This post will try to give you a few ideas on how to get big using just calisthenics.
There are a few principles that need to be applied for getting big using bodyweight. In brief they are-
1. Perfect Form
This is important for weight training as well, but even more important with calisthenics. Many exercises don't seem to give returns simply because you are doing them with sloppy form, and in calisthenics you can't add weight (at least not correctly) to compensate for cheating. Having tight form will make you grow like a manic.
I initially had a hard time getting even basic chest development. I used to perform a lot of push ups and bech presses and nothing worked. I then, after almost a year, decided that I needed 'higher reps', so I regressed to kneeling push ups. Because of the reduced difficulty, my new form was perfect and within 4 weeks, my chest had developed quite fairly. I thought it was because of the pump I had acquired from kneeling push ups. When I moved back to normal push ups, I had become so used to performing push ups in super strict form, that I could barely perform 1/3rd of my former reps. At first I thought I had become weak, but then I realized how much perfecting my form had done. My chest growth was unbelievable, I gained 8 inches in 8 weeks. And I realized, while I was doing the same movement for the same volume, I was so much stronger. I got back to benching and my max had increased for a mere 150lbs to 250lbs doing nothing but push ups. I realize that is not a number to be proud of, but for me it was the fastest gains I had ever made. I then applied this principle to all my exercises- and the results consistently surprised me.
I regressed to bodyweight close squats and my quads gained incredible definition and grew like weeds. I tightened up my pull up form to the max and reduced my reps to a quarter and my back gained a depth I could not believe One of my friends actually asked me if I started taking steroids, because my back was visibly growing every time I met him. I don't even take multi vitamins!
I used to perform straight hanging leg raises, but once I tightened my form, I could just about manage hanging knee raises, and my obliques and abs became like rock. I got stronger.
The point is, even most of the basic calisthenic movements, are actually a whole lot harder than people think they are. Cultivate perfect form from the beginning and you will have unbelievable gains.
2. Full Body Workouts
Unlike weight training, because there is no spinal loading (bench press, squat, deadlift), calisthenics is not very stressful on the body and recovery happens pretty quickly. Because of this you can easily train any body part 3 or even 4 times a week. However, because of the same reason, while the nero muscular gains are great (a.k.a yo will get a lot stronger and more skilled), the endocrine system is not greatly stimulated, causing minimal muscle growth.
This can easily be solved by having at least one stimulation exercise every workout for your endocrine system, which will boost your growth. The 2 basics are high repetition speed squats and sprints.
The point is that if you perform a full body workout, the endocrine system has no choice but to force the body to grow. Try it yourself, even in your weight training sessions. Perform bench presses, supersetted with rows and finish off with a set of medium-heavy, high rep squats. You will immediately feel the difference in your growth rate. But because you can't split up the body parts then, you will not be able to train more than 2 times a week. This is the essence behind low frequency, full body workout systems- like dinosaur training.
However, in the case of calisthenics, as the recovery is much faster, you can safely incorporate full body workouts and workout 3-4 times a week. This way you will be able to maximize your growth.
3. Focus On the Big Three- Squats, Pull ups, Bridges
If you want to get huge, you have to squat. Without it, your endocrine system just won't react. I can't stress this enough, but the key to growth using only calisthenics, is to squat.
The second thing, that does not need as much explanation is that pull ups are important. It the best movement for the back, is the second largest calisthenics movement (after squats), and its easy to recover from. Because of this, its fairly impossible to over train the back and the legs when you work with calisthenics.
Understand what this means- you can train with two HUGE compound exercises, pretty much as much as you want, and not over train. Thus, focus on these two movements will reap huge growth.
Bridges strengthen the spine, something that is over looked by most bodyweight enthusiasts, and have an incredible cardiovascular effect. I honestly do not know if doing a set of 10 bridges is more tiring than a 100m sprint or not. They strength the cardiovascular system in a way that inreses your recovey by leaps and bounds.
Most bodyweight guys make the mistake of ignoring at least one of these exercises. And they most certainly do not perform full body workouts.
4. No more than 4, MAXIMUM 5 movements a workout
Many people make the mistake of trying too many movements with their bodyweight. Just because it is low stress, does not mean you can endlessly add movements.
Out of 4, 2 have to be out of the 'big three'. You can pick any other 2 movements you want.
5. Lots of Sets
You must work 2-3 progressively harder variations of each movement, and an appropriae number of sets must be used. For the easiest movement, 3-4 done very fast, for the medium one, 2-3 and the hardest 1-2. That will total up to anywhere between 6-9 sets per exercise. At 4-5 exercises, that is 24-45 sets a workout- a high number of sets.
This is because you need a good spectrum of intensity, so that you won't over train, yet stimulate growth. The fast high rep easy sets will hit the fast twitch fibers without fatiguing them. The heavy movements will work the strongest fibers and induce basic growth. The medium sets will bring a pump, teach you muscle awareness, and perfect your form.
It is possible to do this with calisthenics, as the recovery is easy. Do not try to consistently do this with weight training.
6. High Frequency
Every body part can, and should, be trained 2-3 times a week. This is a whole lot more than most bodybuilders do. It cannot be done with regular weight training, but can be done here.
7. At least 2 days off
You need at least 2 days of complete rest and 1 day of light exercise every week. Because you are doing so many things to increase the intensity, like full body workouts and high sets, you need days of complete rest. I would say 3 days would be a minimum, but if your sessions are easy, 2 days is acceptable.
8. Proper Rest
This goes for all training, you must sleep 8-9 hours every day, and it must be sound sleep. You also have to make an effort to properly relax.
9. Drink a lot of water
This needs no explaination- 5-6 liters is required for anyone who exercises.
10. Eat a LOT of Quality food.
I do not recommend the kind of volumes most bodybuilders tend to eat, but you do have to eat a lot if you want to grow. I find that if I exercise properly, I make gains on as little as 1 meal a day consistently. When you are trying to eat to grow, remember the following points-
a. 1 gram of protein per kg of bodyweight is a must. A lot of people will recommend more than this, nobody will recommend less. Start here, and see if you need to increase your intake.
b. A lot of vegetables and fruits must be eaten. You have to have a lot of quality nutrients in your body.
c. No Simple carbs, no processed foods or junk. I know the whole bulk and cutting story but its a load of rubbish. The guys who came up with the story (Arnold and all the guys n the 70's and 80's) would bulk with foods like fish, rice, whole bread, chicken or beef. They had nothing else. Today there are a whole lot more bulking options out there. Its really really hard to get bad weight if you eat salad with fish and rice and exercise properly. However, if you are trying to get big eating ice cream, well you will be successful, but its not what you want. Gorge on healthy foods.
d. You must have a balanced diet in terms of macro nutrients.
e. Eat a lot of vegetables.
f. Eat a lot of vegetables.
g. Eat a lot of vegetables.
11. Fast once every fort night
Its important to give your metabolism a break from all that growth once in a while, plus you need to drain your glycogen reserves and blood sugar too, and you need to detox your body too. You also need to give the digestive system a break and your catabolic processes some time to do their thing. A lot of guys will stuff themselves with more and more food to get bigger, and when the hit a wall, they stuff themselves even more. Sometimes the answer lies in giving the body sometime to recover from this abuse. Remember, catabolic processes are there for a reason, and what it does must be done.
Once every 2 weeks, eat nothing all day and drink a lt of water. t should be a day when you don't expect to be doing much. Sometimes, this simple trick will bring new growth for guys who have been stuck for months.
All right, now that we have all that sorted out, lets write out some schedules.
All the schedules I have listed are progressively harder.
The first routine is for absolute beginners. The second routine is a basic one and is worth revisiting from time to time. The last routine is for in sane gains and must be undertaken only once or twice a year.
One you start a routine. stick with it for 6-8 weeks. Also, be sure to change your routine every 6-8 weeks. Depending on how you feel, move to an easier or a harder routine, pay attention to what your body tells you in this regard. Last, but not the least, feel free to modify the routines to your needs. Please please experiment and understand what works best for you.
Beginner Routine 1-
To be used for people to rehab or people who have never exercised, or anyone over 50, trying to get back into the game.
This routine will tech you perfect technique, concentration and muscle awareness. Plus, it is gentle way to prepare your body for the basic routine (Routine 2).
Day 1-
Squats-
Use a technique with which you can do a set of 50 reps-
3 Sets of 30- The purpose of this is to perfect your technique.
Move to a technique which allows you to do a set of 15-20 reps-
2 sets of 13-18 reps- The purpose of this is to induce a pump. This is useful to build muscle awareness and concentration.
Pull Ups-
Use a technique with which you can do a set of 30 reps-
3 Sets of 20- The purpose of this is to perfect your technique.
Move to a technique which allows you to do a set of 10-12 reps-
2 sets of 9-11 reps- The purpose of this is to induce a pump. This is useful to build muscle awareness and concentration. Focus on the back.
Day 2- (same explanation for set schemes)
Bridges-
Use a technique with which you can do a set of 30 reps-
3 Sets of 20
Move to a technique which allows you to do a set of 10-12 reps-
2 sets of 9-11 reps
Push Ups-
Use a technique with which you can do a set of 50 reps-
3 Sets of 30
Move to a technique which allows you to do a set of 15-20 reps-
2 sets of 13-18 reps
Day 3- Rest
Day 4-
Pull Ups-
Use a technique with which you can do a set of 30 reps-
3 Sets of 20
Move to a technique which allows you to do a set of 10-12 reps-
2 sets of 9-11 reps
Leg Raises-
Use a technique with which you can do a set of 30 reps-
3 Sets of 20
Move to a technique which allows you to do a set of 10-12 reps-
2 sets of 9-11 reps
Day 5-
Squats-
Use a technique with which you can do a set of 50 reps-
3 Sets of 30
Move to a technique which allows you to do a set of 15-20 reps-
2 sets of 13-18 reps
Push Ups-
Use a technique with which you can do a set of 50 reps-
3 Sets of 30
Move to a technique which allows you to do a set of 15-20 reps-
2 sets of 13-18 reps
Day 6 and 7 rest
Basic Mass Routine 2-
This is a great routine to start building some real muscle. Its also a great place to come back to, after a hard routine.
Day 1-
Pull Ups-
Tech. with which you can do 30 reps.
2 sets of 20.
Tech. with which you can do 3-5 reps.
2 sets of 2-4
Tech with which you can do 12-15 reps.
1-2 sets of 11-14
Push Ups-
Tech. with which you can do 40 reps.
2 sets of 20.
Tech. with which you can do 3-5 reps.
2 sets of 2-4
Tech with which you can do 20-25 reps.
1-2 sets of 18-23
Bridges- (Already warmed up by now)
Tech. with which you can do 3-5 reps.
2 sets of 2-4
Tech with which you can do 20-25 reps.
1-2 sets of 18-23
Bodyweight Rows-
Tech with which you can do 20-25 reps.
1-2 sets of 18-23
Day 2 (Same criteria for tech selection)
Squat-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 set of 18-23
Leg Raises-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Day 3- Rest
Day 4-
Bodyweight Rows-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Push Ups-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Bridges-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Pull Ups-
1 set of 11-14
Day 5-
Same as day 2
Day 6 and 7- rest
Basic Routine 3
This is on the same lines as the previous routine, but with a lot more exercises.
Day 1-
Pull Ups-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-14
Push Ups-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Bridges-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Handstand Push Ups-
1-2 sets of 11-14
Day 2-
Squat-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 set of 18-23
Ham Glute Raises-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 set of 8-10
Bodyweight Rows-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Leg Raises-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Day 3- Rest
Day 4-
Pull Ups-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-14
Handstand Push Ups-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Bridges-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Push Ups-
1-2 sets of 11-14
Day 5- Same as day 2
Day 6 and 7- Rest
Routine 4-
This program is high frequency and should be attempted only rarely. It leads to hideous growth and is very heavy and intense.
Day 1-
Squats-
2 sets of 20
3-4 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Pull Ups-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-14
Day 2-
Push Ups-
2 sets of 20
3-4 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Bridges-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-14
Day 3-
Squats-
2 sets of 20
3-4 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Bodyweight Rows
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Day 4-
Pull Ups-
2 sets of 20
3-4 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-14
Handstand Push Ups-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-14
Day 5-
Leg Raises-
2 sets of 20
3-4 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-14
Bridges-
2 sets of 20
3-4 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-14
Ham Glute Raises-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 set of 8-10
Routine 5-
This is a very hard routine and needs plenty of rest.
Day 1-
Push Ups-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
Hand Stand Push Ups- 2 sets of 3-4
1-2 sets of 18-23 (Parallel Bar Dips)
Pull Ups-
2 sets of 2-4
Bodyweight rows- 2 sets of 3-4
1-2 sets of 18-23 (Pull Ups)
Squats-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Leg Raises
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Ham Glute Raises-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 set of 8-10
Day 2- Rest
Day 3-
Hand Stand Push Ups-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-24
Bodyweight rows-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-24
Bridges-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-24
Squats-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 18-23
Day 4- Rest
Day 5-
Push Ups-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
Hand Stand Push Ups- 2 sets of 3-4
1-2 sets of 18-23 (Parallel Bar Dips)
Pull Ups-
2 sets of 2-4
Bodyweight rows- 2 sets of 3-4
1-2 sets of 18-23 (Pull Ups)
Bridges-
2 sets of 20
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-24
Leg Raises-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 sets of 11-24
Ham Glute Raises-
2 sets of 2-4
1-2 set of 8-10
Saturday 26 January 2013
Friday 18 January 2013
Reps and Sets- For Strength
I am going to say something that is going to be considered blasphemy.
When you can perform only 1-3 reps with a certain weight (or technique), use only 1-2 sets.
When you can handle more reps, only then add sets.
Hear me out.
My theory is based on the following points-
1. Volume and Intensity
2. The Stimulus for strength
3. Neuro Muscular learning.
When something is very very hard to do, you should not do more of it, you should do less. This is because it is hard already, adding volume only adds stress. You are repeating the same work load, again and again. This creates the muscular stimulus to gain mass. This is because both the triggers for growth- intensity and volume are present. This will burn you out fast because you are doing something that is very hard, a lot. This can only lead to disaster, and periodization can only solve so much if you do this. Once something becomes easier, you can do more of it- i.e add volume. The normal approach of several sets with a max weight will only increase the amount of recovery time between sessions. If you only use 1 or 2 max effort sets a workout, you could do the same workout 3 times a week. This way you will still put in the required volume, without over training and you body will be fully compensated. This allows you to coax gains out of your body.
When the intensity is lower, you need to do more to keep getting gains, When the intensity is high, you need to do less.
What is the stimulus for strength? It is max effort. Weather you do it once or several times is not that relevant. Yes, adding sets of max effort should be a stronger stimulus, but it is not. This is because the actual intensity is the same from set to set. You are just repeating the same stimulus without giving the body time to adapt to it. You will basically just add muscular fatigue, which will stimulate growth, but not strength.
If you need to learn a movement and want to use high volumes, you must do it with low weights anyway. This will allow you to perfect your technique and form and teach your body to succeed in the movement. Then you can create the stimulus for an increase in strength by using a max set. This is a better way of neuro muscular learning, than using only high intensities. Its too hard. At the same time you must lift heavy to create the stimulus to get stronger, and also teach your body to use the patterns it has built- with heavy weights too. You must learn to demonstrate its strength.
All this requires more QUALITY PRACTICE. And the only way to do that is to have frequent sessions, with minimal fatigue. The only way to do that is to cut down on your volume per session.
Ultimately its all down to concentration. If you perform every light rep with the same focus and attention to form as a max rep, you will ingrain perfect motor patters. Than concentrated practice with a max weight will teach you to use the patterns you have built, and the strength you have gained, and stimulate an increase in strength.
A sample routine would be-
A phase with a light weight
3 x 10- 2 times a week
Work up to- 4 x 16- 1-2 times a week.
Increase the weight-
2 x 3- 4 times a week
2 x 4- 4 times a week
3 x 5- 3 times a week
3 x 6- 3 times a week
3 x 7- 2 times a week
3 x 10- 2 times a week
4 x 16- 1-2 times a week.
When you can perform only 1-3 reps with a certain weight (or technique), use only 1-2 sets.
When you can handle more reps, only then add sets.
Hear me out.
My theory is based on the following points-
1. Volume and Intensity
2. The Stimulus for strength
3. Neuro Muscular learning.
When something is very very hard to do, you should not do more of it, you should do less. This is because it is hard already, adding volume only adds stress. You are repeating the same work load, again and again. This creates the muscular stimulus to gain mass. This is because both the triggers for growth- intensity and volume are present. This will burn you out fast because you are doing something that is very hard, a lot. This can only lead to disaster, and periodization can only solve so much if you do this. Once something becomes easier, you can do more of it- i.e add volume. The normal approach of several sets with a max weight will only increase the amount of recovery time between sessions. If you only use 1 or 2 max effort sets a workout, you could do the same workout 3 times a week. This way you will still put in the required volume, without over training and you body will be fully compensated. This allows you to coax gains out of your body.
When the intensity is lower, you need to do more to keep getting gains, When the intensity is high, you need to do less.
What is the stimulus for strength? It is max effort. Weather you do it once or several times is not that relevant. Yes, adding sets of max effort should be a stronger stimulus, but it is not. This is because the actual intensity is the same from set to set. You are just repeating the same stimulus without giving the body time to adapt to it. You will basically just add muscular fatigue, which will stimulate growth, but not strength.
If you need to learn a movement and want to use high volumes, you must do it with low weights anyway. This will allow you to perfect your technique and form and teach your body to succeed in the movement. Then you can create the stimulus for an increase in strength by using a max set. This is a better way of neuro muscular learning, than using only high intensities. Its too hard. At the same time you must lift heavy to create the stimulus to get stronger, and also teach your body to use the patterns it has built- with heavy weights too. You must learn to demonstrate its strength.
All this requires more QUALITY PRACTICE. And the only way to do that is to have frequent sessions, with minimal fatigue. The only way to do that is to cut down on your volume per session.
Ultimately its all down to concentration. If you perform every light rep with the same focus and attention to form as a max rep, you will ingrain perfect motor patters. Than concentrated practice with a max weight will teach you to use the patterns you have built, and the strength you have gained, and stimulate an increase in strength.
A sample routine would be-
A phase with a light weight
3 x 10- 2 times a week
Work up to- 4 x 16- 1-2 times a week.
Increase the weight-
2 x 3- 4 times a week
2 x 4- 4 times a week
3 x 5- 3 times a week
3 x 6- 3 times a week
3 x 7- 2 times a week
3 x 10- 2 times a week
4 x 16- 1-2 times a week.
Thursday 17 January 2013
Hmmm
Yep, I need to take some time off from upper body training.
Many times doing the opposite of what you want to achieve, is what needs to be done. Want to get better at doing high repetition push ups and pull ups, and it is just not happening- maybe its time to focus on legs and perform max attempt weighted push ups and pull ups.
I call it the principle of duality. Everything in the body has a duality to it. You have antagonistic muscles, you have slow twitch and fast twitch fibers, you have catabolic and anabolic cycles, you have a sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, we could do this for days. To improve one, you sometimes have to look at the other.
Why is your body failing to anabolize? Maybe it needs a little time off to catabolize. Why can't you increase strength? Maybe because your endurance and recovery sucks and your nervous systems is fried from all the max effort squats. You get the drift. Its the basic principle of physiology. If you want a nicer sounding term, go for negative feedback loop. Maybe now it will make more sense.
Cheers.
Many times doing the opposite of what you want to achieve, is what needs to be done. Want to get better at doing high repetition push ups and pull ups, and it is just not happening- maybe its time to focus on legs and perform max attempt weighted push ups and pull ups.
I call it the principle of duality. Everything in the body has a duality to it. You have antagonistic muscles, you have slow twitch and fast twitch fibers, you have catabolic and anabolic cycles, you have a sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, we could do this for days. To improve one, you sometimes have to look at the other.
Why is your body failing to anabolize? Maybe it needs a little time off to catabolize. Why can't you increase strength? Maybe because your endurance and recovery sucks and your nervous systems is fried from all the max effort squats. You get the drift. Its the basic principle of physiology. If you want a nicer sounding term, go for negative feedback loop. Maybe now it will make more sense.
Cheers.
Tuesday 15 January 2013
A new Schedule
Yep, the last one is not working out. Not because its not giving gains, but because I am not able to devote that much time to it. Because of this, my leg raises and bridges were beginning to suffer. Also, the shortage of squats was sorely (or the lack of it) felt. Plus, I feel I absolutely have to add some calf and shin work.
So, I am going to drop dead-lifts out of my schedule. I don't think dead lifting will be the best thing for my spine at this point, plus I find that it frees up a lot of energy for other stuff. In any case, I am already doing bridges and ham glute raises, both of which seriously work the dead lifting muscles and patterns, and are my main exercises anyway. Yes, I know most people will weep at that statement, but if you can't dead lift due to a legitimate medical reason, bridges and Ham Glute Raises are the best replacement you could find. Plus they do a lot of things bridges just don't.
With that out of my conscience, I also have decided to stop barbell squats and move on in the one leg squat progressions. I am going to keep the reps high and am going to start with uneven squats, as I can already squat half my body weight with the heels touching and with a full range of motion for 100 consecutive reps, without pausing. One leg squats drain the body less too.
Anyway, here is the program-
Sun-
Standing Military Press- 3-5 sets of 5-15 reps
Bent Over Row- 3-5 Sets of 5-15 reps
Standing Military Straight Bar Curls- 2-3 sets of 5- 15 reps
One Leg Squat Progression- 3-4 Sets of 15-50 reps
Hanging Leg Raises- 2 Sets of 5-15 reps
Bridges- 2 sets of 7-20 reps
3 Sets of 15- Toe Raises and Standing Calf Raises Off a Block
Tues-
Push Ups And Pull Ups And Dips
Hanging Leg Raises- 2 Sets of 5-15 reps
Bridges- 2 sets of 7-20 reps
3 Sets of Ham Glute Raises Super setted with Grip Work
2 Sets Dumbbell Pull Overs
3 Sets of 15- Toe Raises and Standing Calf Raises Off a Block
Thurs-
Push Ups And Pull Ups And Dips
One Leg Squat Progression- 3-4 Sets of 15-50 reps
Hanging Leg Raises- 2 Sets of 5-15 reps
Bridges- 2 sets of 7-20 reps
2 Sets Dumbbell Pull Overs
3 Sets of 15- Toe Raises and Standing Calf Raises Off a Block
The First two exercises of every day will, of course be the primary exercises, and they are still push ups and pull ups.
Saturday 12 January 2013
Flexibility Training- Preventing and curing Pain and Injuries
This post is meant for my father, but can be used by anyone.
It is absolutely amazing how much people know about resistance training and how there, there is an emphasis on the principle of specificity and the basics, but when it comes to flexibility and mobility work, the exact opposite happens. The kind of flexibility you train for is the kind of flexibility you will develop. Therefore if you stretch relaxed, you will increase your flexibility in a relaxed state. If you stretch in ballistic movement, you will get better at that.
So let us get some perspective- flexibility and mobility are of the following types:
1. Passive (relaxed)
This form of stretching has only one real benefit- it teaches you how to relax. Other than that, in extreme cases it teaches your body to override normal stretching patterns and teaches your body to injure itself faster and more completely. The short version is, don't do it, unless you are trying to get rid of a lactic acid pump in your muscles. The relaxation helps in muscle awareness too.
Just imagine this, let us say some pressure (say a car) is stretching out your shoulder. Your body would normally try to overcome the resistance by contracting the chest. If the resistance is too great, the muscle would tear, allowing the joint to be saved. If you did too much passive stretching, the muscle would relax and let the shoulder be ripped out of its socket. Passive stretching only makes the pain worse, and increases the chance of injury.
Passive stretching is useful to determine muscle imbalances. For example, if you can't stretch your hamstrings, but can stretch your glutes, your hamstrings are probably weak compared to your glutes or your hip flexors are tight.
2. Active (Muscles are contracting)
This is basically the range of motion within which your joints can move through, while (the muscles) applying force. This is the most comprehensive form of flexibility, as the range within which muscles can contract, is the range within which they can do everything else too- move in a ballistic fashion, relax, overcome resistance and counter trauma.
Active stretching is the equivalent of strength training for the muscles- it has the highest carry over to all other forms of flexibility. Thus, the maximum time and effort must be spent in active stretching. Also, active stretching under load increases the strength of ligaments, tendons, bones and the strength of all soft tissues, which becomes important as age advances, AND as strength advances.
The major reason most athletes today suffer various soft tissue injuries during training and competition, is because they spend very little time developing 'sinew' strength. Thus, their muscles become stronger and stronger at an exponential rate, while the 'sinews' can't keep up. Eventually, this leads to soft tissue injury, especially when high amounts of force are generated.
It is interesting that turn of the century lifters (1900) sustained almost no injuries and had remarkable longevity. Many people competed well into their 70's- something that would be unimaginable today. Even those who went through severe trauma, retained most of their strength and would suffer almost no soft tissue damage. For Instance- Arthur Saxon's spine was run over by a 2 ton vehicle, which compelled him to be immobilized completely for 7 months. He recovered from the injury and in 3 years time, became the strongest man in the world. The reason for this is that many of the lifts that were popular at that time, were in fact incredible feats of active flexibility, which developed incredible soft tissue strength. Take a look at the following pictures of Saxon's favorite exercises.
Both these exercises require enormous amounts of strength and flexibility. This is the combination that keeps you injury and pain free. In both lifts he is handling over 300 pounds.
As a side note it is interesting to note that I adopted both these exercises for spinal flexibility before my accident, and had reached 90 kgs (200 pounds) on both lifts. My quick recovery and lack of soft tissue damage prove my point.
3. Ballistic Flexibility-
This is the range through which your body can move at high speeds. This component is important if you play a lot of quick sports. As this is a separate ability altogether, I will deal with it in a separate post. Just remember, work on active flexibility will have considerable transfer to this as well. You will still be better off focusing the majority of your time and effort in increasing your active flexibility.
There are many more types of flexibility, but for programming purposes, this much info is enough.
Now just like strength training, you cannot do too many exercises for flexibility and expect to make progress. Active flexibility, just like basic strength, is worked best when done for low repetitions, high effort, with a focus on just a few basic movements.
So, what are the basic movements? To judge this, let us consider the major joints of the body-
1. Spine - Not exactly a joint, but you know what I mean.
2. Hips
3. Knees
4. Ankles
5. Wrists
6. Elbows
7. Shoulders
8. Rib Cage- Again not exactly a joint, but flexibility here is important.
9. Neck
Each of these joints need to be flexible in various directions. We need to construct a set of active flexibility exercises that can work all these joints, from every direction, thoroughly, with the least number of movements. The most efficient set of exercises I have been able to create (which I used before the accident), are-
The only shortcoming in this set is shoulder extension and elbow flex-ion both of which are strongly worked by the dip, but then a back exercise would have to be added (like the chin up) and this will go down the dangerous path of becoming a strength training program and not a flexibility program. So we will limit our exercises to these 6.
All exercises must be progressively mastered. All most be performed slowly and deliberately with no bouncing for the dynamic movements, and a good pause at the extreme points.
Real focus must be on contracting the muscles that are supposed to be contracting, and stretching the joints that are supposed to be stretching. This focus is the real key. If you don't do this, you will, after some experience, be able to perform some of the movements by relaxing into them. This is a bad habit and can only be countered by focus and concentration.
Do not be in a hurry to move to harder steps, move to them only after you are really sure you have mastered the previous ones. Remember, the harder steps are not going anywhere. Provided you do not suffer from a permanent disability and are not over 60, the highest variations of each exercise should be achievable for everybody, provided you stay consistent. The good part about flexibility and 'sinews' training is that you can't really burn out on it, the neuro muscular system is hardly taxed.
Be sure to keep a note book in which you record each and every workout you do. The objective must be to improve the numbers, however slightly, every week. This is critical, as otherwise you will use subjective feelings to decide if you are making progress. Improvement in every movement can be measured strictly by numbers, and that should be the way it must be measured.
All right on to the exercises-
1. The Bridge-
General Points-
Breathe Evenly.
Really focus on forming a nice tight arch at the top, by contracting your glutes AND THEN your spine in ALL movements.
Focus on all the joints.
Really ensure that the muscles that are supposed to be contracting are.
Really focus on stretching the muscles in the front of the thigh. This is absolutely critical.
Perform Full Repetitions- Go All the way up, hold for a second, go down as much as you are supposed to.
If your wrist bothers you, you can use push up bars to hold onto. It will make the bridge slightly harder though. Just make sure the fingers (if they were extended) are always pointing towards the toes.
Step 1.
Short Bridges-
Toes pointing slightly outwards.
Keep the entire foot flat at all times.
Feet Shoulder Width
Master For 3 sets of 40.
Start- 10x2
Work Up to-
20x3
Work Up to-
40x3
Step 2-
Stool Bridges
Head Must Clear The Bed/Stool/Bench
Elbows Slightly outwards
Te object you use must be about knee height
Start- 8x1
Work to-
10x2
Work to-
15x3
Work to-
20x3 and move to the next step
Step 3-
Head Bridges
The First Rep Will be from a dead start from the floor.
Maintain the arch through out.
Gently touch your head to the ground.
Elbows will now be parallel.
Start- 8x1
Work to- 10x2
Work to- 12x3
Work to- 15x3
Move to the Next Technique
Step 4-
Full Bridges
Start 5x1
15x3 would be mastery
This can be made harder (if desired) by placing the feet on a slightly elevated object.
2. Twist Hold-
General Points-
Focus on all the joints.
Really ensure that the muscles that are supposed to be contracting are.
Step 1-
Ordinary Twist Hold
Focus on the twist of the torso and the elbow pressing on the knee
Look powerfully to the side, keep your body tight.
Your heel should be on the outside of the opposite knee.
If you find this too hard, you can straighten the leg on the ground. Once you get to 15secs x 5, you can come to this technique.
Start- 5sec each side x 3
Work to- 8sec each side x 4
Work to- 10sec each side x 5
Work to- 12sec each side x 5
Move to the next technique
Step 2-
Hard Twist Hold
Grab the ankle with your hand.
Start- 5sec each side x 3
Work to- 8sec each side x 4
Work to- 10sec each side x 5
Work to- 12sec each side x 5
Step 3-
Half Twist Hold-
The further apart your hands are along the towel, the easier it will be. Every time you hit the progression standard, get the hands closer together by 2 inchs.
Start- 5sec each side x 3
Work to- 8sec each side x 4
Work to- 10sec each side x 5
Work to- 12sec each side x 5
Full Twist Hold-
Start- 5sec each side x 3
Work to- 8sec each side x 4
Work to- 10sec each side x 5
Work to- 12sec each side x 5
This can be made harder, if required, by gripping higher up.
3. L-Sits
L sits are pretty self explanatory, just remember, mastering this exercise will give you grand abdominal strength and hamstring and hip flexibility. Plus its cool and very achievable for anyone within a few months of training.
Step 1
Tuck Sit
You can use the edge of the bed, or a chair with arm rests to do this.
Start- 20s x 1
Work to-30s x 2
Work to- 40s x 3
Work to- 50s x 4
Move to the next technique
Step 2-
Straight Leg Hold
Make sure no part of your body except your hands is in contact with the chair.
Knees should be locked.
Use a chair about knee height.
Start- 20s x 1
Work to-30s x 2
Work to- 40s x 3
Work to- 50s x 4
Move to the next technique.
Step 3-
N- Sit
If your wrists bother you, you can use push up handles.
Start- 20s x 1
Work to-30s x 2
Work to- 40s x 3
Work to- 50s x 4
Move to the next technique.
Step 4-
Staggered Sit
Alternate Sides between sides.
Start- 10s x 2
Work to-20s x 4
Work to- 30s x 4
Work to- 40s x 4
Work to- 50s x 6
Move to the next technique.
Step 5-
L-Sit
Start- 10s x 1
Work to-20s x 2
Work to- 30s x 3
Work to- 40s x 3
Work to- 50s x 4
The Squat-
General Guidelines
It is absolutely amazing how much people know about resistance training and how there, there is an emphasis on the principle of specificity and the basics, but when it comes to flexibility and mobility work, the exact opposite happens. The kind of flexibility you train for is the kind of flexibility you will develop. Therefore if you stretch relaxed, you will increase your flexibility in a relaxed state. If you stretch in ballistic movement, you will get better at that.
So let us get some perspective- flexibility and mobility are of the following types:
1. Passive (relaxed)
This form of stretching has only one real benefit- it teaches you how to relax. Other than that, in extreme cases it teaches your body to override normal stretching patterns and teaches your body to injure itself faster and more completely. The short version is, don't do it, unless you are trying to get rid of a lactic acid pump in your muscles. The relaxation helps in muscle awareness too.
Just imagine this, let us say some pressure (say a car) is stretching out your shoulder. Your body would normally try to overcome the resistance by contracting the chest. If the resistance is too great, the muscle would tear, allowing the joint to be saved. If you did too much passive stretching, the muscle would relax and let the shoulder be ripped out of its socket. Passive stretching only makes the pain worse, and increases the chance of injury.
Passive stretching is useful to determine muscle imbalances. For example, if you can't stretch your hamstrings, but can stretch your glutes, your hamstrings are probably weak compared to your glutes or your hip flexors are tight.
2. Active (Muscles are contracting)
This is basically the range of motion within which your joints can move through, while (the muscles) applying force. This is the most comprehensive form of flexibility, as the range within which muscles can contract, is the range within which they can do everything else too- move in a ballistic fashion, relax, overcome resistance and counter trauma.
Active stretching is the equivalent of strength training for the muscles- it has the highest carry over to all other forms of flexibility. Thus, the maximum time and effort must be spent in active stretching. Also, active stretching under load increases the strength of ligaments, tendons, bones and the strength of all soft tissues, which becomes important as age advances, AND as strength advances.
The major reason most athletes today suffer various soft tissue injuries during training and competition, is because they spend very little time developing 'sinew' strength. Thus, their muscles become stronger and stronger at an exponential rate, while the 'sinews' can't keep up. Eventually, this leads to soft tissue injury, especially when high amounts of force are generated.
It is interesting that turn of the century lifters (1900) sustained almost no injuries and had remarkable longevity. Many people competed well into their 70's- something that would be unimaginable today. Even those who went through severe trauma, retained most of their strength and would suffer almost no soft tissue damage. For Instance- Arthur Saxon's spine was run over by a 2 ton vehicle, which compelled him to be immobilized completely for 7 months. He recovered from the injury and in 3 years time, became the strongest man in the world. The reason for this is that many of the lifts that were popular at that time, were in fact incredible feats of active flexibility, which developed incredible soft tissue strength. Take a look at the following pictures of Saxon's favorite exercises.
Both these exercises require enormous amounts of strength and flexibility. This is the combination that keeps you injury and pain free. In both lifts he is handling over 300 pounds.
As a side note it is interesting to note that I adopted both these exercises for spinal flexibility before my accident, and had reached 90 kgs (200 pounds) on both lifts. My quick recovery and lack of soft tissue damage prove my point.
3. Ballistic Flexibility-
This is the range through which your body can move at high speeds. This component is important if you play a lot of quick sports. As this is a separate ability altogether, I will deal with it in a separate post. Just remember, work on active flexibility will have considerable transfer to this as well. You will still be better off focusing the majority of your time and effort in increasing your active flexibility.
There are many more types of flexibility, but for programming purposes, this much info is enough.
Now just like strength training, you cannot do too many exercises for flexibility and expect to make progress. Active flexibility, just like basic strength, is worked best when done for low repetitions, high effort, with a focus on just a few basic movements.
So, what are the basic movements? To judge this, let us consider the major joints of the body-
1. Spine - Not exactly a joint, but you know what I mean.
2. Hips
3. Knees
4. Ankles
5. Wrists
6. Elbows
7. Shoulders
8. Rib Cage- Again not exactly a joint, but flexibility here is important.
9. Neck
Each of these joints need to be flexible in various directions. We need to construct a set of active flexibility exercises that can work all these joints, from every direction, thoroughly, with the least number of movements. The most efficient set of exercises I have been able to create (which I used before the accident), are-
No. And Name
|
Joints Worked
|
Muscles That Contract
|
1.
The Gymnasts Bridge/The Back Bend/ The
chakrasana
|
Spine (extension), Hip (extension), Shoulder (extension), Rib Cage
(extension), Wrist And Fingers (extension)
|
All the Spinal Erectors, The Glutes, The hamstrings, The Finger
Extensors, The Shoulder Blade Retractors
|
2.
The Twist Hold
|
Spine (lateral rotation), Hip (abduction and adduction), Rib Cage, Shoulders
(adduction and abduction), Knees (flexion)
|
Spinal Erectors, All the muscles of the shoulder girdle, Obliques,
all the hip muscles
|
3.
L- Sit
|
Spine (flexion), Hip (flexion), Knee (extension)
|
All the core muscles and the abs, the quadriceps, the shoulders and
lats
|
4.
The Squat (Heels Flat)
|
Spine, Hips (flexion, adduction), Ankles (Doriflexion)
|
The Quads, The Hamstrings, The Tibia and the shin, the calves, the
Glutes, the Hip Flexors, the Abs
|
5.
Sit And Reach
|
Rib Cage (flexion), Spine (flexion), Hips (flexion), Shoulder
(shoulder blades)
|
The abs, the serratus, the hip flexors
|
6.
Isometric Neck Press
|
The Neck
|
All the Neck Muscles
|
The only shortcoming in this set is shoulder extension and elbow flex-ion both of which are strongly worked by the dip, but then a back exercise would have to be added (like the chin up) and this will go down the dangerous path of becoming a strength training program and not a flexibility program. So we will limit our exercises to these 6.
All exercises must be progressively mastered. All most be performed slowly and deliberately with no bouncing for the dynamic movements, and a good pause at the extreme points.
Real focus must be on contracting the muscles that are supposed to be contracting, and stretching the joints that are supposed to be stretching. This focus is the real key. If you don't do this, you will, after some experience, be able to perform some of the movements by relaxing into them. This is a bad habit and can only be countered by focus and concentration.
Do not be in a hurry to move to harder steps, move to them only after you are really sure you have mastered the previous ones. Remember, the harder steps are not going anywhere. Provided you do not suffer from a permanent disability and are not over 60, the highest variations of each exercise should be achievable for everybody, provided you stay consistent. The good part about flexibility and 'sinews' training is that you can't really burn out on it, the neuro muscular system is hardly taxed.
Be sure to keep a note book in which you record each and every workout you do. The objective must be to improve the numbers, however slightly, every week. This is critical, as otherwise you will use subjective feelings to decide if you are making progress. Improvement in every movement can be measured strictly by numbers, and that should be the way it must be measured.
All right on to the exercises-
1. The Bridge-
General Points-
Breathe Evenly.
Really focus on forming a nice tight arch at the top, by contracting your glutes AND THEN your spine in ALL movements.
Focus on all the joints.
Really ensure that the muscles that are supposed to be contracting are.
Really focus on stretching the muscles in the front of the thigh. This is absolutely critical.
Perform Full Repetitions- Go All the way up, hold for a second, go down as much as you are supposed to.
If your wrist bothers you, you can use push up bars to hold onto. It will make the bridge slightly harder though. Just make sure the fingers (if they were extended) are always pointing towards the toes.
Step 1.
Short Bridges-
Keep the entire foot flat at all times.
Feet Shoulder Width
Master For 3 sets of 40.
Start- 10x2
Work Up to-
20x3
Work Up to-
40x3
Step 2-
Stool Bridges
Elbows Slightly outwards
Te object you use must be about knee height
Start- 8x1
Work to-
10x2
Work to-
15x3
Work to-
20x3 and move to the next step
Step 3-
Head Bridges
Maintain the arch through out.
Gently touch your head to the ground.
Elbows will now be parallel.
Start- 8x1
Work to- 10x2
Work to- 12x3
Work to- 15x3
Move to the Next Technique
Step 4-
Full Bridges
15x3 would be mastery
This can be made harder (if desired) by placing the feet on a slightly elevated object.
2. Twist Hold-
General Points-
Focus on all the joints.
Really ensure that the muscles that are supposed to be contracting are.
Step 1-
Ordinary Twist Hold
Look powerfully to the side, keep your body tight.
Your heel should be on the outside of the opposite knee.
If you find this too hard, you can straighten the leg on the ground. Once you get to 15secs x 5, you can come to this technique.
Start- 5sec each side x 3
Work to- 8sec each side x 4
Work to- 10sec each side x 5
Work to- 12sec each side x 5
Move to the next technique
Step 2-
Hard Twist Hold
Start- 5sec each side x 3
Work to- 8sec each side x 4
Work to- 10sec each side x 5
Work to- 12sec each side x 5
Step 3-
Half Twist Hold-
Start- 5sec each side x 3
Work to- 8sec each side x 4
Work to- 10sec each side x 5
Work to- 12sec each side x 5
Full Twist Hold-
Start- 5sec each side x 3
Work to- 8sec each side x 4
Work to- 10sec each side x 5
Work to- 12sec each side x 5
This can be made harder, if required, by gripping higher up.
3. L-Sits
L sits are pretty self explanatory, just remember, mastering this exercise will give you grand abdominal strength and hamstring and hip flexibility. Plus its cool and very achievable for anyone within a few months of training.
Step 1
Tuck Sit
Start- 20s x 1
Work to-30s x 2
Work to- 40s x 3
Work to- 50s x 4
Move to the next technique
Step 2-
Straight Leg Hold
Knees should be locked.
Use a chair about knee height.
Start- 20s x 1
Work to-30s x 2
Work to- 40s x 3
Work to- 50s x 4
Move to the next technique.
Step 3-
N- Sit
Start- 20s x 1
Work to-30s x 2
Work to- 40s x 3
Work to- 50s x 4
Move to the next technique.
Step 4-
Staggered Sit
Start- 10s x 2
Work to-20s x 4
Work to- 30s x 4
Work to- 40s x 4
Work to- 50s x 6
Move to the next technique.
Step 5-
L-Sit
Start- 10s x 1
Work to-20s x 2
Work to- 30s x 3
Work to- 40s x 3
Work to- 50s x 4
The Squat-
General Guidelines
Stand
Tall with your legs shoulder width apart or a little wider, with your toes
pointing slightly outwards. Keep your eyes on an object about the same level as
your eyes throughout and don't swing your arms (Does Not apply to the first step).
Do not let your heels off the ground.
You will
have to bend forwards slightly, but don’t bow forwards.
Descend in a controlled
fashion until your hamstrings touch your calves.
Pause for a second, don’t just
bounce back up.
Press in order to come back to the start position.
Straighten your legs out fully at the top before repeating.
Your knees should move in line
with your toes, do not let them track inwards.
Step 1-
Jack Knife Squats
Use a bench or object that is knee height.
Focus on contracting the tibia and the shin muscles to move the shin forward. Remember, the ankle movement is of paramount importance here. This goes for all variations of squats. In the first rep of every set, rock side-to-side at the bottom of your squat to open up the ankles.
Grab the object with an overhand grip.
Try to not depend on the object to prevent yourself from falling backwards, move your shin forward to prevent it. Still you will have to grab on to prevent falling back.
Start with- 15 x 2
Work to- 20 x 3
Work to- 30 x 3
Work to- 40 x 3
Move on to the next technique.
Step 2
Supported Squats
Use an object waist height.
Start- 20 x 1
Work to- 25 x 2
Work to- 30 x 3
Move on to the next technique.
Step 3
Half Squats
Go down till the thighs are parallel to the ground.
Start with- 15 x 2
Work to- 20 x 3
Work to- 30 x 3
Work to- 40 x 3
Move on to the next technique.
Step 4-
Full Squats
Start- 20 x 1
Work to- 25 x 2
Work to- 30 x 3
Refer to the my post on the Squat to learn how to go beyond this.
5. Sit And Reach
Simply sit on the ground with your legs together, straight out in front of you. Reach out forward stretching your spine and your hips. Get to a point you can comfortably hold with abdominal contraction, and hold for a few seconds. Focus on separating your shoulder blades and rounding your spine. Try to go lower every workout.
6. Neck Press
Place the palm of your hand on your forehead and tilt your neck backwards until you are looking at the sky. Then press you palm against your forehead with your neck trying to get straight. Press for 10 seconds, 3 times. Do the same thing with your palm behind your head and your neck titled forwards, with you looking at the ground.
How to put these exercises together-
For the middle aged man and the weight lifter, the following stretching program should work excellently-
3 workouts a week- Say Mon, Wed, Fri.
Each workout-
Begin with Squats
Move on to Twist Holds
Move on to Sit And Reach
Move on to L-Sits
Move on to Bridges
Finish with Neck Presses
All the above must be finished within 40-45mins.
The middle aged man who is trying to maintain some good strength, would be well advised to follow up this flexibility workout with the following 3 exercises with dumbbells-
Standing Military Press-
Let the wrists rotate in a natural fashion. The elbows will want to point forward, and at the top the palms will want to face forward.
Lockout at the top for a full second.
Keep the bells shoulder width.
Start with a weight you can press for 5 reps (last rep should be a small struggle), for 2 sets.
Work to- 7 x 2 (same weight)
Work to- 8 x 3 (same weight)
Work to- 10 x 3 (same weight)
Work to- 12 x 3 (same weight)
Now increase the weight of the bells to a weight you can handle for 5 reps x 2, and start over.
One arm Dumbbell Row-
Pull the bell to the lower part of the stomach. Focus on moving the humerus behind the body, do not use the biceps to row the weight.
Start with a weight you can row for 5 reps (last rep should be a small struggle), for 2 sets.
Work to- 7 x 2 (same weight)
Work to- 8 x 3 (same weight)
Work to- 10 x 3 (same weight)
Work to- 12 x 3 (same weight)
Now increase the weight of the bells to a weight you can handle for 5 reps x 2, and start over.
Standing Bicep Curls-
At the bottom, the palms should be facing each other. As the bells rise, they should rotate. Around the halfway point, the palms should be facing upwards, and should stay like that all the way till the top.
Do not swing the bells.
Do not let the elbows move behind the body.
Do not let the body rock back and forth.
Keep the body tight.
Start with a weight you can curl for 5 reps (last rep should be a small struggle), for 2 sets.
Work to- 7 x 2 (same weight)
Work to- 8 x 3 (same weight)
Work to- 10 x 3 (same weight)
Work to- 12 x 3 (same weight)
Now increase the weight of the bells to a weight you can handle for 5 reps x 2, and start over.
If you are going to perform the dumbbell exercises, the total workout must not cross 50mins - 1 hour. You must also eat within 30mins of finishing the workout.
Good luck!
Variety In Training
This post is basically about how the principle of specificity should be applied. Basically, you get better at what you do, because the body does not recognize your lifting as 'working out', but as practice. Working out develops your muscles, but also develops your neuro muscular system, which is basically what is responsible for increases in strength. Yes, a muscle with a larger cross sectional area is stronger, but the nervous system which can use the existing muscles better is even stronger. At best, even the most well trained of us can use only 40% of our existing 'strength' potential. Thus it is important to practice strength (high frequency, high weights, perfect technique, intelligent movements, per session fatigue should be low). However, if you do what you have always done, you will get what you always got. If your present methods and exercises are not increasing your strength, you have to change them. This happens because the learning curve of the nervous system on that movement has become flat, and you need to do something new to revive the nervous system.
However, if you do something that is drastically different the strength gained from that movement will not transfer to the original movement you wanted to improve. Fortunately strength gains happen from movements that are in the 20 % range of difference from it. So that gives us a lot of scope for change. You must choose exercises that are different enough to stimulate gains, and similar enough to be meaningful.
For example, good alternatives for the bench press could be- Incline presses and decline presses (basically same movement from different angles), standing military press (similar movement but totally different patterns), dips, push ups and one arm push ups. Bad substitutes would be dumbbell flys, tricep extensions, skull crushers, lateral and front raises.
However, you must always remember not too get too distracted with the new movements, and always keep your eyes on the main lift you are trying to improve.
Calisthenics, in this respect, has a natural evolution to it. Every time you increase the intensity, you not only increase the resistance, but you also modify the technique. Thus every step of a progression is in fact a new movement. As you move up a movement whenever you feel the current movement is no longer giving you anything, there is a natural level of variety that ensures you never go stale. Also, because of this, by the time you reach an advanced level in any movement, you would have done it in every possible way, leading to a balanced level of strength.
Even if you are a guy who needs to train with weights, like a weightlifter or a power-lifter using bodyweight substitutes for your movements an ensure you get the variety you need and the degree of useful gains required. If your bench is stuck, try going for a push up program for a few weeks. If you squat is stuck try pistol squats, If your deadlifts are stuck, try ham glute raises. All these are good to give the necessary change and will have a good transfer to your competition lifts.
Just remember, have fun and keep everything in perspective.
However, if you do something that is drastically different the strength gained from that movement will not transfer to the original movement you wanted to improve. Fortunately strength gains happen from movements that are in the 20 % range of difference from it. So that gives us a lot of scope for change. You must choose exercises that are different enough to stimulate gains, and similar enough to be meaningful.
For example, good alternatives for the bench press could be- Incline presses and decline presses (basically same movement from different angles), standing military press (similar movement but totally different patterns), dips, push ups and one arm push ups. Bad substitutes would be dumbbell flys, tricep extensions, skull crushers, lateral and front raises.
However, you must always remember not too get too distracted with the new movements, and always keep your eyes on the main lift you are trying to improve.
Calisthenics, in this respect, has a natural evolution to it. Every time you increase the intensity, you not only increase the resistance, but you also modify the technique. Thus every step of a progression is in fact a new movement. As you move up a movement whenever you feel the current movement is no longer giving you anything, there is a natural level of variety that ensures you never go stale. Also, because of this, by the time you reach an advanced level in any movement, you would have done it in every possible way, leading to a balanced level of strength.
Even if you are a guy who needs to train with weights, like a weightlifter or a power-lifter using bodyweight substitutes for your movements an ensure you get the variety you need and the degree of useful gains required. If your bench is stuck, try going for a push up program for a few weeks. If you squat is stuck try pistol squats, If your deadlifts are stuck, try ham glute raises. All these are good to give the necessary change and will have a good transfer to your competition lifts.
Just remember, have fun and keep everything in perspective.
Sunday 6 January 2013
Flicking Your Muscles
A lot is spoken in weightlifting and bodybuilding and even Tai Chi circles about the mind body connection. It is a universal obsession! If you can get your mind into your muscles, they will obey you like trained dogs! Entire exercise systems have been built around this concept- the most dramatic perhaps the Charles Atlas Dynamic Tension Method. Why is there so much talk about this?
Because it works- to an extent. The real point is that your body must either be coaxed into adapting or forced into adapting. Frankly both work, though there are die hard proponents in each camp. Pavel is the most well known of the coaxing camp and Brooks Kublik is probably the most well known of the forcing camp, though frankly I would say any of the high frequency programs out there force changes. Most people try to force changes, as do most programs.
Here is the thing- forcing changes works great if you want to increase one aspect of your strength at a time, and want to do it in short time. The problem is that gains from this approach burn out fast, then you have to shift to working on a different aspect of your strength, and then come back. FORCING CHANGES MAKES PERIODIZATION INDISPENSABLE. This is not a bad thing, just one of the things you should know.
At the same time, coaxing changes works great if you want to get into, or come back from forcing changes and/or just want to improve several things at once. The main benefit of this method is that you can use the same method almost indefinitely, and can eventually improve a lot of things overall.
So which is best? That's right, neither! Because you can always switch between them as per your requirements. Basically in times of increased stress, settle for coaxing changes, and build an overall base. When you have the time, spot your weaknesses, and force them to change.
The point is- both work great, provided you can FOCUS ON WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Why? Because ultimately the muscle that will work will always be the muscle you (sub consciously) are focused on, and will do it using the aspect of strength you want to use.
Let's try to understand this. Let us say your are performing bent over rows. You are supposed to be pulling with your lats and upper back muscles. But you can only feel out your biceps and a bit of your lats. Your mind is in your biceps. So no matter how perfectly you row the weight, your biceps and lats will always do most of it and your upper back will never really contribute- they way it should. And because you do this, your lats and biceps will be sore/pumped, which just helps you feel them more, making matters worse. The point is, no matter how hard you try, until you think about your upper back, and can feel the upper back muscles pulling, and really focus on their movement- their contribution will remain minimal, because your nervous system just uses that body part which it is best at using- you have to teach it to use the other parts too.
Once this learning happens, it will always remain- once you get the hang of getting your upper back to do the job, it will always do it. The point is, for your efforts to be successful, the correct Motor patterns must be used! And the only way to reprogram your motor patterns is to focus on the muscles AND the movement. It does not matter if you are forcing or coaxing changes, the correct change will not happen unless the body can understand what you are trying to do. The body will know if you are rowing it only if you tell it again and again until it gets it. This is also the reason why initially while you are working any exercise, you must use high repetitions- that is the only way your body will learn it perfectly! This does not mean that you need to reduce volume later btw. That depends on your objectives.
Let me give you a more subtle example of this. You will find that one limb is always stronger than to other, and no matter how much unilateral work you do, they just won't even out. This is because the problem is not the amount of work the limbs are doing (they are never that different), but the fact that your mind is in your dominant limb! Therefore it always does a greater amount of work and just produces more force when you want it to because you can use it better! You nervous system can get more out of it!
Try this experiment- if you have an inch difference between your arms, start a course of simple barbell curls and close grip bench presses with all your usual work. Now make just one change- you will perform both these exercises with your eyes closed and all your focus and attention on the weaker arm. You should literally only feel that arm moving, don't let your mind wander to the other arm. In 3-4 months time, both your arms will be bigger and the same size and strength. It will work much better than all the unilateral work you may ever put in. Try it and see.Its simple.
You body always responds according to this. Focus on the muscles and your muscles will grow. Focus on the movement and your movement will improve. Focus on a particular part of the ROM and that will improve. Do your movements mechanically and you will work endurance. Do them using a full muscle contraction and your nervous system will be stimulated. The adaptation will be what you want it to be- as long as your focus on it. Try it.
Every day, to build that link, pick any one muscle in your body, and keep flicking it all day. You will understand how to contract that muscle. The next time you workout, you will see the difference it will make. The stimulation it will receive will be unbelievable.
Good luck.
Because it works- to an extent. The real point is that your body must either be coaxed into adapting or forced into adapting. Frankly both work, though there are die hard proponents in each camp. Pavel is the most well known of the coaxing camp and Brooks Kublik is probably the most well known of the forcing camp, though frankly I would say any of the high frequency programs out there force changes. Most people try to force changes, as do most programs.
Here is the thing- forcing changes works great if you want to increase one aspect of your strength at a time, and want to do it in short time. The problem is that gains from this approach burn out fast, then you have to shift to working on a different aspect of your strength, and then come back. FORCING CHANGES MAKES PERIODIZATION INDISPENSABLE. This is not a bad thing, just one of the things you should know.
At the same time, coaxing changes works great if you want to get into, or come back from forcing changes and/or just want to improve several things at once. The main benefit of this method is that you can use the same method almost indefinitely, and can eventually improve a lot of things overall.
So which is best? That's right, neither! Because you can always switch between them as per your requirements. Basically in times of increased stress, settle for coaxing changes, and build an overall base. When you have the time, spot your weaknesses, and force them to change.
The point is- both work great, provided you can FOCUS ON WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Why? Because ultimately the muscle that will work will always be the muscle you (sub consciously) are focused on, and will do it using the aspect of strength you want to use.
Let's try to understand this. Let us say your are performing bent over rows. You are supposed to be pulling with your lats and upper back muscles. But you can only feel out your biceps and a bit of your lats. Your mind is in your biceps. So no matter how perfectly you row the weight, your biceps and lats will always do most of it and your upper back will never really contribute- they way it should. And because you do this, your lats and biceps will be sore/pumped, which just helps you feel them more, making matters worse. The point is, no matter how hard you try, until you think about your upper back, and can feel the upper back muscles pulling, and really focus on their movement- their contribution will remain minimal, because your nervous system just uses that body part which it is best at using- you have to teach it to use the other parts too.
Once this learning happens, it will always remain- once you get the hang of getting your upper back to do the job, it will always do it. The point is, for your efforts to be successful, the correct Motor patterns must be used! And the only way to reprogram your motor patterns is to focus on the muscles AND the movement. It does not matter if you are forcing or coaxing changes, the correct change will not happen unless the body can understand what you are trying to do. The body will know if you are rowing it only if you tell it again and again until it gets it. This is also the reason why initially while you are working any exercise, you must use high repetitions- that is the only way your body will learn it perfectly! This does not mean that you need to reduce volume later btw. That depends on your objectives.
Let me give you a more subtle example of this. You will find that one limb is always stronger than to other, and no matter how much unilateral work you do, they just won't even out. This is because the problem is not the amount of work the limbs are doing (they are never that different), but the fact that your mind is in your dominant limb! Therefore it always does a greater amount of work and just produces more force when you want it to because you can use it better! You nervous system can get more out of it!
Try this experiment- if you have an inch difference between your arms, start a course of simple barbell curls and close grip bench presses with all your usual work. Now make just one change- you will perform both these exercises with your eyes closed and all your focus and attention on the weaker arm. You should literally only feel that arm moving, don't let your mind wander to the other arm. In 3-4 months time, both your arms will be bigger and the same size and strength. It will work much better than all the unilateral work you may ever put in. Try it and see.Its simple.
You body always responds according to this. Focus on the muscles and your muscles will grow. Focus on the movement and your movement will improve. Focus on a particular part of the ROM and that will improve. Do your movements mechanically and you will work endurance. Do them using a full muscle contraction and your nervous system will be stimulated. The adaptation will be what you want it to be- as long as your focus on it. Try it.
Every day, to build that link, pick any one muscle in your body, and keep flicking it all day. You will understand how to contract that muscle. The next time you workout, you will see the difference it will make. The stimulation it will receive will be unbelievable.
Good luck.
Random Thoughts About Training
I was thinking a lot about the different qualities of strength and fitness and thought that a person's strength (overall) could probably be best judged by a combination of factors. Let us say we have 5 basic factors-
1. Maximal Strength - This would have 2 components- The load used and the ROM used. For example a 500 lb squat ass-to-grass would signify greater strength than a 500 lb squat breaking parallel, and even more strength than a parallel squat. This would mean that strength is load + Active Flexibility, in which you can use that strength. Otherwise a headstand push up would be the same as a full ROM handstand push up.
2. Power- This would be speed plus rate of strength development. Essentially how fast you can move your body and how fast you can develop force. For example- a 500 lb squat performed in 2 seconds is much harder than a 500 lb squat performed in 4 seconds.
3. Strength Endurance- This would be the number of times a certain load can be lifted. Only consecutive reps count in this regard.
4. Muscle Recovery And Nervous Recovery- This is the amount of time its takes your muscular and nervous system to recover from a workout. The shorter the better.
5. Cardiovascular Health- This would be a function of your maximum heart rate, your stroke volume and your resting pulse and Blood pressure.
6. Digestive Health- This depends on the regularity of motions and the amount of food you are able to digest (protein, mineral, nutrient uptake).
Most people say that the development of strength and strength-endurance is counter productive to each other. The 2 mains reasons are-
1. They use different types of muscle fibers
2. They have different neuro muscular effects.
The basic theory is that if fast twitch muscle fibers are trained more and harder, eventually slow twitch muscle units will become fast twitch. This is supposed to be a good thing because they have greater hypertrophy ability and max strength and speed ability. On the downside they tire A LOT faster.
In my mind, both are important. You need the max strength, and very frankly even minor improvements in slow fiber strength translates into a lot of daily carry over. The thing is, both can (and should be) improved together. They main reason people are unable to do both together is because the strain of doing both things together, is too much for the body to recover from, so if emphasis is on one, the other suffers.
This can be avoided, by keeping the effects of each mode of training primarily different. If workouts are not more than 3 times a week, than both fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers can be trained in the same workout in the following manner-
For Workout 1 and 2-
Pick 2 upper body movements and 1 core movement on which you want to build strength endurance.
Pick 1 heavy lower body lift for the development of max strength (this will also contribute to speed, when lifted with an emphasis on speed).
Pick one lower body lift for speed if you feel you need it. (unless you are lifting more than twice your body weight in the deadlift and the squat, this won't be necessary as max strength will work speed too at this point)
The trick is to pick strength endurance movements (or weights) of which you can perform more than 10 reps a set in. This keeps the effect primarily muscular, not straining the nervous system.
Then use a weight in the heavy movement that you can handle for no more than a double (this all excludes warm ups of course- ideally your strength endurance work should be enough to warm up). This will keep the effect primarily neural.
This way you have a moderate amount of muscular and a moderate amount of nervous stress- enough to develop both qualities a little- but not enough to not let you recover at all. The total improvement overall will be slight, but definite and holistic. The trick to progressing on such a system would be HOLDING BACK! Do not let the stress accumulate beyond your recovery ability, which will hinder either one quality.
For workout 3, do the opposite- 2 lower body strength endurance movements, and 2 upper body strength
movements (one for the lats and back, one for the pecs, triceps and deltoids).
For cardio- a set of 5 sprints twice a week is more than enough. Sprints are the most effecient form of cardio, and do not compromise your strength efforts. Also, the the neurological and Endocrinol effects of sprinting improve your recovery ability and generally refresh the body and promote strength.
And go on a fast once a month! Have nothing but water and fresh vegetables for a day. This clears up everything in your digestive system- gives it a break, increases your nutritional uptake and improves your elimination. Also, have a clean diet! No junk please- it will do wonders for your blood work! Blood toxicity is almost always the bigger reason for body fat and bad blood work, than the number of calories consumed are. As long as you are cutting out the processed foods and simple carbs, anything you eat will aid your growth and strength. Be sure to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits though, as modern diets are very short in the fiber area. Plus the additional vitamins and minerals will greatly aid your efforts to get stronger.
Also, don't go overboard on the protein, experiment to see how much per day suits you. For me, it is 1.5 grams per kg of body weight Unless you are exercising more than 3 times a week, I don't think you will need more than that. If you are exercising more than that, use your discretion.
That is all! Keep it simple and sweet- And gradual.
Always increase the intensity and volume gradually. Do it slowly enough, you can adapt to anything.
Good Luck!
1. Maximal Strength - This would have 2 components- The load used and the ROM used. For example a 500 lb squat ass-to-grass would signify greater strength than a 500 lb squat breaking parallel, and even more strength than a parallel squat. This would mean that strength is load + Active Flexibility, in which you can use that strength. Otherwise a headstand push up would be the same as a full ROM handstand push up.
2. Power- This would be speed plus rate of strength development. Essentially how fast you can move your body and how fast you can develop force. For example- a 500 lb squat performed in 2 seconds is much harder than a 500 lb squat performed in 4 seconds.
3. Strength Endurance- This would be the number of times a certain load can be lifted. Only consecutive reps count in this regard.
4. Muscle Recovery And Nervous Recovery- This is the amount of time its takes your muscular and nervous system to recover from a workout. The shorter the better.
5. Cardiovascular Health- This would be a function of your maximum heart rate, your stroke volume and your resting pulse and Blood pressure.
6. Digestive Health- This depends on the regularity of motions and the amount of food you are able to digest (protein, mineral, nutrient uptake).
Most people say that the development of strength and strength-endurance is counter productive to each other. The 2 mains reasons are-
1. They use different types of muscle fibers
2. They have different neuro muscular effects.
The basic theory is that if fast twitch muscle fibers are trained more and harder, eventually slow twitch muscle units will become fast twitch. This is supposed to be a good thing because they have greater hypertrophy ability and max strength and speed ability. On the downside they tire A LOT faster.
In my mind, both are important. You need the max strength, and very frankly even minor improvements in slow fiber strength translates into a lot of daily carry over. The thing is, both can (and should be) improved together. They main reason people are unable to do both together is because the strain of doing both things together, is too much for the body to recover from, so if emphasis is on one, the other suffers.
This can be avoided, by keeping the effects of each mode of training primarily different. If workouts are not more than 3 times a week, than both fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers can be trained in the same workout in the following manner-
For Workout 1 and 2-
Pick 2 upper body movements and 1 core movement on which you want to build strength endurance.
Pick 1 heavy lower body lift for the development of max strength (this will also contribute to speed, when lifted with an emphasis on speed).
Pick one lower body lift for speed if you feel you need it. (unless you are lifting more than twice your body weight in the deadlift and the squat, this won't be necessary as max strength will work speed too at this point)
The trick is to pick strength endurance movements (or weights) of which you can perform more than 10 reps a set in. This keeps the effect primarily muscular, not straining the nervous system.
Then use a weight in the heavy movement that you can handle for no more than a double (this all excludes warm ups of course- ideally your strength endurance work should be enough to warm up). This will keep the effect primarily neural.
This way you have a moderate amount of muscular and a moderate amount of nervous stress- enough to develop both qualities a little- but not enough to not let you recover at all. The total improvement overall will be slight, but definite and holistic. The trick to progressing on such a system would be HOLDING BACK! Do not let the stress accumulate beyond your recovery ability, which will hinder either one quality.
For workout 3, do the opposite- 2 lower body strength endurance movements, and 2 upper body strength
movements (one for the lats and back, one for the pecs, triceps and deltoids).
For cardio- a set of 5 sprints twice a week is more than enough. Sprints are the most effecient form of cardio, and do not compromise your strength efforts. Also, the the neurological and Endocrinol effects of sprinting improve your recovery ability and generally refresh the body and promote strength.
And go on a fast once a month! Have nothing but water and fresh vegetables for a day. This clears up everything in your digestive system- gives it a break, increases your nutritional uptake and improves your elimination. Also, have a clean diet! No junk please- it will do wonders for your blood work! Blood toxicity is almost always the bigger reason for body fat and bad blood work, than the number of calories consumed are. As long as you are cutting out the processed foods and simple carbs, anything you eat will aid your growth and strength. Be sure to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits though, as modern diets are very short in the fiber area. Plus the additional vitamins and minerals will greatly aid your efforts to get stronger.
Also, don't go overboard on the protein, experiment to see how much per day suits you. For me, it is 1.5 grams per kg of body weight Unless you are exercising more than 3 times a week, I don't think you will need more than that. If you are exercising more than that, use your discretion.
That is all! Keep it simple and sweet- And gradual.
Always increase the intensity and volume gradually. Do it slowly enough, you can adapt to anything.
Good Luck!
Friday 4 January 2013
New Schedule
Just took membership in the local gym, right next to my office. Not too bad, has a lot of barbells and weights, very few dumbells and a crap load of machines. There are machines in there I don't even know the name of! They also have parallel bars and a nice pull up bar- so I am all set! But there is no squat rack! I just hate that! So many weights and no squat rack!
Anyway, I have to come up with a new routine to fit my new resources. I am thinking of a three day a week schedule, looking something like this-
1. Tuesday- Workout At Local Gym
Warm up- Lat Pull Downs- 5 X 2 with a very light weight
Chest Press- 5 X 2 with a very light weight
Both exercises will be done rapidly in order to warm up the body.
3 work sets of Pull Ups and Push Ups, as follows-
Set 1- Wide Overhand Grip Pull ups, Close Push ups
Set 2- Medium Underhand Grip Pull ups, Close Push ups
Set 3- Close Underhand Grip Pull ups, Dips
1 set Body weight Squats as warm up
Ham Glute Raise- 3 Sets
Near max Snatch Grip Deadlift with a thick bar, with an extended hold at the top to work the grip- 2 reps
Finish with 2 sprints outside or jump for altitude
2. Thursday- Same workout as Tuesday
3. Sunday- Workout at Outdoor Gymnasium in the Army Stadium
Shadow Boxing As Warm up
5 Sets Standing Military Press- 5-15 reps (reduce sets as reps increase- min of 3 sets)
Performed in combination with
3-5 Sets of Bent Over Rows- 15-5 reps (ditto as press)
2 Sets of Standing Barbell Curls
1-2 Sets of Speed Squats- 20-100 reps
I will do one set of bridges every morning after having a bath. I will also do 3-5 sets of 5-15 leg raises every Monday and Friday Evening.
I know that the quad stimulation is pretty low, but I think, considering the volume being used, it is justified. The hamstring work will take emphasis. My medium term objective is to hit the one arm chin up, so that will be my focus. Everything else will take a minor back seat. Pushing work will be kept balanced, to prevent things going out of proportion.
Wish me luck!
Tuesday 1 January 2013
Workouts For Working People
Lets face it. A regular office goer cannot afford to workout 4-5 times a week, and he most certainly cannot go to the gym 4-5 times a week. At best you can go on Sundays and maybe one day in the week. And you know that one day is a pain. So how does a person who wants to reach physical perfection do it?
First of all, a lot of the high frequency programs are simply not feasible for office goers, no matter how effective they are. This is where I think calisthenics can play a major role in fitness. The fact that no gym is required makes it the perfect choice for the office worker. Here I provide 3 templates.
1. Can Go to The Gym One Day a Week
In the Gym, you will work only 3 exercises- Standing Military Press, the Barbell Back Squat and the bent over row. The template is simple-
Sunday-
1 set of 10 with an easy weight, of military presses and bent over rows.
5 Sets of 4-8 reps with A heavy weight (start with a weight that allows you to do 4 reps, work up to 8 than increase the weight) alternating between the military press and the bent over row.
1 set of 10 with an easy weight- barbell back Squats
5 Sets of 3-7 (Increase the weight once you can hit 7-8 with a particular weight and start over)- barbell back Squats
2-3 Sets of 5-10 Standing Barbell Curls (Increase The Weight After you hit sets of 10)
Finish with flexibility training (Subject of a later post)
Tuesday-
Train Pull Ups and Push Ups before dinner or breakfast, depending on your preference.
1 set each as warm up
3-4 Work Sets of the technique you are presently working on. No cool down will be required. You can do some flexibility training if you need it.
Wednesday-
Train Hanging Leg Raises and Ham Glute Raises before dinner or breakfast, depending on your preference.
1 set each as warm up.
3-4 Work Sets of the technique you are presently working on. No cool down will be required.
Thursday-
Train Pull Ups and Push Ups before dinner or breakfast, depending on your preference.
1 set each as warm up
3-4 Work Sets of the technique you are presently working on. No cool down will be required. You can do some flexibility training if you need it.
Friday-
Train Hanging Leg Raises and Ham Glute Raises before dinner or breakfast, depending on your preference.
1 set each as warm up.
3-4 Work Sets of the technique you are presently working on. No cool down will be required.
Every morning after you take your bath, you will do one set of bridges of the technique you are presently working on. You can skip on Mondays and Saturdays.
This schedule, while it involves working out 5 days a week, is actually really easy. The volume on all the working days is really low and even the number of exercises you will be doing is minimal. There is plenty of recovery time for every body part, and the home workouts will take you 15-20 minutes tops. Maybe lesser. I personally use this system and I do my workouts at the end of the day while cooking dinner. My body is already warmed up from commuting and moving around all day, so my warm up is really minimal. I just do 2 sets per exercise, and that is it. You will barely feel it. And the system works. You just have to think of it as coaxing your body to respond and get stronger, not forcing your body to get stronger. You can force your body when you can ensure recovery and can get a LOT of sleep. But for people like us, coaxing always works and you will almost never reach stagnation points with this. You will need a pull up bar at home though, to perform hanging leg raises and pull ups.
You can also buy a barbell set for your weekend training. You will need a simple barbell with a lot of weights. It will actually cost you less than 4000 rs in India. The bar costs 500 rs and at 25 rs a kg, you can buy 6 20kg plates and 2 10 kg plates. That will last you a long time. Later you can always get more weight. If you have a home setup, don't get a squatting rack. It is dangerous to squat without competent spotters. The presence of a Squat rack will just tempt you. Instead replace barbell back squats with the standard deadlift. (I Will do a post on the Deadlift later). Replace Ham Glute Raises with work on the one legged Squat. (See the post, The Squat).
The Combination of deadlifts and pistol squats is a fantastic one, and one that almost eliminates the chance of over training the lower back. Same with Ham Glute Raises and Barbell Back Squats.
2. De Loading Routine
This is meant to go with the previous routine. Whenever you feel you have hit a sticking point and are not making progress, get back to this routine for a bit. Do it for 2 weeks and you should be good.
Day 1- Upper Body
One set each of push ups and pull ups as warm up
2-3 work sets of push ups and pull ups.
1 set of Bodyweight Rows and Handstand Push ups.
1 Set Hanging Leg Raises
1 Set Bridges
Day 2- Lower Body
One Set of Bodyweight Squats As warm Up
2-3 work sets of Pistol Squats (Progression) and Ham glute Raises
1 Set Hanging Leg Raises
1 Set Bridges
Flexibility Training
Day 3- Rest
Day 4- Upper Body
1 Set of push ups and Bodyweight Rows as warm up
2-3 Work Sets of Bodyweight Rows and Handstand Push Ups
1 set of push ups and Pull ups
1 Set Hanging Leg Raises
1 Set Bridges
Day 5- Repeat Day 2
Day 6, Day 7- Rest
A couple of weeks of this routine should easily get you out of any training rut.
3. 2 Days A Week-
This particular routine is hard and should only undertaken if you are sure you are up to it.
Day 1-
1 Set of 10 each Bent Over Rows and Military press, with light weight.
4 Sets of 3-8 each Bent Over Rows and Military Press. (Work up tp 8 reps with the weight, than increase weight and move the reps back down)
1 Set of 10- Barbell Squats/ Deadlifts
5 Sets of 3-7 (Increase the weight once you can hit 7-8 with a particular weight and start over)- barbell back Squats/ Deadlifts
2 Sets of 5-10 Standing Barbell Curls (Increase The Weight After you hit sets of 10)
2 sets of Hanging Leg Raises and Bridges (Alternate between them)
If You Use Barbell Squats on Day, Perform Ham glute raises on Day 2. If you perform Deadlifts, work on the pistol Squat progression on Day 2.
Day 2-
1 easy set of push ups and pull ups
4-5 work sets of pull ups and push ups
1 Warm up set of bodyweight squats
4 Work Sets of Ham Glute Raises/Pistol Squats (progression)
2 sets of Hanging Leg Raises and Bridges (Alternate)
Each day can be followed by 2-3 days rest. You have to push hard in this system to make gains. You will make faster gains than template 1, but you will burnout faster, as you will be trying to make every workout one that might kill you. Do this routine sparingly and not for more than 4 weeks at a stretch, and immediately revert to template 2 for a couple of weeks.
If you find you can handle this routine very easily, add another workout in your week, in the same format as Day 2. If you think you are superman, do it in the same format as Day 1. Just keep track of your recovery.
Remember, these are just templates that are designed to be balanced. You must modify them depending on your objectives. For examples, guys who want to develop strength only, may do only 2 sets of 2 reps of ultra heavy deadlifts- 4 days a week, combined with 1 set of 2 reps of weighted pull ups and the military press. This will work great to increase your maximal strength, but will probably peak out really really fast. You will have to shift to a higher volume routine after 7-9 weeks. We will talk about this kind of training in some other post. The point is, your routine must be suitable for your objectives and your needs. Don't be a dumbass and just copy a routine. That being said, if you want to just generally get stronger, fitter and bigger, the above routines will work.
Remember- ALWAYS, ALWAYS KEEP A LOG BOOK. You have to beat at least one item on your log book every workout. It is not too hard, out of 3 -4 main exercises, you should be able to better at least 1 every workout. But for this, you must know exactly what you did last time. You also need the record to keep track of your gains and to figure out if you are slowing down a lot. If you are, immediately apply the remedy- routine no. 2. That should re-charge your system completely.
Well, Good Luck And Train Hard.
First of all, a lot of the high frequency programs are simply not feasible for office goers, no matter how effective they are. This is where I think calisthenics can play a major role in fitness. The fact that no gym is required makes it the perfect choice for the office worker. Here I provide 3 templates.
1. Can Go to The Gym One Day a Week
In the Gym, you will work only 3 exercises- Standing Military Press, the Barbell Back Squat and the bent over row. The template is simple-
Sunday-
1 set of 10 with an easy weight, of military presses and bent over rows.
5 Sets of 4-8 reps with A heavy weight (start with a weight that allows you to do 4 reps, work up to 8 than increase the weight) alternating between the military press and the bent over row.
1 set of 10 with an easy weight- barbell back Squats
5 Sets of 3-7 (Increase the weight once you can hit 7-8 with a particular weight and start over)- barbell back Squats
2-3 Sets of 5-10 Standing Barbell Curls (Increase The Weight After you hit sets of 10)
Finish with flexibility training (Subject of a later post)
Tuesday-
Train Pull Ups and Push Ups before dinner or breakfast, depending on your preference.
1 set each as warm up
3-4 Work Sets of the technique you are presently working on. No cool down will be required. You can do some flexibility training if you need it.
Wednesday-
Train Hanging Leg Raises and Ham Glute Raises before dinner or breakfast, depending on your preference.
1 set each as warm up.
3-4 Work Sets of the technique you are presently working on. No cool down will be required.
Thursday-
Train Pull Ups and Push Ups before dinner or breakfast, depending on your preference.
1 set each as warm up
3-4 Work Sets of the technique you are presently working on. No cool down will be required. You can do some flexibility training if you need it.
Friday-
Train Hanging Leg Raises and Ham Glute Raises before dinner or breakfast, depending on your preference.
1 set each as warm up.
3-4 Work Sets of the technique you are presently working on. No cool down will be required.
Every morning after you take your bath, you will do one set of bridges of the technique you are presently working on. You can skip on Mondays and Saturdays.
This schedule, while it involves working out 5 days a week, is actually really easy. The volume on all the working days is really low and even the number of exercises you will be doing is minimal. There is plenty of recovery time for every body part, and the home workouts will take you 15-20 minutes tops. Maybe lesser. I personally use this system and I do my workouts at the end of the day while cooking dinner. My body is already warmed up from commuting and moving around all day, so my warm up is really minimal. I just do 2 sets per exercise, and that is it. You will barely feel it. And the system works. You just have to think of it as coaxing your body to respond and get stronger, not forcing your body to get stronger. You can force your body when you can ensure recovery and can get a LOT of sleep. But for people like us, coaxing always works and you will almost never reach stagnation points with this. You will need a pull up bar at home though, to perform hanging leg raises and pull ups.
You can also buy a barbell set for your weekend training. You will need a simple barbell with a lot of weights. It will actually cost you less than 4000 rs in India. The bar costs 500 rs and at 25 rs a kg, you can buy 6 20kg plates and 2 10 kg plates. That will last you a long time. Later you can always get more weight. If you have a home setup, don't get a squatting rack. It is dangerous to squat without competent spotters. The presence of a Squat rack will just tempt you. Instead replace barbell back squats with the standard deadlift. (I Will do a post on the Deadlift later). Replace Ham Glute Raises with work on the one legged Squat. (See the post, The Squat).
The Combination of deadlifts and pistol squats is a fantastic one, and one that almost eliminates the chance of over training the lower back. Same with Ham Glute Raises and Barbell Back Squats.
2. De Loading Routine
This is meant to go with the previous routine. Whenever you feel you have hit a sticking point and are not making progress, get back to this routine for a bit. Do it for 2 weeks and you should be good.
Day 1- Upper Body
One set each of push ups and pull ups as warm up
2-3 work sets of push ups and pull ups.
1 set of Bodyweight Rows and Handstand Push ups.
1 Set Hanging Leg Raises
1 Set Bridges
Day 2- Lower Body
One Set of Bodyweight Squats As warm Up
2-3 work sets of Pistol Squats (Progression) and Ham glute Raises
1 Set Hanging Leg Raises
1 Set Bridges
Flexibility Training
Day 3- Rest
Day 4- Upper Body
1 Set of push ups and Bodyweight Rows as warm up
2-3 Work Sets of Bodyweight Rows and Handstand Push Ups
1 set of push ups and Pull ups
1 Set Hanging Leg Raises
1 Set Bridges
Day 5- Repeat Day 2
Day 6, Day 7- Rest
A couple of weeks of this routine should easily get you out of any training rut.
3. 2 Days A Week-
This particular routine is hard and should only undertaken if you are sure you are up to it.
Day 1-
1 Set of 10 each Bent Over Rows and Military press, with light weight.
4 Sets of 3-8 each Bent Over Rows and Military Press. (Work up tp 8 reps with the weight, than increase weight and move the reps back down)
1 Set of 10- Barbell Squats/ Deadlifts
5 Sets of 3-7 (Increase the weight once you can hit 7-8 with a particular weight and start over)- barbell back Squats/ Deadlifts
2 Sets of 5-10 Standing Barbell Curls (Increase The Weight After you hit sets of 10)
2 sets of Hanging Leg Raises and Bridges (Alternate between them)
If You Use Barbell Squats on Day, Perform Ham glute raises on Day 2. If you perform Deadlifts, work on the pistol Squat progression on Day 2.
Day 2-
1 easy set of push ups and pull ups
4-5 work sets of pull ups and push ups
1 Warm up set of bodyweight squats
4 Work Sets of Ham Glute Raises/Pistol Squats (progression)
2 sets of Hanging Leg Raises and Bridges (Alternate)
Each day can be followed by 2-3 days rest. You have to push hard in this system to make gains. You will make faster gains than template 1, but you will burnout faster, as you will be trying to make every workout one that might kill you. Do this routine sparingly and not for more than 4 weeks at a stretch, and immediately revert to template 2 for a couple of weeks.
If you find you can handle this routine very easily, add another workout in your week, in the same format as Day 2. If you think you are superman, do it in the same format as Day 1. Just keep track of your recovery.
Remember, these are just templates that are designed to be balanced. You must modify them depending on your objectives. For examples, guys who want to develop strength only, may do only 2 sets of 2 reps of ultra heavy deadlifts- 4 days a week, combined with 1 set of 2 reps of weighted pull ups and the military press. This will work great to increase your maximal strength, but will probably peak out really really fast. You will have to shift to a higher volume routine after 7-9 weeks. We will talk about this kind of training in some other post. The point is, your routine must be suitable for your objectives and your needs. Don't be a dumbass and just copy a routine. That being said, if you want to just generally get stronger, fitter and bigger, the above routines will work.
Remember- ALWAYS, ALWAYS KEEP A LOG BOOK. You have to beat at least one item on your log book every workout. It is not too hard, out of 3 -4 main exercises, you should be able to better at least 1 every workout. But for this, you must know exactly what you did last time. You also need the record to keep track of your gains and to figure out if you are slowing down a lot. If you are, immediately apply the remedy- routine no. 2. That should re-charge your system completely.
Well, Good Luck And Train Hard.
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