The "B" Stands For "BEAST"

We all know it's important to get our vitamins and minerals.  Heck, we've been told that by our parents since the dawn of our days.  They were right to say so, vitamins are crucial to essential bodily functions and maintaining a healthy physical and mental state.  Every vitamin has a different job to do within the body (while some do overlap), so it's important to get a broad spectrum.  Some vitamins are water soluble, and some fat soluble.  The water soluble ones you can pretty much take as much as you want (though huge doses usually aren't necessary), where as fat soluble ones you don't want to overdose on, as that can have some nasty consequences.

Now you remember I wrote an article on why multivitamins aren't necessary in a highly clean and varied diet, and I still stand by that statement.  However there are a few vitamins that are definitely good to supplement if you live a certain kind of lifestyle.  For us gym-goers, who work out hard and heavy on a regular basis, one of the most important vitamins to supplement is vitamin B.

Why vitamin B?  Well, in Olympic weightlifting, there is an enormous toll taken on your central nervous system.  In fact, we lifters are almost never sore muscularly, as we have highly advanced recovery diets, massages, cold and warmth techniques, stretches, and other methods to ensure our muscles are ready to go another round only a few hours later.  The main issue with the sport is allowing the central nervous system to recover, which if left to its ways is a very slow process.  Pretty much the best methods of CNS recovery are: sleep, eat, and vitamin B.  That's right, vitamin B is actually quite helpful when it comes to restoring CNS function in a short amount of time.

There are a couple ways to effectively supplement vitamin B.  The first is to actually inject a vitamin B complex directly into the bloodstream.  This ensures extremely efficient absorption, and many people who get vitamin B injections say they feel like superman the next day.  Joint pain is gone, they feel wide awake, and usually cannot WAIT to lift.  Believe me, that's quite the change from the normal "zombie" state associated with lifting.

The second way is to orally supplement vitamin B.  While a B complex is best, I personally usually supplement very large doses of vitamin B-12, only one part of the complex.  B-12 is virtually impossible to overdose on, and therefore it's easy to take a LOT of it and ensure your body has all it needs.  Any extra will just come out in urine.  A word of caution though, just B-12 will not completely repair your CNS completely by itself (although B-12 by itself can have a large effect), it needs support from other B vitamins such as B-5, B-6, B-2, etc.  This is why it's important you do get other B vitamins in your diet, either through food or separate supplementation.  A person is much more likely to overdose on other B vitamins such as B-6, so don't take it in as large a quantity as you would B-12.

Oral methods of supplementation include pills/capsules, or liquid.

Here's a lot more information on B-12 and the entire B complex via the Livestrong.com site:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/410513-b-complex-vs-b12/

Now as you may have guessed, Olympic weightlifters aren't the only people who experience CNS burnout.  Anyone who hits the gym on a regular basis is at risk of "burning out," especially if you're giving it your all in the gym like you should be.  Don't be afraid of getting burnt, but try to avoid it if possible.  Get plenty of sleep, keep your diet up to snuff, and make sure you supplement your B vitamins.  They go a LONG way in ensuring you're able to perform at your best on a constant basis.

There's one more little thing I'd like to discuss about vitamin B-12.  The vitamin can be derived from two main sources, Cyanocobalamin and Methylcobalamin.  There's a rumor out there that the Cyanocobalamin version of the drug is harmful to your body because it's bonded to a Cyanide molecule.  There have been studies done on this claim, and all have shown that Cyanocobalamin has NO noticable effect on your body whatsoever.  Zip.  Zilch.  None.  This is good, because this version of the drug is MUCH cheaper than the Methylcobalamin version, specifically because it's synthetic.  It's also more stable, and more efficient at getting into your body.  

Don't want to take my word for it?  Here's an article describing exactly the same thing:

http://www.isagenixhealth.net/blog/2009/07/23/debunking-myths-about-cyanocobalamin-b12/

Before I end, I'll just add a little personal note in.  The very first night I took a 1500 mcg B-12 pill, I woke the next morning feeling SOOOO much better than I had the day before.  The feeling of mental fatigue and cloudiness was absolutely GONE.  B vitamins are an extremely powerful thing.  Take advantage of what they can do for you.  They're cheap, effective, and boy do they let you perform at your best.

Lift hard, lift often, be a BEAST, and as always, GOOD LUCK!

My Beef with YOUR Legs

All right, this here's my blog, and though I'll almost always give helpful, hopeful, kind and informative information, a guy's gotta blow off steam sometimes, right?  

I've recently had a string of circumstances in which I've overheard people discussing the infamous "leg day" in the gym.  Oh god, LEG DAY!  HOW AWFUL!  It's been nothing but moaning, groaning, and whining at how sore they are after their LEG DAY.  "Aw man, I hate walking up stairs after LEG DAY..." or, "Man I think I'm going to take my rest day today, I just hit LEGS yesterday and I can barely walk."  I usually just stand there, fuming a little bit, trying not to scream out at them that they have no idea what a real leg workout really is.  Luckily though, self control is one of my better qualities.

So what's my big issue with LEG DAY?  Well, while I can agree with a lot of bodybuilding philosophies, the dogma behind leg day is NOT one of them.  Sure, I can understand you may be sore after some high rep squats, leg presses, and lunges, but I won't tolerate the whining for days on end that follow such a "high intensity " workout.  I put high intensity in quotes because it's all really a matter of opinion, and I hate to say it, but most gym rats have no idea what some top level athletes go through to force their legs to the next level.  Allow me to explain, but before I do, understand that I AM going to bring up Olympic lifting and power lifting yet again, and because I am training for Olympic weightlifting you may think I'm biased.  You're entitled to that opinion, and you probably are right in a way.  I'm biased, sure, but for sound reasons.  Anyway....

Let's look at an amateur Oly weightlifter.  Do you bodybuilders have any idea what they're training entails?  Let's go through the motions of how their training progresses.  When they're  a stark, raw beginner, they're squatting moderately heavy/ heavy twice a week, and probably pretty light for one more day on top of that.  They'll then progress to at least four days of squatting per week, increasing both their volume and weight.  Pretty soon they'll be hitting at least 80% of their 1 rep max every one of their training days.  Once their body adapts, they'll increase the frequency of their training sessions.  A good amateur will be training about 6 days a week, with one double session thrown in there, in which they'll squat in BOTH sessions.  After that?  You guessed it, they'll add one more day.  At first they'll only squat light on this 7th day, but after a while this workout will build up to around the same level as their other ones.  They'll be hitting at least 85-95% of their max almost every day, for doubles and triples.  But this isn't even close to the end.  Oh no.  A professional, world class weightlifter will squat every day, two to three sessions, in which they'll max out multiple times on singles, doubles, triples, 5's, and sometimes even 10's.  On top of that, they'll be using weights that regularly exceed 500 lbs.  And that's just for squats.  Did I mention they do the same thing with snatches and clean/jerks?  Yeah, your leg day doesn't seem so hard anymore, does it?

Now THAT's some depth!

A common powerlifting workout schedule may not be as squat oriented as Olympic style weightlifting, but they're still working legs multiple times a week with far more intensity than you can really fathom.  They usually have one to two days entirely devoted to the heaviest squats they can muster, and usually one day devoted completely to deadlifting (again, at maximal loads).  These guys are the strongest of the strong when it comes to moving heavy stuff around, and they're doing reps with weight I couldn't move in any way, shape or form.  Do that multiple times a week, then complain about those lunges you used to do.

Bottom line, you'll build strength squatting heavy and squatting often.  You may think it goes against conventional knowledge of muscle recovery, but that's exactly the point.  You force your body to adapt to heavier weights, because you're lifting them so often.  Even me, the skinny kid from Vermont, has put about 100 lbs on his squat so far with the Olympic lifting technique, and it's only been about 6 months of serious training.  And that's self coached.  There's a reason the greatest Olympic athletes were squatting over 500 lbs by the time they were 19.  I think John Broz, one of America's finest weightlifting coaches, puts it best:

"If your family was captured and you were told you needed to put 100 pounds onto your max squat within two months or your family would be executed, would you squat once per week? Something tells me that you'd start squatting every day. Other countries have this mindset. America does not."

Now I don't mean to take anything away from serious bodybuilders.  Judging by the size of their legs, they know how to train to get what they want.  But that's just it.  They want size, definition, vascularity.  Strength comes in behind those.  Again, that's fine if that's your goal, but it certainly isn't mine.  I'd rather squat super heavy weight with big legs than medium/light weight with GIANT legs.

One more issue I have with a bodybuilder style leg workout, is the depth of the squats.  What the HECK are you guys thinking?  I regularly see these big fools get under a bar with WAYYY too much weight, groan as they barely manage to lift it onto their back (or neck if they're REALLY inexperienced), hunch right over and squat a full 4 inches.  WHAT ARE YOU DOING?  You're killing your knees, getting no real leg workout, and most likely destroying your lower back.  To get strength, you need to squat deep.  To squat deep, you need flexibility.  Look at any Olympic lifter, or even power lifter, they have ridiculous hip flexibility and can maintain a tight back even into the deepest of squats.  They're building solid legs.  Why aren't you?

NOT DEEP ENOUGH!!!!!

Anyway, there's my little rant.  To anyone around me, don't complain about leg days.  I may be a skinny kid with pretty skinny legs, but I'm still squatting 6 days a week, with double sessions every other day.  I don't find anything difficult about your stupid lunges, quarter squats, or leg presses.  And next time I see you straining to push 500lbs on the hack sled a full two inches, don't be surprised if you hear me chuckle just a little bit.

If you're looking for strength, squat heavy, squat deep, squat often, and don't cry about it.  GOOD LUCK!

Enjoying Health and Fitness

Today I'd like to cover a topic that you'd think would be a no-brainer when it comes to health and fitness, yet for some reason it always gets pushed to the back of people's minds.  It's like there's this evil aura that surrounds the health field, one that people believe they must live within and constantly ward off in order to achieve any REAL results.  But there I go with my wordiness again.  What I'm really saying is:  many people believe that in order to be lean, fit, strong and healthy, they must also be miserable.

Wait...what?  Isn't the whole point of being healthy to feel BETTER about yourself, your diet, and your overall physical and mental image?  Well, yeah, I think so.  But every day I see people at the gym, young and old, who are in torture, hating every second they're on that treadmill, despising every rep on that stupid chest press machine.  They go to the gym to leave the gym, and to say to anyone else that they WENT to the gym.  That's about it.  They eat healthy to say they eat healthy, not because they like eating healthy.  I hate to watch people choke down things they hate just because they think that's the only way to do it.  It's saddening, depressing, and makes me wonder what the health and fitness world is really coming to.

Listen:  in order to be successful, YOU HAVE TO ENJOY WHAT YOU DO!  Do you think you'll make any real progress in the gym if you hate its guts?  No, because subconsciously on every rep you'll cheat yourself, you'll work slower than you could, lighter than you could, and for shorter amounts of time than you are really capable of.  You'll never push yourself to your limits, because that's not where your mind is at.  You'll instead be thinking about how much you hate this place and can't wait to leave.  If your head's not in the game, you're not going to give it your all, and you're NOT going to see the results you really want.

Same thing goes with diet.  Sure, anyone can scarf down a salad, but if you hate everything that's on it, how likely is it that you can make that salad something permanent?  More likely in a week or two (or if you've got more dedication it can take a while longer, a month or year perhaps), you'll switch back to a couple slices of pizza for lunch, followed by a cookie, or whatever.  That healthy stuff will be far behind you.  If you don't like the food you eat, you won't keep eating it.

So the big question is, how do you ensure that going to the gym and eating healthy become enjoyable things?  That, my friends, is a GREAT question.  And unfortunately I can't give you any super solid answer, BUT I can give you some pretty darn helpful guidelines.  The gym's the easy part, I almost guarantee you I could find a way that would make you love to come each day.  Here are a few suggestions:

Find Lifts You Like:  This may sound stupid, but everyone has certain muscles that feel GOOD to push hard, and work to their limits.  I can't tell you exactly which muscles, because everyone is different.  I enjoy squats (as you can probably tell by now).  They make me feel strong, do my body a hell of a lot of good, and feel GREAT to get right.  Yes, they feel good, I'm not lying to you.  So there's your first tip.  Throughout the week try to work different muscles in different ways, and more than likely you'll find an exercise that makes you feel like a real beast.  No, you can't only work that muscle, but hey, it gives you something to look forward to throughout your workout week, and it's not like there will be only one muscle you like working.  More than likely you'll find a lift every day that you can at least be content to push hard on.  You'll teach your body how to more effectively target muscles, and more than likely more and more lifts will start feeling easier and more fun.  Awesome!

Relieving the Pain of Cardio:  OK, I'm with you on this one, I HATE CARDIO.  Luckily, as a weightlifter, I barely do any =].  But do as I say, not as I do.  Unless you're specializing in a weight related sport, cardio is very important.  And yes, it sucks.  I jogged for many years, and struggled to find enjoyable things about it.  But it IS possible.  What I've found is that once you hit a good pace, and your body equilibrates to the run, you don't feel so bad.  So my first tip is, if cardio is killing you in the first couple minutes, wait a few more, it'll stop hurting so much.

-Second tip?  Make it interesting.  Run a new route every day, or have a good set of running routes that you can cycle depending on how you feel and what you're in the mood for that particular day.  Also, I found that running "down and back" was quite depressing, because when you got to the turnaround point you knew you still had that whole damn stretch you just ran left.  My suggestion is to have someone pick you up at the end of your run, so you'll constantly be treading new ground, and things don't get repetitive.

-Third tip?  Make it even MORE interesting.  And by this I mean, vary the pace.  Like I said before, I'm a firm believer in high intensity interval training (HIIT).  Jog for a minute, sprint for 15 seconds, then jog again. It feels great to push yourself when you're sprinting (no I'm not lying, it does feel good, try it out) and it makes your run go by a lot quicker.  You'll also get awesome results.

-Fourth tip?  Do cardio with a friend.  My runs with friends were SO much more enjoyable than alone, and the constant distraction removes the feeling of monotony and fatigue.  It can be fun to run/bike/walk with others, and more likely you'll push yourself harder and be able to go for longer periods of time.  So buddy up and DO IT!

Get With The Program:  There are all sorts of other things that can help the gym become a place of new excitement.  I personally love setting new records, and that's what keeps me coming back 6-7 days a week. I LOVE IT.  Weightlifting is my thing, and hey, if you're interested in it then I suggest finding a weightlifting club near you to try it out.  You might love it just as much as I do.

And that's my final tip.  Find a program you like.  I like weightlifting.  You might like gymnastics, or Zumba, or group cardio, or salsa dancing, or spinning classes, or bodybuilding clubs, or WHATEVER!  Join up with someone or something and hit it hard!  You'll be surprised at how much fun the gym can be.

Now, onto dieting tips.  I know people take diets quite seriously, so I'm hoping these can really alleviate a lot of diet depression.  Don't get stuck with food you hate and end up chucking any chances of success out the window after a few weeks.  Read these tips and see if you can try a few out ASAP:

TRY LOTS OF FOOD:  Some people think that healthy foods are few and far between.  WRONG!  There are thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of healthy foods out there, waiting to be cooked up and eaten by anyone who cares to.  Fruits, veggies, carbs, proteins, fats, they're all there, and there's such a huge spectrum that I can 99.9% guarantee you will find a few foods in it that you will wholeheartedly enjoy.  Don't like that salad with carrot shavings you brought for lunch?  Fine, bring some chicken breast, apple slices and whole wheat bread with skim milk tomorrow.  Didn't like it? (seriously?)  Well then, tomorrow bring some shrimp, a portobello mushroom, and maybe an orange or banana.  Still no?  (wow...) Make yourself up a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter, and have some cooked peas and carrots on the side, or if you want something sweeter bring some fresh strawberries.

You see?  There are so many options, you don't have any excuse to say you hate all healthy food.  Read my other articles, find some foods you like, and try them.  Then, once you do, find a few more, and start constructing a diet you can't wait to eat.  I love what I eat, and it's a very clean diet.  I don't feel deprived, depressed, or crave crappy food (and this is coming from a guy who once ate pizza and brownies for breakfast.)

TRY LOTS OF RECIPES:  Same concept here.  Maybe simple food doesn't quite float your boat yet (it will eventually, if you keep at it.)  Until then, try a few complex, healthy recipes.  Grill up some fish and garnish it with vinaigrette and a few herbs, or make a healthy bean salad with salsa and corn, or bake some chicken with a coating of nice spices.  There are millions of healthy recipes out there, all ready to lose you some fat and build you some muscle.  Just do a little searching.  I have all sorts of recipes posted already, search through those as a start!  Don't be lazy, just spend some time making some awesome food and I bet pretty soon "healthy meal" will be your middle name.

Teach Yourself:  This one may not seem like quite as much fun, but it's quite valuable in the long run.  The basic concept being if you don't like a certain food, but know it's really good for you, give it one more try, and try to appreciate certain things about it.  Like I've said in previous articles, our taste buds are EXTREMELY adaptable, and can learn to enjoy just about anything.  I used to hate olives, but kept trying them.  I now enjoy them on every salad I have, and look forward to their powerful flavor.  Have an open mind, and tell yourself that you WILL like the food you're about to eat.  Your brain is powerful, and can do amazing things for you, including make an extremely healthy meal quite palatable.  Once you like the foods that you used to hate, it'll be a lot easier to keep eating them, right?


So there you have it, a few tips to make sure that you can actually enjoy a lifestyle of health and fitness, and in turn, strength, beauty and longevity.  Ah....doesn't that sound nice?  Don't be afraid to change up your routines, your diets, and your overall attempts at health multiple times until you start to find bits and pieces that you really enjoy and can fasten together into a healthier lifestyle.  Keep exploring, don't get stuck in a rut.  There are healthy things out there for everyone!

Keep it fresh, have an open mind, and this time especially...GOOD LUCK!!!!

All About Glycogen

I bet you've all had them.  Those days when you drag yourself to the gym, and for some reason can't lift even fractions of what you normally could.  You'll end up frustrated beyond belief at the end of your session, wondering why weights that you generally pull with ease just won't budge.  You may look in the mirror, and feel as if your muscles looks smaller, softer, and less "bulky" than they usually are.  You just may feel weak, a shadow of your formal, beastly self.  Why has all your progress suddenly come to naught?

The answer?  Glycogen depletion.

Glycogen is an extremely important substance that is stored in your muscles and in your liver.  It is the body's usable source of carbohydrates.  You've always wondered how all that food you ate ended up as usable energy.  Well, glycogen is the answer!  Your body basically converts ingested carbohydrates into glycogen, and saturates your muscles and liver with the stuff to use as an efficient and powerful fuel source.  Hence, after your workout (in which you've hopefully depleted a large amount of your glycogen stores), it would definitely be in your interest to consume carbohydrates with your protein (the ratio is under scrutiny, some say 2:1 carbs to protein, others say as much as 4:1) in order to initiate both protein and glycogen synthesis.  

Easy enough right?  To keep those glycogen stores topped off, keep some carbs in that post-workout meal.  But because you've read my other articles (you have, haven't you?) , you may, upon considering this information, have reached a quandary about replenishing glycogen stores.  You may have realized that there are multiple types of carbohydrates (namely simple, and complex).  So which does a better job of fueling up those muscles after a hard workout?  Or maybe you're wondering if it matters at all, as long as your muscles get those much needed nutrients.

Well we've established in previous examples that IN GENERAL complex carbohydrates are a more effective energy/nutrient source for your body.  They are released slowly and used efficiently, and are less likely to be stored as fat.  They'll give you lasting energy for long periods of time, and are the better choice for filling up those glycogen starved muscles.  Why aren't simple carbs quite as good?  Well here's a quote from a website I found that describes it better than I could:

"… complex carbohydrates … are more effective in replenishing glycogen stores than simple sugars. This makes sense because complex carbs are released slowly whereas simple sugars are released very rapidly, potentially overwhelming the glycogen synthesis pathways and "spilling over" into fat stores. Furthermore, the increased insulin release resulting from simple sugars causes more of the sugar to be converted to fat (Parillo, p.20)."

So there you go, glycogen stores are more effectively replenished via complex carbohydrates.  Good examples of easily consumable complex carbohydrate sources are maltodextrin and brown rice syrup, both of which can easily be mixed into a post workout protein shake.  

Brown Rice Syrup...lovely isn't it?

But simple, sugary carbs also have their place post workout.  In fact they play a very important role in initiating both glycogen and protein synthesis.  Simple sugars (like dextrose, a commonly used sugary carb in the fitness scene) will quickly spike your blood sugar, which allows muscles to rapidly absorb all sorts of nutrients.  In fact, post workout is about the only time you really want to voluntarily "spike" your blood insulin because it allows for all that good synthesis material such as amino acids, carbs, vitamins, minerals, you name it, to be sponged up by those soft, tired muscles in no time flat.  Pretty nifty biochemistry, if I don't say so myself.  

There it is, a simple explanation of muscle glycogen, and why it is so crucial in the strength/fitness scene.  Low glycogen levels=poor performance, and believe me nobody wants to feel like crap in the gym.  If you've come off a long training cycle, chances are your glycogen stores are very low.  Don't be afraid to take a day off and eat a good amount of quality carbohydrates.  Everybody needs a re-feed every now and then!

Keep those muscles fueled, lift heavy and run like the wind.  Good luck!

Reference Article (A great read if you have the time, delves into more complex topics about glycogen replenishment):  http://fitnessforoneandall.com/nutrition/article/glycogen.htm

Size v. Strength: The Great Debate

Ever since the dawning of the modern workout, there has been a great divide between two main trains of thought regarding muscular growth.  There were those who wanted to get BIG, and those who wanted to get STRONG.  Such desires spawned two completely different methods for lifting weights, and two completely different types of athletes.

For the time being, lets ignore the casual "I just want to get toned" gym-goer (although I will admit this is a large percentage of gym-goers...).  

When I say two completely different athletic builds, I really mean it. Put these guys next to each other and rarely will you see extreme similarities.  Make them train alongside each other, and the differences will become even more apparent.  The methods are DIFFERENT.  To get big, you must train in separate fashion than you would if you were specifically looking for strength.  Yes, some traits carry over from each method of training (an athlete looking for strength only will inevitably put on muscle mass), but I'll say again, in general they are distinct from each other.

Let's examine the methodology behind each muscular goal.  What goes into the workout, why does the method work the way it does, and how can you incorporate it into your own gym related endeavors?

SIZE:  We've all seen them.  The fantastically enormous bodybuilders that appear to be half man half gorilla, all muscle.  They're basketball sized biceps, ginormous pectorals, and shredded abdominals seem to defy some law of nature.  Yet there they stand, bigger than any human we've ever seen.  How do they do it?  Well aside from an extremely picky diet, and some "medical enhancement," it's all in the gym, and their method of training. 

Bodybuilders train for hypertrophy.  Hypertrophy is the increase of overall cellular volume.  More specifically, bodybuilders train for sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, and focus more on training their slow twitch, or I muscle fibers.  This basically means that bodybuilders train to experience an increase in cross sectional area of their muscles, and not really associated strength.  It's common to watch bodybuilders doing unbelievably high volume with very sub-maximal loads, at least relative to their muscle size.  Judging by their physique, it appears that they could throw a car above their head.  But in the end, they simply do not have the strength that they appear to have.  

But to them, this doesn't matter so much.  They train for APPEARANCE. And there's a lot to be said about appearance.  Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy allows you to look big and strong, often a more impressive trait than actually being as strong as an ox but only average in the muscular department.  This hypertrophy also more readily accelerates your metabolism, allowing you to burn more fat more quickly, and build that physique you've always wanted.  

How do you go about training for this type of muscle gain?  Well for building big muscle, you want a big rep number, with sub maximal weight.  Don't go super duper light, but work those muscles to exhaustion.  As you've probably heard before, FEEL THE BURN.  Super sets, drop sets, and negative reps are all great ways to overload your muscles for set after set to really ensure a good growth stimulus is sent to your brain and those muscles increase in volume as quickly as possible.  The most general rule for sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is to keep reps within the 8-12 range, for at least 3 sets (I've seen people do as many as 10-15 though.)  This is only a general guideline though, and I suggest heading over to bodybuilding.com to get a more detailed workout routine.  

STRENGTH:  Let me bring to mind an athlete you may or may not have heard of: Pyrros Dimas.  Dimas was a three time Olympic gold medalist for weightlifting.  He weighed in at a meager 182 pounds, yet lifted 473lbs over his head in the Sydney Olympics.  He was the ultimate example of a strength athlete, and is one of my personal heroes.   

So how is it possible that Dimas was able to get so ungodly strong without becoming enormous and inflexible?  Well he, and other strength athletes alike, train for Myofibrillar hypertrophy, or an increase in overall muscle fiber connections.  This type of training surprisingly does NOT drastically increase cross-sectional area or overall volume of the muscle being trained, but instead allows the muscle to contract with much more force than it could previously.  Believe me, to put that much weight over your head, you need a LOT of targeted, raw, force.  

Myofibrillar hypertrophy deals more with fast twitch, or type II muscle fiber, the kind often referred to as "usable muscle."  Athletes like sprinters, Olympic lifters, power lifters, and other related force athletes often have large amounts of fast twitch muscle.  This muscle contracts, as the name implies, hard and fast, and can apply great amounts of energy to objects in very short amounts of time.  It is not, however, very effective endurance muscle.  Muscles can only contract with remarkable force for relatively short periods of time, hence the reason that joggers, bodybuilders, Nordic skiers, swimmers, and other endurance athletes (I put bodybuilders in there because of their ability to hit fantastic numbers of reps, NOT their running ability, which I'm sure is horrendous) possess much more slow twitch, endurance muscle fiber.  

It's always good to get strength training into your workout routine, as being able to lift heavy weights is not only healthy, it also builds a more solid body and strong neural connections between your brain and your muscles.  So where do you start?  Well, first of all, drop the huge number of reps.  Next, increase the weight.  Finally, do this for a good number of sets, 10 or so.  For an olympic lifter, a squat workout program may look like this:  10 sets of 2 reps, every rep at around 85-95% of max.  Believe me, though it may look like an easy workout, it is anything but.  That weight is very heavy, and will ALWAYS be very heavy.  This type of training does work though, and I can personally vouch for it.  The majority of my training is strength targeted.  My squat has gone up around 90lbs in 6 months, and shows no signs of slowing down.  And I don't look too much different, implying I haven't experienced much sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.  Watch out Dimas, here I come!

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So which is the best way to train?  ....HAH!  What a silly question.  That's not possible to answer, and rarely will anybody who knows there stuff about exercising/fitness give you a straight shot one way or another.  For the average person, I suggest a mixture of both!  You'd like to look good and be strong at the same time, right?  Well that's a great goal, AND entirely possible.  Switch up your workout, either weekly, monthly, yearly, daily, I don't care.  Confuse your body, train both high and low reps, high and low weight, high and low volume.  You want to see benefits across the board right?  Well you will!  There's always carryover from each type of training.  Even though I said bodybuilders aren't relatively strong...well...I said RELATIVELY.  They're still unbelievably strong, because look at how much muscle mass they've got!  And sure, Olympic lifters aren't overly huge, but I mean they aren't exactly tiny either.  Train for both size and strength, and you'll get both.  Sure, what you'll always get isn't the BEST of either world, but it'll be a pretty good start into each one, and it'll do your body a huge favor.

Get big, get strong, and as always, good luck!

A Few Squats

Just thought a few of you might want to see what training involves, day in and day out.  This was my 5th day in a row of squatting.  Needless to say I was pretty tired.  Tomorrow I'm resting, then back heavy again on Saturday.  Yippee.

I plan on uploading a few more training videos in the near future.  Let me know what you guys think, and I could possibly include a few articles about Olympic lifts in general, though I am by no means an expert.

The first three were with 240lbs.  The rest were with 215lbs.  Believe me, after 10 sets or more, it gets pretty heavy.