American Football inspired programme 'wrap-up'

First off allow me to apologise for the delayed update! I’ve been away on a short holiday and I’ve just generally had a lot going on. Never the less, I’ve worked very hard on this programme for 6 weeks and have thoroughly enjoyed it.  In this post I’m just going to give a quick run down of how I thought the programme went, what I enjoyed, what didn’t enjoy etc.  

Let’s start with the bad news. The only major issue to me with this programme was that I didn’t enjoy making the contrast from intense compound workout incorporating very hard technical exercises like the snatch and clean to an arms workout. From an aesthetic point of view it’s great and it helped to keep and develop a balanced physique, but mentally I just couldn’t get in the zone to switch during the week.  Try it, you might find it different.

The good news is that I achieved my goal of wanting to snatch 60KG. When I worked up to 50KG and 55KG I was very doubtful 60KG was ever going to go up, but hard work and a positive mental outset worked a treat! I’ve always noticed these entire compound workouts involving a lot of muscle groups help to develop muscle whilst reducing fat simultaneously (it’s a slow process, but yes it can be done given a good diet and enough rest). Physically I felt more explosive and powerful during and after I had completed the 6 week programme. If you need reminding of the actual workout plans, check out this link http://fitinfivehundredwords.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/football-inspired-training-programme.html?spref=fb

 So what next? Well I’ve enjoyed this sports inspired programme a lot and don’t fancy going back to a typical bodybuilding weekly split just yet. After the Olympic hype I’m feeling a sprint inspired programme? Aimed at increasing muscle, reducing body fat and increasing sprinting speed? Maybe titled ‘Becoming Bolt’? Watch this space…..

Football inspired training programme

I’ve recently got hold of a typical American football pre-season workout plan as used by Mike Clark, Texas A&M’s (now ex) strength and conditioning coach. Its aim is adding strength, speed and power to his players.

On the surface it looks like a fantastic programme, but to me there are two major faults if someone like me wanted to use it. Firstly the volume, there’s 4 sessions a week with some exercises containing up to 7 sets. For someone like me, with a day job and other commitments I’d end up running myself into the ground and risk slipping into a state of overtraining.  Secondly there is a lack of arms training. For guys like me who’s after an aesthetic, well balanced body as well as gains in strength and power this is not good. So I’ve made a few amendments and this is what I’m left with…  

Exercise	Sets	Reps
snatch	3	3,3,3
squat	5	10,8,6,3,8
Lateral bound	2	20
Smith machine bench press	5	8,6,5,5,3
1 arm DB row	5	10,8,8,8,8
Treadmill sprints (sprint on a switched off treadmill, using the weight of the belt as resistance)	2-3	60 yards

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Drop clean	1	5
Power clean	5	4,3,3,2,2
Overhead split squat	4	6,6,6,6
Standing dumbbell press	5	10,8,6,6,5
DB shrugs (use straps)	4	8,8,8,8
Speed ladder sprints (run though ladder using various drills, then sprint away for 40 yards)	2-3	40 yards

Exercise	Sets	Reps
snatch	4	3,2,1,1
Walking lunge	4	6,6,4,4
Stiff leg deadlift	4	8,8,6,6
Low incline (fat gripz) DB bench press	4	10,6,6,6
Pull-up	4	10-20
Turn and go drill (back pedal 10 yards, turn and sprint 20 yards)	2-3	30 yards

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Barbell preacher curl	3	8-12
Zottman curl (with fatgripz)	3	8-12
Cable press down	3	8-12
Lying DB skull crusher	3	8-12
TRX rollout	2	60 secs
Cable woodchop	2	10-15

In addition to these 3 power sessions and 1 arms/core session (ego day) a week I will also include 1-2 flexibility or foam rolling sessions at home for added recovery.

All in all it looks like quite an exciting programme and I’m personally looking forward to starting it this coming weekend. My main goal with this programme is to fulfil my goal I made on the gym ‘pledge’ wall and snatch 60KG; my current PB is 50KG.

 With this programme I’m really all about performance results, any changes in my body comp (and I no doubt will see some changes) are just a side effect. I plan to follow it for 4-6 weeks and I’ll keep you posted with how I’m getting on and write a review after it’s complete.

'666' leg training from hell

So here’s my 666 legs workout I performed the other night, it was tough and certainly suits its name – leg training from hell. I felt great throughout the workout, my heart was racing, I was pumped and I was lifting some fairly heavy poundages (by my standard). The following day however was a struggle! Walking up or down any stairs was a challenge and I’m still feeling it now, but like they say “NO PAIN NO GAIN!” Before I show you the workout let me just touch on what 666 training actually is, if you don’t already know.

Its basically 6 sets of 6 reps in 6 minutes. The reason its become one of my favourite training protocols is because it hits a lot of goals in one. For example, you’re working with 6 reps which is the higher end of the strength training rep range and the lower end of hypertrophy training. 6 sets is a substantial amount of volume to place stress on the targeted muscles and give a good training effect. Lastly the pace of the workout gets your heart rate up and keeps it up, giving a cardio element to the session as well. It works really well for most body parts, but I wouldn’t use it for longer than 4-6 weeks.

Now you have a basic understanding behind the 666 protocol here was my leg workout:

exercise	sets	reps	time
Smith machine front squat	6	6	6 mins
Dumbbell Bulgarian split squat	6	6	12 mins (double time as your working uni- laterally)
Seated leg curl	6	6	6 mins
Standing machine calf raise	6	6	6 mins

On a final note here are some tips if you’re brave enough to try out the 666 training protocol:

·         Be a clock hawk – watch the time, don’t let each exercise last longer than 6 minutes. As a guide 45 seconds rest between each set should get it done In time

·         Use the same weight throughout all 6 sets for that particular exercise

·         No more than 2-3 exercises per muscle group

The perfect post-workout shake

So I had a quick brainstorm this morning that I thought I’d share with you about what I think the perfect post workout shake should do/contain. Yes, I understand that there are more things you may want from your post workout shake, but I’ve focused on the things that are the most important to me. There are also a lot of ‘ready made’ post workout shakes out there on the market that you can buy, but if you break down the ingredient profiles of each product I guarantee they will contain some, if not all of these ingredients I came up with on my brainstorm.

If you take one ingredient from each category you will find yourself with a very effective post workout shake that will help you increase your lean muscle mass. An example, and one of my favourites is as follows:

·         Whey isolate (40g)

·         Vitargo (100g)

·         Creatine monohydrate (5g)

·         Glycine (10g)

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