing on engaging their core, and instead a certain amount of reps, they end up training their hip flexors or lower back.

This is where training the muscle is an extremely important topic in my opinion. Instead of lifting heavy weight and just throwing it up in the air as fast you can, your goal should be to train the muscle your targeting by the specific exercise of your choice. Making the mind-to-muscle connection is vital here. Actually feeling the muscle lengthen, contract, and squeeze during particular movements is crucial to proper muscle recruitment and development.

Not only is making the mind-to-muscle connection important, but controlling the weight you are lifting is extremely important to get maximum muscle fiber recruitment and decrease the risk of injury. Newsflash to some guys at the gym, but dumbbell curling 50 pounds in each hand by using your legs and back to swing the weight up, and then letting it completely drop isn’t training your biceps effectively. A proper biceps curl involves a slow eccentric phase (Lowering the weight), and a concentric phase (Bringing the weight towards you), and isometrically squeezing the biceps at the curl point. Then slowly lowering it again.  You’re also at a large risk of injury, as the biceps is very small muscle and not meant to catch a 50-pound dumbbell from dropping mid-air with gravity forcing it downwards. He might think he’s strong, but show me a guy who’s got strict form with his biceps curls and controlling the entire movement with 40-pounds, and I’d be more impressed.



Think about it next time you go to workout. Am I here to lift heavy weight (power-lifters, you’re different, lift some heavy ass weight by all means! Safely), or am I here to specifically train my chest and my triceps today? Focus on what you do and the muscles you’re intending to workout, and I guarantee you’ll see better results.

Not everyone is an anatomy major and understands muscles and their functions, and I completely understand that. But before you get into weight training, I strongly recommend consulting a trainer who can show you how to go about performing each exercise effectively, efficiently, and safely. At the very least, go to YouTube and search proper form videos. Figuring it out is an excellent way to keep yourself from getting a herniated disc when you do barbell dead lifts because you insist on rounding out your back like a cat.



Wednesday, February 5, 2014

My Top-Five Supplements To Help Improve Performance

Everyone loves certain supplements for certain reasons. I for one have experienced a numerous amount of different supplements from experimentation. From the staples such as fish oil, to the ergogenic aids like beta-alanine, I have tried a bunch of different supplements to see what works best for my body and what can actually give the best results. I also read about what really works, and dosages from examine.com, something that I really stress to everyone before they begin to take something. With that being said, I figured I’d share with you my personal top five list for what supplements are my favorites. 

*One More Point* I only recommend supplements to those who have their training regimen and diet down pat. Supplements only SUPPLEMENT what you currently have going. You can take any supplement and it will have no effect if you don't train well and eat right. Training and diet first, then LEGAL supplementation after!

Number 1: Fish Oil

The all-star supplement in my opinion, and a supplement I feel as though everyone should be adding to their stack. Fish oil is staple for many people, whether they are in fitness or not. Fish oil has an insane amount of benefits. Some off the top of my head: Lowers blood pressure, reduces inflammation, reduces total triglycerides, increase HDL cholesterol (the good kind), reduces cognitive decline as we age, helps our brains function properly, and can help increase fat tissue oxidation. Whew. Obviously that’s a lot of benefits from one pill, and many also report a decrease in joint pain when supplementing with fish oil. 



Dosage: Minimum of 250mg daily, but the inflammation reducing effects is seen at 6g daily. I take 6g daily, sometimes doing up to 9g daily.  Remember though, 1g of fish oil is the same as 9 calories, and 1g of fat, so be sure to factor that into your diet.

Number 2: Beta-Alanine

The new creatine? Maybe. Beta-alanine has really come on as the new potent ergogenic aid. Beta-alanine has been proven to help performance in the 60-240 second range, which shows it has a direct positive effect on endurance. Obviously, greater endurance means a greater work potential, and greater work potential can eventually lead to be better results. According to several studies beta-alanine has been proven to increase muscular endurance, decrease fatigue, decrease fat mass (Most likely because of the lack of fatigue/increased endurance when working out), and can increase lean body mass. Again the increase in lean body mass is nothing to do back flips for, but every little bit can help.

Dosage: 2,000-5,000 mg (2-5g) daily. It can be broken into two doses, or taken at once. Most will take it pre workout to really capitalize on the extra endurance. It’s also been noted a tingly sensation to occur after supplementing with beta-alanine, which eventually will dissipate off with continued use.

Number 3: Leucine

Here’s where I differ from some. I prefer to supplement straight doses of Leucine instead of the more common placed BCAA’s. BCAA’s include Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine, usually at a 2.5/1.25/1.25 dosage split per 5g. For those who have a high protein diet and consume enough daily protein, supplementing with BCAA’s is somewhat pointless, as all food contains BCAA’s. But, my boy Dr. Layne Norton has proved Leucine play’s a direct role in stimulating protein synthesis. Leucine has also shown to help prevent muscle from catabolism when in a calorie deficit, so when cutting this can be extremely beneficial. Leucine truly is the all-star of the BCAA’s trio, and is the most extensively studied and research of the three.

I love memes.


Dosage: According to Norton’s study, adding Leucine to a protein rich meal can help elevate muscle protein synthesis. He recommends eating 4-5 hours between meals in order to let protein synthesis come to baseline and then “spike” synthesis again with another 2-3g of Leucine with your meal.

I personally like to consume 5g-pre workout (I train fasted, so to prevent muscle catabolism) and 3g-post workout for the effects mentioned above. Then I’ll have another 3g later in the day.

Number 4: Creatine

Creatine, the original superstar ergogenic aid. While beta-alanine aids with performance in the 6-240 second range, creatine helps improve endurance in a wider range and supply muscles with ATP when placed in moments of stress. Creatine is a supplement that really can benefit anyone no matter the goal. Effects from creatine include: increased power output, increased lean body mass, an increase in hydration (Pulling water into muscle cells), increase in muscular endurance, and a decrease in fatigue. Some good things right there. Creatine is really the true champion in fitness and the most researched and clinically proven supplement to work.

Dosage: 5g daily. No need to “load,” as you’ll eventually reach saturation levels. Can be taken at anytime of the day, but I prefer to take it post workout with my 3g of Leucine.


A recent addition to my stack, and now one of my favorite supplements, Acetyl L-Carnitine, or ALCAR, is a supplement involved in energy metabolism. It helps support brain neurons through mitochondrial capacity and can give you mental alertness. It also has been shown to help prevent the effects of aging. In addition, it could help with fat burning, but the evidence in this regard isn’t 100% solid yet. But the main reason I take it: The mental focus and brain boosting ability it has. ALCAR dosed pre workout helps me focus, and it helps decrease fatigue. Other benefits to supplementing with ALCAR: decrease in muscle damage, an increase in insulin sensitivity, improved brain cognition, and again a reduction in fat mass – most likely due to the increase of movement and motivation one usually experiences after taking ALCAR. ALCAR is a supplement I really like, and will continue to suggest it to others to see if it fits their goals.

Dosage: 500-2,000mg. I take 1g pre-workout, and 1g later in the afternoon.




So those are my top five favorite supplements, and staples for me. Other supplements are important to me, but if I had to sell everything, and only got to pick five, these five would be my picks!