Hardcore Hinging for Hamstrings

Looking for some new exercises for your hamstrings other than lying leg curls? Check out these hinge variations by John Gaglione.

Hardcore Hinging for Hamstrings by John Gaglione

Get big or die tryin'.

Feats of Strength

I have often heard stories of men achieving amazing feats of strength throughout their lifetime; stories of men working for hours on end in the construction of something greater than themselves; stories of men traveling great distances by foot to relay messages or return to loved ones. In this day in age, experiences like these have become foreign by the ease of technology, the busyness of schedules, and the fear of trying. Feats of strength are now considered by the living dead as an hour of movement three times a week. Even the events that are deemed most challenging, and are, without question, difficult, such as triathlons and marathons, are able to be completed by people with poor training or are done on whim.

This past Thanksgiving I was talking to my uncle about my personal bests regarding my training. The next day he sent me an e-mail containing some of the feats of strength he accomplished in his younger days. The e-mail contained the following:

• I did a 53 mile walk/jog through the White Mountains (New Hampshire) with about 20,000 total vertical feet (10,000 up and 10,000 down) - in 19 1/2 hours (a record for the event at the time) at 20 years old.
• Fast- walked/jogged 50 miles in 10 1/2 hours and rode a 3-speed bike 1223 miles in 15 days at 21.
• I first did 1,000 push-ups in a day when I was 22 years old, and was able to do this at several different time-periods until I was about 34.
• Bicycled across the US, approximately 3,200 miles, at 23 years old.
• I worked up to 15-16 3-minute rounds on the heavy bag when I was 26-34 years old.
• Cross-country skied the 33 mile Birkebeiner in 4 hours at 31 yrs old (it took me more than six hours last year with the new, faster equipment).
• I used to run for about 45 minutes, once a week at noon in the summer when I lived in Saudi Arabia (age 31-34 years old), just to see if I could do it/survive. The temperatures were up to and over 130 F. In three years I never saw anyone else run in the desert in the middle of the day in the summer (there were 500 mostly younger people living on our farm).

Reading these, I couldn't help but be motivated. I have already begun to create a list of different feats of strength I want to accomplish in the upcoming years, ones that I will be posting about in the future. What do actually want to prove to yourself with your training, or are you able to accept mediocrity?

So much of people's training today revolves around aesthetics or sub-maximal performances. When was the last time you pushed yourself to your physical and mental limits in your training? When was the last time you attempted something, just to see if you could survive?

Get big or die tryin'.

Charlie Cates, CSCS

Self Made®, Owner

Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

John Berardi's Great Fasting Experiment

Interested in intermittent fasting (IF)? Check out this article by John Berardi to get a recap of his experience with it.

John Berardi's Great Fasting Experiment by John Berardi

Get big or die tryin'.

Dynamic Effort Box Squats and Acceleration Improvements

Interested in how box squats transfers from your training to your competition? Check out this interview conducted by Bret Contreras with Scott Taylor for an inside perspective.

Dynamic Effort Box Squats and Acceleration Improvements: Interview with Scott Taylor by Bret Contreras

Get big or die tryin'.

Are You Sore? (Part 2)

Due to the number of responses I have received regarding part 1 of this post, I have decided to write a follow-up post, which further defends my reasoning and viewpoint. Let me start by saying that if you really do not care about muscle function or rather only care about pushing yourself as hard as you can while you train, what I am about to present will more than likely go in one ear and out the other. I am not trying to change your viewpoint or how you think; I am just trying to present information that may or may not challenge your belief system, but will hopefully spur a thought process and discussion.

So the argument that has been presented to me since the first post is that in order for the muscle fibers to grow, they must first be damaged. I, and all of the published texts I have found, agree with this statement, but there is ambiguity concerning how much damage must first be done in order for soreness to occur. In other words, it is not particularly clear as to whether damaging a muscle fiber automatically causes soreness or if there is a certain damage threshold that must first be exceed in order for muscle soreness to be experienced.

Based on my experience with training myself and other, my hypothesis is that the latter holds true. What I mean is, I am almost certain that some level of muscle fiber damage occurs while I train due to my inability to perform an identical training session to the one I just completed immediately after finishing. In fact, it is often very apparent to me that I would not be able to hit the same weights at the same levels of intensity or volume that I just did. However, this damage is not indicative that I will be experiencing muscle soreness in the following days, which tells me that I am recovering fairly well from my training.

My recommendation is that if you are still experiencing muscle soreness after having been 24 hours removed from the stimulus, you overdid it with your training and exceeded the threshold of the tissue(s) in question. I am basing this recommendation off of the assumption that you will be able to get a good night's sleep within the 24-hour window, which will allow your body the best opportunity to recover from the stresses of the day. If you are unable to relieve yourself of the muscle soreness after the 24 hours, then the amount of stress in your life during that time was too great for your body to handle appropriately. The tricky part about training recovery is that there are so many variables to consider, but generally speaking if you are unable to recover from one day's training by the time it is time to begin the next day's training, you exceeded your body's threshold of what it could recover from.

Damaged Muscle Fiber vs. Healthy Muscle Fiber

I could see an argument for a 48-hour window being in place instead of a 24-hour window due to people generally taking a day off between training days, and maybe this would be a more appropriate guideline. The problem I am running into with this, though, is that if it is taking people 48-hours to only relieve muscle soreness then they are only a fraction of the way through the recovery process after two days and they are about to stress their system again on the new training day that has arrived. Because magnitude of muscle soreness is only one of many variables in the recovery process--how many of us could perform identical, intense training sessions day after day whether we woke up sore or not?--its absence does not necessarily indicate full recovery.

There will often times be damage to the muscle fibers that occurs during training. Whether or not this damage will always lead to muscle soreness is up for debate, but it appears that the former can be present without the latter. However, should muscle soreness be felt for more than 24 hours post-training, it can be assumed that the threshold of the tissue was exceeded and the contractile capabilities of said tissue have been compromised.

Get big or die tryin'.

Charlie Cates, CSCS

Self Made®, Owner

Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

Due to the number of responses I have received regarding part 1 of this post, I have decided to write a follow-up post, which further defends my reasoning and viewpoint. Let me start by saying that if you really do not care about muscle function or rather only care about pushing yourself as hard as you can while you train, what I am about to present will more than likely go in one ear and out the other. I am not trying to change your viewpoint or how you think; I am just trying to present information that may or may not challenge your belief system, but will hopefully spur a thought process and discussion.

So the argument that has been presented to me since the first post is that in order for the muscle fibers to grow, they must first be damaged. I, and all of the published texts I have found, agree with this statement, but there is ambiguity concerning how much damage must first be done in order for soreness to occur. In other words, it is not particularly clear as to whether damaging a muscle fiber automatically causes soreness or if there is a certain damage threshold that must first be exceed in order for muscle soreness to be experienced.

Based on my experience with training myself and other, my hypothesis is that the latter holds true. What I mean is, I am almost certain that some level of muscle fiber damage occurs while I train due to my inability to perform an identical training session to the one I just completed immediately after finishing. In fact, it is often very apparent to me that I would not be able to lift the same weights at the same levels of intensity or volume that I just did. However, this damage is not indicative that I will be experiencing muscle soreness in the following days, which to me tells me that I am recovering fairly well from my training.

My recommendation is that if you are still experiencing muscle soreness after having been 24 hours removed from the stimulus, you overdid it with your training and exceeded the threshold of the tissue(s) in question. I am basing this recommendation off of the assumption that you will be able to get a night's sleep within the 24-hour window, which is when your body is going to have the best opportunity to recover from the stresses of the day. If you are unable to relieve yourself of the muscle soreness after the 24 hours, then the amount of stress in your life during that time was too great for your body to appropriately handle. The tricky part about training recovery is that there are so many variables to consider, but generally speaking if you are unable to recover from the day's training by the time it is time to begin the next day's training, you exceeded your body's threshold of what it could recover from.

Damaged Muscle Fiber vs. Healthy Muscle Fiber

I could see an argument for a 48-hour window being in place instead of a 24-hour window due to people generally taking a day off between training days, and maybe this would be a more appropriate guideline. The problem I am running into with this, though, is that if it is taking people 48-hours to only relieve muscle soreness then they are only a fraction of the way through the recovery process after two days and they are about to stress their system again on the new training day that has arrived. Because the magnitude of muscle soreness is only one of many variables in the recovery process--how many of us could perform identical, intense training sessions day after day whether we woke up sore or not?--its absence does not necessarily indicate full recovery.

There will often times be damage to the muscle fibers that occurs during training. Whether or not this damage will always lead to muscle soreness is up for debate, but it appears that the former can be present without the latter. However, should muscle soreness be felt for more than 24 hours post-training, it can be assumed that the threshold of the tissue was exceeded and the contractile capabilities of said tissue have been compromised.

Get big or die tryin'.

Charlie Cates, CSCS

Self Made®, Owner

Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

Top 12 Tips to Improve Chin-Ups

Want to do more chin-ups but not sure where to turn? Check out this article by Charles Poliquin.

Top 12 Tips to Improve Chin-Ups by Charles Poliquin

Get big or die tryin'.

On The Job Training

What is your current job? What should your current job be? Why are they not one in the same? Read more in this article by Martin Rooney.

On The Job Training by Martin Rooney

Get big or die tryin'.

Use Your Talents

How many of you know the Parable of Talents in the book of Matthew? Like many stories from the Bible, this one is applicable to our everyday lives and is a powerful story for anyone looking to make a change. As the parable goes, there is a master who is leaving where he resides for, as the Bible says, “a long time”; we’ll say a number of years to be better-able to conceptualize what is going on. Anyways, before he leaves for this journey, he gives his three servants a portion of his savings, with each receiving based on his performance while on duty. One servant received five talents, one received two talents, and one received one talent. At the time of the parable, a talent was a large sum of money, often times amounting to more than a servant would earn in ten years. So, relative to what they were earning, the servants were dealing with some serious money.

The parable goes on to say that the servant who received five talents invested the money and made five more talents. Similarly, the servant who received two talents invested the money and made two more talents. However, the servant who received one talent buried the money, scared to lose it and ultimately choosing not to put it to use. When the master returned, he was, as expected, very pleased with the first two servants. When he found out what the third servant had done, though, he ordered him to give his one talent to the servant who now had ten and then to be imprisoned in the dungeon. Harsh.

Okay, so that’s an overview of the parable, but what does it mean? How can it be applied to this moment and help us to make lifestyle changes? The way I see it, the reason we don’t do what we want to do, or do what is ultimately in our best interest, is because we don’t have enough of something, and that scares us. We don’t have enough money; we don’t have enough time; we don’t have enough energy. What we do have are preconceived notions of what we should have in order to get what we want to have, but does this make sense? To a degree, yes. It makes sense to have some idea of what you are getting yourself into before you start, but that knowledge should be used to empower instead of discourage.

What if, instead of fretting about what we don’t have, we shifted our focus and put to use what we do have. You may not have enough time, but do you have some time? You may not have enough money, but do you have some money? And you may not have enough energy, but do you have some energy? The conditions may not be perfect, but are they usable? Can you put to use what you do have and make more of it?

One thing I would encourage you to do is to think outside of yourself and your immediate circle. Who can you connect with that can help you accomplish your goals? In addition, I would also strongly encourage you to write your 90-Day Wonder. If you did not receive the March 2010 issue of The Source, you can find the feature article, “The Power of the Pen”, on the articles page of my website, which will take you through how to write your 90-Day Wonder. Once you have it written down, I would strongly encourage posting what you want to have accomplished on your bathroom mirror or somewhere of the sort. Just this past Sunday I bought two whiteboards, which are now on the wall next to my desk. On one, I have written down my business goals for the quarter. On the other, I have written down my training goals. Seeing these every day keeps me reminded of what I am working for in the short term. It is very easy to remember where you want to go in the long term; however, remembering the steps you are trying to take to get there has proven more difficult for me. If this is something that works for you, great, utilize it to its fullest capacity. I know I have been significantly more productive since I put these two boards up. If you are someone who isn’t stimulated by that, for whatever reason, find something that works for you.

We all have been given certain talents in this world. What often proves difficult is being able to combine our talents with what we truly enjoy in such a way that we are still able to survive and provide for others. But, whatever your story, have faith that if you use the talents you have been given in such a way so as to better the world around you, and if your motives and your heart are pure, not having enough will no longer be an issue. Trust in your talents, believe you are worthy of greatness, and act on your fear.

Here’s to faith, strength, and passion.

Get big or die tryin’.

Charlie Cates, CSCS

Self Made®, Owner

Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP's. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

Max Effort Method

Louie Simmons goes into detail about the max effort days at Westside Barbell.

Max Effort Method by Louie Simmons

Get big or die tryin'.

Are You Sore?

Soreness is something many people try to achieve through their training. To them, it is a sign of a "good workout" or a "job well done". In reality, soreness is micro-injury to the tissue and micro-truama to the neuromuscular system.

When a tissue is injured it is no longer able to contract properly. Looking at the neurophysiology of this, if there is damage or injury to a tissue a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is released by Type II inhibitory interneurons and bind to type B GABA receptors.[1] Not only are type B GABA receptors turned on by the immune system, but there is also a more long-term effect by activating them.[1] The Type II inhibitory interneurons block the 1a afferent motor neurons, and in doing so can decrease the force production capabilities of a muscle fiber and the range of motion of a joint by up to 50%.[1]

What all of this means is, by causing trauma to the tissue, in the form of exercise or movement, to the extent that you feel the after effects for a prolonged period of time, in the form of soreness, you are affecting the tissue in such a way that your strength and range of motion decrease for a period of time.

You're probably thinking, "Well duh, obviously I am weaker immediately after I train than before I train," and this may be true. But, what if you are weaker for a long enough period of time that you actually start to develop compensating movement patterns? Now, compensation is by no means bad. In fact, compensation is what allows us to move at all. The reality is, though, that if muscles are compensating for a long enough period of time, doing the job that other muscle fibers were designed to do, the propensity for injury is infinitely higher. How long the process takes of compensation turning into the main means to produce a movement turning into injury is completely based on the individual, but you need to ask yourself if it is a process you want to unnecessarily start.

The other issue with soreness is that of the three soft tissues impacted by training--muscle, tendons, and cartilage--muscles are the fastest to heal. What this means is, if the tissue that heals the fastest is injured and inflamed, there is definitely going to have been some damage done to the other two types of tissue. These take longer to heal, however, but eventually you start to feel their pain in the form of tendonitis and then arthritis.

So think about this the next time you train. Is soreness helping you to achieve your goals, or would you be better-served to go a little lighter on your training, building up the threshold of your tissue in a responsible manner to the point where you can handle high-intensity training sessions?

Get big or die tryin'

Charlie Cates, CSCS

Self Made®, Owner

Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

1. Taylor, Jacques Henri. "Force and the Nervous System: An Introduction to the How and Why of MAT".

Up Your Work Capacity

Is your progression stalling and you don't know where to turn? Maybe it's time to look at how much work your body can actually handle. Check out this article by Michale Ranfone.

Up Your Work Capacity by Michale Ranfone

Get big or die tryin'.

The Camera Is Always On...

Do you portray a different life in front of a camera than you do when it's not on you? Check out this article by Martin Rooney to get the latter closer to the former.

The Camera Is Always On... by Martin Rooney

Get big or die tryin'.

Are You Chalking Up For These Lifts?

If you know how I train, you know I love using chalk when I lift. Most people who don't use wrist straps, a.k.a. my (potential) friends, will most often be seen using chalk for deadlifts, Olympic lifts, and multiple pull variations. There are three other lifts, however, that I will chalk up for on my heavier days.

SQUATS

Squats

Very few people chalk up for squats, but I tell you what, if I'm putting 450 (+) pounds across my shoulders, I want to make sure that bar is staying across my shoulders. I'll chalk across the center of the bar, my hands, and across the top of my back if I have somebody to help me. Also, as I have posted on before, squeezing the bar while you squat can be a huge factor as to whether or not you hit the lift. I will often times try to bend the bar across my back to ensure that I am squeezing it as hard as possible. Doing so really helps me keep my back tight and, subsequently, having a tighter grip by chalking up first helps with this.

BENCH PRESS

Bench Press

First of all, if you haven't see the "So You Think You Can Bench?" video series, do yourself a favor and check it out. Secondly, a powerlifting trick for the bench press is to try to pull your hand apart as you are pushing the weight up. What this does is it plays with friction, manipulating the line of force and changing the moment of effort of the muscles. I divulge into this technique in my post "Strong Grip vs. False Grip: Which is Best for You?". As expected, chalking up for this lift adds greater friction to the bar, changing the moment of effort even more. Chalking up also helps me in my pursuit of squeezing the life out of the bar while I bench, as well. Finally, if you want to make sure the path of the bar is the same every rep, you can chalk the center of the bar and then see where it hits your shirt each rep.

Military Press??

This image came up in my Google search for "heavy military press", so why would I not put it up??

Ahh... MILITARY PRESS

This was the military press I was looking for, though.

Military Press

My reasoning for chalking up for military press is partly the same as for chalking up for bench press. Because I use a false grip when I military press, it is more difficult for me to manipulate friction than if I were using a strong grip, such as when I bench. While the chalk helps with this some, it is mostly to allow me to just get a better grip overall on the bar. By this I mean I feel like I can squeeze the bar tighter and have better control over the bar when I chalk up before I lift.

If you aren't chalking up before you do your heavy days with these lifts, consider switching it up and giving magnesium carbonate a chance. And if it is against the rules of your gym to use chalk, break the stupid rules and move some weight.

Get big or die tryin'.

Charlie Cates, CSCS

Self Made®, Owner

Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

What You Need to Know About Rest Intervals

I've been speaking on the importance of manipulating rest times to better-achieve your goals for a while now, but Charles Poliquin breaks it down in another manner in this article.

What You Need to Know About Rest Intervals by Charles Poliquin

Get big or die tryin'.

Squat

Have a question about the squat? Check out this article by Mike from RobertsonTrainingSystem.com. Seriously.

Squat by Mike

Get big or die tryin'

Quite a Stretch--Stretching Debunked

Still loving the "benefits" of stretching? It is time you check out this article by Paul Ingraham, then.

Quite a Stretch--Stretching Debunked by Paul Ingraham

Get big or die tryin'.

Need To Focus?

First of all, I want to apologize for how inconsistent my blog posts have been as of late. I have been spending a lot of time studying for my MAT mid-term, which has kept me from keeping this blog up-to-date. Postings should resume to a more normal schedule in the next couple of weeks, however.

Okay so today I want to let you in on a technique that I have used pretty consistently in the past that has allowed me greater focus and productivity throughout my day. I first got the idea after hearing about the wonders hypnosis was having for a friend of mine. Because I didn't want to go see a hypn0therapist, however, I experimented with another idea--silent imaging.

Essentially, what I do is I turn off all of the lights and anything that could make noise. I then set a time for ten to fifteen minutes and I lay down flat on my back in a comfortable, anatomical position with my eyes closed. I focus on breathing through my nose, and then I clear my mind of everything except what it is I want to focus on for that day. When I started, I would imagine my facility--what I want it to look like, the floor layout, the exact square footage, how all of the equipment would be aligned. Then, I pictured myself moving in the facility and then performing daily tasks.

This all happened over the course of a number of months. I would try to get as absolutely detailed as possible with every aspect before moving on to the next. A lot of times I would end up falling asleep before the timer went off. When I would awake, I would feel refreshed and very, very excited to get working on my projects. My productivity during the times of my silent imaging soared, and every day I was excited to keep grinding on my work. The silent imaging was done on a daily basis for a while, then I cut it back to a few times a week. Now I do it every once in a while, not because I don't want to, but more because I am able to get the same benefits as before with doing it less frequently because I have programmed myself into a routine and I have a clear picture of what I am trying to achieve. That being said, though, I think I could definitely use another round after the last month.

Silent imaging is a technique that I highly recommend if you are having trouble accomplishing what you want to. Think about what it is that you desire, think about every single aspect of it, and then let that image carry you and you press forward with action.

Get big or die tryin'.

Charlie Cates, CSCS

Self Made®, Owner

Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.