Marty Gallagher
Building Muscle
Let us be clear on what a sensible progressive resistance program will and will not do: a sensible weight training program builds and strengthens the 600 plus muscles of the human body. Weight training alone will not make you leaner, nor will it melt off stored body fat. The caloric cost of weight training is insignificant when compared to sustained cardiovascular exercise. A torrid weight training session lasting 45 minutes might burn off 200 to 300 calories, depending upon the size of the trainee. Resistance training, with its rest periods and uneven exertions, is not a particularly effective calorie oxidizer. Even cardiovascular exercise is too often overestimated as a calorie burner. Tooling along at a heart pounding, 15 calorie per minute pace, even after 30 minutes the trainee has only burned 450 calories; the exact caloric content of a medium size order of McDonald's french fries. The profound purpose of proper resistance training is two-fold: trigger muscle growth & increase strength levels. Nothing else should be sought or expected.
A nice metabolic bump does occur after an intense weight training session. Intensely trained muscles will generate a thermogenic effect that lasts for hours after the cessation of the session. The body's thermostat is effectively turned up; additional calories are required to feed the metabolically activated muscles. In this post-workout state, the body burns calories at an accelerated rate as energy demands are ratcheted upward. The famished body demands fuel: so feed it after training. If preconditions are right, the body will burn fat as fuel. Lyle McDonald stated in The Ketogenic Diet that every new pound of muscle requires 30 to 40 additional calories per day to survive. Click Amazon link to get a copy of this comprehensive book.
The purpose of resistance training is to trigger hypertrophy, build muscle and increase muscular strength. When a person new to resistance training begins using a sensible program and follow the correct procedures, triggering hypertrophy is relatively easy. Ten pounds of new muscle will burn off 400 additional calories per day, the caloric equivalent of a 40 minute cardio session.
scientific american magazine
Skeletal muscle is the most abundant tissue on the human body and also one of the most adaptable. Vigorous training with weights can double or triple a muscle's size ... a muscle can become more massive only when its individual fibers become thicker.
By subjecting muscle fiber to external stress, systematically and repeatedly, the fibers thicken in order to cope with the imposed stress. The end result, over time, is that the stressed muscle becomes thicker, larger and stronger. Experience has shown that certain resistance training procedures are incredibly effective at causing muscle fiber to thicken and strengthen.
There are key core exercises that have been proven to be superbly effective at building and strengthening muscles. My Iron Mentors focused on key core exercises (or subtle variations) as the foundation of their strength training programs. Certain exercises done in certain ways can be used by regular individuals to elicit extraordinary results.
What My Iron Mentors Have In Common
The elites use free weights to near exclusion
From Paul Anderson to Dorian Yates, all Iron Masters make barbells and dumbbells their weapon of choice because they are superior tools. The very rawness of hoisting barbells and dumbbells is what makes them so effective for muscle and strength building. Smooth and efficient is not nearly as good as crude and difficult when the name of the game is triggering hypertrophy. Free weights trump mimicking machines every single time and in every single instance.
Training sessions are centered on core compound multi-joint exercises
The Iron Elite start off every training session with one of the core compound multi-joint exercises. These exercises force groups of muscles to work together in synchronous fashion to complete the assigned muscular task. The synchronized interaction between contiguous muscles actually amplifies muscular results by allowing muscle overload. Large, sweeping exercises allow individual muscles to exceed individual capacity: their neighbors pitch in to help. Perform isolation exercises after the lead multi-joint exercise. Performing an isolation movement prior to performing the compound multi-joint exercise sabotages strength available for the multi-joint movement. Avoid pre-fatigue.
Sessions are intense
Master resistance trainers know that in order for muscle growth to occur, and muscle strength to increase, the targeted muscle must be stressed in some manner or fashion. Unless some element of stress is present, the adaptive response will not be triggered. Muscle fiber does not thicken and strengthen in response to sub-maximal effort. However, stress sufficient enough to trigger the adaptive response can take many forms: multiple top sets, one top set, high reps, low reps ... ad infinitum.
Sessions are short
If the resistance trainer is working hard enough to trip the adaptive response, muscles are traumatized and fatigued. While more experienced elite resistance trainers are able to go longer and harder than people new to weight training, even the elite recognize that after an hour or so of intense training, a point of diminishing returns sets in. Further training is not only fruitless, but counterproductive. Pearl is the exception he uses extended training that could be called a version of 3rd Way cardio training. By purposefully extending workouts he amps-up the cumulative stress effect.
Shocked and traumatized muscles need to be rested before training them again
When a muscle is trained properly, using effective resistance procedures, the muscles are traumatized, decimated, torn down. To subject that muscle to intense stress before it has recovered from the initial pounding is counterproductive and disruptive to the recuperation/adaptation/growth cycle. Rest is critical. Avoid genuine overtraining.
Technical proficiency is sought in all exercises
There are beneficial and detrimental techniques connected with every progressive resistance exercise. Different motor-pathways elicit different muscular results. Rep speed, length of stroke and attention to technical execution need to be factored in and mulled over prior to and during each and every set. Exercise techniques need to be refined and honed over time. Eventually signature techniques unique to the body structure of the trainee are developed.
Getting Started
Building muscle and strength has been made overly complex by a fitness industry dedicated to selling exercise equipment. Truth be known, there are four basic free weight exercises that can and will deliver all the results a serious individual can expect from a progressive resistance routine.
You need only a barbell, dumbbells, a sturdy exercise bench that inclines and a primitive set of squat racks. A safety power rack is needed by intermediate and advanced trainees that train alone. Effective muscle and strength building is a raw, brutal undertaking and anyone who tells you different either doesn't know what they are talking about or are trying to sell you a product.
Diligent use of a basic free weight program, done consistently, will deliver more results than any other muscle building/strength-infusing system known to man. Further, there are certain key exercises that rise to the top of all advanced trainer's regimens: key lifts, or close variations, repeatedly appear and these lifts should form the structural backbone of every effective resistance program.
For this post we are going to focus on what I consider the Core4 exercises of the squat, deadlift, bench press and overhead press. In future posts we will cover additional 2nd and 3rd tier exercises that should be rotated into a comprehensive weight training program.
Core4 Exercises - Squat
I have new trainees work up to 50 free weight squats without poundage before I allow them to transition to plate squats or goblet squats. Another alternative is perfecting squat form on a suspension trainer. I recommend the CrossCore suspension trainer over the TRX because it uses a pulley system which increases the dynamic stabilization required to hold proper technique. After all, if you can't do a proper weightless squat, how will you be able to do a correct one holding a heavy plate, much less a barbell perched precariously on your back? Assume a shoulder width stance, inhale, break the knees, push the butt rearward; knees out as you descend and ascend. Maintain a bolt upright torso. Knees are not allowed to travel forward out over toes. Descend with tension and precision, squat deep then arise explosively. Check out posts below. The first one is on beginner squat form and the second one features the CrossCore Suspension trainer.
The plate squat is an interim step. The trainee clutches a plate to their chest as they squat. A kettlebell can also be used in place of the plate. This is called the goblet squat and my wife, Stacy, demonstrates this in a video in the 5 Health Benefits of Squats Everyday post above. Observe all the free weight squat rules: sit back - not down. Spread the knees and keep knees pinioned out throughout the movement. The knees are not allowed to travel forward out over the toes. Keep the knees over the ankles. Inhale mightily on the way down; exhale while arising.
After mastering free weight and plate squats, graduate to the barbell. Never allow the hips to rise up to get a squat moving upward: the butt must stay under the torso as you push upward. Stay upright, head back. Do not let the torso bend forward as you rise up. This technical flaw, leaning forward as you arise, turns the great thigh exercise into a potentially injurious exercise. Stance width makes a huge difference in the muscular effort. A wide stance with an upright torso isolates the quads. A legal depth narrow stance squat requires great hip flexibility and cause thighs, glutes and hamstrings to share the workload.
Shallow squats are worthless squats. For maximum effectiveness try pause squats. Pause squats are terrific for ingraining proper technique: use less poundage, squat down,, stay upright, pause at the bottom position for 1-5 seconds. Push up on the heels, not the toes. Pauses work great on any stance width.
Core4 Exercises - Deadlift
To teach someone how to perform a proper sumo deadlift, first teach them how to do a proper goblet squat. We call the sumo deadlift with the kettlebell a “reverse squat.” One is the mirror image of the other. The sumo deadlift with a kettlebell is, factually, a partial goblet squat: done with the payload dangling on relaxed arms instead of being tucked under the chin. Inhale on the descent with ever increasing muscle tension as you pull yourself down to the bell. Barely touch the bell to the floor at the turnaround with NO BOUNCING. Exhale on the ascent with an upright torso. This is the preamble to sumo deadlifting with the barbell. It becomes a small hop to morph from pristine sumo kettlebell deadlifting using a big bell into sumo barbell deadlifting.
Stand over top of a loaded barbell. Look down; you should be able to see your toes under the bar. Set feet 8 to 15 inches between the heels. Every muscle on the back is tense. Squat down until you can grasp the barbell with a shoulder width grip. The eyes look up. Using leg power alone, break the weight from the floor. The bar travels up the vertical shins, staying in continual contact with the shins and thighs before achieving lockout. The pull commences when the shoulders are directly over the bar in the lowest position. Pull upward in a straight line to completion. Lower the bar WITHOUT losing muscular tension. QUIETLY touch the weights on the floor before instantly reversing direction. See photo sequence below.
The easier deadlift technique to learn is the sumo deadlift. Use the same stance that you use in your kettlebell sumo deadlift. Never bend over to pick up a deadlift, squat down to grasp the bar. In the take off position freeze momentarily to generate muscle tension. This will aid in breaking the bar from the floor by pushing downward with the legs. Maintain an upright torso throughout, not matter what! This is the key technical point to the Sumo. Those with good flexibility can start with an empty bar or a pair of light dumbbells. Keep the knees over the ankles when pushing upward and when lowering the barbell. Keep the hips under the shoulders at all times. Lower with tension, precision and control. No bouncing off the floor between reps. At the top of each rep exhale. Inhale mightily on the descent. Done properly, the thighs are stressed not the lower back. If the low back hurts after a session you are bending over, not squatting down. This is bad technique.
Core4 Exercises - Bench Press
Some beginners cannot do a single bench press with the lightest dumbbells. Find a sturdy support 3-4 feet off the ground. Stand three feet away, extend the arms and keep the body straight. Lower to the support. Push back up while keeping the body rigid. The lower down the push surface the more difficult the upward push. Three sets of however many reps you can do, three times a week. Lower the surface when you can perform 3 sets of 12 reps. On alternative days shift grip width between wide and narrow.
Dumbbell bench pressing forces each arm to carry its fair share. Sit upright on an exercise bench, pull two dumbbells, thumb up, close to the torso, lay back and rotate the arms outward. Allow the bells to settle and stretch downward. Push the bells up while exhaling. Lock the elbows completely. Inhale on the descent and allow the bells to stretch the shoulder girdle downward at the bottom. Lower with control, push explosively, pause every rep. The path of the dumbbells arcs slightly rearward, ending over top of the eyes.
The barbell bench press should be done in the safety of a rack. Lie back on a bench & take a slightly wider than shoulder width grip. This is your neutral/normal grip. Exhale simultaneously pushing upward to break the bar from the support. Inhale and lower the bar down to the high point of the inhaled chest. Do not allow the elbows to flare out, tuck them inward as you lower the bar. Pause the poundage on the chest before firing the weight to lockout. Pausing bench press reps forces far more muscle fiber to fire than bouncing a barbell off the chest to create momentum; momentum means muscle fiber gets a free ride. Push upward in a precise arc: bar starts and ends over the eyes. Synchronize a gigantic inhalation with the lowering of the bar. Pause and on a full breath use compensatory acceleration to explode the barbell upward.
Core4 Exercises - Overhead Press
You can execute the overhead dumbbell press either standing or sitting. If standing lock out thighs and glutes, keep the torso tense and lean back slightly. If seated maintain leg and torso tension throughout to support the lift. Using diaphragmatic breathing keep pressure in the lower trunk for stabilization. Press the bells overhead - up and in, the bell path forms a reverse V. Inhale as you slowly lower the bells with tension during the entire descent. There can be no freefall. Lower the bells to the bottom of the ears. As the poundage approaches the turnaround, pause for a moment then exhale and push overhead explosively in the reverse V position. Mark 2:45 in video.
Initiate the overhead barbell press by cleaning the barbell to the chest or by taking the barbell out from a squat rack. If standing lean back slightly ground the feet and tense the legs and glutes. This creates a push platform from which to launch the barbell overhead. If seated set the bench on notch below 90 degrees while maintaining leg and torso tension before pushing the barbell overhead. When pressing the barbell goes up and back and needs to pass as close to the face as possible. The barbell ends up locked out directly over the skull. Hold the lockout for a moment and then lower with ever-increasing tension to below the chin. There can be no half or partial reps.
The press-behind-the-neck can be done standing or seated with a grip width wider than the shoulders. See Bill Pearl photo to the left. Either standing or seated back into the squat rack to load the barbell on the shoulders. Standing lock out the legs and torso and unrack the bar. Seated keep the tension in the legs with the feet pushing into the floor to unrack the bar. Push the head slightly forward to press the barbell up. As the bar clears the back of the head, allow the bar path to move forward completing lockout over the top of the head. Inhale on the descent and lower the barbell with ever-increasing tension to the hairline. Exhale and hold for a beat before lowering after the lockout. Mark 1:13 in video.
In our Purposefully Primitive approach there are nine key exercises sub-divided into three tiers. In the top tier are the three most important free weight exercises: squat, deadlift and bench press. The 2nd tier includes the overhead press, curl and triceps press. The 3rd tier contains the Romanian deadlift, single leg calf raise and abdominal exercise. These nine exercises and their related variations will provide an infinite number of training possibilities and a lifetime of study.
Check out these other posts on programming and old school training. We believe in creating a simple tactical template using periodization. This allows the trainee to stair step progress upward via a concept called creeping incrementalism. Periodization is not so much a method as it is a template into which a method is placed. Periodization is precision preplanning for peaking every aspect of physical condition in a methodical and systematic fashion. Once the goals are established for typically a 12 week period of time small sequential steps are reverse-engineered into a periodization timeline.
Learn more about our comprehensive approach check out our Training Resource Page. Join the community sign up below to our newsletter and receive our FREE Planning and Periodization Guide.
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