For years as a young fitness fanatic obsessed with bodybuilding and working out, there was one thing that kept baffling me about athletes workouts despite all the fitness books and muscle magazines I read.
As a big time sports fan into baseball, basketball and of course as a Canadian, hockey, it amazed me how these athletes could perform at such a high level during the season and train hard in the gym at the same time!
I would read articles or even see TV clips of theses pro athletes training hard in the gym to stay in shape for their sport and wonder how they can go out and plan 9 innings or 3 periods of intense NHL hockey after throwing around hundreds of pounds in the gym the day before.
Meanwhile, I would train my ass off in the gym to the point of exhaustion and would be limping around for a week with sore legs or have trouble putting my shirt on because my chest was so sore from “chest” day at the gym. Even being active in my own recreational sports was difficult because of the debilitating soreness from my weight training workouts.
I was always led to believe building muscle in the gym would make me stronger and faster…
I wanted to find out how these guys did it. I know genetics, talent and performance enhancing drugs play a roll in pro sports to enhance recovery and performance, but I knew there had to be more.
It was actually the media frenzy of drugs in sports with the baseball scandals and the Olympics that help lift the curtain on how athletes actually trained and how it was different from bodybuilders and regular gym goers.
More and more TV clips, books and videos on how athletes workout started appearing and I realized these guys weren’t doing bicep curls and spending an hour on the treadmill to stay in shape for their sport.
More specifically their workouts weren’t split up into high volume bodypart workouts like chest, back, and legs or the isolation exercises that came along with this old school bodybuilding method.
1. Frequency not Failure
As I started reading more about the strength coaches of pro athletes I seen they were using FULL-BODY workouts based around natural compound movements that not only built show muscle, but more importantly, (with millions of dollars on the line), it build GO muscle that was functional and improved performance in their chosen sport.
Basically, instead of pulverizing one specific muscle with many exercises all in one workout once a week (like bodybuilding workouts do) they work all their large muscle groups with just 1 or 2 multi-joint exercises each and every workout 3-4 times a week.
Some still do some basic lifts like the squat, bench press and deadlift but with variations more specific to their sport and focusing more on lifting fast and explosive with light weights than grinding out slow heavy reps to muscular failure.
This is how they recover faster and prevent extreme muscle soreness from their workouts that allows them to get stronger and faster (not necessarily bigger) in and out of the gym because they are stimulating their muscles, not annihilating them.
2. Conditioning not Cardio
The second difference in their training that became obvious was their “cardio” workouts. They didn’t spend hours each week slaving on a treadmill Slowly watching the calorie counter tick away.
They did metabolic conditioning workouts that were based on high intensity interval training. Even with all the high tech trainers and equipment available to these pro athletes they were flipping heavy tractor tires, pulling weighted sleds, sprinting up hill and swinging heavy sledge hammers around to stay lean and increase endurance.
3. Core not Crunches
Not only were these athletes ditching single joint isolation exercises for biceps and triceps like seen in many gyms but they were also avoiding isolating their abs as well with endless crunches, despite sporting some of the best 6 packs seen away from a bodybuilding stage.
With the combination of full-body weight training workouts to build muscle, heart pounding bodyweight interval training to incinerate body fat and specific core focused training to develop strong abs these guys train their core the way it was meant to be used, for spinal stability and support.
By focusing on training the core which includes all 360 degrees of your torso such as the main rectus abdominals, the surrounding internal and external obliques, and the lower lumbar muscles of your back with stability and rotation exercises you work your core in multiple ranges of motion naturally and avoid the back breaking spinal flexion that crunches and sit-ups force you to do.
So there you go, the 3 secrets of athletes workouts and building a body like a pro athlete, not a pro bodybuilder, so you can look better, feel great and perform at the top of your game…
Keep your surf boards for the beach dudes, I have a better wave for you that will build muscle and strength faster than you thought possible…
I started a new muscle building Dad Fitness workout routine yesterday.
Yep, this routine is specifically geared towards muscle hypertrophy, which is just a fancy name for muscle-growth…
After getter leaner and more athletic this summer with my training I am now going to focus on building some solid muscle mass over the next few months.
I am still only training 3-4 hours a week but these workouts include more sets and reps and some advanced training techniques like partial reps,double contraction reps, or iso-dynamic contrast reps.
Yesterday’s Chest and Back workout was a doozy because I am using this one weird training trick that I have found to work better than any
other when it comes to building bigger and stronger muscles.
Just by applying this ONE technique in your training I am sure you will increase your strength the very FIRST workout!
Ride the Wave
I was first introduced to Wave Loading years ago by strength coach Charles Poliquin. Wave loading refers to a lifting technique where the weights and reps change with every set within a wave. A wave is usually a group of 2-3 sets. Normally 2 waves are performed when training for muscle size, while 2-4 waves can be used when training for strength. The goal is to try to use heavier weights with each new wave.
Over the years I have found this to be the BEST method for building muscle and getting stronger INSTANTLY in the gym.
Wave loading works by activating your body’s nervous system, which is basically your body’s information superhighway for sending signals to your working muscles.
It simply tricks your mind and body into lifting heavier loads, which in turn can lead to more muscle.
For example, you might be able to bench press 5 reps of 200 lbs normally, but after doing a wave load you would probably lift at least 210lbs for 5 reps in the very same workout!
The opportunities to use wave loading are endless for size and strength but here is an example from my currrent muscle building routine.
A1) Incline Dumbbell Press
Wave 1 (1 x 7 reps @ 60lbs, 1 x 5 reps @ 70lbs, 1 x 3 reps @ 80lbs)
Wave 2 ( 1 x 7 reps @ 65lbs, 1 x 5 reps @ 75lbs, 1 x 3 reps @ 85lbs)
90 seconds rest
A2) Parallel Grip Pullups (bodyweight with additional weight)
Wave 1 (1 x 7 reps @ 10lbs, 1 x 5 reps @ 20lbs, 1 x 3 reps @ 25lbs)
Wave 2 ( 1 x 7 rep @ 15lbs, 1 x 5 reps @ 25lbs, 1 x 3 reps @ 30lbs)
90 seconds rest
Don’t do more than a couple wave loaded exercises in one workout as it puts a lot of stress on your nervous system and pay attention to getting enough recovery between workouts with proper nutrition and a good nights sleep. Probably not a good workout routine for sleep deprived new dads!
But if you are sick of slaving away in the gym for months trying to add more plates to the bar, give wave loading a try and get bigger and stronger faster than ever before…
You probably read lots of articles by now on the BEST workout routines.
Heck, I am a fitness writer myself and after 15 years of studying health and fitness inside and outside the gym as well as earning lots of advanced certifications I am confident that the advice I give works and is also safe and helpful for a healthy person.
Unfortunately with the age of the internet everyone thinks that they are suddenly qualified in exercise science and advanced program design.
That’s why mechanics don’t do brain surgery and why your dentist don’t fix your plumbing, (although some of their tools do looks the same).
It’s because they SPECIALIZE in their field and when we want expert results we go to an expert.
But you still have to be careful who you consider an expert despite some fancy letters after their name.
After seeing a workout routine that was left in the gym the other day I am almost ASHAMED to be called a Personal Trainer in the same breath as the “personal trainer” who designed this exercise program below!
This has got to be the WORST weight training program I have EVER seen!
…and trust me I have seen it all and this even goes way beyond any of the over hyped bodybuilder routines found in the magazines.
I am sure my 2 year old daughter would come up with a better routine, as her squat technique is impeccable.
It’s no wonder guys at the gym are walking around with torn up shoulders and bad backs. I would rather they stay home and did nothing, than follow stuff like this and breakdown their muscles and mobility with the overuse and redundant exercises found below.
95% of these exercises are not only a waste of anyone’s time for building muscle but the unnatural angles recommended for some of these movements make them go from bad to down right DANGEROUS!
So I hope the “trainer” who blindly slapped this workout routine together goes back to eating their Cracker Jacks and the personal trainer certification that came with it…
WARNING: Displaying this workout is for novelty purposes only and may cause a choking hazard if anyone with a brain reads it while eating or drinking.
The Worst Workout Routine EVER
3 sets of 10 for everything.
(wow, that’s creative)
Day 1
Wide Grip Bench Press
Wide Grip Incline Bench Press
Pullover
Decline DB Press
Bench Dip
Cable Flys
Cable Crossover
Pushup
Day 2
Lying Bicep Curl
Preacher Curl
EZ bar Concentration curl
Cable Bicep curl
Tricep Overhead DB Press
Skull Crusher
One arm Cable pushdown
Dip
Day 3
Pullup
Cable One Arm Pulldown
Lat Pulldown
Seated Cable Row
T Bar Row
Bent Over Db row
Reverse Fly
Back Ext.
As for lower body exercises I didn’t see any but was too disgusted to turn the page and waste my time reading any more of this garbage.
If you are a busy dad and is looking for professionally designed workout routines done for busy dads by a busy dad, check out www.DadFitness.com for safe and effective workouts and nutrition plans that give you maximum results in minimum time.
I have been busy interviewing a lot of the top fitness experts lately for an upcoming Dad Fitness “secret” project that I am sure you guys are going to love!
Stay tuned for this in the coming months…
In the meantime, here is a quick Q & A I did with one of the top strength and conditioning coaches in the world, Jason Feruggia of Renegade Gym in New Jersey. Jason is also the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness magazine if he sounds familiar.
As an “old school lifter” myself who thinks basics are best when it comes to working out I relate to Jason’s no B.S. approach to getting maximum results in minimum time.
Interview with Jason Feruggia:
[Sean] Most guys are being told to follow bodybuilding splits, train multiple times a day, and other non-sense training tactics that don’t work. What tips do you have for people looking to build muscle as fast as possible?
[Jason] The key to making consistent size gains is making consistent strength gains (in a hypertrophy rep range) while eating enough food and allowing enough time for recovery. You need to constantly be doing more weight or more reps. The body will respond to any given stimulus one time and one time only. If you place the same demands on it a second time (like pressing the same weight for the same reps) nothing will happen. You must always be forcing it to adapt and thus you must always ask it do something it isn’t used to.
The easiest way to do this is add more weight or do more reps with the same weight.
Aside from making consistent strength gains the next most important thing to consider is training frequency. To improve anything in life you need to do it frequently. Building muscle is no different. So you want to train a muscle as frequently as possible, while it is in a fresh and recovered state. This means that you should be training each body part once every 2-5 days, and not once a week like a lot of the muscle mags recommend. That’s too little frequency. The more times you can stimulate growth throughout the year the better. Obviously 104 growth stimulating workouts per year for each body part would be a lot better than 52.
[Sean] I have seen the phrase “stimulate, don’t annihilate” on your blog in reference to training. Can you explain what you mean by this and the relation to training volume?
[Jason] To elicit a training response you need to present the body with a stimulus that it isn’t used to. This stress will cause the body to adapt. The body adapts by building itself up bigger and stronger.
Where people go wrong is that they think they need to annihilate the muscle in order to elicit any type of response. This is completely counterproductive.
When you annihilate the muscle with tons of sets and reps and intensity techniques like drop sets you drastically increase your recovery time. And as I mentioned previously, frequency is very important. So when you increase your recovery time you have to decrease your training time. You’re shooting yourself in the foot.
The key is to do just enough to stimulate size and strength gains but not annihilate yourself so that it takes forever to recover, or worse- that you put yourself in a state of overtraining.
[Sean] Triple Threat Muscle is your new program. What separates this program from all the others and can you tell our readers why you created it?
[Jason] My Muscle Gaining Secrets program is specifically geared toward skinny guys, hardgainers and beginners. This is more of an intermediate/advanced program that is more athletically based. So while the main focus is still on building muscle there is also a shift toward a bit more speed work, mobility and conditioning in Triple Threat Muscle.
The new program was created for the typical weekend warrior or Average Joe who wants to look and train like an athlete but doesn’t actually have the time or recovery ability to spend more than a few hours per week in the gym.
I spent the last two years experimenting on a wide group of individuals to come up with the most effective and fastest way to do this. Triple Threat Muscle is the result of two years of hard work and is based on all of my findings.
[Sean] And finally, what general tips can you give to busy dads who want to transform their bodies?
1. Strength train 3-4 days per week.
2. Lift heavy and keep most of your sets in the range of 3-10 reps.
3. Don’t go to failure.
4. Train each body part 2-3 times per week.
5. Don’t do more than 12-16 total sets per workout.
6. Always strive to get stronger.
7. Eat natural, organic foods and avoid anything processed.
8. Sleep 8-10 hours per day.
9. Minimize stress.
10. Get out in the fresh air and sun more often.
FACT:
A lot of gym rats might be able to load up the bar with hundreds of pounds for endless sets of the bench press but can’t even do 10 correct push ups…
I don’t think you have any business bench pressing if you can’t properly perform 20 perfect pushups.
If you can’t handle your own bodyweight, how functional is it to lie down on a bench and press additional weight?
Don’t get me wrong, the basic barbell bench press is a great upper body exercise for building muscle, but it’s depended on WAY too much to build a strong chest and shoulders.
Most people consider Pushups and Bench Presses both chest dominant exercises. But there is a big difference between the two…
The bench press is an open chain exercise and the pushup is a closed chain exercise.
The “chain” just refers to the kinetic chain of your body, which simply means that all of your body’s muscles are inter-connected in a “chain” and therefore the movements you make are also part of a that kinetic chain.
Open chain exercises allow your feet or hands to move freely like in a bench press, dumbbell curl or leg curl.
Closed chain exercises keep your feet or hands in a fixed position like on the ground during pushups or squats and even chinups.
Closed chain exercises are safer and more effective for real world functional strength because they allow your bodyweight to move through space in a full range of motion while distributing muscular stress through many muscles instead of isolating and stressing single muscles.
A big reason why so many bench press addicts develop shoulder problems is because of not the shoulders directly but due to the lack of movement in your upper back when pinned to a bench during bench presses.
The muscles in your upper back surrounding your shoulders blades and scapula play a crucial role in stabilizing and allowing movement of your shoulder girdle during pressing movements.
Pushups eliminates this problem by allowing your upper back to contract in a full range of motion when you lower yourself to the ground.
Plus for busy dads bodyweight exercises are great because they can be done anywhere without any equipment!
(here is my favorite pressing exercise)
So if you want to incorporate a simple but intense pushup workout into your workout routine give the 100 rep pushup workout a try.
Once or twice a week at the end of your regular workout aim for performing 100 pushups and time yourself to see how long it takes you.
Do as many reps as you can and do however many sets it takes you to reach 100.
For example if you can do 20 pushups at one time before failure start with 20 but as you fatigue you will probably drop down to sets of 10. You will obviously need more rest between sets as you get closer to 100.
Take as much rest as you need to get at least 10 reps for each set until you reach the 100 rep mark.
Most guys in pretty good shape will be able to complete 100 reps anywhere between 5-10 minutes.
Don’t worry how long it takes you. Just record your time and push hard to beat it the next time around.
Before you know it you will join the pushup century club and have the perfect pecs to prove it!
Perfect Pushups Tips
*Keep your abs braced tight and your hips in line with your body.
*Tuck your chin in like a “double chin” and look straight down at the floor to form a straight line from your head to your toes.
*Push your elbows and upper arms back in a 45 degree direction opposed to straight out to your sides.
PS. Be sure to check out my training article in the April/May issue of Inside Fitness magazine!
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