Cuánta Proteína? Ferrugia se pronuncia!

The High Protein Myth- Exposed Again

I hate to say “I told you so.

But… I told you so. For years now I have been getting a lot of flak from other fitness industry insiders and so called experts because I exposed the great protein myth at every chance I got. They all either thought I was insane or were upset that I was blowing the whistle on their scam and costing them tons of money every year.

But now, due to a recent study that everyone is talking about, people are starting to change their tune and realize what I have been telling you all along… You DON’T need 2-3 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight to build muscle. It’s a lie promoted by the supplement and meat and dairy industry. That’s it. Just another way to make money. But hardly a scientific fact.

Recently Tarnopolsky performed a study in which weight trained individuals consumed a drink containing either: 5, 10, 20 or 40 grams of protein immediately after their workout. Each of the groups increased protein synthesis, but their results were dose dependant. Up to 20 grams, that is. While the 20 gram group significantly increased protein synthesis over the 10 gram group, the 40 gram group did not significantly increase protein synthesis over the 20 gram group.

So any more than 20-30 grams of protein at one sitting isn’t necessarily going to benefit you in any significant way.

The conclusion to be drawn from this most recent study is what I have been saying all along… You don’t need all that protein. In fact, eating too much will force your body to burn protein instead of fat for energy and can make getting leaner a more difficult process. Twenty to thirty grams of protein, every few hours is all that’s needed to build muscle. For most people that will be no more than about 150 grams per day. Before I ever recommended a lower protein intake to you guys I tried several experiments on myself and my clients for years. Back in the early 90’s I slowly increased my protein intake all the way up to 450 grams per day. I also recruited a few training partners and clients for the experiment. And after eight weeks nothing happened.

Then I tried experimenting with protein cycling and went on low protein for a while, thinking that if I desensitized my body to protein I would grow like a week upon reintroducing it. Well, that never happened.

But during the low protein phase I actually gained muscle and lost fat. I even remember my brother commenting one day, about three weeks into it that he had never seen me in better shape. Even after experiencing better results with less protein it shames me to admit that there were several times during the 90’s where someone would make a convincing enough argument to make me try super high protein again. And all I ever did was end up fatter and poorer.

Admit it; you’ve tried it too. You added another steak or protein shake to your diet and thought, “this will be just what I need to really start growing.” And nothing happens. Then you increased the size of your daily omelet from 3 eggs to 10. Still nothing. Stop the insanity.

From now on instead of ordering 3 chicken breasts, save the money and just get one. Or order an extra baked potato or two for the extra calories and throw down a few tablespoons of olive oil when you’re done. Instead of ordering “The Old 96′er” (”There’s nothing but gristle and fat on that plate.”) settle for a more human sized 8 ounce steak. Instead of 4 scoops in your protein shake use one or two. Instead of a dozen eggs I think you’ll be just fine with 3-5, depending on the size.

The first time I ate breakfast with Jim Wendler, Dave Tate and CJ Murphy, all of whom were around 300lbs at the time, I ordered extra eggs in my omelet while they simply ordered theirs as is.
I thought, “Man, what a douche, I am. These guys all outweigh me by 80 pounds. What’s wrong with you?” I have been fooled many times. But like The Who, I won’t get fooled again. I hope you don’t either.

An educated man is a dangerous man,
Jason Ferruggia

EL RUSO MALDITO LLEGO AL BLOG!

Maestro de deportes, Pavel Tsatsouline, conocido como el Rus omaldito por sus métodos poco ortodoxos y muchas veces salvajes de entrenamiento, a mi juicio el hombre que llevo las Kettlebells a nuestro lado del mundo y el responsable del movimiento cross-fit, underground etc. se hace presente con un artículo y una rutina brutal...la voy a probar esta semana.

 Power by Pavel:

Bench Press for Boxers

To continue the topic of interspersing lower intensity endurance exercise with short bouts of strength exercise (see the archives, in case you have missed the last issue), here is a bench press routine for boxers who don't mind moving up a weight class designed by Grigory Grigoryev, a boxing coach and former champion of Russia.

Set up two bars so you don't have to change weights in the short, 60-90sec, breaks between sets and go for it:

• Set 1 1x30
• Set 2 1x3
• Set 3 1x30
• Set 4 1x3
• Set 5 1x30
• Set 6 1x3

In all sets do as many reps as possible, so choose the weights accordingly, 30RM and something close to 3RM. For a powerlifter this is an impossible but a fighter will be able to recover surprisingly well after a thirty rep set by the time the heavy triple rolls around. For three reasons: first being the endurance nature of your past training, second, the lighter, decidedly non-powerlifting poundages you are handling, and finally, the radically different nature of the 30RM and the 3RM fatigue. Thirties and threes hammer different muscle fibers, different energy pathways, and demand a different type of effort from the nervous system.

Repeat the above twice a week. Grigoryev warns that you must use the full range of motion and avoid the typical fighters' mistakes: failure to touch the chest with the bar and to lock the elbows. In my opinion you could replace the high rep benches with explosive pushups on fists (on the first two knuckles for the bare knuckle fighters and on the surface of the whole fist for everyone else) and the heavy benches with one-arm pushups.

La solución de Smitty para Biceps Gigantes!

Big Biceps Training, the Best Bicep Exercises

If you’ve been around Diesel for a few years, you know we incorporate a TON of grip training exercises into our programs.  It is not enough to be able to display one facet of grip (crush, pinch, support, wrist postures, hand health, dexterity), you must be able to integrate this strength into full body power.

If I can improve my grip my deadlift, squat and bench will go up and I will play my respective sport(s) better and stronger.  Most lifters / athletes forgot about this important fact.  They do train their arms, but with conventional exercises. You don’t want to spend endless hours in the gym hitting tons of volume.  You want to optimize your time in the gym and do the most effective exercises while you’re there.  This is called training economy.  Increase the intensity and you can decrease the time of your workout. So, as you can imagine, even when training arms, grip plays a huge role. Nothing says strength and power like a huge set of forearms.

Now, if you are talking about bodybuilding, or building muscle, the forearms respond to more volume.  I like to set a target volume of 3-4 sets and 10-15 reps per set. If you are a strength coach who is training athletes for sports performance, you must first build the foundation and then target the requirements of the sport.

Here are the exercises:

• 2 Hand DB Hammer Curls
• Crush Curls
• Towel Barbell Curls
• Towel Pull-ups
• Towel Rotational Cable Curls
• Reverse Curls
• Pinch Curls   
   
  Other essential mass building exercises for the biceps:
  

• Barbell Curls
• Alternating DB Curls
• Hand Over Hand Rope Pulls
• Rope Climbing

2 Killer Arm Building Workouts

Workout 1:
1) Close Grip Barbell Bench, 3×5
2a) Towel Pull-ups, 5×10
2b) Barbell Reverse Curls, 3×12
3) Plate Pinch, 3xALAP (As Long As Possible)

Workout 2:
1) Barbell JM Presses, 4×6
2a) Thick Towel DB (or Axle) Curls, 2×15
2b) DB Crushes, 2×20
3a) Band Tricep Pressdowns, 3×15
3b) 2 Hand Plate Pinch, 3xALAP

Have a killer arm workout!

Para CRECER

        Build Muscle Quick with This Explosive Technique           Plus 2 Workouts Guest Article by Jim Smith, CSCS

I first heard about this innovative muscle building strategy when Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about doing in during his reign as Mr. Olympia. It is called “Running the Rack”. It can be used for each exercise in your workout OR as a finisher to your normal workout.

This techniques refers to a high volume set where you pick a weight and perform as many reps as you can for a certain exercise. Then when you can’t do any more reps, you pick a lighter weight and continue performing reps of the same exercise. As you fatigue, you lower the weight and repeat. The reason it is called “Running the Rack” is, if the exercise you’re doing involves dumbbells you will be moving down the rack picking lighter weights as you fatigue.

This form of density training improves work capacity, increases lactic acid which releases natural growth hormone. This in turn, builds muscle quickly.

Sample Exercise 1: Bicep Curls

(Perform dumbbell bicep curls.)

60 lb dbs - 3 rep, no rest, immediately go to
50 lb dbs - 4 reps, no rest, immediately go to
45 lb dbs - 5 reps, no rest, immediately go to
40 lb dbs - 6 reps, no rest, immediately go to
35 lb dbs - 7 reps, no rest, immediately go to
30 lb dbs - 8 reps, no rest
Done

 

You could also reverse the order and start light, with higher reps and as you increase the weight, you decrease the reps. Again, little or no rest between weight changes.

Sample Exercise 2: Lat Pull Downs

(Perform lat pull downs with a cable stack.)

The stack - 1 rep
The stack minus 10 lbs - 2 reps
The stack minus 20 lbs - 3 reps
The stack minus 30 lbs - 4 reps
The stack minus 40 lbs - 5 reps
The stack minus 50 lbs - 6 reps
The stack minus 60 lbs - 7 reps
The stack minus 70 lbs - 8 reps
Done

 This technique can also be done with the following exercises:

KB Swings
DB Clean & Press
or whatever you favorite exercise is…

Fuerza de Dinosaurio

Este lo obtuve del Blog de Brooks Kubik, autor de "Dinosaur Training". Aunque no es tan dramático como el "Credo del Guerrero" de Ross Enamait  tiene excelentes consejos. Incluyo fotos de muscle beach y otras increibles proezas de fuerza:

THE 12 COMMANDMENTS OF DINOSAUR  TRAINING

 compiled by Arnold Pope

 

1. Work HARD–Training Programs Won’t  Work Unless YOU do!

2. Use Compound (Multi-Joint) Lifts — Not Isolation Idiocy

3. Plan SHORT  Programs — Hard & Intense

4. Use HEAVY Poundages — It’s WEIGHT  Lifting!

5. Remember That  Persistent  Poundage  Progression  Produces  Power!

6. Seek Out The Proper Set/Rep System for YOU

7. Use Thick Handled Weights — They Make You Work Harder

8. Do HEAVY   Grip Work — Not Light, Piddling  Foolishness

9. Lift Awkward Stuff — i.e. Barrels, Sandbags, etc.

10. Do Power Rack Work — Safety With Max Poundages & Short-Range Movements

11. Strive For Concentration & Intense Focus

12. Hang In There With Mental Toughness & Persistence

by Brooks Kubik  (”Daddy Dinosaur”)

La Base de un Buen Programa de Entrenamiento

Otro excelente artículo del maestro Staley:

Understanding Training Foundation

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com

Although people engage in fitness and sports activities for various reasons, the fact remains that they are inherently physical activities. So whether you exercise for stress reduction, weight loss, or sport, it makes sense to train in a manner which is consistent with accepted training principles and methodologies. Doing so will make the outcome of training less haphazard and more predictable. It will also enhance the appreciation of movement one should derive from any form of physical activity.

              As all coaches know, mastery of a sport is accomplished by developing a foundation before progressing to more advanced levels of training. As accepted as this principle is, many people possess only a vague understanding of what this means in concrete terms. The purpose of this article is to expose the reader to foundational training concepts derived from the world of sports science. And while you might not be a competitive athlete, I believe you can benefit greatly from recent developments in sport science. One such development comes from Dr. Tudor Bompa, former Romanian rowing coach and currently a professor at York University in Toronto, Canada.

Bompa has developed a useful schema called "The Training Factors Pyramid,"* which can be used to develop long term training plans, based on a foundational progression of factors over time. The Training Factors Pyramid helps to identify a logical sequence of training factors, and can be used by athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike to identify objectives and evaluate training programs and methods. When problems develop, as they inevitably do, The Training Factors Pyramid can be used to determine what level these problems originate from, which speeds up the corrective process considerably.

The pyramid consists of four ascending levels. The athlete enters the pyramid at the first level—physical preparation. This level is the cornerstone of an athlete's training, because without it, further progress is impossible. Physical preparation refers to the development of what sports scientists call "biomotor abilities"— strength, power, speed, balance, flexibility, agility, endurance, and coordination.

The second level of the pyramid involves technical preparation— or perfecting physical techniques. While some techniques can be mastered with a low level of physical preparation, many cannot. Many currently popular recreational sporting activities, such as in-line skating and rock climbing, to name two, require a fairly high level of physical development before many skills can be practiced.

Of course, technical mastery is not the final objective, for any athlete. We all know of athletes who have beautiful and "correct" techniques, but who lack the ability to apply them in a sport setting. This brings us to the third level of The Training Factors Pyramid: tactical preparation. Tactics simply refer to the ability to successfully apply techniques in a sport situation. It should be obvious to the reader at this point that technically sound technique must be established before entering level three. Further, the athlete must have a high level of physical development before correct technique is possible.

The fourth and final stage is called psychological preparation—a very important consideration for athletes who hope to compete successfully. But clearly, psychological preparedness— let's just call it confidence— cannot be established if the athlete has not successfully ascended through the previous three levels. How can The Training Factors Pyramid be used in an everyday, practical setting? Let's suppose you're a serious recreational beach volleyball player, and you're having problems with your spike. The first step is to determine whether or not you can execute a technically correct spike in an isolated situation (i.e., in practice).

If the answer is no, then we go down a level and try to find faults your physical preparation— perhaps you lacks adequate explosive strength to clear the net. Once your physical attributes are improved, you should be more successful in delivering the spike in competitive situations. If the answer is yes (you can deliver a proper spike), the problem lies in either tactical or psychological development. Both areas are closely intertwined— a lack of tactical skill can obviously impair confidence. And vice versa. Athletes commonly progress well through physical and technical training, but falter in tactical/psychological realms. The solution is more time in the trenches, with careful progression through gradually more difficult encounters. When tactical successes begin to outweigh the failures, confidence increases along with tactical ability.

Although the four training factors have been isolated for the sake of discussion, in reality, they must be integrated if a successful outcome is desired. For example, is a serve a technique or a tactic? At novice levels of play, it is primarily technical, but at high levels of skill, techniques and tactics are one and the same. Also worth noting is the fact that the direction of influence is not only ascending, but descending as well. For example, the techniques you'll use affect the physical preparation you'll need to do.

Aside from day to day considerations, The Training Factors Pyramid should also form a template for long term planning, as well. Accordingly, the first several months of training should be dedicated to improving physical attributes, although simple technical and tactical skills may be presented as well. The second phase of training is characterized by developing technical mastery of your sport skills. Physical condition must be maintained, but this involves less work than it took to develop it. Advanced stages of training target tactical and psychological concerns, with comparatively less time spent on physical and technical development.

 

While achieving mastery in sport involves years of hard work, those years yield far more result when they are spent wisely. The time you spend developing your foundation is miniscule compared to the time it takes to correct long-entrenched errors from years of poorly-conceived and executed training.

About The Author

Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Drillear para ganar, un artículo de Paul Greenhill OG

Ask The Wise Grappler: 
"I bought the last product you had out [21 Mat Laws of Grappling] and you talk about drilling being very important. Can you explain drilling to me?  I know it sounds like a dumb question but another proverb says, 'A wise man can learn more from a dumb question than a fool can learn from a wiseanswer.'  Do you drill a move, a position, a series?"

Well, there's a long and short answer to that question and I'll give them both to you:

The short answer is yes, you drill a move, position, and technique until the moves become mechanical and can be executed without thinking about it, like you tie your shoelaces or even breathe.  You've been doing both of those activities for so long that you're no longer aware of the fact that you do them without thought, especially the breathing part!

The long answer on how you drill the moves, techniques, and positions until they become mechanical and reflexive have been captured and broken down in the following 5 key points:

1. Drilling the Technique Right - This mean having the mechanical motion, grips, body position, correct breathing pattern, and proper visual alignment so that you can see the "mat battlefield" to know when your opponent is vulnerable and susceptible to the technique.

2. Drilling to Execute the Technique Quickly - Now that you know how to do the technique right, you have to master doing the technique quickly before the window of opportunity closes on you.  Just because you can do the technique on a willing partner, that won't guarantee that you'll execute it with the same sense of urgency during a live match.

3. Drilling the Technique under Stress - Just because you can do the technique right and fast, that doesn't mean that you'll do it under a "live" (stress) situation and you have to account for that as well.  You need to apply your techniques at different stages of successfully locking in the technique (etc. 30% applied, 50% applied, 70% applied, etc.) and have your partner fight out of it at different levels of resistance (30%, 50%, 70%, etc.).

4. Drilling under Common and Uncommon Scenarios - Every technique should work under ideal conditions, but will your technique hold up when you're tired, your opponent's sweaty, your opponent is (or isn't) wearing a gi, you're injured, you develop a cramp in your  arm or leg, etc.?  That's why you need to drill those techniques in  common or uncommon scenarios that are likely to occur, especially  if you're competing.  You should RARELY encounter a situation for  the first time during a competition.  If you do, your training plan has holes in it that need to be closed.

5. Drilling with the Technique Failing - This mean that we're expecting to execute the technique in such a way that it's not effective enough to submit or gain a dominant position on our partners and we've thought out the common "mat tendencies" on what the opponent will do to resist.  Once you're able to determine the tendencies and integrate that into the drilling, that will allow you to account for your opponent's ability to counter and fight off  your triangle attack... but walk right into your armbar attack.

Inspiración Diesel...

What is Best in Life?

Mongol General: Hao! Dai ye! We won again! This is good, but what is best in life?
Mongol: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcons at your wrist, and the wind in your hair.  

Mongol General: Wrong! Conan! What is best in life?

Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women.

As I get older and wiser (much wiser than I was when I was younger) I often go back to this scene from one of my favorite movies, Conan the Barbarian

As I guy I have a passion to be the best, “to crush my enemies”.  Now if you are a women reading this post, I am about to do the unthinkable in the man’s world.

Let something out of the vault.

I remember a speaker at an NSCA event many years ago talking about how you have to treat AND motivate male athletes different than female athletes. In athletics and team sports here is a truth: When a team loses, a guy is still happy if they themselves played well.  Women are only happy if the team, as a whole, played well. Why?

We got the testosterone.

It makes us do crazy stuff sometimes, like drive like a madman toward a goal or a task.  This can be great if your passion is helping others. For me, this means being a good Dad, being a good friend and always try to help others reach their goals. But sometimes it isn’t easy.  The kids drive you crazy, your friends have their ups and downs and sometimes people don’t want to be helped.  You have to be certain and relentless in the wake of all adversity.

Think about Conan pushing the Wheel of Life around for years.  Think that was easy?  I don’t know if you know this but the story of Conan was real, that sh*t actually happened.

So what is my point?  Life isn’t fair, life isn’t easy, life isn’t certain. The ONLY thing you can be certain of is you only get to do it once.  So you dominate, go for your dreams and kick ass.

Never quit, never surrender, just kill it. Try to let actions speak louder than words!

Cardio sin tener que correr

Cardiovascular fitness without running?

“Cardiovascular fitness refers to the ability of your heart, lungs and organs to consume, transport and utilize oxygen. The maximum volume of oxygen your body can consume and use is your VO2 Max. When you exercise regularly, you can increase your cardiovascular fitness as your heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood and oxygen to the body, and the body becomes more efficient at using that oxygen.”

Important components of cardiovascular fitness include increasing the heart rate and upping the body’s need for oxygen. Nothing earth shattering there. The challenge is make cardio enjoyable - the more enjoyable it is, the more likely the person is to stick to it. Some people love running, and that’s great, keep it up! It works great.

For others, there are other methods to get your cardio in without pounding the pavement. Due to a swollen knee as a result of Saturday’s football game, and starting to cut some bad weight, I’m going to have to get to these other methods. I was hoping to insert a cool odd object style cardio workout, but I couldn’t find any on YouTube, I’ll have to film one up!

Fingertip pushup to hub lift renegade row….that’s just crazy….crazy awesome!

Here is today’s finisher cardio rounds:

• Push ups x 30 seconds.
• Straight bar press x 30 seconds (light weight and fast).
• Band rows x 30 seconds.
• Overhead med ball slams X 30 seconds.

5 Rounds, each movement as quickly as possible.

- Joe Hashey, CSCS -

Entrenamiento para parte Superior al estilo Synergy Athletics

Get Strong Series - Complete Upper Body Work:

Here is the Workout i ran a few of the guys through last week:

1. Weighted Pull Ups - 8 x 3 (That’s right, not starting with bench!)
2. DB One Arm Bench - 4 x 6
3. Straight Bar Military Press - 4 x 12
4. Hindu Pushups - 4 x 12
5. GHR Braced Straightbar Rows - 3 x 8

* 100 Band Pull Aparts at anytime throughout the workout.

Mixing pull up grip goes along way!

The next upper body workout that week would have a chest primary exercise and include a finisher for the biceps, triceps, or shoulders. Also, take your time between pull ups to make sure to you get some heavy weight up by the end! Finish with conventional grip.

- Joe Hashey, CSCS -

Trapecios = Respeto

Para los atletas de combate desarrollar la fuerza y la musculatura del cuello al máximo nivel posible no es un privilegio es una necesidad. Un cuello poderoso es quizá la seña más distintiva del verdadero guerrero. Hay cientos de altetas con brazos fuertes y pechos poderosos, pero un cuello bien desarrollado es la seña distintiva del atleta de combate más aún si lo acompañan un par de orejas de coliflor...

The Best Trap Exercises

By Jason Ferruggia

The best trap exercises to build muscle are the deadlift, the hang clean and the shrug. If you had to pick only one the deadlift would be the one to pick. The deadlift packs meat on your upper back and traps like no other exercise in existence. It is also the most basic exercise there is and the one that trains more muscle groups than just about any other movement. When you deadlift heavy on a regular basis you are bound to end up with some big traps. It’s almost unavoidable.

As a beginner you should deadlift two to three times per week and keep the reps at an average of five per set until you are confident that your form is picture perfect. Intermediates can deadlift once every five to seven days and advanced lifters are better off pulling once every seven to fourteen days. When you get more advanced you can deadlift for slightly more reps but going above twelve to fifteen usually isn’t recommended. This is because it can be very difficult to maintain perfect form for that many reps and the risk of injury becomes very high. I recommend working up to a couple heavy sets of four to six reps followed by a lighter back off set of ten to twelve reps. This will definitely get your traps to grow, big time.

Next on the list of the best trap exercises is the hang clean. Take one look at the trap development on Olympic lifters and you will instantly see what an effective trap builder the hang clean is. Olympic lifters; even the light ones, always have great trap development due to years of cleans and snatches. Since the clean from the floor is harder to teach and more technical I prefer to stick with the hang clean. Most somewhat coordinated lifters can learn to hang clean with decent form in just a few workouts. And since we are training for trap size and not the Olympics, the form does not have to be text book. It just has to be “good enough” to get the job done. As long as you can pull efficiently and safely you’re good to go.

Hang cleans can be done two to three times per week no matter what level lifter you are. If you are training for speed the recommendation is to keep the reps at six or less, but since we are only using them for increased trap size you can feel free to go as high as twenty reps on these. It really doesn’t matter. Just do them. Some days you can go heavy for five sets of six, other days you can go lighter for one to three sets of ten to twenty reps. Mix it up.

Last on the list of the best trap exercises is the shrug. Since just about anyone can learn how to shrug properly in two seconds I am not going to spend a lot of time on this one. Grab a heavy barbell or a pair of dumbbells and shrug your shoulders straight up as high as you can trying to touch your ears. Do two to five sets of six to twenty reps once or twice per week.

Now go get your yoke on!

Solo entrena!

Occam's Barbell*:
Putting An End To Paralysis
By Analysis

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com

Occam's razor (sometimes spelled Ockham's razor) is a principle attributed to the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham. The principle states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible, eliminating those that make no difference in the observable predictions of the explanatory hypothesis or theory. This is often paraphrased as "All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best." In other words, when multiple competing theories are equal in other respects, the principle recommends selecting the theory that introduces the fewest assumptions and postulates the fewest entities. It is in this sense that Occam's razor is usually understood.

What's that? You're confused? Here's a little news-flash: I'm confused too! The only difference between you and I is:

I take action in the face of confusion, and you don't.

In my experience, "paralysis by analysis" is the most common barrier to action, and by extension, successful action. Because after all, analysis is the preface to action- it isn't action itself. Analysis can certainly serve a useful purpose, but for many, it's both a crutch and an excuse for delaying action. Here's a typical brain-twister that novice lifters often find themselves confronted by: Should you do 6 sets of 2, or 4 sets of 3?

My advice? Don't even think about starting a training program until you've resolved this critical conundrum, because after all, both options involve 12 reps with the same weight, so obviously if you go down the wrong path, you'll be screwed, glued, and tattooed. Another critical decision: should you bike or row for cardio on Tuesdays?

God help you if you should happen to choose the wrong exercise or repetition bracket, or if you stupidly decide to train 3 times a week instead of 4. Because now you're stuck for the rest of your training career. Too bad you didn't think that decision through more carefully before you got all irrational and went and wrote yourself a stupid program. OK, on a more serious note…

I really like the old carpenter's adage "Measure twice, cut once." But this philosophy is absurdly over-cautious when applied to training program design. A program isn't a piece of wood- if you make an error, you have my permission to edit it. Honest. And don't even ask me to evaluate your 18-week off-season developmental conditioning cycle, because it'll make my eyes glaze over faster than last night's episode of Oprah where that Dr. Oz guy is telling me to do some kinda meditation stuff for stress-reduction.

Because let's face it- 18 weeks from now, lots of things can happen. You could get sick, or even injured. You might break up with your girlfriend. Or find a girlfriend. Or lose your job. Or join some extremist religion that forbids the use of barbells. Or even more likely than any of the above, you might read some new article or book about some new training program that seems a hell of a lot more interesting than what you're doing now.

So look: let's just focus on the here-and-now, and further, let's focus on the "big rocks:" the stuff that really matters. The rest we can figure out later- maybe next week, maybe next month, but later. Now obviously some of you are now expecting me to tell you what a big rock is before you can ever touch a weight again, so here are a few examples of big rocks (stuff that matters) and small rocks (stuff that doesn't matter):

Big Rocks

• Squat Heavy.
• Eat Protein.
• Set Goals.
• Record Your Training.

Small Rocks

• How much? How often? How deep? What kind of squat?
• How much? How often? What kind of protein?
• How many? How hard should they be? In writing?
• How? Why? What kind of paper?

Now in most cases, people worry about the small rocks without even getting the big rocks in place- they've got the cart before the horse. So look- just squat. In the beginning, you'll probably do it all wrong, but even that's a lot better than not squatting. Then, little by little, you'll figure out how to do it correctly, and guess what- you're already great progress will get even better! And eat protein. Don't worry about how much- just eat a lot. Don't worry about what kind, we'll get to that later. Get your big rocks in the jar first, then we'll worry about the little rocks, and maybe someday we'll fill the rest of the jar with sand. Maybe.

In Summary:

• Action precedes progress; analysis precedes more analysis. Act first, analyze later
  
• It's easier to go from something to something better, than it is to go from nothing to something
  
• Ever notice how lots of people make great progress doing "stupid" stuff? It's because they're doing while you're not doing. Doing stupid stuff will always beat not doing smart stuff.

That's it - you're done. Go squat and eat some protein.

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About The Author: Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Recompensa vs. castigo, la fórmula para la mejora continua

The Punishment/Reward (PR) Method

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS Director, Staley Training Systems http://www.staleytraining.com

What qualities, attributes, or behaviors should you be focusing on in your training? Are they the attributes that you truly prioritize, or maybe not?

• Do you spent most of your quality training time chasing new 1RM's when you've got chronic orthopedic issues that threaten to sideline you in the very near future?
  
• Do you have impressive "gym numbers" that you've never replicated in competition?
  
• Do you have a terrible time cutting weight for meets, and yet your diet is still a mess?
  
• Do you have circus-level wobble-board skills but an embarrassingly puny deadlift?
  
• Is your paused bench press 90 pounds less than your "touch and go" bench?

If you see yourself in one or more of the above scenarios, my sole consolation for you is that its only human nature- we all tend to savor what we do best, and avoid what we do worst. The opposite of this (which few of us actually do) is what Canadian journalist and pop sociologist Malcolm Gladwell calls "deliberate practice." Gladwell's research indicates that it takes 10,000 hours of this thankless toil to reach a high level of proficiency in your chosen craft. To put that in numbers you can more readily appreciate, if you train 4 times a week at 90 minutes per workout, you'd have to train for over 32 years in order to attain mastery. And that's only if you're employing deliberate practice, which you're probably not: deliberate practice is characterized by 3 tenets:

1. Focus on technique as opposed to outcome.

2. Set specific goals.

3. Obtain immediate quality feedback, and use it.

Even if you've been exposed to this information, it's difficult to continuously perform deliberate practice, because by definition it requires attending to your weak points, while putting your strengths on the back burner. Which isn't all that fun (until much later of course, when you start collecting your medals amidst hushed rumors of your supposed good genetics and steroid use)

This article is about a system I've created to get you to do the right things in training- it's a way to make deliberate practice more palatable. I call it the PR Model, and it's based on a simple behavior modification system that's so effective, it's prominently highlighted in nearly every major religion: punishment and reward.

Your parents no doubt implemented this exact system at mealtime when you were a kid: if you ate your dinner, you got dessert. No dinner, no dessert. Anyway, that's how it worked at my house. The gist of it is simple: if you do the right thing, you get a reward. And of course if you do the wrong thing (or fail to do the right thing), you get punished. Before I explain how the system works in the context of your training, you'll need to determine three things:

1. What is "the right thing" for you right now?

2. What's an appropriate reward?

3. And lastly, what's an effective punishment?

I'll share how I answered these questions for myself recently, which should help you build a similarly-effective system for yourself. I've had a problem with my snatch for a long time now. What happens is that everything goes great until I reach about 85 percent of my max, and then I have a strong tendency to over-extend the finish of the pull, which causes the bar to loop away from me, which then causes me to miss the snatch behind me as I settle into the full squat. It's frustrating, because I've got plenty of horsepower to make these snatches, but I miss them due to this technical error.

In competition, missing my 2nd and/or 3rd snatches puts me in a psychological rut for the clean and jerk. Successful competition for me means a successful snatch. So I needed a way to solve this problem. My solution (which is still a work in progress) is what lead me to the PR Model:

I decided that I would plan to hit 5 singles with a weight that I typically have over-rotation problems with- 70 kilograms (154 pounds). The goal was simple: make 5 out of 5 singles with no misses (and more specifically, no misses behind). If I made all 5, I'd get a reward. If I had any misses, I'd go back to the drawing board next workout, and for as many workouts as necessary, until I hit all 5 snatches.

I'm sure you're wondering what my reward is. It's allowing myself to take one heavier single. To me this is "fun." To you, the reward could be anything from a post-workout ice cream cone to shopping for new workout clothes to skipping your post-workout stretching routine. Ideally the reward shouldn't be anything significantly destructive of course, but it should be gratifying on some level.

The punishment in my case is simply the denial of reward- I don't get to take a heavier single. For you it might be something different. In developing the training schedule for master's weightlifter Troy Paradiso, failure to hit the indicated numbers in the snatch or clean and jerk resulted in having to do clean pulls (an exercise he was relatively weak on, and one we theorized would improve his two competitive lifts): If he made all assigned Clean and jerks for example, he didn't have to do any pulls. If he missed one clean & jerk, his punishment was one set of pulls. Two misses- two sets of pulls. And so on.

The applications of this system are virtually limitless. Additionally, the system is flexible enough to change as your needs change.The PR method can be applied to diet as well. For example, if/when you reach a body composition milestone, you get a "cheat meal."

3 Steps to Making The PR Method Work For You

The first step is to make a list of your unproductive habits, behaviors or tendencies. This isn't about "good versus bad," it's just a matter of identifying behaviors that either take you further away from your goals, or that displace more productive behaviors. Your list might include things like staying up too late the night before workouts, eating too much simple carbohydrate, always focusing on maximum singles when your weakness is lack of hypertrophy, spending too much time on "fun" exercises that don't take you closer to your goal, being too reliant on support gear, or neglecting a mobility issue.

The second step is determining the "punishment." I personally like the dessert parallel here- if you do a lot of good things, you get to have a little bit of fun. The fun in question shouldn't be terribly damaging as I noted earlier, but it should be gratifying. The third and final step is developing parameters for your PR system. If you do this (what?) then you get to do this (what?). Make sure you define these parameters carefully, so there's no "wiggle room" for cheating.

Finally, if you have a coach, training partner, or group that you train with, alert them to what you're up to, and ask them to help keep you honest. Social support often makes all the difference when you're pursuing challenging goals.

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About The Author

Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

De Vuelta al Underground.

Sandbag Circuits For Combat Athletes

By Dustin Lebel

MMA is all the rage these days and its no surprise that more and more people want to train like their favorite fighters. The only problem is that most great fighters are great despite their strength and conditioning program…not all, but most. While putting together a great program for a combat athlete can be very complex as you have to take into account their technical practice schedules, past and current list of injuries, nutrition, their various coaches, recovery, and oh yeah – we need to get them stronger, more powerful, and in better condition while they concurrently improve their skills in their respective sport. Phew – training for combat sports is tough!

Well, the problem with most athletes is that they often sway too far towards one end of the spectrum or the other. Rarely ever are fighters just getting just enough strength work or just enough conditioning work (which is really what we’re aiming for – just enough). You either have guys running themselves into the ground with their skill practices and daily conditioning (most of it is bullsh#t), or you have guys who think that they are bodybuilders who also happen to box, wrestle, or what have you. The middle of the road is generally where you want to be, but to try and explain this to your typical “type A” combat athlete is near impossible. It has been instilled in our minds that the guy who simply does the most work, wins. While hard work is certainly the backbone for attaining success in anything, it’s important for combat athletes to understand their number one priority – to get better at their sport and compete at the highest possible level. If you are not getting better, then you are spinning your wheels. We’ve all heard the saying – more is not better, better is better. It sounds cliché but it’s true.


What I’m proposing for more fighters is to have more focused, disciplined sessions – not just their skill sessions, but also their strength and conditioning sessions. If more athletes just took what they are currently doing and cut everything in half and just started being more deliberate in their training, they would see twice the results. The fact is that the guys who say that they train 6-8 hours a day are either a) full of sh#t or b) farting around too much or not focusing on the things that deliver the biggest results. While this is tough to control with technical sessions because each coach has a different agenda and different training philosophy, the least you can do is have full control over your strength and conditioning sessions.

With all that said, lets take a look at how you can start to organize your training sessions and maximize your time in the weight room – leaving you plenty of time and energy to get better at breaking people’s arms or kicking them in the teeth.


I think that most fighters who are training for their sport 5-6 days per week need just two, or three days at the most, of strength work per week. Since you will be getting plenty of conditioning from your regular practices, any more than that is overkill. I know that a lot of guys get sensitive when it comes to their daily roadwork, but again, I urge you to drop it and spend that time getting in some soft tissue and mobility work instead. If you are doing the things that you should be in practice – hard, live drilling, lots of live wrestling/rolling, mitt work, bag work, partner drills, and sparring – then you should have very little energy left over for anything else and that energy should be spent in the most productive way possible.

Most of the time, I prefer to use total body workouts and I find that getting in a session in less than 45 minutes (and often even less) is feasible as long as you bust your ass. The key is to use the best movements to get the biggest bang for your buck – that means plenty of pushes, pulls, squats, single leg and posterior chain work. Don’t get caught up in all the hype over “sport specific” training, but rather spend your time fixing your imbalances and getting stronger and in better “fight shape” through more general training.


One of my favorite ways to train is through strength based circuits using a heavy sandbag. This is a great way to maximize your time and get stronger while also improving your strength endurance specific to combat sports. While maximal strength and explosive strength are certainly desirable attributes, in most cases, fighters need to worry about improving their ability to be strong and explosive over many repeated efforts. Because of the awkward nature of sandbag training, every single movement requires tremendous core, upper back, posterior chain, and grip strength – areas that are usually lacking in most athletes – and causes your heart rate to go through the roof very quickly! Not to mention that most movements in the weight room only address the eccentric and concentric contractions, where as combat sports require a huge amount of isometric strength. Many of the movements performed with sandbags will force maximal isometric contractions, only bringing on fatigue that much faster. Sandbag training is not a fad nor gimmicky in anyway, just hard freakin’ work.


Here are 4 of my favorite circuits using a heavy sandbag for developing insane muscular endurance and that raw, rugged strength that will translate on the mat or in the ring. While most programs leave you bigger and stronger in the weight room, training with sandbags will have instant carry over to your sport.

For these circuits, you will want to make a sandbag roughly 60-70% of your bodyweight going towards the higher end if you’re an advanced trainee and the lower if you’re new to strength training. You can always make adjustments if needed, but you want to make a bag that will challenge you for months ahead. Rather than increasing the weight of the bag, you will make subtle adjustments to your sets, reps, total volume and rest periods over time.


For this program, you will pick one circuit per training day and after a warm up, and you will have several options.

Option 1 is to go through each circuit for 3-5 sets; resting 60-120 seconds between each circuit (and 30 seconds or less between each movement). Your goal here is to slowly increase your volume by adding a rep to each movement here and there and to increase your sets only when all the reps can completed with good form with the minimum requirement for rest periods.

Option 2 is to set a time limit of 15 or 20 minutes and try to blast through as many sets as possible in that time frame. This form of density training will be a good indicator of the progress you’re making – you either get more work done or you don’t.

I recommend the density option every other time you perform a particular circuit. So if weeks 1 and 2 you performed circuits A-D (assuming 2 sessions/week), getting in just the minimum of 3 sets with the prescribed reps, then on weeks 3 and 4 you would set your standard for a 15 or 20 minute density round and continue to repeat this process.

But remember, the goal of extra strength training is to enhance your performance in your chosen sport, not fatigue yourself to the point where you are getting stale, or worse, regressing and getting worse. Slowly make adjustments to total volume over time and don’t set out to crush your records every single time out – know when good enough is good enough.


So here they are, 4 bad ass circuits that will leave you in a pool of sweat and cramping from your fingers down to your calves…

Circuit A:

1. Sandbag Clean and Press x 6
2. Sandbag Shoulder + Squat x 6
3. Sandbag Rotations x 6
4. Sandbag Bent Over Rows x 6

Circuit B:

1. Sandbag Shouldering x 6
2. Sandbag Power Clean + Zercher Squat x 6
3. Sandbag Zercher Goodmornings x 6
4. Sandbag Bent Over Rows x 6

Circuit C:

1. Sandbag Shouldering x 6
2. Sandbag Zercher Reverse Lunges x 6 (3 each side)
3. Sandbag Power Cleans x 6
4. Sandbag Bent Over Rows x 6

Circuit D:

1. Sandbag Clean and Press x 6
2. Sandbag Zercher Squats x 6
3. Sandbag Pull Throughs x 6
4. Sandbag Bent Over Rows x 6

You will notice that included rowing in every single circuit, and that’s for the simple fact that you can never get enough rowing! Besides the benefit of strengthening your lats and upper back, the sandbag bent over row will challenge your grip and posterior chain in much different manner than any barbell or cable row ever could.

If you’re like most fighters and you’re short on time and energy reserves, then these circuits can make up your complete training program. However, there’s nothing wrong with adding in some sled dragging, weighted and un weighted bodyweight calisthenics, sledgehammer swinging, and anything else you had in mind. Work your ass off, but keep your recovery in mind and do what’s best so that you can become a stronger, faster, more conditioned fighter.



Author Bio: I am a personal trainer and sports performance coach At Integrated Athletic Performance in Watertown, CT and an apprentice International Martial Arts & Boxing instructor under Richard Bustillo. Check out my blog at http://www.dustinlebeltraining.blogspot.com