Tag: the free encyclopedia

Know Your Supplements – BCAA’s

It seems like just a couple years ago that BCAA supplements were unheard of. These amino acids have made a huge breakthrough in the supplement industry today based largely on the fact that they DELIVER, hands down. BCAA stands for branched chain amino acids and is increasingly being recognized as an important supplement in the field of sports nutrition. In short the term refers to three essential amino acids – leucine, isoleucine and valine. Amino acids are widely known as the building blocks of protein. When protein food is eaten it gets digested into individual amino acids and short chains of amino acids that are sufficiently small to be absorbed into the bloodstream. They are then used by the body to build and repair tissues amongst other things. Amino acids are split between those classed as essential and those labelled non-essential. This simply means that essential amino acids cannot be made by the body, whereas non-essential amino acids can. There are nine essential amino acids and each must be obtained from the diet. The nine essential amino acids are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Non-essential amino acids are just as important as the essential variety and the term simply means they can be made by the body from vitamins and other amino acids. The non-essential amino acids are alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, cystine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, se

rine and tyrosine.

The BCAA’s are especially important to athletes because they are metabolized in the muscle rather than the liver. This means that they can be used either to build new proteins or be burned as fuel to create energy. Supplementing with BCAA’s has been shown to result in measurable gains in both muscle strength and size. Taken before a workout BCAA’s can improve performance and delay the onset of fatigue. They also operate as anabolic agents allowing the body to burn fat and not muscle. As a supplement that has no reported side effects, branched chain amino acids offer many benefits to the serious bodybuilder or fitness enthusiast. Go pick some up today!

The Principle of First

The Principle Of First

Exodus 20:1-17

I wanted to share with you something that I have learned and personally applied to my life over the last few months, and in all honesty it has me feeling happier and free knowing that God has absolute control over my life in every aspect.

If you want to live a successful life you must remember what God teaches us: Do not worship any other gods but Him and in all things: put Him first. In other words, God isn’t OK with being second or third place in your life. It seems so simple to let God take over when we have troubles, but what about the good times too?

If we aren’t careful, many smaller things can become the product of our worship. And no longer will these “smaller” things be small, but constant concentration on these things before God will result in unsuccessful endeavors.

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:21

So what treasures or idols do you tend to worship on a daily basis? What do you spend most of your time and money on? What about your children, your spouse or loved ones? All of these things can be viewed and easily put in front of God without a second thought. If we aren’t mindful of this, each day can carry on shamelessly and before you know it, God becomes just a typical weekend routine. Many Christians will give up an hour on Saturday night or Sunday morning to worship and go to church, but what about the rest of the week? Is your mind bent on other things once you get home? For most of us, the answer would be yes.

Being in the fitness industry like I am, my mind is constantly bombarded with external and internal information that keeps my days organized and progressive. I’ve chosen an occupation and a hobby that demands almost all of my time and energy. As most of you know already, maintaining a healthy lifestyle goes way beyond just going to the gym for an hour. If you are truly committed to your fitness goals then the commitment will follow you outside of the gym as well. How much time do you spend planning out meals, or counting calories, or following your diets? These things are not easy to say the least. They DO require a certain level of commitment, but that commitment should NOT come before God.

Look at it this way:

If you love exercising and working out continuously each week, think about what you’re really trying to accomplish here. Are you trying to reach a particular goal? Or in reality, is it just happiness that you’re looking for after all? I believe that all of us step foot into the gym because of some measure of unhappiness or discontentment. If this wasn’t the case, gym’s wouldn’t even exist at all. We all want to better ourselves somehow right?

We go through intense workouts and demanding nutritional programs, and all for what? To look in the mirror and like what we see? Yes this is completely true! But there’s something else that I think we’re missing here…

Whatever your reasons are for staying healthy, it’s time to put things into perspective:

Why are you putting anything else before God in the first place? We spend such a short time here on this earth while we’re alive and truth be told, most of it is spent worrying and trying to become successful in some way or another. I believe that we aren’t intended to live like that. God put us here to worship Him and to tell others about Jesus so that they may be saved. If God is first place in your life, the success will show itself.

“In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” – Proverbs 3:6 (LB)

So what can I do to make sure that God is first place in my life?

It’s simple: You’ll know when you stop WORRYING.

Here is a list of 5 Steps of the Principle of First outlined from Dr. Don Wilson, pastor at Christ’s Church of the Valley (Phoenix,AZ):

The Principle of First (F) – Finances

Give Him the first DIME of every dollar.

The Word says that we should tithe to give back to God what is already His in the first place. The word “Tithe” means ten percent. So this 10% of your entire income should be given back to God in FAITH that he will bless the other 90%. He promises this in His Word:

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and TEST ME NOW IN THIS, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” – Malachi 3:10

“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops, then your barns will be filled to overflowing.” – Proverbs 3:9-10

 

The Principle of First (I) – Interests

Give Him the first priority in every DECISION.

We make decisions every single day. Some may be simple and some can be extremely overwhelming at times. Whatever our particular interests are, God wants to be the center of it. When this happens, the tough decisions will not be as tough anymore because He will lead you in the right direction with faith.

“In Everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” – Proverbs 3:6 (LB)

 

The Principle of First (R) – Relationships

Give Him first PLACE in every relationship.

The people closest to you will determine your level of success. In your fitness life, surround yourself with others who believe the same thing that you do. You can never have too much motivation and encouragement by others.

“What a person is really like is shown by the kinds of friends he chooses.” – Proverbs 27:19 (LB)

 

The Principle of First (S) – Schedule

Give Him the FIRST second of every day.

It’s easy to go about your routine once you wake up in the morning, but are you setting aside time for Him? Spending time in His Word and praying can have a profound impact upon your day. You’ll most likely find that your mind is more aware of the good things, and less aware of the worries and stresses.

“Be careful how you live…making the most of every opportunity.” – Ephesians 5:15-16

 

The Principle of First (T) – Troubles

Give Him the first call when you have a PROBLEM.

Don’t let this life overwhelm you! God is always there to take care of you. Nothing is too big or too complicated for Him to handle. All it takes is persistence and faith.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33

CONCLUSION

Your fitness life is just a small example of an area in which God can lead you. As far as training goes, I feel like there are so many people who are lost in which way to go and how to succeed with their fitness goals. Likewise, so many people live day-to-day with unnecessary burdens trying to figure out why things don’t go according to plan. This is the reason Mindset Fitness was created: to help others learn the best ways to achieve anything they want in the gym and to help others learn that God can change their life completely!

God bless,

Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net

The previous article is a summary of “Put God First” by Pastor Don Wilson, Christ’s Church of the Valley, Phoenix Arizona. May 19-20, 2012.

Supplement Week: The Truth About Creatine

creatine

In this article I wanted to touch on a supplement that has been subject to some scrutiny throughout the entire time it has been available to the public. I’ve met with many fitness professionals and talked to clients and close friends about their opinion on the use of creatine in sports, various types of training, and bodybuilding, and to no surprise there came a quick dispute. So with all the opposing information that has been filling the fitness world, I’d like to share some of my personal opinions backed by scientific research. By the end of this article, you should have a better understanding of what creatine does and if it’s right for you in your daily supplementation.

WHAT EXACTLY IS CREATINE?

First off, creatine is a simple mixture of three important amino acids: glycine, arginine, and methionine. That’s it, nothing fancy here. Creatine is actually produced naturally in the body and can be found in various forms of high protein foods like fish and red meat.  Because the body produces it naturally and it is easily obtained through the diet, some people tend to think supplementation of creatine is unnecessary. This may be the case in some instances however if you’re a person who is trying to build muscle or spends a great deal of time doing physical or endurance-like activities, you should consider creatine as a supplemental “must have.”

HOW DOES IT WORK?

There are three main things that Creatine does for us…

1.     AID IN ENERGY SYSTEM

I’m assuming most of you reading this aren’t biochemistry majors, so I’ll do my best to simplify this process as much as possible. Creatine plays its natural role in the body in our energy system. The energy that the body uses for virtually EVERY process being performed is called Adenine Tri-phosphate or ATP. When creatine is produced in the body or enters via supplementation, it automatically gets paired up with a Phosphate molecule to become Creatine-Phosphate. Just like Creatine has a Phosphate molecule, so does ATP.

When a particular system needs energy (for example a muscle contraction), ATP will become hydrolyzed and its Phosphate molecule will break off from it, producing heat (energy). The resulting molecule is now called Adenine Di-Phosphate or ADP. The body has no particular use for the ADP molecule so the only available option is to convert ADP back into ATP! This is where Creatine checks into the game…

Because creatine has a phosphate bound molecule attached, it donates it to ADP thus converting ADP back into ATP, in turn producing more energy for the body’s use. So it is safe to say that an increase in creatine will result in increased potential energy to be used during physical activity. I hope that makes more sense…

2.     IMMEDIATE ANAEROBIC ENERGY

Many people may not realize, but creatine itself is actually a fuel source. During intense workouts, the body will first dig into creatine stores to provide immediate anaerobic energy to the muscle cells. The more creatine that is made available in the creatine stores, the more energy can be produced, thus giving you much-needed endurance to finish your workout.

3.     HYDRATION OF CELLS

This is where most people will jump on or off of the creatine bandwagon. A popular remark I hear all the time about creatine is that it “only fills your muscles up with water to make them look bigger.” While this is completely an uninformed statement, it is right about extra hydration for the muscle. The more water that is pushed into the cell, the more nitrogen ions and other important ions will follow to aid in the muscular concentration of these ions. This whole process is anabolic in the body and helps to increase protein synthesis. All good things!

SHOULD I CYCLE OR LOAD CREATINE?

This is the question I get most frequently about creatine. There are numerous articles floating around the internet that may lead you to believe that both loading and cycling are not necessary, however through some recent studies on creatine, you should consider both options:

“A study found that individuals taking 20 grams of creatine for five days performed better on a calf muscle strength test compared to a group that took a placebo. The creatine supplement group also had superior neuromuscular function and faster muscle contraction time. A second study found that taking 20 grams of creatine for five days increases sprint running capacity. Participants improved their time to exhaustion by 23 percent, highlighting the value of creatine loading prior to a sport competition with a high-intensity component. Another study from the University of Oklahoma found that participants who took creatine for four weeks while performing high-intensity sprint training had higher creatine phosphate levels. Participants who didn’t take creatine but did perform the training had significantly lower creatine levels at the end of the study.” (Source 2)

So what’s the takeaway from this? Basically it is not completely necessary to load creatine but it may help you get some results faster. In order for creatine to take full effect during your intense training, the muscles must first be completely filled with it. If you were to take smaller dosages each day, eventually the muscles would become saturated, however the results may take a bit longer.

Here are my loading recommendations:

  1. Start by taking 20-25 grams of creatine for 5 days
  2. Once the loading stage is over, maintain a constant dosage of about 5-10 grams per day

As far as cycling creatine, there are no precise studies to show any positive or negative effects. In my opinion, the body will always try to maintain a homeostatic balance. This means that if you ingest too much creatine, you may be able to use most of it for a prolonged time, but eventually if the dosages are too high the body will enforce homeostasis and reject the incoming creatine to maintain balance.

Personally I tend to cycle off of creatine for a week or so at the same time when I take a week off from lifting. This occurs about every 8-10 weeks. This break allows my body to get back to normal with enough rest to recover and come back strong the following week.

WHAT TYPE OF CREATINE IS BEST TO TAKE?

There are so many supplements out on the market these days that promise the best results because of the included creatine dosage. But if you’re strapped for money or you’re just a savvy shopper then stick to creatine’s purest form: Creatine Monohydrate. It’s not too pricy and it will last a long time on the proper dosages.

WHEN SHOULD I TAKE CREATINE?

From popular studies and general recommendations, creatine has been shown to work better in both pre-workout and post-workout supplementation. Try consuming around 3-5 grams pre and post workout to utilize creatine’s effectiveness.

CONCLUSION

Because of the short time that creatine has been available to the public; there are very few studies about its long-term effects. Given the information that I previously noted, creating is completely safe for supplementation. I have used it safely for a couple years now and it has definitely proved itself!

Take care,

Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net

 

Source list:
  1. “Beyond the Confusion: Getting the facts straight on creatine for optimal results!”, Author: Layne Norton, www.biolayne.com
  2. Blog “Tip 138: load with creatine: Improve performance and train harder, longer, and faster.” Author: Charles Poliquin, http://www.charlespoliquin.com/

The Kaizen Principle

the kaizen principle

The Kaizen Principle

The science behind sets, reps and tempo have been kicked around back and forth over the years by several bodybuilding “experts” who claim to have the barrier busting secrets to packing on the mass. From what I’ve studied and learned, there is no secret to adding muscle and getting ripped to shreds. The answer will always lie in your own persistence, determination, motivation and will-power. Getting up at 6 in the morning to have Meal #1 of the day is something that you, yourself have to get done. No one will make you do it. It will always depend on how bad you want it.

If you’ve been training for quite some time now, you’ve probably hit some sort of wall in the gym. Not literally punching a wall (which sometimes might cross your mind on those low energy cutting days), but reaching that plateau that feels impossible to break away from. I’ll give you an example from my personal experience. For the longest time my bench press was at 225 for 5 reps at the end of my chest workout (Reversed workout regimen). For some reason I just couldn’t seem to reach that next personal record. Even after adding only 5 pounds, it still seemed to be too much weight for documented improvement. With smaller isolation exercises, you might find that it is even harder to see improvement, such as the reverse fly for rear delts, or the lateral raise. Most dumbbells today only increase by 5 pound increments, which make constant strength gains a very hard task, even to the experienced lifter. You are not alone if you share this frustration. It happens to the best of us!

The Kaizen Principle | So what do I need to do to get past this strength plateau?

The Kaizen principle originates from Japanese roots. The word “Kaizen” has no English equivalent, but translated means “constant and never-ending improvement.” This word is used in many areas throughout Japanese culture to express love in relationships, learning new things, or basic improvement in day-to-day life battles. By applying small refinements daily, in the long run, one could achieve progress that most would view as incredible. So let’s apply the kaizen principle to our training…

By using the Kaizen Principle, small increments of one pound (or less) are used instead of making a jump of five pounds. This will ultimately make your lifts more tolerable and psychologically achievable. Imagine the type of improvement you would see if you were to increase your personal records by one half pound or one pound per week? That would add up to a 26-52 lb increase in one year! Pretty cool, huh?

A simple approach I’ve used in my training to reach these gradual increases is to use sleeve collars with my barbell lifts. Depending on the type in your gym, most will weigh anywhere from ½lb to a pound a piece. By sliding these bad boys on the bar, that extra pound will most likely come unnoticed, making your new personal records repetitive on a week to week basis. I don’t know about you but that makes me freaking excited! Once the collars become easy, 2 ½ lb plates will do the trick, and so on…

So regardless of where you are in the bodybuilding world, small incremental increases can reap huge rewards in the long run. Apply this to your training and let me know about your improvements!

Remember to lift with a purpose, keep your goals in your head, and constantly improve. The gains will come with use of the Kaizen Principle!

-Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net

No Pain, No Gain

no pain, no gainNo Pain, No Gain: Muscle Focus

How many times have we all heard this saying: No pain, no gain? I don’t remember the exact time in my childhood where I heard this for the first time, but Lord knows I was young. I’m not sure who exactly came up with this positive/negative use of words, but in my book, they were a genius. And let me talk my fingers off about why I think this…

Growing up in sports and many competitive atmospheres, I was always the one who hated to lose. Much of you are probably just like me in that way. Walking to the car after the previous defeat left me feeling weak and not good enough. As a young man, not every moment after a loss are you going to hold your head up high as say with a clear conscience, “I am going to learn from this and get better.” Not always the case right? Through many years of maturity and experience in wins and losses, I found that staying positive about the current goal was the only way to go. And in order to dominate my rivals, I needed to get stronger.

When I heard this “no pain, no gain” saying in TV shows and movies, I never really grasped the full meaning of what it meant. My first thought was, “Oh yeah, if you work hard for something, it’ll pay off,” Which can be a solid definition of this depending on how you look at it. But as I’ve become more and more educated in this fitness-filled life of mine, I now see the TRUE meaning behind this famous quote. And to my surprise, it was right in front of my face the whole time.

So let me explain this “no pain, no gain” concept…

When your mind is set on the task at hand, and everything else seems blurry compared to your immense focus on the next set, it is now time to establish what I like to call, your PAIN BARRIER. Each person’s mind is made to function differently, which means that every single person on this planet is unique in their own way. Just because your best friend Freddy put up 225lbs for 8 reps on the last set, doesn’t mean that you’ll get the SAME effect if you complete the same thing.

Your goal when you walk in the gym should always be to progress in your training, regardless if you’re a man or woman. So this is how a pain barrier works. It is entirely mental. How much pain are you willing to let your body go through to form it the way you want? This isn’t a battle to be fought between friend or foe, it’s a never ending battle in your own mind.

No Pain, No Gain | Your muscles should ALWAYS give out before your mind does.

I like to make this simple by applying the 1 to 10 scale; or 1-20, however you want to look at it; 1 being the easiest (No pain), to 10 being the most intense pain your muscles can feel. So how hard was your last set? A seven? Maybe an eight? Remember what I said earlier, progress is your number one goal! Your mind should be surpassing the pain brought on by yesterday’s workout. Once you move up to a new weight, NEVER go back. Your body is stronger now than it was before. Establishing these principles will ensure non-stop progression and a closer step to achieving the body you desire.

“It’s all about progression. Loiterers should be arrested.” – Jay-Z (No pain, no gain)

So with NO PAIN in your workouts, your body will absolutely see NO GAINS. When you put your body through this intense training, it will have no choice but to grow. So make the most of your time in the gym! Get in, get out, move forward and progress.

-Mitch Muller

MindsetFitness.net – No Pain, No Gain

 

P.S. – If you enjoyed this article about no pain, no gain, imagine doing a daily update about it and getting paid!

GO HERE >>> ALMOST A SECRET PUT IN YOUR EMAIL

 

Triceps Training

Triceps Training: The Right Way

As you all may know, having big arms is a standard in the bodybuilding community. If your arms are small, you look small, period. So in effort to overcome and bypass this pitfall in your muscle-building journey, most will succumb to more intensive bicep work; Which, more often than not, will lead to some sort of overtraining, or lopsided-looking arms. What most young lifters fail to understand is that the bicep only makes up one-third of your arm mass; the other two-thirds belong to the triceps! So you may now see the importance of focusing more of your attention on this muscle.

The tricep brachii is a three-head muscle (hence the prefix “tri”). The heads consist of the Long, Medial, and Lateral head. An effective, mass-building tricep workout will always target each of these three at some point or another. The tricep is also a very easy muscle to isolate, so hard work and exercise selection will be the two main factors to assess.

So what exercises are the best for tricep development? It is very easy to fall into this confusion of what exercises may do the trick, and which may not. An already written up arm workout from a bodybuilding magazine may work for the person who wrote it, but what if it just doesn’t seem to work for you? Then again, most magazine workouts are BS anyway to begin with. If you’ve run into this problem then don’t worry, many of us have been in the same boat. From experience with my clients and my own workouts, I’ve come to the conclusion that each arm must do the work at some point by itself. The brain will always send more nerve impulses to the dominant side of your body regardless of the muscle being trained. I’m not saying that barbell tricep movements are ineffective, but as far as full and exact stimulation to BOTH triceps go, dumbbells will work hands down.

An array of different exercise types will give your arms the size or muscle tone you’re looking for, not JUST one type individually. Cables, machines, and body weight exercises will also do the trick when used at the right times. I could go on all day about the numerous variations of tricep work, however there is no need. I’ll keep it plain and simple…

[magicactionbox]

Steps to maximum tricep development:

1.   Establish a pump

Getting the maximum blood flow to your muscle is extremely important to how much effort it’ll  give you. This can be done by warming up the tricep with lighter weight, and with slow and controlled movements.

triceps

2.   Go heavy

Once the pump is established, it’s time to hit em’ hard! Heavy compound exercises like the close-grip bench press, skull crushers, or behind the head tricep extension will work the best here.

3.   Variety

A stimulated muscle will always respond to new exercises given that the triceps have grown and already adapted to the current exercises first. Switch up your routine every few weeks to keep your arms growing!

4.   Stress and Form

Never sacrifice form for adding additional weight. Perfect form provides perfect results. The stress on the muscle must also gradually increase with time in order for the muscle to grow.

5.   Feeling

Focus on feeling the muscle, not just the weight. Creating a mind/muscle connection is extremely important for maximum muscle stimulation.

6.   Isolation

Once you’ve established a pump, and have completed your compound movements, move on to isolation exercises. The compound sets recruit more muscle-fibers than that of isolation sets, so it is important to isolate the triceps after. The long head is usually neglected here, so the “palms facing up approach” or kickbacks will get the job done.

Below are the best recommended tricep exercises for compound, and isolation…

 

COMPOUND

– Close grip bench press

– Skull Crushers

-Behind the head tricep extension

-Reverse close grip bench press

-Dumbbell roll-ups

 

ISOLATION

– Cable pushdowns

-Rope pushdowns/reverse

– Tate press

– DB kickbacks

– Elbow drops (Bodyweight)

– Single arm lying DB extension

-Single arm cable extension

-Dips (upright/seated)

 

Hope this clears up some things on tricep development! I will be posting exercise picture examples and videos in the Exercise tap if you are unsure on the form of any of these. Keep me posted on your experiences! Catch ya’ll later.

 

-Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net

Summary with credit to: Permanent Muscle by Reuben Bajada. The Poliquin Principles by Charles Poliquin. ACEFitness.org

Diamond Traps of Dominance

Diamond Traps of Dominance

From my personal opinion, there’s something about the separation between the shoulder and the trapezius that makes the perfect human figure stand out. Of course no human body is perfectly proportioned but it can’t hurt to try right?

Let’s start with the anatomy of the traps…

The trapezius muscle is located on the top of your back, spanning across to your shoulders and down the center of your spine in almost a diamond- like shape. What most people don’t know is that the traps make up about 35% of your back’s total muscle mass! This seems like a great reason to focus more on training this muscle itself, don’t ya think?

The trapezius muscle originates from the Occipital Bone in your neck (base of the skull) and extends downward to your Lower Thoracic Vertebrae. Sideways, it spans from shoulder blade to shoulder blade and covers most of the upper back. The traps not only function as a muscle of the back, but are also considered a variable in many shoulder movements as well.

Training these bad boys should be approached similarly to any other muscle. In order for a muscle to grow, the stress put upon it must be greater than what it is accustomed. The traps are very easy to stimulate, however a lot of work must be put in for the growth process to kick into effect.

So let’s get started!

trapezius

ISOLATION here is key. Many compound movements like deadlifts or military press won’t complement the traps natural movement. However, I’ve experienced great gains and soreness in my traps from just doing seated rows. To target this muscle completely, only a couple exercises will do the job: Shrugs and Upright Rows. It’s important to remember that when doing these exercises, never use a weight that you can’t complete at least 6 reps with. It is not worth the possible injury, so grab around 75% of your one rep max and rep out at least 10 if not more!

Your traps should be feeling pretty intense by this point. Remember that FEELING is number one priority here. An example of this would be to hold the contraction on the UP phase of the movement, and then lower the weight in a slow, controlled fashion. Creating that Mind/Muscle connection can be the difference between an amazing workout, and just an average session.

To further enhance your trap stimulation, treat your arms as levers on a machine. Do not allow them to shift the tension or bend at the elbows. This will keep the traps working hard by themselves without recruiting any unnecessary muscles.

For trap training routines, I suggest combining them either on shoulder day, (which is most popular) or you can do train them after chest (My personal favorite). I’ll explain this later in another article!

Knowledge is everything! So train hard, and I’ll catch you guys later.

– Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net

Summary with credit to: Permanent Muscle by Reuben Bajada. The Poliquin Principles by Charles Poliquin. ACEFitness.org

 

Boulder Shoulder Breakdown

Boulder Shoulder Breakdown

It’s no surprise that the most famous routine put together to form that boulder on the side of your arms can be composed of: Shoulder Press/Military Press, and lateral raises. After all, isn’t this the very first thing we all learned when we decided to set foot in a gym? Although these exercises can be very effective and should be established as part of your weekly routine, it is important to understand the specific ways to go about training this group as a whole. And by “group” I mean every muscle that composes your deltoids.

The very first thing any bodybuilder, client, or average joe should know about training your delts, is that they are composed of three heads; Much like your tricep in a way. These heads are called:

  1. Anterior Deltoid (Front)delts

  2. Medial Deltoid (Middle)

  3. Posterior Deltoid (Rear)

Many muscles rely on the shoulder to function properly, including your traps, chest, arms and parts of your upper back. It becomes clear as to why we should direct more attention to targeting this region correctly to stimulate the maximum amount of growth possible.

Unfortunately, in many heavy compound movements and exercises, the targeted muscle is not completely pushed to failure because the secondary muscles are the first to fatigue. A good example of this would be a standard bench press. More often than not, your anterior deltoid will fatigue first which won’t allow maximum stimulation to the pectoral muscles. Nothing sucks worse than having to put the bar back on the rack when I know that my chest has so much more to give! To correct this, the targeted muscle group must be pre-fatigued before you attempt any compound movement.

Here’s a deltoid workout example:

The 3 heads of the deltoid will be pre-fatigued individually and then pushed to complete failure with a heavy compound lift.

  1.  Sitting on an upright bench, take moderately light dumbbells, and with one CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT start with your hands at your side and raise the dumbbells straight up over your head. This movement recruits the front (Anterior), and rear (Posterior) deltoid heads.
  2. Once your arms cannot reach any further, slowly drop your arms laterally into a controlled lateral raise. Pause when your arms are completely horizontal and parallel to the ground. This movement recruits your medial deltoid.
  3. Now return the dumbbells in a controlled fashion the exact way that they ended up at that position, repeating the process in reverse order.

*It is important to remember that this is just a pre-fatigue movement. As soon as you start feeling your muscles get tired, stop! This is called the Point of initial fatigue.

NOW LETS HIT EM’ HARD!

On the same standard upright bench, grab 75-80% of your one rep max (Dumbbells), and shoulder press as many times as you possibly can. Having a lifting partner is crucial in workouts like these. Whether they physically help you get the last few reps up, or they just spark your mind to believe that they’re helping more than they REALLY ARE, it’s still progress. And progress is the name of the game!

Let me note that this type of workout routine can be administered in many different ways and exercises. This is just a basic guideline to learn from! If your workouts have become dull and boring, try this one out! And let me know how sore you are the next few days…

Till then, train hard, and train smart.

-Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net

Summary with credit to: Permanent Muscle by Reuben Bajada. The Poliquin Principles by Charles Poliquin. ACEFitness.org

 

 

Biceps Training: The Right Way

How To Train Your Biceps

Ok so, out of all the muscles discussed in this section, the biceps are by far the most popular. When someone asks to see your muscles, what’s the first pose you give them? Exactly my point. There are so many variations and exercise routines now-a-days for the biceps that sometimes it’s hard to tell which are for real, and which won’t make your biceps grow to save your life. So let me clear up a lot of questions for you guys…

Let’s start by digging into the anatomy of the biceps. The bicep muscle consists of two heads (hence the prefix “bi”). These are referred to as the inner and outer heads. Joining the bicep on the arm and located between it and the tricep on the outer portion of your arm is the brachiallis. We will go into further detail about this muscle later on. But for now, let’s stick to the basics…

There are six guidelines that I follow on a weekly regimen when my biceps day comes around:

  • Biceps Guideline #1 | Isolation

The single most important rule for effectively training the biceps is isolation. Nothing drives me more insane than when I walk into my gym and the guy on the first curl machine is using most of his body to somehow get the weight as high as he can up to his shoulders. When seeing people like this, it’s no surprise that more muscles are being recruited to help carry the load and

biceps

complete each rep. The biceps are not meant to be trained this way! It is one of the easiest muscles to stimulate and isolate so let’s put them to work the RIGHT way shall we? Slow and controlled movements will pay off over time. The key to keeping these controlled movements all throughout the exercise is to create a solid foundation. To do this, lock your elbows into your sides when using dumbbells/barbells; when using preacher benches or machines, make sure your upper arm is completely flush with the pad. The shoulder should never move.

  • Biceps Guideline #2 | 90 degree curls

Adding to my previous note about creating a strong foundation: your arms should not rise past the 90 degree angle. This allows the bicep to work completely alone. Remember, we are trying to achieve MAXIMUM stimulation to the bicep muscle. What good will it do to have other muscles helping out? It simply just doesn’t make sense. The anterior deltoid will want to help lift the weight when your arms start to fatigue so it is important to stay focused on using the bicep alone. If you can’t lift it, then you can’t lift it! Which brings me to my next point…

  • Biceps Guideline #3 | Lift heavy when possible

A repeated phrase that I often tell my clients is that “ten is the magic number.” What I mean by this is that when your purpose for lifting weights is to maximize muscle growth; your rep range should aim for ten each time, while ALSO increasing the weight. A standard range for muscular development is 8-12 reps per set. So why not aim for 8 or 12 reps? I have found from my personal experience and from many of my clients, that the time spent under tension is just as important as the heavy weight itself. If you fail under 8 reps, your body has not spent enough time under the tension (TUT principle) to enforce the muscular micro trauma that we’re looking for. However, staying with a heavy weight/low rep set WILL increase your strength, but size will not follow as fast.

  • Biceps Guideline #4 | Full Range of Negative Motion

One of the best ways to build the bicep in a short amount of time is emphasize the negative (Essentric) portion of the exercise. When done correctly, each arm will be using heavy weights that normally would be too heavy to lift. This is done by starting with a dumbbell (Best choice) at the 90 degree position on a preacher bench. One arm is used at a time so a helping hand is there to assist when the bicep hits failure. Slowly lower the weight for about 5 seconds till your arm is COMPLETELY extended at the bottom. This will stretch the bicep to its full potential and cause unbelievable micro trauma to your bicep! All good things. The ten rep rule will not apply to this exercise because the 5 second lowering motion will give your muscles plenty of time under tension! I recommend aiming for 4-5 sets of 6-8 reps here.

  • Biceps Guideline #5 | Use Dumbbells

Unfortunately I learned this lesson on my own after a few years of training my biceps the wrong way. Barbells are great for many exercises, however in my opinion, until your mind is able to focus the same tension for both arms in the lifting process, only dumbbells should be used. Your brain will automatically choose which side will receive the majority of nerve impulses, which in turn will cause one side to dominate over the other. Then minute I started using dumbbells I saw the difference. My left arm fell short of my expectations while my right arm dominated. Stick to the dumbbells, and watch both of your arms grow at the same time!

  • Biceps Guideline #6 | Variety

Like any exercise routine, the body will adapt to the work you’re putting it through. So it is important to constantly throw new things into the mix to target the bicep from different angles. Remember the brachiallis that I mentioned earlier? Here’s a simple secret to building bigger-looking biceps: Do hammer curls! This is done with your palms facing towards your body instead of facing forward as they would be in a standard curl. This motion stimulates the brachiallis along with parts of the forearm to give a thicker appearance to the bicep. Put simple: basic curls build the bicep peak, hammer curls build bicep thickness. For a complete bicep workout, make sure to incorporate both of these. Using various machines and cables can provide variety to your bicep routines as well. Change things up, and shock your arms into growth!

Being able to understand these simple bicep principles will help you achieve eye-catching results that will make you stand out from the rest. So try these out and let me know the progress that you guys are making!

Most importantly, establish your mindset before you even pick up that first dumbbell. Focus on your goals, and how much you’re willing to sacrifice to achieve them. Establish your pain barrier, and prepare your mind and body for growth; get after it!

Feel free to email me with any questions!

-Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net

Summary with credit to: Permanent Muscle by Reuben Bajada. The Poliquin Principles by Charles Poliquin. ACEFitness.org