Myth 1 : Ectomoprhs have a hard time building muscle.
Ectomorphs do not exists to begin with. Building muscle is the same for everyone. Hovewer, not everyone has the same potential to build muscle. Some will have more type II fibers than others. Those will build more muscle in the long run, but not faster...
Myth 2 : Bodybuilding is 85% nutrition
Vince Gironda did not lie when he said this. Its 100% true. Hovewer, what he meant was that the drugs and steroids actually makes 85% of your work when you are a bodybuilder. For the natural trainer, it's will be more like 85% training.
Myth 3 : You should confuse the muscles to make them grow
This one is a bit confusing. It begins with the idea that the muscles will adapt to a new stress and when they have adapted, will stop adapting. So to keep them adapting (growing), you need to confuse them by changing exercises or the order you do the exercises. This is 100% true, hovewer, it does not mean that you should not push yourself with heavier weights and can only change exercises but keep the same weight in order for your muscles to grow. This is where people fail and don't realize that you have to keep pushing with the weigths in order to have your muscle to keep growing.
Myth 4 : You shoud not change your exercises at all but only the weights for your muscles to grow.
Actually, this is true but you can add changes for another reason than making your muscles grow : boredom. Since doing always the same thing in the same order can be quite boring, you should change the order of your exercises once in a while in order to avoid boredom. Also it will make your muscles rest a bit from the same repetitive motions, which can leads otherwise to some injuries.
Myth 5 : Squats will build your arms and calves
I have a hard time understanding why squats would build either you calves or arms, since they are not involved in the motion.
Myth 6 : Deadlifts will make your arms big
Not true. Arms are not doing any work at all in the lift. If you still believe that they do, go look for Bob Peoples Pics. His arms shows clearly how involved they are in the deadlift.
Myth 7 : Biceps Curls won't make your arms big
True. To make your arms bigger, you have to train your biceps as well as your triceps. Both muscles need to be worked. And of course, if you don't go for performance, your muscles will not grow bigger.
But biceps curls is a great way to work your biceps, and they will make them grow a LOT if you do it right.
Myth 8 : Thin and Long Bones sucks for Bench Pressing
The reason why thin and tall guys seems to sucks at Bench Press is because they are not muscular and strong. It has nothing to do with their bones. Short torso means you lack pectorals developpement. Long and thin arms means you lack biceps and triceps developpement. Now the short and fat guy will have an easier time at bench pressing because the bar travel is shorter, and the fat is well known for the best endurance and strength giver. That's why "endomorphs" (or fattys) are good at bench pressing.
Once a tall guy with long bones have built his muscles and strength, noboby will dare to say to him he looks weak anymore... because he won't.
That's it for now.
lundi 17 novembre 2014
lundi 10 novembre 2014
Split routines vs Full Body routines
Should you train more than three times a week when you're natural? can you train like arnold and hit the gym every day, twice a day ? or will you burn and overtrain?
The only one that can answer this is you. you have to try and give it a go to see if you body can handle it. Let's be honest, most people wont make it and will not keep up with such training very long. But i believe this is not a reason to dissmiss completely split routines. I did try Arnold program for a while.
It looks like this:
Monday - Chest and Back - bench, chins, rows, deadlift, ...
Tuesday - Shoulder and Arms - press, curl, triceps etc
Wenesday - Legs - squat, lunges, calves etc.
repeat
Sunday - rest
You train 6 day a week and your body parts twice. Sounds too hard for a natural trainee ? i did it and it was working fine. but then i escaladed to his advanced training and i burned myslef out. I went too fast and did not try to do it on a steady progression of reps and exercises.
I also tried Ronnie Coleman program, wich advocates three exercises per muscle group for the beginner, splits on 6 day of the week, twice. it looks like this:
Monday - Back, biceps
Tuesday - Legs, calves
Wenesday - Chest, triceps, abs
repeat
Sunday : rest
This one, i stayed less longer than Arnold's, but i liked it more. Its very well built, with the heavy compounds first and isolations movements second, the bigger muscles groups that comes first etc. but imo, the begginer can't just jump into it with three exercises per body part. for example, you cant just do rows and chins after the Deadlift: your back is already broken in two. so i cutted and did only one or two and it worked really good. keep in mind that i worked heavy every day, and was making prs, getting heavier and more muscular, and stronger.
But my favorite is Reg Park routine : you train three times a week, and do full body workout:
Monday - Squat, bench, row, press and curl.
Wenesday - Squat bench, row, press and curl
Friday - Squat, bench, row, press and curl.
I did really good gains on this one, muscle mass and strength gains, but imo i lacks direct work on some muscles such as : upper chest, triceps, calves, abs, to name a few. this workout is meant to be done for a months, and then you switch to the version B wich is those exercises : Front squat, Chins, Dips, Press and Curl with dumbells. you can add the deadlift the sunday, or as the first exercise on monday.
Wether you choose to train 6 days a week, or only 3 day a week is up to you, and to your personals goals. when designing your own workout, it should reflects your needs, and the time you can afford to reach them. but keep in mind that 6 day a week wont allow you to put the same intensity as 3 day a week, just like a two hours workout wont do the same for you as a 1 hour one.
Curl Hate, Isolation Hate
Right now there is an Curl and Isolation hate, widely spread across the internet. Barbell curls are silly, calves raises dont work wont make your calves bigger, etc. This hate seems to come from SL5x5 and SS fanatics. Now the funny thins is that people that say that calves raises dont work are also the ones that say that squat will make your calves bigger, and bent over rows will make your biceps bigger.
it could not be further from the truth. Squat will not make your calve any bigger, as it doesn't involve them in the movement. Bent-over rows will make your arms grow abit, but they do not hit specifically your biceps, and thus they will not make your biceps grow like arnold biceps.
For me, a video of Zyzz curling a girl was the beginning of me wanting to curl alot of weigth. because i tried to curl my girlfriend, i could see i lacked a lot of strength in the biceps, even though i did rows and chins-ups.
Now i can curl my girlfriend pretty easily, i can even strict press her above my head :) but i did not stop there. barbell curl is a pretty hard exercises, it will break your forearms in two. to those that say that isolations exercises don't work, i have to lol at them. If you start curling, try to increase the weight steadily, and you will notice big results. your biceps will grow bigger and thicker and more powerful.
in my opinion, even an strength athlete should do biceps curls with a barbell.
And calves raises work just fine, but you have not to cheat yourself. focus on your calves, and lift the weight ! it will burn like hell ! i gained inches in my calves in a weeks when i started to train them, but the key here is to push the weigth and the reps. you wont grow big calves without some heavy weight.
it could not be further from the truth. Squat will not make your calve any bigger, as it doesn't involve them in the movement. Bent-over rows will make your arms grow abit, but they do not hit specifically your biceps, and thus they will not make your biceps grow like arnold biceps.
For me, a video of Zyzz curling a girl was the beginning of me wanting to curl alot of weigth. because i tried to curl my girlfriend, i could see i lacked a lot of strength in the biceps, even though i did rows and chins-ups.
Now i can curl my girlfriend pretty easily, i can even strict press her above my head :) but i did not stop there. barbell curl is a pretty hard exercises, it will break your forearms in two. to those that say that isolations exercises don't work, i have to lol at them. If you start curling, try to increase the weight steadily, and you will notice big results. your biceps will grow bigger and thicker and more powerful.
in my opinion, even an strength athlete should do biceps curls with a barbell.
And calves raises work just fine, but you have not to cheat yourself. focus on your calves, and lift the weight ! it will burn like hell ! i gained inches in my calves in a weeks when i started to train them, but the key here is to push the weigth and the reps. you wont grow big calves without some heavy weight.
Full Range of Motion (ROM) Fanatism
Everywhere you go you see fanatism about ROM. The hell ? if the bar doesn't touch the chest, it doesn't count. if you don't squat lower that paralel to the ground, it doesn't count. etc.
Where does all that comes from? Competitions? most joes don't compete, and never intend to. Arnold in the encyclopedia says that you should always use full ROM when you train, could it be his fault? (joke)
I don't know what wrong with a shorter range of motion, in fact, i have used some short range of motion with great success in my bodybuilding and powerlifting "carrier".
I am a skinny type with long arms, long legs and a short chest. i suck badly at bench press and squat. Deadlifting for me is the most rewarding.
How do i improve my bench if my arms are long? easy, by shortening the distance the bar have to travel, or by making the leverages easier. how do we do that? by either taking a wider grip, or by binging the chest more upward, and arching the back. but there is one more way : you can also reduce the range of motion. OMFGTH this is illegal !! you gonna get caught by the police if you do this, and they will rape you in the asshole ! more seriously, by reducing the ROM, you will fin yourself lifting a lot more, and it will helps you overcome your walls.
say your benching 200, for one rep. you cannot seems to do two reps out of it. just reduce the ROM, and do three reps. next time you do five with the same weith, and the next time, you increase the weight. you muscle will adapt to the new wieght very quickly, and they will grow thicker, and more powerful. and when you will try again your one rep max, my guess is that you will have a new PR.
This technique is very well known (or was) to increase muscle mass and strength very fast. it will increase your power dramastically. but to everything there is an end: even this way you have to stop increasing the weight at some point, deload or rest to make sure your muscle have the time to rebuilt. Works best big compounds like the bench press and the squat.
Where does all that comes from? Competitions? most joes don't compete, and never intend to. Arnold in the encyclopedia says that you should always use full ROM when you train, could it be his fault? (joke)
I don't know what wrong with a shorter range of motion, in fact, i have used some short range of motion with great success in my bodybuilding and powerlifting "carrier".
I am a skinny type with long arms, long legs and a short chest. i suck badly at bench press and squat. Deadlifting for me is the most rewarding.
How do i improve my bench if my arms are long? easy, by shortening the distance the bar have to travel, or by making the leverages easier. how do we do that? by either taking a wider grip, or by binging the chest more upward, and arching the back. but there is one more way : you can also reduce the range of motion. OMFGTH this is illegal !! you gonna get caught by the police if you do this, and they will rape you in the asshole ! more seriously, by reducing the ROM, you will fin yourself lifting a lot more, and it will helps you overcome your walls.
say your benching 200, for one rep. you cannot seems to do two reps out of it. just reduce the ROM, and do three reps. next time you do five with the same weith, and the next time, you increase the weight. you muscle will adapt to the new wieght very quickly, and they will grow thicker, and more powerful. and when you will try again your one rep max, my guess is that you will have a new PR.
This technique is very well known (or was) to increase muscle mass and strength very fast. it will increase your power dramastically. but to everything there is an end: even this way you have to stop increasing the weight at some point, deload or rest to make sure your muscle have the time to rebuilt. Works best big compounds like the bench press and the squat.
Do steroids matter ?
Depends on your goals. If you want to compete, wether it will be powerlifting or weightlifting or bodybuilding competitions, you pretty much don't have the choice. but to the average joe that want to improve his physique, his muscle mass ratio, his strength, he certainly don't need steroids to do it.
how bad can you become naturally ? how much muscle mass can you hope to gain naturally?
-different studies tend to converge saying you can gain about 25-50 pounds of muscle mass, depending on your age, size, muscular developpement... we cannot say for sure there is a formula but you can hope to achieve an good muscular and lean physique, wihtout any steroids. what you cannot hope is, an extremely muscular, lean physique, that will win competitions whithout any form of steroids.
Irongangsta.com seems to desillusioned to even believe you can reach more than the physique of a gymnast, but he doesn't seems to understand the way the body build muscle completely neither.
there is no reason why a gymnast who doesn't give a shit about muscle mass would become the most possible muscular physique that you can obtain naturally, just because he is an olympic athlete. Sure, gymnastic do increase your muscle mass, but not to the point it will make your reach your muscular potential. why ? because such gymnast never use the overload principle, the just use their own body as a weight. and since the weigth never increase, muscle do not either.
One can argue that leverages in gymnastic gets pretty hardcore, and replace the overload principle because such leverage becomes so hard that it is comparable to an extreme weigth, but studies have shown that this is not the case. Gymnasts, though they have often some really good strentgh, cannot really hope to deadlift or bench press a lot without a prior training in those. they often wont do bad, (of course) they are athletes after all, but they dont compare to powerlifters (even naturals ones).
The main reason behind this is the fact that muscle tend to grow thicker with more weight,, wether the leverages becomes harder or not. Also, bodybuilders have a very special way of increasing muscle mass that no other sport ever does, wich require one to train to failure or close to it, repeating the exercise movement with an approximal maximal weight of 60-80%. Only in bodybuilding you can find exercises that can meet theses requirements.
how bad can you become naturally ? how much muscle mass can you hope to gain naturally?
-different studies tend to converge saying you can gain about 25-50 pounds of muscle mass, depending on your age, size, muscular developpement... we cannot say for sure there is a formula but you can hope to achieve an good muscular and lean physique, wihtout any steroids. what you cannot hope is, an extremely muscular, lean physique, that will win competitions whithout any form of steroids.
Irongangsta.com seems to desillusioned to even believe you can reach more than the physique of a gymnast, but he doesn't seems to understand the way the body build muscle completely neither.
there is no reason why a gymnast who doesn't give a shit about muscle mass would become the most possible muscular physique that you can obtain naturally, just because he is an olympic athlete. Sure, gymnastic do increase your muscle mass, but not to the point it will make your reach your muscular potential. why ? because such gymnast never use the overload principle, the just use their own body as a weight. and since the weigth never increase, muscle do not either.
One can argue that leverages in gymnastic gets pretty hardcore, and replace the overload principle because such leverage becomes so hard that it is comparable to an extreme weigth, but studies have shown that this is not the case. Gymnasts, though they have often some really good strentgh, cannot really hope to deadlift or bench press a lot without a prior training in those. they often wont do bad, (of course) they are athletes after all, but they dont compare to powerlifters (even naturals ones).
The main reason behind this is the fact that muscle tend to grow thicker with more weight,, wether the leverages becomes harder or not. Also, bodybuilders have a very special way of increasing muscle mass that no other sport ever does, wich require one to train to failure or close to it, repeating the exercise movement with an approximal maximal weight of 60-80%. Only in bodybuilding you can find exercises that can meet theses requirements.
Review of Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe
This book is what it says it is, however there are some mistakes i believe that need to be pointed out.
bench press : M.R. recommend that you use the thumb grip, for safety measures. this one is dumb as fuck really, unless you compete because first, you should always bench in a power rack for safety measures, so the pins will catch the barbell and second, you have more strength by using a thumb-less grip, just like you can do more push-ups on your hands rather than on your fists....
Squat : Again, M.R. recommend that you use a low-bar style version of the squat. why ? because it use more hammstrings than quads. but isn't it the goal of the squat to developp quads ? whatever version of squat you want to use, you should always squat in the power rack, not counting on your buddies for your own safety. spotting the squat is a dangerous thing, for you and your buddies.
Deadlift : Here, the common idea that you should keep your back straight is another mistake of this book. what happens exactly when you keep your back straight ? the bar ends up a bit more away from you, more than if you had your back bended, and thus making the lift both more dangerous and harder. When you deadlift, the bar should remain really close to your legs, close to the centrer of gravity of your body. When a lot of snow cover a tree, youngs one bend and let the snow fall, but the old ones cant bend and breaks. your back can bend, why should you ignore it ?
Power Clean : Starting Strength is a book about strength training, but what exactly is strength training? in the world of strength there is several differents disciplines : Weightlifting and Powerlifting are the main ones. Should a beginner do power cleans ? if you want to do weightlifting, power cleans are a must. but if you want to do powerlifting, power cleans are unnecessary (and dangerous). with a power rack, you dont have to clean your heavy barbells before you attempt to lift them above your head...
Assistance exercises : (chin-ups, curls, etc) M.R. says assistance exercises are assistance only and should not be overdone, unless you want to be a master at assistance exercises. I believe this is hypocrisy because either assistance means it helps and should be done, either it sucks and should not be done. in case your wondering about wheter or not you should do curls (in the power rack), it all depends on your goals. my goal is to developp my arms, so yes i do curls in the fucking power rack without any shame, because curls DO developp biceps. chin-ups are great to developp the lats, and they do it in a different way than barbell rows.
In the end, starting strength is not so bad, but lack some obvious good sense, as well an explanation of the different field of strength. i just dont like the philosophy of it, saying bodybuilders are douchbags, and the fact that it is at the beginning of the hate tread of split routines... i do not recommend starting strength for the one who want to grow muscle as well as strength, but it shall be good enough for the one who want to begin weightlifting.
bench press : M.R. recommend that you use the thumb grip, for safety measures. this one is dumb as fuck really, unless you compete because first, you should always bench in a power rack for safety measures, so the pins will catch the barbell and second, you have more strength by using a thumb-less grip, just like you can do more push-ups on your hands rather than on your fists....
Squat : Again, M.R. recommend that you use a low-bar style version of the squat. why ? because it use more hammstrings than quads. but isn't it the goal of the squat to developp quads ? whatever version of squat you want to use, you should always squat in the power rack, not counting on your buddies for your own safety. spotting the squat is a dangerous thing, for you and your buddies.
Deadlift : Here, the common idea that you should keep your back straight is another mistake of this book. what happens exactly when you keep your back straight ? the bar ends up a bit more away from you, more than if you had your back bended, and thus making the lift both more dangerous and harder. When you deadlift, the bar should remain really close to your legs, close to the centrer of gravity of your body. When a lot of snow cover a tree, youngs one bend and let the snow fall, but the old ones cant bend and breaks. your back can bend, why should you ignore it ?
Power Clean : Starting Strength is a book about strength training, but what exactly is strength training? in the world of strength there is several differents disciplines : Weightlifting and Powerlifting are the main ones. Should a beginner do power cleans ? if you want to do weightlifting, power cleans are a must. but if you want to do powerlifting, power cleans are unnecessary (and dangerous). with a power rack, you dont have to clean your heavy barbells before you attempt to lift them above your head...
Assistance exercises : (chin-ups, curls, etc) M.R. says assistance exercises are assistance only and should not be overdone, unless you want to be a master at assistance exercises. I believe this is hypocrisy because either assistance means it helps and should be done, either it sucks and should not be done. in case your wondering about wheter or not you should do curls (in the power rack), it all depends on your goals. my goal is to developp my arms, so yes i do curls in the fucking power rack without any shame, because curls DO developp biceps. chin-ups are great to developp the lats, and they do it in a different way than barbell rows.
In the end, starting strength is not so bad, but lack some obvious good sense, as well an explanation of the different field of strength. i just dont like the philosophy of it, saying bodybuilders are douchbags, and the fact that it is at the beginning of the hate tread of split routines... i do not recommend starting strength for the one who want to grow muscle as well as strength, but it shall be good enough for the one who want to begin weightlifting.
dimanche 9 novembre 2014
Review of Stronglifts 5x5 and stronglifts.com
Stronglifts 5x5 is the first program i did that DID WORK, sure. But it was also the first time i EVER tried barbells and free weights.
SL5x5 is mostly a strength oriented program, that cares little about you growing some muscle mass. the SL diet is not a good idea when i comes to muscle mass, but is a great idea to anyone who want to stay fit, like a crossfit athlete.
SL5x5 is derivated from the Starting Strength program, but is safer because it drops the useless and dangerous Power Cleans.
SL5x5 is a good starting program, because it emphasis strength, barbells and free weights, but is a poor designated program, because it does not include isolations movement such as barbells curls, and it does not include dumbells either.
SL5x5 therefore is not recommended to trainees that want to grow muscle mass as well as strength.
-will stronglifts make me big and muscular ?
no. stronglifts 5x5 is not a muscle mass oriented program.
-will stronglifts5x5 make me strong ?
yes. it is a strength oriented program.
-what is wrong with SL5x5?
nothing, really. except that it comes with a bad philosophy such as bodybuilders are pussies and all of them take steroids to make their muscles bigger.
-then, what program is the best to grow muscle mass and not just strength?
It depends on who you are, and what your goals are. you can use a lot of different programs that will fit your own needs, but imo the best program that will build muscle mass as well as strength is a program that includes :
-free weights, barbells AND dumbbells
-compounds AND isolations movements
-bodyweight exercises
-cardio, yoga and a good diet.
if a program doesnt include the above, it is not the best program for muscle mass and strength.
SL5x5 does not include dumbbells, isolations movements, cardio/yoga or a good diet, therefore it is not recommended as a MUSCLE AND STRENGTH PROGRAM.
SL5x5 is mostly a strength oriented program, that cares little about you growing some muscle mass. the SL diet is not a good idea when i comes to muscle mass, but is a great idea to anyone who want to stay fit, like a crossfit athlete.
SL5x5 is derivated from the Starting Strength program, but is safer because it drops the useless and dangerous Power Cleans.
SL5x5 is a good starting program, because it emphasis strength, barbells and free weights, but is a poor designated program, because it does not include isolations movement such as barbells curls, and it does not include dumbells either.
SL5x5 therefore is not recommended to trainees that want to grow muscle mass as well as strength.
-will stronglifts make me big and muscular ?
no. stronglifts 5x5 is not a muscle mass oriented program.
-will stronglifts5x5 make me strong ?
yes. it is a strength oriented program.
-what is wrong with SL5x5?
nothing, really. except that it comes with a bad philosophy such as bodybuilders are pussies and all of them take steroids to make their muscles bigger.
-then, what program is the best to grow muscle mass and not just strength?
It depends on who you are, and what your goals are. you can use a lot of different programs that will fit your own needs, but imo the best program that will build muscle mass as well as strength is a program that includes :
-free weights, barbells AND dumbbells
-compounds AND isolations movements
-bodyweight exercises
-cardio, yoga and a good diet.
if a program doesnt include the above, it is not the best program for muscle mass and strength.
SL5x5 does not include dumbbells, isolations movements, cardio/yoga or a good diet, therefore it is not recommended as a MUSCLE AND STRENGTH PROGRAM.
Why Ancient Gymnasium ?
Just started ancientgymnasium.blogspot.com, and wihtout really thinking, gave this name to my blog.
what exactly made me think of this ? to answer, i have to explain you my philosophy of training:
everything begins ...
I used to hate training. i started going in a gym with a friend, because he asked me to( he is the kind that can't do stuff alone). but i hated it from the first day. there was only machines there, no free weights. no barbells and no dumbells. i tried to bench on the smith machine, but it felt wrong and weird, and i sucked at it. so the only thing i did in this gym was push ups and pull ups.
After a year or so, my friend had reached a nice developpement, by doing only bench pressing and curls in the smith machine, and lots of push ups at home every morning. he gained around 20 pounds of muscle and fat.
I, on the other way, founded myself exactly thesame as when i started, because i did not try to eat more or increase poundages, wich were still the same mostly. but i could do push ups chin ups and dips without much rest and get my workout done in about twenty minutes.
Another thing is that i was very skinny. at age 20, i weighted 150 pounds at 6'2. by age 25 i was only at 160 pounds so i started thinking maybe it was the time for me to boost my knowledge about bodybuilding.
All my friend had good results with bodybuilding, but most of them only wanted to grow a little muscle, then stop there to stay with a fit body. i wanted to get big. i dreamed of a big and muscular body.
All my friend had good results with bodybuilding, but most of them only wanted to grow a little muscle, then stop there to stay with a fit body. i wanted to get big. i dreamed of a big and muscular body.
By chance, i found stronglifts.com, wich advocates heavy barbell training to gain muscle and strength. i went for it and ordered a power rack and a barbell and around 300 pounds of weight. with gomad, i gainded 30 pounds in just three months, but my body felt completely wasted and i stopped there for 4 months, to rest.
I started over and went back to 190 pounds but this time, i was leaner , and stronger. again, i did not want to abuse my body, so after three months of training, i stopped again. To this day, i keep alterning between months of training and rest, not because im lazy but because i feel the need to be cautious with the heavy weitghs. my best lifts are : 200 pounds bench press 240 pounds squat 315 pounds deadlift, 135 pound one rep over head press strict, and 55 pounds dumbbells press strict. my best bodyweight was 190 pounds around 10-12% bodyfat. (where you can see the abs, seratus) so what is my philosophy of training ? in a few words : heavy, barbells and dumbells, and bodyweight exercises.
i did nt yet reach my goals, of a big muscular body, but my friends all saw my transformation from skinny to bear like arms and chest.
Ancient Gymnasium will be a place for naturals trainers, that loves free weigths, milk and honey, that want that herculean physique by sweating rather than with pills, that want to grow a thick beard but to have body air removed and that want to display a perfect sun-taned skin.
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