Complex training

If you know me, or follow my blogs you’ll probably have a pretty good idea by now that I love to use sports performance strength and conditioning protocols within my training to achieve a functional, shredded, muscular physique. Without a doubt this is one of my favourites and fastest ways to build muscle, melt fat, gain strength, gain explosive power and build work capacity simultaneously. Let me introduce complex training! (not to be confused with a complex, like the one I presented in a previous post - the BB warm up complex)

so what is it? Well the concept of complex training has been around for years and quite simply is a strength exercise paired with an explosive exercise of the same/similar movement pattern. For example, a bench press for 6 reps into a medicine ball chest pass for 15 reps. Not all exercises have an explosive exercise they can be paired up with, but a substitution can normally be found.  Here are some common pairings:

Strength exercise (4-6 reps)	Explosive exercise (12-15reps)
Bench press	Medicine ball chest pass
Front squat	Jump squat
Deadlift	Broad jump
Weighted pull-up	Medicine ball slam

The science behind complex training is actually quite simple when you think about it. It activates the central nervous system and fast twitch fibres simultaneously (remember these have most potential for growth and are responsible for explosive power). You can already see your going to be killing more than 2 birds with one stone right? So the strength exercise activates the fast twitch fibres, then the explosive exercise that immediately follows stresses these fibres that have been activated even more. This type of training will also shift certain muscles fibres that may be more slow twitch to perform like a fast twitch muscle fibre. If you want to become a fast, strong, explosive individual this is exactly what you want! If you want to become a slow, weed with bamboo sticks for legs stay away from this technique. My last point is that the pace of this workout torches calories and gets your heart rate up which keeps your body in that ‘fat burning’ state.

The video below shows a quick demonstration of a smith machine bench press paired with a medicine ball chest pass. Try it, you won’t be disappointed!

Abs are made in the kitchen

“abs are made in the kitchen” how many times have we all heard this phrase? Countless right? But what does it actually mean? Well quite simply it means in order to see your abs your diet must be in check. Which is 101% spot on. No doubt about it. However there is one major issue that stands out to me - So much emphasis has been put on this phrase everyone’s forgotten than you need to train your abs in order to see them more clearly and defined! They’re just like any other muscle group, in that you need to train them (hard) to develop the fibres making them more visible. Combining the diet and training together is the recipe for those chiselled set of abs you desire. So this post is my bite-back at the ‘abs don’t need to be trained’ theory. After discussing some important information about the abs I will show you a sample abs workout that can be performed in, yep you guessed it – the kitchen!

A set of shredded abs can look great. But what are they actually for? Well, they flex the trunk forward, protect the organs, assist with going to the toilet, regulate internal abdominal pressure and prevent the spine from hyperextending. Remember as well, with the abs there’s more than meets the eye. You also have the core, which is a strong column set deep inside your body. Having a strong, well developed core creates a solid foundation for all everyday activities. For us weight training folk a stronger core means bigger weights on compound lifts like squats and deadlifts etc.

Due to the location of the abs on the body (they are situated very close to the heart and lungs) they can oxygenate and recover from a set very quickly, so you can hit them hard. Some people I see in the gym stick a few sets of crunches on the end of their workouts and wonder why they see no progress. I like to train abs with 2-3 exercises every other workout. I normally just tag the routine onto the end of my main workout. Never at the start as this will weaken your core, limiting the weight you can push or pull during your main session.  I tend to stick to the 10-20 rep range, but you can go higher or lower, you just need to see what works best for you. Lastly, don’t be afraid to add some resistance to your abs exercises. Remember they need to be ‘developed’ in order for them to become more visible.

When devising my abs routines I normally stick to this simple, yet effective formula:

·         Movement A -  trunk or hip flexion / upper or lower abs work

·         Movement B – rotation or side bend / oblique work

·         Movement C – bridging/core work

Heres a very simple abs workout that uses this formula (note it doesn’t have to be performed in a kitchen, it just fitted in perfect with the title!)

Movement A – weighted crunch
3-4 x 10-20 reps

Movement B – seated Russian twist
3-4 x 10-20 reps

Movement C - L sit hold
3 x 30-60 seconds

The negatives

Who are the negatives? The negatives are a certain group of people that live, run, walk and hide among us. They have one goal in mind – to ruin your goals. In other words they want to see you fail because they can’t succeed. At first I thought they were ‘haters’, but hate is a harsh word. And over the last few years I’ve come to learn that they don’t all hate you. In some cases it’s the opposite, they want to be you.

You know the sort of people I’m talking about right? They’re normally the ones that have negative things to say on your Facebook status updates or your photos. The ones who take the piss out of you for having a dream, believing in yourself and turning that dream into a reality. It’s just something I, and you (yeah you, I know that by reading this you have goals, dreams and aspirations in life and are actively looking for new ways to improve your fitness) will have to deal with on the road to success.

I’ve always wondered why the negatives do it. Truth is I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows. It could be jealously, hate or maybe it’s because you’re everything they wish they could be. Just do me a favour and block all the negatives out of your life, they’re dead weight and will only hold you back from reaching your true potential.

“Regardless of where your passion lies…whether its fitness, car racing or chess. There will always be those people that want to see you fail because they can’t succeed. Forget the haters”
Aaron Breckell

“life is filled with people that try and gun you down, but it’s the people that take the hits and get straight back up again that live on to be the most successful”
Aaron Breckell

Battling rope drills 101

Battle rope drills, quite simply one of the cheapest, most exciting and productive conditioning tools available on the market today. What are they? quite simply a long piece of thick heavy rope. In this blog post I’m going to briefly cover their benefits, the most common exercises and how I incorporate them into my training. I’ve seen many sports people incorporating them into their workouts, but particularly fighters such as MMA. Even top movie star Jason Statham claims to use them as part of this workout routine when getting in shape for a movie role. He swears by them due to their functionality crossover into real life fighting, strength and endurance situations.  

First off let’s look at what they can be used for. They require the whole body to execute most exercises, but focus most heavily on the core, back, shoulders and arms. They give a great cardio workout, working the heart and lungs as well as a strength building workout for your upper body. Some exercises and programmes using battling drills are very intense, so they will help build mental and physical work capacity, but be prepared to feel some nausea!

Here are some common drills, all of which are demonstrated in the video below:

·         Double waves

·         Alternating waves

·         Slams

·         Jumping jacks

·         Alternating waves with a walk

·         Side to sides

I personally like to use battling rope drills on two certain occasions. Firstly I would use them as part of a cardio workout if I’m looking to improve general fitness or get shredded for a photoshoot. When I do this I like to use an interval style protocol. Such as 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest. The second time I would use them is at the end of a weights workout as a finisher. They make a great finisher to a back or shoulders workout to build work capacity. On a final note, they're great fun and would recommend anyone to try them!

Forced negatives

Forced negatives! Sounds brutal right? Without beating round the bush, it is and it will destroy you! So what is it? Quite simply you load the bar or machine with up to 100% of your 1 rep max and fight the resistance all the way down (1 arm or leg a time)

Before I show you one of my favourite chest and back workouts using this principle lets take a look at the benefits of training this way.  I personally like to use forced negatives as a shock tactic for whenever I feel a body part needs that little bit of extra work. I wouldn’t recommend training this way non stop for over 3 weeks as you will soon run yourself into the ground and risk over-training.

Research has shown the eccentric portion of the rep induces most of the microtrauma to the fibres which in turn stimulates the body to grow them bigger and stronger than before. This would also suggest why you feel intense DOMS the following morning from using heavy negative reps. Negative reps also put stress on the tendons and supporting structures of the muscle which is great for strengthening them and bullet proofing your body against injury.

 Some important points I want to make before you head down to the gym to try it are firstly be as accurate as you can when selecting your weight for the negative reps. To work out a good starting weight you need to work out 60% of your 1RM for that particular lift and work up, adding 10% each week. Remember, that because you’re working unilaterally 60% of your 1RM on one limb would be more than it can handle because the other limb isn’t there to help out. As you get closer to your one rep max I recommend having a spotter present.

Second point is to control the negative portion, taking at least 4-5 seconds to fight the weight and then reset the bar with both arms and repeat negatives for reps.  In my workouts I also include ‘flush sets’ which is a lighter weight/higher reps to finish and flush the muscle with blood for maximum nutrient delivery. Lastly warm-up properly and TAKE CARE, you never know when an injury could occur in the gym. Forced negatives work on a variety of exercises so get experimenting!

Here is my chest and back workout using the forced negative principle. It doesn’t look much written down, but try it and I guarantee the intensity and shock factor won’t disappoint you.

exercise	sets	reps	notes
Smith machine bench press	2	3-5 negatives per arm	Reset the bar with both arms, then fight the resistance all the way down with 1 arm
Cable fyle	3-4	12-15	lighter weight/higher reps to flush the muscle with blood for maximum nutrient delivery
Unilateral lat pull down	2	3-5 negatives per arm	Pull the handle down to the top of your chest with both hands then fight the resistance all the way up with one arm
Seated cable row	3-4	12-15	lighter weight/higher reps to flush the muscle with blood for maximum nutrient delivery

Forced negatives example on a smith machine bench press

Take 4-5 seconds to lower the weight, 1 arm at a time, fighting the resistance all the way down (remember to set the safety’s at an appropriate height)

Reset the bar with both arms and repeat for reps.

Increase speed, size and strength...with a piece of latex!?

When I first saw it being done, I must admit I was sceptical. It looked silly and how could it possibly help me increase my strength? I did my research, found out why so many people in the fitness and sports conditioning industry are raving about them, and put them to the test. I tried and tested them myself in the trenches on a few lifts such as the bench press, close grip bench press and deadlifts. My conclusion…yeah they work! My strength and explosive power shot up on these lifts.  Why? Simple, using bands teaches your muscles to accelerate the weight on the concentric portion of the lift. Let me explain…

The simple graph below demonstrates what happens to the resistance level during 1 rep on a bench press.  The blue line shows a standard bench press with no bands. The resistance level stays the same throughout the rep. Obvious right? But look what happens when you add bands. They create a dynamic resistance throughout the rep. On the concentric phase (as your pushing away) the band gets tighter, making it harder. This will teach your muscles to speed up as you push against the increasing resistance. As you lower the weight (eccentric phase) the bands loosen and it gets easier. If you get more efficient at lifting faster and exploding heavy weights, you’ll get stronger!

So in conclusion, adding bands to various lifts is a great way to improve speed strength. It’s also a great plateau buster and a simple way to give a new feel to an old lift and freshen it up. Bands come in a degree of thicknesses/resistance levels, so start light and work your way up to a harder one.

The hangover cure

We all like a good drink once in a while right? It’s a great social, and it’s nice to just forget about the gym and healthy eating for a night right? I’m constantly looking for ways that can minimise the effect a night out on the lash has on your training. To me the actual night out isn’t the problem (I never normally would be in the gym on a Saturday night anyway) but it’s the following day that could potentially screw things up!

You spend most of the day in bed, missing meals and you miss a gym session. What if there were two things you could take to crush the hangover effect and get you back on your feet in no time? You’d probably want in! Well have a look at this….

green tea – why?  We all know green tea has a whole array of health benefits, but in particular it acts as a powerful antioxidant. Helping your body break down alcohol and exercise induced free-radicals. It also has detoxifying properties and contains a small amount of caffeine, which can help ‘wake’ your entire body from your post-party trauma.

milk thistle – why? A common supplement that’s been used for over 2000 years. It’s noted for its benefits on liver health. It protects the liver and helps improve its function. Since alcohol is moved to the liver to be broken down, the liver really could do with a helping hand from this supplement. This in turn helps the body to detox itself.

Back to reality, this isn’t the ultimate hangover cure and needs a lot more research. It certainly won’t reverse the effects of a hangover in a matter of minutes like a magic potion, but it could help get you on your way again….