1) Don't cut calories too much.
This is something that happens a lot as people get closer to their goals, and especially when people hit a fat loss plateau.
But you can't do it.
Here's why.
Among other things, your food intake and energy balance help to control your metabolism (most likely by altering levels of various hormones in your body).
When you cut your calories too much, you probably knock your hormones levels for a loop, causing them to send a collective message to your body that you are not getting enough to energy in...and therefore, that shuts down your fat loss systems.
Here's one reader's account of the pitfalls of an excessively low calorie diet...
"I'm on the weight loss track again. I found I wasn't eating enough calories (1000 kcal/day). Filling up on veggies is good (and I love them), but they don't have the calories. Eating walnuts/almonds helped get me there. Eating 1500+ is where I need to stay to lose weight and keep my energy up. I've dropped about 3 pounds this week."
Holly, using the TT for Women program with great success
With men, I generally cringe when I hear they are eating less than 1800 calories per day. And with women, anything less than 1500 calories per day. So you probably want to stay above those levels, and definitely avoid any sharp, sudden decreases in your energy intake.
2) Don't exercise too much.
For very similar reasons to point #1
Exercise intensity and frequency also help to control your hormone levels. If you over-exercise (i.e. tonnes of cardio everyday, weight training everyday, etc.), then your body doesn't get a chance to recover and keep your hormones at the correct level.
After all, exercise is another form of stress on your body...and you all know how your body and mind can get messed up from too much stress.
Resist the urge to exercise for the sake of exercise. Don't go adding 60 minute stairmaster sessions everyday before breakfast if you're already on a well-designed, consistent workout schedule. That could be too much stress on your body.
Stick to structured, purposeful exercise as found in your TT program.
I've been around the exercise block so to speak, and I often know how much is too much for most fitness levels.
And as I said the other week in a previous email about advanced fat loss, the best way to accelerate your fat burning is by adding in some bodyweight circuits (starting at 10 minutes per day and working up to 20 minutes maximum) done in the morning or evening.
(If you do your regular workout in the AM, do your bodyweight circuits after dinner; otherwise, do the bw circuits first thing in the AM, and then do your regular workout at lunch or later in the afternoon or evening.)
After two weeks, take a break from this routine and allow your body to recover.
Two other things you can do during this two weeks of extra training...
a) Add 10 seconds to the length of each interval.
b) Add 1 set to each of the exercises in the first Superset of the workout.
So now you have more volume, performed at a high-intensity of course, but without over-taxing your hormonal system.
But remember, you should only do this increased training volume for 2 weeks. Then you need to take a break and reduce the training volume to normal - to allow your body to adapt and recover.
3) Eat 8 times per day.
In the past 5-10 years, it's become common knowledge that we should all eat smaller, more frequent meals. In fact, one study from 2005 showed that doing so helped reduce cholesterol and burn more calories than eating 2-3 meals per day.
And so for our advanced fat loss approach, we're going to bump that up to 8 meals per day. Here's how you would do that:
Breakfast
Mid-morning snack
Lunch
Afternoon snack
Pre-workout
Post-workout
Dinner
Evening snack
With each meal and snack (except pre- & post-workout) focusing on lean protein, healthy fats, and fiber-rich vegetables and fruit (for pre- and post-workout, stick with 20g protein and a half-serving of fruit).
Start your day immediately with 2 cups of water, 3 fish oil caps, and 20g of lean protein, and then have your a fiber-rich breakfast. This meal will help dictate your blood sugar for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. So if you blow it on breakfast, you've might actually have blown it for the entire day.
(And if you workout at other times of the day, just adjust the schedule and move about the pre- and post-workout meals).
4) Eat more fiber-rich vegetables at each meal.
Last week I suggested a cup of broccoli at both lunch and dinner (NOTE: I didn't mean that was all you should eat - sorry for the confusion).
Other ways to get more green include eating a green pepper with your omelet at breakfast, or spinach in your salads at lunch, etc.
Aim for 8 servings of green, fiber-rich vegetables over the course of the day.
5) Eat only protein, healthy fats, & fiber between meals.
This would give you a sample snack plan of 20g lean protein (from a quality shake or from chicken breast), 1/2 - 1 oz almonds, some more broccoli or spinach, or an apple. And enjoy some Green Tea at this time as well, of course.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Top Five Fat Loss Tips
from Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, M.Sc.
1) No liquid calories (with the exception of milk - as long as it fits your daily nutrition plan). So get rid of all the juices, the sodas, and the sports drinks. Liquid sugar is the last thing you need when you are trying to lose fat. And say goodbye to booze - not only will it lead to excess calories in, but it can also reduce the quality of your sleep - and that just leads to a whole other list of problems.
2) No fast food. Do not eat at fast food restaurants. Even if you choose what you think is healthy, remember this: Fast food restaurants are all about profit. And in order to profit while giving you cheap, quick, and easy to prepare foods, the quality of the food ingredients will be poor - especially the protein.
Now you might have read that you can still make healthy choices at fast food restaurants. But you know what, that's just politically-correct nonsense. If it's fast food, it's poor food. You do realize it's no coincidence that fast food chicken breasts are the exact same shape and size, right?
(I'll be discussing more politically correct fitness nonsense later this week...and tearing apart what passes for fitness information in the media these days.)
Walking into a burger joint and grabbing a pre-formed chicken breast on a white bread bun with a piece of old lettuce and a half-green, half-pink tomato is not healthy eating.
The politically-incorrect truth is that it's going to take time and effort to eat properly. You will have to plan, shop, and prepare healthy meals. You will have to spend time cleaning, cutting, and cooking your food. That's the truth.
But believe me, it will taste so much better than fast food, and healthy eating will make you more alert. Eating fast food will make you feel terrible, and will make you want to have an afternoon nap at your desk.
Do the best you can to improve on your nutrition everyday.
3) Eat more fruits and vegetables. If you are eating 2 servings per day, then go up to 4 servings per day by the end of the week. And even if you think you are doing great by having 5 servings per day, you still need to double that (take 2-3 weeks to work your way up to 10 servings per day). Stick with fiber-rich fruits and vegetables. And go organic whenever possible.
4) Eat 1oz of almonds or walnuts per day (1/2 oz in the AM, and the other half in the afternoon). Most nuts are roasted in hydrogenated oils (trans fats), so stick to non-roasted nuts.
5) Be consistent with your workouts, and make sure the workouts are efficient and effective. To make it easy for you to follow, stick with the Turbulence Training workout system.
It doesn't matter if you train in the morning before or after breakfast, or at night before or after dinner, or at 1pm on days when the moon is in line with Saturn...don't worry about the details, just train consistently.
6) BONUS TIP: Go for a walk after lunch or dinner (or anytime you eat a big meal). Research shows this will help you control your cholesterol and triglycerides, plus any movement is better than sitting around watching the TV and snacking.
Monday, February 6, 2006
Home Grown Muscle, Phase 6 (A)
Getting back to Home Grown Muscle from the Men's Health series. I've done the first five series, did the last one a year ago and then laid off workouts. Last month was the workout from Mens Journal to get back into shape. After doing HGM again, I remember how bad this workout will kick your butt! I can bearly lift my arms now.
Washboard-Worthy
Phase 6 of our 10-part home-or-gym workout series. Find your abs with our belly-busting plan
Workout A
Complex 1: Hybrid
Barbell Hang Clean/Front Squat/Push Press
Step 1: Hang Clean
Grab a barbell with a shoulder-width overhand grip and hold it in front of your thighs while standing with your knees slightly bent. Your lower back should be in its natural alignment (slightly arched).
Shrug your shoulders as you pull the bar up as hard as you can. You should rise up on your toes as you do this. <* />
When the bar reaches chest level, bend your knees again, rotate your forearms from the elbows, and bend your wrists so they go around the bar as you "catch" the bar on the front of your shoulders.
Step 2: Front Squat
Without changing the position of your arms, lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
Step 3: Push Press
Drive yourself up with your legs as you thrust the weight toward the ceiling until you're up on your toes and your arms are straightened above you.
Lower the bar back down to the starting position, described in Step 1. That's one repetition.
Barbell: Same/Dumbbell: Dumbbell Hang Clean/Front Squat/Push Press
Complex 2: Hybrid
Romanian Deadlift/Bent-Over Row
Step 1: Romanian Deadlift
Grab a bar with an overhand grip that's just beyond shoulder width. Stand holding the bar at arm's length against the front of your thighs. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, your knees slightly bent, and your eyes focused straight ahead.
Without changing the angle of your knees, slowly bend at the hips as you lower the bar just below your knees. Keep your head and chest up and your lower back flat or slightly arched.
Complex 3: Superset
Lat Pulldown
Grab the bar with a "false" overhand grip that's just beyond shoulder-width. A false grip means you place your thumb on top of the bar, alongside your index finger, rather than wrap it around the bar.
Pull the bar down to your chest.
Pause, then slowly return to the starting position.
Barbell: Barbell Pullover/Dumbbell: Dumbbell Pullover
Dumbbell Incline Piston Press
Grab a pair of dumbbells and position yourself on your back on a Swiss ball so your torso is at a 45-degree angle from the floor.
Hold the dumbbells just outside your shoulders at about jaw level, with your palms facing forward.
Press one dumbbell overhead so the weight is above your chin at the top of the move. As you lower it, press the other one up.
Continue to alternate until you finish the set.
Barbell: Barbell Incline Bench Press/Dumbbell: Same
Washboard-Worthy
Phase 6 of our 10-part home-or-gym workout series. Find your abs with our belly-busting plan
Workout A
Complex 1: Hybrid
Barbell Hang Clean/Front Squat/Push Press
Step 1: Hang Clean
Grab a barbell with a shoulder-width overhand grip and hold it in front of your thighs while standing with your knees slightly bent. Your lower back should be in its natural alignment (slightly arched).
Shrug your shoulders as you pull the bar up as hard as you can. You should rise up on your toes as you do this. <* />
When the bar reaches chest level, bend your knees again, rotate your forearms from the elbows, and bend your wrists so they go around the bar as you "catch" the bar on the front of your shoulders.
Step 2: Front Squat
Without changing the position of your arms, lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
Step 3: Push Press
Drive yourself up with your legs as you thrust the weight toward the ceiling until you're up on your toes and your arms are straightened above you.
Lower the bar back down to the starting position, described in Step 1. That's one repetition.
Barbell: Same/Dumbbell: Dumbbell Hang Clean/Front Squat/Push Press
Complex 2: Hybrid
Romanian Deadlift/Bent-Over Row
Step 1: Romanian Deadlift
Grab a bar with an overhand grip that's just beyond shoulder width. Stand holding the bar at arm's length against the front of your thighs. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, your knees slightly bent, and your eyes focused straight ahead.
Without changing the angle of your knees, slowly bend at the hips as you lower the bar just below your knees. Keep your head and chest up and your lower back flat or slightly arched.
Complex 3: Superset
Lat Pulldown
Grab the bar with a "false" overhand grip that's just beyond shoulder-width. A false grip means you place your thumb on top of the bar, alongside your index finger, rather than wrap it around the bar.
Pull the bar down to your chest.
Pause, then slowly return to the starting position.
Barbell: Barbell Pullover/Dumbbell: Dumbbell Pullover
Dumbbell Incline Piston Press
Grab a pair of dumbbells and position yourself on your back on a Swiss ball so your torso is at a 45-degree angle from the floor.
Hold the dumbbells just outside your shoulders at about jaw level, with your palms facing forward.
Press one dumbbell overhead so the weight is above your chin at the top of the move. As you lower it, press the other one up.
Continue to alternate until you finish the set.
Barbell: Barbell Incline Bench Press/Dumbbell: Same
Home Grown Muscle, Phase 6 (B)
Workout B
Complex 1: Hybrid
Barbell Split Squat/Overhead Press
Step 1: Barbell Split Squat
Set a bar on a squat rack and step under it so the bar rests across your upper back. Pull your shoulders back as you grab the bar with an overhand grip. The bar should sit comfortably on your upper trapezius. Lift the bar off the rack and step back.
Stand in a staggered stance with your feet about 4 feet apart, your left foot in front of your right.
Lower your body until your front knee is bent 90 degrees and your other knee nearly touches the floor. Your front lower leg should be perpendicular to the floor, and your torso should remain upright.
Step 2: Overhead Press
Drive yourself up with your legs as you thrust the weight toward the ceiling until you're up on your toes and your arms are straightened above you.
Lower the bar to the starting position, described in Step 1. That's one repetition. Alternate the forward leg in each set.
Barbell: Same/Dumbbell: Dumbbell Split Squat/Overhead Press
Complex 2: Superset
Reverse Pushup
Secure a bar 3 to 4 feet above the floor. Lie under the bar and grab it with a shoulder-width overhand grip. Hang at arm's length from the bar with your body in a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders.
Keeping your body rigid, pull your chest to the bar.
Pause, then lower yourself to the starting position. Barbell: Same/Dumbbell: Same
Dip
Grab the parallel bars on a dip station and lift yourself so that your arms are fully extended. Bend your knees and cross your ankles behind you.
Slowly lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the floor.
Pause, then push yourself back to the starting position. Superset with chinups (do the exercises back to back; rest after completing a set of each), shown below.
Note: Use a weighted belt if you can do more than the recommended repetitions.
Barbell: Barbell Incline Bench Press/Dumbbell: same
Complex 3: Hybrid
Dumbbell Lunge/Hammer Curl
Grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them at arm's length beside your thighs. Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Step forward with your nondominant leg (your left if you're right-handed) and lower your body until your front knee is bent 90 degrees and your rear knee nearly touches the floor. Your front lower leg should be perpendicular to the floor, and your torso should remain upright.
As you push yourself back up to the starting position, curl the dumbbells toward your chest as far as you can, without rotating your wrists Then repeat with your dominant leg. That's one repetition.
Barbell: Barbell Lunge/Drag Curl/Dumbbell: Same
Complex 1: Hybrid
Barbell Split Squat/Overhead Press
Step 1: Barbell Split Squat
Set a bar on a squat rack and step under it so the bar rests across your upper back. Pull your shoulders back as you grab the bar with an overhand grip. The bar should sit comfortably on your upper trapezius. Lift the bar off the rack and step back.
Stand in a staggered stance with your feet about 4 feet apart, your left foot in front of your right.
Lower your body until your front knee is bent 90 degrees and your other knee nearly touches the floor. Your front lower leg should be perpendicular to the floor, and your torso should remain upright.
Step 2: Overhead Press
Drive yourself up with your legs as you thrust the weight toward the ceiling until you're up on your toes and your arms are straightened above you.
Lower the bar to the starting position, described in Step 1. That's one repetition. Alternate the forward leg in each set.
Barbell: Same/Dumbbell: Dumbbell Split Squat/Overhead Press
Complex 2: Superset
Reverse Pushup
Secure a bar 3 to 4 feet above the floor. Lie under the bar and grab it with a shoulder-width overhand grip. Hang at arm's length from the bar with your body in a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders.
Keeping your body rigid, pull your chest to the bar.
Pause, then lower yourself to the starting position. Barbell: Same/Dumbbell: Same
Dip
Grab the parallel bars on a dip station and lift yourself so that your arms are fully extended. Bend your knees and cross your ankles behind you.
Slowly lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the floor.
Pause, then push yourself back to the starting position. Superset with chinups (do the exercises back to back; rest after completing a set of each), shown below.
Note: Use a weighted belt if you can do more than the recommended repetitions.
Barbell: Barbell Incline Bench Press/Dumbbell: same
Complex 3: Hybrid
Dumbbell Lunge/Hammer Curl
Grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them at arm's length beside your thighs. Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Step forward with your nondominant leg (your left if you're right-handed) and lower your body until your front knee is bent 90 degrees and your rear knee nearly touches the floor. Your front lower leg should be perpendicular to the floor, and your torso should remain upright.
As you push yourself back up to the starting position, curl the dumbbells toward your chest as far as you can, without rotating your wrists Then repeat with your dominant leg. That's one repetition.
Barbell: Barbell Lunge/Drag Curl/Dumbbell: Same
Monday, January 9, 2006
Three Keys to Fat Loss
I subscribe to CB athletics daily e-mail. In todays e-mail, he is busting myths for spot burning fat:
If I told you that there was one secret exercise that could magically reduce the fat from one of your trouble spots...well...
...then I'd be lying.
Fat burning isn't like building muscle. When you strength train to build muscle, you only make gains in the specific muscles that were trained ('spot gaining'). But no exercise has the ability to burn fat from one specific area only (also known as 'spot reducing').
When you exercise, you burn fat from all over your body. Doing ab crunch after ab crunch won't help you lose your belly fat any better than doing squats.
The best approach to fat loss is one that includes three major components. The first and possibly most important component is nutrition. It is so important for people to follow good nutrition principles when they are trying to improve their body. If you haven't already heard these basic recommendations for fat loss nutrition, here are the 5 best fat loss nutrition tips:
1. Eat several small meals per day, rather than 2-3 large meals.
2. Monitor your food intake using fitday.com.
3. Determine how many calories you should eat per day to maintain your bodyweight.
4. If you want to lose fat, start by reducing your food intake by 200 calories per day below your maintenance level and add 3 workouts per week using the exercise techniques discussed below.
5. Stop eating processed foods and replace all sweetened beverages with water. This can quickly reduce your food intake by many, many calories.
The second component is resistance training. Small exercises like ab crunches are less effective than squats for fat loss. When you choose efficient and effective exercises like squats over ab crunches, you train more of your muscles and therefore get more results in less time. With squats, lunges, presses, and rows, you'll build the foundation for a lean physique while burning more calories and fat than you would by spending 30 minutes on your abs alone.
The third component is interval training (interval training is a form of cardio training). I prefer intervals to traditional cardio because we have simply found them to be more effective than slow duration cardio sessions. If you train someone for performance, then they will develop the physique they desire. Intervals and resistance training are the best two methods for performance and fat loss. That's no coincidence and should come as no surprise to those that read my newsletters.
If I told you that there was one secret exercise that could magically reduce the fat from one of your trouble spots...well...
...then I'd be lying.
Fat burning isn't like building muscle. When you strength train to build muscle, you only make gains in the specific muscles that were trained ('spot gaining'). But no exercise has the ability to burn fat from one specific area only (also known as 'spot reducing').
When you exercise, you burn fat from all over your body. Doing ab crunch after ab crunch won't help you lose your belly fat any better than doing squats.
The best approach to fat loss is one that includes three major components. The first and possibly most important component is nutrition. It is so important for people to follow good nutrition principles when they are trying to improve their body. If you haven't already heard these basic recommendations for fat loss nutrition, here are the 5 best fat loss nutrition tips:
1. Eat several small meals per day, rather than 2-3 large meals.
2. Monitor your food intake using fitday.com.
3. Determine how many calories you should eat per day to maintain your bodyweight.
4. If you want to lose fat, start by reducing your food intake by 200 calories per day below your maintenance level and add 3 workouts per week using the exercise techniques discussed below.
5. Stop eating processed foods and replace all sweetened beverages with water. This can quickly reduce your food intake by many, many calories.
The second component is resistance training. Small exercises like ab crunches are less effective than squats for fat loss. When you choose efficient and effective exercises like squats over ab crunches, you train more of your muscles and therefore get more results in less time. With squats, lunges, presses, and rows, you'll build the foundation for a lean physique while burning more calories and fat than you would by spending 30 minutes on your abs alone.
The third component is interval training (interval training is a form of cardio training). I prefer intervals to traditional cardio because we have simply found them to be more effective than slow duration cardio sessions. If you train someone for performance, then they will develop the physique they desire. Intervals and resistance training are the best two methods for performance and fat loss. That's no coincidence and should come as no surprise to those that read my newsletters.
Friday, January 6, 2006
MJ-The Only Six Exercises You'll Ever Need
New workout for January. From Men's Journal, January issue.
The Only Six exercises you'll ever need.
Walk into any gym in america, and you'll see some strange stuff. You'll see guys who are 50 pounds overweight doing set after set of biceps curls, as if the ego-boosting effects of 17-inch biceps will somehow negate a 46-inch waist. Young guys lifting way too much weight with bad form, older guys lifting way too little weight on machines that require almost no attention to form, and everyone plodding along on treadmills and bikes with only the vaguest concept of why they're doing it. One of the oldest jokes in the gym is about the guy who'll circle the parking lot for 15 minutes to get the space closest to the front door, then go in and walk on the treadmill for a half hour.
The confusion is understandable. So many exercises, so many machines, so much conflicting advice. But we think strength training can be vastly simplified if you're willing to take a giant step back and ask yourself this question: Why do we have these muscles?
Nature doesn't care if you have ripped abs or big ol' honkin' biceps. Muscles have jobs, real jobs: They're attached to your bones to make those bones move. Bones move so you can catch something to eat, or elude something that's trying to eat you. The muscles you want to build are designed to help you run, jump, climb, throw, fight. And yet most of the exercises seen in a gym are designed to make your muscles look good flexing in a mirror. Exercises like crunches and curls are muscle-squeezers. They train isolated sets of muscles to contract without reproducing any useful movement. Since they're of limited use, your body will make limited accommodations. You could curl for hours every day, and your biceps will only get so big.
On the other hand, your body will make huge accommodations for squats, dead lifts, chin-ups, and the other important bone-moving exercises. These exercises use many groups of muscles in coordinated action to help you do something important for the survival of our species.
You could come up with any number of ways to classify exercises as they relate to human movements. We settled on these six: squat, dead lift, lunge, push, pull, twist. As you'll see, a workout based on this six-pack will work every muscle group in your body, major and minor. And it can't possibly get any simpler than that.
1 The Twist
If you had to pick the most popular exercise at the gym, you'd probably choose the crunch. Now ask yourself why. It builds your six-pack, but, really, how important is that? Outside the gym, a forward bend at the waist is the easiest movement in the world -- gravity takes care of everything. A twist, on the other hand, can be as easy or hard as you want. If you're hitting a golf ball, you're trying to pound a light object into the next zip code. If you're wrestling an opponent or sow to the ground, you're twisting against something that may outweigh you.
The muscles responsible for twisting, the obliques, are strong as hell. In fact, they could probably tear your midsection apart if not for the abs in the middle. One could even make the argument that the six-pack's only real function in life is to prevent your waist from twisting too much when you don't want it to.
THE CLASSIC: For the weighted Swiss-ball crunch, hold a weight plate across your chest as you lie on your back on a stability ball. Spread your feet wide, with your neck, torso, and thighs parallel to the floor, and crunch. Your goal is to gain strength to resist unwanted twists, so you should feel it throughout the abs.
THE OPTIONS:The woodchop, at right, teaches you to twist the right way. You'll set up sideways to the stack, with your feet shoulder-width apart and the rope handle on the highest cable pulley. Rotate on the ball of your foot as you pull the rope down and across your body until the handle is just outside your far knee. Do all your reps, then switch sides and repeat.
2 The Squat
If you think about how important jumping must've been to our ancient ancestors, it makes sense that all the muscles in your lower body -- from big ones like the quadriceps to relatively small and overlooked ones in your hips, ankles, and inner thighs -- get involved in a jump-mimicking exercise like the squat.
THE CLASSIC: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell across the back of your shoulders. Push your hips back and lower your body until your upper thighs are parallel to the floor. Push down through the middles of your feet to return to the starting position.
THE OPTIONS:Although nothing beats the original, you may want use the dumbbell squat for lighter-weight, high-rep sets.
3 The Lunge
Squats and dead lifts teach you to lift heavy things with your feet parallel to each other. But in many situations, especially competitive ones, your feet are staggered and you move with lunge-like steps to the front, sides, or up (as when you're climbing). The muscles used are similar to those in a squat, with a key difference: Your hip flexors are more involved. Hip flexors are notorious for tightening up in those who camp out at desks. Lunges force them to contract quickly, increasing flexibility and strength.
THE CLASSIC: For a lunge, start with your feet parallel and about hip-width apart. Step forward with one leg, while simultaneously lowering your body until your forward thigh is parallel to the floor. Rise and step back to the start and repeat for all the reps, then switch feet. For the static lunge, start with one foot already forward and do all the reps from that position.
THE OPTIONS:For the step-up, start in front of a sturdy step or bench knee- to hip-high holding dumbbells or a barbell. Put your left foot on the step, push down through your left heel, and lift your right foot onto the step. Step down with your right foot, and repeat. Do all the reps with your left leg, then repeat with your right foot on the step.
4 The Dead Lift
Lifting a heavy object off the ground is about as useful a movement as we have. One of the key benefits of dead lifts is that you learn to do it without hurting your back.
THE CLASSIC: Stand over a barbell with your feet shoulder-width apart. Grab the bar as at left. Roll the bar up to your shins, then squat down so your arms are straight, your back is flat, and your shoulders are behind the bar. Now stand up as you pull the bar up, keeping it close to your shins. Keep it close to your legs as you lower it all the way to floor. Reset your grip and repeat.
THE OPTIONS:The split good morning, is a dead lift/lunge in which you start with one foot on a 4- to 6-inch step, push your hips back and bend forward as far as you can with your back flat. Do all your reps, then switch feet.
5 The Pull
Pulls mirror the pushes below, but because pulling muscles were even more crucial to the survival of our tree-dwelling ancestors, you have more and bigger muscles devoted to it. (If you don't believe us, try rowing a boat by pushing the oars through the water.) As with pushes, your body emphasizes different muscles, or different parts of muscles, in your back, shoulders, and chest as you change the angle from which you're pulling. And ideally, your biceps and forearms should also be involved, which is why we favor exercises that have you pulling while grabbing on for dear life.
THE CLASSIC: For a chin-up, grab the chin-up bar with an underhand grip, your hands about shoulder-width apart. Hang at arm's length, then pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar. If that's too easy, add some resistance by putting weights in a backpack or hanging them from a "dip belt." You can also do pull-ups with an overhand grip wider than shoulder-width.
THE OPTIONS:You'll see a lot of lifters doing three-point rows, in which their weight is supported with a hand and a knee on a bench, and one foot is on the floor. But that has limited real-life utility compared to the two-point row -- in which you stand, as if pulling an anchor or giant tarpon up onto a deck, with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in your left hand, palm turned toward your body, and put your right arm behind your back. Bend forward at the hips so your left arm hangs straight down from your shoulder. Pull the weight up to the left side of your torso. Do all your reps with your left arm, then repeat the set with your right.
6 The Push
Few muscleheads would put all pushes or presses into one category. But why not? In the real world, whether you're using it to throw, fight, or move your car out of a snow bank, a push is mainly distinguished by the angle -- or range of angles -- at which it's done.
THE CLASSIC: For your incline bench press, set a bench at 30 to 45 degrees and use either dumbbells or barbells. Start with the weights straight over your chest, lower them, then push straight back. We also like the dumbbell shoulder press with alternating arms, at left.
THE OPTIONS:The T push-up is a push/twist hybrid. Do a push-up, but as you push up, rotate up and to your right, with one arm pointed toward the ceiling so your body forms a "T." Do all your reps to one side, then repeat on the other. For more of a challenge, hold a hexagonal dumbbell in your raised hand. Or use two, twisting with one and balancing on the other.
Training Schedule
Here's one great way to put "The Only Six Exercises You'll Ever Need" and their variations into one three-day-a-week plan. Just alternate between two workouts, A and B. The first week, do A on Monday, B on Wednesday, A on Friday, the next do B, A, B, and so forth. Every Monday, whether A or B, do four of each superset at four reps per exercise, with a 90-second rest between supersets; on Wednesdays, do two supersets of 12, with 30 seconds' rest; and on Fridays, do three supersets of eight, with 60 seconds' rest. Limit any optional cardio to Wednesday and Friday. Once you feel your body getting bored, mix in other variations. That should hold you until about 2040.
Workout A
Superset 1: Classic squat, T push-up
Superset 2: Step-up, two-point row
Superset 3: Split
good morning, Swiss-ball crunch
Workout B
Superset 1: Dead lift, dumbbell shoulder press with alternating arms
Superset 2: Static lunge, chin-up
Superset 3: Incline bench press, woodchop
By: Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove
Adapted from The New Rules of Lifting (Avery, 2005), and available at Amazon.com and wherever books are sold.
Photographs by: Monte Isom
(January 2006)
The Only Six exercises you'll ever need.
Walk into any gym in america, and you'll see some strange stuff. You'll see guys who are 50 pounds overweight doing set after set of biceps curls, as if the ego-boosting effects of 17-inch biceps will somehow negate a 46-inch waist. Young guys lifting way too much weight with bad form, older guys lifting way too little weight on machines that require almost no attention to form, and everyone plodding along on treadmills and bikes with only the vaguest concept of why they're doing it. One of the oldest jokes in the gym is about the guy who'll circle the parking lot for 15 minutes to get the space closest to the front door, then go in and walk on the treadmill for a half hour.
The confusion is understandable. So many exercises, so many machines, so much conflicting advice. But we think strength training can be vastly simplified if you're willing to take a giant step back and ask yourself this question: Why do we have these muscles?
Nature doesn't care if you have ripped abs or big ol' honkin' biceps. Muscles have jobs, real jobs: They're attached to your bones to make those bones move. Bones move so you can catch something to eat, or elude something that's trying to eat you. The muscles you want to build are designed to help you run, jump, climb, throw, fight. And yet most of the exercises seen in a gym are designed to make your muscles look good flexing in a mirror. Exercises like crunches and curls are muscle-squeezers. They train isolated sets of muscles to contract without reproducing any useful movement. Since they're of limited use, your body will make limited accommodations. You could curl for hours every day, and your biceps will only get so big.
On the other hand, your body will make huge accommodations for squats, dead lifts, chin-ups, and the other important bone-moving exercises. These exercises use many groups of muscles in coordinated action to help you do something important for the survival of our species.
You could come up with any number of ways to classify exercises as they relate to human movements. We settled on these six: squat, dead lift, lunge, push, pull, twist. As you'll see, a workout based on this six-pack will work every muscle group in your body, major and minor. And it can't possibly get any simpler than that.
1 The Twist
If you had to pick the most popular exercise at the gym, you'd probably choose the crunch. Now ask yourself why. It builds your six-pack, but, really, how important is that? Outside the gym, a forward bend at the waist is the easiest movement in the world -- gravity takes care of everything. A twist, on the other hand, can be as easy or hard as you want. If you're hitting a golf ball, you're trying to pound a light object into the next zip code. If you're wrestling an opponent or sow to the ground, you're twisting against something that may outweigh you.
The muscles responsible for twisting, the obliques, are strong as hell. In fact, they could probably tear your midsection apart if not for the abs in the middle. One could even make the argument that the six-pack's only real function in life is to prevent your waist from twisting too much when you don't want it to.
THE CLASSIC: For the weighted Swiss-ball crunch, hold a weight plate across your chest as you lie on your back on a stability ball. Spread your feet wide, with your neck, torso, and thighs parallel to the floor, and crunch. Your goal is to gain strength to resist unwanted twists, so you should feel it throughout the abs.
THE OPTIONS:The woodchop, at right, teaches you to twist the right way. You'll set up sideways to the stack, with your feet shoulder-width apart and the rope handle on the highest cable pulley. Rotate on the ball of your foot as you pull the rope down and across your body until the handle is just outside your far knee. Do all your reps, then switch sides and repeat.
2 The Squat
If you think about how important jumping must've been to our ancient ancestors, it makes sense that all the muscles in your lower body -- from big ones like the quadriceps to relatively small and overlooked ones in your hips, ankles, and inner thighs -- get involved in a jump-mimicking exercise like the squat.
THE CLASSIC: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell across the back of your shoulders. Push your hips back and lower your body until your upper thighs are parallel to the floor. Push down through the middles of your feet to return to the starting position.
THE OPTIONS:Although nothing beats the original, you may want use the dumbbell squat for lighter-weight, high-rep sets.
3 The Lunge
Squats and dead lifts teach you to lift heavy things with your feet parallel to each other. But in many situations, especially competitive ones, your feet are staggered and you move with lunge-like steps to the front, sides, or up (as when you're climbing). The muscles used are similar to those in a squat, with a key difference: Your hip flexors are more involved. Hip flexors are notorious for tightening up in those who camp out at desks. Lunges force them to contract quickly, increasing flexibility and strength.
THE CLASSIC: For a lunge, start with your feet parallel and about hip-width apart. Step forward with one leg, while simultaneously lowering your body until your forward thigh is parallel to the floor. Rise and step back to the start and repeat for all the reps, then switch feet. For the static lunge, start with one foot already forward and do all the reps from that position.
THE OPTIONS:For the step-up, start in front of a sturdy step or bench knee- to hip-high holding dumbbells or a barbell. Put your left foot on the step, push down through your left heel, and lift your right foot onto the step. Step down with your right foot, and repeat. Do all the reps with your left leg, then repeat with your right foot on the step.
4 The Dead Lift
Lifting a heavy object off the ground is about as useful a movement as we have. One of the key benefits of dead lifts is that you learn to do it without hurting your back.
THE CLASSIC: Stand over a barbell with your feet shoulder-width apart. Grab the bar as at left. Roll the bar up to your shins, then squat down so your arms are straight, your back is flat, and your shoulders are behind the bar. Now stand up as you pull the bar up, keeping it close to your shins. Keep it close to your legs as you lower it all the way to floor. Reset your grip and repeat.
THE OPTIONS:The split good morning, is a dead lift/lunge in which you start with one foot on a 4- to 6-inch step, push your hips back and bend forward as far as you can with your back flat. Do all your reps, then switch feet.
5 The Pull
Pulls mirror the pushes below, but because pulling muscles were even more crucial to the survival of our tree-dwelling ancestors, you have more and bigger muscles devoted to it. (If you don't believe us, try rowing a boat by pushing the oars through the water.) As with pushes, your body emphasizes different muscles, or different parts of muscles, in your back, shoulders, and chest as you change the angle from which you're pulling. And ideally, your biceps and forearms should also be involved, which is why we favor exercises that have you pulling while grabbing on for dear life.
THE CLASSIC: For a chin-up, grab the chin-up bar with an underhand grip, your hands about shoulder-width apart. Hang at arm's length, then pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar. If that's too easy, add some resistance by putting weights in a backpack or hanging them from a "dip belt." You can also do pull-ups with an overhand grip wider than shoulder-width.
THE OPTIONS:You'll see a lot of lifters doing three-point rows, in which their weight is supported with a hand and a knee on a bench, and one foot is on the floor. But that has limited real-life utility compared to the two-point row -- in which you stand, as if pulling an anchor or giant tarpon up onto a deck, with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in your left hand, palm turned toward your body, and put your right arm behind your back. Bend forward at the hips so your left arm hangs straight down from your shoulder. Pull the weight up to the left side of your torso. Do all your reps with your left arm, then repeat the set with your right.
6 The Push
Few muscleheads would put all pushes or presses into one category. But why not? In the real world, whether you're using it to throw, fight, or move your car out of a snow bank, a push is mainly distinguished by the angle -- or range of angles -- at which it's done.
THE CLASSIC: For your incline bench press, set a bench at 30 to 45 degrees and use either dumbbells or barbells. Start with the weights straight over your chest, lower them, then push straight back. We also like the dumbbell shoulder press with alternating arms, at left.
THE OPTIONS:The T push-up is a push/twist hybrid. Do a push-up, but as you push up, rotate up and to your right, with one arm pointed toward the ceiling so your body forms a "T." Do all your reps to one side, then repeat on the other. For more of a challenge, hold a hexagonal dumbbell in your raised hand. Or use two, twisting with one and balancing on the other.
Training Schedule
Here's one great way to put "The Only Six Exercises You'll Ever Need" and their variations into one three-day-a-week plan. Just alternate between two workouts, A and B. The first week, do A on Monday, B on Wednesday, A on Friday, the next do B, A, B, and so forth. Every Monday, whether A or B, do four of each superset at four reps per exercise, with a 90-second rest between supersets; on Wednesdays, do two supersets of 12, with 30 seconds' rest; and on Fridays, do three supersets of eight, with 60 seconds' rest. Limit any optional cardio to Wednesday and Friday. Once you feel your body getting bored, mix in other variations. That should hold you until about 2040.
Workout A
Superset 1: Classic squat, T push-up
Superset 2: Step-up, two-point row
Superset 3: Split
good morning, Swiss-ball crunch
Workout B
Superset 1: Dead lift, dumbbell shoulder press with alternating arms
Superset 2: Static lunge, chin-up
Superset 3: Incline bench press, woodchop
By: Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove
Adapted from The New Rules of Lifting (Avery, 2005), and available at Amazon.com and wherever books are sold.
Photographs by: Monte Isom
(January 2006)
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