Welcome to Ego Lifting 101 this is your bro coach speaking. Social media never fails to astound us with the tomfoolery that demonstrates the fitness community’s finest lifters. Instagram is riddled with trips to snap city on a deadlift or a demo of a knee-jerking quarter squat or a bicep curl that looks more like a cardio session on an elliptical.

We have become obsessed with breaking a personal record (PR) without paying much attention to the fundamentals of smart programming. We are stuck with a group of persons that have embraced PR syndrome.

The point I’m making here is that training is a slow and arduous process. PRs aren’t going to be set every week or every month—especially as you advance as a lifter. It’s far more important to be injury-free and only increase per phase by 5-20lbs than place yourself in an orthopod’s hands due to poor judgment. Let’s look at how PR syndrome began and determine what we can do about it.

PR Syndrome

PR syndrome was invented because most people want to lift more than anyone else. Sorry to break it to you but there are things that we can aspire to train to be able to do based in good methodology.

However, some advanced methods should not be attempted by your average gym patron. We look at the magazines of strongmen and bodybuilders lifting three or four times human body weight and aspire to replicate this without considering the process of programming.

According to the OPT Model by the National Academy of Sports Medicine, there should be a progressive method from stabilization endurance to power in your training. However, the human body doesn’t always work this way. Instead, it’s hybridized to work on all facets of lifting if done correctly. There will be periods where the body requires more strength or more stability.

Through appropriate coaching there will be a plan for manipulating training intensity, volume, focus/stress, cardio, tempo and the like; this provides a much more specific way of training in comparison to cookie-cutter plans.

For the beginner, the cookie-cutter plan may prove useful because there doesn’t lie a proper foundation. After the initial preliminary stages of training, we need to continue to focus on weaknesses and improve the strengths in such a way that isn’t counterproductive.

In order to best gauge if you’re suffering from PR syndrome, perform a test week by looking at your form, weight lifted, recovery time needed between sets, and how well you recover overall each day. Furthermore, what lifts provide the most issue? You will want to engage any issues directly.

For example, a test day and a processing mechanism for programming looks like this:

1. Perform the programmed exercise as intended.
2. What was difficult?
3. What was easy?
4. What recovery time was needed between sets?
5. What was the overall recovery time from the exercise in general?

In order to understand this concept, think of a week of seven test days happening a month from now. During every workout, if you notice a change note it and work on improving things such as activation, power output, and conditioning by having regular rest period intervals for struggling body parts.

In my philosophy of relative strength, the ultimate goal is becoming neurologically much more efficient and having a well-rounded approach to training. If we can track power leakages through markers such as poor stabilizers, taxing the prime movers to force secondary muscle groups to become just as strong, concentrating on the stretch, contracting reflexes instead of weight, and drilling proper biomechanics to prevent injury, the better we will become at adapting and growing.

On the seventh day of test week, make sure to take a rest day and focus on nutrition and life balance. I evaluate how to recover better through food and address things that are harder to control like autonomic responses and other life imbalances

As a bodybuilder, I take this seriously day very seriously because of my hectic schedule and tendency to become overwhelmed as contest day nears. Our individual personalities play a big role in how we work through issues, however, so remember to work intelligently to yield intended results.

Ego Lifting, the Greatest Sin

There is a large difference when you test a heavier weight out of expectation based on previous performance or curiosity than if you lift to stroke your ego. Stay away from ego lifting—it is a sin.

It is also a transgression against the laws of proper biomechanics, neuromuscular science, and is not proper gym etiquette. So, why does this still occur? We often chalk this up to temptation but in reality, it is only to impress others.

In China, I was humbled and during a few instances saw examples of ego lifting causing a trainee to fail needlessly. I urge anyone to set your game plan before you enter the gym and accept failure in a calculated and non-emotional way.

If we learn to fail it teaches us to respect the weight and respect our bodies as temples of love for lifting. If we carry out protocols that are individualized and work on our most hated weaknesses, we can improve them to magnify our strengths.

In the words of Lee Haney, stimulate don’t annihilate. If we are not creating an environment for growth, we are simply creating one for constant catabolism and ultimately injury. The best way to uplift your ego is by putting in the proper work.

Lift with love my friends!

The post Why Are You Chasing PRs and Personal Bests? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

As I get out of bed, I notice my back feels tight. I lethargically walk over to the coffee pot in hopes that the caffeine will be what I need to get me going for my morning workout.

My alarm goes off. I look at my phone and see that it is 5:30 am. I just went to bed five hours earlier because I was stuck in a Netflix binge-watching session.

As I get out of bed, I notice my back feels tight. I lethargically walk over to the coffee pot in hopes that the caffeine will be what I need to get me going for my morning workout.

I pull into the gym parking lot at quarter to 7 am. I have no motivation or energy for a workout, and as mentioned before, my back is not feeling right, and the only reason I am even going to the gym is that I know it’s good for me.

Have you ever been in this situation when you show up for a workout and you aren’t feeling it?

We hope that every time we show up to lift we will be feeling physically and mentally ready to wrestle a grizzly bear and be able to bend steel bars with our fists. But how often does that happen?

The Mind-Body Disconnect

It seems like our mind and body are often not in tune. You show up mentally ready but your knee has been nagging at you for the past few days and it’s leg day. Or maybe you are feeling great physically, but your head is some place else.

What do you do in this situation? Give up and go home and hope tomorrow is better?

Maybe.

What if the program has you doing three sets but you feel amazing? Is it ok to do four or five sets?

Possibly.

This is where intuitive lifting comes into play.

Intuitive lifting helps you optimize the 80% of the time you feel OK, helps you pull back 10% of the time when you show up not be feeling it, and takes advantage of the 10% of the time you feel terrific.

What Is Intuitive Lifting?

At its core, intuitive lifting is listening to what your body is telling you at the present moment and making adjustments to get the most out of your body in its current state.

It takes into account sleep, stress, nutrition, and how your body is feeling with movement.

The following components should always be evaluated prior to training:

• Sleep: How was your sleep quality the night before? How much sleep did you get (more or less than 8 hours)?
• Stress: How anxious do you feel? Do you feel recovered? Motivation level? Is your resting heart rate higher than usual?
• Nutrition: Are you hydrated? Have you had vegetables at each meal? Eating protein at each meal?
• Your Body: Are you stiff or feel restricted? If yes, where? Is there discomfort in a specific movement? If yes, does warming up help?

Not feeling great in one of these areas is not a cause for concern or a reason for you not to workout, but if you see there are more negatives than positives showing up, then that is something to make a note of.

The 3 Rules Of Intuitive Lifting

1. Have A Plan: Intuitive lifting doesn’t mean you do what you enjoy every day. You need to follow a workout plan that is designed for your goals and capabilities. Doing what you like doesn’t push you to the level you need to achieve your goal.
2. Assess How You Feel: When assessing sleep, stress, nutrition, and movement try not to be subjective. Recognize if you are making a decision based on how your body feels versus where you are emotionally. Most of the time our bodies can do more, but we emotionally feel we can’t. There are times when your emotional side is correct, so you do need to listen to it from time to time.
3. Make Tweaks Not Overhauls: With the information you gather from your self-assessment you should make tweaks to the program, not overhauls.

Example: As you are warming up for your deadlift your back doesn’t feel right.

A tweak would be trying squats that day or turning your deadlift day into a focus on form and working at loads below 50% of your one rep max.

An overhaul would be to throw the program out and turn it into an “I do whatever I want” workout.

The Intuitive Warm Up

One of the many reasons to warm up is to give yourself an idea of how your body is feeling that day. As you go through your warm up you might notice your shoulder is feeling a little cranky or as you are doing squats your hips are feeling a little tight.

Sometimes all it will take is doing a little extra warming up of that area and you can go on with your normal workout.

But that is not always the rule.

What do you do?

You find what feels good.

For the shoulder, you might have a barbell overhead press but you find that for today dumbbells feel better because they offer a better range of motion. Or maybe having more stability with a bench feels better, so you try a dumbbell incline bench press.

In the case of the squat, you might find going to a box feels better because it adds more stability. Or you could try single leg movements like split squats and lunges.

When things aren’t feeling right play around to see if you can find an alternative that does.

Beware the Bad Night’s Sleep

Sleep and nutrition are the cornerstones of recovery. If you are not getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep consistently, you will be limiting yourself on the results you could be getting.

If you are trying to workout on four hours of sleep you would be better off taking a 20 minute nap than working out.

For the day you don’t feel rested because of a bad night’s sleep, cut your workout sets in half. For example:

Planned:

• Squat 4×6
• Chin Ups 4×6
• Bench 4×6
• Reverse Lunge 3×8

Adjusted:

• Squat 2×6
• Chin Ups 2×6
• Bench 2×6
• Reverse Lunge 2×8

Working Out When You Feel 110%

For the day you are feeling out of this world, you should take advantage for these days are few and far between. For example:

Planned:

• Squat 4×6
• Chin Ups 4×6
• Bench 4×6
• Reverse Lunge 3×8

Adjusted:

• Squat 4-6×6
• Chin Ups 4-5×6
• Bench 4-6×6
• Reverse Lunge 3-4×8

Keep the working weight the same. If you are feeling good, meaning the bar speed is staying the same throughout the movement and form is maintained, do a few more sets until you feel either the bar speed drop or your form starts to regress. This method will allow you to get in a few more working sets on the days you are feeling good.

The Takeaway

About 80% of the time you will be able to run your normal workout, but sometimes life doesn’t go as planned and you feel off. You need to know it is OK to tweak your plan. The body is ever-changing and a program that was made weeks or months ago needs to be able to change with you, as well.

The post The Benefits of Intuitive Lifting appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Question #1: Adding Extra Training

READER: When does a person add outside-of-the-gym strength training that is not part of that gym or trainer’s programming? When does adding extra stuff verge on overtraining?

CHARLES SAYS: Typically, ancillary “playing around” type activities don’t hamper the overall training process much unless they are big difficult drills that heavily disrupt your body’s homeostasis.

But with that said, the best way to assess your recovery levels (which includes, but is not limited to, your overall training load) is to directly look at your performance on the things that matter to you. Using myself as an example, I care a lot about my strength on the big classic lifts, so if my performances on those drills seems to be taking a dive, I start looking at what might be causing it. If my sleep, my caloric intake, and my protein levels are good, and my stress levels are normal, then I start looking at my training, especially the volume.

If I’ve determined that I’ve reached or exceeded what Dr. Mike Isreatel would call “maximum recoverable volume” (MRV), then I’ll take a deload week for recovery purposes. If, upon returning to normal training volumes, my strength levels seem to have returned to expected levels, then I know my hypothesis was right.

Question #2: Post Workout Nutrition

READER: What is your post workout nutrition plan? Meal/shake/supplement? 

CHARLES SAYS: Honestly, I don’t have one. Sure, it’s technically optimal to consume some carbs and a fast-acting protein like whey immediately post training, but the relative importance of that strategy (assuming your daily nutritional intake is solid) is minor.

Sometimes I’ll drink a RTD shake as I’m walking out of the gym, and other times I’ll go home and have an Oikos frozen yogurt or something similar. And still other times I might just have a normal meal a few hours after training.

“Success is less often about perfection and more often about distinguishing between things that matter a lot versus things that only matter a little.”

My answer to this question prompts me to remind you that success is less often about perfection and more often about distinguishing between things that matter a lot versus things that only matter a little. We’ve all got to pick our battles in life, so don’t stress over the small stuff (unless you’re into that kind of thing, I suppose).

Question #3: Age-Related Performance Assessments

READER: Do you use percentage performance levels by your age? Do you know of a system?

CHARLES SAYS: I’ve heard of that concept for running, but not for lifting. If it does exist for lifting, I probably wouldn’t have any interest anyway. I’m not sure what purpose it would serve. Similarly, I’m not particularly interested in senior citizen discounts at my local Denny’s.

Question #4: Must-Read Strength Books

READER: What is your all-time favorite book on strength training?

CHARLES SAYS: Five years ago I would have said Vladimir Zatsiorsky’s Science And Practice of Strength Training/. And that’s still an invaluable classic, but just this year, two exceptional new books were released, and they’re both absolutely must-haves for anyone with a serious interest in the subject:

• Mike Isreatel’s Scientific Principles of Strength Training – This book is a deep dive, but not inaccessible by any means.
• Greg Nuckols’s Art and Science of Lifting – This is an exceptional two-volume product. The science volume is more, well, “science-y.” The art volume is focused on the practical, in-the-trenches practices required to succeed at lifting. Lots of extras with this, as well.

This Week’s Training

This Week’s Volume: 38,265 Pounds (Last Week: 84,165 Pounds)

Significant Lifts:

• Squat: 315×6
• Deadlift: 440×7

So the big news is that, out of the blue this week, my right shoulder and right knee started feeling really sore and funky. Not sure what’s up with the shoulder, but I was trying to get extra deep on squats on Monday, and I think I irritated my surgical scar. I’m not super concerned with either, but I am concerned enough to back off pretty significantly this week, as you’ll see below.

Despite all the orthopedic woes, I still managed to hit two lifetime rep personal records (as mentioned above).

Thanks for stopping by, and get some good work in this week!

Monday, August 17, 2015

Bodyweight: 204.6 Pounds

Volume: 17,370 Pounds

Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 6: 275 lbs × 5
• Set 7: 315 lbs × 6
• Set 8: 295 lbs × 5
• Set 9: 275 lbs × 5

Stiff-Leg Deadlift

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 6
• Set 2: 185 lbs × 6
• Set 3: 225 lbs × 6

Leg Press

• Set 1: 270 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 270 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 270 lbs × 8

45° Back Extension

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 6
• Set 2: 150 lbs × 6
• Set 3: 150 lbs × 6
• Set 4: 150 lbs × 6

Leg Curl

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 6
• Set 2: 80 lbs × 6

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.8 Pounds

Volume: 4700 Pounds

Bench Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 205 lbs × 5
• Set 6: 215 lbs × 5

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 60 lbs × 5

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.4 Pounds

Volume: 16,195 Pounds

Deadlift

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 275 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 315 lbs × 5
• Set 6: 365 lbs × 5
• Set 7: 405 lbs × 5
• Set 8: 440 lbs × 7 (Video Below)

Seated Leg Curl

• Set 1: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 160 lbs × 8

Check out these related articles:

• Last Week’s Smart Strength Mailbag/
• 7 Markers of a Solid Strength Program/
• 5 Effective Ways to Move and Feel Better Today/
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today/

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post 3 Must-Read Books: Smart Strength With Charles Staley appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Question #1: Should I Prioritize Strength or Looking Good?

READER: For most people, their goals are to look good and be able to say they can lift pretty heavy weights. If you don’t have priority for either of the two (you don’t care for aesthetics more than strength and vice versa), which should you focus on first, and for how long?

CHARLES SAYS: Doesn’t really matter, as long as you’re addressing both adaptations. I think it’s also slightly more effective to train for strength and muscle gain sequentially, rather than simultaneously.

As long as you’re addressing both strength and muscle gain, preferably sequentially, you should be good.

There are at least a few potential reasons for this:

1. Your body can adapt more successfully if it’s only dealing with a single challenge at a time. Think of it this way: If you had to prevail in a fight, would you be more successful if you only had to fight one person or if you had to do that on top of making sure you didn’t fall off of a rooftop at the same time? Or to use a motor learning analogy, clearly you’d be a better guitarist if you only played guitar, as opposed to trying to excel at playing drums at the same time.
2. Whatever type of challenge you’re subjecting yourself to, your body will, over time, “figure it out.” That’s why, when you start a new program, you’ll be sore for the first week or so, but after four or five weeks, despite lifting heavier weights, you’ll no longer experience DOMS.

So train for hypertrophy for 4-6 weeks (perhaps sets of 8-15 reps), and then switch gears by lowering your reps (to the 4-6 range) and increase the loads correspondingly.

If you’re more interested in muscle than strength, you might train hypertrophy and strength at a 3:1 ratio (for example, 6 weeks of higher-rep training followed by 2 reps of lower reps). Reverse this ratio for a greater emphasis on strength development.

Question #2: Should I Talk to That Hot Girl in the Gym?

READER: So, there is this really hot girl who wears ridiculously nice clothes (read: tight) and a shirt that says “Don’t Even Think of Talking to Me at the Gym” – at the gym. What gives?

CHARLES SAYS: Look man, as a rule, it’s exceeding risky to talk to girls in the gym anyway, especially if they seem serious and/or if you come across as creepy. And I don’t blame them, really. Guys tend to be fairly predatory, especially in gym settings, and while some women use gyms as a dating service, my guess is that the girl you’re referencing here isn’t. Cool?

Probably best to let the women in the gym focus on their training.

Question #3: What Should I Sub for Conventional Deadlifts?

READER: I have a question. I’m an athlete and I hate doing conventional deadlifts for strength. Would a power clean and its variation work as a suitable substitute for my pulling strength work instead of a deadlift? I don’t enjoy doing conventional deadlifts and my body isn’t very suitable for them.

CHARLES SAYS: Sure. After all, these two movements have a lot of similarities, and for the most part, they train the same muscles. But that leads me to wonder, if your body isn’t suited to conventional deadlifts, it probably isn’t suited to power cleans either, since the two drills have so much in common.

“If none if these options work for whatever reason (and I’d suggesting finding out what that reason is and then correcting it), you might consider things like heavy kettlebell swings or sled pushes as an alternative.”

Keep in mind also, that there are a large number of variants for both the deadlift and the clean. You can pull sumo-style, from blocks, from a deficit, against elastic bands, or with a wide grip, and/or with a trap bar, just to give a few examples. With cleans, you can do them from the floor or from the hang. Or you can do clean pulls, or even clean high pulls.

If none if these options work for whatever reason (and I’d suggesting finding out what that reason is and then correcting it), you might consider things like heavy kettlebell swings or sled pushes as an alternative.

This Week’s Training

This Week’s Volume: 84,165 Pounds (Last Week: 29,525 Pounds)

Significant Lifts:

• Squat: 295×5
• Paused Bench Press: 225×5
• Deadlift: 425×6

Well, the deload was nice, but it’s also fun to be back into heavy training! The primary observation I had was this week is that I’m starting to feel…I’m looking for the best descriptor here…I guess it’s “strong.” And intuitively it feels like the previous eight weeks of high-rep training contributed to this.

These things are sometimes difficult to articulate, but especially on squats this week, I just felt like I could grind through almost anything if I had to. It’s almost like having better “first gear strength,” if you can relate to that analogy.

“At this stage, while I’m still striving to keep volume as high as I can (to preserve previously-gained adaptations), intensity takes precedence over anything else.”

Aside from all that, I should report that my right shoulder has been complaining as of late. Strangely enough, I first noticed this last Tuesday during the deload. It’s mostly hurting on the bench press – no surprise there, I guess. Next week I’ll need to make a decision about how to address that during workouts. When you’ve got a lot of momentum built up in your training, it’s difficult to break the pattern in order to allow an injury to rest, but the consequences of not doing so could be even worse.

One final point is that you’ll notice my volume is down. This is an unavoidable (and totally acceptable) consequence of lower-rep sets and slightly lower weekly training frequency. At this stage, while I’m still striving to keep volume as high as I can (to preserve previously-gained adaptations), intensity takes precedence over anything else.

Thanks for the comments and questions. Get back to the gym and let’s meet again next week!

Monday, August 10, 2015

Bodyweight: 204.6 Pounds

Volume: 23,545 Pounds

Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 6: 275 lbs × 5
• Set 7: 275 lbs × 5
• Set 8: 295 lbs × 5
• Set 9: 275 lbs × 5

Stiff-Leg Deadlift

• Set 1: 120 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 170 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 210 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 260 lbs × 5

Leg Press

• Set 1: 230 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 270 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 270 lbs × 8

45° Back Extension

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 6
• Set 2: 150 lbs × 6
• Set 3: 150 lbs × 6
• Set 4: 150 lbs × 6

Leg Curl

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 6
• Set 2: 80 lbs × 6

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.8 Pounds

Volume: 13,475 Pounds

Bench Press

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 185 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 205 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 225 lbs × 5
• Notes: Paused

Incline Dumbbell Press

• Set 1: 130 lbs × 6
• Set 2: 130 lbs × 6
• Set 3: 140 lbs × 6
• Set 4: 140 lbs × 6

Seated Row

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 80 lbs × 8

Lying Tricep Extension

• Set 1: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 85 lbs × 6
• Set 3: 85 lbs × 6
• Set 4: 85 lbs × 6

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 70 lbs × 8

Life Fitness Row

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 80 lbs × 8

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Bodyweight: 203 Pounds

Volume: 26,450 Pounds

Deadlift

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 275 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 315 lbs × 5
• Set 6: 365 lbs × 5
• Set 7: 385 lbs × 5
• Set 8: 405 lbs × 5
• Set 9: 425 lbs × 6 (Video Below)
• Set 10: 405 lbs × 5

3.5″ Deficit Trap Bar

• Set 1: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 315 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 315 lbs × 5

Seated Leg Curl

• Set 1: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 160 lbs × 8

Leg Extension

• Set 1: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 160 lbs × 8

Friday, August 14, 2015

Bodyweight: 203.2 Pounds

Volume: 20,695 Pounds

Bench Press (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 120 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 180 lbs × 6
• Set 5: 185 lbs × 6
• Set 6: 190 lbs × 6
• Set 7: 200 lbs × 6
• Set 8: 190 lbs × 6

Military Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 65 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 85 lbs × 6
• Set 4: 105 lbs × 6
• Set 5: 115 lbs × 5
• Set 6: 115 lbs × 5

Chin Up

• Set 1: 5 reps
• Set 2: 5 reps
• Set 3: +25 lbs × 5
• Set 4: +25 lbs × 5
• Set 5: +25 lbs × 5

Tricep Pushdowns

• Set 1: 140 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 150 lbs × 8

EZ Bar Curl

• Set 1: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 75 lbs × 8

Check out these related articles:

• Last Week’s Smart Strength Mailbag
• Functional Mass Gain: How to Build Real Horsepower
• For Skinny Young Guys: 3 Programs to Build You Up
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Strength or Aesthetics? Smart Strength With Charles Staley appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

READER: My delts are flat and pathetic. I do side and front raises as well as presses with both barbells and dumbbells, but that just seems to make my shoulders ache a lot and not change the muscle appearance. What can I do?

CHARLES SAYS: The first thing to recognize is that we aren’t all gifted with great-looking body parts in all cases. In my own case, I have relatively good-looking delts pretty much regardless of what I do or don’t do for them, and terrible calves regardless of what I do or don’t do for them. So there’s no way for me to know what your situation is with regard to your ultimate potential.

Here’s the list of considerations I’d think about if I were you:

1. Am I doing the best exercises? And/or am I wasting time doing exercises that don’t take me toward my goals? (I’m not a fan of side and front raises personally)
2. Am I doing those exercises properly?
3. Do I feel these exercises in my delts, during and/or afterward? If you don’t feel them during the exercise itself and/or if your delts are never sore, then you’re either doing the wrong exercises or doing the right exercises improperly, and/or not working hard enough and/or frequently enough.
4. Am I training delts frequently enough? (I’d suggest three times per week)
5. Am I ensuring progression over time?
6. Are my triceps so weak that they fail before delts on pressing movements? (If so, I take back my earlier comment about front and side raises)
7. Am I eating enough to support hypertrophy?

At a distance, and with the limited amount of information I have about you, I have no way of answering those questions, but I’d carefully ponder each one in an effort to fine tune your approach.

Question #2: Measuring Body Fat?

READER: Fat measurement – what is the best/easiest/cheapest way to measure my body fat percentage, and what should I be shooting for as a 28-year-old male to look lean and ripped but not have to eat like a bird all the time?

CHARLES SAYS: I’ve long used a simple technique to assess body composition – it won’t tell you your actual bodyfat percentage, but it will tell you if you’re going in the right direction or not:

1. Each day, measure your bodyweight and waist measurement (assuming you store most of your fat at the waist – for most women, it’d be the hips)
2. Divide your weight by your waist measurement. The bigger that number is, the leaner you are. For example, if you’re 200 pounds with a 36-inch waist, you’ll get 5.55. If you’re 200 pounds with a 32-inch waist, you’ll get 6.25.

Using this method gets you past worrying strictly about your bodyweight, since (for example) an increasing in bodyweight without a commensurate increase in your waist measurement means you’re leaner. Give it a shot and let me know how you like it!

Question #3: Workout Duration

READER: How long should my general fitness-type workouts last? I am training to look and feel good but not to win any competitions. I belong to a globo gym and like to use free weights and machines, plus I want to do enough cardio so I am healthy long term.

CHARLES SAYS: Honestly, there’s no one simple answer to this (big surprise, right?). But in general, the more novice you are, the less time you’ll need. Think about it this way: if you’re just starting out, and you do two hours a week, that’s a lot more than what you were doing (i.e., zero hours per week).

If you’re experienced and fairly strong, your workout will be longer. For example, working up to a 400-pound squat takes me about 45 minutes (because of the amount of warm-up sets it takes me to reach that), and that’s just one exercise. In general though, you should be able to get your work done in somewhere between three to five hours a week.

One parting comment, though: it’s not necessarily true that you need to do cardio to ensure long-term health. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to do, but there are many people who live to ninety and beyond without doing any exercise at all. Just food for thought.

Question #4: Staying Motivated

READER: What is the single most useful thing you’ve found to keep yourself motivated to train?

CHARLES SAYS: Competing. No question about it. When you put yourself on the line – you sign that meet application, you pay the meet fee, you commit to a date – it changes everything. Because now you’re making yourself accountable, and you have a reason to train and a focus for your workouts.

I’ve competed in martial arts, discus, weightlifting, and currently, powerlifting. I’m not particularly good at any of those sports, but I can tell you this: I’m much better off for competing than I would have been without competing.

There are so many competitive options available, from CrossFit to powerlifting, to kettlebell sport, to weightlifting, to physique competition, the list is truly long. So start investigating and exploring, and make the decision to compete in something – anything – before the year is out. Trust, me, you’ll be glad you did.

Question #5: Carbs and Insulin

READER: Do all the studies on mTor signaling, the effect of different carbs on insulin production, meal timing, etc., etc. mean anything in real life? Those conditions are controlled in a lab to elicit the results they get and our real-world conditions can’t mimic them. Does all that worrying about having the “best” schedule, products, or training regimen help the average Joe or Jane Trainee?

CHARLES SAYS: We do have a tendency to get caught up in the minutia. I’ll give you that. For most people (myself included) the fundamentals are what really matter. It’s not that things like meal timing and food sources don’t matter at all, it’s just they don’t matter much.

In terms of training, specificity, hard work, and progressive overload must be respected – everything else is gravy. Nutritionally, calorie intake and macronutrient ratios are what matter most. Think of the basics as your “big rocks.” More on that idea here:

This Week’s Training

This Week’s Volume: 29,525 Pounds (Last Week: 123,952 Pounds)

Significant Lifts:

• Deadlift: 450×1

This was a deload week, and the transition between the hypertrophy and strength phase of training – only three training days where volume in particular is sharply reduced for the purposes of facilitating recovery. For the most part, I tried to keep intensity as high as possible, so that fitness gains would be preserved at the same time. In fact, in many cases, I used equal or even greater intensity than I had used in the previous phase, including a 450 deadlift on Thursday.

Next week I’ll be dialing up to the 5- to 6-rep range, and I’ll also be using the three competitive lifts for the first half of the seven-week phase. After seven weeks of this “general” strength block, I’ll finish up with an eight-week peaking cycle, leading into the meet.

Interestingly, while I had no orthopedic issues at all during the bulk of this cycle, my right shoulder started bugging me during bench presses on Tuesday. Hopefully, it’s just a one-time thing.

So that’s about it for this week, thanks for all the great questions, and looking forward to getting into heavier weights next week. See you then!

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Bodyweight: 201.8 Pounds

Volume: 14,290 Pounds

High Bar Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 185 lbs × 5
• Set 6: 225 lbs × 5

Stiff-Leg Deadlift

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 185 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 275 lbs × 5

Bench Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 5

Notes: Some pain in my right shoulder on bench pressing

Seated Row

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8

Tricep Pushdowns

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 70 lbs × 8

Leg Extension

• Set 1: 160 lbs × 8

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Bodyweight: 200.8 Pounds

Volume: 6570 Pounds

Deadlift

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 275 lbs × 3
• Set 5: 315 lbs × 1
• Set 6: 365 lbs × 1
• Set 7: 415 lbs × 1
• Set 8: 450 lbs × 1 (Video Below)

High Bar Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 95 lbs × 5

Leg Curl

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 80 lbs × 5

Friday, August 7, 2015

Bodyweight: 201 Pounds

Volume: 8665 Pounds

Bench Press (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 80 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 120 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 160 lbs × 6

Chin Up

• Set 1: 5 reps
• Set 2: 5 reps

Bench Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 70 lbs × 8

Tricep Pushdowns

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8

Check out these related articles:

• Last Week’s Smart Strength Mailbag
• Muscle Mass, Strength, and Mobility – Choose 3
• Alcohol Impairs Hypertrophy and Messes With Your Hormones
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Stay Motivated to Train: Smart Strength With Charles Staley appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Question #1: Lifting for Hypertrophy

READER: I am a big fan of yours and am always reading your items on Breaking Muscle. I was first familiarized with you a few years ago when I got your Muscle Logic book. I love Escalating Density Training, and I have a question for you regarding it. The general guidelines are to choose a weight that is a 10-12RM and start out doing sets of 5. You have said it’s all about getting the most work done and managing fatigue. If I can get more total reps by doing sets of 3-4 reps, is that a good approach if hypertrophy is my goal? Or am I crossing over to a different type of training (endurance, maybe?) by doing so.

CHARLES SAYS: Glad you liked the book! (Available here for anyone who might like to get a copy.) In any event, yes – sets of 3-4 (and even lower) will certainly become necessary as fatigue accumulates, so it’s fine and even necessary to do that.

Every time you take a set to or near failure, you stimulate hypertrophy development. Just as a bit of clarification, going to failure is technically more effective, but it will limit the amount of work you can do afterward. So I don’t recommend it as a normal practice since the slightly greater benefit it offers comes at too high a price. My advice is to take sets to about 1-2 reps away from failure for the most part, and you’ll be good to go.

One last point is that my above advice applies especially to “big” movements and muscle groups. It’s especially unproductive to take squats and deadlifts to failure, for example. But for things like curls and triceps pushdowns, it’s not a huge deal since those muscles will recover pretty quickly no matter how hard you train them.

Question #2: Testosterone Replacement Therapy

READER: I’m 47 years old and feeling like a target for Viagra and testosterone-replacement therapy ads. It’s not that I’m unhappy in my life, but recovery isn’t what it once was and neither is my sex life. Is TRT the same as being on ‘roids? Will I go crazy and ruin my life? Will I ever be able to stop?

CHARLES SAYS: Well, low sex drive might be a sign of low T levels, but if your lifestyle is harsh (high stress and fatigue, in particular), that could account for it as well.

“The common notions about testosterone usage causing ‘roid rage,’ heart disease, and so on are mostly bunk, by the way.”

At a minimum, it’s a good idea to get your hormone levels checked if for no other reason than to get a baseline. TRT is technically the same thing as being on steroids, with three important differences:

• The dosages are lower than what most athletes use when they’re “on a cycle.”
• TRT is legal.
• TRT is doctor-monitored, so you’ll know you’re not harming your health.

The common notions about testosterone usage causing “roid rage,” heart disease, and so on are mostly bunk, by the way. In fact, low T levels can cause these unwanted symptoms. For more info, my colleague Jay Campbell has written a great book on the subject that’s well worth checking out.

Question #3: Relieving Muscle Soreness

READER: What are your best tricks to relieve DOMS – either before you get it or once you have it to make it fade more quickly. I don’t have access to a massage therapist. I only make minimum wage.

CHARLES SAYS: Okay, a few thoughts for you on that question:

• Acutely, getting adequate sleep is probably job one. Maybe the biggest single factor for muscle recovery, followed by…
• Nutritional intake, especially calories and protein. If you’re not consuming adequate fuel, your body will rob protein from one muscle in order to feed another. Let that sink in for a minute.
• Chronically, there are program design factors you can manipulate to enhance recovery. Mainly, seek to ramp up your training volume over the course of three to five weeks, and then employ a deload week where you reduce your volume dramatically (check out my weekly training volume for my last four or five journal entries and you’ll see this practice in action).
• I think foam rolling can be quite useful, but most people go too hard, in my opinion. You can see this in the recent trend of using PVC pipe, for example. People always revert to thinking, “If it hurts, it must be good for me.”
• Finally, DOMS is a sign you’ve created the stimulus necessary to grow new muscle, so it’s not a bad thing, right?

Question #4: Skipping Leg Day

READER: I know they say it’s bad to skip leg day, as I’ll end up looking out of balance upper/lower wise. But is it bad for training in general or in any way other than the imbalance? My lower body grows so easily, all I have to do is walk or hike and it grows as fast as my upper body when I work hard at upper-body training. But if I’m hurting my overall progress by skipping legs, I will add them in.

CHARLES SAYS: Honestly, if your legs are already well developed in relation to your upper body, and assuming your goals are primarily health and aesthetics, I think you’re fine to train them minimally or not at all.

If you have strength goals, though, my answer would be a bit different. Watch how heavily my legs are involved on this set of flat dumbbell bench presses:

The legs contribute to both upper-body and whole-body strength tasks more than most people appreciate.

So do some analysis on your goals and base your leg training frequency on those grounds. But again, if you’ve got good muscular development in your legs from simple ancillary activities, and you’re not a competitive lifter, I say put them on the backburner and focus on your weaknesses.

Question #5: Using the EZ-Bar

READER: What is the EZ-curl bar for? How is it functionally different than a straight bar? Should I use both? Does it matter?

CHARLES SAYS: I believe it was originally designed for triceps training, but most people use it because it seems easier on the elbows than a straight bar. In fact, many people who cannot do curls without pain on a straight bar find they have no pain with an EZ curl bar.

“Dumbbell curls suffer from the same limitation that all exercises do: over time, your body’s homeostatic mechanisms will habituate to them.”

Personally, I think dumbbell curls are superior to any bar since they allow full supination of the hand – an important but under-appreciated function of the biceps muscle. As a matter of fact, the authors of the landmark text Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual, Vol. 1. The Upper Half of Body list supination as the primary function of that muscle.

With all that said, dumbbell curls suffer from the same limitation that all exercises do: over time, your body’s homeostatic mechanisms will habituate to them.

Meaning, with each new exposure to the same stimulus, your body reacts with less and less alarm.

So from my perspective, the best use for EZ curls is as a form of variation when it comes to curls anyway. Oh, and definitely do use this bar for lying dumbbell triceps extensions, which has been called “the fourth powerlift” due to its positive impact on the bench press.

This Week’s Training

This Week’s Volume: 123,952 Pounds (Last Week: 106,895 Pounds)

Significant Lifts:

• Bench Press: 220×8
• 1.5” Block Pull: 405×10
• Military Press: 115×8

This pretty much wraps up eight weeks of high-rep training (deload is next week), and I’m looking forward to lower reps and bigger weights. I managed to hit a few lifetime PRs this cycle, including 220×8 on bench press, 200 (3×8) on dumbbell bench press, 405×10 on deadlift, and 115×8 on military press.

From here, I’ll next be in a general strength phase for seven weeks, followed by a peaking phase for eight weeks. In each successive phase, specificity and intensity goes up, while volume and frequency goes down.

Hope everyone’s enjoying the Q&A, keep those questions coming, and I’ll see you next week.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Bodyweight: 201.6 Pounds

Volume: 30,985 Pounds

High Bar Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 185 lbs × 1
• Set 6: 225 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 245 lbs × 8
• Set 8: 245 lbs × 8
• Set 9: 245 lbs × 8
• Set 10: 225 lbs × 8

Stiff-Leg Deadlift

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 225 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 275 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 275 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 225 lbs × 8

Leg Extension

• Set 1: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 190 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 190 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 190 lbs × 8

45° Back Extension

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 150 lbs × 8

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Bodyweight: 201.4 Pounds

Volume: 25,400 Pounds

Bench Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 1
• Set 5: 205 lbs × 8
• Set 6: 220 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 195 lbs × 8
• Set 8: 185 lbs × 8
• Set 9: 185 lbs × 8

Seated Row

• Set 1: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 160 lbs × 8

Incline Dumbbell Press

• Set 1: 130 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 140 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 140 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 140 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 140 lbs × 8

Tricep Pushdowns

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 150 lbs × 8

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 70 lbs × 8

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Bodyweight: 201.4 Pounds

Volume: 21,395 Pounds

1.5″ Block Pull

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 275 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 315 lbs × 3
• Set 6: 365 lbs × 1
• Set 7: 405 lbs × 1
• Set 8: 430 lbs × 3
• Set 9: 405 lbs × 10
• Set 10: 405 lbs × 8 (Video Below)

1 & ¼ Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 6
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 6
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 6
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 6
• Set 5: 185 lbs × 6
• Set 6: 185 lbs × 4

Leg Curl

• Set 1: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 70 lbs × 8

Friday, July 31, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.4 Pounds

Volume: 26,096 Pounds

Bench Press (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 120 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 180 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 190 lbs × 8
• Set 6: 200 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 200 lbs × 8
• Set 8: 200 lbs × 8

Chin Up

• Set 1: 8 reps
• Set 2: 8 reps
• Set 3: 8 reps
• Set 4: 8 reps
• Set 5: 8 reps

Tricep Pushdowns

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 150 lbs × 8

EZ Bar Curl

• Set 1: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 75 lbs × 8

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.4 Pounds

Volume: 20,076 Pounds

Military Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 45 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 65 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 85 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 95 lbs × 8
• Set 6: 105 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 110 lbs × 8
• Set 8: 115 lbs × 8

Back Extension

• Set 1: +150 lbs × 8
• Set 2: +150 lbs × 8
• Set 3: +150 lbs × 8
• Set 4: +150 lbs × 8

Lying Tricep Extension

• Set 1: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 85 lbs × 8

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 70 lbs × 8

Check out these related articles:

• Last Week’s Smart Strength Mailbag
• What Male Athletes Need to Know About Testosterone
• The Controversy Over Testosterone Replacement Therapy

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Skipping Leg Day: Smart Strength With Charles Staley appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Note: Charles is here on a weekly basis to help you cut through the B.S. and get to the bottom of the biggest questions in health and training. Post your questions directly to Charles in the comments below this article.

Question #1: What Does “Good Form” Mean?

READER: Sometimes when I am lifting, I go heavier (under the “lift heavy” mantra) but then toward the end of my set, my form starts to suffer. I feel I’m wiggling out the rep (especially for something like a bench press). So, I’m a little bit confused as to what people mean by emphasizing good form. Should I be prioritizing heavy weight and suffering a bit on form toward the later reps? (I have to say, I feel pretty guilty for wiggling my way to 5 or 8 reps). Or should all my reps be perfect? What should a good weight and good set feel like?

Good form tends to relate to your training age – the more experience, the better.

CHARLES SAYS: Every rep you do should look like a carbon copy of the one that preceded it, except that it might be slower due to accumulating fatigue. Technique falls along a stability continuum over the course of your lifting career:

• At the beginning, you are incompetent – your technique sucks, regardless of how much weight is on the bar.
• Next, you advance into the “unstable” phase – with manageable weights, you range of motion is fine, but when the weight gets to a certain point, your technique falls apart.
• Finally, you enter the “stable” phase – your form looks the same regardless of the weight. So for example, you never round your low back on a deadlift, your knees never collapse when squatting, and so on.

So identify what proper form is on each exercise you do, and then ensure you never sacrifice your technique for the sake of more weight and/or extra reps.

Question #2: How Can I Fix My Tiny Chest?

READER: My chest is pretty damn small and I’m sick of it. I have a routine that I do and chest day is once a week, but my question is: can I do chest day more than once a week?

CHARLES SAYS: Not only can you, you probably should, especially if you bench press less than 300 pounds. The reason is that the smaller and weaker your muscles are, the faster you recover. If you’re small and weak, and you only train chest on Mondays, by Wednesday night you’re fully recovered. This means that from Wednesday night until Monday’s next workout, you’re regressing back to pre-training levels of size and strength.

So, how often should you train? As a general rule, as soon as soreness has dissipated, you’re ready to hit that muscle again

Question #3: Should I Care About My Clients’ BMI?

READER: BMI. You know it’s bunk. I know it’s bunk. But all of my training materials, books, and seminars still use it and potential clients expect me to use it, too. What gives? How do I reorient potential clients without ruining my credibility?

CHARLES SAYS: BMI is a farce for people who train. To persuade my clients of this, I use myself as an example – at 6-2, 198, I am “overweight” by BMI standards.

Question #4: Growth-Resistant Muscles

READER: Is it possible that some of my muscles have no ability for hypertrophy? I have tried to get my chest to grow, for example, but it lags behind other body parts so much. The rest of me is getting bigger/stronger, so overall I think I’m doing it right.

CHARLES SAYS: Some muscles can be very resistant to growth, probably due to disadvantageous attachments sites on the bones they connect to. When a muscle has poor leverage, it doesn’t participate in motor tasks as you might expect it to. Using myself as an example, my hamstrings take over on every lower body drill I do. As such, my glutes never get any work. Keep experimenting with new exercise variants. You might arrive at something that works. In terms of pecs, some guys can’t engage these muscles with bench presses – experiment with cable work and flyes.

Strength coach Charles Poliquin demonstrates proper chest fly technique in this video.

Question #5: Personal Training Certifications

READER: Are most trainers actually qualified to help other people or do they just know how to train themselves? Is a national certification relevant to what goals real people have? Can I train myself with online information?

CHARLES SAYS: In my experience, most trainers are utterly incompetent people who have good physiques either through good genetics, drugs, and/or good work ethic. Certifications are not particularly relevant. Sorry. It might take months or years of trial and error to find a good coach. Again, sorry.

This Week’s Training

This Week’s Volume: 106,895 Pounds (Last Week: 99,660 Pounds)

Significant Lifts:

• Bench Press: 215×8
• 1.5” Block Pull: 425×6

I’m quite satisfied with everything this week – managed a few rep PRs, stayed healthy, and survived the grind.

You might notice that I replaced good mornings with stiff-leg deads. The good mornings just feel unproductive and like a waste of time, honestly. I do think they can help some lifters, I just don’t think I’m one of them.

I also had planned to jump to 100lb dumbbells for flat dumbbell bench presses this week, but I ended up missing the first rep twice, so I conceded to the 95s.

Aside from those two bobbles, it ended up being a solid week all around. Next week is “hell week,” as I call it – the goal being to reach the highest possible volume, and then I’ll deload on the following week.

Thanks all – please check out the vids and I’ll see you next time.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Bodyweight: 201.6 Pounds

Volume: 25,705 Pounds

High Bar Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 185 lbs × 1
• Set 6: 225 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 240 lbs × 8
• Set 8: 240 lbs × 8
• Set 9: 225 lbs × 8

Stiff-Leg Deadlift

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 185 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 225 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 250 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 275 lbs × 8

Leg Extension

• Set 1: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 190 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 190 lbs × 8

45-Degree Back Extension

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 150 lbs × 8 (Video Below)

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.4 Pounds

Volume: 22,425 Pounds

Bench Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 3
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 205 lbs × 8
• Set 6: 215 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 195 lbs × 8
• Set 8: 185 lbs × 8

Incline Dumbbell Press

• Set 1: 120 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 130 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 130 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 130 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 130 lbs × 8

Seated Row

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 150 lbs × 8

Biceps Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 70 lbs × 8

Triceps Pushdowns

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Bodyweight: 201.2 Pounds

Volume: 28,253 Pounds

1.5″ Block Pull

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 275 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 315 lbs × 3
• Set 6: 365 lbs × 1
• Set 7: 405 lbs × 1
• Set 8: 425 lbs × 6 (Video Below)
• Set 9: 365 lbs × 8
• Set 10: 315 lbs × 8

1 & ¼ Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 6
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 6
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 6
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 6
• Set 5: 185 lbs × 6

Leg Curl

• Set 1: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 60 lbs × 8

Back Extension

• Set 1: +150 lbs × 8
• Set 2: +150 lbs × 8
• Set 3: +150 lbs × 8

Friday, July 24, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.8 Pounds

Volume: 23,672 Pounds

Bench Press (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 120 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 180 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 190 lbs × 8
• Set 6: 190 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 190 lbs × 8
• Set 8: 160 lbs × 8

Notes: Missed 100’s twice

Chin Up

• Set 1: 8 reps
• Set 2: 8 reps
• Set 3: 8 reps
• Set 4: 8 reps

Chest Dip

• Set 1: 8 reps

Triceps Pushdowns

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 150 lbs × 8

EZ Bar Curl

• Set 1: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 75 lbs × 8

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.8 Pounds

Volume: 6840 Pounds

Military Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 45 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 65 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 65 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 85 lbs × 8
• Set 6: 95 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 100 lbs × 8

Biceps Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 70 lbs × 8

Lying Triceps Extension

• Set 1: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 75 lbs × 8

Check out these related articles:

• Last Week’s Smart Strength Mailbag
• How to Develop a Man’s Pectorals
• 6 Ways You’re Stopping Yourself From Building Muscle
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photo courtesy of Breaking Muscle.

The post Fixing Tiny Muscles: Smart Strength With Charles Staley appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Question #1: Do I Really Need a Coach?

READER: How important is having a coach? If I am a recreational athlete, with no performance-specific goals, but I am not seeing any changes in my body or strength, is a trainer or coach worth it or should I just get a new program?

CHARLES SAYS: Having a coach can certainly be helpful. In addition to accountability and technical supervision, a coach can serve as an objective set of eyes on your training process. It can also be refreshing to just wear one hat (athlete) rather than two (coach/athlete). It frees you up so you can just work hard without always second-guessing your training plan.

I guess I’ll take this as an opportunity to mention my own online coaching service if you don’t mind the plug – click here for more information.

Question #2: Avoiding Body Obsession

READER: How can I avoid going to far in the body-obsession department? I have been working out because I want to look better, and I do, but I have no idea when I will stop and am concerned I am losing perspective. What are some signs that I’m going too far?

CHARLES SAYS: The fact that you asked this question in the first place might be a sign. Aside from that, though, I really have no idea. Maybe psychological counseling? I’m being serious here if that’s not clear. Counseling is just a form of coaching really. Maybe something to consider.

Question #3: Morning Workouts

READER: I have to work out in the morning due to work, but I feel weak and unmotivated in the morning and anxious about the day so I’m distracted. Is there any way I can feel better for my morning workouts? I can’t change my schedule.

CHARLES SAYS: Well there aren’t really any unique motivational techniques for morning workouts, but I’d employ commonly-known tips like having a coach or training partner, having clear goals, and so on.

But with those aside, I’d also think about the following:

1. Get some carbs in the night before training – it’ll help you sleep better and you’ll have glycogen already in your system when you hit the gym.
2. Take a long hot shower before your workout for passive warm-up purposes.
3. Do your smaller, lighter exercises first. This runs against common practice, but ordering your exercises from small to big whenever possible/practical will serve as an extended warm up and help you transition into those early workouts.
4. Position workouts on your days off from work whenever possible.

Question #3: Training to Failure

READER: Can I train every movement to failure? I feel like I am getting the most out of my gym time when I am wasted at the end of each set and every workout, but I’m not sure if it’s the right way to go.

CHARLES SAYS: You certainly want to go close to failure on your work sets, because it seems that fatigue mechanisms are critical for the growth of new muscle, but if you take sets to absolute failure, you’ll limit the volume you’d otherwise be able to put in. Training to failure also increases the risk of injury. This is especially true for big exercises and movements, since they have a greater overall impact on recovery. So in other words, I’d be less concerned about going to failure on dumbbell curls as opposed to deadlifts.

As a slight aside, I’d be more focused on the total work performed, rather than the set/rep brackets that lead to that workload. So use fatigue management tactics in your training, and leaving 1-2 reps in the bank on most sets is one of the best techniques for that purpose.

This Week’s Training

This Week’s Volume: 99,660 Pounds (Last Week: 37,049 Pounds)

Significant Lifts:

• Bench Press: 200×8
• Dumbbell Bench Press: 190×10
• 1.5” Block Pull: 390×10

I’m quite happy with the past month or so of training. I’ve had a few pleasant surprises (such as recent performances of dumbbell bench pressing 95s for 12 and pulling 405×9 from a 2.5” deficit) that are definitely shoring up my confidence about my current plan.

I also had an interesting experience this week that I’ll relate here in case anyone else is in a similar position:

I’ve been dealing with some annoying tendonitis in my left knee for weeks now. Nothing too concerning, but it is a distraction, particularly on heavy squats. This week, prior to squatting, I spent a few minutes foam-rolling my left IT band, and sure enough, it seemed to help, not only during the squats, but also on the days following my squat session.

Foam rolling the IT band has been criticized by a few of my colleagues lately, but I think the key it to not completely pulverize those tissues when rolling them out. Instead, search for the irritable spots, and when you find them, just pause there until the pain subsides significantly. It usually takes ten to fifteen seconds. Then find another spot, rinse, and repeat.

Enjoy this week’s videos, and I’m enjoying all the great questions – keep ‘em coming!

Monday, July 13, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.6 Pounds

Volume: 20,505 Pounds

High Bar Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 185 lbs × 1
• Set 6: 225 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 225 lbs × 8
• Set 8: 225 lbs × 8

Good Morning

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 165 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 185 lbs × 8

45° Back Extension

• Set 1: 140 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 140 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 140 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 140 lbs × 8

Leg Extension

• Set 1: 130 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 190 lbs × 8

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.2 Pounds

Volume: 22,145 Pounds

Bench Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 3
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 195 lbs × 8
• Set 6: 195 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 200 lbs × 8
• Set 8: 185 lbs × 8

Incline Dumbbell Press

• Set 1: 120 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 130 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 130 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 130 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 130 lbs × 8

Seated Row

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 160 lbs × 8

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 70 lbs × 8

Tricep Pushdowns

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.6 Pounds

Volume: 27,701 Pounds

1.5″ Block Pull

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 275 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 315 lbs × 3
• Set 6: 365 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 390 lbs × 10 (Video Below)
• Set 8: 315 lbs × 8

1 & ¼ Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 6
• Set 2: 135 lbs × 6
• Set 3: 155 lbs × 6
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 6

Leg Curl

• Set 1: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 68 lbs × 8

Back Extension

• Set 1: +150 lbs × 8
• Set 2: +150 lbs × 8
• Set 3: +150 lbs × 8

Friday, July 17, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.8 Pounds

Volume: 20,989 Pounds

Bench Press (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 120 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 180 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 180 lbs × 8
• Set 6: 180 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 190 lbs × 10 (Video Below)

Chin Up

• Set 1: 8 reps
• Set 2: 8 reps
• Set 3: 8 reps

Chest Dip

• Set 1: 8 reps

EZ Bar Curl

• Set 1: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 75 lbs × 8

Tricep Pushdowns

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 150 lbs × 8

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.8 Pounds

Volume: 8320 Pounds

Military Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 45 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 65 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 85 lbs × 8
• Set 5: 95 lbs × 8
• Set 6: 105 lbs × 8
• Set 7: 105 lbs × 8

Lying Tricep Extension

• Set 1: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 75 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 75 lbs × 8

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 70 lbs × 8

Check out these related articles:

• Last Week’s Smart Strength Mailbag
• Is Your Training Taking You Closer to Your Goals?
• Coach, How Do I Know if My Program is Effective?
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of CrossFit Empirical.

The post Training to Failure: Smart Strength With Charles Staley appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Question #1: Fine-Tuning the Overhead Press

READER: Barbell overhead press question, I’ve started leaning significantly toward one side, leading with one arm. Any recommendations for fixing that?

CHARLES SAYS: Yes – stop doing that. No sarcasm. Force yourself to use weights that allow you to maintain a symmetrical position until it corrects itself. If it doesn’t gradually correct, you probably have a more significant issue that might need professional intervention if you really want to fix it.

Question #2: Increasing Pull Ups

READER: I am stuck on pull ups. I can’t seem to get more than about sixteen no matter what I do. I want to get to 25. Any suggestions?

CHARLES SAYS: First, drop any unnecessary bodyweight if you have any to lose. Second, make sure you are training the movement often enough. Once the soreness from your previous session has cleared, train again. Third, alternate between hypertrophy and strength phases in your training to ensure that both tissue and neural contributors are being addressed. Since this goal relies mostly on strength-endurance, I’d suggest eight weeks of hypertrophy training (3-6 sets of 8-12 reps) followed by four weeks of strength training (3-6 sets of 3-6 reps). Finally, this is one training goal that could be helped by creatine monohydrate supplementation.

Question #3: How Do I Develop Big Traps?

READER: What’s the best movement for developing the traps? How often can I work them?

CHARLES SAYS: Personally, what creates the most soreness for me (and I do take that as a sign of tissue damage) is double kettlebell swings, where the bells are kept on the outside of the legs. This was shown to me by Mike Mahler. Here’s Mike demonstrating the movement:

How often you train traps (or any other muscle group) depends on the amount of damage you create from training them. As soon as residual soreness has disappeared, you can train again.

Question #4: Caloric Variance

READER: I’ve noticed that among the various food-tracking apps there is no agreement on caloric value of foods. Furthermore, different packages of the same foods, say Blue Diamond and Safeway brand walnuts, will show different caloric values. How can I be precise with my diet with this situation? How do I navigate this?

CHARLES SAYS: I’m not sure I could clearly articulate why this is so (there are number of factors involved, some of which I don’t fully understand), but I will say that if you carefully track and monitor your nutritional intake, you should do just fine anyway.

Personally, I go by whatever the food label says (even though it may not be accurate) and I do just fine. Here’s why: let’s say the label says 90 calories, but it’s really 120 calories. I track everything according to labels and monitor by bodyweight. If I’m looking to drop weight and it’s not happening, I lower by calories until it does. So even if the absolute values are wrong, I can still get to where I need to go.

This Week’s Training

This Week’s Volume: 37,049 Pounds (Last Week: 127,460 Pounds)

Significant Lifts:

Dumbbell Bench Press: 180×12

Military Press: 110×8

Not a whole lot to report this week, as it was a deload consisting of only three easy sessions. I did get a few “interesting” (meaning unexpected, I guess) PRs as noted above. Both occurred toward the end of the week, so I’m guessing I’m finally experiencing some recovery and, hence, the improved performances.

Recently someone was asking me about how I construct my deloads, so I’ll speak to that briefly here:

As a first principle, the extent of deloading is mostly based on how trashed I feel from the previous weeks of heavy loading. If I’m feeling super beat up, I’ll unload more, but if I don’t feel particularly thrashed, I might work a bit harder during the deload. That being said, it’s important to “earn” your deload by training super hard in the three to five weeks preceding it. If you don’t usually train very hard, there’s no need for a deload.

Second, I’m especially careful to deload “big” movements like deads and squats, since fatigue from these exercises are the primary obstacles to complete recovery.

Finally, I’m recently leaning toward the notion that you shouldn’t do anything particularly novel on a deload week, since novelty tends to disrupt homeostatic mechanisms more than familiar drills. I used to use the deload week to prep the exercises I planned to use on the following cycle, or to simply do various fun things I didn’t normally have the time to do, but lately I’ve been influenced by the work of Dr. Mike Isreatel on this topic, and so my current practice is to simply do the same exercises I’ve already been doing, and reduce the intensity a little, and the volume a lot. As a practical example, if you’ve recently been bench pressing up to 225 for 5 sets of 10, on the deload you might bench 195-205 for 1-2 sets of 10.

Thanks everyone, keep the questions coming!

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.6 Pounds

Volume: 16,015 Pounds

High Bar Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 8

Close Grip Bench Press (Pinkies on Rings)

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 8

Stiff-Leg Deadlift

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 185 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 225 lbs × 8

Close-Grip Lat Pulldown

• Set 1: 140 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 140 lbs × 8

Incline Dumbbell Press

• Set 1: 100 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 120 lbs × 8

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 70 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 70 lbs × 8

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Bodyweight: 201 Pounds

Volume: 9850 Pounds

2.5″ Deficit Pull

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 185 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 275 lbs × 5
• Set 6: 315 lbs × 5

19″ Box Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 5

Leg Curl

• Set 1: 40 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 50 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 60 lbs × 8

Friday, July 10, 2015

Bodyweight: 201.2 Pounds

Volume: 11,184 Pounds

Bench Press (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 120 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 160 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 180 lbs × 12

Military Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 65 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 88 lbs × 8
• Set 4: 110 lbs × 8

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 50 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 3: 70 lbs × 8

Tricep Pushdowns

• Set 1: 140 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 140 lbs × 8

Check out these related articles:

• Last Week’s Smart Strength Mailbag
• 10 Tools for Getting Better at Pull Ups
• Outside-the-Box Back Training
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Increasing Pull Ups: Smart Strength With Charles Staley appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Question #1: Why Box Jumps?

READER: Seems like literally everyone is doing box jumps these days. Am I missing out on anything?

CHARLES SAYS: I’m not a huge fan, although I totally get that box jumps are a fun exercise.

The first thing is that box jumps aren’t an accurate indicator of your jumping ability, since they’re really a combination of a jump and the landing, which is done in a squat position. So if you’ve got a really deep squat position, you can jump on a higher box than someone else who has more jumping power but less hip mobility. A better test is the vertical jump, and (in my opinion) the best test is the standing broad jump, which requires absolutely no equipment and cannot be “cheated” like a Vertec device can.

In my opinion, the risks outweight the benefits when it comes to box jumps.

The second issue is that I’ve seen a lot of people rupture their Achilles tendons with this exercise. I’m honestly not sure what’s behind that, but about nine months ago, four of my Facebook friends sustained this injury doing box jumps in a single week – and that really caught my attention.

So, I guess if you like box jumps, that’s fine, but you should carefully evaluate the cost and benefit of everything you do. For me, box jumps don’t score too well on that scale.

Question #2: Greasing the Groove

READER: Can I put in many short, intense sets (say, max pull ups) throughout the day and gain strength and muscle?

CHARLES SAYS: Sure. My colleague Pavel Tsatsouline calls this “greasing the groove.” There are a few different explanations for why this method works well for a lot of people. First, by spreading out your training volume over large time frames, you’ll be effectively managing fatigue. Second, by performing manageable sets frequently over the course of a day, you’ll be getting in a lot of quality practice.

This strategy works best for exercises that you don’t need equipment for and/or movements you can do with whatever equipment you’ve got at home (pull up bar, kettlebells, etc.).

Question #3: Waiting Between Sets

READER: What can I do besides wait in between sets?

CHARLES SAYS: I usually text my friends and check my Facebook feed. A smarter thing to do, though, might be some foam rolling and/or mobility work if you’ve got problem areas that need addressing.

Now, in truth, I work with a small group of training partners, so between sets, I’m usually changing weights, spotting, or coaching. But if that weren’t the case, I’d probably take the time to stretch a little. For example, on an upper-body session, I might do some bodyweight squats with long pauses at the bottom to loosen up my hips.

Oh, and I also look for opportunities to document advanced athletes going through their paces. Here’s an example of some footage I took last week:

Here is a gentleman performing what appears to be some medium-heavy sets of hip-elevated torso pumps.

Question #4: Protein Consumption

READER: Is it true that you waste anything more than 25g of protein consumed per meal?

CHARLES SAYS: No. In fact, Dr. Bob Wolfe recently conducted a study on that subject (unpublished) where he showed that a 70g protein meal resulted in greater net protein balance than a 40g protein meal.

Now, of course, there are practical limits to extremely low meal frequency. In fact, I recently saw Dr. Mike Isreatel state that if you were to eat all your protein in a single meal at 8:00am, by 8:00pm, your muscles would no longer be up-taking amino acids. This means if you habitually ate all your protein once a day, your muscles would be lacking sufficient amino acids for half of each day.

So eat between three to six protein-rich meals a day, and you’ll be fine.

This Week’s Training

This Week’s Volume: 100,458 Pounds (Last Week: 24,291 Pounds)

Significant Lifts:

• 2.5” Deficit Pull: 365×10
• Dumbbell Bench Press: 190×9

This is week one of a six-week hypertrophy phase, where everything will be in the eight to twelve rep range. Despite the high volume (and frequency – five days a week for this phase), I managed to put up a few nice performances.

Just as an aside, what I’m calling a “hypertrophy phase” here might be better termed an “atrophy prevention” phase, since my muscle-building days are probably behind me at this point in time. But preventing muscle loss is a valuable goal nonetheless, and there are work capacity and joint-restoration benefits to high-rep work, as well.

I’ll be looking to add weight, reps, and/or sets over the next six weeks whenever and wherever I can, and making an effort to ensure my protein intake is adequate, as well.

Thanks everyone! Enjoy the videos and keep those questions coming!

Monday, June 15, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.4 Pounds

Volume: 26,765 Pounds

High Bar Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 1
• Set 5: 205 lbs × 10
• Set 6: 205 lbs × 10
• Set 7: 205 lbs × 10

Stiff-Leg Deadlift

• Set 1: 65 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 10
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 10
• Set 5: 205 lbs × 10
• Set 6: 225 lbs × 10

Leg Press

• Set 1: 180 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 230 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 320 lbs × 10

45° Back Extension

• Set 1: 130 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 130 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 130 lbs × 10

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.8 Pounds

Volume: 13,745 Pounds

• Close Grip Bench Press (Pinkies On Rings)
• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 165 lbs × 10
• Set 5: 165 lbs × 10
• Set 6: 165 lbs × 10

Incline Dumbbell Press

• Set 1: 100 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 120 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 120 lbs × 10

Machine Row

• Set 1: 90 lbs × 6
• Set 2: 90 lbs × 6
• Set 3: 90 lbs × 6

Hammer Curl

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 80 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 80 lbs × 10

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.6 Pounds

Volume: 32,628 Pounds

2.5″ Deficit Pull

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 185 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 5: 275 lbs × 10
• Set 6: 315 lbs × 10
• Set 7: 365 lbs × 10 (Video Below)

19″ Box Squat

• Set 1: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 185 lbs × 10
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 10
• Set 5: 185 lbs × 10

Back Extension

• Set 1: +130 lbs × 10
• Set 2: +130 lbs × 10
• Set 3: +130 lbs × 10

Seated Leg Curl

• Set 1: 100 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 100 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 150 lbs × 10

Friday, June 19, 2015

Bodyweight: 201.4 Pounds

Volume: 19,110 Pounds

Bench Press (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 80 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 120 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 160 lbs × 10
• Set 4: 160 lbs × 10
• Set 5: 180 lbs × 10
• Set 6: 190 lbs × 9

Close-Grip Lat Pulldown

• Set 1: 100 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 100 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 120 lbs × 10
• Set 4: 120 lbs × 10

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 70 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 70 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 70 lbs × 10

Tricep Pushdowns

• Set 1: 130 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 130 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 130 lbs × 10

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Bodyweight: 201.8 Pounds

Volume: 8210 Pounds

Military Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 45 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 65 lbs × 10
• Set 4: 85 lbs × 10
• Set 5: 95 lbs × 10
• Set 6: 95 lbs × 10

Lying Tricep Extension

• Set 1: 65 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 65 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 65 lbs × 10

EZ Bar Curl

• Set 1: 65 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 65 lbs × 10
• Set 3: 66 lbs × 10

Check out these related articles:

• Last Week’s Smart Strength Mailbag
• My Love Affair With Burpees and Box Jumps
• The Role of Leg Strength In Plyometrics
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photo courtesy of CrossFit Empirical.

The post No More Box Jumps: Smart Strength With Charles Staley appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Question #1: Do I Really Need Foam Rolling?

READER: Can yoga help me get stronger? I’m using Wendler’s 5/3/1 and don’t feel like I’m getting enough volume or mobility work, but I hate foam rollers with a passion. Horrible, bacteria-laden cylinders!

CHARLES SAYS: It wouldn’t be the most likely way to get strong, but sure, yoga might possibly help you get stronger, particularly if your flexibility is poor. There are two mechanisms where this might happen:

1. If you’re so tight that you can’t achieve safe positions in key lifts (such as the inability to maintain a neutral lumbar spine in a deep squat), then becoming more flexible could help you perform these key lifts more safely, which of course, over time, will be a significant contributor to getting stronger. In another example from powerlifting, if becoming more flexible allows you to achieve a better arch on your bench press, you’ll be able to bench more weight.
2. This example relates more to the physiology of the muscle fibers themselves. At rest, every muscle fiber has what physiologists call a “length/tension relationship,” which means the degree of overlap between the fiber’s actin and myosin filaments within the sarcomere. If your actin and myosin filaments are excessively overlapped at rest, it means the fiber cannot shorten any further when asked to. In other words, your muscle fiber is already contracted all the time. On the other hand, if you’ve got a less-than-optimal degree of overlap at rest, any type of stretching activity will probably make you weaker.

Mobility is key when it comes to building strength.

With that being said, in the final analysis, if strength is your sole or primary goal, and you have enough mobility to perform your key lifts safely, then getting more flexible probably won’t help you get stronger in any direct or discernible way. 

Question #2: Body Part Splits

READER: What are the benefits of working out certain muscles on certain days – like back one day, then chest the next – when compared to doing small amounts of each muscle every day?

CHARLES SAYS: Ideally, each muscle should be trained as soon as it has finished recovering from the last time you trained it. If you’re training for hypertrophy purposes, the complete cessation of DOMS is probably the best indicator that the muscle is fully recovered. If you wait any longer than this before you train the muscle again, you’ll be hampering your progress.

Think of it this way: if it (hypothetically) takes 150 bicep workouts to gain three-quarters of an inch on your arms, and your biceps recover in 36 hours after each workout, you’ll gain that three-quarters of an inch much faster if you train the muscle every 36 hours as opposed to every 72 hours.

There are a few practical problems in applying this idea, though:

1. Your muscles all recover at different rates, mostly based on how big they are, and also how hard you train them on any given workout. Bigger, stronger muscles require longer recovery periods than smaller, weaker muscles. And, for any given muscle, hard training sessions need longer recoveries than less difficult sessions.
2. As you get bigger and stronger, all of your muscles’ recovery rates will increase commensurately.
3. The most effective exercises tend to be those that stress several muscles at once, such as squats, presses, and so on. If you’re performing flat dumbbell bench presses, you’ll be stressing your pecs, front deltoids, and triceps, to name the three most active participants. Now, depending on your unique anthropometry, that workout might stress your pecs a lot, your delts to a moderate degree, and your triceps only minimally. So now all of the sudden, you’ve set three separate recovery curves into motion, all with different durations.

Upper/lower body splits can depend on your size and goals.

So, how do we contend with all of that complexity and uncertainty? I’d suggest looking at the anecdotal evidence from history. In other words, look at what the most successful lifters tend to do on average. And the bulk of that evidence reveals a few key principles and practices:

1. Smaller, weaker lifters do better when they do whole-body workouts every second or third day, since they recovery quickly even on their hardest workouts.
2. Bigger, stronger lifters often do better on an upper/lower split, where they do two lower body and two upper body sessions each week.
3. Extremely strong lifters may need even longer recoveries than what an upper/lower split can provide. For example, a 900-pound deadlifter might only pull once every two weeks, because the act of lifting that much weight creates an enormous amount of damage and homeostatic disruption.

I know this is a complex subject, but I hope that helps to give you some clarity.

Question #3: Back Pain During Ab Work

READER: Why does my back always hurt the day after I work abs? How can I fix this issue? I have no history of back injury.

CHARLES SAYS: Dunno. But I’d stop doing the ab work until you figure it out. Last week, I mentioned to someone that for most people, direct ab work is “physique neutral,” so the potential downside to your lumbar spine probably isn’t worth the trade off. If you feel compelled to train your abs, I suggest movements where your trunk remains stable, such as rollouts and planks.

This Week’s Training

Significant Lifts

Squat: 400×1

Bench Press: 255×1

This Week’s Volume: 24,291 Pounds (Last Week: 78,804 Pounds)

This was a light deload week – only three sessions and super-low volume. Despite that, I did manage a nice 400lb squat on Monday, which honestly was one of the best squats of my life.

Next week starts dedicated hypertrophy training to kick off a 23-week training cycle for a USAPL powerlifting meet on November 21 here in Arizona. I’ll be competing in the 93kg (205lb) class in the 56-60 age group.

My goal for this competition is pretty simple – to hit a lifetime PR total, which is anything over 1159lbs.

My anticipated training split for the next six to seven weeks looks like this:

I’ll be performing high reps with all of these lifts, with the goal of increasing volume week by week. Incidentally, it’s not likely that I can really grow much, if any, additional muscle at this stage, so the purpose of this phase is atrophy prevention, as well as work capacity development. A third potential benefit is provided by the contrast to my normal repetition brackets, which I believe may potentiate the following phase that will be for general strength development.

Thanks everyone, enjoy the video and keep those questions coming!

Monday, June 8, 2015

Bodyweight: 202.4 Pounds

Volume: 12,395 Pounds

Hang Snatch

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 65 lbs × 3
• Set 4: 65 lbs × 3
• Set 5: 95 lbs × 2
• Set 6: 95 lbs × 2
• Set 7: 115 lbs × 2
• Set 8: 115 lbs × 2
• Set 9: 135 lbs × 2
• Set 10: 145 lbs × 1
• Set 11: 155 lbs × 1

Overhead Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 45 lbs × 5

Squat

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 3
• Set 5: 225 lbs × 2
• Set 6: 275 lbs × 1
• Set 7: 315 lbs × 1
• Set 8: 350 lbs × 1
• Set 9: 375 lbs × 1
• Set 10: 400 lbs × 1 (Video Below)

High Bar Squat

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 185 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 235 lbs × 5

45° Back Extension

• Set 1: 130 lbs × 10
• Set 2: 130 lbs × 10

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Bodyweight: 203 Pounds

Volume: 6586 Pounds

Bench Press

• Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 185 lbs × 4
• Set 5: 225 lbs × 2
• Set 6: 245 lbs × 1
• Set 7: 255 lbs × 1

Seated Row

• Set 1: 150 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 150 lbs × 8

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 60 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 80 lbs × 8

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Bodyweight: 201.2 Pounds

Volume: 5310 Pounds

Deadlift

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 2: 135 lbs × 5
• Set 3: 225 lbs × 5
• Set 4: 315 lbs × 1
• Set 5: 315 lbs × 1

Trap Bar Deadlift

• Set 1: 135 lbs × 8
• Set 2: 225 lbs × 5

Check out these related articles:

• Last Week’s Smart Strength Mailbag
• 5 Smart Exercises to Work Your Core
• Hypertrophy Is Not a Bad Word
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Breaking Muscle.

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