Posts Tagged ‘Muscle Gaining’

Can you remember what your first serious workouts were like?

I did circuit training in a Boys Brigade (a youth organization a bit like Boy Scouts in Scotland) and did a weight training class when I went to high school.

But when I first started getting serious about weight training – my friend Terry and I used to go to the local gym in a town called Broxburn. The program that the gym instructors gave us was actually pretty solid.

But of course we changed it!

Anyway we went on Sunday evenings and trained upper body. We didn’t do legs because I was doing Taekwon-Do and Terry was playing basketball and we both were running. That’s all the leg training you need right? … :)

The first exercise we did was flat bench press. The second exercise was dips and then we moved on to back exercises.

Only the couple of bodybuilders and the 1 or 2 powerlifters that were there decided to take us under their wing and teach us some things.

For example – they’d see us bench pressing and tell us that we should add incline bench pressing to our routine. Or they’d mention that we should use dumbbells.
And that we should finish with a superset of dumbbell flyes and push ups.

Terry and I listened. And we took their advice.

ALL OF IT!

Pretty soon our upper body workout would start with flat barbell bench, incline barbell bench, decline barbell bench, all three positions repeated for dumbbell pressing, and then we’d finish with incline and flat flyes and push ups.
Then we moved on to dips.

Ten exercises for chest. For 3 sets of ten (of course) each! It’s a good job that these guys left before we started the back exercises or who knows how long our workout would have taken…

To be fair the original program we were given was actually useful. And the intentions of the other guys in the gym were great – they were just trying to help us. The problem was our inability to filter the information and use it effectively.

In fact – if we’d have been on our own in the gym, Terry and I might have made better progress. With less information we wouldn’t have been overloaded.

Of course – nowadays people aren’t making the same mistakes….right?
Unfortunately – now we have so much more information – it’s actually more likely that people are making mistakes.

Do yourself a favor and pick a solid program written by a qualified individual and stick to it.

–
AC
PS – If you are serious about getting on a solid muscle building program then click here

Today is January 19th. That means a little over 5% of the year has passed already.

So let’s do a quick “goal review” or a Resolution recall.

Are you 5% towards your goals?

If your goal was to lose 50lbs of fat – you should be down 2.5lbs right now if you’re on track. If your goal was to increase your income by $10,000 this year – you should already have made an extra $500.

Now I know goals are not always achieved linearly – particularly not fat loss or financial goals — but you’ll hopefully see my point. Track everything.

An easy goal that I always set is just a specific number of workouts that you are going to do. Then you just mark them off. One goal for 2010 was to perform 250 workouts. I ended up a little short.
In 2011 I plan on doing 211 !
I also set a goal of twenty training sessions in January (as my facebook followers know).
So to be on track – I need to have performed at least 14 or so training sessions right now.

I am also planning to launch a couple of new product and services  this year. The fat loss programming manual is already available exclusively at the Perform Better events, and very soon we’ll be launching a new Results Fitness Programming seminar.

For one of our business projects – as of yesterday we’re at 5.5% of my annual goal. For another I’m at about a 4% increase over the same point last year (which is slightly behind schedule).

And I’m WAY behind on my newsletter schedule :)

The point is – you need to constantly assess where you are in relation to your desired outcomes.

Are you on track?
Are you headed in the right direction?
Have you even moved off the starting line?
Yes? Congratulations – 2011 is shaping up to be a great year for you.

No? Don’t worry – just step up your ACTION a little bit and catch up.

If it’s your fitness business that needs an overhaul – then check out the Results Fitness Business Mentorship. We have designed the course that we wished were available when we opened our facility eleven years ago.

If your own goal is to get leaner – get on a fat loss program
If it’s to gain muscular size then check out the Muscle Gaining Secrets Program.

Remember – even if you’re off course – you can still get there. A plane traveling cross country is off-course 80% of the time and still makes it to it’s destination because the pilot knows where the destination is, and makes constant corrections.

5% down – 95% to go. You’ve still got time to make some major changes in your life this year.

–
AC

PS – Don’t forget to follow me on facebook…

Recently I spoke to my long time friend Jason Ferruggia about training and time effective workouts:

Q: Jay, What’s the biggest mistake most people make in their fitness programs during the holiday season?

The biggest mistake people make around the holiday season is thinking that because they don’t have 60-90 minutes free to train they may as well skip their workouts all together. There are parties to attend, gifts to buy and cards to mail. Oh, and don’t forget about all the year end stuff that needs tending to at the office.

Even in my own gym I used to see attendance drop off around this time of year. That was several years ago before I shortened up all of our training sessions. Now that doesn’t happen anymore because I’ve found I’m able to get better results with people by keeping all of their workouts around 45 minutes or less.

Your body’s production of muscle building and fat burning hormones such as growth hormone and testosterone actually peaks at around the 27 minute mark of your workout. So by keeping them short you’re actually enhancing your results; not cheating yourself out of gains.

What more people need to realize is that you don’t need more than 30 minutes for an effective workout. The majority of my own personal workouts, in fact, only last an average of 35 minutes and I do the same with most of my clients. This helps you avoid overtraining and the excess production of cortisol, which is a hormone that eats muscle tissue and leads to the storage of bodyfat.

So please don’t think that you need a full hour to train. Nothing could be further from the truth. What might sound crazy to some people is that on really busy days I may only do ONE exercise for a grand total of 10-15 minutes and that’s my entire workout.

Q: How can you get an effective workout with just one exercise?

Easy. You pick a movement that works the entire body, like a clean and press from the hang or the floor. Warm up and work your way to a heavy set of 6-8 reps. This won’t be a true max but just a good clean heavy set that’s the best you can do on that day without letting your form get ugly. After your top end set strip about 20% of the weight off the bar and do 3-5 more sets of 8-10 reps with about two minutes rest between each.

That will come to ten or fewer total sets but I guarantee you that you’ll get a good workout. And all you need is three 15-20 minute training sessions per week like that!

If you have a half hour free, three times per week I suggest a hang clean and press, a deadlift and a modified muscle up using the TRX as your three exercises, using one at each session.

If you have the time for four 15 minute workouts per week try something like this:

Monday- Front Squat/ Push Press Combo

Tuesday- Chin Up

Thursday- Trap Bar Deadlift

Friday- Suspended Pushup

These moves will cover your entire body from traps to calves and your core will get a great workout at every session. Do two heavy sets of 5-7 reps and three lighter back-off sets of 8-10. That’s five total sets that will take you no more than 15 minutes.

And that’s all it takes to get a powerful anabolic (muscle building) and fat burning stimulus.  Let’s face it; we’re all human and we’re probably going to succumb to eating too much dessert or having a few too many drinks between now and New Year’s Day. The short workouts I listed above can help combat the poor eating habits and stress that tends to take over at this time of year.

If you do things right and follow any of the wide variety of programs I’ve put together in my new manual, Minimalist Training there’s no reason why you can’t prevail this holiday season and actually get in better shape than you are right now… while everyone else around you is letting themselves fall apart.

–
AC
PS – to check out FIFTEEN time-effective exercise programs – get over to Minimalist Training

Guest blog from Jason Ferruggia

—

I don’t know about you but there are plenty of days where I could use a lot more than 24 hours to get everything done that I need to. Especially around this time of year. With the holiday season upon us extra time is going to be a precious commodity that’s hard to come by.

That’s why I don’t have time to agonize over what to do in the gym. I only have 30-45 minutes total, to get in and get out. And that usually includes warm up time. I can’t waste valuable minutes figuring out confusing, overly complicated set and rep schemes or mess around with 15 different exercises per session. I need something quick and easy that’s going to produce results; not stress.

So what do I do?

Easy- I take the Bruce Lee approach and cut out all of that which is not essential. I know what exercises work better than all the others and I know what loading parameters elicit the fastest gains in size and strength. I’ve been using them for 23 years on myself and for the last 16 with hundreds of clients.

These are the same principles that have been embraced by some of the biggest, strongest men in history, from George Hackenshmidt to Franco Columbu to Matt Kroczaleski.

At this busy time of year I can’t be futzing around experimenting with new stuff in the gym. Like you, I have family commitments and other important responsibilities to tend to. So my workouts must all be minimalistic in nature. It’s either that or I have to skip them.
And that’s not an option for me. I’m sure many of you can relate and feel the exact same way.

With that in mind I hit it hard and fast, never focusing on more than three exercises per workout. If you think a workout consisting of only three movements can’t produce impressive size and strength gains I have to question your exercise selection and training intensity.

There are very few people on the planet that couldn’t get fantastic results with squats, chin ups and military presses. Or maybe a combination of ring dips, pull ups and deadlifts? Either one will develop muscular bulk and strength quite efficiently.

The fact of the matter is that beginners NEVER need more than three exercises per workout. Advanced lifters could do more than three exercises per workout if they so desired, but there’s not necessarily a need for it. Especially around this time of year when the clock is always ticking and there’s always somewhere to be and a deadline to meet.

The are two major differences between the training programs of beginners and the training programs of advanced lifters that’s worth noting, however.

Beginners always do best on full body workouts while advanced lifters seem to excel on upper/lower splits.

The other major difference is that beginners should always use the same weight for all of their work sets, using what’s known as a “sets across” approach. Advanced lifters should always “work up” to a top end set, increasing the weight each set.

An effective minimalist workout for a beginner would look something like this:

1) Trap Bar Deadlift- 5 x 5 with straight weight
2) Standing Military Press- 5 x 5 with straight weight

An effective minimalist workout for an advanced lifter would look like this:

1) Trap Bar Deadlift- Work up to a top end set of 3, followed by one back off set at 90%
2a) Hanging Leg Raise- 3-4 x 8-10
2b) Glute Ham Raise- 3-4 x 8-10

These workouts will have you in and out of the gym in 30-45 minutes, tops. They will save you time, frustration and stress. Best of all they’ll allow you to still make incredible gains all throughout the holiday season without impeding on your social life or family commitments.

Sounds like a win, win if you ask me.

==
AC
PS – Jason has just released a collection of short, Minimalist workouts, some less than 30 min, some are only 3 exercises or less.
It’s a great resource for trainers working with busy clients, who need to write, short effective workouts.
I actualyl had Jason design some minimalist workouts for me when I was recovering from cancer treatment.

You can check it out at Minimalist Training

Guest newsletter from Tom Venuto

Gaining Muscle and Losing Fat At The Same Time: Is It Possible
“How can I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?” That’s right up there with “How do I get six pack abs” as one of the most frequently asked fitness questions of all time. The problem is, when you ask it, you get all kinds of conflicting answers – even from experts who are supposed to know these things. So what’s the deal? Is it really possible to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously?
Short answer: Yes it’s possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.

Long answer: It’s difficult and it’s complicated. Allow me to explain…. Read the rest of this entry »

What’s your goal for the rest of the summer? Or the rest of the year even?

I know quite a few people who reached their low body fat  goal – some even achieved their lifelong dream of seeing  six pack abs…

Now they want to gain some muscle, but they’re scared of gaining back the fat along with the muscle (which is very common… so it’s not an unwarranted fear)

If you want to:

* Gain muscle WITHOUT getting fat (NO “bulking up” – just lean gains)

* Lose fat without losing muscle (FORGET the “lean but bean pole” look)

* Or even gain muscle and lose fat at the same time (The “holy grail” of all fitness goals!)

Then you need check out this new free download – The Holy Grail Physique Transformation

Only 108 days left in the year…. what are you waiting for?

–
AC