Category: Workout programs (Page 9 of 12)

The Two Set Workout

May 16, 2009 / Mike Furci

Although I would recommend a lower volume, higher intensity approach, the article below I recently re-read has some great info on getting the job done with quality instead of quantity. I’m glad to see articles in mainstream magazines debunking the myth that more is better.

There are many ways to grow from just 2 sets. Try each of these and see what works best for you.
Take the first set to failure:? You should not be able to complete one more rep than the set calls for.? For the second set drop the weight by 5% – 7% and try for the same number of reps.
Perform your first set with about 90% of the load you can use for the number of reps the set calls for (about 2 reps shy of failure).? Then load up your second set and take that to failure.
Take both sets to just one rep shy of failure:? This is a good safe option that minimizes risk for injury and overtraining.
Take both sets to failure:? Use this option sparingly (once or twice a month) and only if ou’ve got a year or more of training behind you.
“MF Trainer.” Mens Fitness oct. 2007:127

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Training Past 40

May 15, 2009 / Mike Furci

If you are approaching 40 years of age or beyond, you are probably starting to realize you can no longer train like you did in your twenties.? I learned this lesson the hard way.? At 36, I tore both quadriceps in seven places.? Thank God?the MRI revealed they were mainly fascia tears not requiring surgery.? None-the-less, I had to walk with crutches for a week. 18 weeks later, I tore my right hamstring.? At 38, I had to have my triceps reattached.? At 39, I partially (20%-25%) tore my right pec, but opted not to get surgery.

After that last injury I finally threw in the towel.? I thought my days of pushing my body with high intensity workouts were over.? Although, all the areas had been injured in previous years, I still trained in fear because none of these injuries had any preceding symptoms.? Consequently, my training?took on?a very slow tempo?with insufficient loads.??This type of training left me?feeling like shit, physically and mentally.? Why train at all if I can’t train hard.? Instead of training smart and doing what I should do for my body, I was too concerned with how I wanted to train.?

Almost to the day, a year after I tore my pec, I was so frustrated with my lack of progress, I decided something had to give.? I ended up going back to the basics.? I came to the realization I had to train myself as I would any other client.? I had to concern myself with what my body could and needed to do.???

The first thing I did was give up exercises that caused me pain no matter how much I loved performing them.? One of these, unfortunately, was the barbell squat.? With 3 bulging disks it’s not worth the pain or the risk.?? The second change I made was incorporating more functional exercises into my workouts.? These mainly included unilateral exercises and a few stability exercises.?

Perhaps the biggest change I’ve made is the way I approached my work sets.? Since I am no longer competing, there is no need for me to walk that tight rope between training with 100% intensity and injury.? Don’t get me wrong, I still perform my sets to failure, but will not train through pain.? I also stopped doing any kind of cheating at the end of my set to push the limits.

In order to make gains one has to pushing the limits, but it has?to be wrangled in.? For this to happen, the goals you set that govern drive must be adjusted to your current capabilities.? I have reached a point where I take my time with my goals by practicing wisdom not ego.? Through training smarter, I found a renewed vigor and enjoyment I had 20 years ago.

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Test your strength with the Deadlift

March 16, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

Men?s Fitness.com put together a strength test using your one rep max for the deadlift exercise.

HOW IT’S DONE
Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, your toes facing straight ahead. Squat down and grab the bar with an outside-shoulder-width, palms-down grip [1]. Keep your lower back in its natural arch, and drive your heels into the fl oor and push your hips forward, lifting the bar as you rise until it’s in front of your thighs [2]. Reverse the motion and return the bar to the fl oor. That’s one rep.
THE TEST
Estimate your deadlift one-rep max?the most weight you can lift for one rep?and compare it to the calculations below.
Your 1RM (one-rep max) is…
? Less than your body weight = Damn, you’re weak
? 1.25 x your body weight = You’re average
? 1.5 x body weight = You’re pretty strong
? 2 x body weight = You’re a beast!
A 200-pound guy who can deadlift 300 pounds for one rep is pretty strong. If your number falls in the weak or average categories, see below for tips on how to bring it up.

Click here to see MF.com?s guide to deadlifting more weight.

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NFL Combine not a predictor of performance.

March 6, 2009 / Mike Furci

Every year the NFL invites about 3% of approximately 10,000 college football players to participate in a series of tests called a combine. A combine is designed to assess the skills of promising college football players. These athletes give it their all in hopes of getting drafted and consequently being offered a contract. Although the tests used during the 5 days of the combine require skill and athleticism, its predictive value is in question.

The NFL uses the combine as a key element of the player-selection process. A recent study calls into question the validity of most of the exercises and suggests a significant amount of money is wasted. Researchers found combine skills clearly lack any meaningful predictive value of player performance, except for running backs and sprint times. One explanation the researchers give is the popularity of combine prep courses. Other than marketing claims, there is no research that shows any course improves combine performance. If they do, however, these programs could dilute performance differences. Unfortunately for the players being tested, and team owners who write the checks, these improvements in combine skills do not transfer to athletic ability on the field.
(Journal of Strength & conditioning Research 2008;22(6))

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Interview with trainer to the pros, Ed Downs.

February 17, 2009 / Mike Furci

Ed developed the patented Downs Disc Fitness System, a training and exercise system. It is used and endorsed by professional athletes, the University of Miami basketball team, high schools around the country, rehab centers, pregnant women, and thousands of people with weight, type 2 diabetes and respiratory problems. Without corporate funding, Ed realizing his dream through self-financing (by asking clients to pay him in advance), taking out a second mortgage and the sweat equity of 14-hour days.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

BE: You?re actually training the natural form and function of how the body works.
ED: How the body works. How the body works my man. I love talking to somebody that understands what I?m talking about. Because sometimes it sounds so technical but it?s not really that technical.
BE: That?s kind of what attracted?you know when Stephanie gave me the e-mails and I started looking into your stuff, that?s what really attracted to me to your style of training. And there are some other coaches out there, not the same obviously but they have similar?they?re trying to accomplish the same goal. You?re taking, which actually in the lab is a fairly complex subject, and you?re making it very simple. You?re just doing what the body does.
ED: What it does. I mean, thank you. When we walk, you take your right foot forward and your left arm goes out. We don?t walk with your right foot forward and your right arm going at the same time; you would look goofy as hell. So we want to work in patterns of our natural movement. So I don?t care if I?m working with a lady or a man. A lady carrying a baby and getting ready to put it in her car seat; she?s kind of awkward when she?s reaching and bending down and they wonder why they twist their back. So I?ve got to be able to train their bodies to be able to move in unexpected movement, right?

Read the rest of the interview, HERE.

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