Run Less to Grow Faster

Image by SSCusp via Flickr

Running doesn't build muscle mass. If it did, marathoners would have legs like defensive linemen, and workers in Boston would have to repave the streets each year following the city's signature race. But running shrinks muscle fibers to make them more metabolically efficient, thereby saving the pavement.

You'd think you could get around this by lifting weights in addition to running, but your body negates that work through a mysterious 'interference effect.' Your type II fibers—the biggest ones—will still grow if you run and lift. But your type I fibers won't, and even though they're smaller than the type IIs, they probably comprise 50 percent of the muscle fibers in your body that have any growth potential.

Cut back on your running program and you'll see growth in both your slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers, and perhaps finally get your body to look the way you think it should.

[via MH]

MYTH: For Better Muscle Tone, Go Lighter and Repeat

Lifting heavy weights makes you big and bulky — or at least that’s the conventional wisdom. It’s the reason many women (and some men) who want slim and “toned” physiques opt for lighter weights, lifted more times.

But the notion is not supported by science. Producing bulky muscles requires not just heavy weights but heavy calorie consumption as well, typically far above the 2,000 daily calories recommended for many adults.

For people who lift weights to tone up and slim down, experts say, a regimen that includes a combination of challenging weights and fewer repetitions can help significantly. In a 2002 study, for example, scientists looked at what happened when women performed various resistance exercises at different weights and repetitions (85 percent of their maximum ability for 8 reps, versus 45 percent for 15). Subjects lifting more weight fewer times burned more energy and had a greater metabolic boost after exercise.

In another study published last year, scientists followed 122 women for six years. They found that those who were assigned to do resistance exercises three times a week — sets of 8 reps at 70 to 80 percent of their ability — lost the most weight and body fat. A similar two-year study of women who did strength training with challenging weight twice weekly found similar effects on body and “intra-abdominal” fat.

THE BOTTOM LINE

For better tone, try fewer reps and more challenging weights.

[via NYT]

And you thought you worked hard at the gym

Check out this dude go through the paces with a barbell.. my jaw is forever dropped

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Active Recovery

Image via Wikipedia

After a hard workout, you might be dreading the soreness which will inevitably ensue over the next 24-48 hours. Your instinct could be to take the next day off from exercising altogether. Not so fast!

Active recovery allows you to keep the momentum in terms of your fitness AND can potentially decrease the lactic acid build-up that’s partially to blame for muscle soreness.

Instead of taking the day off, try following your high intensity training day with a low intensity workout. For example, if you did sprints on Saturday, you might just want to do an easy jog on Sunday.

The principle behind active recovery can also be applied within the context of a single workout. When used this way, active recovery refers to following an intense exercise with a less intense one.

Rather than simply resting in between sets of pull-ups, an active recovery workout might have you alternating pull-ups with a lower intensity exercise that allows your arms to rest while keeping your heart rate up, like jogging in place.

While I am a proponent of daily exercise, that doesn’t mean that every workout has to be an all-out balls-to-the-wall effort. Varying your intensity is the key to maintaining a daily workout regimen without over-training."

[via Al Kavadlo]

All About Australian Pull-ups

Australian pull-ups are becoming a very popular exercise. Like all types of pull-ups (and all types of exercises for that matter) there are many different ways to do the Australian, and it can be incorporated into a number of different contexts within a workout.

Using the Australian for Beginners
I first mentioned this idea in my introduction to Australian pull-ups. If you aren’t strong enough to do a pull-up (this goes for you too, ladies), this a great way to start to build toward it. Once you can do 3 sets of 10 without struggling (something that shouldn’t take too long for any reasonably fit, dedicated individual), it won’t be long before a pull-up is within your grasp.

Trainer Tip:
The higher up the bar, the better the leverage. Of course, this is only true up until a certain point--once the bar is too high, then you’re just doing a regular pull-up!

Using the Australian in a Superset
The Australian pull-up is a great exercise to use as a superset with push-ups, since they work opposite muscle groups. You will get a great pump from doing this and it also allows you to keep your heart rate up. Due to the fact that you’re allowing certain muscles to rest while you are using others, you can maintain that elevated heart rate without burning out your muscles too quickly.

If you are trying to really hit your back muscles, it can also be used as a superset after regular pull-ups or another rowing type of movement, such as a cable row.


Plyometric Australian Pull-up
I like to turn the Australian pull-up into a plyometric exercise by switching between overhand and underhand grips on alternating reps. You can also switch back and forth from a wide grip to a narrow grip in an explosive fashion to mix up this exercise with a plyometric spin.

The One Arm Australian Pull-up
Of course an Australian can be done with just one arm. This is another method to practice whilebuilding towards one arm pull-ups. Like any single limb movement, the one arm Australian pull-up requires a ton of core strength and stability. You can add an extra challenge by trying it on one leg also!