Do I Eat Less Or Exercise More For Fat Loss?
Do you reach your fat loss goals by eating less or should you stick with your current diet and increase energy expenditure by exercising more? Let's go over each strategy and see what works best.
Picture taken from Huffingtonpost.com
Do you reach your fat loss goals by eating less or should you stick with your current diet and increase energy expenditure by exercising more? Let's go over each strategy and see what works best.
Eating Less While Paying Less Attention to Exercise
Weight loss occurs when you consistently consume less calories than you burn; I'm sure everyone is aware of that by now. By tracking your calories and overhauling your diet with healthy whole foods, plenty of protein, fibre and vitamins, you will definitely lose weight. Some people are under the misconception that decreasing calories means eating less food; these are the same people that have problems managing their hunger levels - possible causing them to overeat or not adhere to their diet properly. The best way to control hunger levels while staying in a calorie deficit is to consume high volume foods, increase their protein intake and increase their meal frequency.
Examples of high volume foods include big salads, or substituting vegetables for your rice or pasta dish. Increasing protein intake can help with satiety and is achieved by consuming lean protein sources like lean beef, some seafoods, and vegetarian sources like tofu. A higher meal frequency, while shown not to have any beneficial effects on weight loss compared to a calorie-equated low meal frequency diet, can help people adhere to their diets more effectively and decrease the likelihood of overeating. Small to moderate size meals throughout the day can be better for diet adherence than eating 2-3 big meals a day.
What's wrong with this approach?
While you are certainly going to experience some weight and fat loss by eating less calories and improving your diet, your fat loss will plateau without paying extra attention to exercise. In order to consistently lose fat, your calories will have to decrease more and more. This is not only difficult in terms of managing hunger levels, but can be out right unhealthy - I've heard stories of females eating 1000 calorie diets attempting to lose weight. This is NOT okay and people will run the risk of nutrient deficiencies and low energy levels.
EXERCISE MORE WITHOUT CHANGING YOUR DIET
Exercise will do wonders for your body. Increased energy/calorie expenditure, improved nutrient partitioning (positively change the way your body deals with the nutrients and calories coming into your body), improved muscular and cardiovascular health, alleviate pain and prevent injuries. I recommend a combination of resistance training and cardio exercises for everyone, the most important thing is to make exercise sustainable and enjoyable.
My general recommendations for resistance exercise (lifting) would be a minimum 2 times a week. Cardio training can be done everyday (low intensity) or 2-3 times a week if performing challenging interval training. Doing that alone will increase your weekly calorie expenditure... as long as you're consistent!
What's wrong with this approach?
If you're a beginner trainee and you currently eat diet high in calories, its unlikely you'll be able to work off a bad diet. A beginner simply doesn't have the work or recovery capacity to exercise enough to out work a bad diet. Increasing muscle mass improves your fat and calorie burning abilities. However, new trainees do not experience significant muscle hypertrophy until 5-8 weeks into a consistent weight training program.
What should you do then? The answer lies in between the 2 strategies.
the perfect fitness and diet lifestyle
The perfect recipe for fat loss utilizes both strategies mentioned above. You should know now that fat loss can be achieved through either #1: increasing calorie expenditure, or #2: decreasing calorie consumption. Trying to take extreme measures on any 1 method will often cause you to fall short of your goals. It's very difficult to adhere to a hard exercise program when you're new to resistance or cardio training, and it's very hard to make your diet sustainable if it includes very low calories or foods you don't like eating.
The solution
Instead of taking extreme measures, take small steps to improve your exercise habits, diet and learn the concept of NEAT (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis).
NEAT is one of the most overlooked aspects of calorie expenditure and fat loss. NEAT represents all the physical activity throughout your day that isn't considered exercise. How much you walk a day, how many chores you do, how active your job is, how long you spend your day sitting and being sedentary, all of these are included in your NEAT.
"I eat pretty well, I exercise 3 times a week, how come I'm still not reaching my fat loss goals?" - Bob
Well I'm sorry to hear that Bob, but it might be because you sit on your ass all day when you're not exercising. Bob is most likely not training hard enough for exercise to have any significant effects on his calorie expenditure. Paired with that fact that he remains sedentary when not at the gym, his metabolism remains relatively slow.
This is an example of a breakdown of the daily calorie expenditure of a person that exercises moderately but stays relatively active in their daily life.
- Basal Metabolic Rate represents the calories burned just by staying alive (based on bodyweight, height, muscle mass, anthropometric features)
- NEAT represents the amount of activity level in a day not related to dedicated exercise
- Exercise represents a dedicated time to which you hit the gym/go for a run/follow your training program
- TE of Food represents the thermic effect of food - the amount of energy spent digesting the food you consume
As a beginner, there is only so much exercise you can do before it becomes unsustainable or you can recover from without being injured or burnt out. Seeing how the thermic effect of food plays a very small part in your metabolism and basal metabolic rate is dependent on genetic and body measurement factors, increasing NEAT would be the next best option.
As an intermediate/advanced trainee, your work capacity develops and the calories that can be burned through exercise increases. NEAT eventually turns into moderate-high intensity exercise. Many of these trainees can "outwork a bad diet", however, it still takes discipline and proper training/dieting strategies to become the leanest, strongest and fittest version of yourself.
There are plenty of ways to increase your NEAT, and consequently, energy expenditure throughout the day. Here are a few:
- Every hour or so of sitting, balance that out with 5-10 minutes of stretching and moving around
- Create a daily step count goal and hit it every day
- Walk to the grocery store instead of driving there
- Go on the stationary bike or treadmill while watching Netflix or studying for your upcoming exam
- Go for walk when listening to music or audiobooks
- Dance in the shower (careful there)
Achieving your fat loss goals and improving your fitness lifestyle does not occur while taking extreme measures, rather, working on all parts of the equation - diet, exercise, NEAT and building sustainable habits.
Exercise more, improve your diet, move more.
Thanks for reading! Here a few articles to get you started with your fitness and diet goals:
What Type Of Dieter Are You?
Surprising Reasons You're Not Reaching Your Fitness Goals (Habit Building Article)
How Much Protein Do You Really Need?
How To Pack On Muscle - Diet Tips For The Hardgainer
Need extra help? Want to jump start your training or diet? Feel free to contact me for a free consultation!
Guilt and Shame: Motivation For Exercise and Gym Attendance?
Let's talk about exercise motivation and habit formation for a minute.
Photo Credit: Psypost.org & U.S Pacific Fleet
Today, I came across this article: http://www.psypost.org/2016/09/mens-hidden-guilt-shame-body-fat-can-fuel-gym-attendance-study-finds-44867
Body image, expectations and attitudes towards exercise is usually a topic for women in mainstream media. However, this article/study examines how feelings of guilt and shame in men affect their exercise habits and gym attendance. These are my thoughts:
"The researchers found that men worried about body fat were more likely than others to undertake spontaneous, unplanned work-outs – and warned that these ‘sporadic’ exercise patterns tend to be difficult to sustain over time."
Sporadic exercise patterns are better than no exercise at all. Some people/trainers may say: there is no harm in feeling a bit guilty for not hitting the gym, whatever gets you up and moving. I generally agree with this. In my experience, many guys need a little kick in the ass to get them started. Whether these exercise patterns can be sustained should be addressed AFTER someone has already started exercising. It is then a matter of habit formation, support systems (friends, family, workout partners) and most importantly whether they're seeing results or not.
"With the recent growth of ‘selfies’ and the return of muscle-bound Hollywood hero icons like Vin Diesel and Hugh Jackman, there’s a real risk that males may be more influenced to attend the gym more regularly and workout to a point where it becomes dangerous or detracts from their wellbeing."
Looking and feeling like Superman is a "real risk" I believe people shouldn't be afraid of taking. How many people do you know where their well-being is being threatened by regular exercise? Please note that many middle-aged celebrities are on some sort of testosterone-replacement-therapy. A guy in their teens, 20s or even early 30s can build a healthy physique and improve their health and well-being naturally. Exercise is also about balance. How can you fit exercise into your life without detracting too much from other areas such as work and family?
For others that have struggled with their body image and their fitness, I urge you not to take the role of the victim. Find a trainer, watch some Youtube videos, ask a friend to go to the gym with you. For the first few weeks, its okay to let the feelings of guilt and shame motivate you to get in the gym, on your bike, in your running shoes; or whatever gets you moving. Those feelings will go away as you start to change your perspective on exercise. A lot of people seem to forget exercise improves mental health as much as it does physically. What starts out as a sporadic exercise schedule will develop into what I hope to be, a healthy habit.
Thanks for reading!
Link to the study mentioned in the article: http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2016&issue=09000&article=00024&type=abstract
P.S. One of the best articles I've ever written is on habit formation, and how to take advantage of your environment and support systems to reach your fitness goals. This article has a special place in my life as it combines my experiences with science to demystify the motivations and steps required to form a healthy exercise habit. Its all about stacking the odds in your favor.
Check it at my fitness colleague's website:
http://www.fitnesspollenator.com/2015/10/surprising-reasons-youre-not-reaching-your-fitness-goals.html
The ULTIMATE Guide To Building SUSTAINABLE FITNESS Habits
Article originally posted on Travis Pollen's website: http://www.fitnesspollenator.com/2015/10/surprising-reasons-youre-not-reaching-your-fitness-goals.html
Through years of experimental and observational research on human physiology and biomechanics, science has dictated the optimal way to train for specific fitness goals. The problem is, the most efficient route may not always be the most enjoyable -- especially for people new to exercise.
What often happens to beginners is that they begin to find their routine boring and monotonous. These people eventually fall off and stop working out all together; whether it’s due to boredom or a lack of progress/results. Now, much like science, where adherence is an important factor in experimental studies, adherence is also a crucial part of a beginner's long-term fitness success.
The Dual Process Approach
In order for a person to adhere to an exercise program, they must first have the intention of working out. Psychologists theorize that the strongest conscious predictor of behavior and adherence is intention (1). Does the person have an intention to lose weight? To get stronger? To run faster? The first step to exercising is being conscious about wanting to change their behavior. Psychologists have also proposed that the greatest unconscious predictor is habit (2). Habits are said to be automatic actions or responses to a specific cue. Together, they form what is called a Dual Process approach to exercise habit and behavior formation (3). The Dual Process approach proposes that both conscious and unconscious processes of the brain work in conjunction in order to successfully form a behavior.
Setting Goals – Intentions
Do you have a clear, conscious thought about exercising? Great, you have already formed an intention. But let’s get more in depth to make sure you take your first step towards exercising: setting goals.
Step 1) Evaluate your current lifestyle, what don’t you like about it? What areas in your life are problematic?
Step 2) Set long-term goals. This is what you dream about, losing 30 lbs of fat, putting 50 lbs on your bench press, being able to run a full marathon. Whatever your goals may be, write them down!
Step 3) Set a couple short-term goals. The word “short-term” can be ambiguous; does it mean within a 1-month time frame? 2 months? 6 months? I like considering short-term goals as the baby steps that you take towards your long-term goals. Some short-term goals might be
a) Finding a local gym and buying a membership
b) Planning your exercise frequency around your current work/school schedule (e.g. My short-term goal is to go to the gym three times a week. I will go after work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 45 minutes each session).
Make sure the goals that you are setting are realistic and sustainable (which helps with habit formation). Setting a goal to hit the gym before you leave for work isn’t realistic if you have to be at work by 8:00 am and it takes you an hour to drive there, especially if you’re not used to waking up at 5:00 am. (The exception here would be if you have a very tight schedule and can’t find an alternative time.) Setting a goal to lose 30 lbs of fat in one month is also not realistic, as it would likely cause you to resort to unhealthy and dangerous ways of losing the weight.
Habit Formation
Researchers suggest that there are four factors that contribute to habit formation: rewards, behavioral complexity, consistency and environmental cues (4). Let’s go over each factor, including suggestions for increasing your chances of forming long-lasting exercise habits.
Rewards
Operant conditioning (OC) often explains and drives many of our behaviors and psychology. The OC theory states that behaviors are controlled by consequences, specifically, through reinforcement and punishment (5). Reinforcement is a process that increases the frequency of the behavior either through a rewarding stimulus (positive reinforcement) or a removal of an unfavorable stimulus (negative reinforcement). Punishment, on the other hand, is a process that decreases the frequency of a certain behavior either through an introduction of an aversive stimulus (positive punishment -- yes, there is such a thing), or a removal of a favorable stimulus (negative punishment).
The following figure illustrates the breakdown of the OC theory.
Exercise is unique in the sense that you go through periods of positive punishment before you reach the stage of positive reinforcement. The physiological adaptations and side effects of exercise/working out (resistance exercise, especially) are usually muscle soreness and overall body fatigue, which is considered by definition to be positive punishment (because there is an introduction of unfavorable stimuli). These outcomes are unavoidable with exercise, but it is our body’s ability to adapt to these stressors that makes us better and healthier than we were before.
It’s important to fight the urge to give up and fall off the exercise program. The reason why we continue to exercise is that we know exercise is good for our health and that we expect results. So why do people quit after a few workouts? 1) They simply don’t experience the results they were aiming for, and 2) somewhere along their fitness journey, they decided that feeling uncomfortable, tired, and sore wasn’t worth it.
Getting a person to adhere to their exercise program (increasing behavior) is all about rewards (positive reinforcement). People’s exercise frequency and behavior increases when they start seeing their goals come to fruition in the form of fat loss, pain alleviation, increased mobility, etc. Knowing that, how do we increase the chance of positive reinforcement and maximize our rewards?
1) Education
Learning safe and effective exercise technique is key to maximizing your results and giving you the comfort of knowing that the exercises you are performing will move you towards your goal. Education is also important for setting realistic expectations. Knowing that it is physiological impossibility to gain 20 lbs of muscle mass in two weeks will save you frustration and disappointment when you realize that you look the same as you did before the past two weeks of “hardcore” weightlifting. People looking to lose fat mass may not see results until 3 weeks into exercising, whereas people looking to pack on muscle mass may not see results until 8-9 weeks of resistance training (depending on previous lifting experience).
2) Hire a knowledgeable personal trainer/coach
If you lack the free time to do your own research on health and fitness, it’s wise to hire a fitness professional to help you out. Unfortunately, it can be pretty hard to differentiate between a good and bad trainer (no, their physique doesn’t tell you much about their fitness knowledge). Read some reviews, and ask your friends or family members for a referral. Choosing a good personal trainer might also be a trial and error process.
3) Think long-term
Avoid programs like INSANITY, P90X, ab-blaster 9000 or any program that “promises” you results in a very short period of time. You will increase the chances of acquiring an injury, and the results you gain from these programs are most likely not sustainable. The truth is, you’ll most likely have to develop a good aerobic conditioning base, proper movement patterns, and flexibility before you can partake in high-intensity, high-impact, or heavy-loaded exercises. Ease your way into it and remind yourself that you’re in this for the long run.
Behavioral Complexity
The more complex the behavior, the more likely it will require conscious processes (6). Since the dual process approach proposes that habit is often created through unconscious, automated processes and cues, we must start off our exercise program with simple and easy-to-digest exercises. Although learning new exercise techniques does require conscious thoughts and increased body proprioception, it would be a much better idea to learn how to perform a bodyweight squat than it would be to learn a power snatch.
The complexity of the behavior (exercise in this case) is also related to self-efficacy. Exercises with a low complexity will boost our confidence as we believe we have more chances of succeeding it in (unconscious self-efficacy). This is why running, cycling, and hiking are more popular than resistance training or sports: they’re simple to do (plus the fact that they’re more accessible and convenient to the general population)!
Here are a few ways we can minimize behavioral complexity in hopes of maximizing habit formation:
1) Start slow and ease your way in
This relates to point #3 under Rewards. Building an aerobic conditioning base and learning simple movement patterns (squat, hip hinge, pushing, and pulling) will go a long way in helping you achieve your short- and long-term fitness goals.
2) Regressions and progressions
For bodyweight and resistance exercises, learn the regressions and progressions of each exercise (or hire a professional) so you can monitor your improvement and know how to reduce or increase the complexity of every exercise.
Environmental Cues
The environment also plays a big role in habit development, as it can “prompt or disrupt automatic behavior” (7). Contexts where we feel safe and comfortable will boost self-efficacy and greatly contribute to forming unconscious behavior. It’s hard for people with low self-esteem and social physique anxiety to participate in group classes or expose themselves to a whole gym. It takes time to realize that most people either a) don’t care about you or b) are willing to encourage you and help you achieve your goals. The rest are just assholes. So how do we control our environment for habit formation to work in our favor?
1) Choose an appropriate gym/health club
If you’re completely new to exercising, choosing a family-oriented health club may be the best decision. You will feel more comfortable and be around others with the same goals as you. Joining a hardcore powerlifting or bodybuilding gym (or any gym with an intimidating environment) would not be a good idea and may actually discourage you from going to the gym again. Also, picking a gym that is nearby will increase your chances of going (would you rather have a five-minute walk to the gym or an hour drive?
2) Partner training
Workout with your friend or family member. It’s a great way to hold each other accountable and motivate each other to reach your goals. You’ll feel more comfortable if someone you know is on the ride with you.
3) Getting out of your comfort zone
Realize that eventually you will have to reach out of your comfort zone in order to change your lifestyle in a positive way. Take small steps every day to improve your confidence and let the snowball effect take place!
Consistency
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, forming habits require a high degree of consistency. The more frequently and consistently we perform a task, the more accustomed and comfortable we are with it. In this context, we are talking about the consistency of exercising and practicing good health choices and habits. Here are some ways to stay consistent:
1) Monitor your progress
Track your bodyweight daily or weekly, write down the amount of weight you lifted, jot down how many miles or how long you ran for. Monitoring markers of health and exercise gives you an idea of how much you are progressing. It also motivates you to adhere to your exercise program in order to beat your previous personal bests. Many beginners do not monitor their progress closely enough, thereby failing to see the results they’re making. The mirror is generally not a good indication of minute changes in body physique or health markers!
2) Hire a personal trainer/buy a personal training package
Having someone to hold you accountable for your behavior is a good way to force yourself to stay consistent. Buying a package of 12 or 20 personal training sessions shows commitment and forces you to show up to training sessions… or you lose money!!
3) Plan ahead
Scheduling is of the utmost importance. In order to stay consistent, you must have dedicated time slots in your week to devote to working out. Carrying out a behavior or performing a certain task at the same time every day or week helps with forming habits; this concept is called temporal consistency (8). For example, I work out after school every other day.
Adherence
Let’s say you’ve been working out for three months now and have been seeing results, but you’re starting to lose motivation because the workouts are getting boring and stale. How do you jazz things up and make them more interesting? After all, one of the keys to exercise adherence is variation.
Although it might sound cool to just pick random exercises out of a hat to include into your next workout, having a plan is much better (most of the time).
There are many different variables you can change in your workout to make them more interesting. An easy method is to pick several different exercise modalities to perform in one workout session, an example would be weightlifting and bodyweight exercises then followed by a steady state endurance exercise like swimming or cycling. Another strategy you can implement is adding exercises of varying speeds within the same group of exercises or muscles involved. If you were working on your posterior chain muscles (glutes, lower back, hamstring) in a workout, performing 3 exercises with different speeds would look something like this (from slowest to fastest): Isometric lower back extension holds, barbell hip bridge and explosive kettlebell swings. The exercise order can be altered to fit your specific fitness goals and experience. It changes the pace of the workout and keeps things interesting.
Along with exercise tempo and speed, you can also include exercises of various planes of motion. The figure below illustrates the planes of movement of the body.
Many people do a majority of their exercises in the sagittal plane (basically up and down), this includes exercises such as the squat, bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, deadlifts, etc. Because the prime movers of exercises in the sagittal plane are mostly flexion and extension muscles, our rotational, abductor and adductor muscles are often neglected. While they might be activated to a certain degree during sagittal plane movements (as synergistic muscles or stabilizers), it is smart to include exercises in the frontal and transverse plane in order to work these muscles through their whole range of motion. Some frontal plane exercises include dumbbell lateral raises, lateral box jumps and side lunges. Transverse plane exercise are rotational in nature and include Pallof presses, rotational medicine ball throws, and wood choppers.
Benefits of Exercise Selection Variation
Let’s face it: unless you’re a powerlifter, few people want to focus solely on squat, bench press, and deadlift. Doing a variety exercises of different tempos, planes of motion, and complexity is what makes working out enjoyable. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do effective compound exercises like the squat, bench press, deadlift, and military press. In most cases, these exercises should be at the core of your program, but you should add a variety of exercise modalities into your workout, especially if your goal is to increase your general fitness (fat loss, muscle gain, cardiovascular endurance). Here are my recommendations:
1) Apply the principle of progressive overload
Strive to add weight to the bar or increase the number of sets or reps that you do over time. Progressive overload is a principle that, in order for the body to grow better and stronger, we must gradually increase the amount of stress we put on it during exercise.
2) Select your exercises in blocks
Don’t switch up your exercises every day or every week; the concept of muscle confusion is a foolish one. Rather, select a group of exercises and keep them for three or more weeks. This gives us time to either improve our technique and allows us to apply the principle of progressive overload in order to reap the benefits of those particular exercises.
3) Individualize
Pick exercises you like and find enjoyable and simple. To address bodily weaknesses or asymmetries, carefully select exercises that will target those weak spots.
Practicing multiple movement patterns and perfecting the technique of various exercises serves as general physical preparation, which increases your general fitness so you’ll be more successful in whatever additional sport or activity you choose. Most of the great athletes in the 21st century usually have a history of playing multiple sports before they became great at their respective sport (Michael Jordan, Steve Nash).
Main Takeaways (tl;dr)
1) Understand and expect realistic results, set short- and long-term goals, monitor your progress (experiment --> evaluate --> adjust... repeat).
2) Creating sustainable exercise habits will require both conscious and unconscious factors. Understanding these factors and applying mental cues will help you maximize your chances of habit formation.
3) Expect to move out of your comfort zone if you want a positive change in your life.
4) Variation will greatly improve exercise adherence.
References
(1) Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. doi:10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-t
(2) Sheeran, P., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Bargh, J. A. (2013). Nonconscious
processes and health. Health Psychology, 32, 460–473.
(3) Evans, J. S. B. T. (2008). Dual-processing accounts of reasoning,
judgment, and social cognition. Annual Review of Psychology,
59, 255–278.
(4) Lally, P., & Gardner, B. (2013). Promoting habit formation. Health
Psychology Review, 7, S137–S158.
(5) Operant Conditioning. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning
(6) Verplanken, B., & Melkevik, O. (2008). Predicting habit: The case of
physical exercise. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 9, 15–26.
(7) Orbell, S., & Verplanken, B. (2010). The automatic component of
habit in health behavior: Habit as cue-contingent automaticity.
Health Psychology, 29, 374–383.
(8) Rhodes, R. E., & De Bruijn, G. J. (2010). Automatic and motivational
correlates of physical activity: Does intensity moderate the
relationship? Behavioral Medicine, 36, 44–52.
Exercise Selection for General Fitness PART 2
~600 Words ; ~5 minute read
Carrying on from part 1 on the topic of exercise selection for general fitness, we will next talk about the goals of general fitness and what exercises we can pick from to achieve those goals in a safe and efficient manner.
Although fitness goals differ from person to person, it is safe to say the goals of increasing general fitness are as follows:
1) Improve body composition via increasing muscle mass (for functionality and aesthetics) and decreasing body fat (for aesthetics and overall cardiovascular/joint health, reducing the risk of disease and mortality)
2) Increase cardiovascular endurance (the general population wants to get tired less easily, walk and run for longer distances, be able to go hiking, etc)
3) Fix posture and muscle imbalances (reduce current soreness and pain, reduce risk of acquiring lower back, shoulder and knee pain in the future)
4) Build a good muscle and movement foundation (which allows people to do what they want to do with their body, play the sports they want to play)
5) Increase confidence and self-efficacy (body re-composition/physique changes and the elimination of debilitating pain often comes with an increased feeling of self-confidence and self-efficacy; the driver behind motivation and habits, and an indicator of future success)
Types of Exercise Modalities and Their Benefits:
Resistance Training Exercises (Barbells, Dumbbells, Kettlebells)
- Allows for performing exercises in a full range of motion
- Very effective in increasing muscle mass and neuromuscular efficiency (the body's ability to recruit the correct muscles in order to produce force and stabilize structures of the body)
- Allows the trainee to easily track progress (if the weight on the barbell or dumbbell is increasing, you're most likely getting stronger, gaining more muscle; making progress!)
- Resistance training exercises often requires the trainee to use several different muscles and move several joints to perform the movements, this is very effective for ingraining proper motor patterns and learning to use your body as a whole. It is also great for hypertrophy gains and expending calories (for body recomposition purposes)
Cardiovascular Exercises (Running, Swimming, Cycling, Hiking, etc)
- Little to no equipment needed, convenient
- Improve muscular endurance (light loaded repetitive tasks in your daily life will be easier to perform)
- Effective in increasing cardiovascular endurance (walking to the bus stop won't get you feeling like you just ran a marathon anymore!)
- Better cardiovascular health, reduced risk of disease (decreased heart rate, blood pressure, LDL + total cholesterol)
- Sets a cardiovascular endurance foundation needed in order to perform resistance training exercises and/or play sports
Body-weight Exercises
- Little equipment needed, body-weight exercises can be done virtually anywhere there is open space
- Depending on previous exercise experience and current bodyweight, it can be a good introduction to resistance training exercises
- Improves body kinesthetic awareness (where your limbs are in space, where they are relative to other parts of your body)
- Often used as stability and isometric exercises for the core muscles (rectus abdominis, diaphragm, transverse abdominis)
Stability/Resistance Band Exercises (Resistance bands, Bosu ball, Exercise Stability Ball)
- Increases muscle and joint stabilization
- Often used as an exercise modality to rehabilitate muscular or joint injuries
- Can be used to work the core muscles
As we covered in Part 1, the benefits of these exercise modalities are not exclusive. There is definitely a degree of crossover (eg: Resistance training with short rest times will give benefits similar to cardiovascular training).
In PART 3 of this series, we will put everything together and learn how to design an efficient exercise program.
Again Faster Klokov Barbell Review
I've always wanted a barbell to myself, I did not like the inconsistencies of training with several different barbells week to week (not to mention bent barbells). I decided to get the 20kg Again Faster Klokov Bar as a high-quality, general use barbell. This bar is great for Olympic Weightlifting and for compound exercises.
Price
https://ca.againfaster.com/en-ca/shop/conditioning-tools/again-faster-klokov-competition-barbells/
Retail Price: $355 Canadian ($400 after shipping + taxes)
Price was one of the most important factors when deciding whether or not I should buy this bar. $355 was much cheaper than other barbells of the same quality. In comparison, the 20kg Pendlay Bearing Olympic Barbell is $530 (USD) and the Rogue Olympic WL Barbell is $715 (CAD).
As you can see, the AG Klokov Bar is cheaper by a large margin.
Bearings
It is hard to find a bearing barbell south of $500. Bearings is the mechanism by which the barbell sleeve is allowed to spin. Bushing barbells are generally cheaper because of the cheaper manufacturing costs. Both needle bearings (which are better than ball bearings) and bushings are used in the AG Klokov bar, making the sleeve spin smoothly for snatches, and clean & jerks, yet durable enough for everyday use. The quality of the bearings and the sleeve spin may not be as great as Eleiko or Werksan barbells, but is a huge upgrade from bushing barbells usually seen
PSI and Bar Whip
The AG Klokov Barbell has a PSI rating of 264,000, which apparently is 30,000 PSI stronger than any other Olympic Weightlifting barbell on the market. I've had this barbell for a week now and have done several different exercises with it, but I haven't lifted heavy enough to test out how much the bar can handle. If it can handle the weights that Dmitry Klokov puts up, it is definitely more than enough for us mortals.
High Bar Squatting 225lbs: There is a bit of whip at the top of the movement compared to normal gym bars, but very subtle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quugw_xmOOo Judging by this video, there seems to be noticable whip starting from 140kg/308lbs onwards.
Knurling
My favorite part about this bar. There has been reviews saying the knurling on this bar is inconsistent. I'm not sure if they mean the knurling is inconsistent from bar to bar, or inconsistent on different spots of the bar. Nonetheless, I love the feel of the barbell, the outer knurling is not too aggressive; it feels like how a high-quality olympic lifting barbell should feel. I also like the fact that there is a passive centre knurling, which aids in keeping the bar on your back during a high bar squat, or during a front rack position. Another thing I find useful is the knurling ring marks. There are 2 sets of knurling marks, one for the IWF and one for the IPF; this makes it easier to establish a grip width and be consistent with it especially for lifters who like to perform the olympic lifts as well as the power lifts.
Product Specifications (via Again Faster website)
"• Meets all IWF weight and dimension specifications for Men's and Women's bars
• Weight Tolerance +0.1% / -0.05%
• Dual knurl marks that meet both IWF and IPF specifications for knurl mark spacing
• 264,000 PSI Ultimate Tensile Strength
• 5 needle bearings per side
• High strength steel bushings are set both inside and outside the bearings in the collar
• A screw lock cap with two internal retention rings secure the collars
• Finish: Hard Bright Chrome
• Collar Band: Men's = Blue | Women's = Yellow
• Shaft Diameter: 20kg = 28mm (IWF spec) | 15kg = 25mm (IWF spec)
• Length: 20kg = 2200mm | 15kg = 2010mm"
Closing Remarks
Its a nice feeling to touch a new barbell, this bar feels really good in my hands and really good on my back. It feels very straight and very sturdy. Labelled as a "competition barbell", this bar would be perfect for anyone prepping for an Olympic weightlifting meet. Although this bar performs well when squatting, bench pressing or deadlifting, I personally, would not use it to prep for an IPF Powerlifting meet. The whip of the bar (especially when squatting and deadlifting heavy) is not ideal for Powerlifting meets as it will give the lifter a false sense of strength in training. The lifter will be guaranteed tears of sadness and shame after being stapled to the floor by IPF-approved Eleiko powerlifting barbells.
Overall, I would highly recommend this barbell to competitive athletes and weightlifters or any trainee involved in general strength training.
Warming Up For Resistance Training
General Warm-Up
One of the worst things you could possibly do in the gym is not warming up. Working out with cold muscles will increase the chance of muscle tears, injuries, and negatively impact your athletic performance. The purpose of a general warm-up is to increase core body temperature, respiration and blood circulation to working muscles. A general warm up may consists of any low intensity movements plus self-myofascial release (soft tissue massage) and any stretching that will aid in preparing your body for the workout ahead.
5-10 minutes on the rowing machine, elliptical or treadmill is generally very effective. Aim for 50% – 60% of your max heart rate. To calculate your max heart rate, use the following equation: MaxHR = 220 – Age.
Example: A 20 year old trainee will have a max heart rate of 200 beats per minute (BPM), so following the guidelines given, this 20 year old trainee will aim for a heart rate of 100 BPM to 120BPM.
Self Myofascial Release and Stretching
Self Myofascial Release (SMR)( also known as soft tissue massage or foam rolling) is a technique used to reduce muscle soreness and increase range of motion on a given joint. The most popular equipment used for SMR is the foam roller and the lacrosse ball. It is generally suggested that you foam roll the muscles that you will be working for the day, but I’m an advocate of spending the extra 5-10 minutes to do a thorough full body routine to make sure my whole body is ready for the upcoming training session. Here is my SMR routine, ALWAYS done after a general warm-up, covering most major muscle groups from the bottom up:
Feet (with a lacrosse ball)
Tibialis Anterior (front of the calves, muscle beside your shin bone)
Calves
Hamstrings
Adductors (inner thigh)
Quadriceps
IT Band (side of your thighs)
Glutes (butt) (with a lacrosse ball)
Lower Back (Lumbar Region)
Upper Back (Thoracic Region) (with a lacrosse ball)
Chest
Much like massage therapy, foam rolling hurts. It will be very uncomfortable when starting out but you eventually acclimate to the pain. Using softer foam rollers for a few weeks before moving onto sturdier rollers (PVC pipes) is generally a good idea.
Follow these SMR Guidelines for safety and effectiveness:
1. Relax/Stay loose during foam rolling
Think about next weekend, think about how awesome your workout will be, think of anything that takes your mind off of the uncomfortable pressure that comes from foam rolling.
2. Roll slow and rhyhthmic
Take slow, steady and long passes when foam rolling any bodypart
3. Tender spots
When you find a tender spot, stay there and apply pressure to that one area for approx. 20-30 seconds or until tenderness is reduced
4. Control your weight
Be aware of how much your bodyweight is being applied to the muscle group being foam rolled, apply less pressure for more sensitive areas or apply more pressure on less sensitive areas that can take it.
The Lacrosse Ball
The lacrosse ball can act as a substitute for the foam roller when trying to get into tender spots on your body that are harder to reach and harder to direct the pressure to.
Stretching
The main goal of stretching is to increase the range of motion in a given muscle as well as alleviate any pain. Stretching is also done to maintain a healthy posture and to correct any muscle imbalances or tight muscles that may interfere with force production or exercise execution. There are many kinds of stretches, each with it’s own purpose. Static stretching, active stretching, dynamic stretching just to name a few. Knowing how and when to utilize these stretching techniques will benefit performance greatly.
Static stretching involves holding a muscle in a stretched position for approximately 20-30 seconds.
Active stretching involves stretching a muscle with an agonist (opposing muscle group), This type of stretching uses the principle that contracting a certain muscle group will cause the agonist to stretch.
Dynamic stretching is similar to active stretching but it differs from active stretching because you are always moving, hence the word dynamic.
Which stretches should I do and when should I do them?
Why pick? Do all of em. I do all 3, static, active and dynamic stretching after my general warm up and before my specific warm up. I also spend 10-15 minutes at the end of my workout doing static stretches and really focus on my flexibility and recover so my muscles and joints are ready to go and I can smash my next workout.
Does Static stretching before a workout actually decrease performance?
The logic behind this claim is that static stretching puts your muscles in an unfavorable, over-lengthened state which attributes to decreased force production, which in turn decreases athletic performance and power. The answer is yes and no. Yes, holding a stretching for 30-60 seconds will lengthen your muscle into unfavorable conditions that will cause a drop in force production, but this is assuming you attempt a heavy lift immediately after stretching. But that holds no relevance in the real world. Since the time between a static stretching routine and the actual workout can range from anywhere between 20-30 minutes, it is possible to rake in the benefits of static stretching without sacrificing force production when it is time to perform. So in practice, what does this mean? Do not hold your static stretches for longer than 20-30 seconds, perform active and dynamic stretching in addition to your static stretching, as well as perform a specific warm up for the movement pattern that you will be executing.
Below are awesome videos on warming up and stretching by DeFranco’s Training System’s own Joe DeFranco and Bryce Lewis, a competitive powerlifter and bodybuilder part of Team 3DMJ.
Joe DeFranco’s Limber 11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSSDLDhbacc
Bryce Lewis’ Choose Your Adventure Warmup Routine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRfxeWZrODQ
Specific Warm up
Do you walk in the gym and immediately throw 135 on the bar and start your bench pressing? If so this part is especially for you.
A specific warm up is a warm up that is specific to the movement pattern/exercise you will be performing with a higher intensity later on. This means bench pressing lighter weights or performing tricep pushdowns as a warm up to your max bench, this means deadlifting lighter weights or performing back extensions as a warm up to your top set of deadlifts. Doing calf raises in preparation for your bench press would make no sense would it?
The Right Amount
There are people who don’t warm up at all, then there are people who warm up too much. What’s the right amount?
Let’s say you have a 1 Rep Max (1RM) of 360 on the deadlift wanted to work up to working set of 315 pounds x 5 reps:
135×3
185×2
225×1
315×5
This is way too little volume to be considered a warm up, the lower back, hamstrings and muscles used for the deadlift are not getting sufficient activation and blood flow.
135×8
155x8
185×8
205x8
225×8
255x8
275×8
295x8
315×5
This is an example of someone overdoing their warm up. 8 reps sets with each of those weights will definitely cause some degree of muscle and cardiovascular fatigue and hinder your performance IF your focus is on the top set (315×5).
135×8
185×8
225×6
245×4
275×3
315×5
This is my preferred method of warming up. Notice the pyramid scheme and how as the warm up weight gets closer to my working set weight, I’m decreasing the reps I do to ultimately preserve energy to perform my 315×5 set with full muscle efficiency and power. The main principle I’m using here is progression. By progressing with small weight increments, the chance of injury and fatigue is small and all the benefits of a warm up can be achieved. This holds true for other exercises as well, whether doing bicep curls or heavy squats. You will notice that the stronger you are in a lift, the more thorough warm up you will have to do.
Note: It is generally a good idea for beginning lifters to take smaller jumps in weight increments just to practice your form and better ready yourself for the top set. This might mean taking a jump from 135×8 to 155×8 rather than 185×8. The general rule is: the lower your 1RM, the smaller increments you will make in your warm ups.
Activation (non-specific warm up)
Activation refers to the activation of certain muscles through the use of exercises that differ from the main exercise you’re trying to perform. This means warming up, for example, the muscles used in the squat, by means of leg extensions, hip adductor machine, or any movement that isn’t the squat (typically done prior to specific warm ups). The purpose of activation exercises is to directly activate, warm up, and stimulate muscle groups that are imbalanced or muscle groups that can’t be targeted while doing a compound movement like the squat. Using myself as an example, I find it very hard for me to “feel” direct stimulation of my hamstrings while deadlifting, so I fix this problem by doing exercises that target the hamstrings specifically, whether it’s hamstring curls or a dynamic stretching routine focused on the hamstrings. This helps me “feel” the tension in my hamstrings, and it lets me know how my hamstrings should feel like during a deadlift so I can focus on activating them while performing the deadlift.
Common Mistakes Warming Up
1. Just simply not warming up
Obviously.
2. Confusing a general warm up with cardio
Unless your workout is specifically geared towards increasing cardiovascular performance, leave the cardio until the end of the workout, a general warm up should only be 5-10 minutes.
3. Not stretching
Let’s face it, no ones excited to go to the gym to stretch, you don’t have to do it. But I’m telling you now, if you do, your posture will be fixed by addressing muscle imbalances via stretching, your performance will improve in the long run and it’s beneficial for your long term musculoskeletal health! So… do it, or regret it sometime in the future when you have a flexibility and range of motion equivalent to a rock.
4. Holding static stretches for too long
There is no need to hold your stretches for any longer than 20-30 seconds
5. Understimulating or over fatiguing yourself
I addressed this in the section titled “The Right Amount”
There is no secret behind warming up, these methods have been used by elite athletes and coaches around the world and as you can see, warming up itself is a lot of work. Those who will benefit from this are those who are willing to put in the work, those who are willing to put in the extra 20-30 minutes to warm up before a workout. Take care of your body and it will take care of you.