Outdoor Ab Workouts

Shed winter pounds with these pro trainers' outdoor workouts

In Your Backyard

The Pro Trainer's Workout: Body-Weight Circuit
Torch fat with this routine from Turbulence Training developer Craig Ballantyne, C.S.C.S.

Do this:
Perform these exercises as a circuit. Rest 1 minute only after completing all four. Complete 5 circuits.

1 Jumping jacks (60 seconds)
2 Spider-man pushups (until failure)

As you lower your body, swing your right leg out to touch your right knee to your right elbow. Reverse the movement and push up. Alternate sides.

3 Reverse lunge (15 reps per leg)

Stand tall, hands behind your ears. Step back with one leg, and lower your body until your front knee is bent 90 degrees. Pause. Push up quickly. Do all reps, then switch legs.

4 Squat thrust (8 reps)

Squat, put your hands on the floor, and kick your legs into pushup position. Quickly reverse the move. Repeat. Make it harder Rest 30 seconds (instead of 1 minute) between circuits.

On the Court

The Miami Heat Workout: 10's
This routine combines fast-paced intervals with quick changes of direction. "It's a great fat burner, and it improves endurance," says Bill Foran, the Heat's strength and conditioning coach.

Do this:
Begin at one baseline of the basketball court and run (not at a full sprint) to the opposite end. Stop, plant your foot, pivot, change direction, and run back. Repeat four times for a total of 10 trips between baselines. That's 1 set; try to complete it in 60 to 70 seconds. Do a total of 2 or 3 sets, resting only 2 to 3 minutes between each.

Make it harder:
Work your way up to 5 sets. The first few sets may seem easy, but the last few will test your physical and mental endurance.

On the Diamond

The Boston Red Sox Workout: X-Pattern Skill Drill
This drill challenges you to run in all directions at full intensity, which every player must do, says David Page, strength coach for the Red Sox.

Do this:
Set up four cones in a square formation, each cone 10 yards apart.

1 Sprint from cone A to cone B.
2 Immediately turn and sprint diagonally from cone B to cone D.
3 Backpedal as fast as you can from cone D to cone C.
4 Sprint diagonally from cone C back to cone A. That's 1 set.
Rest 2 to 3 minutes after completing all four sprints. Repeat for 5 sets.

Make it harder:
Start the drill sitting or lying down, then jump up and run.

http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/outdoor-ab-workouts

Are Leg Extensions Good or Bad, Safe or Dangerous, Effective or a Waste of time, Functional or NonFunctional? – Exercise Expert Brad Schoenfeld has the Surprising Answers! � Nick Tumminello Fitness | Baltimore MD Personal Trainer | Sports Performance & Bodybuilding

Are Leg Extensions Good or Bad, Safe or Dangerous, Effective or a Waste of time, Functional or NonFunctional? – Exercise Expert Brad Schoenfeld has the Surprising Answers!

I’m very excited to bring you today’s interview revealing the TRUTH About Leg Extensions with Fitness Pro, National Presenter and Author of 7 fitness books: Brad Schoenfeld.

This interview came about because despite all the negative talk about leg extensions, which have been circling around the fitness world for some years now, I’ve always been a fan of leg extensions for certain clients and for my own personal workouts. In all the years I’ve been using leg extensions and been around the Physique sports world, which uses leg extensions regularly – I’ve never heard or seen anyone who has experienced any negative side effects related to this exercise. So, I wanted to get to the bottom of this Leg Extension controversy, by separting fact from fiction, science from opinion and fantasy vs. reality. My man Brad Schoenfeld, as I expected, was just the right man for the job!

If you’re looking for the non-biased, no BS, scientifically based and real-world approved TRUTH About the Leg Extesion exercise – This interview delivers BIG!!!

The TRUTH ABOUT LEG EXTENSIONS w/ Brad Schoenfeld

.

Who are you and why should we listen to you?

I’m one of the few practitioners who bridges the gap between academia and personal training. My primary area of expertise is in optimizing body composition (increasing muscle development and decreasing body fat), but I have diverse interests that span a wide array of fitness topics. I’m known for my evidence-based approach to training and spend a couple hours a day on average poring over peer-reviewed journals. Guess that makes me a bit of a research geek

Education-wise, I received my Master’s Degree in exercise science from the University of Texas. I’m currently pursuing my PhD at Rocky Mountain University, where my research focuses on the mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. I’ve published over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and I serve as an associate editor for the NSCA Strength and Conditioning Journal. I’m an adjunct professor in the exercise science department at Lehman College and in the natural science department at Mercy College.

On the consumer side, I’ve been a personal trainer for almost two decades. I own a private one-on-one training facility in Scarsdale, NY and also do a lot of consulting with physique athletes. I’ve published nine books (my tenth will be released in 2012), have appeared in hundreds of magazine articles and television shows on various fitness topics, and have lectured around the world for many of the popular fitness organizations. You can read my full bio here:http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/meet_trainer/meet_trainer.html

Do you use the leg extension in your training programs? if so, why?

Absolutely! I’ll add, though, that I use dozens upon dozens of different exercises when carrying out my training programs. Exercises are simply tools to achieve a given fitness goal. Like almost every exercise, leg extensions have certain advantages and certain disadvantages. As such, I employ them when I feel it’s appropriate for the goals and abilities of the individual client. To paraphrase one of my mentors, the late Mel Siff, “There are virtually no such thing bad exercises, only poor application and performance of a given movement.”

I’ve read articles by several individuals from both the fitness and rehab worlds claiming that using the leg extension machine could be dangerous to your knee joint? What’s your take – Is it dangerous – Any conclusive research showing its dangers?

This is partially true. There are a couple of issues with the leg extension that can be problematic. For one, loading is applied perpendicular to the long axis of the tibia—a fact that creates shear force at the knee joint (alternatively, loading during multi-joint movements such as the squat is mainly compressive, with forces applied parallel to the long axis of the tibia). Since a joint is better able to withstand tensile forces from compression as opposed to shear, it therefore follows that leg extensions place increased stresses on the knee joint compared with multi-joint lower body exercises.

What’s more, leg extensions tend to heighten stress to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). During performance of the leg extension, the quadriceps reacts to the movement by pulling the tibia forward (a phenomenon called tibial translation). The ACL in turn opposes the quadriceps by trying to prevent translation of the tibia. These two antithetic actions place a considerable amount of stress on the ACL, and can potentially injure the ligament. It should be noted that in closed chain movements (i.e. squat, leg press, etc) the hamstrings are activated as co-contractors and exert a counter-regulatory effect on the pull of the quadriceps. The co-contraction of the hamstrings and quads help to neutralize tibial translation, alleviating stress on the ACL.

That said, the aforementioned factors should not have a detrimental effect on someone with healthy knee joints provided the exercise is performed properly. I’ve seen no evidence of an increased injury risk to those with healthy knees from performing leg extensions. I could even make a case that it might help to maximally strengthen these structures to a greater extent than other exercises, as tissue adaptation is specific to the degree of stress.

On the other hand, I would say that leg extensions would be contraindicated for those with existing knee problems, particularly when they involve the ACL. I know some physical therapists continue to use the leg extension as a rehabilitation exercise, but based on the research I’ve seen this practice remains questionable.

Has anyone actually been injured while doing a leg extension machine exercise?

People get injured all the time performing pretty much every exercise imaginable, and that would certainly include the leg extension. But that isn’t an indictment of the exercise, only poor application/execution. I will say that under my supervision spanning many hundreds of clients, I am not aware of any of my clients ever having been injured from performance of the leg extension.

People say the leg extension is “not functional”. However, in the video below you discuss why that may not be true - Can you add any more research to your points made in the video.

.

That video was from my presentation titled “The Functional Fitness Continuum” given at the 2011 NSCA Personal Trainer Conference. It was based on an article I wrote for the American College of Sports Medicine where I challenged many of the conventional beliefs about functional training. In the segment you posted, I discuss the classic research study by Fiatarone back in 1990 that evaluated the effects of 8 weeks of leg extension training on functional capacity in nursing home patients (average age: 90 years old). Subjects trained 3 days a week performing 3 sets of 8 repetitions. The results? Subjects improved their functional scores on tests of walking and balance by 48% and lower body strength increased 175%. Two participants were actually able to walk without the assistance of their canes! Now I bring this up only to show that the commonly held notion that leg extensions are “non-functional” simply isn’t true. The fact is, all modalities can elicit functional improvements largely mediated by increases in strength. Machines may facilitate functional gains early on through simplification and in later stages can aid in targeted strengthening of weak muscles.

The take home message (and the whole point of my presentation) is that functional training exists on a continuum, where machines have functional benefits but greater functional transfer is seen with movements taking place in three dimensional space such as free weights and free form equipment (i.e. cable-based machines). A recent study by Spennewyn in 2008 sheds light on this fact. The study compared the effects of fixed-plane machines (including the leg extension) vs. free form equipment on measures of strength and balance in untrained subjects (mean age = 49 years) over 16 weeks. Results showed functional strength increased 57% in the machine training group–that’s pretty impressive, right? But the subjects in the free form group saw a 115% increase–double that of the fixed machine group. Moreover, balance improved 49% in the fixed machine training group versus 245% in the free form group–a fivefold difference. So on the functional fitness continuum, free form equipment elicits greater functional transfer than fixed machine movements.

I’ve heard folks say that the quads don’t extend the knee in function. So, the leg extension doesn’t work the quad muscle in a productive manner. Your take on this statement?

This goes back to my previous comments about the functional fitness continuum. Look at the studies I cited–the leg extension clearly can develop the quads in a productive manner. It’s also important to understand that when it comes to exercise selection, it’s not necessarily a “one or the other” scenario. You can selectively employ machine-based movements and not lose any of the increased functional benefits associated with performing free weight movements. Adding in a fixed machine movement to a free weight protocol could potentially produce greater benefits, depending on the individual client.

On a related note, I always get a chuckle when people say bodybuilding is “non-functional.” First off, bodybuilders generally perform tons of free weight and cable exercises during the course of their training regimens, including squats, lunges, rows, and presses. Those are all highly functional movements on the functional fitness continuum. To this end, show me a bodybuilder who can lift a package or push a car–I’ve never seen one. Better yet, take a look at the following video–http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAshA6J89H0&playnext=1&list=PLC71D1C1F9B1063E6 – Fast forward to the 1:10 minute mark. How many people can perform that type of move?

Who would the leg extension be a good exercise option for?

I generally use the leg extension as a supplement to closed chain movements, as it elicits different recruitment patterns of the quad muscles. Studies show it to be particularly effective in targeting the rectus femoris. If nothing else, variety helps to facilitate more complete quadriceps activation and thus better muscular development. This is particularly beneficial for those whose goal is muscle hypertrophy (bodybuilders, general fitness enthusiasts).

Who wouldn’t it be a good exercise option for?

As I mentioned previously, anyone with knee pathology would generally be contraindicated for leg extensions. I also rarely employ leg extensions (or most machines, for that matter) when I train athletes. It just doesn’t provide sufficient cost/benefit to warrant inclusion in their routines. Then again, I look at each client individually, so if there is a need, I don’t preclude using any and all exercises to achieve a given outcome.

If some one is currently avoiding the leg extension machine for what ever reasoning. What would you say to convince them otherwise?

I would simply say to consider your goals and abilities. There might be legitimate reasons why a leg extension should not be part of your routine. That’s fine. But no exercise should not be dismissed outright simply because someone says it is “non-functional” or “dangerous.” These are gross generalizations that, based on the research, are inherently flawed in terms of practical application.

Any other research on the leg extension or cool tid-bits of knowledge you think we should know about the leg extension?

There has been some interesting research about altering foot position during the leg extension to elicit greater activation of selected quadriceps muscles. Specifically, medial rotation (i.e. turning the legs inward) causes a greater activation of the vastus muscles (i.e. vastus lateralis and medialis) while external rotation (i.e. turning the legs outward) produces greater activation of the rectus femoris. While this seems cool on the surface, the practical benefit is questionable. In my view, altering leg position can cause the knee to track improperly and thus potentially increase the potential for injury. I personally feel it’s not a good risk/reward ratio. My general suggestion is to keep the legs in neutral position for optimal safety.

Take Home Points

- If you currently have an exsisting knee problem, the leg extension exercise may not be the best option for you unless otherwise recommended by a medical professional.

- If you’re goal is to increase the muscle mass of your Quadriceps, the leg extension offers benefits that other exercises may not.

- The Leg extension exercise can be part of a comprehensive muscle building / bodybuilding workout program without any negative effects to your knees

- Athletes may still benefit from performing leg extension due to the strength carryover into real life movements.

Check out Brad Schoenfeld‘s books, Newsletter and Fitness Blog at www.workout911.com

Wikio

Leverage Alteration Training

by Tom Furman – 4/28/2011

You can learn a lot about building muscle when your car runs out of gas.
Visualize what your body position was like the last time you had to push a car. You probably started out in a very good position: arms extended, body rigid, legs flexed appropriately.
Then the fun began. You bent your arms, pushed with your forearms, hips, back, and shoulders. Your body, which is wired to be efficient, altered your leverage both consciously and unconsciously, to allow you to endure. Without knowing it, you made use of bigger muscles as the smaller ones fatigued.
Taking note of this simple process, maybe we can add a new tool to our training.
With Leverage Alteration Training you shift into a stronger, safer position as muscles fatigue that allows you to extend the movements for greater hypertrophy, strength, or endurance.

Advantages of Leverage Alteration Training (LAT)

• Focuses primarily on compound exercises. Big lifts = big gains.
• Exhausts the target movement and motor units thoroughly.
• Allows the body to get used to handling more weight safely for longer periods of time.
• Provides a healthy dose of variety, thereby extending the adaptation curve.
• Opens up a huge potential for creativity (boredom is a killer!).

Ways to Successfully Employ LAT

• The A & B standard. Do two exercises back to back. An example is the front squat-to-back squat combination below.
• The A & B staggered. Do sets of exercise A till exhausted, then do sets of a more mechanically advantaged exercise B. The old school method of starting off a chest workout with sets of incline presses before moving onto flat and decline exercises is an example.
• String together a chain into a conditioning giant set. Complexes are the rage today in the met-con world. Combine LAT principles with giant sets for conditioning workouts that make sense.
• Alternate opposing muscles. Classic push-pull. A set of presses alternated with opposing sets of rows, or sets of dips combined with chin-ups.

Some scenarios where LAT training is ideal.

• When bodyweight-only training is the only option. Stuck at home or only have access to a crappy hotel "fitness center?" Use LAT principles to devise kick-ass bodyweight-only exercise combinations, like the push-up to scapular push-up described later on in this article.
• Shorten rest periods for conditioning. Smart bodybuilders have figured out that shortening the rest interval between sets increases the calorie expenditure of workouts. LAT principles make it possible to do this and still train with effective loads.
• Lengthen rest periods for size and strength. To lift more weight, you need to rest more between sets. Alternating opposing muscle groups (pushing and pulling) allows you to double the rest time between sets of the same exercise, while still maintaining the same total number of sets per workout.
  
  For example, perform a set of 3RM bench presses, rest two minutes, and then perform a set of 3RM chin-ups. Rest two minutes before returning to another set of 3RM bench presses. The rest between work sets is two minutes across the board, but the rest between sets of the same exercise is actually four minutes. More rest usually translates into increased strength.
• Focus on a weak muscle group or movement. LAT techniques are a fantastic way to thoroughly trash a lot of motor units to bring up a stubborn weak point.
• Recondition an injured area. Often you can't go "guns blazing" into an injured bodypart or muscle group. While a set of heavy shoulder presses may make your shoulders scream, rear deltoid raises to front deltoid raises to lateral raises may allow you to blast shoulders pain-free.
• Focus on extended endurance for your specific sport. Condition-heavy sports like MMA, grappling, and judo require athletes go full tilt for several minutes at a time. Extended set LAT workouts mimic these conditions better than the standard 30-45 second time under tension.

But the real beauty of Leverage Alteration Training is that you don't have to "ditch" your current training split to incorporate a few extended sets. LAT can fit seamlessly into any program to provide much-needed variety or stimulation.
Here are a few favorites.

Legs

• Front squat to back squat

This method is hopefully self-explanatory. The front squat is performed first for a predetermined number of repetitions. Watch for weakened form or fighting for stability, at which point you simply re-rack the weight and with little rest, move into back squats. You should feel safer, more stable, and able to continue training your legs. There's no need to go to failure here – you won't need it!

• Sissy squats to front squats

The late Vince Gironda popularized the sissy squat. The barbell is held on the front of the shoulders, usually with the heels elevated on blocks. With the hips kept locked, slowly bend the knees, allowing the upper body to lay back like a bodybuilding limbo contest. The stress should be felt on the front of the thighs. Flex your quads hard and return to a vertical position. Repeat this effort until the targeted number of repetitions is reached.
Now shift to a front squat, lowering your hips and sitting back, keeping your shins vertical. Go from lockout to stretched position in one smooth movement. The front squat will feel different because your posterior thigh will be relatively fresh, while the frontal thigh will be fatigued and warm.

• Sissy squats to front squat to back squat

This is a three-step process combining the two methods above. After the sissy and front squat combo, re-rack the weight and move to a back squat. Expect some ridiculous soreness.

• Back squat to box squat

The idea here is to take advantage of the massive systemic stimulating effects of the squat, then have some training partners set a box behind you to finish off with some box squats. Sitting back onto a box forces good technique; relieving tension on the frontal thighs allows you to continue this valuable motion. The reduced tension also forces you to recruit your posterior chain as you lean forward to get off the box to the standing position, not unlike a fat guy getting off a couch.

• Stiff legged deadlift (SLDL) to Romanian deadlift

The SLDL is usually done with a slight bend in the knees. The weight is lowered towards the ground and sometimes the trainee stands on a small bench or block to increase the range of motion. This deadlift variation puts the hamstrings and entire posterior chain at a leverage disadvantage, while grip failure, something that usually occurs in the traditional deadlift, is less of an issue.
Perform SLDL's until form becomes even mildly compromised, then reset with a wider stance. The trick is now to "force" the butt back as if trying to touch the other side of the room with your behind. The back should remain flat and the knees bent. Keeping mental composure along with flawless form is of the utmost importance.

• Bulgarian split squat to walking lunge

Here's another combo that uses a sub-maximal weight for dramatic effects. The traditional Bulgarian split squat requires elevating the rear leg on a bench and squatting on one leg. Carrying dumbbells at your sides as opposed to a barbell on your back keeps the center of gravity lower, thereby increasing the safety.
Train each leg individually, starting with the weaker leg. The emphasis should be on keeping the torso upright, and forcing the action at the hip more than the knee. Upon completion, keep hold of the dumbbells and reset for walking lunges. The distance is up to you, but now the lever is less severe and the balance significantly better.

Chest

• DB fly to DB bench press

The dumbbell fly to dumbbell bench press is a classic example of altering levers to get more "value" out of an exercise. We've all heard stories of athletes using too heavy a weight in the fly and hurting their shoulders. Here's a chance to retain the value of the exercise while reducing some of the potential risks associated with it.
Using a flat bench or incline and holding a pair of dumbbells, bend the arms to 90 degrees and perform the dumbbell fly motion until you reach a point where the bottom or stretched position becomes unwieldy and unstable. Now it's time to lock out the 'bells and regroup. Take a breath, reset, and start doing the dumbbell bench press. Conclude the exercise when you've hit the prescribed range of repetitions.

• Incline to flat bench press

There's nothing magical about this combination. Years ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Venice Beach gang would precede the standard bench press with inclines after they discovered that super heavy benches alone didn't lead to balanced pec development. This combination can be done on an adjustable bench or two separate benches if you have the equipment available.

• Wide to narrow grip press

This was a strategy used by Dorian Yates and scores of athletes before him. Simply start with a wide grip on the barbell and move your grip in a bit each set.

• Dips to pushups

Dipping can be done on rings or a standard dipping station. Moving from dipping to any type of pushup changes the leverage significantly.

• Pushup to scapular shrug

A simple set of pushups usually is finished when your triceps get fatigued, but you should still be able to maintain the lockout position. It's in this position that you can do scapular shrugs. Relax the serratus muscle and allow your torso to ratchet down and inch, then tighten it again to a strong aligned position.

Lats

• Pull-ups to lat shrugs

Failure in pull-ups or chin-ups is usually failure of the elbow flexors. You can continue to exercise the lats by shortening the distance between the upper arm and torso by performing a series of shrugs. Simply focus on tightening the muscles around the armpit and it will incline the body slightly, allowing you to stimulate the largest muscles of the upper body more significantly.

• Hammer row to lat shrug

This exercise requires the use of a Hammer machine or similar apparatus. Having the chest supported is a big plus and allows you to drive the pulling muscles of the upper body to a more thorough level of stimulation. Once the upper arms become fatigued, the shoulder structure can be pulled back in a type of shrug to isolate the function of the latissimus muscles.

• One-armed DB row to shrug

Similar to the previous Hammer row example, the arm flexors may be the first to fail, but the shoulders can be shrugged back for several repetitions. Bracing your knee and arm on a strong bench helps protect the low back.

• Straight-arm pullover to bent-armed pullover

Keeping the arms straight during the pullover severely limits the weight that can be lifted due to the increased lever length. Bending the arms will allow repetitions, and stimulation of the latissimus and pectorals, to continue. Depending on your strength levels, you may fail because of triceps fatigue. Feel free to experiment.

• Pull-ups to inverted rows

These are best performed in a power rack. Set the pins in the rack so that the barbell is slightly higher than arms length if you were laying supine on the floor. At a chinning station, perform standard chin-ups to exhaustion, return to the power rack, lie on the floor, and perform inverted rows to exhaustion.

• Bent over row to shrug

This one's a natural. When you reach your limit on bent over rows, recover to an upright position and continue with a set of shrugs. The low back stress will be minimized and the muscles of the upper back can continue to be hit even though the elbow flexors are fatigued.

Shoulders

• Straight-arm laterals to bent-armed laterals

Simply shortening the lever arm by bending the upper arm will allow you to continue lifting the dumbbells in good form. The bend should be at ninety degrees to ensure some moderate level of uniformity. Always begin with the arms nearly straight; when good form becomes impossible or hazardous, shift to the lever-optimized position.

• Press behind the neck to military press

The behind the neck press isn't appropriate for trainees who lack shoulder flexibility, but for others it's a great exercise. Perform the behind the neck press strictly, and when you sense your form degrading, lower the bar to the front of the chest and continue the set with military presses.

• Military press to upward shrug

Moving from an overhead press to an overhead 'shrug' is a progression that's best started with a lighter weight. Don't work to failure – stop when form is diminishing. Lock out the barbell and continue with a slow, controlled set of vertical shrugs.

• Wide grip upright row to overhead press

Elevating a barbell by pulling it in an upright rowing motion is not an advantaged position. Before form breaks down (and injury risk increases), clean the weight to your shoulders and continue to exercise the deltoid muscles with an overhead/military press.

• Rear deltoid raise to front deltoid raise to lateral raise

Isolating the deltoids by performing raises in various directions has been done for years. The raise to the rear, while folded over at the hips, is usually the weakest position, and should be done first. The second motion would be raises to the front with the thumb pointing up. The last motion is the standard lateral raise (to the side).

Arms

• Hammer curl to dumbbell curl

The biceps are strongest in the supinated (palms up) position. Starting your biceps session with hammer curls means you're slightly disadvantaged while the muscle is fresh. With the onset of fatigue, supinate the palms and activate the muscle more fully.

• Scott curl to body drag curl

This is an old Vince Gironda favorite. The elbows are braced with the Scott curl, forcing the biceps into an unfavorable position. When fatigue sets in, step away from the Scott bench and do body drag curls.

• Reverse curl to barbell curl

Again, the elbow flexors aren't in an optimal position with a fully pronated (palms down) grip. When form becomes an issue, set the barbell down for a brief second and re-grip with a supinated grip. This stronger positioning will allow you to extend the set significantly.

• Triceps extension to close grip bench press

The lying triceps extension is a very strict movement that requires keeping the elbows pointed at the ceiling and focusing on the controlled extension of the lower arm. Maintaining proper form can be difficult, so shifting to a position where you're stronger is not only more effective, but safer.
As you fatigue, lower the weight to sternum level and position your arms laterally beside your rib cage. Now continue to do a close grip press, being sure to lock out the elbow at the top of the movement.

• Behind the back wrist curl to finger curl

This is a cool one. Hold a barbell behind your back in a pronated grip. Keep your fingers clenched and do slow wrist curls. Your forearms will fatigue and your range of motion will decrease. Now let the bar roll down and unclench the fingers. Curl the weight with just the strength of the fingers until near failure.

Calves

• Standing calf raise to donkey calf raise

This exercise requires a dipping belt across the waist. Attach a dumbbell to the belt for resistance and start with the standard calf raise. The knees should be kept locked and loaded and focus on keeping the weight on the big toe side of the foot. When form begins to fail, bend forward and continue with the heel raises, unlocking the knees slightly as well. Continue while moving slower and pausing longer in the stretched position.

The Wrap Up

Obviously, there's no way any sane individual would want to use all of these techniques in the same program. But if your training has been lagging or a certain bodypart in particular just isn't responding, give Leverage Activation Training a shot.
Granted, LAT is nothing new, and it certainly isn't fancy. It's simply an old school tool for increased efficiency and oh-so important variation. As they say, variety is the spice of life – not to mention long-term training success.
Extend your sets. Extend your results!

Wikio

Fact vs. Fiction: The Truth about Training Frequency

by Mike Robertson – 4/27/2011

Training frequency is a hotly debated topic.

Some say that if you train more often than once a fortnight, you'll overtrain and your nervous system will explode. Others say that if you aren't training six, eight, or even ten or more times per week, there's no way you're going to see progress.

For most, the best approach lies somewhere in the middle. Let's start off with an example to help illustrate my point.

Off The Grid

A few weeks back, one of my online training clients went "off the grid," and decided he would pull on a Monday. It wasn't ridiculously heavy, but the work sets ended up somewhere around 80% of his 1-RM. The next day (the day he was supposed to deadlift), his workout absolutely sucked.

Other than failing to adhere to my program, what was the biggest issue here?

Here's the first rule of training frequency: Your body is amazingly adept at recovering from whatever training load it's used to. If you're used to training once every five days, your body gets used to that. It likes training once every five days.

On the contrary, if you're an elite athlete, you may train twice per day, six days per week. If you're used to training 12 times per week, your body gets used to that as well.

Now let's break this down a bit further.

The Frequency Question

At the end of the day, it's not a question of how often you can train. The real question is how much training can you recover from? There are two key components to training: Stimulating the muscle/nervous system to elicit an adaptation (fat loss, muscle gain, strength gain, etc.), and being able to recover from it.

Before we talk training, let's focus on the other side of the equation that no one wants to discuss – recovery.

Too many people assume that stress is solely relegated to what they do in the gym. In other words, they think the only stress that influences their recovery is the masochist workouts they put themselves through.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Here's a short list of things that can positively (or negatively) influence recovery:

Training Age

Chronological Age

Quality and quantity of sleep

Hormonal status

Family stress (wife, girlfriend, children, friends, etc.)

Work-related stress

Money-related stress

Diet and nutrition

Supplementation (both of the legal and illegal variety)

As you can see, there are a ton of things that determine how well we recover from a single workout. If you're not recovering from your training, you're not maximizing your progress.

Common Sense Recommendations

Now that we've covered the topic of stress and recovery, let's begin with a dose of common sense concerning training frequency.

Training once every seven to ten days probably isn't going to cut it, regardless of your goals. Even strength maintenance is going to be tough when you're training that infrequently. Unless you have the Testosterone levels of an 80-year old grandmother, or the most stressful job on the planet, chances are you can recover enough to train more frequently than this.

On the other hand, some are quick to espouse training multiple training sessions per day. They'll cite that Olympic caliber athletes often train this way, and that you should be able to as well.

This argument is seriously flawed. First off, Olympic caliber athletes are 100% committed to their sport. They don't have jobs and usually have structured their lives to have minimal stress outside of training.

They've also taken years, if not decades, to increase their work capacity to a point where they can train multiple times per day. Even for some of the elite guys that may be reading this, chances are you can get more than sufficient gains sticking with a more manageable split.

For most, hitting the weights between two and four times per week is probably more than enough to reach your goals. But before I give you my specific recommendations, let's examine how some extreme examples can work.

Practical Examples of Training Frequency

Bubba loves HIT, and thinks it's the only way to go for size gains. Sergei says that Sheiko is what really took his squat through the roof.

While I respect everyone's opinion, I also understand that in most cases N=1. Everyone assumes that if it works for them, it should work for everyone. The old saying definitely rings true: "Everything works – but nothing works forever!"

Lower frequency training methods (such as HIT) can work, especially if someone has pushed their recovery envelope in the weeks/months leading up to its introduction.

Imagine this, you've just come off the hardest training cycle of your life. You pushed every rep of every set, and you're absolutely gassed. You trained four days per week and no session was half-assed.

This could be a time where your body needs that extra recovery. Some of the biggest proponents of HIT-style training were bodybuilders who were notorious for killing themselves in the gym six days per week.

Is it any wonder why HIT worked for them? They pushed and pushed, so when they finally took extra time to back off, their gains went through the roof!

On the other hand, high frequency programs can elicit serious progress as well. Look at guys that use the introductory Sheiko programs, the Smolov squat routine, or attempt some of the Bulgarian weightlifting programs.

These programs offer a unique blend of volume, intensity, and perhaps most importantly, work on the specific lifts (motor learning). After all if you squat two, three, or even four times per week, chances are you'll get pretty darn good at squatting!

IF they can survive, the results they get are astounding. But that's a big if. The Bulgarian system is known for its meat-grinding effects; throw in a couple thousand lifters, and the ones that survive the training programs comprise their Olympic team!

Again, the key is figuring out what will work best for you. What training frequency is best given your goals, your recovery abilities, etc.? Once we've determined your goals, we can determine how many times per week is probably best to maximize your performance.

How Your Goals Influence Your Training Frequency

Goal #1 – Building size

Building mass may be the program that allows you to train the least frequently. Unfortunately, these need to be seriously kick-ass sessions while you're in the gym!

For example, in his new book Mass Made Simple, Dan John would have you train one day and then take two days off before training again. However, he also dishes out complexes and high rep squats, so these workouts are far from a walk in the park!

John McCallum, in his book Keys to Progress, cites three days per week as the optimal training frequency if your goal is to pack on size. At most, I wouldn't recommend more than three times per week.

If you're training twice per week, you need two total-body workouts. If you're training three days per week, you choose either total or split-body workouts.

Goal #2 – Strength gain

Strength gain may be the goal with the most variability. Some programs have you squatting four times per week, while others may only have you squat once per week.

For most trainees who are serious about getting stronger, three to four workouts per week is probably ideal. If you're training four days, an upper-lower split with two workouts apiece is a great start.

If you're training three times per week, you could probably get away with total body workouts, but you're likely better served with an upper-lower split.

Goal #3 – Shedding body fat

Body fat reduction is on the opposite end of the training spectrum from mass gain. If your goal is to gain mass, you want to minimize calorie expenditure outside of training and focus your efforts on building those gunz.

Kidding!

On the contrary, if your goal is to shed body fat, you want to burn as many calories as possible. Duh!

For fat loss clients, I often recommend a minimum of three workouts per week. However, depending on the client, their schedule, and their recovery capacity, that could be bumped up to six training sessions per week.

Three sessions would include strength training and some form of higher intensity cardio, while they could do longer duration/lower intensity cardio on their off days for both recovery and additional calorie burning purposes.

Here's a handy summary:

Training Goal Training Frequency Type of Routine

Mass gain 2x / week

3x / week Total Body

Total or Upper / Lower Split

Strength gain 3x / week

4x / week Total or Upper / Lower Split

Upper / Lower Split

Fat Loss 3-6x / week Total / Cardio on off Days

My Philosophy on Training

My philosophy on training for strength and size is simple. I want to do as little as possible to continue making gains. If anything, I'd rather under train than over train.

This goes hand-in-hand with another key priority: I always focus on quality of training and movement. For fat loss, clients often need a total lifestyle overhaul. I like to get them doing something, anything, as often as their schedule will afford.

I'd love to have them come in and strength train 3x/week, but I'd love it even more if they'd take a walk on their off days, or ride the Airdyne bike.

When they move more frequently, not only are they more in tune with their bodies, but they tend to "get it" much faster.

Losing weight and/or body fat isn't a goal that's achieved overnight; it's something that takes hard work and dedication. Perhaps most importantly, it requires a shift to a more healthy lifestyle overall.

Summary

Before I encourage you to post your questions on the LiveSpill, I know someone is going to say I still haven't told you the exact frequency you need to follow.

Nope, I sure haven't. Like everything in training, you need to figure out what works best for you and your body. I can't tell you exactly what to do, because I don't know you.

Wikio

Blood and Chalk Volume 10

Blood and Chalk Volume 10

by Jim Wendler – 4/25/2011

Jim Wendler is an accomplished powerlifter who was schooled, beaten up and bloodied, and "graduated with honors" from Westside. His best lifts include a 1000-pound squat, a 675-pound bench, and a 700-pound deadlift – a 2375 total in the 275 lbs. class. That's right, inhuman strength.

Perhaps unlike his mentors and peers, Wendler applies a more streamlined, "get in and get out" mentality to his workouts. This mindset gave birth to his book, "5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System for Raw Strength." It currently ranks as one of the most popular lifting systems ever developed.

When this former Division 1 college athlete isn't getting a new tattoo, riding his motorcycle, or tending to his offspring, he's dishing out often-caustic but-oh-so-true information and advice about lifting. He is, above all, 100% his own man.

T NATION: Many strength-training systems have a speed component. I've noticed that 5/3/1 doesn't really go there. Do you not see it as necessary? I'm an athlete (defensive back) so speed is important to me.

Jim Wendler: There's been a lot of discussion about the value of dynamic work. I'm 100% in favor of it, and all you have to do is look at some of the most explosive athletes on the planet – throwers. Most of these guys possess very high levels of strength and speed. Along with football players, they're some of the biggest and fastest athletes around.

Growing up I always looked at how these guys trained , guys like Randy Matson, Ulf Timmerman, Randy Barnes, Brent Noon, etc. All of them reportedly trained with basic exercises like the squat, bench, and clean and did a ton of jumps, sprints, and throws; the latter being what I consider to be great for any athlete, even if you're just performing on the platform.

The trick is to set up a basic training template and incorporate the appropriate jump or throw. For example:

Warm-up (jump rope, dynamic/static stretching, foam rolling)

Dynamic training (box jumps, hurdle jumps, shot put/medicine ball throws)

Strength work (squat, clean, deadlift, press, bench press)

Assistance work

Conditioning

For the jumps and throws, make sure your level of preparedness matches the exercises – don't start out with five-foot depth jumps. Med ball throws (over the head, chest passes, backwards) and simple landing drills from a box are all good ways to make sure you're ready for the next step.

Along with starting with the right exercises, it's important not to turn this into a conditioning session. Take your time and do the reps CORRECTLY. Unlike a gangbang, training is always about quality over quantity.

I designed the 5/3/1 program to be very versatile for every situation and every lifter– from athlete to gym rat to powerlifter. You just need to fit the right pieces into the program to customize it for you.

T NATION: You talk a lot about learning to program and finding your own ideal frequency. Training too much sounds easy to spot – you're always sore, tired, and don't make progress. How do I know if I'm not training frequently enough?

JW: Wow. I've never heard that question asked before – mainly because the people that suffer from a lack of training are usually too lazy to care OR they know they haven't put forth the effort needed and taken full responsibility (someone who's finishing up school and has a ton of papers, tests, and studying to take care of would be an example). But for the most part this isn't something that I've ever heard.

Anyhow, there are a couple things I've noticed about undertrainers.

First, their form is always off; they don't know where to place their feet on the squat or deadlift...or the bar never seems to sit right on their backs. Remember, this is also a problem with beginners or when a lifter tries to change part of their technique or form. This also creeps up when there's a weight gain and the leverages are different.

Second, they always get sore. Even when doing a basic workout with minimal assistance work.

Third, they get consistently fatter and softer.

Fourth, they make zero progress.

In reality, not training frequently enough is usually a sign of depression, stress, or something bigger happening in life. There are reasons why someone who loves to train is no longer motivated to get in the gym.

T NATION: I know too much assistance work can mess up progress as can hitting the assistance stuff too hard. Thing is, I love assistance work. Can I do "more" of it, provided I keep the intensity low? What do you suggest?

JW: This is very easy to do. Remember that in training and in life, there's a balance to everything – a push and a pull. You push something into your training and something has to come out. In your case, you want to push up the volume of your assistance work to elicit greater gains in hypertrophy. Because of this you have to pull something out.

I'd start by dialing back your training maxes to at least 90% of your max and don't go for max reps. Just keep things "even" with your heavy lifting. Don't push everything that hard – keep the intensity up, but the volume LOW.

Now after your big lift of the day, beat the hell out of the muscles. For example, you could squat and then follow that up with big work for your quads, hamstrings, and lower back. But with the increased volume of the assistance work, you need the extra energy that wasn't spent on the main lifts.

The problem is that everyone wants to have their cake and eat it too. It doesn't work like that – you can't be strong like a powerlifter, fast as sprinter, and as big as a linebacker. Well, you can, but these people are so rare that teams pay them millions of dollars and television stations have billion dollar contracts to broadcast them to you. They're called professional football players, and if you're one of them, you aren't reading this, as you're too busy counting your money and cracking skulls.

So if you want to increase the volume of your assistance work, dial back the strength work in the beginning of your training. This will allow you to maintain your strength and build the muscle you desire. Also, less typing – more eating.

T NATION: You love chin-ups. So do I. What are your thoughts on weighted chins?

JW: I like them. I'm not voting for them in the next "Five Awesome Exercises" election but they certainly have their place. I've championed chin-ups for years, mostly because they're great for the upper back, lats, and arms. And because you can do them anywhere – chin-up bar, top of the Smith machine, scaffolding, top of the monolift, playground equipment, etc.

Weighted chins are a good idea IF you can do them, and even then you still need to keep bodyweight chins as part of your training (unless you can bang out multiple sets of 20 with good form). And if that's the case, gain some weight!

If you want to add some weighted chins as part of your training repertoire, start light and see how you do. Make sure you use something that doesn't allow the weight or dumbbell to swing too much when you do them. I recommend a good chin/dip belt or simply get a piece of chain and hang it from your lifting belt.

Harry Selkow at eliteFTS.com has a great chinning program that'll increase your weighted chins AND your bodyweight chins. My approach is simpler. One day I'd do bodyweight chins for 50 or more total reps. The next chin-up day I'd do a couple sets of weighted chins, either multiple sets at a given weight (for example 5 sets of 6 reps with 45 lbs.) or work up to an all-out set with the heaviest weight I can handle.

As much as I love doing chins, they're still not squats, presses, cleans, and pulls. They're great to do, but I'm not going to lose sleep if my strength on these goes up and my chinning strength remain stagnant.

You can't sleep with all the women in the sorority, so just be happy you got some trim.

T NATION: What are your favorite strongman moves and how would I program them into 5/3/1?

JW: Provided that you're not a strongman in training (i.e. you aren't training for a contest), this is easy to do.

For log pressing, do this as a second exercise on either of your bench or press days. I love the rackable log that EFS sells; it's so much easier to do presses and bench pressing with that thing.

For log cleans, I've done these for the past couple of years and used them as a main exercise. I'd do them with the same set/rep scheme as the squat, deadlift, or power clean. Do these before you squat or deadlift. Admittedly, I never really learned the proper form on these, I just picked it up and performed a Neanderthal man clean.

With pulling a weighted sled hand-over-hand, farmer's walks, sled drags, tire flips, Yoke walks, or even Prowler pushes (I know, not a strongman move but it's awesome), I'd do these at the end of the training day. Now please remember that these things are weighted and do tax the hell out of you, so if you're going to add these in you may want to limit the assistance work on those days.

For example:

Power Clean – 5/3/1

Squat – 5/3/1

Hanging leg raises – 3 sets

Farmer's walk

I don't pretend to know exactly how to do all of these things well. When we did farmer's walks, we'd just go for 40 yards, rest, add weight, and then go 40 more. This went on until we couldn't do it. We always started fairly light and worked up slowly (sound familiar)?

Whatever you plan on doing or have access to, all of these exercises offer variety to the staleness a weight room may have. Get the big movements in, then push, drag, or carry some heavy shit. Can't get more awesome than that.

T NATION: After yet another "no chalk in our facility" lecture I'm officially done with the commercial gym. The wife's given me the go-ahead to turn our basement into a kick-ass (albeit small) gym. You know equipment, what items are must-haves?

JW: This kind of depends on what you want to do in your training and what your goals are. But for simplicity sake, let's just say you want to be strong and awesome. This is by far the easiest thing you can train for, and probably the cheapest. Here's what you'll need.

Power rack – This will allow you to squat and bench safely. Make sure you get a dumbbell bench or adjustable incline bench to go in there. Get a chin bar and dip bars (detachable) on the rack. I'm always partial to EFS' stuff mostly because I've trained on it for a decade and it's always survived the beatings. I can't tell you how many times I've talked to people looking to cut corners on cost and then having to buy another rack. Buy nice, don't buy twice!

Texas power bar – Don't get a cheap bar. The Texas Power Bar is BY FAR the best all-around lifting bar there is. If I'm going to put a bar on my back, over my face, or over my head I want to be sure that it is built to last. This is NOT something I'd skimp on.

Platform – I'm assuming that you'll be doing deadlifts and cleans so this is a no brainer. And it's cheap too. Build a 6x8 platform using 2x12's and plywood. I did it and I have a public education and drank most of my brain cells away. I also put a 6x8 piece of carpet on there so my feet don't slip. This thing is bomb proof and a great way to have a dedicated area for deadlifts and cleans.

Weights – This is where you get killed so look around for gyms that are going out of business or go to a used sporting goods store. Also, check classified ads like Craigslist (not the personal ads, for a change) and any other resource you can find. You can always find good used stuff if you're patient and know where to look.

Mats – This isn't necessary but most people cover their floor with some kind of matting. I'd really look at places that sell horse mat stalls as they're infinitely cheaper than gym flooring and are the same thing. I got mine at Tractor Supply.

Specialty bars – This isn't necessary but you may want to look into something like a Texas Squat Bar, Texas DL Bar, Safety Squat Bar, or a log.

Chalk – The reason you want a home gym, right?

Cheap but loud radio – This will get covered in chalk so don't invest too much.

Space heater – This is a must for cold weather states if you train in a garage. Hearty Canadians can skip this, or use the cash for a chalk stand shaped like the Stanley Cup.

Adjustable dumbbells – I like the ones from Ironmind or you can simply build your own. They're easy to make and assemble. Look around the Internet for more information.

Sled or Prowler – Again, this isn't necessary but I love the Prowler for conditioning.

Bands – A great substitute for a pulley system. You can do rows, pulldowns, face pulls, and triceps pushdowns with them. I recommend getting some light and average bands for this.

A home gym is a GREAT investment if you're committed to the basics of training. My last piece of advice is to rid your space of anything that isn't training related. Make that your home. You don't study where you sleep and you shouldn't train where your kids play video games.

Got a question for Jim? Tough! He doesn't give a rat's ass! Still, you could try throwing one up on the Live Spill. It's possible he's feeling relatively warm and fuzzy today.