Men's Health Pack on Muscle

8/12/2019 Men's Health Pack on Muscle

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BUILD MUSCLE

FITNESS m QUICKSTARTGUIDE

Dowdell is a proponent of using more than one

set of joints at a time. He loves squats because

the hips and knees bend simultaneously to exe-

cute the lift. Bigger moves like the squat release

more of the key hormones that increase strength

and muscle and decrease body fat, he says.

Follow this workout and youll kickstart your

best year in the gym. Stick to it for a month

and youll lay a foundation for impressive

fitness gainsand a pretty good sum-

mer at the beach.

THE 4WEEK PLAN

Your instructions: Perform this work-

out 3 days a week with at least a day of rest

between sessions. Alternate exercises with the

same number (1A and 1B, for example) until you

complete all of the sets in that pairing. Only

then should you move on to the next pairing.

See below for details.

Weeks 1 and 2

Perform 3 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions

of every exercise except 1A, the hangclean. For 1A, do 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps.Rest 60 seconds between all sets ex-cept the hang-clean ones, after whichyou should rest for 90 seconds. Rest60 seconds between exercise pair-ings, as well.

W W W . M E N S H E A L T H . C O M mh

COPYRIGHT 2008-2009

ARE YOU READY TO BUILD A BIGGER, STRONGER BODY? IN RECORD TIME?

(Beach season is coming, pal.) A total-body workout is scientifically proven to increase

muscle gain more efficiently than old-school body-part training. Joe Dowdell, C.S.C.S.,

owner of Peak Performance Strength & Conditioning Center, in New York City, developed

the program that follows to help two NBA forwards gain size and strength while also amp-

ing their athletic abilities. The movesdone with weights, reps, and rest periodsunleasha hormonal cascade that allows any skinny dude to break free from hard-gainer hell.

MUSCLE FACT

17PERCENTAGE

DECREASE IN

MUSCLE POWER

AFTER 4 WEEKS

OF INACTIVITY

4 HUGEREASONS TOLIFT WEIGHTSLIFTING WEIGHTS 3DAYS A WEEK CAN...

1. Cut your risk of dia-

betes in just 4 months,

according to a Tufts Univer-

sity study. Weight training

decreases blood-glucose

levels and improves insulin

sensitivity.

2. Treat depression,according to Harvard

researchers who compared

the benefits of weight train-

ing and cardio exercise over

10 weeks. The weight lifters

experienced a greater boost

in mood.

3. Spike your testoster-

one levelsby up to 49

percent, according to Finn-

ish scientists. The hormone

plays a key role in your

overall mortality risk and, ofcourse, your sex drive.

4. Save your brain from

a stroke, according to a

University of Michigan study.

Lifting weights decreases

blood pressure, reducing the

risk of having a stroke by

40 percent.

SOURCE: JOURNAL OF STRENGTH AND CONDI-

TIONING RESEARCH


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W W W. M E N S H E A L T H . C O M mh

QUICKSTART GUIDE

2BNEUTRAL-GRIP PULLUP

Grab the parallel bars of a pullup-bar handle so your hands

face each other. Hang with your arms straight. Pull yourself

up as high as you can, aiming to clear the bar with your chin.

Then slowly lower yourself back to the starting position, at a

full hang.

Dont swing.Try to keep your bodystraightat all times.

A B

Lower your bodyuntil your thighs areat least parallel tothe floor.

2ABARBELL SQUAT

Stand holding a barbell across the back of your

shoulders with an overhand grip, your hands and feet

shoulder-width apart. Keeping your back naturally

arched, bend at the hips and knees to lower your body.

Push back to a standing position.

A

B

THE ANATOMY OF MUSCLE

TENDONTough connective tissuethat attaches muscle to bone

MYOFIBRILA collection of thousandsof tiny proteins that together generateforce to help a cell contract

SARCOPLASMA semifluid membranethat surrounds the myofibril and containsstructures, such as mitochondria, thatprovide energy for muscular contraction

CAPILLARIESTiny blood vesselsthat deliver nutrients and enzymesto the muscle fibers

MUSCLEA bundle of fascicles that

are enclosed in a sheath of connective

tissue called fascia

FASCICLEA

bundle of several

muscle fibers

MUSCLE FIBERA single muscle

cell, which contains several hundredto several thousand myofibrils


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SWITCH YOUR GRIP FOR BIGGER BICEPS

o build your arms faster, use these barbell hand-placement tips from strength coach Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S. The slight adjustments in gripwill allow you to target both heads of the bicepsthe long and shortfor optimal growth. Choose one exercise for each head, and alternateets and reps each workout, doing either 2 sets of 12 reps, 4 sets of 6, or 3 sets of 8.

QUICKSTART GUIDE

Lower the weights as far asyou can whil e mainta iningthe arch in your lower back.

3ADUMBBELL ROMANIAN DEADLIFT

Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of your

thighs. Maintaining the natural arch in your spine and

keeping the weights close to your body, push your hips back

and lower the weights. Squeeze your glutes and return to

the starting position.

Avoid usin g momentu mto curl the weight up.Stand tall.

3BDUMBBELL CURL TO OVERHEAD PRESS

Stand holding dumbbells down at your sides with your palms

forward. Curl the weights up to your shoulders. Next, rotate

your wrists as you press the dumbbells overhead so your

palms face forward at the top. Reverse the move back to the

starting position.

A

B

A B C

YOUR TARGET The long head of the biceps

Option 1:The close-grip curl

Grab the bar with a narrow, underhand grip,your hands about 8 inches apart.


Option 2:Reverse curl

Grab the bar with an overhand grip, yourhands about shoulder-width apart.

Wide-grip curl

Grab the bar with

an underhand, beyond-

shoulder-width grip.

YOUR TARGET The short head of the biceps


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QUICKSTART GUIDE

4AHALF-KNEELING CABLE LIFT WITH ROPE

Attach a rope handle to a low-pulley cable; assume a

half-kneeling position perpendicular to the weight stack.

Rotate your torso toward the stack and grab the rope with

both hands. Explosively rotate away, raising your arms.

Return to the starting position.

Keep a slightbend inyour elb owsthroughout themove.

A

B

4BSWISS-BALL PLATE CRUNCH

Lie on a Swiss ball so your back curves over it. Hold a weight

plate at your chest. Curl your body up and slightly forward,

lifting your shoulder blades off the ball. Pause at the top and

then slowly lower yourself back to the starting position.

Keep your headand neck in linewith your spine.

B

A

TAKE THE TOTAL-BODY ROUTE FOR FASTEST GAINSPerforming total-body workouts three times a

week is the most effective way to gain muscle, says

Alwyn Cosgrove, owner of the Results Fitness gym,

n Santa Clarita, California. Unfortunately, that ad-

ice directly contradicts what most guys actually do

ecause they subscribe to old notions about weight

fting: what Cosgrove calls body-part training.

The idea there is to divide the body into specific

muscle groups and dedicate an entire session to

working each individually. With total-body workouts,

though, you work each muscle more often. When

you train a muscle three times a week, it spends

more total time growing, says Cosgrove.

Anatomically speaking, you cant isolate muscle

groups in the first place. Muscles are intercon-

nected, surrounding the body like a unified web and

enclosed in a tough connective tissue called fascia

(see page 3). And since fascia attaches to bone and

other muscles, it creates functional relationships

between seemingly separate muscle groups.

Even a small movement of your upper arm

triggers a complicated network of muscles from

your shoulder down to your hip, says Bill Hartma

P.T., C.S.C.S., a physical therapist in Indianapolis

Heres why: The latissimus dorsi (or lat), the larg

est muscle of the back, attaches to the upper-arm

bone, shoulder blade, spine, and thoracolumbar

fasciawhich attaches muscles to the spine and

pelvis. The glutes, or rear hip muscles, attach to

pelvis. See the connections?


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the 4-week muscle plan

W E E K S 1 & 2EXERCISE Date Reps Tempo: Up/Down Rest

1A. Barbell Hang Clean 6-8 Explode/2 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

1B. Dumbbell Alternating Bench Press 8-10 1 s/3 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

2A. Barbell Squat 8-10 1 s/3 s 60 sSET 1

SET 2

SET 3

2B. Neutral-Grip Pullup 8-10 1 s/3 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

3A. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 6-8 1 s/3 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

3B. Dumbbell Curl to Overhead Press 8-10 2 s/2 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

4A. Half-Kneeling Cable Lift w/ Rope 8-10 2 s/2 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

4B. Swiss-Ball Plate Crunch 8-10 2 s/2 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

Perform this workout 3 days a week with at least a day of rest between sessions. Alternate

exercises with the same number (1A and 1B, for example) until you complete all of the sets in

that pairing. Only then should you move on to the next pairing. See below for details.


QUICKSTART GUIDE

INJURY-PROOFYOUR WORKOUTFitness should boost your body, notbreak it down. Most nagging injuries

are caused by pressure, friction,or tension, says Sean Collins, P.T.,Sc.D., physical therapy chairman atthe University of Massachusetts atLowell. Adjust your approach withthe following tweaks.

PROBLEM:Discomfort from the squat bar

CAUSE:The metal bar, combined

with the pressure of the weight and

insufficient cushioning, can rub the

bony vertebra at the base of your

neck.

FIX:Position the bar a half inchto an inch lower than you usually

would, to take pressure off the bony

protrusion, says Joseph M. Warpeha,

director of the exercise physiology

laboratories at the College of St.

Scholastica. If the bar has no pad-

ding, wrap a gym towel around it or

swap in a pair of dumbbells.

PROBLEM: Tender skin after

doing pullups

CAUSE:The portion of thicker flesh

just below your fingers jams beneath

the pressure of the bar, pinching withevery shift in weight.

FIX:To reduce impact, slide your

hand up to the bar to push the fleshy

part down and out of the way, says

Collins. Be sure to grip the bar at the

crease where your fingers meet your

palms, and then wrap your fingers

around it.

PROBLEM: Deadlift shin scrapes

CAUSE:The rough gripping area of

the bar (called the knurling) drags

against your legs as you lift, gratingyour skin.

FIX:Before liftoff, position your

shoulders in front of the bar and

your shoulder blades directly over

the bar, says Alexander Koch, Ph.D.,

an associate professor of health

and exercise sciences at Truman

State University, in Missouri. Youll

avoid pulling the bar into your shins,

resulting in a cleaner, safer lift.

If your biceps just dont seem to grow, try starting your workout with arm curls. Brazilian researchers deter-

mined that placing an exercise first in your workout allows you to complete more repetitions of the move with

a given weight. This means youre doing more physical work, which is the key to building more muscle, says

Alexander Koch, Ph.D., an exercise scientist at Truman State University.

TIP GROW BIGGER GUNS


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the 4-week muscle plan continued

W E E K S 3 & 4

EXERCISE Date Reps Tempo: Up/Down Rest

1A. Barbell Hang Clean 6-8 Explode/2 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

1B. Dumbbell Alternating Bench Press 8-10 1 s/3 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

2A. Barbell Squat 6-8 Explode/2 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

2B. Neutral-Grip Pullup 8-10 1 s/3 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

3A. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 6-8 Explode/2 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

3B. Dumbbell Curl to Overhead Press 8-10 1 s/3 s 60 sSET 1

SET 2

SET 3

4A. Half-Kneeling Cable Lift w/ Rope 6-8 Explode/2 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

4B. Swiss-Ball Plate Crunch 8-10 1 s/3 s 60 s

SET 1

SET 2SET 3


QUICKSTART GUIDE

MUSCLE FACT

19

PERCENTAGE INCREAS

IN ARM STRENGTH YOU

DEVELOP BY PERFORMI

CARDIO AFTERNOT BE

FORELIFTING WEIGH

SOURCE: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY

Taking time off between workouts doesnt make you lazyit makes you smart. Ball State University scientists

found that the muscle damage caused by pumping iron saps your strength for up to 2 days. In fact, lifters who

didnt wait at least 48 hours between bench-press workouts saw a significant drop in the number of reps they

could perform. Resting a muscle group properly allows it to heal completely, which is part of the growth pro-

cess, says Larry Judge, Ph.D. And strength is a great gauge: If youre weaker from one workout to the next, you

need more recovery time. Of course, you can still train on back-to-back days, as long as youre working different

musclesupper body one day and lower body the next, for example.

TIP GIVE IT A REST

MUSCLE SCIENCHOW RESISTANCE MAKESYOU STRONGER

The biology of muscle isnt rocket

science. At its most basic level is the

SAID principle, an acronym for specifi

adaptation to imposed demand. When

a muscle contracts against a large

amount of resistance, it adapts by get-

ting bigger and stronger, says Vincent

Caiozzo, a professor of orthopedic sur-

gery at the University of California at

Irvine, whos been studying muscle fo

nearly 30 years. Likewise, if a muscle

is regularly forced to contract for

long periods of time, it becomes more

resistant to fatigue. These adaptations

occur to reduce stress on the body,

which is why you can perform everyda

functions, like walking up stairs or pick

ing up a light object, with little effort.

Now lets apply the SAID principleto your workout. When you lift weights

you cause tiny tears in your muscle fi-

bers. This accelerates a process calle

muscle-protein synthesis, which uses

amino acids to repair and reinforce

the fibers, making them resistant to

future damage. And although this hap

pens at a microscopic level, the effect

becomes visible over timein the form

of bigger arms, broader shoulders, and

a thicker chest.

Understanding this process provide

you with a logical rationale for how

often you should train your muscles.In multiple studies, researchers at the

University of Texas Medical Branch in

Galveston have reported that muscle-

protein synthesis is elevated for up to

48 hours after a resistance-training

session. So if you work out on Monday

at 7 p.m., your body is in muscle-

growth mode until Wednesday at 7

p.m. After 48 hours, though, the bio-

logical stimulus for your body to build

new muscle returns to normal.


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Men's Health Pack on Muscle