The Power of Hydration

     

     It's not flashy, it doesn't have an eye catching name and it certainly isn't in the front of most minds when thinking of how training can be improved. A lot of the time, water is a forgotten aspect of a complete training program. Many individuals are so worried about food and the gym, they forget how important it is to be well hydrated on a daily basis. 

     Believe it or not, poor hydration can negatively effect your strength game. World renown strength coach, Charles Poliquin has said that as little as a 1.5% drop in water levels results in a 10% drop in maximal strength! Simply put, to stay strong you must stay hydrated! Many individuals pride themselves on being able to cut 4-5 lbs during a workout, little do they know that what they're calling "weight" is mainly water. This is not a good thing, you want to weigh as much at the end of the workout as you did at the beginning. 

     It's always a good idea to have a water bottle on hand while exercising. Drinking water while working out takes some stress of your heart, cools your body temperature and works to maintain blood volume. With summer approaching, the rule of thumb is to drink 20 ounces of water before your session and then 10-15 ounces every 15 minutes.

     At this point many of you are probably wondering what crazy formula you need to go through in order to find out how much water you need on a daily basis. Don't worry, it's simple, just take your body weight, cut it in half and boom, thats how much water you need in ounces a day!

- Brig Van Etten CSCS -

Pre - Workout Coffee

   

    The votes are in this week and the use of coffee as a pre-workout came out on top! I think this was an interesting topic for many readers because everyone is always looking for a way to turn their workout up a notch. 

     We're all familiar with the classic pre-workout supplements on the market; NO Explode, C4, Assault, Jack3d & oh yes...the ARNOLD IRON PUMP!! Now, I know the ads for a lot of these products are extremely tantalizing, promising larger veins, instantly bigger biceps and extreme fat loss! The truth of the matter is, it's not worth putting all this crap in your body for very small, most of the time not even noticeable results. Most of these products have ingredients in them that even a chemist couldn't identify! 

     Coffee might not come with all the same "guarantees" as the above products, but it is a much healthier and safer option. When dealing with supplements or just food in general, the smaller the list of ingredients, the better! All natural or organic straight black caffeinated coffee fits that description perfectly! Before listing the many benefits of coffee, it should be noted that coffee consumption should be stopped once your workout is done. Coffee has the tendency to elevate cortisol in the body, this is the "muscle eating", stress hormone of the body and it's important to have that low when trying to recover. Now, on to the good stuff.....

1.       Warm coffee increases internal body heat, somewhat priming us for a warmup
2.       Having coffee as a pre-workout has been shown to increase focus and work capacity
3.       Studies have shown that caffeinated coffee has actually been shown to improve fat loss
4.       Caffeinated coffee can possibly increase power and strength
5.       Coffee increases motivation  

Try having some coffee before your next workout and see if it improves your session!

- Brig Van Etten CSCS - 

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Food Labels: "The Blacklist"

     

       Today's post is a short one, just giving some advice on what should raise a red flag in your mind, when looking at food ingredients. It's safe to say that most everyone who looks at this blog is familiar with the big players on a food label; protein, carbohydrates and fats. Going a little further, many readers are probably educated on what types of fats are good or bad, is sodium too high or what is an acceptable amount of cholesterol.
        Below is a short list, bringing to light some names you should definitely stay away from when purchasing food. These guys can be found in the ingredients section and they're my absolute don'ts....put them on the Blacklist!

The Blacklist:

• High - Fructose Corn Syrup
• Xylitol
• Fructose
• Any Color Followed by a Number (Red5, Blue7)
• Sorbitol
• Gelatin
• Erythritol
• Hydrogenated Soybean, Cottonseed, Vegetable & Canola Oil

- Brig Van Etten CSCS -

5 Easy To Apply Fat Loss Tips!

     With summer fast approaching, many of you might be rushing to shed a few extra pounds before beach season. Now, lets get one thing straight prior to moving on, these tips will help to drop a FEW pounds quickly but won't work magic over night! If your goal weight is still off in the distance, add this advice to your daily routine and you'll definitely be closer to the finish line!

Tips to help unveil all the hard work put in over the winter...

1. Decrease Total Calories

• Decreasing calories is at the top of the list because in order to lose some weight you need to be expending more calories then you're consuming. 
• First, find out how many calories you need to maintain the weight you're at. This can be done by multiplying your bodyweight by 13-15 (ex. 200 x 13 -15 = 2,600 - 3,000 cals). This method isn't exact but it is good enough to get going!
• Take the number you get from the previous bullet and subtract 250 calories from the total, monitor your weight loss weekly to see if you're losing too fast or none at all.

    2.  Increase Protein

• Protein is essential for building muscle and losing fat.
• Structure your diet around healthy proteins (chicken, fish, lean red meats, eggs)
• Protein fills the body up quickly compared to the other macronutrients, forcing you to eat less.

   3.  Decrease Carbohydrates

• Unless you're an endurance athlete start to clear your kitchen of starchy carbs, potatoes, rice, bread & also processed boxed goods.
• Keep your grocery shopping to the outside of the store, do not venture into the middle....you'll rarely find anything useful there.
• Carbs are full of calories, the kind we'd rather not have when looking to unleash a jaw dropping six pack!   

   4.  Increase Vegetable Consumption

• Now this is where your carbohydrates should come from! Vegetables and some fruit!
• It is good to have vegetables at every meal, at least try to have one salad a day.
• Vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals and many other vital nutrients! 

   5.  Keep Eating Fats....The Good Ones 

• By good fats that means; olive oil, flaxseed oil, FISH OIL, raw nuts, eggs, some bacon, avocados to name a few.
• These fats are essential to joint and many hormones throughout the body.
• Call me crazy but, when the correct fats are eaten, they do not make you fat, they actually can help in your fat loss quest!

You might notice that all these tips are centered around nutrition. This is because nutrition is the key when attempting to change body composition. Added in with hard work at the gym and you'll be amazed at how much you can transform!

- Brig Van Etten CSCS - 

Don't Train Till Failure

       

       Everybody has seen it at one point or another throughout their training career. Usually you hear it before you see it....sounding something like, "come on bro you got it...keep pushing...all you!!" When in reality, our poor bro has nothing left in the tank. Most of the time the spotter is doing all the lifting while the lifter squirms and grinds out a few assisted reps.

        When you perform repetitions like the one described above, you are training till failure. Some individuals like to work till they cannot perform another full rep, while others go past that point and have a partner assist them in lifting the weight.....neither is a good idea and heres why....

        Performing repetitions till you fail can be detrimental to your training for a few reasons. One of the biggest negatives to exercising this way is you can fatigue your CNS (central nervous system). Your CNS is the connection between mind and muscle, in order for you to lift big weight and get stronger, your CNS has to recruit your muscles to move the weight! If your CNS is stressed out from overuse and these high stress reps then your performance will suffer.

        Another reason to stay away from these types of repetitions is the risk of injury. You're putting your body through more than it can handle and this can be very dangerous. Strains and/or tears can result from your muscles, tendons and ligaments being under too much pressure and this can set you back months. Not to mention possibly having a barbell or dumbbell come down onto your body!

        Performing these gut busting reps where you're screaming at the top of your lungs and shaking is not necessary. The goal is to work as hard as you can without causing yourself to have aneurysm or a nervous breakdown.

        My recommendation is to perform every rep with picture perfect form ad when the reps start to be completed slower and slightly shaky its time to stop and rack the weight. Try to make every rep look the same as the last one.


- Brig Van Etten CSCS -

Quick Tip: Curl Modification for Bigger Arms

     

         It's getting to be that time of the year....the sun is starting to come out and the weather is heating up! This means one thing, short sleeved t - shirts OR for the more courageous, tank tops! As they say, suns out, guns out!

        If you have hit a plateau or are just looking to intensify the biceps curl, whether it be with a dumbbell or a barbell, I have just the thing for you to try! It is a small variation but if done correctly, can produce great results!

        When performing the supinated (palms facing up) curl, you want to put as much stress on the biceps as possible. However, many people initiate the movement by first curling their wrists. This action takes some pressure off of the biceps! Curling the wrists improves leverage, allowing you to lift more weight but at the same time, reducing the load placed on the biceps. Instead of curling the wrists, cock the down and back throughout the movement. I read about this technique in a book by Charles Poliquin; one of the most accomplished strength coaches in the world. Charles states that by doing this, you increase the amount of weight placed on the biceps, exactly the area you want to be hitting during a curl!

        Don't be discouraged if your weights at first go down, because the growth in your biceps will go up! Start light to get the hang of the movement and then increase accordingly.


- Brigham Van Etten CSCS -

Effects Of Different Repetition Ranges

     

 There is no single repetition scheme that can elicit multiple training goals. These goals being; strength, power, hypertrophy and endurance. Different numbers in reps will produce different types of physical adaptations.

        Let's take a look at each training goal individually and what repetition scheme will enable you to get closer to the physique you desire.

        Strength is the ability to generate as much force as possible without any concern of time. A good example of strength is a 1RM with the deadlift, usually being a slow drawn out rep. To gain strength you will want to use a range between 1-3 repetitions. Heavy heavy weights need to be lifted while trying to increase strength as well, 90 to 100% of your 1RM.

        Power is the ability to generate maximum force as fast as possible. The olympic lifts are examples of power; snatch and clean n' jerk. 3-5 repetitions is best when attempting to build power. The load does not have to be as heavy as it is for strength building, being 50 to 75% of your 1RM. This lower percentage is required because speed has to be involved in training for power. The weight is heavy enough that high force needs to be applied but also light enough for speed throughout the movement. Power training aids in strength training because it teaches the body to explode through reps!

        Training for muscle hypertrophy (growth) is something that everyone is interested in I'm pretty sure. Muscle growth is attained by performing moderately high reps, between 8-12. The load must be relatively high as well, spanning from 65-80% of your 1RM. These repetitions should also be performed with a slower tempo, keeping your muscles under tension for a longer period of time.

        Endurance work does have a place in every training program but isn't at the top of the list when it comes to improving body composition. For this type of training your rep scheme will be very high, 15-20 repetitions. Weight should be around 50-70% of your 1RM. The weight is kept low so that good form can be held throughout the set.

        In my opinion it is a good idea to include all of these disciplines in your training at one time or another. Whether you decide to do all types of training throughout your workout session or break them up into weekly cycles so that you can focus on one type at a time is up to you. If you just noticed that your training has been neglecting one of these areas, try out the rep scheme next session!


- Brig Van Etten CSCS -