Effective Weight Training Techniques
The corner stone of any bodybuilding strategy to build muscle is a good training routine. However, what does this mean? How many people have you seen in the gym for hours on end, almost every day, making no gains whatsoever? In this article, we will discuss why the body is so hard to develop, sensible levels of training, and methods to help you increase intensity and help maximise your bodybuilding gains.
Why Body Building Is Not Easy
In the countless number of bodybuilding magazines and books you are likely to come across, you’ll find no end of ‘cant fail routines’, routines of the pros, miracle training techniques etc.. all of which claim will have you in great shape in a few short months. If it was as easy to build the perfect body as these claim, then everyone would be walking around looking like Arnold. In fact, building a better body is very difficult and there are two main reasons for that;
1. The body does not want to change.
2. The body does not know what you are asking it to do.
Firstly, the human body has evolved in such a way that it will resist change as much as it can. It is conditioned to keep the body regular in every way it can; breathing, temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure, and yes, muscle mass. The number of sympathetic and parasympathetic glands and hormones in the body that react to raise or lower a variable to keep it steady are endless. For every testosterone you have a cortisol. For every reaction in the body that is capable of changing it’s status, there is an equal and opposite reaction to take it back to normal. Therefore, it takes an awful lot to force the body into change.
Secondly, the human body; that is the organs, muscles, cells etc… that it consists of, are not intelligent or self aware. The body does not know that you are trying to make it increase muscle mass or lose fat. It can’t tell the difference between you doing a set of shrugs or carrying a set of shopping bags. The human body is an amazing thing, but it really hasn’t evolved much since our caveman days. Once you realize this, you immediately have an advantage. That is if you take this knowledge and use it. In this article, we will discuss how to force the body into change, how to fool the body into growing more successfully and how to create a training program that incorporates these strategies.
How Weight Training Affects The Body.
In the first few months of training, almost anyone following a good diet and an even semi decent training routine will make gains in strength and mass, and experience some fat loss. These early gains are mostly down to neural adaptions. That is, that the subject learns the exercise, the muscles start to get used to performing it, the mind-muscle connection (we will investigate that later) improves, and the muscles get stronger. Within three to six months of resistance training you can see from 25% to 100% improvements in strength development (Wilmore & Costill, 1999). Once the muscles get used to the exercises, neural adaptions cease, and most of the continued muscle growth comes from hypertrophy. Hypertrophy is the growing of existing muscle fibers. To continue to make gains, therefore, the subject must induce hypertrophy. To do this, progressive muscular overload must be achieved. In layman’s terms, this means that the muscles need to be subjected to increasingly large loads to continue growing. Another method of muscle growth that is the subject of much debate is muscular hyperplasia. This is the actual growing of new fibers. Previously it was thought that this was impossible after reaching maturity, but research is suggesting that it is possible that a large amount of growth that bodybuilders sustain could be down to hyperplasia. However muscle biopsies of bodybuilders tend to show that they have normal sized muscle fibers in a tremendous number as opposed to weightlifters who have a small number of thick fibres. One study showed that elite bodybuilders and power-lifters had arm circumferences 27% greater than normal sedentary controls yet the size (i.e., cross-sectional area) of athlete’s muscle fibers (in the triceps brachii muscle) were not different than the control group. This does suggest that bodybuilding training with it’s medium rep ranges and average to fairly heavy weights could cause hyperplasia as well as hypertrophy whereas weightlifting with it’s small number of reps and very heavy weights causes only hypertrophy.
Inducing Hyperplasia
Jose Antonio has done several articles on hyperplasia although they are mostly theoretically based. In two of his reports (1993,1997) he suggests that hyperplasia can and does take place. He proposes that it occurs in two ways. Firstly by fibre splitting; when a fibre splits into two or more new fibres. Secondly by inducing muscle damage, i.e. causing small muscle tears through weight training, which can activate satellite cells in muscle tissue. Satellite cells repair existing cells and form new cells. This theory is also put forward in a report done by Tesch and Larsson (1982). All of these though are purely speculative, and there is no evidence that this does truly occur in humans. Antonio has done experiments on rats that proved his theories, but whether the same thing would work with humans can only ever be theoretical. It could be a long time until we can prove if hyperplasia does take place in fully grown humans, but it does seem a likely possibility. If it does occur, then we do know ways of how it can be induced. It has been shown that the eccentric phase of a movement (ie the lowering of a weight), is responsible for the kind of muscle tears that would activate satellite cells. It has also been shown that the eccentric portion of lifting a weight is the most important part for building muscle mass (a supporting argument for hyperplasia?). Therefore it seems wise, hyperplasia or not, to pay careful attention to the eccentric portion of the exercises we do. It is interesting that a muscle is capable of completing the eccentric portion of an exercise with more weight than for the concentric part. Therefore, to maximise the chance of hyperplasia, specialised eccentric training is advisable. This is far easier than it sounds, and simply involves performing some forced negative reps at the end of occasional sets. For instance, on the bench press, a good exercise to do is after completing your sets of regular presses, load the bar up with a little more weight, and have a couple of spotters lift it off the rack for you. Lower the weight as slowly as you can to your chest, then have the spotters raise it back up again. Repeat this for one or two sets, and you will increase your strength in the bench press and increase your chances for hyperplasia. You can also do this in barbell curls, by cheating the weight up when it is too heavy, and lowering it down as slowly as possible once again. The key to eccentric training is making sure you lower the weight slowly and under control. It will hurt, but that burning sensation you get and the great pump lets you know that you’re going to be building mass.
Successful Methods of Advanced Weight Training
As most people now confer, the key to successful bodybuilding (so long as it is backed up by good nutrition) is not volume or frequency of training, but intensity. Intensity can be increased through a variety of methods. Forced negatives, which we’ve already mentioned, are one. Another is forced reps. At the end of each set, when you can’t perform any more repetitions unaided, a training partner helps you complete a few more by just supplying enough force to get you through the so called ’sticking point’. These reps are priceless for muscle building purposes. One way of looking at bodybuilding training is that most of the reps you perform are simply performing the function of getting the muscle ready for the last few reps of each set. All but the last few reps that you really have to grind out are merely preparing the muscle, debilitating it until you get to those priceless reps where you have to call on every fiber and every ounce of energy to complete them. It is those last few reps that hold the key to growth. The question is, how can we perform more of those key reps? How can we go past muscular failure when muscular failure is in essence what limits a bodybuilder’s development? There are several methods we can apply to go past failure:
1 Forced Reps
Once you have completed as many reps as you can unassisted, having a training partner apply just enough force to allow you to complete a few more reps is a fantastic way of squeezing out a few more of the reps that count. This is where the value of a good training partner comes into play. A bad training partner will either help too much, you’ll end up hardly doing any of the lifting and it’ll just be a waste of time, or he’ll not help enough and just stand and watch while you struggle then just lift the bar back to the rack when you can’t complete any more reps by yourself. A good training partner will watch attentively offering encouragement, and when you are unable to perform any more reps, he’ll give you just the right amount of help to enable you to make the lift. Forced reps can extend a set just as it’s getting to its’ muscle enhancing peak.
2 Drop Sets
Drop sets are in my opinion the best way of increasing intensity and fatiguing the muscle. This is especially so when you do not have a training partner and forced reps can’t be done. The concept is easy, all you have to do is complete your set with the given weight to failure, then you grab a lighter weight and immediately squeeze out a few more reps until you reach failure again. You can keep dropping the weight for as long as you like, although three drops is usually sufficient. This technique is especially good I find with dumbbell exercises. All you need to do is have several pairs of dumbbells laid out in front of you, pump out your set with the heaviest pair, drop ‘em, grab another pair, pump out some more reps, drop ‘em and so on… Also good are machines, because again you can switch weights easily and quickly. Barbells only really work with this method if you have one or preferable two training partners who can quickly take off plates. If it takes to long to get the weight ready for the drop sets then the muscles have time to recover and then the drop sets just become like normal sets.
3 Partial Reps
Just because you’ve reached the point where you can’t perform any more full reps, it doesn’t mean you can’t do any partial reps. Partial, or incomplete, reps are where you only lift the weight through part of the range of motion. Partial reps are useful to grind out that last bit of energy from the muscles and to exhaust the muscles even further than the original failure.
4 Rest-Pause
Muscles recover a large amount of their power in a short time. In a minute and a half a muscle is as recovered as it is going to be without long term rest. In fifteen seconds, a muscle recovers approximately thirty percent. Therefore, if you perform a set and rest half way through for fifteen seconds, then you can perform more effectively in the second half than if you go straight through. Use this wisely instead of lazily, and you can perform a set of ten with a weight that you could usually only lift for five or six.
Methods To Further Increase Intensity
As well as methods to prolong sets and go past muscular failure, there are techniques we can use to further increase intensity.
1 Pre Exhaust
The pre-exhaust method comprises of doing a few sets of an isolation movement before attempting the main compound exercise for the muscle. In chest this would be flyes followed by bench press, for legs it would be leg extension followed by squats. By doing an exercise that works only the targeted muscle part, it warms the muscle more thoroughly, pre-fatigues it before the main movement and makes the compound movement more effectively work the muscle. It will decrease the amount you can lift in the compound movement, but will give you an excellent pump.
2 Isometric Tension / Stretching / Cutting Rest Periods
A good way of keeping the intensity during rest periods between sets is to constantly flex and tense the muscles you are working, between sets. This keeps the muscles under a degree of tension and stops them from recuperating too much. Stretching the muscles is also a good practice to follow. This helps open the capillaries and let more blood flow into the muscles, giving a greater pump. Keep moving between sets, and don’t rest too long. Cutting rest periods increases intensity. Remember the goal here is bodybuilding not powerlifting. If you just want to lift big weights, rest for longer, as long as you like in fact. If you are serious about bodybuilding, cut the rest periods.
3 Supersets/Trisets
A great way of increasing intensity, but not for the faint hearted, is to perform supersets or even trisets. Here you perform sets of one exercise, immediately followed by another, then optionally another (then this is a tri-set) then repeat the whole process two to four times without any rest periods in-between. These can be done in two ways. Either you can perform supersets, alternating between opposing muscle groups (eg biceps curl and tricep pressdown) or you can perform supersets or trisets for just one muscle group (eg bicep curl followed by concentration curl, then incline curl). This kind of multiple sets gives you extreme intensity and really can work a muscle hard. I like working opposing muscles, but I prefer doing just the one muscle as you can keep the blood in a smaller area and keep a better pump.
4 21s
This is an excellent way of combining partial and full reps, and shocking the targeted muscle into further growth. In a 21 set you perform 7 reps of the lower half of the movement, 7 reps of the upper and 7 reps of the full movement, 21 reps in all with no break in-between. The best exercise for this method is a bicep curl, either with a barbell or with dumbbells. I find that doing 21s for a bicep curl gives an excellent pump and is a great way to finish a workout.
Manipulating the Body to Change
To make continual growth in bodybuilding, you need to effect progressive muscular overload, and make continual increases in intensity. As I’ve already said, the biggest obstacle you as a bodybuilder face is that your body does not want to change and it has no idea that you are asking it to grow for you. What you have to do is put it in the position where it thinks it absolutely has to grow to survive. If you follow the same program for years, or months even, your body will adapt. You need to keep shocking the body with new exercises, different methods of doing them, different order of doing them, training different body parts together. Change your program often and your body will not get time to adapt and get comfortable with what you are doing. Change and intensity are the two keys. Keep the program fresh, and make sure you do it with great intensity. By incorporating the methods just talked about, you can get incredible intensity and successfully fatigue all of the muscle fibers, shocking the muscle into growth. When the muscle is being pushed to failure, the body’s reaction is that it is ill equipped to deal with its’ daily life and the stresses placed on it, so it reacts by repairing the damaged muscle tissue, making the fibers bigger and possibly growing new ones. Remember though, that you need adequate nutrition to make this happen. If there’s not enough nutrients, then the body can’t perform hypertrophy or hyperplasia. Many starting bodybuilders underestimate the importance of nutrition and a good supplement program.
Volume, Frequency and Combinations
The first questions a beginning bodybuilder will ask are: how many reps? How many sets? How often should I train? Which muscles should be trained together? Reading through the pages of magazines and books you are bound to come across programs of the pros where they train every day for hours, sometimes twice a day, with endless sets. What they often don’t tell you is that these guys are mostly on steroids and would gain on any program, and on top of that they are genetically gifted to begin with. Mere mortals who do not juice up need better designed programs with more scheduled rest. As I said, the key is intensity not volume or frequency. One of the most famous pros of all time, Mike Mentzer, used to train each body part for only a few sets but with tremendous intensity. He was a great philosopher and intellectual who whilst being dedicated to training, realized the importance of time spent with the family and doing other things, rather than spending all of his time in the gym. When you think of comparing a sprinter with a long distance runner, sprinters are usually muscularly built, some with tremendous physiques. Distance runners are usually thin with well defined but small muscles. This comes from the way in which they train. Distance runners have to run for hours at low intensity whereas sprinters run short distances at tremendous intensity. Physically, to build muscle, you have a short window of opportunity during training. You should aim to keep workouts between 40 and 80 minutes. After 42 minutes, testosterone and growth hormones start to dip, and the body gradually changes from an anabolic state to a catabolic one. Also, large body parts need at least 72 hours to recover, while small muscles need at least 48 hours. So ideally, a rest day should be taken between any training, and it is preferable to only train a body part once a week. As far as reps and sets are concerned; anything between six and nine sets for smaller bodyparts (e.g. arms) and nine and 12 sets for larger bodyparts (e.g. legs) should be fine whilst reps should be kept between 6 and 12 except for the occasional low or high rep set to shock the muscles. So, in summary, these training rules should be followed:
1). For most people, it is recommended to train three times a week, working each muscle directly only once.
2). Keep the reps between 6 and 12. Perform between 9 and 12 sets per bodypart maximum.
3). Train two to three muscle groups per workout.
4). Keep training sessions intense, but short. The quicker you can complete a routine, without compromising form, the more you increase intensity and maximise potential for growth.
Follow these rules and you are bound to make gains.
Remember, the best way to induce muscle growth is through the two key words; intensity and change. Never stick with the same workout for too long, because your body will get used to it and refuse to grow. You need to keep shocking those muscles with new things. Follow these suggestions correctly, together with a sound nutritional strategy, and I’m sure you will not fail to make gains.
Basic Nutrition Guidelines
Nutrition is something that is severely neglected by 90% of the Western World. Many people still take in the traditional three large meals a day, or more often just two, consisting of unhealthy fast convenience foods and nutritionally empty sources of calories. People just don’t seem to understand the proper way to eat. For bodybuilders nutrition is critical. Without proper nutrition, no matter how good the training, supplements, or even no matter what drugs you take, your results will never be optimal.
Which is better, three large meals a day or six small ones?
Six small meals are better than two or three large ones. It is amazing how many people say ‘I cant eat six meals a day, I’ll get fat!’ why will having six 300 calorie meals make you any fatter than eating three 600 calorie meals? You’re still eating 1800 calories. In fact eating twice as many meals half the size will make you less likely to get fat. Want to know why? Well you need to look at the way our body uses the food we provide it with. Nutrients taken in through the mouth are digested in the stomach then passed on in manageable form to the liver. Here the liver processes them for either use as energy or as fuel for the muscles. The liver, like all of us, can only work so fast. Once it reaches its work capacity any further work it simply leaves to someone else, as I’m sure you would in your line of work. For carbohydrates this work limit is about 150g at a time, for protein it is about 40g. So if you take in more than these limits, instead of either turning carbs to ATP (our body’s chemical energy) or processing protein to the muscles, it re-routes them to be stored as body fat in your bodies own personal favourite fat storage area (stomach, hips, etc..). So if you are taking in a meal with 80g of protein and 300g of carbs three times a day, the body uses 40g and 150g respectively at each meal, then just stores the rest as body fat. If instead you eat six meals of 40g protein and 100g carbs (i.e. small, frequent, manageable amounts) then it will all be used effectively.
What if I can’t schedule or even manage six meals a day?
Many people have this reaction. As far as managing to eat the meals, most people are not really eating any more in total quantity than when eating three meals. The frequency of meals is what makes it difficult at first but as with anything the body adapts, and you’ll soon get used to it. The next concern is actually finding the time to eat six meals. When we say meals, we don’t necessarily mean a big cooked meal. A tin of tuna with a bagel and some salad is an excellent nutritional meal and takes nothing but the use of a can opener and the spreading of something to flavour the bagel to prepare. Also, for even more convenience you can buy ready made meals in the form of a shake. Meal Replacement Powders (MRPs) cost between £1.50 and £2 a packet, and are made with an excellent blend of protein, carbohydrate, fat, and vitamins and minerals. All you have to do is add water or milk and either blend or shake in a mixer. If you lead a busy lifestyle, maybe working long hours, MRPs are extremely convenient and comparitively cheap when you consider that you couldn’t buy a meal for £1.50 in most places, let alone one that is nutritionally perfect.
The Basics
Many of you may be newcomers to proper nutrition, some may be experts, but we’d like to just outline the basic macronutrients that the body derives from food.
Carbohydrate – This is the primary source of energy that the body uses. Carbs can be classified into two kinds. Firstly simple carbohydrates such as fruit, sugars, chocolate etc. These can be broken down very quickly by the body and usually illicit a high insulin response. Insulin is of interest at certain times to muscle building since it is anabolic (muscle building) and aids uptake of nutrients such as protein, creatine, and glutamine. Most of the time though, insulin surges are to be avoided as they cause increased body fat storage. Complex carbs such as potatoes, brown bread, pasta etc.. are more complex chains of sugars that take much longer to digest, and since they are not digested in one big go like simple sugars, they don’t get stored as body fat unless large amounts are taken. A gram of carbohydrate is equal to 4 Kcalories which we will discuss later. Excessive simple carbohydrate consumption is the primary cause of high bodyfat levels and obesity. Fast digesting carbs found in soft drinks and other junk and processed foods cause huge insulin rises that promote body fat storage. Limiting carbohydrate intake is at the heart of our nutritional advice for people who wish to lose weight.
Protein – This is the most important nutrient for people wishing to build muscle because its main purpose is to build and repair muscle tissue. The best foods for protein are generally meat, eggs, dairy, fish, etc… However, many protein foods are also high in saturated fat, so the best ones are low saturated fat options such as turkey, chicken, egg white, tuna. Protein is formed of smaller units called amino acids, of which there are 22. Protein carries 4 Kcal per gram also.
Fat – This is the body’s secondary source of energy. Some body fat is necessary to provide protection and insulation for the organs but subcutaneous body fat (that found in those problem areas) serves no real function. Fat actually provides more energy per gram than carbohydrates, 9Kcal per gram, but is more difficult to burn. Saturated fats should be strictly limited in the diet since they increase your risk of heart disease and other problems. Unsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats on the other hand are essential to life and have many health benefits. ‘Good fats’ like these actually lower the risk of heart disease as well as increase the ratio of HDL (good) to LDL (bad) cholesterol. They also promote fat burning and muscle gain. A clear line needs to be drawn between body fat and dietary fat. In the western world we mistakenly believe that dietary fat and body fat are cause and effect and are the same thing. In fact, dietary fat has no bearing on body fat levels other than they contain more calories than carbs or protein and taking in more calories than you burn will cause the excess energy to be stored as fat. Dietary fat should never be eliminated from the diet since the body actually needs fat to survive.
Vitamins and Minerals – These must be obtained from the food we eat since our bodies can not make them itself. They control many functions and processes in the body, and it is essential for proper health that we get our recommended amount. The RDAs (recommended daily amounts) you see on the labels of products are for sedentary, non exercisers, but if you exercise you should be looking at taking in the RDA plus half as much again. If you cannot get these amounts from your food, you need to supplement with vitamin pills. Food is preferable over these pills though since vitamins in whole foods are easier to absorb.
Water – the most important nutrient in the body. We are mostly water, especially our muscles. We need about a gallon, or eight pints a day, for maximum health. This may sound like a lot, but take a pint with each of your six meals, and one at bed time and you only need to find room for one more. If youÂ’re worried about your bladder bursting, it wont, and after a week or so it will adapt to your new intake.
How much protein, carbohydrate and fat should I eat?
Let’s talk proportions here. For those not wishing to lose weight carbs are the main factor since you need energy, especially if you intend to exercise. Your carb intake should make up 50-60% of your daily calories. Try to get these carbs mostly from the complex sources we talked about such as oatmeal, pasta, potatoes so that they get sent to the liver in manageable loads and get metabolised effectively instead of adding to your waist line. Simple carbs should be mostly avoided except in small amounts since they are absorbed very quickly and are easily stored as fat. Protein should make up about 30-40% of your caloric intake. If you are trying to gain muscle anywhere between 1 and 2g of protein per pound of your total bodyweight is recommended depending on your goal. Fats generally take care of themselves, you don’t really need to plan to eat fat. They should be about 10-20% of your intake. Try to avoid saturated fats and go instead for unsaturated ones. Omega 3 fatty acids such as those found in oily fish can be very beneficial to the heart also, so try to eat a few good portions of fish a week. If you don’t like fish or need extra healthy fats, try taking an oil blend such as Udo’s Choice (see www.udoerasmus.com for details), or take flaxseed/linseed supplements. If you buy flaxseed or linseed whole, you can sprinkle it on your cereal.
Alcohol
Alcohol should be mostly avoided, but can be taken in moderation. The liver can only process 1 unit of alcohol an hour, the rest it rejects and hands to a different enzyme system called the Microsomol Ethanol Oxidising System (MEO). The more alcohol you drink the more MEO enzymes you have and the higher your alcohol tolerance. High MEO levels can cause damage to the liver, stomach and brains.
Calories and weight loss or gain.
Calories or more accurately kilocalories are simply a unit of energy. Fat carries 9 kcal per gram, protein and carbohydrate 4 per gram and alcohol 7 per gram. We all have a number of kcalories that the body burns per day just to keep itself going and this is called our basal metabolic rate. If you ever receive personal training from us, then we will work this out for you. Every activity that we do besides simply living, from walking to housework, to training in the gym uses additional kcalories. Somebody who is largely inactive will require fewer calories for body maintenance than someone who leads an active lifestyle. A large person needs more calories to survive on than a small person. If you take the time to work out how many calories your body burns in a day, then you can manipulate your calorie intake to either lose or gain weight. To lose weight simply make a slight calorie deficit by eating slightly less than you need, to gain weight eat a little more than you need. If you eat just 200 Kcals less per day than your body burns, over a week you will have a calorie deficit of 1400 Kcals and in a month it will be 5600. A pound of fat weighs 3500 calories so just by eating one chocolate bar less per day than usual or by doing thirty minutes of extra aerobic exercise, you will have lost a pound and a half in a month. This may not sound a lot, but for the small sacrifice of the equivalent of a chocolate bar a day, it’s incredible. Plus losing weight slowly is the best way, lose it slowly and it stays off. Rapid weight loss is usually not fat loss, its muscle and water loss. People who go on zero carb diets will lose 1.7kg in five days. How can we say that this will always happen? Simple, by not taking in any carbs you will lose approx 92g of carbohydrate from the muscles each day. Carbohydrate bonds strongly to water, in fact for every gram of carbs you have 2.7g of water attached to it. So for this 92g of carbs you lose a day, you also lose 248g of water a day making a total of 340g a day. This makes 1700g in five days – 1.7g or about 5 lbs. The dieter looks at the scales and thinks they are making progress when in fact they have just as much fat, just less lean tissue and are in fact more flabby than when they started. Slimming companies make millions out of this scam. As soon as you start back on a proper diet, the water will return and so will the weight, so the diet begins again…. Hence the phrase yo yo dieting was born. We only recommend low carb diets to advanced trainers because low carb diets generally don’t work well for beginners and are difficult to follow for long enough to actually lose fat. To gain weight, a slight excess of calories is required, just enough to allow the body extra calories that can be used to build new muscle tissue. Most of the extra calories should come from protein to facilitate this growth, plus the repair of exisiting tissue.
The genetic factor
As with most things, genetics plays a part in your body size and composition. Your genetic build plays some part in how you need to eat and train in order to achieve your peak physique. There are three general body types.
Endomorph – these people have a large rounded body with short limbs and tend to carry a lot of body fat naturally. This kind of body type will find it more difficult to lose weight, but reasonably easy at first to gain muscle. The recommended training for this type of body is plenty of weight training to increase lean body mass, and also fat burning cardio to lose the fat. Since lean muscle burns more calories at rest, the more lean muscle you have the more calories you will burn (i.e. your basal metabolic rate will be higher). Nutritionally, this kind of person needs to restrict calories by a considerable amount and make sure their diet is low in fat and high in important nutrients.
Ectomorph – the opposite extreme. These people have low body fat percentage, small build and lean shape with little muscle. This kind of person finds it difficult to build muscle but will not gain fat easily. An ectomorph can lose fat with little difficulty. A small calorie deficit is all that is needed. Usually an ectomorph is more concerned with gaining lean body mass. This can be achieved by sound weight training strategy and a calorie dense diet.
Mesomorph – broad shoulders, large frame, little body fat, strong proportions – the lucky ones! These people can easily build muscle or lose fat. The calorie deficit or excess strategy works easily for most who fall in this category. Sensible weight training will yield muscle growth, careful cardio will burn fat.
Few people fall directly into these categories. Usually it is somewhere in-between two of them, but these are the three that are used to describe the extremes. From these descriptions you can usually see which is closest to you. Genetics does play a role, but it is often overestimated and used as an excuse for a lack of effort. With good training and sound nutrition anyone can achieve their physique goals.
Quick Revision
1. Instead of eating three large meals a day, eat six small ones.
2. Take in a maximum of 40g of protein and 60g of carbohydrates per meal.
3. Carbohydrate is the bodyÂ’s main fuel source.
4. Protein is used to build and repair muscles.
5. Fats protect vital organs, but body fat does little except insulate against cold.
6. Unsaturated fat is better than saturated.
7. Eat several portions of oily fish a week to provide omega 3 fatty acids (healthy fats).
8. Take 1.5 times the RDA of vitamins and minerals if you exercise regularly.
9. Drink a gallon (8 pints) a day of water.
10. Split food intake into 60% carbs, 30% protein and 10% fat.
11. Avoid alcohol or at least take in moderation.
12. KiloCalories are the basic unit of energy.
13. To lose weight create a slight calorie deficit by taking in less calories than your body burns.
14. To gain weight have a slight calorie excess to give the body some extra calories and protein with which to build muscles.
15. Genetics does play a part in physique and how quickly you can reach your goals, but is often overestimated in importance.
16. Anyone with proper training and good nutrition can build a physique to be proud of.
Fat Burners - What is a Thermogenic?
We all know of fat burning supplements - xenadrine efx, hydroxycut, lean system 7 - we know and love them all. But the number one question everyone asks about them is how do they work?
What is a thermogenic?
Thermogenic supplements like xenadrine efx and hydroxycut work by raising the core body temperature and thereby increasing the metabolic rate, in turn elevating the number of calories burned.
Within the body we have two kind of adipose tissue (fat) - white fat and brown fat. Brown adipose tissue (unlike white fat cells) does not store fat. Instead, when stimulated, brown fat actually increases overall thermogenesis, which results in some of the white fat actually being metabolised. The stimulation of the brown fat cells, either by a supplement or by natural methods, causes the brown adipose to raise the body temperature, which increases the metabolic rate and causes more white fat to be burnt for energy.
Brown fat is thermogenic tissue therefore its only function is to generate heat. Energy released from the white fat molecules is given off as heat energy, which is subsequently transferred by the blood to warm other parts of the body.
In Summation, thermogenics work by stimulating these brown fat cells into thermogenic action. The brown adipose tissue raises the core body temperature releasing energy (calories) from the white fat tissue - effectively burning fat.
Fat burners can be very effective, but are not miracle pills. They can aid weight loss as the saying goes ‘only as part of a calorie controlled diet’!
Meal Replacements - Healthy Fast Food?
In todays busy world it can be extremely difficult to find time to prepare all the meals necessary to provide sufficient calories and nutrition to build a quality physique. The good news is that since Met-Rx introduced us to the meal replacement shake way back when, we no longer have to prepare quite so many meals.
Time to put forward the argument for meal replacement powders and bars. Meal replacement powders take seconds to blend and cost as low as one pound fifty a serving. Much cheaper than preparing your own meal, and more convenient. Also, meal replacements are precision engineered to give you optimum amounts of vitamins and minerals and the right amount of proteins and carbs. The planning it would take even an informed individual to prepare a meal as balanced and nutritious as a meal replacement would be very difficult, if not impossible.
When choosing a meal replacement, consider the protein it contains (see our article on protein), the amount of vitamins and minerals, the number of calories (higher if you are bulking, lower if you are cutting up), and also don’t forget the cost efficiency. If you are going to make a long term comittment to using an MRP, then make sure you pick one that is a good balance of quality vs price. Pick the one that gives the best quality for the budget you can afford.
Recommended use would be to have between two and three MRPs a day and at least three proper meals. Never replace proper food with solely liquid food. You always need real food. Some things a liquid just can’t give you.
Meal Replacement Bars, such as Labrada Lean Body Bars, offer an even more convenient choice than their powdered counterparts. Meal replacement bars are ready to eat and a handy size for taking to work, the gym etc.. Most taste really good too. One word of warning on bars though, some of them are a little sugary so check the label before making your purchase. Also check the protein content, as often the protein used in bars is less high quality - try to choose ones that primarily use whey protein and avoid those with soy and wheat proteins.
Increase Your Recovery With L-Glutamine
L-Glutamine has long been like the poor relation of creatine. Or more accurately, creatine is like glutamine’s flash big brother - the one with the cool stuff, who everyone wants a part of. Glutamine is not a very marketable supplement in that it doesnt promise immediate results and it wont give you fast or huge gains. However, glutamine is mr reliable, a slow burning supplement that over time will improve your recovery, fend off catabolism and yield long term gains. We feel its time to put forward the case for glutamine. Glutamine is an amino acid. Amino acids are basically what makes up protein. You have two kind of amino acid in your body. Essential and Non Essential. Essential amino acids are so called because the body can’t make them, it has to be supplied with them. Non essential amino acids are mainly produced by the body.
Glutamine is non essential, but it is also the most abundant amino acid in the muscles, accounting for 60% of all free aminos. After a workout, your glutamine reserves are extremely low. You need to replenish these stores as glutamine helps to fight catabolism (muscle breakdown) due to exercise. Glutamine also has a cell volumizing effect, reduces protein breakdown and helps guard against over training. Glutamine is a supplement that has many known, and possibly some unknown, benefits.
If you take glutamine first thing in the morning, straight after workouts and perhaps last thing at night, you will see over time a big improvement on your recovery from intense training. Not only this, but evidence also suggests that glutamine increases Growth Hormone Output.
When dieting glutamine can be invaluable. When the body is in negative calorie balance (i.e. your watching what you eat and doing lots of cardio so calories in are less than calories out) its so easy to get into catabolism (burning muscle for energy). Glutamine can greatly help hinder this from happening. Plus, the possibility of increased growth hormone output can further help you hang onto your muscle and rid yourself of the unwanted bodyfat.
Give glutamine a trial - say three months then stop using it. Then you’ll feel the difference in recuperation ability and truly appreciate the power of glutamine.
Creatine - The Best Natural Supplement?
Creatine is perhaps the most widely used supplement other than protein. Since the mid 90s its popularity has been unmatched for those seeking increased muscle size and strength. We take a brief look at the various types of creatine supplements available and how they can work for you.
Creatine Phosphate aids in the regeneration of ATP (adenosine tri phosphate). ATP provides the anaerobic energy which is needed for weight training so more creatine phosphate in the body means more ATP which in turn means the ability to lift more weight.
Creatine was released originally in pure creatine monohydrate powder form. You load up for a week on about 20g a day, then maintain on 5g a day. This increases your body’s stores and leads to you being able to produce greater contractions of the muscles for longer, meaning you can lift a little more weight, a few more times.
As well as working on this physiological CP-ATP energy level, it also works by increasing with it the amount of water drawn into the muscles. This makes the muscles seem visibly larger, and also means that to perform a repetition, the muscle has to move through less of a range, so can lift a little more weight again. The increase in strength (clinically shown to average at about 8%) gives the lifter the progressive increase in resistance they need to cause the muscles to perform hypertrophy (get thicker).
More commonly these days creatine now usually comes bulked up with plenty of carbohydrates. This is to raise the insulin levels high enough to push the creatine more effectively into the cells. Many other ‘insulin potentiators’ are added to a lot of these formulas, such as alpha lipoic acid. Whilst these new creatine delivery formulas are more effective they are also a lot more expensive. In the end it comes down to cost vs quality and weighing up wether its worth paying the extra. Products like Muscletech Cell Tech and EAS Phosphagen HP can be extremely expensive, but also get very good reviews.
Creatine Ethyl Ester (CEE) - the latest creatine craze
A third kind of creatine product was tri-creatine malate, a creatine salt that requires no loading phase and doesn’t exhibit the few side effects of normal creatine (water retention, cramps). Tri-creatine formulas generally com with glycocyamine which is a creatine precursor that boosts the body’s natural creatine production.
The newest breakthrough in creatine supplementation is Creatine Ethyl Ester (CEE). From wikipedia.com (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatine_ethyl_ester):
“Creatine ethyl ester, or simply creatine ester, CEE or CE2, is a substance sold as an aid for athletic performance and for muscle development in bodybuilding. It is an ethyl ester derivative of creatine, from which it is made. In the body, CEE is converted back into creatine. Because it is slightly more lipophilic, the ethyl ester allows for easier absorption into cells, and a longer half-life in the body. Hence, creatine ethyl ester is regarded as an improved version of creatine itself, and although claimed by some supplement sellers to be 10-40X stronger it is in fact only a 1-2 if any times stronger.”
Put simply, CEE is creatine with an Ester molecule attached which more efficiently uses fat as a transport mechanism thru which to enter the cells where it does its work. The upshot is that theoretically a lower dosage is required and the creatine is better absorbed. It is also claimed to not have the potential for ‘water bloat’ (water retention) that regular creatine has.
However, the downside is that no reliable scientific studies have been performed yet so both the efficacy and the safety of CEE has yet to be conclusively proven. Many experts, notably Paul Cribb Ph.D. CSCS (http://www.astss.com/dev/qa_search/full_text.asp?ID=2706) believe that the claims behind CEE are unfounded. Also, if the only benefit of CEE turns out to be that a lower dosage is required, this advantage is cancelled out by the fact that it is much more expensive to buy than regular creatine monohydrate.
The Scoop on Protein
The foundation of any bodybuilder’s nutrition should be a good source of quality protein. At the moment, the best and most popular form of protein supplement is whey protein. By best, we mean that whey protein is the most bioavailable (i.e. it is the most easy for the body to absorb and utilise.
Protein is rated on an arbitrary scale called its’ biological value. This scale is a measure of how easily used the protein is by the body and how much nitrogen that it will yield. Nitrogen is essential to the body to maintain an anabolic state, where muscle can be built. If there is a deficit of nitrogen then the body is in a catabolic state, i.e. instead of building muscle, muscle is broken down to produce energy. To maintain a positive nitrogen balance therefore, protein should be consumed frequently during the day, to avoid the breakdown of lean tissue.
Whey Protein
Whey protein is a byproduct of cheese. The clear liquid whey is drained off from the cheese and dried into a powder. On the biological value scale, whey is rated at 159 in isolate form and 104 in concentrate form. The next closest to this is egg whites (88). Therefore, most bodybuilders at present prefer to use whey in either or both of it’s two forms - whey concentrate and whey isolate. Whey concentrate tends to have between 60 and 75% protein content - i.e. 60-75% of the powder is whey, the remainder is composed of other ingredients (carbohydrates/fats/sweeteners etc..). Whey isolate tends to be more pure with a higher percentage of protein, fewer carbs and less fat.
Whey Isolate
Whey Protein Isolate is a more highly processed whey protein, that is refined to remove the carb and fat content. It also has far less lactose (in fact many isolates are completely lactose free), which means that if you suffer with dairy allergies then you can take it without worrying about the possibility of suffering stomach discomfort. Whey isolate is also much more easily digested, and faster acting. This makes whey isolate the number 1 choice of protein source for times when you need amino acids supplied to the muscles fast - such as before and after workouts and first thing in the morning. The downside is that Isolates tend to be at least twice as expensive as whey concentrate, but if you can afford it, Isolate is definitely the better choice. In studies, whey protein has been shown to have a strong anabolic/protein-synthesising affect and this affect is greatest with whey protein isolate (Boirie Y et Al, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94, 1997). Whey isolate also has the most positive affect on the immune system (Bounus C, Gold P, Clin Inv Med 14, 1991).
Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate is an even further refinement to whey powder with the protein now so pure and refined that it is almost like drinking liquid aminos - the digestion and affect on protein synthesis is very rapid and the quality is extremely high. Few companies use whey hydrolysates because they are extremely expensive to buy in as raw ingredients, and the natural taste is very bitter (so it is difficult/expensive to flavour). These factors mean that there’s not much money to be made from selling hydrolyzed whey isolate, so few companies make the effort. Most supplement manufacturers prefer to make a standard, average quality whey concentrate or concentrate/isolate blend because it costs them far less to produce and they can sell it at a price that will appeal to the mass market, most of whom are unaware they are getting a lower quality product. The only well known company that produces a pure hydrolyzed whey protein is AST Sports Science with their AST VP2.
Slow Digesting Proteins
Whilst whey protein has a fantastic affect on protein synthesis (muscle building), it has little affect against catabolism (protein breakdown). Everyone suffers from muscle catabolism at some times - usually as a result of training (especially overtraining) or most commonly, during sleep (when no fresh nutrients are being provided, so the body may turn to muscle as a fuel source). Whey protein is not particularly effective against catabolism, as it is digested too quickly to supply aminos to the muscles for a prolonged period. However, there is a variety of proteins that are very slowly digested which means a slow, steady supply of aminos for up to several hours. In terms of supplements, the very best choice for this type of protein is casein (especially micellar casein). Casein is another derivative of cheese (you’ve heard of curds and whey, well casein is the curds, whey is the whey!). Casein is a popular protein to take before going to sleep, because it can sustain the body several hours throughout the night.
An ideal protein supplement regime would be to have a high quality whey protein isolate for use on rising and pre/post workout, and a slow digesting protein (preferably containing casein) to use between meals and before bed.�
Weight Gain Diet Plan
Virtually every guy who starts bodybuilding does so to get bigger. Lifting weights alone wont accomplish that. You need a good bulking diet behind you to really pack on the size. We have a bodybuilding mass gain diet that cant fail to pack size on even the hardest of gainers.
Meal 1 7.30am
30g Whey Protein
250-350g Porridge Oats with Flax Seeds
5 Egg Whites + 3 whole eggs
Multi-Vitamins
5g L-Glutamine (optional)
Meal 2 10.00am
1 serving mass gain shake (e.g. Maximuscle Progain, Prolab NLarge2 or CNP Pro Mass)
200-300g Grilled Salmon
400-450g Brown Rice
Steamed or Boiled Vegetables
Meal 3 1.00pm
200-300g Grilled Steak
500-600g Baked or Boiled Potato
Salad or Steamed/Boiled Vegetables
Flax Oil or Udo’s Choice Oil
Training 2.00-3.00pm
Pre Workout:
5g L Glutamine
Pre Workout Formula (E.g. Garnell Enrage)
Post Workout: 1 bottle Lucozade or Recovery Drink (e.g. Maximuscle Viper)
50g Whey Protein
5g L-Glutamine
5g Creatine
MultiVitamins
Meal 4 4.00pm 200-300g
Grilled Chicken
500-600g White or Brown Rice
Large Portion Vegetables
Meal 5 7.00pm
1 Serving Mass Gain Shake (e.g. Progain, NLarge2 or Pro Mass)
200-300g Tuna
500-600g Sweet Potato
Salad
Meal 6 10.00pm
200-300g Grilled Turkey Breast
300-500g Brown Rice
Salad
Before Bed
1 Serving Protein Shake (With A Blend That Is Largely Casein)
Flax Oil or Udo’s Choice Oil
This diet will yield approx:
700-900g Carbohydrate
300-400g Protein
50-100g Fat
Approx 5000kCal
The meals should be modified to suit your own weight and body type/metabolism. This is written for a trainer weighing 200lbs with a mesomorphic structure. Following this diet should be very effective in developing lean muscle. Remember, to get big you need to eat big and lift big!
HIT Training (High Intensity Training)
HIT (High Intensity Training) is a popular method of weight training championed in the past by Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones and still used by many bodybuilders today. In this article, we look at what HIT involves and how typical workouts are constructed.
High Intensity Training (HIT) Weight Training and Bodybuilding Workouts
The idea of High Intensity Training is to have short and infrequent but very intense workouts to better stimulate muscle growth. The proponents of HIT (such as Mike Mentzer, Dorian Yates and Arthur Jones) argue that traditional ‘volume’ workouts where many sets are performed cause the vast majority of those participating in weight training to overtrain - limiting their progress. In HIT only a few sets are performed per muscle group, but they are performed with great intensity.
For example, lets look at a typical volume training chest workout against a HIT chest workout done by 6 times Mr Olympia Dorian Yates:
Volume Chest Workout:
Bench Press 5 sets of 10 reps
Incline Press 5 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Flys 5 sets of 10 reps
Pec Deck 5 sets of 10 reps.
= 20 work sets
Dorian Yates’ Chest Workouts:
Incline Barbell Press 3 warm up sets of 8-12 reps, 1 work set of 6-8 reps
Dumbbell Flys 1 warm up set of 10 1 work set of 6-8
Cable Crossovers 1 set of 10 -12 reps
= 3 work sets with 4 warm up sets
As you can see the total work volume is very small, but the intensity is very high. If we analogize the physiques of runners we can perhaps better understand the theory behind HIT. Long distance athletes tend to have very thin musculature whilst sprinters are usually very muscular. Each type of runner trains sport specifically for the event they do, so distance runners do a large volume of low intensity training whilst sprinters train briefly at high intensity. Volume training also has several disadvantages - such as being time consuming, often leading to overtraining and requiring longer recuperation times. HIT followers suggest that if you can get adequate muscular stimulus by doing only 1 set, why do more? HIT seems a sensible approach, but it is worth noting that no top professional bodybuilders - including HIT’s most famous spokespeople Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates - have built their physique using solely HIT. However, professional bodybuilders, unlike most recreational athletes, take large amounts of steroids which speed up recovey times and delay and/or limit the effects of overtraining.
The most famous HIT-er is Mike Mentzer. He has written many books on HIT and his ‘heavy duty’ training program. He eventually got his HIT program down to performing one short workout every five days. The following workout is from his first ‘Heavy Duty’ book and has four workouts, one performed every four days so that the entire body is trained once every 16 days:
Mike Mentzer Heavy Duty Workout:
Workout 1
DB Flyes Supersetted with Incline Press
Close Grip Pulldown
Deadlifts
Workout 2
Leg Extensions Supersetted with Squats
Toe Raise
Workout 3
DB Laterals
Bent Over DB Laterals
Barbell Curl
Tricep Pressdown Supersetted with Dips
Workout 4
Static Hold Leg Extensions Supersetted with Leg Press
Toe Raise
1 working set of each with appropriate warm up sets.
A more typical HIT workout would be:
A Typical High Intensity Training Bodybuilding Workout:
Workout 1
Bench press - 1 x 8 reps
Incline press - 1 x 8 reps
Flyes - 1 x 12 reps
DB shoulder press - 1 x 8 reps
Tricep Extensions- 1 x 10 reps
Workout 2
Squats - 1 x 16 reps
Leg ext - 1 x 16 reps
Leg curl - 1 x 16 reps
Calf raise - 1 x 12 reps
Workout 3
Bent Over rows - 1 x 8 reps
Pull downs - 1 x 8 reps
Barbell Curls - 1 x 10 reps
Preacher curls - 1 x 10 reps
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