Monthly Archives: April 2011

As many of our readers are aware, we keep a very open line of communication with our readers via Twitter and Facebook. This allows us to provide up-to-date education on efficient exercise approaches and ensure readers utilize USPlabs products to their utmost.

In connection with this super-connectivity, we came up with a plan to launch a special Friday edition where we combine a daily training program (per reader choice), with a follow up supplement protocol on Facebook.

You have the “vote” and your responses via Twitter (through either direct message or the “@” function) will decide the topic.

The winning topic for today’s episode of the USPlabs Iron Day is, by the narrowest of margins:

“Chest and Triceps”

If there are questions related to the performance of any movements, please post questions on the USPlabs Facebook wall, where the article is posted and I will personally answer.

Begin your exercise regime with proper movement preparation work (RED² and Hurdle mobility drills) and non-weighted general physical preparation before digging into the iron.

Chest

• Dumbell Bench Press: 1-3 sets x 10-12 repetitions
• Dips (weighted preferably): 4 sets x 6 repetitions
• Incline Flies (45°): 3 sets x 12 repetitions
• Circular Flies: 1-2 sets x 12 repetitions
• Barbell (or E-Z curl bar) pullovers: 1-2 sets x 12 repetitions.

Notes: the variation in set volume is left to the decision of the individual given level of fitness but all sets should be performed at a high level of intensity. Naturally if you can handle the work volume, supplement properly (i.e with Jack3d, Yok3d and Modern pre-session), I strongly advise the top end of the program.

Triceps

The option for more experienced lifters, with increased sets, is listed in parenthesis. Remember to keep constant tension and do not completely “lock out”.

• Barbell Tricep Extension (straight bar, flat bench) 2 (4) sets x 12, 8 repetitions
• Standing Dumbell French Presses (single dumbell at a time) 1 (3) x 8 repetitions
• Dumbell Tricep Extension (decline bench 45° angle) 2 (3) sets x 12, 8 repetitions
• Bench Dips 1 (2) sets x 8 repetitions

DMC™ (please note, many of these holds should be stressed, i.e. the Table, to detonate the triceps)

static range of motion work

Step two in this plan is visit the Facebook page well in advance of starting your training day for expert advice on how to optimize your results.

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

Prepared by John Davies
Photo: Jake Wooley

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

At the scheduled time of this articles release, I have just become aware of a massive set of Tornados ripping through southern United States. Many of these regions I know quite well and from myself, my family and all of USPlabs are deepest hopes, thoughts and prayers are with you. For those reading and in the line of possible danger please be safe and take what action needed to put you and your loved ones in the safest possible environment.

Building the “beach body” should inherently imply an element of functionality whereby your physique not only is appealing but allows you to live a more participatory life.  While my career is best known for its work within elite athlete training circles from another vantage the classic athletic physique is arguably the epitome of the male or female form. This returns to my earliest arguments in the health and fitness industry when I began writing because if your goal is simply to “look better”, then train as an athlete.

Yet for many that will either be a challenging long-term change, requiring education on how to perform certain movements that may take considerable time to learn as well as possibly needing a new facility to workout. While I do not want to dissuade anyone from learning the classic lifts of Squats, Push , Pull or Pressing, there are a number of areas that have virtually no learning curve and help you attain that “beach body” this summer.

• Elevate work threshold with general physical preparation. Non-weighted calisthenics are tremendous for improving fitness levels as well as reducing body fat.
• Add static range of motion work at the end of each training session. This will improve recovery from exercise, develop strength endurance, as well as potentially help you relax better and reduce the risk of injury.
• Perform hip mobility work (RED² and Hurdle mobility drills) at the start of each training session to improve movement generation.
• Utilize peak contraction where appropriate. At the apex of the lift (i.e. Bicep Curls) squeeze the muscle hard for a two to three count. When you are training arms, hit them hard (try this workout).
• Pay greater attention to recovery work (i.e. Ice baths, Contrast showers, Epsom salt baths, Saunas, Massage therapy) and ensure your supplementation recognizes its importance with the inclusion of Modern, Prime,  Super Cissus and PowerFull.

Make sure you join us tomorrow for USPlabs IRON DAY!

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

Prepared by John Davies
Photo: Joey Smith

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 mention of “beach body” brings up many different images to the fitness and exercise industry. From one standpoint, it certainly reminds readers of the classic advertising by Charles Atlas of “having sand kicked in your face”, while others will denote as building a lean physique for the summer, long after the heavy cover-ups of winter have been put in storage. Yet while each certainly profits from “sex appeal” and possessing an attractive physique, often it does not come via healthy options. The peculiarity of “building a beach body” that for many it does not mean “functionality”.

Since I began writing in the health, fitness and sports performance market I have learned that much of the public fails to understand that athletic development yields a tremendous physique that not only answers the call of athleticism but considered “attractive” to most. While the intent, or certainly my intent, is not to build a problem based upon aesthetics it comes as a by-product.

Effectively by training “correctly”, you will not only build a highly “functional physique” as well go well beyond your goals of “building the beach body”. As I forewarned on the USPlabs forum, I would have a few surprises with this series because “building the beach body” goes well beyond “a few sets of bicep curls” but possessing a functionally fit and healthy physique.

The first thing to realise in training errors for “the beach body” is that most need to invert the focus of their training. This is very far reaching, so please let me explain.

• Within males, most focus on developing their upper body with very little on their legs. This type of imbalance is not healthy, functional or appealing, to which the cure is regular focus on lower body. The solution comes via compound movements

• Within females, much of the commercial fitness facilities are packed with endless “cardio machines” that cater to the market looking to lose weight or maintain their , fitness without ever realizing a well developed resistance program will provide significantly greater benefit. In addition to weight routines, the portability of DMC™ provides a great exercise regime you can perform at home that helps in the reduction of body fat as well as promoting lean, dense musculature.

Developing a “beach body” is more than aesthetics but in-fact being able to participate in recreational sporting activities with good mobility. Whether your goals are to paddle out into the surf and nudge your way into the co-ed Volleyball circuit, flexibility and optimal posture is needed. Though it is only a first step and takes time to correct, dynamic (RED² and Hurdle mobility drills) and static range of motion work as well as “STS” will assist in improving movement patterns and posture.

Join us all this week as we examine how to get your summer beach body!

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

Prepared by John Davies

Top Photo: Curt "The Brute" Dennis
Second from the top photo: John Davies from the DVD production, "Pink, it's the new black" © Renegade Style Productions, 2011

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

Further to yesterday’s article, detailing important dietary aspects with weight loss plans, the majority of individuals training regimes, even if they are focused on “weight loss”, are far off track of the goal of being “beach ready”.

To understand the root of this problem you must first realise that the difference between resistance training in a “mass development” phase and “weight reduction” is not as great as it seems. In-fact, when designed properly there are many very broad similarities, yet of-course the important term to realise is a well constructed training regime.

The majority of resistance programs in the market have three very common faults:

• A seemingly endless amount of repetitions with one exercise. It has become fashionable in the last decade to promote long duration sets of one particular exercise, such as with kettlebell or dumbbell swings. Ignoring the fact this radically increases the risk of injury and creates enormous joint integrity issues but who came up with the idea of performing a compound explosive movement in extreme sub-maximal levels? The sheer phrasing should sound like nails grating along chalkboard but in an industry that cares more about SEO script, splash pages and sales conversion, maybe somewhat should re-evaluate that point.

• In continuation of the above scheme, long duration sets in resistance training results in lowered testosterone and heightened cortisol production. The answer is to use exercises suited towards the typing of the muscle groups, respecting proper technical form and intended hormonal reaction.

• Insufficient use of compound movements. The basics of the “iron-game” are a rare find in the majority of gym settings for many lower yielding isolationist movements. Start with the basics of Squat, Push, Pull and Pressing before moving to isolation exercises.

With the above changes the easy way to accelerate fat loss, yet reduce the chance of poor exercise technique, as well as the other factors noted is to add non-weighted general physical preparation prior to the start of resistance training as well as immediately after each movement. This subtle increase of bodyweight movements (i.e. a continuous two-minute set consisting of thirty seconds each of jumping jacks, shuffle splits, burpees, mountain climbers) that lack technical challenge, thus increasing the likelihood of proper execution will increase work threshold as well as assist in growth hormone secretion.

Join us all this week as we examine how to get your summer beach body!

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

Prepared by John Davies
Photo: 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 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

With it mid April and spring in full force, much of the exercise world is focused upon the race for the ultimate “beach body”. This annual practice, like the mass bulking phase with the onslaught of cold weather conditions yet consistently sees the same errors made. Through the course of this week our articles will focus on finding that lean beach body you crave and eliminate the common errors.

As a notation, firstly for those considering extending their mass development plan it is relatively easy to manage your goal as well as been lean for say the start of summer. It is marginally more difficult in planning but with the correct supplement regime you will no plan.

A secondary point, if you have made the mistake of adding mass with poor caloric intake and the corresponding body composition problem, please remember for future years. Whomever started the trend of convincing people to add as much weight as possible, regardless if it was fat and then look to shed it, had no idea how difficult of a task that is. Not only is difficult to shed body-fat but it poses health risks, can create very bad dietary habits and leave the individual prone to injury in the gym.

Of the many major errors of dieters or those trying to strip down excess weight is food consumption and the standard “starvation” approach. Doomed to failure, a proper diet will stress a number of points including:

• Eat healthy balanced meals with meat, vegetable and fruit sources with proportions of each roughly the size of your palm and make use of natural marinades that include olive oil as an example

• Push away from the table without being “full”.

• Never consume processed foods. Consume nothing that comes from a box or soft drinks.

In aggregate, these three basic rules will not only save money given fast food is extremely expensive as well as being very unhealthy but will establish a pattern of smaller, more frequent balanced meals.

If these three points are challenging, the final in this instalment will be a mighty hurdle per observations as most do not drink sufficient water. Water consumption is quite obviously paramount for your health, provides a myriad of benefits including flushing the body of toxins, reducing stress as well as increasing mental acuity.

Given the amount of workload I prescribe in exercise regimes as well as the coming warm weather conditions, in my opinion each individual should consume a minimum of four litres per day, preferably cold to assist weight loss. This amount will need to be increased for heavier individuals, those involved in multiple or a higher workload training regime.

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

Prepared by John Davies
Photo: Joe Bender, Personal Trainer and USP Labs client

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