Tips of the week Tone your abs

If you spend more than an hour in the gym, you might make friends, but you won't make any gains. Or so the saying goes.

But today, you might not even make friends. You might just be lost in the fairyland of your smartphone. Recent studies have shown that people are losing their sense of time. Basically, what you think is a 30 second glance at your smartphone between sets may actually be more along the lines of a few minutes. That might be fine for deadlifts, but less efficient for curls.

Aside from the time management issues this may cause, many trainers are convinced that if you can train for longer than an hour, you're not putting any significant effort into your workout. Extend a training session with weights to over an hour and you will eventually just go through the motions. Your focus will fade.

In addition to this, remember that increasing the training density - doing the same amount of work in a shorter period of time - is just as much a progression as increasing the training weights. Training density is one of the most important factors when it comes to stimulating a maximal response to your workouts.

So if you're working out for longer than an hour, it's time to tighten up your training, increase your work capacity, get focused and start making gains.

Set a countdown timer.

Here's what you should do. Use your smartphone productively and use the countdown timer. Set it to one hour if you normally train for longer than an hour. Finish your normal training session before the timer has counted down the time.

If the timer alarm goes off before you have finished your training session, make it a rule to end your training session and leave the gym. This is your punishment for dawdling around.

Of course, this doesn't mean that you should rush through your workout and use poor training form. Also, rest as long as necessary between sets. But now, with the clock ticking in the background and a sense of urgency, you may realize that you don't need as much time between sets as you've been taking. You will sharpen your body awareness. Or maybe stop training with a bunch of bros. You know, when 6 guys use a bench and do a set every 20 minutes.

The countdown will probably also keep you more focused and minimize distracting conversations. People who use this trick have even reported fat loss and needing less cardio. It's amazing what standing around less can do.

But I don't exercise for more than an hour!

All well and good, but increasing the intensity of your training can still be beneficial. Do you do a training session with weights that takes 40 minutes? Do it, but see if you can't shorten it to 35 minutes. The chances are high. Of course, this doesn't work for every training method. But it will keep most exercisers in the right training zone and bring a lot of benefits.

Tip: Perform donkey calf raises

It may look strange, but it works better than standard calf exercises.

From T Nation

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-the-donkey-calf-raise

Arnold performed this exercise by piling several sweaty men on his back. But he's Arnold, and Arnold could get away with something like this. Here's a less weird-looking way to perform this classic calf-building exercise - you don't need sweaty dudes or specialized machines.

Donkey calf raise

Strap on a dip belt and stand with your toes on the edge on a block, or whatever you have to hand. Bend your body forward at the waist and perform calf raises. You can perform this exercise bilaterally (with both legs) or unilaterally (with one leg). Hold the lower stretched position for two seconds and the highest position for at least one second, keeping your calves tight.

If you haven't done this exercise for a while, be prepared for intense muscle soreness - regardless of how many calf raises you normally do standing or sitting.

Tip: Destroy fat with the kettlebell squat ladder

This exercise is brutal and will leave you gasping for air. In other words, you will love this exercise.

By Eric Johnson, Ryan Johnson

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-blast-fat-with-the-kettlebell-squat-ladder

A walking kettlebell front squat ladder is a workout unto itself. The weight of the kettlebells on your arms in front of your chest will make it hard for you to breathe in the wrong way. Instead, you need to breathe into your stomach as your heart rate increases with each set of squats:

The walking kettlebell front squat ladder

1. Assume the starting position for front squats, holding the kettlebells in front of your chest with your arms bent.
2. Perform 5 squats.
3. Walk 15 to 20 meters with the kettlebells still held in front of your chest.
4. Perform 4 squats.
5. Walk 15 to 20 meters with kettlebells still held in front of chest.
6. Return to the starting position with the kettlebells still held in front of your chest.
7. Perform 3 squats.
8. Continue in this way until you can only perform one squat.

Tip: Perform jump squats and judo push-ups

Get ready for 150 reps of fat-burning pain.

By Chad Waterbury

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-jump-squats-with-judo-push-ups

Jumping squats with bands and judo push-ups are an amazing combination and this one gets extra brutal when you have to do 150 reps in the shortest time possible. Prepare yourself for pain.

How to combine these exercises

1. Start with 15 jump squats with bands(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6SF6BYcsDM)
2. Immediately afterwards, get on the floor (keep the bands on) and perform 15 judo push-ups.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K916bJcLmok)
3. In the next round, perform 14 repetitions of each exercise.
4. Continue until you have reached 10 repetitions per exercise.

Tip: Get defined with countdown front squats.

This exercise is brutal, nasty and highly effective. Challenge a friend to compete with you - or an enemy.

By Eric Bach | 02/14/16

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-get-ripped-do-countdown-front-squats

Countdowns are a brutal but popular training method to increase training density. When used with front squats, you have a real challenge on your hands.

Use 65 to 70% of your max weight on front squats (75% of the 1RM weight is roughly your 10RM weight). So if your maximum weight for front squats is 150 kilos, then use between 97.5 and 107.5 kilos. If you don't know your maximum weight for front squats, then take your maximum weight for squats with the barbell in the neck and halve it.

The correct execution

The goal is simple: increase in the form of a pyramid from 1 to 10 repetitions, taking 15 to 30 seconds rest. The whole thing then looks like this;

• Set 1 - 1 repetition
• Pause for 15 to 30 seconds
• Set 2 - 2 repetitions
• Pause for 15 to 30 seconds
• Set 3 - 3 repetitions
• Pause for 15 to 30 seconds
• Continue until you have completed a set of 10 repetitions.

At first, the 15 second rest intervals will feel relatively easy. However, from set five or six onwards, you will need to extend your rests to 30 seconds as your lungs will struggle to keep up and your body will start to shake.

Suck it up and keep going.

Tip: Give your latissimus the rest with this exercise

This will really hurt, but it will build your back like nothing else.

By Dr. John Rusin

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-crush-your-lats-with-this-exercise

This is one of the best exercises for increasing strength and muscle mass while maintaining or improving your shoulder and neck mobility. As anyone who has ever tried to stretch a fully inflated muscle knows, it is not a pleasant feeling. This exercise is therefore not for beginners.

Lat pulldown with a neutral grip and accentuated eccentric movement

The neutral grip allows your latissimus to extend the range of motion into a stretch at the highest point of the movement, while this grip also allows the shoulder complex to stay in a more centered position. Both variables are great for longevity, orthopedic health and muscularity.

In this exercise, move back slightly during the concentric (pulling) phase of the movement to create an angle that almost resembles a rowing motion. Then move your upper body forward again and normalize your torso position to a neutral position. Bring your head forward to stretch during the eccentric (negative) phase of the movement.

If you can master this exercise, have a training partner make the eccentric phase more difficult for you by pushing the weight stack down while you slowly move your hands and arms up into a stretched position.

If you're a really sick crazy person who loves pain, add 10 to 30 seconds of forced stretching in this exact position while maintaining a neutral shoulder position and a stretch of the entire latissimus.

This exercise will work your latissimus, which is why you should do it at the end of your upper body day or back day.

Tip: Move more weight on the bench with full body tension

Use a unique variation of planks to safely press more weight on the bench.

John Gaglione | 02/16/16

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-bench-heavier-with-full-body-tension

To bench press more weight, you need to build full body tension. Shoulders, core and hip stability create a stable platform from which you can press. Exercises to improve core stability will also reduce the risk of injury as you are less likely to get into a bad position if your core is strong. This also prevents "strength leaks" and allows for a strong, consistent press.

There's a saying in the Americas: "You can't fire a cannon from a canoe." If your core is weak and you don't have sufficient shoulder or hip stability, then you won't be able to bench press heavy weights.

All types of plank variations and rollouts can help with this as they can improve the stability of the shoulders and lumbar spine - two crucial elements of the bench press. Placing a band around the wrists during planks also activates the external rotators and the stabilizing muscles of the rotator cuff (https://youtu.be/9Uz6pFgbYeg).

Tip: Train the brachialis first

The key to bigger arms? Train the small muscle between the biceps and triceps first during your workouts. Here's the best way to do it.

By John Meadows

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-train-the-brachialis-first

Pay respect to the brachialis - the forgotten muscle. Train your brachialis first. Make this overlooked muscle, located between the biceps and triceps, a priority.

Training your brachialis is a great way to develop massive arms, as a well-developed brachialis will push your biceps and triceps further apart and make your arm appear wider. There are a number of different exercises you can use to train your brachialis:

1. Hammer curls in front of the body (the best exercise)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKMO99aRd7I)
2. Regular hammer curls (a close second)
3. Barbell or dumbbell curls with reverse grip (very good)
4. Hammer curls with a cable grip on the cable pulley (use sparingly)

Start your training sessions with one of the exercises listed above.

Bonus tip for dumbbell hammer curls: grip the dumbbells as tightly as you can throughout the movement for even better results.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-tighten-your-workouts-with-a-timer

By Chris Shugart