Importance of Unilateral Training

Uni-what? Unilateral training is a particular way to exercise one group of muscles on one side of your body. Any exercise that does not utilize either arms or both legs or utilizes dumbbells so the movements of both limbs are separate is unilateral training. Unilateral training increases strength of the weaker limb, which leads to an overall heavier lift and a more balanced body. Some examples of unilateral exercises are dumbbell bench (incline, decline, or flat), one-arm dumbbell bench (any variation listed before), step ups, one-legged leg curl, one-legged RDLs, one-arm dumbbell shoulder press, dumbbell row, one-arm lat pull down, etc.

Unilateral training allows for a person to notice strength deficiencies. We have all heard of some one that says their left leg is stronger than their right leg or seen some one on bench press that consistently has the bar concentrically moving up first on the left and the right follows. Even some one that is trying to push evenly on both sides will push more from their stronger side.

Bilateral training would be back and front squat, barbell bench (incline, decline, or flat), barbell shoulder press, etc. Bilateral training is used exclusively in strength competitions because who care how much a person can press with just one arm or leg. However, strengthening your weak points by utilizing unilateral training will help increase you weights for bilateral movements.

The Arnold Classic 2009

I finally can say I have attended the Arnold Classic... I paid pennies to get into a fitness expo from 9am-6pm with a short supplement intoxication break in the middle to eat something not in a protein package.
This shows my intensity from 530am on when some buddies and I left Lexington to go to Columbus...

Tons of freaks of nature, both male and female just walking around. In their heads I know they were thinking the same thing I was... just a constant yelling of a one rep max oging through my brain.

Freak

One of the biggest backs there

The Arnold himself... taken with my terrible camera

Jay cutler

Any place that huge guys pick up women, literally, for fun is heaven

MR large arms

I don't know if this is my favorite picture or the one below... I took a shot with her right after some guy flexed next to her AND actually thought he was bigger than her.... what an ass

Animal pak had a cage in the middle of the convention center where they were lifting heavy weight and I just wanted to be a freak on display... I am about to send them my resume with my max out numbers and ask them what I need to do to be big enough to be in the cage

I was able to get some supplements, see plenty of freaks of nature, decide on probably never missing the arnold ever again, and take home some autographs and other free stuff shown below... well worth the $10 to be there for 9 hours

Lastly, what would the Arnold experience be without a girl painted like a cheetah

The Mecca of Meatheads

Recently several fellow push big weight enthusiast friends of mine made arrangements to go to the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio. For those of you unfamiliar with The Classic listen to my incredible description of it below or check out the following website http://arnoldsportsfestival.com/

This is a three day body building, marathon thinking-absent weekend of tons of muscle piled upon the 700 fitness, health, "here try this supplement" booths that also has featured freaks of nature, figure competitions, strong man events, weight lifting, and just an overall supplement explosion

IF you had to read that paragraph multiple times just realize that it is pretty much the closest thing to heaven besides the real thing.

I had heard about this event during undergrad from a bunch of buddies from Ohio. Knowing my unnatural intensity level and ridiculous fascination with muscle, it blew their minds that I had never been. Here I sit three days from going to the event and I don't think I am going to sleep until the weekend is over.

Plan on seeing my picture with every ripped piece of human tagged on here after this weekend.

On a side note I take half of my exit exams next week... and the weekend before I am going to experience the Arnold Sports festival.... I have my priorities straight. I have been in the books, still in the gym, and now I have the opportunity to yell for no reason around of bunch of meatheads

I think I might just stay

Tuesday workout--- staying focused

Set to lift at 11 this morning...
workout in my hand, protein shake in the other. time to go to work
back and hamstrings, not too bad. one minute fifteen seconds between each set

oh yea, my buddy showed me his workout earlier today... usually a cyclist slash ex hockey player... whichi equals tree trunk legs... BUT he started a weight lifting routine... kick ass

back to the point of this message

four sets of ten lat pulldown with a wide grip
four sets of ten neutral grip lat pulldown
three sets of ten front lat pulldown---- works your serratus anterior
chinups next


...

who does chinups after that many sets??? this is what happens when two masterminds get together and laugh while writing a workout. this is my hobbie. i do this for fun. hypertrophy is my goal, hyperplasia is my dream

three sets of ten chin ups... i got 10, 9, 8.... my lats are done. if you are wondering, we save all the rowing type motions for back for fridays workout

lats spent, time for RDLs. after the first set, 255 pounds feels like a million. next week we have to do the leg portion, at least RDLs first. knock the bigger muscle group out of the way when we are fresher

RDLs for five sets... 10 10 10 8 6

straight ridiculous

no straps so we used an alternate grip. straps are beneficial because the point of this exercise is not to kill your grip strength, it is to focus your energy on maintaining perfect form and killing your hamstrings and lower back.

GHBs next, four sets 12 12 10 10 with a 25 pound dumbell... and I get to superset them with lateral lunges with a 50 pound dumbell. great

did i mention we are still maintaining the minute and fifteen second "rest" period?

lastly, leg curl four sets of twelve superset with one legged leg press for four sets of ten.

time for class. glad my work day is over

Ways to reach your weight loss goals

You have some goals set about what you want your body to look like, how you want to feel, how you would like to fit into your clothes, etc...

Some people focus on cardio like running, jogging, swimming, group fitness classes, or cycling. Some people focus on weight lifting at high repetitions. Other people focus on diet only.

To really achieve a HEALTHY weight and to maximize the amount of fat lost and muscle gained, your goals should include part of each of those three focuses. You are serious about losing weight. You have joined a gym, maybe hired a personal trainer, and now you are looking at websites that could help you get to the slimmer, fitter you. You are walking toward your goals by checking into different opinions on how to lose weight. I want to help you figuritively sprint to your goals.

Each of you has at least an hour a day, four days a week (you could fit the fifth day in to show me up... just a thought). You should do your cardio warm up of five to ten minutes. The purpose of this is to warm your muscles up, get your blood circulating, raise your heart rate, lubricate your joints, and get your mind focused on getting into better shape. The next step in your workout should be your cardio session. 25-30 minutes on any cardio machine, any track outside, any park you want to run through. For weight loss duration of your workouts and consistency are the keys. If you can't run, jog, if you can't jog, walk. The point is to push yourself, but don't inhibit your ability to work out the next day. I want you in the gym, I want you to be active, I want you to lose weight. Push yourself every day and watch the pounds fly off, the clothes need to be given away.

Next step... Pick four machines or free weight exercises and do one to two sets of 20 repetitions. Shoot through all four exercises if the gym you go to isn't very crowded, or do a set of a weight lifting exercise and do some crunches. I want you to come to the gym, rest periods can be filled with other exercises that utilize opposing or completely different muscle groups instead of just standing or sitting there waiting to do the next exercise. Keep your heart rate up and you get to leave the gym sooner.
Cool down with a quarter mile walk on the track, treadmill, or bike and then stretch. Stretching will help your blood circulate through your body pulling the waste products that you have generated while working out into your blood to be filtered and excreted. Stretching is also a great way to cool down and end your workout.

Your diet is important. Please do not be misled by a trainer giving you diet advice... You think, "wow he/she looks great, I should eat what they eat" or "I bet they know a lot about nutrition." I got my undergrad in fitness and wellness management. I have a personal training certification. I have a strength and conditioning certification. I am getting my masters in exercise physiology. I have been lifting for ten years. I would NEVER give nutritional advice. to any one!
You need to ask a registered dietician (RD) for a diet plan. They are the experts. Do not ask some one, even in the fitness field, that doesn't have a national certification. They have to have an undergraduate degree and the RD distinction to practice what they do. Be smart ask the right people.
Even if the fitness person you ask is trying to help, they aren't the right people to ask.

Keep coming to the gym, watch you portion sizes after talking with a dietician, research workouts or hire a personal trainer, EMAIL ME, ask for help. Do something to help you reach your goals.

Update on max out numbers and Super set routine

I completed a one rep max on back squat and front squat yesterday... I hadn't maxed out on back squat since May, but my strength has stayed fairly consistent. It actually has to have gone up. In May I got 375 on back squat with a belt, and yesterday i got 375 BUT the study that was being done called for the lifters to not use a belt.
Using a weight lifting belt increases intrabdominal pressure, allowing a lifter to lift more and is a lot safer than to max out not using a belt. But since using a belt increases the pressure in your abdomen, it allows your body to stay more rigid, which would allow you to lift more weight... up to 15% more! So getting the same weight that I did in May just without the use of a belt means that I have increased my strength, so nothing to be pissed about.

I had never maxed out on front squat before. I usually work out with 185 or 195 for 4 sets of 6-8. BUT I was able to get 275, so i am amped about those weights.

For another study he wanted me to complete a 10 rep max on leg curl, deadlift, and back squat. I did the leg curl and played around with a couple weights before getting 150 ten times. I also had to follow the protocol of one second concentric, two seconds eccentric (one second up, two seconds down), so I know that I was moving the weight in a controlled manner.

On a completely different note, I was training one of my most motivated clients last Tuesday... He is wanting weight loss and increased strength. While the two are very difficult to achieve at once, because to achieve greater strength you have to build muscle whcih means you have to consume more calories that you burn, and he wants to lose weight, which is the exact oppostie of the formula to build muscle mass... I believe when working with a detrained person, the two are possible to achieve at once. His body is in such a state of shock at the workouts, that all the calories he is burning lifting weights and strengthening his core with me, will help shed the fat off of him while his strength has already improved substantially.

His work out this past week was:
leg press
DB chest press
Lat pulldown

3x 10 on all and each set of these exercises was supersetted with the following core developing exercises:

Medicine ball wall throws 3x 10 with a ten pound ball
Supine Medicine ball chest throws 3x10 w/ a ten pound ball
Alternating supermans 3x 12 each side

I hope he continues his current regimine of lifting twice a week and running the other days to eventually prepare for a marathon. He has the drive for a total body transformation.

I posted a poll, take it and see the results. Let me know if you need anything.

graduate school perks

Being in grad school means less classes, more studying, increased drive and motivation in your classmates (for the most part), and increased amount of research that you are going to come across. yea, in undergrad I am sure my professors were completing research, but it was a largely undiscussed topic within the undergraduate classes. I have been asked to be a subject in two weight lifting studies. One deals with a one rep max on front squat and back squat and then testing my range of motion in my lower body and the other study has to do with my ten rep max on back squat, leg curl, and deadlift and then i will either be taking a placebo (pretty much a sugar pill) or chocolate milk and then completing some strength tests after an hour.

i am excited because I love to be pushed to do my best, and what better motivator than to know my results will be included in a doctorate study from UK... yea, my name won't be attached to any of the results, but I think it is pretty cool anyway.

I also get to max out on squat, which I haven't done since may... I need to beat my previous mark or 375 and I know I can do it because I had too many previous sets of heavy weight before I tried maxing out... too much fatigue to get 385 that day.

Look for my results within the next couple weeks.

New workout starts TODAY

I am about to start another microcycle (a workout that lasts 4-6 weeks with a particular focus) today. I will be completing a power exercise -- snatch, jump shrug, clean-- to start each workout and then complete four structural exercises and finish up with a core workout.

Today I will be doing snatch, back squat, db bench press, and shoulder press. On the power exercise I will be completing sets of four reps and the remainder of the workout I will be doing four sets of six repetitions to focus on strength building.

I have been working on flexibility throughout the week and doing a little more cardio at a lower intensity. There have been many studies published that have shown negative side effects on muscular growth (size-wise) when too much cardio is done too often.

YES, cardiovascular activity is beneficial to maintaining a healthy body, but lifting at the intensity levels I am is a cardio workout in itself... I am not just trying to brag... Next time you lift, after your set take your heart rate. I was doing a set of steps ups and my heart rate was in the 190s!!!!

ok, then there is the argument that cardio -- treadmill, elliptical, running outside-- keeps your heart rate up for an extended amount of time and lifting doesn't... It just depends. I am very strict with my time between sets and I keep it around a minute and a half for hypertrophy (sets of 8-12 reps) and a little over two minutes for strength exercises (sets of less then 6 reps). AND i lift for around an hour and a half with actual lifting being an hour and warm-up, core, and stretching filling in the remainder of the time. I have no doubt that this is the best type of cardio I am able to do while still having my exercising focus staying on adding muscular size.

GET STRONG!!!!!!

Eccentric Workout

IT HAS BEEN AWHILE, HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING?
I just had graduate school start back and with some personal training, classes, and my workout... I haven't been on here in a while. This past week has been one that I am sure has sparked some growth in my body.

I did an entire week of eccentric weight training this week. Eccentric activity occurs when resistance is put on the muscles as they lengthen, unlike concentric which occurs when resistance is put on muscles as they shorten. Take, for example, a fron squat... You descend slowly until you reach the bottom of your front squat and then explode up.

On each repetition I slowly descended while counting three seconds off... holding anohter two seconds at the bottom of the lift, and then exploding up. I used this technique for a set of 8 and two sets of 6 repetitions on every lift besides my power lifts this week. I used about 65% of my one rep max on the lifts... but since this was the first time I have ever devoted an entire week to eccentric lifting... it took a little playing around to find the perfect weights to use on each lift... everything was recorded on my work out card... I will try to attach it asap.

Since your muscles are lengthening while resistance is being put on them, the amount of muscle regrowth should be exponentially higher than a usual workout. For this reason I wouldn't recommend to complete eccentric training more than one week every 4-6 weeks during your workout. I am also going to have a unloading week next week (use lighter weights to allow my body to recover).
My lifting partner Chance Cianciola, CSCS, masterminded this part of the workout. He is going to be one hell of a strength coach. Thanks and see ya around


be as physically strong as you can potentially be... start today


GROW!!!!!