Monthly Archives: February 2011

Despite the various goals within the exercise world, along with losing weight one of the most common is adding muscle mass. Digging deeper into this agenda and whether it is said enough generally the goal of adding “mass” is not a small dosage but rather large slabs that transform your body into potentially a vastly different one.

Though there are many differences of goals, the “iron” is a common denominator, “speaks” its own language called “hard work” and when applied properly will build muscle as well as shed excess body weight. The test of the equation is application of work, knowing how to work correctly and of-course utilizing a sound diet and an appropriate supplement plan.

Oddly one of the greatest foes of building muscle mass for the bodybuilder is not diet, supplementation or even training, but the exercise facility itself. This is no small problem as many facilities have been dressed up like it is “ball season”. Not only is chalk and lifting platforms are gone but the dare utterance of groan or a clanging weight results in having your membership revoked. This well known problem as forced many to search out “iron friendly” facilities where sweat and a little bit of venom are understood as part of the territory. Naturally if this applies to you, I forewarn you if you presently train in a facility that clamps down your ferocity, find a facility that does not limit your training.

Running adjacent to this problem is the long term abandonment of free weights as the majority of facilities are machine based. Though machine based lifting is more accepted in the modern iron-game and certainly more prevalent, any comment that it is more efficient is off base. It takes equal time to load a barbell as opposed to a machine, therefore if the option is available use free weights. In a roundabout weight this returns to first point because if you are serious in your goal of advanced mass development, you must train in a suitable environment.

Furthermore with free weights, there is significant added benefit as opposed to machine. While there is no true quantifiable amount, the vast difference in needing to stabilize the load and impact upon musculature can be dramatic. There is also good reason to suggest the machine based training, given it does not infer needs upon stabilizing groups is potentially more dangerous in that it will overload a region. Though you are likely to give up a significant percentage of the load in a like movement, the free weight variation will derive greater benefits and allow much greater variation.

Throughout the course of this week, we will examine each of these concerns for Bodybuilding to advance your mass development goals of 2011. In the next of our series we will review the key movements that every emerging bodybuilder needs to utilize.

John Davies is available on his personal page on Facebook , Renegade Training™’s as well as or Twitter.

Prepared by John Davies
Top Photo: Shawn Moody, Steve Jury and John Davies in "Speed", a Renegade Style production 2006
Second from the Top: Steve Tauriello is Yok3d

Disclaimer
The information provided in “Instant Training Improvement Tips”, as well as this web-site blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should it be interpreted as medical advice for any condition. Always consult a qualified medical professional before beginning any nutritional program or exercise program. By reading this disclaimer, you hereby agree and understand that the information provided in this column is not medical advice and relying upon it shall be done at your sole risk.

While the greatest problem for dedicated lifters is adaptation to movements, the root of many errors in training starts with the validity of information and stereotyping various groups within the “iron game”. Exercise, whether you are training for sport, a competitive bodybuilder or trying to improve your general health follows some straightforward guidelines but unfortunately the public perception of strength athletes and bodybuilders have made many consider them wildly different. In-fact they are very similar in the upper echelon and younger lifters should learn from each group to advance their efforts.

While there are naturally many mediums to choose from and no one piece of equipment is the panacea, all training, whether you are a strength athlete or a bodybuilder starts with the ability to manage your bodyweight. Once an individual is able to maintain posture and overall proper body position while under duress, then and only then should they add external resistance.

This is of-course where the “fun” starts because within the fight to avoid adaptation variation of movement, tempo and starting positions, along with a few other nuances is all you need for long-term gains. Digging deeper into fighting adaptation for strength athletes is tinkering with every segment of a movement whereby you may target a particular zone. Just as your pause and “deadstop” Squat will have an enormous impact on your acceleration strength by utilizing weight releasers, cambered bars, bands or chains a lifter can effectively invert the demands of the lift and stimulate growth.

While those practices are very common among athletic and strength related sectors of the iron game, each follow a similar idea of overloading the eccentric action of the lift which bodybuilders have known since the earliest days of the genre. Within traditional bodybuilding circles the difference with these approaches from the “strength athlete” field is minor from a broad physiological perspective even if they appear dramatically different in presentation. That maybe difficult to consider given the vast differences in typical training settings but make no mistake the rigours of the iron game are very similar and why it was once considered a “brotherhood”.

This returns to the biggest aspects for Bodybuilders seeking vast muscular gain, whereby beyond a proper diet and nutritional program they:

• Utilize compound movements as the mainstay of their training before breaking off into isolation exercises
• Always use appropriate loading such that the movement can be performed correctly
• Place focus on the eccentric of movement
• Apply peak contraction with every repetition, remembering the importance of time under tension.

Throughout the course of this week, we will examine each of these concerns for Bodybuilding to advance your mass development goals of 2011.

John Davies is available on his personal page on Facebook , Renegade Training™’s as well as or Twitter.

Prepared by John Davies
Top Photo: John Davies dumbell set from Detroit Barbells
Second from the Top: Steve Tauriello is Yok3d

Disclaimer
The information provided in “Instant Training Improvement Tips”, as well as this web-site blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should it be interpreted as medical advice for any condition. Always consult a qualified medical professional before beginning any nutritional program or exercise program. By reading this disclaimer, you hereby agree and understand that the information provided in this column is not medical advice and relying upon it shall be done at your sole risk.

One of the greatest problems for those trying to restore health and fighting back from weight gain is deciphering the barrage of information available. While in many industries there is a natural check and balance, the health and fitness sector is a cornucopia of facts mixed with marketing that makes for sheer mayhem. Quite obviously, I understand the problems many go through as the marketing is extremely “slick” and unless you know better (i.e. devoted much of your life to mentoring coaches) you are unlikely to realise that much of it is fallacy.

Exercise, whether you are looking to build vast amounts of muscle or shed bodyweight follows a structured pattern, should be enjoyable and part of an active lifestyle. For much of my life I would inform eager listeners that there “are no short-cuts” and while that is certainly true there are ways to make the task considerably easier.

From a “perfect world” situation I would say no aspect of your training, diet and supplementation is more important that the other but based upon my observations of typical habits of the mainstream that might not be precisely the case.
First and foremost, let me state that nutritional supplementation has taken a giant leap forward in recent years. I have personally attested to this in my workout logs that through supplementation and a unique training approach I developed, I reversed “the clock” to recover from injuries that most said I was “retired” from competition. The enormous problems in the nutritional value of many food products has been completely offset with advancements in supplementation and in a unique way of looking at things, provides users a healthy “short-cut”. Reminding readers of plunging nutritional values of many food items, problems finding quality goods in many locations as well as the sheer cost of (true) organic vegetables and high quality protein sources, a proper supplement program is affordable and tremendous value for money.

Secondly and certainly in relation to the above paragraph, general diet of much of the mainstream is abysmal. It is every personal trainer’s nightmare that they can “sound the charge” in a great workout but the moment their client leaves the allure of the drive-thru window beckons. “One step forward with two steps back” is a simple formula for failure and the answer is simple because if you want to attain your goals, you need to respect yourself and eat a healthy balanced diet of natural foods.

The third area is quite frankly the subject of this daily blog, exercising correctly, in order to maintain the maximal benefits and develop a lifelong habit of healthy enriching exercise. A bold statement I know but I not only want you to attain your goals in your teens but maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout your life. However for those looking to retrace their steps and either restore their health or find it for the first time, the issue is both complex due to erroneous information in the media. With respects specifically to weight loss, unfortunately the media far too often suggests a draconian approach of high intensity work, far beyond the abilities or needs of such a group. In cases such as these the adage of “slow and steady wins the race” is suited because a manageable program that promotes proper exercise patterns, ensuring there is no risk of injury and the development of passive exercise habits is best and when combined with diet and supplementation will accelerate an individuals more towards their goal.

Adhering to these three basic notions will not only help you attain your goals but do so faster and in my opinion, further you towards lifelong health.

John Davies is available on his personal page on Facebook , Renegade Training™’s as well as or Twitter.

Prepared by John Davies
Top Photo: John Davies exploding high in Med Ball toss from "Mark of R" ©Renegade Style Productions 2005

Second from the Top: Joe "The Prototype" Morrow

Disclaimer
The information provided in “Instant Training Improvement Tips”, as well as this web-site blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as medical advice for any condition. Always consult a qualified medical professional before beginning any nutritional program or exercise program. By reading this disclaimer, you hereby agree and understand that the information provided in this column is not medical advice and relying upon it shall be done at your sole risk.

Running adjacent to the entire issue of avoiding adaptation is ensuring recovery from exercise. Whereas adaptation to exercise is the great enemy of dedicated gym-goers, recovery is the evil beast the few deal with. For the most part, exercise programs are developed lacking in the idea of preparing for the next training session. Although it is near impossible to quantify as some training areas will overlap with others, it can be said that sixty to seventy-five percent of all work should assist in recovery. In-fact, if you consider passive exercise, such as general walking in your daily life or other manual chores that number can be significantly higher.

This quite obviously is complicated by levels of fitness as an individual lacking in work threshold will simply be too fatigued to perform recovery based training. This paradox creates a situation whereby an individual needs to improve their work threshold to perform the majority of the training session, which in turn improves recovery but quite obviously they are unable. One of the great fallacies of the modern exercise industry is that you should take a draconian approach to those with weight reduction goals. Such an approach, further cultivated by mindless media presentation leads to the industry to further problems as individuals rarely achieve long-term solutions and the majority are lead to dangerous exercise regimes.

In most situations training measures to improve recovery approaches such as static and dynamic range of motion (RED² and Hurdles) and callisthenics (with general physical preparation) will play a large role along with DMC™ or other weighted “GPP” mediums. However, each falls victim to lower levels of fitness as they individual is less likely to perform each of these measures with proper technique, creating a circuitous problem

With this in mind and in answer to reader mail (via Twitter), this sits at the root of why proper supplementation is imperative for those attempting to lose weight. The “fuel” muscles derive from the branched-chain amino acids in “Modern™” plays a great role in recovery from exercise and while many assume it is best served for “hardcore bodybuilders and athletes” in my opinion it is a must for those trying to lose weight. Albeit an intense challenge for those attempting to lose weight, do your best to work through the little additions to your regime, adding range of motionand ensuring proper recovery with supplementation of Modern™. As you create this “cycle” of expanding your workout and improving recovery, you will accelerate the achievement of your goals.

Though it should be obvious by commentary, I take the matter of weight reduction and overall health in society serious. Culling the obesity epidemic is one of my greatest goals in my career and I invite questions so that we can work together on this matter.

John Davies is available on his personal page on Facebook , Renegade Training™’s as well as or Twitter.

Prepared by John Davies
Top Photo: John Davies performing a Squat with Coach Jim Massaro in the DVD "Power Speed; Squat"
©Renegade Style Productions 2005

Disclaimer
The information provided in “Instant Training Improvement Tips”, as well as this web-site blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should it be interpreted as medical advice for any condition. Always consult a qualified medical professional before beginning any nutritional program or exercise program. By reading this disclaimer, you hereby agree and understand that the information provided in this column is not medical advice and relying upon it shall be done at your sole risk.

The great enemy of dedicated exercise enthusiasts and the “iron game” is adaptation. Typically most do not recognize it and they simply perform movements they enjoy, failing to see the return on training time depleting. Whether it is performing the same lift in a regular set pattern for months on end or walking on a treadmill, adaptation to exercise occurs and results lower. However, once the individual recognizes this concern and begins to adjust their approach in consideration of the “law of diminishing returns”, the effect of their training takes a great jump forward.

The approaches to adjusting training regimes fall into some very broad measures including revising exercises, training mediums, environment, tempo, loading parameters as well as changing actual exercises used. While each of these measures has many subsections they must always be concerned that the adjustments never lose sight of the training goal. This is very commonly seen when athletes find a particular workout “interesting” or “fun” but fail to see how it has little in common with their sport. The examples are endless as athletes “cross train” in other sports and become so involved with it they fail to see how their exercise regime is now focused on another activity and might be de-conditioning them.

Equally, while exercises may change from a broad scope the overall movement or better-said, movement generation will remain the same. The subtle variation will sufficiently thwart adaptation and the individual will continue their progression with little or no stagnation. This allows the individual to utilize many of the same movements, particularly compound ones, with basic variation with the start position and for that matter, a unique twist that is a favourite of many in strength training, pause repetitions.

A “pause rep” is a brilliant twist to training that is straightforward, yet tremendously challenging and provides an exhausting variation. Within a “pause rep”, the best examples being a Squat or a Bench Press, the individual will perform the concentric action of the lift, hold with perfect body alignment, creating extraordinary tension and after a short one-to-three count explode back up. This approach creates massive tension, further influenced with respects to the stretch-shortening cycle and greatly assist in strength goals.

Adjusting your training regime with “pause reps” within your Squat and Bench Press routines a few times a month is highly influential in growth and can be used at virtually any level, assuming complete compliance.

John Davies is available on his personal page on Facebook , Renegade Training™’s as well as or Twitter.

Prepared by John Davies
Top Photo: John Davies performing a Squat with Coach Jim Massaro in the DVD "Power Speed; Squat"
©Renegade Style Productions 2005

Disclaimer
The information provided in “Instant Training Improvement Tips”, as well as this web-site blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should it be interpreted as medical advice for any condition. Always consult a qualified medical professional before beginning any nutritional program or exercise program. By reading this disclaimer, you hereby agree and understand that the information provided in this column is not medical advice and relying upon it shall be done at your sole risk.