Tag: muscle

How To Manipulate Your Training Variables

How To Manipulate Your Training Variables

Everyone will inadvertently hit a frustrating plateau in their training at one time or another. You’re cruising along for a while, gaining strength, losing fat, looking better, and then all of the sudden it hits. Suddenly, you find yourself even weaker than before on your lifts, or you find that you’ve gained back a couple of pounds. It happens to everyone. Most of the time, these plateaus occur because people rarely change their training variables over time. Many people stick to the same types of exercises for the same basic sets and reps and rest periods with the same boring cardio routine. Well, I hope to open your mind and bring some creativity to your workouts with this article!

There are many ways that you can strategically manipulate your training variables to assure that you maximize your fat loss and/or muscle building response to exercise. Most people only think about changing their sets and reps performed, if they even think about changing their routine at all.

However, other variables that can dramatically affect your results are changing the order of exercises (sequence), exercise grouping (super-setting, circuit training, tri-sets, etc.), exercise type (multi-joint or single joint, free-weight or machine based), the number of exercises per workout, the amount of resistance, the time under tension, the base of stability (standing, seated, on stability ball, one-legged, etc.), the volume of work (sets x reps x distance moved), rest periods between sets, repetition speed, range of motion, exercise angle (inclined, flat, declined, bent over, upright, etc), training duration per workout, and training frequency per week. Sounds like a lot of different training aspects to consider in order to obtain the best results from your workouts, doesn’t it?

Well, that’s where a knowledgeable personal trainer can make sense of all of this for you to make sure that your training doesn’t get stale. Below are a few examples to get your mind working to come up with more creative and result producing workouts.

Most people stick to workouts where they do something along the lines of 3 sets of 10-12 reps per exercise, with 2-3 minutes rest between sets. Booooorrrrring! Here are a few examples of different methods to spice up your routine.

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  • Try 10 sets of 3, with only 20 seconds rest between sets.

 

  • Try using a moderately heavy weight and complete 6 sets of 6 reps, doing a 3 minute treadmill sprint between each weight lifting set.

 

  • Try using a near maximum weight and do 10 sets of 1 rep, with 30 seconds rest between sets.

 

  • Try using a lighter than normal weight and do 1 set of 50 reps for each exercise

 

  • Try a workout based on only one full body exercise, such as barbell clean & presses or dumbbell squat & presses, and do nothing but that exercise for an intense 20 minutes. With this example, you could try sets of 5 reps at a moderately heavy weight every 2 minutes until you reach 20 minutes.

 

  • Try a workout based on all bodyweight exercises such as pushups, pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, bodyweight squats, lunges, step-ups, etc.

 

  • Try a circuit of 12 different exercises covering the entire body without any rest between exercises.

 

  • Try that same 12 exercise circuit on your subsequent workout, but do the entire circuit in the reverse order.

 

  • Try your usual exercises at a faster repetition speed on one workout and then at a super-slow speed on your next workout.

 

  • Try completing five 30 minute workouts one week, followed by three 1-hr workouts the next week.

 

  • Try doing drop sets of all of your exercises, where you drop the weight between each set and keep doing repetitions without any rest until complete muscular fatigue (usually about 5-6 sets in a row).

There are many more ways to continue to change your training variables. I hope this article gave you some ideas on methods for you to take your body to the next level.  Keep in mind that no matter what style of training you are using at any given time, progression on subsequent workouts should be your goal. Work hard and train smart and watch your body change!

 

Top 4 Ways the Mind Can Influence Your Muscle Growth!

Top 4 ways the mind can influence your muscle growth

I don’t want you to get the wrong impression here. Just thinking about something doesn’t manifest itself into a physical object, especially when building muscle. Work must be put in to build up progress in some tangible form.

From the title of this article though, you can probably tell that there will be some information that can be used for your benefit; Right here, right now, today. I want to dive deep into a subject that doesn’t really get much attention aside from watching bodybuilding motivational videos before a workout.

It may sound somewhat complicated, but believe me, it really isn’t.

I want to dissect the mind completely from a physical standpoint and an emotional standpoint that will leave you feeling more pumped and excited than you’ve ever been to step foot in the gym and annihilate the weights.

“…Even perfect nutrition and training will only get you so far. The rest is made up with the mind.”

Many times the mind will get shoved aside by the bigger bullies of bodybuilding today. At the front of the pack you have your nutrition, which is the clear foundation of any noticeable physique. Next is your training. Everything from intensity, duration, sets, reps, rest periods, tempo and technique are used to maximally help increase your muscle size. This is like a broken record. We’ve all heard this stuff on repeat.

If you’ve been lifting consistently and have experienced the great benefits of strength and muscular adaptation, then you probably already know what works best for you. But I’m here to tell you today that even perfect nutrition and training will only get you so far. The rest is made up with the mind.

Before we dive into the pool of your muscle-building potential though, I want to emphasize that even if you think you’ve reached your limit with muscle gains and you’ve absolutely used all of your available resources, then think again! This is not the time to be held back by limiting beliefs.

If you are truly serious about your results in and out of the gym, you need to first come to terms with your physical mind. Let’s get after it shall we?

Neuromuscular Shaping

I’m guessing you haven’t heard of this term before.  Put simply, it just means that the mind and the working muscle need to develop a better relationship to perform optimally. It is your goal as a bodybuilder to “shape” your muscles into whatever you want them to look like. Traditionally, this just meant training that muscle a bit more or tweaking your diet to increase growth.

Now, that’s only part of the equation. You’re missing a huge piece of the muscle-building pie my friend! You’ve done more exercises, you’ve increased the resistance, you’ve changed your routine, but when was the last time you mentally recruited more muscle fibers?

This isn’t a simple question to answer, so I’ll have you figure it out for yourself. Here’s an analogy I like to use a lot when referring to neuromuscular shaping:

Suppose your goal is to climb a mountain that you’ve never climbed before. In fact, neither has anyone else. There are no trails or easy ways to the top. Your only option is to forge your own path until you reach the peak. The first trip is the hardest, and takes a long time to finally reach your destination, but somehow you get there. It’s a long walk back down but you try to follow the same path that you took.

So now that you’ve climbed it once, do you think it would be easier to climb it a second time? After all, you made your own trail in the first round. All you have to do is trace your steps back up the mountain again, right?

Let’s suppose that you did this same routine every day for a year, or 5 years, or even 10 years? How do you think your trail would look after all that? I’d say it would be pretty easy to get to the top with a clear trail to navigate, wouldn’t you?

You see, we are trying to shape and direct the neuromuscular pathways to your muscles. In order for a muscle to contract, it must first receive a signal from the brain to do so. When this same signal is repeatedly sent back and forth between the mind and muscle over time (climbing the mountain), MORE neuromuscular pathways are created to enhance the strength of the contraction. It’s safe to say that this is an exciting piece of information to have, especially when your main goal is to add some serious mass to your frame!

I want you to practice some of this “mind-muscle” connection on yourself…

From a sitting position on your chair or bench that you’re on right now, try to mindfully contract your hamstring on the right side WITHOUT contracting the quadriceps. Be sure to place one of your hands on top of the quad to make sure it doesn’t move.

How did it go? Did it work?

More often than not, if the hamstrings aren’t developed correctly, the signal from your brain will make its way down your leg but will not have a CLEAR path to dictate what muscle should contract; therefore the signal is sent to the stronger muscle of the two, the quadriceps!

Now try repeating this signal over and over again to the same right hamstring, and see what happens…

Are you able to contract it without the quadriceps moving? It’s funny how this system works and it really makes all the difference with how much muscle is stimulated during exercise. This same concept can be applied to every major muscle of the body.

Once a thorough neuromuscular connection has been established to your major muscles, it’s time to put them to the test.

 Imagery

This concept can be extremely profound and powerful when done correctly. The best part is that research even backs it up; mentally performing an exercise in your mind will directly enhance how much power output your body produces once performed in real life.

When I learned this concept for the first time, it was like I struck pure gold. I was doing what no one else was doing and I was getting better results because of it. Here’s some research from a blog of the muscle-building master himself, Charles Poliquin:

“For example, one study had novice weightlifters imagine that they were performing a bicep curl exercise three times a week for eight weeks. The participants did not actually do any bicep curls or any other elbow flexion training during that time. However, they still gained strength in both the elbow flexors and extensors (44 and 32 percent increase in strength, respectively). A second study found that college athletes who performed visualization before strength training had more confidence and lifted more weight in a leg press exercise than they had done before without imagery.”

I’d say this is a pretty significant piece to your muscle-building puzzle. From an application standpoint during your training and even before your training, try these techniques:

  1. Use internal imagery to practice your main core lifts in your mind before you even set foot in the gym. Using a bench press as an example, this would involve you thinking about loading up the bar with new weight, sitting down on the bench, getting your back position down into the pad, getting a perfect grip on the bar, lifting it, and performing every single rep in your mind as clear as you possibly can – feeling your chest contract and release each time.
  2. Use external imagery to imagine watching yourself perform this same movement but from a spotters position or a coaches position. Having a birds-eye-view can give extra motivation and willpower to complete the set from a different point of view.

Having a Compelling Purpose

Here’s a question for you:

What is your reason to build muscle? More specifically, what is your purpose for working so hard in and out of the gym? Someone with a weak mental capacity would answer this question by saying, “I want to build more muscle and get ripped.”

Dig deeper guys!

You want to build muscle because…?

There is ALWAYS an underlying reason that you do the things that you do. For me, my reasons are a few things: I lift to release aggression (my form of therapy), I lift to feel more dominant when around other males, and more importantly, I lift because it is my passion – the feeling, the sacrifice and all the rewards that come with it.

From my example you should be able to figure out what your own “purpose” is for wanting to build muscle. If you don’t’ have a clear purpose then you are only walking blindly towards your cherished finish line.

“Purpose has a direct correlation with motivation. A lack of motivation will always point back to an unclear or unsatisfied purpose.”

Once your reasons are made clear for building up some serious mass, it’s time to tap into the best part of the mental picture…unleashing your inner BEAST!

I Am Powerful Beyond Measure

I want you to adopt this mindset right now. You’ve already proven yourself by making it this far, you’ve shown that you truly want more muscle, so go get it!

It is during this mindset “phase” that the true “you” comes out. There’s no time to mess around anymore.

When you reach inside and are able to harness the most powerful part of yourself, your potential to build real muscle becomes unlimited. To get to this mental state, it requires complete concentration on the task at hand. Whatever it takes to block out the distractions of the gym atmosphere, then I advise you to do it.

I haven’t known many guys that have the ability to reach this “monk-like” state when working out. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t do it yourself.

And the best part?

This process is entirely up to you. If praying or meditation works to block out the world then do that. If you need loud music in your ears then listen to that to get you amped up.

The only way that I can truly describe this “state” is being in a completely different world once the headphones go in. My mind tells me I am powerful beyond measure before I even pick up a weight.

Don’t make the mistake of being inconsistent. The more you practice this principle day-in and day-out, the easier it will be to control the amount of generated power produced.

Conclusion

The mind has always been at the core of building muscle. Most often than not though, the importance of having a strong mind is overshadowed by being strong physically. Sure, there is a genetic potential about how much muscle you can build naturally, but I doubt that you’ve hit that point yet. If you’ve truly accepted that you’ve tried everything in order to build new mass then that’s your opinion. But for those of you who are willing to strengthen up your mind today, you will undoubtedly see the amazing muscle-building potential that you can reach for tomorrow.

 

-Mitch Muller

(Your Mindset and Muscle Coach)

CPT/CEO – MindsetFitness.net

 

Sources: Poliquin, Charles (Oct 2012) “Tip 459: Use Mental Imagery Before Workouts To Improve Performance.”http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Blog/tabid/130/EntryId/1623/Tip-459-Use-Mental-Imagery-Before-Workouts-To-Improve-Performance.aspx

8 Proven Strategies for Maximum Muscle Gains

 There is so much conflicting information out there when it comes to the topic of building muscle, and sometimes it can be very difficult to know where to start. If you’re an average beginner looking for some basic guidelines to follow in the gym, the following 8 points will start you off on the right track.

1. Train With Weights and Focus On Compound, Free Weight Movements

If you want to make solid, noteworthy gains in muscle size and strength, you absolutely must train with free weights and focus on basic, compound exercises. A compound exercise is any lift that stimulates more than one muscle group at a time. Examples of these lifts are the squat, deadlift, bench press, chin up, barbell row, overhead press, dip and lunge. Compound movements allow you to handle the most weight and will stimulate the greatest amount of total muscle fibers.

2. Be Prepared To Train Hard

One of the biggest factors that separates those who make modest gains from those who make serious gains is their level of training intensity. In order to stimulate your muscle fibers to their utmost potential, you must be willing to take every set you perform in the gym to the point of muscular fatigue and/or failure.

Muscular Failure: The point at which no further repetitions can be completed using proper form.

Sub-maximal training intensity will leave you with sub-maximal results, plain and simple.

3. Track Your Progress In The Gym From Week To Week

Our bodies build muscle because of an adaptive response to the environment. When you go to the gym, you break down your muscle fibers by training with weights. Your body senses this as a potential threat to its survival and will react accordingly by rebuilding the damaged fibers larger and stronger in order to protect against any possible future threat. Therefore, in order to make continual gains in muscle size and strength, you must always focus on progressing in the gym from week to week. This could mean performing 1 or 2 more reps for each exercise or adding more weight to the bar. Keep a detailed training log to track your progress as your strength increases over time.

4. Avoid Overtraining

Overtraining is your number one enemy when it comes to building muscle size and strength. When most people begin a workout program, they are stuck with the misguided notion that more is better. They naturally assume that the more time they spend in the gym, the better results they will achieve. When it comes to building muscle, nothing could be farther from the truth! If you spend too much time in the gym, you will actually take yourself farther away from your goals rather than closer to them. Remember, your muscles do not grow in the gym; they grow out of the gym, while you are resting and eating. Recovery is absolutely vital to the muscle growth process. If you don’t provide your body with the proper recovery time in between workouts, your muscles will never have a chance to grow.

5. Eat More Frequently

The main area where most people fail miserably on their muscle-building mission is on the all-too important task of proper nutrition. Training with weights is only half of the equation! You break down your muscle fibers in the gym, but if you don’t provide your body with the proper nutrients at the proper times, the muscle growth process will be next to impossible. You should be eating anywhere from 5-7 meals per day, spaced every 2-3 hours in order to keep your body in an anabolic, muscle-building state at all times. Each meal should consist of high quality protein and complex carbohydrates.

6. Increase Your Protein Intake

Of the 3 major nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) protein is without a doubt the most important for those who are looking to gain muscle size and strength. Protein is found in literally every single one of the 30 trillion cells that your body is made up of and its main role is to build and repair body tissues. Without sufficient protein intake, it will be physically impossible for your body to synthesize a significant amount of lean muscle mass. If your body were a house, think of protein as the bricks. A general guideline is to consume 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day from high quality sources such as fish, poultry, eggs, beef, milk, peanut butter and cottage cheese.

7. Increase Your Water Intake

If you want a simple, easy and highly effective way to maximize your muscle gains, drinking more water is it. Water plays so many vital roles in the body and its importance cannot be overstated. In fact, your muscles alone are made up of 70% water! Not only will drinking more water cause your muscles to appear fuller and more vascular, but it will also increase your strength as well. Research has shown that merely a 3-4% drop in your body’s water levels can impact muscle contractions by 10-20%! Aim to consume 0.6 ounces for every pound of bodyweight each day for optimal gains.

8. Be Consistent!

Consistency is everything. Those who make the greatest gains in muscular size and strength are the ones who are able to implement the proper techniques on a highly consistent basis. Simply knowing is not enough, you must apply!

Building muscle is a result of the cumulative effect of small steps. Sure, performing 1 extra rep on your bench press will not make a huge difference to your overall results, and neither will consuming a single meal. However, over the long haul, all of those extra reps you perform and all of those small meals you consume will decide your overall success. If you work hard and complete all of your muscle-building tasks in a consistent fashion, all of those individual steps will equate to massive gains in overall size and strength.

Sample Bodybuilding Meal Plan

Looking to gain some serious mass? Learn to eat the same way that you train: beastly! The following meals should be consumed throughout one full day. Each meal should be taken in every 2-3 hours apart. Foods can be subject to change to fit your individual preferences so don’t freak out if you don’t like broccoli, there’s other options…

This bodybuilding meal plan consists of about 40% Protein, 35% Carbohydrates, and 25% Fats

Meal 1:bodybuilding meal plan

  • 1cup oats

  • 16oz fat free milk

  • 1 med banana

  • 1 1/2 scoop whey

Meal 2:

  •  8 oz Chicken, fish, lean beef

  • 1 cup yams

  • 1 cup green beans

  • 15 almonds OR almond butter

Meal 3: Turkey sandwich

  • Rye bread

  • Lean turkey 15g -20g protein

  • Spinach replacing lettuce

  • Tomato optional

Meal 4: (post workout) only on lifting days.

  • 1 scoop DGC carbs

  • 50g whey

Meal 5:

  • 8 oz Chicken, fish, lean beef

  • 1 cup yams

  • 1 cup green beans

  • 15 almonds OR almond butter

Meal 6:

 

  • 8 oz fish

  • 2 cups broccoli

Meal 7 optional:

  • 2 scoops casein protein before bed

*Remember, if you are pressed for time during the day and you cannot consume a full food meal, just replace it with a protein shake to keep your metabolism moving. Don’t miss a meal!
 

Sample Bodybuilding Meal Plan

3 Reasons To Train Your Legs

WHY SHOULD I TRAIN MY LEGS?

It doesn’t come as a surprise that leg day is one of the most feared and disliked days of any training split. In fact, I know guys who completely neglect their leg development altogether! We’ve all had some sort of thought run through our minds during the last few reps thinking to ourselves, “Should I keep going or should I just stop here?” The lactic acid build up seems to be too much to handle, and this is where most will throw in the white towel. I’m here to shed some light on this popular neglected training day, and hopefully by the end of this article, you’ll be more determined than ever to suck up the pain and push yourself through new barriers!

The larger muscles of the leg (ex: Quads/Glutes/Hamstrings) are relied upon in producing force and generating strength in many sports and exercises. The gym isn’t the only place where they’re forced to grow. Having a variety of leg training routines will keep the legs guessing, and keep you muscular hypertrophy at its highest. It’s important to remember that your legs are constantly supporting the load above them; adding additional weight is CRUCIAL for muscle growth and complete muscular fiber stimulation. So training your wheels each week should be at the top of your training priority list, or near the top. I’ll give you a few reasons why in a minute…

When a structured plan is put into place, each workout will be a constant progression from that of the one before it. Keeping a workout journal is the best way to ensure this happens. Record all of your sets, reps, weight, tempo and exercises. That way, when next week rolls around, you can flip back and prepare yourself for another day of progress; whether it’s one more rep, or a small addition of 10 pounds. Progress is progress. Just make sure you push yourself!

Here are a few reasons why leg training is important…

 1.   Squats/Deadlifts = more muscle!

You can find studies all over the place that show the squat and deadlift increase testosterone and growth hormone more than ANY other exercise! These are natural muscle building hormones. These exercises work your whole body, not just the legs alone. Your arms, abs, chest and back are all involved to some degree. That means more hormone flow to the upper body, all good things! So don’t leave these guys out…

2.   Mindset Strength

There’s no better feeling in the gym than to complete a HEAVY set of deads or squats. Throwing that weight around can be a huge mental workout saver and will leave you feeling stronger and more powerful than before. Your mindset will dictate your outcome. Your muscles need all of the brain power they can get!

3.   Body Symmetry

Ever seen that commercial with the buff guy sitting in a chair and the guy interviewing him asks, “Did you know that you’re supposed to train your legs too?” the camera zooms out and this huge bodybuilder has legs the size of a little kid. No one wants to be that guy, come on now. It may not be important what other people think, but if you’re taking your training seriously, it’ll be a lot easier to pack on the mass by developing your legs as well!

I’ll be going over each of the leg muscles individually in future articles, so I’ll touch on the exercises that will work best for mass development. Till then, train hard and prepare your mind for success. See ya…

 

-Mitch Muller

C.P.T. – MindsetFitness.net

 

Summary with credit to: Permanent Muscle by Reuben Bajada. The Poliquin Principles by Charles Poliquin. ACEFitness.org. Mitch’s Empower Network Blog.