Fat Burning Ladder SuperSet Workout

What the heck is a Fat Burning Ladder workout? A Ladder Workout is a training technique that I often use, especially with bodyweight / calisthenics workouts. It’s also one of the training methods I will be introducing in my upcoming ebook/ video program, Bodyweight MASS Builder. It’s a high-intensity, high-volume super-set workout that will build muscle, increase muscular endurance, and burn fat. It’s a simple but challenging form of antagonist supersetting that you can apply to almost any exercises, but which I find particularly well suited to body weight exercises. Here’s how you perform this workout protocol: choose two exercises, typically one pushing movement and one pulling movement (antagonist muscle groups), OR a lower body exercise paired up with an upper body exercise, and you super-set these two exercises, moving back and forth between them with minimal rest. But here’s where the ‘ladder’ technique gets interesting: you begin with only ONE repetition on one [...]

2020-06-08T17:04:42-04:00

Pre-Exhaust Training – Old School Mass Builder

One of my favorite advanced training techniques for hypertrophy (building muscle) is pre-exhaustion. This “old-school” method was used and recommended by some of the great golden-era bodybuilders from back in the day such as Casey Viator, Arthur Jones, and Mike Mentzer. However, I don’t recommend using this training protocol until you have a good foundation getting stronger with the big basic compound movements (such as squats, presses, and pulls). For myself, I like to alternate between a program like my Barbarian Strength Training and Pre-Exhaust Training every few weeks. […]

2020-06-15T22:00:11-04:00

12 Days of Christmas Fitness

Here's my gift to you: The 12 Days of Fitness (Christmas Workout). I had several of my clients perform variations of this program yesterday... it's a fun way to get in a decent circuit training workout for the holidays. There's 12 rounds of this circuit, each round adding another exercise with one more repetition (up to 12 repetitions for the final exercise, of course). It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to complete, depending on your rep speed and rest intervals. Here's the video tutorial I created for it (you'll be impressed by my angelic singing voice!):

2020-06-15T22:03:09-04:00

8 Benefits of Strength Training For Women

I wish all the women who are afraid that lifting weights will “bulk them up” would show me their muscle-building secrets! I’ve been busting my ass for years to gain a few more pounds of muscle mass! Where does this fear come from? Certainly not from personal experience. Men and women need to approach their resistance training program with a similar intensity. Of course there will be small variations in each individual’s workout, but to get results both men and women need to participate in a challenging strength training program as part of their overall exercise plan. […]

2020-06-14T19:48:00-04:00

Priorities of Function (Guest Post – Frank DiMeo)

For more than twenty years before I transitioned to the world of strength and conditioning; I was heavily involved with martial arts training. There was a very distinct progression of how we learned and trained. The priorities of function were adhered to and a very strong base of foundational techniques was established. For instance, the front kick was learned and practiced long before a back kick. A back kick would practiced long before a spinning back kick was learned. In strength and conditioning, the priorities of function are also extremely important. The main reasons for this are to invest your training hours wisely so the return on your investment is a solid base of strength and correct technique. If a person cannot do a full ROM bodyweight squat, he has no business trying to do a squat with a barbell. The human tendency is to be very impatient, and that can sabotage your progress [...]

2014-11-29T00:01:57-05:00

Nutrient Timing: Is There an Anabolic Window?

I used to be a strong advocate of consuming carbs and protein within an hour post-workout to take advantage of the supposed “Anabolic Window”, when insulin sensitivity is greatest, damaged muscles are starving for protein, and muscle glycogen stores are depleted and ready to suck all that nutrition in to support faster gains. However, I recently attended a lecture by Brad Schoenfeld in which he discussed nutrient timing, and questioned whether it was as important as many thought. Because of this lecture and the reading I did following it, I have changed my opinion… I no longer believe the post-workout “anabolic window” is as narrow nor as important as I once thought.  Let’s look at why. First of all, one argument in favor of consuming carbohydrates within 30 minutes post workout is that this would cause a spike in insulin which has an anti-catabolic effect and would increase nutrient uptake [...]

2020-06-14T22:05:39-04:00

Will Crossfit Bring You Gains or Pains?

We’ve all heard the expression ” No Pain No Gain.” Unfortunately I’ve seen far too many people have more pain than gain as a result of this philosophy. Part of the problem with an overly aggressive approach to getting in shape is that once you are injured you will have set yourself back significantly. As an example, let’s look at the popular yet somewhat controversial group fitness cult craze called Crossfit. Those who argue in favor of Crossfit insist it is a fun, effective, and intense approach to fitness that delivers fast results. Many believe it is also a terrific way to train for overall “athleticism”. => CHECK OUT MY ARTICLE IN THE TORONTO SUN ON THIS TOPIC! However, Crossfit has also gained a reputation for delivering more than it’s fair share of injuries as well. Part of the reason for this is the explosive nature of many of the exercises [...]

2014-06-24T23:00:30-04:00

7 Quick Ways to Energize Your Workout

It can be challenging to stay motivated to exercise regularly. In my experience people come up with all kinds of excuses, including: not having enough time, not having the money, or not having enough energy. I’m going to address the “lack of energy” issue by introducing 6 Quick Ways to Energize Your Workout. => CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT MY ARTICLE IN THE TORONTO SUN ON THIS TOPIC. 1) Caffeine: Caffeine is one of the most common ways people use to boost their “energy”. Caffeine, a chemical present in coffee, tea, soda pop, “energy” drinks, and some sports supplements, is a stimulant that will increase your heart-rate and mental alertness. Athletes will often use caffeine before training to improve performance. Consuming 100 to 300 mg of caffeine before your workout is safe and effective for most people (a cup of coffee is about 100mg). Just practice moderation and if you drink [...]

2014-06-24T13:01:49-04:00

Your Ticket to the GunShow (Big Arms Routine)

Every red-blooded man with hair on his balls wants bigger, more muscular arms. It’s in our DNA. This is now one of my big goals for 2014… I plan on adding at least one inch to each arm within THREE months! How the heck do I plan on doing this? Well, the first step to growing bigger arms is to focus on gaining some quality muscle mass over your entire frame, by following a solid hypertrophy / muscle-building program, such as my Basic Anabolic Hypertrophy Training (BAHT) program and nutrition plan.  I don’t recommend focusing on smaller muscle group too much until you have a decent base to build from.  I don’t suggest trying to add inches to your arms during a “cutting phase”, or while following a caloric deficit. You need to be ready to gain some weight. Check out my BAHT blog post HERE: Basic Anabolic Hypertrophy Training [...]

2014-01-25T23:10:15-05:00

How to Gain More Muscle Mass – GET BIG Program

After focusing on losing body fat for over a year, and successfully achieving a single digit body fat % as well as the coveted “six pack”, I’ve decided that I now look a little too “skinny” for my liking. So I’ve taken on a new goal, which is to gain a few pounds of muscle while minimizing fat gain. In preparation for this goal I’ve added to my knowledge of hypertrophy by doing a serious amount of reading, as well as speaking with other fitness experts who are well versed in the science of growing muscle. From what I’ve learned, I’ve put together what I believe to be a solid hypertrophy program. I’m about to list all the principles for WHY I set it up this way, so this may be a long post (bear with me!): I’m calling it BAHT (Basic Anabolic Hypertrophy Training). It follows some similar principles [...]

2014-01-25T14:56:09-05:00
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