Workout: Leg Workout I Wrote for My Pal Bryce and Supplementation Part 2

-          Power clean 5x5

-          Front Squats 4x6

-          Walking DB Lunges 3x4 each leg

o   Superset w/ single leg drop jumps x3 each leg

-          Single Leg RDLs on balance disc 2x6 each leg

-          Hanging Leg Raises 3x10

o   Superset w/ Med Ball Twists x15-20

This workout is what I would consider intermediate in difficulty. There are supersets but not as many as there would be in a more advanced workout I would right. Bryce is hoping to get back his six pack from this workout too, so I added some core exercises at the end. The bottom line, however, is that if you want a six pack, you've got to fix your diet and lose some fat first. Everybody has a six pack, it's just usually covered. Adding these core exercises will help build the abdominal muscles and that will make them more noticeable when the fat has been lost. And yes, that's right, spot reduction is a total myth. Doing core exercises will not result in losing fat in the stomach. It just doesn't work like that, I'm afraid. But it will build core strength and the size of the muscles associated with the core and that is a good thing.

My Odd Style of Supplementation Part 2

It has been a little while since I wrote my last post. I try to stay on top of these, but sometimes life just gets crazy. Anyways, in my last post I talked about how I take my protein, and my use of L-Arginine, and Fish Oil. In this post I'll speak about why I would drink baking soda daily. I was going to speak about Vemma Verve and creatine, but this post will probably go a little long, so I'll save those for another time.

Baking Soda

Everybody knows that baking soda is one of the most useful things around the house. It can be used for baking, cleaning, making volcanoes, and even deodorant... but as a fitness supplement? That's right. There are a few basic reasons why drinking baking soda would be beneficial for the average person to drink. It's beneficial because it is basic. Alkaline would be a more technical term to use.

Due to the massive amount of acidic food consumed on a day to day basis in most modern countries, almost every single person you see is overly acidic, and you probably are as well. I know I am. Acidic foods include citric juice, like orange or lemon juice, dairy products, a lot of meets, and so much more. Being overly acidic can lead to a myriad of health issues, anywhere from acne to cancer. Unfortunately, with food the way it is these days, it is essentially impossible to avoid enough acidic foods to become more neutral. There is a very direct way in which to combat this however, and that is through the drinking of baking soda.

I was first introduced to the use of baking soda when I was at my friend Chris' place, hanging out and being health nuts with him and his dad, Todd. Chris' father Todd is without a doubt the smartest and healthiest person I have ever known. I honestly think this man will live to be 100 years old at least. Anyways, we were using his 30000x microscope to look at the health of our blood cells. Todd would always say "healthy cells means healthy body, because your body is made up of cells." Looking at our cells, we could see the overall health of them. First we drank Vemma and then tested our blood immediately, and again in 15 minutes. There was significant improvement, and I'll get more into depth with that in a later post. Then we tested our blood again immediately after drinking a table spoon of baking soda with water. The improvement in cell health was astonishing. There was day and night improvement from before and after drinking baking soda. The baking soda actively combats acidity in the body.

The benefits I have had drinking a tablespoon of baking soda daily include a boost in strength, a boost in my immune system, my face beginning to clear of acne, and feeling overall healthier. So that's what I do. I drink a tablespoon of baking soda every morning when I wake up.

A warning about this supplement: it is even more disgusting than L-Arginine. It is truly awful, but the benefits are worth the taste 100 times over. I found it is most affective to chase it with something non-acidic. Chasing it with something acidic can reduce the effectiveness of the baking soda by neutralizing some of the alkalinity. My favorite thing to chase baking soda with is apple juice because it is non-acidic and covers the taste well.

I hope this information will help you and that you will try baking soda as a supplement and evaluate it through your own experience. After all, studies, research and blog-posts can only offer partial education. True education always comes through experience. I have personally experienced the effects of baking soda on my body and I would strongly recommend it for anybody interested in taking the health of their body to the next level.

Workout: Lower Body 2 and My Odd Style of Supplementation.

-          BB Olympic Snatches 5x2

o   Superset w/ max effort box jumps x1

-          Deadlift 5x2

o   Single leg drop jumps x3 each leg

-          DB lunges 3x4 each leg

o   Single leg vertical jumps x3 each leg

-          Quadruped Series 3x8 each leg

-          Single Leg Plyo ball leg curls 2x8 each leg

o   Superset w/ Single Leg Plyo ball knee tucks 2x8 each leg

-          Partner Bosu Balance w/ med ball x5 minutues 

For the single leg drop jumps, stand on a low plyo box then step off, landing on the ground on one leg, balance, stabilize, and repeat. Be sure to land as softly as possible when stepping off. For max effort box jumps, increase the height of the tallest plyo box so that it takes max effort in order to jump upon it. I will generally stack plates on the box to increase its height.

My Odd Style of Supplementation

There is very little similarity between how I  supplement and how most of the lifting world supplements. Probably the only similarity is that I do take a traditional Whey protein, but I even take that uniquely. My list of supplements is made up of these:

• Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey
• Fish Oil
• Now brand L-Arginine
• Baking Soda
• Vemma Verve

 Whey
I said earlier in this blog that I don't take whey protein in a typical manner. What I'll usually do is add two and a half servings of the whey, two teaspoons of L-arginine, then a table spoon of vegetable oil, and two cups of milk. I got the idea of adding vegetable oil from Elliott Hulse's youtube channel. Elliott is a brilliant man and I've learned a lot of what I know by using him as a resource. Adding the vegetable oil adds a huge amount of calories to the shake, turning it into a healthy mass gainer shake. I also used to add a raw egg, but then I learned that the body actually digests an egg easier if it's cooked so now I just fry my eggs. In total this shake comes out to about 800-900 calories, and 70 grams of protein. And if you use the chocolate mint flavor of gold standard whey, it's actually really tasty.

Fish Oil
I take fish oil capsules for two reasons. First of all, I take it because it helps alleviate any joint pain I might have. When I've been lifting a lot, my elbows tend to get a little sore and the fish oil really helps with that. Mainly however, I have been taking fish oil as a post surgical supplement. About three months ago I had my second hip surgery on my right hip labrum. The fish oil has really helped with the overall joint health of my hips, which has helped speed up my recovery.

Now brand L-Arginine
L-Arginine is my second favorite supplement that I take. It is an essential amino acid which is an amino acid that cannot be synthesized in the body and must be taken in through diet. L-Arginine helps regulate blood flow throughout the body, so by taking Arginine, blood flow becomes more efficient throughout the body, and you can probably imagine the benefits of this. The benefits of L-Arginine that I have experienced include but are not limited to:

• Much faster muscle recovery time
• Stronger muscles
• Better pumps in the gym
• Massive increase in the effectiveness of the immune system
• Much faster post-surgical recovery time

The thing about L-Arginine is that in order to see significant results, it is best to take 10-12 grams a day. It simply is not cost effective to take this much in tablet or capsule form, so powder form is best. I can tell you from personal experience that the powder form of Now L-Arginine is extremely effective but truly disgusting. I'll generally drink it mixed with water, and then immediately chase it with something sweet. Orange juice, or apple juice is really effective. It's also best to start out slow (4-5 grams a day) and gradually increase to 10-12 grams a day. It tastes awful but the results of consistent usage are staggering.

In my next blog I will discuss the benefits of drinking baking soda, Vemma and also my opinion on the infamous Creatine.

Thank you.

Workout: Shoulders and The Unique Structure of the Workout I Am Writing

            Power: Power pulls 3x3 (moderate)

-          Barbell Military press 5x5        !-1-2

o   Superset w/ weightless military presses on wall x5      3-1-3

-  Press buttocks, back and shoulders flat against wall and raise open hands overhead keeping them touching wall. Press upwards and then return to beginning while keeping body flush to the wall.

-          BB upright rows 4x6    1-1-3

-          Single Arm DB Press 3x8        2-1-3

o   Superset chin ups x8

I always include at least one corrective or strengthening postural exercise in my shoulder workouts, generally two or three though. Having Proper posture is critical for healthy shoulder function, spinal health and overall strength.

The Unique Structure of the Workout I Am Writing

At first glance, anybody can see that the workouts I write are not typical. In my own experience, and as with everybody who has tried my workouts, it is always found that they are very difficult but if done properly, there can be massive results. There are four basic principles that my workout is built around, that when combined, make for a very effective explosive-strength and mass building program.

1. Muscle Confusion
2. Daily Power Training
3. Supersets
4. Consistent Stabilization Training for Legs

1. Muscle Confusion
In my experience, the worst thing that a workout can be built around is a strict routine. There is a reason why someone's muscles will get their sorest when they've just done a new exercise, or an exercise they do rarely. The reason your body gets sore from this is because it is a surprise to the nervous system; it is forced to adapt to something new. If the same thing is done every day, or week to week, the nervous system will become accustomed to the routine and will no longer be challenged. If the exercises are different every day and week then the nervous system will be forced to adapt to something new everyday, which leads to constant growth and strengthening.

There is a certain amount of structure to my workout, however. As a whole, it is a 15 week program that consists of three "on" cycles of 4 weeks, and 3 "off" weeks. So there is 4 weeks of constant training, then 1 week off, then back to four weeks again. The days are:

• Monday: chest and back (horizontal upper body)
• Tuesday: legs
• Wednesday: shoulders (vertical upper body)
• Thursday: legs again
• Friday-Sunday: off

Some people prefer to take Wednesday off halfway through the week and train on Friday, and that's great. Personally I like to take a long weekend because then I am never still sore when Monday rolls around, and it can also be difficult to be motivated to workout on Friday.

The down week is critical. This particular work out is very taxing on both the muscles and nervous system. Without the down week it is very hard to not become overly catabolic and overtrain. The goal of the down week is to restore catabolic-anabolic balance, which leads to being totally recovered and energetic for the next four week cycle.

2. Daily Power Training
Everyday, even on upper body days, there will be some form of explosive leg training. The idea is to everyday be doing some form of explosive hip extension. Chest and Back days will usually be either hang cleans, snatch grip squats, olympic snatches or DB snatches. Shoulder day will include some form of power movement associated with the shoulders, such as olympic jerks, snatches, thrusters, or power pulls. The body will adapt to training like this and the use of varied hip explosion training every day will result in overall strength and power gains in the hips. And the hips are the source of all power in the body.

3. Supersets
There is always some form of antagonistic superset (when a movement, like a push up, is superset with an opposite movement, like an inverted row) or complimentary superset(when a movement, like a pull up, is superset with a different exercise that works the same muscle group, like a lawnmower pull) are included with nearly every primary upper body movement, and with most auxillary upper body movements. You'll notice that every primary movement I have in my workout is low volume, high intensity. This is in order to build strength and explosiveness. This form of training does not lend itself well to building muscle, however. That is why I have included supersets with them. The superset transforms the lift from being low volume-high intensity to moderate volume-high intensity. So when done with good tempo, they then become high-volume and high-intensity. With those parameters, the workout becomes very difficult and taxing, but extremely beneficial.

Legs are supersetted differently than the upper body. Because typical leg lifts (front squats, deadlifts, lunges, step ups, etc) all work slow twitch muscles, it is very beneficial for speed and explosiveness to perform all leg lifts with some form of explosive jumping. So nearly every primary leg lift is superset with fast twitch muscle training to improve speed and explosiveness as well as strength.

4. Consistent Stabilization Training for Legs
In every four week cycle, the lower body training will include four leg stabilization exercises that will be performed progressively every leg day. I know that earlier I said that strict routine is not good for building muscle and strength because the nervous system becomes too accustomed to the movements. In this particular situation however, we actually do want the nervous system to become accustomed to the movements because then it will be able to easily stabilize when put into that position in a competitive setting, which will help to prevent injury. So in the case of leg stabilization, consistent and routine progressive training is actually beneficial.

I know this was a long blog, but I think it shows the philosophy behind my workout and why I am writing it the way I am. Currently, I'm writing the last cycle of the program and then I will do it and revise it. Then I'll share the entire program to Facebook and on this blog.

Thank you.

Workout: Lower Body, Day 1 and Why Someone Can Do a Hundred Reps and Not Grow

-           Power clean 3x3 (two warm up sets)

o   Superset box jumps x3

-          Front Squat 5x5          

o   Superset w/ vertical jumps x5

-          Quadruped Series 3x8 each leg

-          Single Leg Plyo ball leg curls 2x8 each leg

o   Superset w/ Single Leg Plyo ball knee tucks 2x8 each leg

-          Partner Bosu Balance w/ med ball x5 minutes

The Quadruped series is a series of hip joint based movements in which the athlete will perform
- bird dogs
- scorpions
- fire hydrants
- hip circumduction

 During hip circumduction, you will begin on all fours, then extend one leg backwards then bring it around to the side in the fire hydrant position, then lower and repeat so as to create a circular motion with the hip. If single leg plyo ball leg curls or knee tucks are too difficult, then do double leg instead. For the partner bosu ball balance w/ med ball, stand on the flat side of a bosu ball and toss a medicine ball back a forth between partners. If working out alone, the ball can be bounced off a wall, or held if different positions to make balancing more difficult. Enjoy.

Why Someone Can Do a Hundred Reps and Not Grow

In the gym that I work out at, there is a particular group of guys that are always there when I am. These guys are fairly muscular, but for the amount of sets and reps they do and how long they workout for, you'd think they'd look like young Arnold Schwarzenegger's each. And from what I've been told, the leader of this posse (I call him "Gloves" because he is always wearing a pair of heavy duty lifting gloves with weight straps around them, so he looks like a boxer) works out twice a day, for about two hours a piece. So why in the world does this guy not look like Jay Cutler, or Arnold?

Although the greatest reason people who work out can't build muscle is poor diet, I do not want to assume that he has a bad diet, or drinks/smokes simply because I do not know for sure. What I have seen however, is the way that this guy and his band of lady killers lift. They follow a typical body builder style routine: train chest and triceps, the back and biceps, then shoulders, and then the dreaded leg day. This form of routine is pretty standard and allows for good muscle growth if done properly. That is the issue, however. Down at the very core of their program, they are doing their repetitions in such a manner that they are seriously limiting their potential muscle growth. These fellas will sit down on the leg press machine, and do very rapid quarter or half reps, with some ridiculous volume, like 4 sets of 25 reps. They will do the same thing with every different exercise they do.

I do not think that these guys are incompetent, I think they've just fallen into a particular misconception of how muscle is built that is very common among the amateur body building community. They misunderstand how to manipulate the volume of there lifts. Most lifters understand that to build muscle, they must lower the intensity (weight) and raise the volume (reps), right? Technically. The problem is that they will raise the volume far too high, like 3 or 4 sets of 20 or even more reps. Once that high in volume, you've passed into the realm of muscle endurance, and there will be little muscle built. Volume is most effectively manipulated by focusing on this term: Time-Under-Tension. This refers to the amount of time that a muscle is under tension, or contraction, while performing an exercise. Volume and time-under-tension are directly correlated. So if volume increases, so does TUT, and vice versa. So anything with higher sets and reps will have higher volume and TUT. In my experience, the best muscle building parameters are 3x8-12, and 2x15. Anywhere past this and your training muscular endurance more than hypertrophy. The most effective way to increase volume and TUT, I've found, is to slow the tempo. These guys will do the reps so quickly that even though they are doing really high volume, their TUT is bad because they move through the reps too quickly. So slow the reps down, take a second or two for the concentric phase, and then even longer for the eccentric phase, like 3 to 5 seconds. This will drastically increase the volume and TUT of your workout, but with fewer reps. My personal favorite is a !-1-3 tempo. The "!" means to lift concentrically as explosively as possible while still maintaining proper form and muscle control. The second number, "1," means to pause at the top or midpoint of the lift and stabilize the muscles. The final "3" means to allow for 3 seconds to pass during the eccentric phase. This tempo allows for strength building concentrically and muscle building eccentrically.

One other thing that is commonly disregarded in the amateur body building community is range of motion. Not only is full range of motion good for the joints and flexibility, it also allows for much greater time-under-tension. It is easy to see how someone doing full bench press reps will have greater TUT than someone doing half reps. Full range of motion does not mean "lock out." It is rarely a good idea to lock out any joints while they are under a load, this can lead to countless injuries. But someone can come very close to locking out, while still having their muscles bearing the load. I think that as far as lifting goes, full range of motion can be defined as moving as close as possible to extending a joint to such a point that the load is on the frame, but not reaching that point, and keeping the load on the musculature.

Always move through full range of motion, and manipulate volume by increasing time-under-tension, not just by increasing repetitions. If these two principles are applied to body building parameters, building muscle is far more achievable. Unfortunately for Gloves, his ego is even bigger than he thinks his biceps are, so I am afraid that he may spend the rest of his life doing half reps. But for every body out there reading this that cannot seem to gain muscle mass, or is just looking to grow even stronger, then I strongly encourage applying this to your lifting programs. I guarantee that it will only offer positive results.

Thank you.
  

Workout: Back and Chest, and Why Isolation is Not Ideal for Building Strength.

By Josh Shively

This workout is from the first day of the first week of the first full workout program I have ever written. The main principle is to combine every movement with a complimentary or antagonistic superset. Doing this alters the ratio of the workout from high-intensity/low-volume to high-intensity/moderate-volume. This allows for the ability to train the nervous system for strength and the muscles for hypertrophy at the same time, which leads to large strength and mass gains. This workout is difficult and is intended people wanting to greatly increase strength and muscle mass.

            Power: speed hang cleans 3x5 (Light)

-          BB Bench press 5x2 (warm-up sets as necessary)

o   Superset w/ explosive push-ups x5. Push up as hard as possible, come off of the ground, land with hands and stabilize.

-          BB Bent Rows 3x3 (warm-up as necessary)    2-1-3 tempo (including warm up)

o   Superset 3x30sec front plank

-          Weighted dips 4x6       !-1-3 tempo

o   Superset w/ staggered push ups x3         !-1-3 tempo

-          Weighted pull ups 4x6             !-1-3 tempo

o   Superset w/ band reverse fly x5       1-1-3 tempo

 

 NOTE: an "!" in the tempo indicates moving concentrically as explosively as possible without losing proper form or muscle control.

REST: rest as much as necessary in between sets but there is no rest between one set to a superset. For example: Perform bench press for 1 set of two reps, then immediately perform 1 set of 5 explosive push ups. Then rest as much as necessary before repeating.

So why would  I say that using isolation exercises is not ideal for strength?

The reason I don't say that it is entirely detrimental to strength is because in situations in which muscles are imbalanced, such as after a surgery, certain muscle will need to be strengthened in absence of other muscles, such as needing to strengthen the glutes because they are imbalanced with the hamstrings. The reason why isolation is generally not ideal for building strength is because it creates faulty recruitment patterns. This means that when a particular movement is required, like pulling for instance, the nervous system will over recruit a particular muscle and under recruit another. So if someone goes to the gym and does so many biceps curls that they can't scratch the back of their head, but fails to do any pull-ups or rows, his nervous system will learn to heavily recruit the biceps for pulling motions and under recruit the back muscles for pulling. This can lead to improper posture, or ever serious injury. This imbalance will not arise from only one workout, but if repeated over time, an imbalance between the biceps muscles and back muscles associated with pulling can develop.

An imbalance between the biceps and back is one of the most common muscle viruses caused by isolating a particular muscles. Nowhere in the body is there a muscle that does not work in conjunction with other muscles. The biceps muscle is meant to work with all the pulling muscles in the back. It can work on its own, in the pattern of a curl, but that movement is rare compared to a pull, such as a pull up, or row. A general rule that I apply to movements in order to discern whether they are an isolation or compound exercise is this: If only one joint changes position through the movement, it is isolation. The hip and shoulder joints are exceptions to this because of the large amount of complex muscles surrounding them.

Here are the most common isolation movements:

• Bicep curl
• Tricep Extension
• Forearm Curl
• Leg Extension
• Leg Curl
• Calf Raise

If the goal of the individual is to become as muscular as possible, with complete disregard to functionality, then using isolation movements can be advantageous. If the goal of the individual is to become the strongest person they can become, then isolation will not help them unless it is being used to balance an already existing imbalance.