Fitness Friday - Fitness News and Information You Can Use

Welcome to another Fitness Friday. I was on vacation last week and did not post the usual Fitness Friday link collection, so this week there is some catching up to do.

That noted, we begin today with two posts from the last two days at T-Nation, the first being a general article by Charles Staley on how to be sure your training program is organized correctly, and the second being a specific style of training (total-reps) by Kyle Arsenault. For what it's worth, Charles knows his stuff (he trains my girlfriend), so give it a good read. 

I am also a fan of the training style Arsenault outlines in his article. By using his technique, you assured of getting enough reps in to build muscle, but because you are using a weight that is essentially 5-6 rep max, you will also be building strength.

10 Principles For Better Programming

by Charles Staley   
7.18.2014



Here's what you need to know...

• There are thousands of training programs out there, but the most effective ones share similar principles.
• Check out the list below and make sure your training program puts most of these principles into action.

There are as many theories about programming as there are coaches who apply them. But in my 30-plus years in the field I've found that all successful training programs have common themes. Here are the top 10 most important principles for creating programs that work.

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Total-Rep Training

by Kyle Arsenault   
7.17.2014



Here's what you need to know...

• This method uses high intensities, greater volume, and involves working close to muscular failure.
• Determine your 5-6RM for one of the big lifts. Then do as many sets as necessary for you to hit a total of 25 reps. In addition to allowing you to work close to failure on each set, the system allows for auto-regulation.
• Once the total amount of reps is completed, you'll do a drop set where you immediately drop the resistance by 5-10% and complete one more set close to failure.

When it comes to making strength and size gains, a training program that utilizes higher intensities (percent of RM), a greater overall volume, and a closer proximity to muscular failure produces superior results. The issue with this approach is the increased risk of injury and burnout, as well as the consistent mental toughness and discipline it takes to continuously complete these sessions. Over time, crushing 8-10 sets of singles or triples or consistently smashing through a 5x5 routine will take its toll.

While de-load weeks have their place, I'm suggesting we find a way to complete the bulk of our training using a system that not only uses a higher intensity and volume, but also matches our physical and mental preparedness for that day. That's where this new method comes in.

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From Jason Ferruggia's blog, a guest post by Yuri Elkaim.

Why Dudes Should Do Yoga

Guest Post By Yuri Elkaim
July 15th, 2014

Think Downward Dog and Cat Pose is stuff for sissies? Think again. You may be hitting the gym hard, spending hours on the court, but skimp on the stretching and you’ll never reach your A-game.

Yoga hasn’t been used for thousands of years by women only. It’s not just for old people that live in Asia. It’s actually a tool that’s helped millions of men, monks, and—yes—even elite athletes find their focus, get strong, and discover their ultimate ability.

Tap into the age-old wisdom of yoga, and you’ll find a whole new level of strength, conditioning, and power that you didn’t know you had. Here are five reasons to give yoga a try. Once you add it to your weekly workouts, you’ll discover a dozen other benefits.

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From Eric Cressey's blog:

My Top 5 Powerlifting Mistakes

Written on July 15, 2014, by Eric Cressey

With this week's release of Greg Robins and my new resource, The Specialization Success Guide, I got to thinking about some of my biggest mistakes with respect to developing the Big 3 (squat, bench press, and deadlift). Here are the top five mistakes I made in my powerlifting career....

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From Brett Contreras' blog:

A Simple System for Progression: 3 Set Total Reps

We all want to be making progress in the gym, but unfortunately, many lifters remain stagnant. In general, you want to make sure you’re getting stronger over time. Getting stronger means using more load or achieving more repetitions with the same weight. This is the essence of progressive overload, which I discussed in great detail HERE. While there are a million ways to progressively overload, I’m going to outline a very simple system I use in my own training and with my clients.

3 Set Total Reps

When I prescribe an exercise, quite often I will use the same load with all 3 sets, and I’ll simply note the total number of reps they achieve (this is in contrast to pyramids, which I wrote about HERE). Once they reach a particular total, I’ll increase the load. I first learned about this method from a Joe DeFranco DVD that I purchased many years ago, and it’s something that I’ve consistently sprinkled into my training since then.

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And back to T-Nation for some heresy from TC, as well as other good stuff.

8 Reasons You're Still Weak or Fat

by TC   
07/14/14



Here's what you need to know...

• If after several years of training you're still weak, there's a good chance you need to rethink your ideas about squats and deadlifts; that you've got no love for the upper body squat; that steroids misled you about a basic training principle; and that you work muscles instead of movements.
• If after several years of training you're still fat, there's a good chance you need to rethink your ideas about eating 6 meals a day and doing fasted cardio.
• If you're still skinny, there's a good chance your ideas about post-workout nutrition are 10 years old and your definition of recovery days needs an adjustment.

Convention dictates that I write an intro to this article, but this article is about defenestrating convention and tweaking your strength-building or fat-burning or bodybuilding perspective a little to the left or to the right, so screw a drawn-out intro. The title says it all.

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Break 3 Rules, Build More Muscle

by Christian Thibaudeau   
07/07/14



Here's what you need to know...

• For hypertrophy, it doesn't really matter what the exercise looks like as long as it puts the muscle under an optimal load/tension. Accordingly, some of the biggest bodybuilders on the planet rely heavily on partial reps.
• If you can't feel a muscle working in an exercise, you can't stimulate it or grow it optimally. Isolation work will fix this problem and even improve your compound lifts.
• You can build muscle with almost any kind of rep range. If you train consistently and try to gradually become stronger in the rep ranges you're doing, you'll grow muscle with 3 reps or 20 reps.

Despite my focus on performance, I also want to look muscular and lean, as do my clients. I've even competed in bodybuilding myself to see what it was like and to understand it better. I also had the opportunity to work with a lot of great bodybuilders, amateurs and pros. I worked with Amit Sapir for a few years, starting when he was an amateur and up to when he won his pro card. I also was involved in the Darryl Gee project that was documented on T Nation. Currently, I'm training Patrick Bernard, a new IFBB pro in the 212-pound class, as well as a young woman who won her class in figure at a recent contest. I've definitely learned a thing or two in the process.

You can learn from anyone who's training hard and making progress - bodybuilders, powerlifters, athletes, CrossFitters, Olympic lifters, etc. Close your mind to any of these training modalities because of pre-conceived ideas and you'll miss out on a lot. That said, here are three things I learned from working with bodybuilders.

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How to Increase Your Pull-Up Power

by Dan John   
07/09/14



Here's what you need to know...

• The pull-up has been beaten to death by lifters and athletes who try at all costs to get their rep total higher and higher. They should be adding load instead.
• Simply hanging from the bar is an important form of loading. If you want to do 25 strict pull-ups, can you even hang from the bar long enough to do them?
• The ab wheel mimics many of the keys to proper pull-ups.
• Pavel's Russian Fighter Pull-up Program allows you to "sneak up" on a higher number of reps.

I pity the pull-up. In the past decade, this wonderful movement has been trashed and beaten by enthusiasts who try at all costs to up their rep total higher and higher. Sure, high reps have their place, but many of us need a smarter, more rational approach.

After a certain age, pull-ups start "bugging" people. For most of us, there's a pain in the elbow that only goes away when we avoid pull-ups. A few weeks or months later, it seems to cure itself and the only way we reinjure it is by doing more high-rep pull-ups and... we succeed! We have a name for this in my gym. We call it Middle Age Pull-Up Syndrome, or MAPS. "You too can help us cure this disease. Please send money now to..."

Improving your pull-up numbers, either with more reps or more load - which I tend to recommend over more reps - is going to be a study in balance. If you force the reps up with more and more volume, you might eventually hit your new personal record in the movement but never again throw a ball or comb your hair. You could keep your hair really short, or you could train the pull-up using a few contrarian ideas.

Fitness Friday - Fitness News and Information You Can Use

In this week's Fitness Friday, we get the truth on testosterone replacement for men, a review of Dan John's new book, a look at powerlifting squats vs. Olympic squats, the pros and cons of counting calories, and the good, the bad, and the ugly in powerlifting.

Testosterone Doesn't Up MI or Stroke: May Be Protective?

Miriam E. Tucker

May 18, 2014

LAS VEGAS — Contrary to recent findings, a new retrospective study of data from 40 specialized clinics around the United States has found that testosterone therapy in men is not associated with an increased risk for myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke and may even be cardioprotective.

The late-breaking results were presented here at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 23rd Annual Scientific and Clinical Congress by Robert Tan, MD, director of the Opal Medical Clinic, Houston, research director of the Low T Institute, and clinical professor of family and community medicine at the University of Texas.

Among 19,968 hypogonadal men who received testosterone therapy during a 5-year period (2009–2014) at Low T Centers nationwide (www.lowtcenter.com), the risk for MI was 7-fold lower and the risk for stroke 9 times lower compared with samples from the general population. Further, there was no evidence of worsening of preexisting MI or stroke in patients treated with testosterone.

"There has been a lot of hype and concern....I want to try to explain the other side of the story," Dr. Tan said in introducing his presentation.

He told Medscape Medical News, "When compared with other databases looking at rates of MI and strokes, it appears testosterone is cardioprotective."

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From Built Lean, a review of Dan John's new book, Intervention: Course Corrections for the Athlete and Trainer.

Intervention By Dan John Book Review

by Marc Perry, CSCS, CPT | May 20, 2014



I first came across Dan John at a Perform Better Summit a few years ago. Since then, I’ve heard his name pop up over and over again.

More recently, BuiltLean contributor Steve Bergeron reviewed the 8-Week BuiltLean Transformation Program I developed. Steve suggested I incorporate more hip-dominant movements and recommended I check out Intervention: Course Corrections for the Athlete and Trainer by Dan John. I bought the book and excitedly starting digging into it.

Dan John is an accomplished strength coach, discus thrower, and Olympic lifter. He has developed a large following of trainers and coaches who enjoy his no frills, strength-based approach to getting very strong and very athletic.

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From Breaking Muscle (be sure to check out the video of Donnie Thompson working his way up to a world record 1305lb squat):

Powerlifting Versus Olympic Squats: Which Is Better?

Robert Camacho
Contributor - Strength and Conditioning, Injury Prevention and Rehab
More Articles from this Author

Olympic Squat

Generally speaking there are two ways to squat: powerlifting or Olympic style. Even though they are both a squat and legitimate techniques in their own right, there is a bit of a difference when considering the utility and risks of each method.

Both squat styles involve tossing some weight on a barbell, placing it on top of your shoulders, and then dropping your butt down. But within that, there are some significant biomechanical differences between the two. These differences are mostly related to two factors: bar and foot position. Olympic squats are typically performed high bar with a narrow stance, while powerlifting are done low bar with a wide stance. Let’s take a look at some examples.

By the way, there is also the bodybuilder squat, with narrower foot position and the bar higher on top of the traps.

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From T-Nation, Dani Shugart on counting calories, who should and who should not.

Calories: Should You Be Counting?

by Dani Shugart   
05/20/14



Here's what you need to know...

• Because their instincts are bad and their appetite is low, skinny guys seeking gains should spend some time counting calories.
• Physique competitors are at risk of undereating more than overeating. Counting calories and macros keeps them on task when their contest-crazy minds get out of hand.
• Average overweight people are better off focusing their efforts on other areas, like food quality, than counting every little morsel.
• For most people, calorie counting is a useful but temporary strategy. If it makes you neurotic, you've been doing it too long or it's just not for you.

It takes a special kind of person to actually want to keep track of every last thing he consumes. He measures it, analyzes it, then determines whether or not he should adjust it. He plays accountant with his body. Some calorie accountants are very successful. They build more muscle, lose more fat, and become aware of deficiencies. Some of them even develop the skills to masterfully manipulate calories from different sources and achieve a specific look for a specific event. Anal retentive tendencies pay off for them.

But others play accountant and get nothing back for their efforts. They plug their weight into a formula or online calculator and track every morsel, then make either temporary progress or none at all. Why does it work for some people but not for others? While working with clients it's become clear to me who benefits from counting and who would get better results by placing their focus elsewhere.

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Finally, also from T-Nation, here is Charles Staley on powerlifting.

Powerlifting: The Good, Bad and Ugly

by Charles Staley   
05/19/14



Here's what you need to know...

• Powerlifting is awesome, except for some of the fat physiques, the gaggle of federations, the rampant drug use and the supportive garb that allows you to artificially bench more than you can deadlift.
• The rise of raw powerlifting has been positive. It's more relatable to the average lifter and appeals to those who'd rather see a more honest display of strength.
• Despite its flaws, powerlifting is a primal rush, and signing up for a meet is one of the best things you can do to ramp up your training progress.

Back in the days when I was involved in Olympic-style weightlifting, I tended to view powerlifting with some disdain, which, by the way, is common in weightlifting circles. Weightlifters love to bag on their iron brothers for being fat simpletons who over-rely on high-tech supportive garb and who don't have the technical skills necessary for "advanced" skills like the Olympic lifts.

Powerlifting deserves some of this reputation. A quick search on YouTube will pull up video after video of bloated 350-pound dudes quarter-squatting about 40% more than they could actually squat to parallel without all the multi-ply supersuits and wraps. However, judging the sport by these unfortunate examples is about as fair as judging the sport of weightlifting by looking at some of its obese super-heavyweight competitors. The truth is, powerlifting is going through some very positive changes lately, which I'll discuss in a bit. For now though, I'd like to briefly share my personal experiences with the sport so that you have a bit of insight into my perspective.

I participated in my first raw competition in June of 2010 at the age of 50. Like many new competitors opt to do, I did a partial meet – in this case, I only competed in the deadlift event. One thing that's really nice about powerlifting, especially for newbies, is that you can just do one or two events if you'd like. This way, you can get started with a minimum of stress and anxiety. I lifted well and met lots of nice folks. I was hooked. Since then, I've gone on to win the World Championships for my age/weight category in the 100% Raw Federation. As I write this, I'm gearing up for my next meet.

I confess that I'm not exactly cut out to be a powerlifter. In fact, during a recent discussion with my insurance agent where I mentioned that I was training for a competition, he blurted, "Oh, you do triathlons?" At 198 pounds, powerlifting would reward me dearly for being 5'7" as opposed to 6'1", but so be it. I'd also be better off being 24 rather than 54, but guess what? I've decided to compete on my own terms.

Sure, my lifts would skyrocket if I brought my bodyweight up to 250 or so, but so would my waistline, and I'm not down with that. I'm using competitive powerlifting to test myself at my current height and weight, not to do whatever it takes to add a few pounds to my total. Keep this in mind as I transition to the less-appealing aspects of powerlifting.