L.I.F.T.

I want to give a brief explanation of the reasoning behind the workout paradigm I did a video of yesterday. Here’s the vid:

Now here’s the rationale.

There’s something called Henneman’s Size Principle (I know, right?). It says that motor units are recruited by the nervous system from smallest (slowest) to largest (fastest).

The small/slow muscles, because they are used all the time, are more fatigue-resistant. The bigger/faster units aren’t able to sustain contractions for very long, but when they do contract, it is very powerful.

The only way to recruit those large/fast/powerful motor units is through very intense (high-tension) work. Things like jumps, explosive/ballistic movements, and very heavy lifting will recruit more of these fibers.

Typically, those types of movements require greater stabilization assistance.

So, if you do endurance stuff before heavy lifting, 1., you won’t have any energy for it, and 2., you may be injured because your synergists (assistance-muscles) are too fatigued to help you maintain form/posture.

Therein lies the rationale for the sequence. Warmup (get things loose/fluid, neurologically prepared), Explosive or Ballistic movements (get those fast/large fibers, and the nervous system amped up) without weight, Max Effort (work up to a 3RM maybe), then Endurance or Hypertrophy work. If you want to do Isometrics, do them at the very beginning, in the warmup, at the very end, or at a different time.

That said, I only briefly mentioned the importance of good skeletal structure/alignment, and good movement patterns in the video. I’ll do another session about this topic later this week, but for now – make sure your posture is good, and you have good range of motion and control in your joints before doing any of this stuff!!!

Pay particular attention to the pelvic girdle, shoulder girdle, and neck…and then the peripheral joints (elbows/knees, wrists/ankles)…

more soon!

I’ve put up some videos on YouTube about using a piece of rope to exercise with.

Please steal my ideas, and come up with your own!

I’ll produce more ideas about using “common” items to play with in your exercise programs in the near future…

ROPE 1 – ROPE! configurations

ROPE 2 – Partner ROPE!

ROPE 3 – Handle ROPE!

I’ve said this for a long time now – that someone, somewhere, needs to put “the rules” of muscle physiology down in plain language, so that everyone can have a fair shake at strength, endurance, and physical health.

So I’ll do it here, now.

The Four Horsemen

There are only four rules that you really need to understand in order to exercise properly.  They are:

1. Specificity

2. Progression/Overload

3. Acute Variables – Intensity/Volume/Frequency

4. Form/Technique

Let’s go over each.

1. Specificity – I’ve S.A.I.D. It All Before

The first rule of physical training or conditioning is the SAID principle, coined by Digby and Sale, I think back in 1984.  SAID stands for “Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands.”

The concept is this – the body is an incredibly efficient system.  It will only respond to what it must, in exactly the degree it must, and only for as long as is absolutely necessary.

Therefore, you must train specifically, for the specific outcomes you wish to attain.

This is true in all of life.  If you want a cheese sandwich, don’t get the peanut butter out of the cabinet.

Specificity applies not just to the type of movement you do, the muscles used, or to the type and amount of weight you use, but also to the metabolic demands placed on the body as a whole.

If you want to be a marathon runner, lifting very heavy weights is not going to help you.  That is, depending upon how quickly you want to run that marathon.  If speed isn’t an issue, but slowness is, maybe lifting weights is a good idea!

2. Progression/Overload

The next principle to understand is progression/overload…or, let’s call it “the progressive overload principle.”  Actually, that’s what Thomas Delorme called it in his book “Progressive Resistance Exercise,” back in 1951.

The principle is this (and is directly related to the SAID principle) – by allowing a muscle or system to grow accustomed to a stimulus, you have made it stronger.  To continue making it stronger, you have to continue to increase the resistance the system must overcome.

Bam.

So, basically, keep adding weight. When it gets easier (and it will), add more weight.

Yeah?  Ok then.

3. Loading – Reps/Sets/Intensity/Volume/Frequency

This principle is, again, related to the SAID and Progressive Overload principles.  Most people refer to this as “Periodization” – or the planning of loading based on some sort of organized schema.

First, for the sets/reps portion of this discussion, take a look at the chart below:

I made it really big on purpose.  So you can see all the pretty things in there.  Feel free to print this chart out and put it on your fridge, or wherever you’d like. This chart represents, to the best of my knowledge, an accurate depiction of how your muscles will respond, for the most part, to resistance based work.  There are some exceptions.  For instance, you can experience quite a bit of hypertrophy from high-repetition bodyweight work.  Just look at a gymnast.

Further, people will differ in their responses.  I, for instance, respond to 8-10 reps with hypertrophy.  I’ve known some people for whom that wasn’t true.  And, finally, strength itself is the combination of all of those factors – endurance, hypertrophy, maximal, and explosive strengths.   Most athletes will benefit from following the 80/20 rule in their training – training 80% of the time in ways very specific to their sport, with the other 20% of the time spent in non-specific “crosstraining” type activities.

Intensity is next.

Intensity is defined as the percentage of a person’s 1-rep maximum being moved.  You can see the “Load % 1RM” in column two in the chart above.  That is, what % of a person’s 1-rep maximum is optimal to achieve the desired response in the muscle.  It’s also directly related to how much weight a person will actually be capable of doing a certain contraction-type with.  For instance, you can’t do 15 reps with 100% of your 1-rep max, by definition.

Isometrics and Explosive Work

I’ve seen people who have lifted incredible amounts of weight on their first-ever attempt at a particular weightlifting exercise, simply because they have always trained isometric (where you contract a muscle against an immovable object or opposing force – the muscle doesn’t change length during the contraction) and explosive strength.

Does that destroy the SAID principle?  No, because these people also used progressive resistance in their isometric and explosive training.  In fact, they were preparing their musculature in the same way that someone doing heavy lifts might, just from the other side.

So there’s another strength type to add – static/isometric strength.  Train isometric strength with one set of 6-10 contractions of 6-8 seconds, anywhere between 60 and 100% of maximal contraction force – at the specific joint angle you want to increase strength in.  For instance, a great use of isometrics is to get past “sticking points” in exercises.  Let’s say you can’t do a pullup, you always get stuck halfway up.  Start training isometrics at the end of your normal workout in that specific joint angle.  Progress by adding more sets of contractions, but go slowly!

Finally, for this mini-section, the best training of explosive work is with ballistic movements – where the weight is actually physically thrown – or with plyometrics/shock-training.  For ballistics, it’s fun to go to a field with a weight of some sort and just throw the hell out of it.  Do squat-jump-throws, etc.  For plyometrics, follow guidelines on plyo’s before beginning.  Running around and jumping off and on things is not the same as plyometrics.  Plyo’s are typically very specific, and involve progression to depth-jumps, and, sometimes, loaded depth-jumps.  If you want more information on plyometrics, send me an email.

The last part of Number 3 here is training volume.

Volume (frequently expressed as “total sets x total weight”) is better-seen in A.S. Prilepin’s chart for training weightlifters:

Prilepin’s chart was compiled after years of charting elite weightlifters in the Soviet Union.  But it works pretty well for the rest of us.

Basically, the higher the intensity (the more weight/explosiveness) of the lift, the fewer the total repetitions you do during a set, the fewer the total repetitions you do during a workout, and the fewer workouts you do during a week.

That being said, total training volume may be the same regardless of what intensity you’re training at.  Total training volume is usually related to an athlete’s (or exerciser’s) level of experience with the type of training they’re doing.  If you’re really experienced, you can handle a much larger total training volume (though, often, you don’t need to) than a less-experienced athlete.

While this particular version of Prilepin’s chart does not include weekly, monthly, or yearly values, you – I hope – get the idea.  You can only overload the muscle so far, till it breaks.  There is such a thing as “too much of a good thing.”

For the purposes of this post, it’s helpful just to remember this – the more difficult, demanding, or stressful a lift, exercise, or workout is, the more time you need for recovery.

The Soviets were, I think, the first to really emphasize the importance of recovery (physical, nervous system, and psychological) to the degree that it’s only starting to receive today.

So recover!

4. Form/Technique

The final chapter in our list of things to know in order to succeed is this – perhaps the keystone of the four.

Form/Technique assumes, to some degree, a certain knowledge of how the body works.  This is particularly true for heavy weightlifting, but can be just as true for things like Yoga and Pilates, where small, difficult movements, can cause big problems if not done correctly.

The best thing you can do is to learn how your body works.  This is a fantastic book that covers just about everything you could ever need to know about this topic.

Doing, is another issue, though.  When first learning how to do a particular exercise, movement, or technique, it is really important that you have a good instructor there.

As the old saying goes – Never Trust A Bald Barber.

If someone tells you they know everything about exercise and will help you to learn, but they have neither the credentials nor the physique to prove it, don’t trust them.  Find someone who does.  Preferably, find someone with both the physique and credentials, and a cheerful, sunny demeanor.  That’ll make it easier on everyone.

Your Turn

Now go out there and do it!!!

Workout nutrition has been a recurring theme in conversations recently.

In the old days, my buddies and I all used to drink whey protein drinks.  When I went from 175 pounds to 200 (and then to 215) in about 8 months, it was from a combination of eating two protein bars a day, and working out twice a day.

While I don’t recommend that (I was terribly uncomfortable at 215), I do think that nutrition helps a lot.

All of the “experts” and “research scientists” will tell you different things about workout nutrition.  “Eat x% cabs/fat/protein, plus branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), plus fish oil, plus etc.”

I’m not going to cite research studies about nutrition or nutrient uptake.  They’re almost entirely based on people tested in laboratory settings, often times using college-aged males in small population sizes (less than 10), don’t take into account other factors (such as the fact that the sample used is composed of athletes, or that they eat cafeteria food all the time), etc.

That is, they’re not terribly applicable to you and me.

The guys in the trenches will tell you something different.  They’ll say this – “Increased protein, water, vitamin, and fatty-acid intake will help you to feel less sore and recover faster.”

I agree with them.

The basic idea of workout nutrition is this – get nutrients into the body when the body needs them most.

For me, post-workout is the time I emphasize “workout nutrition.”  In the recent past, though, I wasn’t using any “supplements.”  My post-workout shake was a bottle of Trader Joe’s strawberry-flavored Kefir (fermented milk product).

Recently, I’ve been lifting a little more intensely, and have been feeling it.  So I invested in some SPIZ.  Now I’ll drink a “shake” with a balanced macronutrient profile, that has some additional amino acids, immediately after my workout.

If you’re exercising for more than an hour (or two, depending on your level of experience, and the intensity of the work), you might need to consume something during your workout to keep you going strong, and to keep you from breaking down too much.

But different folks have/need different strokes.  Some people like to drink 1/3 of their workout drink before the workout, 1/3 during, and 1/3 after.  Others don’t like to drink or eat anything extra.

Experiment with how your body feels.  If you are getting particularly sore after your workouts, try some of the above strategies and see what works for you.  I prefer drinks to bars, they’re more satisfying to me, and I prefer drinks with balanced macronutrient profiles (that is, they have fat, protein, and carbs in relatively balanced proportions) to drinks that are just (or mostly) protein.

Experiment with the quantity of calories you consume, too.  Having 100 calories post-workout is much different from having 500.  Of course, intensity and volume of work will, again, be your guide here.

As a final note – any workout nutrition should merely be supplemental to an already solid, whole-food-based diet, that is providing you with the foundation you need for health.  No supplement can replace that.

I haven’t done a “cookie-cutter” weightlifting program in years.  Probably not since I bought Ross Enamait’s excellent book “Never Gymless.”  I think that was in 2006.

Since then, I’ve created my own training programs.  I’ve vacillated wildly between types of training – weightlifting, bodyweight, o-lifts, Crossfit and Crossfit-style workouts, rings/gymnastics, etc.

Too much stuff!

I feel like I’ve learned some things since then, and figured I’d share some of those lessons.

1. Cookie-cutter programs aren’t all bad.  Hell, I and most of my friends learned everything we knew about the gym from magazines, and from trying out programs in those magazines.  I still like to try people’s programs, to see how they affect my body.  While I might fiddle with them a little, I try to adhere as closely as possible to the program as-is, to see what happens.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll pitch it again, because I think the guy has a ton of integrity.  DeFranco’s “Built Like a Badass” program is fantastic.  It’s based on the “core lifts” (bench press, deadlift, squat, overhead press), is based around the individual’s current single-rep maximum, and progresses up nicely.  I don’t know how it would work with a pure “beginner,” but it’s working great for me.  Try it out if you’re looking for something new.

2. Related to the above, I feel more and more like strength is built in the gym, but skill is built on the field of practice.  Modern “functional training” has athletes doing a lot of stuff that is not related to strength training in the gym.

3. Strength is best built using the “classic lifts”/”fundamental movement patterns,” and adhering to the guidelines of good form.

4. This is where “functional training” or “corrective exercise” come in.  When an individual has a limitation that doesn’t allow them to perform the “classic lifts” or fundamental movement patterns in a way that is biomechanically sound for them, you have to start incorporating the lessons from functional/corrective training methodologies.

5. If the individual’s form is breaking down because the weight is too heavy for them, you have to evaluate the risk/reward equation for them.  Is it worth it to possibly get injured in the gym, in order to lift more weight that day?  Maybe.  Maybe not.

6. There is no “perfect” anything.  There’s no “perfect” form.  There’s really good form for a particular individual at a particular time.  There’s no “perfect” program.  There’s a really good program for an individual at that time.

7. Athletes need specificity.  The general person needs general movement.

Let me be more clear.  When you have specific tasks or demands that you have to accomplish, you have to be very specific with the type, frequency, and intensity of the movements you engage in.  When you don’t have anything so specific, you have free reign to do whatever you want to.

That being said, while the athlete’s “skill” training (aside from the “skill” of strength) will be specific to their sport, position, or event, the general gym-goer will benefit from playing more to develop skill.

8. Rhythm is critical to success.  As the saying goes, “timing is everything.”  I’d make it more specific – “rhythm is everything.”  Find the rhythms in your life and synchronize them to your best advantage.  Use rhythm in your training, both in terms of programming, and in terms of practice itself – engage in rhythmical movement more frequently.

Ok, that’s all folks…more later.  Appreciate any thoughts on the above…

The first person I ever saw use the phrase “strength is a skill,” was Pavel Tsatsouline.  His method of “greasing the groove” – repeating a movement pattern (like a pullup, for instance) very frequently throughout the day, but with very low duration/repetitions – summarizes this idea, and has helped a lot of people achieve levels of strength they thought were impossible.

It struck me today, after my workout, that this is really true, but in a different way than I had understood before.

It seems like the type of strength you practice is a skill.  I mean, like a skill, strength is highly specific.

I’ve long been an admirer of Digby and Sale’s SAID Principle – Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand.  But I guess I never really felt it in my own training till today.

I started a weightlifting program about a month ago.  Specifically, DeFranco’s “Built Like a Badass” program (more on that later).  It had been a while since I’d done any regular, scheduled weightlifting.  My workouts for the past six months or so have been bodyweight stuff.

Today I was doing some heavy one-arm rows, and realized how different I felt versus the first week of the program.  It wasn’t just strength-gain/adaptation.  I felt accustomed to the whole thing – the movement pattern, the intensity, the stance, etc.  It was something I haven’t felt for a few years…since the last time I did one-arm rows on a regular basis.

I realized that that type of strength was a skill I had stopped practicing.

And I know that when I go back to bodyweight movements, there will be a (re-)learning curve there as well.

Seems like Pavel, Digby, Sales, and everyone else who said it was right…strength is a highly specific skill.

Charlie Reid and I held another talk on barefoot running at the Sports Basement in Potrero Hill this past Thursday.

First, I want to thank everyone who attended (if you’re reading this).  We had a great turnout and some great questions from the attendees.

To sum:

START SLOWLY! – if you’re like most people, you’ve been wearing shoes most of your life.  Don’t rush into barefooting.  Take it slowly.

Crawl, Walk, Jog, Run – start like a baby, by crawling.  Do bear crawls more often.  Charlie and I both really like the effect the bear crawl has on the musculoskeletal system.  Try it!  Once you’ve done that, start walking barefoot for a while before you jog or run.

Soft and Silent – your footfalls should be as soft and silent as possible.  In the beginning this will take conscious effort.  As you become more accustomed to being barefoot, it will become natural to land this way.

Gait is Speed-Dependent – it is perfectly natural for human beings to heel-strike when walking – at very slow speeds! The faster you go, the more you come up onto your forefoot.  Barefoot jogging is more of a mid-foot strike.  The walking “fox-walk” is a very special walk for special purposes…

Fast Turnover – the foot turnover speed for a good barefoot jog is about 180 beats per minute.  90 strikes per foot, per minute.  You can download a metronome program for your iPhone or other device, or get a runner’s metronome to help you get used to this fast cadence.

Is that it?!  Oh yeah – HAVE FUN!

A lot of people have been commenting on my pictures from the time I spent last week with the Barefoot Sensei.

“Why is he wearing shoes,” they ask?

The answer is – because it’s really cold out there!!!

Mick is the Barefoot Sensei because he believes that people have lost their primary connection in life – with the Land that supports their life.

The main way that most human beings experience the Land, most often and most easily, is through the soles of their feet.

Hence, Barefoot Sensei.

He does not require people to be barefoot, or encourage people to be barefoot all the time.

Instead, he asks people to use their mind.

The human animal is creative, crafty, and skillful.  When the habitat is dangerous, it figures out a way around that danger – whether it’s sharp rocks, sticks, thorns, or…yes, shoes.

However, another good point that Mick makes is this – no factory currently in existence (it is a possibility) can produce a shoe made for your foot.

Hence the mukluks.

For those interested, Mick recommended two sources.  The first is Steger Mukluks.  Steger was actually also recommended by Tom Brown’s school when I attended it.  The beauty of the Stegers is that they are not “custom made” (and so, relatively less expensive than others), but that they are made with traditional materials in traditional ways and so will utterly conform to the shape of your foot over time.

The second is Dave’s Shop.  This couple are friends of Mick, and hand-make moc’s and mukluks based on a mold that you create and mail to them.

Me?  I live in the City.  I buy regular shoes.  But I try to get ones that fit, that are flexible, and relatively unobtrusive to my feet – like the Vivo Barefoot…or flip flops.

Which points out another thing to consider – habitat.  If you’re in a city, you can do just as much damage to yourself as if you’re in a desert, or in a snowy area.  You need shoes when you’re in a place that might damage your feet.  Consider your habitat.

The last, and most important thing to think about when using your brain (which you’re hopefully doing now) is this tendency to say “all-or-nothing,” and/or to automatically reject things that are foreign or out of the status quo, or your comfort-zone.

Watch out for this tendency in yourself.  Shooting other people down, or crying “hypocrite” because you don’t have the patience to think through things is just as inexcusable as being dogmatic about your opinions or practice.

In fact, they’re basically the same behavior.

A recent New York Times article, Phys Ed: The Best Exercises for Healthy Bones (thanks for passing it along, Mary) declares that “the best exercise is to simply jump up and down, for as long as the downstairs neighbor will tolerate.”

Well…maybe.  But who the hell wants to do that?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  I’m really sick of reporters with no experience in the field having free reign to write whatever they want about health and exercise.

If you read the article, you’ll find that “scientists” are in dispute about how bones respond to exercise, and what type of exercise is best to build bone.

Except, that is, that explosive/heavy weightlifting builds bone well.

But cycling and running are in dispute.  In fact, running might even cause the loss of bone, when calcium lost through sweat or in metabolic processes is replaced by bone material.

Wait…hold on reporterer…go back a step…

Explosive movements and heavy weightlifting build bone.

Ok.  Well then why the heck aren’t we recommending those activities?

The best thing to do, instead, is to make a joke out of it.  “The best exercise is to simply jump up and down, for as long as the downstairs neighbor will tolerate.”

Why make a joke out of it?  “For as long as the downstairs neighbors will tolerate?”  Why are you jumping indoors?  Why aren’t you going outside and jumping?  Why are you jumping in place?  Why aren’t you running around and jumping onto and over obstacles of varying heights?

That activity also builds the skills of balance and proprioception, which might help to prevent hip fractures even more than the concomitant building of the bone itself!  If you never fall, you don’t need rock-hard hip bones.

And that’s not why I have my clients jump, and lift heavy stuff.  I’m not concerned with their bone density.  That’s a bizarre, reductionist view of the body that I don’t want to buy into.

I have them do those activities because that’s what human bodies are meant to do.

For the last time – YOU ARE AN ANIMAL! You respond best to what all animals best respond to – sunlight, clean water, un-molested foods straight from nature, and lots and lots of physical activity of all types.

The thing all of these “scientists” miss is the big picture – the human body as a whole, as an animal.

If you sit all day, your bones get weak.  If you eat a crappy diet, your bones get weak.  If you run for a long time, and don’t replenish the nutrients you’ve lost, your bones get weak.  Cycling isn’t even a weight-bearing activity, so I’m not sure why the article focuses on it so much…

Also, in response to one of the comments made by a researcher quoted in the article, I’m pretty sure there’s been research that shows that calcium lost during endurance exercise is compensated for by bone if it’s not replaced soon.  I’ll have to double-check that.  I wouldn’t be surprised, though – most researchers are so caught up in trying to keep grants rolling, etc., they don’t even know the research that has been done in the area they themselves are studying.

Which speaks to another issue I have with this type of reporting.  Science is a process of exploration.  It is curiosity.  It is asking questions and trying to find the answers.

IT IS NOT THE PLACE OF SCIENCE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS.

We put science in such a place of authority in our country that brains shut off like lights in a blackout.  I can see them all the way down the street, blinking off.  No thinking required.  Science has me covered.  The scientists will tell me the right thing to do.  The government will talk to the scientists and protect me.

Bullshit.  Turn your brain back on.

I take such offense to this, because people who don’t know any better are going to read this article, and others like it.

What is someone going to do who reads this article?  They’re going to say, “oh to hell with it…exercise isn’t helping my bones…” or “I need to jump up and down more!”  Which is silly!!!  I mean, if you’re just jumping up and down in place…ridiculous.  See the above comments about balance and proprioception and nature and the requirements of a healthy animal.

And what about the bones in your arms?  How do you get those stronger?  Jumping up and down doesn’t put any strain on your arms.

How about crawling?  Explosive pushups?  Heavy bench pressing?

Oh no…we shouldn’t do that!  Let’s just play patty-cake until the downstairs neighbors complain!

Here it is, the second installment in the FitBusters series.

In this episode, Charlie and I discuss common misconceptions about cardiovascular exercise, prevalent in the training community at large today.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zySyo2jQs4o&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

I suppose the crux is this – the human body is capable of doing ANYTHING IT CAN DO.

And, it will adapt, given that the dose isn’t fatal or toxic, and given sufficient time for recovery, to anything.

Further, and more specifically to this video, a few researchers recently have been spreading the idea around that homo sapiens evolved from homo erectus because they ran long distances.

There is nothing wrong with, or physiologically damaging in long, slow, distance cardio.  I recently started doing it myself, wearing the Vibram FiveFinger shoes, in the Marin Headlands (trail running), and will be “competing” in the NorthFace Endurance Challenge in that same area next month.

It’s a 50k (30mile) race, and I’ve never been an endurance runner.  In fact, I just started about two months ago.

What does that tell you?

It tells me that a diverse workout regimen, involving weightlifting, high intensity, low intensity, and play leads to a well-rounded organism that can tolerate new challenges well.

As far as running 20 miles every weekend…start where you are now.  But it’s not such a bad idea to find a trail within driving distance of your home, to get up early on a Saturday morning and get out of town, to get back into nature and walk or lightly jog through it, getting fresh air, beautiful views, and stress-release all at the same time.

I think you should try it.  At least once.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::