Ok, first time on Prime Time, so feel free to post any and all questions here!
Stay strong
MR
What’s your opinion on some sport specific overload exercises like shooting a basketball that is 4lbs or throwing a football that weighs more than normal. would it interfere with motor learning or do you think it would incrase performance?
Other sport specific things I’ve seen are some kind of tubing you have attached to your arms when you shoot/pass/dribble etc.
thx for your time.
andrewjones
Can you check out what I posted on the “Superior Circuit III” thinger. Thanks.
What are your thoughts on exercise rotation? Currently I stick with an exercise (talking mostly on variations of the big 3) until progress stalls dramaticly… and even then I may just change the rep range slightly.
I’m still definatly a novice in strength sports as well.
To be honest, a lot of this stuff is “functional” training garbage. If you want to improve your shooting range for hoops, why not strengthen your legs with exercises like squats, lunges, etc.?
Now there is something to be said for throwers who throw implements of varying weights (e.g., it’s good if incorporated correctly into a program). However, a lot of this stuff is pretty useless and will only interfere with motor control and performance.
Stay strong
MR
[quote]andrewjones wrote:
What’s your opinion on some sport specific overload exercises like shooting a basketball that is 4lbs or throwing a football that weighs more than normal. would it interfere with motor learning or do you think it would incrase performance?
Other sport specific things I’ve seen are some kind of tubing you have attached to your arms when you shoot/pass/dribble etc.
thx for your time.
andrewjones[/quote]
[quote]andrewjones wrote:
What’s your opinion on some sport specific overload exercises like shooting a basketball that is 4lbs or throwing a football that weighs more than normal. would it interfere with motor learning or do you think it would incrase performance?
Other sport specific things I’ve seen are some kind of tubing you have attached to your arms when you shoot/pass/dribble etc.
thx for your time.
andrewjones[/quote]
Ill add to that in more endurance terms. AKA running with a small weight vest (<10lbs)e
No need to switch things just to switch things; with that being said, your training age will determine (to some degree) how often you need to change exercises. In other words, the longer you train, the more frequently you need to change exercises, set and rep schemes, etc.
I wouldn’t wait for things to stall; instead, the ideal is to switch things up JUST BEFORE they stall. Good luck!
Stay strong
MR
[quote]JNeves wrote:
What are your thoughts on exercise rotation? Currently I stick with an exercise (talking mostly on variations of the big 3) until progress stalls dramaticly… and even then I may just change the rep range slightly.
I’m still definatly a novice in strength sports as well.[/quote]
Ok, so since CT had to blow everyone away with his freaky pics last night, I’m going to give you all a little something as well. Here’s an article I wrote awhile back; it’s a little on the basic side, but I think all you beginner and intermediate lifters out there will get something out of it!
(My apologies in advance for any issues with formatting!)
Introduction
How many of you out there keep a training log? If you do, I?m sure it probably has all of your sets, reps and weights written down, and if you?re really good, you might even include how hard the exercise was, etc. What I?m going to talk about in this article is like a training log on steroids. You?re going to write down ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that might even remotely affect your training. Beyond that, I?m also going to give you some food for thought with regards to other things that can help improve your training.
What happens when a certain training program you?ve been using stops producing gains? Chances are you scrap whatever it is you?ve been doing and try something else. The problem is everybody is always looking for that magic bullet; the one program that?s going to make their strength and physique everything they?ve ever dreamed of. Only here?s the problem: They aren?t paying attention to THE DETAILS! They could have the most tweaked-out, individualized training program ever, but if they aren?t doing the other things necessary to improve, then they will never see the results they desire.
I?m hitting the weights hard, what else is there?
As I alluded to before, the performance log I?m going to describe to you is like your normal training log on the sauce. Anything that could possibly affect your training will be recorded. This way, as you progress, you can see not only when you had good or bad days, but what factors influenced the fact that you had a good or bad day. Maybe you got more rest, drank more water, etc., but by accounting for every minute variable you will get a better idea of exactly what it is you need to do to attain your strength and physique goals.
Beyond just writing more things down, I also want to make you more aware of several outside sources that affect your training. Whether you realize it or not, how well you training goes doesn?t just come down to the hour or two you spend in the gym. How well your training goes is affected by what you eat, how well you sleep, your stress level, and a host of other things. Even if some decisions you make don?t give you the instant gratification like moving the heavy iron, consistently making the right decisions will most definitely improve your heath and the quality of your training over the long haul.
You?re still going to keep the basics in your training log, such as sets, reps, weights, etc., but I also want you to think about and hopefully implement the following items to your daily regimen.
Things to consider when you are in the gym
Warming-up
ALWAYS write down what you did for your warm-up. I?m not even necessarily talking about weights, either, but what you did to warm-up before you hit the weights. You see there are two basic types of warm-ups, general and specific. If you are going to bench 225 for the day, when you bench the empty bar, 135, 185, etc., this is a specific warm-up, because it mimics or warms you up for the specific exercise(s) that you are performing that day. On the other hand, the general warm-up is also very important, but usually neglected or totally forgotten.
The general warm-up is whatever you do when you first hit the gym to get your body and mind focused and ready to train. Here are just a few examples:
? Jumping rope
? Running
? Shadowboxing
? Pulling a sled
You get the idea here. Basically, you want to get your entire body moving by using movements that incorporate all the major muscle groups. If you aren?t convinced that a warm-up is necessary, check out these benefits of warming up as stated by Alter and hopefully you?ll change your mind:
? Increased rate and strength of muscle contraction
? Increased muscle coordination through related movements
? Increased metabolic rate
? Increased efficiency of the neuromuscular system
? Increased work capacity
? Reduced possibility of injury through increased muscle elasticity and improving joint ROM
? Psychological benefits
Sounds pretty decent, huh? If you aren?t doing a warm-up, then now is definitely the time to start. Keep tabs on what you do, how long it takes, and see how it affects your main workouts. Different warm-ups that you can perform will be the topic of an upcoming article, so stay tuned!
Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE)
The RPE scale has been used for years in research subjects to quantify how hard they FEEL they are working. Others, such as Thomas Kurz, refer to this as the internal load, because it?s a subjective rating based on the perceptions of the trainee and can change even if the external load (e.g. weight), doesn?t change.
For example, say you come into the gym on Monday and squat 315 for 5 reps. it?s fairly easy; you?re fresh and feeling good, so your RPE is 6 out of 10. Now, say you perform that same 315 on a Sunday after you?ve had too many tasty beverages on Saturday night, and your RPE could be up to an 8, 9 or even 10. Even though the EXTERNAL load never changed, your PERCEPTION of the load changed dramatically. RPE should be recorded on all your work sets, and ranked on a scale of 1-10.
Rating of Technique (RT)
Mel Siff talked about RT in his Supertraining book. Essentially, RT is a way for coaches (or athletes) to quantify how well they performed a certain exercise. RT is best utilized if it?s recorded immediately after the set has occurred. That way, the feedback is made available immediately and recommendations can be made as to how the next set can be improved.
Obviously, for those of us who train without coaches, we have to be honest with ourselves as to how good our technique is and what we need to work on. If honesty isn?t your best policy, purchasing a digital camera with video capabilities would be a good idea to help you better assess your technique. Again, RT should be ranked on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being flawless technique. The value of good technique in training cannot be underestimated, so keep tabs and make sure yours is up to par.
Rest Periods
While many people are very meticulous when it comes to knowing and recording their sets, reps, or weights, I often find that people have absolutely no idea how long they are resting in between sets. It?s quite often, too, that they are resting either very little (like 30 seconds) or far too long (over 10 minutes).
Rest periods should be developed and in line with the goals of your training cycle. Shorter rest periods and faster-paced workouts are excellent for promoting the release of growth hormone. Angel Spassov has also stated that after 1 hour of training testosterone levels drop off significantly.
Workouts for athletes interested in nervous systems improvements can, and probably will be, much longer. This is due to the fact that nervous system improvements require much longer work-to-rest ratios. Charlie Francis stated previously that he uses work-to-rest ratios of up to 1:20 or 1:30 because the nervous system takes so much longer to recover than the muscular system. Again, your rest periods should be developed in line with your training goals. Be aware of how long you are resting between sets; too much rest (or too little) could put a serious dent in your training progress.
Time of Training
Again, this is something that many people don?t often consider when examining their training progress. The time of day that you train can play a significant role in how your training goes, especially if you are forcing your body out of its natural rhythm. If your body is used to training at 4 in the afternoon, but on a certain day you have to train at 6 a.m., you can?t expect to have the same results.
According to Ian King, there are several times that are optimal for hitting the heavy iron, both in the morning and afternoon. The table below gives you a better idea of when is best to train:
Worst time to train 6-8 a.m. 12-2 p.m.
Average 8-10 a.m. 2-4 p.m.
Optimal time to train 10 a.m.-12 p.m. 4-6 p.m.
These ideas are based on our circadian rhythms, as well as how our daily routine as humans is generally laid out. One thing that needs to be stated here is that everyone is unique, not only with regards to their training, but with regards to their schedule as well. We all must make the best out of our current situations.
When I first started powerlifting, we had practice at 6:30 in the morning for the entire first semester (16 weeks). This is hardly the optimal time to move the heavy iron, but it was the only time we could all get in the gym together and train. I feel that more important than hitting the optimal training time is simply being in a routine. If your body knows when it?s supposed to train and you?ve prepared yourself mentally, there?s no reason you shouldn?t have a great workout. Right now my training schedule looks like this:
Tuesday (Squats) ? 9:00 a.m.
Thursday (Bench) ? 11:00 a.m.
Friday (Deadlift) ? 2 or 2:30 p.m.
Sunday (Speed Bench/Accessory) ? Sometime between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
As you can see, I?m usually not training at the optimal time, and on top of that the time is different every day. However, I?m still seeing great results because I have a routine set and my body knows exactly when it needs to be ready to perform. Always record when you start and end your workout, then figure out what works best for you and stick to it.
Emotional Support
No, I?m not talking about someone to stroke your ego and pump you up after you miss a rep. I?m talking about the support of a training partner or group to push you past your current limitations. If you don?t have a training partner, then obviously you won?t have any emotional support. Not only should work on finding a solid training partner, but you should strive to have multiple people training with you. Recruiting several people with similar goals is even better, but not always possible.
Randall Strossen once wrote an article in Milo entitled ?People Power.? It discussed the fact that simply having more people around you when training improved your performance. Louie Simmons and Dave Tate also talk about finding the strongest people in your area and training with them. Obviously you don?t want deadbeats hanging around while you are training, but getting more and more strong people around you when training will most definitely improve the quality of your workouts and the speed with which you achieve your goals.
Things to consider when you AREN?T in the gym
Nutrition
If you haven?t figured out the importance of diet with regards to your training progress, I?m not sure if I?m the person to help you. Between reading everything that John Berardi has put out and living with a fianc?e who is also a dietitian (and a great cook as well), I must admit that I?m 100% sold on the importance of nutrition when it comes to training. Berardi is the man when it comes to nutrition info, so catch up on his articles to get a better idea of how improved nutrition can fuel your training success. If you?ve read anything that John has written, you hopefully understand the importance of post-workout nutrition and recovery. Post-workout supplementation with a product like Biotest’s Surge is the ultimate way to fuel your body and promote recovery.
Even if you don?t have the ideal diet, keeping a diet log can help you better understand what foods your body deals well with, as well as what foods you need to stay away from. Dr. Istvan Balyi, a former strength coach for the Canadian Olympic teams, stated that what you eat didn?t affect today?s performance, but it most certainly affected TOMORROW?S performance. If you don?t have the time or inclination to keep a diet log for every day of the week, try to at least keep tabs on what you eat the day before your workouts.
Sleep & Rest
Sleep and rest are extremely important when it comes to ensuring that you are having quality workouts and making progress. I?ve known some super freaks that can sleep 5 or 6 hours and come into the gym, train like madmen, and add slabs of muscle to their frame. However, I would be willing to bet that most people couldn?t train like that for very long and continue to see progress.
Sleep (especially deep, restful sleep) is imperative to helping you achieve your goals. Usually, people know about how many hours of sleep they need per night to feel good when they wake up. Most experts say that 7-8 hours is the norm, but for the avid weight trainer I would rather err on the side of too much sleep rather than too little. For example, I know that I need about 9 hours of sleep per night to feel rested and ready to rock the next day. Again, routine is important here as well. Going to bed and getting up at the same time makes your body more efficient and you will find that your sleep is more peaceful. Not only do you feel better, but you also wake up feeling refreshed versus groggy and tired. If you are having problems sleeping, trying some progressive relaxation just before bed could be very beneficial in helping you catch more Z?s.
Beyond just sleeping, general rest is also important. Power naps of 20-30 minutes are great if you can take them. Back in the day, the saying went like this: ?Don?t run if you can walk, don?t stand up if you can sit down, don?t sit down if you can lie down, and don?t stay awake if you can sleep.? In other words, don?t fritter away precious energy doing things that won?t promote progress in the gym.
Stretching
One of the buzzwords in the field today is ?dynamic flexibility?. I?ve been a huge proponent of dynamic flexibility for years and I use it before almost every workout, but somewhere in the mix we?ve forgotten about the need for basic, old-school static stretching. Static stretching may not be as glamorous as a 300 pound bench or 18? guns, but it?s something that can help you relax, become more in tune with your body, and keep you healthy in the process.
I?m going out on a limb here, but I would be willing to bet that the majority of muscle strains that occur in the gym aren?t due to the person using too much weight, but rather trying to go through a ROM that their body isn?t prepared for or accustomed to!
Along these same lines, if you are experiencing a lot of injuries at the tendinous insertion of your muscles, chances are you are too tight. When you strength train you are shortening your muscles. If you are constantly shortening your muscles and never stretching them, you are going to develop a chronically tight muscle. This might not affect your muscle too much because its job is to shorten and lengthen as needed. However, the problem occurs at the tendon, which isn?t as plastic as the muscle. When the muscle is constantly shortened, it puts a great deal of stress and strain on the tendon. If you are ok with muscle strains and tendon ruptures, then keep neglecting your static stretching. Otherwise, now might be the ideal time to incorporate some static stretching into your routine.
Injuries
If you?ve trained long enough, you realize that injuries are part of the game. However, just because they are part of the game doesn?t mean they have to leave you watching from the sidelines! How you deal with and recover from injuries is extremely important to your overall success.
The best ways to treat and recover from injuries is beyond the scope of this article, but it is extremely important to aggressively treat injuries as soon as they occur! Keep tabs on your injury: What exercises exacerbate it, what exercises are ok, and what you are doing to recover from the injury. Aggressive treatment, coupled with a positive mindset, will bring you back from any injury faster than you expect.
Hydration
Hydration is another one of those little details that usually gets lost somewhere in the training mix. Susan Kleiner lists some of the benefits of proper hydration in her book, Power Eating: regulation of body temperature, indirectly staying lean, and allowing your body to work at full capacity (a water deficit of 2-4% can decrease strength by up to 21%!)
I will let Kleiner and the other experts fill you in on the details of hydration. A good general recommendation to start off with is to take your weight in kilograms (divide your weight in pounds by 2.2), and then multiply that by 1.2 to get how many ounces of water per day you should be getting. For example, I weigh about 195, so here?s how you do the math:
Weight in pounds (195) and divide by 2.2 (to convert to kilos)88.6 kilos
88.6 kilos times 1.2~106 fluid ounces of water per day
Keep in mind that this is usually a low number, and it can be greatly affected by how often you are training, the climate you are training in, etc. Experts say that for every 1 pound of weight you lose during exercise (1 pound equals 16 oz.), you need to take in 24 ounces of water to replenish your water stores.
Stress
While you will hopefully see the relevance of getting more sleep, eating better, preventing and properly treating injuries, etc., you may not realize how much stress affects the quality of your training. Whether it be work, finances, relationships, or whatever it may be that causes you stress, it?s imperative that you realize that stress can and will affect your ability to train.
The easiest thing to do is keep tabs daily on your stress level. Again, a ranked scale of 1-10 would be appropriate here, with 1 being no stress and 10 being your mortgage payment is late, you just lost your job, and your wife ran off with the cabana boy. While it may not be the most obvious reason for training failure, keeping tabs on your stress level could reveal some truths behind your training progress (or lack thereof).
Your personal info here?.
Everyone is unique, and therefore everyone?s performance log should be slightly unique. I have given you a few ideas on areas that can affect your training or that can be implemented to improve training, but other areas that could also play an important role include supplementation, visualization, relaxation, etc. The training log and ideas that you incorporate are totally individual, and need to be geared to you as an individual and your training needs and goals.
The Performance Log
I?ve included a copy of my personal performance log so that you can have a better idea of what all goes into it. Remember that everyone is unique, so take from it what you will. Add in parts that you need, subtract parts that you don?t; this is your life and your training, so do with it what you will!
The whole point of the training log is to get you thinking about all the little things, THE DETAILS, that go into and affect your training. You can keep it for a couple of weeks until you?ve pinpointed several specific variables that affect your training, or you can do it indefinitely to keep tabs on how things are always changing. Maybe at some point you have to switch your training up and hit the weights very early, so now you need more rest than before. By using a performance log and keeping track of these things, you can take the guesswork out of your training. To use a very clich? quote here, ?The more you know, the more you grow.?
Before I wrap this up, I want to make one final point: I?ve never said that a quality training program isn?t important. Being a strength coach for several years now, I?ve seen more than my fair share of junk programs. However, I think that far too often it?s the details that keep us from attaining our goals, rather than the training program itself.
Conclusion
I hope that I?ve shed some light on the details that can make or break your training. By keeping tabs on all the little things that go into and affect our training, we come closer to understanding our own bodies and what we, as individuals, need to do to improve. So next time, before you go and scrap your entire routine to try the next latest and greatest program, think about all the DETAILS that could be impeding your progress. On that note, I will leave you with this quote: ?The devil is in the details; Even the grandest project depends on the success of the smallest components.?
References
Alter. USA Weightlifting Club Coach Manual. Colorado Springs, CO: USA Weightlifting, 2002.
King, Ian. How to Write Strength Training Programs. 2nd ed. Toowong, QLD: King Sports Publishing, 2000.
Kleiner, Susan M. Power Eating. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2001.
Kurz, Thomas. Science of Sports Training: How to Plan and Control Training for Peak Performance. Island Pond, VT: Stadion, 1991.
Siff, Mel C. Supertraining. 5th ed. Denver, CO: (No publisher given), 2000.
Strossen, Randall J. Ironmind: Stronger Minds, Stronger Bodies. Nevada City, CA: Ironmind Enterprises, 1994.
ok Mike 2 part question
- your thoughts on clean and presses for overall shoulder mass?
2)What do you use to research? Books, websites?
1 - If you haven’t checked out EC’s article from yesterday, check it out! It’s got a great viewpoint on the role of overhead pressing.
If I wasn’t powerlifting now, though, I would include more vertical pressing/pulling, simply because I enjoy it, take good care of my shoulders, and enjoy the variety it provides in my training.
2 - Anything and everything! Videos, books, magazines, the internet…if it’s got quality training info, I want it!
Stay strong
MR
[quote]bigpump23 wrote:
ok Mike 2 part question
- your thoughts on clean and presses for overall shoulder mass?
2)What do you use to research? Books, websites?[/quote]
How would you set up a basic strength routine for a swimmer who can only hit the gym twice a week, say Monday and Thursday?
Ok people, I’m signing off for the night. If you have further questions, save them as I’ll be on tomorrow from 7-9 pm CST.
Thanks for the questions!
Stay strong
MR
Ok peeps we’re back in action; fire away!
Stay strong
MR
Depends on if they were a sprinter or distance swimmer. Regardless, they would get a ton of rowing and external rotation work to balance out their body and attempt to keep them healthy. Just like any in-season program, total volume would be relatively low with a focus on big, compound lifts.
Stay strong
MR
[quote]c13riberdy wrote:
How would you set up a basic strength routine for a swimmer who can only hit the gym twice a week, say Monday and Thursday?[/quote]
What’s some good stuff to do for dynamic flexibility during a “PHIRE” routine?
Lucky you, Eric and I just submitted an entire article to TC on this topic. Beyond the descriptions, it also has video clips to help you better understand the movements. Stay tuned!
Stay strong
MR
[quote]boonville410 wrote:
What’s some good stuff to do for dynamic flexibility during a “PHIRE” routine?[/quote]
Hey Mike! Just a few quick questions:
- EC in his recent article basically suggested that GM’s (especially low reps) probably arent the best idea for most trainees. I was curious about your opinion on GM use in routines as I have seen you prescribe them before.
Also, what other exersises do feel have a similiar effect(and carry over to squats) but that might be “safer” for your average gym goer.
-
Do you have any fave pre-workout warmups or do you usually just do whatever you feel like to get the blood pumping?
-
I have seen a lot of people lately crap on the idea of doing Heavy squats and deads/gm’s/rdls in the same workout claiming that the posterior fatigue makes the later lifts ineffective and possible dangerous. I imagine you disagree w/ this so I was wondering what your response to this opinion is.
-
When testing 5RM, 3RM or 1RM what method do you find most effective? Like how much warmup(if any etc). Should a person pyramid up in a westside fashion?
-
What is your stance on load progression? Do you feel progression needs to be planned and cycled or do you think that a person should just add more weight as what they are lifting gets lighter.
-
How often do you think exersises/routines should be cycled? A lot of people tell you every 4 weeks but I wonder if this is too short.
Anyways, you are one smart man so keep up the good work and the awesome articles.
[quote]Mike Robertson wrote:
Stay tuned!
[/quote]
C’mon Mike, hook a brother up : )
Mike, I was asking about benching by yourself the other day. I was thinking about doing pin presses or whatever they are called w/ the bar resting on the pins right above the chest. Do you think this move has any merit and will it help save the shoulders?
Thanks
Helix,
-
I gotta agree with EC on this one; I love GM’s, but they simply aren’t for everyone. The benefits of the good morning are increased posterior chain strength, so you can try RDL’s, glute-hams, reverse hypers, etc. in place of them; they just won’t have the same “chaos” training effect.
-
For warm-ups I use the dynamic flex exercises the EC and I have outlined for a future article. I do this before almost all my workouts; for upper body I’ll add in some band retractions, and on low body days I’ll do some spinal flossing as well.
-
Like anything, it’s what you are trained and in-shape to do. I will typically do several of these exercises with no ill-effects or increased risk of injury. If you have a dodgy back and are trying to do heavy squats, pull, RDL’s, and good mornings in the same workout, then yes, I would say you could get injured
-
The Westside protocol is great for preparing you for a max attempt. Just make sure that you get in a solid total body warm-up before you hit the iron and you’ll be fine.
-
I definitely think load progression needs to be planned and recorded; this is one of the biggest differences between intermediate and advanced lifters. However, while you need to have a good general plan, you also have to adapt and improvise when needed. For example, on good days you might go heavier than usual; on an “off” day, maybe you go light or just skip the gym all together.
-
As far as cycling exercises, beginners don’t need to cycle as often, and can probably get by for up to 6 weeks doing the same stuff. Advanced lifters, on the other hand, probably need to change stuff at least every 2-3 weeks to keep it fresh and force their body to adapt.
Thanks for the questions and the kind words!
Stay strong
MR