How to Avoid and Break through Stubborn Plateaus

We all go through times of frustration about our lack of progress in the gym. Some people can train with high intensity week after week, pushing heavy weights and eating, what seems to be a conveyor belt of food, only to feel failure from little or no further increase in gains… you’ve have hit a plateau!

A common issue for us humans is that we fall into routine or rut very easily. The same routine without any change for a long period of time will have negative consequences when it comes to building muscle, strength or whatever you’re physical goal may be.

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” Henry Ford (1863-1947)

What is a Plateau?

A plateau is a rut where you find that you are no longer progressing in the gym. You may find that you’re not able to increase weight or squeeze out any more reps out. You’re stuck at benching 100kg and can’t seem to get any more that 6 reps, for weeks. You’ve been trying to keep making gains in muscle growth, but every time you step on the scales it just doesn’t move any higher.

It’s very frustrating and confusing to see all progress come to a stand still when you feel you’re doing things right to make keep making gains.

If you’re experiencing a struggle to meet your goals – whether they are to lose fat, build muscle, or increase strength – then you may have reached a plateau. Additional signs are fatigue and lack of motivation towards training. These are the psychological responses to the body’s inability to progress any further.

How to Burst Through a Plateau?

To see a continued progression towards your goals, you must first keep these two principles in mind. These are progressive overload, and overtraining. The first principle should be incorporated into your program, and overtraining should be avoided.

Progressive Overload – Progressive overload is the most important concept that you should understand to build muscle and avoid plateaus. If you don’t follow progressive overload then your body has no reason to adapt and get bigger and stronger.

If you are not doing this then you’re results will be limited and you’re guaranteed to hit a plateau, fast!

Example of progressive overload:

If you’re able to bench press 80kg for 8 reps it will become easier to lift this weight as your muscles get bigger and stronger. If you keep lifting this same weight you will not make any more gains and will hit a plateau.

To keep getting bigger and stronger you must gradually increase the weight, so next time you do the bench press you will add an extra 5kg to the bar. Now you’re benching 90kg for 8 reps, as this weight gets easier you add another 5kg.

This is progressively overloading your muscles to keep them adapting and to keep your gains moving forward.

Over Training – You will notice fatigue and a decrease in performance if you have over trained your body. This happens due to excessive training without the proper amount of rest and recovery.

Other symptoms include depression and irritability, increased chances of injury, and lack of motivation to exercise. If you want results, then you need to avoid overtraining. Give your body the proper amount of time to recover and rest in between intense workouts. Otherwise, you’re asking for a plateau.

Overtraining is not something to be taken lightly. It can result in injury, long term damage to joins or your immune system. In normal cases, you will cause overtraining by doing too much in too short of a period of time or doing way to many sets in the gym. It’s very common with new lifters, who are very motivated and make the mistake of following the high volume training routines of pro bodybuilders.

More sets and reps does not equal more muscle, less is more. It took me a few years to realize this fact!

Tips to Beat the Plateau

1: Rest is the most important part of recovering from training! This is the time when we get bigger and stronger. Some people hate to take any time off from working out. They fear that taking a week or two off from the gym will result in losing muscle and strength.Well let me tell you now, you will NOT get smaller and weaker, you will get bigger and noticeably stronger.Taking a week or two off can work wonders for your body and will allow your muscles and CNS (central nervous system) time to fully recover. I recommend at least one week off every three or four months, but remember to continue eating like you would during training.

You will feel refreshed and motivated when you finally get back into the gym. Every time I take a week off I come back to the gym STRONGER!

2: Your eating habits can have a significant impact on breaking through plateaus. Many times the diet is overlooked as the possible problem when someone hits a plateau. Eating properly will ensure that you have the right amount of energy throughout the day and are getting an adequate amount of protein for growth. The 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight should be followed as you gain lean body mass.

Calories are equally important if your goal is gaining muscle. You should gradually increase calories as you get bigger. To work out how many calories you need, use this BMR calculator and use the figure in the ‘Daily calorie needs’ section. Just like you progressively overload your muscle to keep gaining, you have to increase calories to support and grow more muscle.

3: Getting more sleep will help you recover better. Recovery and rest are incredibly important to break through a plateau. Following a consistent sleeping schedule will have a significant positive impact on your energy levels throughout the day and will aid in recovery.

4: Keep your workouts down to less than an hour. You are stimulating growth, you should not be trying to train for as long as possible. This will result in overtraining.

5: Challenging yourself in the gym will help you push more weight for more reps. This is key to growing the muscles and increasing your strength because overloading the muscles will help you break through plateaus.

If you are bulking, do not worry too much about burning fat. If you are eating to lose fat but lifting weights to build muscle, you may not be giving your muscles and body enough nutrients. Limit yourself to just a couple of light cardio sessions each week.

EFA for Muscle Growth

Eat lots of protein.

Don’t eat too much fat.

Eat carbs before and after working out.

Such advice is so oft-repeated (and with mostly good reason) that almost anyone engaged in a strength training regime doesn’t give it second thought. Here, however, is food for thought: not all fat is bad. One such type of the formerly maligned macronutrient is known as EFA – short for essential fatty acid.

Why “essential”? Because EFAs cannot be created by the body, yet are imperative to our wellbeing. They must be had through diet (or supplementation). EFAs are used for a myriad of biological functions. Given that the body is designed to move, it should come as no surprise that many of these functions are a critical part of what makes a training and diet regime successful.

What are they? EFAs are primarily referred to as Omega-3 and Omega-6. Other types of fatty acids – Omega-7 and Omega-9 – are also important – however, the body can produce them in the presence of the essential EFAs. Consuming an ideal ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 is very important. An ideal ratio is between 2:1 and 4:1 Omega-3 to Omega-6. Unfortunately, the typical Westernized diet provides most people with a full reversal, or worse, of the ideal. An over-consumption of Omega-6 can result in inflammatory processes which could hinder muscle growth and repair, and fat loss, as well as increase pain.

Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids

Alpha Linolenic Acid (LNA)
Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA)
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)

LNA can be converted by the body into EPA and DHA.

Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acids

Linoleic Acid (LA)
Gamma Linoleic Acid (GLA)
Dihomogamma Linoleic Acid (DGLA)
Arachidonic Acid (AA)

Just like LNA can be converted into other Omega-3s, the Omega-6, LA, can be converted into other Omega-6 essential fatty acids.

Why are EFAs important for muscle growth?

Essential fatty acids help facilitate muscle growth in a number of ways. One such way is through the formation of eicosanoids –molecules which exert control over bodily systems such as immunity and inflammation, and act as molecular messenger in the CNS (central nervous system). Eicosanoids can also be classified into prostaglandins, leukotrienes and thromboxanes. Prostaglandins are of the most importance to muscle growth. They:

• Increase sensitivity to insulin
• Help maintain normal levels of testosterone – the primary, male androgen hormone
• Increase the body’s secretion of growth hormone
• Increase the synthesis of protein in muscle cells

These functions are critical to achieving muscle growth during intensive training. In addition, EFAs powerfully affect the formation of fat tissue and fat metabolism. All the Omega-3s increase the breakdown of body fat; they also encourage the body to burn stored fat as fuel.

Beyond the immediately apparent effects on muscle growth and body composition, essential fatty acids help reduce inflammation, heal injuries, speed recovery and strengthen the immune system (important when engaging in repetitive movement with heavy weights and physical exertion that can weaken immunity); and improve sleep, concentration, stamina, increase blood-oxygen levels and improve cardiovascular function (all of which lead to more effective and intense workouts).

Getting Enough

Research shows that to maximize muscle growth, decrease body fat and improve general health, men may consume between 3 and 3.5 grams of EFAs from all sources (food and supplements) daily; women may consume between 2.5 and 3 grams from all sources daily.

Sources

Essential fatty acids are found in foods and supplements. The downside of food sources is that many (fish and fully pastured – grass fed – cattle being exceptions) are higher in Omega-6 than Omega-3.

Some of the Best Food Sources

• Flax seed oil
• Salmon
• Mackerel
• True free-run eggs
• Dark leafy greens
• Walnuts
• Avocados
• Chestnut oil
• Evening Primrose oil
• Sesame seeds
• Pistachio nuts

Is HMB an Effective Supplement?

We’ve discussed supplementing with BCAAs (branched chain amino acids) before, and how they offer unique anti-catabolic, protein synthesis enhancing and glucose-sparing effects that make them a truly effective supplement for anyone engaged in weight training.

BCAAs comprise of three amino acids – Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine. Out of these three amino acids Leucine is the only one that has the capacity to significantly stimulate muscle protein synthesis.

Muscle protein synthesis (MPS) is the process by which new muscle proteins are formed.

When MPS takes place on a large scale the result is muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth).

Anything that increases MPS is a good thing!

HMB (Hydroxy Methyl Butyrate) is an active metabolite of leucine. It has been found that around 5% of dietary leucine converts into HMB through the process of oxidization, so any time you drink a whey protein shake, eat chicken breast or consume any other type of leucine rich food you are also taking in some HMB.

Given that BCAA supplements and some foods already contain leucine, is it effective to also supplement with HMB?

In studies, HMB has repeatedly failed to show any solid evidence that it increases lean muscle mass, increases strength output or reduces post workout muscle soreness.

It’s not all bad news for HMB.

There is research that supports and confirms supplementing with HMB as an effective anti-catabolic. HMB seems to be the active metabolite that gives leucine it’s anti-catabolic (stops muscle loss) properties, but HMB itself does not substantially increase protein synthesis.

In other words, HMB will not help you build muscle, but it will help you maintain muscle by reducing muscle protein breakdown.

Other Benefits Found, but Some Insubstantial

• HMB appears to stimulate mitogenesis, causing a division of cells, which suggests that the supplement can make dormant muscle cells differentiate (become more specialized cells). HMB may stimulate muscle protein synthesis through the mTOR pathway (which leucine also uses), but in a manner separate from leucine itself.

• One study found that 3 grams of the faster-absorbing free salt form of HMB significantly reduced levels of creatine kinase induced by exercise in trained males. Creatine kinase is a substance which, when present in very high levels, is often indicative of muscle tissue damage or stress.

• HMB and leucine (of which HMB is an active metabolite) have been compared in a study to determine their respective effects on muscle protein synthesis. The result? Leucine caused a 40% greater increase in synthesis than HMB .The latter, as mentioned previously, is anti-catabolic, and in cases where muscle wasting is a serious risk – for AIDS patients or those confined to bed, for example – supplementing with HMB seems to outperform leucine at preserving muscle mass.

• A study of non-athletically trained individuals found that though creatine was three times as effective as HMB at increasing muscle mass, combining the two supplements had an additive effect. However, when a similar dose of HMB and a lower dose of creatine were given to trained rugby players, no such effect was observed.

So – is HMB effective, or should you just take branched chain amino acids? As the points above illustrate, HMB does appear to have beneficial effects similar to leucine.

Here’s what I suggest:

If you’re on a high calorie diet and you’re trying to gain muscle weight then HMB is not going to help you. In this case you’re taking in plenty of nutrient rich calories so there is little possibility of muscle loss. Supplementing with HMB would be a complete waste of time and money.

On the other hand, if you’re on a low calorie diet that’s putting you in a calorie deficit, and your aim is to burn body fat then supplementing with HMB could be beneficial in helping to minimize any muscle loss.

Take Leucine if your goal is to build muscle. Leucines’ proven ability and superiority at stimulating muscle protein synthesis makes it an ideal supplement for increasing lean muscle mass.

Take HMB if your goal is to drop body fat while maintaining muscle mass. HMBs’ proven ability and superiority at reducing muscle wasting makes it an ideal supplement for maintaining lean muscle mass while trying to burn body fat.

Remember, only around 5% of leucine converts to HMB so leucine alone doesn’t produce a substantial amount of HMB to reduce muscle loss.

How Much to Take

A dose of 3g daily is recommended and should be spaced out evenly. Take three servings of 1g morning, afternoon and at night. Taking 6g does not appear to be any more effective than 3g .

HMB has an excellent safety profile, and as individual response to supplements varies, there would be little harm in at least trying HMB as part of a cutting phase.

Is Intermittent Fasting Optimal?

You might have heard or read about Intermittent Fasting (IF) recently. It’s all the rage and has become a hot topic among fitness writers, coaches and advocates of unconventional diets. But is it really the best fat loss option for those looking to burn body fat while maintaining lean muscle mass.

Is IF an effective fat loss method? Yes

Is IF optimal for burning fat and retaining lean muscle mass? No

Of course fasting will result in fat loss, but it can also result in a loss of hard earn muscle and blunting of protein synthesis stimulation from training. If your goal is to have low body fat levels with maximum muscularity then I do not recommend intermittent fasting as a way to achieve this goal.

You won’t find any Mr Olympia champion using IF to get into stage competition shape. Why aren’t professional bodybuilders using this miracle diet fad to win competitions?

Simple, because it’s not an optimal solution.

Bear in mind, the ultimate goal for a pro bodybuilder is to burn as much body fat as possible while maintain, and even gaining muscle.

If intermittent fasting was the best solution out there to achieve this goal then every bodybuilder in the world would be all over it… but they’re not.

Here is pro bodybuilding coach John Meadows take on IF:

“Proponents of IF like to think of it as the ‘science diet’ but the complete opposite is true. Intermittent fasting is the fad diet. There’s no logic to it, unless your goal is to lose muscle, slow down your metabolism, and have poor workouts.

My most difficult clients are people that have crashed and burned on intermittent fasting. Here’s how it always plays out: I get a guy that was 20-30% body fat. He does IF and he loses some fat and muscle. Then he gets stuck at 15-18% body fat, so he takes his calories down. Now he’s stuck at 1800-2000 calories, nothing is happening, and he’s miserable. Then he comes to me for help.

That’s the scenario I see every time. His metabolism is shot and he’ll gain fat when coming off IF. His body is hoarding fat at this point; it’s a self-protective mechanism. It can take us months to get his body functioning correctly again.”

The Body and Mind Require Fuel

Irregular eating can result in fatigue, difficulty concentrating and disruption in the human organism’s physiological equilibrium, via its negative effects on hormones. Furthermore, I.F. causes a shortage of amino acids – the “building blocks” of muscle protein – necessary for the maintenance and growth of muscle tissue. Without adequate amino acid intake, a catabolic effect (the breakdown of muscle) can occur.

As one study showed, even eating meals a mere 12 hours apart can result in short-term muscle loss, with young men at twice daily. The study subjects exhibited significantly higher oxidation of their own muscle tissue than the group which ate 5 times daily.

When engaged in weight training, your body requires regular feeding, both as fuel, and after, during the recovery period. Failing to do so will dramatically hamper muscle protein synthesis and slow down your recovery time.

Science shows that muscle protein synthesis levels are elevated for around 24 hours after training. To gain the most amount of muscle you want to consume regular doses of protein (20 – 40 grams in each meal) over the 24 hours post exercise period. To fast during this stage of elevated protein synthesis would mean a minimal increase is muscle gain.

It’s physiologically impossible to build muscle without protein. Starving yourself of protein in order to lose some fat does not sound like a sensible option to me.

I.F. and Adrenal Fatigue

A study of elite judo athletes demonstrated that daytime I.F. resulted in a considerable increase in fatigue, a small loss in energy output and a nearly 2 percent loss in body mass, of which slightly more than 0.5 kg was body fat. Despite this decrease in body fat, I.F. is not the most ideal way to alter one’s body composition – not only can it result in fatigue and a decrease in output, both of which would hamper the ability to engage in weight training, but an extended abstinence from eating causes catecholamine – hormones produced by the adrenal glands – to rise. If this hormonal activity is sustained, it can fatigue and eventually halt the function of the adrenals, the result of which are a damaged metabolism, chronic fatigue and reduced central nervous system activity.

What about Insulin?

You may have read from the proponents of I.F. that the practice improves insulin sensitivity (the relationship between how much insulin needs to be produced in order to deposit a certain amount of glucose). However, this hoopla was discredited by a PLOS One study showing that eating only intermittently caused greater dips and peaks of insulin and glucose, which could help set the stage for insulin resistance over the long run. Instead of attempting to regulate insulin and glucose surges by restricting food consumption, consider reducing an excess of high-GI (glycemic index) carbohydrates, particularly those eaten in the absence of other macronutrients which help reduce the effective GI score of the entire meal.

A Ruinous Effect on Hormones

I.F., as we know, can wreak eventual havoc on the adrenal glands, which produce various hormones. The body’s system of hormonal manufacture and release is interconnected – if one part becomes imbalanced, it can affect the rest in tandem, resulting in the aforementioned fatigue, metabolism and sleep-related problems, as well as an increased susceptibility to disease and inflammation.

Is Intermittent Fasting Worth Trying?

If your body fat levels are very high and your main goal is fat loss but you’re not worried about maintaining/gaining muscle then I say go for it, give it a try. Many people have experienced amazing fat loss results with IF, but if you’re already quite lean, holding a fair amount of muscle and want to keep it while dropping fat then I think there are better alternatives to IF.

How Long to Rest Between Sets

If you take the advice from some online armchair expert or “guru” in the gym that tells you that you MUST rest for 1 minute between each set for optimal muscle growth, what’s going to happen as you progress through your workout?

You’re going to get burned out, fast!

Imagine your first set is flat bench press and you perform an intense 10 heavy reps to failure. You rack the bar, sit up feeling pretty smashed and rest for 60 seconds. Now, you’ll be lucky if you’re able to get another 10 reps of the same weight with good form on your second set. By the time you reach your third and fourth set you’re completely fatigued. You have to drop the weight, reduce reps, form breaks down and intensity takes a nose dive.

So, how long should you rest between sets?

The answer… as long as you need, to recover enough that each set is performed intensely and with good form. Everyone is different, some people may recover enough within 1 – 2 minutes, and other people may need 3 – 4.

Just find the best rest period for YOU so that you can sustain a consistent number of repetitions without having to drop the weight across ever set.

It’s pretty simple…

If you’re rest time is too short, you won’t leave enough fuel in the tank to complete your workout with enough intensity to stimulate maximum growth.

If you’re rest period is too long, by taking more time than you need, you could end up extending your entire workout time beyond the optimal 45 minutes. (Studies have shown that after 45 minutes of intense weight training, the body starts to inhibit anabolic growth hormones (testosterone, growth hormone, insulin) and the ratio of catabolic hormones (cortisol) increases.

Your rest duration will also depend on the muscle being worked. For example, bicep curls take less effort than squats. So you may just need 2 minutes rest between curls but 4 or 5 between squats.

If you’ve got chest training routine that requires you perform 4 sets of bench press at 8 reps per set, then that’s your target goal for your training that day. If you take too short a rest between sets you’ll find that you get burned out and will need to modify your training program by reducing weight, reps and sets.

It’s time to stop clock watching and worrying about rest times between each set. Take just enough rest to keep powering through sets with intensity and in the desired rep range, focus on getting the job done!

Muscle Soreness and Growth

“No pain, no gain!”

“If you can walk after this, you’re doing it wrong!”

You might find shouting these slogans at your training partner fun, but is there any truth behind them? A bit of post exercise pain can feel satisfying, but are sore muscles a good sign that your workout was effective?

Getting to Know the Score on “Sore”

There are two kinds of muscle soreness. The first occurs while you’re lifting. You know when you’ve pushed through a hard set, and the muscles are burning and painful? Well, that usually peaks at “muscle failure,” and despite the frightening name, it’s only a temporary condition that subsides very quickly after finishing a set. It is most commonly believed that the cause is oxygen starvation and a buildup of substances and metabolic waste in the muscle cells which prevent further muscle contraction.

Other research suggests that as muscles become fatigued, the calcium which flows and ebbs in the cells and controls contractions begins to leak from tiny channels, resulting in muscle weakness. The calcium leakage also triggers the release of an enzyme which actually breaks down muscle fiber, resulting in “failure”.

Post Training Muscle Soreness

Longer-lasting muscle soreness that occurs after exercising is called “DOMS”, or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. As the name implies, its onset is delayed, usually by 24 to 72 hours and takes longer to subside than short-term muscle failure.

The pain from DOMS can last anywhere from a couple of days to a whole week.

DOMS is most common with beginners or people who have had a lot of time off form training. When beginners experience DOMS they take the pain as a sign of an effective workout and an indicator that they’ve done enough work to make their muscles grow. As weeks of their training pass their DOMS becomes less and less after each workout. When the DOMS completely subsides they think that their workout has become ineffective and look for new ways of training to produce muscle soreness.

But DOMS is not an indicator of muscle growth, it’s simply a reaction to a training stimulus that the body is not accustomed to. You can have a very intense, high volume workout without any pain the next day and this workout will trigger muscle growth.

Resistance weight training stimulates muscle protein synthesis which results in muscle hypertrophy, but there is no pain associated with muscle protein synthesis or hypertrophy.

This type of delayed soreness, depending on its severity and duration, has the unfortunate effect of hindering performance until it subsides to a tolerable level.

There does not appear to be total consensus about the mechanisms behind delayed onset muscle soreness, but theories include micro-tears in the muscles, metabolic waste, muscle inflammation, edema and creatine kinase, a substance which, when present in high levels, is associated with muscle damage and inflammation. As I’ve already mentioned, DOMS is triggered especially by training routines to which one is unaccustomed.

It’s easy to assume that soreness indicates a good workout. After all, if you’re training hard with high intensity, surely muscles will grow – right? And if micro-tears are a likely cause of delayed onset muscle soreness, then surely DOMS is a good thing, yes? Well, it’s not that simple.

Though some degree of fatigue and post training soreness may well be accompanied by gains over the long-term, one should never view pain as requisite for muscular development.

A much better gauge by which to determine if your workouts are effective is to take note of a slow but steady increase in your lean mass and your capacity to lift progressively heavier weights.

Remember, weight training promotes muscle protein synthesis, but the synthesizing of new muscle proteins is not a painful process.

NOTE: Any pain felt around in the inside or outside of elbow, shoulder or knee joints could be a sign of a tendon injury. Seek professional medical advice if you experience persistent pain around these areas.

Unstoppable Benefits of Weight Training

Weight training – also known as weight lifting, strength training and resistance training – is a form of exercise which uses physical resistance and movement to improve the condition of the musculoskeletal system. Aside from the fact that weight training greatly improves your strength, body shape and confidence, it provides numerous other benefits that I will cover in today’s post.

The popularity of weight training has exploded in the last several decades, and with good reason. The overwhelmingly sedentary lifestyles and work environments that are commonplace in Western society have caused expanding waistlines and diminishing health in unprecedented numbers.

Weight training – in conjunction with a healthy diet – can help alleviate many of the physical and emotional ills caused by inactivity. Its benefits are many, and include:

Greater self-confidence. Regularly partaking in physical activity, setting, meeting and exceeding goals and seeing one’s health improve all boost self-esteem. An improved body composition (lower body fat and greater lean muscle tone and size) confer more feelings of self-worth than being visibly unhealthy.

Improved strength, inside and out. Though the most apparent results of a successful weight training regime are seen on the outside of the body, progressively improving the musculoskeletal system also strengthens the ligaments, tendons and bones, a process without which the large and visible muscles would fail to perform at their maximum potential. Progressive training provides functional strength from the inside out, a process which translates into an increased capacity for other physical activities.

Less fatigue. As the body grows stronger, it becomes more efficient. Once-tiring tasks take less energy to accomplish because strong muscles can achieve the same outcome with less energy demand than unconditioned ones.

Less time in the bathroom. Poor digestion and elimination is no laughing matter. The human body was designed for movement, and a complete weight training program engages the whole body. According to the Mayo Clinic, physical activity causes the muscles along the intestines to contract more quickly, letting waste pass through the digestive tract faster. Conversely, a lack of activity results in stool sitting in the body longer, while water is leached away, drying the stool out and causing constipation.

Better mood. In addition to the aforementioned benefit of greater self-confidence, weight training’s ability to improve emotional well-being is so powerful that prominent journals and institutions tout it as an effective tool for battling clinical depression, finding it comparable to or better than antidepressants and counseling. It has also been demonstrated to improve insomnia, chronic fatigue, anxiety and poor cognition (all of which may be related to or experienced in conjunction with depression).

Weight loss. The more lean muscle mass an individual has, the higher their metabolic rate. Muscle tissue is metabolically active and consumes calories; fat, on the other hand, does not. A healthy reduction in body fat – particularly abdominal fat, which has been shown to release inflammatory compounds linked to a number of diseases – can reduce the risk of mortality and infirmity from numerous ailments. Despite what most people think, weight training can be just as effective as cardio at burning off those unwanted calories.

Decreased risk of osteoporosis and arthritis. When physical loads (progressively and within reason) are placed on bones during physical exercise, bone mineral density improves, decreasing the risk of breakage. Additionally, weight training can reduce the hallmark symptoms of arthritis – stiffness and joint pain – as effectively as or better than medication, according to research from Tufts University.

Better blood sugar. Tens of millions of individuals – more than fourteen million in America alone – suffer from Type II diabetes. This disease is a leading cause of blindness, neuropathy, amputation, renal disease and heart disease. Research shows – demonstrated in a 16 week-long study of men and women of Hispanic descent – that weight training dramatically improves glucose control in a manner comparable to diabetes medication. As well, study participants showed increased strength, improved body composition, more self-confidence and less depression.

A healthy heart. The risk of heart disease is lower in people with greater lean body mass. Studies on cardiac patients show that aerobic capacity (as well as strength and flexibility) improves when weight training is incorporated into rehabilitation programs. The benefit is so significant that the American Heart Association recommends this type of exercise as a preventive measure against heart disease and as part of cardiac patient rehabilitation programs.

The benefits of weight training are too great and too many to ignore. There is no shortage of resources, information and support. It is a healthy and enjoyable activity in which almost anyone can participate. Get lifting!

How Heavy to Build Muscle Mass?

Many lifters are inspired by the likes of the great Ronnie Coleman, famous for squatting 800 pounds, chest pressing ridiculously heavy dumbbells and his quote…

“Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy-ass weights.”

Of course heavy weights build muscle. It’s the tension our muscles are subjected to that regulates their size – more weight, more tension, more intensity, equals more muscle growth.

However, there is a point where the weight you are lifting can become too heavy.

The videos you see of Ronnie Coleman moving extremely heavy weight for 2 – 3 reps is not how he built his incredible Olympia winning physique. Those heavy lifts were for the camera and not how he normally trains.

In fact, most of Ronnie Coleman’s training is in the 10+ rep range and he recommends to others that they should work in this range if muscle growth is their goal.

Have you ever noticed that you feel the target muscle contract better on your warm up sets than your heavy working sets?

You should feel the target muscle contract on every rep, if you can’t, it’s a good sign you’re lifting too much weight.

When you lift too heavy is causes supporting muscles to get involved in moving and stabilizing the weight. This shifts some tension off the target muscle and distributes the tension across several other muscle groups as the body tries to move the weight from point A to point B.

This can ‘dilute’ the growth potential of the target muscle.

Building muscle is not about moving the heaviest weight possible from point A to B; it’s about maximally stimulating the target muscle through its full range of motion under sufficient tension.

Too much weight reduces your range of motion, shifts tension away from the target muscle, reduces your mind muscle connection, causes the CNS (central nervous system) to fail before the muscle fibres have been stimulated, and dramatically increases your chance of injury.

I see it all the time, guys in the gym trying to compete with and impress their friends by lifting as much weight as they can, weight that is way too much for them to handle properly.

You’ve probably seen it yourself… the tag-team bench press – deadlift duo. One guy is pressing a barbell with everything he’s got while his friend pulls on the bar shouting “it’s all you bro, it’s all you!”

Just last week in the gym there was a group of guys working on flat dumbbell press. One guy was lying on the bench and his friends placed a huge 100lb dumbbell in each of his hands. With the assistance of his friends he managed to move the dumbbells about 5 inches for 4 reps before they came crashing to the floor.

That charade was followed by high fives all round!

Sure, doing heavy bench presses, deadlifts and squats look real macho and cool, but you’re not in the gym to look cool, you’re there to build muscle effectively. A cable fly done correctly will develop your chest better than a sloppy bench press with too much weight.

Forget about who is watching you, an impressive muscular physique will turn more heads than the amount of weight you can lift.

Now, I’m not saying you should never lift very heavy. The odd heavy week in the low 5 rep range every now and then is fine, but be sensible, lift intelligently and remember your ultimate goal is to train for maximum muscle growth.

Do you want the physique of a weightlifter or bodybuilder? If it’s the later, then you need to optimize your training for muscle gains, not strength.

How to Select the Correct Weight for Growth

Training with very heavy loads (weight) in the low rep range (4 – 6) develops force production (strength) by improving the ability of the CNS (central nervous system) to increase motor unit recruitment.

In other words, using very heavy weight makes more neuromuscular adaptations and is ideal for increasing strength, but is less effective for size gains.

Your goal when training for muscle growth is to make more physiological improvements than neurological.

Studies have repeatedly shown that working with a weight that is 75 – 80% of your 1 repetition maximum (1RM is the maximum amount of weight you can lift for 1 repetition) to be optimal for stimulating hypertrophy (muscle growth).

75 – 80% of your 1RM is a weight that causes you to reach failure around 8 – 10 reps.

Simply select a weight where you reach failure (the point where you can’t physically lift the weight for another rep) around the 8 – 10 rep mark.

If you failed at 6 reps then the weight is too heavy, reduce the load.

If you failed at 13 reps then the weight is to light, increase the load.

You will not be missing out in strength development by training for hypertrophy (muscle growth). With consistency and effort you will get stronger working in the 8 – 10 rep range, and soon enough you will be working with heavier loads while maintaining 8 – 10 reps to failure

Focus on the Muscle, Not the Weight

Before going to the gym take some time and research online the function of the muscle you’re going to be working, what movements does it create; then simply apply tension to that movement – control the tension!

Keep your form strict on every rep to maximize your time under tension.

Don’t focus so much on moving the weight. Instead, think about the muscle contracting and working to move the weight

Training Your Back Muscles Properly

There’s a good reason that the muscles of the back often show signs of neglect – that is, poor development compared to other muscle groups – despite regularly training them.

The back seems to be one of those “problem” muscle groups for a lot of people… but there’s a couple of simple solutions to developing a strong muscular back.

It’s all too easy to perform free-weight or machine rows and pull-downs without truly engaging your back.

The trouble is that many people perform movements designed to build a thick back, but primarily use their arms. That’s great news for your arms, but not so much if you want a balanced physique.

The Biomechanics Behind The Problem

It sounds nonsensical – arm muscles taking over back muscles despite your best efforts, but there’s a biomechanical factor that will make this much easier to understand. See, the aforementioned back exercises all involve pulling a weight along vertical (such as lat pull-downs) or horizontal (such as rows) planes of movement.

The very nature of holding onto a weight with your hands and pulling on it with your arms means there is almost no chance of completely disengaging your arms from the process. The trouble comes from letting your arms completely override the back muscles you’re trying to build.

Why do the Arms Take Over?

There are three primary reasons:

1: You’re trying to lift too much weight.
2: You haven’t figured out how to pull with your back muscles.
3: Or it’s a combination of the above two reasons.

The Solutions

You’re Lifting Too Much Weight.

There’s nothing new about that. Since the age of dinosaurs and cavemen… okay, since our first athletic endeavors, the desire to be the best, win the day and get the girl has led people to lift too heavy.

Look in almost any gym and you’ll see guys with shaky arms struggling under the burden of too much iron. The thing is, that letting egotism take over will only hinder you from reaching your desired outcome.

Lifting too much weight is one of the biggest mistakes I see people make in the gym.

Trying to do a set of rows with 100 pound dumbbells when you can’t handle that weight is only keeping you from stimulating the very back muscles you want to grow.

Your form will suffer and your arms will take over. In addition, a too-heavy weight doesn’t allow for a full ROM (range of motion).

ALWAYS start your back exercises with minimal weight. Your first two or three warm up sets should be light “rehearsals” so that you can feel your back muscles contract. Perform the exercise with strict, fluid form, before upping the weight.

You’ll know you’re using the right weight when you can perform the reps with correct form and do a static hold at the end position for a second. Bring your shoulder blades back and squeeze your back muscles.

If you can’t pull your shoulder blades back on your first few reps then the weight is too heavy.

Not Pulling with Your Back

Maybe the weight you’ve selected is perfect. If it is, and you still don’t feel like your back muscles are being worked, it’s because you don’t yet know how to engage them.

If that’s the case, don’t worry – it’s quite normal. The back is a muscle group that we can’t see working, and it’s difficult to “feel” these muscles contract.

Think about training your chest for example. You can see the chest muscles contract. You can feel the contraction and the “pump” during a set. But it’s a whole different story when it comes to training your back.

Here’s how to lift to train your back muscles properly:

Let’s say you’re doing a set of seated cable rows. Grip the handle and pull with your back muscles first, then pull the weight the rest of the way using your arms, keeping your shoulder blades locked back.

Read that again…

Pull with you back first, followed by your arms.

Begin by gripping the handle and pulling your shoulders back, squeezing your shoulder blades, than pull the handle toward your torso. When the handle reaches this point squeeze your back muscles hard. Don’t focus on moving the weight. Your primary focus should always be on contracting the muscle you’re trying to grow.

Let me explain…

Start with your shoulders in a protracted position. Pull the weight by retracting your shoulders back – then pull the weight towards your torso with your arms, finally squeezing your back muscles.

Lower the weight back to the starting position in a slow and controlled motion, and under tension.

First, pull by retracting your shoulders. Second, pull with your arms, driving the elbows back and contracting your back muscles hard. I might sound like a broken record here, but I’m trying to get the message across in a way that everyone can understand and implement.

The goal with every exercise is to contract (shorten) and relax (lengthen) the muscle under tension in order to make it grow. If you’re lifting too heavy, or you’re not performing the exercise properly then you’re not optimally stimulating the target muscle.

• Don’t just attempt to bring the weight towards your body. Of course, we instinctively try to do just that when holding onto a bar and performing a back exercise. But you have to train your mind by focusing on the muscle contracting to move the weight.

• …So don’t use your hands to pull. Say what? That’s right. You’re grabbing a bar with your hands, but you should only hold on to it with your hands – and…

• … Use your back to pull! That right there is the biggest secret to performing back exercises correctly. Don’t just use your hands to pull the weight towards you; concentrate on bringing your shoulders back first, squeezing your shoulder blades together then driving your elbows behind your body – either imagine there’s someone you really dislike back there and you’d like to elbow them in the side – or that you’re trying to push something behind you away from your body. And if you’re doing lat pull-downs you’re doing the same thing but moving your elbows to the sides of your body instead.

• Finally, consider using a pronated or neutral gripping position. When use an underhand grip, your biceps are heavily involved in pulling the weight, something you want to avoid. A pronated position (with your palms facing down) or a neutral position (with your palms facing one another) means your biceps can’t work as hard and your back (as long as you’re pulling properly with the correct weight!) gets maximum growth stimulating tension.

That’s it! You’ve just learned the secrets to training your back muscles properly. More gain, less struggle and frustration.

Does Weight Training Burn Fat?

Most personal trainers and health gurus will probably tell you that aerobic exercises are the best way to burn fat. So does weight training make you burn fat too? Weight training (anaerobic exercise) is primarily focused on building muscle mass. Aerobic exercising is focused on raising your heart rate, increasing endurance and elevating your metabolism. So which is the best for burning fat?

Combining Strength Training with Cardio

The best way to actually burn fat is to combine strength training with cardiovascular activities. Cardio will force your metabolism to speed up during your exercise routine and for a short time after. Weight training does the same, but will actually increase the amount of muscle you have, which can increase your overall metabolism for longer periods following your training.

Your muscles require a certain amount of energy to function properly. Increasing your overall muscle mass will increase your metabolism by requiring more energy from your body. When your body requires more energy, more of the calories you consume will go towards maintaining your muscle mass and less will be stored as fat.

How Fat is Burned AFTER Your Workout

Even after your strength training workout is over, your metabolism is raised and your body is using additional energy resources to repair and recover your damaged muscles. Strength training creates tiny microscopic tears in your muscles fibers which in turn need to be repaired by the body. Your body is calling for additional protein to repair the damaged muscle tissue, carbohydrates to replenish depleted glycogen, and calories to fuel the growth and recovery process.

Performing a cardiovascular workout on your days off from weight training is a great way to burn fat and complement your training routine. When you combine cardio with strength training you will be increasing your metabolism while you’re exercising as well as while you’re resting after. This one-two punch combo is a great way to burn body fat and get in shape fast.

Gradual Weight Loss to Maximize Muscle Growth

Most people will tell you that losing weight while gaining muscle is impossible. This is mainly because as you build muscle, your body will require additional calories to grow muscle. When you increase your caloric intake to achieve gains in muscle mass it becomes difficult to burn body fat. This is why it’s so important to incorporate cardiovascular workouts into your strength training program if you plan to lose weight while you add lean mass.

It’s important to avoid cutting back on calories while you’re strength training, even if you want to lose weight. When you starve your body you can actually lose muscle mass rather than gaining it. Not only that, but you will be much more likely to regain any weight you lose if you choose to cut back on your daily calories significantly.

In this case, slow and steady wins the race. You should focus on minimal fat loss while you build your muscle mass.

How to Increase Your Bench Press

One of the most common desires for anyone who has been lifting for a while is to increase their bench press strength. The amount of weight you can bench press is a good indicator of upper body strength and is typically how others compare their strength with you. It’s easy to hit plateaus you are unable to overcome when attempting to increase the amount of weight you can bench press. This can be extremely frustrating. Read on to discover some of the best tips for increasing your bench press strength and busting through plateaus like a boss.

Increase Your Tricep Strength

In many cases tricep strength is going to hold you back when it comes to bench pressing more weight. Remember, bench pressing counts on a number of muscles. You need to strengthen all of them in order to take on more weight. A few exercises you can try to increase your bench strength include skullcrushers and close grip presses.

Push Yourself to the Limit

It’s way too easy to fall into a rut when working out. Your workout routine should be systematic, although you do need some variation to really grow. If you aren’t always pushing yourself to the limit you won’t see the big gains other guys are getting. You can try varying the intensity of your workout and changing up reps, breaks between sets and exercises. Always make sure you are doing at least one big compound exercise on your chest every workout. Make sure you are following the rule of progressive overload by gradually adding small amounts of weight to the bar, even if it’s just a couple of Kg at a time, the weight will start to add up as you will get progressively stronger.

Less is More

It can be really tempting to work out more than you should when you’re trying to get big. You have to realize that training too often is going to hold you back big time. Your muscles need time to grow and regenerate between workouts. You should be focusing on your technique and the quality of your workout, not the quantity. Working your chest hard once or twice a week is all anybody really needs to grow.

Try to Stay Negative

Of course I don’t mean your attitude. Negatives are when you’re lowering the weight to your chest. You can try doing negatives at 150% of your bench max then having a buddy help you lift the bar back up. Negative training is a secret not many lifters know about and can really help you blast through your 1 rep max.

Grub like a Champ

If you really want to see big gains you’re going to have to start eating more. If you don’t add additional calories to your diet you can forget about increasing your chest strength. Maintaining a daily calorie surplus as you grow is essential. Getting your protein in a number of different forms is great, but don’t forget about consuming those calorie dense complex carbohydrates. Both are essential to building muscle tissue and increasing strength.

Take a Vacation

Seriously, take some time off once in a while. All the pros take a week or two off every year to help their bodies recuperate. Your muscles and nervous system can become fatigued which will hold you back when trying to break through a plateau. I like to take at least a week off to fully recover at least a few times throughout the year. Everytime, without fail I get back into training after a week of rest and eating I come back feeling stronger and full of energy.

Supplements are your Friend

This is especially true if you have a hard time getting all of the protein and/or calories you need from your diet. We’re all busy and can’t always find the time to eat enough. While it may be possible to get everything you need from the food you eat, finding the right supplements guarantees your body will have the correct nutrients ratios necessary to get bigger and stronger.

Technique is Everything

Using the proper technique is absolutely essential when it comes to big strength gains. You would be shocked to know how many experienced lifters neglect to perfect their lifting form. Bad habits are easy to develop and extremely hard to shake. Consulting with an expert trainer to analyze your form could be just what you need to increase your bench press strength.