As days start to get shorter and cooler, and schedules get back to “normal” – let me share what I read over the weekend. It is cited from a power-lifting site (i.e. the objectives are mass, mass, and more mass), thus there are some opinions that I do not share (my strikeouts).

Still, I fully agree with this simple and holistic approach to your strength-building program:

1. Focus on Strength. More strength is more muscle. More muscle is more calories burned. Focus on strength whatever your goal is. Start light and add weight systematically. You should lift more today than 1 year ago.
2. Use Free Weights. Free weights force you to stabilize the weight, allow for natural movement patterns and build functional strength. The bulk of your routine should consist of free weight barbell exercises.
3. Use Compound Exercises. Exercises that hit several body parts at the same time stress your body more. Your routine should include Squats, Deadlifts, Overhead Press, Bench Press, Pull-ups, etc.
4. Use Proper Technique. Decreases the risk of injury and allows for more weight. Bad technique is acceptable on heavy attempts, but build good habits from the start by learning proper exercise technique.
5. Eat Whole Foods. Supplements make your life easier, but whole food is better. Eat proteins, veggies & fruits with each meal. Carbs for energy. Plenty of water. Eat every 3 hours starting at breakfast.
6. Don’t Be Perfect. Junk food is ok 10% of the time and bad workouts happen to everyone. Train hard 45 weeks/year & eat healthy 90% of the time, you’ll be muscular with a healthy body fat.
7. Do It for Yourself. What people think of you doesn’t matter. You have nothing to prove to others. This is your life. Do what you need to do to be who you want to be. Dare to be different. Set trends.
8. Experiment. Don’t take anything for granted from anyone or anything, including this site. Science doesn’t matter, results do. Be open minded, read everything and find what works by experimenting.
9. Master Your Fears. You’ll be intimidated first time in the gym. You’ll stall. You’ll get injured. Don’t fear failure, learn from it. Do what pushes you out of your comfort zone. Your self-confidence will increase.
10. Believe. Listen to those who have walked the path before you. You can achieve anything you want if you copy what they do. Aim high with your goals and believe in yourself. If they can do it, you can do it.
11. Persist. How long it takes you to achieve your goals doesn’t matter, as long as you achieve them. Focus on the long-term. Never give up until you are where you want to be.
12. Keep it Simple. Forget about the details. Focus on the big picture. The most effective way to achieve your goals is often the simplest approach. Stick with what’s proven to work, don’t reinvent the wheel.

source: Stronglifts.com

Ever look at yourself in the mirror, or catch your reflection in a window, and think “Why do I look and feel both skinny AND fat?”.  Here’s a classic “skinny-fat” case:

- male; 5 feet 10 inches
- 165 pounds; 15% body fat
- Goal: “lose fat -gain muscle”

When guys start back to the gym, many think that they need to focus on a fat loss program first, which is usually when I hear “I’m just going to concentrate on my cardio for a couple of months to lose this jiggle“.

Most often though, that is the worst thing they could do, because their bodies do not have enough muscle mass to sustain a fat loss program without losing even more muscle. So the guy starts burning a lot of calories, dieting too much, and then ends up a smaller version of his skinny-fat body.

What should the “skinny-fat” guy be doing?

He needs to be focussed on gaining more muscle and eating a little extra carbs and proteins before and after working out.

Doug at MyTrainerSays dot com

Tip: If your focus is on building more muscle, lift weights 3-4 days per week for 45 minutes. If you need to burn fat too, do 3 full body workouts with some timed interval training using short-burst treadmill sprints. Long, slow, mind-numbing cardio doesn’t cut it.

I see folks performing these exercises and /or behaviours in the gym and always take the time to inform them of the danger or ineffectiveness. Then I provide a better alternative.

1 – Behind the neck lat pull-downs (danger: cervical spine strain)
2 – Behind the neck military (shoulder) press (danger: ditto)
3 – Upright rows (danger: shoulder nerve impingement)
4 – Lying leg press machine – deep knee (danger: lumbar spine compression)
5 – Squats using the Smith machine – feet too far forward (danger: thoracic spine muscle strain)
6 – Bad form on cardio machines - particularly leaning forward (danger: spine erectors muscle strain)

7 – Trying to “spot” reduce – endless reps working a “problem” area (time-waster: science just doesn’t work that way)
8 – Using a weight belt (danger: jeopardizes important core strength)
9 – Bad shoes; and I’m not talking fashion (danger: Achilles, arches, ankles, knees, hips… all affected negatively by bad shoes)

Helping you do it well and get better results.

Doug at MyTrainerSays dot com

Again and again I am reminded what a perfect lower body exercise the Deadlift is.

Right up there with squats and lunges, the move is a common motion that you use over and over in your ADL (activities of daily life).

Deadlifts make your body strong for so many activities. It works directly on your booty, also involving your quads, hamstrings, lower back, abs and most every other muscle in your body.

Good, safe execution of the deadlift requires full range of motion in the hips, knees and ankles – all of which can be trained progressively through proper warm-up, lead-in exercises and post-workout stretching.

Take the time to learn how to do a Deadlift properly, using strict form. Either with dumbbells or with a barbell.

Stay strong. Stay Young.

Doug
MyTrainer Says…

FACT: Your muscles’ main functions are to keep your joints properly aligned (erect posture), AND to move your bones into flexion or extension (move you). For those purposes, muscles are directly attached to your bones – and always cross at least 1 joint in order to move parts of your skeleton around.

Think: Puppet strings.

FACT: Muscles can excessively shorten (become tight) through vigorous activity (e.g. how the pecs tighten after a bench press), OR through static positioning (e.g. hamstrings lose length from sitting too long, traps shorten from holding tension).

FACT: Muscles can also excessively lengthen through vigorous activity (e.g. running hurdles, swimming lengths) OR through static positioning (e.g. poor posture, awkward sleep positions).

I have written several posts in this blog about body posture, particularly “rounded shoulders, forward neck” syndrome.

The culprits in this type of DYSFUNCTIONAL POSTURE are the smart phone, cell phone, laptop, computer screen, car seat, soft couch, airplane seat, yada, yada, yada – ADLs (Activities of Daily Life) that put us into positions that accentuate a slouched upper back, shoulders rotated forward, protruding belly, chest caved in, neck poking ahead.

Think about it –  here you have the spine, the chest, the neck, the shoulders – all doing the same thing – muscles at the front (pecs, sternos, abs, front delts) passively being shortened - while muscles at the back (traps, rear delts, rhomboids) are passively being lengthened. And gravity really sucks when you’re off kilter.

That’s why, when I watch most people go through their ritual of  ”pre-exercise” stretching at the gym, I must say that RARELY DOES WHAT THEY’RE DOING MAKE SENSE!!

From this day forward I want you to stop and ask yourself  WHAT you’re stretching and WHY you’re stretching it.

Get personal with it:

Are you stretching a muscle that’s already spent half of its day in a stretched out position?

Are you stretching a muscle and lengthening it just before you’re about to ask it to lift a 55 pound dumbbell? (Think: stretching the heck out of a bungee cord, then expecting it to shorten and hold something tight.)

1) DON’T stretch what you don’t need to stretch: Muscles that are already stretched out. Muscles that are about to do their job.

2) DO stretch what you need to stretch: Muscles that have been in a shortened position all day. Muscles that have completed their job.

3) DON’T CONFUSE muscle “warm-up” with muscle “stretching“. They are distinctly different.

Does this guy really need to be doing...

... this rear-deltoid stretch? NO!

Your workouts should focus on making sure that you perform exercises that shorten & strengthen muscles where they need to be (for the guy on the left – upper shoulders, mid-back, rear deltoids) and leave stretching for muscles that need to be lengthened & strengthened (in this case, pectorals, abdominals, hip flexors, hamstrings.)

Do you have questions about anything you read or hear – either on this blog or elsewhere?

Write to me at > info@MyTrainerSays.com

Protein powders and weight gain supplements can certainly help those who’s sole intent is to gain muscle mass – “pack in the calories; pack on the weight”. However, for those who’s objective is to lose fat, firm up and strengthen – which includes many of my athletic clients – I caution you not to over-consume protein shakes. Not only can it be a waste of money – but as you probably know already, you can get most of what’s in a protein product by eating a variety of wholesome foods (and bloat less).

There is 1 nutrition supplement that can build strength and muscularity faster – creatine monohydrate.

Stirred into a sports beverage or fruit juice, creatine works by effectively boosting power and performance during anaerobic activity (such as weight-lifting). And it’s cheap to use.  A 300 gram bottle (60 servings) sells for under 10 bucks at most vitamin or nutritional supplement stores.

If you decide to give it a try, be sure to read the label and use according to directions.

Lift!

Doug

1) You need to stick with full-body exercises that allow you to train several muscle groups at once. That’s the only way that you’ll get out of the gym and onto the golf course /beach /boat in less than 45 minutes and still be able to improve your body. Think: Squats & Thrusts / Chins & Leg Raises / Wide-grip rows & Parallel Dips

2) You need to stick with a practical, low-fat diet that fills you up, nourishes your body, is well-balanced and includes healthy fats, lean proteins and “good” carbohydrates. Think: Thin-crust chicken panini; olive oil & vinegar salad dressings; oatmeal & fruit; protein shakes.

3) You need to include effective core exercises (NOT countless ab crunches) to release your inner 6-pack. Think: Stability Ball roll-outs, Landmines, Planks & T-Ups

4) You need to work in short-burst intervals that effectively combine a good cardiovascular workout and a good weight-lifting workout. Think: 4 & 2 minute intervals of 80% /40% intensity on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes 3x week / super-sets alternating between 2 complementary muscle groups.

5) Start today. Summer is 6 weeks away.

cheers

Doug

Check out my latest fitness article “Personal Training for the Mature Male”, published in the Spring Training issue of LOV Magazine, Vancouver!