Question:

I don’t seem to be getting results with my current routine and i have noticed articles online and real life friends only work 1 muscle group a day. Like theyll do biceps monday, chest tuesday, triceps wednesday, back thursday and legs friday and abs everyday at the end of the workout. It just seems fishy to me because your only doing one group per 6 days. Im used to doing every muscle group 2 times a week. So instead of doing 1 muscle a day i did like biceps and back one day then chest and shoulders the next etc etc. what do you guys think? iv been going up in weight and eating more and i still havent seen results.

Answer:

You’re definitely on the right track in noticing that doing only one muscle group every 6 days is “fishy”.

It really only takes about 48-72 hours for your body to recovery from a typical strength session, so why wait 6 days? It makes no sense.

Also, your friend has to lift 5 days a week. It sounds like you might not have that kind of time..

With a 2 day a week program, you’re on the right track in that you’re training your entire body on both training days.

But instead of taking the mentality of hitting each “muscle group”, you need to think more about what MOVEMENTS will get you the most results.

If you’ve ever heard of the 80/20 rule, often applied to business, it means that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your efforts.

Well, this principle can be applied to strength training as well..

You’ll see many people in the gym doing “bodypart” exercises like bicep curls, triceps extensions, hamstring curls, and leg extensions.

These are what I would call the 20% exercises. They have their place at times, but if you want results, you need to focus on the 80% that will get you results.

Key Exercises -Deadlift variations (total body) -Squats (hamstrings, quads, glutes, core) -Bench Press (Chest, arms, even some legs) -Pull-ups (Lats, traps) -Rows (Traps, rhomboids, biceps) -Single leg movements (lunges, stepups, pistols)

If you’re going to train total body, stick to these lifts. The other thing that is important for you to actually see results is lift HEAVIER weights.

I’m not sure what kind of intensity you’re lifting at, but make sure that once you get the form figured out and are confident in these movements, that you progress with more weight.

As in 3-5 sets of 1-6 rep max.

If you’re more novice or if hypertrophy (building mass) is more important, using 5-10 rep max weights with only 2-4 sets may be a better option.

I’d also consider bumping it up to three days a week.

A three day per week split would look something like this:

Monday: Total Body–Hit a little bit of everything

Wednesday: Primarily Upper body with a few leg exercises

Friday: Primarily Lower body with a few upper body exercises.

Since the lower body tends to take longer to recover than the upper body, it is placed on Friday, give you two recover days.

I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, hit me up!

Technorati Tags: exercise selection, Program Design, strength training, total-body-training

Question:

I am professional dancer and I have recently change my eating and exercising habits and dropped 20 lbs. I do 40 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning 5 days a week and I do the ab wheel every night and some push ups pull ups and dips 3x a week. I still have a little bit of fat around my lower abdominal area. I know diet is 80% of the battle and I eat fruits and vegetables everyday along with lean protein and a little bit of carbs. Are there any little tricks I can do to lose the last little bit of fat? Otherwise I am quite happy with my body… Thanks Doug!

Congrats on your weight loss and getting a body you’re happy with. And props for addressing the major issues like exercise and nutrition and for realizing their importance before worrying yourself with the smaller details.

Here is what I noticed you’re doing right:

• Nutrition–eating lean protein, fruits, and vegetables every day-keeping carbs to a minimum.
• Exercise
  • Frequency- This is how many times per week you exercise. I haven’t stressed this very much on this blog, but frequency is crucial. You’ve built a lifestyle that incorporates exercise so you can get your work in 5+ days a week–way to go!
  • Strength Training- You’re doing 3 days/week of some sort of strength work with your dips, pushups, and pull-ups.
  • Cardio- You’re also incorporating cardio 5 days per week (though I recommend interval training).
  • Core-Training-Keep it up with the pushups and ab wheel exercises.
• Mindset–You realize the importance of nutrition and consistent exercise, are not looking for shortcuts, and you’re obviously willing to put in the necessary work.

That being said, there is one thing I noticed from what you told me about your program that jumped out at me.

Where’s the lower body strength training?!!!!!

Ya know, for your ass and legs—You missed a few BIG muscles here.

Remember, you want to build muscle so that your body burns fat more efficiently. And believe me-if you’re not yet incorporating resistance training with your lower body, you still have a lot of room to grow.

I know you’re doing cardio (and a lot of it), but you’d be better off replacing 20 minutes of cardio with some squat, deadlift, and lunge variations on your three strength training days. This will allow you to keep the ball rolling with your results.

This will ensure that every part of your body will be constantly in a state of building new muscle and burning Calories, (which is what you want in order to lose that last bit of fat.)

So go do some squats and let me know how it goes!!!

Technorati Tags: ab roller, abs, calories, cardio, Core Training, fat loss, lower-body-training, meal frequency, Nutrition, Program Design, strength training, weight loss

Check out this article on T-Nation by Mike Robertson on squatting technique:

10 Tips for Flawless Squatting

The article is geared to the more serious lifter, but these guidelines apply to lifters of all levels–both males and females.

I’ll list the 10 tips below, and you can find further explanation by checking out the link above.

1. Hands In - Working your hands in creates a shelf to rest the bar on, and reinforces proper form.
2. Back Together and Tight -see above
3. Comfortable Stance, Toes Slightly Out - Experiment with the width of your stance. People with longer torsos and shorter legs tend to prefer a wider stance while those with shorter torsos and longer legs are better off going narrow.
4. Weight Balanced - Keep your weight over your mid foot or slightly toward the heel.
5. Chest Up, Low Back Tight - Essential for form and lower back health.
6. Focus on a Spot - Pick something eye-level (don’t look down). You may have to face away from the mirror.
7. Big Breath, Core Tight* - More important for powerlifters; helps stability
8. Sit Back - Activates those glutes and hamstrings!
9. Knees Out - Keeps you in proper alignment, activates hip muscles
10. Speed* - a useful technique for powerlifters

Technorati Tags: Exercise Technique, exercise-form, Squat

One thing I noticed in the gym that is very common is poor rowing form.

While you should definitely have some rowing variations in your program, if not done properly you either won’t make progress, will get injured, or both–not to mention look silly.

What I see is a lot of jerking and rotation about the trunk–rocking instead of rowing. Yes, if you’re doing an aerobic workout on a real rowing machine where the seat glides along with you, it is ok–but not on seated cable rows, chest supported rows, or any other similar exercise–including pull downs.

Rowing is a back exercise–movement should come from retraction of the scapula with your arms acting only to connect your back to your hands. Your spine and core are there to stabilize you while you row–they should not move.

Things to think about when rowing:

1. Back flat–think of how your back would be aligned if you were sitting in a chair with perfect posture. Get a friend or trainer to confirm you’re on the right track here.

2. Chest out–like you’re showing off your pecs. Elevate the chest and ribcage (almost like you’re showing someone that you’re super-confident). The opposite would be rounding your shoulders, which would turn the exercise into an arm curl.

3. Don’t Rock–Again, movement is coming only through retraction of your scapula. This means that you’re moving the weight by pulling back and down and your scapulae are moving toward the middle of your back. If your head is moving at all, you’re doing it wrong.

4. Control the weight on the return–When lowering the weight, (also known as the eccentric phase) you should be steadily easing the weight down. You don’t have to lower it super slow, but make sure that you are controlling the weight; not visa versa.

If you’re consistently having trouble with 3 and/or 4 above, you’re using too much weight. Back down on the amount of weight until you can perform several reps with perfect form–then slowly up the weight as you get better.

Seated cable rows, one armed rows, T-bar rows, and corner rows all follow the exact same guidelines.

So happy rowing!

-DG

Technorati Tags: back, exercise-form, rowing, strength training