A Crash Course on Weight Training; Part Four – Routines

In this fourth and final installment of our weight training crash course, we’ll talk about several different routine options.  Obviously, there is lots of room for variation and variety when designing your routine, and a surprisingly dense science to cycling your training and employing different intensity strategies.  In fact, I feature several very detailed chapters in my book about all of this stuff.  But, for our purposes here, we’ll talk about options in broad strokes.

The Full-Body Workout

At the early stages of your weight training, you’ll likely be doing an exercise or two for each of these body parts in a single session, two or three times a week. Emphasis should be on your primary, or building, movements.

If you decide to do this routine twice a week, you’ll want to hit it a little more intensely and make sure you wait at least 72 hours between workouts.  If you want to do this routine three times per week, then you’ll want to hit it a little lighter and take at least 48 hours between workouts.  (Reference Part Three – Movements and Exercises, for a list of potential Primary and Secondary options for each body part.)

Either way, here’s an example of what a full-body workout might look like at a glance:

1. Warm-up

Pushing Movements:

2. Chest

3. Shoulders

4. Triceps

Pulling movements:

5. Back

6. Biceps

Legs:

7. Legs

The Extras:

8. Calves

9. Abs

Notice that, in this basic full-body workout regimen, we’re still grouping the body parts in accordance to the four types of movements.  But, it really doesn’t matter what order you do it in.  I would, however, suggest that you always do the largest muscle group of a category first (like chest before shoulders or tri’s).

For the first few weeks, you might only need a couple sets per body part, gradually increasing the amount of sets and exercises over time.  Eventually, your full-body workouts might unfold something like this:

Warm-up

1. Quick cardio: Five to ten minutes on a stationary bike, treadmill, etc.

2. Two sets of light dumbbell lateral raises (to warm up the shoulders).  Nice and easy, in the 10 to 12-rep range.

Chest

Primary Movement: Choose a basic, flat bench type of pressing movement to get started.  It could be flat bench barbell or a machine that emulates this pressing movement.  Do a few sets, gradually increasing the weight each time.

Secondary Movement: Choose either dumbbell flys, cable-crossovers or pec-deck and do two or three sets.

Shoulders

Primary Movement: Some kind of overhead press will be the staple movement for you.  And since your shoulders should be warmed up pretty good from training chest, you can jump right into it.  Start off with either barbell, dumbbell or machine military presses.  Do three sets.

(Opt.) Secondary Movement: Lateral Raises with dumbbells or machine are a good choice for a secondary shoulder movement when you’re ready for some extra shoulder work.  Do 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.

Triceps

Primary Movement: Pick either tricep pushdowns, overhead tricep extensions or a triceps extension machine, then do three sets of 8 to 12 reps.

Back

Primary Movement: Go for lat pull-downs.  Be sure to really isolate your back muscles on this one, thinking of your hands as hooks and pulling more from your back than your arms. Do three or four sets.

Secondary movement: Go for 2 or 3 sets of rows, selecting some kind of row-type apparatus, like a row machine, T-bar rows, seated cable rows, etc.:

Biceps

Primary Movement: Pick a curl movement using either a barbell, dumbbells or some kind of curl machine, then do three sets of 8 to 12 reps.

Legs

Quick warm-up: Do two light and easy sets of leg extensions for 12 to 15 reps.

Primary Movement: Choose either squats or some kind of leg press machine and do at least three or four sets.

Additional Movements: There are two kinds of additional movements to think about here;  Leg Extensions (for quads) and Leg Curls (for hams). Do 2 or 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps each:

Calves

Primary Movement: Select either a standing, seated or donkey calf machine and do at least three or four sets.

Abs

Primary Movement: Choose some kind of ab crunch machine, start off with a comfortable weight and really focus on keeping the tension in your abs.  (You should not be feeling these very much at all in your lower back.) Do three or four sets in the 15 to 30 range.

Hot Tip: If you want to save a little time, you can deal with your abs and calves sets one of two ways:

1. Do them between any of your other exercises while you’re waiting between sets.

2. Alternate your sets of calves and abs together. (These are called supersets.)

Pushing/Pulling Routine

Unless you’re looking to maintain a very basic level of resistance training conditioning, you will inevitably have to split the body into at least two different workouts.  Here’s why: As you continue to lift, your body will develop an “immunity” to your efforts and you’ll have to keep upping the intensity via more sets, more weight, more reps, etc.  Before long, that full-body workout will be taking two-plus hours!  And even then, there’s no way you’ll have the same amount of energy toward the end of the workout that you had at the beginning, so something will get slighted.  So the answer is, split it up.

This Pushing/Pulling regimen is built around a Two-Day Split routine, meaning that you will alternate two different kinds of workouts.  One will feature your Pushing Movements and the Extras; the other will feature Pulling Movements and Legs.  The beauty here is that there will be no conflicting exercises used or muscle groups trained, so you can do these workouts on back-to-back days if you want or need to.

Here are a couple ways to put it together:

Option One: “Weekdays Only”

Monday – Pushing Day: Chest, Shoulders, Tri’s, plus Abs and Calves

Tuesday – Pulling Day: Back, Bi’s, plus Legs

Wednesday – Day off

Thursday – Pushing Day: Chest, Shoulders, Tri’s, plus Abs and Calves

Friday – Pulling Day: Back, Bi’s, plus Legs

Weekend – Off

(You could add some cardio at the end of each workout and/or sneak a session in on the weekend.)

Option Two: Six-On/One-Off

This one alternates each week.  Check it out…

Week One (Start with Pushing)

Monday – Pushing Day: Chest, Shoulders, Tri’s, plus Abs and Calves

Tuesday – Cardio

Wednesday – Pulling Day: Back, Bi’s, plus Legs

Thursday – Cardio

Friday – Pushing Day: Chest, Shoulders, Tri’s, plus Abs and Calves

Saturday – Cardio

Sunday – Rest

Week Two (Start with Pulling)

Monday – Pulling Day: Back, Bi’s, plus Legs

Tuesday – Cardio

Wednesday – Pushing Day: Chest, Shoulders, Tri’s, plus Abs and Calves

Thursday – Cardio

Friday – Pulling Day: Back, Bi’s, plus Legs

Saturday – Cardio

Sunday – Rest

Week Three picks back up with Pushing, etc…

This is near-flawless regimen.  You have a solid three or four days of rest between body parts, and you’re getting some great cardio.  The only drag is that you’ve gotta add legs to back day, which could make for a long one. (If time is an issue, you can always superset legs with biceps, though.)

*************

Once again, for as long-winded as these entries have been, this truly has been a crash course.  There are so many more options available…so many different approaches to structuring your routines.  And, in fact, “routine” isn’t even a great word as it applies to weight training because, by its very nature, you will constantly want to be varying your routine so the body will keep responding.

Anyway, I hope this four-part series has been of some help to those of you interested in resistance training.

BR

A Crash Course on Weight Training; Part Three – Movements and Exercises

Before we get into the actual routines, let’s talk about movements and exercises.

One of the first things to understand about designing a resistance training routine is how certain body parts work together to perform certain movements.  For example, when you perform a pushing movement using your pecs, you are also using your triceps and shoulders to some degree.  This is important to know for several reasons.  First, you want to avoid training any of these related groups on back-to-back days (like chest on one day, then shoulders or tri’s the next).  Second, when you think of your body as a small series of “groups,” it makes designing various routines easier.

So let’s start with the basic breakdown of movements and which body parts are involved.

Types of Movements: For easy classification, there are four different types of movements you will do to cover your entire body:

1) Pushing movements – involve the chest, shoulders, and triceps

2) Pulling movements – involve the back, biceps, and trapezoids

3) Leg movements – involve the quadriceps and hamstrings

4) “The Extras” – involve the abdominals and calves

Kinds of Exercises:

Primary movements are those staple exercises that offer the greatest overall opportunity for development of a given body part.

Secondary movements are a little more specialized, offering fine-tuning and diversity to your efforts.

Both are important to your Rock-Solid resistance training regimen, so you’ll want to integrate both kinds of movements into your various routines.

Additionally, there is the option of weightless resistance exercises. This is a category of resistance training that involves exercises that only deal with your bodyweight, like push-ups, lunges, deep knee bends, crunches, etc.  Although they won’t give you the same kind of results that weightlifting will, they are definitely of value on a number of levels and can even be integrated into the most advanced routines with excellent results.  More on this throughout the rest of this series.

Let’s take a closer look at each type of movement and some of the many exercises available.

Pushing Movements

Chest

Primary

• Flat bench press – Barbell, dumbbells, or machine
• Incline bench press – Barbell, dumbbells, or machine
• Decline bench press – Barbell, dumbbells, or machine
• Dips – Parallel bars or machine

Secondary

• Flat bench flyes – Dumbbells
• Incline bench flyes – Dumbbells
• Pec-deck – Machine
• Cable-crossovers – Cables

Weightless

• Push-ups – the floor

Shoulders

Primary

• Military press (front only) – Barbell, dumbbells or machine

Secondary

• Lateral raises – Dumbbells, cables, machine
• Front lateral raises – Dumbbells, cables, machine
• Bent-over lateral raises – Dumbbells, cables, machine

Triceps

Primary

• Triceps pushdowns – Cable
• Overhead triceps extensions – Cable
• Triceps extension machine – machine
• Lying triceps extensions – Barbell (or EZ-bar)
• Close-grip bench press – Barbell
• Reverse presses – Cable
• French presses – Barbell (or EZ-bar)
• Dumbbell kickback – Dumbbell, cable

Weightless

• Close-Grip Push-ups – the floor

Pulling Movements

Back

Primary: (For overall development and width)

• Lat pulldowns – Machine
• Chin-ups – Bar

Secondary: (For overall thickness, and inner and lower back development)

• Bent-over rows – Barbell
• Dead Lifts* - Barbell
• One-arm rows - Dumbbells, cable
• Seated pulley rows – Cable
• T-Bar/machine rows – T-bar, machine
• Rear Delt Flyes – Dumbbells machine, cable
• Hyperextensions* – Stationary apparatus at the gym

Weightless

• Chin-ups – (see above)

Biceps

Primary

• Standing Curls – Barbell, dumbbells, EZ-bar, cables
• Alternating dumbbell curls – Dumbbells
• Concentration curls – Dumbbell, cables
• Preacher curls – Barbell, EZ-bar, cables, machine
• Hammer curls – Barbell, EZ bar, cables, machine

Weightless

• Reverse-Grip Chin-ups – Bar

Curls are a classic “Pulling” movement

Traps (Trapezius) – Optional

Primary

Upright rows – Barbell, cable

Shrugs – Barbell, dumbbells, machine

Rear Delts – If necessary

(Like traps, rear delts are somewhat of an optional movement since they do come into play with many of your back movements.  Still, it doesn’t hurt to knock out a few sets for the rear delts, especially if you get a lot of good shoulder work for the front and middle heads.  Not only will this help you avoid injury by keeping your total shoulder development more equal, but it will give your physique a more balanced and refined look.)

Primary

Bent-over Lateral raises – Dumbbells

Reverse cable crossovers – Cable

Reverse pec dec – Machine

Legs

Primary

• Squats – Barbell
• Leg Press – Machine (various angles)
• Hack squats – Machine (various angles)

Secondary (Quads)

• Leg extensions – Machine
• Lunges – Barbell, dumbells

Primary (Hams)

• Stiff-legged Deadlifts – Barbell
• Lying, Standing or Seated leg curls – Machine

Weightless (Overall Conditioning)

• Bodyweight Squats – The floor
• Bodyweight Lunges – The floor
• Step-Ups –Stair step, sturdy picnic table or workout bench, etc.

The Extras

Calves

Primary

• Standing calf raises – machine
• Donkey calf raises – machine
• Seated calf raises – machine
• Calf presses – Leg press

Weightless

• Standing calf raises – Most any elevated surface (like a block of wood)
• One-leg calf raises – (Same as above)

Abs

Primary

Crunches – floor, slant board, pulley machine (with rope), weighted crunch machine

Twisting crunches – floor, slant board

Leg-lifts – bench, hanging from bar, special machine

Trunk twists – Pole

Weightless

• Most movements – (See above)

Almost home, kids,  In Part Four, our final installment, we’ll talk about several options in putting together your actual routine.

See you at the gym -

BR

A Crash Course on Weight Training; Part Two – The Nuts and Bolts

Continuing on here with Part Two, let’s look at some of the nuts and bolts of weight training lingo and procedure:

Warming-Up: It is imperative that you do some kind of quick and easy, five to 10-minute warm-up before every workout.  This gets the heart pumping, the blood and oxygen circulating, the synovial fluid flowing (which is kind of like an internal lubricant for the joints) and the muscles and tendons loosened up, all of which does a lot to safeguard against injury and prepare you for a great session.  A nice warm-up also enhances neuromuscular coordination, in preparation for whatever movements you will be performing.

Reps and Sets: As you engage a given exercise for a particular body part, you will be dealing with reps and sets. A rep (short for “repetition”) is one complete, start-to-finish movement of an exercise. A set is a series of reps, usually in the 5-15 range, that you’ll perform for each movement. At the early stages, you’ll typically only do one or two sets per body part, just to get your body acclimated. Later, as you’ll want to increase the intensity of your program, you will increase the number of sets.

Frequency: You will be training each body part anywhere from one to three times a week, based on a number of factors.  And you will always ensure that at least 48 hours have passed before training the same body part again (with the possible exception being abs and calves.  More on this next time).

Volume: To continue to make progress with your resistance training, you will have to continue to increase your workload so the body doesn’t become immune to your efforts.  One of the most fundamental ways this is accomplished is through volume; the actual number of sets you do per body part.  This means that the greater level of conditioning you achieve, the more total sets you will have to do and, therefore, the fewer body parts you will be able to do per session.  This is where a variety of routine options come into play.

Intensity: As you’re performing a given movement, you will want it to be increasingly difficult throughout each set as you feel a very distinctive burn in your muscles.  This ensures that you are truly experiencing resistance and your body will respond accordingly.  If you are having difficulty reaching the burn toward the latter part of your sets, it’s time to increase the intensity by raising the amount of weight you’re lifting, increasing the number of reps, or employing any of a number of other intensity techniques that we’ll be covering later.

Weightlifting Belt: These are special belts that help to support your core as you lift heavy weights.  If you really feel like you need to use one as you’re first starting out, then you’re probably lifting too heavy.  My advice would be to allow your lower back and the rest of your core to get stronger on its own.  Then, if and when you start progressing into heavier weights, try using a belt on key powerlifting-type movements like squats, dead lifts, and any other heavy type of exercise where you feel like you could use some extra support for your lower back.

Ample recovery time and “The 48-Hour Rule”: As mentioned, any given muscle group (except calves and abdominals) will need at least 48 hours to recover between workouts.  Many enthusiastic novices train the same body parts everyday, thinking that this will garner better results.  Actually, the opposite is true, because they are not allowing the body ample time to fully rebuild the muscle fiber that was broken down during their last session.  So, since you actually make your gains away from the gym, wait at least 48 hours before you hit that same muscle group again.

Breathe: Be sure to exhale during the strenuous part of the rep and inhale as you return to the starting point.

Eating: You will want to fuel your body with some nourishment about 30 minutes to an hour before your resistance training workout and within 30 minutes after your workout.

Pre-workout: A Superfoods Smoothie is your best choice.  You might also consider a bowl of oatmeal, some kind of vegan sports bar, like a Clif bar, or even a couple slices of multi-grain toast with jam.  Emphasis should be on complex carbs.  Obviously, you will want to avoid a full meal prior to training.

Post-workout: As it turns out, a Superfoods Smoothie is also the best choice as a replenishing post-workout meal, presuming you didn’t have one prior.  Other choices would be most any type of “Rock-Solid” Sit-Down meal option (which we’ll be covering in greater depth shortly).  However, if it’s going to be much more than 30 minutes before you can have that meal or smoothie, then at least have a vegan sports bar (or similar) as a quick snack to hold you over.  Emphasis should be on carbs (to replenish glycogen stores) and protein, shooting for at least 10 to 15 grams (depending on your total body weight and exercise intensity).

“Musclehead” Terminology: The universal language of weight training includes alternate names for each body part.  These are based on the technical names for the muscle and are firmly entrenched in weightlifting culture.  There’s no law to say that you have to use them, but it’s good to know them:

• Chest: “pecs” – Short for pectoralis major, the primary muscle of the chest.
• Shoulders: “delts” – Short for deltoids, the primary muscles of the shoulders.
• Triceps: “tri’s” – Short for triceps, which comprise the bulk of the back of the arm.
• Back: “lats” – Short for latissimus dorsi, the sweeping, outer muscle of the back.
• Biceps: “bi’s” – Short for biceps, which comprise the bulk of the front of the arm.
• Trapezoids: “traps” – Short for the trapezoids, which are the upper-back muscle group that frames the neck.
• Legs: “quads” – Short for quadriceps, the four primary muscles that comprise the front of the leg; “hams” – Short for hamstrings, the primary muscle group in the back of the upper leg; “glutes” – Short for gluteus maximus, the muscles of your buttocks.
• Lower leg: “calves” – Refers to the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in the back of your leg between your ankle and knee.
• Abdominals: “abs” – Generally includes all the muscles of your abdominal region, including your intercostals and obliques.

All for now.  In Part Three, we’ll talk about how to get those pecs, bi’s and quads in shape as we look at specific ways to design your program.

BR

A Crash Course on Weight Training; Part One – The Overview

The Rock-Solid approach to a superior exercise routine would include some combination of three modalities: Resistance training for muscular development and bone health. Aerobic training for cardiovascular fitness.  And flexibility training, for keeping your whole body loose and supple.

That said, resistance training (in the form of weightlifting) has always been the proverbial crown jewel of my program, so I thought I would offer a sort of crash course on many of its intricate facets.  You might find that there is a lot more of a science to it than you thought.

Why Weight Training?

Weight training strengthens and conditions the various muscles, tendons, bones and ligaments throughout the body, as well as improves overall circulation.  Ideally, you will want to use some combination of free weights and machines, in either a home gym or health club.  But before we talk about the variety of possible exercises and routines that will sculpt your body into its ultimate shape, let’s take a moment to focus on weight training and its many undeniable benefits.

From a general health perspective, modern technology (with its automobiles, escalators, elevators, chain saws, etc.) has paradoxically created the need for us to find alternative means of robust physical activity.  While these conveniences help us to live more comfortable and time-efficient lifestyles in the modern age, they do not take into account that our bodies must be active to be fit.  And if we don’t use our bodies, as the old saying goes, we lose them…to the relentless Law of Atrophy.  (Inactive adults over age 30 will lose around 3 to 5% of their muscle tissue every 10 years.)  And seldom, if ever, do any of us in the course of contemporary living, have occasion to utilize all of the different muscles throughout the body with any degree of intensity. This is where weight training comes into play. With minimal time, we can keep our bodies fine-tuned with a well-rounded lifting regimen.

I wish I could tell you about some nifty new machine or home workout device that you could use for 15 or 20 minutes, a few times a week, to get you the same results you could get at a gym.  Instead, I’ll leave that for the television marketers (who hire people who go to gyms to demonstrate their products!) and give you two irrefutable truths about weight training.

Truth #1: For the quickest, most thorough way to transform your physique and stay in excellent condition for a lifetime, there is simply no substitute for weight training.  Period.

Truth #2: There are a number of techniques and approaches to resistance training that will get you maximum results in minimum time, without you having to become a gym rat.  (You can feasibly even develop your own home gym, so long as it includes some free weights.)

There’s no question we’ve come a long way with regard to our societal perception of weightlifting. We’ve gone from the freak show, bully-kicking-sand-in-your-face-type imagery of the barbaric musclehead heaving iron around in the basement, to homemakers and accountants lifting weights alongside competitive bodybuilders in state-of-the-art health clubs around the world. Why?  Because weightlifting remains one of the most effective and important forms of exercise in the world today.

Health Benefits Galore

We often think of weight training as an activity that produces primarily aesthetic benefits, giving us attractive, muscular and/or shapely physiques. That it can do. But what about the many health benefits it offers?  For these, lifting takes a back seat to no other form of training.  A well-rounded program forces blood into all areas of the body, aiding in superior circulation. It strengthens muscles, tendons, ligaments and actually increases bone density. It also promotes deeper relaxation, both physically and mentally and, contrary to popular folklore, it can improve flexibility and even increase aerobic capacity (depending on exactly how you lift).

Superior Athletic Conditioning

Once upon a time (when dinosaurs roamed the planet), many coaches and trainers advised against weight training, thinking that their ball players, swimmers or track stars might tighten up and get too bulky.  But over these last few decades, we’ve learned that the appropriate lifting program can improve performance in virtually any sport.  In fact, it would be difficult to find a sport where many of the top contenders do not lift.  From football and golf to mixed martial arts and tennis, most everyone is integrating weight lifting into their training routines.  Ever take a close look at our new breed of home run crushers in the major leagues from the past decade or so?  These guys are pretty buffed out.  Questionable performance enhancement substances aside, most of these guys would not be doing the kind of numbers they’re doing without weight training.

This is a reoccurring theme in most other sports, as well.  From Buster Douglas’s shocking knock-out of Mike Tyson in 1990 to Michael Phelps seven medals at the ‘06 World Championships, the common denominator in each of these performances was the addition of weight training to their normal training regimens.  And on a personal note, it was weightlifting that really took the speed, power and endurance aspects of my drumming to an entirely different realm.

Less Fat

Increased muscular density combats weight-gain and obesity by raising your metabolic rate as it allies the body with coveted, lean muscle mass.  Within this muscle mass are muscle cells called mitochondria, which house little power centers that burn calories and fat.  So, the more muscle you have, the more of these power centers you’ll have available to burn away extra calories, even while you sleep.

More Food!

Also, do you like to eat? Weight training is one of the only forms of exercise in the world where, assuming you’re looking to gain or maintain a certain amount of lean muscle mass, it behooves you to eat a higher number of calories.  This generally gives you carte blanch to actually eat more, as it has been estimated that one pound of additional muscle requires between 50 and 100 calories to maintain.  This means more food!  It also means that (within reason), you should be able to indulge in many of your favorite vegan goodies regularly without any visible consequences.  (Many folks are blown away by my calorie totals at times.  Just another benefit of hitting the ol’ iron!)

So…regardless of your age, gender, body type, athletic or physical goals, I would strongly suggest adding at least some form of resistance training to your regimen if you haven’t already.

Next time, we’ll get into the nuts and bolts of weight training, including terminology and basic protocols.

Peace,

BR

It’s All About the Vibe

One of the cool things about doing so much traveling is that I get to visit a bunch of different gyms.  Most people assume that the quality of your training has to diminish when you’re on the road because of scheduling, logistics, and the fact that you’re not working out in your familiar training environment.  Not so.  In fact, I find that most every gym will have something different than what I’m used to – a certain weight machine, a piece of cardio gear, a cable or free weight apparatus – and I always try to use them.  Because anything new that offers variety and keeps the body guessing will always yield great results.

Also, “touring” all of these different gyms reminds me how much the vibe of a health club can vary from place to place.  With some gyms, you walk in the door and immediately want to start heaving the big weight around.  Such has been the case this week, as I’ve been doing some recording at Neil Zaza’s studio here in Cleveland, and training at a gym near the hotel called “Rocco’s.”  Hell, even the name gives you an idea of what to expect.  Tons and tons of weathered dumbbells and battered plates of iron, all racked and stacked amidst an assortment of old school “torture chamber” weight machines, in a huge room with no AC; only industrial fans circulating warm summer air.  I mean, you can actually feel the light condensation on the barbells and rubber flooring!  But…it has a great fucking vibe.  And I’ll take that over some sterile, white-walled health spa, with 37 TVs and enough chrome and neon to fill a small casino.

Rocco’s in Cleveland. Hell yes!

Which brings us to the point: Where do you do most or all of your training, and does the environment inspire you?  If yes, cool.  If not, really think about either adjusting the environment (if possible) or finding a different one.  It can be that important to the long-term success of your regimen.

Food for thought…

BR

Cracking the Exercise Code – Part Two

In part one, I described the Exercise Code as your preferred combination of the various how, where and what options of your training regimen. Once you “crack” your personal Exercise Code, you have the best chance of sticking with your program for the long-term. So let’s take a closer look at the wide range of options available, then I’ll give you an idea of how I use it all.

1. Location – Where you work out can be a critical factor where the quality and consistency of your training is concerned. You basically have three choices of where you can train;
A) Home: Somewhere in the house or in your garage or basement.
B) On Location: This could be a health club, dojo, yoga studio, etc.
C) Outdoors: Either in your backyard, around your neighborhood, or at a park, beach, etc.

2. Listening – For many of us, certain kinds of music gets the blood pumping and helps to create an extra edge for our workouts. Unfortunately, most gyms (in my humble opinion) play the worst kind of schlock to train to, which is why I always have my trusty iPod handy. But whether it’s a portable MP3, CD or tape player, the controlled environs of your home gym where you can play whatever you want, or a tolerable music situation at your gym, consider how music might maximize your workout experience.

And speaking of listening, don’t forget about the endless array of audio books, lectures, teleclasses and podcasts now available that you can download directly to your iPod and listen to while you’re training. It is truly multitasking at its finest when you can feed your brain and train your body at the same time.

3. Distraction – This category includes any kind of additional activity you can engage in while training: reading, watching TV, talking on the phone, etc. These ideas really come into play for cardio work like the stationary bike, treadmill, mini-trampoline, cross-country elliptical, etc., or even with certain stretching routines. Many health clubs have TVs set up near the cardio gear. If you’re into watching TV, why not time your cardio work to coincide with your favorite program and watch it from the gym, as opposed to your couch? And many cardio machines – especially the various bikes – are conducive to reading books, magazines, newspapers, or whatever you want.

4. Training partner – This is where you hook up and train with a buddy. This works great for most aerobic activities like jogging or walking, sports like tennis or basketball and, of course, lifting weights. In fact, a training partner at the gym can play a practical function of spotting you on heavier lifts and actually inspire you to go heavier and train harder.

There is also an accountability factor to having a training partner. In certain cases, you might ordinarily have skipped a session but, because your pal is counting on you to show up, you’ll suck it up and make the session.

5. Interactive – Here is where you participate in a class setting like kickboxing, aerobics, yoga, martial arts, etc. Many people enjoy the camaraderie of the group energy and the interaction with a central teacher. Additionally, watching an exercise video would be considered interactive, because you are interacting with the instruction coming out of your TV!

Also, this category could include a personal trainer.  Many people find that this is the only way they can consistently show up and get a good workout in, be it at the gym or martial arts dojo.

6. Solitude – Then again, you might enjoy the solitude of going it alone and creating more of a meditative experience. As you lift weights, go for a vigorous walk or practice a few yoga postures, you can get lost in your thoughts while practicing mindfulness with your activity.

Mix and Match the Elements

Needless to say, there are no rules for how, when or if you implement these ideas. In fact, you might find that certain approaches work best with certain aspects of your training and decide to mix and match approaches, depending on what you’re working on that day.

So, to review the options…

Pick one of these:

• Train alone
• Training partner
• Interactive with a video, in a class, or with an instructor/personal trainer

Do it here:

• At home
• On location
• Outdoors

If applicable. combine with:

• Solitude
• Listening
• Distraction

For example, here’s how I personally use these concepts:

1. When it comes to Resistance Training, I like to train alone at a gym and opt for either the solitude or listening approach.

2. For Cardio work, if I’m outdoors for a walk or a jog, I like the solitude, but I also like to listen to a wide range of things on the ol’ iPod. However, if I’m training indoors on a machine, then I prefer the distraction of a book or TV.

3. For Flexibility training, it’s still another story. I’ve found that I make my best progress with my (flex-heavy) martial arts training when I go to the dojo, have a training partner or, best of all, study privately. At the same time, the distraction of the cell phone or TV works great for just straight-ahead stretching.

All of these, by the way, are just general preferences, depending on how I feel in the moment. But the point is, you should be aware of these options and be ready to bring them in as necessary.

If you’re just getting started (or re-started), pick the exercise modality that seems the most appealing, then choose your preferred options. And don’t be afraid to experiment with different combinations until you find that perfect combination for you.

Cracking the Exercise Code – Part One

Although I’m personally not big on New Year’s resolutions, I do recognize the symbolic importance of beginning anew every January first.  For many folks, this means starting or restarting an exercise program and, hopefully, sustaining it throughout the year.  However – as we all have seen or even experienced firsthand – that promising early-January buzz usually wears off and, long before the birds are chirping again in the spring, you’ve fallen off the wagon.

Now, no doubt, there can be a myriad of mental obstacles contributing to this, including fundamental identity issues, lifestyle “addictions,” and a host of other things.  But these aside, I’ve noticed one often overlooked element to the whole process: if you don’t enjoy the exercise you’re doing AND some of the specific ways you’re doing it, you will not sustain it beyond the initial blast of New Year’s inspired self-talk.

When someone decides to start exercising again, they will usually do one of two things:
1) They resort to what they’ve done in the past and dust off that Total Gym down in the basement, lace up the ol’ running shoes or head into the health club where they’ve been an “absentee” member for the last year.
2) They do something that seems new, fresh and effective, like join a gym, sign up for a yoga class, or buy something from an infomercial.

Any of these things could work.  But there’s seldom much thought given to how much they will actually get off on doing the program. So it’s not so much about what’s the best exercise, as it is, what’s the best exercise for you?  Here’s where Cracking the Exercise Code comes into play.

In addition to the three basic exercise modalities – resistance, cardio and flexibility training – there are approximately nine other elements to consider that concern the how, where and what of working out.  These elements include details like whom (if anyone) you might be training with, if you’ll train indoors or outside, and whether you will listen to your iPod, watch the tube or just enjoy the solitude while you work out.

I call the specific, preferred combination of these elements your personal exercise code, and the importance of knowing it cannot be overstated.  Making one or two adjustments in your regimen based on understanding your personal code can mean the difference between giving up after three weeks and continuing exercise as part of an indefinite lifestyle component.

And now the good news: for just $29.95, I’ll give you all the specifics for …

JUST KIDDING!

Tomorrow, I’ll give you all the specifics for figuring out your personal Exercise Code.  Why?  Because I want all of you motherfuckers out there to engage in some kind of exercise in ‘09 if you’re not already.  Never mind that you’ll tighten up, look better and all of that.  This is a given.  More importantly, as you stay aboard the “Exercise Express,” you will also feel great, be infinitely healthier and enjoy a longer, better quality of life.  And that’s what it’s all about around here.

So, in the meantime, try thinking beyond the exercise activity itself, and more about what some of the ideal conditions and circumstances surrounding the activity might be.

Until tomorrow…

BR

The 48-Hour Rule

If you’re currently lifting weights or doing any kind of resistance training of note, don’t forget: Any given muscle group (except calves and abdominals) will need at least 48 hours to recover between workouts. Many enthusiastic novices train the same body parts everyday, thinking that this will garner better results. Actually, the opposite is true, because they are not allowing the body ample time to fully rebuild the muscle fiber that was broken down during their last session. So, since you actually make your gains away from the gym, wait at least 48 hours before you hit that same muscle group again, and even longer if you’re really hittin’ it hard.

As mentioned, calves and abs are a different story because they’re comprised of a different type of fiber. Still, I like to have a day of rest between calf and ab work, as well, especially if they’re still sore from the day before.

Until next time…

Rest Your Way to Rock-Solid Results

One of the most unexpected trends to emerge from the world of muscle building has been the concept of training harder, but resting longer between workouts. Bodybuilding legend Mike Mentzer was a huge proponent of this, and many other top competitors have followed this philosophy, as well. Not that we all aspire to look like pro bodybuilders, but if you’re really hitting it hard, you will want to take three, four or even five days off before training a particular body part again.

This might seem like a painfully long time to wait between sessions, but your body will really make use of the extra time to rebuild. After all, it’s away from the gym that your muscles actually grow. In fact, I’ve made my most dramatic gains on a regimen that involved working each muscle group every fifth or sixth day. (Again, this is with super-intense training on a Building cycle where you’re sore for several days afterward.)

Do you need to take an extra day or two off here or there to get better results?

“But what if they laugh at me?”

A common concern for many men and women who want to start working out is being embarrassed to go to the gym. A lot of folks are intimidated by the notion, thinking that all kinds of supermodel and bodybuilder types will be parading around the gym, laughing under their breath at the pitiful physiques of the newcomers. And while I can empathize with someone’s concerns on the subject, this is simply not reality.

In all of my years of working out, and in all the different places I’ve trained around the world, I have never once encountered or even overheard anyone, at any time, making fun of someone else in the gym…ever! Think about that.

The only exception to this, of course, is between some bodybuilders themselves who, with a very snide and competitive overtone, might comment to a training partner about so-and-so’s “pathetically small” calves, or something like that. But the truth is, no one at the gym cares about what you look like. They only care about what they look like. In fact, most are very helpful and supportive and you will most likely feel some sense of camaraderie among members, even if no words are ever exchanged. (This is especially true in more “serious” gyms where there are a lot of seasoned lifters.)

All of this aside, let’s say you did catch a vibe from someone or feel like somebody was judging you by how you looked. Who gives a shit? You can’t control what other people think….but you can control what kind of shape you’re in. So – get your ass to the gym and don’t worry about it.