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MYO DYNAMICS
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DISCLAIMER
Please note that the author and publisher of this book are NOT RESPONSI-
BLE in any manner whatsoever for any injury that may result from practic-
ing the techniques and/or following the instructions given within. Since the
physical activities described herein may be too strenuous in nature for
some readers to engage in safely, it is essential that a physician be con-
sulted prior to training.
Distributed by:
Myo Dynamics
P.O. Box 370022
Las Vegas, NV, 89137
(800) 519-2492
First edition
Table of Contents
Interviews
Fighting Arts Interview.................................................................4
Testosterone Interview...............................................................12
Foundations and Principles
Goal Orientation: Venturing Into Uncharted Athletic Territory............19
Understanding Training Foundation...............................................28
Warming up to a Great Workout...................................................31
There is No Best Way..................................................................41
Quality Has a Quantity All Its Own................................................47
Sets and Reps...........................................................................52
Training by the Numbers.............................................................63
Training Articles
Customizing Your Workouts for Maximum Results...........................69
The Final Rep: Re-evaluating the Practice of ‘Training to Failure’........74
Acceleration: The Middle Path to Renewed Lifting Progress...............83
The Law of Sustainable Progression..............................................91
Pressed for Time: Life Management Skills for Bodybuilders...............98
Maximize Your Efficiency...........................................................106
Prove Me Wrong!.....................................................................109
Success by Design....................................................................111
Get Out of the Rut!...................................................................118
Slow Versus Explosive Lifting: The Controversy Continues..............125
Humor
Fitness Follies..........................................................................132
Ghandi: Indian God of Bodybuilding............................................138
Bench Pressing Your Way to Great Hamstrings..............................138
Truth or Fiction? A Look at Bodybuilding Maxims...........................143
Training Programs & Strategies
Creative Applications of Circuit Training.......................................150
Mixed Qualities Training for Anaerobic Events...............................159
Quality Strength for Human Athletic Performance.........................176
Convergent Phase Training........................................................195
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Misc
Strength Training for Golf..........................................................249
Injury Prevention & Recovery
The Role of Sports Massage Part 1..............................................251
The Role of Sports Massage Part II..............................................265
Oh Those Aching Shoulders!......................................................277
Healthy Knees for Life...............................................................281
Recuperative Strategies for the Low Back and Legs.......................287
Elbow Problems and Conservative Solutions.................................292
Problems Associated with Long Term Seated Postures....................295
Chiropractic vs Medical Management of Low Back Pain...................297
Nutrition
Nutritional Support Concepts for Athletes....................................300
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Eccentric Emphasis..................................................................344
Static Training.........................................................................345
Intermittent Sets for Bench & Squats..........................................345
Powerlifting or Weightlifting?.....................................................347
"Bigger Faster Stronger" Program...............................................348
Books and Careers in Sports Science...........................................349
Workout Frequency..................................................................350
Zig Zag Method of Weight Gain...................................................351
Pregnancy and Exercising..........................................................352
Box Squatting & BFS System.....................................................353
Testosterone Boosters..............................................................353
Developing Training Programs....................................................358
Firefighter Challenge................................................................359
Good Lifts for a 16 Year Old?......................................................359
What Burns More Calories: Bike or Treadmill?...............................360
Deadlift Training......................................................................360
How to Reverse Ageing Through Training.....................................361
Weight Training or Aerobics for Fat Loss?.....................................363
Fiber Conversion......................................................................363
OKG.......................................................................................364
Intentional Overtraining for Females...........................................364
Shoulder Clicking.....................................................................365
Powerlifting/Olympic Lifting and Specialization.............................365
Arm Strength for Baseball.........................................................366
Isolation Exercises...................................................................368
How Much to Keep in Reserve on Each Set?..................................369
Build Chest Without Bench Presses.............................................370
Eating on $30 Per Week............................................................370
Cravings.................................................................................371
Proper Hydration Status............................................................372
Shoulder Injuries.....................................................................372
How Long Does it Take to See Results?........................................374
Synthrol for Mr Happy...............................................................375
PMS.......................................................................................376
Soviet Peaking Cycle................................................................376
Rave Reviews..........................................................................379
Mentzer’s at it Again.................................................................379
Speed Strength Training............................................................380
ATP & the Nervous System........................................................381
Fourteen Year-old Progressing Too Quickly?..................................381
Fitness Woman’s Nasty Habits....................................................383
Positioning Strength and Endurance Components..........................383
Plyos for Hypertrophy...............................................................384
Push/Pull & Powerlifting............................................................385
Speed Strength Article Generating More Questions........................386
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Glossary of Terms.............................................................................421
Preferred Vendors............................................................................505
Index.............................................................................................508
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2) Most articles start with a short introduction from me, explaining either my
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The careful reader might notice some contradictions from time to time. I con-
sider myself a student first and a teacher second, so naturally, my approach
has changed over the years....all else being equal, later articles are more
indicative of my current philosophy and methods.
I sincerely hope you find the following information beneficial. The learning
process is enhanced by carefully considering and questioning the information
presented. Can you find loopholes in my reasoning? Can you find opposing
research to my conclusions? If so, kudos to you. I’m flattered when I see peo-
ple reading my writings, but when I see people taking my work beyond my
original concepts, it makes me feel like I’m making a difference.
Charles Staley
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Author's note: This is the most recent interview with me to date. It is direct-
ed toward combat athletes, however, the principles involved are reflective of
my approach any apply equally to all types of athletes.
Q: Mr. Staley, I understand that you are a martial artist yourself as well as
being a highly respected strength coach, athlete and writer. Would you mind
telling our readers a little about yourself?
A: Please call me Charles...I started martial arts training at age 11 and con-
tinued my physical practice until I was 31, at which point I felt I had exhaust-
ed my potential as a martial artist. I wanted to pursue other avenues, specif-
ically the discus throw. I am currently 40 years of age.
In any event, to sum up my story, I’m just a geek who learned a lot in my
compulsive desire to become a successful athlete (which unfortunately, never
happened!). I consider myself a teacher specializing in physical preparation.
For the past 20 or so years I have done nothing but train, study, eat, and
sleep. And I mean that literally. Don’t try to get inside my head— you’ll just
get hurt!
But anyway, whether I’m writing, teaching seminars, or working with ath-
letes, to me, it’s all teaching. I know my craft and I’m an effective commu-
nicator. I’m not a “trainer.” You train animals, not people.
Q: Many martial artists fear that strength training will have a detrimental
effect on their martial abilities for example, decreased flexibility and or loss
of speed. Could you address these concerns?
A: Well, the irony is that, in all other athletic disciplines, strength training is
universally used to enhance all of these attributes, yet, in the martial arts,
people are afraid that strength training will impair their abilities.
Of course, like anything else, strength training is a tool— use it properly, good
result. Improperly, bad result. If I try to turn a screw with a hammer, I’m
going to end up hating hammers, when the fault resides within myself, not in
the tool itself. As it turns out, most athletes use strength training improper-
ly, and this fact enables my career as a conditioning specialist.
Q: Charles, could you discuss the benefits of strength training by weights for
the martial artist as opposed to developing strength by the use of isometric
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A: Well first, let’s just call strength training the method and weight training,
isometrics, dynamic tension, and so on, would be thought of as the specific
means within the method. Many people tend to view strength training and
weight training as one and the same, when in fact, the latter is just one way
of implementing the former.
But to answer your original question, there are many, many benefits. We can
start with some of the more obvious ones, such as the improvement of force
output capabilities. A strength trained athlete can exert greater force on any
given effort (absolute strength). He can also apply that force more quickly
(speed strength), and he can exert greater force over a succession of intense
efforts (strength endurance). The practical benefits of this should be fairly
obvious, but for example, if, during a jump, one can exert more force through
the ground with his feet, then he jumps higher, and so on.
“A strength trained athlete can exert greater force on any given effort...”
Now, what happens when we enter these discussions is that the martial arts
are traditionally based on technique, which I would define as getting more
done with less energy— getting in the position of best leverage, using the
opponent’s energy against himself, all of that. So when I talk about strength,
the knee-jerk reaction is “We use technique, not strength.” However, if we
match Steffi Graf against Michael Chang, who will win, and why?
A: Exactly. Because, if you have two competitors with equal technical and
tactical ability, then the strongest one wins. So we’re not suggesting that a
martial artist forsake his or her technical training in order to become stronger,
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we’re just saying that strength development has an important place in train-
ing.
Q: OK, with that in mind this brings up another question. As you know, mar -
tial arts training can be extremely demanding, so how it is possible to bal -
ance this type of training with a quality strength training regimen without
overtraining?
A: As a kid in high school, I remember that I didn’t have enough time or ener-
gy to work a full time job when school was in session. So, I’d take a full time
job in the summer, and then drop back to part time when school was in.
Incorporating strength training into your total program works the same way.
You can’t simply add it on, but rather, you must integrate it into your exist-
ing schedule. Let me elaborate a bit on this if I may.
In the beginning, the skills that make up a martial artists training will actu-
ally improve strength. In other words, throwing side kicks makes the legs
stronger, and so on. But after a time, the body will habituate to throwing
those kicks, and you don’t get any stronger. Now, the kick training is still
important for continued technical development of course. But if one wishes
to further increase kicking strength, we need to engage in supplementary
strength training. This might consist of weight training, jump drills, elastic
tubing, there are many possible components, but it doesn’t have to take over
your life— 3-4 weekly sessions lasting 30-45 minutes each are usually plen-
ty.
When you first initiate a strength training program, you should reduce the
volume (amount) of your martial arts training for the first 3-4 weeks or so.
If you’ve been training in the arts for a long time, you’ll be able to maintain
your skills even on a reduced training volume. But this will make room for the
inclusion of the new training element. Once the body has adjusted, you can
increase the volume again.
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could you share your thoughts in regard to the low weight-high repetition
type training so popular with any martial artists these days?
Q: Please do!
In both cases the training load is identical. The weight is the same, the total
number of reps of the same, and the total volume (weight x reps) is also
identical. However, the net result of each format can be very different— let’s
have a look:
During the back squat exercise, the athlete must learn how to wedge and
center the traps under the bar, how to make the walk-back as economical as
possible, how to properly position the feet, and so forth.
In the case of machines, one must learn how to position the seat, how to
enter the machine, and on completion, how to exit the machine.
In other words, the actual repetitions are cake compared to the “set-up” and
“break-down.” The “skilled” approach is superior to the “traditional” format
with regard to motor learning because it gives you twice as many set-up and
break-down opportunities.
In terms of strength acquisition, the “skilled” format wins again, because the
athlete is less fatigued, he can exert more force against the resistance on
each repetition. The object of strength training is to have the most force and
the least fatigue (as opposed to vice versa, which is how most people lift).
Finally, because the “skilled” format leads to less fatigue, it is also safer than
the traditional format. As the lifter fatigues, skilled performance declines, and
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the possibility of injury increases (for example, an athlete misses the uprights
when he attempts to rack the bar at the end of a set, because he’s in a rush
to escape the pain of lactic acid accumulation in his chest, deltoids, and
arms). So, on all counts, low repetition (which may or not be maximal effort
reps) lifting is far preferable to the bodybuilding-type format that most peo-
ple use. If I used the high rep format as a martial artist, I’d hate it too!
A: As we age, we steadily lose our fast twitch muscle fibers— the ones
responsible for our ability to function, maintain posture, and keep the meta-
bolic rate at a high level. The value of properly performed strength training
is that it slows the loss of these valuable fibers, so that you lose physical
functioning at a much slower rate than if you did not train. In powerlifting,
there are men over the age of 60 who squat over 600 pounds— a weight that
would simply squash the average man. One well-known powerlifting coach
recently lifted 900 pounds at age 58. This is only a tad less than the current
open category World record.
Many, many studies have now been conducted with people over 80 years old,
and it has been demonstrated that strength can be easily and safely doubled
in a few months, even at these advanced ages. Kind of exciting, I think! Older
athletes need to approach it more conservatively, and they should have
supervision (as should everyone). If I may segue into this for a moment...
A: When I walk into a commercial gym, more than 99% of people are lifting
improperly. You can’t learn to train reading muscle magazines or from read-
ing books, OR from watching everyone else, since they’re doing everything
wrong as well! It’s just like the martial arts— you can’t learn it from a book,
so do find qualified supervision, at least at the beginning to form good habits.
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A: I recently went on a hike in the Valley of Fire National Park, about an hour
north of Las Vegas. During a break for lunch, a female friend of mine men-
tioned that she had just benched pressed 135 pounds for the first time ever.
Another member of our party, a successful artist with an advanced academ-
ic degree, asked what the World record was for the bench press. When I
replied that it was something over 400 pounds for women, he replied “Jeez,
why would you want to take it that far?” I quickly jumped in and responded
”Why would you climb Mt. Everest, or try to earn your first million by age
30?” He then said “What I mean is, why would you want to get so big?”
I was just dumfounded that this man had no ability to distinguish between
being strong and looking like a “brick s**thouse.” My client Mariam Power,
who is the Canadian Jr. Champion in the sport of powerlifting, bench presses
240 and squats over 400 at a bodyweight of 155. She looks like a Victoria’s
secret model.
If you ask a middle-aged woman when she thinks she was in her best shape
ever, she’ll invariably say that it was in her late teens or early twenties. Know
why?
A: Indirectly, yes— it’s because that’s when she had the most muscle (which
is what fueled her high metabolism). Repeat after me...”Muscle is our friend,
muscle is our friend”!
You can also look at women at high levels in sport— Katerina Witt, (figure
skating) Marion Jones (track & field), these are strong women— much
stronger than the average man. And most women wouldn’t mind looking like
them, I assure you.
Q: True enough. Could you share your thoughts in regard to whether or not
the hard training martial artist needs to nutritionally supplement his or her
diet?
A: It is not necessary, but it can be helpful. It’s a tricky issue because we live
in a society that expects life’s answers to come in a pill. In the bodybuilding
World, there are a dozen new supplements every week. Almost all of them
are worthless. I always explain it this way: if you’re driving down the inter-
state and you get a flat, your first step wouldn’t be to clean your windshield!
It’s not that cleaning the windshield is a bad thing to do; it’s just that it does-
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n’t address the core problem. Supplementation is the same way. In the
majority of cases, a new client will ask me about supplementation, and when
I train this person, he has no idea how to warm-up, how to perform his drills,
how to eat properly, how to stretch, and so on. Once those issues are ironed
out, then we can talk about supplements. The following four categories rep-
resent the most important supplements for athletes in my opinion:
1) Vitamin and mineral supplements. For most athletes, a vitamin and min-
eral supplement is a good place to start when developing a supplementation
plan. Many products are available, and theories abound as to the optimal pro-
portions of various nutrients that should be present in a multivitamin. Seek
a reputable performance nutrition specialist for advice on the best formula-
tion to use.
2) Whey protein shakes. Whey protein shakes can be used as meal replace-
ments by adding milk, fruit, and/or flax oil as a way to create the optimal
macronutrient ratio. In this way, it’s easier to avoid all the processing and
artificial ingredients which are so common in commercial MRPs. Don’t try to
live off of protein shakes though. Athletes need “real” food as well! Alternate
between shakes and whole food meals throughout the day. If you don’t, the
lack of dietary fiber will make your bathroom visits resemble a flashback from
the movie Seven (sorry, I have a thing for scatological humor!)
3) Flaxseed oil. As a source of essential fatty acids, flaxseed oil helps to lower
cholesterol levels, nourish nervous and brain tissue, reduce inflammation,
and regulate the cardiovascular, immune, and digestive systems. Flaxseed oil
does not contribute to bodyfat deposition like other fats because it must be
converted metabolically in order to become saturated fat. Because the fatty
acids in flaxseed oil are essential nutrients, they are the starting point, or the
“mortar and bricks” for manufacturing all other fatty acids and hormone pre-
cursors necessary to support and build strong lean muscle, while prolonging
stamina required for endurance sports. You can take flaxseed oil by itself, or
put it in shakes or on salads.
Q: I was wondering if you wouldn't mind telling us a little about your com -
pany Myo Dynamics?
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A: I am based in Las Vegas, Nevada, but also travel to Los Angeles every 5
weeks to work with clients there. Incidentally, I do not require that athletes
spend protracted periods of time with me— if someone has a trip planned to
Las Vegas, and would like me to evaluate their training, they can call and we
can set up an appointment.
I also sell specialized tracking software for athletes, and my book The Science
of Martial Arts Training is due out this spring. Did I leave anything out?
Q: I’m sure our readers would like to know how to contact you...
staley@myodynamics.com.
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Charles Staley is one of those rare teachers who has a special insight into the
plight of the "common man." Starting out at a very genetically mediocre 6-
2 and 145 pounds at age 18, he built himself up through diligent studying,
experimentation, and sheer hard work into his current 210 pounds. As a
Master's level discus competitor, Charles placed third in the 1994 US
Nationals.
For over eight years he has developed policies and course content of the
International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) and teaches several certifi-
cation seminars a year. Teaching others is his passion, and to date he has
had over 200 articles published in Muscle Media 2000, Martial Arts Training,
Muscle & Fitness, Inside Kung Fu, and Ms. Fitness.
Mr. Staley is the author of The Science of Martial Arts Training, a book on
physical preparation methods for combat athletes. He has also developed a
very popular software application (the Myo Dynamics Training-Nutrition
Manager) to take the guesswork out of diet planning and record-keeping.
Charles has some unique theories on training techniques for optimum per-
formance and muscular growth, and that was the focus of much of this inter-
view.
Q: Certain strength coaches, such as Bill Starr, often advocate the quick
Olympic lifts as a means of adding mass. Do you feel that bodybuilders
should incorporate the quick lifts, if muscle mass is their only concern, or is
the time under tension too brief to have any impact on hypertrophy?
A: Well, there are a few things to consider with respect to this question. First,
in order to provoke a training response, you need both magnitude of load as
well as extent (what Poliquin would call "time under tension"). So, with the
Olympic lifts, you have tremendous magnitude, but very minimal time under
tension. This doesn't seem to hurt successful Olympic lifters (who have
superb muscular development), however, it's a chicken-and-egg type of
question: does the method produce the muscles, or is the fact that the lifter
is genetically gifted what makes the training work?
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It's probably a little of both, and to answer your question, the Olympic lifts
and their variations can be very useful tools for bodybuilders, particularly on
the neural front. As an illustration, I have watched very large bodybuilders
struggle to clean 135 pounds, because they have no concept of acceleration—
they tend to always train in a very slow, deliberate fashion (which makes no
sense to me at all). So when you tell them to "jump" with the weight, their
eyes start to go buggy like they've seen a UFO or something— it's just a very
foreign concept to many of them.
Q: I also understand that you have a unique way of prescribing rest periods
when you write programs....
A: I'm not sure how unique it is, but I don't typically say "OK, rest 3 min-
utes (or whatever) between sets." Since fatigue accumulates from set to set,
it is much more efficient (in my mind, anyway) to use shorter rests between
early sets, and more rest between later sets. One way I accomplish this is to
request that all sets be performed in a fixed time frame, e.g., 5 sets in 20
minutes. In this way, the client will self-regulate his or her rest intervals, tak-
ing minimal rest between early sets to get a “head start.”
Q: Excellent! You have coached track and field, and I have often noticed that
sprinters, on the average, have superior hamstring development compared
to bodybuilders. Should bodybuilders be adding sprints to their leg training
regimens, or are they already doing all they can with leg curls and stiff-
legged deadlifts?
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you and your opponent. But for NHB (no-holds barred) type events, many of
the most successful competitors are very heavily-muscled individuals. In
these disciplines the more you weigh, the harder it is for your opponent to
move you, and the easier it is for you to move him. I would also have to say,
however, that it depends on your individual fighting style and strategy. If you
weigh 165 pounds on your best day, and you typically fight guys who out-
weigh you by 50-70 pounds, your strategy is going to be to take him into
deep water (i.e., try to make the fight extend into late rounds) in order to tire
him out. In a case like this, there is no advantage to gaining 10 pounds of
muscle, because then you're still outweighed by 40-60 pounds, and now your
endurance is worse because you have 10 extra pounds of muscle to feed!
Q: When you are examining the top martial artists, would you say that these
men are 'genetic freaks' in terms of power and speed, or have most of them
had to work extremely hard to develop these traits?
A: Both. You have to be a freak, then you have to work your tail off. If either
component is missing, it just ain't gonna happen. By the way, when you say
"genetics," it isn't simply a matter of having a great assortment of motor
qualities, but also being born with a body that can withstand the rigors of pro-
longed and harsh training. You can be the fastest-twitch person on the plan-
et, with great levers, hormones, and so on, but if your body can't hold up,
you'll never get anywhere. The majority of my athletes receive intensive
massage therapy through my colleague Dianna Linden in Los Angeles, and
what we have found is that super-talented athletes always tend to have very
"clean" muscle tissue, despite years of hard training. Lesser athletes will tend
to have a lot of "gunk" (i.e., scar tissue, adhesions, etc.) in their muscles. If
your muscle is loaded with adhesions, it isn't available to the training stimu-
lus, and you'll never get anywhere.
A: Basically, you need a skilled soft tissue therapist to sift through your
tissues and assess your status. Many adhesions can be worked out, but
some, particularly if they are long-standing, cannot. If an athlete has access
to skilled massage work right from the start, you'd never develop them in the
first place.
Q: That's really interesting— most lifters would probably never even consid -
er this! OK, I know you work with a lot of fighters, so on to my next ques -
tion: Bruce Lee was known for his diligent weight training. Do you think you
could have worked with him to make him even better than he was?
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A: Oh jeez, why don't you load up a good question for me, eh?! Look, if you
examine what he purportedly did in his training, on the one hand, he was way
ahead of his time. But on the other hand, he did a lot of things that seem silly
by today' standards (like drinking cow's blood, for example). So, yes, I'm
sure that I could have improved his performance ability. But so could any rea-
sonably talented strength coach.
Q: Do you find that a lot of people at seminars 'size you up,' associating a
muscular physique with credibility as a strength coach? If so, what may be
wrong with this assumption?
A: Well, with me, there's not much to size up really— I guess I weigh about
205 at 6'2." So there's not much about me that other people find threaten-
ing I guess. But it's all in the approach as well. If I walk into a seminar say-
ing "OK, shut up, the master has arrived," then people would obviously be
looking for a way to shoot me down. But I take a much more low key
approach, and try to let the information speak for itself.
You also have to look at where someone has come from. In my own case,
despite the fact that I look more like a tennis player than a bodybuilder, I
weighed about 145 at age 20 and about 155 at age 30. So I have made a
lot of progress on a personal level— it's just that I started out as what you
might call "mesomorphically challenged"!
A: For starters, ISSA has never said that certification is the only step in your
preparation— it is simply one step along the way. We encourage people to do
everything they can to enhance their skills. This includes taking other certifi-
cations as well. The ISSA also offers around-the clock technical support (via
800 line and e-mail, as well as interactive web technology) for their mem-
bers, and their staff is superb— it's not manned by minimum wage school
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kids with a script, but by skilled individuals who are intense and passionate
about training and nutrition. Anyone thinking about certification should cer-
tainly investigate ISSA before making any decisions.
A: I have a theory on this (you won't find it on Medline!). If you think back
to your early days in lifting, you might recall that, at the beginning, your
1RM's were always going up like gangbusters. So typically, lifters will lift
heavy, stressing the intensity component of the training load. Then, progress
starts to stall after a few years, and it becomes harder and harder to realize
new PR's in your major lifts like you could at the beginning. So you begin to
stress the volume component— doing gradually more and more sets and reps
at given intensity ranges. After a few more years, you reach another plateau,
and most people never get past this point. My theory is that the "last fron-
tier" is to increase training density, or the work-rest ratio. In other words, if
Monday is back and tricep day, you repeat the exact same workout 4 times
in a row, with the only difference being that you seek to complete each suc-
cessive workout in less and less time. I have found that this approach yields
continued results for a lot of people who have been training for years, but
who have been plateaued for a long time.
It's all in context. For example, last week I was feeling uninspired, and just
to shake things up, I decided to do 100 pull-ups in 60 minutes, with no par-
ticular set/rep format. So I did 50 sets of 2 reps and called it a day. That's
not too many sets because I only had one exercise on the menu.
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Q: Do you think that Mentzer actually gets all the success with his clients that
he claims he does? Do you also believe, as does, that some individuals have
such horrible "recovery genetics" that they can only tolerate something along
the lines of five sets per workout, once every seven to ten days?
A: I have no idea really. But 5 sets per workout? Maybe for some people,
some of the time. But as a rule, no. I tend to think that people have more in
common than they are different. However, Jerry Telle put me through a
biceps workout once that paralyzed me in one set. It consisted of a prolonged
drop set that lasted like 5 minutes. So, we need to be careful about hard and
fast rules— it really depends on what you're doing, how hard you're able to
work, and so on. But if Mentzer says one set of 12, I'd counter that by say-
ing 4 sets of 3 at the same weight will be more effective.
A: In other words, you'll accumulate much less fatigue doing triples, which
allows you to accelerate the weight. The acceleration results in more tension,
which leads to better motor unit recruitment, which leads to more hypertro-
phy of fast fibers. The training load (volume and intensity) is identical, so it's
hard to argue that somehow it would be less effective.
Q: Your concept of "stabilizer failure" makes a whole lot of sense. You con -
tend that because the smaller stabilizing muscles fatigue before the larger
muscle groups, it is prudent to perform dumbbell movements first, barbell
movements later in the workout, and save machines for the end of the ses -
sion. As common sense of an approach as this seems, why haven't more
trainers adopted it?
A: Well, I think Paul Chek should be given credit for this idea, not me. But
there is a logic to it, certainly. It really just boils down to the age-old prem-
ise of doing the most neurologically difficult work first when you're still fresh,
then proceeding to less demanding tasks. So if you plan on testing your 1RM
on a barbell bench press, then do that before dumbbells, because it's more
neurologically demanding, and also because the dumbbell work will benefit
from the fact that you jacked up your nervous system with the barbell. So I
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Goal Orientation
Author’s note: I know that goal setting is viewed as a bit cliche, but it’s hard
to argue against once you consider it carefully. My first exposure to the con -
cept of conscientious, aggressive goal setting occurred in the early 80’s when
I tool a course from Success Motivation Institute based in waco, Texas.It
made a huge impact on me, and I wanted to see if I could present a con -
vincing argument for the idea. I’m quite happy with this article— I think it
expresses the concepts very simply. Paradoxically, everyone agrees that
goals are important, yet less than 5% of the population has one...
Someone recently asked me if I’d ever like to be able to bench press 500
pounds. I replied that, no, not really, because obviously, if I had really want-
ed a 500 pound bench, I would have taken the steps necessary to get it,
which I obviously haven’t. Now of course, it might be the case that even if I
applied maximum effort and resources to the goal of bench pressing 500
pounds, it might not be in the cards for me anyway. But my point is that self-
actualized people make things happen, rather than hoping they will happen.
(Incidentally, I’m also philosophically against playing the lottery, because it
takes you away from making it happen and toward hoping it happens.).
We all have desires, things we hope to achieve in life. The question is, what
exactly do you want? And how badly do you want it? How serious are you
really? Have you really considered what you’ll have to give up to get what you
want?
Anatomy of a Goal
Based on this definition, I’d guess that fewer than 5% of all people have even
a single goal at any one point in time. Sad, isn’t it? If you’re in the 95% club,
this article will show you how to cross over. As a starting point, let’s examine
the above definition point by point:
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2) A goal must be specific and measurable: Your desire to become "as big as
a house" isn’t a goal. It isn’t specific enough. We need to talk pounds at a
certain bodyfat percentage, not real estate.
Now of course, if this goal (getting down to 7% bodyfat by May 1st) is part
of your long-range objective to become a champion bodybuilder or fitness
competitor, we now have a more meaningful context for your objective, since
your competitive aspirations will have rewards above and beyond ego-grati-
fication, such as career possibilities, character development, and so on. Once
you can see the complete range of benefits that accomplishing the goal has
for you, you’ll be ready to commit enormous personal resources to achieve
it. Now think back to your original motivation— looking great at the beach.
Is this goal really worth the considerable time and effort that it’ll take to
achieve? If so, proceed. If not, explore other goals which will significantly
impact your life when you accomplish them.
Additionally, goals must be framed in such a way that they push your emo-
tional "hot buttons." For example, it may be that you have a goal to parallel
squat 400 pounds by your 30th birthday which is in eleven months. Your cur-
rent PR is 355. This is a specific, challenging, and presumably meaningful
goal for you. However, step back for a second and consider which sounds
more attractive: 400 pounds (a nice even number), or, 405 pounds, which is
(4) 45 pound plates on each side of the bar. Or, if you happen to weigh 205
pounds, perhaps the concept of lifting 410— double your bodyweight— has
the most appeal.
There is no right or wrong answer here— the point of the exercise is to see
how slightly different ways of framing an objective can effect your emotional
reserves. Which option seems most appealing to you?
4) A goal must be challenging: If your goal isn’t challenging, you’re not like-
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ly to mobilize significant resources to attain it. For example, using the previ-
ous example of the 400 pound squat, some would argue for a more "realis-
tic" goal of 365 pounds. However, while certainly realistic, a 15 pound
improvement in 11 months is hardly the stuff of dreams, is it? In fact, it’s
such a small increment that you might be likely to forget about it before the
day is over! Better to aim for the stars and fall on the mountain peaks, as
they say.
5) A goal must have a specific date of completion: Time-frames are what cre-
ate pressure to get the job done. Your time frame must be aggressive, but
realistic. If you’re not sure if your goal can be accomplished within a certain
time frame, you’ll have to either base your time-frame on personal past expe-
rience, or you may have to do a bit of intelligence work in order to find out.
If you like, send your proposed goal and time frame to me at staley@meso-
morphosis.com, and I’ll render my opinion in my column, Staley on Strength.
Make sure to include all relevant details such as gender, age, health/injury
status, and years of training experience.
6) Your goal must be stated in the positive: Remember the old story where
the football coach says to his star receiver "Whatever you do, don’t drop the
ball!"? Guess what he ended up doing? You can’t plan to not accomplish
something.
The following collection of strategies and skills are like a psychological "tool-
box" which will properly arm you while in pursuit of your objectives.These
tools are found in the blueprints of all champions, not only in sport, but in life
as well.
You know the old expression "I’ll believe it when I see it"? Long before I ever
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Although the concept of affirmations is often the butt of late night TV humor
(e.g., Saturday Night Live’s Stuart Smalley), in truth, they are very powerful
tools for the acquisition of goals. The mind is immensely powerful— if you can
control it, that is. Ever notice how women will tell you that they gained too
much muscle after 2-3 weight training sessions? Or have you ever heard
lifters (usually guys) extol the virtues of XYZ supplement, even though sci-
ence has proven it completely useless? This is the power of belief, my friends.
If you can harness that power to a well-designed plan, the battle is already
half-won.
Sample affirmations:
"I dream big dreams, believe in them, set goals to achieve them, and take
action to make them become reality."
Create your own affirmations to support your goal, as well as the habits and
attitudes necessary for achieving your goal. Write them on note cards and
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For example, if your hectic, 6 day a week work schedule is a severe obstacle
to accomplishing your goal, find a talented lifter who has succeeded with a
similar schedule. Find out how he managed to do this, and then implement
the same strategy. Chances are very strong that it’ll work for you as well.
How does one apply this principle toward the acquisition of challenging goals?
Going back to my personal experience with the 405 pound squat, I remem-
ber that I thought, acted, and presented myself as a 400 pound squatter long
before I could actually do it. I would look for any and every opportunity to
demonstrate this, for example, squatting 315 completely cold (i.e., no warm-
up) when someone asked me to demonstrate something about the lift.
Although inwardly, it was quite a challenge for me to squat this weight cold,
outwardly I’d act completely nonchalant about it, talking through the lift and
acting as if I could squat that weight all day long. The idea behind all of this
is that I was gradually convincing my unconscious self that I was a 400 pound
squatter. With a bit of creativity and imagination, you’ll come up with various
ways to employ the "fake it ‘till ‘ya make it" principle in your own training.
And if it’s not obvious by now, yes, it IS dangerous to squat big weights with-
out a warm-up.
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Let’s face it— if you are in the process of pursuing challenging goals, the
"common herd" will view you as a freak. If this sort of antagonism really
drives you, express your goals to everyone you know, and get ready to surf
the wave of negativity all the way to your completion dates! On the other
hand, if you think you’ll be a bit intimidated and depressed by having every-
one you know doubt your abilities, it’s better to keep your plans to yourself.
Fear of Failure
Probably the number one reason that few people establish goals for them-
selves is the fear that failing to succeed will bring unbearable negative con-
sequences. These people postulate (usually in an unconscious way) that if
they never set a goal, they can never fail. These people also fail to realize
that the flip side of this pattern is that they will also not succeed!
If fear of failure seems to be a reality for you, consider that even if you fail
to realize your goal, it’s still likely that you have improved to a measurable
degree along the way. For example, maybe you set a goal to enter and place
in a local bodybuilding show. It turned out that you came in dead last and felt
terribly embarrassed. But consider what really matters— did you significant-
ly improve you physique in the process of pursuing the goal? If so, you efforts
were totally worthwhile. In general, "process oriented" people tend to be
more effective than "results oriented" creatures. Develop the habit!
Once you’ve created your plan, you need to have a reliable way of assessing
whether or not it’s working. This involves testing quantifiable outcomes on
predetermined dates, and then implementing changes if these tests fail to
reveal appreciable progress. When implementing these changes, it is critical
to change only one element at a time, while holding all other variables con-
stant. A pseudo-placebo effect often ensues when an athlete starts taking an
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In the realm of sport, nothing compares to those rare moments when exist-
ing World records are broken. Only the rarest of human beings can do it, and
even then, only rarely. Personally, I never considered it relevant as to
whether or not I could ever break a World record (fortunately, it turns out!).
What really matters is this: can you exceed your lifetime best performance?
If you can, you’re making progress, and getting ever closer to your ultimate
destination, whatever that happens to be.
In any given training session, there are several ways you can exceed your all-
time best performance. You can increase the volume, intensity, and/or den-
sity of the workout, holding the exercise menu and session duration constant.
You can also break your RM record for any given lift. Or, you can equal or beat
any of the above at a lighter bodyweight— an indicator of relative strength.
Using the data above, it becomes clear that I have numerous ways that I can
exceed the 1/1/99 performance:
1. Generate the same or greater data but in a shorter period of time and/or
at a lighter bodyweight.
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4. Break any of the 5RM records for any or all of the 3 exercises performed.
Although I can continue with increasingly more creative ways to break your
best performances, I think the point has been made. However, I hope it has
occurred to you that you can’t break your PR’s if you don’t know exactly what
they are. And if you don’t document your training, you’re not likely to remem-
ber this information. If you’ve never documented your training, start now.
Right now.
Maybe the scariest aspect of goal orientation is the moment when you
achieve your goal. What’s the next step?
My suggestion is that you document your success— use your training log or
tracking software if you use such tools. This act enables you to review your
goal from inception to completion. It also fosters belief in your own abilities,
especially as you accomplish more goals. Why do you think it’s so universal
that kindergarten kids receive "stars" or similar tokens as testament to their
accomplishments? Why do you think Weight Watchers awards 10, 20, 30-
pound (and so on) ribbons to members when they lose the corresponding
amount of weight? The answer is simple— to provide a visual reminder of the
accomplishment. You should do the same, as silly as it may sound.
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Just like muscle, goal-orientation responds to training— the more you do it,
the stronger it gets. The more difficult the challenge, the more you’ll learn
how to "raise the bar" and set new standards for yourself. If you still find
yourself thinking "Jeesh— this seems really involved and complicated!", con-
sider the following question: Will you be more successful as a goal-oriented
athlete, or an athlete with no goals? I’ll let you be the judge.
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Author’s note; For the life of me, I cannot recall where this was first pub -
lished!
Although people engage in fitness and sports activities for various reasons,
the fact remains that they are inherently physical activities. So whether you
exercise for stress reduction, weight loss, or sport, it makes sense to train in
a manner which is consistent with accepted training principles and method-
ologies. Doing so will make the outcome of training less haphazard and more
predictable. It will also enhance the appreciation of movement one should
derive from any form of physical activity.
One such development comes from Dr. Tudor Bompa, former Romanian row-
ing coach and currently a professor at York University in Toronto, Canada.
Bompa has developed a useful schema called "The Training Factors
Pyramid,"* which can be used to develop long term training plans, based on
a foundational progression of factors over time.
The pyramid consists of four ascending levels. The athlete enters the pyra-
mid at the first level—physical preparation. This level is the cornerstone of an
athlete's training, because without it, further progress is impossible. Physical
preparation refers to the development of what sports scientists call "bio-
motor abilities"— strength, power, speed, balance, flexibility, agility,
endurance, and coordination.
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ational sporting activities, such as in-line skating and rock climbing, to name
two, require a fairly high level of physical development before many skills can
be practiced.
Of course, technical mastery is not the final objective, for any athlete. We all
know of athletes who have beautiful and "correct" techniques, but who lack
the ability to apply them in a sport setting. This brings us to the third level
of The Training Factors Pyramid: tactical preparation. Tactics simply refer to
the ability to successfully apply techniques in a sport situation. It should be
obvious to the reader at this point that technically sound technique must be
established before entering level three. Further, the athlete must have a high
level of physical development before correct technique is possible.
The fourth and final stage is called psychological preparation—a very impor-
tant consideration for athletes who hope to compete successfully. But clear-
ly, psychological preparedness— let's just call it confidence— cannot be
established if the athlete has not successfully ascended through the previous
three levels.
How can The Training Factors Pyramid be used in an everyday, practical set-
ting? Let's suppose you're a serious recreational beach volleyball player, and
you're having problems with your spike. The first step is to determine
whether or not you can execute a technically correct spike in an isolated sit-
uation (i.e., in practice).
If the answer is no, then we go down a level and try to find faults your phys-
ical preparation— perhaps you lacks adequate explosive strength to clear the
net. Once your physical attributes are improved, you should be more suc-
cessful in delivering the spike in competitive situations.
If the answer is yes (you can deliver a proper spike), the problem lies in
either tactical or psychological development. Both areas are closely inter-
twined— a lack of tactical skill can obviously impair confidence. And vice
versa. Athletes commonly progress well through physical and technical train-
ing, but falter in tactical/psychological realms. The solution is more time in
the trenches, with careful progression through gradually more difficult
encounters. When tactical successes begin to outweigh the failures, confi-
dence increases along with tactical ability.
Although the four training factors have been isolated for the sake of discus-
sion, in reality, they must be integrated if a successful outcome is desired.
For example, is a serve a technique or a tactic? At novice levels of play, it is
primarily technical, but at high levels of skill, techniques and tactics are one
and the same. Also worth noting is the fact that the direction of influence is
not only ascending, but descending as well. For example, the techniques
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Aside from day to day considerations, The Training Factors Pyramid should
also form a template for long term planning, as well. Accordingly, the first
several months of training should be dedicated to improving physical attrib-
utes, although simple technical and tactical skills may be presented as well.
The second phase of training is characterized by developing technical mas-
tery of your sport skills. Physical condition must be maintained, but this
involves less work than it took to develop it. Advanced stages of training tar-
get tactical and psychological concerns, with comparatively less time spent
on physical and technical development.
While achieving mastery in sport involves years of hard work, those years
yield far more result when they are spent wisely. The time you spend devel-
oping your foundation is miniscule compared to the time it takes to correct
long-entrenched errors from years of poorly-conceived and executed training.
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It has been said that from a good beginning, all things are possible, and train-
ing is certainly no exception. A shame then, that so few understand the fun-
damentals (not to mention the finer points) of warming up in the most effi-
cient way.
A perfect warm-up virtually ensures a perfect workout, but a poor one will
almost certainly ruin what COULD have been a great training experience.
Ever wake up dreading the idea of going to the gym, but after getting there,
you end up having a great workout? You can thank your warm-up for that.
Let me just briefly say that it is well known that warming-up increases cen-
tral nervous system function (improving such qualities as coordination and
reaction speed to name just a few), makes muscles more pliable, and facili-
tates joint lubrication. A proper warm-up also reduces the perception of
effort when performing difficult physical tasks such as weight training.
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I would like to add another potential benefit that is rarely addressed: the
warm-up allows you to assess your health status and make corrections before
you hurt yourself. If, for example, you have chronic, "off & on" problems with
a particular muscle or joint (where sometimes you can train with it or around
it and other times you can’t), you can monitor your status as the warm-up
proceeds, and make a substitution before the workout commences. The
longer you’ve trained, the more you’ll appreciate this importance of this.
The basic idea of a good warm-up is to walk that fine line between preparing
yourself adequately for the intense work to come, without fatiguing yourself
in the process. From my observations, however, few people seem to manage
this, either performing far too little work, or doing so much that their warm-
up becomes a workout in itself. I conceptualize the perfect warm-up as a 5-
stage event, as follows:
Part I: Engage Brain Before Putting Body in Gear: The Mental Warm-up
The experienced athlete has been thinking about the impending workout all
week. He’s rehearsed the workout dozens of times in his mind, and is already
aware of the possible problems he might encounter (such as dealing with
rush hour in the gym or a nagging hamstring pull that might kick up during
the workout). A novice trainee, on the other hand, can be identified by the
fact that he doesn’t even know what he will do until he gets to the gym (and
maybe not even then!). Since novices typically get novice-level results, I urge
you to explore visualization and autogenic training, both of which are estab-
lished methods of maximizing physical performance both in training and in
competition. Some people learn these techniques on their own, others need
instruction. Either way, USE them!
Begin the physical warm-up sequence with low intensity cardiovascular activ-
ity for 3-5 minutes, or until you break a sweat. Although almost anything will
do, my preferred mode of activity for this stage of the warm-up is skipping
rope, for several reasons:
• As I watch my client skip rope, I can get a rough idea of his or her nervous
system status by the level or timing and coordination that he or she displays
during the skipping session. If my athlete is tripping all over him/herself, then
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we need a more extensive warm-up than what may have been originally
planned.
These range of motion drills not only help to increase your flexibility and lube
up your joints, they also provide valuable feedback regarding your function-
al status (including whether or not you have equal muscle length on both
sides).
By using the term "active," I am referring to the fact that you will be moving
your own limbs (rather than having a partner do it). On each exercise, you’ll
slowly and deliberately flex, extend, or rotate a joint 10 times on each side.
I use the term "dynamic," to denote that we are increasing ROM by moving
our limbs in a relatively slow, deliberate fashion— these drills are neither
static or ballistic.
On each drill, only go to the point where you begin to feel stretch tension on
the targeted muscle— no more. The entire stretching sequence should take
about 5 minutes for both upper and lower body.
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3) Supine hip external and internal rotations (knee and hip at 90 degrees of
flexion): Lying on your back, lift your right leg and assume a "90-90" posi-
tion (hip and knee are both at 90 degrees of flexion). First internally rotate
your thigh until you feel a slight stretch tension, then reverse the movement
and externally rotate until you feel a slight stretch tension. Repeat for 10 reps
in both directions and repeat with other leg.
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(Note: if you know that you have a particularly tight muscle group(s), I would
also advise performing more aggressive, "contract-relax" type stretching for
those muscles prior to and also after your resistance training session).
I generally advise 2-3 warm-up sets per 100 pounds of weight that you’ll use
during your work sets for the first exercise planned in your workout. So, by
way of example, if you plan to deadlift 315 for 5 sets of 8 repetitions as the
first exercise of the workout, you’ll need between 6 and 9 warm-up sets on
your ascent to 315. The lower number would apply more to younger, healthy
athletes training in warm conditions later in the day, whereas the higher
number would apply more to older athletes training early in the day and/or
in a colder environment (please see "Tips & Tricks" for the rationale behind
this approach).
Start with 50% of your planned working weight (approximately 160 pounds
in this case) and perform 2 sets of 3 repetitions. Then increase to 70% (220
pounds) for 2 more triples. Next, move up to 80% for 2x2, and finally, one
or two singles with 90% (283) of your planned working weight.
This scenario may seem like a lot of sets to some, however, keep in mind that
the reps are quite low and will result in minimal fatigue. Compare this
approach compared to the "traditional" approach:
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Notice that the "optimal" warm-up has more than twice as many sets (and
therefore, more than twice as many opportunities to get your technique feel-
ing perfect and to assess your state of readiness), but yet, is much less
fatiguing (check out the huge difference in volume) than the "traditional"
approach. Also note that the last warm-up set should not consist of the same
number of reps as your work sets! This strategy typically generates far too
much fatigue.
Fine Tuning
Borrowing from an old trick used in the throwing events in track & field, I
have developed a useful method to determine the optimal number of warm-
ups sets, and how long to stay at one weight before moving up. Shot putters
can easily determine how many warm-up throws to take in competition, sim-
ply by recording their training results during the work out. So for example, if
the workout looks like this...
...the thrower now knows that he needs to take 3 warm-up throws, since his
best result occurred on his fourth throw (as another observation, he also
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should have stopped and moved on to the next training component after his
5th or 6th throw, because the quality of his efforts began to decline signifi-
cantly after that).
Using the example provided earlier in the article, your first warm-up set is
with 160 pounds for 3 reps. Take that set and note the perceived level of dif-
ficulty and also, joint comfort. Rest 60 seconds (no need to rest 5 minutes
after 3 reps with 60%!), and take it for another triple. Did it feel better than
the last set? If so, great— rest a minute and take it again. As soon as the
next set at that weight does not feel any easier, increase to the next weight,
and continue the process. Use this procedure to determine how many sets to
take at each level of the warm-up process, and I assure you that you’ll be
working at the highest possible level of efficiency (Note: as your warm-up
weights increase, gradually extend the rests between sets from 60 seconds
to 2-3 minutes).
Your last warm-up set is called the "prep set," a term I first learned from
California-based physician Mark Breehl. The idea is that your last warm-up
set has one over-riding purpose: to help you identify the proper weight for
your work-sets for that exercise. After all, you may have planned 315 for 5x8,
but if a prep set of 283 (90% of 315) felt brutal, you’d be well-advised to
adjust your planned weight and/or rep brackets downward. And, needless to
say, if 283 felt like a hot knife through butter, then go ahead and adjust
upward.
• If you’ll be training early in the morning, and/or if it’s cold out, beef up the
warm-up process commensurately.
• If you are otherwise healthy but have "creaky" joints, err on the side of
being too extensive with your warm-up. After all, the goal of being able to
train takes precedence over the fact that you might fatigue yourself slightly
with an extensive warm-up.
• The closer you venture toward 1RM in your workout, the more extensive
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your warm-up should be. In other words, do a more thorough warm-up for
5x5 than you would for 3x12.
• You can accelerate your warm-up through passive means such as a hot bath
or shower. Although active means are superior to passive, often, a combina-
tion of the two leads to great results.
• If you’ve done it right, your middle work set(s) will feel the easiest. For
example, when performing 5x8, the 3rd set should feel the best, and sets 4
and 5 should feel progressively more difficult. If your last sets feel the best,
it indicates that your warm-up was not thorough enough. If your first work
sets are easiest, you may have warmed-up too much.
If you’ve followed my suggestions, you should now feel warm, strong, loose,
and enthusiastic about training hard. It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it? Fifteen
minutes ago you could barely tolerate the thought of a hard workout; now
you’re looking forward to it!
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Author’s note: Four years later, this piece still reflects my central operating
paradigm. However, the “number of reps per set” discussion does not repre-
sent my current thinking. Hypertrophy is the result of total training volume;
therefore, it is total reps per workout, not the number of reps per set, that
determines the hypertrophic response to training.
"The perfect way is only difficult for those who pick and choose. Do not like,
do not dislike; all will then be clear." —Bruce Lee
The title of this article represents my response to the vast majority of all
training-related questions posed to me. Of course, athletes and coaches
argue endlessly about the "best" way to train. In fact, people tend to divide
themselves into opposing schools of thought on nearly every conceivable
issue. For example, one camp advocates slow contraction speeds while the
other recommends ballistic, high velocity training. Some favor high repeti-
tions while others espouse low reps. Other issues currently in contention are
machines versus free weights, compound versus isolation movements, and
single versus multiple sets.
The problem is that our tendency toward "dualistic" thinking leaves the
majority of us in a state of perpetual confusion when it comes to designing
and carrying out training programs. Many thinking athletes find themselves
constantly changing their minds on a particular issue after hearing a persua-
sive argument by a respected expert or successful athlete.
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higher intensities compared to multiple sets) and less favorable effects (the
targeted motor units, although recruited, are not exhausted due to the low
number of sets). However, using a large number of sets is a trade off as well:
on the one hand, it allows for a complete exhaustion of the targeted motor
unit pool, yet the excessive volume requires a lowered intensity. The only way
around this seeming paradox is to regularly change your choice of training
variables. In this way, you avoid adapting to the positive features of the pro-
gram while avoiding an accumulation of the negative elements.
Now that I've outlined by central argument, let's take a look at some of the
most hotly debated issues concerning acute training variables. Seen through
a different perspective, you'll find that there's really nothing to debate.
Free Weights Versus Machines: Pianists don't debate the relative merits of
white keys versus black keys, yet many articles have been written about the
superiority of free weights versus machines (or vice versa). Those favoring
machines cite the plethora of resistance technologies available (such as "tar-
get loading" used by Strive equipment) when using machines, as well as the
superior ability of machines to isolate the target muscle. Machines also tend
to be safer when implementing techniques such as eccentrics, strip-sets, and
partials.
From another perspective, free weights have a greater ability to involve sta-
bilizer muscles than machines. Consider the following example, which was
relayed to me by Paul Chek, an exercise and rehabilitation specialist in La
Jolla, California: Pick a moderately heavy set of dumbbells, and perform one
set to failure. Immediately go to a bench and perform a set of barbell bench
presses, using the same weight, until failure. You may be surprised to find
that you can continue, despite failing with the dumbbells. Finally, go to a
Smith machine loaded with exactly the same weight, and you'll be able to
continue even further.
The explanation for the above scenario is stabilizer failure. The dumbbell
bench presses required the most stabilizer involvement, and the Smith
machine required the least. You were able to continue past the first exercise
because the second and third exercises required progressively less stabilizer
activity. Put plainly, when your prime movers are too strong in relation to
your stabilizers, your strength output is limited, and you'll never make the
progress you can and should be making.
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lunges). Compound exercises allow you to train more muscle with less exer-
cises, which improves the efficiency of the workout, from a time management
standpoint. They also tend to improve "inter-muscular coordination," or the
ability of different muscle groups to cooperate efficiently during a movement.
On the other hand, isolation movements allow you to put the bulk of the
training stress on one particular muscle or muscle group. This is very useful
for therapeutic purposes, and for bodybuilders who need to improve a par-
ticular muscle group. It is also useful for athletes whose sport skills are lim-
ited by weakness in a particular muscle (for example, jumping ability is often
limited by the dynamic strength of the gastrocnemius muscle).
Clearly, all trainees need the advantages offered by both isolation and com-
pound movements. However, athletes who emphasize one at the neglect of
the other are likely to make limited progress, as compared to taking a more
varied approach.
High Versus Low Reps: Recently, a famous pro bodybuilder told me that as
long as he was training as hard as he possibly could, it made no difference
how many reps he performed. I waited for the punchline, but there was none.
Let's examine the good and the bad when it comes to organizing time under
tension:
The number of repetitions per set is perhaps the most important short term
training variable— the number of reps you do determines the intensity of
work, which in turn determines the type of adaptation you'll get. Performing
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Single Versus Multiple Sets: Recently, the concept of "one set to failure" has
received a lot of renewed interest in the bodybuilding world. Advocates of this
approach argue that multiple sets decrease training intensity and increase
the recovery time needed between workouts. To a large degree, they're cor-
rect. But while one set/per exercise/ per workout does increase intensity, it
also has it's drawbacks. The most significant problem is that high intensity
(by definition) means low volume. When training volume is insufficient, two
problems arise:
1) Target motor units are not exposed to enough repetition to exhaust them.
2) Since only a small amount of mechanical work occurs, damage to the sar-
comeres (the microscopic working unit of the muscle cell) is limited. Micro-
damage (or degradation) to muscle tissue is an important stimulus for
growth.
Recent studies also suggest that multiple sets result in greater GH and
testosterone production than single set protocols.
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Short Versus Long Rests Between Sets: The most commonly used rest peri-
ods range between 30 seconds to six minutes or more. Generally when you
use lower repetitions, you use more rest, and vice versa. However, most peo-
ple rarely or never change the period of time between sets. Big mistake, and
here's why: Long rest periods allow a more complete recovery, which enables
you to use the heaviest possible loads for each set— necessary for strength
improvements. The drawback is that long rests are not time-efficient. Also, if
you rest too long between sets, you may begin to "cool off," which will neg-
atively impact your workout.
Short rest periods limit the amount of weight you can use, but they also force
the body to fortify its recovery mechanisms— particularly its ability to clear
lactic acid from the muscles. What's in it for you? Improved body composi-
tion, short term endurance, and vascularity. Short rests between sets also
make your workout more time efficient.
Slow Versus Fast Tempos (Contraction Speed): Exercise tempo refers to the
amount of time it takes to perform a repetition. Each rep has three phases:
the negative portion, where the muscle lengthens as it yields to the weight
(such as lowering the dumbbells during a seated dumbbell curl), a pause, and
the positive portion, where the muscle shortens and overcomes the weight
being lifted (such as lifting the dumbbells during a seated dumbbell curl).
Normally the negative portion should last longer than the positive for best
results. You can use any tempo you like, as long as the set does not extend
past one minute in duration. Interestingly, the Super Slow Exercise Guild sug-
gests 15 seconds per rep, which would only allow for 4 reps per set before
the set becomes an aerobic activity. Nevertheless, the SSEG recommends 8
or more reps per set. This type of protocol would benefit an 800 meter run-
ner or synchronized swimmer much more than it would anyone trying to gain
muscular bodyweight, however, it may have some sporadic value, providing
that it is either different or more intense than what you are used to doing.
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My colleague and MM2K training guru Charles Poliquin illustrated the inher-
ent trade-offs in contraction speeds in a 1988 article for the NSCA Journal:
"In North America, there are conflicting schools of thought on the optimal
speed at which strength work should be performed. One school advocates
high velocity training, while another contends that strength gains can opti-
mally be gained though only slowly performed repetitions. However, both
schools are correct."
Poliquin further notes that slow velocities are associated with the production
of high forces (ideal for hypertrophy), and that fact contraction speeds favor
strength development through neural processes (remember, strength is
important for hypertrophy, since your strength level determines the percent-
age of motor units you'll be able to recruit during a set). Using only fast tem-
pos, or only slow tempos, is akin to eating only protein for the reason that
carbs aren't used for growth and repair! While superficially true, it's only part
of the story.
Full Versus Partial Range of Motion: About three years ago, the book Power
Factor Training (and the training system it describes) received quite a bit of
publicity in the bodybuilding world. The authors of the book argued that
movements should always be performed in one's "strongest range" of motion.
This allowed for the use of heavier loads, and (the authors insisted) greater
results. The Power Factor system worked for many people, and I'll tell you
exactly which ones— those who always use full range of motion when per-
forming resistance exercises. But while partial range of motion allows for
greater loads, it also has its drawbacks. Perhaps the most significant problem
is the likelihood of developing muscle imbalances. In the squat, for example,
the hamstrings and gluteals don't begin to contribute until the lifter reaches
a fairly deep position— below parallel, certainly. And while some coaches rec-
ommend that athletes squat only as deep as the positions they normally
encounter in their sport (called "accentuation training"), over-reliance on lift-
ing only in "shallow" positions where leverages are best is a mistake. Thus,
"partials" are a tool which serve a purpose when used intelligently.
A Final Observation
If I told you that in the sport of golf, there is a raging controversy over one
group who uses only woods versus another that uses only irons, you'd laugh
and write me off as a nut case. Yet, everyday I talk to people who have been
at a plateau in their training for months or even years, usually due to long
term over-reliance on one limited method of training. Does this sound like
you? If so, your ticket to success is called change. Remember, a mistake is
only a mistake if you don't learn from it.
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Author’s note: This concept has been brewing in my mind for some time, and
I finally clarified it in this article. And by the way, I’m just as guilty as any-
one when it comes to viewing post-exercise soreness as a desirable sign!
Whether or not they realize it on a conscious level, the majority of people who
lift weights for bodybuilding purposes regard fatigue as the primary goal of
training. This has always struck me as odd and unproductive, yet all the cur-
rent trends in modern exercise culture support my premise. In fact, two of
the most popular exercise trends today, Tae Bo and Body Pump, are superb
examples:
Nevertheless, most participants are happy with the program— after all, they
leave the class thoroughly exhausted.
I also have warm and fuzzy feelings about Body Pump, which is essentially
an aerobics class with miniaturized rubber barbells. The class participants
perform endless “squats,” “bench presses,” and other conventional strength
training exercises (even “clean & jerks”!), modified to fit the class structure
involved, and the lack of proper equipment and proper instruction.
Here’s a new concept: pain, discomfort, and fatigue should be the (some-
times) unavoidable side-effects of training, not the GOAL of training.
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If you can relate to the latter reference, let me save you some time— open
a 20oz bottle of coke and mix in about 3 teaspoons of salt. Get a large buck-
et ready, and attempt to drink the entire bottle in one chug. This will give new
meaning to the term “Body Pump.”
Let me state this again: the goal is to make continual, gradual progress.
Occasionally, along the way, you may reach failure as you push your limits to
the maximum, but failure is NOT the goal! It is NOT something that you
should put in your schedule, much like a lunch meeting!
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I once worked with a college level football player who hired me to prepare
him for the NFL combines. Of particular concern was an upper body strength
test which involved bench pressing 225 pounds for as many repetitions as
possible. Our goal was at least 25 reps, and my client could perform about
13 reps with that weight when he hired me. (Incidentally this particular test
is somewhat idiotic, since it tests strength endurance, rather than absolute
or speed strength, which are the target motor qualities in football).
Knowing that strength endurance is based on absolute strength, the first part
of the program I wrote for him focused on improving his single repetition
maximum, or the most weight he could lift for one rep, but not two. This
number was about 315 pounds when he hired me. 225 is about 71% of that
number. I hypothesized that a weight he could lift 25 times would correspond
to roughly 60% of his “1RM.” So our goal was a 1RM of 365 pounds, which,
multiplied by .60 gives us 225.
I got a call from my client after he had been on the program for about 12
weeks. “How’s training?” I asked him. “Well, I don’t know” he replied. “I real-
ly don’t even feel like I’m training...I don’t usually even break a sweat.” I
could tell he was enormously concerned. “How is your bench press perform-
ance?” I asked. “Oh— that’s doing great!” he exclaimed. “I did a 355 two days
ago!”
I then asked “Look, do you just want to be in pain all the time, or do you want
your performances to improve?” In the silent moments that followed, I could
almost hear him make a new association. He had in fact, improved his bench
press from 315 to 355 in only 12 weeks. Upon reflection, it suddenly occurred
to him that this was more improvement than he had made over the past 3
years combined— years where he was in almost constant pain and exhaus-
tion from his herculean training schedule.
Now of course, don’t lose sight of the point— I’m not suggesting that every-
one in the reading audience automatically tone down their training...I’m sim-
ply suggesting that we all do a bit of reflection in an effort to clarify our objec-
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tives.
Now, as I said earlier, I do realize that if I don’t give you what you’re looking
for, you’ll just go to someone else who will. The following is a lower body
workout that will REALLY trash you. Trust me on this one.
A: Depth Jumps
10 sets of 10 reps
Rest: 15 seconds
Notes: Select a box that is 66% of your height. For example, an athlete who
stands 6 feet tall should use a 4 foot tall box. Use bare feet and land onto
concrete surface wearing a 50 pound weight vest. Upon impact, tense up as
hard as possible, visualizing that you are trying to drive your feet through the
concrete.
Notes: This is the Stairmaster unit that resembles an escalator. Most people
use it improperly— here’s the right way: face backwards and step down 3
steps at a time— you’ll have to basically jump down from step to step, due
to the distance between the 3 steps. Continue for 3 minutes or until your
tibea shatters and punctures through the skin on your shins. Rest 30 seconds
and repeat.
1 set of 100
Tempo: 30-0-30
Notes: That’s right— 100 reps where each rep lasts 60 seconds. Look— if you
want just “average” pain, follow some one else’s program. If you want REAL
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pain, professional level pain, this will do the job. Stand on a bench and make
sure to touch your shoelaces with your knuckles in the bottom position
(rounding your low back will be necessary to accomplish this).
Cool-down: take a one hour Tae-Bo class immediately after your work sets.
That’s it. Don’t waste precious time twitching around on the floor trying to
stave off a coma— those muscles need lycopene, and they need it NOW!
Post-workout meal: 6 sliced tomatoes with hot fudge sauce. The lycopene
ingestion must be immediate (the hot fudge delivery system will help to
speed it to your muscle cells). Feels just like Deca. Well, kind of.
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(Originally published as “The Thinking Man’s Guide to Sets & Reps” in the
October 27, 2000 issue of Testosterone.net)
Author’s note: I hate what they did to the title of this article (originally titled
“How Many?” Nevertheless, I’ve received a ton of e-mail about the concepts
presented here. The take-home lesson is, base your training on quality, not
quantity. Do I sounds like a broken record yet?
One of the most common areas of confusion for bodybuilders and other ath-
letes engaged in resistance training is the question of the appropriate or opti-
mal number of reps and sets for any given workout session or cycle.
A Better Question?
1) If you are learning a new scale on the piano, how many times should you
repeat that scale during any given practice session? Do prominent pianists
and/or piano teachers advocate various “optimal” practice schemes, such as
“25 repetitions per session” in musical trade publications?
2) If you are practicing the tennis serve, how many times should you repeat
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that technique during any given practice session? Do expert tennis players
and/or coaches advocate various “optimal” practice schemes, such as “50
serves per practice session” in the tennis magazines and journals?
3) If you are a 100 meter sprinter practicing the start from the blocks, how
many times should you repeat this skill during any given practice session? Do
track coaches advocate various “optimal” practice schemes, such as “30
starts per training session?”
In the case of the above questions, are we looking for an arbitrary number
of repetitions, or is there an underlying principle or concept which would lead
us to the appropriate number of repetitions or attempts? The answer to this
question, I believe, lies in the relationship between volume and intensity.
We all recognize that intensity and volume are inversely related, but how
often do we apply that knowledge? Let’s explore this for a bit...
You’re out on the tennis court practicing your serve (if you can’t relate to ten-
nis, please substitute your favorite sporting skill). You perform your first
serve (read: rep). The serve was absolutely horrible— in fact, you missed the
ball, and quickly surveyed your surroundings to ensure that no one else wit-
nessed the blunder. Hopefully, you mentally rehearse the serve prior to doing
another one, searching for clues as to what went wrong. Suddenly, you
remember a time-honored maxim that your old high school tennis coach
loved to quote: “Keep your eye on the ball!” So on your second serve, you do
just that. Amazingly, it works— you manage to hit the ball, and you now real-
ize that your second rep is clearly better than your first.
Using the scenario above, can we find a way to quantify the quality (read:
intensity) of each serve, and rank them relative to each other, for every serve
you perform in the practice session? The answer is “yes.” Although the ten-
nis serve has a significant qualitative component, we can translate your skill
level on each serve into a quantitative measurement by having 10 highly
skilled tennis coaches watch and assign a score to each serve you perform.
Then we’ll drop the highest and lowest score, and average the remaining
scores.
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So, let’s say you executed 12 serves, and you receive the following scores:
Next question: How many repetitions would have been optimal? There is no
exact answer— we’re just looking at the principles involved. And in principle,
if we can accept the notion that only perfect practice makes perfect, then we
might suggest that you should have stopped after the seventh or eighth rep-
etition, because your skills levels began to decline significantly after that
point.
All of the above scenarios involve motor skill acquisition. And I believe it is
very useful to view resistance training for what it is: a motor skill!
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• All the fibers of a MU tend to have the same characteristics. When all the
fibers are type II, the motor unit is said to be a high threshold or “fast” MU.
If the fibers are Type I, it is a low threshold or “slow” MU.
• The all or none principle: When an action potential (the command from the
nervous system) is sent from the nerve cell to the muscle fibers, one of two
events will occur. If the action potential is strong enough, all the fibers of that
motor unit will contract maximally. If the action potential is not strong
enough, nothing will happen. In a nutshell, muscle fibers either contract all
the way, or not at all. When the body needs to apply more force, it simply
recruits more MUs, increases the firing rate of those MUs (see “rate coding”
below), or both. Generally, untrained people have limited ability to recruit
high threshold MUs because they are unfamiliar with high-tension efforts.
3) Rate Coding: The nervous system can vary the strength of muscular con-
traction not only by varying the number of MUs recruited, but also by vary-
ing the firing rate of each MU. This is known as rate coding. The tension that
a MU develops in response to a single action potential from the nervous sys-
tem is called a “twitch.” As the stimulus from the nervous system becomes
stronger and stronger, the twitches per millisecond become more and more
frequent until they begin to overlap, causing greater amounts of tension to
be generated by the muscle fiber. The mechanism behind rate coding is very
similar to the way in which increased vibrational frequency of a sound
increases its pitch.
As an example, a muscle comprising 100 MUs would have 100 graded incre-
ments available to it. In addition, each MU can vary its force output over
about a tenfold range by varying its firing rate (e.g., from ten to fifty impuls-
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es per second). For any set of conditions, the force of contraction is greatest
when all MUs have been recruited and all are firing at the optimal rate for
force production.
The size of a given muscle may in part determine the relative contribution of
rate coding to total muscular force development.4 In small muscles, most
MUs are recruited at a level of force less than 50% of maximal force capaci-
ty. Forces that require greater tensions are generated primarily through rate
coding. In large proximal muscles (such as the pectorals and lats), the
recruitment of additional MUs appears to be the main mechanism for increas-
ing force development up to 80% of absolute strength and even higher. In
the force range between 80% and 100% of absolute strength, force is
increased almost exclusively by intensification of the MU firing rate.
(Note: The traditional classification scheme for muscle fiber types assigns all
fibers as either type IIb, type IIa, and type I. However, I have always felt it
was more instructive to simply think of all fibers as belonging to a continu-
um. A useful way to envision this spectrum is to remember the volume indi-
cator that was commonly used on older models of stereo equipment— it con-
sisted of a vertical column of small lights, and when you increased the vol-
ume, the lights lit up from bottom to top, depending on how much you turned
the volume control knob. In the same way, imagine that we arbitrarily assign
all muscle fibers into a vertical column of say, 15 categories. When you curl
a 5 pound dumbbell, only the bottom 2 categories are recruited. But if you
curl a 35 pound dumbbell, the bottom 6 categories are recruited, and so on.)
The importance of targeting fast muscle fiber (even if you speculate that you
are a “slow-twitcher”) is that a number of studies show that fast fiber has sig-
nificantly better capacity to hypertrophy than slow fiber.5,6 Other studies
strongly suggest that intermediate muscle fiber can convert “downward,”
(i.e., taking on characteristics of slow twitch muscle fiber) when training
involves low to moderate resistances for prolonged durations, or “upward”
(taking on characteristics of fast twitch twitch muscle fiber) when training
involves high tension efforts.7 If your goal is to get bigger, you need to gain
access to the heavy hitters— the high threshold, fast motor units, because
you can’t train them until your brain learns to recruit them in the first place.
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The Bottom Line: What Causes Hypertrophy Anyway, and What’s The Best
way to Achieve it?
There have been a number of possible mechanisms proposed for the hyper-
trophy process. These include the muscle hypoxia hypothesis (a deficiency of
blood, and therefore oxygen to the muscles stimulates protein synthesis), the
blood circulation hypothesis (blood circulation to working muscle provides the
stimulus for growth), and the ATP debt hypothesis (ATP concentrations
decline during training, which supposedly stimulates muscle growth).8
However, the theory which seems to hold the most promise suggests that
energy distribution (or lack thereof) creates the stimulus for muscular hyper-
trophy. The idea is that during rest, muscular energy is distributed between
mechanical work and protein synthesis (protein synthesis is a 24 hour a day
process, however, it is greatly accelerated by heavy training). So for exam-
ple, when you’re standing in line at the supermarket, a small amount of
energy is used to keeping you standing upright, and the rest is diverted
toward protein synthesis. However, during a hard training session, a large
proportion of available energy is expended for the mechanical work involved
in lifting, which leaves relatively little for protein synthesis. It is proposed that
this energy deficit is the trigger for hypertrophy of the working muscles.9
This hypothesis corresponds well to Selye’s general adaptation syndrome
(GAS) theory, where, upon being subjected to a stressor, the organism first
experiences an alarm stage (here, the energy deficit), and then later, a
supercompensation stage (hypertrophy). 10
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From this information, you might conclude that the way you arrange your
sets and reps will have no bearing on the outcome. After all, the training
duration, volume, and even density are identical in both cases. Even the
intensity is the same, since the same weights are used in both cases. But
wait: is intramuscular tension (the key to accessing, and therefore, training,
fast muscle fiber) simply a matter of how much weight you use?
Now bear in mind, the exact numbers may not be completely accurate, but
the trend is. The idea is simply that accumulating fatigue limits force output
from rep to rep. If we add up these numbers and divide by 10, we get 237
pounds— this represent the average force per rep.
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Now let’s invert the sets and reps and see what we get. Instead of using 225
pounds for 1x10, we’ll use the same weight for 2x5. Now, the average force
per rep is 240 pounds, because by keeping fatigue to a minimum, we can
accelerate the bar more effectively. Yet the total volume and density are
unchanged. Given the following two alternatives, which would you choose?:
(Please see Table 3 for a more detailed representation of how to employ these
principles into an actual workout)
I should mention that I’m taking a few liberties here to get my point across
(for example, when you perform 2x5, you’ll have slightly reduced force out-
put on the second set due to fatigue), but I believe the concept remains valid:
breaking up your sets into smaller chunks in order to reduce fatigue allows
higher force output, and accordingly, more stimulus to high threshold motor
units. I offer this approach not as an exclusive training method (for example,
high rep sets have their place in the development of local muscle endurance
and in the production of growth hormone, which has been postulated to assist
in fat loss11), but as a method that has been successful for my own clients,
and indeed, thousands of athletes involved in Olympic weightlifting, power-
lifting, and other power events. I urge you to explore the concept. After all,
the methods which will bring you the most success in your future training are
likely to be the methods you haven’t used yet— is this one of those methods?
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2. Your working weights should approximate 70% of 1RM for each exercise
(this may necessitate using additional load on the dips via the use of a
weighted belt). Don’t get too hung up on 70%— we’re just selecting an inten-
sity to illustrate the principles involved.
4) Determine a rest interval. Again, this can depend on the resistance select-
ed and the repetition scheme, but for this example, we’ll use 60 seconds OR
LESS between sets. Use a stopwatch or a partner to monitor this parameter
as you progress through your workout
5) OK, it’s “Go Time!” (From Jerry Sienfeld’s unsolicited and aged personal
trainer, played by Lloyd Bridges): Perform your first set of dips, making sure
to stay ahead of the 2 seconds per rep speed (this will require maximal accel-
eration, but I’m not suggesting that you sacrifice control in the process— stay
tight and maintain superb control at all times) Rest one minute or less, and
perform your first set of chins. Rest one minute or less, back to dips.
6) Continue alternating between dips and chins until you either slow down to
the point where a rep takes more than 2 seconds to perform, and/or where
you miss a rep or cannot beat the time limit between sets. This “failure”
should occur somewhere between 6 and 12 sets...any more, and the load is
too light; any less, and the load is too heavy.
7) Depending on how many sets you managed, the “A” series should have
taken you between 15 and 30 minutes. Now on to “B” series...
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increased reps per set, for the purposes of local muscle endurance and
growth hormone secretion. For this example, we’ll use 70% of 1RM and sets
of 6.
9) Perform the “B: series in the same manner as the first two exercises, using
the same speed parameters.
Progression: Perform this workout 3-6 times (once every 4-7 days), seeking
to increase your training volume by 10% each session. On the first workout,
leave enough in reserve that you can increase volume by 10% for at least 3
successive workouts (accomplished by adding 1-2 additional sets per ses-
sion). After 3-6 workouts, create a new exercise menu and start over.
1) Base the number of reps per set in such a way that fatigue is minimized
as much as is practical. I say “practical,” because taken to it’s extreme, this
would mean always doing one rep per set. But obviously, in many instances
(such as heavy dumbbell presses for example), if you try to limit reps to 1 or
2 per set, you’ll end up doing more work setting up for the set than actually
performing the set itself.
2) Base the number of sets per exercise on a) how many exercises are on the
menu (the more exercises planned for a workout, the less sets you’ll be able
to perform for each exercise— this argues for multiple daily sessions), and b)
the quality of your performance from set to set. This is best measured by
monitoring rep speed, usually assessed subjectively, or objectively, using a
stopwatch or an accelerometer.
3) There are two ways to increase tension on muscles: lift heavy weights
slowly (you’ll have no choice in the matter), or moderate weights accelera-
tively.12 The second option is rarely used by bodybuilders, but it offers unique
advantages, including improved speed strength and never needing a spotter.
4) Regardless of how you organize your sets and reps, seek continuous, grad-
ual increases in work output from session to session. Hypertrophy is a func-
tion of how much mechanical work you do in each session, regardless of what
your set/rep scheme is. If you gradually do more and more work with each
new session, you’re providing the necessary stimulus for muscle growth.
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References
7) Andersen, J.L., Schjerling, P, & Saltin, B., (2000). Muscle, Genes, and
Athletic Performance. Scientific American, Vol. 283, Number 3. p.p. 52.
10) Siff, M.C., & Verkhoshansky, Y.V., Supertraining: Special Strength Training
for Sporting Excellence (1993) Johannesburg, University of Witwatersrand,
p.p. 81-82 )
11) McDonald, L., The Ketogenic Diet: A Complete Guide for the Dieter and
Practitioner (1998) Kearney, Morris Publishing, p.p. 201
12) Hartmann, J., & Tunnemann, H., Fitness and Strength Training for All
Sports (1995) Toronto, Sports Books Publishers, p.p. 27.
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Author’s note: This is a big them for me...I guess I’m just anal-retentive, but
to me, details matter. Read the article and see if I can convert you to my way
of thinking...
Of course, this article isn’t about my athletic career, but since lessons learned
in one arena can be applied to another, I’m using these examples as a way
of introducing the premise of this article.
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Consider that when you look at yourself in the mirror, it’s nearly impossible
to be objective: if you’re in a great mood, you’ll be happier with what you see
than if you’re having a bear of a day. It is true that you can weigh yourself,
measure your bodyfat, take measurements, and so on— all of which are a
step in the right direction. But all of these assessments are inherently inac-
curate and subject to human error. But numbers have a quality that I really
appreciate: they never lie!
In the sidebars provided with this article, I’ve outlined several practical ways
of increasing training volume, intensity, and density from cycle to cycle.
These methods require little more than a willingness to record your short
term training parameters (sets, reps, weightloads, and rest intervals) in a
training log or software program) and then setting your goals for the next
weekly cycle based on exceeding what was done during the previous week.
Conclusion
Most athletes I know are proud of their commitment to their discipline, and
are fastidious about never missing a workout. They consider their training
and nutritional regimens as part of their athletic discipline, yet, more often
than not, these same athletes are terribly undisciplined about keeping
records on their diet and training! I hope I’ve convinced you that careful doc-
umentation is a vitally important facet of successful training. I wouldn’t
dream of neglecting it for my clients— don’t you deserve just as much?
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(for instance, the first time you did a full squat workout) becomes stale after
excessive repetition. When the body first experiences a new form of stress,
it reacts with alarm as it rapidly attempts to fortify itself against similar
insults in the future. But after repeated exposures to the same stimulus, the
body reacts with less and less vigor, until, eventually, it barely even notices.
Eventually, that squat workout that left you virtually crippled for days after
you first did it, barely qualifies as a workout anymore.
The physical consequences of not recording and tracking your training are
equal to the financial consequences of not recording your checks in your
checkbook register— it’s that simple.
Before you can analyze and manipulate training data, you have to have data
to manipulate! For example, if you don’t know what your training load (the
sum total of all training performed in a given unit of time) was last week, how
on earth can you structure this weeks training in such a way that it exceeds
what you did last week? Doesn’t matter you say? Well, it may not matter for
one week, but this lack of discipline repeated week after week, month after
month, leads to the kind of progress that 99% of all trainees experience:
NONE. Right now, I want to ask you to visualize your gym environment, and
the people you see training there on a regular basis. Really close your eyes
and visualize until you can see the “regulars” at your gym. Now, tell me, how
many of them have made any discernible progress in the past year? None you
say? I’m not surprised. The next question is, are YOU one of these people?
I’ll leave that to you and your conscience.
Here are three practical applications for getting the most from your training
records:
• Increase Intensity: Your last bicep/tricep workout resulted in an overall intensi-
ty of 85 pounds. On your next workout, keeping all other parameters constant, strive to
achieve an average intensity of 90 pounds, by increasing the weights you lift for the
same number of sets and reps. Continue for 4 workouts in a row, or when you can no
increase the intensity of the workout.
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Then change your exercise menu and start over again. This method of
increasing training intensity (the difficulty of work performed) can help to
improve overall strength levels very rapidly.
• Increase Density: Last Monday, you trained back & triceps in 60 minutes.
You now have a training target— to increase training density. This Monday,
perform exactly the same workout, with one very important exception: per-
form the workout in 55 minutes. The next week, 50 minutes. Continue for 4
workouts in a row, or when you can no longer shave any additional time off
of the workout. Then change your exercise menu and start over again. This
method of increasing overload by increasing training density (the work/rest
ratio) can be particularly effective for improving body composition (providing
optimal nutrition) and relative strength. Over the years I have also observed
that more experienced athletes tend to get more “bang for their buck” from
efforts to increase training density, as opposed to intensity or volume. This
may be due to the fact that most people have already fully exploited intensi-
ty and volume, and therefore, have more to gain by increasing density.
Total volume for workout = 9000 + 2880 + 3375 = 15, 255 pounds
Average Intensity for workout : Volume (15,255) divided by total reps (121)
= 126.074 pounds.
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Of course, the ability to calculate training density requires that you closely
monitor TUT. I have found that this is most easily done through the use of a
portable electronic metronome, available for about $30 through any good
music store. Just set the metronome to click once per second and set it next
to your exercise station. Then, during your sets, you’ll have an audible cue to
help you determine your TUT.
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Question: If you train and eat exactly like Dorian Yates, can you expect to
develop an identical physique? The question is rhetorical, obviously. And
while genetics is usually blamed for lack of progress, it's not that simple. Your
genes are just one aspect of what makes you different from everyone else.
But more on that later.
We know that the outcome of any exercise program can be made more pre-
dictable if a handful of established training concepts are understood and
applied. In a field where there is no absolute right and wrong (only good, bet-
ter,or best), the skillful application of these concepts helps us make the "best"
decisions regarding exercise programming.
Further, it's clear that eventually, the body will stop responding to any exer-
cise regime. This is one reason why there can never be the "perfect" training
program— no matter how scientific and well planned it is, your body will
eventually stop responding to it. When it does, you've got to be ready with
"Plan B."
The concepts just discussed form a good "template" for developing exercise
programs. However, by themselves, they offer only part of the answer. That's
because a fourth factor— your individuality— must be considered to "fine
tune" the program to your own unique situation. If the previously discussed
concepts are the road map, individuality is the steering wheel. It allows for
constant, minute to minute adjustments, so that the exercise program can be
"fitted" the individual, rather than vice versa. Commonly, people make the
incorrect assumption that training = results, without factoring in the individ-
ual.
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How can you individualize your training in a meaningful way? First, take an
inventory of your own situation. The sidebar entitled "Classification of
Individual Differences," will be useful in organizing this information. For
instance, in the first category, you might start by assessing your somatype.
Are you an ectomorph, mesomorph, or endomorph? Do you have any pos-
tural problems that need to be concerned with? Do you have a high percent-
age of fast twitch, or slow twitch fibers?(You can get an estimate by seeing
how many reps you can perform with 75% of your one rep maximum for any
given exercise. If you can only do five or six reps, you're a "fast twitcher." If
you can get twelve or more reps, you're probably a "slow twitcher.")
Once you've created a profile for yourself, you can then begin to create a
training program which takes your unique characteristics into account. Start
with your objectives, and consider the constraining factors you're operating
under. These two variables will narrow your options considerably. Next, con-
sider the most significant characteristics that make you unique. Age and
training experience, for example. Younger people with more experience gen-
erally have more options than older people with less experience. Finally,
examine your health status, including any postural problems you may have
(resolving health problems should always be the first priority in any training
program).
After you've spent some time analyzing your situation, you should be able to
home-in on a basic program that will best suit your needs. Later, you can
make minute adjustments as the need presents itself.
Vast Applications
Individualization has vast implications for your entire fitness program— not
just exercise. For instance, just because 99% of Americans rely on commer-
cial gyms for their fitness needs doesn't mean that YOU have to. You may
prefer to train at home, or even outdoors. Today, people have access to an
almost limitless variety of exercise modalities, including aqua fitness, martial
arts, elastic resistance bands, yoga, dance, you name it. Many roads lead to
Rome, so do what you enjoy.
Smart athletes also know that nutrition must be individualized as well. Case
in point: English bodybuilder and elite strength athlete Gary Taylor. Despite
the conventional advice of eating a high protein diet, Gary feels he does best
on high carbs and low protein. With a 600 pound behind-the-neck push press
to his credit, it's hard to argue with his unique approach.
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most seek more muscle or strength, you might find more satisfaction pursu-
ing other objectives, such as everyday functional ability, or simply the sense
of well-being that comes with following an exercise program. It's important
to enjoy the process of training. If you're getting the results you want, don't
change a thing. But if you're still not satisfied, try the suggestions we've out-
lined here. Lastly, remember that your individuality is a dynamic concept. As
you progress, your exercise program must be constantly modified.
A. Use "default," or standard, well accepted methods first. Use less standard
methods only when you reach a point in your training where progress is no
longer forthcoming.
C. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." If you are making acceptable progress, don't
change a thing.
F. Use your common sense! Often, athletes with many years of experience
resort to foolish and extreme practices to make further gains. Remember— if
you've been training properly for more than 10 years, you're near your "ceil-
ing of potential." If we all could make improvements endlessly for decades,
everyone could squat 1000 pounds, or become Mr. Olympia, or whatever else
their goal is! Your goal now is to stay patient, keep healthy, while still seek-
ing further improvements.
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H. Have a clear, objective vision of what you expect to gain from your pro-
gram. If you don't, you'll have no way to evaluate the effectiveness of your
training.
It's often said that our similarities far outweigh our differences, but you might
be surprised to learn just how different we all really are! Let's take a look at
the six major categories of individual differences:
1) Anatomical: This is perhaps the most obvious category. People come in dif-
ferent sizes, and they also have different proportions (long femurs, for
instance). People also have different ratios of fast versus slow muscle fibers,
body fat percentages, postural abnormalities (khyphosis, hyper lordosis, sco-
liosis, etc), somatypes, and tendon attachment sites. Individuals also differ
with respect to hormonal levels. All of these factors must be considered.
2) Health and Training Status: People have differing levels of health and train-
ing experience. Both factors are always in constant flux. For instance, a
healthy person may develop an injury which necessitates a change in the
training program. When the injury becomes resolved, the program must
again be modified. Conversely, as an athlete gets stronger, he makes deeper
inroads into his recovery ability, which requires less training frequency.
5) Age: As you get older, your priorities gradually change away from peak
performance per se to improving functional ability in everyday life. Also, more
emphasis on flexibility and heart health is needed. Overall physical capacities
dwindle with age, and training must accommodate this fact. Also, pre-ado-
lescent and adolescent children need special modifications to prevent train-
ing related injuries and problems— excessive repetitive movements in the
weight room, for instance, can cause injuries to the growth plates of growing
bones.
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• Time restraints: People with little time must clarify their objectives, and
then seek out and implement the most efficient ways of attaining them. Also,
such people must prioritize their time, and only engage in training activities
that are absolutely essential to attaining their goals.
• Energy restraints: In today's high stress society, many people have the
time, but not the energy to pursue training. The aforementioned advice
regarding prioritization will be most helpful in such cases.
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Author’s note: This originally appeared in the July, 1996 issue of Muscle &
Fitness magazine— my editor there was Dr. Jim Wright, who was very help -
ful in terms of showing me how to clarify my thought processes and get my
concept across. Jim would always say “Finish the article, and then reduce the
word count by 10 percent.” It’s interesting to contrast and compare this arti -
cle with Quality Has a Quantity All It’s Own, which appeared in the September
15th, 2000 issue of Testosterone.net— I still believe in the concept, but for
somewhat different reasons.
The notion of "training to failure" is perhaps one of the most revered prac-
tices in the modern bodybuilder's "toolbox." But interestingly, this training
method seems unique to bodybuilding. In other iron sports, such as Olympic
weightlifting, powerlifting, and throwing, athletes develop enormous levels of
muscle mass without training to failure, at least not in the way that most
bodybuilders would define it. This observation, coupled with the fact that
many elite-level bodybuilders do not embrace this practice, warrants a sec-
ond look at this concept.
Birth of a Paradigm
Many credit Arthur Jones (the inventor of Nautilus equipment) with develop-
ing and popularizing the "one set to failure" paradigm. Jones argued that
bodybuilders should work to the point of momentary failure, using one set
per exercise/per session, rather than using multiple sets of multiple exercis-
es. But Jone's commercial success may been potentiated by a long-standing
tradition among young trainees (particularly men) who, in the absence of
qualified supervision, regularly trained to failure as an intuitive way of obtain-
ing objective feedback about their progress. Whenever an additional rep
could be performed with a given weight, the trainee was psychologically rein-
forced, which further entrenched this "habit."
Unfortunately, it also reinforced poor exercise form and the tremendous frus-
tration that set in when, after several months of monotonous training, the
inevitable plateau set in. This frustration then paved the way for numerous
ill-conceived commercialized training "systems" that emerged over the past
several decades. The result is an endless cycle of unsupervised trainees
switching from one miracle method to another, in an endless search for the
"perfect program."
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1) Beginners will make short-term progress with any training method, pro-
vided they aren't injured in the process.
2) The body will eventually accommodate to any program, and when it does,
you hit a plateau.
The conclusion that might be drawn from these points is that all methods can
be viewed as "tools" which have a certain degree of utility when used in the
proper proportion and in the right context. The problem is when a proclama-
tion is made that "This is the perfect program for all people all of the time!"
DEFINITIONS
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While the amount of resistance, number of sets and reps, etc., constitute the
quantitative element of training, good form (or exercise technique) can be
seen as the qualitative element. Exercise technique includes range of motion,
tempo, and control over the resistance being lifted. For the sake of variation,
bodybuilders should plan for regular variations in tempo and range of motion.
Such variations help to break through strength and hypertrophy plateaus.
Control, however, should never be sacrificed, especially for the purpose of
"eeking out" another repetition. For the sake of this discussion, "good form"
will be defined as "exercise performance which is consistent with pre-deter-
mined objectives concerning range of motion, tempo, and control of the
resistance." Using this definition, it is not considered bad form to lift a weight
through a partial range of motion, as long as you pre-determined that the
repetitions would be performed in that manner. On the other hand, if you
planned to do parallel squats, and start losing depth due to fatigue, this
would be considered bad form. Similarly, if you plan for a certain tempo
(duration of each repetition) or even rest period, it would be considered bad
form to alter these parameters in the middle of a workout.
What is Intensity?
Sports scientists and bodybuilders often assign two very different meanings
to this term. In the sports sciences, intensity is usually defined as the diffi-
culty of the work performed, expressed as a percentage of 1RM (One repeti-
tion maximum), or an athlete's maximum poundage for a single repetition for
any given lift. Using this definition, if an athlete has a 1RM of 400 pounds in
the leg press, a set performed with 350 pounds is more "intense" than a lift
performed with 300 pounds, regardless of how many reps were performed,
how close the set came to failure, or how much mental effort was applied.
For our purposes then,we will distinguish between "extrinsic" intensity (or,
the magnitude of the external load) and "intrinsic" intensity (or, the magni-
tude of effort applied against that load). It's important to recognize that
extrinsic intensity is objective, and intrinsic intensity is subjective. In other
words, we can measure the weight on the bar as a percentage of maximum,
but when someone claims that they "went to failure," we have to take his or
her word for it.
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As stated earlier, few training practices or techniques are good or bad in the
absolute sense. Most often, it's a matter of application and context.
Performing all sets to failure (or, trying to) is particularly problematic, for the
following reasons:
Many studies have confirmed that metabolic changes associated with muscu-
lar hypertrophy are best instigated through loading by high volumes, where-
as neural adaptations are best brought about through high intensity loads.
Training volume is calculated in pounds lifted per unit of time. If you plan to
lift a certain weight for 5 sets of 5 reps, only the last set would approach con-
centric failure— if you went to failure on the first set, the subsequent sets
would have to be performed with significantly less weight. This decreases vol-
ume, which can negatively impact muscular hypertrophy. International
strength coach Charles Poliquin observes that for any two athletes on the
same basic program, the athlete who uses a higher volume will have greater
hypertrophy.1 This observation may be due in part to increased levels of ana-
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bolic hormones which are associated with multi-set (as opposed to single set)
training2.
A second factor to consider with respect to the training load is that there is a
limit to how long you can achieve progressions in intensity, but increases in
volume can be achieved for a much longer period. For example, after about
9-10 years of solid training experience, you'll arrive at (or very close to) your
maximum lifts (1RM's). Past this point, it becomes nearly impossible to
increase the training load through increases in intensity. It's much more fea-
sible at this point to increase training volume (by adding reps and/or sets).
In this way, you can continue to make gains in muscle mass.
Noted exercise scientist Paul Ward warns that training to failure results in
ischemic reperfusion, or oxygen deprivation, followed by oxygen perfusion.
This results in massive free-radical damage to DNA and cell membranes.
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Clearly, it is not. The overriding concept is that, like all training methods,
training to failure is a tool. No tool should be used all the time for all appli-
cations. But used judiciously, it can be a useful training method. Any training
program which plans for progressive resistance, consistency, and variation is
likely to produce success.
Recommendations
1) Plan and document your training. If your best effort in the bench press is
225 for five sets of five repetitions, your goal should be to surpass that
effort— either by getting five more pounds for 5x5, or by getting a greater
volume with the same weight. When you do, you'll progress, even if you don't
go to failure on each and every set. Keeping a training log is a must in order
to know what barriers you're trying to surpass. Use one!
2) Use and apply strictly defined technique parameters for yourself. Cheating
(by utilizing co-contraction from non-targeted muscles) only encourages inef-
ficient movement patterns, poor posture, and potentially, injuries. Your tech-
nique on the last rep should be identical to the technique you use on the first
repetition.
4) Careful attention to acute program variables can have a big impact on how
much volume you can comfortably tolerate. Here are two examples:
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c) Except for beginners, a linear progressions of training load, where the ath-
lete attempts to add resistance each and every workout, result in early stag-
nation and loss of improvement. A more productive approach is a "three
steps up, one step down approach"6 which allows for periodic regeneration
and continued improvement.
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portions of the reps), or performing "strip sets," meaning, the partner con-
tinues to reduce the weight on the bar until no further repetitions can be
completed.
Other authors7,8 have rightly pointed out the fact that failure is specific to
fiber type. As an example, you may select a heavy weight, and reach failure
after performing 3 repetitions. While no further repetitions are possible with
this weight, it would still be possible to lower the weight (as in a strip-set)
and continue even further.
Olympic lifters terminate their sets when the ideal tempo and/or coordination
erodes beyond acceptable parameters. For this reason, Olympic lifters rarely
if ever utilize spotters, even on their heaviest maximum attempts, since (at
least in theory) the worst thing that can happen is that the last rep will be
slower than desired.
Many proponents of the "one set to failure" method justify their claims by
suggesting that one set is sufficient to recruit a maximal number of motor
units. While this may be true (although there is little solid data to support this
statement), this approach assumes that simply recruiting a motor unit once
is sufficient to fatigue it, which is a prerequisite to hypertrophic adaptations.
For beginning trainees, it may be that single exposures to a training stimulus
are sufficient to provoke an adaptation. But athletes with even moderate
experience are likely to require multiple exposures (sets) in order to fatigue
the target motor units9. Hypertrophy of other biological tissues is accom-
plished not by stressing the tissue close to its limits, but by applying a stress
which is slightly beyond what it normally encounters. Bone, as an example,
hypertrophies when a force equaling approximately one-tenth it's breaking
point is applied10. This example supports the contention that gradual pro-
gression is the ideal method for achieving muscular growth.
References:
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4) Program Design Video Series, Paul Chek Center for Health & Performance,
LaJolla, CA, 1996.
7) Telle, J., Beyond 2001: New Approaches to Scientific Training for the
Advanced Bodybuilder, EDICT, Denver, 1995.
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Author’s note: One day at the local Gold’s here in Las Vegas, I was catching
by breath between sets, and it hit me: most people lift slowly...either
because their weights are too light, or because they’re too heavy. So I went
home and created this article from that premise.
The first thing that most exercisers share in common is slow movement
speed, regardless of exercise, set/rep scheme, or magnitude of load used.
People tend to fall into one or both of two categories when it comes to mov-
ing weights slowly:
• The slow, go for the burn, high repetition group (usually recreational and
competitive bodybuilders). This demographic chooses to lift slowly, usually
for fear that “momentum will take over” if they use faster lifting tempos.
Of course, in any other aspect of life, you would never deliberately move
more slowly than you had to, because it’s inefficient. More on this later.
Oh yeah— the second thing your gym peers have in common? Very few of
them ever make any discernible progress. Can we draw a correlation between
slow movement speed and lack of progress. I certainly do! In the remainder
of this article, I’ll show you why.
More specifically, I’d like to explore a “middle path” that few trainees ever
travel. This path isn’t the only approach that can lead to success, but it cer-
tainly has considerable benefits which warrant closer consideration from
those wishing to acquire strength and power. My use of the term “middle”
refers to a slice of the so-called “force-velocity curve” that every exercise
physiology student knows by heart. You should too. I had considered steal-
ing a great analogy from powerlifting guru Louie Simmons, but given the fact
that he squats 900 and benches well over 600 at 50-plus years of age, I felt
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the possible consequences weren’t worth it, so here’s Louie’s take on the
force-velocity curve:
“If I throw a wiffle ball, it won’t go very far, because it’s too light for max
force to exist. Now if I throw a shot put, it does not go very far either,
because it’s too heavy; thus no velocity is developed. However, if I throw a
baseball, it will go a great distance because I have found a balance between
force and velocity.” (1)
Simmons trains his athletes in a manner which is strikingly different from the
rest of the powerlifting community. While most powerlifters use very heavy
weights for 2-3 reps per set, Louie emphasizes 60% weights for multiple sets
of 2-3 reps, using as much acceleration as possible on every set. The results?
Currently, Simmons has produced 36 athletes who have bench pressed 500
pounds or more, and 23 lifters who can squat 800 pounds or more.
Why Acceleration?
We know that the more tension a muscle experiences during exercise, the
greater the training adaptation. But the weight on the bar is only one factor
to consider when designing your training program. Acceleration is the other.
I vividly remember a conversation with Dr. Fred Hatfield (Co-founder of the
International Sports Sciences Association and first man to officially squat
1000 pounds). Hatfield, who at the time weighed 265 at 5”6” at 10% body-
fat, relayed the following analogy: If you place a 10 pound weight on top of
your foot, no problem. If you drop that weight from 6 feet in the air, BIG
problem. The weight is the same in both instances. Acceleration is the differ-
ence. How can we translate this lesson into making better progress from our
lifting? Compare the following two scenarios:
Scenario #1: You lift 135 pounds for 3 sets of 10 repetitions. In keeping with
the “no pain, no gain” philosophy, you take the set to momentary muscular
failure, as advocated by many fitness experts. Here is a hypothetical break-
down of how much force you apply to the bar on every rep:
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As you can see, fatigue accumulates during the set which progressively lim-
its your ability to accelerate the bar. If we add all these numbers and divide
by 10, we get the average force per rep: 145.
Scenario #2: 135 pounds for 10 sets of 3 reps. In this case, the weight on
the bar is the same as our first scenario, and the total training volume (cal-
culated as 135 multiplied by 30 repetitions = 4050 pounds) is also the same.
The only difference is that you inverted the sets and reps. Now let’s look at
how the numbers stack up on each set:
The average amount of force on the bar is 152 pounds per rep, as compared
to 145 in the first scenario. This means 9.5% more tension, which is quite
significant. (Note: I’ve simplified the picture somewhat in order to clarify my
argument— in reality, fatigue does set in from set to set, and the average
force per rep on the last set will be less than the first. Nevertheless, 10x3 will
still result in significantly greater force per rep than will 3x10).
The only difference between scenario 1 and 2 is that the latter minimizes
accumulated fatigue and permits a higher level of quality (read: tension).
First off, let’s get something straight: by acceleration I’m NOT talking about
the mindless, high-speed slop that many trainees employ as they attempt to
impress their gym peers by lifting the heaviest possible weights. In fact, the
technique I’m advocating involves using only about 70 percent of maximum
on any given set.
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A: Bench Press 10 3
Notes:
• Complete all 10 sets in 10 minutes or less. Take whatever rest intervals you
like between sets, as long as you finish within 10 minutes.
• On each rep, lower the bar in a controlled fashion, staying as tight as pos-
sible. As soon as the bar touches your chest, explode it upward, backing off
near the top
B: Bench press 2 1
Notes:
C-1: 30-degree
Dumbbell Incline Press 5 5
C-2: Dumbbell
Preacher Curl 5 5
Notes:
• Due to the heavier weightloads used on these 2 exercises, the lifting pace
will be less rapid.
• Perform these 2 exercises “back to back,” meaning you will perform a set
of incline presses, rest, then a set of curls, and so forth, until all 10 sets are
completed.
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Notes:
• Perform these 2 exercises “back to back,” meaning you will perform a set
of incline presses, rest, then a set of curls, and so forth, until all 6 sets are
completed.
“...those in the know will continue to shatter World records in the power sports, while
incurring far less injuries than their more “knowledgeable” fitness peers.”
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Is Acceleration Safe?
The cold hard fact is that danger is relative to preparation. Some people incur
injuries from doing next to nothing; others experience no injuries despite
regular intense physical activity. So if you’re new to the concept of using
accelerative lifting technique, resist the temptation to go from A to Z in one
fell swoop! Instead, implement the technique gradually and progressively. In
this way, you’ll avoid the possibility of unwanted surprises.
Is Acceleration Efficient?
For those interested in the physics of the matter, what happens is that the
muscles develop potential kinetic energy during the eccentric phase of the
movement, which is then released during the concentric phase, creating a
more powerful action than what could be accomplished through concentric
activity alone (2).
If you watch people carefully in various situations, you'll notice that, when-
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ever there is an option to accelerate a load, people will take that option. On
stairclimbing machines, people will (especially as fatigue sets in) tend to step
in a bouncy, choppy manner. When a heavy box must be lifted from the floor
to a high shelf, a person will accelerate the box throughout the lift. Further,
wherever possible, the motor cortex will prefer an acceleration path where
the largest possible number of muscle groups can participate in the effort, in
order to conserve energy and avoid dangerous levels of stress to any single
muscle involved in the movement. Deliberate attempts to move slowly or to
”isolate” any particular muscle during a challenging task (whether it be in the
gym or in everyday life) contradicts this reality.
Final Considerations
I’ll finish with a few points that you’ll need to know before employing accel-
eration in your workouts:
“One problem with accelerating barbells is the need to “back off” at the end of the lifting
stroke to protect your joints and to prevent the bar from flying off of your back or out of
your hands. An ingenious way of circumventing this problem is to attach heavy
duty elastic bands to either end of the bar.”
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• Use the technique primarily on fairly large range of motion exercises such
as squats, bench presses, and deadlifts. For other movements, stick with
more deliberate lifting speeds.
• Ease into the technique slowly and gradually, especially if you have been
lifting for a year or less.
• Elastic bands: One problem with accelerating barbells is the need to “back
off” at the end of the lifting stroke to protect your joints and to prevent the
bar from flying off of your back or out of your hands. An ingenious way of cir-
cumventing this problem is to attach heavy duty elastic bands to either end
of the bar. These bands can add as much as 50 pounds or more to the total
weight of the bar— in other words, a bar loaded to 135 pounds “weighs” 185
at the top, and 135 at the bottom. This configuration allows the lifter to max-
imally accelerate all the way through the lifting stroke in complete safety. The
best equipment for this purpose is IVER (Integrated Variable Elastic
Resistance) by IVER Systems (pictured). Call 414-228-9792 or point your
browser to http://www.strengthcats.com for more information.
References:
1). Simmons, L., What If? Milo: A Journal for Serious Strength Athletes.. Vol
4 No 1. (c) 1996. Ironmind Enterprises, Inc. p.p. 26.
2) Komi, P.V., (Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport. (c) 1992. Blackwell
Scientific Publications, London. p.p. 169.
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As my colleague Will Brink likes to say, "From Mentzer's 'one set to failure' to
Poliquin's 'German volume training,' there is no program which recommends
using progressively lighter weightloads from week to week." Brink is of
course, alluding to the universal requirement of all successful strength and
mass gaining programs: progressive overload.
With this in mind, you should immediately grasp the foolishness of "average"
trainees (which the vast majority of us are) attempting to use this individ-
ual's training methods.
Training is Stress!
Let's start off with an analogy: If you went from a sedentary desk job to
working as a lumberjack, your body would undergo some interesting adapta-
tions as it struggled to cope with the unfamiliar environmental stressors
inherent in that profession. You would most certainly develop caluoses on
your hands as a result of grasping axes, saws, and other implements for
hours each day. These callouses, however, would be exactly the same size
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one year after getting your new job, three years after, six years after, ad
infinitum. Why? Because after the initial shock, the degree of stress to your
hands never changed over that period of time.
Training is no different. Most bodybuilders make great progress for the first
year or two, but then never look any different from that point on. Many of
these people understand the importance of progression, but lack the skills
necessary to implement it properly.
In sports science jargon, the training load is defined as "the sum total of all
training activities for a given unit of time." The training load has two impor-
tant components, both of which can be used to provide overload— volume,
or the amount of work done, and intensity, or the difficulty of work done
(Incidentally, as a rule of thumb, you should seek to establish a certain level
of intensity first, and then add volume, rather than the other way around).
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ets rather than percentage of 1RM when I write training programs for my
clients.
When considering intensity, it's important to realize that any change in your
exercise technique— no matter how slight— changes the equation altogeth-
er. For instance, if you normally use a 3 second tempo (meaning, you com-
plete each repetition in exactly 3 seconds) when testing for your 1RM, and
the next time you test you're able to add 5 pounds to your 1RM but it took
you an extra second to complete the lift, it's not an accurate indication of
improvement. Establish your testing parameters, and then stick to them so
that you have a consistent protocol when testing. If you do not, you'll have
no real way of knowing whether or not you're improving.
Incidentally many people use the phrase "high intensity" to describe workout
that are actually high volume or high density (which refers to the work/rest
ratio). So just to be clear about our terms, remember that intensity has noth-
ing to do with how much pain you're in, or the fact that you frequently expe-
rience reverse peristolisis and out-of-body experiences after your leg train-
ing— it simply refers to how much weight is on the bar relative to your cur-
rent maximal ability. Using this definition, we could say that performing 315
pounds for 1 rep is more intense than 10 reps with 310 pounds, even though
the latter effort is far more difficult to perform.
Volume and intensity are mutually exclusive concepts— you can't have high
intensity and high volume simultaneously. If this was possible, you'd be able
to do three sets of ten with your current 1RM! Yet both volume and intensity
are necessary to achieve results— high volume loads create more lasting
adaptations, while intense loads create faster adaptations which are more
temporary. This apparent paradox is one of the primary reasons for periodiz-
ing (or cycling) your training.
In his book Science of Sports Training, Thomas Kurz identified three distinct
methods which can be used to increase the training load over time:
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2) Stepped Method: Load are sharply increased, then held at that level for a
period of time, before being sharply increased again. An example would be
using the same weight, say 185 pounds for five sets of five reps, for a peri-
od of four weeks, and then increasing to 225 pounds for four weeks for the
same sets and reps, and so on. This method, when used by advanced ath-
letes, can result in fast, but temporary strength increases. Not effective for
beginning or intermediate lifters of less than 4 years of continuous lifting
experience.
3) Wavy method: Loads are gradually increased for several sessions, and
then decreased for one or more sessions, and so on. A classic example of this
loading scheme is as follows:
While increases in load are slower than the previous two methods, this tech-
nique lends itself to more sustainable progress, and as a result more satis-
faction, and fewer injuries from training.
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1) By increasing time under tension. Start with 6 repetitions per set, utilizing
a 4-0-1 tempo. Each set should therefore take 30 seconds to perform. Each
workout, increase the tempo by one second per rep, until you reach 10 sec-
onds per rep. At this point, should choose to increase the weight, reduce the
tempo, and begin progressing again.
2) By increasing the weight lifted. Using a standard set/rep scheme for each
workout, add between 2.5 and 5 pounds to the bar each session.
3) By increasing the number of reps per set. This method is useful with exer-
cises where you initially have a low level of strength, such as pull-ups or dips.
Using the same load each workout, start with 1-3 reps per set, and add one
rep per set each workout. Once you reach more than 12 reps per set, you
should then employ more weight and/or slower tempos.
4) By increasing the number of sets per workout. Although it has its place,
be cautious when adding sets to your workouts. For example, going from
three sets to four is a 25 percent increase in volume for every given exercise!
5) By increasing the range of motion. Using the same load each workout,
start with a reduced ROM, and gradually increase it from workout to workout.
For example, you can perform bench presses in a power rack, starting the
movement from the bottom-most position, which is set by the height of the
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pins. On the first workout, you might only work the top 3" of a bench press.
Each workout, drop the pins one notch, until you reach full ROM.
6) By reducing the rest intervals between sets. This has particularly good
results when attempting to improve relative strength. Using the same load,
number of reps, and tempo each workout, simply reduce the rest intervals by
10 seconds each workout.
Better recovery means more frequent training sessions and therefore, faster
progress. Although recovery will take place regardless, there are two partic-
ularly effective means you can take to accelerate recovery from training:
massage and nutritional management.
"Spasms keep muscle fibers in a contracted state and disable their capacity
to perform within the muscle when it is under load, therefore decreasing
strength by whatever percent of that muscle stays contracted by the spasm.
This weakens the muscle and increases its potential to tear near the edges of
the spasm. By working regularly with an athlete the therapist can provide
feed back which is a far more accurate account of how the muscles are han-
dling the stress levels they are exposed to."
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Of course, nutrition plays a vital role in recovery as well. Although there are
many factors to consider, adequate protein is crucial— I consider one gram
per pound of bodyweight per day a minimum standard. Creatine monohy-
drate and branched chain amino acids immediately following training. For
comprehensive information on the myriad array of supplements available, I
recommend referring to the 1997 Supplement Review published by EAS.
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Author’s note: This article was one of the rare times that I was asked to write
about a particular topic by the magazine editor. Usually I can’t write based
on that approach— I normally just get an idea and run with it.
— bumper sticker
There are many excuses commonly used to explain lack of progress in body-
building. Poor genetics. Poor facilities. No motivation. Illness. Your drug sup-
plier is incarcerated. The list goes on and on. However, the commonest
excuse for chronic ectomorphy is also one of the lamest— "I don't have
enough time."
Now, this isn't an info-mercial, so I'm not going to tell you that it takes as lit-
tle as three minutes a day (I think Tony Little has a trademark on this phrase,
anyway). But virtually everyone can find adequate time to train, if they have
reasonably good time management skills, and if they understand exercise
program design.
So, if you're one of those people who always seems short on time, here's
where I'd like to start: Do you really need more time, or more discipline? If
you don't have enough time to train, something is askew on a bigger level.
The majority of people have time to do things which they have assigned a
high priority to.
Training doesn't take a lot of time— it takes a lot of energy. I believe that
95% of all people can accomplish their training goals in three hours per week.
Case in point— I recently put over 20 pounds on a 37 year old competitive
martial artist in just over four months of training. The workouts were per-
formed three times a week, and each session took about 40 minutes after the
warm up.
Can't find three hours a week? Consider this: three hours amounts to about
2% of your available time every week! It is approximately 3% of your wak-
ing hours every week! Look at these numbers carefully and then tell me you
don't have enough time to train.
I do realize that some people have it tough— two or three jobs, family, com-
muting, and so on. It is primarily for these people that this article is written.
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However, even if you aren't chronologically challenged, you'll find these sug-
gestions and strategies valuable for reclaiming more time for other things in
life.
1) Step one: How to distinguish between lack of time and lack of discipline
2) Step two: How to locate time you didn't know you had
3) Step three: How to optimize the time that you do have to train
The fastest way to determine this is to ask yourself "How much time do I
waste procrastinating, watching TV, going to bars, etc.?" For a one week peri-
od, carry a small notebook, and every hour, make a short entry describing
what you are doing. Then, review this time log and chances are, you'll find
the time you're looking for.
In my opinion, most people are fairly inefficient, and through a bit of organ-
ization and priorities identification, can find plenty of extra time in their
schedules.
If you still aren't finding time, consider waking up earlier (and/or going to bed
later) in order to find extra time. Many people do do not sleep well, despite
being in bed for 9-10 hours a night. Eating the wrong foods before bed, keep-
ing the TV on, and numerous other bad decisions reduce the quality of sleep.
Try the following suggestions from the excellent book Science of Sports
Training (available by calling Stadion Publishing at 800-873-6171), and you'll
find that you'll be able to cut an hour off of your sleep time every night with
no ill-effects:
1) In general, do not eat for the two hours prior to bed-time. Avoid any stim-
ulants, including coffee, tea, cola's, or garuana.
3) Avoid hot baths, showers, sauna, or jacuzzi's before going to bed. Cool
baths induce sleep rapidly, however.
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While computers are a great tool for saving time, they are not always used
to their best advantage. Chat rooms in particular can be a huge time drain.
If you spend a lot of time on a computer, consider buying the fastest one you
can afford. Also, if you spend a significant amount of time on the internet,
make sure you have the fastest modem you can afford. A computer is noth-
ing more than a tool: if used wisely, it will save you time, if used unwisely, it
costs you time.
After you get an accurate estimate of how much time you really have avail-
able to train, let's consider how to use this time as wisely as possible.
1) Concise warm-ups: many trainees spend far too much time warming up. In most
cases, 6-8 warm-up sets, with 15-30 seconds rest between sets, is plenty. Many peo-
ple will start their warm-ups with, for example, an easy 135x10, and then rest 3 min-
utes! Another mistaken notion that your last warm-up set must consist of at least as
many reps as your first work set. The purpose of the last warm-up set is to make an
accurate determination of the correct weight for your work sets— it should only take a
rep or two to make this decision.
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2) Utilize periodization: very brief workouts work much better if you can
occasionally do longer ones. For example, you might perform 30 to 45 minute
workouts for 3 weeks, and 60 minute workouts for one week, and repeat.
Rotate long and short workouts for each muscle also. In other words, for
three weeks, you might use 4-5 sets per workout for chest, but only 1-2 sets
for back, and then for the next three week phase, reverse the pattern. In this
way, each muscle group experiences a "development" phase and a "mainte-
nance" phase, which, when you think about it, is far superior to a continuous
maintenance phase.
3) Don't skimp on frequency: Your workouts can be brief, but you must main-
tain optimal training frequency for best results. Training a muscle for 25 min-
utes twice a week is far superior to training it for 60 minutes once every two
weeks.
• Because antagonists are usually located close to each other, a set for one
muscle becomes a warm-up for the other.
• For various neurological reasons, when you perform a set for one muscle
(say, the biceps), the antagonist (the triceps) becomes facilitated for a bet-
ter contraction.
• Compared to training all sets for one muscle, and then all sets for the sec-
ond muscle, training antagonists "back to back" allows for twice as much rest
between two sets of the same exercise. For example, if you're performing
bench presses and chin-ups with two minutes of rest between sets, you'll
actually get over four minutes of rest between two successive sets of bench
presses.
5) Use a home gym: For many people, using a home gym saves an average
of 20 minutes per workout in travel, parking, and changing. If space and cost
is a concern, consider the following home gym:
• 6x8 foot 3/4" thick weightroom mat from Bigger, Faster, Stronger (aprox.
$115)
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This home gym, which allows you do do a huge variety of exercises, costs
less than $1000, and takes up only 48 square feet of space. Much of this
equipment can be picked up second-hand for a significant reduction in price.
The Workouts
General Notes:
5) The Olympic lifts and their modifications are often my first choice for effi-
cient training tools, however, I realize many readers do not have a training
background in these lifts. If you do have experience in these movements, you
can substitute them where appropriate in the following workouts.
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If you're able to train 3 times a week for 45 minutes, try the following
approach:
Monday
00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up
00:05 to 20:00: Incline Dumbbell Press on Ball; Stiff-leg Deadlift:
Perform back to back, 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions each, using a 4-5 second
tempo and resting 90 seconds between each set
00:20 to 45:00: Ball Crunches; Seated Dumbbell Curls. Perform back
to back, 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions each, using a 4-5 second tempo and rest-
ing 90 seconds between each set
Wednesday
00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up
00:05 to 20:00: Front squat; Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension: Perform
back to back, 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions each, using a 4-5 second tempo and
resting 90 seconds between each set
00:20 to 45:00: Military Press; Leg Press Calf Raise. Perform back to
back, 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions each, using a 4-5 second tempo and resting
90 seconds between each set
Note: As the bar is already on the rack from front squats, I have cho-
sen military presses for deltoids to minimize set-up time.
Friday
00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up
00:05 to 20:00: Chin-up; Dips: Perform back to back, 5 sets of 6-8 rep-
etitions each, using a 4-5 second tempo and resting 90 seconds between
each set
00:20 to 45:00: Bent-over Row; Seated Leg Curl. Perform back to
back, 5 sets of 6-8 repetitions each, using a 4-5 second tempo and resting
90 seconds between each set
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If you're able to train 3 times a week for 30 minutes, try this approach. It uti-
lizes circuits of 3 exercises per session. For the following workouts, perform
4 sets of 8-10 repetitions with a 4-5 second tempo and rest 60 to 90 seconds
between each set, depending on the reps and tempo you use (the higher the
reps and the longer the tempo, the shorter the rest).
Monday
00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up
00:05 to 00:30: Three exercise circuit:
Set 1: Pull-ups
Set 2: Back Squat
Set 3: Seated Dumbbell Press
Wednesday
00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up
00:05 to 00:30: Three exercise circuit:
Set 1: Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
Set 2: Standing Calf Raise
Set 3: Seated Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Friday
00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up
00:05 to 00:30: Three exercise circuit:
Set 1: Stiff leg Deadlift or Reverse HyperSet 2: Dips
Set 3: Ball Crunch
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Let me state right off the bat that if you're reading this and can only find 15
minutes to train, your life is out of balance! However, if you truly are able to
train 3 times a week for only15 minutes, try this approach. It utilizes one
exercise per session.
Monday
00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up
00:05 to 00:15: Squat or Deadlift
Wednesday
00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up
00:05 to 00:15: Flat Dumbbell Bench Press or Dips
Friday
00:00 to 00:05: Warm-up
00:05 to 00:15: Chin-up or Pull-up
The "Busy during the week, but weekends are free" workout
This is a situation that many people find themselves in: the weekdays are a
race against time, but the weekends are relatively peaceful. This workout is
designed with longer workouts involving large muscle groups over the week-
end, and a shorter session involving smaller, less energy-intensive muscles
on Wednesday. The "nuts & bolts" should be fairly intuitive— just utilize the
same principles and acute training parameters as the previous workout
schedules.
The 90 Minute Hour by Jay Conrad Levinson (©1990, The Penguin Group, New York, ISBN:
0-452-26596-7)
First Things First by Steven Covey (©1994, Fireside, New York, ISBN: 0-671-86441-6)
Organize Yourself! by Ronni Eisenberg & Kate Kelly (©1986, Macmillian Publishing Co., New
York, ISBN: 0-02-028420-9)
Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins (©1986, Fawcett Columbine, New York, ISBN: 0-449-
90280-3)
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(Original Article)
Here I present three methods which, when used consistently, will help you
spend less time in the gym while getting better results at the same time. Only
applied knowledge is power, so don’t just read, but apply!
Front Loading
Efficient people instinctively try to get the majority of their work done early
in the day (this also applies to week or month). The rationale is simple: you
have more energy early in the day than you do later on. Therefore, when I
create training programs for my clients, I rarely indicate a standard amount
of rest between each set. Instead, I’ll indicate a time-frame for all sets to be
completed in (for example, 8 sets of 3 repetitions to be performed in 15 min-
utes). In this way, my client will instinctively attempt to get a “head start” by
taking shorter rests between the initial sets, which will permit longer rest
intervals for later sets.
Since fatigue accumulates over the duration of a workout, front loading is far
more efficient than using standard rest intervals between sets, which is how
99% of all people organize their workouts. Interested in joining the one-per-
cent club? Apply this concept to your workouts starting today— the rewards
will be significant and immediate.
Every muscle in your body has a “partner” (called the antagonist) which is
capable of opposing it’s contractile forces. For example, when you perform a
biceps curl, the biceps muscle would be termed the “agonist” and the tricep
would be the “antagonist.” (the easy way to remember these terms is to think
that the agonist is the one that is in agony because it’s performing the work).
As you curl the weight, the motor cortex of your brain signals the triceps to
relax in order to allow the biceps to contract. This phenomenon is called
Sherrington’s Law of Reciprocal Inhibition. Here’s how we can take advantage
of this phenomenon in a very practical way:
You first perform a set of barbell curls, and then rest perhaps 1-2 minutes.
For set two, you perform a set of lying dumbbell triceps extensions. As you
do so, the biceps muscles are “inhibited.” The triceps contraction actually
forces the biceps to de-activate, which simply means they will recover faster
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as a result of having performed the set of triceps extensions. You then rest,
go back to the curls, and back and forth until all sets for both exercises are
completed.
• If you perform (for example) 5 sets of biceps curls one after the other using
two minutes of rest between each set, you obviously get two minutes of rest
between each set. However, if you perform a set of curls, then rest two min-
utes, then perform a set of triceps extensions, rest two minutes, etc., you
now achieve more than four minutes of rest between two sets of the same
exercise, even though the total workout duration remains the same.
• In the preceding example, as you perform your biceps curls, you are keep-
ing the involved joint warm for your next set of triceps extensions. Over time,
this can be very meaningful in terms of joint integrity and health.
Here are a few examples of muscle pairings which correspond to the princi-
ples I’ve just discussed:
If your best bench press for one rep is 300 pounds, then obviously the most
amount of tension you can place on the targeted muscles will be just slight-
ly more than 300 pounds. However, Soviet force-plate research has shown
that a load corresponding to 65% of your maximum capability (195 pounds
in this example) can also result in 300 pounds worth of tension, provided that
the weight is maximally accelerated. You might argue that there is no advan-
tage either way, since both methods produce approximately the same
amount of force. However, there are distinct advantages to using “submaxi-
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If these ideas seem unusual to you, let me stress that the most successful
people in life are open-minded. Have you ever adopted a new habit that
ended up having a significant positive impact on your life? The three concepts
I’ve presented here have had that effect on my own training, and on the
results I’ve achieved for my clients. I’m confident they’ll produce similar
results for you as well.
In the final installment of this series, I’ll wrap things up with my thoughts on
the dominant resistance training paradigm in North America today, and why
you shouldn’t buy into it.
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Prove Me Wrong!
(Original Article)
Author’s note: I wrote this when the BMI index began making the news. It
struck me that the BMI actually discourages training— see if you agree.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) will unveil it's new Body Mass Index
(BMI) on June 27th. The BMI is designed to replace the old height/weight
charts created by health insurance companies. But the question remains,
what is the accuracy, not to mention, the utility, of the BMI?
First, let's start with a definition. You can calculate your BMI by dividing your
weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. (If you'd prefer to
spare yourself the mathematical trauma, just head over to ABC News Online
at http://www.abcnews.com/sections/living/DailyNews/bmi980604.html (
they have a BMI calculator which you can use to instantly calculate your sup-
posed level of risk of overweight.)
I recently did just that, and at 205 pounds and a height of 6'1", I landed a
whopping BMI of 28— nearly obese by BMI standards.
So, that means that the 25 pounds would be mostly muscle. Since a pound
of muscle burns approximately 18 calories a day, my metabolic rate would be
lowered by 450 calories a day.
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So I always look at muscle like "money in the bank:" the more I have now,
the more I'll still have when I'm 60, 70, or 80 years of age.
Conversely...
Another very important point to consider are the legions of people who will
score very acceptable numbers using the BMI, but who in fact are overfat.
Despite what many people think, it’s common to find people who appear to
be of normal or even low bodyweight, who in fact are overfat, because they
have such low levels of muscle mass. Consider the research conducted by
Dr. William Evans at Tufts University: Evans discovered that the as women
age, in many cases their leg girth tended to remain constant, however, upon
CAT scan analysis, it was found that the fat mass was increased, while the
lean mass had decreased. In other words, their external appearance had not
significantly changed, yet their bodyfat percentage had increased.
I don’t know why this is such a hard pill to swallow— it’s bodyfat, NOT body-
weight that determines your health and functional capacity. There will never
be a height/weight chart, regardless of what anyone chooses to call it, which
can predict optimal bodyweight, because such charts never take a person’s
muscle mass into account.
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Success by Design:
Optimizing Three Critical Components of Training
No matter how carefully you plan your training, no matter how much you
think about it, dream about it, no matter how much reading and studying you
do, success really boils down to those few hours every week where the rub-
ber meets the road— your actual workouts.
A properly designed workout has a number of features, all of which are nec-
essary for a high level of training success:
Although planning can be complex, the basic idea is to consider the type of
fatigue that a workout will produce when you’re planning the next session. If
you’re training biceps and triceps on Monday, you shouldn’t train your pecs
or lats on Wednesday, because the residual fatigue from the previous session
will cause your arms to fatigue before you can properly train the pecs or lats.
Similarly, leg training should not take place when your low back and/or
abdominal muscles are tired, because you won’t be able to maintain a safe
lifting posture.
Planning and periodization are big subjects— too big for the scope of this arti-
cle. Therefore, let me recommend an excellent resource on the subject— the
Advanced Program Design videotape series by Paul Chek (call 800-552-
8789).
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• Your workouts must be hard and brief: You can train a muscle to do one of
two things. You can train the muscle to contract very forcefully, albeit briefly,
or, you can train the muscle to contract for long periods of time at a low force
output. It is the former of these two methods which causes muscle to grow.
Workouts which emphasize endurance will give you an endurance athlete’s
body— remember that the next time you’re past the one hour mark in a
workout.
• Your workouts must be safe: I know, safety is no fun to talk about. Until
you experience a serious injury, you’ll never give safety more than a passing
thought. Take a proactive position on safety. Make sure you’re healthy (to the
best of your knowledge) going into the workout. If there’s any doubt, wait
another day, or, of course, if you have an obvious injury or illness, see your
doctor. Next, make sure all the equipment you’ll be using is in good working
order— it only takes a second, but can save you a lifetime of pain. In partic-
ular, check the flooring, the ends of the bar you’ll use, or, if you’re on a
machine, look it over for signs of wear. If you’re performing a heavy squat,
deadlift, or Olympic lift, take a moment to make eye contact with anyone who
may be nearby— just to let them know enough to stand clear.
Finally, make liberal use of power racks, good spotters, chalk (although gym
owners will hate me for saying it), and anything else that improves your
chances of having a safe workout.
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• Your workouts must be efficient: I’d like to make a case for the drop set in
this article. In a “standard” set, the only repetitions that really do you any
good are the ones at the end of the set, regardless of how many reps you’re
performing.
I used to be less enthusiastic about drop sets until my colleague Jerry Telle
convinced me that they could be effectively performed starting at very high
percentages of 1RM.Telle’s method utilizes a technique I call “wide-spectrum
variable-tempo (WSVT) drop sets.” The idea is to carefully warm up to a 2-
3RM set, and then progressively strip off weight so that you can continue all
the way down the motor unit spectrum. In this way, you’re fatiguing your
highest threshold muscle fibers as well as the medium and low threshold
fibers. These WSVT drops can last as long as 4 minutes and believe me, when
you finish one, you’ll be convinced too. (Telle presents seminars on his unique
methods, called Tellekinetics. For more information, please call 800-519-
2492).
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rest ratio) exercise is that the exerciser will improve aerobic and anaerobic
functioning at the same time.
To illustrate my point, let’s say that you’re training lats and triceps tomorrow,
and you’ll perform two exercises for each muscle. Here’s how most people
would structure the workout:
Exercise 1: Chin-ups
Exercise 2: Seated Rows
Exercise 3: French Press
Exercise 4: Tricep Pushdowns
Using this arrangement, it’s hard to do justice to the last exercises. You’re
simply too exhausted from the first two exercises. So instead, let’s arrange
the exercises into a circuit:
Exercise 1: Chin-ups
Exercise 2: French Press
Exercise 3: Seated Rows
Exercise 4: Tricep Pushdowns
You can perform this workout in two ways: you can do a large circuit where
you complete one set of each exercise, and then repeat for the desired num-
ber of circuits, or, you can perform the first two exercises back to back until
all prescribed sets are completed, and then complete the remaining two exer-
cises. Either way, I rarely use the “station” approach to workouts any longer—
it’s just not efficient.
• Your workouts must employ a warm-up and cool-down: Boxing fans know
that, when a fighter climbs into the ring bone-dry, he’s probably in for a tough
night. Bodybuilders can learn a lot from this phenomenon.
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In my experience, most people have a very hard time getting their warm-up
right: they either spend FAR too much time and energy, which creates too
much fatigue, or they jump immediately to their top weight.
The warm-up has two components. The first phase, called the general warm-
up, is used to elevate body temperature. I suggest using any activity you like,
performed in a low intensity, continuous manner, until you break a sweat,
which normally takes between 2-3 minutes. I personally like skipping rope. If
you have any muscle groups which you know are excessively tight, I’d rec-
ommend stretching them now. Don’t stretch aggressively— just enough to
loosen up a bit.
Next comes the specific warm-up, which simply refers to your “warm-up
sets.” The big question is, how many should you do? My rule of thumb for this
is to take your top working weight for the first exercise you’ll do (you may
have to estimate of course), and perform 2 warm-up sets for every hundred
pounds of weight. For example, if you plan to deadlift 315 pounds for 5 sets
of five reps, I’d suggest 6 warm-up sets. Incidentally, for some unknown rea-
son, people always seem to think that the last warm-up set must have at
least as many reps as the first “work set.” Bad plan, because it’ll create too
much fatigue. The last warm-up set should consist of 1-2 reps only— all
you’re trying to do here is gauge the proper working weight for your first
work set.
Warming up for subsequent exercises depends on how similar they are from
the first exercise you did. Using the above example, if you second exercise is
the bench press, follow the 2 sets per hundred pound rule, since you’ll be
training entirely different muscles. However, if you’ll be performing leg curls
for instance, it should only require one warm-up set to become mentally and
physically prepared for the exercise.
Cooling down is simply the reverse of warming up. Spend a few minutes per-
forming some type of light cardiovascular exercise to pump some blood into
those hungry muscles and to ramp yourself back down to your “normal” day.
If you have short muscle groups, now’s the best time to stretch them.
• Your workouts must be placed during the best time of the day: I’d like to
make an argument here for early morning workouts. Many people can relate
to having the best intentions all day long at work, only to fall into a heap as
soon as they get home from their jobs. Before you know it, Seinfeld reruns
are looking a lot more attractive than climbing under a 400 pound bar!
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ment of 4-5 workouts, most people report that they have much more pro-
ductive workouts than ever before.
This is a difficult concept for people to grasp, because it runs 180 degrees to
what your instincts tell you to do. Watching novice lifters confirms this—
everything is done with maximum “body English.”
My general rule of thumb is that if you can find a way to make an exercise
harder, do it. For example, if pausing for a full second at the bottom position
of a bench press is harder than “touch and go” style, use the pause. If max-
imally squeezing your biceps (more than would be necessary to lift the
weight) at the top of a curl makes the exercise harder, do it. If crunches are
harder on a Swiss ball, use one.
Of course, this approach requires that you check your ego at the door. In fact,
it has been my observation that the ego is one of the most insidious obsta-
cles to making progress in the weight room. During one of my last workouts,
I noticed a trainer giving some advice to a couple who were holding down
each other’s butts during leg curls— he suggested that they use their glutes
to lift the front of the quads off of the padding, so that they could stabilize
their own body during the exercise. As soon as they realized that this would
necessitate using less weight, they went back to their former habits. Too bad.
Of course, all good personal trainers and strength coaches have come up with
their favorite “tricks” to make various exercises more effective. You don’t
need a degree in Kinesiology to learn how to develop your own. All it takes
is discipline and creativity.
Intensity
Let’s get one thing clear: you could hire the best strength specialists avail-
able to author your training program; you could hire the best nutritionists,
use the best supplements, you could even resort to using anabolic steroids,
however, if you don’t execute your workouts with all-out ferocity, it’s all for
naught. The more experience you have, the more this applies.
Now, when I say “intensity,” I don’t mean the sports science definition (i.e., how close
you are to 1RM), but instead, the application of effort during workouts.
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There’s an old story about how the Egyptian pharaohs managed the slave-
workers who built the pyramids: 1000 workers were instructed to haul a mas-
sive stone block up an incline to the top of the pyramid. At the end of the day,
it was brought to the pharaohs attention that they had failed. So the pharaoh
had 500 of the workers killed and told the remaining workers to get the job
done, or he would kill off half of the remaining workers and they would try
again. They accomplished the task.
The moral of the story is that often, we think we’re applying maximal effort
when in fact we are not. Although both volume and intensity are both com-
ponents of successful training programs, no amount of volume will compen-
sate for insufficient intensity. If you had to choose between the two, go with
intensity. Period.
Intensity must be tempered with discipline as well. If you’re on the leg press
and allowing your low back to round so that you can get that last rep, you’re
not being disciplined. The application of disciplined effort means that you get
every rep humanly possible within the confines of perfect technique.
Progress occurs not during workouts, but in the spaces between workouts.
Fill these spaces properly, and progress will be swift. The three areas I’d like
to specifically address are post-training nutrition, massage, and the concept
of active rest.
Eating properly can be difficult even for very serious athletes, because com-
pared to training, the results are often more subtle and take more time to
see. Nevertheless, I’d like to urge you to make a commitment. Right now.
Make the decision, based on the fact that you know it’s important, to clean
up your diet. Not tomorrow, NOW. A good place to start is your post training
nutrition. After a hard training session, your muscles are glycogen-depleted.
This means that they are “open for business” to use the words of my col-
league Will Brink. What he means is that the muscles will quickly uptake any
simple carbohydrates you consume immediately after the workout. The neat
thing about this is that you can use a high-glycemic drink to “deliver” crea-
tine, branched-chain amino acids, vitamins, etc., directly into your muscles
by taking them with the carbohydrate drink. This is the concept behind EAS’s
Phosphagen HP, incidentally
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Get Out of the Rut! Ten Powerful Ideas to Get Back on the
Road to Progress
"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten."
— Anonymous
Despite what many people think, the road to the top isn't usually linear. It's
not simply a matter of adding more weight every workout until one day, you
wake up looking like a comic book super hero.
Instead, the path which leads to the fulfillment of your ultimate potential
looks much more like a maze. People who don't understand this fact never
reach their true potential— in bodybuilding, or in life. Here's an example of
what I mean: About once a year I visit a gym on the east coast where I used
to train. Each time I go back, I always encounter a handful of people, who,
despite their consistency and longevity, make a mistake common to most
people who are not making progress: they NEVER change anything about
their training. Each year, they get smaller, fatter, and weaker.
In other words, these people are like lab rats in a maze, who, upon reaching
a dead end, continue to bump into the wall over and over in a fruitless
attempt to reach their goal. Smart lab rats (and athletes) realize that, when
faced with a barrier on the path they're on, the answer is to turn back, even
if it means going in the opposite direction for a while, and find a new route
to the target.
So if the path you're on isn't yielding the results you're looking for, consider
the following ten suggestions— all of which have helped scores of my clients
reach new levels of progress, even in cases when all hope had been aban-
doned.
1) For the next six weeks, use only exercises which you have not used for at
least one year.
You do keep a training log, right? OK. Compile an inventory of all the exer-
cises you've used for the past year. If you're like most lifters, this number will
be less than 30. Next, pick up a copy of Bill Pearl's Keys to the Inner Universe
(available by calling 503-535-3363). Bill knows more exercises for the tibealis
anterior than most people know for the entire body. Finally, construct a six-
week training program using only movements you haven't done in at least a
year. Better yet, use only exercises you've never done. Prepare for some
soreness for the first few weeks. When you're no longer getting sore, change
the exercises again.
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I'm not sure why people so commonly rely on such a small variety of move-
ments, given the immense number of available options. I suppose there's a
certain comfort in things familiar. However, to the same degree that muscles
yawn at familiar movements, they rise to full alert status at unfamiliar ones.
I hope that by now, you understand the importance of monitoring tempo and
rest periods. Here's a fun way to do it: Go to a music store and buy an elec-
tronic metronome— the kind that emits an audible "click" every second so
you don't have to watch it.
Now, select two antagonistic exercises. Let's assume you'll perform bench
presses and hammer curls, for sets of 5 with a 6 second tempo. Let's also
assume you'll start your work sets at exactly 4pm.
Time your warm-up to end at about 3:55. Turn on the metronome, and at
4pm, do your first set of five reps on the bench press— if you follow the
tempo described above, the set will last exactly 30 seconds. Next, perform
the set of hammer curls. Do them any time you want, but at exactly 4:05,
you'll do your next set of bench presses.
Training this way, you'll be able to perform 10 sets of each exercise in just
over 45 minutes— the bench presses will occur every 5 minutes, with the
hammer curls done in between these sets. The value of this approach is that
it puts a fire under you. How many times have you started a workout, and
after a few sets, you start thinking of ways to justify bailing out on the work-
out? By using the clock, you'll look up, and see the second hand on it's way
to 12, and you have to decide what you're going to do. Chances are, you'll
jump on the bench for the next set. Other effective exercise parings include
pull-ups and lying tricep extensions, front squats and stiff-leg deadlifts, bent
rows and dips, and ball crunches and standing calf raises.
Successful people have a tendency to seek out those who know more than
they do, in an effort to learn more. But this requires the ability to put your
ego aside for the better good. If you're really interested in improving your
abilities, forget what you know— it's already been applied. Find out what you
don't know. Let's say you know more than 90% of all fitness trainers and
strength coaches. This means that there are still a lot of people who can show
you a few tricks. Ask around and find out who's got the best reputation for
producing results with their clients. Then pay that person for 12 weeks, even
if they don't require you to. Commit yourself. If you learn one thing, it will be
worth far more than you paid for it.
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If you're not sure of how to find a great strength coach or fitness trainer in
your area, call the International Sports Sciences Association at (800) 892-
ISSA. They'll be glad to help you find an expert in your town or city.
Think back to a point in your life when you were in your best shape. Then
examine your training log for the 12-16 weeks of training that preceded it,
and do this training again. Can you use the same poundages or better for the
same sets and reps?
Without a training log, your workout has no objective— OK, you plan to work
hard, but how do you know if you're improving upon your last performance?
Busy schedules and daily commitments tend to make you forget last weeks
workout, so write it down. If you performed 225 pounds for 5 sets of 3 reps
using a 5-0-1 tempo and 2 minutes rests between sets, you can improve
upon this in several ways:
1) Increasing time under tension. Each workout, increase the tempo by one
second per rep, until you reach 10 seconds per rep.
2) Increase the weight lifted. Keeping all other variables constant, add
between 2.5 and 5 pounds to the bar each session, for up to six sessions.
After this, use a different exercise for the following 6 sessions.
3) Increase the number of reps per set. This method is useful with exercises
where you initially have a low level of strength, such as pull-ups or dips.
Using the same load each workout, add one rep per set each workout. Once
you reach 12 reps per set, you should then employ more weight and/or slow-
er tempos.
5) Increase the range of motion. Using the same load each workout, start
with a reduced ROM, say the top 3" of a bench press, working off the pins in
a power rack. Each workout, drop the pins one inch, until you reach full ROM.
6) Reduce the rest intervals between sets. This has particularly good results
when attempting to improve relative strength. Using the same load, number
of reps, and tempo each workout, simply reduce the rest intervals by 10 sec-
onds each workout. Once you get down to 30 seconds rests between sets,
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increase the weight load and the rest intervals, and start again.
5) Do the opposite.
While this approach is unlikely to yield much success in your dating life, it
does work with training. The vast majority of us tend to cling to an extreme-
ly narrow pattern of training habits for long periods of time. So, logically, if
whatever you're doing is taking you nowhere, what's the risk in doing adopt-
ing a VERY different approach?
There are endless applications of this concept. Here are a few to get you
started:
• If you're a free weight advocate, use machines. Really. Not forever. Maybe
for 4-6 weeks. Just don't tell Paul Chek or Jerry Telle about it.
• If you're always used multiple sets, give one-set-to failure an honest run
for a month or so. You'll be surprised how much hard work you can do in such
a short period of time, leaving time an energy for the rest of your life.
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• Almost all exercises start with the eccentric phase. So for 3 weeks, do all
your exercises with the concentric phase first. For example, with squats, set
the bar on low pins in a rack, duck under the bar, and lift the weight. Return
to the pins, pause long enough to eliminate any eccentric muscle tension, and
repeat. You'll be shocked at how weak you'll be compared to the "normal"
way of lifting.
The relative value of training versus nutrition has been debated ever since the
day Milo of Crotona lifted his first calf. Some say nutrition is 90% of the bat-
tle. Others say training is 90% (there's a math joke in here somewhere, but
it's not coming to me). The truth is, if you don't support your training efforts
with optimal nutritional practices, you'll never. EVER, come close to your
potential. The most common errors include excessive processed carbs, insuf-
ficient protein and fat, and inadequate hydration.
Once you see the light with regards to eating right, the next step is planning
and preparation. When 3pm rolls around and it's time for your next meal, do
you have something planned, or will you simply "wing it."? Planned meals
tend to be healthier than improvised ones. Perhaps the greatest value in pro-
tein shakes, nutritional bars, and similar products, is that they make it easi-
er to eat well when time is tight and you're not up to cooking a meal.
"Individuals tend to mis-interpret the definition of a snack." says Phil LeClair,
staff nutritionist of Bio-Foods, Inc., based in Carpenteria, California. "A snack
should be a smaller, planned nutrient-dense meal— not a bag of potato chips
and a soda you grab when you're so hungry you're about to feint. In addition
to convenience, select 'meal' replacement powders and bars are excellent
snacks because they produce a favorable glycemic response. Unlike their
high-carbohydrate, low-fat counterparts, they are formulated with moderate
amounts of carbohydrate and contain more protein and fat (those companies
whose powders lack fat often recommend adding some in the form of flax
oil). This provides satiety and stabilizes energy levels for an extended period
of time— characteristics consistent to those found in a well-balanced whole
food meal."
While many "ergogenic" supplements are highly questionable for most peo-
ple, a few— particularly creatine (preferably in a high-glycemic carrier solu-
tion), HMB, and antioxidants— are standard fare among serious body-
builders. Use them.
Most bodybuilders take the concept of specificity a bit too literally. While too
much extracurricular athletic activity can be detrimental, so can too little.
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Most people take advantage of less than 1% of the huge array of available
movement patterns. When people pursue very limited patterns of training for
long periods of time, they end up injured. According to Dr. Sal Arria,
Executive Director of the ISSA, "Variation in your training program is a valu-
able tool to avoid overuse syndrome in sports. ALL activities can cause over-
use injuries if repeated often enough, including weight training. Knowing how
to strike the ideal balance between specificity and variety allows you to make
continued progress over extended periods of time."
News flash: If you stop lifting for a month, you won't begin to resemble a
bulimic triathlete. In fact, a very common phenomenon happens to almost
every competitive bodybuilder at one point or another: they look flat and
strung out the day of the show, and then, as they rest and begin to eat nor-
mally again, they look fantastic the week or two after the show. This is in part
due to a phenomenon called Type IIB fiber conversion. When trained, Type
IIb fibers seem to "convert" or take on the characteristics of the slower Type
II and Type I fibers. Some theorists suggest that the Type IIb's are "emer-
gency" fibers that only contract under conditions of unusual stress, and that
once this happens, they undergo conversion, for unknown reasons. Given
several days of rest, however, these fibers re-emerge, making you look (and
feel) better than ever.
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The next month, I noticed several people doing one-arm seated rows. Sure
enough, another magazine had a feature on back training secrets of the cur-
rent Mr. Whatever. I used to think is was comically naive to follow these pro-
grams every month, but now I don't. Even if it's a goofy program that vio-
lates every known principle of training, you'll only be doing it for a month,
and if it's different than what you've been doing for the past 15 years' I'll bet
you'll make progress on it. A word of caution, however: my sources tell me
that Poliquin is planning a piece on plyometric kegel training for next month's
issue of Muscle Media, so you may want to wait a while before you employ
this suggestion.
I frequently get calls from people who want to hire me to write training pro-
grams for them. These people make the mistake of thinking that as long as
they are on a great program, they'll make great progress. However, if your
hams are sore after a bench press session, you're not going to derive any
benefit from any program. I once saw two individuals, one spotting the other
on barbell curls. Their form was so bizarre, I couldn't tell who was supposed
to be the lifter and who was supposed to be the spotter.
Of course, leading experts often disagree on what constitutes good form. The
point is, investigate, learn, take seminars, buy videos, experiment, find a
mentor. Keep an open mind. If you're a competitive weightlifter or powerlifter,
the objective is to find the easiest way to lift a weight. But if you want big-
ger muscles, the objective is to find the hardest way to lift a weight.
In general, any posture or practice which makes the exercise harder to per-
form tends to be a sign of good form. For example, when performing ham-
mer curls, many trainees allow their thumbs to contact the inner aspect of
the dumbbell. This allows you to relax your grip, as opposed to keeping your
hand directly at the center of the handle.
Lastly...
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"Injuries are not caused by methods per se, but by the inappropriate, pre-
mature, and/or excessive application of methods." — The Author
In all the years I've been involved in sports conditioning, I've never seen an
issue with as much longevity and potential for heated debate as the question
of whether or not it is necessary, safe, and or effective to perform "explosive"
or "ballistic" movements in the weight room. If you're active on the internet,
you'll discover endless, passionate (and often, ugly) confrontations between
those who advocate slow lifting speeds (please see sidebar entitled "Is HIT
Dead?"), and those who espouse so called explosive training techniques, such
as Olympic lifting and it's derivatives, and plyometric training methods.
As you read this article, please refer to the sidebar which outlines the more
technical terms used herein— these terms are often used inappropriately,
which leads to even more confusion. Also, please resist the human instinct to
either agree or disagree with the statements I will make. Instead, simply lis-
ten. Observe. Correlate the material to your own experiences. In this way,
you'll give yourself the best opportunity to come to an intelligent decision
regarding this issue.
What is Training?
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These examples of the specificity principle strongly imply that the neuro-
muscular and musculoskeletal systems are capable of adapting to explosive
movements just as they are capable of adapting to any other type of stimuli,
provided— is this is the real key to understanding this issue— that the ath-
lete moves through an appropriate series of progressions which allow a
sequential exposure to a gradually increasing stimulus. If you skip any part
of this progression, or if you progress too quickly, injury may result as you
exceed the body's "maximum tolerance threshold" to that stimulus.
Before we proceed further, please appreciate that this issue is a difficult one
to analyze, since there are several ways to lift a weight. For example, pow-
erlifting is not normally considered an "explosive" event, since at 1RM levels,
the bar moves very slowly, due to its mass. Nevertheless, the lifter is
attempting to maximally accelerate the bar. So, are we discussing the actual
speed of the lift, or the attempt to maximally accelerate the weight (even if
the implement speed is low to to its mass)?
Also, we must distinguish between lifting weights at a fast tempo, and lifting
weights in an accelerative manner (increasing the speed over the duration of
a repetition). Further, are we speaking of lifting light to moderate weight, or
heavy weights? For instance, when performing the deadlift, using a fast lift-
ing speed with a light weight would simply reduce both the tension, as well
as the time under tension, of the involved musculature, leading to a com-
promised training effect. However, when deadlifting a challenging weight, you
stand a better chance of making the lift if you attempt to accelerate the bar.
It is important to understand that this is a smooth acceleration, not a rapid
"jerk" on the bar, which would in fact, increase the likelihood of injury.
Incidentally, I define "good form" a bit differently than most. If you enter a
workout with pre-determined parameters such as number of sets and reps,
tempo, optimal body alignment, range of motion (which may be complete or
partial) length of rest periods, and you maintain these parameters, you're
using "good form." So for example, you may set out to use a 2 second tempo,
which is relatively fast (and may or may not be safe, depending on the exer-
cise, your experience, the weights being lifted, and a host of other factors).
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However, if you set out to do a 4 second tempo, and due to fatigue or inat-
tention it ends up being a 2 second tempo, this shows a lack of control, which
in my opinion, heightens the potential for injury.
So, although many people cite the dangers of "fast" or "explosive" lifting, I
hope you can now appreciate that the issue is far more complex than most
people consider. During this article, I will make reference to explosive, ballis-
tic, and accelerative lifting techniques, in an effort to cover the various pos-
sible methods.
When you throw (or jump, hit, etc) correctly, the musculo-tendinous unit
stores potential kinetic energy during the eccentric phase of the movement.
At full stretch, the muscle begins its reversal into the concentric phase. If you
use proper timing (the "switch" between eccentric and concentric must be
very rapid), you can recover all that potential energy and return it during the
concentric phase. If you wait-even for a split second— the energy will dissi-
pate. A simpler way to visualize the SSC is to imagine the muscles as elastic
bands that stretch during eccentric activity, and contract during the concen-
tric portion of the movement. (Incidentally, plyometric training— usually con-
sisting of various jumps and throws, are designed to train the elastic poten-
tial of the musculoskeletal system.)
If you watch people carefully in various situations, you'll notice that, when-
ever there is an option to accelerate a load, people will take that option. On
stairclimbing machines, people will, especially as fatigue sets in, tend to step
in a bouncy, choppy manner. When a heavy box must be lifted from the floor
to a high shelf, a person will accelerate the box throughout the lift. Further,
the motor cortex will normally choose a movement pattern where more mus-
cle groups can participate in the effort, in order to conserve energy and avoid
dangerous levels of stress to any single muscle involved in the movement.
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Now the question becomes "If this is how muscles work in everyday activi-
ties, should we train muscles this way?" My colleague Paul Chek often asserts
that "First isolate, then integrate." What Paul means by this is that before
asking the chain to produce high levels of force, one should first strengthen
each link of the chain— especially the weakest links.
When training a link, you must "isolate" that link— in other words, create a
movement or exercise where associated links have no ability to assist in that
movement. Since muscles are the links in any kinetic chain, another way to
view this progression is to "First, train muscles, then train movements."
Either way you choose to conceptualize it, most accelerative lifting move-
ments (such as modified Olympic lifts such as power cleans & snatches, push-
jerks, jumps, throws, etc.) involve large numbers of muscles. Therefore, if
these individual muscles are brought to maximum strength levels prior to
accelerative, multi-joint movements, the athlete lessens the potential for
injury. However, if any link in the chain is relatively weak, that link would log-
ically have a greater potential for injury during any explosive type exercise
that involves it.
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a superior ability to train hard on a consistent basis, you don't need to sweat
the details. Recreational pharmacology should be factored in, also.
But let's assume that you're at least the fourth generation of your family to
stand upright. Let's also assume you have a job, and limited chemistry skills.
Let's further assume that your training program could benefit from a bit of
variation, and even some fun. If you fit this profile, and if you employ quali-
fied supervision (I'd recommend calling the United States Weightlifting
Federation at 719-578-4508 in order to find a qualified weightlifting coach in
your area), I would urge you to explore these methods. The downside? For
starters, HIT Jedis will call you a fool. Also, you may abandon bodybuilding
for the sport of Olympic weightlifting. You also run the risk of slow twitch fiber
atrophy, as your Type II fibers hypertrophy to unprecedented size. Finally,
you may suffer guilt pangs as you find yourself actually enjoying training
again. On balance, I'd say it's worth the risk.
Is "HIT" Dead?
For years, the most vocal faction of coaches and athletes in opposition to
explosive lifting techniques has been known as "HIT" an acronym meaning
"High Intensity Training." The HIT doctrine took root through the teachings of
Arthur Jones, and has been furthered by Mike Mentzer, and several collegiate
strength coaches. HIT has traditionally favored single set, low-speed,
machine based movements, and has been vehemently opposed to multi-set
periodized approaches, explosive lifts and plyometrics, and free weight exer-
cises. Recently, however, the HIT "Jedi" (the self-appointed term for adher-
ents of the HIT philosophy) have all but merged with the mainstream on
issues of number of sets, repetition ranges, and the use of free weights. They
remain steadfast on the of explosive lifting techniques, however. In the
recently released HITFAQv2.0a , the section describing "proper form" advis-
es "raising and lowering the weight in a deliberate, controlled manner." The
FAQ continues "Anytime, anyone, be they Mr. Universe, or whomever, tells
you to move a weight fast, in an 'explosive' style, just walk away. That per-
son is a fool." (I always thought that anyone who took comfort in applying
blanket statements to a wide range of circumstances was a fool, but maybe
I've got it wrong!)
Important Terminology
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2) Force: that which changes or tends to change the state of rest or motion
in matter (7). Force may increase or decrease the velocity of an object. The
SI unit of force is the newton (N).
4) Power: the rate of performing work (7). The SI unit of power is the watt
(W). To measure power, you would
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References:
2) Poliquin, C., The Poliquin Principles, 1997, Napa, Dayton Publisher's Group,
p.p. 24
4) Komi, P.V (Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport (1992). London. p.p.29
5) Komi, P.V (Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport (1992). London. p.p.169
8) Norkin, C.C., & Levangie, P.K. Joint Structure & Function. F.A. Davis
Company (1992), Philadelphia. p.p.17.
10). Kraemer, W.J. & Newton, R.U., Muscle Power. Muscular Development.
March, 1995, p.p. 130-131.
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Fitness Follies
Don't expect the usual "beginning, middle, and end" format for this one. I
just need to vent. I didn't invent this concept— just want to add another
chapter to the ongoing saga. And before I unleash, I want to make one thing
clear: I'm far from perfect. I sometimes sacrifice perfect form to get another
rep. I continue to train muscles which I know are already too developed, I
should stretch more, etc.,etc. I'm very much like everyone who's reading
this: I love to train and am trying to learn everything I can along the way.
But what I'm about to get into is beyond occasional lapses of bad judgment.
It ranges from people who should know better, to people who do know bet-
ter. It covers the gamut from stupidity to unethical conduct.
OK, Last week, I'm in the waiting room of my massage therapist, Dr. Deborah
Holtzman. So I pick up an issue of Total Fitness magazine. Fitness superstar
Denise "You can do it!" Austin is answering a question from a reader who is
trying to reduce the cellulite around her thighs. After a few perfunctory sug-
gestions, Ms. Austin advises "And be sure to work your hamstrings (the mus-
cle which runs from your ankle to the top of your rear"). OK, I'm not looking
for origins and insertions, just maybe try to get somewhere in the same uni-
verse!
Wow!
My training partner Phil LeClair has been egging me to train with him in a
commercial gym (I train myself and my clients in private settings, and
haven't been in a gym for a few years). In the course of one 55 minute work-
out, here is what I observed:
1) The floor trainer has a client performing upright rows. He's wearing a massive pow-
erlifting belt which is about 8" thick in back. Struggling to lift 35 pounds, the client is
rounding his back, shrugging, and flexing his neck to the point where he's looking at
his feet. The bar never gets closer than 5" from his body. He has so much trouble bal-
ancing himself, the trainer puts his back up against the wall "to stabilize" him.
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4) At the squat rack, two guys in their early 20's are squatting, I think. Every
known technique recommendation is violated— round backs, heels off the
floor, looking down, light-speed descents, knees bowing inward, industrial-
strength belts, you name it. You'd think the fact that their arms are bigger
than their quads would clue them in to their poor habits, but no such luck.
5) Another trainer is overheard telling his client "High reps are for definition,
low reps are for bulk." (Please pause with me for about 20 seconds for the
full effect to set in). Another gem: "Never do more than one set."
Info-mercial Hell
Muscle Media readers already know that I really like training on a Swiss ball.
Please don't label me though— I use all manner of machines, free weights,
sprinting, medicine balls, you name it. Anyway, back to my free catharsis:
there is a new info-mercial gadget out called the "Power Dome." This is
essentially a Swiss ball stripped of its usefulness, at ten times the cost of a
normal Swiss ball. The ball is firmly embedded in a molded plastic base,
which makes it as stable as a Nebulae leg press. The Power Dome also fea-
tures an elastic band attached to a handle on each side, which I 'm guessing
allows you to do "more exercises than you can do in a gym with over
$300,000 worth of equipment in only three minutes a day." The info-mercial
demonstrates the supposed dangers of "real" Swiss balls by showing a model
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trying to sit on top of one, and then losing her balance and falling in a heap
on the floor, ala Chevy Chase in the snow saucer scene in Christmas Vacation.
Look— not everyone's a Paul Chek, but if you can't even sit on top of a ball
(a skill than any 3-tear old child does routinely), you're in for a world of hurt
in everyday life!
Here's another notable info-mercial— the "Smart Gym." This term should be
in Webster's under "Oxymoron." The Smart Gym is another rendition of the
classic elastic cords attached to the doorjamb idea. Only now, they show it
being used by human Barbies with the post-modern body composition of 55%
lean mass, 35% bodyfat, & 10% silicone. As you might expect you can do
ANYTHING on the Smart Gym, as the models demonstrate: you can water
ski, run, punch, squat, you name it.
One of the newest devices is called "Slam Man." This is a self-standing man-
nequin that you punch like a heavy bag. It's funny, because they show these
fairly large guys punching the Slam Man, but they have to pull their punches
so as to not topple the mannequin. In one of the more memorable pitches,
one of the actors says "Boxers know how to lose weight, because they have
to be able to make their weight class for the fight." You know what? Anorexics
know how to lose weight too. Since the Slam Man cannot be folded away
under your bed, I predict dismal sales.
By the way, there is an informercial out there for a product I really like— the
Total Gym. I have trained on this unique device at Paul Chek's Center for
Health & Performance and it allows several unique exercises which are not
available on any other type of equipment.
The other day I'm driving to train a client of mine, and I come across Susan
Powder's new radio talk show (Susan Powder is the former 280lb alcoholic/fit-
ness guru who's motto is "Stop the Insanity!"). On the show, Susan tells her
audience "If you eat fat, you get fat— period!" Wait till Will Brink finds out
that virtually all of his nutritional recommendations will now fall under close
scrutiny as a result of Powder's recommendations! Too bad— all those years
conducting nutritional research at Harvard down the drain.
I teach several seminars every year for the International Sports Sciences
Association— may of these are for aspiring and current personal trainers. So
the concept of fitness is one that is near and dear to my heart. And to expand
on this topic a bit, it's amazing how many misconceptions people have on
health, fitness, and sports.
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Also, fitness has nothing to do with how low your bodyfat is, unless you are
a competitive bodybuilder. In fact, for some sports, having a bit of extra
pudge is a definite advantage.
Is it Aerobic?
2) Aerobics classes: Why is it that every time I walk past an aerobic class that
everyone is lifting weights? Hey— I'm just asking!
Here's a collection of terms and concepts which cause a lot more harm than
good:
Sculpt: Muscles can only get bigger, or, if you don't train, smaller. That's it.
You cannot sculpt a muscle. You surgeon can do this, however.
Tone: The word "tone" simply refers to a partial state of contraction, usually
an after-effect from some form of muscular work. You can have tone even if
you're a fat slob, and as Fiona Apple proves, you can have no tone despite
the fact that some of your internal organs are visible beneath your skin. So
what value does this word have anyway?
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Define: You cannot define a muscle. All you can do is lower your bodyfat so
you can see your muscles underneath.
"I want to bulk up and get more defined." OK— you want to get bigger and
smaller at the same time. Have a nice life!
Cross Training: ALL sports require supplementary training beyond the regu-
lar performance of their sport skills. This involves strength training,
endurance work, stretching, and so on. So what is the point of even using
this term?!!! I love to hear someone say "I'm really into cross-training." I
usually say "Oh, like every other athlete who ever lived. How cutting edge!"
Finishing Set: Does this mean that you're not finished, or maybe you feel
guilty because you haven't worked hard enough, so you do another set to
assuage your ego? I have no idea
A man who was a casual acquaintance of mine was asking me advice on find-
ing a good chiropractor. Seems he had been having upper back and neck
pain. After I gave him the name of a trusted colleague, I watched him walk
over the a Universal bench press station, and my eyes widened as he laid
down such that his entire head was off the end of the bench, so that he was
staring at the weight stack as he knocked off his reps. No one could make
this stuff up.
Glad I asked. OK, sit down for this one. Pay careful attention— gyms can be
dangerous. About 8 years ago, I saw someone try to pick up a plate to place
it on the leg press he was using. The poor guy thought it was a 45, but in
fact it was a 100, and he only weighted about 155. The plate was resting on
the floor, leaning against a wall. As he tried to maneuver the plate to get a
better grip, it fell over onto his foot, which was promptly severed. The amaz-
ing this is, this guy had endured many severe injuries in combat, and this
injury barely phased him. At first I figured he was in shock, but later the
emergency team confirmed he was not.
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Wow! I started this article feeling as cranky as H. Ross Perot on election day,
but now I feel completely refreshed and positive. Hang on...there's a new
infomercial on I think..what the...The Figure 8 ???!!! Oh my God, OK, look,
I'll get back with you next month!
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Author’s note: If I took all the hate mail I’ve received from this article, I could
make another e-book out of it. I hesitated to include it here for fear of offend -
ing sensitive types, but maybe a brief explanation will help clear the air: this
article isn’t poking fun at Ghandi, but rather, at the bodybuilding mentality
that values people in direct proportion to their percentage of bodyfat or how
much muscle they carry. So jeez, relax already!
Not huge mind you, Ghandi nevertheless possessed perhaps the leanest
physique of all time— making even Clarence Bass look like a slovenly pig by
comparison. Ghandi was so lean, in fact, that not only were striations clear-
ly evident (even in his teeth!), but many observers attest that his bone mar-
row was clearly visible beneath his tissue thin skin! These are certainly qual-
ities that still elude the present day giants, and yet, Ghandi never did any
aerobics! His spectacular physique was created through dieting alone. Now,
in Ghandi’s day, weight training equipment was crude at best, especially in
India. We can only imagine what he would have looked like had he had access
to todays high-tech equipment!
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Author’s note: I still receive about a dozen e-mails a week from people who
don’t realize that this article is a joke. Many write to me angrily, explaining
that they have lost all respect for me and so on. Now that you’re in on the
joke, enjoy!
Gyms across the world are full of dedicated, hard-working trainees searching
for physique improvement. Unfortunately, many trainees are make the clas-
sic but unfortunate mistake of ignoring proper exercise form. This "cheating"
often becomes so rampant that eventually, some exercises actually begin to
lose their original meaning.
The bench press is one such exercise. Perhaps the finest hamstring exercise
known to irondom, the bench press has been performed so haphazardly that,
in the quest to pile on as much weight as possible, most trainees cheat so
profoundly that they lose sight of the purpose of this movement— massive
hams.
This lifters’s hips are far too low for effective hamstring recruitment!
You can observe this phenomenon in any gym: an athlete lays down on the
bench, grabs the bar, and instead of bucking the hips up as high as possible
he keeps the buttocks down, on the bench during the movement. While this
may soothe the ego, one cannot expect to develop massive hamstrings with
such poor technique! In fact, when the hips remain on the bench, nearly all
the stress falls squarely on the PECTORALS! This syndrome has become so
widespread that many neophyte gymgoers actually believe that the bench
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Personal trainers and gym instructors should teach this exercise properly
right from the start. Get those hips UP, and keep them up throughout the
movement. Try performing a set with 135 for 15 reps with your hips at least
a foot off the bench, and stay up on your toes. The hamstring burn (and fre-
quently, cramping!) will be unforgettable. Regardless of what you may have
heard elsewhere, strict form is the key to progress.
Of course, some argue that leg curls are the best hamstring exercise. What
people fail to realize, however, is that the hamstrings are not only responsi-
ble for knee flexion, but also for hip extension. Leg curls are OK, but don't
forget to also work the hams from the proximal end (the hip joint) through
the use of the bench press.
Lately, a theory has come into vogue that grip spacing can influence the
results produced from a given exercise. With bench pressing, the theory goes
that a narrow grip works the inner part of the hamstring, and that a wide grip
hits primarily the outer area of the hamstrings. This myth is slow to die,
despite all the information that we have to the contrary. Grip width has no
real bearing on hamstring development. However, hip elevation does! How
high should your hips be? For novice trainees, four to six inches is acceptable,
but for advanced athletes, 12 inches must be considered the minimum.
Again, for best results, keep your heels up also. Also, have your spotter stand
by your feet so that he can give you feedback on your hip elevation.
Commonly, the spotter will stand behind the lifter's head where he can't even
see the hips, and consequently, serves no purpose at all. Don't ever bench
with this type of lazy spotter— you're simply asking for an injury!
Assistance Exercises
Many trainees prefer the dumbbell bench for working the hams. I advise
against this exercise, however, as most find it difficult to raise the hips when
working with dumbbells due to balance problems. Also, the increased range
of motion seems to throw added stress to the chest and shoulders, making
this exercise less effective as compared to the barbell bench.
I must also caution against the decline bench press. The angle of the bench
in this case prevents you from raising your hips using your own muscular
force, making it a rather useless exercise.
Lastly, due to the high degree of stress on the lower back caused by the
bench press, I Recommend performing neck bridges (as in wrestling), back
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Since we can't see ourselves from the rear, many of us concentrate primari-
ly on the quads (using military presses, upright rows, lateral raises, and so
on) and totally neglect the hamstrings. So the next time someone asks you
"How much can you bench?", put your ego aside and flash 'em a hamstring
shot.
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Like all fields of human endeavor, bodybuilding has accumulated a vast col-
lection of maxims— brief encapsulations of truth which are intended to serve
as memorable (and often humorous) reminders of the proper way of doing
things. So, I thought I’d take a look at some of these time-worn exonerations
and see if these "kernels of truth" are worth their weight, or better left
unsaid.
One short disclaimer: I was not able to identify the authors of these state-
ments, in every case, but wanted to give credit whenever possible. In some
cases, I have identified the person thought to be author of a given statement.
Any oversights and/or inaccuracies are not intentional.
This is perhaps the most classic, most oft-quoted maxim from the world of
bodybuilding. It refers to the fact that you have to venture beyond your com-
fort level while exercising in order to gain beneficial results.
Unfortunately, taken literally, this maxim could be more harmful than helpful.
It doesn’t take a lot of intelligence to hurt yourself during a workout. It does,
however, take a reasonable measure of smarts plus common sense to get
results from your training. I also happen to think that most weight training-
related injuries are not acute, but long-term damage that you aren’t aware
of until it’s too late. I recently saw a photo of extreme fighter Frank Shamrock
performing what he called a "power clean" with a grip that was at least 12
inches too wide. In 10 or 15 years I’m sure he’ll wonder why he’s in too much
pain to lift anymore.
An intelligent counter-point to the above, and I agree: hard training is all but
worthless if not conducted intelligently.
Translation: "I don’t care if I die in the process, I will do anything to get freaky huge!" It’s
unfortunate how so many people will risk their health, career potential, relationships, and
pretty much everything else for the one in a bizillian chance that they will ultimately win
the Mr/Ms Whatever contest. Self-actualized people, on the other hand, train because of
the rewards inherent in the process, not for a result which will probably never come.
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The idea that heavy weights must always be used irrespective of everything
else is a mistaken idea, even for competitive lifters. Few athletes have the
discipline to maintain correct technique with truly heavy weights. This may
explain why Jimmy "the Iron Bull" Pallechia is so popular. A much more
refined approach, especially for bodybuilders, is to find how to get the most
results with the lightest weights. Case in point: when Olympic weightlifter
Joel Senate came to me early this year, I increased his front squat by 26
pounds in 4 weeks by using only lunges— and the most additional weight we
used was 20 pound dumbbells!
More of the same. I actually think it takes a lot more discipline and fortitude
to lift a moderate weight to exhaustion with optimal technique than it does
to lift big weights with sloppy form
"Refuse to Lose"
Ditto.
I believe the author of this is Dan Millman. I find this to be profound, and
illustrative of a methodological approach to training. It isn’t true in the liter-
al sense— some people can never be successful competitive bodybuilders, for
instance. But if you’ve identified challenging and realistic goals for yourself,
this maxim can serve as inspiration when you have a hard time getting
geared up for your next workout.
This seems to suggest that you needn’t work hard during exercise. The very
definition of training is the regular, planned application of stress for the pur-
pose of causing a desired adaptation. Of course, beginners or de-conditioned
people don’t need to push particularly hard at the beginning, so at the most
I’ll say that this is wise advice for beginners.
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This one was often used by Lee Haney on his television show. In order to
make progress, you must expose the body to slightly higher levels of stress
that it is used to experiencing. I think Haney has captured the essence of this
truth quite nicely.
The reverse makes more sense. Nevertheless, your muscle shape is geneti-
cally pre-determined. You can’t train for shape, no matter what anyone tells
you. However, as a muscle becomes larger, it’s shape does change (because
now the girth of the muscle is a greater percentage of its length), but that
change is pre-determined. Nevertheless, literally every month, you’ll find an
article about "peaking" your biceps in some muscle mag.
Whenever I hear someone yelling this in the gym, I always look over to see
someone struggling to pull a bar off of his partner. As my colleague Dr. Sal
Arria likes to point out, most people can easily lift a 45 pound bar with two
pinkies. So the next time you tell your partner that you hardly helped him at
all, think again.
(In my best Jerry Sienfeld) Is this really a problem for people? This statement
comes predominately from females who put shoulder pads in their blouses.
Go figure. Could you imagine enrolling in a course or beginning some new
endeavor saying "I’ll do this as long as I don’t become too successful."? Don’t
use fear of success as an excuse for not training.
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This simply means that you shouldn’t get too caught up in your successes or
your failures. If you win, it’s time to step up to the next level. If you lose, you
need to re-group, learn from your mistakes, and make a new plan of action.
Most people do just the opposite— when they win (or make progress), they
shrine off the training program that got them there, and vow to do nothing
else for the rest of their lives. When they lose (or fail to make progress), they
just shrug it off, and continue to do the same thing that led to failure, but
expecting a different result.
I disagree— slow movements will not hurt your speed any more than fast
training will hurt your slowness. If anything, movements performed at a
slightly lower speed may have an adverse effect on speed. Since no barbell
movement can come anywhere near the speed commonly used in most
sports, why take the risk? I always smile when I see martial artists and box-
ers performing fast punches with dumbbells— these "punches" are much
slower than unweighted ones, so they don’t make you any faster. And since
the weights are so light, they also don’t make you any stronger!
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Or, it might injure you. This is a totally inappropriate statement when applied
to training.
I don’t know where this originated from, but I like it, and it really has a
degree of truth, doesn’t it?
A good philosophy for people wishing to gain weight and who aren’t too
wrapped up in their current job.
"God made Nautilus machines to keep geeks off barbells" (Mike Burgener).
I’m sorry, but I always slip into a grin whenever I hear this one— a guilty
pleasure. However, if we’re willing to be honest, machines can have a place
in everyone’s training. The problem is when people use machines as "the path
of least resistance," because that’s what they are when overused or used for
the wrong reasons. Many fitness enterpeneurs have taken the machine psy-
chology a few steps further and have made a lot of money doing so— for
example, remember "toning tables"?
"Real athletes sit down between their sets; everyone else sits down during
their sets"
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Few bodybuilders have so much mass that it impairs their everyday func-
tioning, so this statement has no relevance in my mind. The vast majority of
people would do well with more muscle, not less.
There is enormous truth in this. How rarely I see people squatting, or chin-
ning, or performing step-ups. How common it is to see people making a
career out of what they already do best— limber women who concentrate on
stretching, thick-chested men who do nothing but bench press.
"If you're in the gym more than an hour, you're not training, you're making
friends" (Charles Poliquin).
Charles is dead-on with this statement. If you are genuinely training, it’s hard
to spend much more than an hour at the gym. I find it remarkable that peo-
ple who use the gym for serious training are considered "hard core," while
people who use it for socializing and reading the morning paper are consid-
ered much more rational.
No logic here, but what else is new? I’d rather say "If in doubt, congratulate
yourself because at least you have some inkling that maybe you’re doing it
wrong"!
An old coaches maxim to get across the idea of maximal effort. However, I
must emphasize that your exercise technique should be the same from your
first to your last rep. If any aspect changes— speed, range of motion, pos-
ture, etc.— it means you hit failure and then found some way of altering your
technique in order to complete more reps. The possible exception to this rule
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This is from Dr. Fred Hatfield, president of the International Sports Sciences
Association. He’s referring to the fact that you must have a superior "base"
(read: leg strength) in order to be able to exploit your upper body strength.
In fact, many top bodybuilders throughout the years have preached heavy
lower body work for both lower and upper body gains.
"Squats are king of all exercises"
No exercise is the King of anything. Squats are a valuable tool for lots of peo-
ple. However, they cannot be properly performed by others. Over-glorifying
one exercise causes others to be ignored. Think of exercises as tools, which
have utility when used appropriately in the right situations.
"Just do it"
I see everyone just doing it...improperly. Odd how such a non-descript little
saying became so popular.
Conclusion
Weight training is not unique with regards to the kinds of proclamations we’ve
looked at in this article. Other fields of endeavor have their own pearls of wis-
dom as well. The trick is to separate the truth from the fiction; to use what
is useful and discard the rest.
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When I teach acute training parameters in seminars across the USA, a very
common question regards which exercise to do first, second, third, etc., in
any given workout. Traditional wisdom says to do whatever exercise is most
important first, since fatigue accumulates over the course of the workout.
While I agree, there is a much more refined way to address the problem of
accumulating fatigue, and it’s called circuit training.
Of course, whenever one uses the term "circuit training," serious lifters often
conjure up images of PACE classes which are used in Gold’s Gym’s across the
World. PACE is in fact a form of circuit training, but it’s simply one variant out
of hundreds, and it unfortunately leads serious trainees to assume that cir-
cuit training is more appropriate for the "chrome & fern crowd" than it is for
dedicated, experienced weight trainers.
I’m here to tell you that circuit training is a tool that will improve your work-
outs regardless of your experience level, and I’ll show you exactly how. I
don’t care if it’s your first day in the gym, or if you are a dedicated athlete
finally closing in on a 500 pound squat, circuit training will get you toward
your goals faster than any other alternative.
First, CT is NOT defined by the number of reps per set, the length of rests
between sets, the number of exercises performed, or even the exercises cho-
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sen. It is defined by the fact that you progress from one exercise "station" to
another in sequence, until the entire circuit of stations has been completed.
You then continue until you have completed the prescribed number of cir-
cuits.
If you were to conduct a poll of weight trainers, you’d find that between 90
and 98 percent use "non-circuit" training. This is unfortunate, when you con-
sider the enormous benefits of CT, which I’ll describe in detail.
Within the context of CT, there are actually two distinct ways that you can
organize any training session: macro or micro circuits.
The macro circuit is what most people mean when they think of CT: you sim-
ply perform one set of each planned exercise in the circuit, and then repeat
for the desired number of circuits.
The is another way to perform CT, however. It’s called micro circuits: here,
you break up the circuit into several small circuits of 2-3 exercises each, and
then repeat for the desired number of circuits. For example, if you have
planned to perform 4 exercises, do the first 2 circuit style until all planned
sets are completed, then finish off the second two in the same manner.
Benefits of CT
No exercise method is perfect of course (if there was such a thing, I would
have discovered it by my 13th birthday!), but CT is about as close as you can
get. Compared to the alternatives, CT is more efficient, more motivational,
and far more versatile. Here’s a quick run-down of CT’s assets:
Efficiency
CT allows for more work to be done in the same time frame. For example,
let’s imagine that you’re performing dumbbell incline presses and close grip
lat pulldowns. Let’s further assume that each set takes 30 seconds to com-
plete, and that you’re resting 2.5 minutes between sets.
If you perform this workout "non-circuit" style as most people do, you’re get-
ting 2.5 minutes rest between sets of whichever exercise you’re doing.
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But if you perform this session CT style, you’d perform one set of incline
presses, rest, then do a set of pulldowns, rest, and so on. Here, you’re
obtaining 5.5 minutes of rest between two sets of the same exercise! This is
more than double the rest, yet your total exercise duration does not increase.
Now it is true that you’re still doing a set every 2.5 minutes, but fatigue from
different exercises, particularly if they are for different muscle groups, tends
to be specific. This means that even though you may still be too fatigued to
accomplish another set of the same exercise, you will still be able to complete
a set for another exercise. For this reason, CT is clearly a better way of man-
aging fatigue through the workout.
Motivating
For many people, "sampling" from each item on the menu is more satisfying
than simply finishing off your swordfish, then your rice pilaf, then your veg-
gies, and so on. Similarly, in a work environment, it’s more productive to
alternate between tasks than it is to spend a huge block of time on a single
task.
Versatility
CT also works well in non-gym environments, such as the high school track
(where you can create circuits consisting of sprints, jumps, and throws) or a
community park (where your circuit might contain pull-ups, sit-ups, push-
ups, lunges, short sprints, and so forth).
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Drawbacks
For all the benefits of CT, there are a few drawbacks as well, but most can be
solved with a bit of creativity and imagination.
For technical exercises such as the Olympic lifts, which demand a very refined
sense of timing and coordination, CT should not be used, at least during com-
petition preparation cycles. This is because the enormous effort and specific
coordination involved in executing say, a snatch, would have a negative
transfer to something like a clean & jerk when both lifts are performed in CT
style. Nevertheless, CT remains an effective training option for Olympic lifters
in the early preparatory phase of their training.
Another possible problem: in crowded gyms, you may find someone has
"stolen" your next station while you performing the last exercise. Although
this can usually be solved by simply waiting until the station is available, you
can get around this by doing "micro circuits" where you're only going back
and forth between two machines. Or, simply make a quick substitution "on
the fly," such as substituting a machine bench press for a dumbbell bench
press.
I’ve put together several sample circuits for different objectives such as max-
imal strength development, lean mass gain, and explosive strength develop-
ment. Please use these examples as templates from which you can create
your own solutions, rather than viewing them as the "Holy Grail" of CT. In
other words, when I point the way, you shouldn’t be looking at my finger!
When you’re training for maximal strength development, emphasize the fol-
lowing points:
1) Choose multi-joint exercises rather than single joint (or "isolation" exer-
cises). This allows for recruitment of large amounts of muscles, and it will
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Also, multi-joint exercises tend to have larger ranges of motion, and thus, are
more suited to maximal strength training because they allow you to acceler-
ate through the "sticking point" of the exercise (discussed below in point #3)
2) Select relatively high intensities— those which permit between 1-4 repeti-
tions per set. TENSION, not fatigue, is the goal when training for strength.
Never sacrifice the former for the latter.
3) Accelerate through the sticking point of the exercise. In any loaded move-
ment, it is your strength through the sticking point— that narrow region
where your leverages are worst— that really determines whether or not you
succeed.
5) Keep fatigue to a minimum, both during and between sets. Even though
you might be performing 2 reps per set, you’re not reaching failure on the
last rep. The idea is to "keep some speed on the bar." Training to failure cre-
ates a quick build-up of lactic acid and other waste products which are
thought to inhibit the nervous system from engaging high-threshold muscle
fibers. With these facts in mind, I normally suggest between 3-5 minutes rest
between sets of the same exercise when training for strength. This time
frame ensures replenishment of energy stores and dissipation of lactic acid.
With CT, you can reduce this suggested rest interval by 50 percent.
Smaller, weaker, less experienced lifters should opt toward the lesser end of
that range, while bigger, stronger, more experienced athletes should opt for
the greater end.
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Monday
2: Stiff-leg Deadlift
Wednesday
1: Front Squat
2: Military Press
4: Barbell Curl
Friday
1: Chins
3: Dumbbell Shrugs
4: Back Extensions
(Perform all sets in an accelerative style— explode through the sticking point).
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Week one: Perform 4 circuits 4-6 reps per set. Rest 150 seconds between
sets.
Week two: Perform 5 circuits 3-5 reps per set. Rest 120 seconds between
sets.
Week three: Perform 6 circuits 2-4 reps per set. Rest 90 seconds between
sets.
When training for maximal muscle growth, the most important concept is to
thoroughly exhaust the muscle being trained. The following guidelines will
help ensure that you’re doing it right:
This is a personal favorite of mine when time is tight and I need an utterly
efficient total body training cycle. There’s barely a gram of muscle that isn’t
torched by this program — the next day, you won’t know what part of your
body hurts the worst!
Monday
1) Pull-up
2) Bench Press
3) Back Squat
Wednesday
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2) Barbell Shrug
Friday
1) Back Extensions
3) Ball Crunch
Parameters:
Week 1:
Perform 6-8 reps of each exercise, for a total of 4 circuits. Rest 2 minutes
between exercises, and 3 minutes between circuits. Use a constant weight for
each exercise for all 4 sets.
Week 2:
Perform 3-5 reps of each exercise, for a total of 5 circuits. Rest 3 minutes
between exercises, and 5 minutes between circuits. Use a constant weight for
each exercise for all 5 sets.
Week 3:
Perform 8-10 reps of each exercise, for a total of 4 circuits. Rest 1.5 minutes
between exercises, and 3 minutes between circuits. Use a constant weight for
each exercise for all 4 sets.
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Wednesday
1: Snatch Pull
2: Push Press
3: Swiss Ball Reverse Trunk Twist
Friday
1: Power Clean
2: Close-grip Bench Press
3: Back squats
(perform all sets in an accelerative style— explode through the sticking point)
Week one: Perform 5 circuits 3-5 reps per set. Rest 150 seconds between
sets.
Week two: Perform 5 circuits 3-5 reps per set. Rest 120 seconds between
sets.
Week three: Perform 5 circuits 3-5 reps per set. Rest 90 seconds between
sets.
Final Comments
I hope I’ve made a strong case for the value of CT in your own training. I’m
so convinced of it’s value that CT is a key feature of the strength training pro-
grams I write for my clients who pay me to get them in the best possible
shape as fast and safely as possible. Why not put the information you’ve just
gained into immediate use, and construct a six week CT plan for your next
training cycle? I’ll bet my reputation as a strength specialist that it’ll be the
most productive six weeks of training you’ve ever experienced!
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1) You are a football lineman capable of bench pressing 450 pounds and squatting 600
pounds (indicators of good absolute strength). Further, you possess a 34" vertical jump
(indicator of good speed strength) at a bodyweight of 255. Nevertheless, you are
worthless after the second quarter. This indicates a lack of strength endurance. Please
see A Primer on Endurance Training for more information on developing this quality.
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2) You are a decathalete with an excellent time on 1500, but a poor result in
the shot put. This indicates acceptable strength endurance but relatively poor
absolute and/or speed strength. Please see "Quality Strength for Human
Athletic Performance," for more information on the development of speed
strength, and Staley on Strength for an absolute strength development strat-
egy.
Please bear in mind that I'm greatly simplifying things here in an effort to
clarify my point— for example, decatheletes often consciously decide to "sac-
rifice" either the 1500 or the shot put event (depending on what they are
least suited for) in an attempt to streamline their training— such strategic
decisions are well beyond the scope of this article.
When programming for multifaceted motor development, one can select from
two basic choices: simultaneous development, where several qualities are
trained together within the space of a workout, a week, or a month, etc., or
a sequential strategy, where different qualities are trained one at a time, usu-
ally in 2-4 week training cycles.
A rule of thumb regarding this principle is that you always work all relevant
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As stated earlier, coaches and athletes often come across periodization mod-
els such as the above, and end up profoundly misinterpreting them. The
names of these phases simply reflect the motor quality which is given primary
emphasis during that phase.
Phase I is appropriate for athletes who are out of shape and/or who have not
trained consistently for a significant period of time. Athletes already in good
condition may minimize or eliminate this phase. Though not represented in
this article, Phase I consists of slightly lower intensity and volumes respec-
tive to Phase II— otherwise, it is structured much the same as the phases
described here.
Since absolute (or maximal) strength is considered the root quality for both
speed strength (1) and strength endurance (2), Phase II is directed toward
maximizing that quality.
Finally, Phase III addresses speed strength capacity, while a small amount of
work remains for the maintenance of absolute strength values.
• The exercise arrangement allows for more than twice as much rest between
two sets for the same exercise, and...
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2) These cycles are arranged where "upper" and "lower" body workouts fol-
low each other in succession within the context of a three workouts per week
program. This results in each workout occurring 3 times within two weeks,
rather than once a week, as is more traditional.
Notes:
1) Before commencing program, select one upper body exercise and one
lower body exercise which have the greatest possible dynamic correspon-
dence (7) to competitive event. These are represented as "A" exercises in the
following programs. Dynamic correspondence is similar to the concept of
specificity, however, an exercise which dynamically corresponds to your sport
skill may not outwardly appear similar to the event! For example, punching
with dumbbells in the hands appears to be very similar to the boxing punch
at first glance. However, it has a low degree of dynamic correspondence,
because:
a) In order to develop the pecs, delts, and tri's, you need to be in a supine
position, so that the targeted muscle fibers are fighting against gravity dur-
ing the movement;
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c) the dumbbells will be too light to develop strength, and too heavy to devel-
op speed.
A better choice for boxers would be the bench press, with weights that range
between 55 and 85 percent of maximum. This exercise properly conditions
the muscles which contribute to the boxing punch, although it does not
appear specific to the skill in question.
Note: The "A" exercises in these programs may or may not have a high
degree of dynamics correspondence to your sport skills! They are provided
for the purpose of illustration only. If you need further guidance for selecting
appropriate "A" exercises for yourself, e-mail me and I'll provide assistance.
2) Before commencing program, test for 1RM values for the previously men-
tioned exercises.
Methodology for 1RM testing: During testing, perform the exercises in exact-
ly the same manner as you will perform them in training (8). warm-up thor-
oughly, and progress toward your 1RM using multiple 1-2 rep sets. Use every
available safety precaution (bench & squat variants should always be per-
formed in a sturdy rack, with safety pins set just lower than the lowest point
the bar will travel during the exercise. If in doubt, err toward the conserva-
tive side— a 1RM which is 5-10 pounds too light will not negatively affect the
programs.
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Week 1
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accu-
mulates over the session.
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accu-
mulates over the session.
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
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* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accu-
mulates over the session.
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
Week 2
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accu-
mulates over the session.
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
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* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accu-
mulates over the session.
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accu-
mulates over the session.
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
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Week 3
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accu-
mulates over the session.
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accu-
mulates over the session.
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
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* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accu-
mulates over the session.
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
Week 4
* Start with the lesser value rests and graduate toward the longer value as fatigue accu-
mulates over the session.
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 2 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 6 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
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Week 5
Start new cycle, using new 1RM values, and employing different exercises and/or tech-
niques (i.e., use of elastic bands, varied grips and/or stances, eccentric training, ect) to
respect the principle of variation.
Note: if 1RM values fail to increase from cycle to cycle, this program should be reevaluated
and modified with respect to proper fit to context.
Notes:
1) Before commencing program, select one upper body exercise and one lower body exer-
cise which have the greatest possible dynamic correspondence to competitive event.
2) Before commencing program, test for 1RM values for the previously mentioned exercis-
es (see earlier notes on testing methodology).
3) Understanding the order of exercises: I use Charles Poliquin's exercise notation system,
which employs a combination of letters and numbers to denote the order of exercises and
sets. Directions: Finish all sets of "A" exercise first, then proceed to "B" and do the same.
Lastly, perform all "C" exercises in circuit fashion, until all indicated sets are completed.
Week 1
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
*** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress
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* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
*** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress
"A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis
"B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis
"C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
*** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress
"A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis
"B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis
"C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis
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Week 2
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
*** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
*** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress
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* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
*** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress
Week 3
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
*** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress
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* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
*** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
*** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress
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Week 4
* Start with 60sec rests and graduate toward 90secs as fatigue accumulates
** Perform 3 sets of each exercise. Begin at 8 repetitions per set, and attempt to add one
rep per set with each successive workout, ideally performing 12 reps per set on the last
workout of the cycle.
*** Perform 2 progressively heavier singles, approaching 1RM without undue stress
"A" Exercise(s)= Speed strength emphasis
"B" Exercise(s)= Absolute strength emphasis
"C" Exercise(s)= Strength endurance/hypertrophy emphasis
Wednesday
Test for new 1RM on Barbell Bench Press
Friday
Test for new 1RM on Power Clean
Week 5
Start new cycle, using new 1RM values, and employing different exercises and/or tech-
niques (i.e., use of elastic bands, varied grips and/or stances, eccentric training, ect) to
respect the principle of variation.
Note: if 1RM values fail to increase from cycle to cycle, this program should be reevaluated
and modified with respect to proper fit to context.
Conclusion:
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References:
1) Hartmann, J., & Tunneman, H., Fitness and Strength Training for All
Sports. © 1993, Toronto, Sports Books Publisher, p.p. 64.
2) Hartmann, J., & Tunneman, H., Fitness and Strength Training for All
Sports. © 1993, Toronto, Sports Books Publisher, p.p. 66.
4) Liow, D.K., & Hopkins, W.G., (1998). Velocity specificity of heavy weight
training for kayak sprint performance. Medicine and Science in Sports and
Exercise, 30(5), Supplement abstract 621.
5) Choi, J. Y., Takahashi, H., Itai, Y., & Takamatsu, K. (1997). Comparison of
training effects between power-up type and bulk-up type in strength training.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 29 (5), Supplement abstract 54.
8) Ribeiro, B.V., Castro, A.S., & Weltman, A. (1998). Study of the specificity
between the training and the evaluation method of the muscle strength.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30 (5), Supplement abstract
658.
9) Corder, K., Potteiger, J., Nau., K., Figoni, S., & Hershberger, S. (1998).
Effects of active and passive recovery on lactate, RPE, and performance dur-
ing resistance training. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30 (5),
Supplement abstract 194.
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Author’s note: In retrospect, I wish I had made a bigger point to point out
that athletes who are naturally fast need to concentrate more on the force
aspect of preparation (maximal strength), whereas already strong athletes
need to focus on rate of force development. Interesting side note—at a recent
meeting in Toronto, Canada, a physical preparation specialist from Montreal
told me that a bobsledder he knows was making rapid and dramatic strength
gains. When asked what program he was using, the athlete whipped out a
printout of the article you’re about to read...
Although most athletic skills and events depend upon a variety of physical
qualities, speed strength (also called power) certainly rates among the most
important. Whenever you need to accelerate yourself (as in running, cycling,
swimming, skating, or skiing), an external object (such as a ball, a barbell, a
javelin, or another person), or both (such as pushing a bobsled or driving
through an opposing lineman in football), your ability to generate force with
speed will be a primary determinant of your success.
As the duration of the event or skill becomes reduced, the need for speed
strength (I'll abbreviate it as "SS" from this point on) increases. However,
even triatheletes rely heavily upon explosive strength as they sprint to the
finish line. It's not a matter of whether or not you need to develop SS, but to
what degree you need to prioritize it in your training.
For bodybuilders, SS training methods are immensely valuable for their abil-
ity to improve intramuscular coordination (the ability to recruit high thresh-
old motor units), which has significant payoffs during later training phases
utilizing lower intensity loads. In other words, a two week training phase
emphasizing accelerative training techniques will potentiate the ability to lift
greater loads during a subsequent phase utilizing more "traditional" body-
building lifting technique (i.e., constant tension, avoiding joint lock-outs, etc).
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This form of strength can be demonstrated or tested in the weight room dur-
ing the performance of a maximal, single repetition lift. While only power-
lifters need to maximize and demonstrate this type of strength in competi-
tion, all athletes need to develop absolute strength as a foundation for other
bio-motor abilities such as SS, strength endurance, agility, and others.1 For
this reason, absolute strength is brought to high levels in the preparatory
period, and then "converted" to more event-specific forms of strength later
in the macrocycle. Absolute strength can be displayed through three types of
muscular actions:
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This rocket has only 200 pounds of reserve force to propel itself. The same
rocket, when equipped with an engine rated at 3000 pounds of thrust, will
have 2000 pounds of reserve thrust that can be used for propulsion.
Now back to the gym: a 200 pound man capable of squatting 250 pounds for
a single rep will have a mere 50 pounds of reserve strength available to pro-
pel his body upward during a vertical jump. Contrast this with a 200 pound
elite-class powerlifter capable of squatting 600 pounds. Now we’ve got 400
pounds of strength reserve available, and all things being equal, will have a
vastly superior vertical jump compared to the novice squatter.
Relative Strength
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Speed Strength
Now to the topic du jour: SS is defined as work divided by time, where work
is defined as force x distance. Therefore, SS is defined as force x distance,
divided by time. SS is characterized by three distinct components:
With regards to above distinctions, different sporting skills and events can be
classified as either starting or explosive strength events, depending on the
relative proportion of speed and strength required. The javelin event in track
and field would be classified as a starting strength event because the imple-
ment is very light, which permits the athlete to impart a great degree of
speed during the throw. Conversely, the shot is relatively heavy, which means
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that less speed can be achieved. This makes the shot put an explosive
strength event. Thus, it logically follows that starting strength athletes
emphasize relatively lighter weightloads in strength training than do explo-
sive strength athletes.
During many skills (jumping rope, for example), the working muscles
attempt to maintain static contraction, with force output being provided by
the storing and release of elastic energy through the tendons. Since static
muscular activity requires less energy than dynamic muscular activity, reac-
tive strength is an extremely energy-efficient way of moving— you can do
more work with less calories. This is why novice exercisers can always be
seen doing exercises in the easiest possible manner, using quick, choppy
movements, whether it’s on the bench press or the stairclimber. Reactive
strength is also the method of choice when someone who is tired and/or weak
gets up out of a chair: instead of simply standing up, they will actually lean
back first, and then quickly reverse this action, springing out of the chair. If
you ask someone to rise out of a chair using pure concentric movement, it
looks very unusual. To appreciate the effect of reactive strength on force
production, perform a vertical jump in a normal manner, where you first
crouch, and then rapidly switch and jump upwards as explosively as possible.
Next, crouch, but pause for five seconds (this pause will dissipate most if not
all of the stored potential kinetic energy), and then jump upward. You'll find
that the jump where the crouch (or eccentric phase) was IMMEDIATELY fol-
lowed by the jump results in a more successful attempt. The key to preserv-
ing as much potential kinetic energy as possible is to switch from eccentric to
concentric as rapidly as possible.
• All the fibers of a MU tend to have the same characteristics.5 When all the
fibers are type II, the motor unit is said to be a high threshold or "fast" MU.
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If the fibers are Type I, it is a low threshold or "slow" MU. See the glossary
for an in-depth description of fiber types.
Our muscles are composed of a wide variety of fibers, which scientists clas-
sify according to how they function. Traditionally, three categories are used:
Type IIb: Type IIb fibers are large diameter fibers capable of producing high
levels of force at fast contraction speeds. Commonly known as “fast twitch”
fibers, Type IIb’s also fatigue very quickly.
Type IIa: These fibers are much like hybrids between IIb’s and Type I fibers.
They have moderate force producing capacities and moderate endurance
capacity.
Type I: Type I fibers are also known as "slow twitch” fibers because they have
small diameters, have fairly low force output characteristics, and high
endurance capacity.
• The all or none principle: When an action potential is sent from the cell body
to the muscle fibers, one of two events will occur. If the action potential is
strong enough, all the fibers of that motor unit will contract maximally. If the
action potential is not strong enough, nothing will happen. In a nutshell,
muscle fibers either contract all the way, or not at all. When the body needs
to apply more force, it simply recruits more MU’s. Generally, untrained peo-
ple have limited ability to recruit high threshold MU’s because they are unfa-
miliar with high-tension efforts.
• The size principle: MU’s are recruited in order of size— small to large. This
explains why we can use the muscle to pick up something light (a pencil) or
heavy (a dumbbell). As resistance increases, the body recruits more MU’s.
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• Stabilizer: Stabilizers are muscles which anchor or stabilize one part of the
body (through static activity), allowing another part to move. In other words,
they assist the prime mover and synergists through static or "isometric" mus-
cular contraction. The stabilizer role of muscles can be trained with exercis-
es conducted in an unstable environment, which might involve dumbbells,
Swiss balls, wobble boards, or other devices designed for this purpose.
For clarification, be aware that prime movers, synergists, and stabilizers are
not different types of muscles— they are ways in which muscles perform. A
single muscle might be a prime mover in one situation, and a stabilizer in
another situation.
3) Rate Coding: The nervous system can vary the strength of muscular con-
traction not only by varying the number of MU’s recruited, but also by vary-
ing the firing rate of each MU, called rate coding. The tension that a MU devel-
ops in response to a single action potential from the nervous system is called
a "twitch." As the stimulus from the nervous system becomes stronger and
stronger, the twitches per millisecond become more and more frequent until
they begin to overlap, causing greater amounts of tension to be generated by
the muscle fiber. The mechanism behind rate coding is very similar to the way
in which increased vibrational frequency of a sound increases it’s pitch.
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per second). For any set of conditions, the force of contraction is maximal
when all MU’s have been recruited and all are firing at the optimal rate for
force production.
The size of a given muscle may in part determines the relative role of rate
coding to total muscular force development.6
In small muscles, most MU’s are recruited at a level of force less than 50%
of maximal force capacity. Forces requiring greater tensions are generated
primarily through rate coding. In large proximal muscles (such as the pec-
toralis and lats), the recruitment of additional MUs appears to be the main
mechanism for increasing force development up to 80% of absolute strength
and even higher. In the force range between 80% and 100% of absolute
strength, force is increased almost exclusively by intensification of the MU fir-
ing rate.
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Ballistic Training
William Kraemer, perhaps this country’s most respected and prolific strength
researcher, uses the term "ballistic training" to describe movements that are
"accelerative, of high velocity, and with projection into free space."7 Ballistic
training involves plyometrics, modified Olympic lifting, jumping, throwing,
and striking movements (such as punching or kicking a heavy bag).
Competitive lifters reach very deep squat positions as they struggle to get
under ponderous weights prior to achieving the overhead position. But when
slightly lighter weights are used, the lifter can manage to get under the
weight without going below parallel, meaning that the top of the thighs never
goes past the point of being parallel to the floor. When a lifter can accomplish
this, the lift is called a power clean (or power snatch). The term "power" indi-
cates that the load was not maximal, since the lifter didn't have to squat to
rock bottom to get under it. Thus, a power clean has less of a force compo-
nent and more of a speed component than a competitive "squat clean."
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2) Olympic lifts teach the ability to apply force with his or her muscle groups
in the proper sequence (i.e., from the center of the body to the extremities).
This is a valuable technical lesson for any athlete who needs to impart force
to another person or object.
4) Olympic lifts teach how to effectively receive forces from another moving
body.
5) The actual movements performed while executing the Olympic lifts are
among the most common and fundamental in sport.
6) The Olympic lifts are commonly used to measure an athlete's force output
capabilities.
If you are unfamiliar with the Olympic lifts and their derivatives. I strongly
suggest that you find either an ISSA-Certified Specialist in Sports
Conditioning, or a USA Weightlifting Certified Coach in your area who can
assist you with these exercises. These lifts, though not beyond the capabili-
ties of most athletes, are more complex than the majority of strength train-
ing exercises.
Plyometric Training
Although "plyos" are overused by many athletes in their quest for the "magic
pill" solution to their training problems, plyometric drills performed with
bodyweight, weighted jackets, light resistances such as medicine balls, logs,
sand sacks and gymnastic equipment can be a valuable component of a SS
development program.
Few athletes are aware of this unique and very useful testing implement cre-
ated by the English track & field coach of the same name. The MJQ can be
used to regularly monitor your level of speed strength, and can also used as
a fun competition several times a year. This test is very easy to administer
(you’ll need to do this at your local high school or college track) and involves
only a tape measure and a stop-watch. One note of caution, however: The
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four test drills, although relatively simple, will take a toll on your body (par-
ticularly your hip flexors) if you have never done them before, or if it’s been
years since you’ve done them. If you fall into this category, I strongly sug-
gest you practice these drills for before going at them "full bore." Start with
very low volume (just a few repetitions of each drill) and progress gradually
over a series of 4-6 sessions.
Three Jumps: Feet together, hop three times and land in a long jump pit.
Measure from your starting position to the closest disturbance of the sand
where you landed.
Standing Long Jump: Standing at the edge of a long jump pit, with toes
slightly over the edge of the board, perform a standing long jump into the pit.
Measure from the lip of the board to the closest disturbance of the sand
where you landed.
Thirty Meter Sprint: Using starting blocks (you may also have a partner place
his or her foot behind your lead foot to simulate a block), start on the com-
mand of a timer at the finish line. The timer starts the watch when your back
foot makes contact with the ground on the first step, and stops it when you
break the finish line.
16lb Overhead Shot: Standing on top of a shot put stopboard (your back to
the pit), dip down (much like the preparatory crouch for a vertical jump),
swing the shot between the legs, and then extend and throw the shot over-
head backwards. It is not necessary to remain on the stopboard. Measure
from the lip of the stopboard to the first point of impact.
Please see the quadrathlon scoring tables on the previous page. Simply con-
vert your scores into the numerical scores provided, and total for your MJQ
rating.
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Since fatigue is specific to the motor quality being trained, when microcycles
with different objectives and varying demands follow each other, it promotes
enhanced recovery, allows for maintenance of maximal strength and body
composition during periods devoted to SS (and vice versa), and protects
against "overuse" types of injury. The "rule of thirds" is a planning concept
which partitions each mesocycle into thirds— the first two thirds are spent
training the targeted motor ability; the final third is spent training a comple-
mentary motor ability to provide recovery and balance to the program.
In this program, maximal strength is the targeted motor ability for the first
six weeks, while SS is the focus of the final six weeks.
Note: Before initiating this training program, complete the MJQ and record
your score. At the completion of the program, re-take the quadrathlon to
assess the effects of the training.
Program Notes:
1) Notation: All exercises preceded by the same letter (for example, "A"), are
performed as a superset (i.e., perform the the exercises in a mini-circuit).
Complete the "A" superset first, then "B," and so on, until the session has
been completed.
3) Sets x reps: Wherever you see, for example, "4x60," it refers to 4 sets
which last 60 seconds each, regardless of reps. In other words, time your
sets with a stopwatch and concentrate on proper technique, not how many
reps you perform.
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Weeks 1-2
Monday:
Wednesday:
Friday:
Week 3
Monday:
A-1: Push Press Accelerative 150 SEC. 4x4-6
A-2: Eccentric Hammer Curl Accelerative 150 SEC. 4x4-6
B-1: 45-degree Incline Barbell Press Accelerative 150 SEC 4x4-6
B-2: Standing Barbell Curl Accelerative 150 SEC 4x4-6
Wednesday:
Friday:
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Weeks 4-5
Monday:
Wednesday:
Friday:
Weeks 6-7
Monday:
A-1: Push Jerk Accelerative 180 SEC 5x3
A-2: Eccentric Hammer Curl Accelerative 180 SEC 5x3
B-1: 30-degree Incline Barbell Press Accelerative 180 SEC 5x3
B-2: Standing Barbell Curl Accelerative 180 SEC 5x3
Wednesday:
A. Depth jumps.
Warm-up thoroughly by jogging, jumping rope, etc., until you have broken a sweat. Do not
stretch unless you know you have short muscle groups such as hamstrings, quads, or hip
flexors.
Technique: From a standing position at the top of a raised platform (see description below),
extend your dominant-side foot forward to clear the platform, and then drop off of the plat-
form (as opposed to jumping off). You should hit the ground with both feet simultaneously,
with both arms extended behind you. IMMEDIATELY upon making contact with the ground,
reverse and propel yourself upward, assisting with a vigorous upward swing of both arms in
an attempt to attain the highest possible jump. Imagine that you are landing on a hot stove,
and must immediately repel yourself off of the surface, however, do not attempt to land with
straight knees in order to hasten the jump— you must allow your knees to flex somewhat as
you land.
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Note: Choose a box-height that equals your best vertical jump. However, if you cannot pre-
vent your heels from making contact with the ground, incrementally lower the height of the
box until you can perform the jump completely from your forefeet. Perform 10 jumps, with
2 minutes of rest between jumps (time yourself with a stopwatch). If on any given repeti-
tion your heels contact the ground, terminate the workout rather than lowering the box-
height.
Friday:
Week 8
Monday:
Wednesday:
Friday:
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Weeks 9-10
Monday:
Wednesday:
"A" Session:
A. Depth jumps (see description and instructions from weeks 6-7). Perform 10 jumps, with
2 minutes of rest between jumps (time yourself with a stopwatch). If on any given repeti-
tion your heels contact the ground, terminate the workout rather than lowering the box-
height.
"B" Session
Week 11
Monday:
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Wednesday:
Friday:
Week 12 (taper)
Monday:
A-1: Military Press Accelerative 210 SEC 2x2
A-2: Standing Hammer Curl Rhythmic 90 SEC 1x45 secs
B-1: 45-degree Incline DB Press Rhythmic 90 SEC 1x45 secs
B-2: Standing Dumbbell Curl Rhythmic 90 SEC 1x45 secs
Wednesday:
Week 13: Off (completion of taper. Re-take the MJQ at the end of week 13, and compare
with the initial results!
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References:
3, 5) Komi, P.V., (Ed.) (1992) Strength and Power in Sport. London: Blackwell
Scientific Publications
9) Dunn, G.D., & McGill, K. (1994). The Throws Manual (2nd. Ed.), Mountain
View, CA: Tafnews Press
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Interestingly enough however, even the concept of training diversity has it’s
own set of benefits and drawbacks! For example, for strength athletes, insuf-
ficient continuity will negatively impact strength gains, since every time you
rotate your exercise menu, you have to expend a lot of energy readjusting to
the new exercises.
Each workout consists of a “core” exercise, and a circuit. You’ll use three core
exercises and two circuits.
• In order to develop the pecs, delts, and tri's, you need to be in a supine
position, so that the targeted muscle fibers are fighting against gravity dur-
ing the movement;
• The dumbbells will be too light to develop strength, and too heavy to devel-
op speed.
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A better choice for boxers would be the bench press, with weights that range
between 55 and 85 percent of maximum. This exercise properly conditions
the muscles which contribute to the boxing punch, although it does not
appear specific to the skill in question.
Note: The core exercises in the program provided may or may not have a
high degree of dynamic correspondence to your sport skills. They are provid-
ed for the purpose of illustration only. If you are a bodybuilder not engaged
in any other sport, select three multi-joint exercises which represent a large
percentage of the body’s total muscle mass with minimal redundancy. One
example might be the squat, pull-up and bench press. Another might be the
deadlift, dips, and rows.
Each circuit represents half of the body’s muscles. I designate muscle groups
into circuits like this:
"A" Circuit:
1) Hamstrings
2) Lats / Traps/ Rear Delts
3) Triceps
4) Gastrocs
5) Rectus Abdominus / Trunk-Hip Flexion
6) Grip Strength (Wrist and / or finger flexion emphasis)
"B" Circuit:
1) Quads
2) Pecs / Front Delts
3) Biceps / Brachialis / Brachioradialis
4) Soleus
5) Obliques / Flexion-rotation exercises
6) Grip Strength (Wrist and / or finger extension emphasis)
Use the same circuits for four microcycles (one month for the example pro-
vided) and then change them for each successive month. When choosing cir-
cuit exercises for the next month’s circuits, base your choices on eliminating
weaknesses. For example, if your squats seem to be limited by poor low back
strength, choose exercises, training methods, and loading parameters that
will be instrumental in addressing these weak links. Although I have relied
mostly on straight sets for the circuits presented here, there is no reason why
you can’t employ drop-sets, eccentric training, Tellekinetics, plyometrics,
whatever you find to be effective. Be creative!
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Converging Phases
The name “convergent phase training” refers to the fact that there are two
separate rhythms (or “phases”) that converge on regular intervals— in this
case, every two weeks. Here’s a skeleton outline of the first two microcycles
for the example I’ve provided here:
Week One
Monday Clean A
Wednesday Bench B
Friday Squat A
Week Two
Monday Clean B
Wednesday Bench A
Friday Squat B
As you can see, when using CPT, you train two weeks at a time without ever
repeating the same workout. Yet at the same time, there is a significant
amount of continuity. The best of both Worlds. Another interesting aspect of
CPT is the unique rhythm that takes place: muscles used in the three core
lifts are trained three times on week one, and then only once on week two,
etc. All other muscles are trained twice on week one, once on week two, etc.
Shock followed by recovery. The way God intended it to be.
• Before starting, conservatively estimate 1RM's for your three core lifts.
You’ll be working off of percentages of maximum with the core lifts in this
program.
• Assign exercises for each muscle group in each circuit. When choosing circuit exercis-
es for muscles which are also used in the “core” exercises, try to avoid redundancy. For
example, if you use the bench press as a core exercise, don’t choose a Smith bench for
the circuits...use an exercise that is significantly different, in as many ways as possible.
Some choices for this example might include dips, dumbbell flyes, cable crossovers, or
incline dumbbell presses.
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• Don't work particularly hard on the first week with regard to the circuits.
The perceived intensity of the first week should be about 70 to 75 percent of
maximum, in terms of overall stress and energy expenditure.
The Program
Here it is: a sample CPT program to get you started. If any of the exercises
are unfamiliar or seem inappropriate to you for any reason, go ahead and
make the appropriate substitutions. I’m suggesting 4-5 sets of 5-6 reps on
the circuit exercises, but if higher or lower reps are better suited for your
needs, go ahead and tweak it. In other words, the principles involved are
more important than the details. Note: I’m presenting the program using lay-
outs from my Training-Nutrition Manager tracking software (available at
http://www.myodynamics.com), so that you can see how I’m tracking and
progressing the training volumes. Most of the more unusual exercises link to
photos and a description as well.
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MONTH ONE
Week One
Monday:
Wednesday
Friday:
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Week Two
Wednesday
Friday:
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Week Three
Monday:
Wednesday
Friday:
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Week Four (Remember, total volume should be reduced 50% from last week)
Monday
Wednesday
Friday:
A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel): 1RM Testing, then max reps with 80%
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MONTH TWO
Week One (Core exercise percentages are based on new 1RM’s achieved last
week)
Monday:
Wednesday
Friday:
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Week Two
Wednesday
Friday:
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Week Three
Monday:
Wednesday
Friday:
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Week Four (Remember, total volume should be reduced 50% from last week)
Monday
Wednesday
Friday:
A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel): 1RM Testing, then max reps with 80%
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MONTH THREE
Week One (Core exercise percentages are based on new 1RM’s achieved last
week)
Monday:
Wednesday
Friday:
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Week Two
Wednesday
Friday:
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Week Three
Monday:
Wednesday
Friday:
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Week Four (Remember, total volume should be reduced 50% from last week)
Monday
Wednesday
Friday:
A) Half-Squat (slightly above parallel): 1RM Testing, then max reps with 80%
Conclusion
After this 12 week cycle, take a week off and regroup. When deciding what
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type of training to do following this cycle, take stock of your strengths and
weaknesses, and make sure that the weaknesses are addressed in the sub-
sequent cycle.
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However, for the gym-hardened anaerobicists among us, delving into the
World of endurance theory can be daunting, to say the least! In the same way
that gym discussions revolve around concepts like "one rep max," "motor unit
recruitment," "neural drive," and "eccentrics," endurance athletes possess a
comprehensive nomenclature of their own including such verbiage as
"V02Max," "lactate threshold," "oxygen debt," and "aerobic base," to name
just a few.
So whether you’re a competitive athlete looking for the best way to stay
sharp in late rounds, or a recreational bodybuilder searching for a way to
incorporate aerobic exercise to accelerate fat-loss, my objective is to provide
you with the basic theory and concepts of endurance training. I think you’ll
find that these concepts are not as intimidating as they first seem. And in
fact, a deeper appreciation of the benefits of endurance work may even tempt
you to lace up those Nike’s and head out for a quick 5 miles (Ok, maybe I’ll
accept 1/4 mile if you weigh more than 200 pounds)!
Definitions
Endurance is the ability of being able to maintain a high quality of work in the
face of fatigue. All athletic skills and events require endurance to some
extent, however, the energy requirements of extremely brief skills (such as a
single punch, for example) are normally met with ease.
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Whenever athletes discuss endurance capacity, the term "V02 max" (or "max
02") comes up. V02 max is a measure of how much oxygen you can consume
and use aerobically, and is specified as milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of
bodyweight per minute, or mls/kg/min. Although athletes with a higher V02
max have a greater potential capacity to use oxygen aerobically, (and, by
inference, should have better endurance abilities), in reality, there’s a signif-
icant difference between your aerobic capacity (as determined by your V02
max) and your actual endurance performance ability, which is more often lim-
ited by something called your lactate threshold. A big VO2 max determines
the ceiling for the athlete’s sustainable work rate— it is a measure of the size
of his or her "engine." However, it is the lactate threshold that determines the
actual percentage of that engine power that can be used continuously. Let’s
explore...
When your muscles perform intense work, they produce a waste product
called lactic acid. This lactic acid is familiar to anyone who’s experienced an
intense muscular burn after performing a hard sprint or an extended set of
bench presses in the gym.
Up to a point, your body can "clear" this lactic acid by using it up as fuel for
energy (which is called "oxidation."). This point is the definition of lactate
threshold. If you’re working at a low-enough intensity, your body will be
capable of clearing the lactic acid "on the fly" and you will be able to contin-
ue indefinitely (in theory, at least). This is called "aerobic endurance." If, on
the other hand, you are working at a high-enough percentage of your maxi-
mal abilities, you’ll produce so much lactic acid that your body will be unable
to clear it, unless you reduce your work output or stop altogether, allowing
your body’s aerobic processes to clear the lactic acid. This process is some-
times called "oxygen debt," because, although you can work very hard with-
out oxygen for a brief period, at some point you’ll have to stop and undergo
heavy respiration as a "pay back" for your body.
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Cross-country Skiing 82 63
Running 3000 meters 79 —
Speed Skating 78 54
Orienteering 77 59
Running 800-1500 meters 75 —
Bicycling 74 —
Biathlon 73 —
Walking 71 —
Canoeing 70 —
Downhill Skiing 68 51
Running 400 meters 67 56
Swimming 66 57
Ski Jumping 62 —
Rowing 62 —
Gymnastics 60 —
Table Tennis 58 44
Fencing 58 43
Wrestling 56 —
Weight Lifting 55 —
Archery — 40
Untrained 43 39
According to Jerry Robinson and Frank Carrino in their text Max 02, The
Complete Guide to Synergistic Aerobic Training, the average sedentary per
son has a V02 max anywhere between 20 and 40 mls/kg/min and a lactate
threshold at about 50% of their V02 max. Of course, well-trained endurance
athletes have much higher V02 max scores (please see Table 1), with lactate
thresholds approaching 80 or even 90 percent of their V02 max. So this
means that athletes who wish to improve their endurance performance capa-
bilities can either train to improve their V02 max, their lactate threshold, or
both.
Smart athletes work on both aspects in their training, although we do know that most
people can only hope to improve their V02 max about 20-40 percent over an entire ath-
letic career. In other words, there are more significant genetic restraints on V02 max
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than there are on improving lactate threshold. It should be obvious by now that an ath-
lete with a lower V02 max, but a higher lactate threshold can have a better endurance
performance than a peer with a higher V02 max but a lower lactate threshold.
As you can see, Jenna, who may have significant genetic limitations on
V02max, has still managed to develop a superior endurance performance
capacity compared to Marilyn by raising her lactate threshold.
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The intensity of training should, by definition, be low (if it was high intensity,
it would be anaerobic, not aerobic). Although many heart-rate formulas have
been used with success, I have found the age-old "talk test" to be more than
accurate: if you can carry on a conversation during the aerobic workout, your
intensity isn’t excessive. If you can’t, reduce the intensity until you can—
save super-intense training for the anaerobic interval phase later in the train-
ing cycle. Remember— we’re not trying to raise the lactate threshold— yet.
We’re simply developing the foundation...the peak will be added later. One
last point: as you progress through the macrocycle, the content of your aer-
obic activities should gradually progress from a wide selection of different
activities, to a smaller, more specific group or activities. For example, when
establishing an aerobic base, you might cycle on Monday, Swim on Tuesday,
run on Wednesday, and so forth.
So, the idea is to "get the most bang for your buck" by doing as much aero-
bic training as it takes to maximize your aerobic capacities, but also to stop
when you’re experiencing diminishing returns. If you do too much aerobic
exercise, at too hard a pace, you’ll impair your strength training sessions, and
have a difficult time recovering from your training program.
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These two programs illustrate the two basic ways that aerobic endurance pro-
grams can be constructed— "steady-state," which means that you perform a
single bout of continuous activity (at the highest heart rate that you can man-
age for the entire duration), and "aerobic-interval training," which utilizes a
handful of shorter bouts, separated by short rests. Although both options can
be used by any athlete, the aerobic-interval method is more appropriate for
experienced athletes, since the shorter durations allow for higher heart rates
which are obviously more stressful than the steady-state method. Another
option is to first use the steady-state program, followed by the aerobic-inter-
val program, which serve as an intermediate-intensity zone leading up to the
anaerobic intervals to follow later in the macrocycle. For the sake of clarity,
both programs involve exactly the same overall volume of training, as meas-
ured by time.
Steady-state method:
Aerobic-interval method:
(Note: rest intervals are always 1/2 the duration of the work intervals being performed that day)
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Understanding Intervals
Intermittent exercise allows a higher total volume of high intensity work, and
also accumulates a greater volume of stress on the blood pumping capacity
of the heart. According to exercise physiologist Dr. Steven Seilor, the period-
ic elevations and decreases in intensity may create special loading stresses
on the heart that are adaptive. Seilor suggests that during an interval, heart
rate climbs high, then at the moment you stop the interval, heart rate imme-
diately starts to drop, but venous return remains high. These exposures to
additional ventricular stretch may help trigger ventricular remodeling
(increased heart ventricle volume).
In fact, even if you decide to employ 20 minute intervals with 5 minute rests
between intervals, you’d be using ten times the volume that you’ll experience
in the upcoming fight! If you think that this will improve your "wind," you’d
be dead wrong, because you’ll be training the wrong energy system for the
job. It would be like trying to improve your 100 meter speed by running
1000-meter intervals!
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Let’s look at two athletes, one with better strength than endurance, and the
other with better endurance than strength. We now have 8 weeks to go
before the fight. Here is a hypothetical interval training program for each ath-
lete:
Week
Mon Wed Fri
Week
Mon Wed Fri
1 8x150sec 9x150sec 10x150sec (rests= 90secs)
2 10x150sec 11x150sec 12x150sec (rests= 120secs)
3 9x120sec 10x120sec 11x120sec (rests= 120secs)
4 10x120sec 11x120sec 12x120sec (rests= 150secs)
5 9x90sec 10x90sec 11x90sec (rests= 150secs)
6 10x90sec 11x90sec 12x90sec (rests= 150secs)
7 9x60sec 10x60sec 11x60sec (rests= 180secs)
8 (taper) 8x60sec 4x60sec 2x60sec (rests= 180secs)
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Unlike the aerobic build-up period, the activities you’ll perform must be much
more event-specific during this phase. Use primarily competitive skills and
skill-elements in a controlled, yet challenging environment to prevent injury
in the final weeks leading up to an event. Athletes can spar with safety
equipment or by handicapping themselves, for example, rotating opponents
to keep them fresh. Another example of a handicap is to spar without using
a favorite technique, which will force you to develop your weaknesses.
To this point, I’ve said that high level endurance performance depends on
Your VO2 max sets the upper limit for your sustainable work potential. The
lactate threshold indicates how much of your cardiovascular capacity you can
take advantage of in a sustained effort. Multiplying VO2 max by your lactate
threshold gives us a measure of the size of your "endurance engine." In
sport, however, victory does not automatically go to the athlete with the
biggest engine. Efficiency (or technical skill) is critical to maximizing per-
formance capacity. You might have a V02max of 85 and a lactate threshold
of 90%, but if, during a sport training session, you waste precious energy by
attempting techniques from poor positions of leverage, or made bad tactical
and/or strategic decisions, it’s all for naught! In other words, from a func-
tional perspective, improving your technical and tactical skills improves your
ability to endure, since you are moving with better efficiency.
Final Thoughts
Athletes need to make the distinction between doing endurance training for
the purpose of improving endurance, and doing such workouts as a tool to
improve body composition. In the latter instance (which will be most appli-
cable for Mesomorphosis readers), both aerobic and anaerobic variants are
viable tools when used judiciously and in the proper proportions. Aerobic
work, when performed at low intensities, are valuable in assisting recovery
from intense workouts. Anaerobic interval training, when done at or near lac-
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tate threshold, assists in fat loss through the production of growth hormone
levels.
In the final analysis, I’ll leave you with a concept that always holds my clients
in good stead: when making decisions about training load, strive to the least
amount of work that will lead to a result, rather than the most.
Seek to become efficient with your training efforts. Avoid waste— any train-
ing program that leads to results will also lead to injury if followed to long
and/or too repetitively.
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Author’s note: Of all the articles I’ve written, this two-parter has perhaps
generated the most phone calls, letters, and e-mails. Now that I’m a few
years older (and hopefully wiser), I’m perhaps not quite so anti-aerobic,
although I still stand by the basic principles stated in the article. Just like any
tool, aerobic exercise can be useful or harmful, depending on your objectives
and the dosages you use. Regular small doses of steady-state exercise can
actually improve recovery, but of course, too much can sap your strength and
lead to muscle wasting.
Ever since the "jogging craze" of the '70's, aerobic exercise has been the
method of choice for those attempting to "lose weight." Gradually, the resist-
ance training area of most gyms and clubs is being scaled back to accom-
modate all manner of equipment designed to elevate the heart rate. With the
aerobic revolution in full gear, I feel compelled to ask, "Why are people get-
ting fatter and fatter?"
For those who have critically studied sport training and exercise physiology,
this is a rhetorical question. A quick look at any national level track meet
speaks volumes about the effects of aerobic versus anaerobic training.
Compare the physiques of 100 meter sprinters against long distance runners,
such as marathoners. Although sprinters do little or no aerobic exercise (it's
not specific to their events), they are just as lean (if not leaner) than their
aerobic counterparts. They also have more attractive physiques, which is a
by-product of the muscle they've gained from hours in the weight room and
short-term, intensive running. By contrast, the marathoner's lack of muscle
gives him a "flat" physique. His extensive and frequent forays into the aero-
bic zone have caused his body to lose muscle (since muscle weighs more than
fat, it is the body's preferred tissue to cannibalize in the interest in lighten-
ing the load).
Since our language affects the way we think, let's begin by revising our
vocabulary for a moment. I'd like to encourage you to delete a few words
from your personal dictionary. Words like tone, shape, contour, sculpt, and all
the rest of the vague descriptions you hear on late night infomercials. These
terms are irrelevant with respect to the adaptations you can expect from any
form of exercise. In reality, there are only two bodily tissues that you have
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aesthetic control over— muscle, and fat. These tissues can be affected in only
two ways: You can gain, or lose. (By the way: tone simply refers to a state
of partial, involuntary contraction, a result of muscular work. Even the most
rotund can have muscle tone, and the thinnest people sometimes have no
tone.)
So the goal is to gain muscle and lose fat. When you do so, let everyone else
call you toned and sculpted.
What's the best approach for people wishing to improve their body composi-
tion? First, don't eliminate your aerobic sessions. It's a good practice to do a
handful (three or four) of 20 to 40 minute sessions a week. More than that,
and your body starts to drop valuable muscle in an effort to adapt. Second,
take another look at your resistance training program. Most people simply
don't spend adequate time and effort in the weight room, and those that do
make one or more of the following four mistakes:
1) Too many exercises: One exercise per muscle group per workout is plen-
ty. The key is to pick the right exercises, and work them hard. Forget about
"hitting the muscle from different angles" and "shaping" exercises— this is all
propaganda stemming from bodybuilding circles.
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2) Ineffective exercises: Don't avoid so-called "hard core" exercises for fear
of getting a result. Choose multi-joint exercises, such as squats and their
variations, bench presses and their variations, lat pulldowns, and shoulder
presses. Smaller muscles such as biceps, triceps, and calves will receive ade-
quate exercise when you do the multi-joint movements mentioned above.
3) Insufficient intensity level: High reps DO NOT "tone" a muscle! For begin-
ners, high reps are important to strengthen connective tissues, and to allow
for technique mastery. But for optimum muscle building, stay in the 6 to 12
range for the majority of your workouts. If and when you get to the point
where you don't want additional muscle, just cut back on the volume and fre-
quency of training.
4) Resistance training has numerous benefits to the heart and vascular sys-
tem, including improved ejection fraction of the left ventricle, and improved
elasticity of the arterial walls. This from Power: A Scientific Approach, by Dr
Fred Hatfield.
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Recently, I questioned the obsession most Americans have with aerobic exer-
cise— particularly when done for the purpose of improving physical appear-
ance (which, of course, is why 99.5% of all people exercise in the first place).
This article prompted several letters and phone calls, most of which were crit-
ical. Therefore, I'd like to clarify my position in this month's article
Even aerobics instructors have intuitively known this for quite some time.
Every time I walk past an "aerobics" class in a health club, or if I happen upon
one on TV, they're lifting weights. Small ones, of course— they need to guard
against gaining too much muscle. Funny how most men have a tremendous-
ly difficult time gaining muscle, despite grueling weight lifting programs,
while women claim that they grow like weeds just thinking about lifting! Why
is this?
Regardless of what your exercise regime consists of, your success will large-
ly depend upon the degree to which you really enjoy exercising. You do best
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what you do most, and you do most what you enjoy doing. How many times
have you heard this exchange in your health club?: "Hey Bob— how's it
'goin?" "Well, it'll be goin better when I get outta here!" In my experience,
Bob is very unlikely to make progress, unless he can find a way to enjoy and
appreciate physical activity.
What the Research Literature Has to Say About Strength Versus Aerobic
Exercise
From Pollack, in the Southern Medical Journal, Volume 87, No. 5, 588
• Low levels of aerobics yield the same health benefits as higher levels
From Ketelhut, in American Heart Journal, 127 (3): 567-71, March, 1994
"We conclude that the gradual decrease in arterial pressure seen with pro-
longed aerobic exercise (60 min.) is the result of a fall in cardiac pump func-
tion (as measured by cardiac output, ejection fraction, fractional fiber short-
enings and contractility index), possibly indicating cardiac fatigue."
• Circuit weight training has been shown to improve aerobic endurance and
muscle strength and to have additional benefits of improved treadmill time
compared with traditional aerobics programs.
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Having spent my entire adult life trying to dispel some of the very notions
that Lawler perpetuates in her book, I decided to write a critique for
Mesomorphosis. What follows are Lawler’s recommendations and my com-
ments. Not a martial artist? No worries— there’s plenty of humor here for
everyone, regardless of athletic discipline.
Whenever you lift weights, you are actually tearing down the muscle fibers in
the targeted area.
Not always. This depends on what type of lifting is performed. Optimal lifting
technique for martial artists should emphasize the neural contribution to
strength increases, so as to minimize muscle breakdown, and subsequent
soreness and stiffness.
As those muscle fibers heal, they become thicker and stronger. Therefore, the
more weight you lift, the more you stimulate your muscles to grow thicker
and stronger.
Actually, extremely heavy weights do not tend to make muscles thicker at all,
but only stronger. Powerlifters and weightlifters, who must get as strong as
possible without gaining weight (otherwise they would move into the next
higher weight class) tend to average between 1-3 repetitions per set. This
way, the total volume, and hence mechanical workload, remains small, and
the hypertrophy response is minimized.
If you lift less weight, you will still stimulate muscle teardown and regrowth,
but it won't be as obvious.That's why many people choose this last option:
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As stated above, this is incorrect. For most people, sets of between 8-12 rep-
etitions have the most potential for increasing hypertrophy. If you’re an ath-
lete, here’s a tip: every time you look at your hand, remember that the rea-
son God gave you five fingers is to remind you that five is the most reps you
should ever do in any single set. If you want more work, do more sets, not
more reps.
Your goal on every set of exercises is to work your muscle or muscle group
so that the last repetition is difficult to do.
Incorrect. For the development of speed strength, which is a core motor qual-
ity for martial artists, the weight must be moved in an accelerative manner.
This can’t be accomplished in the presence of fatigue. The protocol described
above is more appropriate for hypertrophy, not strength.
For people looking to build a lot of bulk, the general rule of thumb is to work
the muscle to failure, which means it simply cannot move any more weight
without a rest. This doesn't mean, however, that you should do twenty-five
repetitions of an exercise until you get tired. This is unlikely to stimulate mus-
cle growth. It is generally accepted that toning and defining muscles requires
between eight and fifteen repetitions of each exercise. Ten to twelve is usu-
ally thought of as ideal.
The author likes to use words like “tone” and “bulk,” which have no real
meaning. Muscle can only get bigger or smaller, and using the methods
described immediately above, they will probably get bigger. Most martial
artists (in fact, most athletes) need to get stronger, not bigger.
This means that you should lift enough weight so that it is very challenging
to complete that last repetition. As you grow stronger, you will add addition-
al weight so that the last repetition always remains a challenge to complete.
A program that follows these guidelines is excellent for muscle
endurance,which means your muscles can perform difficult tasks for longer
periods of time. For a martial artist, muscle endurance is as important as
stamina or cardiovascular endurance.
For most martial artists, speed strength and short term, anaerobic endurance
are the key motor qualities.
To produce a stronger, more muscular look, you want to limit your repetitions
to between five and nine, with about six being ideal.
I recently went on a hike in the Valley of Fire National Park, about an hour
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north of Las Vegas. During a break for lunch, a female friend of mine men-
tioned that she had just benched pressed 135 pounds for the first time ever.
Another member of our party, a successful artist with an advanced academ-
ic degree, asked what the World record was for the bench press. When I
replied that it was something over 400 pounds for women, he replied “Jeez,
why would you want to take it that far?” I quickly jumped in and responded
“”Why would you climb Mt. Everest, or try to earn your first million by age
30?” He then said “What I mean is, why would you want to get so big?”
I was just dumfounded that this man had no ability to distinguish between
being strong and looking like a “brick shithouse.” Apparently, Ms. Lawler has
not yet made that distinction, either. Perhaps she might be enlightened to
take a peek at my client Mariam Power, Canadian Jr. Champion powerlifter
who benches 240 and squats over 400 at a bodyweight of 155.
Again, your last repetition should be very difficult to do.This means that
you're lifting a much heavier weight than if you were doing ten or twelve rep-
etitions. This stimulates your muscles to grow bigger and thicker. However,
lifting heavier weights fewer times doesn't increase your muscle endurance,
so unless a really powerful body is your goal, most martial artists should aim
for the ten-to-twelve rep range.
For athletes, a “really powerful body” IS the goal. The protocol that Lawler
recommends will mostly encourage hypertrophy at the expense of flexibility
and speed strength.
If you really want to add some bulk, you can train like body builders and
power lifters do, and that is to lift as much weight as possible for only one or
two repetitions.
Again, the author has her facts wrong: powerlifters tend to train like this, but
bodybuilders typically train with sets of between 8-12 repetitions (the same
protocol Lawler recommends for martial artists).
Although this is not recommended for martial artists, as too much bulk can
indeed slow you down and impair your flexibility, it can be a good strength
test to try every now and then.
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For speed strength objectives, the weight should be accelerated during the
concentric phase. The above advice is more appropriate for bodybuilding,
which appears to be the author’s primary influence.
There should be no pause between lifting and lowering the weight. Doing so
can be very stressful on your joints. Most experts believe that each exercise
should take about four or five seconds to perform. At first, you might count
as you perform each lift until you find a good pace.
This reminds me of another very common misconception— the idea that one
should never allow the shins to move past a vertical position while squatting
or lunging. Doing so does put more pressure on the patellar ligament, but you
can’t put stress on a muscle without also stressing the corresponding joint(s).
I have often wondered if I could get rich quick by inventing an inclinometer
which the exerciser straps to the shins— when the shin goes past vertical, it
beeps to warn the user of impending doom.
As it turns out, people tend to breathe very efficiently by instinct unless they
have been corrected by a so-called “fitness expert” who teaches them how to
do it incorrectly.
Everyone got a good laugh out of Demura’s humorous response, but what he
meant was that people often tend to make a career out of something that
God intended the brain-stem to take care of.
In any event, the usual advice goes something like this: “Breathe out during
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the exertion— never hold your breath!” While it’s not harmful for healthy peo-
ple to breath-hold during lifting, the use of the “Valsalva maneuver” (a forced
expiration through a constricted glottis) provides the same spine-protection
benefits (through increased intra-abdominal pressure) as breath-holding,
without an extreme rise in blood pressure.
It isn't uncommon to see untrained lifters holding their breath as they per-
form their exercises. This is very dangerous, since it can actually cause a
spike in blood pressure, which is hard on the heart.
Also, physicians say that they sometimes see collapsed lungs in weight lifters
who don't breathe correctly when they work out.
I’d just LOVE to see a reference for this statement! I performed an exhaus-
tive MEDLINE search on this topic but came up with nothing. It would take
much, much more than incorrect breathing while lifting to collapse a lung. In
fact, I have a colleague who was involved in a bench pressing accident where
a bar loaded to over 300 pounds fell onto his chest from arm’s length, and
he did not suffer a collapsed lung. Are we really so delicate that we risk a col-
lapsed lung from improper breathing?
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A good rule of thumb is to exhale during the part of the exercise the requires
the most exertion. This prevents you from holding your breath as you lift.
During the lowering or less difficult part of the exercise, concentrate on inhal-
ing. By concentrating on your breathing, you can avoid some risks of lifting
and you can find a good, even rhythm for your exercises.
Great, but what does “smoothly” mean? If you one perform 1-2 sets per
exercise/per session as the author recommends, how will you ever develop
the motor skills necessary for “smooth” lifting?
3. Take about the same amount of time to lift and lower the weight.
Deliberately lifting weights more slowly than what is necessary simply accel-
erates fatigue and reduces tension on the muscles. Lifting in an brisk man-
ner reduces fatigue (and post exercise muscle soreness), and facilitates the
acquisition of absolute and speed strength.
6. Breath with each exercise: exhale during exertion, inhale during the less
demanding portion of the exercise.
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Yes, a warm-up is a good idea. This comment is innocuous enough, but needs
further explanation.
The only good advice presented in Lawler’s excerpt. I fully agree. In fact, why
not take it a step further and have a look at my tracking software (if you’ll
excuse the shameless plug).
9. Start with one set of (I assume a specific number was intended here— per-
haps it is a typo). reps for each exercise. As you progress add a second set.
Of course, I’ve seen examples of this in gyms everywhere, but I also think
that these same trainers aren’t helping any by the set/rep schemes they pre-
scribe, particularly the traditional practice of employing the time-worn “three
sets of ten” format with beginning exercisers.
I realize that I’m challenging a sacred cow here, but follow me here for a
moment:
In both cases the training load is identical. The weight is the same, the total
number of reps of the same, and the total volume (weight x reps) is also
identical. However, the net result of each format can be very different— let’s
have a look:
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how to center the grip, how to tuck the scapulae, where to place the feet,
when and how to take in the first breath, and so on. At the completion of the
set, the novice must learn how to safely re-rack the bar, how to sit up from
the bench without straining the back, and so on.
During the back squat exercise, the exerciser must learn how to wedge and
center the traps under the bar, how to make the walk-back as economical as
possible, how to properly position the feet, and so forth.
In the case of machines, one must learn how to position the seat, how to
enter the machine, and on completion, how to exit the machine.
In other words, the actual repetitions are cake compared to the “set-up” and
“break-down.” The “skilled” approach is superior to the “traditional” format
with regard to motor learning because it gives you twice as many set-up and
break-down opportunities,
Keep in mind that when programs advocate low reps, most trainers assume
that these are maximum effort reps— not necessarily the case here.
The skilled” approach will also develop superior strength as compared to the
“traditional” method because it develops far less fatigue— all repetitions are
performed in a much fresher state, which allows better acceleration of the
weightload.
Because the “skilled” format leads to less fatigue, it is also safer than the tra-
ditional format. As the lifter fatigues, skilled performance declines, and the
possibility of injury increases (for example, a client misses the uprights when
he attempts to rack the bar at the end of a set, because he’s in a rush to
escape the pain of lactic acid accumulation in his chest, deltoids, and arms).
Good advice for beginners, but I’d add that it must be a competent spotter,
not just a carbon-based life form with a measurable pulse. Advanced lifters
training properly will not need a spotter for the most part, except for testing
for a new max on the bench press exercise. Why? Because if they are lifting
acceleratively, and not going to momentary muscular failure, the worst thing
that will happen is that the last rep will be slower than what is really want-
ed.
11. Do not work the same set of muscles two days in a row.
This only applies when one uses traditional bodybuilding schemes (i.e, mul-
tiple high rep sets to failure and beyond). In real life, muscles are (yikes!)
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Final Thoughts
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Noted sports scientist Dr. Paul Ward uses the following formula to predict suc-
cess in athletic competition:
While your potential was determined at birth, there’s still much that can be
done to minimize the mistakes you make along the way. After years of train-
ing and consulting to competitive martial artists, I’ve compiled a list of the
ten most common errors (all of which I’ve made myself at one time or anoth-
er) that martial artists make when embarking upon strength training pro-
grams:
1) Not training for strength: Many martial artists feel that strength training is
counter-productive, causing one to become too large and slow, despite the
fact that in every other sport known to man, it makes athletes faster. Training
like a bodybuilder (see mistake number 3) can certainly produce these unde-
sirable effects, but properly designed strength training programs improve
strength, speed, agility, endurance, and technical performance. Strength
training should be viewed as a tool, the utility of which depends upon the
context it’s used in.
2) Training for the wrong kind of strength: Strength as a bio-motor ability has
many expressions. All human movement requires strength, and for this rea-
son, all athletes must concern themselves with developing their strength lev-
els to the utmost. What many don’t know, however, is that there more types
of strength than there are bogus ab-training gadgets on late-night info-mer-
cials! Here’s a partial list:
Maximal Strength: The amount of musculoskeletal force you can generate for
one all-out effort. Maximal strength is your athletic “foundation,” but it can
only be expressed in the weight room during the performance of a maximal
lift. While only powerlifters demonstrate this type of strength in competition,
martial artists need to develop high levels of maximal strength in every mus-
cle group.
Relative Strength: This term is used to denote an athlete's strength per unit
of bodyweight. Thus if two athletes of different bodyweights can squat 275
pounds, they have equal maximal strength for that lift, but the lighter ath-
lete has greater relative strength.
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strength, as do sports where the athlete must overcome his or her body-
weight to accomplish a motor task (such as a jump kick). Further, events
which have aesthetic requirements (kata competition, for example) rely
heavily upon the development of strength without a commensurate gain in
bodyweight.
For martial artists and other athletes who depend upon relative strength,
bodybuilding methods should be used sparingly, unless a higher weight class
is desired. Most strength training sessions should consist of high intensity,
low repetition sets, which improve strength through neural adaptations rather
than increases in muscle cross section.
4) Using insufficient intensity: Most martial artists can relate to doing hun-
dreds of pushups, sit-ups, and leg lifts in class, but as soon as you go beyond
approximately 12 repetitions, the stimulus is too weak to favorably improve
strength values. Think about it: as a martial artist, would you rather have the
ability to perform weak techniques for hours on end, or the ability to deliver
explosive, powerful techniques when it really counts? In training, you reap
what you sow.
5) Lack of variation: While many people realize that the training load must
be progressively increased, few understand that the training stimulus must
also be periodically be varied in order to prevent stagnation. Elite sprint coach
Charlie Francis recommends changing the training program whenever there
is a one week plateau in strength gains. Internationally acclaimed strength
coach Charles Poliquin utilizes alternating phases of high volume with phas-
es of high intensity in order to keep his athletes progressing.
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Less obvious than the previous example is the fact that exercises must be
done at specific volume and intensity ranges in order to elicit the desired
result. For example, if you're trying to grow muscle, you must perform exer-
cises in sets of five to ten repetitions— roughly corresponding to 70 to 85%
of your maximum capability for a single repetition. It's not enough to simply
make sure you're training the right muscles!
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9) Ignoring rate of force development: Being strong won’t help you if you
don’t have enough time to display it! In the martial arts (as in most athletic
endeavors), the problem is that the amount of time to develop maximum
muscular force is extremely limited— usually only a fraction of a second.
While high levels of maximal strength are a necessary prerequisite for the
development of speed strength (power), too much time in the weight room
grinding out heavy weights at slow speeds, without switching to speed
strength methods later in the training cycle, results in slow athletes.
The ability to apply muscular force rapidly is called rate of force development,
or RFD. While bodybuilding methods slightly improve maximal strength, it
has a negligible effect on RFD. Training with heavy weights significantly
improves maximal strength, but again, the RFD remains largely unchanged.
Only when speed strength methods (plyometrics, ballistic training, etc.) are
used, is the RFD significantly improved.
10) Ignoring the antagonists: Muscles work in pairs— for every muscle in the
body, there is another muscle that is capable of opposing its force. This "pair-
ing" mechanism is how we are able to move with precision of movement and
speed. However, when one part of this pair becomes too strong in relation to
the other, force output capability suffers.
Here's the problem in the above example: the weaker the antagonists are,
the sooner they will contract and oppose the prime movers (to prevent joint
hyperextension), resulting in a slower movement. But stronger antagonists
are less sensitive to this protective response— the body "knows" that they
are strong enough to decelerate the limb at the last possible moment. The
next time you watch elite boxers on TV, notice the development of the lats
and biceps. Great punchers always have well developed antagonists.
(Bonus Mistake!) Mistaking strength training as the ends rather than the
means: While it might seem ironic, the objective of strength training is NOT
increased strength per se, but improved athletic performance. I would sug-
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gest that sports conditioning coaches keep this in mind as they design con-
ditioning programs for their athletes.
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Twenty years ago, strength training was considered taboo for martial artists.
Today, it is gaining in popularity, despite the fact that it is rarely carried out
in a rational manner. Due to strong influences from the world of bodybuild-
ing, most martial artists are only getting half the potential benefit that
strength training has to offer.
Virtually all martial arts depend upon the ability to develop force very rapid-
ly. Technically, the rapid execution of a technique results in more damage to
the target. Tactically, rapidly executed techniques have a greater chance of
landing, since they are more difficult to defend against than slower move-
ments. From a defensive point of view, rapidly performed blocks and parries,
as well as defensive footwork, are made more effective if executed rapidly.
Critical to this article is the concept that the ability to develop high levels of
force (such as displayed during a 400 pound bench press) is not as important
as the ability to develop a high level of force within a very short (less than a
second) period of time. The development of muscle mass and absolute
strength are important because they form the foundation for speed-strength,
but by themselves, they are next to worthless.
Hypertrophy Training
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your weight class, or developing flexibility deficits, etc.). When the desired
level of hypertrophy is developed, the athlete moves on to absolute strength
training methods. Note: Athletes should increase protein intake while in this
phase to help the body resynthesize muscle tissue.
Absolute strength is developed through the use of high (85+ percent of max-
imum) loads. Repetitions range from 1 to 4. Such training improves neuro-
logical efficiency, or the ability to recruit higher percentages of existing mus-
cle fibers. Fast twitch muscle is preferentially recruited over slow twitch fibers
at this intensity range. The development of absolute strength is considered
to be a prerequisite to speed-strength, but this training method should only
be attempted by mature, experienced athletes, due to the high loads
involved.
Once absolute strength is brought to a high level, the next task is to move
the force time curve over to the left. Several methods can be used for this
purpose: plyometrics, the use of modified Olympic lifts, and the lifting of sub-
maximal (70 to 80 percent of maximum) weights at a high rate of speed. The
emphasis is on improving the rate of force development (R.O.F.D.).
During the period of time devoted to speed-strength work, one can expect
gains in hypertrophy and absolute strength to degrade to a certain degree.
For this reason, a rationally designed training program will constantly alter-
nate between phases devoted to hypertrophy, absolute strength, and speed-
strength, in that order. For mature athletes who already have sufficient mus-
cle mass, the hypertrophy phase will be greatly abbreviated, however. For
competitive martial artists, training cycles are planned so that the speed-
strength phase coincides with the competitive season. In this way, sport-spe-
cific strength is brought to a peak when it is needed most.
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Core Training Fundamentals for Martial Artists
In sports training jargon, the abdominal and low back musculature are often
referred to as the "core" of the body. The importance of these muscles to ath-
letes is that they transmit forces— either from the lower extremities to the
upper extremities (such as when a boxer executes a punch against the heavy
bag), or from the upper body to the lower body (such as when a martial artist
delivers a spin crescent kick). The core musculature also plays a significant
role in stabilization during almost every movement, from squatting in the
weight room, to running, throwing, and jumping.
The core area of the body can be be categorized into five groups of muscles,
according to function:
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The primary trunk flexor is the rectus abdominous. This muscle originates at
the diaphragmatic arch, and inserts into the pubic symphysis of the pelvis.
Since the primary function of this muscle is to flex the trunk (such that the
sternum and pelvis are drawn toward each other), the most direct and effec-
tive exercises are those which cause trunk flexion. Any form of crunch or
reverse crunch serves this function best. All abdominal muscles are com-
posed of predominately slow-twitch fibers, and as such, tend to respond best
to high repetition sets.
The trunk flexors may also be trained through "hanging leg-raises" and relat-
ed movements, as long as the exerciser maintains a 90 degree angle between
the thighs and trunk. Since this is extremely difficult— even for very strong
athletes— we generally recommend avoiding this type of movement.
During crunches and similar movements, the athlete can modify arm position
in order to manipulate the level of resistance. The least resistance occurs
when the arms are straight and outstretched along the side of the body dur-
ing the movement. A more difficult variation is to cross the arms against the
chest during the exercise. The most difficult variation is to place the hands
such that the fingers are touching the head at a point just behind the ears.
Avoid interlacing the fingers and clasping behind the head, which can strain
the cervical vertebrae, and encourage co-contraction from other muscles.
Additional resistance (in the form of a medicine ball or weight plate) can be
used when the athlete's bodyweight is no longer sufficient to cause an
improvement in strength. Note: Avoid anchoring the feet and extending the
legs, since these practices tend to shift the exercise stress away from the
trunk flexors and onto the hip flexors.
Training the Trunk Extensors: The erector spinae are the predominant trunk
extensors. Strong trunk extensors are necessary to balance the strength of
the rectus abdominous, and to maintain efficient postural stabilization and
control. They are most commonly trained through the use of the back exten-
sion exercise, performed on a specialized apparatus designed for this pur-
pose. However, in order to minimize co-contraction from the gluteals and
hamstrings, the athlete should be positioned in such a way that the navel is
directly over (not in front of) the pad or bench. With this positioning, the
pelvis is stabilized, allowing the exercise stress to fall directly onto the erec-
tors.
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One of the most common "ab" exercises seen in commercial gyms and health
clubs today is the dumbbell side bend. Most proponents of this movement
recommend it as an exercise for the obliques, but in reality, it is an exercise
for the quadratus lumborum— the primary side flexor. For martial artists who
rely heavily on kicking skills, the side flexors should be systematically trained.
But most other athletes (who don't have a reason) should avoid training this
muscle, since over-developed side flexors have been associated with low back
pain. Further, performing side bends has no significant effect on the waist-
line, since the quadratus lumborum is such a deep-lying muscle.
The flexor-rotators are the internal and external obliques. These muscles
cause trunk flexion as well as rotation when they contract unilaterally (one
side at a time), but cancel each other out, causing only trunk flexion when
they contract bilaterally (both sides simultaneously). Thus, uni-lateral exer-
cises, such as twisting crunches, are most effective for developing these
muscles.
When performing twisting crunches and their variations, use the same guide-
lines that were presented in the section on trunk flexion, with the exception
that the exercises should curl the trunk up and diagonally, such that the left
armpit approaches the right hip, and vice versa. Avoid touching elbow to
opposite knee, as this encourages too much cervical and hip flexion.
Many people excessively train the hip flexors thinking that they're training the
abdominals. Sit-ups, leg raises, "flutter kicks," and hanging leg raises are all
primarily hip flexor exercises. That doesn't necessarily make them bad, but
most people tend to have chronically short hip flexors, which can compromise
the structural dynamics of the lumbar spine. Short hip flexors are also asso-
ciated with low back pain. Of course, martial artists must have strength in
these muscles, but normally, time spent drilling with kicks is sufficient for this
purpose.
Many martial arts techniques involve simultaneous hip flexion, trunk flexion,
and rotation. For this reason, I recommend using a wide variety of exercises.
An excellent tool is the "physio-ball"— an oversized "beach ball" which can be
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used for a variety of core exercises, including crunches, sit-ups, back exten-
sions, and many more. With a little experimentation, you can devise dozens
of multi-planar exercises which have a high degree of transfer to your sport
techniques. Medicine balls are also an invaluable tool for core training. Many
exercises can be developed using the medicine ball and physio-ball together.
An example is to sit on the physio-ball (feet anchored by heavy dumbbells),
and perform medicine ball sit-ups with a partner. The unstable environment
provided by the physio-ball, combined with the ballistic, multi-planar aspects
of the medicine ball throws, makes this a fruitful exercise for those desiring
sport-specific strength.
Core training can be periodized over the training cycle. Early in the cycle,
exercises tend to be single plane, of a slow, steady tempo, and conducted in
a stable environment. Another goal during the early stages of the training
cycle is to eliminate weaknesses, so special attention is paid to muscles which
need extra conditioning. Gradually, the emphasis shifts to multi-planar, bal-
listic exercise conducted in a less stable environment
Abdominal training does not significantly affect the layer of fat which often-
times covers these muscles. Many people become a slave to crunches, sit-
ups, and TV info-mercial devices, when the real issue is bodyfat, not abdom-
inal conditioning. In fact, many of these people probably have superbly con-
ditioned abs. Bodyfat is reduced through a comprehensive training program
incorporating resistance training and caloric manipulation— NOT abdominal
training!
Note: This article was adapted from The Science of Martial Arts Training,
available at www.myodynamics.com.
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I have often observed that for many martial artists, post-workout fatigue is
regarded as the objective of training. However, if your goal is to simply feel
terrible after a workout, you might consider applying for a job as a sparring
partner for Mike Tyson! Of course, in the process of training to improve your
skills, you will often experience fatigue. You may even come to enjoy
fatigue— many martial artists take it as a sign of a "good workout." The prob-
lem is that fatigue is a poor environment for improving technical abilities—
especially for beginners.
Paul Chek (an elite-level exercise and rehab specialist in LaJolla, CA) is fond
of telling athletes "Repetition is the mother of skill, provided there is skill in
the repetitions."
Part of the problem is that it's more difficult to measure the quality of train-
ing, as compared to the quantity, or volume. For example, you can measure
the volume of a sparring session by counting the number of minutes you
sparred. But how do you measure quality? This depends on what you're try-
ing to develop. Basically, however, the idea is to find some way to quantify
the level of quality. In other words, you're trying to make an intangible ele-
ment tangible. Here are a few suggestions:
Technical Training
If you're trying to improve your accuracy, you could look at the total number
of strikes you threw, versus how many you landed. On the other hand, of
you're trying to improve your defensive skills, you simply look at how many
strikes your opponent throws, and the percentage that land. If you're trying
to improve a very subjective skill, such as a kata, assemble a handful of
classmates, and have them watch your kata, and then give you feedback
(preferably written) on what they consider to be the best and worst aspects
of your kata. The more consensus you have, the more accurate it is. For
instance, if ten people watch your kata, and eight of them say that your bal-
ance needs work, they're probably right.
Strength Training
In strength training, quality relates to the amount of resistance you can over-
come compared to your maximal ability. Therefore, a set of 2 reps with 185
pounds is of higher quality than a set of 8 reps with 165 pounds, even though
the set of 8 reps may feel more difficult.
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Endurance Training
In endurance training, the quality of effort can be assessed by heart rate. The
higher the heartrate, the harder you're working. Another method is to eval-
uate the erosion of a particular skill or quality over time. For example, you
could assess the number of head-level kicks thrown in a 10 round sparring
session. Simply count how many successful kicks per round, and then draw
a graph to illustrate the reduction of kicks over the course of the session.
After a 6-week phase devoted to improving this quality, evaluate again, and
compare the pre- and post-phase results to find out how well your training
methods worked.
Don't try to work on too many objectives at once. Have a very clear objec-
tive whenever you practice. For instance, you may be practicing a skill, say,
kicking a heavy bag. Are you trying to improve speed, height, accuracy, prop-
er distancing, or perhaps the ability to disguise your blows?
Once you have developed a high level of quality, you can stabilize that level
by increasing the volume, or quantity, of work on that particular aspect of
your abilities. This will create more time and energy to work on improving
other skills.
On the other hand, once the level of quality is high, and the skill you're work-
ing on is well established, you can then gradually increase the volume of
training, to create a higher level of skill-endurance.
1) Practice skills while you're fresh and your concentration levels are high.
3) Make sure you have a method to assess both the quality and quantity of
your training— remove all guesswork.
5) Fatigue is largely specific— if you are having a hard time practicing a skill
that has a large balance element for example, switch and work on a skill that
has a different quality, such as a technique which requires a high degree of
speed.
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As an athlete, there’s nothing you can do about your genetic inheritance, but
there’s always room for improvement when it comes to your training meth-
ods. Particularly, it’s important to identify and correct the most significant
error you’re making, because resolving this error has the most potential to
improve your athletic performance.
Golfers are a strength coach’s dream, because few of them utilize resistance
training. In such cases, a carefully supervised 8-10 week strength training
program frequently results in well over a 100 percent strength increase. This
increase creates a strength “reserve,” which quickly improves both power,
accuracy, and endurance. During a golf swing, it takes a certain amount of
muscular strength to overcome the external resistance of the golf club (this
strength is provided primarily by the legs, hips, and rotator muscles of the
torso). The stronger you are, the more strength that is left in reserve, and
the more you’ll be able to accelerate the club, swing after swing, without
exhausting yourself over 18 holes.
For novice golfers, skill practice sessions are sufficient for developing sport-
specific strength. But as technical ability improves, the need for supplemen-
tary strength training increases accordingly. One interesting phenomenon in
golf is that younger players ignore the conditioning element of their prepara-
tion, but it often takes years, even decades to develop technical proficiency.
So, a golfer may be well over 40 years old by the time he or she has devel-
oped a high level of technical expertise, but by this time, physical condition-
ing has become an issue.
While health clubs and equipment manufacturers will tell you otherwise,
resistance training machines are not the “best” form of strength training
technology, especially for golfers. While they definitely have their place,
machines tend to restrict movement to a single plane, which means that the
strength developed will not transfer well to an activity like golf, which is multi-
planar. Machines also use “variable resistance” technology, so that the
machine supposedly matches the muscle’s force curve. But most credible
research casts doubts on the effectiveness of this concept. Finally, machines
normally restrict the movement to a single joint for the purpose of “isolating”
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the muscle being worked, but golf is not an activity which requires isolated
movements! The object of strength training for golf is to train movement, not
muscles.
While “constant resistance” devices such as barbells and dumbbells are supe-
rior to machines, they nonetheless have their disadvantages as well. Let's
use the bench press as an example: you lower the bar to your chest, and then
ram it to arms length. You assume you’re moving explosively, but as your
arms reach extension, the antagonists (latissimus, biceps, rhomboids, and
medial trapezious) begin to contract in an effort to decelerate the bar before
it leaves your hands. It's simply a protective mechanism. Contrast this with
your objective, which is to accelerate the bar, and you begin to see the prob-
lem. There are ways to address this inherent disadvantage of constant and
variable resistance training, however.
Stabilizers are muscles which anchor or immobilize one part of the body,
allowing another part (usually the limbs) to exert force. The most significant
stabilizers are those of the trunk— the abdominals and trunk extensors. If the
motor cortex detects that it can't stabilize the force provided by the prime
movers, it simply won't allow the prime movers to contract with full force.
Stabilizers are best strengthened through exercises conducted in an unstable
environment, such as on a “physio-ball” (those heavy-duty “beach balls” you
might have noticed in your local health club), or movements performed with
medicine balls.
2) Initially, expect a slight decline in your game as your body begins to adapt to the
additional training loads. After a handful of weeks, your game should climb back up
to, and surpass previous levels. For this reason, don’t start a strength training pro-
gram for the first time if you have important tournaments pending.
3) Expect to spend between 1 and 3 hours a week on your strength training pro-
gram. The emphasis should be on leg and abdominal musculature.
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Introduction: I first met Dianna Linden at a seminar I was teaching for the
International Sports Sciences Association in Santa Barbara, California in
1996. Dianna stood out to me because she asked great questions— some of
the best I’ve ever encountered during my 8 year experience as a presenter.
I found it refreshing to encounter a student who actually challenged me,
despite having no formal experience as an exercise professional.
Since that time, Dianna and I have formed a close professional relationship,
working together with a variety of athletes, from World-class to regional level
in several different sporting disciplines.
One of the most important things I’ve learned from Dianna, and something I
hope to get across to my reading audience, is that massage therapists, much
like any other class of professionals, vary greatly across ranks. I often joke
that her fingertips have little brains of their own— she has an astounding abil-
ity to immediately locate damaged tissue, and then, using a wide range of
techniques and therapeutic modalities, heal, or at the very least, improve the
condition of that tissue.
In the first part of this interview, I asked Dianna to outline the role of sports
massage in an athlete’s training program, how to find a skilled MT, and what
course to follow upon the incidence of a training injury.
In part two, Dianna and I will discuss the most common injuries that she sees
in her athlete-clients, how they might be prevented, and we’ll also detail the
importance of the feedback that a skilled MT can provide to an athletes coach
or conditioning specialist.
-- Charles Staley
CS: Dianna, thanks for taking the time to share your expertise with my read -
ers— I know they’ll come away from this interview with a much more refined
concept of how to stay healthy and productive throughout their lifting
careers. I’d like to start with a brief description of your background. Can you
tell us how long you’ve been a massage therapist, and a little about the var -
ious methods or styles that you use?
DL: Happy to, Charles, thanks for the opportunity to talk about my field and
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its role in recovery in sport. It's a topic for which I have a lot of enthusiasm
and an interest in furthering collaborative exploration.
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tance strengthening for his sport, had consulted Fred Hatfield about a pro-
gram, handed me Fitness: The Complete Guide, (ISSA's training manual),
and said "What do you think of this?" After reading through it, I realized I had
much to learn from this organization and called to find out more. Since Dr.
Squat recommended that I speak with you and also suggested that my client
see you for questions and follow up on the strengthening, I was happy to find
out that you would be instructing the certification seminar I signed up for. I
wanted to pick your brain as much as I could to see if we could collaborate
before I brought him to you for a program. I wanted know how you would
handle my curiosity and nit-picky questions as well as get some of my spe-
cific questions about training answered. You were not only not bugged by my
incessant queries but gave me far more information than I had hoped to get
in one weekend.
DL: In May I’ll participate in an 80 hour seminar with a therapist from Oregon
(Rich Phaigh) who worked with Mary Decker, among others, and who now uti-
lizes adaptations of Muscle Energy Technique with his athletes to help balance
underlying spine and hip misalignments which might contribute to stubborn
recurring problems some athletes experience. I'm excited about reviewing
and adding more of these tools to my quiver of techniques. I figure the more
methods I can skillfully employ, the wider range of situations with which I
might be an effective practitioner. I hope I'm still learning till I die. That, and
not knowing what the moment will bring, are what keeps the work exciting
to me as a creative vehicle for mutual benefit.
CS: You know, a lot of readers may be thinking "Why would I hire a massage
therapist?" thinking that massage is mostly for relaxation or stress reduction,
when in fact, as you and I both know, skillfully applied massage has a range
of recuperative benefits. Would you outline these for us?
DL: Of course. Massage can help relieve muscle tension and stiffness, reduce
spasms, increase ROM, improve circulation of blood and movement of lymph,
reduce blood pressure, strengthen the immune system, foster faster healing
of strained muscles and sprained ligaments, reduce pain and swelling and the
formation of excessive scar tissue.
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Although Canadian track coach Charlie Francis' career was ruined by Ben
Johnson's steroid bust, in my opinion, drugs alone could in no way account
for their amazing accomplishments in sport. Charlie has a lot to say about his
use of massage as part of his regeneration protocols for athletes in his book,
The Charlie Francis Training System. Let me provide you with a few quotes:
"We feel that we can get up to 40% more CNS-power training time related to
the performance of high intensity training by incorporation properly execut-
ed massage and regeneration."
"Before competition you use a very light, slapping type of massage, You don't
go deep into the muscles, with the result that the athlete feels fresh and
awake. You wouldn't do deep rubs within, say, 48-72 hours of the competi-
tion unless it was a very insignificant meet, because with deep massage you
lower the tone of the muscle too far. To use an inappropriate type of massage
or to have an unskilled person doing the massage can undo much of the
training effect you have accomplished during your final preparation for a key
competition."
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"You want to remove any lumping of the muscle, but you have to have this
done long enough before the meet so that the athlete can recover from the
treatment. In a calf muscle it is possible for an athlete to have a lump or
spasm large that 35% of his or her muscle may be nonfunctional. The
spasmed muscle is not able to contribute to movement and there is the
potential for a muscle pull— above or below the spasmed area. You have to
take out that lumping or the athlete loses a tremendous amount of power."
"You don't wait for injury to occur. The athletes are being probed and
screened constantly by (the MT’s) hands, the chiropractor's hands or my own.
Among us we are usually able to find potential injuries before they occur."
Getting back to task, let me ask you a question that I myself find difficulty
answering for my clients: "What do you look for in a massage therapist
(MT)?" In other words, if I don’t have a frame of reference, how do I know
that you’re skilled? Am I looking for a diploma, references, to feel good after
I leave, what?
DL: It really depends a lot on what you are wanting from a particular mas-
sage experience. If you are just looking for relaxation and circulatory effect
then you could find a local spa and get yourself a "feel good" rub which will
support tissue recovery in a general way. Sauna, hot tub, cold plunge,
Swedish type massage would all compliment each other in the flushing of
wastes out of and bringing nutrients in to tissues as well as generally reliev-
ing spasms. If the practitioner is not specifically trained in sports massage in
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this case it will not so much matter because the spa context provides its own
kind of experience.
If, however, you want to work more precisely, utilizing well applied techniques
to support recovery as you train hard for an event or competition, then you
need someone with more specific training and ability. The work done close to
an event is much less deep than that which would be done early in the train-
ing season. The clinical aspects of various types of deep tissue work can aug-
ment training earlier in the season by resetting proper muscle length and
tonus, identifying and rooting out adhesions, deep spasms, trigger points,
slightly inflamed tendons, etc., hopefully, before they become problems big
enough to interfere with workout rhythms or require rehab. This type feed-
back to a coach or athlete from a skilled massage therapist can be very help-
ful in determining if some muscles or tendons are a little worse for the wear,
thus help them make well informed decisions.
CS: Boy, you said it. I know that our mutual collaboration has provided me
with essential feedback regarding just how much damage a particular work -
out has created— in fact, I really want to talk about this in detail later in the
interview.
Dianna, before we continue, I suspect some of our readers will not know what
is meant by the terms "spasm," "adhesions," and "trigger points." Would you
just briefly clarify these terms for us?
DL: Actually there's a lot that could be said distinguishing these three as well
as tendinitis, tenosynovitis, bursitis, strain, and sprain, what they are and
what to do when you have them, but for our purposes here, let's just talk
about those three you asked about.
In those cases massage is not going to relieve the underlying cause of the
spasm. If, however, sections of muscles remain shortened due to fatigue or
overuse after a workout, it can inhibit the blood flow and inhibit that muscle's
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Adhesions are fibrous bands holding parts together that are normally sepa-
rated. They naturally occur as part of wound healing, but if granulation scar
tissue doesn't properly re-organize as it heals it can bind the connective tis-
sue within the muscle or tendon virtually gluing it into place. Various styles
of deep tissue massage are devised to attend to clearing these out of the tis-
sues.
Trigger points were most extensively mapped and worked with by Janet
Travell, M.D. In her books, (co-authored with David Simon, M.D.): Myofascial
Pain and Dysfunction, The Trigger Point Manual, Vols. 1 & 2, she outlines very
extensive diagnostic procedures and protocols for treating them. I'll give you
her definition: "A focus of hyperirritability in a tissue that, when compressed,
is locally tender and, if sufficiently hypersensitive, gives rise to referred pain
and tenderness, and sometimes to a referred autonomic phenomena and dis-
tortion of proprioception. Types include myofascial, cutaneous, fascial, liga-
mentous, and periosteal trigger points. A myofascial trigger point is a hyper-
irritable spot usually within a taut band of skeletal muscle or in the muscle's
fascia."
2. The taut bands surrounding them are contracted tissue not available to the
training stimulus making it difficult to properly strengthen that muscle.
3. They cause pain when irritated and can produce secondary trigger points
in their synergists or satellite trigger points within the original TP's zone of
reference, thus they cause a generally noxious state of affairs, and inhibit the
training effect synergistically.
There are several treatment modalities available to docs or PT’s, but massage
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OK, getting back to the topic: Finding a therapist with the requisite skill for
the type of collaborative work I discussed earlier is a more difficult proposi-
tion. In Canada, massage therapists must have a minimum of 1000 hours of
training, much of that hands on, to legally be allowed to practice. So by its
own licensing requirements, Canada establishes a standard for its therapists.
In America there is no such licensing. Some states have a 500 hour require-
ment for their state licenses, but those 500 hours might not include any spe-
cific training for sports applications.
DL: There are some physical therapists who have good hands on training and
skills, but from what I've seen, they don't generally get much massage tech-
nique in college. The ones whom I know who are good at sports massage
have also studied sports massage on their own to augment their formal aca-
demic education.
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There are a few teachers of sports massage in America whose work I know
well enough to assume that if someone trained with them at the
advanced level the requisite skills should be there. Based on this, I’ve put
together some resources to get someone started on a search:
Benny Vaughn developed the clinical massage training program at the Atlanta
School of Massage. Call 888-276-6277, or visit his web site at
http://www.atlantaschoolofmassage.com. If you leave them a note on the
web site with your location, they could refer to one of the graduates of the
clinical program in your area.
Rich Phaigh has worked with several track and field athletes including Mary
Decker, Alberto Salazar and Joan Benoit. He has taught Sports massage for
many years, and might have some graduate students whom he could recom-
mend. call 541-344-4768 or 541-683-5134. Or, e-mail them at:
jaqua@rio.com.
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Another site run by a Florida massage therapist which requires AMTA mem-
bership and screens for educational training, can be found at: http://mas-
sagetherapynetwork.com/client1.html.
Charles Poliquin, other strength coaches and a number of high level athletes
seem to really like Michael Leahy's Active Release Technique as a soft tissue
application designed to enhance optimal performance. His training seminars
are very expensive, so prepare to spend the big bucks for them. Call 719-
473-7000, or fax 719-473-7479 to get the name of a practitioner in your
area.
I hope that's enough information to get someone going on the right track for
good sports massage support.
CS: Yes, just excellent. OK, now the next thing I’d like to cover is, what to
do upon the incidence of injury. A lot of athletes don't know if they should
just rest and see how it goes, or to seek medical attention. To make matters
more complicated, if they do decide to seek medical attention, do they see a
MD first, a PT, MT, or what?
DL: Well, when in doubt, see a doc, especially if your bone is sticking out of
your leg and staring right at you.
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DL: (Laughing) Seriously, if you have had an impact injury of any kind, see
a sports doc or an orthopedist for an x ray and diagnosis, make sure those
bones aren't fractured or pieces broken off, or some other complication lurk-
ing within.
Or if you ever hear a loud pop and somehow the arm (or whatever popped)
seems a bit weaker, get to the doc immediately and don't let him or her tell
you that it's not necessary to surgically repair the lump that was the biceps
now rolled up like a Venetian blind. I've seen a couple of folks to whom this
happened. One was advised that his arm would work without the biceps
because the brachialis would do the job!
CS: I guess if you don’t ever plan to lift anything heavier than your own arm,
plus maybe your wristwatch, he’d be right.
DL: Yes— well he came to me several days later and asked my opinion. I sug-
gested that if he wanted to handle the wench on the big boats in the big
winds again, he should get that tendon stapled back on the forearm, pronto.
His Kaiser doc's idea that it would work ok without being fixed was definite-
ly not based on an understanding of the stresses of sailing.
Another client was told that his pec didn't really need to be reattached. In the
second case he followed that advice and after that when he tried to do yoga,
specifically the "Chatarranga" posture (which is like a push up from the toes),
he inflamed the nerves in his arm because his body can't be supported in that
plane without the pec there. He'd already done that twice when I first saw
him. Asked me what to do about it. We iced it and worked the spasms out of
the inflamed arm and I advised him to stop doing the posture, since it was
too late to get the pec reattached. It had bunched up like an old redwood
burl, irrevocably glued as an unidentifiable wad on his chest. Yuk.
CS: What a shame, considering how easy it is to reattach the muscle if it’s
addressed soon after injury!
DL: It just proves that you can get lame advice even from well educated high
end professionals. This was an expensive Beverly Hills orthopedist who gave
him that advice.
It seems that whatever happens, you must be the captain of your own heal-
ing journey. Whomever you use is in your employ and can be fired at any
time.
CS: This is a very important point! As obvious as it is, a lot of people forget
that they are in charge of their support team, not vice versa.
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DL: Absolutely! And another thing— more than one opinion is often a good
thing especially if the options are serious enough to involve surgery. It’s hard
to know how to go about it when you don't always have the necessary infor-
mation to make a well informed decision, but since you have the most invest-
ed in the outcome, it's worth doing your homework. Unless serious invasive
action is immanent, I would personally choose the least invasive tactic first
and give it a good chance before going under the knife. In the above cases,
the opposite was true, surgical repair was the only choice and timing was def-
initely a factor.
Often in training, "stuff" happens which is far less dramatic and clear cut. The
first thing to remember as an athlete, ice is your friend. You train, something
hurts, sharp pain especially, get the ice on it ASAP. Often you can stop the
secondary swelling and subsequent spreading of the trauma into the sur-
rounding tissue. This keeps the injury minimal and the healing proceeds
much more quickly. The first couple of days after a micro trauma or macro
trauma use ice frequently. On for a minimum of 5 minutes up to 15 minutes,
off for at least 1 to 1 1/2 hours between icings to allow the reflexive vaso-
dilation which occurs after the cold is removed to bring nutrients and proteins
into the tissues for repair. Ice it 5 times the first day, and the same on the
second day.
CS: I actually have 8 ice packs in my freezer which are numbered, so I know
that I’m always using the coldest possible ice pack. Of course ice is part of
the famous "RICE" acronym. Do you agree with and/or use the RICE formu -
la?
DL: Eight? Really? How near the edge of your capacities do you train? I know
you like to keep things moving, but how many body parts do you ice after a
tough session?!!
CS: I mostly use it for my right knee, which has had so much surgery that it
will soon be featured in an episode of "That’s Incredible!" If I think I’ve irri -
tated it during training, I’ll ice it every hour for the rest of the day as a min -
imum. I’ll use one pack behind the knee, and another on the knee, and then
wrap the whole thing with an ace bandage. So the numbering system is just
to ensure I’m using the coldest possible packs in the rotation.
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We covered the ice part. Rest is obvious (I hope)— if it hurts don't use It
while the injury is still acute.
Compression, if you can’t avoid using the injured bodypart, wrap it while you
do to protect it and keep the swelling down. Elevate it above the heart when-
ever possible to help with venous return and keep the swelling down. With
smaller soft tissue injuries this will get you back in action quite swiftly and
often is enough to prevent micro trauma from becoming macro trauma and
start the healing process or repair and regeneration instead.
Sometimes, if you have a muscle which has simply gone into spasm in
response to fatigue, overuse and accompanying trigger points, moist heat is
a better choice. Hot and cold alternating showers or jacuzzi baths can help to
restore fatigued muscles. Trigger points and the spasms they create respond
better to heat and to anti-inflammatories. If, however, there's a chance that
some micro trauma is there as well, ice is a better choice or you might follow
the heat with a short icing on the area which feels injured.
Beyond that, who you see would depend upon what kind of injury you have.
Physical therapy primarily uses electrical stim, ultra sound, cold and exercise
routines designed for different stages of rehab, often including water work-
outs to keep an athlete training while rehabilitating from an injury. If you
can't bear your weight on the sprained ankle or torn hamstring for example,
this is where to go. It is important that you find a therapist whose orienta-
tion is rehab for a high level of performance and not someone whose prac-
tice is primarily personal injury accident cases where the emphasis is simply
racking up as many fees in as little time as possible to help make a good legal
case.
I know an athlete who herniated a disc during a deadlift. MRI diagnosis con-
firmed it. He had pain down the thigh, splinted spasmed low back muscles.
He found a great PT team, worked with them 4 hours per day, 6 days per
week, in a very intense comprehensive program which included some deep
tissue massage and trigger point compression and was back to full sport spe-
cific training in 6 weeks. He won in his match 4 weeks later. I was really
impressed with their choices and especially the results.
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If your injury is less severe than those mentioned above, i.e: some of the
stuff commonly happening in the gym; tennis elbow, biceps tendinitis, rota-
tor cuff tendinitis, trauma forming adhesions in muscles or tendons due to
overuse, or reinjury of sites with unnoticed micro-trauma until it becomes
macro-trauma, good sports massage could help speed up the healing con-
siderably.
Lymphatic massage techniques will improve the secondary hypoxic injury and
enhance edemous fluid removal. Trigger point compression reduces pain from
TPs and their taut bands, which occur after injury. Cross-fiber friction
improves the formation of strong and flexible repair tissue, thus helping to
restore pain free full ROM. Sometimes if you rest and ice the area but don't
get it worked on as well, the site of the injury can linger in an adhered,
spasmed, fibrous state for a while after the initial injury is healed. Then when
you try to use it under load it tears again around the adhesions and can inter-
fere with full performance in training for a long time. Here's where the clini-
cal aspect of sports massage can really make a difference.
To quote Mary Decker (from Athletic Massage by Rich Phaigh & Paul Perry)
"My training runs became painless, with fewer injuries than in the past. And
with my shorter recovery time, I soon began training at a consistently high
level, better than ever before. Since discovering massage I have set eight
world records, won several national titles and been able to win two world
championship titles. I am in the best shape of my life due to my lack of injury.
I owe most of my high fitness level to Rich and his method of athletic mas-
sage. I know this is true because I don't get Rich's massage treatments when
I travel for an extended period of time. Then, old injuries creep back and
recovery time increases with each hard run. I recommend massage to ath-
letes at any level of ability, from world class to the weekend competitor. It
will not only improve your performance, it will speed your recovery time and
cut down on the number of muscle injuries."
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Introduction: In the first part of this interview, Dianna discussed the role of
sports massage in an athlete’s training program, how to find a skilled mas-
sage therapist, and what actions to take upon the incidence of a training
injury.
In part two, Dianna and I discuss the most common injuries that she sees in
her athlete-clients, how they might be prevented, and we’ll also detail the
importance of the feedback that a skilled MT can provide to an athletes coach
or conditioning specialist.
— Charles Staley
CS: What do you think is the most important aspect of sports massage and
what it can offer an athlete in his or her efforts to achieve new PRs in their
sport?
DL: I think its role in injury prevention is one of the most interesting features
a good massage done by educated hands can offer. If an overuse pattern
ultimately results in an injury to that part or parts then the athlete is facing
a break in optimal training, and instead is now busy finding a good team; doc,
PT chiropractor, etc. to devise and implement a quick recovery paradigm.
That's not always easy to come by. No matter how good they are it always
constitutes a set back in the progress that was being made. If that occurs late
enough in the season, it can be disastrous.
I thought Mary Decker put it well in that quote we ended part 1 with, when
she said, about working with Rich Phaigh, "My training runs became painless,
with fewer injuries than in the past. And with my shorter recovery time, I
soon began training at a consistently high level, better than ever before."
Isn't that what every athlete would like to achieve and maintain? In USSR
they considered recovery methods an important part of optimum perform-
ance, here it is generally not considered with much intelligence at all.
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DL: Well yes, I was just about to say that it's not just about massage, either,
it is about utilizing smart recovery methods in general. The training program,
if well designed by the coach, considers the longer recovery usually neces-
sary when max effort has stressed the nervous system.
Dr. Mel Siff, who wrote Supertraining with Dr Verkhoshansky and along with
Michael Yessis, edited Sports Massage and Recovery, has thrown suggestions
and considerations regarding recovery into the discussion arena, but I have
never heard any athlete pursue the discussion. What I infer from that is that
here, in the States, athletes do not consider recovery primary in importance
when planning their training regimes. They simply notice when something
starts to hurt, gets trained on anyway and then hurts more. That's what Mary
was referring to when she said " I owe most of my high fitness level to Rich
and his method of athletic massage. I know this is true because I don't get
Rich's massage treatments when I travel for an extended period of time.
Then, old injuries creep back and recovery time increases with each hard
run."
CS: As I always say, training is only as good as your ability to recover from
it, it's like how they say that music depends on the spaces between the notes,
not just the notes involved— successful training is the same way.
DL: Massage can help an athlete sleuth out that which is not yet a full blown
injury and eliminate most of it before it becomes a problem which interferes
with training. I know that sounds like an outrageous claim, but it is my expe-
rience and the experience of several athletes who use sports massage as
well. There's no way to measure this other than the subjective experience of
athletes and coaches, I suspect. How do you quantify an injury which didn't
happen? How do you measure that? Yet many athletes who use these recov-
ery protocols know it to be true. We can feel those adhesions and trigger
points in the tissues and erase them long before they show up by limiting
function in sport. One of my mentors liked to call this working prodromally,
using a word from medicine which means the interval between the earliest
symptoms and the appearance of the full blown disease, the initial stage of a
disease. If we can palpate the prodromes of trauma in tissues and clear out
the schmutz before it becomes an injury which interferes with an athlete's
training routine, that is the slickest way to work.
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Some stuff can't be prevented altogether, even with the best of support.
Jackie Joyner Kersee got her gold medals at Soeul and Atlanta with a major
hamstring tear, both times. Her team, in that case, was working locally on
those tissues between each event using a number of modalities, ultra sound
with aspirin cream, TENS, ice, gentle local transverse friction massage, ice,
ice, and ice. When there was more than one trial or event on the same day,
she was worked on locally to prepare those muscles for their next trial. She
got a full body massage at the end of the day to relax her, increase blood flow
to the muscles and generally get her ready for the next day's event. I can't
imagine anything more stressful to hamstrings than heptethalon, yet, even
with that tear she got the gold. In my opinion, that was a very skillfully
applied recovery paradigm under the toughest conditions.
I studied with the massage therapist who was on that team led by Robert
Forster, PT, working with several of Jack Kersee's athletes. He said one of his
perpetual pursuits there was finding enough ice in Korea to keep treating the
athletes, and to keep track of the zip lock stash. No baggies in Soeul to
replace them when they disappeared.
CS: They should have called me! OK, now I know you are very conscious of
your professional scope of responsibility (i.e, you can’t legally diagnose
injuries), but with that in mind, I'd really like to discuss some of the problem
areas that you commonly see in people, athletes especially. So, for example,
let’s say that I have an athlete, like several cases that we’ve worked on
together recently, and he is experiencing shoulder pain in the left shoulder.
He's had a medical evaluation, and nothing was found with functional tests.
So then, I bring the athlete to you, and you palpate their left scapula right
over the infraspinatus, and they jump through the ceiling!
DL: Well, as you know, there are all kinds of pain. Workout pain is something
all athletes learn to live with. I sometimes think that's why, when they have
a pain in a muscle which indicates it needs some healing attention, they just
don't distinguish that from the regular ongoing pain of working yourself to
your limits. When I palpate the tendons of infraspinatus for example and the
athlete rises to the ceiling like a great yogi, it usually means that there is
micro/macro-trauma right where I am touching. This is another service which
I think good sports massage performs. We can palpate from the muscle ori-
gin's teno-periostial, musculo-tendinous areas, through the muscle belly, on
tomusculo-tendinous/ teno-periostial insertion. Where it is sharply painful
defines the area of the injured tissue. The athlete can learn to:
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A: Distinguish this kind of pain, which should be honored, not ignored and
trained through, from regular workout pain,
B: Gain a better sense of the current injury, how large an area needs to be
iced after the next few workouts which would use that muscle in any way,
which workouts to lighten up to ease it's load either as a prime mover or syn-
ergist and some specific modalities at home as well as exercises to do to
speed its recovery. Most often I find trauma in the teno-periostial or muscu-
lo-tendinous junctures when it is micro trauma which builds unnoticed to
macro from overuse in training. That's where I see the most sports injuries
at the prodromal stage.
It is as rare to find a good sports massage therapist who knows how to advise
the best exercise protocols for rehabilitation of an injury as it is to find a
sports oriented physical therapist with hands on skills who really knows how
to work on the tissues. Personally I like to work in conjunction with other
practitioners; physical therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists to speed up
reduction of acute inflammation, as well as the athlete's coach or trainer
regarding an injury which needs to heal. It's not always economically possi-
ble, in which case we ad lib.
CS: Dianna, I've heard people complain for years about how painful Rolfing
is or that they hurt for days after deep soft-tissue work. I know from personal
experience that deep work in the muscles can be painless and there can also
be various levels of pain. I also know you utilize techniques where, basically,
the client determines how deep you go— can you elaborate on that?
DL: I've heard the same reports, in far more gruesome detail, I'm afraid.
"Hurt for days, bruises after the body work" and other stories of torture in
the hands of a "deep tissue" bodyworker. Yuk! Bruising is definitely a sign that
the tissues were worked too deeply, adding insult and further injury to them.
Some folks bruise easily— I'm not saying it can't happen, but when doing
deep clinical work I always ask my clients to be Dick Tracy for the next two
days and report any and all findings related to the areas of deep work. If
there's ever any bruising we talk about nutrition, Vitamin C intake AND I
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lighten the work considerably in the next session. Deep bodywork is sup-
posed to free tissues from adhesions, not injure them further.
I have one client who is 73— she was arthritic for many years with spurs and
stenosis on osetoporotic vertebrae, she had polio in France before WW2 with
some current residue from that, as well as the times when small chunks from
her intervertebral discs broke off and wedged against nerves, immobilizing
her with pain until they re-absorbed. She's so fragile that she simply can't
exercise as she used to. She was an avid skier, swimmer and mountain
climber. Now her connective tissue is sinewy and dried out and she has more
than her share of aches and pains— always. Glucosamine has helped a bit
and the body work definitely serves as an oil and lube tune up. In her mas-
sage we do lots of joint movements, compression for her trigger points which
perpetually return like weeds in the garden, and I work through her muscles
at some depth because they get adhered and need "fluffing up."
Among a plethora of other drugs, she's on Cumadin, has to have her blood
viscosity checked sometimes every day. If I worked her with too much depth
I'd hate to imagine what would happen. She gets a hematoma if a plant in
the yard simply brushes her skin. Has new ones each week which she does-
n't even know are there or how they happened. Part of what we do is inven-
tory on that. We have worked together for many years now and the massage
helps her function.
She still works hard in the world as the owner of a school, sitting on those
little kid chairs while she relates to them at their level, which I'm sure con-
tributes to the return of the trigger points. She's an example of someone who
needs specifically applied bodywork techniques, the style and depth must be
very carefully monitored. If I didn't work her with some depth we wouldn't
get the schmutz out of those muscles. We've successfully done deep trans-
verse friction massage on her supraspinatus and deltoid tendons after an
overuse injury, but with utmost care and caution. That's by nature invasive
work, but even in this case, possibly the most fragile human I'll ever work
with, we could use it with some delicacy and get the job done without any
bruising.
I had to find a referral for her when I was out of the country with an athlete
for a couple of months. Because of how fragile she is, scary really, I referred
her to a physical therapist with his masters degree who specialized in CNS
injury recovery and had apprenticed with John Barnes, someone I knew had
extra training in many hands on techniques besides those myofascial release
methods. I talked to him for over an hour about her medical history and con-
dition, suggested that he avoid mobilization of the vertebrae like the plague,
just fluff and fold, oil and lube to the soft tissues, easy does it.
Apparently on their first visit he did another 45 minute evaluation, then,
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started with very gentle touch along the vertebrae, as she described it to me
later. Didn't work the tissues at all, really just those movements along the
spine. Next day she was flat on her back in the hospital with another episode
of intevertebral disc breaking off and wedging against a lumbar nerve. It took
the whole time I was gone to reabsorb. She didn't really correlate the verte-
bral mobilization with the event, wondered casually about those little move-
ments of the spine, if they could have something to do with it, and we will
never really know since correlation doesn't mean causation, but I won't refer
to him again, and he was too embarrassed to even talk to me when I
returned. So what's "deep?" His touch was so gentle, but the method he
chose was challenging tissues which, in my opinion shouldn't ever be
addressed on her at all.
The point is that deep doesn't really mean invasive and excruciating, nor does
something which feels gentle necessarily mean benign. I once got a rub at a
local trendy spa here in Santa Monica with one of their sports masseurs who
did "deep tissue work." I paid top dollar for it but stopped the session in the
middle. His idea of deep was to simply burn through my tissue with his
elbows as deep as he could. He clearly did not know his anatomy, origins and
insertions, nyet. Although he was offended that I politely told him to stop the
session, the guy was dangerous and it was either him or me. When he
pressed hard with his elbow directly on the spinous process of my lumbar
vertebrae and right on the SI joint and ilium instead of the tendons attached
just below, it became painfully clear that there was no way to salvage that
session. This guy was licensed to practice in my city. Scary.
CS: So those are some examples of what good "deep" work isn't, but what is
it?
DL: Well, If the tissues have adhesions from injury or overuse micro-trauma
building imperceptibly to macro-trauma in the musculo-tendinous or teno-
periostial attachments, I find that deep transverse friction massage (DTF) is
the most effective at getting that stuff out of there. Otherwise training will
often cause it to reinjure on that same site as you commonly hear happen-
ing to folks who don't get it worked on. In tendinous tissue and ligaments DTF
can be effectively done very soon after the injury.
Muscle bellies are another story, there are more and better ways to work stuff
out of them, and the timing is different. DTF is painful and must be done right
on the site of the lesion to be effective, not 1/4 of an inch away. I warm up
the tissues well with moist heat and various massage strokes to generally
soften the area first, that helps diminish the discomfort, but when we address
the glued up spots it can go up to a 12 on a 10 scale of pain in a hot LA
minute on the first pass.
One of the things I do is explain a pain scale I like to use. 10 is painful beyond
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endurance, 9 excruciating and too invasive to breathe and relax into, 8 is the
maximum one can take and still keep the shoulders peeled off the ears, body
non levitated, toes uncurled and able to breathe into it, somehow make space
around the intense sensation without resistance while relaxing the rest of the
body. Defining that scale works in several ways for me. First, some folks are
so stoic they will never say "that hurts too much." I ask them to say "8"
instead, no one has much trouble labeling a sensation an "8", no wuss con-
notations there. Also I can get them to tell me when it is a 4 or 6 or 7. If I
see them curling toes but only reporting a 4 on the 10 scale, then I don't go
above 3. I can feel a person's translation of reality out a bit better with the
numbers. People are so different in how they experience "reality". One client
will fidget and say "Oh Oh!! Oh Oh!!" when we just barely touch an injured
spot, another will say "Easy now" in a slow deep voice like he was instruct-
ing a yoga stretch. I actually find watching their choice of words and reac-
tions to slightly painful sensations when I first begin to address something,
very informative. It helps me figure out how best to work with someone. I
don't ever like to work above an 8 on that scale even with DTF, 6s or 7s are
better and still get the job done in my opinion.
CS: Very, very interesting— I remember being quite taken by this method
when you first exposed me to it. You also do a lot with breathing, correct?
DL: Well, yes— in describing the possibility of breathing into pain, relaxing
around it rather than resisting and tightening against it, explaining that we
can stop at any number, modify the duration of the sensation, we have the
capacity to break up the definition of what pain is and not fixate on it, resist
it in the old unconscious way. How we experience pain and how intense it
seems is largely a very subjective experience, even though we all share the
same neurological mechanisms governing the delivery of that information
within the organism of the self.
With athletes, because they are used to suffering through sets of tough reps
in the gym, each cross fiber stroke is a rep and we do sets of 15 or 20 reps
depending on how tender the tissue is. As it improves in texture after the first
session the pain level diminishes as well so we can use more reps per set and
get the 2 minutes of DTF done. On a first time visit, before someone actual-
ly experiences the results of the work, I do less reps and sets, maybe only
45 seconds to a minute per location to keep the session well within humane
tolerance levels. When they come back after seeing improvement, it is easi-
er to volunteer for more of the same and it hurts less besides.
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accesses their memory of a big reward after enduring the pain of labor, not
a bad induction.
By instructing folks to "make space" for and around the painful sensations the
intensity of voluntarily directly addressing one's own pain diminishes.
Folks learn that they have the capacity for a dissociative experience with
pain, how it is experienced can actually be modified, played with if you will.
By having folks give me feedback about what they are experiencing and
defining the limits of what's an acceptable experience, we are also learning
to define personal boundaries more clearly. Some folks are raised with fuzzy
definitions of the authentic boundaries of self and other, so this, I think has
positive carry over into life; saying what is too invasive or not what you want,
clarifying what you do want, not assuming that another "knows" what you're
experiencing but instead really having to describe it, these are all important
communication skills in life. In this way, I think we are doing work on many
levels working with "pain" this way. Still, it just sounds like "8!" when we're
right there on it, not all that esoteric at all.
I should also mention that sometimes, pain is entirely avoidable, even though
the tissues need deep work. There are many methods to get schmutz cleared
out. Active release techniques are far less painful and invasive than some of
the old Rolfing style strokes to clear adhered tissue, especially in muscle bel-
lies. If a person contracts under your specifically applied pressure on a par-
ticular spot, they are
A: in charge of the experience and intensity, they can stop the contraction at
any time.
B: contracting those fibers while you hold appropriate resistance is far less
painful to start with
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If you warm up muscles with some gentle CRAC stretches and knead and jos-
tle them, a lot of stuff just softens right up. When the injured site requires
the direct DTF approach, I warm it up before I do the first set of DTF. After
15 strokes of DTF I then leave the area alone for a little while, do something
else and let the tissues have time for the body's natural pain killers to rush
into those tissues, then when we come back for the next pass the body's own
pain killers are already working and it is a lot less painful to get in there for
the next set. What an amazing self repairing vehicle the body is, remarkable
really. Lots of ways to work with it rather than charge right in there and
attack the glue. That might have been all we knew when Ida Rolf and Jack
Painter were first teaching their deep tissue styles, but more has been
learned since then about how the tissues respond to various techniques,
though much more needs to be studied.
Not much funding for massage studies yet, so many unanswered questions
remain.
DL: It works for me. You and I have come up against that problem more than
once when collaborating with an athlete, eh? Mostly knowing what the ath-
lete is also doing which he or she doesn't count as part of the training proto-
cols but which can blow us out of the water, so to speak (since you like puns).
Surfing all day several days in a row because the waves are up, "the best so
far this year," starting on the day after increasing the loads in back training,
then forgetting to mention it to you or me comes to mind. At the end of the
week I am wondering why the erectors are tighter than a screaming steel gui-
tar with micro trauma stranded throughout the spasm, when they felt fine
just days ago and it didn't seem that those load increases were incremental-
ly that profoundly taxing. Oh well, the best laid plans...
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CS: Well Dianna, there’s just so much information here that I fear we haven’t
even scratched the surface...if readers would like to contact you for consul -
tations, referrals, etc., how would they go about that?
DL: They can either call me at (310) 394-1450, or they can e-mail me at
diannal@netvip.com. And I’d love to hear from anyone who has an interest
in the subject!
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(Co-authored by Dr. Sal Arria, originally published in the June, 1994 issue of
Muscle & Fitness magazine)
It's probably safe to say that virtually anyone who has worked out for more
than two or three years has experienced shoulder pain at one time or anoth-
er. More than any other joint, the shoulder seems particularly prone to injury,
both chronic and acute. Once shoulder pain has set in, even routine daily
tasks such as putting on a shirt overhead or shampooing in the shower
become burdensome. Training seems beyond the bounds of possibility, since
nearly all movements involve the shoulder in varying degrees. Even squat-
ting and calf raises involve and can aggravate shoulder problems.
The shoulder's role as the "black sheep" of joints stems from it's structure.
First, the gleno-humeral joint (where the head of the humerus attaches to the
shoulder complex) is a ball-and-socket type joint, but unlike the hip, the G/H
joint is quite shallow— so much so that the bones contribute little to the
joint's stability— that role falls onto the surrounding muscles and their tenu-
ous attachments, as well as the capsular ligaments. Always remember that
the shoulder's forte is mobility, not stability. The second structural factor
leading to shoulder dysfunction is the enormous leverage that can be applied
to the shallow G/H joint by the arm. Consider that for a person of average
arm length, a ten-pound dumbbell in the hand equates to over 45 pounds of
force at the shoulder joint when held out at arm's length, such as in a later-
al raise.
Shoulder injuries stemming from both sports and training-related events are
summarized below:
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• Throwing. Not just in the sense of throwing a ball, but also any hitting or
swinging (such as a tennis serve or hitting a baseball) movement is essen-
tially an attempt to separate the G/H joint, in biomechanical terms. During
any throwing movement, the rotator cuff muscle group is responsible for
decelerating the arm after the object has been released. Since many individ-
uals have very weak rotator cuffs and posterior deltoids as compared to the
anterior shoulder muscles, the deceleration aspect of the throw often results
in strains and sprains of the shoulder's soft tissues, especially those of the
rotator cuff.
• Bench Pressing. The most popular current-day gym exercise, this move-
ment also results in legions of shoulder injuries. Besides contributing to the
imbalance between the anterior and posterior muscles of the shoulders, the
bench press has an almost mystical allure for many trainees, making it more
of a demonstration event than a training exercise for many. The bench is the
vehicle for more forced reps, heavy negatives, missed attempts, and bad
training form than any other exercise. Over 90% of all shoulder injuries from
bench pressing occur during the transition or amortization phase between the
negative and positive portions of the movement. Specifically, a rapid lower-
ing of the bar prior to pressing upward results in large linear momentum
forces which must then be quickly reversed by the shoulder musculature
before the bar can be raised. When the these forces exceed the strength of
the joint mechanism, the shoulder may not be capable of reversing the accu-
mulated momentum, which means that the lifter will miss the lift, suffer a
muscle tear, or both. For this reason, always lower the bar with complete con-
trol— this doesn't mean a full pause, however! Unless you're a competitive
powerlifter, a controlled "touch-and-go" movement is best.
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ic value, so few trainees do them. That is, until they suffer a shoulder injury.
Eventually, the weaker rotator cuff becomes virtually useless in performing
it's intended role in stabilizing the shoulder.
Conservative Solutions
1) Strengthen the arms! This may seem like odd advice, but the fact remains
that your arms are the conduit through which forces are transmitted to the
shoulder. If your arms are weak, the shoulders must pick up the slack. If you
find that during dumbbell benches or inclines, you have a harder time pick-
ing the dumbbells up and getting into position than doing the exercise itself,
you need to strengthen your arms. Heavy dumbbell curls, hammer curls (i.e.,
with thumbs up), and dumbbell triceps extensions will go a long way in
strengthening your biceps, triceps, and brachioradialis muscles, as well as
indirectly fortifying the shoulder girdle itself. Get yourself to the point to
where you can handle heavy dumbbells with ease. Machines are ok, but they
don't challenge the synergistic and stabilizing muscles nearly as well as
dumbbells.
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lift. Your shoulder joints will thank you! A final note on benching— the authors
have observed everything from trainees putting both feet up on the bench
(better "isolation" supposedly) to keeping one foot on the bench and one on
the floor (!) to pinching the knees together during the lift. All of these tech-
nique deformities create an unstable base, which can lead to injury. Keep
both feet flat on the floor, a bit wider than shoulder width, and keep them
there during the lift. Use your feet like the extended pods of a backhoe, for
support and stability during the lift. If you can't keep your feet from "fidget-
ing" during the lift, you're using too much weight!
Strains & Sprains: A strain is a muscle pull or tear, while a sprain indicates
tendon or ligament damage. Strains and sprains are categorized by severi-
ty— a grade I strain involves a cramp or pull of the muscle fibers, a grade II
strain is characterized by a small to moderate amount of muscle tearing,
while a grade III strain involves tearing of large numbers of muscle fiber. In
tendons and ligaments, a grade I sprain involves minor fraying, a grade II
indicated moderate damage, and a grade III sprain involves massive or total
tearing of the connective tissue.
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(Originally published in the May, 1994 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine)
The prevalence of these cases can be attributed largely to the fact that the
knee is an anatomical vortex of sorts, where the body's largest and strongest
muscle groups converge upon the tiny, yet in most cases hardy, kneecap. Add
to this a lack of basic anatomical knowledge, improper exercise technique
and/or selection, and unsuitable workout gear, and the prescription for dis-
aster becomes compounded exponentially.
In this discussion we will examine several factors which collectively, have the
potential of determining your predisposition for experiencing knee symptoms.
Much of this information has received minimal exposure from industry mag-
azines and trade journals in the past, and therefore should be of considerable
interest to current and prospective fitness professionals and health care spe-
cialists.
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Ligaments: Fibrous and very tough connective tissue which connects bone to
bone, providing stability and integrity to the joint. Two sets of ligaments help
to stabilize the knee joint— the anterior and posterior cruxiates, which are
deeply located within the knee, and serve to limit rotation and hyper-exten-
sion, and the co-laterals, one on either side of the knee. The co-laterals pro-
tect the knee from being moved from side to side, and help to establish the
integrity of the joint by keeping the tibea and femur attached to one anoth-
er.
Tendons: Fibrous bands that that connect muscles to their bony attachments.
In the knee, the patellar tendon connects the quadriceps muscles to the
patella, and then in turn to the upper shin.
Muscle: We all have a clear idea as to what muscles are, but let's examine
the ones that cross (via their tendinous attachments) the knee joint. First are
the quadriceps, the powerful muscles of the anterior (front) thigh. Next are
the hamstrings, or the leg biceps, located on the posterior thigh. Finally, the
gastrocnemious, the most superficial calf muscle, crosses behind the knee
joint, where it contributes as a knee flexor.
Training Gear
For most, training attire is primarily a matter of vanity— looking good while
you're training. But two pieces of standard training gear— your shoes and
knee wraps— should be carefully selected and applied, not only to maximize
comfort and short term safety, but more importantly, to ensure the long term
health of your knees.
Your shoes are literally where the rubber hits the road. We urge you to think
of your shoes as the foundation of your leg training sessions. Wearing old or
broken down fitness shoes for heavy squatting or leg pressing is like putting
old, worn-out tires on a race car! There are several reasons to avoid training
in your "tennies:"
First, most general purpose fitness shoes simply lack adequate stability, and
have little or no arch support for heavy lifting. As you squat, your feet may
develop a tendency to pronate, or "cave in" toward the inner side. When this
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happens, the knees are also forced inward, leading to a constant strain on
the medial collateral ligament, excessive shear force on the meniscus, and
improper patellar tracking, which in turn can lead to chondromalacia (to be
discussed shortly). If your feet tend to pronate anyway, or if you're prone to
being "knock knee'd" (and these two conditions are very often associated
with one another), it becomes even more important to select good training
shoes. Another important reason for using specialized shoes for squatting or
other heavy leg training movements is that they provide a deep and solid heel
cup, which prevents the foot from rocking and rolling laterally (to the outside)
when it is compressed under heavy loads.
Finally, there is a difference between a shoe being worn out and being bro-
ken down. Even if your shoes look fine, they still may offer no arch or heel
support at all, either because they never had any to start with, or because
after a handful of heavy leg sessions, the supports have compressed to the
point to where they no longer function as they were intended. Think about
it— a tennis shoe is meant to support a 160 pound tennis player, NOT a 600
pound leg press! Loads like these cause the shoe to break down without visu-
al signs of wearing out.
Knee wraps have long been a mainstay for competitive powerlifters, and for
good reason. When properly used, wraps can dramatically improve knee safe-
ty during heavy squatting and leg training sessions. Whenever you contract
your quadriceps muscles, the patellar ligament "wants" to pull away from it's
attachment at the upper front aspect of the tibea. During squatting, for
example, the heavier you go, the lower you go, and the faster you descend,
the more this tendency is compounded. Please refer to the sidebar below on
proper knee wrapping.
You'll notice that the wrap is tightly wound in a cylindrical fashion around the
upper shin (where the patellar ligament attaches), then more loosely wound
over the kneecap itself (this is important to avoid grinding the patella into the
femoral condyle, creating a case of chondromalacia for yourself), then tight-
ly wound over the lower third of the thigh. The rationale for wrapping the
knees prior to heavy squatting is that it reduced the pulling forces on the
patellar ligament at it's attachment to the shin. This translates to significant-
ly reduced chances of avulsing (detaching) your patellar ligament during
heavy leg movements.
According to Dr. Paul Ward, knee wraps also provide several other benefits
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beyond protection of the attachment site of the patellar ligament. These ben-
efits include keeping the knees warm, which improves blood flow and tissue
elasticity, reducing the possibility of muscle tears during high-intensity leg
pressing or squatting. Additionally, knee wraps assist the patella in tracking
normally over the femoral condyle, reducing the possibility of developing
chondromalacia.
“...make sure that your knees are tracking directly over your feet...”
Whenever you squat, hack squat, or leg press, your foot position is an impor-
tant variable in determining not only the results you'll obtain from the exer-
cise, but also the safety of your knee joints. Although each individual must
determine their own best stance exercise per exercise (based on their own
anatomical peculiarities such as height and leg length), the following vari-
ables must be taken into consideration:
1) The quadriceps muscles can contract more efficiently when the feet are
pointing slightly (about 25 to 30 degrees) outward as opposed to straight
ahead. If you squat with a very wide stance, your adductors tend to assist
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the quads. This can result in stress to the medial collateral ligament, abnor-
mal cartilage loading, and improper patellar tracking.
2) During the decent phase of any type of squat, do not allow the knees to
move more than 2-3 inches forward of their locked position. The further your
knees travel over your feet, the greater the shearing forces on the patellar
tendon and ligament. To avoid this, descend into the squat as if you were sit-
ting back and down into a chair. Don't worry if you lean forward a bit as long
as you maintain a tight and arched back, and keep your bodyweight over the
center of your feet. The ultimate objective is to keep the shins as vertical as
possible throughout the entire movement.
3) In any leg training movement, make sure that your knees are tracking
directly over your feet, not to the inside or outside. Many lifters turn their
knees inward during the concentric phase of a heavy squat, and they usual-
ly aren't aware of it. Give your clients immediate feedback, since after all,
they shouldn't be looking at their feet during the lift! If a client turns the
knees inward, insist that they back off on weight until more correct move-
ment patterns are mastered. Consider videotaping the squat session to pro-
vide unquestionable evidence when needed.
5) Although many top bodybuilders advocate a very close stance for the pur-
pose of "isolating the quads," when squatting, remember the inherent trade-
offs in all ergogenic (work-enhancing) techniques. In this case, any leg train-
ing technique that isolates the quads also intensifies the shearing forces to
the patellar tendon and ligament. A lucky few have knees that can take this
type of punishment, but for most of us, a slightly wider stance, with toes
pointing slightly outward and shins vertical, is a much safer and still very
effective alternative.
6) Finally, teach your clients to be efficient in the exit out of the rack, and
getting "set" in the squat stance. After lifting the weight off of the pins, the
lifter should take just one step backward as immediately assume the squat-
ting stance. This takes time to master, but eventually all the minute adjust-
ments can be pared down substantially. Once set in the stance, cue your
clients to keep their feet "nailed down" for the duration of the set. Many peo-
ple "fidget" with their feet and toes between reps which can cause a variety
of problems ranging from a break in concentration to a loss of balance.
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Knee wraps are only effective if used properly. So, if you've never used them
before, take a moment to read this:
Sit on a chair or bench. Begin with the wrap completely rolled up (this makes
the process much easier than fighting with a six foot tangle of cloth). With
your leg straight, start applying the wrap on the upper portion of your shin.
Wrapping from "in" to "out," (counterclockwise for the left leg, clockwise for
the right), anchor the wrap by applying 2-3 layers on the upper shin, then
move upward, overlapping each previous layer by one-half the width of the
wrap. When wrapping around the patella, make sure the wrap is a bit loose
to avoid excessive pressure on the kneecap. Apply the wrap tightly again as
you move past the knee, stopping somewhere on the lower third of the thigh.
Tuck the end of the wrap under the previous layer to secure it. Repeat for the
other leg.
Unstable Knee Joint: Knee suddenly gives out. This is often caused by old
injuries which have overstretched the knee ligaments.
Locked Knee: The usual cause of locked knees is a torn meniscus or a loose
body within the joint capsule.
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Leg and low back training constitutes the most difficult work you can possi-
bly do in the gym. Unlike working other muscle groups, the residual soreness,
discomfort, and very often sub-clinical low back symptoms resulting from
squats, deadlifts, and their variations can substantially alter your lifestyle for
several days! In the worst case scenarios, injuries resulting from leg and/or
low back training can end your fitness training regimen as you now know it.
Many individuals unknowingly perform leg and low back workouts before they
are fully recovered from the previous session. This practice often leads to
progressively worsening soft tissue microtraumatic injuries until eventually,
training must be discontinued and medical intervention sought. The applica-
tion of an integrated system of recuperative measures into the training pro-
gram can be the key to keeping your low back and leg training on track.
Low back and leg microtraumas resulting from the performance of deadlift
and squat variations can be traced specifically to heavier weightloads which
are utilized with these lifts. Due to the involvement of not one, but many
muscle groups, these lifts necessitate heavier weightloads (as compared to
more isolated movements) if progress is to be expected. Incomplete recov-
ery often exacerbates the inherent dangers involved in heavy lifting. While
squatting, for example, leg fatigue (due to incomplete recovery) will often
cause the lifter to unconsciously transfer the weightload from the legs to the
muscles of the low back by raising the hips faster than the shoulders during
the ascent portion of the lift. This practice not only lessen the effectiveness
of the exercise, but also expose the ligaments, intervertebral disks, and nerve
roots to dangerously high levels of stress. This sets up a cycle wherein the
legs become progressively weaker (due to shifting the weightload to the
back) and the low back becomes progressively more damaged. Eventually, as
they say, something has to go.
Left to it's own resources, your body will in time recover fully from most train-
ing sessions. The problem is, your body is in no particular hurry to do this!
While you have all sorts of goals in mind (i.e., squatting 315 by the end of
the year!) your body (being a conservative organism) wants to do as little as
possible to get by! So the key is to administer a comprehensive recuperation
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1). Pre-training salicylate (aspirin): Aspirin is perhaps the most powerful ana-
bolic drug you can possibly take (legally, in any event). This effective sub-
stance operates on a variety of levels. First, aspirin improves blood flow by
reducing the body's output of thromboxane, a natural chemical which causes
blood platelets to become "stickier" Even as little as 30mg's (about a tenth
of a normal tablet) of aspirin prior to training can thin the blood to the point
where muscle tissue is exposed to greater amounts of nutrient carrying
blood, thus speeding up recovery between reps and sets.
Additionally, lactic acid and other waste products, the result of heavy train-
ing efforts, will be flushed from your muscle cells with greater speed and effi-
ciency. Aspirin also reduces edema (swelling), another result of hard training.
Local tissue swelling and inflammation (usually not visible) is universally
regarded by experts as being the enemy of healing— recovery simply does
not begin until edema has subsided.
Thirdly, aspirin reduces pain associated with training. While there is no ben-
efit in masking pain resulting from injury, aspirin can often make the differ-
ence between a "ho-hum" workout and a really supercharged effort, which
when coupled with an effective recovery regimen, will lead to increased
progress.
Experiment with dosages— in many cases, low dosages of aspirin work just
as well as large doses, with less possibility of stomach irritation. Instead of
assuming that "more is better", it is a wiser practice to seek the smallest pos-
sible dose that will assist your recuperative efforts. To protect your stomach
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lining even further, try crushing the aspirin tablets between 2 spoons and
mixing them into a glass of milk. Since the body eventually develops a toler-
ance to it., use aspirin judiciously— perhaps only prior to your most difficult
training sessions. Finally, check with your physician before implementing a
regular schedule of aspirin therapy, no matter how small the dose.
2). Leg Elevation: Many of us are either sitting or standing while at work for
8 or more hours before going to the gym. During this time, the legs can often
become edematous and swollen. Training with your legs in this condition will
handicap your training efforts right from the start. To help remedy this con-
dition, spend between 20 and 30 minutes (both during the work day and prior
to your leg and/or low back training) with your back on the floor, legs up
against the wall or up against the side of a couch.
Positioning your legs in this way will allow gravity to assist your body in
returning blood back up to the heart, restoring optimum circulation.
Incidentally, while on your back, take the opportunity to listen to some relax-
ing music or take a light nap— doing so will promote an important physical
and psychological transition between work and training.
The recovery process starts every time you cease work— that means between
the positive and negative portion of each rep, between reps, between exer-
cises, and between workouts. In the larger sense, recovery is needed
between heavy training cycles, which sometimes last months! The following
aspects of recovery during the training session must be addressed:
1). Time between sets: Time is in fact, the most elemental unit of recovery.
The amount of time you spend between sets has a significant effect on your
performance on succeeding sets, and on future training sessions. In fact, one
can raise the overall difficulty of the workout simply by decreasing the time
between sets. One can employ either objective or subjective methods of
monitoring time between sets. Objectively, the pulse rate is commonly used
to determine when to begin the next set— most commonly the trainee waits
until the heart rate has fallen to below 60% of maximum (maximum heart
rate is determined as 220 minus your age). Another objective method, albeit
less accurate, is to use the clock— in other words, you would for example do
a set every three minutes. The problem with this method is that your body's
functioning varies from workout to workout, depending on how well recov-
ered you are from previous training efforts. Therefore, using a standard time
unit can be a hit or miss proposition at best.
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is merit in trusting and listening to your body, we urge the heartrate method,
perhaps tempered with subjective assessment, to determine time between
sets.
2). MOVE between sets: Many individuals mistakenly sit down and move as
little as possible between sets. While this feels like the thing to do from an
intuitive perspective, a faster recovery can be realized by moving around a
bit between sets. Why? Well, if you'll consider the importance of the warm-
up and cool-down in the context of a workout— and then think of moving
between sets as both a cool-down for the previous set and a warm-up for the
next set, you'll see the logic in this approach. Movement serves as a "transi-
tion" between all out effort during the set and relative inactivity between
sets. This practice aids circulation and helps to reduce swelling of muscular
tissues.
3). Peripheral Heart Action Training (PHA): PHA is simply the practice of
structuring your workouts such that upper and lower body exercises are
alternated with one another, instead of first training legs, then back, and so
on. The effectiveness of PHA is that it keeps the blood moving between major
areas of the body, which accelerates recovery bodypart per bodypart.
4).The "Light Day:” Instead of performing each and every leg workout at gut
busting intensity, incorporate planned, easier workouts about every third ses-
sion. An example of such a session would be 4 sets of 15 reps at 50-55% of
maximum. This type of moderate intensity training is quite effective in "feed-
ing" sore muscles with fresh blood, reducing scar formation on the micro-
level, and flushing waste products from affected tissues. Planning light days
into your training schedule not only accelerates recovery times, it also pro-
vides variety into the training schedule, which in itself assists in the recovery
process.
1). Contrast Showers: Done immediately after training (use your gym's
shower if possible) expose your lumbar area to alternating bursts of hot and
cold water. As hot as you can reasonably stand for 2 minutes, followed by 2
minutes of progressively colder water up to the point of discomfort. This pro-
cedure is then repeated for 4 to 6 cycles. Since hot water is a vaso-dilator,
and cold water a vaso-constrictor, the net effect of contrast showers is vast-
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2). Cryo-kinetics: Immediately after leaving the shower, construct an ice pack
by placing crushed ice in a "zip-lock" bag. Laying down on the floor with your
feet propped over your bed or couch, place the ice pack under your lumbar
spine. Now, to improve the effect of this procedure triple-fold, try stretching
your spine while on the ice. Gently perform lateral (side to side) flexions,
alternated with pulling your knees to your chest. Mobilizing your spine in this
way will counteract the stiffening effect that you may have experienced while
icing your back in the past.
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(Co-authored with Dr. sal Arria, originally published in Muscle & Fitness mag-
azine, 1994.)
Considering the incredible and constant strain that it's subjected to, the
elbow is a stoic joint indeed. The elbow is a ginglymus or hinge type joint
formed by the humerus bone of the upper arm and the radius and ulna bones
of the lower arm. Although only flexion and extension occur around the elbow
itself, the joint also permits rotation of the radius around the ulna.
Like the knee, the elbow is encased within an extensive synovial membrane,
which synthesizes synovial fluid for the purpose of lubricating the joint.The
elbow is quite stable, owing to the numerous tendons and ligaments that con-
tribute to it's integrity. In fact, many people are amazed to learn that over a
dozen muscles cross the elbow joint— not just the biceps and triceps!
Causes and Pre-conditions for Elbow Problems: A Closer Look at the Problem
Acute traumatic elbow injuries are thankfully rare. Those that do occur are
almost always the result of extreme stress in power and explosion events
such as Olympic weightlifting and throwing. Falls (such as in skating, football,
rugby, and equestrian events) and impact (as in football, combat sports, and
hockey) also sometimes result in sudden traumatic elbow injury. Traumatic
injuries of any type must receive immediate medical attention by a qualified
sports medicine physician.
Chronic injuries in the elbow are usually a result of overuse. Boxers often suf-
fer from such conditions. Of great importance is the fact that most trainees
fail to consider the cumulative impact of all stressful events on the elbow, lim-
iting their attention to training-related stress only. On the job, mechanics
(constant work with wrenches, screwdrivers, etc.), secretaries and office
workers (constant typing, and writing), and health professionals (massage,
physiotherapy, and other forms of physical manipulations) are at risk for
repetitive overuse syndrome (R.O.S.) to the elbow, due to constant and
excessive contracture of the gripping muscles— all of which cross the elbow
joint. Most R.O.S. of the elbow is seen in the dominant side, so "handedness"
becomes an additional factor to consider in these types of injuries.
Among athletes, throwing, particularly in baseball and the javelin event are
leading causes of R.O.S. of the elbow. Boxers are also susceptible (from the
high volume of punches thrown in training and competition), as are tennis
players and golfers. Bodybuilders, fitness enthusiasts, and recreational ath-
letes are not by any means immune to R.O.S.
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The biggest problem with the elbow is the tiny size of the tendinous attach-
ment sites, of which there are many. These sites can become progressively
weakened by both impact and the dynamic forces of leverage. This leverage
means that 10 pounds in the hand equals approximately 45 pounds at the
shoulder joint, for a person with average
arm length.
Another way to view this phenomenon is to compare the force you get by
turning a bolt with a long handled wrench, as opposed to a short handled
wrench. Now consider that a tennis player, for instance, makes this already
long lever even longer by putting a racquet in the hand! The impact of repet-
itively hitting the ball, compounded by the very long lever arm created by the
racquet, results in cumulative microtrauma to the tendinous attachment sites
at the elbow.
Over time, if not treated, these tendons actually begin to fray, much like a
nylon rope would if stretched beyond it's tensile strength. Eventually, the ten-
don can detach from it's attachment site at the elbow, requiring surgical
repair.
• Forearm Strap: Used by tennis players, golfers, and other athletes with
elbow problems. The strap acts like a "shunt," absorbing impact and vibra-
tional forces before they reach the tendinous attachment at the elbow. One
of the best straps is the Interceptor, by Weider.
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(Originally published in the September, 1994 issue of Muscle & Fitness mag-
azine.)
Perhaps the most common oversight made by bodybuilders and other ath-
letes is failing to consider the risks of day-to-day, non-training activities.
Typically, most trainees will be very careful about their form when exercising
(which comprises at most, 20% of all activities in any one given day) yet
totally ignore the potential consequences of other activities which make up a
much greater portion of our lives. When problems arise, blame is usually
assigned to the training activity.
Many people who, having had the experience of back pain while standing for
long periods of time, and the subsequent relief that comes from sitting, have
difficulty understanding just how sitting can place undue pressure to the ver-
tebral disks. In order to understand this concept better, let's have a look at
the following:
1). First, the distinction must be made between the back muscles and the
vertebral disks. When you stand for long periods, the disk pressure is rela-
tively low, but you nevertheless feel pain, which is a result of fatigued low-
back muscles.
2). Increased pressure on the disks in and of itself does not necessarily result
in immediate pain. Thus, we are often unaware of this pressure, which in the
long term can lead to deformative changes in the disks.
3). Now to the real mystery— how can sitting create higher intradiscal pres-
sure than standing? It's because, when standing, your bodyweight is distrib-
uted over a wide variety of structures, including muscles, tendons, ligaments
and joints. Upon sitting down, however, the abdominal "corset" relaxes,
which causes a majority of your bodyweight to load the disks. As we men-
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tioned earlier, you probably will not feel any pain at all when this happens.
But over the long term, the constant, increased load upon the disks can result
in a multitude of problems, from impinged nerve roots to degenerative
osteoarthritic changes.
Workplace Ergonomics
Since sitting is inescapable for most of us the best advice is 1) to limit time
spent sitting as much as possible, and 2), design your workplace (which
includes, but is not limited to your chair) with the following in mind:
• Chairs with lumbar supports (sufficient to maintain, but not exaggerate the
normal lordosis, or sway, of the spine have been shown to result in lower
interdiscal pressures than chairs without these supports (please see sidebar
entitled "Lumbar Disc Pressures in Various Positions").
• Since keeping the knees close together makes you more prone to "slump-
ing," choose a chair that is wide enough to keep your knees apart. Also, if
you sit at a desk for long periods of time, make sure that it allows you enough
space to open your knees.
• If you work with a computer monitor, or anything else that you visually refer
to often, keep it straight ahead and at eye level— if your focal point is lower
than this, it sets you up for a rounded, slumped forward posture.
Remember— virtually all postural related spinal disorders are preventable!
Although the dangers of sitting for prolonged periods of time may not seem
like a pressing issue at the moment, over the years it has a cumulative effect
on the spine— just take a look at many older people who have acquired debil-
itating hunchbacks and other deformities from lifetimes spent in poor pos-
ture.
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Chiropractic vs Medical Management of Low Back Pain:
New Canadian Study Yields Surprising Results
Low back pain isn't finicky when it comes to choosing it's victims— athletes,
non-athletes, young, old, male, female, strong, weak...over 66% of all peo-
ple between the ages of 18 and 55 have experienced some form of low back
pain. Additionally, low back pain (LBP) is estimated to affect over 80% of all
people at some time in their lives. This debilitating and ubiquitous condition
is so prevalent that it might be seen as indigenous to the human species!
Efficacy
Patient Satisfaction
Patients suffering from LBP were far more likely to be satisfied with chiro-
practic treatments than were those who sought medical treatment, according
to Manga's review of the pertinent literature. The study found that numerous
surveys in the U.S. consistently showed that 1) the majority of current and
former chiropractic patients are likely to be satisfied with the treatment they
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received, 2) they would return for chiropractic treatment for a similar condi-
tion, and 3) they would recommend chiropractic treatment to family and
friends. This high rate of satisfaction is despite the fact that only 51% of chi-
ropractic patients had their costs paid by medical insurance. A 1993 study
developed for the RAND corporation indicated extremely high rates of satis-
faction: a questionnaire was sent to 541 new and returning chiropractic
patients. The response rate was 69.5%, considered to be excellent for a
mailed questionnaire. Of the responses, only 3% felt that they had no
improvement in their condition. 84% claimed that the care they received was
"just about perfect." 97% of the respondents indicated that they would rec-
ommend chiropractic care for their friends and family. Patients were less sat-
isfied, however, with the adequacy of insurance coverage.
Safety
Cost Effectiveness
Chiropractic treatment of LBP was found to be more cost effective than tra-
ditional medical management. The cost effectiveness of chiropractic treat-
ment results from fewer ancillary costs such as hospitalization, medications,
and lower durations of disability. In this vein, The Manga Report has recom-
mended a shift in government policy that encourages and even prefers chi-
ropractic care for most patients with LBP. The report also recommends full
insurance coverage for chiropractic care for LBP, adding that significant cost
savings would be achieved if management of LBP was shifted from physicians
to chiropractors.
Perhaps the most intriguing conclusion reached by the Manga Report is that
the use of chiropractic care for LBP is growing steadily, despite the fact that
chiropractic patients incur much higher out-of-pocket costs than do patients
of traditional medical care. In fact, more and more M.D.'s are seeking to
employ spinal manipulation into their own management of LBP, despite the
longstanding criticisms leveled against chiropractors by the medical estab-
lishment.
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Dr. Manga, quoted in an article in USA TODAY, was asked if he had any per-
sonal interest in giving chiropractic a boost. He responded by saying "My
interest is serving the public interest", adding "The evidence is overpower-
ing." One thing is certainly clear: The Manga Report will go a long way in
relieving the hesitancy of LBP sufferers in seeking chiropractic treatment for
their condition.
The Manga Report is available from the Foundation for Chiropractic Education
and Research at (800)622-6309.
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All martial art disciplines and combat sports involve wide-ranging skills and
movement abilities. They require not only speed and strength in short, explo-
sive bursts, but also a high level of anaerobic strength endurance, flexibility,
and agility. Often the martial arts are very ballistic in nature, and, as such,
recovery, tissue repair, and peak speed-strength are year-round objectives.
Nutritionally, that calls for an emphasis on short-term energy needs and max-
imizing the body’s recovery and tissue repair processes.
All nutrients are classified either as macronutrients, which are the sources of
calories, and micronutrients, which, although not sources of calories, are vital
“co-factors”which help the body make better use of the macronutrients.
Proteins
Athletes should construct their meals based on protein. In fact, the word
“protein” actually comes from the Greek word Protos meaning “first.” Protein
provides four calories of energy per gram of weight.
Protein needs depend upon body weight (specifically, lean body weight), and
activity levels. For athletes, a good “rule of thumb” is to consume one gram
of high quality protein per pound of bodyweight per day, divided into five to
six meals over the course of the day. The post-training meal can contain a
larger proportion of protein than the other meals, since the body is capable
of utilizing more protein after training than at any other time.
Individuals familiar with governmental nutrition guidelines will notice that this
recommendation is more than three times the RDA for protein. The reason?
Athletes are in the business of excelling, not merely surviving. And although
conservative nutritionists love to warn of the supposed dangers of an exces-
sive protein intake, Peter Lemon, one of the World’s foremost protein
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Many people do not realize that protein is used by the body for two purpos-
es: energy, and growth and repair. When calories are restricted, the body will
prioritize energy over growth and repair. This means that protein needs
increase during periods of caloric restriction.
Carbohydrates
High GI foods cause the pancreas to release insulin in response to the influx
of blood glucose. Insulin acts to store ingested calories as body fat. This is
why the GI’s of some foods can be surprising. For example, ice cream has a
relatively low GI, because of the fat content. So while many people seek out
low or nonfat ice cream, it actually will have a very high GI and is probably
a poorer choice than the higher fat version for weight-loss purposes
(although, certainly, total calorie content must also be considered).
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BREADS LEGUMES
French baguette 95 Baked beans (canned) 48
Bagel, white (frozen) 72 Navy beans 38
White bread 70 Pinto beans 39
Whole-wheat bread 69 Black beans 30
Pita, white 57 Chickpeas, canned 42
Sourdough rye 57 Lima beans, baby 42
Whole-meal rye 41 Lentils 29
Kidney beans 27
CEREALS Kidney beans, canned 52
Corn Flakes 84 Soybeans 18
Rice Krispies 82 Peanuts 14
Cheerios 74
Cream of Wheat (inst) 74 PASTA
Shredded Wheat 69 Macaroni & cheese 64
Oatmeal, instant 61 Spaghetti, white 41
Special K 54 Spaghetti, whole meal 37
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Fats
Fats contain nine calories per gram of weight, and can be generally classified
as either saturated (solid at room temperature) or unsaturated (liquid at
room temperature). As a general recommendation, no more than one-third
of total fat intake (as a percentage of total calories) should come from satu-
rated fats.
Optimal fat intake also appears to facilitate the oxidation of stored bodyfat
for energy. This is because the body tends to access whatever type of fuel is
most abundant. When stored blood sugar is low, and free fatty acids are high,
the fatty acids become the preferred source of fuel.
Macronutrient Ratios
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versus how many calories burned during the day’s activities. To burn more
calories than consumed meant losing weight.
This second paradigm seemed more sophisticated, but its premise was
flawed. Eventually, a third paradigm emerged, initiated through develop-
ments made by the Balance Bar Company in Carpenteria, California. This new
approach looked at the hormonal effects of foods. Hormones are like the
chemical “software” for the human body. They determine how the body will
process consumed foods.
It turns out that diets too high in carbohydrates, especially the wrong kinds
of carbohydrates (see discussion on glycemic index), result in excessive
secretion of insulin. Insulin is a hormone which directs the body to store
digested foods as body fat. Fats and proteins stimulate production of
glucagon and other hormones which help the body use digested foods as
energy and also to preserve lean tissue, which allows the metabolic rate to
remain high, particularly during periods where caloric intake is low.
When I first saw the “40-30-30” nutrition plan in the popular media, I dis-
missed it as fast as I would dismiss one of those ab-gadget info-mercials. But
after looking into the concept, and using it myself and with my athletes, I
now am convinced that higher fat, lower carb nutritional strategies are in fact
superior to the old way of thinking. In fact, while many dismiss it as “radical”
or “faddish,” it complies with the fat intake guidelines established by the
American Heart Association. And, despite common recommendations that
carbohydrates should occupy 60–70% of total calories, if all ingested carbo-
hydrates derive from natural, unprocessed sources such as fruits and veg-
etables, it’s actually very difficult to exceed 40%.
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Notes: The most significant disparities and comparisons are in bold for emphasis.
Interestingly, the chicken meal has much higher levels of fiber than the pasta meal. The
superior concentration of vitamins and minerals is also noteworthy. The chicken meal con-
tains significantly more cholesterol, however, for most people, there is no significant corre-
lation between ingested cholesterol and serum cholesterol levels.
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Micronutrients
Vitamins
Minerals
Through vast research, it is now known that minerals play a very significant
role in various bodily functions essential to physical movement. And, a defi-
ciency in any mineral can be disastrous to peak performance. Minerals are
found in plants and animal foods, as well as drinking water. Many times the
quantities of minerals found in these sources are too small. Since the stress-
es associated with sport activities promote the loss of various minerals, it
becomes important to increase mineral intakes.
Supplementation
Although the fitness and sports training market is literally overwhelmed with
thousands of supposedly anabolic or ergogenic aids and new ones emerging
every month, very few have any proven value. This may reflect the “magic
pill” mentality that seems so ingrained in current culture. Therefore, the fol-
lowing review only addresses the supplements which have proven track
records for improving health and physical performance. Anabolic steroids are
omitted since they are illegal and, in many cases, dangerous.
For most athletes, a vitamin and mineral supplement is a good place to start
when developing a supplementation plan. Many products are available, and
theories abound as to the optimal proportions of various nutrients that should
be present in a multivitamin. Seek a reputable performance nutrition spe-
cialist for advice on the best formulation to use.
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One of the more difficult aspects of eating well is the preparation involved.
On this front, MRPs can really make a significant difference in the overall
quality of a nutritional plan. MRPs normally consist of all three macronutri-
ents in various ratios, along with vitamins, minerals, and quite often, an array
of the latest anabolic substances, such as creatine, branch— chain amino
acids (BCAAs), HMB, and so forth. Most MRPs are designed to be mixed with
water, milk, or fruit juice, and many mix well with a spoon, precluding the
need for a blender.
Athletes not satisfied with the macronutrient ratio of a particular MRP can
adjust it by adding fruit, flax oil, whey protein, or milk of varying fat levels.
Be cautious of products that are overly-processed with dozens of artificial
ingredients and unproven ergogenic substances which are often included as
an excuse to increase the price of the MRP.
Sports Drinks
Protein Shakes
Protein shakes are available in many formulations, but the most effective
products are based on whey protein.
Use protein shakes as MRPs by adding milk, fruit, and/or flax oil as a way to
create the optimal macronutrient ratio. In this way, it’s easier to avoid all the
processing and artificial ingredients which are so common in MRPs.
Don’t try to live off of protein shakes or MRPs. Athletes need “real” food as
well! Alternate between MRPs and whole food meals throughout the day,
planning it in such a way that a MRP will occur post-training, if a session takes
place that day.
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L-Glutamine
Flaxseed Oil
As a source of essential fatty acids, flaxseed oil helps to lower cholesterol lev-
els, nourish nervous and brain tissue, reduce inflammation, and regulate the
cardiovascular, immune, and digestive systems. Flaxseed oil does not con-
tribute to bodyfat deposition like other fats because it must be converted
metabolically in order to become saturated fat. Because the fatty acids in
flaxseed oil are essential nutrients, they are the starting point, or the “mor-
tar and bricks” for manufacturing all other fatty acids and hormone precur-
sors necessary to support and build strong lean muscle, while prolonging
stamina required for endurance sports. Flaxseed oil may be taken by itself,
or put in shakes or on salads.
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Creatine Monohydrate
Pro-Hormones
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At the time of this writing, the benefit to risk profile of pro-hormones is still
an open question. If an athlete’s particular sports governing body does not
ban these substances, any use should be conducted under medical supervi-
sion to stay on the safe side.
Hydration
The first guideline is that each meal should include all three macronutrients
This recommendation is based on the following information:
1) Metabolic nutritionist Dr. Ann DeWees-Allen has found that protein, when
eaten alone, causes a high-glycemic response from the body, similar to eat-
ing a high GI carbohydrate.5 Adding carbohydrate and/or fats to the protein
negates this response.
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activity levels, and proximity to training events, this could range between 20
and 60 grams, with the average around 30 grams). If one’s daily protein
requirement is 190 grams, and that individual tried to eat protein in only half
of six daily meals, he or she would have to eat sixty-three grams per meal.
Most of this large volume could not be utilized and would most likely be
stored as fat.
4) All meals should contain carbohydrates, not only for energy, but also
because they are the only source of fiber which is essential for digestion.
5) All meals (except the post-workout meal, which should be devoid of fat)
should include fats, particularly the essential fatty acids (such as Omega-3
fatty acids), which promote satiety and slow the GI of meals.
The second important guideline is to eat every three hours. Two or three
meals per day simply aren’t enough. If the body is deficient in calories, it will
resort to cannibalizing muscle tissue for energy. That’s the same muscle tis-
sue athletes spend weeks and months earning in the gym! The body is a con-
servative machine, and it won’t grow unless given a reason (through weight
training). Furthermore, athletes must provide plenty of calories so that the
body is “convinced” it can afford to add additional lean mass. Unless some-
one is near the upper limit of a competitive weight class, don’t be afraid to
sacrifice a bit of definition while attempting to gain muscle. This small amount
of extra bodyfat can be removed later through the “zigzag” method of caloric
intake, to be explained shortly.
Meal frequency becomes even more critical when athletes “diet down” to
make weight for a fight. A 1996 study conducted at Nagoya University in
Japan divided twelve boxers into two groups.6 The first group ate two meals
day, and the second group consumed six meals a day. Both groups ingested
1,200 calories a day for two weeks.
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The final guideline regards the question of calorie distribution. Calories should
be ingested according to activity level. As discussed earlier, the body is able
to utilize greater amounts of nutrients after a heavy training session so adjust
daily caloric intake accordingly. Upon waking, the body is near the end of a
long fast, which began at the end of yesterday’s final meal. Subsequently, the
first meal of the day should have slightly more calories to compensate for
depleted glycogen levels in the muscles and other tissues. On the other hand,
pre-training or event meals should be relatively small to avoid gastric distress
and large blood sugar fluctuations.
Trying to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time is difficult at best, as dis-
cussed earlier. But there are at least two strategies which can be employed
to make both processes safer and less harmful on conditioning levels.
The second strategy is called the zigzag method of caloric intake. Here’s how
it works: Consider a jujitsu competitor who presently weighs 240 pounds with
a bodyfat level of 20%. The goal is to weigh 220 with 10% bodyfat. Very sim-
ply, reduce caloric intake for four to five days. Achieve this by subtracting 100
calories per day under the “baseline.” Then add the calories back to the base-
line for a day or two. When this zigzag method is maintained for two to three
weeks, athletes should lose approximately one pound of fat with minimal loss
of lean mass. If this doesn’t occur after two to three weeks, reduce an addi-
tional 100 calories a day during the “down” period, until the desired loss is
achieved.
In another example, consider a boxer who is close to the upper limit of his
weight class and it’s becoming more and more difficult to make weight. A
decision is made to move up a weight class. The challenge is how to do this
without adding fat. The solution is to reverse the zigzag procedure just dis-
cussed. Increase caloric intake for four to five days, then bring it back down
to normal levels for a day or two. If eating at least five times daily, fat-stor-
age enzymes will be at very low levels, and therefore, when a normal caloric
intake is resumed for one to two days, the body will be unable to store the
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excess calories as fat. When continued over months and years, these proce-
dures will result in added lean mass without the fat!
According to exercise scientist Jerry Telle, many people are sensitive to, aller-
gic to, or have unusual/excessive insulin reactions to certain foods when
ingested.7 One common reaction is fluid retention, which is a nightmare for
competitive athletes trying to come down to fighting weight. Other reactions
include fatigue, cognitive impairment, loss of coordination, immune respons-
es, and congestion.
The most common foods seem to occur with wheat products, sugars, dairy
products, and, paradoxically, any “craved” foods. Telle suggests the following
testing protocol to determine one’s personal sensitivity levels to various
foods:
1) Eat normally for seven days. During this time period, check the pulse
each morning upon waking, and check it again immediately before, and 15 to
20 minutes after meals. Record these numbers for future use. Also, keep
track of body composition during this period.
2) For a period of five days, eat only lean poultry and/or red meat from
game animals, fish, and vegetables. No dairy, grains, or favorite foods!
Continue to monitor the waking, and pre- and post-meal pulse. Also, record
any changes in energy, mental or physical.
4) During each “reintroduction” day, did the waking pulse increase signif-
icantly (more than eight beats per minute?). How about the post-meal pulse?
An increased pulse signals an adverse reaction to the ingested food. Did ener-
gy levels improve?
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With that exhortation, here are three final considerations concerning nutri-
tion.
First, never experiment with new or unusual foods, particularly before a com-
petition. Athletes may discover a food that doesn’t “ agree” at the worst pos-
sible time! Instead, stick with familiar foods that work well. As mentioned
earlier, meals containing low-glycemic carbohydrates are best.
All of these problems can be solved through simple planning. Bring a cooler
to work, or buy a small refrigerator. Cook some chicken breasts (anyone can
do it) and mix them with some chopped vegetables and salad dressing. Make
enough for two to three meals, and it will last for a few days. Use MRP’s that
can be mixed with milk—an easy, low preparation way to eat well at work. Or,
use food bars (such as Balance Bar) as an occasional meal when time gets
tight. The options are many for those who plan them.
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References:
5) Allen, A. D., Edible Computer Chips. Muscle Media 2000, April 1996, pp
119.
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Dear Charles,
The other day, I had a long massage just before my workout, and I think it
actually made me weaker. I always hear that massage is supposed to help
improve recovery, so do I maybe need to seek out another therapist? Or
should I avoid massage before workouts?
Don't fire your massage therapist just yet! There are many different kinds of
massage, and I suspect that the massage you had might have been more
appropriate after a workout rather than for pre-training. The ideal type of
massage for "pre-event" purposes is very light, most often done without oil,
for about 20 minutes before an event. We use broad compression strokes,
jostling and light friction at tendons to warm the muscles up, loosen them
from spasms prime them with blood.
Dianna also cautions that If a large range of motion is important to the per-
formance of the athlete's sport or training (for example, deep squatting or
dumbbell bench presses) the athlete should take it easy for the first workout
and be aware that the synergistic functioning of the antagonists has been
temporarily altered by the release of the adhesions. For example, if the ham-
string has had a large spasm or adhesion in it and the deep tissue work
relieved some portion of that spasm or all of it, the muscle might behave dif-
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ferently, the leg could go forward faster, thus affecting the athlete's gait. This
is ultimately beneficial for performance, but could be temporarily disconcert-
ing to feel your leg moving faster than you are used to. This takes some re-
orientation for the athlete and would hardly be noticed by the average per-
son.
A well trained sports therapist should inform her client what to expect from
the work and how to choose what kind of massage is appropriate for their
immediate goal and how to best time the massages to be most affective to
help the athlete achieve enhanced performance. So communicate with your
massage therapist, and I'd suggest that you treat a deep massage almost like
a workout — don't make any strong demands on those muscles for a few days
following the treatment.
Dear Charles,
I read your book Special Topics in Martial Arts Conditioning which emphati -
cally encourages weight training for improved martial arts performance. After
implementing a few weight training cycles into my Tae Kwon Do competition
preparation, I ended up slower and feeling unusually awkward. What do you
think I'm doing wrong?
Simply moving your pawns, knights, and bishops forward on the chess board
does not assure victory. Before you decide to quit on you resistance training
program, let's examine a few avoidable mistakes that can contribute to
diminished results on "event day:"
Sometimes the best intentions hit a pothole. It's possible that the training
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was timed perfectly well; however, exercises selected and the muscles tar-
geted were flawed.
Dear Charles,
I just joined a gym to lose weight and tone up (I feel very cliche saying that,
but it's true!). After filling out the paperwork, the sales guy introduced me to
a trainer who showed me how to use aerobic and circuit training equipment.
It's not my intention to look like the female bodybuilders I see on TV, so
should I keep the reps high on the machines, or just stick to the aerobics to
slim down?
Without the backing of a statistic, I'll venture to say you have most common
goal among new fitness enthusiasts. As well, you probably have one of the
most common misconceptions of the effects of resistance training on your
body.
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1) Lose Weight— here we are invariably referring to reducing body fat. (not
just weighing less).
2) Tone Up— I hate the term "tone," (Tone is simply, a partial, involuntary
muscle contraction, which is possible even if you're obese) so let's just say
that we want to increase muscle mass (fortunately, you don't have to wait
nearly as long as a bodybuilder to realize your goals!)
"Slimming down and toning up" can be viewed as a stop on the route to body-
building. Take as many transfer passes as you need to get where you're
going— when you get there, it's completely your decision to continue on or
stay where you are. What I'm saying is— training like a bodybuilder, using
the tools that the fitness instructor at the gym showed you, will steer you in
the direction you want. Incidentally, you will see many gradual progressions
in your body— in other words, you'll never wake up one morning and find that
you went "too far."
Now, in the immortal words of Seinfeld's personal trainer, "All aboard the pain
train!"
First, get off to the best possible start by hiring a reputable professional train-
er (The International Sports Sciences Association will be glad to help you find
a great trainer in your area— just call 800-892-ISSA). With or without a train-
er there are a few guidelines you should follow. Spend the next eight to ten
weeks performing one or two sets per workout/per muscle targeting all or
most of the muscles on your body (not just the areas you’re primarily con-
cerned about). By developing more muscle all over the body, your metabo-
lism will elevate due to the fact that you have more tissue that requires fuel
(this may be one reason why men usually have lower body fat percent);
hence, you will be burning more body fat all day long. Not a bad deal, huh?
Be careful not to get too comfortable with the initial program, however. It's
not unusual to accomplish a great percentage of your training objective in the
first couple of months, regardless of what program or system you're using.
Like a drug that makes you feel better, it is very hard to discontinue an exer-
cise program that is producing results. However, realize that along with the
benefits you are seeing, there is an accumulation of drawbacks as well. For
example, squats can be a terrific exercise for the quads, hams, and glutes;
however, prolonged squatting for months or years with no significant break
could lead to overuse injuries in the joints. So don't be afraid to change a few
variables in your training every few weeks (after the initial eight weeks,
rewrite your program every 3 or 4 weeks).
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Dear Charles,
I always (or usually, anyway) train alone in my home. For chest, I always
bench inside my smith machine for safety because I don't have a spotter. I'm
well aware that top body builders don't get big using machines, so could you
recommend any changes that could increase the effectiveness of my pec
workouts while keeping them safe?
Before I answer your question, I have to first say that the Smith machine isn't
completely foolproof! It IS possible to get stuck in one, because you can't
always hook the bar onto the pins. If this happens, you're REALLY stuck! I
strongly recommend using a spotter anytime you use this device.
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Most home multi-gym gym devices have an attachment for dips. Dips are
probably the most effective pec exercise that can be performed without the
aid of a spotter (if you have any know shoulder problems, I'd talk with a com-
petent orthopedist who understands strength training first, however). Start
the exercise from a sturdy block or support set high enough to easily return
your feet to. Should you misjudge your ability to complete a set, you can
maneuver your feet to the block and remove the tension on the pecs (and
more importantly, shoulders). For more advanced trainees, the dip can cre-
ate a safe environment for eccentric training. To perform an eccentric dip, you
must again place a block below your feet, starting with the arms extended
and lower yourself in a controlled fashion. As you descend to the end of your
normal range of motion, place your feet on the block, assist yourself to the
starting position, remove the tension on your feet, and continue until the set
is complete. Particular attention must be paid to safety and control during the
flexion of the elbow during dips. Note: it is preferable to position the block so
that the feet are always above the block when not assisting in the movement.
Finally, I must point out that the bench press can be safely performed alone
through the use of safety spotters, a device which can be set to catch a bar
just past your normal range of motion, allowing you just enough room to
remove yourself from a failed attempt. Using a power rack with safety pins
can also be used for the same purpose. Either way, NEVER bench without a
spotter!!! EVER! And one last point while we're talking about safety— even
though it feels better to have your thumbs on the same side of the bar as the
rest of your fingers, never do so. One slip is all it takes, and the consequences
are disastrous. It'll only take a handful of workouts to get used to the new
grip, and who knows— you might be eligible for lower life insurance premi-
ums!
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Dear Charles,
My football coach will not let us do curls he says they have no place in train -
ing, but I say they do. The biceps must be there for a reason, right?
The biceps plays a pivotal role in the function of the shoulder and also in the
articulation of the hand. It also balances the forces created by the triceps at
the elbow joint. So I hope your coach will someday take less of an "extrem-
ist" position about this issue, but in the mean-time, see if he'll allow you to
perform more chins— a great bicep movement, but just tell him you are doing
it for your back strength!
Dear Charles,
I'm on a split routine, working out each body part twice a week. My partner
and I are trying a new exercise tempo, really emphasizing the the negative.
When our second pec day came around, we were both too sore to get any -
thing done. Do you need more rest after negatives?
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.
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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.
Dear Charles,
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Dear Charles,
My favorite author said in a magazine that chin-ups were the best lat exer -
cise, hands down. Do you think this is true? and can I benefit from this exer -
cise if I can only perform three or four repetitions per set?
I'm always hesitant to call anything 'the best,' but I will say chin-ups are pret-
ty darn good. All rowing and pulldown motions innervate the lats, but I can-
not 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 possess 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:
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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 prop-
er 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 isn∂t far
behind!
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 bal-
ance 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.
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Jefferson Cleans
Dear Charles,
OK— first, I think you're referring to a "Jefferson lift." Jefferson cleans are
used for gender reassignment, as you'll soon appreciate.
To perform the Jefferson lift, you straddle a loaded barbell, grabbing the bar
with one hand behind you and one hand in front of you. Then, you simply lift
the bar in deadlift fashion. Your feet will be perpendicular to each other— kind
of like a fencing stance. Of course, make sure your knees track directly over
your feet.
On the other hand, if you continue this motion up into a shrug, Mr. Happy will
have to change his name to "Mr. Dead." So always remember this important
rule: when you do cleans, always start with both feet on the SAME SIDE of
the bar!
What is Tellekinetics?
Dear Charles,
As I flip through some of the current muscle mags, I usually think to myself
"Same article, different author." Since bodybuilding magazines have been on
the newsstands since the 1930's you have to wonder if it's all been said and
done. I recently attended a seminar conducted by noted exercise scientist,
Jerry Telle, where he described a system he developed, which to my great
surprise, was completely original, and as I found out later, painfully effective.
Tellekinetics is based on two factors that are the basis of all systems of exer-
cise— biomechanics (or exercise technique) and loading parameters. The bio-
mechanical basis of this program is extremely innovative and exciting. Jerry
offers a gamut of exercises you've never seen before, cleverly optimizing the
tension on the target muscle throughout the entire exercise.
Ever done preacher curls? If you have, you've obviously discovered that as
you come to the top of the concentric phase, then tension is reduced faster
than I can eat a pint of ice cream on cheat day. Now try it Tellekinetics style:
perform a normal concentric preacher curl on a Scott curl bench. As soon as
the weight reaches the top, lean forward, maintaining the same angle at the
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elbow, until the forearm is parallel to the floor. Now, keep your forearms par-
allel to the floor as you lean back and return to the starting position.
Now, to really augment the effect of the improved biomechanics, you've got
to perform the exercise using Telle's proprietary drop set system.
Bodybuilders have been utilizing drop sets for decades with good results, but
Tellekinetics features a unique variant called a "wide-spectrum, varied-
tempo" drop set. Here's how it works:
a) getting the central nervous system jacked up for the ensuing set, and
b) determining your working weight to start with.
After this, you rest a bout a minute, and begin your WSVT drop set. You'll
start with a weight which allows 2-4 reps
Having ranted in several other articles about the value of variety, I can enthu-
siastically recommend Tellekinetics to anyone looking for an effective pro-
gram, different from anything they have ever tried. Try one of Jerry's drop
sets on your next bicep session and e-mail me with your impressions!
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Dear Charles,
I’m trying to get my metabolism up. My husband sold me on the idea of quit -
ting my daily 45 minute cardio workout, and replacing it with weight training
so I could put some muscle on. Now, it’s a month later and I haven't lost any
fat and think I even lost a little muscle in my legs. Should I keep waiting for
the results to kick in or should I go back to my old routine?
Even if you lost a little muscle following the schedule you’re describing, your
husband’s suggestion might have spared you from potentiating a pattern
overuse injury. Any ‘routine’ exercise or training schedule performed over an
extended period, especially daily, tends to traumatize the joints and their
associated connective tissues. Breaking from a habitual activity, or at least
altering the movement pattern in some way can either reduce or redirect
traumatizing tension to a better-prepared location on your body.
Now that you have had the good fortune of this break, should you go back to
more cardio? I think so. Chances are that like many women, you have a high
relative proportion of Type I muscle fiber, or as it’s more commonly called
‘slow twitch muscle fiber.’
All people have varying proportions of Type 1 (or slow) and Type II (or fast)
fibers in their muscles. Women as a general rule of thumb, tend to have
greater proportions of slow twitch fibers as compared to men. This may very
well be why they gravitate toward aerobics and other endurance type activi-
ties when selecting exercise options.
Type I muscle fibers are relatively slow and weak (this is where the term slow
twitch comes from) but they also have great endurance capacity. Because of
this, slow twitch fibers are much more resistant to fatigue. To challenge these
fibers enough to force a training effect, exhausting and frequent exercise is
required.
Type II (or fast twitch) fibers are white when viewed under the scope, pro-
duce lots of tension, but fatigue very quickly. They also take longer than red
fibers to recover, and tend to have greater growth potential. Type II’s have a
higher threshold than red fibers (which means they need greater loads to
innervate them).
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Now, based on what you’ve told me, my guess is that you have more red fiber
then the average person and have managed to develop some quality muscle
from your cardio training. We see this frequently in sports like rowing and
cycling where athletes develop impressive amounts of muscle by participat-
ing in mainly endurance activities.
You could refine and maximize your ‘red fiber’ training by doing some weight
training exercises that take a minimum of 90 seconds per set (or greater) to
perform. As well, I think you should perform some exercises with greater
loads for sets that take 20-40 seconds to perform. This will increase the size
and more importantly the strength of your fast twitch fibers. Training these
fibers will strengthen your ability to handle greater loads when you return to
higher rep training.
So yes, go back to your cardio training for a month or so. Then, redirect our
training to some higher intensity weight training, and then once again adjust
the program to frequent, high rep exercises. As a rule, when constructing the
macro-cycle (the long term plan, including all phases of training) place the
greatest emphasis on the phase that offers the greatest personal return.
Spend less time on the elements that appear less productive— you can rec-
ognize them as the ones that are less fun.
????
Dear Charles,
Do you ever think to yourself— "I’m not strong enough...I can’t pick up the
weight...I don’t write well...Everyone is stronger than me...No one likes
me...?"
A: This crosses my mind every morning; however, I turn that tide with my
daily affirmation: "I’m strong enough, I’m smart enough, and dog-gonit, peo-
ple like me."
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exactly how I was going to improve his leg strength— by finding new, unfa-
miliar challenges for his neuromuscular system.
According to Joe’s diary, one of the most prominent leg exercises was front
squats. He had performed this exercise virtually every week for as far back
as his diary went (which is by no means unusual for an Olympic weightlifter,
by the way). So I tested his 1RM in the front squat which resulted in a lift of
295 pounds. Now that I had this marker, I never had him perform the front
squat until he re-tested about thirty days later.
For the first month of training I focused on hypertrophy (his quad and ham-
string development was inadequate given the fact that he had plans to move
to a higher weight class eventually). I had him perform deep lunges empha-
sizing the quadriceps. These are done in place, exhausting one leg before
moving on to the next, rather than alternating legs. Joe also performed step-
ups on a four inch block, focusing mostly on vastus medialis development.
We also utilized stiff-leg deadlifts supersetted with one and a quarter squats
(descend, come up a quarter of the way, back down, and finally all the way
up). All exercises were performed fairly slowly— about 5-6 seconds per rep.
On one particular session, I went to get a glass of water, only to come back
and see Joe’s eyes squeezed closed and clicking his heels together, chanting
"There’s no place like home...there’s no place like home!" He never got his
trip home, but he did get a 326 pound front squat when I re-tested him on
February 13th. At this point I put him slightly back into more familiar sur-
roundings, focusing on clean and snatch pulls. I increased the loading inten-
sities from the previous month, and switched from one and a quarter squats
to standard full squats. We also employed trap-bar deadlifts, which is a
favorite movement of mine, due to the fact that it allows the athlete to
achieve high levels of overload with relatively low compression on the lum-
bar spine. It also spares the shins, which take a heavy beating during per-
formance of the competitive lifts.
This second month of training lead to a 362 pound front squat test, which I
have to admit surprised even me.
I now had three weeks left to maximize Joe’s leg power before getting him
ready for competition. I had him start performing the Olympic lifts — the
snatch, and the clean and jerk. Joe’s explosive leg power and stretch reflex
improved significantly using the these lifts. I had him speed up the tempo on
squats; however, I remained extremely careful to monitor his upright pos-
ture, never letting that deteriorate. Three weeks into this phase, on April
23rd, Joe front squatted 372 pounds. I think Joe wet his pants when he real-
ized what he had done, but he swears it was just sweat.
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I wish I had a secret formula for strength success. I don’t, but when I saw
Joe’s training diary, it looked to me like he was trying to make chocolate chip
cookies and the only ingredient he was using was chocolate chips. The theme
of this story is not that front squats are bad (if they weren’t so highly preva-
lent in his past training, believe me, he would have been doing plenty), it is
that a recipe requires certain ingredients with careful amount of each element
no matter how good that element seems.
Q: Marilyn Manson is cut! There’s not a speck of fat on his body. Is there any
relationship between satanic worship and bodyfat percentage?
A: OK, I knew sooner or later something like this would happen. Hey, I’ll just
assume that you’re serious and answer the question.
1) People from warmer continents are statistically leaner than those from
colder climates, i.e. Africans tend to be leaner than Northern Europeans.
Marilyn Manson is from hell which is rumored to be at least 3000 degrees
warmer than the equator...talk about thermogenic!
Q: I just bought a house and am already laying the blueprints for my home
gym in the garage. Do you have any recommendation for a particular brand
multi-gym?
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Start with dumbbells because of their immense versatility. With a good set of
dumbbells you can apply resistance to virtually any muscle without the aid of
any other equipment. If you don’t have room for a complete set of dumbbells
(which are expensive in terms of space and money), Power Blocks are an
unbeatable choice. Power Blocks are basically selectorized dumbbells— you
determine the weightload by simply re-setting the pins, just as you would
with a machine. I also suggest buying the stand which is designed to hold the
Power Blocks— without it, you’ll have difficulty inserting the pins (you can
purchase Power Blocks at Dr. Fred Hatfield’s web site at www.drsquat.com ).
The second choice is an ABS-Pro Swiss ball from Sissel USA. The ABS-Pro can
be used as a substitute for a weight room bench, and is a hell of a lot cheap-
er as well. In addition, the ball allows for a multitude of strength training,
flexibility, and stabilization exercises which are unique to the ball alone. At
less than $30, this is the most versatile tool in my gym. (Please go to
www.swissball.com for more information).
Thirdly, look into purchasing an Olympic style barbell set, which can be
obtained for less than $100, although I’d suggest a higher quality set if you
can afford it (a nation-wide chain of stored called Play-It-Again Sports sells
every imaginable type of pre-owned sports and fitness equipment at rock
bottom prices— check your local yellow pages for one near you). Olympic
lifters and power lifters may have to shop around for properly gauged and
engineered bars, otherwise any set should do.
Fourth on the list is a power rack. I rank it fourth not because it’s not as use-
ful, but because it costs a bit more (you can easily find a good rack for less
than $300 though— I’d check out Bigger Faster Stronger at 801-974-0460 as
a starting point) and takes up a fair amount of space. The power rack enables
you to perform exercises from various heights and easily and quickly adjusts
to different heights for your partner. A good rack has a pull-up bar at the top,
and most importantly, a system of adjustable pins so that you can perform
benching and squatting variations in complete safety. Although the power
rack takes up a bit of space, you can store a lot of your other equipment
inside of it when not in use.
Finally, there are scores of useful tools you can equip your gym with — med-
icine balls, trap bars, squat harnesses, wobble boards, grip developers, etc.
I love having lots of options available, however, I can train myself and my
athletes without them when the ‘extras’ are unavailable, as long as the basics
are there.
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Q: My first bodybuilding contest is just four weeks away. What do you think
I should focus on in the gym until then? I know I need to get leaner, but I’m
afraid to lose the muscle I’ve managed to gain over the past 8 months!
A: You have two major objectives for competition day— be as "freaky big" as
possible, and be as "freaky lean" as possible. If you have to choose between
the two, go with the former. A strength increase is of no value to you at this
stage of the game, and putting on noticeable mass in the coming weeks
would be harder than nailing Jello to a wall. You need to find a way to retain
as much mass as possible, but accept minor losses in mass in order to
decrease fat to an absolute minimum.
As a rule of thumb, exercises which produce high levels of lactic acid are most
productive for fat loss. The noticeable burn associated with lactic acid pro-
duction is a great indicator that you using a system appropriate for pre-con-
test. The "burn," suggesting lactic acid presence, increases the likelihood of
elevating HGH (human growth hormone), which research shows to be impor-
tant for facilitating muscle growth and efficient fat metabolism.
Without a doubt, all your efforts will be for naught without a disciplined diet.
This may be the most dramatic change of any component of your training
regimen. I usually see less value in high or even moderate carbohydrate diets
in preparation for a bodybuilding contest.
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Knee Wraps
Dear Charles,
A: A car salesman may have some great selling tips; however, it's doubtful
he would have the best closing tips for a computer salesman. Be especially
wary of the "gym lawyer" (the big guy in the gym who tells everyone to train
like him for good results). In your case, the athlete isn't even from the same
sport as you. In any event, frequent use of knee wraps (and I'm referring to
the heavy, elasticized-cotton wraps that powerlifters use) would be a big mis-
take for an Olympic lifter; however, you are a powerlifter and that's a differ-
ent story.
Without question, knee wraps will help you hoist bigger weights, particularly
on your squat‹ ten to twenty percent, as a matter of fact. In powerlifting, the
total is all that matters, so obviously you want to do everything you can
(within the confines of the rules, of course), to get every last pound you can.
Although greater weights can be handled using wraps, your quadriceps are
actually relieved from some of the stress they'd ordinarily receive when you
lift with wraps.
Another problem is that, even properly worn, knee wraps jam the patella
against the femoral groove throughout the squatting movement, and over
time, this may potentiate chondromalacia patellae (wearing away at the
inside of the knee cap).
Given these risks, should you use the wraps in the gym with any regularity?
Yes, but with prudence. Since the wraps take a little getting used to, they
would be of little use to you in competition if you never use them in training.
You can get the best of both worlds by only using the wraps when you exceed
a selected intensity, which, in my opinion, is 85% of 1RM and up. To mini-
mize the hazards on your knee joints, take the advice of renowned sports
medicine lecturer, and co-founder of the ISSA, Dr. Sal Arria. Arria recom-
mends wrapping your knees tightly in a cylindrical fashion around the upper
shin (where the patellar ligament attaches), then more loosely over the
kneecap itself, then tightly again over the lower third of the thigh. Arria also
suggests that wrapping the knees prior to heavy squatting reduces the
pulling forces on the patellar ligament at it's attachment to the shin. This may
translate to significantly reduced chances of avulsing (detaching) your patel-
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Mind-Muscle Link
I have two neat little exercises for you, both stem from my experiences as a
martial arts instructor. The first is very easy to grasp and very practical, the
second is a bit more esoteric, although just as effective if you take the time
to understand it:
• SLOW DOWN! Try the following exercise: throw a punch, as fast as you can.
Now, throw the same punch, but in "dream-like slow motion." Did you notice
that on the fast punch, you were only aware of the beginning and the end of
the movement, while with the slow punch, you were much more aware of
every point along the movement path? Learning any movement works the
same way. I've said on many, many occasions that the most prevalent bio-
mechanical error made in gyms is excessive movement speed.
• Karate master Hidy Ochai suggests that, in order to increase your aware-
ness of breathing, to inhale as though you were trying to detect a scent in
the air. Try it. Now, the idea is to transfer this idea to lifting, as nebulous as
that might sound. The idea is to lift a weight— I take that back— the idea is
to perform the movement pattern with no attention to the weight itself, but
rather on the effort that the muscle must exert as it overcomes the resist-
ance. Next workout, try this— take a light bench press, maybe forty to fifty
percent of your 1RM. Allow the bar to lower to your chest and then reverse
the motion slowly. Block all distractions from your mind and focus only on
your effort.
A final thought for you to consider is that the prime mover in any given exer-
cise changes as you progress through the range of motion. So, although most
people will tell you that the prime mover in the squat is the quads, at the very
bottom the glutes are more active and have to be considered the prime
movers. Only when you have ascended half-way up are the quads really the
prime movers. With a bit of creativity and inquiry, you'll easily be able to
apply this concept to all your favorite exercises.
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Charles,
A: There are many factors I've been made aware of that present challenges
to successful bodybuilding in the military that out-weigh your dilemma, i.e.
weight control programs, and an insanely high aerobic emphasis in training.
The fact that many military men have only the weekends to get their hands
on the iron may be a blessing in disguise, since most gyms everywhere are
fraught with "overtrainers."
Realistically, we're only going to be able to train a muscle group once a week,
given your schedule. Some people would benefit from more sessions; how-
ever, most athletes need at least five to seven days to recover from intense
strength training. Having the good fortune of the whole weekend, I'd rather
see both days utilized; however, both of the sample workouts I will describe
could be performed in one day if the time constraints were even more
extreme.
With such limited time, we have to make every set count! When browsing the
exercise menu, make your selections from the tried and true basics:
Chest: bench press & variations, incline bench presses, dips. Shoulders: mil-
itary presses, dumbbell lateral raises, Arnold presses Triceps: pushdowns,
skull crushers, overhead tricep extensions. Biceps: barbell curls, e-z curls,
preacher curls, hammer curls, concentration curls. Back: pull-ups, pull-
downs, bent rows, seated rows, back extensions, deadlifts. Legs: Squats and
their variations, lunges, leg presses, leg-curls, step ups, stiff-leg deadlifts
Abdominals: Swiss ball crunches, reverse trunk twists, reverse crunches.
Sample Microcycle:
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Training two days a week isn't exactly ideal, but the results will far transcend
the result of not training. As a matter of fact, I think you will be surprised
how much progress you can make, training this infrequently. I suspect that
people who go through frequent periods where they are slightly undertrained
get better results than people who go through frequent periods of overtrain-
ing. I'd love to delve deeper into this topic. If you plan a competition or have
to endure more than a week in the field contact me and we’ll prepare you for
these challenges.
Charles,
I'm a 17 year old varsity wrestler. I want to strength train, but cannot out -
grow my weight-class. Can I get stronger without gaining any weight?
You obviously should not train the same way a bodybuilder does (unless you
want to increase your bodyweight). However, if you do realize a weight gain
from low-rep strength training, you probably are headed in that direction
anyway. What I mean by this is that if you gain weight as an adaptation to
low rep, high intensity work, it tells me that you are already neurally efficient
as you are going to be at that weight and can only see physical (as opposed
to technical) improvement with a bit more muscle on your frame. This com-
monly happens in boxing where a fighter gradually finds it harder and hard-
er to make it down to their weight class, and then must make the move up
to the next class. At your age, this scenario is inevitable, it just a question of
long it's going to take before you have no choice but to move up.
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My bodyfat reads around 8% and sometimes lower. For the life of me I can -
not get a "six pack." The lower abs just don't show through. Do I need to
focus on ab development or get even leaner?
A: At 8% bodyfat I doubt you need to drop any fat mass to see more ripples
in the mid-section. There are two possibilities here: First, your abdominals
may in fact be poorly developed. The second possibility is that you may have
less tenuous intersections in your rectus abdominus than the people who's
abs you covet.
I tend to lean away from the possibility that your abs are under-developed. I
say this based on the fact that you say "The lower abs just don't show
through." Safely assuming that the "upper abs" do show through suggests
that the muscle is developed.
As cliche and academic as it may sound, I have to point out, there are not
upper abs and lower abs, just upper and lower regions of the same muscle.
The abs appear to be separate muscles; however, it is one muscle with ten-
uous intersections that give the illusion of separate muscles.
About two percent of people (most happen to be of Asian decent for some
reason) are born with only two tenuous intersections which serve to separate
the rectus abdominus into horizontal sections. If you happen to fall into this
category, the coveted "six pack" configuration may not be a realistic goal for
you. Like your race and your shoe size, it is unique to your physiology.
Incidentally, bodybuilding great Boyer Coe's abs were relatively unimpressive
among his professional bodybuilding peers. He certainly compensated with
bicep peaks, high as any I've ever seen (also genetic). The point is, at the
leanest he's ever been seen, he just didn't have a rippled washboard, pre-
sumably because he lacked these tenuous intersections.
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Dear Charles,
A: I always find it funny that in cases like this, people only want to know what
anabolic substances these athletes are taking, and not what kind of training
they're doing!
In any event, the word "fair" really does not apply to the world of sport, does
it? Is it fair that Michael Jordan has more type II (fast twitch) muscle fibers
than 99% of all basketball players? Is it fair that Lennox Lewis has longer
arms than Mike Tyson? Is it fair that vegetarians have to compete with car-
nivores?
You may be thinking, "Charles...you've really lost it this time! What the heck
does muscle fiber, arm length, and dietary preference have to do with Mark
McGwire's supplement schedule?" What I'm saying is that there are numer-
ous factors that contribute to performance — some are under our control,
some are not.
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References:
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A: Although your diet and/or overtraining could be a factor, let’s examine the
workout itself. Selecting exercises targeting certain muscles is great, but we
cannot lay out the plot without rhyme or reason. As a rule of thumb, always
order your exercises from greatest technical difficulty to least technical diffi-
culty. Challenge the nervous system first, since less complicated exercises
can still be performed as this system fatigues. After that, select exercises
which involve large muscles masses prior to exercises which require lesser
volumes of muscle to perform. Consider the exercise relationships logically—
compound exercises usually will not affect so-called "isolation" movements;
however, the latter will often have a debilitating effect on the former.
The power snatch requires intense and coordinated use of more muscles than
any other exercise in this workout. It does not target a specific muscle like a
bicep curl does. Also, the power snatch places great demand on the body’s
ability to transfer force from one muscle to another against an external resist-
ance. For these reasons, the snatch is clearly the most technically complicat-
ed lift in your workout and certainly should be performed first.
Nothing else in this workout has a particularly high skill element; therefore,
we now have to consider which remaining lift will present the greatest inten-
sity. The bench press is a logical choice for the second exercise for two rea-
sons. First, it will require more high threshold muscle fibers than anything left
to be performed, and second, nose crushers prior to benching would effect
the triceps ability to contribute as a synergist to the pectorals in the bench
press.
Performing nose crushers after benching gives the triceps a bout of direct
stress that they did not receive during the bench presses. Although the bench
press requires significant use of the triceps in the assistance of the pectorals,
their role as a synergist should not be so taxing that they will perform at all
short of maximum ability.
Finally, I would save the ball crunches for last. Although the addition of the
ball would seem to elevate the skill element of the exercise, we don’t want to
fatigue and effect the abdominals adversely in their crucial role as stabilizers
for all the exercises performed up to this point.
There is a realistic chance that rearranging this routine could solve your prob-
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lem. I would actually be surprised if there were days you ever felt good
snatching after nose crushers and bench presses! These changes are not sub-
tle— you may have the best snatch and bench workouts you have ever had
if this exercise order has always been your habit.
Q: Charles: Most people say you can improve your tennis game with strength
training; however, I see few top-notch pros with physiques that are above
average. Is strength training harmful for tennis players?
A: It’s true, few elite male tennis players possess the muscular physiques
often seen in other anaerobic strength endurance sports such as baseball,
basketball, football, etc... Even more perplexing, some top female tennis
players, such as Venus Williams do possess superior levels of muscularity
compared to their male counterparts. Is there an ideal level of hypertrophy
for male or female tennis players? I don’t think so. I suspect that tennis, the
quintessential gentleman’s sport, may have dodged the not so gentlemanly
iron a little longer than other sports and is just now catching on. There’s no
reason that strength training would improve physical capacity in other games
but not in racquet sports.
Michael Chang, who champions the case study supporting strength training
with his well-developed lower body, developed a hard-hitting baseline game
despite a lack of advantageous height. Tennis requires high levels of starting
strength, agility, strength endurance, and flexibility. All of these qualities
improve with a properly executed strength training program. Let’s look at
them one by one:
Starting Strength
Starting strength, or the ability to recruit as many motor units (all the mus-
cle fibers controlled by one motor nerve) as possible in an instant is required
from the first swing of the racquet. It is technically considered a component
of speed strength.
It should be obvious that 80-140 MPH serves and furious sprints to the ball
are not performed without quickly accessing high-threshold motor units. Of
course, muscle fibers usually remain somewhat dormant until presented with
tension that "recruits" them in order to overcome the resistance. This chal-
lenge can easily be provided in the form of a well-designed resistance train-
ing program. Once the motor units have been trained, it becomes much eas-
ier to access them for tasks that require acceleration against small resist-
ances, i.e., the racquet.
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Explosive Strength
Explosive strength is the ability to keep muscle fibers activated once they
have been innervated— it is the second component of speed strength.
Explosive strength is required for sprinting after a return, or generally, any
rapid accelerative movements. This presents the most obvious need for
strength training which can be developed in the weight room very easily and
safely.
Agility
Strength Endurance
Flexibility
A great concern among tennis coaches and players is that resistance training
will decrease an athlete’s range of motion (ROM). Although resistance train-
ing without stretching might limit an athlete’s ROM, performing regular
stretching exercises will prevent a loss of flexibility.
Although many athletes believe they are better or healthier athletes when
they are more flexible, there is such a thing as too much flexibility. Limit your
flexibility training to ROM development specific to performing your sport, with
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a bit of room to spare for unforeseen events, such as slipping into a partial
split position as you reach for a long ball. Two things scare me (and Austin
Powers): nuclear weapons and carnies! Please don’t show me your contor-
tionist act, save it for the circus.
Eccentric Emphasis
A: Unlike many old axioms, this one has a certain logic. The conventional wis-
dom is that we possess more eccentric strength than concentric strength. In
other words, we can lower more weight down than we can lift. Thus, we can
sometimes get more "bang for the buck" during the eccentric phase by
extending it’s duration during any given repetition. So why is Dr. Hatfield talk-
ing about lifting at speeds that are commonly considered ineffective?
Here’s why: whether your primary training objective is mass or strength, you
should spend time devoted to each respective quality, since each depends
upon the other. During periods devoted to hypertrophy development, a cer-
tain duration, or time under tension, is necessary to force metabolic adapta-
tions. This duration varies from person to person, but generally is between
twenty seconds to a minute per set.
When strength is the quality you wish to target with your training, heavy
loads must be employed which are more taxing on the nervous system than
the musculoskeletal system. With this type of training (heavy weights and
low reps), the goal is to take advantage of the stretch-shortening cycle (the
elastic component of the musculo-tendinous system) through a controlled,
but rather fast decent, and then to accelerate through the sticking point of
the lift on the concentric phase. Slow descents tend to dissipate the kinetic
energy which becomes stored in the tendons during the eccentric phase.
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with muscle.
There is a time for slower lifts and a time for faster lifts. Bodybuilders and
weightlifters alike should use both, deciding where to spend the majority of
their time based on their sport. A bodybuilder may spend two weeks lifting
heavier loads with a fast tempos for every four weeks of using lesser inten-
sity with a slower tempo. A weightlifter might benefit more from two weeks
of lower intensity with faster tempo for every four weeks of greater intensity
with a faster tempo.
Static Training
Q: Mr. Staley, I usually spend the last four weeks of power meet preparation
pyramiding up to my 1RM's in every workout. Do you think I should use some
static sets as a change of pace?
If you are always breaking PR’s in competition I would stay the course and
only break out the pyramids for those last four weeks. Since you are looking
for a change of pace, I’ll assume that you feel there may be a more effective
technique out there for you. I happen to have a neat three weak peaking
phase which I often use with Olympic lifters. Here’s I’ll modify that peaking
phase for your needs as a powerlifter.
In this cycle, you lift three days a week, and each competitive lift is trained
twice each week. The workouts are arranged like this:
Deadlift Squat
Deadlift
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When you first try this peaking cycle, don’t compensate for the lighter than
usual load by accelerating faster or slower than you would perform with max-
imal loads, just try to simulate the speed you anticipate using at 100%. If the
percentage doesn’t come out to a round number, simply round up or down
(depending on how you feel that day) to the closest loadable weight.
Lastly, I am a big fan of using brief rests between sets— usually between 1.5
and 2 minutes, which we time on a stopwatch. These shorter rests have been
shown to improve relative strength, and they also create a sense of
urgency— you really don’t have time to let your mind wander between lifts.
Dear Charlie,
A: "Intermittent sets," which are also sometimes called "stutter sets," can
produce an intense training effect that can quickly elevate relative strength
(your "pound for pound" strength).
Just as a quick review, intermittent sets are timed sets with brief (very brief)
periods of relaxation within the confines of the set. My example of an inter-
mittent set for pull-ups was to start the stop-watch, perform as many reps
as possible in succession, then to drop down from the pull-up bar and rest for
twenty seconds or so, then to resume with one or two more reps and so on
until one minute was up. In other words, just do as many reps as possible in
one minute, regardless of how many times you need to "stop and go."
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Intermittent sets are safest and most effective for exercises that don't take
much time to prepare or "set up" for. One of the reasons intermittent sets
work so well for pull-ups is that it's so easy to dismount and remount the bar
during the set. However, if you were performing heavy dumbbell bench press-
es, half the battle is getting into position — you'd eat up all of your rest peri-
ods getting set up.
Powerlifting or Weightlifting?
Mr Staley,
Bag it? No way! If you're getting more serious, place greater emphasis on the
discipline you plan on pursuing and plan phases to emphasize strength for the
secondary sport around that. A basic philosophy of mine is that you should
always be training all elements of your program, but just in varying propor-
tions.
I happen to think that powerlifting and Olympic lifting can enjoy a symbiotic
relationship within the confines of a training program. With that, I'm sure I've
pissed off athletes, coaches and waterboys clear across the strength world,
but I think they'll get over it.
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It can be done.
My son's high school baseball team just started their off season strength
training. The coach says they will be using the "Bigger Faster Stronger" train -
ing program. My son is enjoying this immensely, but I just wanted to get your
opinion on the BFS program.
The BFS program has six 'core' exercises: Bench Press, Squat, Power Clean,
Towel Bench Press, Box Squat, and Deadlifts. A few optional "assistance"
exercises are permitted but not deemed critical (i.e., Curls, Skull Crushers,
Calf Raises, etc). Each of these exercises are performed once a week. During
the first week, athletes perform five sets of five repetitions on each exercise.
On week two, athletes perform three sets of three. Finally, on week three,
athletes hit the whole spectrum, performing one set of five, one set of four,
one set of three, one set of two, and a one rep maximum. On the forth week,
athletes are encouraged to take an active rest, lifting only recreationally.
BFS measures work output in any particular cycle by adding up the sum total
of all pounds lifted in all repetitions performed in an exercise. For example, if
you bench press 155 pounds for 5x5, your effort on that set would be repre-
sented by 775 pounds. In order to beat this, and athlete could perform 155
pounds for 4x5 and raise the bar to 160 pounds for one set for a work out-
put of 780 pounds. Athletes are encouraged to break these records by as
much as possible every time they train.
The major problem I see in the BFS program is the "break the record" (any
Super Dave fans out there?) mentality. Because the program encourages ath-
letes to break their work output record each time they train, the byproduct is
sometimes a sacrifice of correct exercise technique. I offer a simple solution
to this problem — if a work output record cannot be recorded with proper
technique, it's time to exchange the exercise for another exercise targeting
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the same muscle and continue in the same set/rep scheme. Problems
notwithstanding, this program far transcends the typical, static, marathon
lifting session prescribed by most coaches. I just wish they employed a wider
exercise menu and had a stronger emphasis on technique.
Charles,
I love reading Mesomorphosis— I literally can't get enough of it. I really want
to pursue a career in the sport sciences. So I have two questions:
1) I've been following your career for the past several years, and I want to
know which books have had the strongest impact on your thinking.
2) Could you give me some advice on how to get my career goals initiated?
Thank you!
OK, here are ten books that come immediately to mind. They aren't all specif-
ically related to strength training, but they all have been very important to
my personal evolution, for whatever that's worth (all of these books should
be readily available at www.amazon.com):
As for your career goals, there are a myriad of educational backgrounds with-
in the exercise field. I know very successful exercise physiologists, physical
educators, biologists, physicians, chiropractors, neuromuscular therapists,
physical therapists and a plethora of other titles who convene on the field of
'sport science.'
One fairly fast way to get the ball rolling is to become certified as a profes-
sional trainer. I genuinely think that the information in ISSA's fitness training
curriculum will help refine your decisions about specializing in the fitness
field. As a trainer, you will certainly benefit from the sheer volume of training
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hours you'll accrue over time. ISSA members also enjoy free access to me
(there's a bargain for ya!) on the ISSA tech support hotline. For more info on
ISSA programs call toll free: (800) 892-4772.
As for academics, if I were going to do it all over again, I'd emphasize chem-
istry big time. When I was in school, I didn't see the relevance of this, but
from my current vantage point, I know now it's invaluable to understanding
everything from training to nutrition.
Workout Frequency
Hi, I have been reading some of your articles and it appears that you favor a
frequency of once per week for a muscle group without a large amount of vol -
ume. If this is correct, I am curious as to why you recommend such large
periods of overcompensation and if not, what do you feel is the desirable
amount of time between muscle groups.
A: Excellent question.
First, I would recommend greater frequency for novices and/or people who
aren't or who don't know how to push themselves.
Second, the programs you're speaking of normally place back and triceps
together on one session, chest and triceps together on another, and legs (and
possibly abs) on a third session. Another variant I commonly use will group
chest and last together on one session, bi's and tri's together on another ses-
sion, and quads and hams on a third In these types of scenarios, the larger
muscle groups (e.g., quads, hams, pecs, and lats) are receiving stress once
per week, which is appropriate for hard-working athletes. The smaller mus-
cle groups (e.g., biceps, triceps) are trained twice a week— one time direct-
ly, and the other time indirectly, through pec or lat work.
I know that for myself, after a hard pec, hamstring, or back session, I'm nor-
mally sore for 4-5 days. I don't consider it "backsliding" to have 2-3 days of
no soreness before training the muscle again. I think one day of no soreness
would be the bare minimum, in fact.
I should mention abdominal and calf work while I'm at it. In my programs,
abdominal frequency depends on posture, how much the abs are stressed
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during the athlete's sport practices, his or her abdominal strength levels, and
what part of the year we're in. Often, an abdominal exercise is placed in
every training session. At other times, weeks may pass with no direct abdom-
inal training at all. Calves (more specifically gastrocs) tend to get really ham-
mered during the athlete's main sport practices, but for bodybuilders, I nor-
mally suggest one session per week, as long as you absolutely murder those
little guys (6-8 hard sets per session).
Charles,
From what you're telling me, and just as a matter of basic principle, I seri-
ously doubt that you've reached your genetic potential! Few people even
come close to training hard enough and/or smart enough to get anywhere
close to their potential.
When it comes to nutrition there are many approaches— low carb, high carb,
low fat, glycemic this and metabolic that. Amid all the confusion one fact
holds true and is universally agreed upon— if you consume more calories
then you expend, you will gain weight; if you consume less calories then you
expend, you will lose weight.
The problem with this formula is that the body responds to eating like train-
ing— it habituates to unchanging stimuli over time. As your caloric intake
increases, your metabolism elevates to process the greater amount of ener-
gy you are delivering to it. In your case, you seem to have adapted to the
additional calories. You may be able to keep your total calories high and lower
your metabolism for increased mass with the 'Zig Zag' method of weight gain
as developed by Dr. Fred Hatfield.
1) Figure out how many calories you consume in a day (presuming your
bodyweight is constant). If you don't know how many calories you consume,
log everything you eat in a food diary for seven days. Total all the calories
you consume over the diary and divide the sum by the number of days you
monitored it and you will have an average caloric intake. If you cannot esti-
mate your caloric intake from reading labels go to a local book store and pick
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from a thousand titles that will help you estimate calories of specific foods.
2) For four to five consecutive days "overeat" by consuming two calories per
pound of bodyweight more than you normally eat (based on your diary).
3) For the remaining days of the week "undereat." Consume two calories per
pound of bodyweight less than you normally eat (based on your diary). Keep
the macronutrient ratios the same when you elevate the calories. If you're on
a 40-30-30 nutrition plan, or whatever you prefer, increase and decrease the
calories accordingly. Eat every two hours if possible. A lot of athletes I work
with seem to like to alternate meal/ shake/meal/shake etc. This way, the low
fiber content of the shakes is offset by the higher fiber contained in the "real"
meal. Without this kind of meal/shake alternations, your toilet paper expense
will begin to skyrocket, if you get my drift!
Charles,
I'm pregnant with my first child. It seams like people are less and less con -
cerned about pregnant women exercising these days. Can I just continue
with my usual training routine?
• Heart rate should be measured at times of peak activity. Use target heart
rate range.
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Best of luck and congrats on taking a responsible approach toward your preg-
nancy. You'll both reap many rewards, I'm sure.
Mr. Staley,
Certainly, sitting down all the way with a big weight on your back can be dan-
gerous. Add to that the "lift more at all costs" philosophy as I mentioned in
last month’s column, and you've got the makings of a disaster. Plain and sim-
ple. By the way, I did BFS-style box squats for a few years, with no problems,
but who knows if I might have predisposed myself to an injury later on? In
principle, I think BFS box squats are a problem. You've got to remember that
lifting injuries are rarely acute, but rather, slow, long term damage that won't
show up until years later.
So you can't make the argument that "Well, I've never seen anyone get hurt
doing box squats."
Testosterone Boosters
Dear Charles,
If you had time to answer that question about Marilyn Manson, I would think
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you could find time to answer my question, it’s a bit more serious then that
one. I’m an energetic college student trying to gather up all the info I can
about these testosterone boosters. Although anabolic steroids are tempting,
they would prevent me from passing drug tests to enter the police academy,
so I need to keep it natural. My eating patterns are quite irregular, so I’m
looking for a good mass building product to make up for my irregular eating
habits. Do you have any specific suggestions or brand names you recom-
mend?
Before I address your question I’d like to apologize to anyone who has not
seen their question published and answered here. I receive more questions
than I have room for, so I’m forced to answer the questions I believe will help
or be of interest to the most people.
Of all of the aspects of your training program, nutrition might seem para-
doxical because the benefits of a well-conceived nutritional strategy, although
irrefutable, are realized gradually -over months and years, rather than days
and weeks. Maturity denotes the ability to forgo immediate pleasure in order
to realize long term benefits. When you to talk to serious athletes in any
sport, there seems to be a direct correlation between their age and the
degree to which they understand the importance of optimal nutrition— the
older they are, the more they stress it’s importance. So, I wish somehow that
I could convince you that supplements cannot compensate for bad nutrition.
In any event, here are the supplements I currently recommend to athletes:
For most athletes, a good vitamin and mineral supplement is a good place to
start when developing a supplementation plan. Many products are available,
and theories abound as to the optimal proportions of various nutrients that
should be present in a multivitamin. My recommendation is to seek out a rep-
utable performance nutrition specialist for advice on the best formulation to
take.
One of the more difficult aspects of eating well is the preparation involved.
On this front, MRP’s can really make a significant difference in the overall
quality of your nutritional plan. MRP’s normally consist of all three macronu-
trients in various ratios, along with vitamins, minerals, and quite often, an
array of the latest anabolic substances, such as creatine, BCAA’s, HMB, and
so forth. Most MRP’s are designed to be mixed with water, milk, or fruit juice,
and many mix well with a spoon, freeing you from the need for a blender.
If you don’t like the macronutrient ratio of a particular MRP, you can adjust it
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by adding fruit, flax oil, whey protein, or milk of varying fat levels. Although
I use and recommend MRP’s, be cautious of products that are overly-
processed with dozens of artificial ingredients and unproven ergogenic sub-
stances which are often included as an excuse to increase the price of the
MRP.
Protein shakes
Protein shakes come in many formulations, but the most effective products
are based on whey protein.
I use protein shakes as MRP’s by adding milk, fruit, and/or flax oil as a way
to create the optimal macronutrient ratio for myself. In this way, it’s easier to
avoid all the processing and artificial ingredients which are so common in
MRP’s.
Incidentally, don’t try to live off of protein shakes or MRP’s -you need "real"
food as well! I recommend alternating between MRP’s and whole food meals
throughout the day, planning it in such a way that a MRP will occur post-train-
ing, if a session takes place that day.
BCAA’s can work wonders for your recovery rates when taken with juice
immediately after every training session.
L-Glutamine
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hydrate metabolism. All of these benefits are highly useful for athletes, to put
it mildly. Although you can obtain L-Glutamine through your diet. according
to exercise scientist Dr. Jim Wright, it’s unlikely that hard training athletes can
get enough through diet alone. Wright recommends taking L-Glutamine in 5
gram doses (a slightly rounded teaspoon) 2-4 times a day. Suggested times
include upon waking, before and after training, and just before going to bed.
Take L-Glutamine either mixed in water, or by placing it under your tongue
for a few minutes, and then following up with water.
Flaxseed oil
As a source of essential fatty acids, flaxseed oil helps to lower cholesterol lev-
els, nourish nervous and brain tissue, reduce inflammation, and regulate the
cardiovascular, immune, and digestive systems. Flaxseed oil does not con-
tribute to bodyfat deposition like other fats because it must be converted
metabolically in order to become saturated fat. Because the fatty acids in
flaxseed oil are essential nutrients, they are the starting point, or the mortar
and bricks if you will, for manufacturing all other fatty acids and hormone
precursors necessary to support and build strong lean muscle, while pro-
longing stamina required for endurance sports. Flaxseed oil may be taken by
itself, or put in shakes or on salads.
Creatine monohydrate
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Pro-hormones
Although these substances are banned in many (if not most) sports govern-
ing bodies, they are otherwise legal, and because of the recent awareness (in
part fueled by the discovery that baseball home run record holder Mark
McGwire had used androstenedione) of pro hormones, and because these
substances may indeed have anabolic and ergogenic properties, a brief dis-
cussion is warranted.
Prohormones are chemical substances which, when ingested, provide the raw
building blocks which enable the body to increase it’s endogenous (internal)
levels of testosterone, the primary anabolic hormone. To date, most studies
have focused on androstenediol (which was the first of the prohormones to
emerge on the open market), and the conclusions of these studies vary wide-
ly. Nevertheless, many studies did show an increase in testosterone levels
after androstenedione ingestion. Subsequent to these findings, several new
prohormones have emerged, including 5-androstenediol, 19-nor-5-
androstenediol, 19-norestosterone, and 4-androstenediol. These substances
all have potential anabolic effect, but appear to vary with respect to possible
negative side effects, such as gynocomastia (breast development in men),
according to Patrick Arnold, the man generally credited with bringing
androstenediol to the US market.
I think that the benefit-to risk-profile of all the various prohormones is still
an open question. If your particular sports governing body does not ban these
substances and you wish to try them, I’d strongly suggest doing so under
medical supervision, to stay on the safe side.
Hydration
Another nutrient, almost always overlooked is plain 'ol water. Water is espe-
cially important for bodybuilders— the vast majority of whom are dehydrat-
ed at any given time. In such cases, increased water intake might lead to bet-
ter performance improvements than any other supplement! One study
showed that a loss of 1 liter of body fluids through perspiration resulted in a
pulse increase of 8 beats per minute. This indicates a significant (and unnec-
essary) strain to the body. Although no exact hydration recommendations
have been established, the old adage of "8 glasses of water a day" is only
marginally acceptable for most people.
Athletes with very demanding training schedules will need to increase their
water intake accordingly. A simple "rule of thumb" guideline suggested by
Donald Baker of The Balance Bar Company is to take your bodyweight in
pounds, convert that number to ounces, and that’s the amount of water you
should drink each day.
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Charles,
Although I can’t create programs for everyone who requests my services for
free (check out any musclemag to see what top bodybuilders claim to do in
the gym), I can share 5 steps I have developed when determining each of
the variables that will be incorporated into one of my athletes workouts.
Perform as many reps as possible (in good form) within the required intensi-
ty range. Note: Most people need not train "to failure," meaning to total col-
lapse. "Failure" should be taken to imply erosion of proper technique due to
fatigue.
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that in this scenario, the choice of exercises (usually the first variable con-
sidered) is the last decision to be made.
Firefighter Challenge
Hi Charles
I'm planning on doing the firefighter challenge in the spring, which consists
of 8 events, mostly sprints with hoses, dragging a dummy for a short dis -
tance, etc. I've had cartilage removed from one knee, which doesn't bother
me except after 2-3 mile runs. Weight training seems to be no problem. I
wondered if you could suggest endurance training ideas which would take my
knee into account. Any help would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks!
I suggest that you develop your so-called "aerobic base" using non-specific
means which are more forgiving on your knees, such as the EMX elliptical
climber, which simulates a running stride fairly closely.
After 6-8 weeks of aerobic work, gradually switch over to anaerobic means,
using sprints, resisted sprints, and so forth, using intervals ranging from 20
seconds to 2 minutes. These drills should be tolerable on your knees, since
you’re saying they do well in weight training situations. I’m guessing that it’s
the duration, not the intensity, that irritates your joints.
Charles,
I’m 5’7’’ and max on my bench at 250, squat 190, and behind the neck press
150. Is that good for me at the age of 16? I want to get bigger and get up
to 900 lbs in those lifts. Should I take a weight gainer to accomplish this?
After reading your question, I’m wondering, do you walk on your hands?
Look, your lower body is your strength foundation. Therefore I would rather
see your squat appear with the most digits next to it. Yes, I would say that
your stats look pretty good for a 16 yrs old. My greatest concern here is the
behind the neck press. This lift creates excessive axial compression which,
combined with forward flexion of the head, forces the nucleus of the C 6-7
cervical disk to migrate posteriorly. In lingo your generation may relate bet-
ter to, you’ll harsh your neck! Take it from me— do presses from in front
instead.
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Charles,
Someone told me that you burn more calories on a recumbent bike than on
a treadmill. Is this true?
There are simply too many variables involved to make a linear comparison,
in my opinion. If you work harder on the bike, it’s burn more calories, and
vice versa.
Regardless of this argument, it’s never been my position that aerobics were
ultimately the best way to "burn calories." Performing meaningless repeti-
tions for long periods of time pales in comparison to the caloric expenditure
you’ll experience by possessing larger muscles. Strength training is the most
efficient way to increase your metabolism, because it increases the size of
your fat burning machine (God, I think I just slipped into an info-mercial
pitch!).
Deadlift Training
I’m really enjoying this column and plan to buy your book. I find that your
ideas and material to be insightful and well thought out.
At the moment, I don't have the context that he made that recommendation
for, but in any event, I think the frequency would be the same as for squat-
ting— every 3 to 9 days— 3 days for beginners, 9 for extremely advanced.
Between 5&7 days would be the norm. Basically, I view a deadlift as a squat
with the bar in your hands rather than on your back — deads will have rela-
tively more stress to hip extensors, of course.
For grip training, martial artists, particularly grapplers, have to be quite care-
ful, since the wrists, hands, and fingers get really hammered in martial arts
training. If you’re just strength training, all variations of hammer curls do the
trick nicely. I also like doing chine, pull-ups, etc, from hard to grip surfaces,
such as from the square tubing of the top of a crossover machine (people look
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at me like I'm an idiot, because the crossover at my gym actually has a pull-
up bar, and I use the top supporting beam of the machine instead!). But any-
way, for athletes, if their grip is strong enough for what they do, I don't train
grip in the gym -if your sport adequately trains certain muscles, hey, that's
like a head start for me and we can concentrate on other things.
Charles, My mother just turned 70 years old. She has been sedentary all of
her life and seems to be paying for it now, exerting great effort just to get
out of her recliner. Is it just too late to start figuring out how to strengthen
her body at her age? Any suggestions to reverse this trend would be greatly
appreciated and could potentially improve the quality of my mothers life.
Look at the bright side. From what you’re telling me, your mother does not
seem to have any debilitating musculoskeletal or neural disease and can still
climb out of that recliner. She needs to start squatting!
According to Dr. Paavo Komi, lean body mass decreases on average about
30% between the age of 30 to 70, and strength erodes at a parallel rate.
Much of that loss of mass and strength is in the lower body. According to Dr.
Sal Arria, the debilitating effects attributed to aging can arise from disuse
more often than actual disease. The muscles trained in a squat are the
quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteals— all essential in normal daily activities
such as walking, stair climbing, and getting into and out of a seated position.
Whether you compete in triathlons, play golf on the weekends, or just get-
ting off of the couch to answer the doorbell, you’re going to need your legs.
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an athlete, your goal should be to squat in a fashion that will enhance your
abilities to meet the requirements of your day to day life and meet them with
ease.
Teaching the squat is not terribly complicated— it’s one of the most natural
things we do (or should be, in any event). Besides a few postural points and
safety tips, it’s a matter of sitting and standing. The real key is finding a pro-
gression that will allow us to improve strength and range of motion in stages.
Regardless of which progression you have achieved, there are a few univer-
sal rules when performing a squat: maintain a straight back and natural lor-
dotic curve (curvature of lumbar spine), keep the head in a neutral position,
focusing your eyes on an object at head level in front of you. Avoid allowing
the knees to move ahead of the feet. Point your toes slightly outward and
make sure your knees remain aligned directly over the feet (i.e., don’t let
them drift inward toward each other) throughout the exercise.
Based on the abilities you informed me of, this would be the progression your
mom should follow (I’ll describe this as if I was talking to the exerciser) :
Eccentric Squat on Chair: Stand in front of a sturdy chair. Slowly lower your-
self down to the chair (3 or 4 second duration) until you contact the chair.
Ease into the chair as if you were lowering yourself onto a carton of eggs.
Have a partner or trainer assist you out of the chair, returning to a standing
position through the same plane of movement as the descent. Perform this
movement as long as you can maintain proper form as described earlier. At
the first sign of form deterioration, stop and rest. When you can achieve five
repetitions for a couple of sets, try eliminating the assistance from your part-
ner.
Squat on Chair: Apply the same principles to this variation; however, with as
little momentum as possible, rise from the chair without assistance. Once you
feel you have mastered this and can complete four or five sets of five repe-
titions, see if you can dispense with the chair altogether.
Squat: Athletes call this the "King of Exercises." Unfortunately, they tend to
complicate it so much that you would believe that you have no place trying
it! Of course, there are little intricacies and tricks that competitive power-
lifters implement when muscling up hundreds of pounds, however, you will
never need to use any of these techniques. Even after progressing from
eccentric squats on the chair, to squats on a chair, you may surprised how
awkward this most common variation feels at first. Lower yourself to a point
that your range of motions comfortably allows, never rounding your back,
then without ever relaxing return to an upright, standing position. From this
point, as you see a need for greater resistance, you can rest a barbell behind
your neck, adding weight to the bar as necessary.
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The deterioration of the lower body is vicious circle. Loss of strength leads to
inactivity, which leads to further losses of strength, and so on. Squatting may
be more than a means to maintain a strong lower body, it may be a signifi-
cant key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Charles, over the past 6 months I lost 20 pounds (mostly fat) doing a weight
training program that my boyfriend designed for me. I usually do between 5
and 10 reps per set, and between 3-4 sets per exercise every workout. Last
week, I met a girl at the gym with the body I want (read "that I would KILL
for) and she told me I was going to get bulky (which I think is already hap -
pening) if I don’t start paying more attention to aerobics and higher rep exer -
cises. Do you think she’s right, or can I just continue with what I’m already
doing?
Please— listen to what you’re saying! YOU LOST 20 POUNDS OF FAT DOING
NO AEROBICS! I DON’T SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS HERE!
Look, The girl who’s body you covet might be right if you had the same genet-
ic make-up as her, but you don’t. Athletes make the same assumption— that
doing the training program of their athletic hero will give them the same
results. You cannot refute the preliminary results of your training pro-
gram...it’s working! Understand that different body types exist and your
adaptation to training cannot be exactly the same as someone else’s. Set
goals for yourself that are lofty; however, attainable with your God-given
attributes. So, keep up the great work— you’re already making better
progress than most!
Fiber Conversion
Charles, My question concerns type IIB fiber conversion. I read on your web -
site and other places that trained IIB fibers disappear only to reappear after
a layoff. I was wondering how to use this knowledge to plan relative strength
training phases. In other words, what is an ideal way to train the IIB's?
Research shows that our fastest twitch muscle fibers (which scientists cate-
gorize as "Type IIb") cannot be found when studied after periods of strenu-
ous exercise. We don’t really know what happens to them, however, we do
know that they reappear after a brief (1-2 week) layoff from training. This
raises a question that is certainly controversial in the sport science commu-
nity: Do we let them significantly recover over a seven to fourteen day peri-
od or do we let them stay in hiding and just maximize the efficiency of the
muscle fibers that have weathered the storm?
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High tension efforts are the only way to access and train your high threshold
motor units. Much like the axiom "you cannot wait until everything is just
right in your life," you cannot wait until you are sure that every muscle fiber
in your body has recovered before you perform your next workout. As a rule
of thumb, try training the fast twitch- dominant muscle groups (i.e. pecs,
lats, gastrocs and hamstrings) once a week. This should allow sufficient
recovery. For some of the slower-twitch muscle groups (i.e. biceps, triceps,
deltoids, and soleus) train twice a week because slow twitch muscles tend to
have a higher tolerance to exercise.
Make sure you track your progress, incidentally. If you are not progressing
from one workout to the next in some measurable way then you have either
adapted to your training stimulus or are not sufficiently recovered.
OKG
No.
Charles, I have a quick question for you. I am the fitness director at a local
gym in my town. One of the trainers on my staff was putting together a pro -
gram for one of her female clients. Her approach was to intentionally over -
train her or in her words, "To break down some of the muscle" that this
women had developed through rowing in college. Apparently this client was -
n't happy with her "rowing" build anymore. She wanted a more sleek and
slender look. Is there any merit to training somebody like this? My gut feel -
ing is to say no. The trainer was basically going to train this client's more
developed muscles everyday. Wouldn't this approach just put her into a cata -
bolic state? Your insight into this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Oh yes, I love the idea of deliberately breaking down muscle! After all, it’s
only good for elevating your metabolic rate and improving your functional
capacity. So by all means, let’s get rid of it. Incidentally, I have a great nutri-
tional plan that you can integrate with your training plan, which I first learned
from a TV special called "Into Thin Air: The Tracy Gold Story." Basically, there
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are two possible approaches: either eat whatever you want, and then per-
form reverse peristalsis soon thereafter (don’t give up after the first few
times— you’ll learn to tolerate it eventually!), or, just learn to live without
those pesky calories in the first place. The downside is that all your friends
and relatives will become concerned with your "extreme" dietary habits, but
few people can really understand what it takes to be a serious athlete, as I
always say.
Sarcasm aside, I must make it clear that it is unconscionable for a health care
professional (which includes professional trainers) to contribute to decondi-
tioning a client, even if that client instructs the trainer to do so. If such a case
was presented to the International Sports Science Association, the trainer in
question would be reviewed by a board of directors for possible revocation.
Shoulder Clicking
Although you are not experiencing pain (yet), your body is sending a mes-
sage. The click is indicative of a problem (certainly one that couldn’t be diag-
nosed online), and is possibly precursory to something down the line. My rec-
ommendation is first have it checked by a qualified orthopedist so that you
can develop some sense of what is going on. In the mean time, modify the
angle and/or plane you press from in such a way that the click does not hap-
pen.
Dear Charles, I am a 26 year old who has been powerlifting since I was 18,
but recently I changed over to Olympic lifting. I had a coach for a while but
since my car doesn't do long distances, I had to give that up as well. I have
a local health club that I can get to and was wondering how combine train -
ing for both sports since I like them both. I know there will be a compromise
in performance in all my lifts. When I make an attempt at one or the other
then I will specialize instead of compromise. But being that I can't make up
my mind and want to do both I was wondering if you had any suggestions.
Here’s a thought: How about throwing a little bodybuilding into the mix also?
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After three weeks of muscle mass development, it’s time for you to make that
muscle work for you. The way you’re going to do this is by increasing your
lifting intensely. This is a perfect time to implement the three power lifts. I
recommend performing one of the power lifts on three evenly spaced days
throughout the week (i.e., bench on Monday, squat on Wednesday, and dead-
lift on Friday). Start of with 3-4 sets of between 2-3 reps per set. and grad-
ually "ramp up" to one rep maximum attempts by week three. By now your
body will definitely ready for a break from this mesocycle!
I would be surprised if you could actually perform this schedule without mak-
ing at least minor adjustments. Instincts are an essential trait that you will
need to bring these competitive lifts to a high level, so don’t be afraid to
make modifications to any suggestions that I make!
Q: Dear Charles,
I would like information on how to develop arm strength for Little Leaguers.
My son is 11 and daughter is 8. Is there a difference in the development in a
girl's arm than a boy's arm? Also what about batting and running? What kinds
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A: I think both children may be a bit too young for "traditional" weight room
training, however, they may certainly perform a variety of exercises to
improve their strength levels. Your son at age 11 is right on the cusp of
beginning a weight training program— maybe wait until his twelfth birthday.
Both kids can develop skills and strength using basically the same exercis-
es— I wouldn’t bias the training based on gender. However, I would recom-
mend more structure in your son’s training (for now) and let your daughter
develop in a "self paced" manner for a few more years.
First I would like to clarify that throwing and batting are really not a function
of arm strength per se. Throwing and batting power are both initiated from
the lower body (glutes, quadriceps, and calves, specifically) extension and
rotation which is transmitted through the abdominals, and finally, released
through the upper body. As I would say with all sports, a whole body
strengthening approach is indicated.
Here are a few excellent exercises you can employ with your son and his
teammates:
Have the athlete kneel down and hold a basketball centered on his chest.
Have him throw the ball as far as he can (use an "up and out" direction —
the ball should travel at about a 45 degree angle to the ground), using only
extension of the arms. This will help develop upper body strength (chest,
shoulder, triceps). One caution: The momentum of the throwing effort will
cause the athlete to fall forward to the ground. Remind him to brace for the
fall immediately after the ball leaves his hands. As he progresses, try incor-
porating medicine balls of various weights for additional challenge.
Standing with your back to the "target" area, dip down (much like the
preparatory crouch for a vertical jump), swing the ball between the legs, and
then extend and throw the ball overhead backwards.
Have the athlete stand erect with a natural hang to the arms. Instruct him to
quickly assume a shallow tuck position and swing his arms forward and leap
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as far forward as possible. This popular exercise will help develop a strong
lower body (hip flexors, hip extensors, and leg extensors).
The enormous number of drills and exercises transcends what can be offered
in a column of this nature. For a multitude of athletic drills with good instruc-
tions and illustrations, check out the following books, all of which should be
available through http://www.amazon.com
-Kid Fitness by Ken Cooper (this is out of print, but is EXCELLENT and worth
trying to get — more of a treatise about how to help kids enjoy exercise,
sports, and good nutrition, rather than sports training per se).
Isolation Exercises
Q: Charles,
A: I hope this doesn’t sound too hackneyed; however, I’ll say it none the
less— you cannot isolate a muscle. With apologies to readers who may have
already seen the following quote from Deane Juhan (Job’s Body, available
through http://www.amazon.com), read and learn:
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Perhaps you now you can understand why I find it so irritating when person-
al trainers, equipment manufacturers, and other fitness professionals talk
about "isolating" a muscle with a certain exercise or technique!
Of course, you CAN perform exercises which place greater emphasis on a par-
ticular muscle and recruit less help from the muscles designed to assist the
prime mover. So-called isolation exercises can be very useful for muscle
development, but they will not create a shape that wasn’t predetermined by
your skeletal structure. Cuts, rips, striations, peaks, lines, etc... are not
results of adaptations to various exercises, but rather the result of decreas-
ing your bodyfat and increasing muscle mass.
Incidentally, the reason that a muscle cannot be shaped is that they are "non-
contiguously innervated." In laymens terms, that means that the fibers
assigned to "fire" under certain intensities (loads) are spread out throughout
the muscle, not confined to a certain region of the muscle.
Q: Charles,
There's plenty of talk about low reps this, moderate reps that, blah, blah.
That's all well and good, but let's take it one step further. How do I deter -
mine how much "reserve" to leave in each set according to the training objec -
tives? What I mean is, if a client is doing 6 sets for chest, at 10 reps per set
(approximately), do I choose a weight that the client will fail on the 11th,
12th, 14th,10th rep? Which is optimal?
Now, here's the thing: strength depends upon hypertrophy, and vice versa.
So, regardless of which objective you have, both of the above techniques
should be employed, just at varying ratios (please see the speed strength
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Q: Charles, I'm 15 years old an have been working out for the last year. I
have built up my arms tremendously by doing curls and other arm exercises,
plus push-ups. Is there any way I can build my chest without doing bench
presses? Any suggestions to my question plus any other workout tips will be
appreciated.
A: There are numerous other pectoral exercises beside the bench press.
Incline and decline presses, dumbbell presses performed at various angles,
pec-decs, flys, cable cross-overs, all serve to strengthen the pecs. The vari-
ations are nearly endless when you look at the variety of pec exercises and
the variances of the variations!
Now I have a question for you: why do you want to avoid the bench press?
Dependent on a response from our reader who sent in this question, we will
follow up on this next month.
I think you're doing a fine job. I have a problem. I am just getting into body -
building. However, I have been lifting for about six years. I know I need to
change my diet. However, my money supply is not up to par. I need to eat
about 4000 to 4500 calories per day on about 30 dollars a week. I am a col -
lege student and I am not able to ask my mom for assistance because she is
poor. Thanks for your help.
A: Firstly, thank for the kudos, our readership has been a great help with all
the great questions.
The disturbing reality is, if you do not want to live off pasta products, which
used exclusively are not conducive to successful bodybuilding, you are going
to have to get a job. I know this is a bitter pill to swallow, but you’re going
to have to do it, or otherwise, the most palatable food on your plate is going
to be Purina Cat Chow on off days and Iams "Science Diet" for post training
nutrition.
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would amount to 90g to 100g or protein a day. The problem with this is, that
amounts to 360 to 400 calories a day, all told. This diet would literally kill you.
You’ll be ripped though, so as I always say, every approach has pros and
cons.
Here’s a sample of a day’s fair that a 200 pound bodybuilder could subsist on.
This habit would cost about $7.00 day:
Meal Two:
Whey shake 25g 0g 1g
natural peanut butter 1 tbs (non-processed)
8g 6g 16g
one orange 1g 15g 1g
Meal Three:
Chicken Breast 6 oz. 30g 0g 3g
baked potato 4g 51g 0g
1 ear corn 2g 19g 1g
Meal Four:
Whey Shake 25g 0g 1g
Natural peanut butter 1 tbs 8g 6g 16g
Meal five:
Whole Tuna Can 40g 1g 3g
Mayo 1 tbs 0g 0g 12g
1/2 cup broccoli 3g 5g 0g
Meal six:
Whey Shake 25g 0g 1g
Natural Peanut butter 1 tbs 8g 6g 16g
Best of luck!
Cravings
Q: Dear Charles,
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Also, check out Lyle McDonald’s archived columns for more info on proper
ECA cycling, since he’s far more adroit on this subject than I.
Q: Charles,
When one speaks of drinking a minimal 8 glasses of water per day, does it
mean that all 8 glasses are strictly from water itself, or a combination of dif -
ferent fluids, such as milk, soup, or juices? I've always been confused about
this theory because I find it rather hard as an individual to simply gulp down
that much water per day, on top drinking other things such as the soup,
juices, and milk. Please clarify this matter for me. Thank you!
A: Yup, the advocates of the oft-quoted "8 glasses a day" method are talking
about pure, unadulterated, unpolluted, H20.
I know of one study that reported that the loss of 1 liter of body fluid through
sweating resulted in the subject’s resting heart rate increasing by 8 beats per
minute. That's indicative of a lot of stress to the body that can easily be
resolved by maintaining adequate hydration levels.
Shoulder Injuries
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The question I have is this. I'm 42 and have gone through various shoulder
injuries and lower back injuries. My shoulder injury has always been easy for
me to work around. All of my pressing moves are now done on a Smith
Machine. It still gives me some pain from time to time but it's manageable.
My lower back is a different story. I haven't been able to do decent squats
for a long time. Not even on a Smith. I have been using a free weight leg
press at the gym where I work out. I use good weights, and there's no pain,
but I don't seem to get the work that really causes growth. Are there any
other movements for my quads that won't cause pain, or is there a recom -
mended way to use the leg press to get the most out of it? Thanks.
A: Before I give you suggestions, I wonder why you aren't getting your
injuries diagnosed and resolved? If you don't, you'll continue to "slide down
that slippery slope," and before long, your exercise options (and performance
abilities) will be limited even further. To say nothing about
your pain levels. There is a gym I visit about once a year in New York, and I
always see the same people, except that they always have more support gear
(i.e, wraps, straps, neoprene sleeves, etc.), and are smaller, fatter, and weak-
er. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Now on to some constructive advice for you. The leg press can be a valuable
tool, when used properly. The problem is that this machine often becomes a
demonstration station for those looking to say that they lifted 1200 pounds.
Loading the press with as many 45’s as you can find, and then performing
choppy, 1/4 range of motion reps is not the most productive method to
improve leg mass, but it’s about the fastest way I can think of to accelerate
lumbar spine pathologies.
Incidentally, lifting the heels off of the platform intensifies the load to the
quadriceps and reduces stress to the hamstrings, despite what you’ll hear
from hardened gym-rats with 20 years of training experience (or was it 1
year of experience repeated 20 times? I can never keep that straight!)
Pressing with the heels maximizes contribution from the hamstrings. Here’s
a way to really load up your quads with minimal stress to your joints: Pick a
weight that you can perform 6-8 reps with, on your toes only. After you reach
exhaustion, allow your heels to make contact with the platform on the con-
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centric phase only. After reaching exhaustion with this, then use your entire
foot any remaining reps you can complete.
Leg presses may also be performed unilaterally, but make sure that your non-
working knee is kept out of harm’s way in case you fail to complete a repe-
tition.
Lastly, both lunges and step-ups are just brutal on the quads WHEN PER-
FORMED CORRECTLY. I believe I’ve covered both movements in previous
columns.
Best of luck! And for God’s sake, find a good orthopedist and get your mus-
culoskeletal problems dealt with!
Q: Charles,
One strong possibility is that your partner may have more fast twitch muscle
than you and a lower tolerance to exercise. If that statement applies, he
would likely gain faster than you from intense training.
When you see the quote "where there’s strength, size isn’t far behind," it’s
really indicating that you will now have the strength to use more weight with
rep ranges that are most conducive for adding size, which for you may be a
few more reps than your partner. Try a few weeks of low intensity (lighter
weight, not greater ease) pec exercise. With your 1RM going up as much as
it has, I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised by how much weight you will
lift for eight or ten reps.
I remember something that Charlie Francis (Ben Johnson’s track coach) once
said about sprinting: there is a lag between the time that you try to increase
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you acceleration, and when you actually start to move faster. Put another
way, there is a certain time span between the application of effort and the
acquisition of desired results. Stay patient, keep learning. Best of luck!
Q: Charles,
A: I received this question a few months ago. I would have answered soon-
er; however, I thought my response would be most valuable this month with
Valentines day upon us.
For those who aren’t familiar, "Pump & Pose" is a muscle irritant better know
as Synthol. Though sold as a topical agent, it’s effect are seen when injected
into the belly of a muscle causing an inflammation, literally increasing the
muscle’s mass soon after the injection.
The penis is one of the most vascular parts of the body and has never proven
to be one of the safer places for an injection (or so I have heard). In the past,
a trend had developed where people were injecting cocaine into their penis
for more intense sex (or so I have heard). The result— priapism: a condition
of perpetual erection (or so I have heard).
This condition is very painful (or so I have heard) and ultimately can lead to
gangrene (or so I have heard), which could likely cause your penis to fall off
(or so I have heard). None of the above has ever happened to me — I’m just
telling you what I have heard.
I suspect Synthol injections (or anything else for that matter) to the penis
would potentiate the exact, if not more serious problems as the cocaine.
My advice:
Let’s take it one step further— don’t inject Synthol into your body— time will
show that this stuff is bad news.
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PMS
Q: Charles,
Every month I end up missing a few workouts, suffering from a nasty bout
with PMS. Is there anything female athletes are doing to deal with this?
The result of the experiment showed a clear increase in the maximal strength
(32.6% compared to 13.1%) of the second group of subjects.
Q: Charles, I vaguely remember a soviet six week peaking cycle from an old
issue of Muscle & Fitness— it's different from the 6 week squat routine that
you recently spoke about in Mesomorphosis. I wonder if you know of this rou -
tine, and if so, what do you think about it?
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Week One
Day One Day Two
Set 1 45%x 8-10 45%x 8-10
Set 2 55%x6-8 55%x6-8
Set 3 65%x6 65%x5
Set 4 65-70%x6 75%x5
Set 5 65-70%x6 80%x5
Set 6 65-70%x6 80%x5
Set 7 65-70%x6 80%x5
Set 8 75%x5
Set 9 65%x6-8
Set 10 50-55%x8-12
Week Two
Day One Day Two
Set 1 45%x 8-10 45%x 8-10
Set 2 55%x6-8 55%x6-8
Set 3 65%x6 65%x5
Set 4 70%x5 75%x4
Set 5 70-75%x5 80%x4
Set 6 70-75%x5 85%x4
Set 7 85%x4
Set 8 85%x4
Set 9 80%x5
Set 10 70%x6-8
Week Three
Day One Day Two
Set 1 45%x 8-10 45%x 8-10
Set 2 55%x6-8 55%x6-8
Set 3 65%x6 65%x5
Set 4 70%x4 75%x4
Set 5 75%x3 85%x3
Set 6 75-80%x3 90%x3
Set 7 75-80%x3 90%x3
Set 8 80%x5
Set 9 55-60%x6-10
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Week Four
Day One Day Two
Set 1 45%x 8-10 45%x 8-10
Set 2 55%x6-8 55%x6-8
Set 3 65%x5 65%x5
Set 4 75%x4 75%x4
Set 5 80-85%x3 85%x2
Set 6 80-85%x3 90%x2
Set 7 95%x2
Set 8 75%x4-6
Week Five
Day One Day Two
Set 1 45%x 8-10 45%x 8-10
Set 2 55%x6-8 55%x6-8
Set 3 65%x5 65%x5
Set 4 75%x5 75%x3
Set 5 75%x5 80%x3
Set 6 85%x2
Week Six
Day One Day Two
Set 1 45%x 8-10 45%x 8-10
Set 2 55%x6-8 55%x6-8
Set 3 65%x5 65%x5
Set 4 75%x3 75%x3
Set 5 80%x2 85%x2
Set 6 80%x2 90%x1
Set 7 95%x1
Set 8 100%x1
Set 9 102%x1
Set 10 105%x1
1) If you choose to use this cycle for cleans, snatches, or deadlifts, I would
recommend that you avoid exceeding 6 reps on any given set. Otherwise,
accumulating low back fatigue may set you up for an injury.
2) The cycle is based on your current 1RM for the lift that you are trying to
improve. So you either need to test for this, or estimate. If you estimate, err
on the side of being too conservative— you'll thank me later!
3) In the past, I have used this cycle just prior to the Soviet Squat Routine,
alluded to earlier, since it has a greater emphasis on hypertrophy. So for
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example, you might use this program for your back squat, then take 3 weeks
away from the squat altogether, then embark upon the Soviet Squat Routine,
based upon your 1RM which was generated from the first peaking cycle.
Enjoy!
Rave Reviews
Q: Hi Charles,
I just want to say that I was recently at one of your seminars, and boy are
you hot! On top of that, you obviously know more about training than all the
other so-called "experts" combined, and I think Mesomorphosis is lucky to
have you as a columnist.
Beth
A: Thanks for those nice words. Beth, it might be better for you just to call
me or use my personal e-mail in the future. Oh, before I forget, would you
stop for a gallon of skim milk on your way home tonight?
Thanks!
Mentzer’s at it Again
Q: Hi Charles,
Really enjoy reading your thoughts/ideas! I was wondering about the pro's
and con's of Mike Mentzer's recommendations that he provides on his new
('97) audio tape series. Basically, it is 2 exercises per body part once every
8-28 days for a seasoned lifter using one working set to failure (6-20 reps
depending on the exercise) after a 2 set warm-up.
Sincerely,
A: Apparently this is the latest tweak to Mike’s system, which I have heavily
criticized in the past. I often rely upon two exercises per bodypart/per work-
out, but his suggested training frequency is sparse to say the least. I know
that in my own case, training a bodypart once every 8 days works fine (I usu-
ally use 7— why reinvent the calendar?!), particularly when using a well-
designed split, but 28 days...I have to assume that this is just Mike’s idea of
marketing shock value.
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Incidentally, training volume and frequency depend upon the degree to which
an individual is able to make the "mind-muscle" connection and really create
a lot of microtrauma during a workout. If you can create profound soreness
which lasts more than 3 weeks with 2 warm-up sets and a single work-set,
then once every 28 days is an ideal frequency for you. Otherwise, you’ll need
more sets (normally between 3-6 work sets per exercise/per session), and
greater frequency (bodyparts trained once every 3-7 days).
I once had exercise mad-scientist Jerry Telle put me through a biceps work-
out at last year’s Arnold Classic. It involved a single, multi-stage drop set
lasting well over 4 minutes. Later that day, the very thought of doing a curl
made me nauseous— literally. I was profoundly sore for days, and wasn’t
ready to train until 7-8 days later. Telle, who has worked with thousands of
athletes, told me that I had tremendous ability to push myself during a work-
out. So, add all this up, and you get an extreme case scenario of 7-8 days
for a small muscle group for someone who trains extremely hard. So where
does Mentzer come up with 28 days??!!
Q: Thank you very much for the article Quality Strength for Human Athletic
Performance: A Guide to Speed Strength Training. It was a good point to read
it first before answering my questions.
But as you know an answer leads to more questions, so here they are:
1. You say to adjust the box height to that equals to your best vertical jump.
Are you then talking about standing on the spot, jumping up with both legs
simultaneously?
A: I'd say the beginning of the program is late off-season, and the latter part
is early in-season. It depends on the sport/event and the degree to which the
athlete is already prepared (his strength levels, etc.)
3. When doing accelerative sets you say "resist the temptation to train to
exhaustion" Should the athlete be able to finish one or two reps at the end
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of the set?
A: You should be able to do an additional rep or two, but don't do it— if the
loads are too heavy it "inhibits" your ability to be explosive.
4. You say that maximal strength motor ability is targeted for the first six
weeks (rhythmic reps from 45-60 sec.) and the SS is the focus of the final
six weeks. Why do you use 45-60 seconds for maximal strength when that is
supposedly the time bracket for FOG (fast oxidative glycolytic) fibers, while
sets lasting under 15 seconds are thought to be more suitable for FG fibers.
Are you just increasing strength through increased muscle cross-section
Q: Dear Mr Staley,
The question I have is, If a muscle cannot contract without ATP, then why
not? I thought that muscles contracted just with the impulse from the nerv -
ous system. I am really confused about this.
A: Great question! Think of the impulse from the nervous system as the
"spark" from the spark plugs and the ATP as the gasoline— even if the bat-
tery is good, you still won't get anywhere if you don't have any fuel.
Makes sense?
Q: Mr. Staley,
Please help if you can. My 14 year old son could not "bench" an unweighted
bar last August. But, has progressed very quickly ( in the past 2 months,
especially ) and can now "bench" 185 lbs. Albeit only a few reps. He seems
to think he can continue to add 5-10 lbs. per week until he reaches 250 lbs.
(or more). I've told him that this seems to be a dangerous strategy. His
friends at school ( his brother included ) are very impressed and keep urging
him to "go for it!".
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Am I wrong? What advice would you have for him regarding this matter? For
instance, what kind of injury would most likely occur and how long might it
take to recover?
A Concerned Father,
Jim Wallner
A: I think the answer may be somewhere in the middle actually. Your concern
is based in logic and warrants attention. An unfortunate truth is that no one
pays attention to safety until they've been hurt already--it's just human
nature.
AND, bench pressing is in my opinion the most dangerous gym exercise sta-
tistically.
On the other hand, teenage males are capable of making rapid gains in
strength (those pesky hormones are responsible). So, if it were my kid, I'd
be OK with it as long as technique is perfect. Although there is no way to real-
ly teach it in the context of an e-mail (or even a book or video for that mat-
ter) a few points may be useful for you:
1) ALWAYS keep thumbs wrapped around the bar, always. Even though for
many lifters if feels less comfortable. I know of a lifter who used a "thumb-
less" grip for years with no problems, until one day he slipped. The result was
catastrophic.
3) Lower bar slowly, under full control. Many lifters lower under control most
of the way, and then lose control during the last 1-2 inches of descent, uti-
lizing a bit of "chop" or "bounce" before driving the bar upward. Bad idea.
Most bench press injuries occur during the transition between lowering and
reversing upward.
4) Keep feet nailed to the floor--no "fidgeting" during the lift, which shows
lack of control
There are more, but the above 5 are most important. One last point— every
rep should have a degree of speed on it— avoid slow, maximal, grinding reps
where you're twisting and squirming to get the bar up— not productive, and
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makes you slow. The weight should be light enough that you can accelerate
it. So for example, if your max is 185, you might do 160 for multiple sets of
2.
Lastly, it's important, very important, that the training program has diversity
(see my popular article entitled There is No Best Way). Lower body move-
ments such as squats are more important athletically than bench presses.
Benches should be just one tool in the arsenal, not the whole ball of wax.
Q: Dear Charles,
I recently have finished a relationship with a fitness woman. Many questions
still are following through my head. She eat like a bird four or five small
meals a day barely consisting of 1000 calories a day yet she still had ener -
gy. I was worried about her and asked her to see a doctor, eventually dis -
torting the relationship. She had an eating disorder. She smokes, is on the
pill, works 60 hour a week. This scares me, should I say confuses me. These
characteristics are all very common amongst the fitness woman I have met.
Could you please give me a hand an clear some of the confusion with this
subject. I am sure it is more physiological. Any help would be good help! How
do they do it?
Thank you
Grant
Best of luck!
Q: Hello,
I was browsing through your myodynamics website, specifically the section
on women's strength training. I am a varsity rower at BU and do extensive
weight training, so the article was of particular interest to me. One comment
caught my eye: you said that it's better to do aerobic exercise AFTER weight
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training, but I've always believed the contrary. I thought that if I start with
my aerobic workout, I get the ball rolling for fat burning, and also muscle
building. I also generally thought the aerobic work helps warm my body up.
Colleen
A: Hi Colleen,
Thanks for your message. I should first say that all methods, devices,
philosophies, etc., etc., have pro's & con's. However, when training for
strength, it's important that the body is fresh, so that high threshold motor
units can be optimally recruited.
Also, I don't generally look at strength training as a fat loss method. As for
warm-up, yes, perhaps 5 or so minutes of light cardio, fine (good, actually).
The other advantage is that the strength training will fatigue you, which gives
you a head start on the endurance workout. In other words, you’ll be able to
reduce the load of endurance training that you normally use because you’ll
already be fatigued going into the endurance workout.
Lastly, just to be clear, I think I said to place strength and endurance work-
outs as far away from each other as possible, and that doing one right after
the other would be a second choice.
Q: Charles,
I am currently working on gaining size. I am familiar with the utilization of
eccentric activities and varying slow rhythms to optimize these gains. My
question is whether or not plyometrics can be effectively used or if it is count -
er productive. Are there any studies that are looking at this? I know that slow
eccentrics are optimal, but it seems that the tremendous power demands
must help with the growth.
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J. Pullman
Although the demands on the body are great when implementing plyos, they
will not directly produce hypertrophy to any significant degree.
Plyometrics are most effective when used to improve starting strength (inner-
vating as many muscle fibers as possible, instantaneously). For example, an
improvement in starting strength might improve one’s ability to throw a foot-
ball farther, or accelerate out of the blocks during a sprint.
Incidentally, you do not need to be choosing between the two (plyos vs.
eccentrics). What you do need to decide is how much time to commit to each.
Honestly, I would not commit much time to plyos (have a look at my feature
article on speed strength training and you’ll see that I don’t even use them
much for that purpose!).
Mike
A: Mike, the squat is an interesting creature. It seams like almost all exer-
cises can be fit into a "pushing" day or a "pulling" day. Where does the squat
fit into such a system? Well, it really doesn’t: When the quads contract, they
are primarily responsible for extending the knee (pushing). When the ham-
strings contract, they extend the hip (pulling). You’re pushing and pulling at
the same time. (Incidentally, technically speaking, muscles can only contract
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The squat could be placed on a pushing or pulling day; however, most pow-
erlifters reserve a day just for squatting. I think this works out quite well.
Here’s a model of a common, successful powerlifting micro-cycle:
Monday
Deadlift
Back and Biceps assistance work
Wednesday
Bench Press
Chest/ Shoulder/ Triceps assistance work
Friday
Squat
Lower Body assistance work
Q: I saw your material on Speed strength training and I want to know more
about the specific exercises, such as how to modify if I do not have access to
certain things. The Swiss ball crunch to be specific.
A: You can simply perform a high-cable rope crunch, for example. Not a prob-
lem. On the other hand, it wouldn’t exactly take an act of congress to obtain
a Swiss ball!
Also, I am in the 7th week of a strength training routine and will be done in
3 more. I have gone that way to build up strength before I begin working on
gaining size specifically. I have gained some size which has been really
encouraging at my age. I am 38 and have lifted most all of my adult life.
Never with the intensity as I have for the past 5 months though. I am feel -
ing like I have a lot of untapped potential and your article on this other type
of strength training sounds exactly like what I want to get into.
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I wonder how you decide on the weight to use for each exercise. Do you use
a percentage of your max or some other trial and error?
A: Use a consistent weight load for the sets and reps indicated. In general, I
am not a fan of percentages of 1RM, since you never really know what your
1RM is at any given time.
I do not have ready access to any consistent partner to lift with is that a prob -
lem with this regimen?
I am currently using some protein supplement drinks and would like any
advice on some specific supplements I could use to bolster strength and size.
Some of the folks articles have also mentioned the use of yohimbe for fat
burning effects. Is that an isolated supplement or found in several types of
supplements?
A: I’m not "up" on the yohimbe research— I’d suggest you ask Lyle, Pat, or
Bill about that. As for supplements, just whey protein concentrate, creatine
monohydrate, that’s about it. It’s more important to examine your diet and
make sure that is in order first.
Well, enuf! Just am pumped about this new routine and want to see if it real -
ly works. Sounds well thought out and thorough. Hope to hear soon. Take
Care, Steve
Q: Dear Mr Staley,
What do you think is a better way (or are they both alternative ways) for
hypertrophy training: Going to failure every set or leaving one or two reps ?
The first for me would look like this: e.g. chest: Dumbbell press 80 lbs x 10,
70 lbs x 9 (fatigue!), 70 lbs x 8, 70 lbs x 7.
The other way looks in my training like this: 80 lbs x 8, 80 lbs x 8, 80 lbs x
8 (failure), 80 lbs x 6 (obviously I'm able to work with the same weight til
the last set, cause I'm not fatiguing that much as by giving all out in the first
sets). So what gives ? I've read an article from you where you say that you
don't have to train to failure every set.
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In the first scenario, your total volume (weight multiplied by reps) is 2480
pounds, and the average intensity (volume divided by reps) is 72.94 pounds.
In the second scenario, your total volume is 2400 pounds, and the average
intensity (volume divided by reps) is 80.00 pounds.
So, both methods generate similar numbers: the second method yields 9.6%
greater intensity for a trade off of a 9.6% reduction in volume (Hey! Are you
setting me up here??!!)
In any event, If I had to choose, I’d opt for the latter method because vol-
ume probably has a more telling effect on hypertrophy than intensity. If
strength development was my goal however, you’d be slightly better off using
the first scenario.
I also think that carrying a set to technical breakdown (by definition of fail-
ure) is appropriate for hypertrophy training, but not so for strength objec-
tives.
Q: Dear Mr Staley,
Sincerely,
Sam
Q: I know that aerobic exercise trains the slow twitch muscle fibers and
resistance training trains the fast twitch muscle fibers, and I've been told that
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if you do aerobics, it will take away from your muscle building by making your
muscles more like slow twitch fibers.
A: That’s a bit of an awkward way to state it, but yes, you’re correct— it can
be a problem.
Obviously, everyone who lifts wants a muscular build more like a bodybuilder
and less like a marathon runner. Does doing aerobics really affect your upper
body "look" that you are trying for?
If so, why would doing aerobics change your upper body muscles if the lower
body muscles are the primary one's being used?
A: Although excessive aerobic activity of any type can potentially slow your
efforts to build lean mass, I would speculate that, for example, lower body
aerobic activity would have a more adverse effect on your lower body than
your upper body, and vice versa. I think the reasons for this are intuitively
obvious.
Dear Charles,
First off I would just like to let you know that you are considered a tremen -
dous source of valuable info by all my fellow firefighter/police lifting partners.
I will be competing in August at the Police/Firefighter games in the bench
press and arm wrestling competitions. I have never competed in either one
of these events before. I am 33 years old and have been lifting weights for
about 15 years. I have a relatively good base of muscle at 6 ft. tall and about
225 lbs. I am injury free and have what I think would be considered good
balance between all my muscle groups. Could you tell me a generic off the
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shelf program of yours that I could use to train for the bench competition in
6 months? Also what specific exercises would you prescribe for the arm
wrestling event? I know that you’re a very busy man and I would appreciate
any help whatsoever that you could give me.
A: Nick, just for starters, let me offer you an initial impression: if you’ve been
weight training for 15 years and at age 33 you are still injury free, you either
are lucky, or are already doing a lot of things right, or both!
Once in a while, I run into someone who has a refined intuitive sense about
their body while allows them to avoid injuries— you sound like one of those
people.
In any event, if you’ll check out the last two installments of this column, you’ll
find two peaking cycles which can be very effectively employed for the bench
press— these should help you in that regard.
For arm wrestling (which is kind of a misnomer— it really involves the entire
body of course) I recommend paying particular attention to wrist flexion (can
be done with dumbbell or barbell wrist curls), biceps, and rotator cuff mus-
cles. In this discipline, the principle problem is managing fatigue over the
course of a microcycle: between practicing and strength training, the ten-
dency is to develop chronic overload and fatigue of the shoulder, elbow, wrist,
and their respective musculo-tendinous attachments. I suggest that you
employ skilled soft-tissue therapy, and supplement your diet with glu-
cosamine sulfate and chondroitin (which is a good idea for any athlete any-
way).
Lastly, I couldn’t quite tell by your letter if you are competing in both these
events during the same competition, but if so, training for bench press and
arm wrestling concurrently, but if so, your shoulders, particularly the domi-
nant-side shoulder, will be at risk. Maintain constant awareness for shoulder
pain or symptoms, and use post-training ice applications after every upper-
body workout, and also after every arm wrestling session.
I’d also strongly suggest that you perform low-intensity, moderate volume
internal and external rotations using a piece of elastic tubing attached to an
immovable object at slightly higher than waist level. In both exercises, you
grasp the tubing, walk away from the distal attachment to put tension into
the tubing, anchor your "working" elbow against your side, and then perform
slow, controlled external and internal rotations to promote blood flow and
range of motion to the shoulder (an area which has notoriously poor blood
flow). Perform 3-4 sets of 20-30 reps three days a week (after bench press
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Lastly, remember to taper for the competition— no need to train at all for the
5-6 days before the events, excepting the rotations described above.
I want to know what exercise is the best to build powerful legs. I play hock -
ey and it is essential for me to have strong legs. I have gone to gyms were
I have had a trainer who set a program specifically for my sport, but I didn't
see any vast improvements in my game. I think squats are but I don't know,
but is a leg press machine better. If you could answer this message I would
be very grateful.
A: The funny thing is, to a very real extent, the concept of sport-specific
weight training is a bit of a scam. Yes, hockey players require a different
approach than swimmers, for example, but when I construct strength train-
ing programs for my clients, believe it or not, the sport they happen to play
isn’t the most defining characteristic. Instead, the first things I consider are
the athlete’s health status, injury profile, posture, physical proportions, and
past training history, for starters. If the athlete is 6"6," with long femurs and
chondromalacia, you’re going to have a difficult time convincing me that
squats should be the core component of his leg training program.
In your case, I’d be willing to bet that the reason you didn’t see any improve-
ments in your game was related more to periodization errors than it was with
exercise selection, although both factors, as well as others, may have been
responsible. For example, you haven’t given me details regarding set/rep
parameters, etc.
Don’t think in terms of best exercises. There really is no single best exercise,
or program for that matter. Think of training like nutrition: there is no such
thing as a "best" food, although there are a wide range of healthy foods, and
some not-so-healthy choices as well. For hockey, you want healthy potions of
squats, lunges, step-ups, reverse hypers (if you have access to a reverse
hyper machine), leg curls, calf raises, deadlifts, and Olympic lifting variations
such as power cleans and snatches.
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A: Dave, you may want to consider having hydraulic jacks surgically implant-
ed in your lower legs. I think it would be rare, if not impossible, to improve
your VJ by 12 inches over your entire adult life! Let’s look at it this way: very
few athletes in any sport every vertical jump past 36 inches. If you current-
ly can do 24 inches (which most reasonably strong kids can do by the age of
18), then you’d reach your lifetime potential in 7-8 months! This would be
similar to trying to put 300 pounds on your best squat in the same time
frame.
The answer is to get as strong as possible, and hope that you chose the right
parents. In the mean-time, check out my article on speed strength training
for more information on the subject. And if you do manage to add 12 inches
on your VJ in 7-8 months, just tell everyone that my training program was
responsible for it!
Q: I’m 18 years old, have been lifting seriously for the past 3 years. I think
I’m fairly strong, but don’t know what path to take with my lifting. What I
mean is, how can I tell if I should try to get involved with powerlifting, body -
building, Olympic weightlifting, strong-man contests, or what? I feel sort of
unmotivated about lifting because I can’t really see what direction to go with
it. I could just lift to stay fit, but that seems completely boring. What do you
think?
Thanks,
Garth
A: I think you probably have more insight than the average person— you
should take your confusion as a sign that you’re an intelligent person. I’d
suggest that you attend some competitions for all of the disciplines you’ve
mentioned. Watch, listen, learn, and interview some of the competitors.
Find out what kind of personality it takes to succeed, what are the skill lev-
els required, what kind of body-types are best for the sport, what kind of
injuries are common, and so on. Also find out if there are training centers or
clubs in your area. In time, you’ll get a sense of what seems to "fit" your
needs and talents the best.
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Incidentally, when I said that you probably have more insight than the aver-
age person, I’m referring to the fact that you seem to understand, even if
only intuitively, that you’ll be more successful when you have specific goals
in life, rather than just being a "hobbyist." Check out my article called Goal
Orientation: Train Your Brain for Maximum Gains in a future issue of
Mesomorphosis.com. I think you’ll find it informative and inspirational!
Q: Hi, my name is Kristy and I just moved to this state. I need someone to
chat with and maybe get together with, I am 21 and a cheerleader in college.
I am 5'11" and have blond hair, and I am very sexy. This link takes you to
my page where I have sexy pics and *FREE* porn links! Click Here
Now!
A: Hi Christy, if you are looking for strength training information for cheer-
leading, I think a personal consultation would be the best approach.
Q: I’ve heard you advise people not to stretch prior to strength training ses -
sions. I think you’re rationale was that stretching would make you weaker.
However, if you are tight to begin with, wouldn’t it be wise to stretch so as
to prevent injuries?
Thanks!
A: You have taken my advice slightly out of context— stretching may make
you either weaker or stronger, depending on where you’re starting from.
When a resting muscle is "tight," it means that either or both of the follow-
ing conditions are present:
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I have found in my practice with athletes that when you apply contract-relax
type stretching (often somewhat incorrectly called "PNF" stretching), you can
get a sense of which of the two above scenarios is predominant.
Now that I’ve said all that, how can you tell if a certain muscle is too tight?
1) Does the muscle prevent you from performing the skills of your sport
and/or everyday activities? For example, can you easily turn your head to 90
degrees to each side? Is your range of motion the same on both sides? If the
answer is "no" to either question, you may have inadequate range of motion
in your neck, which could surface in a future injury.
2) Do you suffer from chronic injury patterns, such as constant pulled ham-
strings or intermittent lob back pain?
If the answer to either or both of the above questions is "yes," you may well
have tight muscle groups which should be stretched— lightly before training,
and more aggressively after training.
There are numerous stretching methods (I prefer those which feature a con-
traction of the target muscle before it is stretched), but the key concept is to
perform repeated, low effort stretches throughout the day, as opposed to a
single heavy-duty stretching workout every day. You have to gently "teach"
the nervous system that it’s "OK" for the muscle to achieve greater length—
that won’t happen if the body perceives your stretching sessions as grueling
sado-machochistic events!
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When can stretching make you weaker? When you already have adequate or
more-than-adequate muscle length. If you stretch such a muscle, it ends up
with very little overlap between the actin and myosin filaments, and when
exposed to tension during a strength training workout, it now has an
increased risk of injury.
Also, like any athlete, you need to organize your lifting and playing in a way
which will allow your to practice your instrument while as fresh as possible.
Avoid a heavy practice session or (especially) a performance within 48 hours
after a hard upper body lifting session. So for example, if you know you have
a performance on Saturday night, avoid heavy lifting beyond Tuesday, or pos-
sibly Wednesday.
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Lastly, take some advice I always give to martial artists who are starting a
weight training program for the first time: unless to introduce the strength
training component very gradually, expect to experience a temporary decline
in your skills (in your case, cello) as your body struggles to cope with this
new challenge. So proceed gradually, and pay attention to your skills along
the way, and you should end up benefiting from the experience.
I'm a 45 year old woman (5'9", 150 pounds, 20% body fat) and while I
understand that isolating muscles doesn't work, I need to work the sides of
my waist. I've got strong abs., lats and lower back, but while I don't have
huge sloppy love handles, I 'm not firm between my waist and lower ribs.
I've check out various books, etc., but nothing seems to hit this area. Any
suggestions? You and Lyle have changed my life!
Best, Kate
A: Glad you’re enjoying the columns! The muscular topography between the
ribs and pelvis consists primarily of the external obliques, and it’s outer layer
of bodyfat. If your oblique muscle is already developed beneath the fat, then
it’s going to be a matter of bodyfat reduction.
However, if your obliques are under developed and you don’t particularly
have a lot of fat on top of them (at 20%, it doesn’t sound like this is the
case), you need to make sure this muscle is being properly trained. I’ll focus
on this scenario in my answer to you.
First, here’s a fact that few people appreciate: the obliques are actively
involved in all trunk flexion exercises (such as all forms of sit-ups and crunch-
es). So, although I’m going to suggest a few oblique exercises, but I’ll also
urge you to make sure that you’re performing your crunches properly as well.
The best movement is performed on a Swiss ball, which allows more range
of motion than the same exercise performed on the floor. You’ll need to main-
tain a neutral cervical spine (do not allow your head to move independently
from the rest of the body) as you flex your trunk until your pelvis and ster-
num approach each other at the top of the concentric phase of the exercise.
Then lower back to the starting position by reversing this movement.
Also, don’t perform your abdominal training at the end of workouts devoted
to other muscle groups. Instead, devote a half-hour twice a week to your ab
training. Perform two exercises per session, in the following manner:
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Monday:
1. Swiss ball crunch: During crunches, you can modify your arm position in
order to adjust the level of resistance. The least resistance occurs when the
arms are straight and outstretched along the side of the body during the
movement. A more difficult variation is to cross the arms against the chest.
The most difficult variation is to place the hands such that the fingers are
touching the head at a point just behind the ears. Avoid interlacing the fin-
gers and clasping behind the head, which can strain the cervical vertebrae,
and encourage participation from other muscles. Additional resistance (in the
form of a medicine ball or weight plate) can be used when your bodyweight
is no longer sufficient to cause an improvement in strength. If you use addi-
tional resistance, it becomes necessary to anchor the feet under an immov-
able object to stabilize your position.
2. Russian twist on ball Position yourself on the ball as you would when per-
forming crunches. Grasp a medicine ball with both hands. Keeping your
elbows extended and arms perpendicular to your torso, rotate to either side.
Maintain neutral head and neck position, with tongue on the roof of your
mouth. Also, do not allow your pelvis to rotate with your torso as you torn
from side to side, as this unloads the obliques muscles. You can increase the
difficulty of the exercise by using a heavier medicine ball, increasing the
speed of the movement, or by positioning yourself further back on the ball
(you may need to anchor your feet to prevent falling backward over the ball).
Thursday:
1. Prone ball roll: From a kneeling position (use an exercise mat to cushion
your knees), with a Swiss ball directly in front of you, place your clasped
hands on top of the ball. Allow yourself to extend forward until your hips,
shoulders, and elbows are fully extended. Return back to the starting posi-
tion by reversing the motion. As you extend, the increased load on your abs
will cause the tendency for the curve of your low back to increase. The goal
is to counteract this tendency by tilting your pelvis posteriorly (as you would
during the pelvic tilt exercise) as you extend. If you are unable to maintain
constant low back curvature during this exercise, you’ll need to spend more
time working on the pelvic tilt described earlier in this section.
2. Reverse trunk twist on ball: Lie face up on the ball, which is positioned in
a power rack. Grab the sides of the rack for support. Flex the hips to 90
degrees with legs straight and together. The apex of the ball should be just
under your low back. Start with feet pointing up at the ceiling, and then, in
a "windshield wiper" like movement, allow your legs to lower to the right side
until they are parallel to the floor. Then return back to center and repeat on
the left side. Do not allow your shoulder girdle to turn toward the direction
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that your legs are moving in, as this unloads the obliques muscles. When the
legs are completely to the left, your right shoulder should be down, and vice
versa. Repeat for the indicated number of reps.
Use a medicine ball between your feet if additional load is necessary. You can
increase the difficulty of the exercise by using a heavier medicine ball, or by
increasing the speed of the movement. Repeat for indicated number of sets
& reps.
Q: Charles,
Why is squat considered the "king of exercises" and given importance in ath -
letes training programs. Both exercises affect "basically" the same muscle
groups with the deads having an added advantage of more back strengthen -
ing and some trap and arm. I know studies have been done showing the
advantage of squat and athletic performance, has anyone seen any studies
dealing with deadlift and athletic performance? With the exception of perhaps
a greater chance of injuring back due to improper dead technique (of course
the same can happen with squat) it seems there should be more importance
put on deads. That is unless the clean is used in place of a deadlift and then
this is a whole new can of worms.
Larsen
A: I have often said that a deadlift is essentially a squat with the bar in your
hands instead of on your back.
Detractors sometimes point to the fact that deads begin concentrically, which
is opposite of most motor skills such as jumping and throwing.
However, I usually have athletes perform deads by taking the bar from a
power rack (much like you would when performing stiff-leg deadlifts) and
then starting the exercise eccentrically. No need to perform these as a pow-
erlifter would, unless of course, you’re a competitive powerlifter. So use a
palms-facing grip rather than a "mixed grip" (use straps or a hook grip if you
like), and don’t hyperextend your hips at the top— you’re not performing for
powerlifting judges, after all. Maintain a neutral spine and keep the bar
against the front of your body at ALL times.
Deadlifts are also criticized for being an inefficient quadriceps exercise, but
again, there is a tweak you can use here: at the beginning of the set, us as
upright a posture as possible in both directions. Then, as fatigue sets in, allow
yourself to stand up with the weight using additional assistance from your
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hams, glutes, and spinal erectors by starting the lift with a slightly greater
forward inclination of your torso. Then, during the eccentric phase (where
you’ll be stronger), maintain the upright torso as you lower the bar, which will
maximize stress to the quads.
Another point: deads can eventually lead the athlete to clean pulls, and even-
tually power cleans if desired. It’s a good skill to have.
All of the above can be further optimized through the use of a Gerard Trap
Bar (see http://www.avalon.net/~middlecoast/trapbar.htm). This fantastic
tool allows for a safer exercise performance, and more comfortable too, since
your shins will be spared from contact with the bar. So Larsen, I’m with you—
deadlifts are under-appreciated!
Q: Dear Charles,
Lisa
A: To me it sounds like you’re on the right track. As far as plyos are con-
cerned, there’s no point in frosting the cake before it’s finished baking.
It’s important for kids and young athletes to develop the widest possible
"movement vocabulary." This way, the athlete is able to pick up new skills
easily and efficiently when needed later in their athletic careers. So I like your
approach on training diversity. And by the way— don’t completely ignore or
forget the plyometric drills that your young athlete has learned— these drills
can be valuable as she matures.
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Indian Body-comp
Q: HI Charles! I am a girl living in India. I am 5'8" tall & weigh 110 pounds.
My problem is that I am developing a paunch which I want to get rid of. I
want to know if just crunches will be enough as when I do aerobics I tend to
lose weight which I cannot afford. Also what do you recommend for the lower
stomach. Also my calves are quite thin. I want to develop the muscles there.
What can I do? Please help.
Thanks
A: The shortest and most effective way I can answer your question is to say:
train like a professional bodybuilder. Train all muscle groups using a well-
designed strength training program (such as the ones you’ll see on this site).
I can’t effectively cover this topic within the confines of the column, so all I
can say is to constantly educate yourself on the subject.
The fact that you have internet access will be of great value here. Next, eat
like a bodybuilder. There are different philosophies regarding this, but I think
somewhere in the neighborhood of a 40-30-30 macronutrient ratio (carbohy-
drates, proteins, fats) is a great starting point for most people. I am not par-
ticularly savvy with regards to the cultural/ethnic aspects of what you might
be eating, but in general, restrict or avoid processed foods, sugars, wheat
and bread products, and minimize rice and potatoes. Based your diet on lean-
source proteins (fish and fowl, primarily), vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts,
eggs, and so forth. Use a good quality whey protein concentrate if possible
as well.
As you might assume, I’m making an educated guess that you just need to
acquire more muscle. Some aerobic activity is healthy, too much isn’t, and
will cause you to lose muscle, which I think you have already experienced.
The answer is NOT in finding the "magic" abdominal exercise program— just
put on the muscle, and the rest should fall into place.
Q: Hey Charles,
Four to six sets followed by two or three sets of flies, incline dumbbells, or
decline dumbbells. Reps ranged from 2-8 until failure. I also did a one-rep
max every two or three days. My other work was a normal 4-day split with
medium to low volume. I was quite surprised and pleased by the results.
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After the first week, my chest was blasted and my strength was way down,
as to be expected. However, by the end of the second week, my pecs still felt
very overtrained, yet I was putting up more reps per weight than I have ever
done before. At the end of 3-1/2 weeks, my max had gone up by 15 pounds.
I did not use any new supplements, eat more than normal, or gain any mass
during this time. I have not made strength gains like that since my first 6
months of lifting. Have you had this kind of success with this kind of pro -
gram? Could it possibly be too likely to cause injury to use as a normal pro -
gram cycle?
Richard M White
A: Richard, the bench press Gods must have been smiling down on you
because that is one hell of a nutty program! It’s amazing that you made
progress on it, but I’ll venture a few guesses as to why you did:
1) The program may have been radically different from what you had been
doing previously. If you were in a state of habituation from the previous train-
ing you did, then the new system simply shocked your body into continued
growth.
3) You’re an ultra-slow-twitch guy and the huge amount of volume was just
what all that mitochondra was looking for.
I really consider even three days a week to be quite a lot for a multi-joint
movement like the bench press. Six is just absolutely incomprehensible to
me. But it just goes to show, almost anything can work, at least temporari-
ly, as long as you don’t become injured. Incidentally, I don’t know if it’s
already too late, but I bet if you re-test your 1RM after 7-10 days of rest (i.e,
no chest training), you’d further improve your 1RM.
Q: Hi!
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results despite. She has the potential to become one of the best in her age
group. And even tough the training is going OK I’m always trying to improve
my knowledge to become a better trainer and improve her training. And after
reading your articles and seeing that yourself was a masters discus thrower,
I thought you must be a gold mine of information.
So the reason I’m mailing you is to ask if you have some tips to give on
improving her training or just in general.
The type of strength training resembles much the way you suggested in your
article at Mesomorphosis with some alternations, I’m having an different
approach on periodisation on bench, pushpress, squat and deadlift (which
she does on Mondays "light", the reason she does these is because when she
squats her "midsection" is to weak for her legs and when she maxes she can’t
hold an "upright" position— so I’m hoping these will better her strength and
posture on the squat.)
The purpose of her training is to improve her explosiveness and better her
technique in the discus.
I can also say that she has a problem with her left shoulder, probably her
supraspinatus but we are working on it and it’s showing great results in recu -
peration, so Olympic style lifting is out of the question but I’m surprised that
the push press is going fine.
OK, it became a very long mail and if you gotten this far I would be very
thankful if you had the time, which I think is a problem for you, to give me
some recommendations or tips to improve her training. If not I will fully
understand and keep reading your very good and informative articles on the
net and in the mags.
The best !
Magnus Agren
A: With discus throwers, it’s not so much height (although that’s still an
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In any event, the set-up you’ve described is fairly standard as far as throw-
ers go, but let me throw a few ideas at you.
First, although it is common to work technique on one day and strength drills
the next, what ends up happening is that you are working every day, which
may not be the best strategy for recovery. It has been my experience that an
intense (but not exhausting) strength training session first, followed by a
throwing session about 4-6 hours later can actually result in an improvement
in the throws.
So for example, you might do a morning circuit where you perform bench
presses, back squats, and snatch pulls for perhaps 5 sets of 2 reps each (a
total of 15 work sets). These should be done briskly, with good acceleration,
and only brief (1-2 minutes) rests between sets. For any given set of two, 4-
5 reps should be possible— in other words, leave 2-3 reps to spare on each
set. The training effect comes from the attempt to accelerate the weight.
Then, later in the day, you do your throwing session, which will be fueled by
the fact that the nervous system is in an enhanced state of readiness from
the lifting done earlier in the day. During this session start with full competi-
tion throws, measuring each one, and noting which throw went the furthest
(this data, collected over several sessions, will tell you the optimal number of
warm-up throws that should be taken in competition). As soon as you notice
that the quality of the throws is decreasing, switch over to drills, which should
be selected on the basis of the athlete’s weaknesses.
Star with drills which have a higher nervous system component (i.e, South
Africans), and progress to drills with less neural drive (i.e, drills designed to
promote a loose and relaxed delivery). On each drill, note the learning curve,
and when the drill has begun to erode, move on to the next one. If all of the
above was done on a Monday, for example, then Tuesday is spent on easy,
aerobic-type drills (jogging, fartlek drills, skipping rope, and so on), as well
as stretching and relaxation exercises. These exercises should help the ath-
lete to recover and loosen up from the previous day’s work.
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Q: Mr. Staley,
I'm not sure if I have a challenge for you or not. I am 43 years young. I am
strong in body and mind. I am an avid judaka. My wife say's that's an ADVIL
judaka. I have practiced and will continue to practice with some of the best
judoka our country has to offer. I love the challenge of the sport. I recom -
mend it to everybody who wants to test their physical and mental fortitude.
I also have access to a couple of exercise physiologist who have help me out
immensely. But... when ever I want to improve on speed, endurance and
explosive movements these guy's don't know what to say to me because I'm
older. I know and they know that there is a physiological differences between
my body and a 24 year old elite athlete's body. But can't I still improve? I
want to be able to handle 4-5 minute intense matches in one day and still
fight the way I like to. Which is very aggressive.
My friends tell me that there isn't that much information available for some -
one my age. I ask them what did they learn in school and they say most of
it didn't apply to a 43 year old total nut case. By the way that's my wife's
description.
Everyone says I'm in great shape for my age.I want to be in great shape for
any age.
Thank you for your consideration, any information from you would be invalu -
able.
David
A: I have recently worked with one of the best Jui Jitsu competitors of all time
and I can tell you that he’s in top shape in his late 30’s, if that gives you any
hope! I have a few thoughts for you though:
1) Older fighters should base their strategy on strength rather than quick-
ness. This is because with age, the former remains at high levels while the
latter dwindles. This is why boxers like George Foreman can do well at
advanced ages, while speed-based boxers like Sugar Ray Leonard cannot.
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conditioning.
3) Work to prevent injuries, and/or to take care of them properly when they
do arise. Massage therapy, once weekly, can be absolutely invaluable to keep
tissues pliant and healthy, and to develop a source of feedback regarding tis-
sues which may be on the verge of injury.
4) Train smart. The easiest way to accomplish this is to carefully read every-
thing I’ve ever written, and then do it! OK, seriously, you’ve got to have plen-
ty of diversity in your training, stretch tight muscle groups, ice your joints if
you’ve got post-raining symptoms, pay attention to your posture, eat right,
and so on. All the stuff you know you should do, but don’t.
5) Lastly, don’t let anyone accuse you of being an odd-ball because you’re
serious about athletics at an age where most people have thrown in the
towel. We need more like you!
Charles,
The coach also said I would need to start now and this would leave me 5
months to concentrate on the bulk process.
Can you give me any hints? Nutrition will play a big key as well— any hints
there? Especially advice on a cyclic program that would see the best results.
Cheers,
Andrew
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sume enough calories to allow a weight gain to occur. The process will be eas-
ier if you avoid "unnecessary" aerobic activities, by the way. If you’re cur-
rently maintaining your bodyweight, I’d suggest increasing your daily caloric
intake by 300 calories. Keep track of your weight, and wee what happens in
a two week time frame. If you didn’t budge, add another 300 calories. If you
gained a few pounds, continue as is. If you gain more than about 2-3 pounds,
cut back by about 100 calories a day. If at any point you stop gaining body-
weight, just bump up your calories a notch again, and so on.
As far as the resistance training aspect is concerned, I’d suggest the follow-
ing loading parameters as a starting point:
Mr. Staley,
It seems like you only work with athlete-types, so my question is, is it pos -
sible for someone like me (i.e., slightly geeky but serious bodybuilder-
wannabe!) to train with you? Can I also ask what this would cost me?
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Thanks
Colin Sanders
I have extremely strict criteria for prospective clients: your money must be
green.
OK, yes, most of my clients are athletes, but about 10-15 percent are what
I would term "serious non-athletes." To me, being an athlete is defined by
what’s between your ears, so if you’ve got a good attitude about it (which is
defined by the opposite of someone like Jonathan, who decided to use my
column as a platform to humiliate himself in public— his question follows
below).
Hi! I'm a new reader of your column in Mesomorphosis, and I do like very
much your way of thinking, your logical way of explaining those issues of
training, the common sense that many coaches don't have.
I would like to ask you a question. How can I incorporate power cleans and
hanging power cleans in my muscular development routine? I have been
doing power cleans for 3 months, during every back-day— thanks a lot.
Bye,
Dr. Javier Saez
Cleans involve so much musculature that they can’t be neatly fit into a sin-
gle muscle group category. Although this exercise does make heavy demands
on the traps, I am normally more comfortable placing this exercise at the
beginning of sessions devoted to leg training, for a couple of reasons.
First, the clean is primarily a full body extension, heavily involving the gas-
trocs, hamstrings, glutes, and spinal erectors, in addition to the traps. In
other words, (except for the trap), these are all the same muscles you use
during squatting, deadlifting, etc. So performing several brisk sets of cleans
can actually serve as a warm-up for successive lifts.
Second, if you perform cleans on "back day," you’re fatiguing your low back
and legs, which may negatively affect your next leg training session. The
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reverse is not the case, however: training your traps on "leg day" will not sig-
nificantly affect your next back training sessions.
3. The most common technical flaw that "non-Olympic lifters" make during
cleans is to allow the elbows to bend before the body is completely extend-
ed. Make sure your shoulders are completely shrugged before the elbows
bend.
4. Make sure the bar you use spins easily, and do use collars.
I am 16 years old and I can Bench 325 and I can Squat 500 pounds. I am
going to be a Junior. I want to know what kind of supplement I should use
so I can blast my bench to 400 and my squat to 600 by my senior year. So
far I haven't taken any supplements. I am thinking about getting on Ultimate
Orange.
I take this to mean that your program design and biomechanics are absolute-
ly perfect, your diet is perfect, and the only think left to improve is your sup-
plementation schedule.
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Where would I find a matrix for roughly calculating one rep max's. I saw it in
a magazine once but can’t find it now.
Thank you
Carter Morrison
Actually, there are various formulas. In his book The Poliquin Principles,
Charles Poliquin presents several of them, so, that would be the best single
source for several 1RM formulas.
I like to think that someday I could be a world record holder in the bench
press. Right now I am 28 years old, 6'0, 230 pounds. I can bench close to
405 without a bench shirt, nearly 460 with one, supplement free. I have come
to a standstill, or plateau in my workout and cannot seem to gain any more
strength.
Do you have any ideas on what I should be doing? I read all the magazines
and cannot seem to get anything from them. I must confess, I don't have a
very strict diet. I eat a lot of skinless chicken breasts and drink a lot of water
everyday. Could this be a problem for me gaining strength. Please respond
back, I am going crazy. Also, I have been pondering over the thought of
adding a supplement. My co-workers use creatine and they seem to think
that it helps them. What are your views on supplements, which ones work?
Your training program is much more likely to be the limiting factor in your
progress, as compared to your diet, but yes, diet cannot be ignored. Although
this is really more Lyle’s domain, the basic questions you need to ask (and
answer) are:
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6. Am I well-hydrated?
After all of the above has been established, you can start thinking about sup-
plementation. Start with creatine monohydrate (although I’m a bit cautious
about supplementation, I don’t know why you would make it a point to delib-
erately avoid them!)
As for training, I don’t have the ability to advise you without knowing what
you’re doing right now, but you can scan this site for articles I’ve written
about the subject to get some idea about how I would approach your situa-
tion. If I had to take a blind crack at it though, I’d wager that you don’t have
enough diversity in your training program.
Misguided Soul
Hi Charles,
I am a young guy in North Carolina, I have not really lifted a lot. I want to
do a Mr, USA pageant and East Coast pageant. I also want to do night club
dancing for a while.
Well I want a body and kinda quick like. I know it takes a lot of work but I
want to start roids. I will get a trainer while I take them but I also need to
know about my diet. I know I will have to eat more of the right food so to go
along with it. My problem is I don't know who to turn to if I need questions
answered. I have a place to get them but its just a shipping company and I
don't want to get the wrong ones. Where and who could I turn too. Everyone
I find just keeps telling me, no I am not going to tell you anything about them
they are bad. Could you help me in any way?
Johnathan
Either this is a joke, or you are profoundly immature. Best of luck— you’re
going to need it!
Dear Charles,
I am hoping you could share your insight on the following. I currently change
the exercises I perform once I stop progressing (i.e. the weights or reps no
longer increase— about every five or six workouts or so). I have always done
this as I believe it to be indicative of the fact that my body has adapted to
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But I have been thinking about this and came up with the following hypoth -
esis. I noticed that my weights do seem to increase rather dramatically when
I start a new exercise. For example, I began doing close-grip bench presses
at 195 lbs for 5 reps and, by increasing the weight by five pounds per work -
out, have most recently performed 215 for 5. Let's suppose that I work out
today and am only able to repeat my previous performance. Normally I would
switch my workout next time. But I am thinking that these rapid increases in
strength are highly unlikely to be from increases in muscular mass but rather
from neural adaptations.
I would greatly appreciate your opinion regarding this whenever you might
have the time.
Sincerely,
Matt Bernard
You are correct that short term (daily or weekly) strength gains are primari-
ly from neural processes (increased rate coding, intramuscular coordination,
etc.) — there simply wouldn’t be enough time to develop enough muscle
mass to account for rapid short term strength gains.
I remember chatting with my friend Jim Wright (you can find his articles in
Flex magazine) about how frequently one should change their program, and
he was of the opinion that is was indeed beneficial to struggle past the point
of habituation— in other words, you might do the same program for 6-8
weeks, even though you find it nearly impossible to make progress past 3-4
weeks. In other words, don’t change your program the moment it starts get-
ting hard to make progress!
Also remember that program changes can run the gamut from slight to com-
plete. So for example, I personally like to do the same exercises for 6-8
weeks, but I will change the set/rep format halfway through. So if I’m per-
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forming weighted pull-ups, I may start with 3-4 sets of 4-5 reps on week 1,
then continually attempt to increase reps every week for 3-4 weeks— I might
be able to get 4 sets of 8 reps after 4 weeks. Then, on week 5, I’ll increase
the load (i.e., add more weight to my belt), drop down to sets of 4-5 reps,
and climb my way back up. After 8 weeks of this, you’ll be quite shot, and a
change of exercise will be in order.
Charles,
I have brooded over many careers in my life, and I have decided to give
strength coaching a go. I really don't think that I'll be successful at any other
career because this is the only thing that I have a passion for. I also want a
decent lifestyle. In order to get that lifestyle, I'll need to shoot for the better
jobs out there, but this means I'll have to get a degree. I already am close
to finishing my SSC certification from ISSA, but it won't land me a high pay-
ing job in the professional or collegiate arena. My question is what kind of
degree do I have to get to be a respectable strength trainer worthy of high
paying jobs? Your reply will be most helpful.
Steve
Here’s how I look at it: you’ll make money if you’re effective, and if you can
market yourself. If getting a degree helps you to accomplish either, then do
it.
Above all, I do feel very strongly that you must do what you have a passion
for. In my own case, I can honestly say that if I won the lottery, I would con-
tinue to do exactly what I’m already doing. If you embark upon a career sim-
ply for financial rewards, you’re doomed (this doesn’t sound like you— I’m
just exploring the topic).
If you have an insatiable appetite for the subject matter (for example, in my
own case, my life consists of training, studying, eating, and sleeping, and
nothing else), you need to just jump in, rather than testing the water with
you toe. Lastly, check out an excellent book called Do What You Love and the
Money Will Follow. I should have written it myself!
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Dear Charles,
I have hit a hard wall in training and need some advise: I have been training
for 18 months with little muscle development despite varying routines, exer-
cises, repetitions, set structure, etc. Currently, I am zigzagging, protein sup-
plementing, and working each body part one time per week with 6-8 sets per
body part and 2-4 different exercises. I am almost six feet tall and weight
135. What am I doing wrong? Should I just be patient (after 18 months my
patience is running low)? I zigzag to maintain weight. The only body part that
looks great are my abs which I work three to four times per week! Plus my
protein intake is well above adequate. Help! Thanks in advance!!
Dear Charles,
I am 18 years old and have been working out for two years. I am very cut,
but lack mass. I'm 5'11'' and am about 165 pounds. I have tried creatine but
had very weak results. I'm wondering what I can do to bulk up.
Tom Quinn
Although the first reader does not stage his age, I will make an educated
guess that he is a teenager, or slightly beyond.
My best advice for both of you is to be patient, and learn as much as possi-
ble along the way. Using myself as an example, although I would never be
mistaken as a bodybuilder, through most of my 20's I weighed between 145-
155 at a height of 6'1". Currently, at age 39, I weigh between 205-215, and
I carry about the same bodyfat percentage as when I was younger, if not a
little less.
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metabolism slows down, you have to learn how to eat right, or you'll just get
fat. Lyle McDonald's column and articles are required reading on the subject.
Finally, let me urge you to do things for the joy of doing them, not just for
the external reward you hope to gain at some later date. Believe me, if I had
my hopes pinned on becoming Mr. Olympia, it would have been over years
ago. But along the way, I found training to be an irresistible exercise in prob-
lem-solving, and that's what's fueled my career in this field. You may have
other reasons, but the point is, try to mould yourself into a process-oriented,
rather than purely a results-oriented person. That way, you'll learn more,
you'll be more consistent, you'll work harder, all of which will translate into
reaching a greater proportion of your ultimate potential.
OK: Everyone always says "High reps for mass, low reps for strength." The
thing is, why? I've never heard anyone explain this logically or in a way that
I can understand. Is it a nervous system thing, or just that you're working at
a higher intensity, or what?
Ben Opal
In reality, it has more to do with the amount of tension that each rep puts on
the muscle. As tension on the muscle increases, so does recruitment of
greater and greater numbers of motor units. And motor units must be recruit-
ed before they can be trained of course.
Bill performs 6 sets of 5 reps, also with 135 pounds. In both cases, the total
volume (weight x reps) is the same.
Question: Who derives the best training effect for hypertrophy, and who ends
up becoming stronger?
The answer, as you may have surmised, is that John gets bigger, and Bill gets
stronger. (Actually, they both get bigger and stronger, but Bill becomes
stronger than John, and John becomes bigger than Bill).
But why?
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Ok, let's dissect the question for a moment. Let's take a look at the force on
John's bar, rep by rep. These values may not be absolutely correct, but the
concept is accurate:
Now, if John was working as hard as he could, the 11th rep might have yield-
ed about 134 pounds of force, which means he would have failed.
If you add the above numbers together and divide by 10, you get an aver-
age set force of 150.5 pounds. Now let's look at what Bill did, and we'll
assume that his strength levels are exactly the same as John:
Set 1
Rep 1: 164 pounds of force
Rep 2: 161 pounds of force
Rep 3: 158 pounds of force
Rep 4: 155 pounds of force
Rep 5: 152 pounds of force
Set 2: (these numbers are slightly lower to account for the fatigue which
resulted from the first set)
If you add John's numbers together for each set and divide by 5, you get an
average set force of 158 pounds for set 1 and 155.8 for set 2. The average
force per rep for both sets combined is 156.9.
So as you can see, because breaking the set of 10 into 2 sets of 5 results in
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less fatigue per set, the lifter can produce more force, which recruits greater
numbers of motor units, which results in greater strength levels due to
enhanced neural drive. Also keep in mind that neither set was a maximal
effort for Bill— in other words, he had at least 3-4 reps in reserve on both
sets. That reserve is what allowed him to accelerate the bar, which is what
puts tension on muscles.
John, on the other hand, gets more hypertrophy out of the deal because of
the fatigue that accumulated during his all-out set of 10. Although hypertro-
phy is a mysterious process, many scientists suggest that fatigue is a neces-
sary precondition for protein turnover in trained muscles.
Of course, the above example was not idealized by any means— performing
say, 10 sets of 2 reps results in even greater strength gains, for reasons that
should now be obvious.
Thanks,
Cory Regent
First, since this is primarily an eccentric drill, one problem is that it may have
better application for hypertrophy than for absolute or speed strength. But
my real problem with this exercise is that few people are strong enough to
do it correctly. By correctly, I mean that you need to be able to keep your low
back flat against the floor at all times. Since it's rare to see a person who can
do this while simply lowering his legs to the floor under control, I'll go out on
a limb and say that it'd be even more rare to find someone who can main-
tain this posture while his or her legs are being thrown to the floor by a part-
ner!
So, if you are in this minority, go ahead and enjoy the exercise. Otherwise,
stick with ball crunches, high cable crunches, and so forth.
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Mr. Staley,
Last week at my gym I saw a woman doing an exercise I have never seen
before: it was like a dumbbell front raise, where she would raise both arms
out to the front, with her palms toward the floor, and then once her arms
were horizontal to the floor, she would rotate her wrists so that her thumbs
faced the ceiling. Then she would reverse the turn, and lower her arms again.
have you ever heard of or seen this exercise? If so, is it worthwhile?
Sarah Richmond
Well, this is a new one on me. If you raise your arms with the palms facing
downward as you describe, then it would be relatively effective as a middle
deltoid exercise. But the wrist twist at the top makes absolutely no sense at
all, if I'm understanding you correctly. What would happen is as you point
your thumbs upward, the tension would shift from the middle delt to the front
delt. But this would only be a brief, isometric contraction for the front delt,
and I would thing this maneuver would have potential to grind up the shoul-
der joint as well. I wouldn't recommend it.
Q: Charles, I was just at one of your seminars, and I think you said that you
never use "straight sets," but I never got a chance to ask you about it— what
do you mean by "straight" sets, and what do you use instead of them? Great
seminar by the way— when are you doing another one?
Janice Escher
What I meant by a straight set is a set of 8, or 10, or whatever, with the same
weight. And what I do instead is drop sets. So, in other words, instead of
doing a set of 10 with 225, I'll do a set of 5 with 255 immediately followed
by another 5 reps with maybe 225, or whatever I can manage. I just can't
find a reason not to do it this way, because the increased neural drive pro-
vided by the first stage of the drop is too valuable to waste. About the only
time I don't utilize this strategy is on exercises where it is impractical— bar-
bell squats for example.
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Mr. Staley,
I know I lean forward a lot when I squat. I've never hurt myself, but I just
wonder how much it's OK to lean— assuming that it can't be helped.
— Thanks!
Anthony
In terms of safety, you can probably lean as much as you want, as long as
you maintain normal spinal curvatures. It's funny, but I know some people
who are insistent on super-upright posture during squats, but at the same
time they're OK with doing good mornings, which, when you think about it,
is just a bad squat taken to the extreme!
However, if you're trying to develop your quads, it's a different story— in this
case, you DO want to maintain as upright a position as possible, to avoid the
glutes and hamstrings taking over most of the load. If you're having difficul-
ty with this, work on stretching your soleus muscles (not your gastrocs, which
are on a slack when the knee is bent). I am not of the camp that believes all
people can perform a good "quadricep" squat, by the way— some people just
have proportions that rule it out. But more often than not, tight calves and
bad form are to blame for excessive forward lean.
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For all the virtues that the martial arts can instill in people, unfortunately,
open-mindedness doesn't seem to be one of them.
This close-minded approach has benefits, but they come at a high cost: the
security that comes with following time-worn approaches and philosophies
allows one to fully commit to their training, knowing that many hundreds of
thousands have taken the same path to success.
First, although we see many who succeed with the "traditional" path, we
rarely see those who don't. In the sport of Olympic weightlifting, the tiny
country of Bulgaria has had outstanding success in recent years, using train-
ing schedules which seem exceptionally brutal— training at very high inten-
sities, up to six days a week and often using 2-3 sessions per day. Although
this had lead many lifters to emulate the Bulgarian system, others question
the validity of these methods, suggesting that it is used simply as a "weed-
ing out" process. In other words, anyone who can survive the system is like-
ly to end up as a champion lifter. For every champion the Bulgarian's produce,
there may be many broken bodies along the way. Nevertheless, using this
system, Bulgaria manages to find its most genetically gifted lifters without
wasting resources on lifters who will never be champions no matter what
training system they follow.
Second, we never venture out to see if there are better methods (at least for
us) than the one's we're currently using. For example, let's say that all your
martial arts role models perform endless sets of pushups every day. So you
decide "If it works for them, it's good enough for me." And for years and
years, no one can talk you out of it.
The problem is, pushups are far from an efficient exercise. Most martial
artists do them simply because their instructor told them to, or because
"that's what everyone does." The problem is, once you can do more than 10
reps, the exercise can only develop strength-endurance, which is not a qual-
ity that most martial artists need or want. For en exercise tobe beneficial for
a speed-strength endeavor like the martial arts, it must be modifiable so that
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very high intensities (1-5 reps) can be reached. Only in this way can the
proper strength qualities be trained.
In many ways, athletes are the same way— at some point in their athletic
careers, they are convinced to train in a certain way, and because this way
lead to a certain degree of success, they now pronounce this "way" as the
"only way."
If this makes sense to you, I would like to encourage you to look beyond the
methods and techniques you're currently using. Don't simply discard what
you're doing now, but remain open to the possibility that better ways might
exist, at least for you; at least for now. And if you happen to stumble upon a
better way, resist the temptation to follow it blindly for the rest of your life.
Finally, although I encourage you to cultivate an open mind, I'm not sug-
gesting that it has to be gaping! When things seem to be too good to be true,
or have absolutely no basis in science, your time is probably better spent
researching more promising options.
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Abduction -- Movement of a limb away from middle axis of the body, such as
extending arms outward at shoulder height from a hanging-down position.
Actin -- Actin is one of the fibrous protein constituents of the protein complex
actomyosin. It is a protein which, when combined with myosin forms acto-
myosin, the contractile constituent of muscle.
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Adhesion -- Fibrous tissue holding muscles or other parts together that have
been altered or damaged through trauma.
4. Stroke Volume: The volume of blood pushed out of the left ventricle with
each beat
5. Ejection Fraction: The percentage of the total volume of blood in the left
ventricle that's pushed out with each beat
6. Heart Rate: The number of times your heart beats during each minute.
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the tissues and fluids of plants and animals. Varieties of albumin are found in
blood, milk, egg white, wheat, barley and muscle.
Amino acids -- The building blocks of protein. There are 24 amino acids,
which form countless number of different proteins. They all contain nitrogen,
oxygen, carbon and hydrogen.
Essential aminos must be derived from food. There are eight of them: L-
isoleucine, L-leucine, L-lysine, L-methionine, L-phenylalanine, L-tryptophan,
L-threonine, and L-valine. Two others, L-arginine and L-histidine, are essen-
tial for children. An example of a "conditionally essential" amino is L-gluta-
mine, which is not manufactured in sufficient quantity by the body during
intense weight training, and therefore must be consumed to make up the
deficit.
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Glycine -- Vital for the manufacture of amino acids in the body and in the
structure of red blood cells. Glucose and creatine phosphate (CP), two sub-
stances pivotal to energy production, require glycine in their synthesis
process.
L-histidine -- Along with growth hormone and certain other amino acids, vital
to tissue growth. Important in the production of red and white blood cells.
L-lysine -- Low levels can slow down protein synthesis, affecting muscle and
connective tissue. Has inhibitory affect against viruses and used in treatment
of herpes simplex.
L-methionine -- Removes poisonous wastes from your liver and assists in the
regeneration of liver and kidney tissue.
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L-serine -- Important for the production of cellular energy and the formation
of acetylcholine, a paramount brain chemical that aids memory and nervous
system function.
Amino acids are one of the three major sources of energy in the human body,
the other two being fatty acids, and monosaccharides such as glucose.
Amino acids are linked together in construction of the body's proteins. Most
amino acids are incorporated into proteins which are either structural or reg-
ulatory in nature. Structural proteins such as collagen and elastin, make up
the muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones. Regulatory proteins, called
enzymes, control the function of all of the metabolic pathways within the cells
of the body. Some enzymes are general in their activity and help break down
food. Class-specific enzymes regulate larger-scale processes.
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processes to form the chemical bonds which unite the components of increas-
ingly complex molecules. Anabolism is the opposite of catabolism.
Two other forms of anaerobic strength are limit strength and speed-strength,
both of which derive energy from the ATP/CP pathway of muscular energet-
ics.
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ATP -- The organic compound found in muscle which, upon being broken
down enzymatically, yields energy for muscle contraction.
ATPase -- The enzyme which acts to split the ATP molecule. Three major iso-
forms of ATPase exist, and correspond to Type I, Type IIa and Type IIb mus-
cle fibers. ATPase is released from the knobby ends of the cross-bridges
located on the myosin myofilaments.
Barbell -- Weight used for exercise, consisting of a rigid handle 5-7' long, with
detachable metal discs at each end.
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such as torque, drag, and posture, that is used to enhance athletic technique.
Blood Glucose -- Blood glucose (blood sugar) refers to sugar in the form of
glucose. The blood sugar level in humans is normally 60 to 100 milligrams
per 100 milliliter of blood; it rises after a meal to as much as 150 milligrams
per 100 milliliter of blood but this may vary.
When a blood pressure reading is taken, the systolic over diastolic value is
determined. Systolic pressure is primarily caused by the heartbeat or con-
traction. The diastolic pressure is taken when the heart is filling with blood
between beats. Blood pressure values vary appreciably depending on age,
sex, and ethnicity. A typical adult reading may be 120mm Hg over 80mm Hg,
stated 120 over 80.
Blood -- Blood is the fluid which circulates through the heart, arteries, veins
and capillaries. It is composed of red blood cells, white blood cells and blood
platelets, and an interstitial fluid called plasma. It derives its reddish color
from the iron within the hemoglobin.
Blood functions to provide nutrition and respiration for tissues located far
from food and air supplies. it also transports waste from the tissues to the
excretory organs. Blood provides chemical and thermal regulation to the body
and helps in preventing infection by transporting antibodies.
BMR (Basal metabolic rate) -- The rate at which the body burns calories while
at complete rest -- lying down but not sleeping -- over a 24 hour period.
Bodyfat -- The percentage of fat in the body. In bodybuilding, the lower the
percentage, the more muscular the physique appears.
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Branched chain amino acids (BCAA) -- The amino acids L-leucine, L-isoleucine
and L-valine, which have a particular molecular structure that gives them
their name, comprise 35 percent of muscle tissue. The BCAAs, particularly L-
leucine, help increase work capacity by stimulating production of insulin, the
hormone that opens muscle cells to glucose. BCAAs are burned as fuel dur-
ing highly intense training, and at the end of long-distance events, when the
body recruits protein for as much as 20 percent of its energy needs.
Caffeine -- A chemical occurring in coffee, black tea and cola drinks with an
ability to stimulate the nervous system. In small amounts, it can create men-
tal alertness. In larger amounts, it can cause nervousness, anxiety, sleep-
lessness, and is used medicinally as a diuretic and headache remedy.
Calcium -- The most abundant mineral in the body, a vital factor for bones,
teeth, muscle growth, muscle contraction, the regulation of nutrient passage
in and out of cells, and nerve transmissions.RDA: 800-1,400 mg. Dose
increases with age. Dietary sources: milk and dairy, soybeans, sardines,
salmon, peanuts, beans, green vegetables.
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Carbohydrate -- One of the three basic foodstuffs (proteins and fat are the
others). Carbohydrates are a group of chemical substances including sugars,
glycogen, starches, dextrins, and cellulose. They comprise the body's main
source of raw material for energy. They contain only carbon, oxygen, and
hydrogen. Usually the ratio of hydrogen to oxygen is 2:1. Carbohydrates can
be classified as either a simple carbohydrate or a complex carbohydrate.
Cardiac muscle -- One of the body's 3 types of muscle, found only in the
heart.
Cholesterol -- A lipid (or fatty substance), normally present in most body tis-
sue, especially the brain, nervous system, liver and blood. Produced in the
body to form hormones, vitamin D and bile, a fluid secreted into the small
intestine to break down fat. Dietary cholesterol is obtained from meat, eggs,
poultry, fish, milk and other dairy products. Dietary cholesterol raises blood
cholesterol -- a factor in arterial disease -- but the effect is less pronounced
than that of saturated fat.
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sion of nerve impulses. No RDA. Dietary sources: lecithin, egg yolk, liver,
wheat germ.
Collagen -- The most abundant type of protein in the body. Forms tough con-
nective tissue, the scaffolding holding a muscle in place which becomes the
tendons that tie muscles to bones. Connective tissue literally keeps your body
together -- skin, bones, ligaments, cartilage and organs.
Colostrum -- The IGF-I and IGF-II found in colostrum are known to be criti-
cal "in vivo" for promoting growth. That's why it exists in mothers' milk dur-
ing the critical first few days of lactation. "IGF" stands for "insulin-like growth
factor." The voluminous research data on these powerful growth factors is
compelling. The effectiveness of colostrum is measured by its "IG"
(immunoglobulin) value. Most colostrum hitting the sports nutrition market is
rated 8; better ratings are 22, 33 and 44. Of course, the 8 is cheaper and not
as effective. Conversely, 44 is the best.
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Complete protein -- Refers to protein which contains all essential amino acids
in sufficient quantity and in the right ratio to maintain a positive nitrogen bal-
ance. The egg is the most complete protein food in nature, with an assimil-
ability ratio of 94-96 percent. That is, up to 96 percent of the protein in eggs
will be used as protein. In contrast, about 60-70 percent of the protein in
milk, meat or fish can be used as protein (see essential amino acids).
Copper -- A mineral that helps convert the body's iron into hemoglobin for
oxygen transportation through the bloodstream. Essential for utilization of
vitamin C. No RDA. Dietary sources: legumes, whole wheat, prunes, liver,
seafood.
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Cross bridges -- Projections of myosin molecules that link with actin filaments
to create a grabbing, pulling effect, resulting in contraction.
Deltoids-- The large triangular muscles of the shoulder which raise the arm
away from the body and is a prime mover in all arm elevation movements.
Depletion -- Exhaustion following a workout before the body has fully recu-
perated. Never train when feeling depleted.
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Dumbbell -- Weight used for exercising, consisting of rigid handle about 14"
long with sometimes detachable metal discs at each end.
E
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) -- A fatty acid found in fish and fish oils which is
believed to lower cholesterol, especially cholesterol bound to low density
lipoproteins (LDL).
Endocrine -- endocrine refers to a secretion that flows directly into the blood-
stream. It is the opposite of exocrine.
Endocrine glands -- Organs which secrete hormones into the blood or lymph
systems to regulate or influence general chemical changes in the body or the
activities of other organs. Major glands are the thyroid, adrenal, pituitary,
parathyroid, pancreas, ovaries and testicles.
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Proteases such as renin and pepsin aid in breaking down the bonds between
amino acids and proteins.
Lipase is a fat-splitting enzyme which causes the hydrolysis of fats into glyc-
erin and fatty acids.
Cellulase breaks down the tough fiberous cell walls of plant foods, thereby
allowing you to digest, absorb and assimilate the contents of the plant cells
more efficiently and completely. An added benefit is that there will be less
undigested food entering your colon where they would be subject to attack
by putrefactive bacteria.
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Fast-twitch fibers -- White muscle cells that fire quickly and are utilized in
strength-dependent anaerobic activities such as sprinting and powerlifting.
Fat -- One of the three basic foodstuffs (along with carbohydrates and pro-
tein). The most concentrated source of energy in the diet, furnishing twice
the calories of carbs or proteins. The components of fat are fatty acids -- sat-
urated or unsaturated. Saturated fatty acids are generally solid at room tem-
perature and are derived primarily from animal sources. Unsaturated fatty
acids, on the other hand, are usually liquid and come from vegetable, nut, or
seed sources.
Fat deposits surround and protect organs such as the kidneys, heart and
liver. Fats are the primary substance of adipose tissue. A layer of fat beneath
the skin, known as subcutaneous fat, insulates the body from environmental
temperature changes thereby preserving body heat.
Fat (total) -- Total fat describes the fat consumed from both saturated and
unsaturated sources, High intake of total dietary fat increases risk of obesi-
ty, some types of cancer, and possibly gallbladder disease.
Fatty acid -- One of the building blocks of fat. Used as fuel for muscle con-
tractions. Fatty acids aid in oxygen transport through blood to all cells, tis-
sues, and organs. They help maintain resilience and lubrication of all cells,
and combine with protein and cholesterol to form living membranes that hold
body cells together. They break up cholesterol deposits on arterial walls,
thereby preventing arteriosclerosis. Fatty acids are necessary for the function
of the thyroid and adrenal glands.
Fiber (muscle) -- The long and string-like muscle cells which contract to pro-
duce strength. They range from microscopic size to one foot long. There are
several hundred to several thousand individual groups (fasciculi) of fibers in
each major muscle structure. These groups are something like pieces of
string bound tightly together inside a protective sheath.
Fiber (dietary) -- The part of plant food that is not digested by the human
body, such as the husk of whole grains and the skin of an apple. Healthy
intestines and regular elimination require adequate fiber, generally provided
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Limit Strength: How much musculoskeletal force you can generate for one
all-out effort. The most effective means of increasing limit strength is through
progressive resistance training -- weight training. Research indicates that 3-
8 repetitions with 80-90 percent of maximum load works best. "Periodizing"
your training intensity bodypart-per-bodypart (i.e., exercise-per-exercise) is
essential because of the high likelihood of overtraining (cumulative micro-
trauma). Various therapeutic modalities as well as psychological techniques
and supplements also have shown effectiveness in improving limit strength.
Starting Strength: Your ability to "turn on" as many muscle fibers (muscle
cells) as possible instantaneously. A combination of weight training and light
resistance training works best for improving starting strength. Weights
should be in the 55-75 percent of maximum range, and the exercises should
gradually (over a predetermined "period") become more and more ballistic.
Light resistance techniques include plyometric training, overspeed training
and various forms of running and agility drills. Various therapeutic modalities
as well as psychological techniques also have shown effectiveness in improv-
ing starting strength.
Explosive Strength: Once your muscle fibers are turned on, your ability to
LEAVE them turned on for a measurable period is referred to as "explosive-
ness." A combination of weight training and light resistance training works
best for improving explosive strength. Weights should be in the 70-80 per-
cent of maximum range, and the exercises should gradually (over a prede-
termined "period") become more and more explosive. Light resistance tech-
niques include plyometric training, overspeed training and various forms of
running and agility drills. Various therapeutic modalities as well as psycho-
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Static Balance: Your ability to maintain control of your body's center of grav-
ity over the center of your base of support. Nothing works better at improv-
ing static balance than practice! Assuming that you have sufficient strength,
flexibility and stamina to both assume and hold the desired position, distrib-
uted practice (many short practice sessions per day) is recommended.
Dynamic Balance: Your ability to maintain control of your body's center of
gravity while moving or in-flight. A combination of limit strength, starting
strength, explosive strength and agility training techniques (described above)
prepare you for practicing your dynamic balance skills. In other words, lay a
foundation first, and then practice your specific skills. Distributed practice is
best, with short practice sessions at least twice daily.
Strength Endurance: Your ability to maintain limit strength output time after
time without fatigue limiting force output. Pushing back the anaerobic thresh-
old is the name of the game here. Forcing yourself to continue contracting
your muscles at maximum or near-maximum intensity while under conditions
of extreme fatigue facilitates enzymatic changes within your muscles. Special
forms of both weight training and ("light") resistance training, coupled with
careful dietary and supplementation habits are the technologies which work
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Muscle Mass: For bodybuilders, muscle mass is critical. It's the point of the
sport. But for fitness enthusiasts, strength-to-weight ratio is more important
than sheer mass for its own sake. Certainly, it's "normal" to have each mus-
cle in your body optimally developed. And, it's "abnormal" not to be. What
does that make the average sedentary person? Abnormal! The best method
ever conceived to improve muscle mass is through a "holistic" approach. That
is, optimally developing each and every cellular organelle and component
maximally through employing a variety of training stresses. This is best
accomplished through a carefully planned, integrative multiple variable split
training system.
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Freedom From Stress: Many psychologists say that "stress" should be meas-
ured by how well you are able to "control" outcomes in your life. Removing
yourself from the stressful elements in your life is best. However, that's not
always possible. Simple lifestyle changes, psychological assistance, medical
support and (more effective than heretofore recognized) exercise all stand
out as significant stress-controlling technologies.
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The Mirror & Photo Tests: Strip naked and look into a full-length mirror. What
do you see? Do you like what you see? Remember, a mirror doesn't lie. Take
many "before and after" photos -- several times yearly. These photos are
your best chronicle of progress, lack of it, or extent of "deterioration" from
disuse, misuse or abuse. Wear a very revealing bathing suit when these pho-
tos are taken -- wouldn't want to miss anything! Of course, the most impor-
tant elements involved in your appearance are diet and weight training, as
they have the most profound effect on physical (outwardly visible) appear-
ance. As you can guess, looking good and feeling good are hand-and-glove.
Folic acid -- A B-complex vitamin essential in formation of red blood cells and
metabolism of protein. Important for proper brain function, mental and emo-
tional health, appetite, and production of hydrochloric acid. Very often defi-
cient in diets. RDA: 400 micrograms. Dietary sources: green leafy vegeta-
bles, liver, brewer's yeast.
Food allergies -- Sensitivities to certain foods which can cause both mental
and physical symptoms.
Force -- That which changes or tends to change the state of rest or motion
in matter. Force may increase or decrease the velocity of an object. The SI
unit of force is the newton (N)
Free Radicals -- Free radicals are highly reactive molecules which target your
tissues' protein bonds, the DNA in your cells' nuclei and the important polyun-
saturated fatty acids within your cells' membranes. Once initiated, a chain
reaction begins that ultimately results in the total destruction of that cell.
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Vitamin E
Vitamin C
Glutathione (GSH)
Ginkgo Biloba
Glutathione (GSH)
Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo Biloba
Vitamin E
Glutathione (GSH)
Ginkgo Biloba
Polyunsaturated
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Vitamin E
Maria Thistle
Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo Biloba
Gamma oryzanol -- A substance extracted from rice bran oil which some ath-
letes believe has non-steroidal, growth-promoting properties when taken as
a supplement. It allegedly helps increase lean body mass and strength,
decreases fatty tissue, improves recovery from workouts, and reduces post-
workout muscle soreness, particularly among female athletes. Recently, in
preliminary testing, the active ingredient -- ferulic acid (aka "trans-ferulic
acid") -- was reported to exert an even more pronounced effect than Gamma
Oryzanol. The jury is still out.
Ginko Biloba -- Native to China and Japan, the ginkgo tree lives over 1000
years! The active component of ginkgo leaves are quercetin and the flavo-
glycosides. Ginkgo extract is shown to 1) reduce clots or thrombi formation
in the veins and arteries, 2) increases cellular energy by increasing cellular
glucose and ATP, 3) scavenges free radicals, 4) prevents the formation of free
radicals, 5) reduce high blood pressure, and 6) promotes peripheral blood
flow (especially to the brain), and ameliorates inner ear problems. Ginkgo
also has been shown to improve alertness, short-term memory and various
other cognitive disorders.
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It works in direct opposition to insulin. Liver glucose is freed when the blood
sugar level drops to around 70 milligrams/100 milligrams of blood. Exercise
and starvation both increase glucagon levels, as does the presence of amino
acids in the blood after a high protein meal. Glucagon produces smooth mus-
cle relaxation when administered parenterally.
Gluteals -- Abbreviation for gluteus maximus, medius and minimus; the hip
extensor muscles. Also called buttocks or glutes.
Glycemic index -- A rating system that indicates the different speed with
which carbohydrates are processed into glucose by the body. In general,
complex carbohydrates are broken down slower, providing a slow infusion of
glucose for steady energy. Refined, simple carbohydrates usually are
absorbed quickly, causing energy-disturbing fluctuations of glucose.
Glycogen -- The common storage form of glucose in the liver and muscles
that is biochemically processed as part of the energy-producing cycle.
Glycogen, a polysaccharide commonly called animal starch, is readily con-
verted into glucose as the energy needs of the body require.
Glycolytic Sports -- Sports such as wrestling, boxing, 200 meter dash and
other long sprint or mid-distance sprints wherein the glycolytic pathway of
muscle energy production (the breakdown of muscle sugar, glycogen, in order
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to produce more CP and ATP) is involved (see glycogen, ATP and CP).
Green Tea -- Green tea, also known as GTA (green tea antioxidant) or GTE
(green tea extract), has been clinically shown to be as much as 200 times
more effective than vitamin E at scavenging hydrogen peroxide and super-
oxide anion radicals (see Free radicals). As such, it is perhaps the most
potent antioxidant known to man in its ability to prevent 1) antibacterial and
antiviral activity, 2) anti-platelet and hyocholesterolemic activity, 3) lung can-
cer due to smoking, 4) skin damage and skin cancer due to radiation, 5) a
host of other age-related maladies. The active ingredients of green tea are
called polyphenol catechins, with (-)-Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCg) being
by far the most important. Green tea is unprocessed; black tea is the same
plant but highly processed; Oolong tea, also from the same plant, is partial-
ly processed tea..
Hamstring -- The big muscle along the back of your upper leg from the hip
to the knee.
Heart rate -- The number of times your heart beats in one minute.
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In fasting hypoglycemia, serum glucose levels are low in the fasting state (for
example, before breakfast). This form of hypoglycemia is relatively uncom-
mon and is not what most people generally refer to when they claim to have
"hypoglycemic symptoms".
Inertia -- The tendency of an object to remain in its current state (in motion
or at rest).
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Insulin is essential for the proper metabolism and proper maintenance level
of blood sugar. Secretion is primarily dependent upon the concentration of
blood glucose, an increase of blood sugar bringing about an increase in the
secretion of insulin. Inadequate secretion of insulin results in improper
metabolism or carbohydrates and fats and brings on diabetes characterized
by glucose accumulating in the blood and wastefully excreting in the urine.
Various forms of insulin may be prepared and administered to temporarily
treat a diabetic individual.
Insulin-like Growth Factors (IGF-I & IGF-II) -- IGF-I and IGF-II are liberated
into the interstitial spaces surrounding muscle cells (especially Type IIb
fibers) damaged by severe stress (especially eccentric contractions). Their
collective function is to ensure bonding between the nearby satellite cells with
the damaged fiber, thereby decreasing that fiber's proneness to injury. It is
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Insulinomimetics -- There are several herbs that have been widely used for
centuries for their apparent insulinomimetic value:
Allium cepa and allium sativum -- specially prepared extracts from the com-
mon onion and garlic plants -- have been clinically shown to reduce blood
glucose by competing with insulin for insulin-inactivating compounds, there-
by increasing free insulin in your body. These powerful botanicals are report-
ed to 1) have antihypertensive effects (lower blood pressure), 2) be capable
of reducing blood lipids (e.g., cholesterol), and 3) provide general cardiovas-
cular benefits.
Not all garlic is the same, however. It has to be aged in a specific manner.
One special method of ageing garlic, developed by Wakunaga of America
Company (known as Kyolic garlic), preserves a compound called S-allyl-cys-
tein. This compound has been well-researched and shown to have potent
lowering effects on both blood lipids (fat) and blood glucose, while at the
same time increasing insulin.
· adding reps
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· adding weight
· increasing the amount of eccentric work your muscles are required to per-
form.
· increasing the "ballistic" nature of the transition portion of the lift or move-
ment. (For example, quickly rearing back to throw (activating the muscle
spindles and Golgi tendon organs while at the same time violently pre-
stretching the tissues of the shoulder such that you avail yourself of the nat-
ural viscoelasticity of the tissues surrounding the shoulder) and then revers-
ing the direction (throwing) involves increased "ballistic" stress) .
Iodine -- An essential element for the function of the thyroid gland, which
regulates metabolism and energy. RDA: 150 micrograms. Dietary sources: All
seafood, kelp.
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that colors the blood red and which carries oxygen through the bloodstream
from the lungs to all bodily tissue. Also forms myoglobin, which transports
oxygen in muscle tissue for use in fueling contractions. Deficiency is common
in athletes. Without enough iron, you cannot train. Iron is easily lost through
sweat, urine, feces and menstrual flow. Runners in particular are suspected
of inefficient absorption of dietary iron. RDA: 10 mg. (men), 18 mg.
(women). Dietary sources: liver, oysters, lean meat, leafy green vegetables,
whole grains, dried fruits, legumes.
Jerk -- The part of the Olympic lift known as the "clean and jerk," where the
lifter drives the barbell from his or her shoulders overhead to a locked posi-
tion.
Joints -- A joint is formed where two bones come together. Not all joints have
the same range of motion, and some joints don't move at all. The range of
motion of a joint is limited by the structure of the bone and the attachment
of muscle to bone. Described below are some important structures found in
a joint.
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- Ligaments are relatively inelastic bands of white, fibrous tissue. They con-
nect one bone to another at a joint.
- Tendons are extensions of the muscle fibers. They are slightly more elastic
than ligaments, but cannot shorten as muscles do. they connect muscle to
bone.
- Bursa are fluid-filled pads that absorb shock and provide a smooth surface
upon which tendons move over bone.
- Synovial fluid is a very viscous material that lubricates the working parts of
a joint.
Knee wraps -- Elastic strips used to wrap knees for better support when per-
forming squats and dead lifts.
Krebs Cycle -- Krebs cycle (citric acid cycle) refers to a complicated series of
reactions by which fragments from any of the energy nutrients (proteins, car-
bohydrates, and fats) are completely broken down to carbon dioxide and
water, releasing energy for the formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). It
is the final common pathway for all nutrient metabolites involved in energy
production, and provides more than 90% of the body's energy.
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Lactic acid is carried by the blood to the liver, where it is reconverted to glu-
cose and returned as blood glucose to the muscles. It is this elevation of
blood lactic acid in sustained strenuous exercise, such as in marathon run-
ning, which results in muscle fatigue and pain. Recovery follows when enough
oxygen gets to the muscle, part of the lactic acid being oxidized and most of
it then being built up once more into glycogen. The metabolic cooperation
between contracting skeletal muscle and the liver to support active muscle
work is called the Cori cycle.
Lats -- Short for latissimus dorsi, the large muscles of the back that are the
prime movers for adduction, extension and hyperextension of the shoulder
joints.
Lean body mass -- All of you, except your fat. Includes bone, brain, organs,
skin, nails, muscle, all bodily tissues. Approximately 50-60% of lean body
mass is water.
Lever -- A rigid object (bone), hinged at one point (joint) to which forces (via
muscle contraction or resistance) are applied at two other points. A lever
transmits and modifies force or motion, and has three parts: 1) a fulcrum, 2)
a force arm and 3) a resistance arm. There are three classes of levers,
depending on the location of the three parts relative to each other.
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drugs) or other techniques. Such aids increase the potential for strength
above normal capacity. Absolute strength is reached solely through training.
Lower abs -- Slang for abdominal muscles below the navel. Conventional
training wisdom holds that one can "isolate" the lower from the upper abs
through leg raises or reverse crunches. In reality, when the abdominals con-
tract, the contractile force is generated throughout the entire abdominal wall.
Metabolism -- The total of all physical and chemical reactions in the body,
including catabolism (breaking down) and anabolism (building up).
Minerals -- There are 96 times more minerals in the body than vitamins. As
vitamins, they are necessary for life itself and combine with other basic com-
ponents of food to form enzymes. Minerals are ingested through food and
water. Many minerals are deficient in the diet because of mineral-poor agri-
cultural soil, the result of intensive farming and long-term use of chemical
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Moment arm -- The perpendicular distance from the line of pull of a muscle
to the axis of rotation.
Motor unit -- The basic unit of movement: a motor nerve fiber and all of the
muscle fibers it supplies. In the quadriceps muscle, one neuron can activate
as many as 1,000 fibers. In the eye, where great precision is required, one
nerve cell may control only 3 fibers.
Motor unit recruitment -- One of the factors affecting strength. Refers to your
ability to get maximum stimulation through the nervous system to trigger the
maximum amount of muscle contractions. This can be built up over time
through heavy resistance and explosive strength training.
Muscle -- Tissue consisting of fibers organized into bands or bundles that con-
tract to perform bodily movement.
Muscle fiber arrangement -- Long fibers are created for large movements and
speed rather than strength. Short fibers are designed for strength with a
lesser movement capability. Knowledge of fiber arrangement can help you
train muscle groups in a scientific manner.
Muscle tone -- The degree of tension and vigor in a gross muscle. Muscle tone
is increased through weight training, which results in a greater number of
muscle fiber "firing" while at rest.
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Myofibril -- The functional units within muscle fibers that cause contractions.
The more you have, the greater your strength. Myofibrillarization -- increas-
ing myofibrils -- is achieved with the use of heavy weight training.
Myosin -- The most abundant protein (68%) in muscle fiber. It is the main
constituent of the thick contractile filaments which overlap with the thin actin
filaments in the biochemical sequence that produces shortening or contrac-
tion of the sarcomere.
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Obliques -- Short for external and/or internal obliques, the muscles to either
side of abdominals that rotate and flex the trunk.
Ornithine -- Ornithine is produced in the urea cycle by splitting off the urea
from arginine and is itself converted into citrulline. On decomposition it gives
rise to putrescine. It has been demonstrated to be of value as a growth hor-
mone stimulator when administered intravenously; there is no solid evidence
that it stimulates growth hormone to a significant degree (enough to stimu-
late muscle growth) when taken orally.
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Oxygen debt -- The oxygen consumed in recovery from exercise above the
amount that would normally be consumed at rest. In intense endurance
activities, oxygen debt refers to the amount of oxygen that is "owed" to the
system to oxidize lactic acid build-up. One's tolerance for an accumulated
debt is generally proportional to the level of fitness.
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Peripheral heart action (PHA) -- Developed in the early 60s by Chuck Coker
(inventor of the "Universal" multi-station exercise machines), PHA training is
an excellent all-around system of weight training whereby muscles are exer-
cised in an alternating sequence of upper and lower body. This method keeps
blood circulating constantly throughout the body, prevents undue fatigue in
any given muscle, facilitates recovery and provides a holistic muscular devel-
opment. It is mildly cardiovascular.
Phosphorus -- Works with calcium to build up bones and teeth. Provides a key
element in the production of ATP. RDA: 800 mg. Dietary sources: animal pro-
tein, whole grains.
Potassium -- Teams with sodium to regulate body's water balance and heart
rhythms. Nerve and muscle function are disturbed when the two minerals are
not balanced. Insufficient potassium can lead to fatigue, cramping and mus-
cle damage. Physical and mental stress, excessive sweating, alcohol, coffee,
and a high intake of salt (sodium) and sugar deplete potassium. No RDA.
Dietary sources: citrus, cantaloupe, green leafy vegetables, bananas.
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Power -- The rate of performing work. The SI unit of power is the watt (W).
Power training -- System of weight training using low repetitions and explo-
sive movements with heavy weights.
Examples of proteases are renin and pepsin; these enzymes can be found in
animals. Rennin is used in the thickening of milk and is isolated from the
stomach of the calf; pepsin is found in the gastric juices of humans and other
animals where it breaks down proteins at specific places.
Protein -- One of the three basic foodstuffs -- along with carbohydrates and
fat. Proteins are complex substances present in all living organisms. It com-
prises 90 percent of the dry weight of blood, 80 percent of muscles, and 70
percent of the skin. Protein provides the connective and structural building
blocks of tissue and primary constituents of enzymes, hormones and anti-
bodies. The components of protein are amino acids. Dietary protein is derived
from both animal and plant foods.
Protein is essential for growth, the building of new tissue, and the repair of
injured or broken-down tissue. They serve as enzymes, structural elements,
hormones, immunoglobulins, etc. and are involved in oxygen transport and
other activities throughout the body, and in photosynthesis. Protein can be
oxidized in the body, liberating heat and energy at the rate of four calories
per gram.
Protein efficiency ratio (PER) -- A system of rating the quality of dietary pro-
tein by the number and proportions of the essential amino acids contained in
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it. Eggs rank highest. They contain all eight essential amino acids in a pro-
portion regarded as the most readily assimilable and usable combination of
naturally-occurring amino acids. Eggs are the standard by which all other
protein sources are rated for assimilability.
Pumping iron -- Slang for lifting weights, a phrase used since the 1950s.
Pyruvic Acid -- Pyruvic acid is the end product of the glycolytic pathway. This
three-carbon metabolite is an important junction point for two reasons: it is
the gateway to the final common energy-producing pathway, the Krebs cycle;
and it provides acetyle coenzyme A (acetyl CoA), through which fatty acids,
and in turn fat, are produced from glucose. Pyruvic acid converts to lactic acid
as needed. Pyruvic acid increases in quantity in the blood and tissues in thi-
amine (vitamin B-1) deficiency. Thiamine is essential for its oxidation.
Quads -- Short for quadriceps, the four thigh muscles that extend the knee
(all but the Vastus Intermedius also flex the hip). They are:
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When you increase the intensity of your workout, there's a price that must
be paid. That price is DISCIPLINE in finding ways of improving your recuper-
ative ability. The most important method is called "periodization" training.
There are ancillary methods:
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· ensuring that each meal follows the 1-2-3 rule (1 part of each meal's calo-
ries come from fat, 2 parts from protein and 3 parts from carbohydrates)
Rep out -- Repeat the same exercise movement until you are unable to con-
tinue.
Rest pause training -- Training method where you press out one difficult rep-
etition, replace bar in stand, then perform another rep after a 10-20 second
rest, etc.
Rotator cuff -- A band of 4 muscles that hold the arm in the shoulder joint.
Sartorius -- The longest muscle in the body, involved in the movement of the
thigh at the hip joint.
Saturated fat -- Dietary fat from primarily animal sources. Excessive con-
sumption is the major dietary contributor to total blood cholesterol levels and
is linked to increased risk for coronary heart disease.
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Saturated fatty acids include acetic acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, and
steric acid. These acids come primarily from animal sources, with the excep-
tion of coconut oil, and are usually solid at room temperature. In the case of
vegetable shortening and margarine, oil products have undergone a process
called "hydrogenation", in which the unsaturated oils are converted to a more
solid form. Other principal sources of saturated fats are milk products and
eggs.
Skeletal muscle -- Muscle that attaches to the skeletal system and causes
body movement by a shortening or pulling action against its bony attach-
ment.
Slow-twitch fibers -- Red muscle cells that fire slowly and are designed for
aerobic (enduring) activities such as distance running and cycling.
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Snatch -- Olympic lift where weight is lifted from floor to overhead (with arms
extended) in one movement.
Sodium -- An essential mineral for proper growth, and nerve and muscle tis-
sue function. A diet high in salt (40% of salt is sodium) causes a potassium
imbalance and is associated with high blood pressure. No RDA. Dietary
sources: salt, shellfish, celery, beets, artichokes.
Specificity -- Principle which states that your body will adapt in highly specif-
ic ways in response to variable forms of stress which you impose (through
training) upon it.
2. Explosive strength describes the firing of muscles fibers over a longer peri-
od of time after initial activation, for the purpose of pushing, pulling or mov-
ing a weighted object. Examples: weightlifting, shotputting and football.
Spinal nerves -- The 31 pairs of nerves radiating outward from the spinal cord
which relay impulses to and from the skeletal muscles.
Squats -- An upper leg and hip exercise usually performed with a barbell rest-
ing on the shoulders, and a deep knee bend is performed; the squatter then
returns to an erect standing position. There are several methods of squatting,
each having its own unique advantages and disadvantages. The squat is also
one of the three lifts contested in the sport of powerlifting.
Stabilizer -- A muscle that stabilizes (or fixes) a bone so that movement can
occur efficiently at another bone articulating with the stabilized bone.
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General strength. In this category, you train all the muscle groups without
concentrating on the muscles that assist your particular event. Training for
general strength will give you a base for your event - specific strength.
Specific strength will help you improve your techniques as you develop the
strength needed to execute the exact movements of your event, whether
they are jumping, throwing, or running.
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cle force is the traditional way of defining the practice of strength training.
However, a more global definition would account for the metabolic circum-
stances under which force is being applied (i.e., the energy contribution from
ATP/CP, glycolytic or oxidative sources).
Stroke volume -- The amount of blood forced into the circulatory system with
each beat.
Succinates -- Succinic acid's biological activities are varied. Their chief func-
tion is in their enzyme activity, but they also combine with protein to rebuild
muscle fiber and nerve endings, and help fight infection.
Superset -- Alternating back and forth between two exercises until the pre-
scribed number of sets is completed. The two exercises generally involve a
protagonist and antagonist (e.g., the biceps and triceps, or the chest and
upper back); however, common usage of the term also can mean any two
exercises alternated with one another.
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Traps -- Slang for trapezius muscles, the largest muscles of the back and
neck that elevates the shoulder girdle and draws the scapulae medially.
Triceps brachii -- The muscles on the back of the upper arm are the prime
movers for extending the elbow.
Troponin -- A protein that reacts with calcium to set the contractile mecha-
nism into action within muscle fibers.
Unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) -- UFAs are important in lowering blood cho-
lesterol and may thus help prevent heart disease. They are essential for nor-
mal glandular activity, healthy skin, mucous membranes and many metabol-
ic processes.
Unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) are fatty acids whose carbon chain contains
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one or more double or triple bonds, and which are capable or absorbing more
hydrogen. They include the group polyunsaturates, are generally liquid at
room temperature and are derived from vegetables, nuts, seeds or other
sources. Examples of unsaturated fatty acids include corn oil, safflower oil,
sunflower oil and olive oil.
The three essential fatty acids (those which the body is unable to manufac-
ture) are linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and arachidonic acid. However, these
fatty acids can be synthesized from linoleic acid if sufficient intake occurs.
Linoleic acid should provide about 2% of total dietary calories. Corn, safflower
and soybean oils are high in linoleic acid.
Vanadyl Sulfate -- Vanadyl sulfate (VOSO4) has been very extensively stud-
ied for its insulin-like activity as a blood glucose lowering agent. In other
words, vanadyl sulfate dramatically increases glucose uptake by your muscle
cells. There are many benefits:
Care must be taken with this substance however. Vanadium can build up in
various tissues of the body, especially the kidneys. Tiron (see Tiron) is the
only known chelator capable of eliminating this danger, although vitamin c,
glutathione and other antioxidants can help.
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Variable Split Training -- A weight training system developed in the mid 80s
by Dr. Fred Hatfield that systematizes workout schedules according to the
recuperation of individual muscle groups and body parts. This method maxi-
mizes development by eliminating effects of overtraining or undertraining.
Also Variable Double Split and Variable Triple Split for multiple daily workouts.
Vitamin B-1 (thiamine) -- Essential for learning capacity and muscle tone in
the stomach, intestines and heart. RDA: 1.4 mg (men), 1.0 mg. (women).
Dietary sources: brewer's yeast, wheat germ, blackstrap molasses, whole
wheat and rice, oatmeal, most vegetables.
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Vitamin B-3 (niacin) -- Essential for synthesis of sex hormones, insulin, and
other hormones. Effective in improving circulation and reducing blood cho-
lesterol. RDA: 19 mg. (men), 13 mg. (women). Dietary sources: lean meats,
poultry, fish and peanuts.
Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) -- Essential for the production of antibodies and red
blood cells, and the proper assimilation of protein. The more protein you eat,
the more B-6 you need! Facilitates conversion of stored liver and muscle
glycogen into energy. RDA: 1.8 mg. (men), 1.5 mg. (women). Dietary
sources: brewer's yeast, wheat bran, wheat germ, liver, kidney, cantaloupe.
Biotin
Choline
Inositol
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These vitamins are grouped together because of their common source, dis-
tribution, and their interrelationship as coenzymes in metabolic processes.
The best food source for vitamin B-complex is Brewer's yeast. All must be
present together for the B-complex to work.
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White Blood Cell -- White blood cells are nucleated cells, originating from the
bone marrow, that make up the infection-fighting components of the blood.
White blood cells fight infections by producing antibodies, releasing immune
factors, or ingesting invading bacteria or viruses.
Zinc Chelate is the element zinc in supplemental form and coated with pro-
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tein, thus increasing the percentage that it can be assimilated by the body.
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Position the barbell on the support pins inside of a power rack, such that the
bar is level with your mid-chest. Place safety pins on each side, at a position
slightly lower than your intended deepest position. Place your hands evenly
on the bar (a close grip with elbows under the bar will allow for a more
upright posture) and, with your feet squarely under the bar, lift it from the
rack by extending your legs.
Next, step back just enough to avoid bumping the rack during the exercise,
and position feet at approximately shoulder width. The weight should remain
centered over the back half of the feet, not on the heels or toes. Slowly
descend into a near-bottom position, keeping the torso and back erect so that
the hips remain under the bar at all times. Do not allow the hips to drift back-
ward or the torso to incline forward.
When viewed from the side, the angles formed at the knee joint and hip joint
should be close to being equal. Also, your hips and shoulders should ascend
together—if the hips rise before the shoulders, it means you’re using your
back rather than your legs. Rise out of the squat position following the same
path that you descended—your torso and back should remain erect and the
hips remain under the bar throughout the ascent.
Lay face up on the floor, with the arms perpendicular to the torso, palms
down to stabilize position on the floor. Legs are held straight and together,
with feet on the top of a ball. Step one: raise the hips off the floor, so that
the entire body forms a straight line. Step two: maintaining a straight (neu-
tral) hip position, “curl” by flexing the knees until they are just past 90
degrees of flexion. Return to start position (hips up) and repeat for indicated
number of repetitions.
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This is performed in the same manner as the bilateral curl, except of course,
it is done one leg at a time, which makes the exercise far more difficult to
perform.
This exercise is normally safe when performed correctly. Place your feet so
that they point straight ahead, or slightly angled out. Maintain neutral spinal
curvatures, keep your weight on the middle of your feet, and make sure that
the bar stays in close contact with the front of your shins throughout. Use a
deliberate tempo with minimal momentum. When viewed from the side, your
hips and shoulders should ascend together; if the hips rise before the shoul-
ders, it means you’re using your back rather than your legs. Think of a dead-
lift as a squat, only the bar is in your hands rather than on your back.
This is like a traditional step-up on a box or step, except the step isn't flat;
it's declined, or slanted away from you. In other words, it's slanted so your
toe is about two or three inches lower than your heel. This can also be done
in a hack squat machine. If you use this option, you'll have to stand back-
wards in the machine.
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To perform this lift, the lifter positions a stable block at the end of a flat
bench. Placing the balls of both feet on the surface of the block at the edge
nearest the lifter, he or she then bends at the hips, placing both hands on the
surface of the flat bench. In this position, the lifters back should be roughly
parallel to the floor. The training partner then "mounts" the lifter back like a
"bareback rider" on a donkey; thus, the name of this exercise. The training
partners weight should be concentrated, as nearly as possible, over the
lifter's hips and legs. Once the "rider" is in a stable position, the lifter allows
the heels of both feet to sink as low as possible beneath the level of the block,
and then presses upward on the balls of the feet, raising his or her hips as
high as possible. This movement is then repeated for the desired number of
repetitions.
For those who are extremely uncomfortable performing this exercise in the
traditional manner, there is a compromise. A dip belt, loaded with weight
plates, can be worn low on the waist as an adequate substitute for the weight
of the "rider."
Sit on a bench with your toes on a three inch block under a chinning bar. Your
partner stands on your thighs near your knees and grabs the chinning bar for
balance. Then you lift and lower your heels. You can use plates under your
toes if you don't have a block.
During recent years, the front squat has rarely been used, and the reason is
rather simple: the bar placement really hurts! Although the front squat exer-
cises the same general muscle groups as the regular squat, it seems to place
more emphasis on the frontal thighs (quadriceps femoris). The movement is
generally the same as The Squat , but the back is held more erect, and
instead of placing the bar on the back of the shoulders, behind the neck, the
bar is placed at the front of the shoulders, resting on the anterior and medi-
al deltoid muscles, with the lifter's arms held high, elbows protruding out-
ward, and with the forearms crossed and the hands reaching backward to
grasp the bar. This position allows the lifter to use more weight than could be
used by simply grasping the bar in both hands and holding it at shoulder
height as if to begin an overhead press, but it causes crushing pain in the del-
toid muscles, and the bar has a tendency to roll back into the throat.
Therefore, front squats are only practical if very light weights are used, or if
additional equipment is available.
Until recently, the only device available for relieving the pain of the bar place-
ment in the front squat was the front squat harness. This device is a large
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metal harness, with shoulder and abdominal pads, which curves over both
shoulders of the lifter and partly down the abdomen, and which has forward-
facing pegs or hooks for placement of the bar. Although it is quite effective in
stabilizing the bar and distributing the stress of the weight across the shoul-
ders and abdomen, it is rather expensive and much too large to place in a
gym locker or carry in a gym bag as a piece of personal equipment. And
because so few lifters perform front squats, most gyms do not feel that the
cost of such a device is justified.
Recently, the makers of the Manta Ray® developed a front squat device
called, appropriately enough, the Sting Raytm. It consists of two pieces of
high-impact plastic, joined by a cord, which clamp onto the bar and fit com-
fortably over the outer shoulders and upper arms. These plastic forms dis-
tribute the weight of the bar, substantially reducing the stress on the deltoid
muscles, and they prevent the bar from rolling back into the throat. More
importantly, the Sting Ray costs significantly less than a front squat harness
and is small enough to fit in a gym bag or gym locker. However, even with
the assistance of such devices, front squats should intially be performed with
lighter weights because the balance required to perform this lift is much trick-
ier than that required for regular squats.
The unique value of this exercise is it’s ability to train the hamstrings with it’s
kinetic “siblings,” the glutes and gastrocs. To perform this movement, use a
GHG machine, such as the one made by the Atlantis company (see Preferred
Vendors section). To perform the exercise, assume a position on the GHG
machine so that the ankles are between the two pairs of rollers, and the mid-
thigh rests directly over the curved pad. Begin the movement by allowing the
upper body to lower while flexing from the hips. When the torso is perpendi-
cular to the floor, first rise up until the entire body is parallel to the floor, and
then continue by contracting the glutes and hamstrings so that the torso
reaches a position 45 degrees to the floor, as indicated in the illustrations.
Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
1) Athletes should fold their arms over their chest if new to the exercise. After
developing the ability to do the movement properly, add resistance in the
form of a weight plate or medicine ball held against the chest.
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To perform this very demanding hamstring exercise, anchor the lower legs,
either by wedging the feet under the rollers of an adjustable sit-up board, or
by having a partner lay across the calves with his torso. Slowly lower oneself
eccentrically, keeping hips neutral. Return to the starting position by pushing
back with the hands, push-up style. After gaining more strength in this move-
ment, progressively use less and less assistance from the upper body until
able to complete both eccentric and concentric portions of the exercise. One
way to do this is to progress to the point of a push off with only three fingers
of both hands, then with one hand, then just three fingers of one hand, etc.
Leg press machines come in two varieties: a vertical leg press, which pro-
vides for movement of weight along a vertical line, and a "leg press sled,"
which provides for movement of weight on rails at approximately a forty-five
degree angle. Because of the angle of movement on a leg press sled, that
device allows a given lifter to press more weight than would be possible on a
vertical leg press. Either of these devices will allow a lifter to use more weight
than he or she is capable of squatting.
To perform this exercise, weight plates are loaded onto the machine's hori-
zontal bar. The lifter places the soles of both feet against the plate attached
to the bar, with his or her back pressed against a pad at the bottom of the
machine. Pressing slightly upward with the soles of the feet, the lifter moves
the weight a few inches to allow for the removal of the safety stops. The lifter
then allows the weight to descend until the upper surface of the thighs press-
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es against his or her abdomen. The descent of the weight should be slow and
controlled to avoid the lifter's thighs slamming into the abdomen and crack-
ing a rib. By exerting great force with the upper leg muscles, particularly the
quadriceps, the lifter presses upward with the soles of the feet, completely
extending both legs. This movement is repeated for the desired number of
repetitions, and the last movement should end with the legs in the extended
position so that the safety stops can be replaced.
Many novice lifters will develop a quick preference for the ease of the leg
press; they will feel particularly smug about the number of plates that they
can move with this exercise. That attitude can lead to a rationalization that
the leg press is an adequate substitute for squats. Wrong. The leg press does
not develop the wide range of muscles that are developed by the squat, and
contrary to popular belief, it can place more unhealthy stress on the joints
than the squat does. The leg press should supplement squats, not replace
them.
Assume a position in a leg press machine and press the platform to a straight
leg position. Move both feet down until only the forefeet are in contact with
the platform. From this position, plantarflex the ankles against the resist-
ance. Relax to return back to the starting position. This exercise may also be
performed unilaterally. Ensure the feet don’t slip off of the platform which
could result in serious injury.
This exercise is performed by abducting the leg against the resistance sup-
plied by a low cable. Attach the cable to the ankle with a cuff, bracing against
the machine’s upright or support handle, and abduct the leg while keeping
the torso erect. Monitor for leaning in the opposite direction, which reduces
stress to the target muscle. To increase the exercise’s range of motion, allow
the working leg to pass in front of and beyond the support leg.
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Lunge (Quadriceps)
With hands on hips, step forward with your weaker leg. You will not alternate
legs each rep, but instead, complete all reps on the first leg, rest 30–60 sec-
onds, and then switch legs. Keep chest up, and eyes forward. Rear heel will
come up off of the floor as you sink down. On your first lunge session, keep
the lead shin perpendicular to the floor. If you do not experience any knee
pain and/or inflammation, you may allow the lead knee to more more forward
as you sink down— this will increase the stress to the front quadriceps. Use
dumbbells when additional weightloads are needed—not a barbell. If you ever
lose your balance, you’ll thank me for this advice! Often, tight hip flexors
cause the athlete to lean forward from the waist during lunges—monitor
yourself for this, and implement the appropriate stretches if you seem to be
tight in the hip flexors.
Variations: Lunges may be performed with either the front or rear foot on a
block to increase hip and knee range of motion, respectively.
Stabilize the body by grasping the handles, and then adduct or abduct the leg
against the resistance provided by the machine.
Achieve a stable position by grasping the handles, and then extend the hip
against the resistance provided by the machine. The advantage of this exer-
cise is that it is performed from a standing position, one leg at a time.
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lifter then switches the use of the feet and hands to the opposite side, repeat-
ing the same movement, hopefully for an equal number of repetitions.
The best leg curl machines feature a raised or arched bench, which facilitates
a greater range of motion throughout the movement, as opposed to a flat
bench. Keep the head down and pelvis stabilized (i.e., immobilized) during
the movement. The knees should be aligned with the axis of the machine. If
the roller behind the calves seems to slide up or down during the movement,
adjust alignment by sliding forward or back on the bench. “Curl” the weight
by contracting the hamstrings. Pause at the top, and then lower back to the
starting position. One useful characteristic of prone leg curl machines is they
allow for eccentric training. This is accomplished by raising the resistance
with both legs, and then lowering with only one leg. The most common mis-
take during leg curls is “hiking” the pelvis as the hamstrings become fatigued.
Performed on a seated calf machine. Sit on the machine and wedge the lower
thighs under the pads, positioning the forefeet onto the platform. Plantarflex
the ankles against the resistance. Relax to return back to the starting posi-
tion. Since the soleus is a predominantly slow-twitch muscle, low weight /
high repetition protocols are most effective.
The benefit of this exercise is that the curl is initiated from 90 degrees of hip
flexion and full knee extension, which “strings tight” the hamstrings at the
start of the exercise. This exercise may be performed unilaterally as well.
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Step onto the raised platform, wedge under the shoulder pads, and extend
the entire body to lift the weight. From here, position the forefeet onto the
platform, and plantarflex the ankles against the resistance. Relax to return
back to the starting position.
Step-ups (Quadriceps)
Perform on a low (6–8") step. To keep the stress on the quads, do not allow
the non-working leg to rest on the floor at all. make sure that your working
knee stays directly over the middle of the working foot (commonly, as the
exerciser fatigues, the knee will begin to wobble from side to side).Complete
all reps for first leg, then rest and complete reps for other leg. Refined exer-
cise technique is critical to the success of this movement. Go as slowly as
possible, and keep the tension on the quadricep at all times.
Set up a barbell at slightly higher than knee level (use a power rack, or set
the barbell on blocks). Using a pronated grip (palms facing oneself), grab the
bar with a shoulder-width grip, and step back just enough to clear the rack.
Inhale, slightly bend the knees, and begin the movement with one’s body-
weight over the heels. Allow the bar to descend, while ensuring it maintains
contact with the front of the body. While descending, maintain the normal
curvature of the lower back and neck, and allow the glutes to move rearward.
Do not look up or down, but instead, maintain a normal head and neck align-
ment. This exercise is made more effective by maintaining bodyweight over
the heels. Always use a controlled movement speed with this exercise. Never
perform it rapidly or explosively. People frequently perform this exercise
standing on a block, lowering the bar until it contacts the shoes. However,
when maintaining proper spinal curvatures and knee position, few people,
even those with very good hip flexibility, can lower the bar much past their
knees.
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This specially-designed bar is safer and more effective than a straight bar
because it allows the combined center of gravity of the weight and your body
to stay closer to the mid-line of your body. This reduces the amount of for-
ward lean, and allows the quadriceps to take over a greater share of the work
from the glutes, spinal erectors, and hamstrings. The trap bar may also be
used for stiff-leg deadlifts and shrugs.You may either increase or reduce the
range of motion by either standing on a 45 pound plate (to increase) or by
placing 45 pound plates under the plates attached to the bar (to decrease).
There are two versions of this machine. One is when the opposite foot stays
on the floor, and another where the opposite knee is supported by a pad.
Some machines require standing with hips neutral, others ensure the hips are
flexed (a better position, in general). Regardless of the above variations, cre-
ate a position so that the working knee is in line with the pivot point of the
machine. Curl the weight by contracting the hamstring, then return back to
the starting position.
ABDOMINAL/CORE EXERCISES
Start the exercise by hanging from a chinning bar, palms facing away from
you. Straps may be used. Ideally, the chinning bar is high enough so that
your feet clear the floor as you hang. Keeping legs straight and together,
trace a circle as you bring your feet to the left, arcing upward until your feet
approach the bar, then continuing toward the right and finally down to the
starting position. Alternate directions for each rep.
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Performance Tips:
• The legs must stay on the frontal plane at all times— imagine that there is
a wall 18 inches in front of you.
• The chinning bar must be situated such that there are no obstructions to
the sides.
• You’ll find it natural to point your feet in the direction you’re moving toward
at the start of each rep. At the top, your toes will be pointing toward the wall
behind you.
• As your feet approach the top-most position, hang back and focus your eyes
on the ceiling.
• If you can’t keep your legs straight, it means your hamstrings are too short.
• Generally speaking, this exercise is easiest for those with short and/or small
legs and strong abs, and hardest for those with long and/or big legs and weak
abs.
Hanging from an overhead support, start with the entire body fully extend-
ed. Flex at the hips and knees simultaneously until the tops of the thighs are
parallel to the floor, and then relax and return to the starting position. Repeat
for the desired number of repetitions.
This exercise is performed on a cable unit with the transducer in the top posi-
tion. Grasp the handle with both hands, and step away from the machine.
Using a side stance as shown, pull the handle diagonally from high to low,
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using only the oblique muscles. Keep the pelvis stabilized throughout the
movement, and monitor for leaning forward at the waist.
Note: all wood chop exercises can be performed from a seated (on a bench),
kneeling, or standing position.
Position the cable transducer so that it is level with the shoulders. Grasp the
handle with both hands, and assume a wide stance, right side facing the
machine. Maintaining normal spinal curvatures (don’t flex at the hips), start
with the arms pointing 45 degrees to the right side. Keeping the pelvis sta-
bilized, contract the oblique muscles and pull the handle until facing 45
degrees to the left. Return to starting position. (These instructions pertain to
training the left obliques; simply reverse for the opposite side).
This exercise is performed on a cable unit with the transducer in the bottom
position. Grasp the handle with both hands, and step away from the machine
far enough so that the weight stack will not “bottom out” at the end of the
eccentric portion of the exercise, but not so far that the stack will hit the top
of the machine at the end of the concentric portion. Using a side stance as
shown, pull the handle diagonally from low to high, using only the oblique
muscles. Keep the pelvis stabilized throughout the movement, and monitor
oneself for leaning forward at the waist.
This exercise trains the “lower abdominal function” of the rectus abdominus
(stabilizing the pelvis during lower body movements such as running and
kicking). Because it requires a higher degree of skill and coordination than
other abdominal exercises, it should always be trained while the abdominals
are still fresh. So, for example, if pelvic tilts and a second abdominal exer-
cise are scheduled for the same workout, perform the pelvic tilts first.
Lie back with knees bent to a 90-degree angle, feet on the floor. Contract the
abdominals and force the lower back into the floor, breathing normally. There
is a tendency to tense the neck and upper torso during this exercise, so mon-
itor for unwanted muscular contractions from other muscle groups. This is
primarily a static exercise which may be held for increasing periods of time
as strength levels increase.
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Here's a great exercise to perform if you've had a bad day at work. Start with
the medicine ball overhead, stand with elbows and knees slightly flexed, and
up on the toes.
Accelerate the ball downward, attempting to burst the ball against the floor.
If the ball has a minimal amount of bounce, you'll be able to catch it and
smoothly continue to the next rep in one continuous motion. For greatest
force production, there should be little or no hesitation between raising and
smashing the ball downward. The amount of force generated can be roughly
gauged by how high the ball bounces off the floor.
From a kneeling position (use an exercise mat to cushion the knees), with a
Swiss ball directly in front, place clasped hands on top of the ball. Extend for-
ward until the hips, shoulders, and elbows are fully extended. Return back to
the starting position by reversing the motion. While extending, the increased
load on the abdominals will cause the tendency for the curve of the lower
back to increase. The goal is to counteract this tendency by tilting the pelvis
posteriorly (as during the pelvic tilt exercise) while extending. If unable to
maintain constant low back curvature during this exercise, spend more time
working on the pelvic tilt described earlier in this section.
Lie supine on the floor, with arms abducted 90 degrees to the torso to stabi-
lize the body. Keeping knees straight, lift the legs until they are at a 90-
degree angle to the torso (legs are perpendicular to floor). Maintaining
straight knees, and keeping the legs together and 90 degrees to the trunk,
lower the legs to the right until the feet contact the floor. The opposite side
shoulder should still be in contact with the floor. Raises back to center and
then down to the left. Repeat for indicated number of sets and repetitions.
Sit-ups are performed much like crunches, except that the motion is taken
beyond pure trunk flexion into hip flexion. Sit-ups can also be performed
using pure hip flexion, with no trunk flexion involved.
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Lay face up on the ball, which is positioned in a power rack. Grab the sides
of the rack for support. Flex the hips to 90 degrees with legs straight and
together. The apex of the ball should be just under the lower back. Start with
feet pointing up at the ceiling, and then, in a “windshield wiper” like move-
ment, allow the legs to lower to the right side until they are parallel to the
floor. Then return back to center and repeat on the left side. Do not allow the
shoulder girdle to turn toward the direction that the legs are moving in, as
this unloads the obliques muscles. When the legs are completely to the left,
the right shoulder should be down, and vice versa. Repeat for the indicated
number of repetitions. Use a medicine ball between the feet if an additional
load is necessary. The difficulty of the exercise may be increased by using a
heavier medicine ball, or by increasing the speed of the movement. Repeat
for indicated number of sets and repetitions.
Sit on the ball, and “walk” forward until lying on the ball. Perform crunches
in the normal manner, keeping in mind that a greater range of motion is
achieved as the back drapes over the ball. The ball’s instability and curved
surface increase the level of difficulty of the crunch exercise, while simulta-
neously increasing the comfort of the movement.
During crunches, modify arm position in order to adjust the level of resist-
ance. The least resistance occurs when the arms are straight and out-
stretched along the side of the body during the movement. A more difficult
variation is to cross the arms against the chest. The most difficult variation
is to place the hands such that the fingers are touching the head at a point
just behind the ears. Avoid interlacing the fingers and clasping behind the
head, which can strain the cervical vertebrae, and encourage participation
from other muscles. Additional resistance (in the form of a medicine ball or
weight plate) can be used when bodyweight is no longer sufficient to cause
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ALWAYS employ a competent spotter when performing any bench press vari-
ation.
Do not allow the elbows to shift forward during the concentric portion of the
lift! Allow the arm to completely straighten on the bottom. Squeeze hard at
the top.
From a seated position, begin with arms in front with elbows flexed. Raise the
dumbbells upward using the anterior deltoid, then “open” the elbows into a
standard seated press position, and lower. Next, “close” the elbows, and start
again for the indicated number of sets and repetitions.
This is performed much like the preceding exercise, except that you’ll use a
Swiss ball instead of a bench. Although very effective, this is a difficult exer-
cise and certain precautions must be observed:
1) Only use a Duraball from Durabody (please see Preferred Vendors section
for more information). This is the only ball on the market guaranteed never
to burst (I’ve tested these balls personally many times).
2) Check the ball surface and the floor for sharp objects such as staples,
gravel, etc.
3) Ensure that you don’t have zippers, rivets, or anything else on or in your
pockets that might puncture the ball.
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6) Stay well within your capabilities; this is not the place to try for a new
1RM. Start conservatively, and progress gradually.
Using proper lifting technique, remove the dumbbells from their rack, and
walk back to the ball (if possible, position the ball adjacent to the dumbbells
you’ll use beforehand). Sit down carefully, with a dumbbell on each thigh, as
shown. Carefully lay back on the ball, allowing the dumbbells to move into
the starting position. Position your feet apart to form a stable base, and lift
your hips until your torso becomes parallel to the ground. Press the dumb-
bells upward until your elbows are extended, but do not allow the dumbbells
to touch at the top. Repeat for indicated number of reps. Exit the set by drop-
ping the dumbbells to the floor one at a time.
ALWAYS employ a competent spotter when performing any bench press vari-
ation.
Barbell curls are the primary exercise for developing the biceps brachii, the
large rounded muscles covering the inner, forward surface of the upper arms.
Although there are numerous techniques for performing barbell curls, the
simplest and most basic is also the most favored.
Standard barbell curls may be performed with a straight bar, such an Olympic
bar, or with a slightly curved bar, known as an EZ-Curl bar, which tends to
reduce excessive stress on the lower tendons of the biceps by placing the
lifter's hands in a position that is angled slightly upward from the horizontal
path of the bar. While some lifters avoid the EZ-Curl bar in favor of the
straight bar, my personal observations indicate that there is very little differ-
ence in their effectiveness.
To perform a standard barbell curl, the lifter extends both arms downward
and grips the bar with a supinated grip; this means that the lifter's palms will
initially be facing upward and outward with both arms extended downward,
although both palms will be facing the lifter's body when the bar is raised.
After gripping the bar firmly, the lifter stands erect, with each elbow pressed
firmly to the side of his or her body. Without moving at the shoulders, and
with each elbow locked firmly in place, the lifter flexes the arms at the elbow,
raising the bar in upward arc until both arms are completely flexed with the
bar pressed against the lifter's chest. The bar is then lowered through the
same arcing path, and this movement is repeated for the desired number of
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repetitions.
To achieve the full effect of barbell curls, the elbows should not be thrown for-
ward, nor should the back be arched, to add momentum to the upward move-
ment of the bar. However, this sort of "cheating" may be used occasionally to
assist in completing the last repetition of an exhaustive set.
Bench presses may be performed with a bar or with dumbbells. The bench
may be flat (overall pectoral stress), inclined (more stress to the clavicular
pectorals), or declined (more stress to the lower pectorals). Lay on the
bench, placing both feet on the floor (if this causes the curvature of your low
back to increase, find a lower bench or place your feet on solid blocks to ele-
vate them). Grasp the bar such that both hands are equidistant to the cen-
ter, and make sure your thumbs are wrapped around the bar, rather than on
the same side as your other fingers. At the start, the bar should be directly
over your nose—if it isn’t, slide yourself up or down on the bench until it is.
Inhale and unrack the bar from the supports. As you lower the bar to your
chest, keep your elbows directly under the bar, rather than in front of, or
ahead of the bar. At the bottom of the movement, the bar lightly touches your
chest at nipple level. Return the bar to the starting position (it should actu-
ally travel up, as well as slightly back) by contracting your pectorals.
Grip width: Viewed from the head of the bench, your forearms should be per-
pendicular to the floor at the bottom position.
Depth: Although the most common variant is to bring the bar down until it
touches the chest, for some athletes with poor shoulder flexibility, this posi-
tion may be too deep. As a rule of thumb, the bottom position you choose
should not use up all the shoulder flexibility you have—you should be able to
go deeper with no discomfort if you had to. For novice athletes with adequate
shoulder flexibility, you can use depth as a method of progression, by using
a constant weight over several workouts, slightly increasing the depth every
session.
Transition position: most bench press injuries occur during the transition
between the eccentric and concentric phase, according to Dr. Sal Arria,
Executive Director of the International Sports Sciences Association. A com-
mon technique flaw involves the fatigued lifter allowing the bar to “bounce”
or “chop” down onto the chest, which subjects the pectoral attachments to
sudden loads, which is often the stimulus for injury. A 200 pound bar lowered
very slowly exerts about 200 pounds of pressure. But this same bar lowered
quickly, may put many hundreds of pounds of tension on the target muscles
and their attachments.
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ALWAYS employ a competent spotter when performing any bench press vari-
ation.
The upper back muscles are the body's primary "pulling" muscles. Optimal
development of these muscles involves pulling weights from different angles,
and the lifts used to exercise these muscles should not be limited to overhead
pulls, such as pullups or the use of a "lat pulldown" machine. Therefore, it is
important for lifters to add a "rowing" routine to their upper back workouts,
and my preference is bent barbell rowing.
To perform this lift, a heavily-loaded bar is laid on the floor or on a low rack.
The lifter stands over the bar, and leans down to grasp it with a pronated
grip; this means that the lifter's palms will be facing outward, although with
the arms extended downward, the palms will be facing the body once the bar
is grasped. The bar is then lifted off the rack or floor, and the lifter stands
grasping the bar, both arms fully extended, very slightly bent at the knees,
and bent at the hips to the extent that the upper body is nearly parallel to
the ground. The lifter then pulls upward on the bar, flexing at the elbows and
drawing the bar up to his or her lower chest at the bottom of the ribcage. This
motion should be limited to the arms and upper back, and the lifter should
remain motionless at the legs and hips. Once the bar has been brought to the
lower chest area, the lifter then extends both arms, lowering the bar, and
repeats the full motion for the desired number of repetitions.
This is a hybrid between a close grip bench press (concentrically) and a lying
triceps extension (eccentrically). Position yourself face up on a bench or swiss
ball. Using dumbbells or a straight bar, “bench press” the weight until your
arms are perpendicular to your torso. From this position, stabilize your
elbows while relaxing your triceps to allow your elbows to flex until the dumb-
bells touch your shoulders (when using a bar, full flexion is realized when your
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biceps make contact with your forearms). Return to the starting position by
extending your shoulders until you arrive at the starting position for the
press.
Performed the same as pull-ups, except that chin-ups are performed with a
supinated (palms facing) grip, which increases biceps involvement. The clos-
er the grip, the more the biceps are involved. Chalk or lifting straps may be
used to secure a good grip.
Bench presses performed with a close (10–16" between the thumbs) grip
preferentially recruit the triceps, since the elbows achieve greater flexion at
the bottom of the movement. Be careful that your grip is not so narrow that
you compromise control of the bar, especially at the end of the set when
you’re fatigued. Also make sure to avoid a “thumbless” grip, described in the
bench press section of this chapter.
ALWAYS employ a competent spotter when performing any bench press vari-
ation.
Dips are contraindicated for athletes with shoulder pathology, but for all oth-
ers, it is a very effective exercise for the pectorals, front deltoids, and triceps.
Maintain a vertical torso for more shoulder and tricep involvement, and a for-
ward lean to increase pectoral recruitment. Descend slowly and under com-
plete control, and be careful not to exceed your shoulder’s range of motion.
Return back to the top position by contracting your pecs, deltoids, and tri-
ceps. Repeat for indicated number of reps. If needed, extra resistance may
be provided through weight plates attached to a belt, or by placing a dumb-
bell between your calves.
Drag curls are used to concentrate muscular stress on the outer half (long
head) of the biceps. This isolated stress causes greater development of the
outer biceps, which tends to create a more defined separation between the
lifter's bicep and tricep muscles.
Starting from the initial position for standard Barbell Curls, the lifter holds the
bar with both arms extended downward, gripping the bar with a supinated
grip. The lifter then lifts the bar upward, but instead of keeping both elbows
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locked to the side and lifting the bar in an arc, the lifter allows both elbows
to move rearward and "drags" the bar in a straight line directly up the front
of the lifter's body. Once the bar reaches the lifter's lower chest area, the
lifter allows the bar to descend in the same straight line down the front of the
body until both arms are again fully extended. This movement is then repeat-
ed for the desired number of repetitions.
Exiting the bench after a set: there are two ways to exit the set safely. If the
dumbbells are light enough, you can return them to your thighs and roll for-
ward to a seated position, and then stand up and return the dumbbells to
their rack. However, if the dumbbells are too heavy, this won’t be a viable
option. In this case, lower the dumbbells, under as much control as possible,
one at a time, to the floor. DO NOT lower them simultaneously, as this is like-
ly to exceed the range of motion in your shoulder joints and cause injury.
ALWAYS employ a competent spotter when performing any bench press vari-
ation.
(These instructions pertain to training the right side). Rest the left knee and
hand on the bench, as shown. Grasp a dumbbell with the right hand, palm
facing in toward the body. Maintaining neutral spinal curvatures and keeping
the torso parallel to the floor, pull the dumbbell upward in a straight line,
keeping the elbow close to the torso throughout. At the top of the movement,
the right hand should be adjacent to the right ASIS (hip bone). Slowly lower
back to the starting position, and repeat for the desired number of repeti-
tions. As with all back exercises, the exercise should start with fully protract-
ed scapulae, and finish with fully retracted scapulae.
At the top of movement, shoulders, elbows, and hands should all be the same
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distance from the floor (all in a straight line from a front view). Keep the bells
as close to the body as possible throughout.
Grasping a single dumbbell with both hands, assume a seated position at the
end of a bench. Work the dumbbell to one shoulder, and then maneuver it
behind you. From here, press the dumbbell to a straight-arms position by
contracting your triceps, being extremely careful not to lose your grip and
risk dropping it on your head (a competent spotter is strongly advised). Relax
your triceps to return to the starting position. Note: your elbows must remain
stabilized, pointing to the ceiling, throughout.
This is simply a curl performed with a “thumbs up” position, which increases
the involvement of the brachialis muscle (an important muscle for grip
strength). Grapplers must implement this exercise judiciously since the grip-
ping muscles are exposed to constant stress during skills sessions.
These are only prescribed when an athlete’s training facility does not permit
chin-ups or pull-ups, or when the athlete cannot perform more than two rep-
etitions on these exercises. This is because chin-ups and pull-ups develop the
ability for athletes to overcome their own bodyweight, and also because lat
pulldowns present too many opportunities to “cheat” by employing the low
back musculature during the exercise.
Typically, lat pulldown stations feature a variety of bars (for different grip
positions). Most also feature a support pad to wedge the knees under, which
prevents being pulled upward during the exercise. The grip on the bar should
be equidistant from the center, and about 1.5 times shoulder width. Lifting
straps may be used to secure bar grip.
Assume a seated position under the bar, and pull the bar down to the clavi-
cles (never behind the neck, which lessens the exercise’s benefit and increas-
es the possibility of neck injuries). This is done not simply by flexing at the
elbows, but also by simultaneously retracting the shoulder blades and arch-
ing the back slightly. Think of “pushing the chest to the bar” rather than
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pulling the bar to the chest. Do not lean backward during the pull, even
slightly. Many lifters unconsciously do this as a matter of habit as fatigue
increases.
When using a close grip, the same general technique applies, except that ath-
letes will experience a greater degree of elbow flexion, which increases
involvement of the biceps muscle. Despite myths to the contrary, varying
grips do not have different effects on the ultimate shape of the lats. However,
regularly varying the grip will probably result in more complete development,
and better strength through a variety of angles.
Attach a triceps rope to the low cable. Sit on a bench positioned perpendicu-
lar to the cable’s line of pull. Sit on the bench, bracing the feet against the
floor or, if possible, against the lower supports of the cable unit. Lean back to
a 45-degree angle, anchoring the elbows to one’s sides (similar to perform-
ing a triceps pushdown), and perform a hammer curl. Once again, grapplers
must implement this exercise judiciously since the gripping muscles are
exposed to constant stress during skills sessions.
This is a seated row done with a rope handle. Pull your hands to your neck,
keeping elbows high. At the end of the concentric phase, your elbows will be
high, as in an upright row.
(Directions are for the right side) Lie on a bench or the floor, on the left side.
If on a bench, stabilize by placing the left palm on the floor. Using a very light
dumbbell (even an empty hand is sufficient in many cases), start the exer-
cise with the right arm fully against the right side, with the right elbow flexed
to 90 degrees and “pinned” to the left ASIS (hip bone). Raise the dumbbell
by externally rotating the right arm, maintaining the 90-degree elbow posi-
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tion. At the bottom position, the right arm will drape across the waist. Repeat
for the other side. Note that this is a very small muscle. Use light weight/high
repetition protocols. Strictly monitor to prevent any movement of the torso
during the exercise.
The athlete assumes a seated position. With both hands, hold the athlete’s
head firmly, as he attempts to flex forward, backward, or to either side as you
resist his movement. Avoid rotational or twisting movements.
One & 1/4 Bench Press (Pectoralis Major, Deltoids, & Triceps)
(See bench press description above for general technique guidelines). Lower
the bar (or dumbbells) to your chest, then raise it 1/4 of the way back up,
then back to the chest, and then back up to arm’s length; this constitutes one
repetition. Complete for the indicated number of reps for each set. ALWAYS
employ a competent spotter when performing any bench press variation.
Pull-ups are performed with palms pronated (facing away from onself).
Perform the pull-up just like a lat pulldown, except that the body rises up to
the bar, rather than the reverse. Keep the hip’s neutral (knees may be flexed
to avoid contact with the floor). A common technical error is to flex at the
hips as fatigue accumulates. Ensure clearing the bar with the chin at the top,
and fully protract the scapulae at the bottom position. Think of “pulling the
elbows to the ribs” rather than lifting the chin over the bar. Chalk or lifting
straps may be used to enhance the grip. Repeat for indicated number of rep-
etitions. If needed, extra resistance may be provided through weight plates
attached to a belt, or by placing a dumbbell between the calves.
Pushdowns (Triceps)
This is performed from a high cable attachment, using either a bar or a “tri-
ceps rope.” Grasp the handle and pull yourself into position using your lats to
extend your shoulders until your elbows are against your sides. From here,
fully flex and extend your elbows while keeping your elbows “pinned” to your
sides. With heavier weights, it will become necessary to lean forward some-
what—athletes will also tend to place one foot ahead of the other to stabilize
their position. Note: With all triceps exercises, keep the back of the wrists
flat.
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This is simply a curl performed with a “palms down” position, which increas-
es the involvement of the brachio radialis muscle (an important muscle for
grip strength). As in the previous two exercises, this is yet another method
that grapplers should use judiciously.
Shrug (Trapezius)
Position the barbell on a rack at approximately knee level. Face the bar, grasp
and unrack it, stepping backward just enough to clear the rack. From this
point, simply “shrug” the barbell, straight up, and back down, for the desired
number of reps.
Load a barbell and place it on pins inside of a power rack. Set a second pair
of pins at a height where the bar will hit them when the elbows are flexed at
approximately a 90-degree angle. Grip the bar so that the hands are slight-
ly wider than shoulder-width. Curl the bar, and press against the pins with
maximal force for six seconds, then release. This is one set. Two important
considerations are holding one’s breath throughout the repetition and not
allowing the lower back to increase or decrease it’s normal curvature. Static
curls may also be performed at the end of a “standard” set, by touching the
pins at the end of each repetition for the desired number of repetitions, and
then performing the static hold on the last repetition.
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(Directions are for the right side) Lie on a bench or the floor, on the left side.
If on a bench, stabilize by placing the left palm on the floor. Using a very light
dumbbell, start the exercise with the right arm fully against the right side.
Raise the right arm directly upward until it forms a 45-degree angle with the
floor, and return. At the bottom position, do not rest the arm against the side,
but instead, keep tension on the target muscle. Repeat for the other side.
Once again, this is a very small muscle so use light weight / high repetition
protocols.
Position the upper arms over the ball as when using a preacher bench. Use
either a straight handle, pair of dumbbells, or a handle attached to a low
cable, and perform the curls for the desired number of sets and repetitions.
(Directions are for right arm) Performed from a high cable attachment, using
a triceps rope. Grasp the rope with your right hand and pull yourself into posi-
tion using your lat to extend your shoulder until your right elbow is against
your right ASIS (hip bone). From here, fully flex and extend your right elbow
while keeping it pinned to your ASIS. The movement pattern is somewhat
diagonal as your right hand travels from your left shoulder down across your
body. Note: With all triceps exercises, keep the back of the wrist flat.
As with bent barbell rows, a heavily-loaded bar is laid on the floor or on a low
rack. The lifter stands over the bar, and leans down to grasp it with a pronat-
ed grip; this means that the lifter's palms will be facing outward, although
with the arms extended downward, the palms will be facing the body once
the bar is grasped. The bar is then lifted off the rack or floor, and the lifter
stands grasping the bar, both arms fully extended and very slightly bent at
the knees. However, unlike the former exercise, the lifter is only moderate
bent at the hips; the upper body is bent only about thirty (30) degrees from
fully upright. From this position, the lifter then pulls upward on the bar and
drawing the bar up to his or her lower abdomen, just below the umbilicus
(navel). Although this range of motion is rather short, the specific form used
is the key to this exercise. The lifter should pull both elbows to the rear and
inward towards one another; at the same time, he or she should push out-
ward and downward with the chest and pull both shoulder blades (scapulae)
together. This creates an intense flexion of the upper back (latissimus dorsi)
muscles.
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Performed with dumbbells, the Zottman curl is a hybrid between the standard
curl, the reverse curl, and the hammer curl. Performed seated or standing,
curl the dumbbells up with a palms-up grip, then, at the top of the concen-
tric phase, turn the palms down and lower back to the starting position.
OLYMPIC LIFTS
With the bar on the platform, stand over the barbell, look down and line the
bar over the balls of the feet. The feet should be hip-width or slightly wider
apart. Assume the starting position by bending the knees and lowering the
hips while gripping the barbell with a wide grip.
The grip should be wide enough to allow a semi-squat with the bar at arms
length overhead. In the starting position, the shoulders should be over the
bar and the back should be arched tightly.
To start the pull, imagine pushing one’s feet though the floor. As the barbell
reaches knee height, the back stays arched and maintains the same angle to
the floor as in the starting position.
When the barbell passes the knees, vigorously shrug the shoulders, keeping
the bar as close to the legs as possible.
When the bar passes the upper thighs it should touch the thighs. At this
point, drive with the legs in a vertical jumping motion and finish the full
extension of the body.
Once the body is fully extended, shrug the shoulders and start pulling with
the arms, still keeping the barbell close to the body. (This is accomplished by
lifting the elbows out to the side, keeping them over the bar as long as pos-
sible.) From this position, aggressively pull one’s body under the bar. Catch
the bar at arms length overhead while jumping into the semi-squat position.
As soon as the barbell is fixed on locked-out arms in the semi-squat position,
complete the lift by returning to a standing position.
The hang position simply means that the lift is not initiated from the floor, but
from a standing position while holding the bar with arms straight. In this
technique, dip by flexing at the knees and hips and then reverse motion,
exploding upward and aggressively pull one’s body under the bar. This motion
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The snatch pull is identical to the power snatch previously described except
that the pull commences at the top of the shrug, rather than continuing
upward to catch the bar at arms’ length. This greatly simplifies the lift, while
maintaining the majority of its benefits. When first learning the power snatch,
a good place to start is the snatch pull.
This is a snatch pull performed from the hang position rather than from the
floor.
The clean, like the snatch, start off with the athlete standing over the barbell
looking down, and position the balls of the feet under the bar. The feet will
be slightly wider apart than hip-width. The lifter assumes the starting posi-
tion by bending the knees, lowering the hips while gripping the bar with a
slightly wider than a shoulder-width grip. In the starting position the shoul-
ders will be over the bar and the back should be arched tightly.
The pull is initiated by the mental picture of “pushing the feet through the
floor.” As the bar reaches the knees, vigorously raise the shoulders while
keeping the barbell close to the thighs.
When the barbell passes mid-thigh, it will touch the thighs (because of the
closer grip, it will touch lower on the thighs than in the snatch). When the bar
touches the thighs the lifter will drive with the legs to do an attempted ver-
tical jump (don’t leave the ground, of course) and finish by extending the
body.
When the body is fully extended, shrug the shoulders and begin pulling with
the arms. When pulling with the arms, the elbows will go out to the sides (this
helps keep the bar close to the body). At this point, aggressively pull one’s
body “under the bar,” rotating the elbows around the bar and receiving the
bar on the shoulders while moving into the semi-squat position. The lift is
completed by returning to a standing position.
The hang position simply means that the lift is not initiated from the floor but
from a standing position while holding the bar with arms straight. Following
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the same general guidelines presented above, dip by flexing at the knees and
hips, and then reverse motion, exploding upward and then aggressively
pulling the body under the bar, racking it on the shoulders. This motion bio-
mechanically resembles a vertical jump.
The clean pull is identical to the power clean (described above), except that
the pull commences at the top of the shrug, rather than continuing upward
to catch the bar on the shoulders. This greatly simplifies the lift, while main-
taining the majority of it’s benefits. When first learning the power clean, a
good place to start is the clean pull.
This is a clean pull performed from the hang position, rather than from the
floor.
To perform this exercise, the lifter begins by straddling a flat bench, with the
length of the passing between his or her legs. The lifter's back should be
upright and slightly arched. A loaded bar should be placed on a rack at the
height of the lifter's upper chest. This may be accomplished by sitting "back-
wards" at the head of a standard bench-press bench, with the upright sup-
ports directly in front of the lifter's chest, or by placing a simple flat bench
between the upright supports of a "squat rack" or "squat cage." The lifter
grasps the bar with both hands, lifting it off the rack and holding it at his or
her uppermost chest. Then, with the strength of the shoulders and triceps of
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the upper arms, the lifter presses the bar upward until it is directly overhead
with both arms extended and locked at the elbows. The bar is then allowed
to descend back to the lifter's uppermost chest area, and the movements is
repeated for the desired number of repetitions.
Some lifters perform "behind the neck" military presses by lowering the bar
to a position behind the neck after each press. I personally prefer to avoid
this method. The advantages of the "behind the neck" movement are limit-
ed, and the risk of excessive stress to the lower, rear portion of the shoulder
joint (articular capsule) is significant.
Position the barbell on the support pins of a power rack, such that it is at mid-
chest level. Grasp the bar with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width and
rotate the elbows up, positioning the bar on the deltoids (if the elbows remain
pointing downward, the bar will rest on the clavicles, which is too painful
when the weight load becomes significant). Fill the lungs with air and keep
the chest up and torso tight. Unrack the bar and step back away from the
rack.
Keeping pressure on the heels, dip down by bending the knees and ankles
slightly, then explosively drive upwards with the legs, driving the barbell ver-
tically off the shoulders. Now change directions and split the feet out to the
sides as fast as possible, while vigorously extending the arms overhead.
When in the split position the front shin should be vertical to the floor and the
front foot flat on the floor. The rear knee should be slightly bent and the rear
foot on the toes. The back should be straight and the bar directly over the
ears at arms length.
To recover from the split, simply straighten the knees and step back, one foot
at a time, to a normal standing position. When the bar is under control and
the feet are in line, the lift is complete.
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Since 1992, Charles has developed policies and course content for the
International Sports Sciences Association, and currently teaches several cer-
tification seminars per year for the ISSA.
Charles has written over 200 published articles for such magazines as Muscle
Media 2000, Inside Kung Fu, Muscle & Fitness, Martial Arts Training, Ms.
Fitnes, and several others. He is also author of The Science of Martial Arts
Training, a training textbook for combat sport atletes and coaches.
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INDEX
1RM, 17, 19, 43, 53, 64-65, 82, 84, 92, 100-101, 122, 126, 136, 176, 186-
196, 199, 225-226, 230-231, 234-235, 239, 369, 375-376, 387-388, 421,
426, 436, 453, 462
1RM Testing, 230-231, 234-235, 239
40-30-30, 341, 349, 395, 451
absolute strength, 5, 53, 60, 172-174, 199, 201, 205, 275-276, 411
acceleration, 14, 18-19, 62, 65, 90, 92, 96-97, 116, 137, 175, 201, 206, 268,
384, 421, 455
accelerative lifting, 95, 97, 137-138, 206
adhesions, 15-16, 133, 287, 291-292, 299-300, 302, 305-306, 313, 315,
354
adhesive capsulitis, 315
aerobic base, 241, 245, 247, 403
aerobic capacity, 242, 245, 248, 255
aerobic exercise, 18, 123, 163, 241, 246, 252, 256, 258, 358, 432, 438, 457
aerobic fitness, 146, 245
aerobic system, 245
aesthetics, 69, 360
agonists, 204, 273
anaerobic endurance, 242
anaerobic system, 146, 245
androstenedione, 346, 380, 401
antagonist, 109, 115-116, 165, 175, 204, 206, 355, 364
antagonistic, 43, 109, 115-116, 129, 164, 379
antagonists, 109, 176, 206, 223, 273, 285, 354, 355
Arthur Dreshler, 207
Arthur Jones, 80, 139
athlete, 4-5, 7-8, 16, 26, 29, 30-31, 34-35, 44, 52, 54, 68, 76, 78, 82-83,
86, 102, 104, 121, 131, 136, 138, 146-147, 149, 152, 163, 196, 198-200,
202, 206-208, 241-242, 244, 246, 249, 250, 260, 270, 276-279, 283, 286,
289-291, 297, 299, 301-304, 306, 310, 347, 354, 355-356, 361-362, 370,
374, 380, 385-386, 391, 394, 396, 402, 406, 410, 413, 428-429, 440-441,
446, 450-451, 455-456, 459
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creatine monohydrate, 11, 47, 104, 346, 380-381, 400, 436, 461-462
cryo-kinetics, 326
eccentric, 86-87, 95, 108, 131, 137, 165, 186, 196, 199-200, 202, 224, 359,
361, 378, 386, 407, 433, 450, 458, 470
elastic tubing, 6, 440
elbow problems, 327-328
electro-stimulation, 329
endurance, 7, 11, 15, 31, 47, 49, 64, 65, 121, 147, 158, 172, 173, 175, 178-
186, 188-196, 203, 241-244, 246, 248-251, 258, 261-262, 270, 282-284,
307, 345-346, 348-349, 368, 400, 403, 433, 446, 450, 456, 474
exercises, 1, 5, 8, 28, 40, 43, 46, 50-51, 64-66, 77-78, 80, 86, 93-95, 97,
103, 110, 112, 115-116, 123-124, 126, 128-131, 136, 140, 144-145, 151,
510
Physically Incorrect
158, 161, 163-166, 169-171, 176-177, 186-187, 196, 202, 204, 206, 208,
211, 222-226, 254, 261, 264-265, 267, 272, 278-280, 285, 304, 313, 315,
325, 355, 359, 364-365, 368-373, 375-376, 382-383, 385, 389, 391, 396,
402-403, 408, 411-416, 424, 427, 434-435, 439-441, 447, 449, 455, 463,
465-466, 471
external rotation, 38, 313
extreme fighters, 172
fatigue, 8, 14, 19, 40-42, 47, 50-52, 63-64, 66, 81-87, 91-92, 96, 115, 120,
122, 124, 137, 138, 162, 164, 167, 169, 178-195, 203, 208, 210, 242, 258,
261, 266, 268, 281, 289, 292, 299, 323, 350-351, 368, 380, 382-383, 402,
426, 433-434, 436, 440, 449, 469
fats, 336, 339, 341
fiber conversion, 133, 226, 408
finger extension, 224
flaxseed oil, 11, 345, 400
flexibility, 5, 15, 31, 35, 78, 158, 262, 276, 336, 372, 384-385, 450
food bars, 352
Frank Carrino, 243
Fred Hatfield, 84, 88, 91, 97, 161, 201
french press, 62, 123, 231-234, 235
fried foods, 340
front delts, 224
front squat, 168, 213, 216, 218, 231-232, 233-235, 237-239, 369
Fumio Demura, 263
habituation, 69, 70
half-Squat, 227-229, 231-239
hamstrings, 116, 151, 153, 224, 227-239
hang clean, 226, 228-236, 238-239
hanging pikes, 227-230
heart rate, 246, 248, 252, 282, 325, 396, 419
511
Physically Incorrect
Katerina Witt, 10
knee wraps, 318, 321
512
Physically Incorrect
231-235
leverage, 5, 206, 250, 312, 328
L-Glutamine, 345, 399
loading parameters, 224, 365, 458
long term seated postures, 330
low back pain, 279-280, 298, 333
lying EZ bar triceps extension, 230
513
Physically Incorrect
PACE, 162
pain scale, 307
patellofemoral pain syndrome, 321
Pavel Tsatsouline, 263
performance testing, 226
personal trainers, 152, 253-254
Phil LeClair, 132, 143
physical therapists, 293, 304, 392
plyometric, 35, 134-135, 138, 208, 451
plyometric training, 208
plyometrics, 140, 165, 200, 206, 224, 273, 276, 433, 450
power, 15, 23, 24, 31, 56, 64, 90, 94-95, 103, 114, 122, 130, 138, 140, 155,
172-173, 197-198, 200, 207, 242, 262, 272-273, 284, 289-290, 328, 360,
364, 370, 372, 382, 387, 390, 411-412, 433, 441, 448-450, 455, 459
power clean, 155, 200, 207
powerlifting, 9-10, 13, 64, 80, 84, 90, 136, 143, 196, 374, 386, 390, 397,
411, 434, 442, 449
preacher hammer curl, 232-240
prime movers, 46, 81, 84, 86, 204, 272-273, 277, 285, 359, 376
progression, 30, 31, 70, 83, 88, 95, 99, 101-102, 104, 123, 131, 134, 136,
138, 163, 254, 388, 406-407
pro-hormones, 346
514
Physically Incorrect
protein, 11, 49, 61, 76, 104, 132, 150, 276, 336-337, 340, 344-347, 348,
358, 373, 381, 398-400, 417, 434, 436, 451, 461-462, 466, 469
protein shakes, 11, 132, 344, 399
qualitative approach, 68
quantitative approach, 69
range of motion, 35, 40, 50, 82, 97, 103, 130, 136-137, 153, 161, 313-315,
354, 359-360, 376, 385, 406, 420, 440, 444, 447, 461
rate coding, 59-60, 205, 464
recovery, 18, 47-49, 78, 84, 102, 104, 133, 150, 175, 177, 197, 201, 208,
210, 225, 251-252, 287, 289-292, 300-304, 306, 322-326, 329, 336, 345,
348, 353-354, 395, 399, 409, 454
redundancy, 223, 225, 411
rehabilitation, 45, 304
rest intervals, 14, 69, 93, 94, 103, 115, 130, 247
rest periods, 14, 48, 49, 80, 128, 137, 248, 389
reverse hyper, 113, 178, 180, 182, 184, 185, 213, 216, 218
reverse trunk twist on ball, 232, 233, 234, 235, 237, 238, 239, 240
Rich Phaigh, 288, 295, 300, 301
Rolfing, 287, 292, 294, 304, 309
russian twist, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231
515
Physically Incorrect
362, 369-370, 372-374, 376, 386, 396,-397, 404-406, 411, 424, 426, 434-
435, 442, 449, 454, 458, 461, 472
squat clean, 207
squats, 88, 161, 377, 388, 406, 437, 449, 472
stabilizer, 19, 45, 46, 86, 204, 272, 277
standing long jump, 210
static bar holds, 231-235
Steffi Graf, 6
stiff-leg deadlift, 111, 168, 231-235
straight bar reverse curl, 227-230
straight sets, 224, 458, 471
strength, 4-9, 13-17, 27, 31, 35, 46-49, 51-53, 56, 58-60, 66, 69, 72, 76,
82-83, 86, 90, 95, 98, 101, 103-104, 110, 116, 118, 122, 125-126, 129-130,
138-140, 144, 147, 157-158, 161, 166-167, 169-206, 208, 210-211, 222-
246, 249-250, 252, 254-255, 258, 260-263, 265, 266, 268, 270-280, 282,
284-285, 296, 313, 329, 336, 348-349, 355-356, 359-364, 367-370, 372-
373, 377-378, 383-386, 388, 389, 390-392, 394, 402, 404-408, 411-413,
416, 421, 423, 428-430, 432-437, 440-446, 448, 450, 451, 452, 453-456,
458, 462, 464-465, 467, 469-470, 474
strength endurance, 5, 52, 53, 172, 173, 174, 199, 200, 336, 383, 384
strength training, 5-9, 51, 86, 110, 147, 157, 166-167, 169-171, 197, 201-
202, 206, 208, 246, 270-272, 274-276, 282, 284, 285, 349, 355, 356, 359,
361, 372, 377-378, 383-385, 390, 392, 405, 408, 416, 423, 432-435, 440-
443, 445-446, 451, 454-455
stress, 17, 30, 46, 70, 79, 87, 95-97, 99, 104, 117, 133, 135, 137, 138, 152-
153, 156-157, 187-195, 201, 225, 248, 263-264, 266, 270, 272, 279, 288-
289, 313, 320, 323, 328, 332, 343-345, 351, 374, 383, 393, 398-399, 405,
419, 420, 446, 450
stretch, 10, 33, 35-36, 38, 95, 124, 125, 137, 143, 215, 248, 307, 370, 386,
443-445, 457
stretching, 33, 35, 40, 124, 147, 160, 202, 290, 293, 294, 309, 326, 385,
443-445, 450, 455, 472
submaximal accelerative efforts, 116
supplementation, 10, 127, 343, 460
supplements, 10, 104, 126, 132, 289, 343, 346, 381, 398, 400, 436, 452,
461-462
Susan Powder, 145
Swiss ball, 27, 110, 125, 144, 364, 372, 377, 435, 447-448
synergist, 204, 304, 383
synergists, 84, 204, 293
516
Physically Incorrect
tempo, 49, 81-82, 87, 99-100, 103, 111-112, 122, 128, 129-130, 136-137,
211, 280, 361, 366, 370, 387
tension, 13-14, 19, 35-36, 38-39, 47, 59-62, 66, 73, 91-92, 97, 99, 103,
116, 130-131, 135-136, 169, 175, 198-199, 201, 203-206, 211, 266, 288,
359, 365-368, 384, 386, 406, 409, 434, 440, 444-445, 464, 468-469, 471
testosterone, 48, 78, 339, 346, 380, 397, 401
The Manga Report, 333-335
thirty meter sprint, 210
tone, 146, 357
training, 1, 4-7, 9-19, 23, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 40-53, 56-58,
61-62, 64-66, 68-70, 72-87, 91, 92, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104,
106, 108-109, 111, 114-115, 117, 120-121, 123-124, 126-139, 142-144,
147, 155-160, 162, 163, 165, 166-167, 169-177, 186, 196-199, 201, 206,
208, 211, 222, 224-226, 240-241, 244-258, 266-302, 304, 306-307, 310,
312-314, 317-318, 320, 322-328, 330, 331, 336, 337, 342-349, 351, 353-
362, 367-371, 373-377, 379, 380-381, 383-386, 389-390, 392-395, 397,
399-400, 402-406, 408, 409-412, 414, 415, 417, 420-421, 423-424, 426-
427, 431-442, 445-447, 449-455, 457-460, 462, 466-468, 473-474
traps, 224
tricep pushdowns, 123, 212, 214, 217, 220-221
triceps, 116, 187, 189, 191-192, 194, 224, 227-239, 377, 435
trigger point, 300, 309
trunk-hip flexion, 224
type I fibers, 133, 203
type IIb fibers, 133, 203
517
Physically Incorrect
weight training, 5, 6, 16, 24, 34, 133, 139, 142, 150, 155, 197, 199, 253,
258, 273, 348, 354, 356, 358, 367-368, 378, 403, 408, 412, 432, 439, 441,
445-446, 457
weightlifting, 13, 64, 80, 139, 142, 160, 201, 207, 328, 390, 411, 442, 473
weights, 5, 25, 27, 42, 44, 45, 50, 62, 64, 66, 69, 71, 78, 85, 89-90, 92, 95,
98, 116-117, 135, 136-137, 140, 144, 146, 155-156, 159, 165, 174, 176,
207, 223, 225, 256, 260, 262, 265-266, 268, 273, 276, 374, 386, 413, 419,
423, 439, 445, 450, 463-464
workout, 17-19, 27, 33-35, 37, 40-41, 43-44, 46-49, 52-53, 55-56, 62-63,
65-66, 69-73, 82, 85-86, 89, 92, 95, 100, 102-104, 109-112, 114-115, 120-
123, 125, 127, 129-131, 137, 143, 155-156, 158, 160-164, 169, 173, 175,
178-195, 215, 218, 223, 225, 245, 254, 281, 291-292, 304, 316, 324-326,
348, 351, 353-354, 357, 359, 361-363, 367, 376, 382-383, 387, 389, 400,
408-409, 411, 416, 421, 423, 427-28, 432-433, 440, 445, 455, 462, 464
workouts, 47, 48, 52, 62, 66, 71-72, 74, 96, 100, 103, 106, 108-112, 114-
115, 120-122, 124-127, 134, 163, 175, 250, 254, 299, 304, 322-323, 325-
326, 347, 353, 358, 360-361, 364, 375, 377, 383, 387, 396, 402, 423, 433,
440, 447, 463
518