I've noticed a polarization in the world of health. On the one side you have the super lazy, garbage eating, couch potatoes on a one-way flight to diabetes and early heart disease. On the other: the obsessed fitness freak, working out several times a week (or day), without eating enough or factoring in enough rest. Of the two, the latter is preferable, but still not healthy.
My last article was about the MED, or minimum effective dose to achieve a desired outcome, and before that, I wrote about principles of movement based exercise. In this article I would like to highlight a few additional MED principles that, when combined with movement based exercises, will help you get the most out of your training; the greatest output for the lowest input - Or, as I like to say, your greatest FROI (Fitness-Return-On-Investment). We want to protect your most valuable asset: time.
FROI also rhymes with Troy, which was a pretty awesome movie.
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| Like, So FROI right now man. |
Principles over planning
Some of the greatest fitness gains I ever made have been when I followed a strict program. Where I followed every workout to the letter, with correct progression, and where I measured EVERYTHING. That's all good, but what about when you can't do that? This past year I worked three jobs, spent time building my network, while trying to have a social life. Granted, I usually trained at least three times a week, but the problem was not the amount of training, it was my inability to stick to a plan. My schedule this year has been extremely random, and having a set program has been near impossible. Sometimes I could workout three days one week, with one recovery day spaced perfectly in between and enough sleep. Other weeks, I could only train two days right after each other. Naturally this meant I couldn't do two heavy, full body workouts two days in a row without not being able to walk, much less perform adequately at work for at least a few days. So, what's a guy to do?
Some of the greatest fitness gains I ever made have been when I followed a strict program. Where I followed every workout to the letter, with correct progression, and where I measured EVERYTHING. That's all good, but what about when you can't do that? This past year I worked three jobs, spent time building my network, while trying to have a social life. Granted, I usually trained at least three times a week, but the problem was not the amount of training, it was my inability to stick to a plan. My schedule this year has been extremely random, and having a set program has been near impossible. Sometimes I could workout three days one week, with one recovery day spaced perfectly in between and enough sleep. Other weeks, I could only train two days right after each other. Naturally this meant I couldn't do two heavy, full body workouts two days in a row without not being able to walk, much less perform adequately at work for at least a few days. So, what's a guy to do?
Following a program is great and takes the guesswork out of training. However, when you can't follow a program, knowing these principles will help you get a great workout, without wasting time trying to figure out what to do. So, stop wasting time, learn these principles, and automate your exercise decision process. In other words, "MED" the $%# outta yo training!
Exercise selection and design
In a previous article I wrote about the basic human movement patterns: Squat, Pull, Push, Hinge, and Lunge. These movements give you the most FROI for the time spent in the gym. We want a high fitness return for a low time investment. When life is random and I can't program farther than an hour in advance, I have a set of principles based on how much time I can work out a week. For example, considering the following 3 scenarios, I would select my exercises like this:
Week 1 scenario: I have three whole days to train with a days rest in between.
This is an ideal situation and many possibilites exist here. My favourite thing in this scenario is to do 3 full body workouts combining upper and lower body movements. It may look something like this:
Day 1:
3x5 Front Squat (squat)
3x5 Bench Press (push)
1x5 Deadlift (hinge)
Day 2:
3x10 Bulgarian split squat (lunge)
3x10 Weighted pushup (push)
3x5 Weighted pullup (pull)
Day 3:
3x5 Deadlift (Hinge)
3x10 Overhead Press (push)
3x10 Reverse bodyweight lunge (lunge)
Week 2 scenario: I only have two days to train and they are right after each other.
Here I have different options. The goal is to get a good set of workouts done without the first day affecting the second. One option is doing an upper/lower body split:
Day 1: Lower body
3x5 Front Squat (squat)
3x10 Reverse Lunge (lunge)
1x5 Deadlift (hinge)
Day 2: Upper body
Overhead Press 3x5
Weighted Pullups 3x5
3x10 Bodyweight pushups
3x10 Bodyweight inverted rows
Week 3 scenario: Im extremely busy this week and have only 1 hour to train!
Hey, we're all busy right? Sometimes life gets in the way and I'm really strapped for time. Then I pick two exercises that give me the largest FROI. I like Bench presses and Deadlifts. This combination hits pretty much every muscle in the body. Deadlifts should be done heavy with low reps and I'm a fan of doing 10 reps total, here done in a set of 5 reps, 3, then 2, where the weight increases with each set. Ramping the weight this way allows for a large amount of volume as well as stimulating your body with heavy weights.
Day 1:
Deadlift 3x(5,3,2) (increasing weight each set, also called "ramping")
Bench Press 4x10 (ramping the weight, AMRAP: As many reps as possible last set - have a spotter for this!)
Loading parameters
Now that you have selected your exercises based on how much time you have to train, the next consideration is loading. When an exercise is chosen, it is essentially a movement prescribed to elicit a desired outcome. Think of it as medicine. Loading is the required dose. When we lift a weight we usually give ourselves a target repetition range (eg: 5reps) Without even knowing your strength you can estimate how heavy you should lift. When we say 5 reps we mean pick a weight you can lift 5-6 times, after which the weight is simply too heavy for more repetitions. In other words, this is a weight your body can only lift 5 times before needing a break. Choosing a rep range of 10 will necessitate a lower weight than a rep range of 5. Lifting a heavier weight for fewer reps affects your body in a profoundly different way than lifting a lighter weight for higher reps. Understanding how these loading parameters affect your body is crucial in making intelligent decisions about how much work you perform.
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| Although I condone Silliness in certain contexts, Death should be avoided. |
Lighter weights with higher reps tend to promote sarcoplasmatic muscle growth (increased water and glucose retention in muscle fibres) and lower reps with higer weight tend to increase neurological strength and myofibrilar muscle growth (increased bodyweight to strength ratio and larger muscle fibres). Doing both in a hybrid fashion allows one to train both aspects and thus optimize your FROI; Applying the MED to acheive a body that is both athletic and aesthetically pleasing.
Tracking and Progression
An important component of an effective training program is progression. This is one of the most logical considerations but it's amazing how many people don't do it. An exercise applies a stress to the body, which the body then adapts to when resting. If you lift a heavy weight, or do a lot of pushups, your body will adapt to this new demand by getting stronger or developing more endurance. To continue developing you need to apply a higher level of stress to allow even greater levels of adaptation. This means lifting more weight, doing more reps, changing the tempo (cadence) of the movement, or modifying the movement to put the body at a mechanical disadvantage forcing the muscles to work harder. Whatever the case, you need to make the exercise more challenging once your body has adapted.
Tracking your workouts is an excellent way to ensure progression. There are many ways to do this. I use my smartphone and Evernote, but a simple notebook will do the trick. This way, you never cheat yourself, and ensure you are where you need to be on your progression timeline. Make a note of how much weight you lifted on a given session, and if you completed all reps with good form, either add more weight, or higher reps, depending on your goals.
Cardio
You might have noticed I haven't added much cardio to the workout routines outlined above. When most people think of cardio they think of things like biking, running, swimming, etc. The thing is, "cardio" is really any activity that allows you to train your cardiovascular system. Squats can be a "cardio" exercise if done with high enough reps (generally over 30reps).
Personally I don't do much cardio. I used to. Having been a spinning instructor I would often have several sessions a week (or day!). I'm not currently training for an endurance event, so I usually do a medium to long cardio session once a week and a quick "finisher" after one of my workouts. This is mainly to increase circulation and for active recovery.
The problem I see with people's intentions in doing cardio is that most believe this is the best way to lose weight. If you want to lose weight, watch your diet. Eat less, cut down on starches and junk food until you like what you see. Doing endless amounts of cardio increases cortisol (a stress hormone) in your blood, which can actually prevent fat loss! Strength training increases fat burning over time as it creates the hormonal environment in your body suitable for fat loss. This is not to say you shouldn't ever do cardio, just moderate it. Most importantly, don't think you can compensate for poor dietary choices by "burning it off" with cardio. It's simply not healthy.
Rest
An important aspect of any training program is rest, and is worth your consideration. The true gains from any training come when you're not actually training, when your body is recovering, adapting, and growing. Without good quality sleep and a calm mind, your body will deteriorate. I recommend 7 hours of sleep. More and you'll grow lethargic, less and you'll face health problems.
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| How not to sleep. |
I make sure im in bed 7 hours before I need to get up, and read fiction for 30 mins. I used to read business and fitness books before sleep, but that aggravated my insomnia. I find that reading fiction works better than any sleeping pill, as it trains present-state awareness and detaches the mind from daily stresses. This leaves me 30 minutes of sleep initiation time, and six hours of core sleep. An REM sleep cycle lasts 90 minutes, equating to four whole sleep cycles. Waking up in the middle of a sleep cycle is worse than sleeping less and completing one. If you have ever slept 10 hours and woken up groggy and tired you know what I mean. Also, make sure you reduce liquid intake 2-3 hours before bed so you don't wake up with the need to use the bathroom.
Summary
Understanding these basic principles will give you the foundation you need to make sensible exercise decisions (as well as make you awesome). If you utilize the basic human movements, the concept of the Minimal Effective Dose (MED), and the principles above, you are well on your way to workout awesomeness. Let's summarize:
1. Focus on basic human movement patterns: Squat, Pull, Push, Hinge, Lunge.
2. Identify your goals and apply the MED required to achieve them.
3. Select exercises intelligently based on how much time you have to train.
4. Select the appropriate loading parameters.
5. Use progressive overload in your workouts.
6. Get a workout diary!
7. Include some cardio/energy systems work.
8. SLEEP!
And remember:
We don´t stop training because we grow old; we grow old because we stop training.
