Sunday 23 February 2014
Wednesday 19 February 2014
Monday 17 February 2014
Are Isolation Exercises Worthwhile for Novices?
The first and probably hardest part of the question is to actually define a novice. I'm not going to give a definitive set of numbers for the major lifts as this can be misleading. Trainees can see massive improvements in musculature during their first few months without touching the big three lifts. Most weight bearing exercise is usually above and beyond what the trainer will have experienced thus far, illiciting rapid adaptations in musculature and strength. Instead I will simply define a novice as someone who has very little or no understanding about the general movement patterns needed to create changes to their physique. There is little or no understanding about training protocols such as volume or frequency or even how to train specific muscles appropriately.
Onto the second part of the question: are isolation exercises worthwhile for novices? The novice should allocate most of their training time and energy to learning the basic training movements: push, pull, squat and lift. Learning these properly as early as possible will put them in good stead for future training. These exercises will also provide the most carryover in strength to other movements both in and out of the gym.
However, I also believe that a lot of time should be spent on isolation exercises to further develop movement patterns and practise 'contracting' specific muscles. One of the key differences between a novice, intermediate and advanced trainer is the ability to focus on and prioritise certain muscles during both compound and isolation exercises. The quicker this 'mind to muscle' contraction is established the quicker the trainer can then potentially progress from novice to intermediate. Over-training becomes more important as the trainer becomes more advanced, it is not something to worry about in the novice stages.
The novice trainer should first and foremost concern themselves with learning and improving technique in the main movements (push/pull/squat/lift). Weight should then be added in a mostly linear fashion to each main exercise, whilst dedicating perhaps a third of time in the gym to isolation exercises. The novice should use this time to learn which muscles contract during certain exercises and more importantly to reiterate the contraction or 'feel' of the muscle during certain movements rather then simply moving weight.
Ross Newham - Natural Aesthetics
Sunday 16 February 2014
Tuesday 11 February 2014
Monday 10 February 2014
The Optimal Rep for Muscle Building.
During my last Bench Press session I did my usual working sets, steadily easing back into moderate/heavy loads. I had lightly strained my pec a couple of weeks back so I'm not quite back up to full strength levels. I finished up with 110kg for 5 reps; the speed was good but well below what I'd been doing 2-3 weeks ago. I'm startling to add more frequency of training to the bench again so it should be up to 120kg+ for 5 in 2 weeks.
After the regular training sets, myself and my training partner for this particular session opted for some band work. We looped one side of the band around the barbell and the other around a heavy dumbell placed directly under the bar on the floor. We could then create more tension by twisting the dumbell around to create extra loops in the bands.
We did a few sets, progressively adding more weight to the bar and extra loops to the bands. For the last set I asked my trainer partner to push down on the negative portion of the rep. So not only was the band adding more tension towards the easier half of the positive phase of movement (lockout), the negative phase of the movement was also made more difficult by the extra load.
Remember, one can handle a lot more weight during the negative phase of the lift than the positive phase; between 120-140%. It would be a waste not to incorporate 'forced negatives' into your training routine at some point, although bear in mind that they are extremely taxing so use sparingly!!
During the positive phase of movement, the lockout is generally far easier to execute than the bottom half. By adding bands this is no longer true as the tension is increased the further the bar moves away from the chest. Added to forced Negatives this makes a brutal combination; perhaps in terms of tension, as close to optimal as your ever going to get!
Ross - Natural Aesthetics
Saturday 8 February 2014
Friday 7 February 2014
Wednesday 5 February 2014
CURRENT TRAINING PROTOCOL
Recently made a few subtle tweaks to my training program. I will continue this protocol for 5-6 weeks then go back to 4 day a week training to add more volume on bodyparts.
Day 1 - Front squats 5x5/Barbell row 5x5/Behind neck press 5x8/Upright rows 3x8 + Heavy arms (5-8reps)
Day 2 - Deadlift 5x5/Bench press 5x5/DB incline 5x5/Pullups 5x5/Hamsstring curls 5x8
Day 3 - Front squats 5x3/Barbell row 5x3/Behind neck press 5x5/Rear delt rows + Arms (8-12reps) and calves 10x10
Light cardio - 20 mins x4 pw
Tuesday 4 February 2014
Sunday 2 February 2014
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