If you are serious, get a food scale and weigh everything.  It’s not that you have to track forever, because I know it is tedious, but that you have to develop awareness.  You may think that a giant bowl of chips is a serving, when a serving is a handful.  You may also not know that your bowl is giant.

The pleasure of eating

Eating should be a pleasure.  Dieting is not an excuse to exercise your masochistic tendencies, rather, it should make you lose fat, as painlessly as possible. Unfortunately for many people fast food is one of their biggest indulgences. I had a client recently casually report eating a chipotle burrito, which he thought was at least a healthy alternative. After the total calories were tallied in it was a staggering 2100! I showed him the errors of his ways and now he can indulge without the consequences.

Fast Food Reloaded

We selected five popular fast food joints, scoured their menus, weighed the options and found the best selections. Obviously you will need more or less calories based on your diets so work that portion control. We tried to get the most protein while minimizing fat and carbs while at the same time getting the most nutrition.

Chipotle

With chipotle you can use this nifty calculator. Goal is to get a balanced meal and maximum amount of proteins while keeping the calories low. Start with a bowl if you’ll want guacamole or extra sauces, otherwise you could go for the hard tacos. Add either pinto or black beans, since unlike rice they have more protein and are lower GI. The meat choices are pretty much the same so get what you like. The Salsas are pretty low in calorie (15-20-40) so go hog wild. Be careful with the extras -guacamole, cheese, sour cream- as adding all three will bump you up another 375 calories. Chips, as usual, are terrible at 570 calories 73g carbs and 27g fat.

Our Choice

Burrito Bol

Black Beans
120 kcal
23g carbs
7g protein

Steak
190 kcal
7g fat
2g carbs
30g protein

Tomato and Hot Salsas
60 kcal
12g carbs
3g protein

Guacamole
150kcal
13g fat
8g carbs
2g protein

Total
520 kcal
22g fat
45g carbs
42g protein

KFC

So they are healthening it up a bit themselves, with the new Kentucky Grilled, and 395 calories for $3.95.  It’s not bad, if fast food were your only option.  But if you’ve got a kitchen, there’s no reason not to make a tasty Kentucky feast of your own. You can’t go wrong with the Kentucky Grilled but if you don’t want to die from rabbit starvation, get a side dish along with it. Any of the side dishes should be ok as long as you stick to one.

Our Choice

2 breast + 1 drumstick
430 kcal
80g protein
0g carbs

Mashed Potatoes (No gravy)
100 kcal
16g carbs

Green Beans
25 kcal
5g Carbs

Total:
555 Calories
82g protein
21g carbs

Burger King

BK was really a tough one. All the burgers were loaded with carbs and fat and it was difficult getting close to 50g protein without breaking 800kcal. Your best bet is to stick with the tendergrill chicken sandwich with an extra chicken breast or two. Getting it with mustard instead of mayo will save you 100 calories. And if you want to cut the carbs in half throw away half the bun.

A proper burger

Our Choice:

Tender Grill Chicken Sandwich
No Mayo
With Mustard
Extra Chicken Breast, Tomatoes and Onions
530 kcal
15g fat
57g carbs
43g protein

Skip the fries and dessert and drink water. If you must, opt for diet coke or if you REALLY need it get 3/4th diet coke and 1/4th regular as a last alternative.

McDonald’s

We found better choices at McDonald’s; their menu seemed more balanced. We skipped the beef burgers because they’re pretty low on protein for the calorie buck. The chicken sandwiches are better, with the grilled chicken classic leading the way with 420kcal, 10g fat, 51g carb and 32 g protein. If you pull the double breast and no mayo all on one bun trick, as with BK, you can get even better numbers. In the end we were drawn to the salads with the impressive “Premium Bacon Ranch Salad with Grilled Chicken” 260 calories, 9g fat, 12g carbs, and a staggering 33g of protein. Although the total calorie is low it allows for wiggle room if we want a side dish or dressing. A double order of chicken brings up the protein even more making the salad even more filling.

Only post-workout drink you need

Our Choice:

Premium Bacon Ranch Salad with Grilled Chicken (double order meat)
312 calories (estimated)
9g fats
12g carbs
46g Protein

+Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
40 calories

Total
352
12g fat
16g carbs
46g protein

Subway

The supposed king of the healthy fast food surprising has some pretty calorie dense options. The good thing about subway is the customizability of each item. You get to choose everything and watch it being made so there shouldn’t be too many hidden ingredients. Maxing out in a meal can bring your calories above 2000 easily. A footlong with double meat, double cheese, and a variety of sauces, mayo, chips and a drink will do that. Stick to a 6″ or a wrap or even make your own salad and skip the starch vehicle all together. Go for lean but substantial meats such as chicken breast, roast beef, or even the subway club. Get double meat to bring up the protein, giving you a more filling sandwich that is still nutritionally sound. The breads are almost the same but we recommend the ’9-grain wheat bread’ for its lowest calorie (210) and lowest GI.

The cheeses are pretty much all the same, so if you need it, go with your favorite. Sub out mayo for light mayo or even better skip it all together and get some mustard. Sauces can be ok but if you already stacked with cheese/mayo consider skipping them. Your best bet is the fat free honey mustard or fat free sweet onion.

Make sure to stack a mountain of veggies (Read our Codex Of Leanness for more info) and opt for water instead of soda (or get diet) and no chips.

Swole Jared

Our Pick

Roast Beef (Double Meat)
230kcal
8g fat
0g carbs
40g protein

6″ Wheat Bread
200 kcal
2.5g fat
40g carbs
8g protein

Cheddar Cheese
40 kcal
3g fat
0
2g protein

Veggies + Water
approximately 0 kcal

Total
470 kcal
13.5g fat
40g carbs
50g protein

The double meat and the veggies make this sandwich especially filling and nutritious.

Note on Caffeinated Beverages

Soda is single handedly responsible for a large part of the obesity problem. It is used for hydration, taste, energy, digestion aid and everything in between. Ridding yourself of a soda addiction is three fold: combating the caffeine and sugar addiction and finding another source of hydration. Water takes care of the second part REALLY well. As for the caffeine, get your boost from coffee or tea or, hell, even caffeine pills: somewhere where that jolt doesn’t come with 14 tsp of sugar. Eating proper meals will help stave off the sugar addiction.

Here are some comparisons:

• 12 oz coca cola: 140kcal, 39g sugar
• 12 oz coffee w/ 1 fl oz half and half: 40kcal, 0g sugar
• 12 oz coffee w/ 2 tsp sugar: 30kcal, 8g sugar
• 12 oz coffee w/ 1 fl oz half and half AND 2 tsp sugar: 70kcal, 8g sugar

And here is a flexible recipe: (and perfect pre- or post-workout!)

Protein frap

12 oz cold coffee
30g whey (usually 1 scoop)
1 c milk (use whichever fat content suits your macros/goals)
1 c. ice, or less, depending on your blender’s abilities

Blend and serve!

Conclusion

Hopefully now you are better prepared to fight the fast food menace. Remember, fixing your diet isn’t about the perfect macro-split or eating clean all the time, it’s about better choices. So switching to diet coke alone might put you at a caloric deficit and on the road to weightloss. Beyond that, realize that change happens gradually, don’t force a lifestyle on yourself that will make you miserable and set you up for failure. Take your current lifestyle and work on improving it, soon enough you will notice that you have achieved your goals painlessly.

Hard Truths that Set You Free: Fast Food Reloaded is a post from: theSwole

The path to strength and size is one filled with injury and pain. Very few progress down that path, as bigger rewards carry with them bigger risks. At one point progress becomes simply surviving the workouts. If you’ve never been injured in some way while training, then I question your methods.

It’s not that injuries are badges of accomplishment, or a pre-requisite for a solid training program, but maximum training is dangerous, not healthy. It is possible to train hard and get results and avoid injury, but most people don’t even push themselves out of fear of entering that “danger zone.”  This article is not about training for health and fitness, it is about how to minimize health risks inherent in extreme training.  We’ll cover injury prevention and prehab as well as injury management and rehab.  You’ll also get a personal story on how I overcame my knee injury. Everything written here is my own opinion, it is not medical advice and if you are injured you should see a doctor.

Live to Fight Another Day: Tips to help you avoid and survive injury is a post from: theSwole

All serious lifters find themselves at a crossroads; they just graduated from Starting Strength or 5×5 and are looking for the next challenge. Often they seek to specialize, in hypertrophy, strength, powerlifting or even traditional weightlifting. But what if you didn’t want to be one thing, what if you wanted it all: strong and swole, is it even possible? Well that’s the goal of theSwole routine. It’s a hybrid program that aims to maximize strength and size gains . It borrows the most successful concepts from some of the most successful routines and puts them together to form a super-routine of sorts. Here you will find speed days, circuits, conjugate methods,and still some room for customization. Volume training is periodized with strength training to synergistic effect.

Just like the 5/3/1 program, reviewed in our recent article, TSR uses the concept of ‘waves.’ But that is where the similarities end. Waves in TSR are comprised of volume, speed and max days not weeks. So each training session you are focusing on a different capacity for a different muscle group. This means in a week you are at least having three different training sessions as well as getting stronger, faster, and bigger. This weekly structure helps facilitate recovery by avoiding pitfalls like ‘max week’ where you are facing full-body max-out. In addition, this program is intended for bulking, so trying to do it on a caloric deficitwill be detrimental. You need to eat at maintenance, or preferably at a surplus.

Here is a sample overview of the structure:

Week 1

• Day 1 : Speed Chest
• Day 2 : Volume Back
• Day 3 : Max Legs

Week 2

• Day 1 : Speed Back
• Day 2 : Volume Legs
• Day 3 : Max Chest

Week 3

• Day 1 : Speed Legs
• Day 2 : Volume Chest
• Day 3 : Max Back

Repeat (weeks 4-6)

Week 7

• Deload

The Split

TSR splits muscles into 3 groups. Chest/Shoulders/Triceps (i.e. press), Back/Traps/Biceps (pull) and Quad/Hamstrings/Glutes/Calves (legs). This setup is optimal as it allows for each muscle group to recover before the next training session. To further assist recovery, the program borrows from the conjugate method of rotating movements. This means each week you are training different movements than the week before. The advantage is constant progress and gains while at the same time avoiding specific movement overtraining and stagnation.

Each session consists of three core movements followed by supplemental exercises or a circuit. This allows for added volume while avoiding over-training. High repetition sets are included as another means to encourage hypertrophy and endurance. The aim is to maximize effect by activating all different muscle fibre types. For variation, the volume and length of the supplementary movements can be shortened or skipped on certain days.

Having covered the technical aspects of the program, the philosophy behind TSR is similar to that of Doggcrapp: make strength gains and you will get bigger. And since strength gains are quantifiable we can use them like a meter stick. So the first result to watch for with TSR is increased strength. That said, if you find your results stagnating, take stock of your diet and rest patterns, and if necessary, cut down on supplementary movements. The key to strength gains here lies in exercise rotation. You make small gains on a variety of movements that all add up creating a synergistic effect.

Each cycle lasts 6 weeks, or two rotations, so you’ll have maxed out on everything twice. You will then throw in a week of deloading, pick new movements and start over.

Strong.. yet swole

Approved Exercises

To get started,pick three exercises for each muscle group. For the main group you will pick one exercise for each day. For example, for max chest day, you might choose pin press. For speed chest, let’s say flat bench and hammer strength for volume. These will be the basis of your chest program for the next 6 weeks. The circuits at the end of each session remain the same, i.e. you will do the same legs circuit every legs day whether it is speed, max, or volume day; and the same push circuit every push day, regardless of what was emphasized. Again, if you are having trouble recovering, cut down on supplemental volume.

Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

Note: Notation is always Reps X Sets, so 4 x 9 means 4 reps for 9 sets. The @ symbol signifies the percentage of max weight to use.

Chest:

Speed:
( 4 x 9 )
Flat Bench, Bands/Chains if you have them

Volume:

( 8 – 12 x 4 )
Incline Bench, Flat Bench, Dumbbell Press, Hammer Strength Machines

Max:

( Work up to 1 rep max, do 2 light warm up sets, and 3 warm up sets last one about 95% of your 1RM and then add 10lbs to your last max for the final set)

Flat Bench, Pin Press, Floor Press, Rack Bench

Shoulders:

( 6 – 8 x 4 )
Overhead Pin Press (varying heights), Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Push Press, Military Press

Triceps:

( 6 – 8 x 3-4 )
Close-grip Floor Press, Close-grip Pin Press, JM Press, Reverse-grip Close-grip Bench

Supplemental Circuit x 2 – 3

Side Raises x 20
Front Raises x 15
Tricep Pushdowns x 20
Reverse Flys x 12
Abs x 15-20
Hammer Curls x 12-15

Back, Traps, Biceps

Back:

Speed:
( 3 x 9 )
Deadlifts, chains and bands if available

Max:
( Work up to 1 rep max, do 2 light warm up sets, and 3 warm up sets last one about 95% of your 1RM and then add 20lbs to your last max for the final set)
Deadlifts

Volume:

( 8-12 x 4 )
Bent Over Rows, T-bar Rows, Dumbbell Rows
Second back movement:
( 6 – 8 x 4 )
Pull-ups, Hammer Strength Pull-downs, Assisted Pull-ups, Chin-ups

Third back movement:

( 8 – 12 x 3 )
Close-grip Cable Rows, Dumbbell Rows, Hammer Strength Rows
Supplemental SuperSet x 2 -3:
Barbell Curls x 10 @ 55%
Barbell Shrugs x 20 @ 40%
Dumbbell Curls x 15 @ 45%
Reverse Cable Curls x 10 @ 45%

Legs

Quads

Speed:

( 4 x 9 )

Back Squats, Box squats
Max:
( Work up to 1 rep max, do 2 light warm up sets, and 3 warm up sets last one about 95% of your 1RM and then add 20lbs to your last max for the final set)

Back Squats, Box Squats, Rack Squats
Volume:
( 8 x 4 )
AND
( 20 x 1)
Back Squats, Box Squats, Leg Press

Hamstrings

( 6 – 8 x 4 )

Good Mornings/ Stiff legged Deadlifts / Rack Pulls

Quads

( 8 – 12 x 4 )
Leg Press/Split Squats/Lunges

Supplementary Circuit 3 – 4:
Leg Extensions x 15 @ 40%
Leg Curl x 10 @ 45%
Calf Raise Circuit x 15 @ 40%
Decline Abs

Conclusion

The program may seem overwhelming at first, but its guaranteed to give you some ridiculous results. This program is seriously demanding so only do this if you are eating at maintenance or above, as overtraining can happen very easily. Also make sure to deload after every 6 weeks, that is do a week of light training or don’t train at all. If you have any questions, post them as comments or in the forums and I’ll happily answer them.

TSR: a new routine for muscle and strength gain is a post from: theSwole

Quazmido testing out his Inzer row shirt

You’re doing it wrong. If your back isn’t warped and misshapen like Quasimodo, pictured above moments before eating a live bird, then your back training sucks. It’s no shame, as not all of us spend all our lives pulling 30 ton bells or even 30 lb dumbbells, and back training often takes a backseat to more ‘important’ muscle groups. After all, which Hollywood actor was lusted over for his impressive yoke? But contrary to popular belief, a well-developed back is essential, both to form and function; it will make you stronger, more anabolic, and maybe if you do enough rows you will look like the hunchback of Notre Dame.

Big backs started to win appreciation when Dorian Yates ushered in a new era of mass, winning the Olympia in 1992. His fleshly backpack was to be outdone only by Ronnie Coleman’s. So big backs are in, but what’s the key to back development? We will examine three unique elements: stretch, max, and exhaust.

Dorian Yates

The Stretch

The back is made up of many muscle groups, most prominently for our purposes, the traps, the lats, and the “lower back”. Incidentally, most back exercises are done while standing, pulling the weight towards you, the opposite of chest movements. Range of motion in such a situation can be tricky, as the starting and end point aren’t well defined. So to ensure proper back stimulation in this phase, maximum ROM is attempted. For horizontal rowing such as hammer strength or cable rows the goal is to get a full stretch of the lat by extending the arms to their maximum range. Ideally you want to have your arm extending in a straight line, perpendicular to your body, pulling the weight below the sternum. This might require you to bend over more, or on seated rows to bring your back forward. On vertical rows (pull-downs) you want to bring the weight down in a straight line, bring the bar close to your chest then guide it back upwards, returning to full extension. The weight load is irrelevant when starting out, the goal is muscle activation.

As apparent in the explanation, this technique is best applied on cable or hammer strength movements or with dumbbells. You don’t want to apply it to a movement like bent over rows or pull ups (these come in the next parts). As for tempo, go with a negative of at least 3 seconds; control is essential here, and time under tension is to be maximized.  For more information check out our Tempo article.

The Maximum

This concept is based on the idea that in order to activate maximum muscle you need to move maximal weights. What does that mean? Using near maximal weights will cause greater muscular development. In these sets, weight load takes priority over perfect form. It doesn’t mean you let the movement devolve into something unrecognizable as such, but you might start using your hips more to bring the weight up, or rocking your back. That’s fine unless you deviate too much, to the point of risking injury. The philosophy is that this type of shock will force the body to adapt to the heavier weights, thus making relatively lighter weights much easier. It will also aid overall development. This technique is to be used sparingly as overtraining can happen quickly. I wouldn’t recommend more than 15-20% of your training to consist of the maximum.

This will work on almost any movement but works great on big movements such as bent over rows, or dumbbell rows or even hammer strength rows. Aim for about 4-6 repetitions, start light and keep increasing the weights until you hit failure after the 3rd or 4th rep. To increase intensity further, you can add Rest-Pause or Drop-Sets. Learn all about these swole-approved torture techniques in our Sets and Reps article.

The Exhaust

Just as the title suggests the aim here is to utterly fatigue and deplete the muscle. Sets aim for maximum repetitions which makes it hard to get a bad workout. Best reserved for the end of your training as the final charge, be wary though if you plan on training synergistic muscles afterwards since you will need to rest for a longer time than usual. These sets are taxing but not as much as the maximum; they are more of a localized burnout. It’s really important to maintain form in the beginning but the goal is to finish the set one way or another.
The best way to do this is the infamous high rep dumbbell rows aka Kroc Rows. 20 reps seems to be the golden number, done for three sets. Start your first set at a moderately low weight and increase by 10lbs each set. The final set must be agonizing, so if your second set was too light go up by 15 or 20lbs for your last one (per dumbbell).

Example:

45s x 20 ( Warm up to gauge where you are)
55s x 20 ( Woha that was way too easy)
70s x 20 ( Increased 15lbs, weight was perfect)

Putting it all together

It’s best to use two of three concepts in one session, for example the maximum followed by  the stretch. Add in one or two more back exercises done in a straight set fashion, making sure to do both vertical and horizontal pulling. Avoid training the maximum each session, as overtraining will ensue. Rotate the movement every week to maintain steady progress. If you find yourself stalling, cut down on training while increasing rest and food intake. Follow this advice and maybe one day you too can have tumor-like lats.

The Swoleback of Notre Dame: Back training revamped is a post from: theSwole

Jim Wendler right at his eureka moment

In his book, Wendler, an elite powerlifter, remembers a time at the zenith of his career, when he could barely walk outside the gym, his health was failing, and despite stellar equipped lifts, his unequipped capabilities were desperately weak. To reclaim his life and strength, Wendler developed a plan: cut out all the excess and get back to basics.

5/3/1 is about simplicity. You do three (maybe four) workouts a week with the focus on the ‘big four’: squat, bench, deadlift and military press. Focus on these movements and size and strength will necessarily follow.

How does it all work?

The program is split up into cycles, each cycle consists of four waves. Each wave is made up of four workouts, one for each lift. In other words, if you train four times a week, you hit each exercise once per week.  Each wave focuses on a 5, 3, or 1 rep max, giving the program its name.  Each workout is based on three sets of the major movement followed by a variety of accessory work detailed below. Sets and reps remain the same for the main movements in each wave.  During the fourth, and final, week of the cycle, you return to a 5 rep scheme using submaximal weight.  This built-in deload week allows for recovery and recuperation, setting you up to come back stronger with each passing cycle.

Before starting the program, you will need to know your one rep max for each of the big four.  From there, calculate 90% and use that 90% figure as if it were your real max, i.e. to calculate the percentages below. The idea is to undershoot so as to get better quality work and avoid failure.

Here’s the basic structure:

Wave 1: 65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5 or more
Wave 2: 70%x3, 80%x3, 90%x3 or more
Wave 3: 75%x5, 85%x3, 95%x1 or more
Wave 4: 40%x5, 50%x5, 60%x5

If you are still having trouble understanding the program see the sample routine below.

On the final set, Wendler also recommends going all out and attempting as many reps as possible (i.e. beyond 5/3/1). As he puts it “[the final set should be the one that] puts hair on your balls”. He does emphasize, however, that you should not attempt failure, as that would be detrimental to your efforts. You should never fail on a rep.

5/3/1, it no longer equals 1.66666666666666666666667.

The e-book

The Ego

If there is one point on which Wendler is adamant, it’s the ego; you must check your ego at the door and focus on the program. If the gameplan says you’re in for 3 reps with 275, don’t try to impress all your co-bros by attempting 325. The whole program is periodized such that you are riding bigger and bigger waves and constantly making progress. Jumping the gun in week one will set you back in week two, creating a domino effect. Over-exertion will only leave you spinning your wheels. This doesn’t mean you must trust the program blindly, but give it a chance to prove its worth.  Follow it for a couple of weeks and then make adjustments as necessary.

Just as you keep your ego in check during your gym sessions, keep your ego in check during the many months that you follow the 5/3/1 with regards to progress. 5/3/1 does not immediately seem like the fastest gainer out there, but it proves itself in the long haul, with consistent gains month after month. With this in mind, expect to gain no more than 10 pounds a month on the squat and deadlift, and 5 pounds on your bench and press. That may seem a bit of a bitter pill to swallow, but remember, these are very strong consistent gains. You should be able to increase your deadlift from 405 to 525 in a year, for a example, or your bench from 315 to 375.

After each cycle, add 10lbs to the previous 90% figure that you had been working with for squat or deadlift, and 5lbs to your 90% bench and military press. Calculate your working sets and start lifting.

Variations and Accessory Work

Although the program is simple it leaves some room for variety. You must pick one of the following variations to complement the basic plan outlined above. Simply doing the main movement is not enough, accessory work is also necessary.

Boring but Big

This is the method that most internet jockeys prefer! Upon finishing the basic three sets, repeat the main movement again at 50-60% of your max for 5 sets of 10. Obviously not the most interesting, but according to the man behind the words, this is the route to the biggest of gains. Following that, pound out 5 sets of 10 on any isolation move which would target the same area (eg. skullcrushers after bench or leg extensions post-squat).

Here are some examples:

You too can be a fat man someday!

Squat – 3 sets of 5 (or 3, or 1, depending on wave)
Squat – 5 sets of 10 at 50%
Leg curl – 5 sets of 10

Military Press – 3 sets of 3
Military Press – 5 sets of 10 at 50%
Chin-ups – 5 sets of 10 at bodyweight

Deadlift – 3 sets of  1
Deadlift – 5 sets of 10 at 55%
Hanging Leg Raise – 5 sets of 15

Bench – 3 sets of 3
Bench – 5 sets of 10 at 60%
Dumbbell Row – 5 sets of 10

These are just some examples, obviously rep count for the first 3 sets of the main movement would hinge on wave, but the idea is the same.

Anecdotal evidence seems to show that it does lead to great gains, at least, assuming you’ve got the stamina to finish.  You may think you’re the hardest ass that’s ever been under a bar, but prepare to be humbled as you strain and groan under weights that you’d probably be using as a warmup right now.  Make no mistake, Boring But Big is a serious gasser.  For those who are accustomed to never doing more than 5 reps per set, suddenly jumping up to 5 sets of 10 is going to put you in your place.  I bet you regret missing all that GPP work now!

The Triumvirate

If you don’t want to repeat the same main movement, as in Boring but Big, you can ditch that in favor of another accessory move. Choose whatever you want as long as it’s in the same muscle group.

Wendler doing dips

The Periodization Bible

This method gets its name from the eponymous article by Dave Tate. It goes into a bit of detail about microcycles (comprised of several training sessions) and mesocycles (1-4 months comprised of micro cycles), but for the purposes of this program, we won’t worry too much about that.

Basically, here Wendler borrows the Westside take on accessory work, i.e. basing your accessory work around the most frequently taxed muscles of the workout. Here’s how it might look:

DB = Dumbbell

The exercises between brackets are different exercises to choose from, pick a different one each week.

Military Press (5/3/1)

• Shoulders or Chest – 5 sets of 10-20 reps (DB bench, DB Incline, DB Military, Incline press, Dips, Pushups)
• Lats or Upper Back – 5 sets of 10-20 reps (DB rows, Bent Over Rows, Chins, T-bar Rows, Lat Pulldowns, Face Pulls, Shrugs)
• Triceps – 5 sets of 10-20 reps (Triceps Pushdowns or Triceps Extensions)

Deadlift (5/3/1)

• Hamstrings – 5 sets of 10-20 reps (Leg Curls, Glute-Ham Raise)
• Quads – 5 sets of 10-20 reps (Leg Press, Lunges, Hack Squats)
• Abs – 5 sets of 10-20 reps (Sit-ups, Hanging Leg Raises, Ab Wheel, DB Side Bend)

Bench Press (5/3/1)

• Shoulders or Chest – 5 sets of 10-20 reps (DB bench, DB Incline, DB Military, Incline press, Dips, Pushups)
• Lats or Upper Back – 5 sets of 10-20 reps (DB rows, Bent Over Rows, Chins, T-bar Rows, Lat Pulldowns, Face Pulls, Shrugs)
• Triceps – 5 sets of 10-20 reps (Triceps Pushdowns or Triceps Extensions)

Squat (5/3/1)

• Low Back – 5 sets of 10-20 reps (Reverse Hyper, Back Raise, Good Morning)
• Quads – 5 sets of 10-20 reps (Leg Press, Lunges, Hack Squats)
• Abs – 5 sets of 10-20 reps (Sit-ups, Hanging Leg Raises, Ab Wheel, DB Side Bend)

You can change exercises however you see fit; it won’t make or break the program. However, one thing to remember is that accessory work is intended to supplement and strengthen the main movement, not detract from it. If you’re continually increasing your weight on shoulder presses, but military press or bench is stalling, you should lower the accessory weight. Remember, focus must remain on the main movements, that’s where the gains come from.

Bodyweight

This option is as simple as it sounds; use bodyweight exercises to supplement the main lift. Wendler reccomends at least 75 reps per exercise, and at least 2 bodyweight exercises per training session. Note that you can use most of the same bodyweight exercises to supplement military press as bench. Same goes between deadlifts and squats. If you want, you can perform weighted bodyweight movements, such as weighted push-ups, bodyweight squats, hyperextensions, dips, one-legged squats, etc. This allows you to continue loading without needing to increase reps. Bands or chains may also be utilized.

A Final Word

5/3/1 is not just for powerlifters, and its not just a grown-up version of 5×5. It’s for anyone, with a little bit of experience under his (or her) belt, who wants a logical, simple, and consistent approach to lifting. It’s an effective way to increase not only your one-rep max, but all rep maxes, which lends itself to all-around strength in addition to top-end strength.
As a final note of caution, I would recommend this program only if you have at least 2 years of lifting experience, can squat or deadlift at least 1.5x bodyweight, and know your own body well. Preparedness is crucial, as this is not a program for beginners and those who are still trying to grasp basic form. It’s also essential to stick to the program for the long haul since the whole concept is the snowballing of small waves into a tsunami of brute strength.

Special thanks to Wendler disciple DeathyMcDeath for helping writing this article.

5/3/1: Jim Wendler’s theory of strength is a post from: theSwole

Learning to lift is difficult, especially online where often you have to struggle with words and descriptions and maybe you’re lucky if you can find a short blurry video to be your walking stick. But one thing that is neglected in most explanations is tempo, simply put, the rhythm to which you lift.  It might seem insignificant but in reality tempo plays a bigger role in shaping a program than the actual rep and set structure. Tempo is part of your training already–you most likely lift at different speeds in different exercises–but you might ask what benefit can be reaped by further understanding this concept. To begin with, increased strength, better muscular development, greater CNS stimulation, in short, getting an effective workout hangs in the balance.

Tempo is commonly divided into 3 phases:

• the negative, or eccentric phase, where you are controlling the bar as gravity pulls it (bar going towards your chest on bench, bar going away from your body on bent over rows)

• the pause at the ‘bottom’, this is where you switch from the negative to the positive
• the positive, or concentric phase, where you are moving the bar, i.e. doing the actual work where the muscles are contracting (bar away from chest on bench, bar coming towards you on rows)

Some take into account a fourth phase which would be the ‘lockout’ or top of the lift.

So what does it all mean

First and foremost, tempo will affect time under tension. Lets take the example of Joe who benches with a 101 tempo, which means he takes one second on the negative, no pause, and one second on the way up. That’s 2 seconds to perform each rep. If he does 10 reps that’s 20 seconds of work. Now change his tempo to 301 and the same 10 reps will take 40 seconds. We just effectively doubled the amount of time during which his muscles are under tension, greatly increasing intensity without changing the weight, sets or reps.

Quality work when you only have PVC pipe to work with

Tempo isn’t just about doing more, but doing better. Slowing down the negative phase forces the lifter to improve control and awareness which can in turn help form and understanding of the movement.

The Slow Negative

This little trick is a cornerstone of bodybuilding, popularized by Mike Mentzer and more recently by Dante in his infamous Doggcrapp protocol. Slowing negatives focuses on the eccentric phase. Tempo ranges here vary from 201 to 501, sometimes adding a pause at the bottom and slowing down the positive to two seconds. The idea is control: minimize momentum and stretch the fascia. These are concepts further discussed in our article on the DC program.

An added benefit of training with negatives is that you are, in effect, stronger than in the positive.  You can use more weight on the negatives and also come closer to failure since you are resisting rather than doing. Yet it’s an effective method for building strength, for example, the use of negative pull-ups as a stepping stone to regular pull-ups.  Since it’s easier to hold on and lower a weight slowly than it is to bring it up, it is possible to reach a CNS activation threshold that is simply not possible otherwise.

Make it hurt

I recommend negatives for pressing movements such as bench and triceps. Negatives can also be done easily with hammer strength and cable movements. Biceps and forearm movements, as well as calves and any isolation exercise can benefit from slow negatives.

Negatives are impossible to do and not recommended on explosive lifts, like cleans and Olympic lifts. Even with bent over rows, I do not recommend slowing the negative. Same goes for squats and deadlifts, although stiff-legged deadlifts and leg presses can benefit.

The Pause

Pauses have been popularized by a range of strength training and power lifting routines. The idea behind them is pausing at the bottom part of the lift, for example, where the bar rests on the floor for deadlifts or on the chest for bench. The pause causes the muscle to lose part of the tension which would otherwise aid the lifter, like a tight rubber band wanting release. For strength training, try a tempo of 110 or 220. As you can see, this emphasizes a fast (110) or slow negative (220) and maximum explosion for the positive. The point of the pause is to develop maximum acceleration from a dead stop, something that traditional training programs usually neglect.

Not this type of pause

“Deloading”  is an extended pause in which the lifter relaxes at the bottom position, thereby releasing all tension. This requires the muscle to generate even more power on every positive. Deloading is only possible for movements which allow for resting the weight, such as box squats,  deadlift, or rack/board presses for bench.

Another use for the pause is to target weak points in a lift. Set up the lift to limit range of motion with the weak point at the bottom of the movement. Pause with each rep. For example, pin press and rack pulls make use of this technique. The lifter may only be able to lift a fraction of his regular weight, but all the emphasis will go to the weak point, strengthening it and improving the main lift.

Pauses aren’t simply for powerlifting and strength training, they can aid in hypertrophy; the pause can require a large amount of isometric work (i.e. muscle length does not change), generating a great deal of muscle fibre and CNS stimulation.

Pauses are great for a lot of exercises, but work especially well for large movements, such as deadlifts, bench, and squats. They can also be used for isolation, although I only recommend them for cable movements for triceps or delts. For biceps, calves, and traps they can be performed on almost any movement.

The Positive

The positive is what makes you mentally say the next number in your set sequence. It’s seen as the main part of the lift, after all, each rep requires the completion of a positive. So, what variations are there on the positive? Tempos will vary. For hypertrophy a 1-2 second positive is sufficient, maybe 3 if you are feeling adventurous. As for strength training, since the goal is the amount of weight moved, it’s always best to aim for the fastest positive possible. This will vary a lot from one exercise to the next, but for maximum strength, acceleration must also be maximized and time under tension minimized. The less time you spend working the more work you can do, the more weight you can lift.

Branch Warren always lifts explosively

Positive tempo varies from lift to lift. Deadlifts will have a different tempo than barbell rows, which will have a different tempo than bench. Another important piece is the exercise medium; machines and cable devices carry a lot of momentum, which is going to exponentially lower stimulation.  This is not good for hypertrophy. The same goes for the smith machine.

La Fin

In conclusion, tempo is a fundamental of lifting and one of those things that haven’t translated well through the internet. It’s really one of the secrets that changes a lift from mediocre to monstrous. Experiment with tempo, see what offers the best stimulation and gives the best result.  But don’t overdo it, negatives can be taxing, and focusing on one part while neglecting others is a sure way to fudge things up.

That's all, folks

Fast vs Slow: Tempo demystified is a post from: theSwole

Whenever I try to explain the benefits of full Range Of Motion training I tell the story of how I outbenched a guy who had previously dwarfed my bench by about 70lbs, but never let the bar touch his chest. But now I want to tell you why it’s good to restrict ROM in order to lift heavier and faster, and more important, train muscle groups and strength ranges at higher intensities. Sometimes partial ROM is a tough sell, since people tend to think more is better. But compound lifts don’t have a flat power output throughout the movement, which means you can only lift an amount equal what you can handle at your weakest point. In other words, if you have weak triceps, your bench will be strongest at the bottom and weakest at the top.  When you max out, your chest will only get trained to the extent that your triceps can handle it. Training full ROM will destroy your weak points, but leave your strongest points barely bruised.

Listen up!

Restricting ROM is nothing new, in fact it’s a cornerstone of powerlifting. Board and pin presses, box squats, rack deads, bench lockouts; all are a variation on a compound lift aiming to isolate and challenge your strong points. Training each component of the lift separately can provide great benefit overall.  Let’s take the deadlift for example. If your body can support 400lbs but your grip can only handle 300, guess what, that’s what you’re going to lift. Now get a pair of straps, and you can start training with 400lbs.

Another aspect of lifting which beginners seldom take into consideration is leverage. For example, I see a lot of people come into the gym and do pull downs, bringing the pulldown-bar all the way down to the tops of their knees.  Understand first that once you get below the chin, not only is your leverage is terrible but you are recruiting less muscle.  And most important, in order to manage the bar between chin and knees, you would have to reduce the weight to the point where you are no longer effectively training your lats in the first part of the lift.  This is why lat pull and tricep push down are performed separately! Obviously this is an exaggerated example but it illustrates a point. There are parts of a lift where you are really strong and where maximum power and leverage can be applied and others where it simply isn’t so.

Now to the juicy part where you can add some new exercises to your training sessions and beat some old PRs. Realize that these movements are a supplement to your main movements.  Somedays you can focus on one of them but the majority of your training should still be full ROM.  Also, make sure to train your weak spots, since partial ROM will get you stronger overall but it won’t train your weakest points.

Bench Variations

The bench press, for many, is an untamable beast: a movement where positioning means the difference between ending up as another gym death statistic and scoring a PR. Its form is one of the hardest to master. And you aren’t dealing with the behemoth muscles that the deadlift or squat utilizes, so failure comes on faster. Well, I got the silver bullet for you, well silver plated, and you still need to get the gun yourself; this is where partial ROM training comes in. All the concerns above are put to rest so that you can get to work mastering this lift.

The Pin Press

This is a favorite of mine because of its simplicity and effectiveness. It’s like “the deadlift of bench.” With pin press, you start at the negative, that is, with the bar resting on the safeties, an inch or so above your chest. This alone makes it harder, but the obvious advantage is that you can work on your positive form.

To get started, you must understand a bit about positioning, because that is what really makes or breaks the lift. Get your bench centered into a power rack with adjustable safeties. Set the safeties at about 2-3 inches above your chest while lying flat, it should be even less after you get your arch on. Set up the bar on the safeties, lie down on the bench and slide the bar into position. Move your feet back until the weight is on the front of your foot, heels elevated. You should feel tightness in the quads.  Now grab the rack and pull yourself under, keeping your feet in the same position. This will make your legs even tighter and form a strong arch in the back.  Pinch your shoulder blades together and you’re ready. This description is probably very confusing , so do watch this video [link!11].  It will take dozens of attempts to get good at bench positioning, so don’t be afraid to make several attempts before taking the weight.

Once you’ve got your position set up, play around with the bar and see where you have the most power. I recommend starting with the bar approximately above the sternum. Begin by exploding upwards. Make sure to use leg drive, by pressing with your feet until your hips come up. The pin press is very much a mental movement. Having the bar resting in front of you, it’s easy to half ass it and think it’s too heavy, but here is where you really need to harden the fuck up and explode.

Rack Press

The rack press is similar to the pin press in setup except that you begin from the positive. Unrack the bar just as in the regular bench, bring the bar down to the safeties, and press up. You can choose whether to deload or pause at the bottom or not, either way is good. To take full advantage of the movement, put the safeties at your sticking point and pause one second at the bottom.

Board Press

Board press is almost identical to rack press except that instead of using safeties to cut ROM, you rest 2x4s on your chest. Because of this, you need two lifting partners, someone to spot the bar and someone to hold the boards. Boards simulate the role of the body in regular bench, by acting like an extension of the torso and allowing a small amount of bounce. This is a really solid movement that mimics the bench very well but lets you train different sticking points and ranges.  If you don’t have any 2x4s you can use the smallest bumper plates (10lbs for example) and stack them on your chest.

Squat Variations

Box Squats

Squats are tricky when it comes to cutting ROM, since most people squat too shallow anyway, but these variations should definitely be part of your swole arsenal. The easiest way to vary ROM is with box squats. First they are a great way to get perfect depth everytime.  Alternately you can pick a box a bit above parallel to try and move more weight. If you have never done box squats before make sure to take the time to learn the movement, as it can be different than a regular squat. You won’t be able to cheat the reps away and half ass it since you have to touch down at a certain depth every rep. You can deload at the bottom or just touch and go. If you deload and your form sucks, you will quickly find yourself sitting with a couple hundred pounds on your back that won’t budge. So the first couple of times, make sure to get a spotter in case things go sour, otherwise just dump the bar. Most important thing here is to keep your shins pretty straight, and to have the bar be in a straight line with your heels, aka good squat form.

Arrows indicate knees pushing outwards

Rack Squat

Same deal as rack bench, set up safeties at different heights and squat. The added benefit here is obviously safety; you don’t have to worry about failing and you can put all your focus on form and power. You can start from the safeties, as in pin press, or by unracking from the top. Make sure to maintain and practice form and explosiveness. A lot of people try to go slow and steady in an attempt to ‘work’ the muscle, but trust me, the best way to shock your muscles is by exploding with tons of weight.

Deadlift Variations

Rack Pulls & Lockouts

The death-lift is where partial ROM is most commonly used. This is done by lifting the bar from the safeties instead of the floor. Make sure to look at our Deadlift page for technique and tips. Set up the safeties at a height ranging from a few inches off the floor to around knee height. While standing, come as close to the bar as you can.  Grip the bar and squat back, striving to keep the shin perpendicular to the ground.  Pull with your shoulders behind the bar, as if pulling backwards. You should adjust the safeties and train rack pulls from different heights.  For lockouts, start with the safeties above the knee. A good way to incorporate this into your routine and increase your deadlift is to start with the safeties an inch below the knee and each workout move down one notch.  Lift heavy with reps in the 1-5 range. At the end of the cycle, max out from the floor.

Gear and ROM

Equipment can also be used to emphasize specific ranges of motion, but since it is relatively rare outside of a powerlifting gym, we will touch on it only briefly here. Chains can be hung from the sides of the barbell to add weight progressively as you lift the bar. This is mostly used to train speed.  Bands can be used in the same function, either tied around the barbell at the bottom or tied to the top of the rack.  In both cases the effect is to make the lift easiest at the start and progressively harder as you continue. If you have questions on gear you can ask our resident gear freak ’185 bench’ in the forums.
I hope you found some new exercises to add to your training, but before you go balls to the walls make sure to warm up properly with full ROM movements and progressively ramp up the weight. Although it might seem like a good idea to start with your max weight on rack bench, it’s not. So I don’t sound like a broken record, read this paragraph on warming up if you haven’t already.

The Partial R.O.M is a post from: theSwole

What is it?

“Steroids” is a buzz word that has come to mean almost anything that an athlete uses illegally, from amphetamines to blood transfusions. So what exactly are steroids? Simply put, steroids are hormones that the body makes from cholesterol. These include estrogen, progesterone, the anabolic testosterone and the catabolic cortisol. Steroids have many functions, one of which is to effect sexual differentiation in males and females.

But the steroid controversy revolves around the ones classified as anabolic steroids, those which mimic male hormones like testosterone. The role of these hormones in the body is to effect secondary masculine sex characteristics, one of which, to the boon of bodybuilders everywhere, is increased muscle mass.

Just as there are dangers in using non-anabolic steroids—birth control pills have been associated with higher risk of certain cancers, and hydrocortisone injections can cause debilitating deterioration of connective tissue—anabolic steroids have their share of side effects.  But are they rightly singled out as the most dangerous and therefore the criminalized of the bunch? If alcohol, tobacco, and meat laced with these steroids are all legal, why don’t these substances cut it?

The Dangers of Steroids: Myth or Reality?

Criminalization of steroids is commonly justified on the much hyped “dangers of steroids,” including, but probably not limited to liver or kidney failure, heart attack, permanently impaired hormonal output and killer ‘roid rage.  Where did these claims come from and do they have any basis in reality?

The Make Believe

An important point to start off with is that anabolic steroids, such as testosterone, are not in themselves toxic. They are similar or the same as hormones that are already naturally present in the body. But by increasing hormones far beyond naturally occurring levels, steroid use brings about quasi-supernatural feats of strength, speed and stature.

Injecting steroids, contrary to common opinion, is the least invasive delivery method; on the other hand oral steroids present a unique situation. When the steroid is injected into muscle it begins a slow seep into the bloodstream where it is immediately active. On the other hand, a substance swallowed must survive the digestive system and the liver before it can enter the blood.  Unless protected, it will simply be destroyed. For this reason, oral steroids contain an added ‘methyl’ group, which the liver attempts and fails to break down. While the claim of kidney failure has no apparent basis in reality, the danger of liver damage is real.  Much like Tylenol, at high doses used over long periods of time, the methyl group attached would cause liver damage.  It should be obvious from this explanation that this danger stems not from the steroid itself, but the means of delivering it.

Many other problems with steroids arise as symptoms of their suppression and criminalization.  Because they are sold on the black market, brewed in bathtubs without oversight or quality control, steroids are often of suspect purity and potency.  There is also the ever present danger of contamination, be that chemical or bacterial.  Add to this risk the restriction on the sale of syringes, which may force users to re-use and share needles, and the possibility of local infections and abscesses is compounded by the prospect of blood-borne disease.  For the inexperienced, injection itself poses a danger.  If oil is injected intravenously rather than intramuscularly, the result can be a fatal clot. The confusion of anabolic steroids and other substances such as synthol further grays the field. Synthol, which has its own slew of dangers and side effects, (as Greg Valentino found out) is actually closer to olive oil.

Mouse over for consequences

Concerns about heart problems and heart enlargement have arisen, but without a single conclusive study to back it up.  Though there has been a correlation between enlarged heart and steroids, the former is also a side effect of elite-level athletics.  This basically makes it impossible to separate here which of a confluence of possible causes is responsible for the effect.

The Possible

So you might at this point be wondering if any of the side effects are real? The truth is, for most people, the side effects of steroids are mild and temporary. Acne is one of the most common side effects and usually goes away after hormonal levels stabilize.  Prostate problems would be a possibility if you already have prostate cancer, as steroids may encourage its growth.  Steroids can have a negative effect on HDL/LDL ratio, which can be offset through diet and exercise.

Gynecomastia is only a concern with steroids that aromatize, as aromatization is the process by which testosterone is converted to estrogen. In the graph below you can see the path all steroids take, and the processes by which the body manipulates them. Special synthetic compounds have been formulated to resist aromatization which makes them ideal if you want to keep estrogen levels low. Even with steroids that do aromatize gyno will develop only in susceptible individuals (or worsen when already present).

As with any exogenous hormone, from birth control to thyroid supplementation, anabolic steroids will suppress natural hormone output.  This effect can be controlled through cycling and proper post cycle therapy. As mentioned earlier, estrogen in males is produced from testosterone. For this reason, taking an estrogen blocker will make the body produce more testosterone through the negative feedback loop, kick starting its natural production again. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) can also be used to stimulate the pituitary gland to restore testosterone production.

The biggest problems with steroids occur when they are used by kids, teens, and females. Youth, whose endocrine systems are still developing, and in fact won’t reach maturity until the late teens, are uniquely vulnerable. If the body senses elevated levels of testosterone it will curtail hormone production, leaving the child with an underdeveloped and permanently impaired endocrine system. Another issue is that aromatization of exogenous testosterone will increase estrogen levels which can lead to stunted growth. In females, androgenic steroids can cause irreversible virilization which may include deepening of the voice, facial and body hair growth, enlarged clitoris, and temporary or permanent sterility.

Virilization of the swolest type

Psychological effects such as ‘roid rage and depression have been overblown in a manner akin to Reefer Madness. Steroids effect different people differently but depression is most common after a cycle, when hormone levels are temporarily suppressed. This is why PCT is so important. As for roid rage, if you already are an asshole, steroids will just make you a bigger asshole.

I know this whole thing reads like a drug ad but I think it’s important to learn as much as you can before you start dumping any drug into your body. I really recommend reading Anabolics 2005 or any other edition.  If you desire some lite steroids entertainment/education, check out the movie Bigger Stronger Faster.

This is it for part 1.  In the next installment we will examine how important steroids are, when should you take them, and what is possible with and without them. If you do have any questions you want answered you can email us or ask away in the forums.

The S Word is a post from: theSwole

Bodyweight exercises have gotten a bad rap recently, maybe it’s because they are what you did before ‘graduating’ and never looked back on. The truth is that bodyweight movements have been used successfully for thousands of years and in our times many disciplines use them to improve strength and conditioning, from martial arts to gymnastics to the army. But if you stop reading here and think they are a substitute for weight training, think again.

So if weight training is supreme why do I need bodyweight movements? First off, everyone needs a form of cardio, unless you’re naturally 7.8% body fat. You want to do some cardio to get your body fat in check and unless you find 3 hour walking sessions FUN, you want to consider something a bit more intense. Another benefit is that unlike steady state cardio, metabolic work is short, intense and anabolic. It combines the best elements of cardio and weights. Instead of focusing on one of the two you are combining anaerobic and aerobic training by doing complexes, having short rest periods, and limiting workout sessions to 20-30 minutes.

Secondly, one thing weight training does not promote effectively is conditioning. Most weight training programs are biased towards anaerobic work, and rightly so, but this neglects aerobic fitness, which in turn can benefit the anaerobic workout. Conditioning is still very important even if you aren’t playing a sport or doing physical activity outside the gym. Just being better conditioned will allow you to train harder and longer. If you ever watched a long, drawn out MMA fight you already know why it’s important to be well-conditioned. While both fighters enter fresh and strong only the best conditioned will be able to maintain that strength and come out on top.

Bruce Lee: a product of bodyweight training

Furthermore, cardio will help with recovery both by accelerating delivery of nutrients to depleted muscles and by improving the ability of joints and tendons to tolerate and recuperate from stress. Unlike weighted movements which train the limbs on a set course, bodyweight movements are varied and at the same time offer enough low resistance to develop parts untouched by weights. Another benefit is that bodyweight movements allow for achievement of maximum ROM since there is no concern for “upping the weight.” All of this will help your mobility and flexibility as well as increase blood flow to the muscles, cutting down recovery time.

Back to Basics

Now if you know something already about metabolic work, you may be thinking, ok, where’s the link to the site selling sleds and sandbags? You won’t find any here, you don’t even need to go buy any equipment at all, save perhaps a jump rope. And that’s only if you fancy jumping rope. The great thing about these workouts is the true lack of equipment requirement, and for this reason you can do them just about anywhere, from hotel room, to dorm room, to public park. Before performing any of these complexes make sure to warm up sufficiently. You want to approach this as any other training session. The idea is to maximize work in minimal time, so set a goal of, say, 20 minutes and attempt to get the most sets in that time. You want to have a log book to record each session, and of course try to set new PRs every session. Form is also an issue. A bodyweight squat is still a squat and a doing push ups with flared out elbows is as detrimental as a likewise bench.

On another note, make sure to stay hydrated. Metabolic work is going to sweat you faster than wearing a sauna suit in a sauna, and dehydration is going to ruin your performance at best and lay you up with heat stroke at worst. In that spirit you want to start slow and build up to respectable times. You aren’t GI Jane having to go all out from Day One to earn the respect of the men. So what are the workouts?

Arnold's favorite exercise

Tabata

Named for the Japanese researcher who invented them, these cycles are short and deadly. They are designed to be the shortest route to fat loss and superior conditioning, and that is exactly what they are.

4 min: 20 sec on 10 sec off
choose one, or combo:

bodyweight squat
burpee
push-up
kettle-bell/plate swings
front squat
recumbent bike

Semantic note: This workout lasts only 4 minutes, and for a true TABATA, after 4 minutes you should be lying on the floor unable to get up dying type of exhausted. It’s ok to do a bit lighter version and stack the cycles, but that is not a true TABATA, just an interval on the 20:10 tempo.

Gymnasts train exclusively with bodyweight

Metabolic circuit

Go for 30 sec on, 30 sec off, with the following circuit:
Jumping Jacks
Burpees
Pushups
High Knees
Jumping Jacks
Bodyweight Squats

Track Sprints

Sprint 10-20 sec, walk slowly 1 min. Repeat 5-10 times.

A note about sprints: sprints are… sprints, you want to achieve maximum acceleration. They aren’t running quickly or jogging, but max effort sprints. You should not be able to sustain your sprint pace for more than 20 sec, nor this workout for more than 20 min.

Jump Rope

This is great especially if you have to be sedentary for long periods. You can jump rope throughout the day, eg. 600 jumps 2-3 times/day.

Fitting it all in

How often to train metabolic depends on your goals. Metabolic work, like lifting, requires recovery, so be sure to take rest days and include carbs in your post-work-out meal. Aim to incorporate these workouts 1-3 days/week, depending on your weight training schedule. And unless you like vomit, don’t even think about doing it on an empty stomach.

The Gymless Solution: Metabolic Work is a post from: theSwole

I know, not the first article to use that phrase, but nobody’s looking to increase their reverse hyper-extension. But beyond not impressing friends, acquaintances, and drunken strangers, a weak bench is a sign of many things, and none of them are positive.  Even if you aren’t planning to stuff your swole self into a triple ply shirt and compete anytime soon, a good bench maximizes technique, powers through sticking points and safeguards your body from injury.  Not only this, but bench is the foundation for upper body development. With that in mind we will address common benching pitfalls and mistakes that rob you of bragging rights.

Get a spot

The bench press is unique among lifts in that you absolutely should get a spot anytime you plan to go heavy. Unlike squats or military press where you can dump the weight, failing on bench is quite likely going to get ugly. But safety reasons aside there are clear technical reasons why you should have a spot.

Most basically, getting a proper hand-off is critical for maintaining form and tightness.  When you try to un-rack the bar by yourself you are priming yourself to un-rack not to bench. Get a spotter who takes off some weight but leaves you in control.  Hopefully this is your training partner, but if you don’t have one, finding the most competent person in the gym and explaining to them what you’re going for is the next best thing.  (Note for the bashful: what looks stupider: explaining to your prosthodontist why you singlehandedly put his kids through college, or asking someone for a spot?)

Big Bench; Big Chest

Aside from preserving form, training with a spotter allows you to train heavy.  If you are benching without a spot then you aren’t benching near your max.  Freed from the lingering thought of getting stuck under the bar, you can now focus purely on the movement and give it all you got. Having a spotter is a great psychological boost that cuts through the ‘gotta keep something in the tank’ mentality and lets you go balls to the walls.

The Impact of form

I know a lot of people who preach about form use that as an excuse for their weakness. But form is designed to maximize weight moved. The bench press might seem like a simple movement but it’s actually very technical. Knowing where and how to lower the weight in order to maximize muscle activation and leverage is going to make the difference between a new PR and a stale plateau.  You will be really shocked to see the difference form makes the first time you start working on it. The weight will seem magically lighter, you will engage more muscles and you will see why others are benching so goddamn much.

There is no faster way to suck on bench then to have all your body loose and turn it into arm movement.  Bench is a full body exercise; if you are not engaging your full body you are doing it wrong. You need to build up tension as you perform the negative, loading the weight into your muscles and preparing for the explosive positive. Think of your muscles as rubber bands. The tighter you stretch a rubber band, the more force it stores and the more power it can generate.  Now if you have a very loose rubber band it can stretch a ton before it builds up any resistance, versus a really tight one that you only need to pull a bit and it’s about to snap. Setup on the bench in the same spirit as the tight rubber band.

Tuck your shoulder blades in, arch your back until you feel the weight on your traps, flex your lats, glutes (yes) tensed, push your legs back until you feel tension in your quads.

That’s the simple version since bench form is an article for itself so make sure to read our bench page.

Range of Motion

Another critical aspect for bench is range of motion, or the distance the bar travels.  The less the bar moves the more weight you can handle.  If it doesn’t intuitively seem true to you, compare your decline and incline bench and come back to me.  I’m not asking you to develop the flexibility of a pre-teen contortionist and get that barely legal arc, but I do believe the more weight you can move in a legit fashion the better your results. But the point of minimizing range of motion is not simply to maximize weight but also to protect your shoulders, the less they rotate the less the potential for stress and injury.

You will decrease range of motion by tucking in your elbows, increasing your grip if it is too narrow, dropping the barbell to the bottom of the sternum and having a good arch. In the end increasing weight lifted, while still remaining within the bounds of good form is going to trigger large muscle and strength gains.

Triceps

There are no strong benchers with weak triceps. Tricep strength is crucial for a big bench and increasing it is perhaps the easiest way to increase your bench. Get good at close-grip bench, skull-crushers, and other heavy tricep movements and the bench will go up by itself.  A lot of people train bench heavy then go and get in some half-assed tricep work, cheating their way through every rep and then wondering why their bench sucks. Tricep exercises are very easy to cheat on. I see people all the time do tricep pushdowns and turn that movement into some bastardized cable-dip. When you isolate the triceps, you isolate them; your elbow shouldn’t be moving. If it’s heavy, drop the weight. For triceps make sure to mix it up and train both for weight and reps, don’t neglect one or the other.

Branch has some mighty triceps

Speed

Look no further than Olympic lifters. Even the lightest ones throw your bench max above their head for a warm-up. Why lift fast? Well, the faster the weight moves the more momentum it carries, the lighter it goes. Got a sticking point? Well blast through it. Another benefit is that when you go for maximum acceleration that’s when you truly engage all your muscles and it’s one of the fastest ways to improve your strength. It’s also another way to simulate heavy loads without going heavy. Did I just blow your mind? The power needed to get, for example, 185lbs to your max speed could be even higher than the output on your max attempt. This will also allow you to tinker with your form with lighter weights and learn explosiveness. A good way to fit this into your regular training is to have a repetition/speed day and a maximum effort day where you train heavy. On the speed day do ~8 sets of bench 2-4 reps each at about 45-65% of your 1RM, remember the goal is speed and form, so get to work.

Conclusion

This article is by no means the end-all solution to your bench, but a starting point for improving your bench. Use this as a checklist to see if you’re neglecting something. Make sure to check the main bench press article and our article on utilizing reps and sets effectively.

As always if you are left with any questions discuss in the forums or email us directly.

How much you bench? is a post from: theSwole