Grip Work
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Here is some great information on grip work as told by the
Blond Bomber, Dave Draper. and remember, our quarterly newsletter
and DVD subscription is now $57.00. You will get our newsletter,
Barbells-Dumbbells-Bodyweight along with a follow along training
DVD to use in your training. Now on to the grip information.
Warren Tetting
I met Warren at his shop yesterday and it was certainly an
experience. He loves to talk training and the "good-ole-days." He's
really not impressed with current state of sports, especially the
strength sports. So, I got an education about the Golden Era. He
speaks so passionately about these times, it's understandable why
he would be nostalgic.
Grippers
We spent quite a bit of time talking grippers. I brought my CoC1,
CoC2, and Heavy Gripper HG 300 just for kicks. He took a quick look
at the HG 300 and was appalled by the construction. The spring is
huge, .295, same as a BBE! However, the handles are mounted at
least 1/4" from the spring, making it much easier. My HG 300 is
barely harder than a Co C 2, and definitely easier than a BBSM. If
the handles were mounted properly, it would be harder than a 3!
He was also surprised to see my Co C 1. He had not seen the
polished GR 8 springs. Also, the spring is .245 which is heavier
than before. Co C 1 used to be a .235 spring. So, Ironmind has
quietly made the Co C 1 harder, probably to make room for the T, G,
and S. We talked about Ironmind and Strossen for a while, but I was
confused by the history and didn't really follow.
Big Grippers
"Warren, why the hell do you make these?" That was my question upon
picking up some Super-Nova-Galaxy-Evil-Gripper thing. It was
whichever gripper is the hardest one he makes. The spring looked
like brains. My best effort on the gripper, with both hands,
yielded no movement. "Did you say you have a BBA around here
somewhere?" Apparently, some benders buy the huge grippers to
practice the two-handed crush at the end of a bend. They can have
them.
(If you're not familiar, Warren's hardest gripper is about 3 times
as hard as an Ironmind Co C 4. Three times as hard...)
Hands
Warren grabbed my hand and says, "Lemme see here." He had me touch
the middle of my palm with my thumb so he could poke my thumb pad.
"Is that as hard as you can make it?" Sorry, Warren, that's it! So,
my thumb pad has a long way to come. He also said my hand needs to
get thicker in the palm overall. He recommended telegraph key.
Telegraph Key
I ended up buying one of these from Warren. He reiterated, "There
is no substitute for building the thumb pad." Sounds like a deal.
We went through how to use the thing, and it's pretty
straight-forward. With the machine about waist height, hook the
fingers under the bottom key and the thumb on the top key. Close
your hand. It's not the presidential-hand-gesture-grip like I
thought. Your fingers should be a supinated hook grip. I noticed
while using the machine that my thumb would bend at the bottom of
the rep. Warren said that's fine, just make sure your thumb is
doing the work.
Other training
Warren recommended squats squats and squats. Specifically 20 rep
squats, twice a week if possible. Also, forearm work like wrist
curls and hammer curls. Never on grip days, though. Telegraph Key
twice a week. Get rid of bench press and do reverse dips instead.
Warren does not have a website, but you can reach him by phone or
snail mail at: Warren Tetting, C/O Thor Strength, 1063 W. 7th St.,
St. Paul, MN 55102. Phone: (651)-222-1889.
This is "dogleg" of the gripper.
Note: This photo is missing from the server
To clarify the picture, its the front and back of the same gripper.
The straight leg is the dogleg.
This is a confusing part of gripper anatomy that beginners have a
hard time identifying. The "dogleg" is the straight leg of the
gripper in the picture. It's a byproduct of how the spring is
wound. There is a consensus that the dogleg should be in your palm
when closing the gripper in your right hand. The straight leg is
the better leg for bracing the gripper, in other words.
For the left hand, opinions differ. Some say the dogleg should
still be in your palm for maximum bracing. However, if you look
closely, this reverses the direction the spring is wound. Because
of this, some say the dogleg should be in your fingers on the left
hand in order to create a similar experience as the right. Either
way, I personally haven't noticed much of a difference. ~Matt
Keep hanging and Banging!!!
Leon.
Leon Cruz.
Copyright, Urban Publishing Co LLC., 2010
**The contents of this daily email are not to be
considered as medical advice.
Always consult a physician before beginning or
changing any fitness
program.**
This Blog is protected by copyright, 2010, Urban Publishing Co
LLC. .
All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this email is
strictly prohibited without the express written consent
of Urban Publishing Co LLC., Inc.
Leon Cruz, Inc.
Urban Publishing Co LLC.
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1-718-346-4337 Phone
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Keep Hanging and Banging.
Leon.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
How To Build Big Triceps!
How To Build Big Triceps!
By Jeff Anderson
Want to know how to build big triceps?
Good question since the quickest way to build big arms is to build big triceps.
Your triceps take up the vast majority of your upper arm, yet frustrated hardgainers everywhere are knocking out bazillions of curls to try to get bigger arms.
Well I asked one of my friends to give me his very best exercise to build big triceps.
His answer was…
…“do dips”!
How To Build Big Triceps And Get Bigger Arms!
Guest Article By Jason Ferruggia of
www.HardcoreMassBuilding.com
That’s right. If you want to know how to build big triceps you gotta do dips…and lots of ‘em!
Why, you may ask?
Well, have you seen the size of the triceps on male gymnasts in the Olympics? They got that big from body weight excises like the dip.
In fact, dips are basically the only true triceps male gymnasts do and they are absolutely jacked with huge, thick, horseshoe triceps.
Here’s Why Dips Work So Well To Build Big Triceps…
Whenever you use your bodyweight exercises for your triceps, especially when you can add additional weight with a chin/dip belt or weight vest, you actually activate a much greater number of muscle fibers than you would if you simply used a machine.
Machines exercises for triceps don’t recruit the smaller stabilizer muscles and don’t force the muscles to contract naturally as they would in real life.
Whenever possible you want to try to move your body instead of simply moving the arm or attachment on a machine.
But What About Free Weight Exercises
To Build Big Triceps?
Although free weight exercises are very effective and a much better option than training on a machine, moving your own body will always reign supreme when it comes to building muscle and to build big triceps.
And dips are the “squat” of your upper body so they’re just as powerful as squats are for your legs.
How To Perform Dips To Build Big Triceps:
•Dips can be performed on parallel bars or, if you are really strong, gymnastics rings.
•Be sure to squeeze the bars tightly, brace your abs as if you were about to be punched and lower yourself no lower than the point where your triceps are parallel with the ground. Going lower than that puts too much stress on the shoulders and getting the extra stretch is not worth the risk of an injury.
How Often To Train Dips To Build Big Triceps:
•Dips can be performed three times per week as a beginner. After a few months of that I don’t think you will be confused about how to build big triceps anymore.
•When you get more advanced it is recommended to cut your dips down to twice per week.
How To Use Weighted Dips To Build Big Triceps:
Although I used to love weighted dips and routinely had many of my clients perform them with numerous 45 pound plates strapped to their waists I have found, over the years, that there is simply too great a risk of injury with heavy weighted dips and now do not allow anyone in my gym to do dips with more than just one 45 pound plate.
Anything beyond that seems to get too risky.
For intermediate lifters you could do one day heavy, where you add resistance to your weight belt, and one day light where you simply rep out with bodyweight.
The two days should be about 72 hours apart.
Once you get strong enough to do a 45 pound plate you will probably only want to use weighted dips as a rep exercise and not a heavy strength movement anymore.
Advanced Exercise Techniques To
Build Big Triceps Using Dips
To make dips more difficult without adding more weight, try doing them on gymnastics rings or on straps.
You can also try holding your legs straight out directly in front of you as well.
Either option will be very challenging and are great muscle builders.
Give these muscle-building strategies a try and I promise you’ll never again wonder how to build big triceps!
Train hard,
Jason Ferruggia
www.HardcoreMassBuilding.com
By Jeff Anderson
Want to know how to build big triceps?
Good question since the quickest way to build big arms is to build big triceps.
Your triceps take up the vast majority of your upper arm, yet frustrated hardgainers everywhere are knocking out bazillions of curls to try to get bigger arms.
Well I asked one of my friends to give me his very best exercise to build big triceps.
His answer was…
…“do dips”!
How To Build Big Triceps And Get Bigger Arms!
Guest Article By Jason Ferruggia of
www.HardcoreMassBuilding.com
That’s right. If you want to know how to build big triceps you gotta do dips…and lots of ‘em!
Why, you may ask?
Well, have you seen the size of the triceps on male gymnasts in the Olympics? They got that big from body weight excises like the dip.
In fact, dips are basically the only true triceps male gymnasts do and they are absolutely jacked with huge, thick, horseshoe triceps.
Here’s Why Dips Work So Well To Build Big Triceps…
Whenever you use your bodyweight exercises for your triceps, especially when you can add additional weight with a chin/dip belt or weight vest, you actually activate a much greater number of muscle fibers than you would if you simply used a machine.
Machines exercises for triceps don’t recruit the smaller stabilizer muscles and don’t force the muscles to contract naturally as they would in real life.
Whenever possible you want to try to move your body instead of simply moving the arm or attachment on a machine.
But What About Free Weight Exercises
To Build Big Triceps?
Although free weight exercises are very effective and a much better option than training on a machine, moving your own body will always reign supreme when it comes to building muscle and to build big triceps.
And dips are the “squat” of your upper body so they’re just as powerful as squats are for your legs.
How To Perform Dips To Build Big Triceps:
•Dips can be performed on parallel bars or, if you are really strong, gymnastics rings.
•Be sure to squeeze the bars tightly, brace your abs as if you were about to be punched and lower yourself no lower than the point where your triceps are parallel with the ground. Going lower than that puts too much stress on the shoulders and getting the extra stretch is not worth the risk of an injury.
How Often To Train Dips To Build Big Triceps:
•Dips can be performed three times per week as a beginner. After a few months of that I don’t think you will be confused about how to build big triceps anymore.
•When you get more advanced it is recommended to cut your dips down to twice per week.
How To Use Weighted Dips To Build Big Triceps:
Although I used to love weighted dips and routinely had many of my clients perform them with numerous 45 pound plates strapped to their waists I have found, over the years, that there is simply too great a risk of injury with heavy weighted dips and now do not allow anyone in my gym to do dips with more than just one 45 pound plate.
Anything beyond that seems to get too risky.
For intermediate lifters you could do one day heavy, where you add resistance to your weight belt, and one day light where you simply rep out with bodyweight.
The two days should be about 72 hours apart.
Once you get strong enough to do a 45 pound plate you will probably only want to use weighted dips as a rep exercise and not a heavy strength movement anymore.
Advanced Exercise Techniques To
Build Big Triceps Using Dips
To make dips more difficult without adding more weight, try doing them on gymnastics rings or on straps.
You can also try holding your legs straight out directly in front of you as well.
Either option will be very challenging and are great muscle builders.
Give these muscle-building strategies a try and I promise you’ll never again wonder how to build big triceps!
Train hard,
Jason Ferruggia
www.HardcoreMassBuilding.com
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
How to Build Intimidating Traps
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
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
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!
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