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| You're going to watch SportsCenter anyway, right? Why not jump on a treadmill or bike for 20-45 minutes while taking in the "Plays of the Week?" On the other hand, if infomercials and cooking shows suit your fancy, then we recommend you shell out five payments of $49.95 for "Saggy Man Breasts for Dummies;" you probably aren't cut out for Maximum Muscularity. This activity is, of course, optional and by no means needs to be done indoors. Intensity should be kept at 40-60% of heart rate reserve. At this low intensity, the majority of energy will be derived from plasma fatty acids (i.e. broken down from adipose tissue) (1) and will give your metabolism a brief kick in the pants without sacrificing precious lean body mass (1).
Prior to these low-intensity sessions, one can utilize stimulants (i.e. caffeine and ephedrine) and other fat mobilizers (i.e. yohimbine). These implements will enable you to maximize adipose tissue lipolysis without worrying about any unfavorable consequences in terms of insulin sensitivity and glucose disposal, as these sessions will not be followed immediately by carbohydrate-laden meals. The half-life of caffeine is broadly defined as 3-7 hours, depending on dosage and activity (exercise decreases this time period) (3). Assuming that you are leaving adequate time (i.e. 5 hours) between your morning java wave and any carbohydrate-containing meal, consumption of caffeine in the morning should not be problematic. Also of note, researchers have noted a 3-4% increase in metabolic rate in the 2.5 hours following ingestion of 100mg caffeine (4). We don't know about you, but we're all for maximizing our metabolic rates during the time of day where lipolysis is highest!
Stay tuned as this series unfolds!
Eric Cressey
www.EricCressey.com |
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| Typically, whenever a trainee aspiring to improve his physique utters, "I want to gain muscle and lose fat...", he is immediately greeted by eager critics from opposite ends of the spectrum. First, there are those experts that pounce on the opportunity to suppress such a bold quest. They proclaim that such a task is doomed for failure, and simply respond with an unscientific, "You can't. Choose one or the other." In contrast, there are those that say that such a mission is rather simple. While the former cynics are just downright ignorant, the latter faction is just as useless, offering no other advice than one must train hard and eat right. Uh, duh! With that in mind, we'd like to introduce a plan that we feel will lead to what many call the Holy Grail of Bodybuilding: Maximum Muscularity.
The term "Maximum Muscularity" elicits a beautiful vision of the classic physique of someone like Arnold or Serge Nubret. Maximum Muscularity isn't just about being ripped...yet of beanpole proportions, nor is it just about being huge--yet uncomfortably rotund. Rather, Maximum Muscularity is fusion of the two: being Ripped and Huge; it's about becoming a walking, super-sized anatomy chart. It's about pushing the envelope of one's capabilities to add muscle and lose fat.
In a broad sense, the ultimate goal of Maximum Muscularity is to gain muscle mass and lose fat mass. However, the principles of Maximum Muscularity also apply to gaining muscle while keeping bodyfat constant OR to losing fat while maintaining all hard-earned muscle--both scenarios involve a drop in percent body fat.
The context in which you view the aforementioned goals is paramount to the realization of these favorable scenarios. Rather than asking "How do I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?", we ask you to ponder, "How do I gain muscle and lose fat in the same training period?" Our reasoning is very simple; at any given moment in time, the body is either in a state of anabolism (i.e. tissue-synthesizing: muscle or fat gain) or catabolism (tissue-destroying: breakdown of triglyceride, glycogen or protein stores). This is not to say, however, that one cannot control the shift from anabolism to catabolism or vice versa at various times throughout the day. With the Maximum Muscularity protocol, you will do just that.
This approach departs from the traditional Bulk and Cut scheme to which so many trainees adhere. This plan is especially well suited to those individuals who tend to store fat easily and gain more fat than muscle during traditional bulking cycles; it can and should be applied year-round and for long-term purposes. In short, there is absolutely no need to deviate from the Maximum Muscularity plan, as it is easily adapted to suit any physique goal and provides great versatility.
Gaining muscle and losing fat in the same training period is the culmination of diligent training and dietary practices. Paramount to achieving this lofty goal is the creation of a superior anabolic state and enhanced insulin sensitivity through various dietary and training measures. From a nutritional standpoint, you'll be paying specific attention to nutrient timing and energy intake to capitalize on and manage your body's hormonal milieu in order to promote muscle gain and fat loss. Likewise, your training protocol is of paramount importance to providing the anabolic and metabolic stimuli necessary to accomplish such a mythical feat. That said, stay-tuned as this series unfolds.
a special thanks to Tim Skwiat who co-authored this series
Eric Cressey
www.EricCressey.com |
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| Whether I like it or not, around these parts I've become known as an "injury guy." People get jacked up doing stupid stuff, and guys like Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, and myself fix them up by pointing out that said "stuff" is, in fact, stupid.
To that end, a lot of my consulting work is done in the corrective exercise realm — basically handling people who fall into the gray area between physical therapy and healthy training... bridging the gap, so to speak. We know that 80% of Americans will have lower back pain at some point in their lives, and 70% of gym-goers will experience shoulder problems somewhere along the line, but we can't send all of these people to physical therapy.
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Click here to purchase the most comprehensive shoulder resource available today: Optimal Shoulder Performance - From Rehabilitation to High Performance. |
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| When I look back on what I was doing and what I knew a few years ago (or even last year), I laugh. The health and human performance field is incredibly dynamic in nature, so if you aren't evolving, you're sure to be left behind.
For me, 2006 was a tremendous year of evolution, both personally and professionally, so I figured the new year would be a great time to reflect on some of the more influential revelations I had this year. This list certainly isn't exhaustive, but it should give you a peak into what a difference a year can make.
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| Without a doubt, the leg extension debate is one of the most heated in the fitness industry today. Let's take a look at what the research says and apply our findings in a practical manner.
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| The strength and conditioning field is like no other. Coaches have bitter enemies and die-hard devotees — and sometimes a person will qualify as both depending on the day of the week. There are insane egos and there are humble, incredibly bright coaches who go unnoticed. Finally, there are a lot of coaches who people really don't get.
On one hand, you have genuinely bad strength and conditioning professionals who couldn't coach their way out of a wet paper bag. On the other hand, you have extremely knowledgeable coaches who people really don't seem to understand — either because they don't try to understand them or because they're working off of false pretenses. Mike Boyle tends to fall into the latter category. In fact, he might be the world's most misunderstood strength coach.
Until last year, I really didn't "get" Mike Boyle either. However, I've had the chance to meet up with him twice recently, and we've exchanged a few dozen emails about training methodologies. We still don't agree on everything, but I can definitely say this is one smart, experienced coach who has a lot to offer the world of performance enhancement.
You don't have to like him or take everything he says to heart, but you're missing out if you're not at least listening with an open mind. So, without further ado, Mike Boyle.
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| In this article I'll detail how my training, nutrition, and supplementation are all closely interrelated. This program serves as a starting point for athletes in the off-season and anyone who simply wants to improve relative strength to avoid the "all show and no go" phenomenon that plagues the world's gyms today.
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| In Part I, we discussed how your body type can hinder you on certain lifts while making you an absolute stud on others. We also covered how your body type can influence the way you should be training to maximize your performance in the squat.
Here in Part II, our goal is to take the guesswork out of bench and deadlift training and, in the process, take your total to an all-time high!
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| "I suck at squatting because I'm too skinny!"
"My bench is weak because of my long arms!"
"My deadlift will never go up. I'm just not built to pull heavy!"
Ever hear a training partner utter one of these lines? Or, worse yet, have you ever said these things yourself? If so, we're here to give you a fresh outlook on ways to improve your lifts.
Biomechanics buffs like us are always looking for scientifically applicable ways to improve our lifting. In this article, we're going to give you some new insights as to possible areas of weakness, as well as ways to address these weaknesses to take you to newfound levels of strength and performance! |
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| Just being strong isn't enough; you need to be strong for your size, too. Make no mistake about it, training for strength without markedly increasing body weight is a lot more challenging than just focusing on absolute strength.
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