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Posts Tagged ‘strength’

The Deadpool Mega Muscle Mass Workout – Part Two

October 6th, 2009

In Part 1 of the Deadpool Mega Muscle Mass Workout, I told you that:

By stimulating the hard to hit fast-twitch muscle fibers, even hardgainers can maximize the size, strength and power of their muscles.
To wake up those fast-twitch fibers, we need to use 1 of 3 different techniques:

Very Intense Concentric Muscular Contractions – ex. Partial range bench press or Isometrics
Very Intense Eccentric Muscular Contractions – ex. Plyometric movements (depth jumps)
Very Fast Concentric & Eccentric Muscular Contractions - like a hummingbird flapping it’s wings

After waking up the fast-twitch fibers, we hit them with…

Slightly Less Intense Concentric Muscular Contractions…through a full range of motion and performed as fast as possible. Think explosive bench presses.
Slightly Less Intense Eccentric Muscular Contractions….but we drastically increase the time under tension. Sloooowwww negatives on those bench presses.
With no pause at the top or bottom of the lift. The muscle is always under tension.

Today, I am going to give you some of my favorite Wake-Up Exercises and show you how to pair them with the traditional lifts to get the best results.

Wake-Up Exercises

For convenience, I am going to shorten my descriptions of the 3 style of wake up exercises.

Very Intense Concentric Muscular Contractions will be called “Heavy Partial Lifts” or “Isos”
Very Intense Eccentric Muscular Contractions will be called “Plyos”
Very Fast Concentric/Eccentric Muscular Contractions will be called “Vibrations”

I have broken the list of wake up exercises down by body part and/or body movement.

Hopefully, it is easy enough to follow, but if there’s a problem, please comment and I will update the post.

Here we go….

Traps

Vertical Shrug Movement

Heavy Partial: N/A
Isos: Isometric Shrug – Grab hold of an immovable object (ie. heavy barbell, pins in a power rack or even sit on a bench and grab the underside of the bench) and try to shrug it. The weight should not move. Hold for 2-5 seconds
Plyos: Slam Shrugs – Set up a power rack with the pins slightly lower than your shrug lockout height. Grab your barbell and position it beneath the pins. Then, shrug the bar HARD into the pins. Repeat for 3-5 reps
Vibrations: Using a light weight (dumbbells, barbell, bands, etc..), perform 5 shrugs as fast as possible. Remember, think hummingbird wings

Immediately after completing the wake up exercise, proceed to a set of heavy Barbell Shrugs – 3-8 reps

Horizontal Shrug Movement

Heavy Partial: N/A
Isos: Iso Face Pulls into the floor – Just like a regular standing cable face pull, except you are lying on your back and pushing your elbows back into the immovable floor – Repeat for 3-8 reps holding each rep for 1 sec.
Plyos : Reverse elbow strikes into a heavy bag – 3-8 reps per arm

Vibrations: Face Pulls using a Jump Stretch band – 3-8 reps – as fast as possible

Immediately after completing the wake up exercise, proceed to a set of Standing Cable Face Pulls – 3-8 reps

Shoulders

Overhead Pressing Movement

Heavy Partial: Standing or Seated Partial Shoulder Press out of a Power Rack

Isos: Isometric Shoulder Press – Shoulder Press into an immovable object - Hold for 2-5 seconds for 3-8 reps

Plyos: Medicine Ball Shoulder Press Throws- Repeat for 3-8 reps – think speed!!!

Vibrations: Shoulder press using bands – 3-8 reps – moving as fast as possible. Remember, think hummingbird wings

Immediately after completing the wake up exercise, proceed to a set of heavy Shoulder Presses – 3-8 reps – using either barbells or dumbbells

Lateral Raise Movement

Normally, I wouldn’t use this technique for an isolation exercise such as this, but feel free…

Heavy Partial: N/A

Isos: Isometric Lateral Raise – Lateral Raise into an immovable object (ex. Power Rack) - Hold for 2-5 seconds for 3-8 reps per arm

Plyos: N/A

Vibrations: Super-speed Lateral Raises using bands – 3-8 reps – moving as fast as possible. ala Speedy Gonzales

Immediately after completing the wake up exercise, proceed to a set of heavy Lateral Raises – 3-8 reps – using either barbells or dumbbells

Reverse Lateral Raise Movement

Normally, I wouldn’t use this technique for an isolation exercise such as this, but feel free…

Heavy Partial: N/A

Isos: Isometric Lateral Raise – Reverse Lateral Raise into an immovable object (ex. Power Rack) - Hold for 2-5 seconds for 3-8 reps per arm

Plyos: N/A

Vibrations: Super-speed Reverse Lateral Raises using bands – 3-8 reps – moving as fast as possible. ala Speedy Gonzales

Immediately after completing the wake up exercise, proceed to a set of heavy Lateral Raises – 3-8 reps – using either barbells or dumbbells

Biceps

Heavy Partial: Cheating Bicep Curls or Partial Range Bicep Curls – 3-8 reps

Isos: Isometric Bicep Curl – Curl a barbell into an immovable object (ex. Power Rack) - Hold for 2-5 seconds for 3-8 reps per arm

Plyos: Drop & Catch Bicep Curls – Start by holding a barbell at the top position of a bicep curl. As you start to lower the barbell, let it drop and catch it while your elbows are still bent. This will take some practice. You don’t want to drop the barbell. – 3-8 reps

Vibrations: Super-speed Bicep curls using bands – 3-8 reps – moving as fast as possible. ala Speedy Gonzales

Immediately after completing the wake up exercise, proceed to a set of heavy Bicep Curls – 3-8 reps – keep the form strict…not like the cheat curls

Triceps

Heavy Partial: Partial Dips, Partial Close Grip Bench Press or Partial Pushdowns- 3-8 reps

Isos: Isometric Close Grip Bench Press or Iso Pushdown- Your tricep force vs an immovable object (ex. Power Rack) - Hold for 2-5 seconds for 3-8 reps

Plyos: Close Grip Plyo Push Ups – 3-8 reps

Vibrations: Super-speed Pushdowns – 3-8 reps – moving as fast as possible.

Immediately after completing the wake up exercise, proceed to a set of heavy Dips, Close Grip Bench or Pushdowns – 3-8 reps – keep the form strict.

Okay, that’s enough for today. This post is too long already.

Tomorrow…another bunch of exercises

Enjoy

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Fit Kids Need Playgrounds

October 1st, 2009

Fear of dangerous strangers is keeping our kids and teens from using their neighborhood playgrounds and parks.

Instead, they stay inside and play virtual table tennis on their Nintendo Wii.

It’s not the same thing.

Researchers in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta, looked at perceived opportunities and barriers to physical activity in an inner-city neighbourhood in Edmonton.

Study data revealed three themes that influenced youngsters’ opportunities for physical activity, with positive and negative factors for each.The first theme identified was “neighbourhood characteristics.”

Positive neighborhood characteristics include “walkable” neighborhoods with plenty of parks and playgrounds and nearby amenities.

Negative neighborhood characteristics include perceived “stranger danger” fears related to drug users, bullies, prostitutes, gang members and fear of abduction deterred children and youth from visiting these places.

The second theme was “family involvement.”

Researchers found that while children and youth were rarely allowed out alone, involvement by a family member, for example, accompanying them to a park to play, increased their engagement in physical activity.

The third theme was the “availability of adult-supervised programs.”

On the positive side, we have neighborhoods with a large variety of programs offered by dedicated, hard-working staff and volunteers.

Conversely, neighborhoods with minimal resources; poor staff and volunteer recruitment and retention, and little public knowledge of program availability suffered badly. Even when kids did sign up for available programs, there was a high dropout rate.

Conclusion

If we want our kids to grow up fit and strong and healthy, we need to:

Take back our neighborhood parks & playgrounds (easier said than done)
Get involved with our kids’ lives…not just drop them off at the rec center
Push our governments for more public fitness programs

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The Deadpool Mega Muscle Mass Workout

September 17th, 2009

Since building the Squidoo Lens about Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool Workout, I have become a big Deadpool fan and am really looking forward to the movie. I think the studio made a great choice casting Ryan “Smart Ass” Reynolds in the role of Wade Wilson.

But, as I mentioned in the lens, Ryan is naturally a pretty skinny guy.

As a result, adding a whole lot of muscle mass was job #1 as he got ready to take on the role of Deadpool.

And he did a pretty good job.

But we can do better.

In Part 1 of this series, I outlined the concepts behind my Official “Make Ryan Reynolds your Beeyotch” Workout

In this post, I give you a mass building workout that will put Deadpool to shame.

And I have named it…

The Deadpool Mega Muscle Mass Workout

Like I mentioned in the previous article, the key to the success of this mass building phase is the focus on your nervous system and fast-twitch muscle fibers.

The theory is that since most hardgainers are slow-twitch fiber dominant, and slow-twitch fibers aren’t built for hypertrophy, we need to do something special to wake up those dormant fast-twitch fibers and force them to grow.

And here’s how we’re going to do it:

Each workout will consist of a series of 2-exercise supersets
The first exercise in each superset is designed to wake up the fast-twitch muscle fibers
The second exercise in each superset is designed to take advantage of the newly awakened fast-twitch fibers

How to Wake Up your Fast-Twitch Fibers

I was exposed to this concept about 15 years ago. At that time, I was training for powerlifting and strongman events. But my bench press was stuck. So, here’s what I did.

I would perform a partial bench press in a power rack with as much weight as I could handle. After a few sets of single reps, I would crawl over to standard bench press and attempt a maximum lift.

This technique allowed my to put over 30 lbs on my maximum bench press…after just 2 workouts.

The Theory

My strength was improved due to some combination of fast-twitch muscle recruitment and improved neuro-muscular co-ordination.

Since then, I have researched this topic…without much success. At least in the English speaking world. Those Russians were way ahead of us back in the day.

Anyway, most of you probably don’t care very much about the theory, so let’s move on.

The Wake-Up Exercises

I use 3 different methods to wake up the fast twitch fibers

Very Intense Concentric Muscular Contractions – that’s what I did with the partial rack bench press
Very Intense Eccentric Muscular Contractions – Plyometric movements
Very Fast Concentric & Eccentric Muscular Contractions - think sprints or throwing movements

Okay, your fast-twitch fibers are awake…now what?

Now we take advantage of those FTs, by exposing them:

Slightly Less Intense Concentric Muscular Contractions…through a full range of motion and performed as fast as possible. Think explosive bench presses.
Slightly Less Intense Eccentric Muscular Contractions….but we drastically increase the time under tension. Sloooowwww negatives on those bench presses.
With no pause at the top or bottom of the lift. The muscle is always under tension.

Reps, Sets & Bodyparts

Here’s where individual goals play a part.

Are you interested in athletic performance or just getting big and buff like Arnie?

My GPs were athletes, so I had them doing total body workouts. If they had been interested in appearance only, I would have had them do split body workouts (ie Back & Bis on Monday, Chest & Tris on Wed)

When it comes to rep selection, I had the GPs perform 3-8 reps on the Wake Up sets and 3-8 reps on the Work sets

For sets, I was much more fluid and looked at performance and time.

Max time for a workout was 45 min
But more important than time was speed. If I noticed a drop in the speed of movement, we shut everything down and hit the showers….not together. You get my point.

So, there you go. That’s the nuts and bolts of the Deadpool Mega Muscle Mass Workout

In the next installment, I will give you some examples of Wake-Up Exercises and show you how to pair them with the traditional lifts to get the best results.

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The Official "Make Ryan Reynolds your Beeyotch" Workout

September 14th, 2009

A few months ago, I created a Squidoo Lens about Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool Workout.

The lens was essentially an introduction to the workouts that Reynolds had to endure in order to transform his naturally thin (aka scrawny) frame into a muscular, ripped physique worthy of superhero status.

Since then, I have received a ton of emails from guys eager to build their own Deadpool bodies.

The only problem was that I was underwhelmed by the original workout.

It was good, but it wasn’t great.

Sure, it would help you look like a superhero, but it wouldn’t help you perform like a superhero.

So, I re-invented the Deadpool workout and spent the summer beta testing it on some willing victims up here in Toronto.

And, if I say so myself, I have come up with a seriously kick-ass training program.

Over 3 months, my 4 scrawny test subjects:

Gained between 5 and 14 lbs of muscle
Increased their max strength between 55 & 197% (Front Squat)
Saw their speed, power & anaerobic endurance go through the roof (Hill Sprints)

And, oh yeah, they also lost a ton of baby-fat in the process.
The average body-fat percentage at the beginning of the test was 21%.
At the end of the 3 months, the average body-fat was down to 9% (a Bod-Pod was used to measure BF%)

In short, by the end of the summer, my little guinea pigs didn’t just look like superheroes.

They were superheroes.

So, without any further ado, I would like to present…

The Official “Make Ryan Reynolds your Beeyotch” Workout

(Because this workout is too detailed for one post, I am going to break it into chunks – today’s chunk will outline the theory behind my madness)

Like the original workout, my MRRYB workout had two distinct phases.

Phase 1 – Muscle Building

The key to the success of this phase was the focus on the nervous system and the development of fast twitch muscle fibers.

Using a combination of high speed movements and plyometric style loading, my GPs forced their fast twitch muscle fibers to engage during part 1 of their 2-part supersets.

(Here’s how I activated their fast-twitch muscle fibers)

Once I had the fast twitch fibers turned on, I moved them immediately to part-2 of the superset.

In part 2, the GPs were able to handle loads much heavier than normal because of the activation of their hard to activate fast twitch fibers.

Taking advantage of this situation, part 2 of the superset consisted of explosive concentric movements combined with slow eccentric movements. The GPs were not allowed to pause at either the top or bottom of the lift.

And yet, due to the activation of the fast twitch fibers, the GPs were able to lift more than ever before, add more muscle than ever before and yet experience only moderate muscle soreness.

Depending upon the exercise, the muscle group and the techniques used, reps for each part of the superset ranged from 3 to 8 reps.

Phase 2 – Getting Ripped

Phase 2 is all about melting the baby-fat off of the newly built muscle.

To do that, I introduced the GPs to some particularly nasty HIIT and HIRT workouts.

And while I expected fairly rapid fat loss, I did not expect what happened.

For some reason, in the first week, each of the GPs lost over 6 lbs of fat.

And this is after almost 2 months of very intense training and a strict diet. They had already lost fat during phase 1.

I can only speculate on the reason behind the very rapid fat loss, but to be honest, I don’t care. I am more than happy to leave the science to the scientists. All I know is that this workout hit one out of the park.

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In the next installment of this series, I will get into the nuts and bolts of the workout.

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The "I don't have time to workout" Workout

September 3rd, 2009

No more excuses.

You do have time to exercise.

workout

If you only have 5 minutes to spare, do 1 of these workouts.

10 minutes = 2 workouts

15 minutes = 3 workouts….

…You don’t even have to go to the gym.

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The Rules

Each workout lasts 5 minutes (the set/rep combinations are suggestions based upon my experience with clients)
If you get to 5 minutes before you get to the end of the workout…STOP. 5 minutes max means 5 minutes max.
Each workout involves 2 or 3 different exercises
Perform 1 set of exercise A, then move on to exercise B
No rest between sets – the workouts are designed to be performed with no rest
If your form gets sloppy…slow down. Catch your breath. Good form is more important that getting one extra rep. Injuries suck.

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5 Minute Workout # 1

1. Air Squats - bodyweight only – 5 sets of 30 reps

2. Hindu Pushups – 5 sets of 15 reps

Try and complete all 10 sets in 5 minutes

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5 Minute Workout #2

1. Dragon Flag – 5 sets of 5-10 reps or 5 minutes (whichever comes first)

2. Shuffle or Scissor Lunges – 5 sets of 40-60 reps (20-30 per leg) or 5 minutes (whichever comes first)

Try and complete all 10 sets in 5 minutes

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5 Minute Workout #3

1. Spiderman Lunge – 5 sets of 12 reps (6 reps per side) or 5 minutes (whichever comes first)

2. Hip Thrust/Bridge – 5 sets of 40-60 reps (20-30 per leg) or 5 minutes (whichever comes first)

Try and complete all 10 sets in 5 minutes

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5 Minute Workout #4

1. Swing Snatch – 5 sets of 10 reps (5 reps per arm) or 5 minutes (whichever comes first)

2. 1 Arm Dumbbell Press – 5 sets of 10 reps (5 reps per side) or 5 minutes (whichever comes first)

3. Siff Lunge – 5 sets of 10 reps (5 reps per side) or 5 minutes (whichever comes first)

Try and complete all 15 sets in 5 minutes

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5 Minute Workout #5…my personal favorite

1. Jumping Bulgarian Squat – 5 sets of 20 reps (10 reps per leg) or 5 minutes (whichever comes first)

2. Band Woodchops – 5 sets of 20 reps (10 reps per side) or 5 minutes (whichever comes first)

3. 1 Leg Stiff Leg Deadlift – 5 sets of 10 reps (5 reps per side) or 5 minutes (whichever comes first)

Try and complete all 15 sets in 5 minutes

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Bonus Workout…if you have a partner

5 minutes of this…

BTW, Marv is another personal trainer from Toronto

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It HIRTs So Good

August 28th, 2009

I just finished destroying two clients with this workout.

Enjoy….

pdf version

Exercise Videos

Ab Roll-Outs

Hindu Push-Ups

Bodyweight Squats (Arms Overhead) – ball not required

Inch Worms

Body-Weight Row

Standing Angled Woodchop (DB/Plate/Med Ball)

Push-Ups

Side Lunge

Shuffle Lunge

DB Bicep Curl & Overhead Press Combo

Shuffle Lunge
Standing Face Pull

Glute Ham Raise (on pulldown machine)

Bodyweight Skullcrushers

Combo Pullover / Crunch on Stability Ball (imagine the ball)

Seated Shoulder Press

Reverse Flyes (DB, Band)

DB Hammer Grip Bicep Curl

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The Glute-Ham Raise

August 10th, 2009

The Glute-Ham Raise is one of my favorite exercises.

And yet, whenever I do it in the gym, people stare at me like I just let one rip.

Little do they know, that the GHR is my secret weapon when it comes to:

Developing brutally strong hamstrings and glutes
Strengthening my core
Building my calves & spinal erectors
Improving the functional strength, mobility & flexibility of your entire posterior chain (lower back, glutes, hamstrings and calves)
And bulletproofing my hammies against pulls, sprains and tears.

Plus, to be honest, I kinda like freaking out my fellow gym members.

So, if you are the kind of person who enjoys strong, shapely, injury free hams & glutes, check out this Squidoo Lens about the Glute-Ham Raise.

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Are You Tough Enough for This Workout?

August 5th, 2009

Are you tough enough to handle one of my custom HIIT/HIRT workouts?

hiit

And by handle the workout, I don’t mean just survive the workout.

I mean, can you push yourself harder than you ever have before?

Can you kick my ass at this workout?

Well, can you…punk?

The Workout

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Part 1 – The HIIT

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30 minutes of HIIT sprints on a Stationary Bike

10 min Cardio – Moderate level of intensity (12-13 on Borg Scale)
5 min of HIIT Sprints – 10 Sprints – (10 sec sprint : 20 sec active rest – Level 20 on the Borg Scale)
5 min Cardio – Moderate level of intensity (12-13 on Borg Scale)
5 min of HIIT Sprints – 10 Sprints – (10 sec sprint : 20 sec active rest – Level 20 on the Borg Scale)
5 min Cardio – Moderate level of intensity (12-13 on Borg Scale)

Note:

These are short duration sprints – 10 sec. As such, they are to be performed at Maximum Intensity.

(20 on the Borg – Perceived Exertion Scale)

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And when I say max intensity, I mean max intensity.

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A trick I use is to count the number of revolutions (1 leg) I pedal in my first 10 second sprint. For the rest of my sprints, I use that number as a target. I find that when I have a target to aim for, I push myself harder.

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The 20 sec Active Rests should be performed at a 6-8 on the Borg Scale…very, very light effort.

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Part 2 – The HIRT

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This second part of the workout is a 10 Minute HIRT Circuit consisting of 3 exercises, performed back to back with no rest between sets.

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Each set will consist of 5 reps performed in an explosive manner.

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We will be using bodyweight exercises.

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Push-Up – 5 Reps per Set – As Many Sets As Possible in 10 minutes
Body-weight Row – 5 Reps per Set – AMSAP in 10 minutes
Bulgarian Split Squat – 5 Reps per Leg per Set – AMSAP in 10 minutes.

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For most, body-weight will be more than enough resistance. However, if you think you can handle it, feel free to add some resistance (weight vest, chains, bands, plates, dumbbells…your choice). But, I don’t want you sacrificing intensity & speed just to add some weight.

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Remember, there is no rest between sets. Perform all 3 exercises in the same spot. I find that a Power Rack or Smith Machine works well for the Body-weight Rows. So, I just camp out there for the full 10 minutes using the bar (or a bench) for the Bulgarian Split Squats.

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PDF copy of the workout

So, do you think you can kick my ass at this workout?

Here’s how I did earlier today:

HIIT Sprints

All sprints completed as designed
Bike Resistance set at 80% of maximum
Fastest Revolutions per Leg in 10 seconds – 32 (3rd sprint)
Slowest Revolutions per Leg in 10 seconds – 24 (last sprint)

HIRT Workout

Push-Up – BW (248) + 20 lb Weight Vest for 100 reps
BW Row – BW (248) + 20 lb Weight Vest for 100 reps (Body held parallel to floor)
Bulgarian Split Squat – BW (248) + 20 lb Weight Vest + 25 lb plate for 105 reps per leg (Back leg on std. flat bench)

So, can you kick my ass?

PDF copy of the workout

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13 Training Mistakes You Need to Avoid

August 4th, 2009

Fitness training isn’t rocket science.

Good training & nutrition decisions produce good results.

Poor training & nutrition decisions produce poor results.

So, how come when I go to the gym this afternoon, I can pretty much guarantee that I am going to see a lot of intelligent, well-educated, gainfully employed people making some pretty stupid training decisions?

Maybe fitness training is rocket science?

Maybe I am some sort of fitness training genius.

So, as a public service to all of the non-fitness-training genii out there, here is a list of some of the training mistakes I will probably see at the gym today.

Try and avoid them.

Doing Cardio Training before Resistance Training
Doing Static Stretching before Resistance Training
Training Core before Legs
Chugging a Gatorade while reading a book on the Exercise Bike
Thinking that the Inner Thigh (Adductor) Machine is going to work some sort of magic.
Ignoring your Weaknesses and over-training your Strengths
Believing that Core Training is all about Crunches & Planks
Training Body Parts instead of Body Movements
Believing that you can Out-Train a Bad Diet
Making chronic neck & shoulder pain worse by ignoring your postural muscles
Thinking that Resistance Training will make you too big
Thinking that Cardio training will make you too small
Performing a one size fits all type of fitness program

And if you see yourself on the list and want to change your evil ways, feel free to comment.

I or one of your fellow readers would be glad to lend a hand.

Addendum

I just received an email from a quasi-famous strength coach/trainer to the stars telling me that I was an idiot for believing that cardio prior to resistance training is a bad idea.

Personally, I can’t believe that he took the time out of his day to tell me off via email (wouldn’t a comment have been quicker?) but I would like to thank him because it helped me come up with another fitness training mistake:

Dogma

Believing that one way of training is the 100% right and that all other methods are 100% wrong.

Whether it’s hardcore cardio junkies or Crosfitters or bodybuilders of Yoginis, being close minded to different training methods seems prety stupid to me.

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Mechano Growth Factor

July 3rd, 2009

Scientists in the UK and Denmark have shown that elderly men are capable of dramatically increasing their muscle mass.

All it takes is some growth hormone and some deep knee bends (elderly man speak for squats).

Growth hormone???

Isn’t that the same stuff Barry Bonds was (allegedly) self-medicating with?

Well, yeah, but it’s okay because….because the doctor says so.

In fact, study researcher Dr. Geoff Goldspink says that this reseach “raises the question: Can age-related loss of muscle strength and increased fragility be ameliorated by the therapeutic application of mechano growth factor (MGF)?”

Question 1:

Is it morally acceptable to demonize athletes for taking GH or MGF or all manner of anabolic steroids and then turn around and put Grandpa on the juice?

Answer:

Next Question

Question 2:

What the heck is MGF?

Answer:

According to the Dr. Goldspink, MGF is a local muscle growth/repair factor (MGF).

This means that MGF is produced locally in response to mechanical stress and acts on those muscle fibers that produce it. And once released, that local MGF pulse lasts for a few days.

It is derived from the insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) gene by alternative splicing, but, owing to a reading frame shift, MGF has a unique C-terminal peptide. After resistance exercise, the IGF-I gene is spliced towards MGF which ‘‘kick starts’’ hypertrophy and repair of local muscle damage by activating the muscle stem cells as well as anabolic processes.

When you stretch your muscles during exercise, they start pumping out your own supply of MGF. That activates the stem cells that are already present in your muscles. And once “activated, these progenitor cells begin to divide, creating additional muscle fibres and increasing the size and strength of the muscle”.

Interestingly, loss of muscle mass in old age and in certain diseases is associated with an impaired ability to express MGF. In these conditions it seems that the muscle stem (satellite) cell pool is not adequately replenished.

Question 3: I’m young and loaded with growth hormone. Where do I get some of this MGF to kick start my anabolic process?

Answer:

Option 1 – You can buy a synthetic version of MGF on the internet. (link is strictly for illustration purposes. I am not advocating buying MGF on the web) Currently it’s expensive, but the price is expected to drop in the coming months.

And yes, this stuff is already popular amongst bodybuilders, strength athletes, professional ball players, old men aching to strut their stuff on the beach… In fact, the combination of IGF and MGF is preferred by many performance enhancement gurus over the use of straight GH as an anabolic agent.

Option 2 – Research has shown that MGF is a stretch sensitive growth factor. And not just any old 30 second static stretch. Both MGF and IGF respond much more strongly to clclic/dynamic stretching than to static stretching. This research jibes well with the research that shows eccentric resistance exercises to have a very powerful effect on MGF production. This makes sense as it combines muscle lengthening with increased mechanical stress (load).

So, what does this mean to you?

If you want to naturally increase your production of MGF and IGF and get bigger and stronger and more powerful, you need to stretch your muscles under load.

I would like to suggest 2 different methods to achieving this goal.

Eccentric weight training.
Resistence Stretching ala Dara Torres

But remember, this is bleeding edge science kind of stuff. Listen to your body and don’t do anything stupid. Also, go see your doctor for a check-up…turn and cough

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Health Habits

Posts Tagged ‘strength’

The Deadpool Mega Muscle Mass Workout – Part Two

Wake-Up Exercises

Related Posts

Fit Kids Need Playgrounds

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The Deadpool Mega Muscle Mass Workout

The Deadpool Mega Muscle Mass Workout

How to Wake Up your Fast-Twitch Fibers

Okay, your fast-twitch fibers are awake…now what?

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The Official "Make Ryan Reynolds your Beeyotch" Workout

The Official “Make Ryan Reynolds your Beeyotch” Workout

Phase 1 – Muscle Building

Phase 2 – Getting Ripped

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The "I don't have time to workout" Workout

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It HIRTs So Good

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The Glute-Ham Raise

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Are You Tough Enough for This Workout?

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13 Training Mistakes You Need to Avoid

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Mechano Growth Factor

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