Tip of the week tip: Take on the 100 repetition push-up challenge

Reach 100 repetitions or die trying

This test is a true barometer of relative strength and muscle endurance. You'd be hard pressed to find an exerciser who can do 100 push-ups in a row who isn't lean, strong and built like a tank.

But push-ups are more than a great upper body exercise - they also increase front core endurance. The 100 push-up challenge will expose any gap in your armor. Do you have a sagging hip? Then you need to increase the strength of your front core. Does your head tend to dip forward? Then it's time to improve the flexibility of your thoracic muscles, the health of your shoulders and your posture.

The execution

We're not talking about half-hearted little-girl push-ups over half the range of motion and a dipping head. Perform the repetitions as they should be performed. Note the following for each repetition:

• The elbows form a 45 degree angle with the body
• The cervical spine forms a line with the tailbone (a straight back)
• Perform complete repetitions: The chest almost touches the floor at the lowest point of the movement and the arms are fully extended at the highest point of the movement.

I can't do 100!

Can't do 100 repetitions? Then do the following: Add two sets of push-ups to muscle failure to the end of your training session (with 90 seconds rest between sets). If you fail the first 25 repetitions, make it easier by raising your hands until you have built up sufficient strength and endurance.

Tip: Get defined with sets of 4 repetitions

Nothing screams "strength and conditioning" like EMOM training. Here are two ways to do it.

By Christian Thibaudeau

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-get-ripped-with-4-rep-sets/

EMOM with alternating exercises

EMOM stands for "every Minute on the Minute." which translates to "every minute on the minute. This type of training is usually performed with 2 pairs per training session. This 4 repetition method focuses more on strength - so use about 70% of your maximum weight and only perform large multi-joint exercises: Squats, deadlifts, bench presses, barbell shoulder presses, pull-ups, barbell rows, push presses, front squats, etc. Combine one upper body exercise and one lower body exercise.

You must start a new set every minute. Do exercise 1 on odd minutes and exercise 2 on even minutes. Here is an example:

• Start - 4 repetitions of squats
• 1:00 - 4 repetitions bench press
• 2:00 - 4 repetitions of squats
• 3:00 - 4 reps bench press
• Do this for 14-20 minutes.

Option 1

Your first option is to perform an entire training session using this approach. This means performing two such exercise pairs per training session for 14 to 20 minutes each. Start with 14 minutes and work your way up. Take 5 minutes between the two pairings and do nothing else during this training session except perhaps some accompanying training for the abdominal muscles or another small muscle group.

Option 2

The second option is to perform a regular (but slightly shorter) training session and finish it with an EMOM pairing lasting 14 to 20 minutes.

Tip: The sad truth about the bench press

The most popular chest exercise in the world is not such a great exercise for building pecs. Here's why and a better exercise choice.

By Paul Carter

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-the-sad-truth-about-the-bench-press/

Bench press is not enough

Don't get me wrong, bench presses are a great exercise for building the pressing muscles of the torso, but relying solely on bench presses or performing too many bench presses without any other variations will often overdevelop the anterior shoulder muscles and triceps in relation to the pecs and cause that hunched over look you often see in guys with I.L.S. - imaginary latissimus syndrome.

If you look at the chest development of excellent bench pressers, it is often quite modest. Most bodybuilders, on the other hand, have well-developed pecs and most of them do not base their chest training on barbell bench presses.

This is simply because they perform bench presses differently to either press more weight or build muscle, but the majority of strength athletes don't know how to modify the execution of their bench press to maximize either of these qualities.

Better variations for muscle mass

If you really want to use bench presses to develop your pecs, then guillotine presses - where you lower the bar towards your neck instead of your lower pecs - are a far better choice.

However, people will bombard you with 10,293 studies to prove that this variation will cause shoulder cancer, which is why they avoid it. But Vince Gironda has used this exercise as an excellent chest development exercise and as far as I know none of his athletes have had their chest explode into a bloody mass.

In addition, people generally use pretty sloppy form on the bench press (they bounce the bar off the chest, they ignore shoulder blade retraction, etc.), which takes the pecs out of much of the movement anyway.

If you want to achieve good chest development, then you can't just rely on barbell bench presses. Dumbbell presses with different angles and correctly executed flying movements (palms facing forward and you focus more on the stretching contracting parts of the movement without using too heavy weights) are far better options for full development.

Bench presses can be an excellent weapon in your mass and strength building arsenal, but their status as a legendary chest building exercise is highly overrated.

Tip: Close your eyes during this exercise

Recruit more motor units, improve your exercise execution form and build more strength...by closing your eyes? Yes, here's the explanation of how this works.

By Joel Seedman, PhD

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-close-your-eyes-on-this-lift/

Closing your eyes during any exercise forces your muscle spindles and other proprioceptive mechanisms to work overtime to stabilize the movement and control the weight.

Overhead presses are one of the more difficult exercises to use the closed eye technique. The overhead position increases your center of mass, making it even more challenging in terms of balance and motor control.

Standing barbell shoulder press with eyes closed

As a result, you will be forced to slow down the movement and focus on technique, resulting in improved neuromuscular efficiency, improved motor unit recruitment and improved movement mechanics. As an added benefit, the increased time under tension and increased muscle innervation will produce amazing gains in strength and mass.

Tip: Use latex to improve your squat performance

Does your squat performance leave something to be desired? Use the training method that top powerlifters use to break through plateaus.

By Derek Binford

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-use-latex-to-improve-your-squat/

Squats with reverse use of bands provides an overload effect that allows you to experience the sensation of moving more weight. This is a form of adapted resistance. Basically, the bands support you at the lowest point of the movement, but you move the full weight as you approach the highest point of the movement on the way back up.

Powerlifters use this method to increase their strength production and confidence with heavy weights and even bodybuilders use this technique to develop their legs.

Squats with reverse use of bands

All you need is a set of bands and a power rack. Choose a tension of the bands that allows you to handle about 15 to 20% more than your maximum weight for squats at the highest point.

If your maximum weight for squats is 200 kilos, then use a band tension that allows you to perform squats with 230 to 240 kilos. The weight does not have to be exact. Squats with reverse bands can be performed with a range of repetitions from 1 to 10.

How you attach the bands to the rack depends on how high your rack is. If the rack is not very high, use a double-layered lighter band. Place one end around the barbell bar, then over the top brace of the rack and then around the bar again so that the band pulls the bar upwards.

If the rack is higher, use a slightly heavier band with one end around the barbell bar and the other tied to the top bar of the rack.

For both variations, it is best to use two bands, one on the right and one on the left around the barbell bar.

The aim is for the bands to provide as little tension as possible at the highest point of the movement, but not to hang completely loose from the bar.

What about chains

You may have seen top powerlifters using chains - another form of adapted resistance. Chains provide the opposite effect: the squat gets heavier as you move up. This is another great option if you have access to the right equipment.

Tip: Perform these metabolic complexes

This training method will make you strong, build muscle and even burn some fat. But be warned: it's also pretty nasty.

By Christian Thibaudeau

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-these-metabolic-complexes/

Metabolic complexes for mass and strength

This training method combines three exercises that are performed as a complex - exercises that are performed one after the other with only short intervals of rest. All three exercises target the same muscle group.

• Exercise 1: This exercise is used to build strength. So choose a heavy multi-joint exercise and perform 3 to 6 repetitions per set.
• Exercise 2: A hypertrophy exercise (focusing on building muscle mass) for the same muscle group with 8 to 12 repetitions.
• Exercise 3: A metabolic exercise that trains the same muscle group, performing sets of up to 60 seconds.

Here are some examples

Lower body example 1

	Exercise 1		Rest
A1	Squats	4-6	30-45 sec.
A2	Leg presses	10-12	30-45 sec.
A3	Pushing a weight sled		3 min.

Lower body Example 2

	Exercise		Pause
A1	Sumo deadlift	4-6	30-45 sec.
A2	Leg curls	10-12	30-45 sec.
A3	Kettlebell swings	30	3 min.

Upper body example 1

	Exercise		Break
A1	Bench press	4-6	30-45 sec.
A2	Dumbbell incline bench press	10-12	30-45 sec.
A3	Battle Ropes	45 sec.	3 min.

Upper body Example 2

	Exercise		Break
A1	Barbell row bent forward	4-6	30-45 sec.
A2	Seated rowing on cable pulley	10-12	30-45 sec.
A3	Rowing ergometer		3 min.

Tip: Take this to build muscle

In recent studies, subjects who took this legal supplement doubled their gains compared to a control group.

From TC Luoma

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/tip-take-this-to-grow-muscle/

Phosphatidic acid (PA)

The way in which most supplements work is quite complicated. The way phosphatidic acid (PA) works, on the other hand, is easy to understand:

1. mTOR is a kinase enzyme that regulates muscle growth. Basically, mTOR is the main regulator of muscle cell protein synthesis.
2. PA in conjunction with training with weights activates mTOR.
3. When you take additional PA in the form of a supplement, you activate more mTOR and become stronger and build more muscle.

The study

This supplement is also quite easy to study in the lab. A more recent study involved 28 weightlifters who completed an eight-week periodized training program consisting of two weekly hypertrophy training sessions and one weekly strength training session.

The scientists performed DEXA scans and circumference measurements of the rectus femoris muscle before and after the study. They also tested the maximum strength for one repetition (1RM) before and after. They then divided the subjects into two groups. One got 750 mg of PA daily, while the second group got an identical-looking placebo that contained white flour.

Here's what happened after eight weeks:

• The PA group showed significantly greater gains in lean body mass than the control group (2.4 vs. 1.2 kilos). In other words, the PA group built up twice as much muscle mass.
• The PA group increased the size of their thighs significantly more than the control group (1.01 cm² vs. 0.61 cm²).
• The PA group was able to move more weight during the leg press than the control group (52.0 kg vs. 32.5 kg).
• In addition, the DEXA scan showed that the PA group lost significantly more fat than the control group (-1.3 kg vs. -0.5 kg).

It is recommended that phosphatidic acid be taken one hour before exercise.

References:

1. https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-10-S1-P13

From Eric Bach