Muscletime presents “Dennis James – Titans Part 1″ our first feature length movie in the “Titans” bodybuilding series. Titans Part 1 features IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Dennis James weight training and the famous Gold’s Gym in Venice (California). Dennis James is one of the most impressive “off-season” bodybuilders in the history of the sport. He competed in seven Mr. Olympia contests but never placed higher than fourth. But few other bodybuilders ever achieved the post-season and pre-contest awesomeness of James.

The video was filmed two weeks prior to the 2003 Mr. Olympia Contest. Includes shoulders, arms, chest, legs and back weight training along with posing. The video was originally released as a DVD-video in 2004. The running time is approximately 2 hours. Stay tuned as Muscletime release all 15 of its feature length films as streaming internet videos in 2012!

Comparing Traditional Weight Training and HST

This is a very good question and one that deserves to be answered, without simply zealously defending the premise that is being questioned. This makes for a very bad circular argument that can be VERY frustrating for people with skeptical, though honest, questions.

First, let’s start with what isn’t different about HST compared with previous training programs. The length of this list is what has raised this question in the first place, and justifiably so. Let’s begin with the “concepts” and then follow with the “methods”.

Pre-existing Scientific Concepts of Weight Training Found in HST

• Stimulus Leads to Adaptation (cause and effect)
• Specific Adaptation to Implied Demands (SAID) or simply “Specificity”
• Progressive Resistance
• Some relationship between Time and Tension
• Diminishing Returns

Pre-existing Methods of Weight Training Found in HST

• Traditional Weight Lifting Movements both compound and isolation (squat, bench, curls, etc)
• Training the whole body 3 times per week
• Altering weight loads used over time
• Altering the number of repetitions used over time
• Doing eccentric reps (negatives)

There has not ever been a weight training program that did not incorporate or mention at least most of these Concepts, and at least some of these Methods. Entire books (big books) have been written to explore these concepts and teach these methods. Whenever research was required, like for a textbook, you would find “strength and conditioning” research sited to support the validity of the concepts and virtues of each particular training method. The studies used “strength” and other “performance indicators” as a measure of whether the concept and/or method were valid.

This has been perfectly sufficient for nearly everybody including trainers, teachers, professors, coaches and athletes, who have ever lifted a weight. For those who this wasn’t sufficient, they simply explored other methods for steadily increasing body mass, I’m referring specifically to hormones.

The exploration of the hypertrophic effects of hormones began in the 50s and has continued unabated every since. Today, a competitive bodybuilder considers himself conservative if he only uses 1 gram of Testosterone per week. Lest I digress, we are not including the effects of androgens and other drugs in this discussion. That is a different issue with concepts and methods specific to the pharmacology and endocrinology of hormones and muscle tissue.

Now let’s consider the concepts and/or principles or beliefs of traditional weight training that HST refutes. These are the concepts that the new research refutes most specifically.

Pre-existing Concepts that HST Refutes:

• A muscle must be fully recovered before you should train it again.
• You should not train a muscle that is sore (DOMS, not injury).
• You must never train a muscle on consecutive days (i.e. train the same muscle everyday).
• The concept of “Overtraining” in general as it applies to bodybuilding.
• You must train with maximum “intensity” to elicit significant muscle growth.
• You should not use eccentric training on a “frequent” basis.
• You must change your exercise selection regularly in order to “confuse the muscle” into continued growth.
• You must hit a muscle at every angle in order to adequately train it.
• Muscle Fatigue is the primary indicator of having triggered the growth signal.
• You must effectively isolate a muscle in order to train it effectively.
• You can train a muscle in such as way as to change its natural shape.

Pre-existing Methods and/or practices that HST Refutes:

• Training a muscle no more than once or twice per week.
• Training less frequently as your “intensity” increases.
• Adding weight only when you can complete a certain number of additional reps at that weight (This is a fundamental difference!).
• Training to failure every set and/or workout (If you don’t how would you know if you can perform additional reps at that weight yet?).
• Forced reps.
• Performing several “obligatory” exercises per body part per workout.
• Performing multiple exhaustive sets per exercise.
• Changing exercises to “confuse” the muscle.

The above erroneous concepts/beliefs and the methods/practices they engender are the cause of all the confusion and different training programs out their today. Most all of it stems from bodybuilding magazines fabricating these concepts and practices to address their ongoing need for new content each month and to conceal the use of drugs required to attain the level of mass flaunted by the sponsored models. By limiting your study of muscle growth to these magazines you will be ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. But that is an issue to be addressed elsewhere.

Now, there is one traditional concept with its associated methods and practices that often make HST appear to be like previous programs. That is the concept of “periodization”.

We will only briefly discuss the topic of periodization, as only a brief treatise will be sufficient to show the differences between periodization and HST. For more detailed discussions of periodization you are advised to read “Super Training: Special Strength Training for Sporting Excellence” by Siff & Verkhoshansky, “Special Strength Training” by Verkhoshansky, “Fundamentals of Sport Training” by Matveyev and “Science and Practice of Strength Training” by Zatsiorski.

Traditional concepts of periodization are based on methods used to manipulate intensity (i.e. work and/or load), volume and frequency in order to manage CNS fatigue and adaptability in athletes. To date, the art of periodization has entered the mathematical age and significant progress is being made in modeling systems designed to predict CNS fatigue and changes in the individual’s fitness level. (1,2,3). Once an individual familiarizes him or herself with the true concept of periodization, they will immediately see the difference between Strategic Deconditioning and Periodization for strength training.

For example, here are a few differences between SD and Periodization:

• SD is used to decrease fitness level (A.K.A. conditioning).
• Periodization is used to increase fitness level.

• SD is used to increase the micro trauma associated with training.
• Periodization is used to decrease the trauma associated with training.

• SD is used to reduce work capacity.
• Periodization is used to increase work capacity.

• SD is applied irrespective of the need for “rest”.
• Periodization according to the need for rest.

• SD is not based on “peaking” performance.
• Periodization’s sole purpose is to allow the athlete to peak on a specific date.

So, when people ask, “What’s different about HST?”, tell them plenty! And its those differences that make HST superior to any other bodybuilding training method existing today.

Additional Reading:

1: Pichot V, Busso T, Roche F, Garet M, Costes F, Duverney D, Lacour JR, Barthelemy JC. Autonomic adaptations to intensive and overload training periods: a laboratory study. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Oct;34(10):1660-6.

2: Busso T, Benoit H, Bonnefoy R, Feasson L, Lacour JR. Effects of training frequency on the dynamics of performance response to a single training bout. J Appl Physiol. 2002 Feb;92(2):572-80.

3: Busso T, Denis C, Bonnefoy R, Geyssant A, Lacour JR. Modeling of adaptations to physical training by using a recursive least squares algorithm. J Appl Physiol. 1997 May;82(5):1685-93.

I frequently hear comments both for and against tweaking or personalizing HST on an individual basis. This is to be expected among people who are real enthusiasts of weight training. You also find this irresistible urge to tweak among other enthusiasts such as audiophiles. An audiophile will go out and spend obscene amounts of money on the highest end exotic equipment they can find. But this isn’t good enough! They must find some way to “tweak” it, some way to make it their own delectable creation. Anything from placing the turntable on a 3 inch marble slab, putting sand bags on and/or in the speakers, or using speaker wire that cost as much as the car you used to drive to the store. Whenever you find people who are really into what they are doing, they will try to find ways not only to squeeze out the last bit of performance, but also make it their own creation.

I think it comes down to a couple issues which I’ll address after a short review for those new to HST.

First let me clarify that HST is based on physiologically sound principles, not numbers. In short, they are:

• Progressive load
• Training volume
• Training frequency
• Conditioning (Repeated Bout effect)/Strategic Deconditioning

So we are dealing with 4 basic issues, Load, Volume, Frequency and Conditioning. Within these basic factors we have reps, sets, and rest. HST differs from previous training methods in many aspects, but particularly in how it incorporates knowledge of how the “cell” physiologically responds to the training stimulus in its methodology. Previous methods focus on effort (A.K.A Intensity), current voluntary strength, and psychological factors such as fatigue and variety (i.e. many different exercises).

• The number of Reps is determined by the minimum effective load (this changes over time based on Conditioning)
• The number of Sets is determined by the minimum effective volume (this changes over time according to current load and Conditioning status.)
• The Rest between sets is determined by the amount of time required to regain sufficient strength to successfully achieve the minimum effective Volume.
• The Frequency (rest between workouts) is determined by the ability of the CNS to recover sufficiently to maintain baseline “health” indicators. It is also determined by the time course of genetic expression resultant from the previous workout.
• The interval of Strategic Deconditioning (SD) is determined by the time course of adaptation to the individuals maximum weight loads. In other words, SD is required to reset growth potential after plateauing. The duration of SD is determined by the level of conditioning attained during the training cycle.

Anyone who argues with these points after understanding them correctly is in error. That is a strong statement but it is true. These are principles that we “know” from research and experience. The data from this research is not theoretically based. It is based on identification, measurements, and direct microscopic observation. All future research will show us is more genetic detail, NOT that we were wrong on some sort of fundamental basis. So, anyone can with confidence apply these principles to their training and successfully induce muscular hypertrophy.

If anyone should attempt to apply these principles and not experience some degree of muscle growth, it is not because the principles are wrong, it is because the application of the principles was flawed. Once again, another strong statement, but it is true. For example, just because you plant a garden and water it does not mean you will successfully grow prize-winning vegetables. Does this mean that your garden acted by some other mysterious agricultural principles other than those based on water, sunlight and soil? Of course not! We “know” the principles of growing plants. Where we fail, is in our application of those known principles.

The application is where the details lie. Issues such as how much, how many, how fast, when and where to name a few.

Whether it be growing plants, or growing muscle, you are dealing with a moving target. Because plants are alive, or put another way, because plants are biological systems, the best application of agricultural principles to grow vegetables will change as conditions change. The same is true for the application of the principles of hypertrophy or muscle growth. The application will change as conditions change. All the while, being careful to stay faithful to the underlying “known” principles.

Why do people tweak and change HST? Well, when done haphazardly it is usually because they have no faith in the underlying principles. This almost never leads to progress, only constant tinkering and frustration. Without adequate knowledge of the principles, and faith in their effectiveness, their expectations will never be realized and their “locus of control” will move ever outwards, blaming everything but themselves for their lack of progress.

In contrast, when people tweak and change their program based on changing conditions, they almost always experience success and they gain valuable experience in the process. Their locus of control will move inwards and they will grow ever more effective at adjusting their training as conditions dictate to keep the gains coming.

If you find yourself lacking faith in your training program, you will most likely fail to reach your goals. You must first prepare yourself. Take it upon yourself to gain the required knowledge of the principles of muscle growth. Only then will you really have faith in your plan. Look up the studies and compare the traditional methods to what the research tells you. Ask questions of people who seem to have faith in what they are doing. Find out whether they are doing it because they were told to do it, or because they know it is the right way to do it. And of course, ponder your own experience and try to make sense of past periods of growth and past periods of stagnation.

Low carbohydrate diets

Low carbohydrate diets are among the most popular diets around. Despite this popularity, most people don’t really understand how the diet works. Here’s the low-down on low-carb diets.

A carbohydrate is a sugar is a carbohydrate

Before getting too far into low carbohydrate diets, it is important to understand that, to the body, there is little difference between different carbohydrate foods. Bread or candy, it makes no difference. The only difference with reference to its carbohydrate content is the amount of time it takes to digest. Those that take a long time to digest are referred to as complex carbohydrate because they are long chains of sugar. Simple carbohydrates take no time at all to digest and are called simple because they are very short chains of sugar. Before any carbohydrate gets into the body, it is broken down into short chains. So to the body, carbohydrate and “sugar” are identical. It is only the tongue that can distinguish between the too.

A tale of two fuels

The body relies on 2 things for fuel, sugar (remember this is just another name for carbohydrate) and fat. There is a priority as to which fuel the body will burn first when both are available. Carbohydrate will generally be burned before fat. So when you eat a meal containing both sugar and fat the body will burn the sugar and store the fat. The fat will stay where it is stored until sugar is no longer available. Unfortunately, when sugar is no longer available, the brain triggers hunger so that you will eat more sugar, leaving the fat right where it is. “A moment on the lips, forever on the hips” as they say.

Most of the sugar you eat in your diet is reserved for the brain and nervous system. Some have interpreted this as meaning that carbohydrate is the body’s “preferred” fuel. If this were so, wouldn’t the body store carbohydrate instead of fat? Rather than carbohydrate being the “preferred” fuel, carbohydrate is the body’s most “convenient” fuel under normal circumstances. This is why getting the body to use stored body fat instead of carbohydrate can be difficult.

Because the body will burn carbohydrate before it will burn fat, if you continually supply carbohydrate, the body will never dip into stored fat. There would be no reason to. The idea behind a low carb diet is to continue to feed the body essential protein, but eliminate, or greatly reduce the amount of carbohydrate, so that the body must use stored body fat for fuel. The liver then makes the necessary sugar for the brain, while the muscles switch to using fat.

Nay Sayers have a point…sort of.

Mobilizing stored fat when sugar intake is low is a natural function of the body. Even when sugar made in the liver runs low (such as during exercise), the brain can switch over to burning “ketones”. Ketones are made from fat, of which there is an abundant supply already in the body. This is why low carb diets are often referred to as “ketogenic diets”.

Opponents of low carb diets voice concern over the body’s production of ketones. They feel this will cause a condition caused by poorly managed type-I diabetes called keto-acidosis. In the diabetic patient, insulin cannot be produced; this causes ketone production to rise far above normal, and can lower the pH of the blood. This has not been shown to happen in people without type-I diabetes. Without the ability to produce insulin, ketone levels can rise far above what naturally occurs when normal people consume less carbohydrate.

In a nutshell

Here are a few summary points to take home:

• The body burns either sugar (A.K.A. carbohydrate) or fat for fuel.
• If sugar is available the body won’t burn fat. It is better to burn the sugar when available because it can’t be stored.
• You must limit the availability of sugar to get the body to dip into stored fat for fuel.

A low carb diet may not be for everybody, especially those who don’t like meat. But if you have tried other diets and are looking for a new diet to try, the low carb approach just might be the ticket.

40/30/30 and Zone diets

The term “zone” refers to optimizing the body’s metabolism through a diet containing a certain ratio of protein, carbohydrates (carbs) and fat. To Barry Sears, who coined the term “zone” with respect to diet, this zone can be achieved through a special diet which controls the body’s production of a hormone called insulin.

Much ado about Insulin

Insulin is a very important hormone. It is what allows our cells to take up carbohydrates that we eat. Without insulin we develop diabetes. Diabetes is the condition when there is no insulin (type I) or when the tissues become insensitive to it (type II). As a result blood sugar rises and begins to cause secondary problems, which can be fatal over time.

Insulin is also able to affect the levels of other important chemicals in the body called eicosanoids. Eicosanoids are involved in everything from blood pressure to inflammation. There are few if any tissue in the body that are not responsive to eicosanoids.

Some eicosonoids are bad (increase pain, inflammation, raise blood pressure) and some are good (don’t increase pain, don’t promote inflammation, lower blood pressure). Aspirin for example and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs work by blocking the production of eicosonoids (NSAIDs) and thereby can reduce pain and inflammation.

Insulin promotes the production of bad eicosanoids. According to Barry Sears, you can lower the production of bad eicosonoids and increase the production of good eicosanoids by following a 40/30/30 eating plan. This means 40% calories from carbohydrate, 30% calories from protein, and 30% calories from fat.

As with the very low-carb diets, lowering insulin also greatly facilitates fat loss. Because carbohydrate intake is relatively low, and always eaten with protein and fat, blood sugar levels do not rise quickly. When blood sugar levels do not rise quickly, insulin stays fairly low and steady. This can increase the ability of a meal to provide a sustained sense of energy and curb hunger. The lower insulin also decreases the tendency of energy to be taken up by fat cells.

Fat ain’t all bad

Finally, the zone diet places great emphasis on eating “good fats”. Just as some amino acids from protein are essential to life, so are some fats. Fats are important for cell structure, hormone production as well as for energy storage. Certain essential fats called “omega-3” fatty acids have many healthful properties. Diets high in omega-3s have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke. That’s one fancy fat!

In summary, a diet containing 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat may have health benefits beyond simple weight reduction, especially if essential fats are included. Plus, with a diet relatively generous in both carbs and fat, fixing appropriate meals is a snap!

Low fat diets

There is probably no diet more common than a “low fat” diet. As dieters embraced it, an entirely new faction of the food industry was invented and has thus far thrived. All our favorite processed foods were soon further processed into “reduced fat” or “fat free” versions. So why all the fuss about fat? It can’t be all that bad…can it?
The cheering section

The pressure to reduce fat intake came from two camps, first the dieticians focused on fat because it is the most calorie dense foodstuff. Second came the heart doctors who realized that certain kinds of fat in the diet were highly associated with the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The two groups together present a very influential argument for Americans to reduce the fat in their diets.

The logic of Low-Fat eating

When trying to lose weight, you must burn more energy than you eat. Burning more energy is easy, just get up and get going. Eating less energy is the hard part. The easiest way to eat less energy is to focus on reducing the foods that have the most energy in them, namely fatty foods.

Fat has 9 calories per gram. Protein and carbohydrate have only 4 calories per gram. Fat is also devoid of fiber making it even easier to eat a lot of it. On the positive side, because fat is so calorie dense (meaning you can fit a lot of fat into a small package) you can cut out a lot of fat without cutting out a lot of food.

Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water

Not all fats are created equally. I think you will be happy to learn that fats have gotten a bad reputation because of the consequences of eating to many “saturated” fats. Not all fats are saturated and not all fats pose the health problems that saturated fats do.

Fats serve a broader purpose than simply providing texture, taste and calories to your diet. Just as some amino acids are essential to life, so are some fats. Fats are important for cell structure, hormone production as well as for energy storage. There are many problems experienced during states of malnutrition due to the lack of essential fats.

The association between saturated fat intake and cardiovascular disease is well known. Much of this association centers on cholesterol. Saturated fat raises blood cholesterol and LDL levels more than any other element in the diet. Studies have shown that increased saturated fat intake increases LDL (bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL (good cholesterol). (1) Cholesterol and fat, circulating in the blood, build up on the walls of the arteries. The buildup narrows the arteries and can slow or block the flow of blood. When the level of cholesterol in the blood is high, there is a greater chance that it will be deposited onto the artery walls. Over time this can lead to a narrowing of the arteries and an increased risk of heart attack.

A good high-carb/low-fat diet is one with a wide variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat meats such as chicken, fish and lean cuts of beef. Stick to it and you will not only see the pounds come off but you will also decrease your risk of heart disease.

In Summary

You can fit virtually any diet into these three categories. You might find some variation as companies try to make their diet “appear” to be completely new, but in general they will still fit into the above categories.

I hope you noticed that I didn’t place any one diet above another. The reason I did this is because each type of diet, when combined with weights, cardio and adhered to consistently, will yield lead to significant weight loss. So the diet you chose really just depends on your preferences.

References:

1: Loktionov A, Scollen S, McKeown N, Bingham SA. Gene-nutrient interactions: dietary behavior associated with high coronary heart disease risk particularly affects serum LDL cholesterol in apolipoprotein E epsilon4-carrying free-living individuals. Br J Nutr. 2000 Dec;84(6):885-890.

Originally published: ThinkMuscle.com, January 2002

Photo credit: Muscletime

Charles Staley: I’m always hesitant to call anything ‘the best,’ but I will say chin-ups are pretty darn good. All rowing and pulldown motions innervate the lats, but I cannot think of an exercise that places such great demands on the musculature of the back the way that chins (and pull-ups) do. The results that this demanding exercise can produce is obvious in gymnasts and rock climbers, who tend to posses great lat development, despite the fact that they do not strength train in the way that you and I think of it.

The chin-up and it’s variations work the latissimus dorsi, teres major, deltoid, trapezius, bicep, brachialis, brachioradialis, and many other muscles. Adjustments in grip spacing, palm direction, and even plane of movement can influence where the emphasis is placed, so they possible variations are endless.

However, if you can count the number of chins you can do on one hand, I have a few tricks in my bag for you:

1) Improve your absolute strength. Since traditionally this is done using between 85 and 100 percent of maximal ability, you’ll need to use additional weight in the form of a dumbbell between the calves or a weight plate on a belt specially make for this purpose. Choosing a weight (it might be only your bodyweight, of course) you can comfortably get 6 sets of 2 reps with, try this great three week program, which is an abbreviated version of something called the “Soviet Squat Routine.” Just don’t tell your Ruskie workout buddies that you’ve perverted it for your own upper body objectives! You’ll use the same weight for every workout:

After you complete this program, rest about 4-5 days, and then after a proper warm-up, perform one, all-out set of chins. You’ll completely freak out at how strong you’ve gotten, and wherever there’s strength, size isn¹t far behind!

2) On days I run into a personality conflict with my athletes, I love to prescribe a drill I call “intermittent sets.” Here’s how it works: you simply perform as many chins as possible within 60 seconds. It doesn’t matter how you arrange the reps – for example, you might do 3 reps, then rest 20 seconds, then another 2 reps, then rest another 15 seconds, and then another 2 reps. When 60 seconds is up, you’ve done one set. Three sets of these and you’ll still have a lat pump when you wake up the next morning!

3) The supine ball pull was introduced to me by my colleague, Lorne Goldenberg, strength coach for the Ottawa Senators. I really love this exercise because of the ease in which you can vary the intensity, and because it takes so little in the way of equipment. Place a bar low on the power rack, just high enough so your back would clear the floor if you were hanging with your torso parallel to the floor (see Photo #1).

Then place a Swiss ball (please use only the ABS ball by Sissel USA – never compromise on safety) somewhere between your knees and your feet (the former is easier, the latter is harder), resting both legs on top of the ball. The more proficient you become with the exercise the further the ball should be placed toward the feet. Creating an imaginary straight line through your spine down to your feet, pull yourself toward the bar, while maintaining balance on the ball (see photo#2).

At the top, really arch your back and hold for a full second; at the bottom, be sure to allow your shoulder blades to completely retract (pull apart). This exercise is the exact antagonist to bench pressing of course, and the tow exercises can be performed together during workouts.

Photo credit: Muscletime

Originally published: MESO-Rx, July 1998

Lyle McDonald: My main reasoning is based on hormonal fluctuations which happen during training. There is supposedly research (although I’ve never been able to find it) that testosterone levels begin to drop after about an hour of training. This is my reasoning for keeping workouts to below that time period. As well, most people can’t maintain a terribly high intensity of training for more than an hour. My current training partner used to do 3 hour back workouts (or was it 30 sets, I can’t recall). By the end of the workout, he was just going through the motions. Now I have him doing 5 maximum about 8 sets for back and he’s growing again (he’s been training 16 years and is near his genetic limits at this point).

As to no more than 4-5 days per week in the gym, it’s also hormonal. There is ample research that daily high intensity training will lower testosterone levels (bad) and raise cortisol levels (also bad). Endurance athletes, who typically train daily for several hours at a time (sound familiar) typically have very depressed hormonal levels. My general guideline is no more than 2 days training in a row without a day off for a natural lifter.

So, how are you making this type of training work? I would say that most of it is because of your age. At 20, you’ve still got high levels of anabolic hormones in your bloodstream (ah, if I only knew then what I know now) so you can get away with this type of training. As well, the fact that you’re bright enough to take 7-10 days off every so often is helping. Research has also shown a ‘rebound’ effect in hormone levels when training is stopped for a week.

However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t streamline your workouts and get even better results than you are now. First, I would ask why you are wasting 30 minutes per workout on abs. Having cut abs has to do with low bodyfat levels and doing crunches for 30′ doesn’t burn a lot of calories.

I trained a female bodybuilder for a show last year and she never did more than 3 minutes (yes, you read that right, three minutes) of abs at any given workout. Ok, maybe 6 minutes. I had her do heavy weighted crunches over a Swiss ball in one workout and reverse crunches in another. Her abs were as cut and defined as the other girls in her class. So there’s 30′ you can eliminate from your workouts.

My general recommendations when I get questions like yours are this: you have nothing to lose by cutting back your training time in the gym. At worst you spend 8-10 weeks making a little less progress than you were making. At best you make better results (what I put my money on). As well, you learn something valuable about how *you* respond to training.

A couple of stories may help illustrate my point.

My current training partner (who I’m coaching for a show in September) has been training for about 16 years. He’s near his genetic limit but he also has very good recovery ability. He has trained up to 7 days per week twice a day every day. And he actually grew for a while on it. Then he cut back to training every day only once a day. I *finally* got him to cut back to training only three days out of every 5 (he trains 2 on/1 off on a rotating schedule through the week) for about an hour at each workout (very basic push/pull/legs split). He started growing again and he’s the heaviest he’s ever been, about 215 at 5’5″ and I would guess 12% bodyfat or so.

One of my clients has only been training for about 2 years. He was training like you are now, 4-6 days per week for up to 2 hours per workout. Had quit growing. I cut him back to about the same level as my partner above (he trains 3 days out of every 5 on a chest/back, legs/abs, delts/arms split, no workout longer than an hour). He is growing quite nicely now and, better yet, he can have a life outside of the gym.

Photo credit: Muscletime

Originally published: MESO-Rx, July 1998

The title of the study is “Ingestion of a high glycemic index meal increases muscle glycogen storage at rest but augments its utilization during subsequent exercise.” (1) The study was set up as follows, on two occasions, 14 days apart, seven trained men ran at 71%VO2 max for 30 min on a treadmill. Three hours before exercise, in a randomized order, subjects consumed either a high GI or low GI carb breakfast. The low GI breakfast consisted of 80 g bran flakes, 200 ml skimmed milk, 360 g canned peaches in own juice, 300 g apples and 500 ml unsweetened apple juice. The high GI breakfast consisted of 60 g corn flakes, 240 ml skimmed milk, 100 g white bread, 30 g raspberry jam, 265 ml Lucozade original energy drink, 587 ml water. Both meals provided about 175g carbs and 21 grams of protein. Both meals provided the same number of calories.

The two meals had significantly different effects on substrate utilization during exercise. Once again, I’m not going to explore the performance angle of this study. Instead I want to illustrate the impact that GI can have on fat burning. Here is a graph (1) from this study demonstrating what proportion of glycogen and fat were used during the subsequent treadmill session.

Although there was a trend for less disruption of fat burning during rest, the real effects were seen during the workout. During exercise, total carbohydrate oxidation was 12% lower during the low GI trial with a compensatory increase in fat oxidation compared with the high GI trial. Although the total number of calories burned were similar, the proportion of fat burned was significantly higher. This after eating the same amount of carbs (175g) before exercise!

Too often we get so caught up in avoiding carbs that we forget our real goal is to burn fat. If it were possible to burn just as much fat eating carbs as not, I think the overwhelming majority of us would choose to eat carbs.

Beyond the relief from walking around in a low-carb haze all the time, there are physiological benefits to having more exogenous or dietary carbs coming in. Research has demonstrated that not only is thyroid activity sensitive to overall calorie intake, it is also sensitive to carb intake. (2,3,4,5) It appears that the level of circulating T3 remains higher on fewer calories if more of those calories are from carbs. We’re not talking anything magic here, just a trend in the right metabolic direction.

So, we see that if we diet right we can eat our carbs, and burn our fat too, as long as we stick to the low-GI variety. Here are a few rules of thumb that you can use when choosing carbs to diet with.

1. Use high bran cereals instead of low sugar cereals.
2. Choose whole fresh fruit instead of processed fruit products
3. Choose foods and meals with a low Glycemic Load (GL) (Glycemic Load = GI/100 x amount carbs in food portion or meal)
4. Avoid high GI and high GL foods and meals

That’s really about it. You will find by following these rules of thumb you will end up eating whole fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats and very little if any refined and processed foods. Sound familiar?

References:

1. Wee SL, Williams C, Tsintzas K, Boobis L. Ingestion of a high glycemic index meal increases muscle glycogen storage at rest but augments its utilisation during subsequent exercise. J Appl Physiol. 2005 Apr 14;

2. O’Brian JT, Bybee DE, Burman KD, Osburne RC, Ksiazek MR, Wartofsky L, Georges LP. Thyroid hormone homeostasis in states of relative caloric deprivation. Metabolism. 1980 Aug;29(8):721-7.

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Photo credit: Muscletime

Introduction

Let us first consider the three major subjective symptoms of muscle damage related to exercise. The first is soreness occurring during an exercise and a few minutes to a few hours later. The second is a decrease in the ability of the muscle to perform work, or more simply a decrease in the power it can exert. The micro-trauma endured by the muscle fibers makes them temporarily weaker, and this would explain the decrease in muscle strength. The third is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS, which is a soreness which appears a day or two after the exercise.

Evaluating again the first and second symptoms, what if several hours after a workout, you feel only slight to moderate soreness, and more importantly, what if you can handle nearly the same weight for several more sets? This would seem to indicate that either the muscle had not endured enough damage to significantly affect its strength, or that it has recovered to a considerable degree, or both! Since I often experienced this lack of muscle fatigue symptoms after working relatively small muscles like the biceps and the triceps, I decided to use a double-split with a twist: traditionally one does not work the same muscle during the two sessions comprising the daily double-split; I decided I will work only the same muscle during both sessions.

Caveats, Warnings and Contraindications

The most important issue here is that you should work only a single muscle during both sessions. This pretty much precludes a regular split routine the day you intend to employ this technique. The reason is that this is an extremely taxing routine and to achieve maximal effect you would not want to hinder the ability of the target muscle to perform heavy exercise again during the second session. Performing a regular first session, say in the morning, where you will exercise several muscle groups, can dramatically decrease your ability to intensely exercise one of the muscles you have worked in that session. Overtraining could result also.

The second issue, and this is of paramount importance, is that you should not work your muscle in the second session if you feel considerable soreness or you cannot use a weight almost as heavy as the one you have used in the first session. Remember, these are signs of muscle damage that has not been repaired yet, and true to conventional wisdom, the muscle is not ready for another workout yet.

Another issue is that, as noted above, this technique should only be used by advanced trainers. Beginners and intermediate trainers could suffer acute, local overtraining symptoms such as acute muscle soreness in both its short-term and DOMS forms, or worse yet, muscle cramps. So make sure you have exhausted (pun intended) your options of effectively exhausting the muscle during a single session, using working to failure, forced reps, and eccentric motions (negatives) before attempting the “twist” double-split.

I have not used this method for larger muscles such as quads, lats or pecs; I can not emphatically determine that it cannot (or should not) be used for them. But I do advise you are extremely cautious with experimentation of this kind.

Mechanism of Action

There are several factors that initially limit, and gradually inhibit, the muscle’s ability to perform repeated work such as during the performance of several successive heavy sets. The best known one is the buildup of lactic acid in the muscle during exercise. This is known to be the trigger of the immediate soreness felt after muscle work and a contributor to the soreness felt during the several next hours (but not a factor in DOMS). Let us assume that the buildup of lactic acid plays a role in the protection of the muscle against overwork, by means of both its induction of soreness and reduction of the muscle’s ability to work, or its strength. We can further assume that, as with other protection mechanisms in the body, there is a “safety margin” in the mechanism’s action wherein it takes over before maximal fiber damage has occurred. Although inducing maximal fiber damage is definitely not recommended as a regular, ongoing method for achieving maximal growth, it can be effective when applied from time to time, especially to get out of a plateau or a “rut”.

Another well-known fact is that no matter the intensity applied, there is never a full recruitment of all muscle fibers during contraction (or extension). This, again, may be among other things a protection mechanism which prevents a certain number of fibers from being exerted and thus assures a degree of muscle strength even after a very intense work. If it was not for that protection we could have lost nearly all the work ability of a muscle after a very intense workout.

It then becomes our goal to gauge the careful application of methods that override these mechanisms. This is where the “twist” double-split comes in. When we work the muscle during the second session, several hours after the first, the influence of lactic acid has greatly diminished. This allows us to work the muscle quite heavily again. Also, assuming contraction will now recruit fibers that were not recruited during the first session, we can achieve the feat of recruiting almost all of the muscle fibers during the two sessions. Again this is absolutely impossible during a single session. Since muscle fibers have different recruitment (or “firing”) thresholds, we may further conjecture that this may be the only way to recruit, and thus exert, fibers with a very high recruitment threshold which would have never been fired in a single session. This later point may be the most important aspect of this technique.

Hands-On

Let me now detail an example “twist” double-split for the biceps:

Morning

EZ-Bar Curls

• 1 x 7 Warm-up
• 2 x 7-9 70% 1RM
• 1 x 7-9 75% 1RM Forced-Reps to Failure
• 1 x 3-4 70% 1RM Eccentrics

Concentration Curls

• 1 x 7 Warm-up
• 1 x 7-9 70% 1RM
• 1 x 6-8 75% 1RM Forced-Reps to Failure
• 1 x 3-4 80% 1RM Eccentrics

(Of course, your mileage might vary).

Evening

The same…except you might not be able to use quite the same weights as in the morning.

Since the whole purpose of this method is to shock the muscle, you should go as heavy as you can during both sessions. This includes forced reps and negatives, if you can’t achieve total exhaustion within 4-5 sets.

Recovery

It is always wise to let a muscle completely recover after a heavy workout, and it is doubly so after this routine. Make sure all soreness has subsided before working the same muscle again. It is also important to avoid any exercise where the muscle plays a secondary role; for biceps, this would be almost all back exercises, including pull-ups, pull-down, rowing, etc. For triceps this would be almost all chest exercises (except flies and pec-dec) and almost all shoulder work (except laterals). Also, if soreness has completely disappeared but you feel the muscle is not its usual strong, again avoid working it. Because of the extreme demands this method places on the muscle it is very important that you listen to your muscle’s “vital signs” even more carefully than usual. Also, if you feel tired the day after performing the “split”, take a day off from any training.

Results

I have experienced great results using this routine, but I use it very cautiously and not very often; I may perform one every two to three months. It has proved especially effective for my biceps, which seem to hit a plateau more often than other muscles (for me. This is individual). If you have trouble getting out of a plateau you might give this very unorthodox method a spin.

References

William D. McElroy, “Cell Physiology And Biochemistry”, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1964

Michael Yessis, “Kinesiology Of Exercise”, Masters Press, Indianapolis, IN, 1992

Photo credit: Muscletime

Photo credit: Muscletime

Too often and much to my dismay, I hear women protest against using any appreciable weight in their weight training program. Moreover, many young women completely refrain from resistance training; instead spending countless hours on the cardio deck in a fruitless effort to attain an ideal physique. What is the ideal physique and why are women so afraid of lifting a dumbbell that isn’t pink or red? The answer to the first question lies in a complex paradox of social and cultural influences. In answer to the second question, many women believe lifting weights will make them explode with bulging muscles. Another reason is women believe they cannot lift anything heavier than their makeup case. These are unfortunate idiosyncratic fallacies amongst women. Generally speaking, women fear muscles. A sociological and cultural discourse on women and self-perception would entail much more time and space than allowed here. However, several recent books and articles address those issues and will thoroughly engage those interested in pursuing them. Nonetheless, I will address physical issues of why women should embrace developing muscle.

Women who fear resembling the Hulk should immediately put that anxiety to rest. It just won’t happen. For a simple reason: hormones. Women are from the planet Estrogen; men are from Testosterone. Although both genders produce both hormones, the relative ratios are significantly different. Men normally produce higher levels (approximately 10 times that of women) of testosterone and lower levels of estrogen. Women produce the opposite. The professional female bodybuilders that, until recently graced the pages of muscle magazines gained their extreme muscle mass with the aid of supplemental anabolic/androgenic steroids. Federally classified as Schedule II drugs their usage carries legal ramifications as well as potential physiological side effects.

Although both testosterone and estrogen are anabolic (promoting the process where smaller units build bigger units in the body), testosterone is primarily responsible for increases in muscle tissue hypertrophy. Granted, some women have higher levels of androgens than normal and therefore have a propensity to increase muscle mass beyond the average woman. This attribute is genetically determined, and many of these women are competitive athletes. But a woman does not have to be an athlete to increase muscle mass. Any woman can increase strength and gain muscle.

Let’s talk about why women should partake in resistance training.

Life and weight loss: In our society, women are obsessed with weight control. Unfortunately, that obsession normally centers on the bathroom scale and does not consider changes in body composition (ratio of body fat to lean body mass). Most fad diets result in a loss of muscle tissue as well as body fat. A person can lose half of their body fat and remain alive; but if you lose half of your muscle mass, you will most likely die. Because muscle is denser than body fat, a person who is weight training may show slower changes on the scale but faster changes in body composition.

Muscles burn fuel: Muscle burns more calories than body fat. Muscle cells have organelles called mitochondria, often referred to by physiologists as a cell’s ‘power plant’. They provide the energy for nearly all of the metabolic processes that take place within the cell. Muscle cells are very busy and the mitochondria constantly transform chemical energy into mechanical energy. Reactions within the mitochondria break the bonds of fuel molecules and release energy for cells to use. During endurance exercise most of the energy for muscle activity is provided by mitochondria. This is used as the primary argument for the performance of copious amounts of endurance exercise. While it is true that calories are burned during endurance exercise, only resistance training can increase muscle mass. More muscle = more mitochondria = more fuel burned.

Weight training can increase basal metabolic rate: Basal metabolic rate refers to the number of calories used by the body at rest, and makes up 60-75% of the body’s total energy expenditure. While aerobic exercise burns calories during activity (and a small amount afterwards), it has minimal effect on basal metabolic rate. Additionally, extensive periods of aerobic activity can decrease basal metabolic rate by causing muscle loss. In contrast, a proper resistance-training program can increase muscle mass, and hence the metabolic rate. For general overall health and weight control, weight training is a necessary component of a woman’s exercise program.

Muscle inactivity leads to muscle weakness and wasting: Muscle fibers must be physically active if they are to remain in good health. Otherwise, they will degenerate and lose mass. We have all seen (or known) older individuals who lacked the strength to walk without aid, or get out of a chair under their own power. This represents an extreme of muscle and strength loss. Less muscle mass also means the body burns less fuel. Most importantly, less muscle mass means a decline in strength. Consequently, sedentary people have an increased need to incorporate exercise into their weekly activities to maintain muscle mass, strength and aid in weight control.

Connective tissue and joints: Resistance training also stresses and strengthens connective tissue. This is the tissue that binds bones together and attaches muscles to the skeleton. Sensible training with weights will increase the cell activity of connective tissue in the muscle and those which attach the muscles to the bones. Mechanical compression of the joints stimulates healthy metabolism of cartilage within the joints. Inactive joints have decreased macromolecule turnover in the tissue and may be more susceptible to osteoarthritis and injury.

Helps prevent osteoporosis: Muscle wasting in the elderly contributes greatly to osteoporosis, a major debilitating disease in women after they reach menopause. Women have less muscle mass than men and also have less bone density. Both men and women undergo hormonal and metabolic changes as they age. Muscles start to deteriorate, fat accumulates more readily, and bones begin to lose their density. This process can be slowed, especially with forethought. Load bearing activities enhance bone mass. Studies have shown that women who are active throughout their lives have greater bone density and retard bone loss in later years. Recent research has demonstrated that weight training can reduce, and possibly reverse, bone loss in pre- and postmenopausal women. However, women should start and maintain some type of weight training activity as early as their twenty’s for optimum prevention of osteoporosis. Regardless, it is never too late to start, no matter what age.

Muscles and mass give women power over their own lives: When was the last time you refused with a smile the bag boy’s offer to take out your groceries? When was the last time you changed the tire on your car by yourself? How soon did you huff and puff the last time you climbed those three flights of stairs? How young will you be when you are forced to enter a nursing home because your wasted muscle mass can no longer support your frail bones? Muscles are required in order for women to take charge of their own physical life. They are necessary to provide for a woman’s welfare and ability to fend for herself. As well, muscle mass contributes to weight control, especially in later life. Moreover, it makes women feel good about themselves.

By now you may have noticed that I use the two terms ‘weight training’ and ‘resistance training’ interchangeably. In the context of this article, ‘resistance training’ is more applicable: to build muscle mass by increasing the resistance the muscle must move. Exercise physiologists call this ‘progressive overload.’ Muscles are amazing pieces of metabolic machinery. They adapt quickly. If you can curl a 10-pound dumbbell with 12 controlled repetitions (reps), it is time to increase the weight: not ‘tone’.

Toning is not resistance training. Nor will it build muscle mass. Use the word ‘toning’ in a gym and watch the hardcore weightlifters cringe and sneer. The term ‘toning’ is erroneously applied to doing countless reps with small amounts of weight that don’t incrementally challenge the muscle. That muscle adapts quickly to moving a weight for a given number of reps and is no longer stimulated. The weight must be progressively increased in small increments for muscles to grow.

For generations women have been perceived as being the weaker sex. Not true. Strength and speed are not a monopoly of the male gender. Women and men have the same capability to develop strength and speed. Relative to fat free body mass, women have nearly the same strength as men. If one were to take the same muscle unit from a woman and a man and put it in an identical artificial environment with the same growth media and the same stimulation, the muscles would grow at the same rate. However, in the body’s environment, the hormonal and metabolic environment varies between men and women. Women have smaller muscle fibers and ordinarily have less muscle mass. Nevertheless, women are gaining in rate of competitive performance on a par with men in both speed and strength. Women are realizing they can perform daily activities that require strength that they previously thought they could not do. Physical strength will increase a woman’s independence in everyday life.

A sensible program of combining resistance and aerobic exercise will increase strength and stamina. Resistance training will stimulate the muscles to remain strong and robust. A moderate amount of aerobic activity will contribute to greater endurance and overall increases in efficient body metabolism.

Sadly, women generally don’t realize how strong they are or how strong they can be. Many women don’t know their own power and feel safe within their imposed boundaries. They are afraid to exert themselves. It is time to break that mold. Use as much weight as you can and move that weight with intensity. Challenge yourself. Set goals and work hard to achieve them. Be strong and feel strong. When you can curl that 10-pound dumbbell for 12 reps, grab the next heavier dumbbell and do it again. Go for that extra rep. Embrace the feeling of contracting muscle. Push yourself and rejoice in your accomplishments.

“Women need muscle, as much as they can muster. They need muscle to shield their light bones, and they need muscle to weather illness… And being strong in a blunt way, a muscleheaded way, is easier than being skilled at a sport. It is a democratic option, open to the klutzes and the latecomers, and women should seize the chance to become cheaply, fowzily strong, because the chance exists, and let’s be honest, we don’t have many. Being strong won’t make you happy or fulfilled, but it’s better to be sullen and strong than sullen and weak.”

Excerpt from Woman. An Intimate Geography. By Natalie Angier, (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999)

Charles Staley: Muscle soreness is almost always an indicator that your muscles are still repairing themselves. After exercise, the release of an amino acid called hydroxyproline is released to repair microtrauma in the muscle fibers. Being a very toxic substance, hydroxyproline irritates the nerve endings, causing tenderness (soreness is NOT caused by lactic acid, by the way). Re-training these unrecovered muscles will only damage them more – if you repeat this pattern habitually, you may very well end up with a traumatic injury.

Eccentric training is universally accepted as being more traumatizing than concentric training. If you’ve ever taken a long hike up a mountain, camped overnight, and then hiked back down the next day, you might have noticed that you woke up feeling relatively unscathed, only to find that you got very sore the next day. This is because the hike up is primarily concentric work for your quads, and the hike down is mostly eccentric.

As a rule, wait one entire day (some of my colleagues would say two) after your soreness has disappeared before training the same muscle(s) again. Don’t worry if it seems like your training frequency seems insufficient – the vast majority of people train too often.

Photo credit: Troy Alves / Muscletime