Some variety is good, too much isn’t.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the classic line of “You need to change up your training to keep the body guessing” or something along those lines.

While having some changes in your training program is good for novelty and staving off the boredom, too much change too often will leave you without any real progress due to a lack of suitable adaptation.

Look at is this way; if you want to get better at a certain skill you practice that skill over and over and over again, the same is true fro lifting weights/training, you need repeated and sustained efforts to adapt and progress, chopping and changing every session won’t provide too much in the way of progress.

While you might not like that fact is it very much the case.

Take a look at people who do an ever changing amount of classes, they shift their excess fat and build some small amount of muscle (this is great btw), however past that point they end up looking no better because they don’t want to buckle down and stay with a training program for longer than a couple of weeks.

It’s a common issue that everyone falls victim to.

Now it is worth noting that some people do indeed need change every 2 weeks in there training, however those people are usually genetically gifted and 9/10 times you’re not that person, you’re the one who needs to stay consistent to a program for at least 12-16 weeks, sorry, that’s how it is.

When all that is said and done these words are only simple bits of advice, you can do what ever the hell you want, in the end it makes no different to me personally. If you’re happy with your training and your results then fill your boots, however if you’re not then you’d do well to take this on board.

You will often find the most successful training programs are often the most boring.

Enjoy,
Ross

Short on time? Better back off.

The introduction and more frequent use of ‘back off sets’ has become quite popular of late.

You’ll find you can use them to determine suitable loading for your next session, increase total TUT and even help you maintain your progress if you find your gym training time has been chopped down due to life getting in the way.

In the past this has happened several times and as such a way and to be found to get in some quality work, here is an option for you, it will take anywhere from 20-30min tops, try not to spend longer than 30min (especially if your time is limited), just focus on hard work.

This protocol will:

– Provide suitable mechanical tension for strength
– Generate metabolic stress for adaptation
– Create muscle damage for new growth

All you need to do is follow the guidelines and put in all your effort, eat the calories required for your goal (I’ve written about this previously), sleep and stay focused.

Let’s get down o the details.

– Use compound movements (Squat, DL, Press, Chin, Row, etc)

– 1 or 2 per workout (A1/A2 pairing)

– Ramp up your weights each set, start off with 5’s and work to one heavy set, then add a little more weight for a 3, then finally a little more for 1 single. The triple/single aren’t all out efforts, only the 5, they’re just for extra neural stimulation.

– Take 70% of the top 5 and perform 1 back off set of 10-20 reps unbroken

– Rest is minimal between sets, go as soon as you feel ready

– 3 sessions per week is a good minimum to cover the full body

You will be in and out in no time at all.

This short style of workout will allow heavy enough loads to trigger a host of positive things and the back of set will further potentiate this.

If you find you’re doing all of this in 20min then use the extra 10 for some accessory movements (arms, calves etc).

The protocol above is nothing fancy, it’s devised to get maximum results out of minimum time and as such leaves no room for dilly-dallying.

Enjoy,
Ross

The secret that all fat loss diets don’t want you to know

Diets, there’s certainly a lot of them, especially of the weight loss variety.

 

Keto

Paleo

Carb Cycling

IIFYM

Mediterranean

Zone

Atkins

The Blood of Your Enemies

5:2

Intermittent Fasting

And many many more

 

You’ll find a lot of them actually work to some degree and the reason for that is typically one that all have in common.

 

A calorie deficit.

 

The main factor in shifting weight downwards on the scales is being in a calorie deficit, or negative energy balance, you’ll find this can be achieved via a purely nutritional deficit or a combination of nutrition and training.

 

If you do aim to mix training (weight lifting) and nutrition to create a good deficit you’ll find that you get a better result, this is because your body will now have an inherent need to maintain muscle and strength while shifting fat, meaning you’ll achieve that ‘toned’ look that is wanted.

If you’re in a deficit you will become lighter, that’s just how the body works, even if you’re eating ‘bad foods’, while food choice is important for health reasons, a deficit is a deficit, you can technically each jelly beans and toast and shift weight, provide you’re in a deficit, however I’d advise eating more whole foods, unless you don’t care for your heath, your choice.

 

Nothing fancy today, just a few words on how to shift the excess and those words are, caloric deficit (or negative energy balance for the science nerds).

 

Enjoy,

Ross

You don’t need to squat heavy…

Do you need to squat heavy?

It pains me to say this, however there is technically no need to squat heavy weights…

That said, there is a basic necessity for the squatting movement pattern as it will ensure healthy ankles, knees, hips and loads more.

The squat is a fundamental human movement pattern, you need it, fact.

I am personally bias towards heavy squats, I love them, however they are not for everyone, some people may have injuries that prevent them going heavy, this is fair enough, they can adapt and do things such as goblet or front squats as substitutes, so long as they are performing the movement pattern all is good.

This short post is just to remind you that it’s okay not to squat heavy, you just need to be performing the movement in some way, shape or form to stay healthy.

Here is a simple workout structure for those who need some guidance, you can pick which ever :

W/U – Squatting pattern – Example: Goblet Squat 50 reps
A1 – Hinging movement 15-25 rep goal
B1 – Pressing movement
B2 – Pulling movement 25-50 rep goal for both
C1 – Core movement or Loaded Carry 30 rep goal or Distance for Time (e.g., 10min)

Easy, all you need do for exercise ideas is simply find a list of movements and pick ones that you feel like doing on the day.

Actually, hold on…

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

^^ A great resource, they’ve got some fantasist bits on there to read, enjoy it.

Ross

A progression option

Accumulation & intensification

Basically the way you can structure blocks of training to help improve one or multiple elements of training.

These can be used in 2,3,4 week blocks each time or even sometimes as long as 6 weeks a piece, you can even do 6 weeks accumulation and 2 weeks intensification, this will all be down to how the individual responds.

Let’s look at some examples:

Day 1
A1 – Squat
A2 – Chin

Day 2
A1 – Press
A2 – Row

Day 3 – Off

Day 4
A1 – Deficit Deadlift
A2 – Dip

Day 5 – Off

Day 6
A1 – Front Squat
A2 – Dumbbell Clean & Press

Day 7 – Off

Acc – Weeks 1-3 – 6×6-8×70% 1RM wk 1, 72.5/75% wk 2&3
Int – Weeks 4-5 – 8x3x85% wk4, 87.5% wk5
Acc – Weeks 6-8 – 6×6-8×72.5% 1RM wk 6, 75/77.5% wk 7&8
Int – Weeks 9-10 – 8x3x87.5% wk9, 90% wk10
Deload (volume reduction or 30-60%)
Start process again for another 10weeks, starting Acc 75%, starting Int 90%

You get the idea.

The same would apply for CV training, you’d start off with a moderate intensity based on the fitness assessment results of your clients initial tests, then plan in steady state work, intervals and so on.

Each Acc/Int phase will differ in set/rep/load planing based on the clients goal, etc.

Example rep/loading ranges:

Strength – 1-6 – 85%+ 1RM
Hypertrophy 6-20 – 60-85% 1RM

Some people will need more variety and change ever couple of weeks (dopamine dominant), others may do well to stay on the same protocol for 6weeks (balanced across all neurotransmitters), it’s up to you as the trainer to find out what is best for the client.

Enjoy,
Ross

Fitness, Drugs & Lies, Oh My…

Everyone has something to sell and like a true patron you buy without question because you lack basic conceptual understanding.

Sorry to be the one to say it.

Actually, I’m not sorry. If anything I’m tired of seeing people fall for the same bullshit day in day out and not only that, the worst part is people are happy to do it because it fits in with societal norm and their inherent biases, along with the fact it give people excuses to fall back on.

You know the Instagram model you follow?

The one with ‘dat ass’ who competes in Bikini comps, yea her. Did you know that the Booty Plan she is selling won’t get you one like hers for several reasons:

1 – It doesn’t work due to violation of basic training principles, overload, etc

2 – Her ass is largely down to genetics and good posing (don’t you ever wonder why she only takes ass selfies from one angle all the time….)

3 – She tells you what you want to hear and you lap it up, because you’re desperate

Then we have that guy, he’s huge, ripped and all around godly, well guess what, he’s on steroids, lots and lots of steroids and has a body that you will never achieve without the same or potentially greater amounts of them and the programs/diets he sells are terrible, dangerous in fact because they are based on his workouts. So unless you’re also on the juice you’ll find yourself broken in the end.

The term ‘Fitsipration’ is meant to be a positive one however the people that now use it the most are nothing more than narcissistic salespeople who need your gratification and will sell you a false dream and like a true sheep you will follow.

It’s rare people want to help you, most only want to help themselves, sadly.

I’ve been in the industry a long time and seen a great many things that most will disbelieve instantly because they’d rather be naive than learn the truth and see their perception shattered.

The real world of fitness is filled with lies to keep up appearances and as a result it is causing people great mental distress.

I will leave you with some things to consider, you can choose to look in to their validity or ignore them, it doesn’t really matter to me, the choice is yours.

– High level athletes/competitors use drugs

– Social media is a highlight reel where people strive to one up each other to massage their ego

– Your heroes lie to you all the time to sell products and please sponsors

– You don’t know what you think you know because what you know is mostly lies

– If you want the truth you need to start looking for it, be warned though, once you find it you’ll find yourself a grumpy old person like me

Apart form those small nuances, fitness is great 🙂

Enjoy,

Ross

Cut the crap

Morning All,

 

I’d like to say that I have some fantastic new information that will change your perspective on training and finally provide you with the results you seek, I don’t, sadly.

 

What I do have however are some words of advice that may help point you in the right direction.

 

– The difference between success and failure is not giving up

– You don’t get something for nothing, there’s always a price

– Patience is a trait you will need in abundance

– There’s no substitute for hard work

– Have faith in yourself

 

The process of creating life long change isn;t an easy one.

 

You might want to be more muscular, learner, fitter, stronger or perhaps just healthier, regardless of your goal there are certain conditions that NEED to be met and more importantly SUSTAINED if you want to not only reach the goal but keep it.

 

I can’t tell you any more than that, that is the truth any which way you cut it.

 

While I’d like to see everyone get their results, this will be reserved for a few who are tough enough to stick it out.

 

Choose which you’d rather be.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

Too hard, too often.

It’s not unusual for those who love training to go a little hard at the gym leaving nothing left in the tank and while it might seem like they will make progress this way, following this route will often leave you broken and without meaningful progress.

 

It’s an easy place to fall in to.

 

Back when what would breed the training of today was originally becoming popular (1800’s) there were two main schools of though:

 

– Daily practice of heavy lifting, near done to failure

– Cycling heavy, light and medium sessions

 

Both provided solid foundations of strength and built great physiques, as such there is a lot that we can learn from these teaching.

 

When it comes to those who like to lift heavy and often, picking 1-3 movements is all you need per session (focusing on those 1-3 for an extended period of time is also advised), it’s imperative you make sure you’re stopping well short of failure, as such this will mean each set is of limited repetitions and there is multiple sets (to get in the required volume to grow), you’ll leave the session feeling strong and potentially like you could have done more, don’t do more.

 

This style of training on the nerve can be quite taxing is you start chasing fatigue instead of performance, remember, you don’t want to start feeling tried/drained, if you do that means you’ve done too much and need to stop.

 

Take a deload every 3rd or 4th week, it will keep you lifting for longer.

 

The second option suit itself to many different goals, the former is more of a strength/performance method.

 

The use of H-L-M training sessions is a great way to train because it will allow you to have one session with maximal intensity, one that focuses on recovery and the last one that allows you to put ins one well needed work on volume/reps.

 

Some in the modern age call this method DUP (daily undulating periodisation).

 

The hardest thing about cycling is the temptation to make each session super hard and that’s not the idea, the light session is designed to let fatigue dissipate, hence why having it between the heavy and medium is ideal. You can also base your volume numbers off of your heavy day, for example:

 

H – worked up to a top set of 5

L – sets of 10 to increase blood flow and practice movement

M – 80% of the top 5 on heavy day for volume work to failure

 

You’d be surprised how well this works on either full body or split styles of training. The rep options you have for this are endless depending on your goal.

 

The reason the styles of method lost some favour over the years is because they didn’t fit in with the trend of ‘more is better’, it’s worth remembering that often times more is rarely better, it’s just more.

 

If you’re a little lost in your training give one of these a try, you’ll find not going for broke each session will not only keep you lifting longer but also give you focus and much needed progress.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

Me, Myself & I – Ego Tripping 101

Morning All,

 

I hope you’re all well.

 

So, what to write about today, that isn’t recycled information with a slightly different wording or spin on it…..

 

As you may have guessed that is essentially what writing/social media videos etc is actually about in the world of fitness.

 

There is little that we don’t currently know that doesn’t involve the very complex biochemical reactions/mechanisms of the body that is. As for training and nutrition, it’s almost all been said before, so keeping this in mind I feel some reflection would be good.

 

As yourselves the following and answer them honestly:

 

– Where did you start?

– Where are you now?

– How has your ego held you back?

 

That last one will sting for some of you, but hey ho, ego is a fragile thing that leads us to do stupid things on a regular and repeated basis.

 

When it comes to the ego, it can govern us in secret and we never know. It is so sensitive that it feel threatened by almost everything that opposes it and the main fear it has is that of dying (metaphorically).

 

No one likes to admit they might be wrong, or to change a belief or value, even if it is a destructive one that holds them back, I can attest to this as mine has stopped me doing a great many things and because of this I’ve been able to learn what it feels like when mine starts acting up, which I will share with you in the hope you might be able to learn how to silence yours and avoid making the mistakes I have.

 

1. YOU HAVE BECOME VERY SELF-DESTRUCTIVE.

 

Essentially you know something doesn’t feel right yet you do it anyway.

 

2. YOU FEEL OVERLY SELF-CONSCIOUS AROUND OTHERS.

 

You seem there is alway an argument, judgement or someone to oppose your views coming.

 

3. YOU FIND YOURSELF COMPLAINING OFTEN.

 

Not getting your own way or people not fitting your bias will leave your ego screaming because it feels it’s in danger. You will actively seek out info you agree with, even if it’s wrong.

 

4. FIGHTS AND ARGUMENTS HAPPEN FREQUENTLY BETWEEN YOURSELF AND OTHERS.

 

As you can guess, you defend everything you say without questioning if it’s wrong, which it might intact be.

 

 

5. YOU JUDGE OTHERS HARSHLY.

 

Also known as projection, you place everything you don’t like about yourself subconsciously on others so that you don’t feel sacred around them.

 

6. YOU FIND IT HARD TO LISTEN TO OTHERS WITHOUT WANTING TO INTERRUPT.

 

“I know, but…” – this is the line that shows your ego is feeling threatened, if you go to say it stop yourself and listen first.

 

7. YOU SEEK REVENGE WHEN OTHERS HURT YOU.

 

Children and the immature seek revenge, the mature and the wise seek understanding and to learn from their experience. if you find yourself point scoring all the time it’s a sign ego is controlling you.

 

Take these simple insights as see which ones apply to you and for the love of all that is holy, think before you speak, trust me, it causes more problems than it’s worth when you engage your mouth before your brain.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

How to make progress: Part 7 – Individual Difference.

 

The final part, the one many have been waiting for, time to hail the snowflake and make things ultra specific to each person.

 

Well… Not quite.

 

Individual difference doesn’t quite mean super specific exercises for all, although some changes will need to be made if there is past injury etc. What is means is the way people may set up to an exercise due to lever length, bio-mechanics and so on.

 

This is where hiring a good coach comes in to play because they will help you find the correct form for YOU, they can also help add in some extra alternatives and maybe even a little spice to keep your workouts interesting (with the base exercises as staples that is).

 

The reason this is the last thing int he progression ladder is simple, most people don’t need massive amounts of variation because they’re not ready for it yet, they need consistency, hard graft and time under the bar, the fancy stuff is reserved for people who are close to or at their natural genetic limit – often someone who’s trained for 10+ years and mastered the basics, if this ins’t you, stick to the simple stuff for now.

 

Work hard, pay your dues, stay consistent and results will be yours.

 

Enjoy,

Ross