by Alwyn Cosgrove and Mike Roussell
"As to methods there may be a million and then some, but
principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully
select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring
principles, is sure to have trouble."
— Ralph Waldo
Emerson
I was talking to Anthony Roberts the other day and he'd
mentioned that he'd given a copy of New Rules of Lifting to
one of his friends.
When he asked his friend what he thought about it, he replied
that it was "okay."
When pressed further, he said that the training information had
been a bit basic. And the diet section was, "Nothing special, just
eat healthy and often — that sort of thing."
The kicker? Anthony's friend is over 300 pounds and not in great
shape at all!
Replace the Big Macs with the
basics.
As one of the authors of the book, I actually agree with the
points he raised though. There is nothing "sexy" about the programs
and nothing cutting edge about the nutrition. But a 300 pound obese
man really doesn't need to concern himself with cybernetic
periodization, cyclical ketogenic diets, branched chain amino acid
intake, or intermittent fasting.
Mike Roussell and I decided to write this article on the basics. And I can hear the comments now:
"Boring as shit."
"Nothing new here."
"Not much info for an advanced guy like myself."
Save it.
The majority of people need to hear this information, as
most get caught up in the unimportant details from time to time.
Unlike Justin Timberlake, I'm not bringing sexy back. I'm taking
the sexy out!
Still begging for his sexy.
Anytime you plateau in training, it's rarely that the program
isn't complex enough. Usually it's because you've strayed from the
basics.
If a beginner does an advanced program that he's not ready for,
he'll stop progressing completely. However if the reverse happens,
and an advanced athlete does a basic program but it challenges him,
he'll still progress (albeit slowly). So if in doubt, get back to
the basics.
Here's an overview on the basics of training. Sure, there are
effective programs that break some of these rules. And I'm willing
to bet that some of your own routines break them, but you'll say
that they work for you. Regardless, these principles should
still be at the heart of your training.
I believe in focusing on the commonalities between successful
programs. And I feel that, although there may be differences, if
you look closely the similarities are strong enough that
there's a bigger take-home lesson.
I recently looked at a Houston Texans' strength program that was
machine-based, designed by strength coach Dan Riley.
For the record, not Dan
Riley.
The push-pull upper body routine has one set of the following
exercises:
• Barbell bench press (free weights)
• Avenger seated row
• Smith machine bench press
• Lat pull-down
• Hammer incline press
• Hammer seated row
• Dips
• Parallel grip pull-down
• Hammer shoulder press
• Nautilus seated row machine
• Avenger shoulder press
If we contrast that with a typical upper body day from the Elite
Fitness Training manual, they look a lot different:
• Bench press (work up to a 5 rep max using 4-5
sets)
• Pull-ups (3-4 sets)
• Shoulder raises (front, side, and rear; 3 sets
each)
• Direct triceps work
But when we look at the similarities:
4 sets of horizontal pushing (bench press, incline press, and
dips)
3 sets of horizontal pulling (rows)
2 sets of vertical pushing (shoulder press)
2 sets of vertical pulling (lat pull-downs)
4-5 sets of horizontal pushing (bench press)
3-4 sets of horizontal pulling (rear shoulder raises)
6 sets of vertical pushing (front and side raises)
3-4 sets of vertical pulling (pull-ups)
As different as a machine-based football program and a free
weight-based powerlifting program appear, there are actually
several similarities. You're still pushing and pulling heavy loads
in the horizontal and vertical planes for a comparable amount of
sets.
The machine-based program prefers single sets of multiple
exercises while the powerlifting routine favors multiple sets of
the same exercises. Other than that, look at the commonalities, not
the differences.
The following advice will constitute what appears to be common
in about 90% of successful programs. The differences aren't worth
focusing on.
In 2000, a study came out in the Journal of Strength and
Conditioning Research that compared training just one day a
week versus three days (with the same total volume).
The subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one
day per week of three sets to failure, or three days per week of
one set to failure.
The study concluded that the one day group only achieved 62% of
the one rep max (1RM) increases observed in the three day group, in
both upper-body and lower-body lifts.
Larger increases in lean body mass were apparent in the three
day group as well. The findings suggest that a higher frequency of
resistance training, even when volume is held constant, produces
superior gains in lean body mass and 1RM.
In other words, training biceps three times per week for one set
is more effective in experienced trainees than doing the same total
volume in one workout. So regardless of your routine, frequency is
a key factor for optimal progress. This is another reason why I
tend to favor full-body A-B split routines.
You should train about three times per week with weights for 45
minutes to an hour each time. Try to average about one minute per
work set, and a one to one and a half minute rest period between
sets. You'll be looking at 20 to 25 sets per
workout.
If you're training with lower reps and a heavier load, you'll
need more rest between sets, but your set time will be shorter. So
approximately two minutes per set is still viable.
Competitive athletes will have other training and practices to
do, and competitive bodybuilders need to do a bit more. But for
most people, you'll get the best return for your investment
training about three times per week.
If you're busier than a guy who snuck into an all-girls school
and gym time is scarce, then a shorter workout performed more often
is an option.
Eat more often. Period. Unfortunately, scientific studies on the
effects of eating more often are limited. How often you eat is
commonly an afterthought and a variable not taken into
consideration in most studies. This is a mistake. Ask anyone
who's dieted down to step on stage, or who's gone from scrawny
to brawny — they didn't eat "three squares" a day.
That's right, consistent, frequent feedings will help you lose
weight when dieting and help you pack on more muscle when
bulking.
Benefits when dieting:
• Increased thermic effect of food (TEF). Check out this article for
more info on TEF.
• Better insulin control. Controlling insulin is the key to fast fat loss.
• Suppressed hunger. You won't feel like you're starving when
you're constantly eating.
Benefits when growing:
• More feedings means you can consume more calories. It's almost
impossible to consume 1,500 calories, three times a day, every day.
Instead you could eat 700 calories a day seven times a day. That's
a lot more manageable to eat at one sitting for most
people.
• Separating your meals and eating more often allows you to
better modulate when you take in certain macronutrients. If you're
only eating three meals a day, then your main concern is just
getting enough calories. When you start eating upwards of six times
a day, you can modulate your carbohydrate intake depending on the
time of day and your activity level. This allows for better insulin
control, which will make the difference in your nutrient
partitioning and the fat to muscle ratio of the weight that you
gain.
When we break down exercise, this is really all the body can
do:
• Quad dominant (bilateral and unilateral)
• Hip dominant (bilateral and unilateral)
• Horizontal pushing
• Horizontal pulling
• Vertical pushing
• Vertical pulling
• Core
Nine movements. That's it.
Make sure you select one exercise from each category and do it
at least once per week. You can do a full-body or split routine,
whatever you like, as long as you hit all these movements at least
once per week.
It's important to eat a variety of foods. Sticking to the "fish
and rice cakes diet" won't get you to your goal any faster. Instead
you'll most likely develop a sub-clinical deficiency in some
vitamin or mineral. This will disrupt your system at the most basic
level and ruin your progress.
Eating the same damn food day-in and day-out isn't a lifestyle
that most people can maintain. Instead, it promotes eventual
cheating on your diet. Not to mention increasing your risk of
developing food allergies.
Mix up your food choices before you wind up like
this guy.
Having six pack abs for two weeks is cool, but having them for
two decades makes you a stud. A greater variety in your diet makes
it less likely that you'll get sick of what you're eating. Thus,
leading to greater dietary compliance, and to long-term maintenance
of a killer physique.
Strength: Four to six reps with two minute rest
periods.
Hypertrophy: Eight to twelve reps with 60 second rest
periods.
Metabolic work: Twelve to fifteen (plus) reps with less than 60
second rest periods.
If your goal is strength, do three to four sets in the strength
zone, with maybe one set of hypertrophy or metabolic
work.
If your goal is hypertrophy, do three to four sets of
hypertrophy work and one of the others in each
workout.
You can train your core in about two sets of
each.
Try to increase your loads each week. There's no need to "train
to failure" but doing a set of six reps with a weight that you can
hit twelve with won't do much. Choose a weight that takes you into
that "close to failure" zone.
Most people progress in their weight training using a single
variable — load lifted.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but eventually you'll
reach a ceiling. You simply can't add any more weight to an
exercise.
Everybody gets stuck at some point.
There are a few other methods of progression that can, and
should be, rotated on a regular basis.
There are various ways to do this. In a typical training program we
have exercise order, exercise selection, sets, reps, tempo, rest
period, and load. Most trainees experiment with two to three of
these at the most.
A1) Squats: 3 sets of 6 reps with 90 seconds rest using 200
pounds.
A2) Dumbbell bench press: 3 sets of 6 reps with 90 seconds rest
using 50 pounds.
Total Volume: 3,600 pounds squatted + 1,800 pounds pressed = 5,400
pounds total.
Assuming each set takes a minute, the workout is done in 15
minutes.
Obviously we can progress the loading each week. Or we could add an
additional rep each workout. Or maybe an additional set. Perhaps we
cut the rest period, and with the additional time, we can add extra
exercises or back-off sets.
A1) Squats: 3 sets of 7 reps with 90 seconds rest using 200
pounds.
A2) Dumbbell bench press: 3 sets of 7 reps with 90 seconds rest
using 50 pounds.
Total Volume: 4,200 pounds squatted + 2,100 pounds pressed = 6,300
pounds total.
A1) Squats: 4 sets of 6 reps with 90 seconds rest using 200
pounds.
A2) Dumbbell bench press: 4 sets of 6 reps with 90 seconds rest
using 50 pounds.
Total Volume: 4,800 pounds squatted + 2,400 pounds pressed = 7,200
pounds total.
A1) Squats: 3 sets of 6 reps with 75 seconds rest using 200
pounds.
A2) Dumbbell bench press: 3 sets of 6 reps with 75 seconds rest
using 50 pounds.
Total Volume: 3,600 pounds squatted + 1,800 pounds pressed = 5,400
pounds total.
Assuming each set takes a minute, the workout is done in 13.5
minutes.
Week one: Perform the workout as described.
Week two: Increase the reps on each set by one.
Week three: Maintain the reps and increase the sets.
Week four: Reduce the rest period by 15 seconds.
This
will take us from a starting volume of 5,400 pounds in 15 minutes, to a
total volume of 8,400 pounds in 18 minutes. The training density is
increased, but we're doing two extra sets. That's 55% more work in only
three more minutes, or over a hundred pounds additional work per minute
spent training.
Now there's a hundred pounds I'd like to pick
up.
This is a huge increase in total work done without having to add
any extra weight to the bar. So even if you're in a situation where
your home gym doesn't have any extra weight, you can still make
great progress. You haven't even changed exercise order, exercise
selection, rep tempo, or load. Yet you're still managing to
progress.
So hopefully you can see the benefits to implementing different
methods of progression rather than just increasing the load all of
the time. The key to progression is overload and there are
various ways of doing that. Just make sure you're progressing.
At the most basic level, you need to be in a caloric deficient
to lose fat and a caloric surplus to gain muscle. The extent of
these deficits or surpluses is very individual but there are some
general guidelines.
If you're looking to pack some beef onto your frame, then
increase your caloric intake every two weeks by 300 to 500
calories. It's important to consider your body type. Are you a
skinny bastard? If so, then you're going to want to stick to the
higher side of that calorie range. If you're a little soft in the
belly, then you'll want to stick to the lower end.
And if you're on the heavy side, then you're actually better off
losing the belly before you start your quest to be the next
Jay Cutler. This is because your insulin sensitivity will be better
when your gut is gone, allowing for you to put on more muscle and
less fat.
On the fat loss side of things, it's best if you don't reduce
your calories too fast. Instead use exercise to create the bulk of
your caloric deficit. This will help keep your metabolism up as
long as possible while you're dieting.
Initially you want to shoot for a 500 calorie deficit. Once
you've maxed out the amount of exercise you can do and your fat
loss has reached a plateau, start reducing your calories. First cut
the starchy carbs, then total carbs, then all macronutrients
equally.
Again, three times per week seems to cause the fastest
adaptations. Other than using cardio or other activities as plain
old "calorie burners," additional work doesn't seem to result in a
faster adaptation. Competitive endurance athletes may need more
training sessions, but for the average fitness enthusiast looking
to increase their fitness and look better, three times is pretty
solid.
As far as progression goes, just try to cover more distance or
burn more calories in the same time frame. A lot of trainees just
switch off when it comes to cardio work. Think of the people you
see reading a magazine when they should be busting their ass. You
have to progressively challenge yourself!
Sequence this either directly after your weight training
sessions or in a separate session altogether.
You don't need any sexy, designer creatine
formulations. Micronized creatine may not be pH buffered, modified
with ester groups, or bound to arginine alpha ketoglutarate. But
damnit, it works!
Flameout prevents
inflammation, boosts your fat burning machinery, and keeps you the
healthiest meat head in your gym. Take it. Every
day.
Dr. John Berardi taught us all about
post-workout nutrition in his "Solving the Post-Workout Puzzle"
series. You can read part one here and then wash it
down with part two. David Barr put
Surge to
the test in The Naked Truth, an
article about post-workout drinks.
A common complaint from clients is that they
have trouble getting enough protein in during the day. This is
where protein powder comes in. A quality protein powder like
Metabolic Drive will give you a
blend of fast and slow absorbing proteins that are easy on your
gut. Protein powder should be used daily to augment your protein
needs.
The principles that we've outlined in this article definitely
won't be considered sexy, and you're probably thinking, "This shit
is simple." But guess what? I bet you're not applying all of these
basic principles. Look at your training program. Look at your
nutrition plan. Are you consistently applying all of the things
we've outlined? If not, stop complaining and make it
happen.
