Guidance without Crushing Dreams

A guy at my gym mentioned wanting help with a mass building program that he would start in a couple weeks. Of course, this is as close to ecstatic as I can get so I am pumped to write this program and help him along the way.

One huge problem: him and his lifting partner are going to need to leave their egos at the door. Their squat depth is beyond questionable. Any pressing movement is accompained by the one that isn't lifting grabbing the bar "but not helping" through an entire set of six reps. They were doing weighted pullups with assistance yesterday... you read right, they added weight to their body for pullups but then had their partner assist by lifting their feet... which takes the total weight lifted down. Why not just do pullups without extra weight???

In the attempt to get huge, these guys are going to have the same problem that a lot of guys have... too consumed with the poundage on the bar instead of moving a weight through a full range of motion to get the most muscular benefit possible. I have to bring this up before they begin on my program because when I write a program, I expect to see results.

However, if these guys keep half-repping workouts they are going to be left small, injured, and frustrated. I want to help them... getting stronger and adding on muscle mass is physiologically one of the most inspiring, rewarding things a person can do for themselves, but it has to be done right.

huge guy from animalpak.com

2 Clients start back

Classes at UK started back today, as did two of my former clients. I put them through a dynamic warm up that included a basic squat jump, two core exercises, and mountain climbers. They performed 6 squat jumps, each core exercise for 45 seconds, and thirty seconds of all out mountain climbing action.

One of their goals is to gain some lean muscle tissue and get in better overall physical condition. I put her through the following workout, grouped in supersets:
1. Bulgarian Split Squats 3x12
Weight transfer 3 five pound plates moved back and forth from a plank position for 40 seconds
2. DB chest press 3x10
Dynamic side planks 3x30 seconds
3. Underhand pulldowns 3x8
Russian Twist press with a 25lb plate 3x12
4. DB shoulder press 3x10
Cable Chop 3x10 each side
5. Standing DB row
Plank walk-ups 3x30 seconds

We finished with planks and pushups. This is a simple way to compact as much activity as possible into your clients or your workout. You move directly from the first exercise to the second and repeat twice. You keep your heart rate elevated and it beats the heck out of monotonous treadmill. You also can take advantage of Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), which pretty much can be summed up to burning extra calories after your workout while your body replenishes it's tissues with oxygen, restoring hormone levels, restoring heart rate and respiratory rate to normal, and achieving homeostasis.... all for busting your ass during your workout...

Make your workout work for you! What did you do today for your workout? Let me know in the comments

Sticks vs XL- Starting from different body types to achieve your goals

I have a comparison to make. I want you to tell me if you fit into one of these two categories:
1. Skinny person trying to gain muscle mass (Sticks)
Or
2. Beefy person trying to gain muscle mass (XL)

Now these two individuals by no means encompass every individual due to several variations of other body types and goals out there, but I wanted to look at these two in particular. I will try to exclude any specificity of gender in this analysis.

Sticks says they have tried everything to gain muscle mass. Sticks is eating before bed, drinking a protein shake, training their upper thighs off (where their butt should be). Sticks has tried split routines, body building routines, power lifting workouts, and, dare I say it, even CrossFit to put on some size or have any noticeable muscle definition at all. Sticks tests their body fat percentage and it remains low.

XL eats as if they are a Kentucky thoroughbred racing at the Kentucky Derby. XL has their pre-lift drink, during lift shake, and post-workout recovery drink… PLUS six meals a day. XL is happy that he/she is gaining weight and out-growing their clothes, but how can XL be sure at least some, preferably most, of the weight gained is muscle. XL assumes a calorie is a calorie and loads up on sugary food and drinks and very few vegetables and fruits. XL also never tests their body fat percentage.

Sticks assumes they are eating enough, as does XL, but what is the caloric density of the foods they are consuming and how many calories really are coming in and going out? XL says they lift really hard, but don’t need cardio because that is for sissies. How many calories are both of these individuals actually consuming and expending?

Sticks could have a huge meal, but really not notice they don’t eat much for the remainder of the day. If they were to meet with a dietician after keeping a food journal they could get a better idea of what they are putting into their body. XL needs to also meet with a dietician and HONESTLY estimate how many calories they are burning. Yes XL lifts a heavy amount of weight for an hour and a half for four days a week, but what are they doing the other days or throughout any of the days.

Do either of these individuals bust their butt in the gym, but work a sedentary job or drag for the rest of the day? With the variations in your metabolic rate even accurately keeping track of the minutes worked out and other activities, you are still getting a range of calories burned, but a range is better than a guess.

Sticks needs to accurately look at how many calories he/she is consuming daily and see how those calories are spread out through the day. XL needs to figure out how many calories he/she is expending and adjust his/her eating accordingly.

I am not a dietician so it is out of my scope of practice to delve too far into specific nutrition information so please consult a dietician for specific nutrition information and a personal trainer for exercise routines. Unless a dietician has a Kinesiology background and possibly a personal training or strength and conditioning certification, they should not be telling you what to do in the gym or at home. Your personal trainer could tell you what he/she eats, but beyond that they shouldn’t be giving you any advice. One profession is doing the other profession’s job and that shouldn’t happen unless the individual is qualified to do both parts.

Good luck to Sticks and XL in their body transformations.

Client Testimonial

"I absolutely loved working out with Rob and feel very lucky that I got placed with him. I got back into clothes that I wasn't even able to wear before I got pregnant! What I liked about Rob's training style was that he was very tough, willing to work me hard, and didn't take any excuses or waste time with idle chitchat - I wanted to work, and we did that! Furthermore, Rob listened to my concerns and made each workout individualized to me. I felt like he had taken a lot of time to think about a workout that would work well for me and my goals. Rob is obviously very passionate about what he does, but what's more, he's obviously very knowledgeable about it - whenever there was a problem with an exercise hecame up with an alternative, and he really focused on my concerns and goals."

Stephanie A. Rose, M.D., M.P.H.
University of Kentucky College of Medicine

More For Your $$$

You need to invest in your health. The money you spend on a personal trianer now can save you thousands in doctor bills later in life. You are putting money into what should be your most valued asset-- you.

I have most of my clients supersetting a resistance training exercise with either a stabilizing (4 point plank--- seen below) or rotational core exercise.

A core rotation exercise would be something like a Russian Twist (seen below), barbell torque, windshield wipers, med ball 123 throw, cable ax chops, or some other type of cable rotation exercise.

For greater difficulty you can lift your feet off of the ground.

I have my clients do core with almost every resistance training exercise to build into their sessions a larger core component instead of always waiting until the very end of their session when they are exhausted to do core exercises. When the exercises are left until the end, they almost become like stretching... a chore.

I also believe in giving my clients the most activity in the hour I train them. I don't want a client to look at me at the end of the session and say," That's it?"

I want them to feel like the session is twice as long ... actually I would prefer they had no energy to think... Just follow my directions and get their body in better shape.

I want to throw so many different exercises at them that at the end of the session they want to stand under the shower and stare off into space.

That's the service they are paying for.

So you don't have a gym or money for a gym membership????

No gym, membership doesn't stop these guys... check it out