How to Build Intimidating Traps
By Matt Marshall
There is something fearsome about big trap muscles.
The muscles of the trapezius give a man a look of strength and power.
So today, let me show you 3 exercises you can do to build bigger traps.
#1) The Power Clean
My traps are noticeably larger thanks in part to this exercise. It will take a few weeks to master the technique involved here, but it is well worth it. You should be able to quickly work your way up to a body weight power clean.
#2) Dead lift
If you have avoided dead lifts, you might be surprised at how sore your traps will after your first session. When you can hit a double body weight dead lift for five reps, you will be amazed at how much your traps have grown.
#3) The Overhead Press
Next time you are in the gym, try the overhead press. Notice how your trap muscles contract HARD to stabilize the bar when it locks out over your head. Strive for a single rep with a weight equal to your body weight and you will build fearsome traps quickly.
There you have it: 3 old-school exercises that will help you build bigger traps quickly.
Forget about shrugs and other specialized trap building programs until you hit the milestones in this article.
To recap:
Focus on the power clean until you can do reps with at LEAST body weight resistance. (So if you weigh 200 pounds, you should be doing power clean reps with 200 pounds.)
Focus on dead lifts until you can do at LEAST five reps with double body weight.
And shoot for a body weight overhead press.
Matt Marshall is the author of the Tried and True Fitness blog - a site that reveals time-tested methods for building muscle, burning fat and achieving optimum health.
To discover his free tips, visit http://www.triedandtruefitness.com/freetips/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Marshall
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Get Big, Strong & Ripped With Baby Steps
Get Big, Strong & Ripped With Baby Steps
By Matt Marshall
If you want to gain size, get strong and get ripped, here is the secret:
Baby steps.
You see, the human body is a remarkable machine. It can adapt and adjust to almost any changes you throw at it.
But only IF you are patient and methodical.
Let me give you an example:
Say you want to increase you bench press strength by 10% and you are currently benching 225 pounds for five reps.
If you try to add 10 or even 5 pounds to the bar for your next session, you will mostly likely fail to get all five reps.
But if you add just 1 pound to the bar (using micro plates), you will get all 5 reps easily. Then you simply repeat the process - adding one pound to the bar each week. And before you know it, you will be benching 250 pounds for five reps - an increase of over 10%.
Of course, you have probably heard me preach about the benefits of micro-loading before. Because it is a tried and true method for gaining strength.
But did you know you can also micro-load your way to getting bigger and even getting ripped too?
Check it out:
If you want to gain weight, you need to eat more right?
But instead of just mindless shoveling food down your pie hold, you can micro load your way to your goal. It is easy: Weigh yourself once a week. If you have NOT gained at least 0.5 - 1 pound in the past week, you need to increase your calories.
Just add one sandwich per day, or one egg or one shot of olive oil. Then check the scale again in a week and see what happens. By microloading your weight gain in this manner, you can ensure you are gaining muscular weight slowly - and not just getting fat.
Getting Ripped? Baby steps again...
And it is not any different if you want to lose weight. Start slow - eliminate junk food from your diet but do not make any effort to eat less.
Add cardio - again starting slow. Begin with a 5 minute jog and then increase the time by just one minute per session.
Most people get excited about achieving a goal - be it gaining size or burning fat. And they jump in with both feet only to burn out a week later.
But if you take small, consistent baby steps you can keep making progress for weeks, months and years.
Matt Marshall is the author of the Tried and True Fitness blog - a site that reveals time-tested methods for building muscle, burning fat and achieving optimum health.
To sign up for his free newsletter, visit http://www.triedandtruefitness.com/freetips/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Marshall
By Matt Marshall
If you want to gain size, get strong and get ripped, here is the secret:
Baby steps.
You see, the human body is a remarkable machine. It can adapt and adjust to almost any changes you throw at it.
But only IF you are patient and methodical.
Let me give you an example:
Say you want to increase you bench press strength by 10% and you are currently benching 225 pounds for five reps.
If you try to add 10 or even 5 pounds to the bar for your next session, you will mostly likely fail to get all five reps.
But if you add just 1 pound to the bar (using micro plates), you will get all 5 reps easily. Then you simply repeat the process - adding one pound to the bar each week. And before you know it, you will be benching 250 pounds for five reps - an increase of over 10%.
Of course, you have probably heard me preach about the benefits of micro-loading before. Because it is a tried and true method for gaining strength.
But did you know you can also micro-load your way to getting bigger and even getting ripped too?
Check it out:
If you want to gain weight, you need to eat more right?
But instead of just mindless shoveling food down your pie hold, you can micro load your way to your goal. It is easy: Weigh yourself once a week. If you have NOT gained at least 0.5 - 1 pound in the past week, you need to increase your calories.
Just add one sandwich per day, or one egg or one shot of olive oil. Then check the scale again in a week and see what happens. By microloading your weight gain in this manner, you can ensure you are gaining muscular weight slowly - and not just getting fat.
Getting Ripped? Baby steps again...
And it is not any different if you want to lose weight. Start slow - eliminate junk food from your diet but do not make any effort to eat less.
Add cardio - again starting slow. Begin with a 5 minute jog and then increase the time by just one minute per session.
Most people get excited about achieving a goal - be it gaining size or burning fat. And they jump in with both feet only to burn out a week later.
But if you take small, consistent baby steps you can keep making progress for weeks, months and years.
Matt Marshall is the author of the Tried and True Fitness blog - a site that reveals time-tested methods for building muscle, burning fat and achieving optimum health.
To sign up for his free newsletter, visit http://www.triedandtruefitness.com/freetips/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Marshall
Review of Mike Mentzer's High Intensity Training
Review of Mike Mentzer's High Intensity Training
By Matt Marshall
Background: In the early 70's Arnold Schwarzenegger burst onto the bodybuilding scene. And he brought the idea of "volume training" into the lime light. After all... if it made a champion out of Arnold, then surely pumping iron for 3 hours a day was the way to go. Right? Right?
Well... maybe not.
While many guys attempted to tackle the Herculean volume training regimen that Arnold developed... it flat out didn't work for 99.9% of trainers.
The reason? The volume of training that Arnold recommended was far too much for the average joe.
Enter Mike Mentzer.
Mike Mentzer made a name for himself by saying the opposite of what everyone else in bodybuilding was saying.
While all the muscle-heads were telling people to work out six days a week... Mentzer talked about working out once every 14 days.
When the pro's advised people to hit the muscle from all different angles and perform multiple exercises for each body part, Mentzer said that one exercise per body part was enough.
When most bodybuilders were recommending 15-20 sets per body part, Mentzer recommended just one set per exercise.
The Argument: While most bodybuilders believe that you had to include a variety of exercises and a large volume of sets to adequately work the muscle and activate the growth mechanism, Mentzer differed.
Mentzer reasoned that if you perform one set... and you perform that set until your muscles can move the weight no more... wouldn't that be enough to activate the growth mechanism?
The Experiment: I was intrigued by Mentzer's approach and I thought the idea of one-set to failure made sense. So in 1999 I hired Mike Mentzer for a series of phone consultations.
There wasn't much small talk, but I do remember Mike asking me specifically about a brand new website that had just launched at the time. It seems there method of attracting attention was to go after Mike and try to bash not only his theories but everything else about him as well.
Mike started me out with only two workouts per week. He also told me that the actual amount of protein, carbohydrates and fat I was ingesting per day wasn't important. He said that a balanced diet was fine and that I should eat frequently but not obsess over the nutritional aspect.
After a month, I had gained weight but my strength increases were moderate at best. Mike reduced my training workout down to one workout every seven days. Ultimately, he took this all way down to once every nine days but I still never gained much strength or made much progress in the gym.
The Result: The result of this training program was a failure. I gained very little strength and my over-all level of conditioning actually worsened from so much in-activity.
The Good: I personally believe that Mike Mentzer advanced the sport of body-building a great deal by questioning whether or not it's really necessary to do more than one set to failure.
This principle... and the logic behind this principle... still guides much of what I do today in my training programs.
The Bad: Unfortunately, I think Mike's version of High Intensity Training had some serious flaws.
First and foremost, Mike's thinking on nutrition was seriously flawed. Without proper protein intake, you simply cannot gain massive amounts of muscle.
Second, Mike only had one solution for every problem. You know the saying, when all you've got is a hammer... all the world looks like a nail?
Well, Mike took that to heart. For example, if progress stalled the solution he proposed was always to train less or take more time off.
At times, he took this to extremes. For example, I told him that my calves were one of my biggest weak points and asked him what we could do about that. His solution? Stop training calves all together and see if they would grow from the indirect work of squats and other leg training.
Needless to say... this approach didn't work. Although many a times I've wished my muscles would grow simply by not doing anything... it simply doesn't happen.
Another flaw of the program is assuming that every person is capable of generating the kind of intensity necessary to trigger muscle growth in just one set.
For example, it's relatively easy to fry your biceps with one set of bicep curls. But when was the last time you saw someone truly perform one set heavy barbell squats to COMPLETE muscular failure? Or go to complete muscular failure with 1400lbs on the leg press machine? Frankly, it just doesn't happen because it's incredibly exhausting both on the body and on the mind.
Overall: If you've been volume training for years and feel burned out, you might find Mike Mentzer's H.I.T to be a nice change of pace. You'll probably experience some new muscle and strength gains during the first few weeks.
But unless you address the nutritional and intensity flaws of the program, your progress will ultimately stall.
Average White Dude Final Rating For Mike Mentzer's High Intensity Training: 6/10.
Not the worst training program, but far from effective for most average dudes.
By Matt Marshall
Background: In the early 70's Arnold Schwarzenegger burst onto the bodybuilding scene. And he brought the idea of "volume training" into the lime light. After all... if it made a champion out of Arnold, then surely pumping iron for 3 hours a day was the way to go. Right? Right?
Well... maybe not.
While many guys attempted to tackle the Herculean volume training regimen that Arnold developed... it flat out didn't work for 99.9% of trainers.
The reason? The volume of training that Arnold recommended was far too much for the average joe.
Enter Mike Mentzer.
Mike Mentzer made a name for himself by saying the opposite of what everyone else in bodybuilding was saying.
While all the muscle-heads were telling people to work out six days a week... Mentzer talked about working out once every 14 days.
When the pro's advised people to hit the muscle from all different angles and perform multiple exercises for each body part, Mentzer said that one exercise per body part was enough.
When most bodybuilders were recommending 15-20 sets per body part, Mentzer recommended just one set per exercise.
The Argument: While most bodybuilders believe that you had to include a variety of exercises and a large volume of sets to adequately work the muscle and activate the growth mechanism, Mentzer differed.
Mentzer reasoned that if you perform one set... and you perform that set until your muscles can move the weight no more... wouldn't that be enough to activate the growth mechanism?
The Experiment: I was intrigued by Mentzer's approach and I thought the idea of one-set to failure made sense. So in 1999 I hired Mike Mentzer for a series of phone consultations.
There wasn't much small talk, but I do remember Mike asking me specifically about a brand new website that had just launched at the time. It seems there method of attracting attention was to go after Mike and try to bash not only his theories but everything else about him as well.
Mike started me out with only two workouts per week. He also told me that the actual amount of protein, carbohydrates and fat I was ingesting per day wasn't important. He said that a balanced diet was fine and that I should eat frequently but not obsess over the nutritional aspect.
After a month, I had gained weight but my strength increases were moderate at best. Mike reduced my training workout down to one workout every seven days. Ultimately, he took this all way down to once every nine days but I still never gained much strength or made much progress in the gym.
The Result: The result of this training program was a failure. I gained very little strength and my over-all level of conditioning actually worsened from so much in-activity.
The Good: I personally believe that Mike Mentzer advanced the sport of body-building a great deal by questioning whether or not it's really necessary to do more than one set to failure.
This principle... and the logic behind this principle... still guides much of what I do today in my training programs.
The Bad: Unfortunately, I think Mike's version of High Intensity Training had some serious flaws.
First and foremost, Mike's thinking on nutrition was seriously flawed. Without proper protein intake, you simply cannot gain massive amounts of muscle.
Second, Mike only had one solution for every problem. You know the saying, when all you've got is a hammer... all the world looks like a nail?
Well, Mike took that to heart. For example, if progress stalled the solution he proposed was always to train less or take more time off.
At times, he took this to extremes. For example, I told him that my calves were one of my biggest weak points and asked him what we could do about that. His solution? Stop training calves all together and see if they would grow from the indirect work of squats and other leg training.
Needless to say... this approach didn't work. Although many a times I've wished my muscles would grow simply by not doing anything... it simply doesn't happen.
Another flaw of the program is assuming that every person is capable of generating the kind of intensity necessary to trigger muscle growth in just one set.
For example, it's relatively easy to fry your biceps with one set of bicep curls. But when was the last time you saw someone truly perform one set heavy barbell squats to COMPLETE muscular failure? Or go to complete muscular failure with 1400lbs on the leg press machine? Frankly, it just doesn't happen because it's incredibly exhausting both on the body and on the mind.
Overall: If you've been volume training for years and feel burned out, you might find Mike Mentzer's H.I.T to be a nice change of pace. You'll probably experience some new muscle and strength gains during the first few weeks.
But unless you address the nutritional and intensity flaws of the program, your progress will ultimately stall.
Average White Dude Final Rating For Mike Mentzer's High Intensity Training: 6/10.
Not the worst training program, but far from effective for most average dudes.
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Experts Talk on Low Back Health
I feel compelled to start today’s post with a small confession. I don’t pay too much attention anymore to many internet websites and articles. Back in college (wow, we are going back in time) the internet was JUST starting to carry some really cool training information. There were rumors that some of the guys that were writing for the very innovative Muscle Media 2000 were going to do a spin off internet site.
Wow! Nothing could have been cooler than to hear this news. I was already fortunate enough to attend seminars by many of these great strength coaches and I knew they were on the edge of training information. The site didn’t disappoint as I could hardly wait till the end of each week to read the site updates. It was so bad that I would actually read these articles in my exercise science classes that were sorely outdated!
What’s the difference between now and then? Back then magazines and internet sites like this pulled from strength coaches that had a long history of success. Nowadays it is all about leveraging yourself with the right people and optimizing search engines. That has led to a whole new breed of “internet experts” that have a very small history of any type of success coaching and even a bunch that have not coached more than a handful of people, but man are they good at optimizing Google!
So, what does this have to do with training and our program? Once in awhile I come across a good article, something that really points strongly to things we have been doing for some time. Today it was an article by popular strength coach, Eric Cressey.
Eric Cressey is well known for his corrective exercise techniques and this specific article was in regards to low back injury prevention and health. His article, “Bulletproof That Back”, he outlines 19 great training tips to prevent and help low back pain. A few that really stood out to me were….
1. One other realm of stability I think is important to cover is single-leg stability or, simply stated, how well you stand on one foot. It’s crucial to overall health and performance for a number of reasons.
First, we spend a good chunk of our lives standing on one foot. Lunges, split squats, 1-leg RDLs, step-ups, and other single-leg drills are specific to the real world.
Second, and more specific to back pain, in many (but not all) cases of lower back pain, you can use appreciable loading on single-leg exercises because it’s much easier to maintain the spine in a neutral position in split-stance than in the position of bilateral hip flexion that occurs with squatting and deadlifting variations.
2. If you’re me, you categorize your core exercises in one of the following four disciplines (although there may be some overlap):
1. Anti-Flexion 2. Anti-Extension 3. Anti-Rotation
Today’s workout focused on these two principles very strongly. Dealing right now with not low back pain, but some serious neck issues, I found it a good time to really reinforce these principles.
It is amazing how normally that these types of movements and drills get thrown off to the side for drills we think are going to make us strong. However, if we take an honest inventory of our training and what we need, it can shock many that this type of routine can go a long ways in not only making them injury resistant, but VERY strong!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
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