Steve Cook - Hypertrophy Training

I was recently on youtube just having a little browse when I came across a video from Steve Cook on hypertrophy training, to which I thought I'd share with you. Steve Cook is very popular in the fitness industry after becoming an IFBB pro Men's Physique Competitor, Optimum Nurtition and Bodybuilding.com spokesmen and of course the founder of Swoldier. Swoldier nation is Steve Cook's ethos on training in the gym but furthermore in life. Doing things the right way. This could be through setting goals to achieve in the gym but basically it underpins the drive that causes you to succeed in life. This has become massive with many followers and has really started to bring a different light on the muscle building community.

Back to hypertrophy training. You may ask what is difference between strength and hypertrophy training well, firstly hypertrophy training is a method of strength training and is intended to induce the fastest muscle growth in the shortest period of time without the use of anabolic steroids. There are four different principles to this type of training. Mechanical load is the first, meaning tension loading of the muscle through an exercise. Chronic stimulation which is the theory that a muscle does not need more than 48 hours to recover because within that 48 hours window recovery can still take place with the correct rate of protein and nutrition. Progressive load is also a principle through over time the tissue adapts and becomes resistant to the effects of the first principle, mechanical load. Therefore the load must be increased to overcome adaptation by the body thus, causing growth to occur. Strategic Deconsitioning or in other terms a rest week is where the body has reached a point at the end of a cycle where it can't tolerate more weight, therefore a set period of rest must be take, allowing for the muscle to grow. These are the basics to hypertrophy training, boring stuff out the way now how to put it into practice.

Now as I mentioned early Steve Cook has recorded numerous videos of him doing this type of training online and it is really interesting, where you shall defiantly see growth. He overloads the muscle through 8 reps for 8 sets of the same exercise only allowing for 30 seconds of rest between sets. This therefore allows very little rest for the muscle to recover in anyway, and depending on which exercise your performing can really get the heart pumping. The weight used would not be what you would normally use for an 8 rep set otherwise you will not be able to last for all 8 sets so bring it down by about 30%. He thens pushes it further through either superseting or tri-setting exercises later on into the workout. This becomes really difficult after the muscle is already quite fatigued. With the additional volume in your training hypertrophy will definetly bring about growth. Also if your someone that goes to the gym and just goes through the motions this will bring a stop to that and keep the body guessing of what might be coming next causing it to adapt and grow. I personally tried the 8x8 with arms at the end of my session today and I usually get a burn through supersetting on my arms but this just brought an all together different burn more of any ache, so you should definetly give it a try if you want something new with any workout.

Try this link to see his workout http://bit.ly/1fZhrca

Remember diet 70%, gym 30%

Jack

Steve Cook - BIG Programme

If any of you are avid followers of mine you will know I am a huge Steve Cook fan, for those of you that don’t know who this man is, you seriously need to check him out. Steve is very popular in the fitness industry after becoming an IFBB pro Men's Physique Competitor, Optimum Nurtition, GymShark and Bodybuilding.com spokesmen and of course the founder of Swoldier nation. Swoldier nation is Steve Cook's ethos on training in the gym but furthermore in life. Doing things the right way. This could be through setting goals to achieve in the gym or the mind set that underpins the drive that causes you to succeed in life. This has become massive with many followers really starting to bring a different light on the muscle building community.

Enough on the man himself lets now see what he can do for you and this comes in his new programme called the BIG programme. The programme is designed for people who want to improve mobility and body functionality, don’t have the desire or time to create a program themselves along with a real desire to be stronger but yet still remain lean. It has been designed by Steve himself along with two of his close friends Michael Cazayoux and Jacob Hutton who physiques and abilities to rival anyone. The thing however that I love most about this programme is Steve is following it himself. He's not just the poster boy for it, telling everyone how they should be doing it yet training totally differently, no he's there putting the hard work in himself and suffering just as much as you will be, you can see this on his most recently posted video.

https://www.youtube.com/user/swoldiernation

Here is a quick break down of the 24 weeks, I’m currently on week 8, time to lift big!!!

• Week 1 : Test Week – Find your max to use in the programme over the following few weeks. 

• Weeks 2-7 – Muscle endurance is the focus along with hypertrophy and dynamic as through the whole programme. 

• Weeks 8-12 – Maximal Strength and Hypertrophy are the primary focus

• Weeks 13-24 – This segment is split into three 4 week blocks. The focus for this block of training is maximal strength and hypertrophy. These 12 weeks are the ‘Show weeks’ experiencing what the top guys go through to get ready for a show.

This is a MUST programme if you're struggling for motivation in the gym and really want to push your body into the next stage of growth. So many of my clients approach me with ludicrous high volume workouts they've read in magazines which they're never going to be able to do, thus becoming demotivated and quite often leading to injury. The fitness industry has a lot of smoke and mirrors but this programme isn't that, no matter where you are at whether it be a beginning or a professional this programme is going to work as the programme is catered to your ability not others. My only point would be is when it gets tough you've got to stick to it whole heartedly, as elements of this programme are very tough. So check it out

http://www.stevecookhealth.com/big/

I’m not one to pump and recommend things but this you really need to check out. So get to it!!!

Jack 

Do I workout or not?

Do I workout or not?

With the summer holiday season now upon us and family time along with social lives becomes a greater part of life and the routine of wake up, go to work then head to the gym is non existent the question often asked is 'do I workout or not?'. Motivation is at an all time low but you know it's got to be done, here are a few tips to include to get that workout in.

Set yourself a goal. This could be complete this many reps of a certain exercise or a certain amount of rounds of one exercise, anything that you can use as a motivational tool but that once competed you will have had a great workout. Use crossfit workouts, circuits or things such as pack of playing cards. This is something I'd highly recommend nominating an exercise to a suit and the number of the card being the reps performed, use the whole pack and there is your workout.

Set yourself a time limit. If you know all you're going to do is 30 minutes then you're mentally more prepared for what is to come. Count down the minutes or whatever you need to do but you know it's only going to be 30 minutes. Use the AMRAP principle where you must complete as many rounds of a certain circuit in a given time, great upping the intensity, high volume of reps performed along with motivation to beat your pass score or someone else's.

Play Sport. It sounds so simple but many forget this as a form of exercise. With the stunning weather we currently have here in London sport should be at the top of the list as one of the things to be doing. Play it with the family or friends and add in forfeits. Let's take football for example, if a goal is scored 10 press ups, someone skills you 10 star jumps, every corner 10 squats and if you foul someone plank for 30 seconds. Yes it may slow the game down but it can make it fun at the same time as getting some cardio and a strength workout all in one.

So no excuses, stay in shape over the summer.

Jack

Sleeve bursting arms!!

Sleeve bursting Arms

With the summer now well and truly upon us everyone is changing jumpers for t-shirts and all that hard work you've put in over the winter months you really want to show off. The first thing that draws any attention when it's t-shirt weather is your arms!! Here are a few last minute training tips to really get your arms bursting out of your sleeves.


Add more volume to your triceps!!
Triceps are often neglects when it comes to training arms purely as they're never seen but they take up two thirds of your upper arms, it's not all bicep you know!!! These as a muscle I have found can take a lot of volume as they're used in every pushing motion you do so in order to force them into growth you must train them many different ways to shock the muscle. Train them through different rep patterns with a low rep, high set day on your chest day with a high rep, low set day following shoulders. Focus on tempo and contraction of the muscle and then other times just overload the tricep as much as possible. These methods will stun the muscle, forcing it to grow. Mix the exercises up in your routine adding in reverse push downs, reverse bench and cable skull crushers as oppose to the normal exercises you may do. Lastly over work the lateral head of the tricep which runs from your deltoid, the outer part of the tricep. Kick backs and over head extension are great in isolating this head as the others are often used more in the pushing exercises. This will bring greater depth to your arm size thus create that sleeve bursting look.

Tempo and good form when training biceps!!
So many people now see the top guys in the industry curling heavy weight and automatically employ this type of training into their routine with horrendous form and are not stimulating the muscle at all. This is unless they are curling to gain bigger traps and back. Yes use this shock tactic at the beginning of the workout but don't comprise form for it, as soon as you feel your form is going maybe get one or two cheat reps in but then stop. Move on to an isolation exercise such as a preacher, concentration or incline bench curls where form is a great deal harder to cheat on. Drop the weight down slightly and focus on really tempo and squeezing the muscle at the top of the movement, pushing blood into the muscle. You can add a few force reps in when you're fatigued through either help from a partner or if you're performing a single arm curl get the other hand involved, exhausting the bicep and pushing for growth. Much like the tricep train both heads of the muscle, wider than shoulder width for the short head and closer grip for the long head. I like to include rope hammer curls, lying wide  cable curls and reverse dumbbell curls to really hit both heads.

Train your forearms!
Many people when training arms neglect the forearm but they're still part of the arm. With people wanting to more and more lift heavier weight they opt for straps, meaning their grip strength is poor this never really training forearms. Larger forearms automatically give a more atheistic look to the arm and stronger forearms will help assist when you're looking to move more weight as they act more often than not as a fixator, allowing you to squeeze the bar harder, engaging more muscles. Reverse curls and wrist curls are the two I like to use and get rid of those straps!!!!

So there are three easy tips to add into your programme in order to see results and have sleeve bursting arms.

Jack 

Should I lift heavy?

This is a question which is asked by many and is never really answered. When I started training I was one of those people that believed going heavy resulted in bigger muscles, as in a simple sense it's a stronger muscle so surely it’s going to get bigger. Now this is somewhat true but muscle growth can also come from many other different ways and types of training. 

In simple terms strength is about increasing force production. Size, on the other hand, is about getting a pump through the increase of blood flow to the muscle and creating microscopic damage to the muscle, which then causes it to repair and grow larger. This is hypertrophy in a nutshell and now is the most common rep range where most people believe they should be training in order to add size to a given muscle group. 

What is Strength Training?

The general rule when training for strength is that the reps should be low and the resistance load should be high. Low-rep strength work is primarily neuromuscular, this involves teaching your Central Nervous System how to bring more muscle into the movement or in the correct terms increase motor unit recruitment. Strength training takes time, you wont just increase the weight you're lifting each week and where programming becomes the crucial element. The slow increase in weight over time shall force the muscle to grow stronger but, its a steady process and must not be rushed. Always stick to the big compound moves for this and also focus on form over the weight you're lifting. No one around you will care that you're deadlifting 5 plates if you're back is arched over and you're doing more harm than good. 

Hypertrophy?

Unlike strength training, the goal of training for size is more physiological than it is neurological. It's about upgrading your body's hardware, like bones, connective tissues, and muscles. Its about pushing the muscle past what it is already capable through the micro tears of the tissue so it will grow stronger and larger. These are four points to focus on:

• Using strict form. Most of the exercises are going to be isolating the muscle so form is the most crucial element, target the muscle you want to actually train!! 

• Using the tempo! This is the biggest thing that is neglected in the gym, people just lifting weights as fast as they can but tempo plays such an important part. You could cut the amount of weight you're lifting and focus on the contraction and eccentric phase of the moment. A count of three seconds each is perfect and will engage the muscle so much more.

• Mentally focusing on the muscles being worked and squeezing those muscles at the peak of contraction. Very much the same as tempo but at the peak of the movement push that little further and squeeze the muscle forcing blood directly into it. 

• Avoiding fully locking out so the muscles are under tension throughout the movement. Many people take the tension when performing an exercise away from the muscle by locking out at the joint and all the weight transferred onto this. Try to avoid this, especially when you're isolating the muscle, if you can’t, reduce the weight. 

For your workout to be the best it can be it needs a rounded rep scheme. Aim for the heavy, compound exercises at the beginning of the routine to really shock the muscle, recruit the most amount of muscles and predominantly build strength in the muscle. Then as the session wears on with the addition of isolated exercises aim for higher reps, focus paid to tempo and form to really break down the muscle further. Supersets, tri-sets and drop sets all added to push that little further but form always takes precedence over anything else.

There you have it, going heavy has it’s time and place but isn’t always essential. The best bit of advice I can give though is a big muscle doesn't always mean its a strong muscle!

Jack