Tip of the week Tip: break through plateaus with a simple trick
When a plateau sets in (and it will always happen), most people completely freak out and start to completely change their training and nutrition program without looking for the real reason for the problem: The body's adaptation to what it is faced with. This is exactly what the body does. It adapts to stress and eating habits. Therefore, you need to give your body a reason to overcome this set point. But you don't have to completely freak out to do so.
Fat loss plateau?
Reduce carbohydrates or fats a little for a week or two and monitor your progress. Refrain from changing your entire diet if it has worked for weeks or months.
Training plateau?
Add a few off-load days if you feel drained. If you've done several workouts without making progress, don't overhaul your entire training program right away. Make small changes to create something new for your body to adapt to.
This could be something as simple as a change in repetition range, a change in foot or hand position or the introduction of a new intensity technique. From then on you will be able to evaluate how well this change works for you. If it doesn't work, then simply make another small change.
The lesson
Don't panic when you reach a plateau in fat loss, muscle gain or strength gains. Make small adjustments to a smart, proven program instead of starting from scratch with something completely different.
Tip: Perform this exercise before the bench press
Want to move more weight on the bench with a lower risk of injury? Prepare your pressing muscles for training with a few sets of this
By Dr. John Rusin
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-this-exercise-before-bench-pressing
The best way to start pressure-based training days like a bench press day is to prepare the stabilizing muscles of the shoulders, rotator cuff and lower back for the workout to follow.
The rotator cuff stabilizes the shoulder joint and the jointohumeral joint for maximum centering so that the larger muscles can do their job more effectively. Since many exercisers spend hours sitting bent over with rounded backs, there is usually no need to prepare the anterior cuff and internal rotators of the shoulders for exercise. So we only need to worry about the back of the body.
Pull-aparts with bands (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAxS8C4AgL8) and face pulls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0ma4r2jqBo) work quite well for this. The key is to train for stable shoulder blades with a dynamic joint-humeral joint, which may be a big challenge for many exercisers, especially those who have been doing heavy pressing for years.
Face pulls on the cable pulley
Face pulls on the cable train both static and dynamic stability of the scapula and glenohumeral joint, making them the perfect exercise. This exercise incorporates more range of motion, making it a more technically challenging exercise - which is exactly what we want when it comes to learning how to position and stabilize the shoulders.
Schedule face pulls with multiple sets and higher reps in the 10-15 range with minimal rest intervals. This will help provide the active joints with the oil they need to function well while ensuring that the primary stabilizers are all active. Perform the movement fluidly. Work towards a pump and feel the muscles working.
Tip: Master your performance
You can learn a lot about life from a strongman competitor - like this important lesson.
By Brian Alsruhe
https://www.t-nation.com/powerful-words/tip-own-your-performance
It's all your fault
Realize that whatever went right and whatever went wrong, it's all your fault. You are blessed to have the choice and the physical and mental capacity to even compete in something like a Strongman competition. Do you have any idea how many people would kill to have the opportunities and gifts that we take for granted every day?
Performing poorly at the yoke can ruin your afternoon. Not being able to go to the toilet under your own steam is much worse. Look at it from the right perspective. There are no victims in strongman competitions ... and very few real victims in real life.
No matter if a promoter changed one of the disciplines at the last minute or if it rained during the push, your performance is still your performance. Blaming others for your lack of preparation or poor performance will not get you far in this sport - or in real life.
Do this instead
When you compete, never put your fate in the hands of the judges. And in everyday life, never put your fate in the hands of other people. If your timekeeper was too slow with the stopwatch at the Farmers Walk, don't blame the referee, take responsibility. Instead of blaming the timekeeper for his lack of attention, look at what you could have done better. If you had moved the equipment faster, then a fraction of a second would not have been the thing that would have set you apart from the competition.
Could you have asked the timekeeper before the run to clarify what exactly he is looking at before he stops the clock? If you had told him what exact time you wanted to beat before you completed your run, do you think he would have been more focused on what was about to take place? Everyone (including judges) likes to see people pushing themselves to new heights.
Which guy will get more positive focus and attention? The guy who is polite and has made it known that he is trying to beat his personal best, or the guy who yells at others and talks about them behind their backs?
The sooner you take responsibility and control of your own performance, the sooner you will find ways to improve next time. Whether you do well in a competition or drop the ball, the blame should always fall on your shoulders. Accept this and you will get better...in competition and in life.
Tip: Do you want to build mass? Then use the omnicontraction method
This is one of the best ways to perform sets for hypertrophy goals. The only downside? Blood will pour out of your eyes.
Christian Thibaudeau
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-want-size-use-the-omni-contraction-method
The omnicontraction method is a variation of rest-pause training. The goal is to reach the point of contractile muscle failure in all three types of muscle action: concentric (lifting), isometric (holding) and eccentric (lowering). This approach is probably the most powerful hypertrophy stimulation you can achieve. The only downside is that you need a training partner... and that this method is really painful.
Here's a description of what a set of leg curls using this method looks like:
Leg Curls: Omnicontraction Method
Each set consists of three mini sets. The pauses are 10 to 15 seconds long.
- Start with a weight you can perform 8 to 10 clean reps with and go to contractile muscle failure. Then pause for 10 to 15 seconds.
- Move the same weight to the position where you reach maximum tension in the muscles involved (the heaviest point of the exercise). For most exercises, this is the point in the middle of the range of motion. Hold this position while tensing the target muscle as hard as possible until you can no longer hold it and reach isometric muscle failure. Then pause for another 10 to 15 seconds.
- Using the same weight, have a training partner help you perform the concentric (lifting) part of the exercise and perform the eccentric (lowering) phase alone for 4 to 5 seconds. Perform as many repetitions until you can no longer control the weight during the lowering phase of the movement.
Tip: Perform this exercise before your leg workout
Do this exercise before squats - especially if you sit a lot. Your squats will feel great.
By Dr. John Rusin
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-before-your-leg-workout-do-this-exercise
The posterior chain is the most common weak point for exercisers. We spend hours sitting on our butts, putting pressure on the gluteus and hamstring muscle groups and functionally shortening the anterior structures of the legs, hips and pelvis.
This is the exact reason why you need to prepare your hamstrings and gluteus with specific exercises before performing heavy basic exercises. Preparatory exercises for the posterior muscle chain help lubricate the hip and knee joints while activating stabilizing muscles that play a key role in clean and fluid multi-joint exercises like squats.
Since the hamstrings and gluteus don't get enough attention for their role in stabilizing the hips, pelvis and knees, a "first things first" mentality can make a big difference in your leg day. The preferred exercises for this are leg curls on an exercise ball and hip thrusts.
Leg curls on an exercise ball
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAYtwM95-ug)
Perform this exercise at a slower pace and with a higher number of repetitions. It is not necessarily the exact exercise that is important, but the intention with which you perform these exercises. Pay attention to the mind-muscle connection and train these tissue types with some volume and minimal rest intervals to optimize your lower body workout that day.
Tip: Don't be afraid of neck presses
"But these exercises cause injuries!" Does it do that? Does it really? Here's the part you're missing.
By Christian Thibaudeau
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-dont-fear-the-behind-the-neck-press
The neck press is one of the best muscle building exercises for the shoulders and was a staple exercise among bodybuilders from the 1950s to the early 1980s. It is the most effective pressing exercise for developing the entire shoulder area. This has been confirmed both in the laboratory and in practice.
Of the three main pressing options - barbell shoulder press in front of the head, neck press and dumbbell shoulder press - neck press shows significantly higher activation in all three shoulder muscle heads. And there is no doubt that the neck press is superior to the classic barbell shoulder press in front of the head (both seated and standing).
When comparing the standing version of the neck press to dumbbell shoulder presses, dumbbell shoulder presses activate more of the anterior muscle heads of the shoulder muscles, but the anterior muscle heads are usually already overstimulated by all the bench pressing we do. And even when comparing the seated version of the neck press and dumbbell shoulder press, the neck press is the clear winner.
What about safety?
A person with normal posture and no problems with shoulder mobility should have no problem performing neck presses in a safe manner. There are only two types of people who will have problems with this:
- Those with a pronounced kyphosis (a rounded upper back and hunched shoulders).
- Those with pre-existing problems with shoulder mobility.
If you are unable to perform neck presses without feeling uncomfortable, then this is a sign that you need to work on the mobility of your shoulders. In fact, neck presses are a good diagnostic tool to see how functional your shoulders are.
It's not the exercise that's your problem. It's the fact that it can exacerbate pre-existing shoulder problems. If you add this exercise to your workout, make sure you don't lack mobility in your shoulders and that you're not suffering from a shoulder injury. Start easy until you find your groove.
Who performs neck presses
The Olympic weightlifter Dmitry Klokov, among others. He performs this exercise in different variations: wide grip, close grip, strict and with some momentum. Many even refer to neck presses with a wide grip as Klokov presses.
Klokov once suffered a serious shoulder injury when he tried to lift 265 to 270 kilos out of the rack during training. After that, he began emphasizing different pressing exercises in his training. If a strength athlete who has suffered a serious shoulder injury can perform neck presses at 150 kilos, it is a sign that this exercise is not inherently dangerous if you have sufficient shoulder mobility.
Ted Arcidi, one of the first to officially bench press 700 pounds, used neck presses as his primary upper body building exercise. He too was able to move heavy weights without compromising the health of his shoulders. Maybe it's time for you to reconsider the neck press.
Tip: The 20 minute bench press & pull-up challenge
Test your bench press and pull-up performance and fitness with this brutal (but smart) challenge
Martin Rooney
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-20-minute-bench-chin-up-challenge
Want to really test your bench press and pull-up performance? Then try the following. The goal is to complete the entire challenge with 20 unbroken sets. If you need to pause, do so and finish the set.
The criss-cross challenge
The execution:
- Load the bar for the bench press portion of the challenge with your body weight. Perform the pull-ups without additional weight.
- Perform 10 pull-ups and one bench press repetition in the first set.
- On the second set, perform 9 pull-ups and two repetitions of the bench press.
- Continue with this pattern until you have achieved one pull-up and 10 repetitions of bench press.
That's a total of 55 repetitions of each exercise and the goal is to complete them in under 20 minutes. If you are unable to complete this challenge in 20 minutes, then stop after 20 minutes and record the number of reps you have completed.
Note: If you haven't trained with bench presses or pull-ups before, get good at these exercises first until you can do multiple sets of 10 repetitions of both exercises. Until then, you should either avoid this challenge or choose simpler exercises or start with a lower repetition range. Always have a training partner with you when doing bench presses.
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-smash-plateaus-with-one-simple-trick
Paul Carter