From time to time we all have trouble falling asleep for various reasons. If you had a cat nap in the afternoon, that will sometimes delay falling asleep at night, but most of the time when people have a hard time falling asleep at night it's because their mind is over-active! Sort of like a hamster running on the wheel.
The problem is that an overactive mind is hard to stop. And regardless of how tired you are, if your mind is overactive at night, you may be in for a sleepless night, and then a rotten next day!
These nights usually happen because of some sort of stressor. It may be work related such as not sure whether you get the job or not, or you may have had a fight with your husband or wife. It may even be issues with your kids at school or with their peers.
These issues (stressors) are all things that clearly your mind wants to devote significant thought too, and of course, its going to do it at the most inopportune time--when you need to sleep!
When this happens, trying not to think of these things never works. Even trying to calm your mind or not to think of anything never works. In fact in the past whenever I tried to stop thinking about whatever was on my mind, I would find myself thinking about it even more!
You may have also heard suggestions such as counting sheep. Well in the past I've gotten as high as 800 sheep before I finally gave up and went back to thinking about whatever was bugging me.
The problem is that you can't stop a locomotive in motion without excessive force (sleeping pills). But with a much lesser degree of force, you can change the direction the locomotive is going!
The key is to allow your mind to continue to think away, but to give it a distraction that eventually wins out. When your mind is finally thoroughly distracted from the original issue that was fueling its busy thoughts, the fuel to the thinking process is shut off, and before you know it you're out like a light!
WHEN YOU CAN'T SLEEP, IS THIS HOW YOU FEEL?
If you have trouble falling asleep because your hamster is running away on the wheel and you just can't seem to make him take a break, I've got the perfect solution for you!
I'll admit this isn't some researched, scientifically proved solution, but I was prone to this problem falling asleep at night quite often, and this has worked every time in less than 5 minutes for me.
Do you know the colours of the rainbow? They are (R)ed, (O)range, (Y)ellow, (G)reen, (B)lue, (I)ndigo, (V)iolet.
The acronym to remember them is the proper name ROY G. BIV
So here's what you do. Don't try to stop thinking about whatever you've been lying awake thinking about, instead, just pretend that you're now looking at (or thinking about) the same issue but through a red pane of glass. So you can still see (think of) the issue clearly, but it's red now.
This might sound a little confusing, so let me paint the picture. Let's say that you're stressed out about the interview you had for a new job. Let's say that you keep going over in your head how the person interviewing you was looking at you when you answered a few questions. And that you're uncertain of whether or not you gave the answer they were looking for.
So what you would do is put yourself back in the office where you were having the interview, but everything is red. The walls are red, the carpet, the desk, the person who interviewed you has red skin, red hair, red eyes, is wearing red clothing, has a red cup of red coffee on the desk, etc...
So basically you overlay a red filter on everything you see. It may take a few minutes to be able to really see everything in red. I think it took me about five minutes probably of continuing to really try to see everything in red.
When you're finally able to really see everything in red, switch to Orange. Repeat the process in the same way. Then switch to Yellow, then Green, then Blue, then Indigo, then Violet.
I'll bet you don't make it through all the colours even once.
I'm not exactly sure how I came up with the idea of using colours, in theory I think anything that would distract you would work, but I found that trying to think of other things, just made me think of whatever was bugging me more. Whereas with the colours, you're not trying to stop thinking about the thing that bugs you, but you're just adding a distracting detail within the same environment.
Personally I find it challenging to overlay colour like this on my thoughts, and for this reason, I usually don't make it past Orange or Yellow. The first time I did it I got to Green, but haven't again since.
Anyway, before posting this I had brought the idea up to a few of my clients and family members who've come back to me very impressed and thankful, saying it worked very quickly for them.
So next time you're having trouble falling alseep because of the damn hamster on the wheel, give my colourful solution a try!
A GOOD SQUAT = HOLY GRAIL A good squat for many is like the holy grail. We go to lengths most normal people would consider crazy in our quest to build a good squat.
I say "normal" when I refer to folks who DON'T spend countless hours each week just thinking about their upcoming squat workout--not to mention the time spent actually doing the workout.
With so much personal investment in just one exercise, when your squat just isn't improving anymore it can take a real emotional toll.
In effort to help keep you on the emotional even keel, here are 5 Reasons Your Squat Sucks (and how to fix them!)
1. NOT ENOUGH SLEEP (don't worry I'll hit the training stuff later)
I know this one may seem a little obvious, but it's often overlooked as a reason for why your squat sucks!As is often the case the obvious things are so important (hint: that's why they're obvious! ;).
I have a 10 week old daughter and in the last few weeks I'd been wondering why my squat has sucked so badly! Of course with my fatigue levels bordering on completely preventing me from training at all, my analytical skills were pretty lousy so it took me a while to figure it out!
Duh! I've only been managing to get about 5-6 hours of broken sleep each night. (Having a kid though, is a good reason for your squat to suck!)
A lack of sleep causes a number of things to happen.
(A) Growth Hormone production is reduced. Growth hormone is released in the first 90 minutes of sleep, and if your overall sleep duration is reduced GH output drops as well.
(B) Tissue growth and maintenance occurs during stage 3 and 4 sleep (deep sleep), and hard training demands more deep sleep as the microtrauma needs reparation. However, if you aren't getting enough sleep, your brain will forgo the deep sleep necessary to repair and grow new muscle tissue in favour of resting your mind.
From an evolutionary standpoint it kind of makes sense! It won't matter how big and strong you are if you're so tired that you forget to look both ways before crossing the road and you get smoked by MACK truck!
(C) Have you ever actually tried to squat when you're tired? It just plain sucks!So if you don't want your squat to suck make sure you get a good 8 hours of muscle building sleep each night!
2. WEAK HIPS, ADDUCTORS & GLUTES
Coming out of the hole requires powerful glutes and hip musculature. For many squatting below parallel seems impossible (by the way, any squat that isn't below parallel is naturally doomed to have more limited strength increase potential), but it can be learned.
If you've never squatted below parallel, some accessory hip and glute training exercises will go a long way towards preparing for the deep squat. Exercises like glute bridges, clams, adductor band work, various side lying abductor and abductor+external rotation exercises, and band X-walking should be introduced into your programming to help prepare your muscles for the strength requirements of full depth squatting.
Don't try to do them all at once, but add one or two exercises in as part of your warm-up. Do 2 sets of 10-20 reps (or until gentle fatigue) each leg/side/direction Then at the end of your workout you can do a few more sets and really push to get some heavier fatigue. Each workout change up the exercises to make sure you work the muscles from different angles.
LYING GLUTE BRIDGE
(Hard to screw this one up... just make sure you're concentrating on contracting the glutes to create the movement and not just arching up your back)
This next group of exercises is easy to screw up, so I've included two videos for each exercise, the first video showing the exercise done incorrectly, and the second one being done correctly. Pay close attention to the movement of my hips in the videos as I use my finger to show the undesired movement and the lack of movement when done correctly.
SIDE LYING CLAM - INCORRECT TECHNIQUE
(Note the position of the hip, it moves backwards as the knee is raised)
SIDE LYING CLAM - CORRECT TECHNIQUE (Note the position of the hip it does not move backwards as the knee is raised)
SIDE LYING BENT LEG ABDUCTION - INCORRECT TECHNIQUE
(Note the position of the hip, it moves backwards as the leg is raised)
SIDE LYING BENT LEG ABDUCTION - CORRECT TECHNIQUE (Note the position of the hip, it does not move backwards as the leg is raised)
SIDE LYING STRAIGHT LEG ABDUCTION - INCORRECT TECHNIQUE (Note the position of the hip, it moves backwards as the leg is raised)
SIDE LYING STRAIGHT LEG ABDUCTION - CORRECT TECHNIQUE (Note the position of the hip, it does not move backwards as the leg is raised)
A very common problem with many people's squat is that of weak adductors. The problem manifests itself as the knees buckle inwards during the ascent. Most people know they should keep their knees out during the squat, so they presume the problem is actually that of weak abductors. Now their abductors may still be weak, and that could be a contributing problem, but normally when the knees buckle inwards, it is because the adductors aren't strong enough to contribute to the upward movement, and so the knees swing in quickly to better position the quads to do all the work.
So if your knees swing in, some extra adductor work will help remedy the situation. Additionally, sumo deadlifts are a great way to strengthen your adductors for deep squatting.
STANDING ONE LEG BAND ADDUCTION (Don't be fooled by how wussy this exercise looks, with a heavy enough band and enough reps you'll be walking the next day like a first time cowboy! Plus it will make your squat suck less!)
BAND X-WALKING - INCORRECT TECHNIQUE
(Note that I'm unable to keep my leading leg out, in-line with my body, I'm also really having to lead hard with my upper body to swing my leg out. Finally, not how my trailing leg very quickly pulls in. All bad!)
BAND X-WALKING - CORRECT TECHNIQUE
(Note that my leading leg stays tight and in-line with my body, and my trailing leg follows but under complete control)
BAND X-WALKING SIDE VIEW - INCORRECT TECHNIQUE
(Note that I'm leaning forward, putting my hips out of line with the rest of my body)
BAND X-WALKING SIDE VIEW - CORRECT TECHNIQUE
(Note that my hips are in-line with my body)
3. POOR HIP MOBILITY
If you have trouble squatting down into a full depth squat with an empty bar, chances are you have some hip mobility limitations. Getting your hips ready for a deep squat can take some time. Most people don't stretch nearly enough, and pulling your foot up to your butt for 20 seconds before you start your squats just doesn't cut it.
The flexibility of the muscles involved is important, but the good motor control of the muscles is the most important thing. All the flexibility in the world won't help you squat properly if you can't control your muscles as you move.
The glutes, quads, hip flexors, and hamstrings are the usual suspects for preventing good squat depth. So identifying which muscles limit you is the first step. If you can't touch your toes, then hamstring flexibility is a good place to start and a good 10-15 minutes of stretching of all your tight muscles at the beginning of your workout will help you increase your squat depth.
4. YOUR EGO
If you've been squatting for any length of time and in effort to squat big you just keep piling on more weight every workout before your body is ready for it, your squat is gonna just plain suck! What ends up happening is that with each successive weight increase you lose a bit of squat depth.
Eventually you become a Budgie!
WHAT THE HECK IS A BUDGIE YOU ASK?
A Budgie is one of those guys in the gym with skinny legs who piles 2, 3, 4, or even 5 plates a side on the squat bar, steps under the bar, unracks the weight and then barely budges the weight more than a few inches on each rep.
Of course these guys know they're not full depth squatters and they'll quickly qualify that they can't do full depth squats because it hurts their knees and so they just squat down to parallel or just above parallel!
What's even more funny is when you have a group of Budgie's all squatting together and encouraging each other, getting all mad at the weights and all doing these little Budgie style squats!
If your squat sucks make sure your ego isn't part of the problem (or in the Budgie's case the entire problem).
Here's what to do. Look around your gym and find a trainer who's got guys or girls doing full depth squats with reasonable loads and ask them to watch you squat and give you some tips. Most trainers will be happy to do so as long as you don't take more than a few minutes of their time. If their tips make sense to you, consider hiring them for a session or two to help you work on your technique.
And finally...
5. LACK OF DESIRE
Folks don't be too hard on yourselves for this one. Unless you're one of those people that God seems to have built and put on earth entirely to squat massive weights with flawless technique and seemingly little effort just to piss the rest of us off, it will take years of sacrifice and pain on many levels to build a squat that doesn't suck!
It may be hard to accept for some that they just don't have what it takes to go the distance, but lack of desire is often a big reason for why your squat sucks.If your dating habits get in the way of your training schedule or interfere with your sleep requirements and you're not prepared to ditch the relationship in favour of a bigger squat, well then you just don't want it badly enough.If your job interferes with your eating schedule and you're not prepared to look for a more suitable job that allows for eating on the job or frequent food breaks, again, you don't want it badly enough.
In fact nearly every reason that your squat sucks can be fixed. But if its inconvenient in some way, then you lack the desire.Every guy or girl who's ever built a big squat has sacrificed many things to get there.
And if you really needed any more motivation to fix your squat so it doesn't suck...
I received two emails today from a couple of my online readers and while their questions were both quite different, they were both suffering from the same fat loss roadblocks. The basic underlying problem they both have is meal structuring throughout the day. So in this article I'll go through a typical day and show you how to build each meal for optimum fat loss.
First, if you burn calories all day long, then doesn't it makes sense that your calorie intake should be spread throughout the day to ensure optimal energy levels? Surprisingly few people take advantage of this simple trick which can significantly increase your metabolic rate.
Just think about it for a moment. If you need 1800 calories each day, and you eat 90% of those calories at night when your only energy requirement following dinner is a few chores, making lunches for the kids, and then going to bed, do you really believe that your body is going to magically make all those calories disappear?
Of course not. And believe me this is going on all around us. Just take a look around, its not hard to spot an overweight person these days, and chances are they're making this huge mistake.
The problem when you go all day without eating is that you're teaching your body to conserve calories. The big caloric load that subsequently arrives with dinner is dumped onto a sluggish metabolism that has no way to use it. The result? Increased bodyfat storage.
FAT LOSS ROADBLOCK #1 - POOR CALORIE DISTRIBUTION
Your calories should be divided over your six meals prioritizing meals consumed before and after your workouts. Up to 50% of your daily calories can be consumed in these two meals providing an abundance of energy for your workout and for replenishing your muscles afterwards without risk of storing any bodyfat. After that, earlier meals should contain more calories than later meals.
FAT LOSS ROADBLOCK #2 - POOR MEAL STRUCTURING
Typically, when people are hungry they open the fridge, nothing is prepared, they seek instant gratification for their hunger and they down whatever strikes their fancy. If it's breakfast, a bowl of sugary cereal will do the trick. If it's lunch, heck, who eats lunch these days anyway!!! Well ok, if they do eat lunch then it's a quick peanut butter and jam sandwich or a quick stop at Tim Hortons or McDonalds. If it's dinner, hot dogs, hamburgers, hamburger helper, kraft dinner, all these items are fast to prepare and they very quickly satisfy your hunger, but their consumption is another fat loss roadblock.
Constructing meals should always start with your protein source, then progress to fat source, and finally end with carbohydrate source.
Here's an example of a typical North American breakfast at home:
Cereal w/milk Juice Bread w/jam Fruit
All four items are carbohydrate based foods. Carbohydrate based means that the majority of the calories come from carbohydrates. The problem with this breakfast is that while it will get you going with a bang, it will also stop you like a truck shortly after.
Fast in, fast out! All night you've fasted, and your blood sugar, blood amino acids, and blood fat levels are likely at the lowest they'll be all day. So if you dump all carbohydrate based foods into your bloodstream, your insulin is going to spike like crazy and your energy will drop off just as fast as it came on.
Here's an example of a typical North American Breakfast at a restaurant:
Bacon Eggs Sausages Hash browns Toast with margarine Juice Coffee
IF THIS IS YOUR IDEA OF BREAKFAST THEN YOU'VE GOT SOME MAJOR FAT LOSS ROADBLOCKS TO BULLDOZE!
The solution is to ALWAYS have a mixture of protein, carbohydrate, and fat based foods maintaining a moderate caloric load. And in fact this should be the way you structure all your meals, not just your breakfast. You can modify it as needed depending on what you're doing, but as a general rule, a mixture of all three will always elicit the type of result you're seeking: lasting energy!
Always start by deciding on your protein source. And remember, a protein based food is a food that contains more protein than carbohydrates per serving. Just look at the label and it will tell you.
Here's a list of acceptable protein sources: Eggs Organic Yogurt (must have a higher protein than carbs... check the label!) Cottage Cheese (2%) Low Fat (2%) Cheese Beef (steak... trim visible fat) Beef (ground... choose lean or extra lean and try to drain off a bit of the fat after cooking) Bison (both steaks and ground are very lean) LambPork (tenderloin is the best choice) Bacon (not a great choice, but if you're going to eat it, choose Back Bacon it's lower in fat) Salmon (Farmed or Fresh... both are low in mercury) Tuna (Skipjack light tuna from cans... Albacore tuna has higher levels of mercury) Protein Powders (Natural or plain flavour... use Stevia to sweeten if needed and fruit to add flavour)
Once you've picked your protein source, then you look for your fat source.If you're having eggs, you don't need an additional fat source. Often is the case for higher fat meats too.
Here's some great fat sources: Flax seeds Pumpkin seeds Sunflower seeds Hemp seeds Almonds Pecans Walnuts Hazelnuts Udo's oil
And finally, when you've made it this far, select a carbohydrate source:
Great carb sources:
Oats Quinoa Bulgur Spelt Brown rice Potatoes Sweet Potatoes Fruit Vegetables
There are too many veggies and fruit to list them all, but try combining different veggies when you eat them. Veggies generally don't give you many calories compared to fruit or other carbohydrate sources, so typically you choose your carbohydrate sources based on your energy requirements for the following three hours.
Obviously if you're going to be sitting down and watching television at night, then you don't need many carbohydrate calories so multiple vegetable selections is best.If you're getting up Saturday morning, and you have a long day ahead of you of taking the kids to their sports, groceries, and various chores, you'll want to have a mixture of some starchy carb sources as well as fruit and/or veggie sources. If you have a workout planned for 4pm, then at 2:30pm, a good dose of starchy and fruit carbs will see you through your workout with plenty of energy.
Let's look at a typical day. This example of daily meal structuring must be tailored for each person based on your weight and activity level. If you were to eat this menu exactly day in and day out over a few weeks and you gained weight, then you would simply need to reduce the amount you eat. But the combinations of foods is excellent and shows how you should combine foods to eat for optimal health and fat loss.
Breakfast 1/2 scoop whey protein powder - PROTEIN 1 tbsp Udo's oil - FAT 1/3 cup Oats w/skim milk - CARBS 1/2 banana - CARBS 1/2 cup thawed frozen raspberries - CARBS 1/4 tsp stevia powder (sweetener)
Mid-Morning Snack Handful of almonds (maybe 10-20) - PROTEIN & FAT 1 apple - CARBS
Lunch 3 oz chicken breast - PROTEIN 7 or 8 walnut pieces - FAT big handful of spinach (not baby spinach) - UNLIMITED 1 Mandarin orange (put pieces in salad) - CARBS 1tbsp Udo's oil - FAT 1tsp balsamic vinegar salt & pepper to taste
Mid-Afternoon 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese - PROTEIN & FAT 1/4 cup chopped fresh pineapple - CARBS
Dinner 6 oz salmon fillet - PROTEIN & FAT 10 asparagus spears (steamed) - UNLIMITED 1 med carrot (steamed) - UNLIMITED 1 small red potato (chopped and steamed) - CARBS 1 tsp butter - FAT salt & pepper to taste Salad Bowlful mixed greens - UNLIMITED 6 halved cherry tomatoes - UNLIMITED 10 cucumber slices - UNLIMITED small handful pine nuts - FAT Salad Dressing 2 tsp Renee's Caesar dressing - FAT 1 tsp Udo's oil - FAT 2 tsp Organic Plain Yogurt mixed well and drizzled over salad
Evening Snack High Protein Fat Free Butterscotch Cinnamon Jello Pudding Ingredients:Fat Free Butterscotch Jello Puddingprepare as directed and add 1-2 scoops protein powderand a half tsp of cinnamon for improved flavour.
1 serving is 1/4 of prepared product.
FAT LOSS ROADBLOCK #3 - CONVENIENCE FOODS
If you know how to put together healthy fat loss meals, but you don't because you feel like you don't have time, coming to the realization that the time spent preparing healthy meals is an investment is inevitable to smashing your fat loss roadblocks! Convenience or fast foods are always laden in fat and sugar to make them taste good so you always crave them whenever you are in a rush.
FAT LOSS ROADBLOCK #4 - GLUTTONY
Another common fat loss roadblock is just plain old eating too much! Even the healthiest of foods will make you gain body fat if you eat too much of it. Heck, thousands of years ago when there was no unhealthy food, there were still some heavier people. Of course they were the wealthy ones who could afford to eat enough food to actually become heavier.
Sometimes it's tough to say no to convenience foods, but if you ever want to shed the fat and see those abs you have to draw the line at some point and just plain not step over. For me personally, I just plain out refuse to eat fast foods except at certain times. If I travel I'll allow some exceptions. Camping is definitely another time I'll break the rule. In fact, I'll even seek out a McDonalds to get a couple McChicken sandwiches when I go camping. But a good 99% of the time I just plain old say no. Well there you have it folks! Some great meal tips to help you bulldoze your fat loss roadblocks!
Oh yeah, my wife made some Fat Free Butterscotch Jello Pudding tonight... ohhhh... Here I come!
If you ask a hundred internet gurus how many sets and reps are needed to build maximum strength and muscle mass you'll get a hundred answers. At least that's what I found after doing an online search. No wonder I get so many emails from confused folks asking that exact question. The answer is... unfortunately... that there is no set answer that applies to everyone at all times.
The human body is capable of tremendous adaptation to stress. In fact, in 1936 scientist Hans Seyle, developed his General Adaptation Syndrome, a theory specifically stating that the body will adapt to the stress applied to it up to its physiological limit in a manner that will help the organism survive.
Applied to strength training and bodybuilding, when muscles are exposed to stress in the form of tension and fatigue levels, muscles develop thicker contractile fibers and the brain improves it's ability to recruit more fibers upon demand to improve the ability of the muscle to produce force (strength). The muscles also increase their production of key enzymes which help to maintain higher levels of energy substrates within the muscle tissue.
You basically get bigger and stronger in response to progressively increased tension and fatigue in the muscles. Now if we return for a moment to the original question which is how many sets and reps for maximum strength and muscle mass, the problem is that muscles don't understand sets and reps. They simply respond to tension and fatigue levels. So how many sets and reps is dependent on how much tension you want to produce in the muscles, and how much fatigue you want to accumulate.
We know that with practice, the more tension you attempt to place on the muscle, the stronger it gets. We also know that if you expose a muscle to a certain amount of tension for a long enough time, it gets bigger. So somewhere there has to be an answer right? Well.. still not really.
The answer depends on many factors including but not limited to:
- Training age (how long you have been training in years) - Motor control development (a history of sports and exercise will allow someone to build strength and muscle mass initially with heavier weights) - Mechanical leverage of the muscles (Different muscles will respond to different repetition ranges depending on the exercise, for example, nobody will ever build maximum strength of their deltoids with the lateral dumbbell raise using sets of 3 reps... a more suitable exercise would be the overhead press) - Individual biochemistry (Different hormone profiles allow some people to build muscle more quickly than others)
It is commonly held that the following repetition ranges produce the following effects:
1-3 reps:strength without size 3-5 reps:strength with some size 6-9 reps:size with some strength 9-12 reps:size without much strength 12-15 reps:size without strength 16+ reps:strength endurance
The most important thing to understand is that the concept of repetitions is a way to measure the time spent under the tension produced by the load. It is helpful in that it is easy to give someone instructions to do X number of reps. The problem is that everyone does them differently and consequently results are all across the board and we get well meaning instructions from hundreds of internet gurus that all conflict with each other. No wonder there is so much confusion?
CONFUSED YET?
Ummm... so like... they asked me to come down here and explain to you how many sets and reps are needed for maximum strength and muscle mass gains. And uh, well I'm kinda confused!!?!
Here's an example.
A 16 year old football player wants to start lifting weights in attempt to get stronger. He is 5'10" and weighs 145 lbs. This person would not increase their strength as quickly by strictly adhering to the repetition protocol listed above. If he only does sets of 3 reps, he will have a difficult time getting bigger, although he may get stronger over time and if he really stays with it, he may get as strong as possible at his weight, but the lack of increased muscle size will slow his ability to get strong.
A BIGGER MUSCLE CAN PRODUCE MORE FORCE THAN A SMALLER MUSCLE ALL THINGS EQUAL
So for this athlete to develop maximum strength and muscle mass in the shortest period of time, he would need to work on developing both strength and muscle mass at the same time. If this athlete has exceptional motor control, they may be able to incorporate both some heavier lifting in the 3-5 repetition range as well as some lighter training in the 9-12 repetition range which would help him build muscle more quickly.
If this athlete has a less than exceptional motor control, then they may need to start with training limited to the 3-5 repetition range with very light weights on basic strength exercises while using the 8-15 repetition range for accessory lifts. As the months progress, the 3-5 repetition range would be kept but heavier weights would be used. The accessory lifts might be reduced to the 6-12 rep range for subsequent months as well.
Notice I've mentioned two repetition ranges here that weren't mentioned up above. This is again because there really isn't a set answer. Every person has their own completely unique situation that needs to be addressed and then a plan set forth based on their requirements which will help them build maximum strength and muscle mass.
For argument sakes, here are two sample programs with set and rep protocols that this athlete might follow if they have (1) very good motor control and (2) fair motor control. Both programs are designed to build maximum strength and muscle mass.
(1) Good Motor Skill Athlete Program
Weeks 1-4
3 Circuits with a 1:2 work to rest ratio using between a 20-30 second work interval with the following bodyweight exercises: pushups, lunges, pull-ups, squats, inverted rows, medicine ball throws, hops, jumps.
Weeks 5-8
Squats 3-5 sets of 5 reps. The weight used should be light enough that all reps are performed with perfect technique. With the squat, often the weight cannot be increased very much at all initially due to insufficient flexibility of the hips, glutes, and hamstrings. In such cases, more than 5 sets might be prescribed to help improve the flexibility of the muscles involved.
Bench Press 3-5 sets of 5 reps.
Weighted Pushups 3 sets of 10 with 10 lb plate on back (excellent exercise for developing the anterior kinetic chain)
Pull-ups 4 sets of max-2 Dumbbell Step-ups 3x10
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts 3 sets of 8 reps
Plank 3 sets of 60 seconds Side Plank 3 sets of 30 seconds
Weeks 9-12
Squats 3-5 sets of 5 reps.
Bench Press 3-5 sets of 5 reps.
Weighted Pushups 4 sets of 10 with 10 lb plate on back (excellent exercise for developing the anterior kinetic chain)
Pull-ups 5 sets of max-1 Dumbbell Step-ups 4x8
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts 4 sets of 8 reps
Plank 3 sets of 60 seconds (add weight on back) Side Plank 3 sets of 45 seconds
Week 13-16
Squats 3-5 sets of 3 reps.
Bench Press 3-5 sets of 3 reps.
Weighted Pushups 4 sets of 5 with 25 lb plate on back (excellent exercise for developing the anterior kinetic chain)
Pull-ups 6 sets of max Dumbbell Step-ups 5x6
1-Arm Dumbbell Row 3x10
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts 5 sets of 8 reps
Plank 3 sets of 75 seconds (add weight on back) Side Plank 3 sets of 60 seconds
(2) Fair Motor Skill Athlete Program
Weeks 1-4
3 Circuits with a 1:3 work to rest ratio using between a 20-30 second work interval with the following bodyweight exercises: pushups, lunges, pull-ups, squats, inverted rows, medicine ball throws, hops, jumps.
Weeks 5-8
Squats 5 sets of 3-5 reps. The weight used should be light enough that all reps are performed with perfect technique. With the squat, often the weight cannot be increased very much at all initially due to insufficient flexibility of the hips, glutes, and hamstrings. In such cases, more than 5 sets might be prescribed to help improve the flexibility of the muscles involved. The range of reps being 3-5 here is because a fair motor skilled athlete may fatigue too much by 5 reps when trying to learn the technique, so a lower number of reps helps to manage fatigue levels.
Bench Press 5-8 sets of 5 reps. A higher number of sets is prescribed to the fair motor control athlete to give them more pratice at the technique. The weight needs to be lower to assure that all reps through all sets is done with strict technique.
Pushups 3 sets of 10 (excellent exercise for developing the anterior kinetic chain)
Pull-ups 3 sets of max-3 Dumbbell Step-ups 2x10
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts 4 sets of 6 reps (again lower reps to prevent accumulation of fatigue, and not indicative of a heavier weight which is normally the association)
Plank 3 sets of 60 seconds Side Plank 3 sets of 20 seconds
Weeks 9-12
Squats 3-5 sets of 5 reps.
Bench Press 3-5 sets of 5-8 reps.
Pushups 3 sets of 10 with a 5 lb plate on back(excellent exercise for developing the anterior kinetic chain)
Pull-ups 4 sets of max-2 Dumbbell Step-ups 3x8
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts 5 sets of 6 reps (again, lower reps to manage fatigue, but not to handle a heavier weight than the higher motor skilled athlete and an additional set to maintain sufficient time under tension to elicit the growth response)
Plank 4 sets of 45 seconds (add weight on back) Side Plank 3 sets of 40 seconds
Week 13-16
Squats 5-8 sets of 3 reps. (A lower motor skilled athlete will not be able to control as heavy of a weight, so lower weight is used, but more sets are employed to continue to refine the technique and elicit a higher growth response)
Bench Press 5-8 sets of 3 reps. (same rationale as above)
Weighted Pushups 4 sets of 5-10 reps with 10 lb plate on back (excellent exercise for developing the anterior kinetic chain)
Pull-ups 5 sets of max-1 Dumbbell Step-ups 4x6
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts 5 sets of 7-8 reps (increased reps with same weight as previous 4 weeks)
Plank 4 sets of 60 seconds (add weight on back) Side Plank 3 sets of 50 seconds
With all programs, the athlete should always strive to lift the maximum weight possible for the given repetition range so long as they can do so with strict exercise technique. From week to week within a four week phase, the athlete can increase the weight if they are able to. And from one four week phase to the next four week phase, if the repetition range stays the same for a particular exercise, the athlete still tries to use the maximum weight possible. It may increase, or it may not. If the repetition range increases from one four week phase to the next four week phase, this may indicate lowering the weight if the athlete was at their limit in the previous phase. On the other hand if the athlete feels that they can still manage the same weight for the indicated increase in reps, then they should do so.
All of these if's are due to the requirement of individualization of a program.
Generally with assistance and accessory exercises, the higher motor control athlete will be able to manage higher levels of fatigue with a given weight than the lower motor control athlete, and so will often be prescribed either more reps, or the same reps but more sets.
One final word, variety, although it sounds so un-scientific, contributes significantly to long-term progress towards building maximum strength and muscle mass. If you have spent the past 3-4 months working within a specific sets and reps range with a specific goal in mind, and you find that you are not progressing as much anymore, try a different set and rep scheme for a few weeks and then return to your previous set and rep scheme and you may notice that you begin progressing again towards your goal.
I hope you have found this article useful. As you might now understand there really is no perfect answer that will satisfy every situation for how many sets and reps for maximum strength and muscle mass. If you require specific answers for your individual needs, please don't hesitate to contact me at shane@spectrumfitness.ca
Owner and operator of Spectrum Fitness Private Studio, Aylmer's only high-performance training center. Specializing in bodybuilding and physique competition preparation, Miller's expertise is sought after throughout the Outaouais region by athletes and the general population alike.
