A bit of power

I've spent the last month training heavy with a couple of guys at the gym. It's not something I do often, but change is often a good thing, so I gave it a go.

I'm currently up to 150kg squat, 170kg dead lift, 70kg clean, 60kg clean and press, and 110kg bench press.

When I get back to my usual sort of training (higher reps) the poundages will no doubt increase.

E Book

The training E Book is nearing completion. Most of the text has been written and the photos will be taken in a few weeks. This is an incentive to enter another peak phase of dieting once this two week holiday is over.

I've elected to reduce carbs a bit more and increase essential fats, which are vital for encouraging the body to burn fat as energy.

I'm training with low volume and heavy weights at the moment. Generally I do a warm up set of ten reps, the weight stays the same each workout for this. I then perfrom one set of 6-8 reps making sure to increase the reps or weight each workout.

Exercises are predominantly big compound moves, although I am using giant sets on shoulders at the moment.

My body fat % is now below 12% and should dip below 10% in the next month or so.

Many of my clients are now upping the weights and reducing the reps - training is always cyclical. A number are working on increasing their deadlifts so that they can at least lift their own body weight. Two clients are close to lifting twice their own weight. At this rate we may need to arrange a competition.

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Foundations for A Better Physique

I'm finishing off a new eBook on the foundations of physique training, soon to be available online. The book cuts through all the nonsense written about building the body and gives you all you need to start developing a proportional, structurally balanced, healthy physique.

Spring

Spring is upon us and, as is the tradition at this time of year, most of my clients are moving towards peak condition for the summer.

My own training has altered from the heavy liftin gof the winter. I am training4-5 times per week using relatively high repetitions (generally 8-15, sometimes more), short rest intervals, and a variety of grips, angles, combinations of exercises whilst keeping in the big moves like dead lifts and squats.

I've reverted to a parallel grip for incline dumbbell press in order to rest the shoulder joints a little and I've dramatically reduced biceps work, having made some good gains during the winter.

My goal is to shed another 5 lbs of fat by Easter. Abdominal definition is already starting to come through due to adjustments to my diet:

Currently I'm eating 6 times a day with moderate amounts of low GI carbs, good fats, and fairly high protein. I've also added some cardio in the form of boxing just to speed up the fat loss.

Fat Loss

Melody continues to reduce her bodyfat and has been consistent with this for a few months now. She's also started training with Del and is making significant progress. This week she has increased incline flyes to 10kg and is starting to achieve full squats.

Eddie has lost 9lbs of fat in four weeks and has replaced much of this with muscle. He has trained consistently three times a week with Del and has modified his eating habits as advised. Congratulations on this incredible achievement.

Calf Training

There are a number of conflicting views about calf training: some advocate low reps and others high; some feel there is no point training calves because they are genetically determined and no amount of training will enhance them (although Arnold surely must have disproved this one!). Often calf training is neglected as, like the hamstrings, the calves are not “mirror muscles”.

Whilst it is true that outstanding calves are genetically determined there is a great deal that can be done with correct training to enhance calves.

The first point to consider is that the two parts of the calf – the soleus and the gastrocnemius – have different fast-slow twitch fibre ratios. The soleus (the lower calf) is comprised of about 88% slow-twitch fibres and is therefore most responsive to high reps. The gastrocnemius, however, is about 60% fast-twitch and therefore responds better to low reps.

To train the gastrocnemius, the knees should be locked, legs straight (standing calf raise machine; dumb bell calf raise on a step; one legged calf raise; donkey calf raise). To target the soleus the knees should be bent, as on the seated calf raise machine.

The tempo should be relatively slow – try 5 seconds eccentric and 5 seconds concentric and pause at the bottom position for between 1 and 4 seconds (i.e. 1 second during very high reps; 4 seconds on low reps). This inversely related pause increases time under tension, which leads to greater hypertrophy.