I’ve always been interested in being big and strong, but I’ve never been interested in gaining size and strength at the expense of being athletic. What is the use of being big and strong if you can’t use it? It’s nice to weigh 250 pounds, but if you can’t run, or jump, or tumble, then what’s the point?

In my opinion too many people lose functionality when they put on size. They lose mobility, they become slow, their joints hurt, and they sacrifice all cardiovascular conditioning. The goal of Functional Mass Gain is to put on size, but also get stronger, stay agile, stay fast, stay flexible, and maintain mobility.

“You don’t want to be the person who is described as ‘all show and no go.'”

In other words the goal is to build some real actual horsepower. We want to build muscles we can actually use – not just muscles for show.

Horsepower Is Important: The Program

The human body is meant to move as one piece. Ditch the standard bodybuilding protocol. Machines and isolation exercises aren’t welcome here.

You’re going to want to include big, compound movements in your programming. Use squats, deadlifts, lunges, jump squats, sled work, and power cleans to develop lower-body strength and explosiveness. For upper-body work, use the bench press, horizontal row, pull up, bent row, push up, dips, and the standing strict press. There’s nothing fancy here. Just old-fashioned hard work.

For building strength, I prefer using the 4×4 format using 80% of 1RM. You can do this with the back squat, deadlift, bench press, strict press, and the lunge. For building strength endurance and size, my favorite format is 10×10 (ten sets of ten) at 50-60% 1RM.

“Use plank holds and the overhead squat to strengthen your core. Nothing sorts our your core like holding a big weight above your head.”

Also include plenty of jumping and sprinting. You want to stay fast and agile. When it comes to developing real-world athleticism, there is nothing better than sprinting and jumping. They are the most natural of human movements and transferable to almost any sport or activity. As a good friend of mine used to say, “If you ain’t running, you ain’t running.”

Do plenty of single-leg work to ensure you don’t develop any imbalances. Do plenty of shoulder mobility work to keep your shoulders in good shape and to offset the bench press work you will be doing. You’ll also want to do a lot of supportive work like straight leg deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, and grip work. Supportive strength movements will help your max lifts and your ability to tolerate more weight and reps during your hypertrophy work.

Finally, make sure you address mobility and that you include plenty of supplemental work to round out your program. Remember the goal here isn’t just to put on size. You want to build a body you can use. Use plank holds and the overhead squat to strengthen your core. Nothing sorts our your core like holding a big weight above your head.

Recovery Is the Key

When you train hard, there will be wear and tear on your body. Anyone involved in a rigorous training program needs to address recovery properly. You can’t race your car every day and never give it a tune-up. The engine and the body will fall apart. You need to align, balance, rebuild, and rest.

“People are always looking for the secret, some pill, or some supplement that will help them. Nothing is more anabolic than a few hours of extra sleep a night.”

The better recovered you are, the harder you can train on a day-to-day basis, which makes the program effective. Also, staying injury free is an essential part of any program. Use massaged, chiropractic, and the foam roller to keep your body aligned and working properly. Use ice baths to deal with soreness. There will be a lot of soreness and you want to deal with it by any means necessary.

Above all else, get plenty of sleep. The more sleep you get, the more human growth hormone and testosterone you will have, the better you will recover, and the harder you can train. The bed is where you recharge your batteries. Make sure you are running on a full tank. People are always looking for the secret, some pill, or some supplement that will help them. Nothing is more anabolic than a few hours of extra sleep a night. 

You Have to Eat to Grow, But Eat Sensibly

You need to eat to grow. You can do all the work you want in the gym, but if you don’t eat properly, you won’t be able to handle the training volume and you won’t put on any size. You must be as dedicated to diet as you are your training.

Training just isn’t work in the gym. It is also recovery work and nutrition. Nutrition may be more than 50% of the process here. So eat, eat, eat. If you aren’t eating as you are reading this, you aren’t that serious about putting on size.

That said, one of my pet peeves is people using “mass gain” as an excuse to eat junk food. You don’t want to put on all kinds of fat and garbage weight that you will have to lose later on. Some people may need to consume some fast food and ice cream to get enough calories, but others may get fat from such choices.

“Everyone wants to be big and strong, everyone wants to put on muscle, everyone wants to eat the food – but they don’t want to do the work.”

All dietary choices must be individualized. Know what your basal metabolic rate is. Know how many calories you need to maintain your weight and to add muscle without putting on unwanted extra weight. Try to make good food choices more often than not and make sure you eat nutritionally dense food.

Another of my pet peeves is people doing the eating without the proper work. People want to eat whatever they want and to have fun, but do they really do the work that goes with it? Everyone wants to be big and strong, everyone wants to put on muscle, everyone wants to eat the food – but they don’t want to do the work.

Below, I’ve posted a sample week with the training volume necessary to improve. If you don’t want to commit to that, then you can’t just fill your face at the buffet. If you don’t want to do the work, you don’t get to play the game. Be responsible with your training direction and diet. Be realistic with what you’re willing to commit.

A Sample Week

Here is what a sample week should look like. There are two days devoted to upper-body work, two days devoted to lower-body work, two days of athletic work (sprinting and jumping), and one rest day. This isn’t an easy program. There is a lot of volume and a lot work. It is not meant for a beginner.

“If you jump into this program without the proper base, there will be a chance you’ll get injured. Know your limitations.”

A beginner shouldn’t be on a Functional Mass Gain program. A beginner would do better on a basic foundation program before jumping into something like this. This program is for a person who knows the movements, knows his or her abilities and max lifts, is devoted, and has developed a big work capacity. If you jump into this program without the proper base, there will be a chance you’ll get injured. Know your limitations.

Monday

Then:

Then:

Then:

Then:

Then:

Then:

Tuesday

Then:

Then:

Then:

Then:

Then:

Wednesday

Then:

Then:

Then:

8x100m Sprint

Rest 2 minutes between each

Then:

Then:

Thursday

Then:

Then:

Then:

Then:

Then:

Friday

Then:

Then:

Then:

Then:

Then:

Then:

Saturday

Then:

Then:

Then:

Then:

Then:

Sunday

The post Build Size. Build Mass. Stay Functional. appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

That’s me. How much effort do you really put in when you get under the bar? (Source: Gym Jones)

If you want to achieve your goals, then you have to do more than just show up. You have to work, to grind, and to suffer. Just because you showed up doesn’t mean you’ve put in an honest day’s work. And it certainly doesn’t mean you’ve done something to make yourself better.

Nothing in Life Is Easy

We are inundated with infomercials and training systems promising radical, life-changing results for three easy payments, little time commitment, and little effort. We have been led to believe we will be successful by paying some money and putting in a minimal amount of work. How can that be true? And how many times have you already tried that shortcut and failed?

Nothing in life comes easily. If it does, you don’t want it because chances are it comes with a catch. It may be the road less traveled, but the harder road is always the road to take, and the right way is always the best way.

IN ANY DISCIPLINE THE SINGLE GREATEST DETERMINANT OF SUCCESS IS THE TIME A PERSON IS WILLING TO GIVE TO HIS OR HER GOALS.

In the realm of fitness, most people blame external forces when they don’t achieve their goal. They make excuses for their poor showing. Time, equipment, lack of knowledge, poor genetics. They rarely look within and blame the real culprit – themselves.

The most successful people in the world share something in common: they are willing to make sacrifices where others are not. They are willing to do whatever it takes. There are no excuses. They embrace hard work, they are willing to give everything they have, and they are willing to suffer. We could learn something from these people.

3 Different Ways to Suffer

1. Working on Weaknesses

Often in the gym, we will gravitate to the exercises we like. In general, we like them because they are easy or make us feel good. Does this help us improve, though? How many of us work on our weaknesses regularly?

A weakness develops because we have neglected to work certain attributes or ignored certain exercises (probably because we dislike them). If I were to give one piece of advice regarding training, it would be to make a list of your strengths and weaknesses and then for the next month only work on your weaknesses.

You’ll be shocked at the progress you will see if you do this. It won’t be a fun month and it will be filled with all kinds of exercises you likely hate, but I can guarantee results.

Don’t deny yourself progress by taking the easy path. (Source: Gym Jones)

2. Doing More Work

The best athletes in the world train all the time. It is what they do. In fact, in any discipline the single greatest determinant of success is the time a person is willing to give his or her goal.

Do you think Michael Phelps became the best swimmer in the world by swimming four hours a week? Do you think Rich Froning is the best CrossFit athlete in the world because he trains only once or twice a week? How many hours of practice did Michael Jordan need to complete to become the best basketball player of all time?

The best people in the world practice all of the time. It is their life. They became the best by being willing to put in more time and quality practice than anyone else.

So a key to improving is to do more work. If you are showing up to the gym three days a week, it simply isn’t enough. If you want to achieve your goals, then you need to be in the gym every day. There are no excuses, and it isn’t about finding more time. It is about making the gym a priority. Yes, I get it that you are busy, but there is always more time available. You just need better time-management skills or you need to be willing to make a sacrifice.

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH HURTING A LITTLE. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING IN A LITTLE DISCOMFORT.

There are 168 hours in a week. If you sleep eight full hours a night, seven days a week, that adds up to 56 hours. You still have 112 hours left – and are you really sleeping eight hours a night anyway? (You should be.)

Let’s say you also work twelve-hour days, five days a week. That is working 9:00am to 9:00pm, Monday through Friday. The total work is sixty hours. Subtract that from your 112 hours and you still have 62 hours left to play with. You should be able to commit at least five to ten of those hours to train.

Even if you trained for ten hours, you’d still have 52 left. If you think you don’t have enough time, then what are you doing with those 52 hours? Watching TV, playing with your phone, checking your Facebook?

If you really think you don’t have enough time to train, then do something for me. Every time you check your text messages, Facebook, or Instagram do ten burpees. You’ll quickly see how much of a time suck these things are.

Yes, you may have to suffer by giving up some other things you enjoy. But the bottom line is that you need to sacrifice, give a few things up, make more time, and get more work done.

Or you can be happy being mediocre. Your choice.

Teaching my son to push past his limits and enjoy the process of hard work. (Source: Gym Jones)

3. Working Harder

Just walking through the gym doors and scanning your membership card or taking part in a class doesn’t ensure you will be successful. You need to work for your success. You need to suffer for it. But many people have no idea what genuine, hard work looks like. They show up to the gym and go through the motions.

When you are at the gym – go for it. Don’t go halfway. People fall into the trap of doing “junk intensity.” That is when you are working hard enough to beat yourself down, but not hard enough to facilitate a meaningful change in your fitness.

MOST PEOPLE REALLY DON’T KOW WHAT “ALL OUT” IS. THEY THINK THEY KNOW, BUT THEY DON’T.

To improve, you must push yourself past your perceived limits. You must put yourself in an uncomfortable position. You must feel some pain. You need to sweat and you need to bleed. Training should never be easy. You should leave the gym mentally and physically exhausted. The goal each day is to experience “the moment.” That point in a workout where you don’t know if you can continue.

If a workout is hard enough, you will know it. During a workout you should think four things:

1. “I’m not going to make it.”
2. “I want to quit.”
3. “I’m going to die if I keep going.”
4. “I’d rather just die than finish this.”

That is the effort required. Anything less is not acceptable. Learn to hurt and learn to suffer.

Strategies and Tests to Help You Suffer

I can’t help you work on your weakness or create your desire to make more time. That is on you. I can help you figure out what real, genuine hard work is.

Most people really don’t know what “all out” is. They think they know, but they don’t. Here are a few tests that will teach you how to hurt and what your limits are. In exploring those limits, you will learn how to suffer.

Try one of the following tests of physical and mental endurance to increase your capacity for suffering. (Source: Gym Jones)

1.5 Mile Run for Time

Plan a mile and half course and run it as fast as humanly possible. This isn’t a walk, this isn’t a jog. The entire effort must be a push. If you don’t want to collapse at the end of this, then you didn’t go hard enough.

My advice is to do this every week for six weeks straight. On the first effort, go as fast as you can. Then, each subsequent week, your goal will be to set a new personal best and beat your previous time. By doing this, you will ensure that you hit your limits and force yourself to suffer to burst through them. By the end of six weeks, you will know what it is to go hard.

GOOD GOAL: 9 MINUTES FOR THE AVERAGE RUNNER.

2,000m Row for Time

This works the same as the mile and a half run, but on a rower. Just program 2000m into the rower and row it as fast as you can. I love the rower because the computer is staring you in the face. You can’t run and you can’t hide.

Here’s a tip to gauge intensity: if you don’t want to quit at the halfway point, then you aren’t going hard enough. If you do this right you’ll know what it is like to suffer.

GOOD GOAL: 7 MINUTES FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON.

60-Second All-Out Run, Row, Bike, or Ski

If you give it everything you have, a minute all-out is about a minute too long. To do this, you need to be in the right frame of mind. Try to break the machine you are using. You need to fight, scratch, and claw for every extra meter or calorie. Give this everything you have.

If you thought you were working hard during your hour at the gym, this drill will teach you that you were wasting 59 of those minutes.

The rowing machines in our gym have claimed the spirit of those who test their limits with the all-out sprint. (Source: Gym Jones)

Death by Burpees

This is a simple test that can be done anywhere:

• Set a clock and let it run.
• During the first minute, do one burpee.
• During the second minute, do two burpees.
• In the third minute, you’ll do three.
• By the fifteenth minute, you’ll be doing fifteen.

Eventually, you will come to a point where you can’t or won’t continue. Either way you’ll learn to suffer.

GOOD GOAL: HITTING THE SEVENTEENTH MINUTE.

Suffering Isn’t All Bad

Don’t let the idea of suffering frighten you. So many people want to take the easy way out. But when it comes to training, there is no easy way. The harder path is the best path.

There is nothing wrong with hurting a little. There is nothing wrong with being in a little discomfort. You may think this doesn’t seem fun, but you’ll learn to enjoy it. You’ll learn there is nothing more fun than achieving your goals. It will make all that suffering worth it.

The post The 3 Types of Suffering That Empower Your Workouts appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Much of the training discussion focuses on training and nutrition, but one of the biggest obstacles people have when it comes to training is finding enough time. Time management seems to be the biggest determinant in a person’s success in any given training program.

“By training and increasing physical fitness you are healthier, you are better able to cope with stress, you look better, you are more confident, and your psychological being is far better off.”

The first question I always ask when it comes to writing someone a program is, “How much time can you commit each day and each week?” If you tell me you have twenty hours a week and you can train twice a day, I can write you the best program in the world. On the other hand, if you tell me you only have one hour to train each week and can only make the gym twice, my hands are tied. There’s no magic I can work at that point.

I’ve trained many different types of people with varying commitment levels. On average I am disappointed with the amount of time people are willing to commit. So I want to make one thing clear: time is not an excuse. The real issue is usually that a person isn’t dedicated enough or has poor time management skills.

Case in Point

There are 24 hours in a day and seven days in a week, which totals 168 total hours. That is a lot of time to fit everything you need into your schedule. When I encounter a person who claims he or she doesn’t have enough time, we go through an exercise together. We examine where their time is going. Essentially, I perform an audit on their schedule.

I ask a person how many hours they spend at work in a week. For the purpose of this exercise I will assign seventy hours to work. That is a person who works fourteen hours a day, Monday to Friday.

“Training can help make you a better father or mother, a better husband or wife, and it can allow you to enjoy more of the things you love. And yet people still refuse to invest the necessary time.”

Then I assign that person eight hours of sleep a night. I don’t ask them, I tell them, because at this point everyone says they can’t get that much sleep (which is entirely another issue I could address). That is a total of 56 hours of sleep in a week. The person now stands at 126 total hours used out of a possible 168.

Then I ask what the hell they do with the rest of their time. I remind them they have 42 hours left. They start shouting out things like, “I have to commute to work,” “I have to go grocery shopping,” “I need to spend time with my family.” I assign them values for these. I give them two hours a day for commuting time, which adds to ten hours for the five days of work. I give them three hours per week to grocery shop, and I give them twenty hours in quality time (without the phone or any outside distractions) to spend with their family per week. That brings their total to 159 hours.

They still have nine hours left to train. Usually the person gets the message by this point.

The funniest thing about this exercise is that most people who say they don’t have time to train don’t actually work seventy hours a week. They don’t sleep eight hours a night, don’t commute that far, and don’t spend that much quality time with their family. So they end up having a lot more than nine hours a week to train. Do you wonder where all their time goes? I have an idea: TV, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, text messages, fucking around, etc.

“You have one body. Invest in it, make time for it, take care of it.”

If you really believe that you can’t find enough time, then two issues need to be addressed. The first is time management and the second is your level of commitment and desire. I can’t help you with the latter. Commitment and desire must come from within. But hopefully I can help you with time management.

Be the Dentist

The first step in taking back your life and freeing up time is to take command of your schedule. Don’t let others plan your schedule for you. It’s your schedule and your life so you make the rules. Your time is the most precious commodity you have. It is the one thing that you can give and never get back. Treat it like it is important. Be dominant and make protecting your schedule your ultimate priority.

Force other people to work around your schedule. When you make appointments don’t ask, “When works for you?” and then get stuck in an appointment that you don’t like or that wreaks havoc on your schedule. Tell them when you can make time for them. Start planning your schedule in a way that allows you to train. If you claim your training is important, then you will protect it. People always make time for things that are important to them, like their favorite television show or a night out with friends. Why not do it with training?

I know a businessman who routinely tells people he cannot meet with them between 11am and 1pm. He also tells his secretary not to take meetings during that time. When people ask, she politely says, “I’m sorry, there are already meetings booked during that time. Are there any other times that work for you?” People don’t need to know he is going to gym or doing other things. They respect the fact that he is unavailable and acquiesce to another time. Job done.

“When it comes to your schedule, be the dentist. You’re the boss, you make the decisions, you make the schedule.”

Think back to a time you called the dentist and attempted to make an appointment. You ask to make an appointment and the receptionist gives you a time. It’s usually a few weeks out at a time that works best for them. For argument’s sake, say they tell you November 11th at 10am. You say you cannot make 10am because you have to work. So she advises November 19th at 3pm. You say the same thing and tell her you work between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. So she suggests November 27th at 9am. Once again, it is on a weekday between 9am and 5pm.

So what do you do? You say you’ll take the first appointment and rearrange your schedule to make it work. Why do you do this? Because your teeth are important and you have to make time for them. The dentist isn’t going to come in at some time that doesn’t work for his or her schedule. The dentist isn’t going to come in at 6am on a Tuesday morning because you decided that works best for you. They will not skip their lunch or stay late for you. You are at their mercy. Learn from this.

When it comes to your schedule, be the dentist. You’re the boss, you make the decisions, you make the schedule.

3 Common Time Wasters

There are a few common time-wasters. I will address three here: commuting, people, and your cell phone.

#1: Commuting

If you have a long commute, do whatever you can to avoid getting stuck in traffic. Sitting in a traffic jam is dead time. Avoid busy times by leaving your home earlier in the morning and/or coming home later.

For example, I have a friend who lives in a busy urban center. If he leaves his home at 7am, he can barely make it to work by 9am. Sometimes he is late. If he leaves at 6:15am he gets there by 7am and has time left to train and shower at a local gym. At the end of the day he does the same. If he leaves at 5pm, he gets home at 7pm. If he leaves at 6:30pm, he gets home at 7:15pm (only 15 minutes later) and created an extra hour and a half in his schedule. He saved almost four hours in his day just by adjusting his commute times. That is a lot of time to accomplish your goals.

#2: The Cell Phone

Most people don’t have a concept of how much time they waste daily on their phone. So do me a favor. Every time you check your phone for a text message or social media update, do five burpees. You will learn fast how much of a time suck the phone can be. I bet most of you waste hours of time each day. The cell phone also makes your other tasks take much longer because it’s a distraction.

Have some self-control. Put the phone away sometimes. Don’t be so attached. Sounds easy enough, right?

#3: People

You can’t be everything to everyone and you can’t give everything to everyone. There are people (you know the ones I am talking about) who enjoy talking your ear off, ask you for help when they don’t really need it, or show up late to appointments you have with them. Learn the power of saying “no.” Be kind, be nice, but know it is okay to protect your time. Time is precious. Spend it on those who deserve and respect it.

Be Creative With Your Training

If there is a time you really cannot get to the gym, then start to get creative with your training. Doing repetitions every hour on the hour can be powerful. How many push ups do you think you’ve done this year? 1,000? 2,000? More? Try doing ten push ups ten times throughout the day. You could do ten every hour or five every half hour. If you could accumulate 100 a day, you would accumulate 36,500 by the end of the year. Not bad, especially since it’s easy. It doesn’t take much to fit into your schedule and you won’t even break a sweat. You could do the same with squats, pull ups (if you have a bar in your house that hangs from the door frame), or lunges. It is incredible how this volume approach adds up.

“Not having enough time is not an excuse. Usually the real issue is that a person isn’t dedicated enough. If you are dedicated results will come easily.”

Multitasking is another helpful tool. When you watch your favorite show or football on Sundays, do work during commercial breaks or every few minutes, rather than just sitting on your ass. I remember once watching The Lord of the Rings with my son. It’s one of his favorite movies. Do you know how many burpees, push ups, and lunges you can get done in a three-hour movie? It doesn’t take away from the movie. You could also have an exercise bike in the living room. I have routinely ridden a Fan Bike while watching some of my favorite shows. This is the kind of thing committed people do.

Just remember, time is a precious commodity. Protect it and respect it. We are all capable of making time for the things we love. Learn to make time for your training. It could change your life. You just have to want it.

You’ll also enjoy:

• 4 Areas of Your Health You May Be Neglecting
• Why Your Excuse of Not Having Time is Wrong
• How to Manage Time, Energy, Emotions, and Expectations to Achieve Results
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

The post Be Better at Life: How to Find More Time to Train appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

In my last article, I discussed supplements that assist with overall nutrition and wellness. These supplements focused on building a foundation of overall health – simple vitamins and minerals that help with immunity, energy, digestion, etc.

In this article, I will outline five performance-enhancing supplements that will help you get more out of your training. There is no replacement for good, old-fashioned, hard work. These supplements will not magically make you better. You still have to work for your results and put in time and effort. They may simply give you a bit of a boost or edge and allow you to push harder and recover better.

All of these supplements are legal, relatively inexpensive, and have little to no health risk associated with them when used correctly. I would consider adding them to your daily routine if their benefits are in line with your goals.

Supplement #1: Creatine

Supplementation with creatine increases muscle creatine and phosphocreatine. This can enhance performance especially during explosive or high-intensity exercise. Performance is enhanced because of temporal and spatial buffering of ATP and an increased muscle buffering capacity. In plain English, creatine increases the body’s ability to produce energy rapidly. It is useful in sports or activities that require short bursts of effort, such as sprinting or lifting. Creatine is most effective when training for explosive strength, but there doesn’t seem to be any use for the endurance athlete.

There is no such thing as a magic pill but there are a few supplements that can help give you an edge.

There is also potential weight gain associated with creatine, so if you are in a position where you can’t afford to gain weight (i.e., trying to stay in a certain weight class for a sport) then I would stay away from it.

Brands: IronTek, Designs For Health, MRM

Dosage: Start with a creatine loading phase, taking 20g a day for 7 days. Then take 5g daily before or after a workout.

Supplement #2: Glutamine

Glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the body. It is produced by the muscles and then carried by the blood to areas it is most needed. Glutamine helps maintain the integrity of the GI tract. It is used as a fuel source, can help to boost the immune system, and it aids in recovery. Glutamine may also play a role in preventing muscle catabolism, increasing muscle mass, and keeping the muscles hydrated. It is a building block of protein and essential in bodily processes such as providing fuel to cells and making amino acids and glucose.

If the body uses more glutamine than the muscles are making, muscle wasting occurs. Glutamine is considered gluconeogenic and creates muscle glycogen from blood glucose. This aids in increasing performance. Glutamine is found in high levels within dairy, meat, and eggs. Whey and casein protein both have high levels of glutamine. There are also many isolated glutamine supplements.

Brands: IronTek, MRM, Designs For Health

Dosage: It appears that up to 30g of glutamine daily is safe. I would aim for between 10-15g.

Supplement #3: BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids)

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are valine, leucine, and iso-leucine. Leucine is the most researched and seems to have the greatest physiological benefit. BCAAs can help promote muscle protein synthesis, increase muscle growth, keep blood sugar levels constant, and aid in preventing muscle catabolism. They can also help prevent fatigue and reduce tryptophan levels in the brain. BCAAs are found in meat, dairy products, and eggs. They are also found in whey protein and casein.

“These supplements will not magically make you better. You still have to work for your results and put in time and effort.”

When taking a BCAA be sure to look into the cleanliness of the product. Many BCAA products have other supplements in them (i.e. caffeine) and also may contain numerous artificial flavors, colors, and sweeteners. As always, cleanliness is key.

Brands: Designs For Health, Gnarly, MRM, BodyTech

Dosage: A combination dose of 20g of combined BCAAs, with a balanced ratio of leucine and isoleucine, seems to be a good start. Some suggest you should ingest 5g of BCAAs per hour of training and then add BCAA supplementation at 4-hour intervals during the day.

Supplement #4: PreWorkout/Caffeine

Let’s face it. We have all had days where we lack energy and need a boost. A pre-workout or caffeine supplement can help. Caffeine can help with issues like fatigue and support energy, focus, and endurance in the gym. I have used many pre-workouts in the past and the key issue here is safety. Many of them are filled with synthetic caffeine and other stimulants that can leave you feeling jittery. Some cause feelings of racing heart and nausea, others can cause adrenal fatigue when overused, and you could possibly fail a drug test taking certain pre-workout supplements.

None of these supplements will replace the hard work you need to do in the gym but they will help you perform and recover better – two vital aspects to improving as an athlete.

When it comes to taking a pre-workout, I only use products that are clean and rely on natural sources of caffeine and stimulants as opposed to harsh chemicals made in a lab. You will pay more for a “clean” pre-workout, but it is worth it. In the past there have been pre-workout supplements that have used banned substances and in other cases chemicals very similar to methamphetamines. As stated above, I would stay clean.

Brands: SFH, Gnarly, and Vega are the only three I trust.

Dosage: Depends on brand

Supplement #5: Protein Powder

The standard bodybuilding magazine recommends 2.5 grams per pound of bodyweight a day when it comes to protein, but you might not need that much. When the bulk of the research is analyzed, it appears that 1.2 – 1.7 grams per pound of bodyweight may be enough. That said, there is little to no health risk in ingesting extra protein (some of the studies say as high as 2.8 grams per pound). In examining these numbers, you may very well get enough protein from your diet, but a protein supplement is useful if:

• You aren’t getting enough protein.
• It is a matter of convenience (a shake is a very convenient meal choice in the morning or after a training session).

I recommend the following types of protein:

1. Whey Protein: It is a fast-acting protein. It spikes the blood’s amino acid levels up the fastest. Because it is rapidly absorbed and the amino acid levels of the blood shoot up so quickly, some refer to whey as anabolic. Whey protein isolate is 90-95% protein by weight and has had almost all of the carbohydrates, fat, and fiber removed from it. Whey concentrate contains varying amounts of fat and carbohydrates. The percentage of protein by weight varies from about 30% to about 80%. Many of these proteins are flavored with artificial flavors, so be aware of cleanliness. Whey protein is good to ingest before or after a workout or at various other times in the day.

2. Casein: Some call this protein anti-catabolic because the amino acids provided by casein stay in the bloodstream for longer. For that reason, many bodybuilders take this protein at night before going to bed. Casein is also good for a snack when you want your blood amino acid levels to remind high for a longer period of time. Casein is high in glutamine. Micellar casein is more bioavailable than caseinates but also generally more expensive. Like whey protein, many of these proteins are flavored with artificial flavors.

3. Plant Based: Plant-based proteins can be useful, especially if a person has a dairy intolerance. There are various types of plant proteins. Rice protein is economical, has a neutral taste, and is high in cysteine and methionine but is low in lysine. Therefore it is often combined with pea protein. There is usually no gas or bloating associated with a rice and pea protein and it has almost all of the amino acids. Hemp protein provides omega-3 fatty acids and fiber and can be bought in raw form. There are soy proteins out there, but I would stay away from soy like the plague.

Brands: My favorite brands of protein are Tera’s Whey, Gnarly Whey, SFH, Designs For Health and Vega (for plant based protein).

Dosage: It depends, but I take 1-2 servings per day when trying to build muscle.

And there you have it. Nothing magic. Nothing that promises a shocking transformation or radical gains. Just a few simple supplements that may help you train harder, get more out of each session, recover better, and perform better.

More on nutrition and performance:

• 5 Health Based Supplements to Build Your Strength Platform
• Pass the Protein Shake: Digging Into Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition
• Do the Math to Make the Most of Micronutrients
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

The post 5 Inexpensive Supplements to Jack Up Your Performance appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

That said, athletes can be deficient in many vitamins and minerals because a typical modern diet won’t fulfill an athlete’s needs. Athletes need more vitamins and minerals than an average person. There are some vitamins and minerals that can help an athlete stay healthy and strong while building a solid performance platform.

A strong pyramid of performance is built on a foundation of health and wellness.

I have compiled a list of five basic supplements that have been shown to help with health and immunity. These are vitamins and minerals I take regularly. None of them are magic and none of them focus directly on performance. These promote general health and will help you recover better, sleep better, and have a strong immune system – all important aspects of training.

All of these supplements are completely legal, relatively inexpensive, and have little- to-no health risk associated with them when used correctly. These supplements are not in any particular order of importance. They are simply what I take regularly.

Supplement #1: Vitamin D

Almost every cell in our body has a vitamin D receptor. Without enough vitamin D in the body, calcium cannot be absorbed. Calcium is essential for signaling between brain cells and also in the development of bones and teeth. Low levels of vitamin D may be associated with increased risk of cancer, low levels of immunity, increased inflammation, higher blood pressure, and the loss of muscle mass and strength.

“Let me be clear – there is no magic pill you can buy over the counter. If something really works it is illegal or banned. End of story.”

Vitamin D also plays a role in testosterone production. It is estimated that 30-80% of the United States population is deficient in Vitamin D. Athletes, especially indoor athletes, are vulnerable to Vitamin D deficiency.

Brand: Carlson’s, Twinlab, Designs For Health

Dosage: Doses of around 1,000 IUs per day, or even as high as 2,000 IUs a day are regarded as safe. Some people prescribe as much as 10,000 IUs daily, but you need to be careful because high levels can be toxic.

Supplement #2: Green Stuff/Antioxidants

Taking an antioxidant supplement can assist the body in ridding itself of free radicals. Free radicals are formed through natural human physiological processes as well as from the environment. They may be the result of diet, stress, smoking, alcohol, exercise, inflammation, drugs, or exposure to sunlight and air pollutants. Free radicals are also produced every time you breathe. While many types of free radicals can be formed, the most common in aerobic (oxygen breathing) organisms are oxygen-free radicals, often referred to as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).

There’s no magic pill but there are some things that can help you improve.

During exercise, oxygen consumption can increase by a factor of more than ten. This leads to a large increase in the production of oxidants and results in damage that contributes to muscular fatigue during and after exercise. The inflammatory response that occurs after strenuous exercise is also associated with oxidative stress, especially in the 24 hours after an exercise session.

Antioxidants can help the body deal with oxidative stress and also reduce the number of free radicals. This may help promote overall health and also aid in recovery. There are thousands of different substances that classify themselves as antioxidants. The most familiar ones are vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, flavonoids and polyphenols, alongside many more.

The most familiar [antioxidants] are vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, flavonoids and polyphenols, alongside many more.

The best source of antioxidants is real food or supplements made from real food. Antioxidants from real food are more bioavailable than those made in a lab. Fresh organic vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices, and organic green tea are among the best sources.

If you find yourself lacking the normal amount of vegetables and fruits then using a supplement may assist you, especially during the winter when fresh produce is hard to come by. Also note that our food industry has lessened the quality of our fruits and vegetables, so you may need to take a supplement to offset this.

Brands: Green Vibrance, Udo’s (Flora Health), Amazing Grass

Dosage: Depends on brand

Supplement #3: Probiotics

For your stomach to work properly it needs to have healthy bacteria. Probiotics help move food through your body. They help with irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, infectious diarrhea, and antibiotic-related diarrhea. Probiotics also assist in things like skin health, prevention of allergies and colds, oral health, and urinary and vaginal health. Probiotics have been found to enhance synthesis of B vitamins and improve calcium absorption, and to keep balance of intestinal microflora.

“Athletes can be deficient in many vitamins and minerals because a typical modern diet won’t fulfill an athlete’s needs.”

If you are going to take a probiotic, make sure it contains effective bacterial strains like Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1 along with a wide variety of strains, since different strains have different effects on the body. Also pay attention to the availability and the shelf life. The probiotics will die off and the supplement will be less effective.

Probiotics naturally occur in certain foods such as kefir, kimchi, yogurt, sauerkraut, aged soft cheese, and sour pickles.

Brands: Udo’s, Green Vibrance

Dosage: Depends on brand

Supplement: #4 Omega 3

Scientists have given essential fats (a.k.a. essential fatty acids or EFAs) their name because the body must have them to survive, but cannot synthesize them from any other substance we eat. We have to obtain them directly from a direct food source. Every cell, tissue, gland, and organ is dependent upon the presence of EFAs.

There are many kinds of fats, but only two kinds of essential fats: omega-3 and omega-6, both of which are unsaturated fats. Each EFA is turned into several derivatives by the body, provided enough omega-3 and omega-6, are supplied in the right ratio. All other fats, such as omega-9 (monounsaturated), omega-7, and saturated fat, are non-essential because the body can produce them from sugars and starches. Unfortunately, the modern Western diet is often deficient in omega-3 EFAs.

While there are some supplements you can take to assist in health in training, there is nothing that can replace

old-fashioned, hard work.

Omega-3s help with anti-inflammation, improve brain health, lower blood triglycerides, enhance the immune system, lower the risk of chronic diseases, speed recovery, and influence all sorts of hormonal activity. They can also aid reduction of body fat and build muscle.

Fish oil is high in EPA and DHA. Fish oil is preferred by the body because it is simply mainlined into the system without needing to be converted. ALA (which is found in plants) can be converted into EPA and DHA. Therefore plant sources can be an effective source of Omega-3s as well.

Brands: Stronger Faster Healthier (SFH), Carlson’s, Udo’s, Vega

Dosage: The equivalent of 1-3 grams (EPA + DHA) daily

Supplement #5: Magnesium

Over 300 reactions in the body rely on magnesium. Magnesium is needed to synthesize proteins, DNA and RNA. Magnesium plays a role in our metabolism, and cells use magnesium to transport calcium and potassium ions across cell walls. Maintaining healthy magnesium levels is important to critical processes such as nerve function, muscle contraction, and healthy bones. Magnesium can help you cope with stress and empower you to get a better night’s sleep.

“These recommendations are based on improving general health, which builds a sound platform for performance.”

Dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds, fish bananas, dark chocolate, and avocado are all great food sources of magnesium. Many athletes are deficient in magnesium. If supplementing, choose a chelated magnesium or magnesium citrate, as they are more bio-available. Avoid magnesium oxide because it doesn’t absorb well.

Brands: Natural Calm

Dosage: 500mg/daily

Building a Solid Platform

None of the above supplements are magic. These recommendations are based on improving general health, which builds a sound platform for performance. If you sleep better, get sick less, and feel better, then you can train harder.

In my next article we will examine five more supplements that strongly relate to your performance and have an ergogenic effect to help you get the most out of your training sessions.

More like this:

• How Do We Know If Supplements Work?
• 4 Supplements That Are Good For Your Life, as Well as Your Lifting
• How to Fend For Yourself in the Wild West, a.k.a. the Supplement Aisle
• What’s New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Gym Jones.

The post 5 Health-Based Supplements to Build Your Strength Platform appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

• “What is your go-to workout?”
• “If you could only do one workout what would it be?”
• “What is the best workout to build muscle?”
• “What is the best workout you know?”

I wish I could answer with just one workout. I wish it were that simple that there could be one workout session that could achieve any goal or accomplish any purpose.

My favorite workouts suit different training purposes while utilizing different forms of equipment.

But there are many workouts for different purposes and different goals. So, my answer to these questions could also be dependent on factors like time limit and equipment. Or the answer could be influenced by how I feel that day. The reality is there just isn’t one workout I could recommend. There are many.

 “The reality is there just isn’t one workout I could recommend. There are many.”

With that in mind, here are a few of my favorite workouts for different circumstances. There is a whole-body workout, a no-gear workout, a cardiovascular workout, a mass-gain workout, and a workout for occasions where you are running short on time.

Enjoy and choose your workout wisely.

No Gear Workout

Prison Burpees:

• 20-1 burpee ladder

My favorite no-gear workout is something called “Prison Burpees.” It is a 20-1 burpee ladder:

• Complete 20 burpees and walk 5 meters across a room.
• Then do 19 burpees and walk 5 meters back across the room.
• Then complete 18 burpees.
• Keep following this pattern until you are finished the entire 20-1 ladder.

You will do a total of 210 burpees.

This workout can take anywhere between fifteen and 25 minutes, depending on how hard you are willing to go. Remember to use proper form for the burpee. It is one of the most cheated movements. Make sure your chest touches the ground and make sure you jump a minimum of six inches off of the ground with your hips fully extended at the top of the jump.

I’d rather see you take 25 minutes and do every burpee with perfect form than cheat and finish in fifteen minutes. Hold yourself accountable. Form is everything.

Cardiovascular Workout

Three blocks of:

1. 6 x :30 work/:30 rest row or ski
2. Rest 4 minutes between blocks

Two of my favorite cardiovascular tools are the rower and the SkiErg. They are relatively inexpensive to buy, durable, can be found at almost any gym, and have a great computer with preset workouts. I have done countless workouts on the rower and SkiErg, but my favorite breathing workout is a simple interval structure involving thirty seconds of work and thirty seconds of rest.

Do a ten-minute warm up on the rower or the SkiErg. Get a good sweat going to tell your body it is time to work hard. When you are done the warm up, set the rower or SkiErg for :30/:30 intervals.

Complete six total intervals. That is one block. You will complete three total blocks resting four minutes between each one. That makes eighteen total intervals.

Suggested goals per thirty-second interval:

• Beginner -150m
• Intermediate – 160m
• Advanced -170m

Mass Gain Workout

10 sets:

1. 10x bench press
2. 10x pull up
3. Rest 2 minutes between sets

When it comes to mass gain there is no better workout than ten sets of ten. It is a workout format I have used again and again with great results every time. It is simple to execute: complete ten reps of bench press and then immediately complete ten pull ups.

The bench press must be full range of motion. Touch the bar to your chest and fully extend your elbows at the top. The negative should take four seconds, then press up as quickly as possible. For the pull ups, pull your chest all the way up to the bar and then lower yourself down slowly to full extension. All pull ups should be done without a kip and with strict form.

Suggested weights:

• Beginner – 135lbs
• Intermediate – 185lbs
• Advanced – 225lbs

Time Restricted Workout

• 20 minutes max reps

Sometimes you just don’t have a lot of time to train. Work, family, relationships, and life in general can all get in the way. If you find yourself short on time then do a quick twenty-minute test:

1. Choose a movement: squats, bench press, lunges, burpees, push ups, and push press are some of the movements you could pick.
2. Choose a weight if the movement requires one.
3. Get as many reps done as humanly possible in 20 minutes.

The workout is simple – but certainly not easy. If you are willing to really go for it, then twenty minutes will be more than enough time. The next time you do the workout try to beat your last score. If all you did was one of these twenty minute workouts every day you’d be well on your way to getting fitter than you can imagine.

Whole Body Workout

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:

1. Bench Press
2. Deadlift
3. Push-up
4. Pull-up
5. Back Squat

This is one of my favorite workouts of all time. All you need are a few barbells, a squat cage, and a few 45lb plates. Do a few bench press reps, deadlift reps, squats, and push ups to warm up and then get down to business and start the circuit.

The goal is to get this done as quickly as possible while using perfect form. Do ten reps of each movement, then nine reps of each, eight of each, and keep going until you have completed one rep of each movement. This is a workout that will work your entire body from head to toe.

Suggested weights:

• Beginner – 135lbs for bench press, deadlift, and back squats
• Intermediate – 185lbs
• Advanced – 225lbs

Check out these related articles:

• Training Through Pain – Salvation Through Suffering
• Functional Mass Gain – How to Build Real Horsepower
• Repeat After Me – There Is No Such Thing as Overtraining
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Gym Jones.

The post Bobby Maximus’s 5 Favorite Not-for-Wimps Workouts appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The goal of this article is to give you simple strategies that will help you create a diet that supports your athletic endeavors without bogging you down and making you feel like food is a full-time job that takes away from your real goal – to be good at your sport.

You can’t out-eat a shitty work ethic. You can eat the perfect diet, but you still need to train hard.

The Key Ingredient Is Balance

Most people I’ve seen who are super strict with their diet have no energy left for performance and don’t have the will power left to train hard in the gym. Maybe too much focus isn’t a good thing.

There is also a certain type of person who can focus too much on diet because he or she thinks it will substitute for genuine hard work. But you cannot out-eat a shitty work ethic. You just can’t. Not for performance anyway. So have a balance.

“Each one of us has a different genetic signature, athletic goal, upbringing, and training history. To think we can all eat the same because a book or television show tells us to is absurd.”

Everyone is looking for some kind of secret when it comes to nutrition and performance. There is always a new superfood people are trying to take advantage of or some new diet that people preach about. The reality is there is no secret, no magic pill, no special supplement. The best way to govern your eating is to make informed, well thought through decisions that relate to your individual needs and goals.

Diet and nutrition need to be as individualized as training. Each one of us has a different genetic signature, athletic goal, upbringing, and training history. To think we can all eat the same because a book or television show tells us to is absurd.

We all want to make things so complicated, but we often lack the simple resources or will power to follow through. And often, the simplest solution is the best solution. There’s nothing overly complicated in what I’m about to share. Just six pieces of real, simple, sound advice.

1. Eat to Support Your Goal

Your daily caloric intake should be adjusted to suit your goals. This should be a relatively simple rule to follow. If you want to gain weight, eat more food. If you want to lose weight, eat less food. It’s not rocket science, though people tend to overcomplicate this one. They want to know exactly how many calories to eat in order to attain a goal.

Each one of us has different genetics and a different history when it comes to training and nutrition. Some of us have slower metabolisms and some have faster. Some of us have different training volumes and need more or less food. Rather than letting a book or website tell you how much you should eat, why don’t you do some research?

“It may take you a few months to figure out how many calories you need to ingest, but personally, I’d rather invest the time and do things the right way to suit my individual needs then take the easy way out and set myself up for failure.”

Track your calories for two weeks. Don’t eat any differently than how you eat now. Record what you put in your mouth and when. After two weeks, look at your logs and make note of your daily caloric average.

From there, make changes, but don’t do anything extreme. Intensity is the inverse of duration. Do too much too soon and you will set yourself up for failure because your behavior won’t last. Start slow. If your goal is to lose weight, cut calories by 100-200 per day. Do that for a few weeks and see what happens. Conversely, if your goal is to gain weight add 100-200 calories and note what happens over two weeks.

If you aren’t losing enough weight, cut another 100-200 calories. If you aren’t gaining enough weight, add 100-200 more per day. Follow this pattern until you find your optimal intake. It may take you a few months to figure out how many calories you need to ingest, but personally, I’d rather invest the time and do things the right way to suit my individual needs then take the easy way out and set myself up for failure.

If you want to be strong, you need to fuel your muscles.

2. Eat Real Food

Ask yourself one question: would you put junk fuel into your brand new sports car? So how about keeping your engine clean so you can perform well, especially when it counts.

Food today isn’t real food. It is genetically modified, filled with preservatives and chemicals, covered in pesticides, and injected with hormones. The bread you eat isn’t the same as the bread people ate 200 years ago. The milk you drink isn’t the same either.

“Ask yourself one question: would you put junk fuel into your brand new sports car? So how about keeping your engine clean so you can perform well, especially when it counts.”

If there were only one rule I could tell people to follow, it would be to simply eat real food. Look at ingredients and make better choices. I would strongly advise you to read labels, stay away from chemicals, and buy organic when you can.

Here are a few simple rules to follow to help guide you to make better choices:

• The closer to nature your food is the better.
• The fewer hands that touch your food the better.
• If you can’t pronounce the ingredients don’t put it in your mouth.
• If you can kill it or pluck it from the ground, it is fair game.
• If it was made in a lab, it is off limits.
• If it wasn’t food 100 years ago it isn’t food today.
• If you can visualize the ingredients, the food is okay to eat it, but if not, then it doesn’t go in your mouth (i.e. I know what a tomato or garlic looks like, but have no clue what a soy lecithin looks like).

3. Eat a Good Balance of Carbs, Proteins, and Fats

Protein is a building block. You need it for numerous bodily functions. Make sure you eat enough good quality protein. You can’t do without it.

Eating fat doesn’t make you fat. In fact, the more fat you give your body, the more efficient it becomes using fat as a fuel source. Fat also helps make you feel full. Mono and poly unsaturated fats are necessary in many bodily processes.

You do not want to be on a no-carbohydrate diet. You will be constantly flat and low on muscle glycogen, so make sure you eat enough carbs. Choose from fruit and vegetable sources when you can and eat sources high in fiber. Potatoes and rice are also fine choices. And as long as you don’t have a gluten issue, don’t be scared of a piece of bread or a bowl of pasta. Remember, you need to keep your glycogen stores at full capacity.

“Each meal, just make sure that protein, fat, and carbohydrates are well represented from high-quality sources. As a staring point, I’d recommend about a third of your calories from each source.”

When it comes to assigning percentages for macronutrients, people often get into weighing, measuring, and calculating. While this can be valuable for some, it ends up being a burden for others. Also, until you have a handle on eating real food and your calories are on point, then you don’t have any business worrying about the difference between 25 and 30 grams of protein.

Each meal, just make sure that protein, fat, and carbohydrates are well represented from high-quality sources. As a staring point, I’d recommend about a third of your calories from each source. A simple rule of thumb (assuming you have consumed enough calories) is if you are hungry two hours after eating, then your meal was too high in carbohydrates. If you are hungry three or four hours after eating, then your ratios were about right.

4. Eat Frequently

People often overeat at a single sitting. They go too long without eating and then, when they do eat, make poor choices and overindulge. A good way to manage how you eat is to eat small meals throughout the day. This will boost your metabolism, remind your body that food is plentiful, and help you make better eating decisions. Many bad food decisions are made when you are starving.

Some people complain it is difficult to have food ready at all times, but really how hard is it to throw a good meal replacement bar, a snack like an apple, or a little container in your purse, backpack, or briefcase? It just takes a little bit of planning. If you find this to be too much work, then perhaps you aren’t as dedicated as you think.

It isn’t that difficult to make good choices when you are hungry – it just takes planning.

5. Allow Yourself the Freedom to Enjoy Yourself

The more restrictive the diet, the harder someone eventually falls off the wagon. Weighing, measuring, and only eating certain types of food that your dislike or eliminating food you love will lead to eventual failure. People will follow diets religiously for months and then when they come off them, find they have no self control left, eat everything in sight, and end up in worse shape than when they started.

“All I am saying is that you should have the freedom once in a while to eat something you enjoy. Who wants to be miserable?”

I don’t think you need to completely restrict yourself to have a good diet. You should feel free to enjoy the odd drink, dessert, or other food you enjoy. That said, I’m not giving you free license to eat whatever you want. Remember, your talk should be consistent with your actions. All I am saying is that you should have the freedom once in a while to eat something you enjoy. Who wants to be miserable?

Some will assign a day of the week as a cheat day, others will have a favorite cheat meal they eat when they have earned it, and others will just indulge when an opportunity to eat really good food comes along. Manage yourself. You know the right thing to do.

6. Individualize and Listen to Your Body

Just like you shouldn’t follow someone else’s training program, you shouldn’t follow someone else’s diet. Each and every one of us has individual needs. Some of us can’t tolerate gluten. Others are fine with it. Some of us have an issue with dairy, and for some of us it causes no issues at all. Some of us need to go to bed on an empty stomach and some of us sleep better on a full belly.

“The best judge of whether something works or not is you. Educate yourself, make your own decisions, and be your own person. Just make sure you have high standards.”

The big point here is – do what works for you. Pay attention to your body. Note how it responds to certain food choices. Note how you feel. No book can tell you how you should feel and yet there will always be some pencil neck with a pocket protector and a calculator to saying you are doing things wrong or that they know a better way.

Don’t forget to have a little fun.

The best judge of whether something works or not is you. Educate yourself, make your own decisions, and be your own person. Just make sure you have high standards, make your talk consistent with your actions, and make choices that influence your goal in a positive way.

Summary

That is it. Nothing revolutionary. Nothing complicated. Just straightforward real advice. So go train hard, eat, and enjoy.

More Like This:

• Want to Be Healthier? Pick One of These Simple Tips
• Eating to Recover: How and What to Eat Post-Workout
• The Progress Puzzle: 5 Pieces You Might Be Missing
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Gym Jones.

The post Eat to Perform: Simple Dietary Advice for the Athlete appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

There is no such thing as overtraining. There is only under-recovery. Most people don’t put in enough time, effort, or intensity to put themselves into a state of overtraining. Most people simply don’t recover well enough.

What Is Overtraining?

Genuine overtraining refers to a long-term pattern of being overworked that is often coupled with substandard recovery. There are those who may put themselves in a genuine state of overtraining. Take, for example, the athlete who puts in between 1,000 and 1,300 quality hours a year. That works out to between nineteen to 25 hours per week, every week of the year, with no time off. These aren’t just junk hours, either. They are quality hours. Do you train that much? Do you put in that kind of effort?

Ask yourself a simple question and answer it honestly: “How much do I train in an average week?” Remember that just showing up to the gym for a few hours a day doesn’t mean you trained. We are talking about quality hours here. So, how many quality hours do you put in per week? It probably isn’t enough to actually be overtrained. Chances are that if you think you are overtrained, you are actually just under-recovered.

If you want to improve, then recovery must be taken seriously. The work in the gym is only a piece of the puzzle when it comes to being fit. Remember:

Training = Work + Rest

Without adequate rest and recovery, your training will become less effective and you will plateau. In my experience, when people have hit a plateau, it is because they are under-recovered and can’t train with the proper intensity to burst through and keep progressing.

4 Essential Recovery Strategies

Here are some strategies to help you make the most of your recovery. The more of these you can institute, the better off you will be. You can never over-recover. In this case, there is never too much of a good thing. Incorporate as many of these as possible into your daily and weekly routine.

Treat your recovery like you treat your finances. Always save more than you spend. Training sessions and life stress are debits. Recovery practices, sleep, and stress management are credits. You always want more entries in the credits column.

1. Sleep

Think of yourself as a smart phone and your bedroom as the charger. If you leave the house in the morning and your phone is carrying a 20% charge, how useful a tool is it? It will be shutting down by noon. You can’t text, you can’t talk, and you can’t play on Facebook, get directions, or check your email. The phone becomes useless. On the other hand, if you leave the house on a 100% charge, you have a useful tool all day.

Your body works the same way. Get enough quality sleep and you leave the house fully charged and ready to go. If you leave under-slept and undercharged, then how well do you really expect yourself to perform?

“You can never over-recover. In this case, there is never too much of a good thing. Incorporate as many of these as possible into your daily and weekly routine.”

There is nothing more anabolic then a few extra hours of sleep. Try to accumulate eight to nine hours per night. Protect the quality of that sleep by turning your bedroom into a place of rest. Use blackout curtains to keep out the light. Get rid of other sources of light and energy in the room by getting rid of electronics. If you use an alarm clock, tape over the lights so the glow doesn’t fill your room.

By getting eight to nine hours a night in a completely dark and restful environment, your body will produce more human growth hormone and more testosterone. This will lead to numerous positive effects, including a higher training intensity and, therefore, better gains in the gym. Probably in life, as well.

Teaching my little one the importance of good sleep

2. Stress Management

Managing stress is essential to maintaining a good level of recovery. Stress kills us. It is almost impossible to train hard and recover while under a high amount of stress. Nothing seems to work right.

Think back to a time when you were under an incredible amount of stress. Maybe it was from work or from a bad relationship. How was your training? Did you progress or did you plateau?

For most people stress is self-imposed:

• That bad relationship you are in? Get out of it. There is better out there for you.
• That job you hate? Maybe it is time to explore finding new employment. You are probably qualified to do something else.
• Do you find yourself sitting in a traffic jam an hour or two every day? Leave for work earlier in the morning so you aren’t stuck in traffic and then use the extra time to train, read, or relax. Instead of leaving work and hopping in the car only to sit for an hour in traffic, why not train right away at a nearby gym and drive home when the traffic clears?
• Turn off your phone sometimes. You don’t need to be connected all day, every day.
• Get rid of negative and poisonous people from your life. You become what you hang around.

These are just some of the things you can do to alleviate stress. Take a look at your life, take inventory of your current state of affairs, and then start making some changes.

3. Recovery Practices

I’m going to leave the scientific talk out of this section. Just trust that these practice work because they do. Insert as many of these into your daily routine as you can:

• Foam Rolling – The roller is essential home massage tool. It will help your muscles to relax and to stay in proper working order. Bound-up tissue doesn’t function properly. Rolling is great for the glutes, quads, calves, low back, and hamstrings. I would recommend using the foam roller for fifteen to twenty minutes every night.
• Ice Bath – These have been used for years and are regularly used by the best athletes in the world. Place fifty to seventy pounds of ice in the bath tub and get in. Sit for between fifteen to twenty minutes. When you get out, let your body warm up naturally. This should be done after any difficult workout.
• Recovery Walk – A twenty to thirty minute walk is a great way to get the body moving, flush the muscles, stimulate an appetite, and unplug from the world. It should be relaxing and done at an easy pace. Go to a park, walk around your neighborhood, or go somewhere relaxing. Leave your phone at home. It is also a great way to spend quality time with your spouse, kids, or dog. You could do this every day.
• Massage – Find a good therapist and see him or her regularly. Regular massage is a way to keep the muscles working properly, treat current injuries, and prevent further injuries from occurring. It is also an excellent way to relax. Finding a good therapist is essential. I would aim to get a massage every one to two weeks.

4. Recovery Workouts

You can’t go hard all the time. Some workouts are test drives, but others need to be tune-ups. You can’t test drive your car every single day. On days you feel you can’t go hard, then back off a bit and do a recovery workout.

You can do two-a-days by making one of them a recovery workout. Just because you are doing recovery work doesn’t mean you aren’t getting valuable work in. Recovery workouts can address issues such as core stability, shoulder mobility, building an aerobic base, and practicing technique.

“On days you feel you can’t go hard, then back off a bit and do a recovery workout. You can do two-a-days by making one of them a recovery workout.”

By doing a recovery workout, you can also ensure you are able to go hard the next day. Protect the intensity of your hard workouts and protect your overall recovery status by taking your foot off the gas every now and then.

Here are three of my favorite recovery workouts:

1. 100x Turkish Get Ups With 15-25lb Dumbbell or Kettlebell: This should take about thirty minutes. Go slow and make sure your form is impeccable. There is no need to rush. Alternate arms in sets of five until you reach 100 reps. You may be tempted to go heavier. Don’t. Remember this is a recovery session.
2. 60-Minute Row, Bike, Run, or Swim at an Easy Pace: Keep the heart rate under 65%. If you can’t run because of the impact, then choose something low impact. This workout is a great way to flush the muscles, create a demand for food, and psychologically recover, as well as a great way to build up volume. If you were to row sixty minutes three times a week at an easy pace (probably 12,500m for men and 10,000 for women), you would accumulate well over one million meters for the year. If you were to do three sixty-minute runs at a ten-minute mile pace, you’d get eighteen extra miles a week.
3. Recovery Workout: A great way to practice your deadlift form, work on core stability, and improve your pull ups. I know many people who have set personal bests in the deadlift by doing this workout a few times a week. Make sure every rep is perfect. Take your time.

Then:

Then:

Don’t forget to actually enjoy yourself

If You Want to Improve, the Path Is Through Recovery

I have met a lot of people who are serious about training. I have met a lot fewer people who are serious about recovery. There is only so much time you can devote to training and there is an upper limit to the intensity you can give on a day-to-day basis. What often makes the biggest difference in a successful training program is the work outside the gym.

It may not be glamorous or fun, but by paying serious attention to recovery you will be able to stay injury free, work harder in the gym, and make a lot more progress. Often when people plateau it is because they haven’t paid enough attention to recovery.

The training is the easy part. What happens the other 22 hours of the day is where the battle will be won or lost. Remember that when you leave the gym, the real work begins.

More Like This:

• How Your Recovery Relates Directly to Your Performance
• 7 Essential Elements of Rest and Recovery
• The Unexpected Key to Better Performance and Recovery

Photo 1 courtesy of Jorge Huerta Photography.

Photos 2, 3, 5 courtesy of Bobby Maximus.

Photo 4 courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Repeat After Me: There Is No Such Thing as Overtraining appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Setting the Limit

The physical work in the gym is easy for most. It is the psychological aspects of training that most people struggle with. The single greatest area where I see people struggle is in overcoming their self-imposed limitations. Self-imposed limitations are shackles that hold us down and prevent us from achieving our potential. When a person sets a limit, he or she puts a limit on what is achievable. That person will never evolve beyond the arbitrary standard set for him or her. People never evolve beyond their self-imposed standards, even if they are fully capable. This wouldn’t be so much of an issue if people regularly set their limits high – but most do the opposite and set their sights far too low.

Limitations and Self Image

Self-imposed limitations are tied to a person’s self image. The lower the self image, the lower the expectations the person has for himself or herself. Until that self image improves, until that person believes he or she will be successful or is capable of more, then he or she will continually underperform no matter what program or diet is followed.

The self-limiters are easy to spot. They say things like, “I’d be happy to have a 400lb deadlift.” Since when is a 400lb deadlift good? Why not aim for a higher standard? They say things like, “My goal is to run a sub-four-hour marathon.” Since when is that an accomplishment? Why not aim for a sub-three? Why not go faster?

Sometimes these self-limiters also make excuses for their lack of success. They will blame a lack of time, lack of equipment, or anything else they can use to explain their poor performance or state of fitness. They’ll also try to diminish another person’s accomplishments by telling themselves the successful person was lucky, or had a better program, or better genetics, or special equipment. They will tell themselves whatever they need in order to stay in the cage they’ve constructed for themselves.

The simple reality is these people will always be spinning their wheels until they adjust their expectations and break free of their limitations. The question is – how do you get rid of your limits? It certainly isn’t easy but there are some strategies that can be employed.

Strategy #1: Adjust Your Standards

The first strategy is to adjust your standards and adjust to whom you compare yourself. Don’t look to your peer group when determining what standards are good. Look to people who are actually good at what they do.

For example, if the best runner in your peer group can do a four-hour marathon and everyone in your peer group has established him as the “runner,” do you think you will ever do much better? Why not look elsewhere for guidance and inspiration in coming up with your standard? Take the Boston Marathon. Over 20,000 people qualify each year. Why can’t you be one of them? 20,000 is a large number. Understand that if so many people can qualify, then it certainly is possible for you to qualify as well. Set your standards higher than your local peer group. Aim higher.

Strategy #2: Use Trickery

The second strategy is to employ some form of trickery. When trying to help a person overcome his or her self-imposed limitations some form of trickery may be the best tool at your disposal. At a recent seminar of ours we had the participants test their deadlift 1RM. One of the members of the group mentioned how he had never been able to deadlift 405lbs. Looking at the gentleman I was shocked that he was not able to lift more than that. He was a large, fit, capable, person. I decided to employ a strategy with him that we have used at Gym Jones in the past with others.

Rather than place the standard 45lb plates on the bar I placed a “random” assortment of ten, fifteen, 25, and 35lb plates on the bar so he lost track of the weight being used. When we got to 405lbs he lifted it with relative ease. I then had him try that same weight using the standard configuration of four 45lb plates per side. Using that bar he failed the lift. It was almost as if it was glued to the ground. There was something about that visual image of four plates per side that was holding him back. There was some limitation he had set for himself associated with that weight.

When I advised the man that the weight on the bar with the assorted plates was actually 405lbs he was shocked. It was quite a learning lesson for him and changed him for the better. The caveat to this strategy is that it is hard to trick yourself so you may need to ask someone for help.

Strategy #3: You Become Who You Hang Around

Surround yourself with people who are better than you. Surround yourself with people who work harder and who have more dedication. Surround yourself with people who inspire you. If you are always surrounded by those you are better than, there will be no motivation to improve and you’ll quickly plateau. You’ll set lower goals for yourself and you’ll find yourself limited. In the long run, it never helps to be the biggest fish in the smallest pond. Find people who challenge you, motivate you, and help push you to become better. You’ll be focused more on keeping up with the group and less on your own limitations.

Regardless of how you overcome your limitations the key is to remember that doing so is an essential part of the process of improvement. And these self-imposed limitations are perhaps the thing that is truly holding you back – not actual limitations. Are you fulfilling your potential? Are you capable of more? Are you a self-limiter? Give it some thought. Chances are you could be better or do more. All of us can.

Photos courtesy of Rob MacDonald.

The post Overcoming Self-Imposed Limitations: Mind Training Strategies From Gym Jones appeared first on Breaking Muscle.