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Mighty Cast: A Podcast Review

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Today I am reviewing The Mighty Cast, a podcast featuring Chris Young, Nicholas Ritchey and Physio X.  Specifically I am reviewing Episode 65 Push It Real Good, a question of intensity.

The Hosts

I found it difficult to listen to the hosts because their “chemistry” seemed rather forced. In addition the chatter between them was annoying at the start of the podcast itself.

The Content

They started out the discussion by defining intensity as a percentage of the max effort. Of course, because it is an English podcast the weights are discussed in kilograms. They define high intensity as anything greater than 90% workload. I have an issue with this definition of intensity because to me intensity can be taking a set to failure. You don't have to do 90% of your max in order to call it an intense workout. The definition seems far too specific to me.

While these guys seem basically knowledgeable about lifting, they have their own biases. Like the definition of intensity itself, they seem to want to put things into a nice formula each time and that just doesn't work. If forumulas got you better muscles everyone would have them. What angered me was they spoke about “instinctive training” and made a lot of fun of it. They even went so far as to make a joke that “instinctive training” involves sitting on your couch drinking beer. As you all should know from reading my blog I believe in instinctive training and have defined it in a much different manner.

I personally prefer the approach of someone like Layne Norton. He is not afraid to call bullshit when necessary and he has a scientific approach.

My Recommendation

I would say that if you want to learn from a different perspective this is a podcast to put into rotation, but I would not put it i the “must listen to” category at all.  Listen when you have time and skip it when you don't. It isn't that great.

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How an Old Guy Does Cardio

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As we age, recovery becomes an issue. Our bodies do not respond as well as when we were younger. You may be wondering how this has anything to do with cardio and if so you are not alone. Many people ask the same question when I discuss this with them. I am going to explain all of that and more in the following article. Please note that younger people can benefit from this approach as well. However, this is not the approach you are going to use during a contest preparation cycle. This is strictly off-season stuff I am describing here.

Recovery and Cardio

I recommend that every single person trying to stay in shape should do a program that consists of weight training as well as cardiovascular exercise. Not only would I recommend this, I think it is required in order to be in the best possible shape. That's my own impression and it is shared by most of the people in the industry. This means that recovery will become an issue.

Most if not all cardio exercise puts a strain on your leg muscles and other body parts. This means the muscles are going to work harder than just weight training alone and that could quite possibly change the recovery time for the muscles. This is something you must pay attention to because you do not want to risk injury. I hope you noted I did not mention “over training” here because I honestly do not believe you can “over train” at all. Yes, I am aware that is a controversial statement, but it is not something I plan to go into in this article.

Cardio Workouts Described

I believe in mixing up the cardio sessions that you do on a regular basis just like I believe in mixing up the weight training workouts you do. I utilize 6 different types of cardio workouts.

HIIT

This is a standard High Intensity Interval Training session. After a short 2 minute warm up (don't count that towards you total time) you do 30 seconds of high intensity followed by 90 seconds of low intensity. This could be sprinting for 30 seconds and walking for 90 seconds. Push yourself!

HIIT2

This is a standard High Intensity Interval Training session. After a short 2 minute warm up (don't count that towards you total time) you do 45 seconds of high intensity followed by 1 minute 15 seconds of low intensity. This could be sprinting for 45 seconds and walking for 1 minute 15 seconds. Push yourself!

HIIT3

This is a standard High Intensity Interval Training session. After a short 2 minute warm up (don't count that towards you total time) you do 60 seconds of high intensity followed by 60 seconds of low intensity. This could be sprinting for 60 seconds and walking for 60 seconds. Push yourself!

SS

This is steady state cardio and consists of finding a good speed of movement and maintaining it for the entire time of the workout.

II

This is incline intervals. Set up a good pace for walking on the treadmill or stepmill. After a 2 minute warm up (do not count that towards your total workout time) you will increase the incline (if on the treadmill) or level (if on the stepmill) every 1 minute. When you are 3 minutes from the end of your training session drop everything back down to a low level to cool down a bit.

HIITJJ

This is a standard High Intensity Interval Training session with jumping jacks thrown in. After a short 2 minute warm up (don't count that towards you total time) you do 60 seconds of low intensity followed by 60 seconds of high intensity. You then immediately get off the treadmill (let it continue running) and do 60 seconds of jumping jacks. Carefully get back on the treadmill and repeat the cycle.  

Cardio Schedule

I believe you start out small and grow from there. As a result you should follow a ramp up schedule as follows (please note that I have inserted the weight training days in there as well). 

Week 1

Type Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
Weights Off Ham/Thighs Chest/Tri Off Back/Biceps Shoulders/Calves Off
Cardio 20 minutes Off 20 Minutes Off 20 minutes Off Off

Su = HIIT; Tu = SS; Th = II

Week 2

Type Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
Weights Off Ham/Thighs Chest/Tri Off Back/Biceps Shoulders/Calves Off
Cardio 25 minutes Off 25 Minutes Off 25 minutes Off Off

Su = HIIT; Tu = SS; Th = HIITJJ

Week 3

Type Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
Weights Off Ham/Thighs Chest/Tri Off Back/Biceps Shoulders/Calves Off
Cardio 30 minutes Off 30 Minutes Off 30 minutes Off Off

Su = HIIT; Tu = SS; Th = HIIT2

Week 4

Type Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
Weights Off Ham/Thighs Chest/Tri Off Back/Biceps Shoulders/Calves Off
Cardio 30 minutes Off 30 Minutes Off 30 minutes Off 20 minutes

Su = HIIT; Tu = SS; Th = HIIT3; Sa = II

Week 5

Type Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
Weights Off Ham/Thighs Chest/Tri Off Back/Biceps Shoulders/Calves Off
Cardio 30 minutes Off 30 Minutes Off 30 minutes Off 30 minutes

Su = HIIT; Tu = SS; Th = HIITJJ; Sa = SS

Continuing the Pattern

When you use the schedule I prescribe above you will want to make adjustments to the Thursday and Saturday workouts. Never do more than 2 HIIT type workouts in a week. I suggest changing up the type of HIIT on Thursday and then mixing up incline intervals and steady state cardio on the Saturday session. This will keep your body guessing and will allow you ample recovery time.

Watch the Fat Peel Off

Doing this type of cardio schedule along with the weight training with extreme intensity you will begin to see the fat just fall off your body. This is the goal (of course). At the same time, if things slow down, tweak the time of each session. Increase by 5 minutes at a time. I would recommend increasing the Thursday time by 5 minutes and the Saturday time by 5 minutes first. Watch your results. They should begin moving forward again. If they don't or if they stop moving forward add 5 minutes to the Sunday and Tuesday sessions. Continue doing this until you reach 45 minutes. If you are doing 45 minute sessions then you might want to start changing the length of each session so that they are broken up — 45 minutes on Sunday, 35 minutes on Tuesday, 40 minutes on Thursday, 30 minutes on Saturday. Just keep playing with the strategy and remember that this is called the Experiment of One for a reason.

Have fun and get your cardio done!

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Monday Madness Workout: Calf Control

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The calves can be a very difficult muscle to train. They are used to carrying around our body weight all day long, so getting them to respond to a weight training program can be very difficult. I have developed an approach that works for my calves and it could very well work for you as well if you follow the instructions I give you.

The Burn Does Not Mean Stop!

The first thing I want to drill into your head is the burn does not mean it is time to stop. As a personal trainer I see this all the time with my clients. They get to the point where the muscle starts to burn and they stop. No! Push past the burn. Go beyond that. Push yourself into the area where growth will occur.

The burn just means there is lactic acid building up in the muscle. If you are going to failure, as long as the weights are moving (even an inch) you have more repetitions left to do. Get them all! Never ever stop short!

The Confusion Principle

Is there any such thing? We have heard about “muscle confusion” from P90X and I am here to say that while I get the point, it is nothing new. Periodization has been around forever in the bodybuilding world. Calf training is an area where you must change things up to get the job done.

I am going to hand you a program that will shock your calves. You will feel soreness in your calves for days after this workout and I guarantee that's not something you are used to. Most people do not train their calves nearly hard enough.

Execution of the Exercises

Please remember that form is more important than the amount of weight you push around. You could do this workout with 200 lbs. and poor form and you will get better results dropping to 100 lbs. with excellent form. For the calves you want to get a full stretch at the top of every movement. Act as though you are trying to reach something up on a very high shelf and get on the tips of your toes so that your calves get fully stretched. At the top fo the movement pause so that there is a squeeze. Slowly lower the weight back down. Do not bounce the weight at all.

The Workout Plan

Exercise Sets Repetitions
Standing Calf Raises 3 15
Standing Calfe Raise 2 30
Seated Calf Raise 3 15
Seated Calf Raise 2 30
Leg Press Calf Press – Toes in 2 50
Leg Press Calf Press – Toes out 2 50
Donkey Calf Raises 2 15
Barbell Calf Raises 2 30

The Workout Described

This workout will shock your calves for sure. It starts out with standing calf raises. Use a heavy weight and get 15 reps to just shy of complete failure. Push through the burn. Do 3 sets in this manner. Now lower the weight and do 2 more sets and get 30 reps just shy of complete failure. Now move eon to the seated calf raise and use the same strategy. Do 15 repetitions with a heavy weight for 3 sets just shy of failure. Lower the weight and get 2 more sets at 30 repetitions just shy of failure. Continue on to the leg press machine. You are going to do calf presses here. Use a light weight. Point your toes in towards each other and do 2 sets of 50 repetitions. Now turn your toes outward away from each other and do another 2 sets of 50 repetitions. By now your calves will be sore, but you are not done. You are going to finish them off with 2 rarely done movements. Do 2 sets of Donkey Calf Raises with a heavy weight for 15 repetitions. Go to complete failure on both sets. Finish the workout with Barbell Calf Raises. Do 2 sets of 30 repetitions to complete failure. Obviously you will have to use a lighter weight.

Tips to Making This Work

You need to push past the burn. I cannot say that enough. Calf exercises burn and they burn a lot. Pushing past will get you to where you need to go. You will work the muscle hardcore. You also should change up the order of things. Change the seated calf raises around with the standing calf raises. You can also mix up the order of the heavy vs. light sets. Don't get complacent with the calves because they will not grow unless you shock them hard.

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How I Know I Can Build Muscle

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How can I be so sure that I can build muscle? Part of it is experience and the other part is the network of people that I know. I went from 240 lbs. and 30% body fat a year ago to 240 lbs. and 15% body fat today. That's an increase of 36 lbs. of lean body mass. 

Intensity in Training

I know I can build muscle because I train with extreme intensity. I don't worry about burns because burns don't mean the muscle is done working. Yes, I pay attention to pain, but the burn you feel doesn't mean it is time to stop working. I push myself to a place I like to call “beyond” and it forces my muscles to grow. This type of intensity is something most people don't even know exists.

I see it all the time with my clients. I tell them to go to failure and then I see them mentally counting the reps. They stop when I can clearly see they have more in them. When I call them on it they say “I did 15 reps!” My response to that never varies–“Why the hell are you counting the reps when your job was to get to failure?” They usually laugh because they know exactly what I am saying–they quit because they “did 15 reps” not because they had reached failure.

Consistency in Training

I am consistent with my weight training. I rarely take time off unless I am injured or my body is screaming for the rest. Otherwise I train and train and train. My muscles grow as a result. I have seen this first hand. I was able to add a V-shape to my back with this type of approach. Consistent and hard training for 3 months and I went from Photo A to Photo B.

RearLat.jpg

Notice how much wider my back is?.
Photo A Photo B

I was able to accomplish this improvement in a very short period of time. Through consistent training methods.

The Squeeze Method

I was taught “The Squeeze” by Ken Turchek and it has been the single most useful technique I have learned for training purposes. It has given me a much bigger gain in lean body mass than I ever thought possible. He taught me to focus on the squeeze of the muscle. It made me really focus on the mind-muscle connection. It made me work the muscles to failure. I was able to efficiently work every muscle group using “The Squeeze” technique. I will be describing this technique in a video coming soon.

Conclusion

I know I can build muscle because I have proven the ability to do so already and I am confident in my approach to bodybuilding. I have gone back to the basics and it really works. You can do the same thing.

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Saturday Sharing MeMe: #6

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Saturday Sharing

Today I’d like to share with you my 5 questions about fat loss techniques from your perspective. Your job is to answer the questions in the comments or on your own blog that relate to the topic this week. If you decide to put the list on your own blog, be sure to leave a comment with a link to your blog. Please note that permission is NOT granted top copy the question to a forum or message board for the purpose of having the readers participate in the answering of the topic.

 

 

Topic for Saturday, June 15, 2013: Fat loss techniques.

  1. What is your favorite fat loss technique?
  2. Do you think carbs are evil?
  3. HIIT training for fat loss. True or false?
  4. Carb cycling is best for fat loss. True or false?
  5. What's the best fat percentage to begin bulking at?

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