I remember the first publication I read specifically talking about the balance required in a workout. It was Alwyn Cosgrove’s The Professional Fitness Coach Program Design Bible.
He specifically talked about you must balance your pressing movements with your pulling movements. Extension movements should balance flexion movements. Rotation with the reverse movement, and so on… It was the first time it was ever explained so simply.
And yes, it can be simple for you and your programs.
If there isn’t a balance of the volume and load (sets x reps x weight) on all movements, then imbalances occur. And that is when injuries happen.
Simply, look for the balance.
Muscle Building Upper Body Workout example 1:
Bench Press, 4×8, 200 lbs = 32×200 = 6400 lbs lifted with a pushing movement.
Bent Over Rows, 3×10, 150lbs = 30×150 = 4500 lbs lifted with a pulling movement.
OT BALANCED!
The bent over rows should be adjusted for volume or weight.
All you would have to do is, change the sets to 4×10 and increase the weight to 160lbs and it will balance.
Bent Over Rows, 4×10, 160lbs = 40×160 = 6400 lbs lifted with a pulling movement.
NOW IT IS BALANCED!
Or you could do a different technique. You could balance the pressing movement with MULTIPLE pulling movements within the same workout.
Building Upper Body Muscle Example 2
Bench Press (pushing exercise)
Bent Over Rows (pulling exercise 1)
Face Pulls (pulling exercise 2)
Band Retractions (pulling exercise 3)
The goal is to maintain the integrity of the joint, balance the musculature to ensure optimal strength.
Here is the workout I performed with some key tips.
Swiss Bar Bench Press
Key coaching points to remember. Stay tight, chest up and drive the feet down. Try hard not to let the elbows flare outwards. Take a breath at the top and create tension. Hold that tension for the rep. Reset after each rep.
Cage Rope Climbing
This movement is extremely hard on the grip, biceps and back. The rope used in the video is 1.5″ nylon rope and it is anchored to the top bar of the power cage. In the video I also perform a hand over hand kettlebell lift. This movement is easy to setup. Just put the rope over the top of the power cage and anchor to the kettlebell.
One of the supposed rules of fast muscle gain is that in order for a muscle to grow it has to be exposed to a certain load (e.g. under tension) for 40–70 seconds at a given time. This simply means that every set you do should last somewhere between 40 and 70 seconds.
If you have never heard this nonsense before, I will give you a second to pick yourself up off the floor and stop laughing. To disprove this theory, I will point to the immeasurable number of lifters who have grown to enormous proportions without ever adhering to this rule.
Taking 40–70 seconds to do a set of 6–8 reps is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. Lifting at this slow speed severely limits the amount of weight you can use and thus decreases the effectiveness of the set.
The only thing that long time-under-tension sets do is increase lactic acid production. This results in the burn feeling and may be what people are confusing with effective training. You can get a great burn by going for a swim or a long bike ride or by doing 1,000 crunches, but everyone knows this isn’t going to do a single thing to help you build muscle.
Fast twitch muscle fibers are the ones that have the greatest potential for building muscle and are only stimulated when the load is heavy, the reps are fairly low and the set lasts about twenty seconds or so.
So sets of five or six reps with 80% or more of your one rep max (1RM) are far more productive at eliciting fast muscle gain than sets of 10-20 reps with 50-60% of your 1RM done at slower speeds. That’s not to say that you should never do slightly higher reps or use less than 80% of your 1RM but that that type of training should never be the main focus of your program.
I hate to admit this, but back when time under tension was first discussed and brought to popularity, I did extensive experiments with this so called muscle building concept in my own private training center. Yes, I got suckered. After reading everything I could about time under tension, I immediately modified every one of my clients’ training programs. We experimented with longer time under tension sets of 40-70 seconds for over a year.
The results? Nearly every single client, to a man, got smaller and weaker. Those that didn’t remained the same size and strength or made marginal muscle gains, at best, that were far inferior to anything we had previously done. I admit it was a huge mistake, but trying things, making mistakes and adapting is the best way to learn.
The good news is that I have already done the experiments and made the mistakes for you. Learn from my misfortunes, avoid these deadly mistakes and you will be on the road to fast muscle gain in no time.
For a more effective approach to gain muscle, click HERE now.
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people gain muscle as fast as humanly possible. He is the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more check out How to Build Muscle Fast tips
I have been telling you about Vince Del Monte's new program Maximize your Muscle (you did download his FREE report I Hope). Well Vince is opening the doors to Maximize Your Muscle with a trial offer for $1. Take advantage of this opportunity to blow past your genetics and let Vince train you.
At last build muscle and burn fat to get that head turning body. Let me now turn it over to Vince and give you more info.
Here's My Promise to You When You Try Out The First Phase in the Maximize Your Muscle Monthly Series...
Never Again Will You:
Just lift weights and hope good things happen. No longer will you just work a little harder and hope your muscles grow.
Believe that declining or slowed progress is normal. No longer will you experience disappointing weight training results forcing you to conclude you are the owner of bad genes.
Settle into a complacent maintenance mode. Face it, most guys know their workouts are not reinforcing muscle growth but they continue with random workouts out of fear they will lose size if they try something different.
Follow a training program without even considering why it should work. It's no wonder so many are dissatisfied with their results and just whine and complain and make excuses.
Rely on programs that have the plateau built right into the program! No longer will show up to the gym and crank out training sessions blindly in hopes of good results.
Let me share the details:
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How?
By pulling back the curtain to reveal my inner views which brought me success in all areas of my life: Family, Friends, Faith, Fitness, Fiances and Fun... (and with my fiance Flavia :) ) You won't find a bodybuilding or fitness author go this deep anywhere else in the world. I have a feeling this part of each issue will be your favorite section to read each month!
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Plus each month I've include the real difference-maker... it's interactive, that's all I'll say and you can read that tomorrow too.
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To blowing beyond your genetic potential in 2010,
P.S. Remember, I only have 1000 kits made. I picked this number because I have a readership of 100,000 and I figure only my top 1% will go for this. I anticipate all 1000 units will fly off the shelves....FAST. Don't hesitate tomorrow but PLEASE make sure it's right for you before joining. Have a great day.
The $1 trial offer ends at Midnight on Thursday and becomes $10 so take advantage of this Now
Training your butt off but not really getting anywhere? Put on “some” muscle, but can’t seem to add any more? Simply not progressing fast enough? If you can relate to any of those scenarios, then you’re going to love part 2 of this article as we’re getting ready to unleash three more BIG reasons why you’ve stopped building muscle.
Reason #4: No “down-time”
Did you know that strategically taking time OFF from your training (when done in a very specific way, and when strategically setting up the rest of your training to benefit from it) can actually lead to MORE muscle growth?
It’s very true.
Simply put, your body performs and responds best when it’s pushed and then is given time to recover. Let’s face it, you can’t go full-out, “balls to the wall” 100% all the time. That leads to burn out and overstimulation.
But you can learn how to cycle strategic periods of “down-time” into your training, either by scheduling time completely “OFF” every so often, or by using “lighter” training periods within your training cycle.
Utilizing this one tactic alone will have a profound effect on your results, and we’ll show you how to do it properly in tomorrow’s article.
Reason #5: Nervous System Inefficiency
Fact: You’re NOT going to gain muscle unless you can stimulate muscle tissue to grow with loads challenging enough to induce an adaptation response—and sadly, most people simply aren’t.
Why? Nervous system inefficiency.
Perhaps the most important thing you can possibly do when it comes to building muscle is strengthen your nervous system connection. You see, your nervous system controls:
•how fast your muscles contract
•how hard your muscles contract, and
•how many motor units you’re able to recruit
Amongst other things.
An efficient nervous system leads to faster, harder, stronger muscular contractions.
An inefficient nervous system leads to slower, weaker, haphazard muscular contractions.
Can you guess which one is going to lead to more muscle?
Fact is, most people’s nervous systems aren’t efficient enough to allow them to use loads heavy enough to adequately stimulate their muscles to grow. And when the stimulus is lacking, trust us, the results will be lacking as well.
Fortunately, we’ll be back to teach you an easy way to fix this tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Reason #6: Your Training is One-Dimensional
Did you know that there are three types of muscle fibers? (Type I, Type IIa, and Type IIb)
Did you know that there are two types of muscle growth? (Myofibril, the “protein” portion of muscle cells, and Sarcoplasmic, the “fluid” portion of muscle cells)
Did you know that you need to strategically train in a very specific way to stimulate each ONE of these 5 pathways, each of which requires a differing training stimulus?
Did you know that there are at least 7 OTHER pathways to stimulate the generation of calorie-burning lean muscle?
Most people don’t, which is why most people fail to unlock more than 80% of their muscle building potential.
To make an analogy, let’s imagine that you’re trying to grow your bank account, and your sole method of doing so is depositing your bi-weekly pay check into a checking account.
The number will continue to rise on a slow, steady basis.
But, what if that money was in an interest bearing account? What if you took some of that money and invested it in 3 or 4 or 10 different places? What if you set up a side business that was generating even more money to deposit in to that account?
Do you think that over a period of 6 months you’d have SUBSTANTIALLY more money than if you continued to solely rely on the “paycheck deposit” method of growing your bank account?
YES.
Similarly, there are MANY ways and avenues and pathways to stimulate and generate muscle growth, and if you’re hoping to experience optimal growth, you need to be utilizing all the different pathways.
And in tomorrow’s article, we’ll share several methods to ensure you’re hitting multiple pathways with your training.
Wrap Up
Alright, there you have it - 6 of the biggest misconceptions surrounding muscle growth and some BIG reasons why you may not be experiencing the lean muscle building results you’re after, but don’t worry, you can “fix” all of these problems, and we’ll be back tomorrow to share a bunch of solutions.
Training your butt off but not really getting anywhere? Put on “some” muscle, but can’t seem to add any more? Simply not progressing fast enough? If you can relate to any of those scenarios, then you’re going to love this 2 part article as we’re getting ready to unleash six BIG reasons why you’ve stopped building muscle.
Reason #1: Lack of Frequency
The old adage of training a muscle once per week to allow for recovery is DEAD. If you’re not training a muscle multiple times each week, you’re simply NOT going to make optimal gains, period.
But, let’s go back and dissect the “reasoning” of this whole philosophy.
If you train, and train hard, you’re likely to get sore. Conventional wisdom tells you that you should wait until you’re no longer sore to train again. Unfortunately, conventional wisdom is faulty here.
You see, if you don’t train your body to improve it’s recovery capacity by training when you’re sore, then you’re body has no reason to improve it’s recovery capacity.
Want to train a muscle 3 times per week and reap double or triple gains? Then you need to teach your body to recover faster by training more frequently.
Beyond that, let’s further bury the myth that training a muscle while sore hampers recovery.
•Nosaka K, Clarkson P.M. Muscle damage following repeated bouts of high force eccentric exercise. Med. Sci. Sports Exrc., 27(9):1263-1269,1995.
•Smith LL., Fuylmer MG., Holbert D., McCammon MR., Houmard JA., Frazer DD., Nsien E., Isreal RG. The impact of repeated bout of eccentric exercise on muscular strength, muscle soreness and creatine kinase. Br J Sp Med 28(4):267-271, 1994.
•T.C. Chen, Taipei Physical Education College, and S.S. Hsieh, FACSM,. The effects of a seven-day repeated eccentric training on recovery from muscle damage. Med. Sci. Sports Exrc. 31(5 Supp) pp. S71, 1999.
All 3 of these studies came to the same conclusion: training a sore muscle does NOT adversely affect recovery. In fact, when done properly, doing so can actually speed up the recovery process by shuttling nutrient rich blood to recuperating muscle tissue.
Here’s the deal: The more frequently you can stimulate a muscle to grow, the more it will grow. Sounds simple, and it is.
One small caveat, however: obviously when upping training frequency you can potentially run in to the problem of “overreaching” or burning yourself out. The important thing is to listen to your body and train as frequently as possible. If you’re motivated to train and feel “good”, then have at it.
Reason #2: You’re muscles don’t have enough “room” to grow
Huh? Not enough “room”? Allow us to explain.
All muscle is bound by connective tissue called fascia, which surrounds individual muscle fibers (endomysium), groups of fibers (perimysium), and entire muscles (epimysium). This fascia tissue is continuous with the tendon and functions to conduct the forces generated by the contractile proteins actin and myosin through the tendon, to the bone.
Here’s the problem: these “protective coverings” that surround all muscle tissue lack elasticity. Meaning, when a muscle grows and fills the “bag”, trying to shove more muscle into the same size bag becomes difficult.
Think of a hot water bottle that holds 16 ounces of water. Now fill it with 20 ounces of water. Go ahead; do it!
What do you mean you can’t?
You see, no matter how hard you try to fit 20 ounces into a 16 ounce hot water bottle, it aint gonna happen, not unless you somehow stretch the bottle so it can hold more water.
Well, it’s the same thing with fascia tissue; it can only hold in so much muscle, and when the lining gets full, the rate of growth is dramatically decreased.
Enter “regulatory feedback”.
Essentially, you very well may be stimulating your muscles to grow through proper diet and training, but if the surrounding fascia tissue is not expanding at the same rate, you can bet your bottom dollar that your brain will respond by putting the kabosh on growth.
Fortunately, there are several things you can do to “stretch” this fascia tissue and avoid this form of regulatory feedback — we’ll teach you those in another article this week.
Reason #3: Muscular Imbalances
While we’re on the topic of regulatory feedback, it’s fitting to address another major initiator of R.F. activity, and that’s muscular imbalances.
Simply put, your body wants things to be symmetrical and even, and when they aren’t, it will prevent further adaptations from taking place that will ultimately throw things even further out of whack.
For example, let’s say your training is full of pressing movements, which has caused your chest to experience significant growth. On the other hand, you don’t do a whole lot for your back…no rowing or heavy pulling movements, leaving your back rather weak and underdeveloped.
The body’s response: no more growth until you bring your back up to speed.
And this is true across the board, over virtually all muscle groups.
Have you ever seen someone with huge biceps and puny triceps? No, it simply doesn’t happen because your body doesn’t let it happen.
Why?
One is the issue of injury. Large pecs and an underdeveloped back put a huge strain and pull on the back and result in poor posture and ultimately injury, especially if things were to get really out of whack (which the body won’t allow).
The other is the issue of symmetry. It’s almost as if your body wants to prevent you from looking like a moron. Thank you, body. It won’t let your biceps grow too much beyond your triceps, even if you work your biceps every day.
Bottom line: you need to correct imbalances to prevent regulatory feedback from stopping you dead in your tracks. We’ll share some strategies for correcting imbalances in another article later in the week.
Wrap Up
In today’s article, we discussed several reasons why you may not be getting it as fast as you want it.
Bottom line, there ARE things holding you back from building muscle, and in order to achieve your goals you need to understand and learn how to correct each one. If you don’t, it’s going to be a long, frustrating road, and that’s the last thing we want to see you deal with.
As mentioned, in another article this week we’re going to provide practical and strategic solutions for all the “problems” mentioned in this 2 part article. Today we covered 3 biggies, and in Part II we’ve got 3 more coming your way.
