Cut Out the Excess, Stick with the Core

"I just read your article on Pyramid training and the ectomorph. I am a dad that is 'monitoring' my son's workout program. He would probably be what you would call an ectomorph. 5'8", 120lbs, 16yrs old. He is currently working out twice a week with this routine (Monday and Thursday). Doing 8-6-4-10 (70%, 80%, 90%, 60% of his max):

1. Smith Machine Bench
2. Tricep "push down" machine
3. Machine rows
4. Lat pulldown machine
5. Curl machine
6. Shoulder press machine
7. Squats (seated with free weights)
8. Leg extension machine
9. Leg curl machine
10. Calf raises on the same squat machine
11. Situps

"Is there anything he is doing wrong or he needs to change? I appreciate your help."

-Dwayne


MyAnswer- Looks fine, but there is one glaring problem with your list of exercises: You have too many of them. 4 sets per exercise with 11 exercises would put you at 44 total sets. Your son would be working out at least 90 minutes to 2 hours. Anything over an hour and 26 sets is overtraining.

Cut some of the exercises out and avoid training redundancy. You've chosen all machine exercises, but if your son started out with free weights, then you'd be able to eliminate this redundancy in training. Cut out the leg extensions and leg curls. If your son performs barbell squats, then his thighs should get enough stimulus.

Get rid of the sit-ups for now, as ab work is pretty traumatic for ectomorphs trying to gain muscle and size. Take out the triceps pushdowns and machine curls, since your son's arms will get enough work from the presses, rows and pulldowns. Your son's program should look like this:

1. Smith Machine Bench
2. Machine rows
3. Lat pulldown machine
4. Shoulder press machine
5. Squats (with free weights)
6. Calf raises on the same squat machine

Monday-Wednesday-Friday for 10-8-615

"Hey James, how are you doing? I was wondering what would the 10-8-6-15 program look like for a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule? I see that there are 4 different muscle categories of exercises:

A) Squats
B1) Bench Press
B2) Pulldowns
C) Laterals
D1) Incline Dumbell Curls
D2) Close Grip Bench Press

-Musai


My Answer: It's pretty clear in the article, Musai. The above series of exercises is the workout you perform every time: Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Exercise Substitutions on the 6 Factors Program

Just a quick update: I have a new article in the latest issue of Planet Muscle titled "Power Bodybuilding." The article addresses training for the entire strength spectrum: explosive power, maximal strength, hypertrophy and strength endurance. Pick up the copy at Barnes and Noble when you get a chance.


"Hi James,

"Just finished Strength and Physique, Volume One. Great book. I am interested in trying the 6 Factors Program. I have a home gym, but I don't have a leg extension machine or a cable stack. Would lying band curls be a good substitute for lying cable curls?

"As for finding a replacement exercise for leg extensions, what do you think of walking backwards on an inclined treadmill? I know it sounds strange, but it really works the quads. Set up is simple. Set the treadmill to a high incline (20 to 30 degrees) and a decent speed. Hop backwards onto the side of the treadmill and while holding the rails carefully move onto the treadmill and start walking. Hold onto the rails the whole time. Its kind of awkward at first, but a minute of this will leave your legs burning. The motion kind of mimics that of a leg extension with a shorter range of motion.

"Do you have any other recommendations for leg extension alternatives?"

Thanks,
Matt


My Answer: Backwards incline walking on the treadmill as a substitute for leg extensions is fine. Just be sure to limit it to one minute of walking, otherwise it'll turn into a cardio workout and not a bodybuilding workout.

You can substitute other exercises for leg extensions, such as:


Bulgarian squats:


Dumbbell reverse lunges:


With regards to lying cable curls, you can substitute barbell concentration curls:

Train Yourself

Everybody wants to outsource these days. You get your accountant to do your taxes, your maid to clean your house, your babysitter to watch the kids and your personal trainer to get you in shape.

What ever happened to learning to do stuff on your own? I find it funny that people nowadays, including men, are so quick to hire a personal trainer. That's great for trainers, but I think a lot of people have been misled to believe that getting into shape is too daunting of a task to do on their own.

I used to go to a small neighborhood gym where they didn't push a personal trainer on you. You learned by trying stuff out in the gym, observing how other guys worked out and asking for advice. There was a sense of camaraderie. More experienced lifters helped younger lifters, and respect was given to those who put in hard time and hard work to achieve a hard physique.

Nowadays, commercial gyms seem to be meat markets with men strutting around like peacocks. God forbid you give your friend training advice, because some trainer (if you can call him that) is going to remind you that training others is prohibited.

Personal training is overrated, because all of the basic information is out there. With enough knowledge and drive, people can train themselves. It's like cooking: lots of people cook delicious meals, and they never went to culinary school. Give me a good tasting burrito over foie gras any day.

I got a certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, which is the most respected certification. But frankly, most of the stuff I know I knew before I even got the certification from NSCA. Most people don't give a rat's ass about your certification. A certification doesn't mean your qualified, it just means you're not stupid.

Vince Gironda, who was the single greatest influence on bodybuilding, didn't have a certification or a degree. And yet he trained people like Larry Scott and Arnold Schawrzenegger. He was extremely observant, so in essence he taught himself.

Most of these training techniques (supersets, pyramid sets, 5x5, etc.) were developed by old time bodybuilders who were just experimenting and exchanging information. They didn't have personal trainers. And yet these techniques are practiced by gym goers all over the world and espoused by strength coaches with fancy degrees.

This is not too say that some people don't need a trainer. Some people just cannot, for the life of them, figure out how to do something as simple as a bench press, a sissy squat or a deadlift. You tell a guy to do a lateral raise, and he ends up doing a dumbbell flye standing up. Some people just can't seem to follow directions, and they leave out crucial details in their exercise form. These people need a knowledgeable trainer to troubleshoot their form.

People who also need a trainer are those bodybuilders who've plateaued. They've accomplished a decent physique, but they don't have the elite knowledge to reach their full potential. They've got the 80% that makes them good, but they're missing that crucial 20% that would make them extraordinary.

But if you're happy with good, then you don't need a trainer. Learn to do stuff on your own. Train yourself.

Quote of the Day

“I have never met a truly strong person who didn’t have self-respect. When I see guys working out for cosmetic reasons, I see vanity exposing them in the worst way, as cartoon characters, billboards for imbalance and insecurity. Strength reveals itself through character.

"Muscle mass does not always equal strength. Strength is kindness and sensitivity. Strength is understanding that your power is both physical and emotional. That it comes from the body and the mind. And the heart.

"The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back.

"The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black.

"I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.”

- Henry Rollins

7 Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat

So here's an interesting blog post by Tim Ferriss on the benefits of saturated fat:

7 Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat

Read the entire post when you get a chance, but in the meantime, here are the 7 reasons listed:

1) Improved cardiovascular risk factors (partly by raising HDL, the good cholesterol)
2) Stronger bones
3) Improved liver health
4) Healthy lungs
5) Healthy brain (your brain is mainly made of fat and cholesterol, BTW)
6) Proper nerve signaling
7) Strong immune system

Not only does saturated fat have the above health benefits, but saturated fat from sources such as meat, eggs, butter and coconut oil helps you gain muscle. If you didn't have saturated fat in your diet, then your body will have a hard time manufacturing hormones such as testosterone, the singular reason why men have more muscle than women as a whole.

BUT... before you go out scarfing down bacon cheeseburgers, you have to understand that eating saturated fat is only half the story. What the blog post doesn't tell you is this:

1) Eating saturated fat by itself doesn't give you a heart attack. But eating saturated fat with a lot of carbs will put in the triple bypass zone. So cut out white and brown carbs such as breads, pastas, rice, sugars, etc.

2) Although a high fat/high protein diet sounds great, without vegetables you're headed for constipation city. A meat only diet will get you ripped, but you'll burst a blood vessel in the eye from straining on the toilet if you don't eat your green leafy vegetables.

3) Eating meat and eggs all the time with few carbs is very healthy, and you'll look great because of the ripped abs and tight skin. But you have to eat organic. Organic eggs and grass fed beef have a higher omega-3 profile.

Muscle Specialization Programs

"Hello,

"I'm following the 20 pull-ups training program and am training pull-ups Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

"Is it safe to do other biceps exercises on Monday and Friday? Or should I leave out any other biceps exercises? I did 4 sets of curls yesterday, and it didn't seem to hurt. I did them about half an hour after the pull-ups and did squats in between."

-CS


My Answer: It shouldn't be a problem. In general when you do a specialization program, you'll need to put all other body parts on maintenance mode. So if you're doing a specialization program for pull-ups, then you have to scale back on your sets for body parts other than the back and biceps. That means 3-4 sets each for chest, delts, quads, hamstrings, calves and triceps during the pull-up program.