Before I dissappoint too many people, this is not about how to get sexual turned on while working out. In fact, that should be the furthest thing from your mind at that time. I’m writing about increasing your concentration and motivational arousal to sufficient levels to maximize your results in the gym.

There are many psychological factors that impact the results achieved from your exercise or fitness program. I recently wrote about the importance of finding your motivation for changing your body, but that is just part of a bigger picture. For optimal progression, you also need a high level of arousal before as well as during the workout. I’m not talking about the arousal you get from checking out the opposite sex in compromising exercise positions, although this can make the gym experience more enjoyable. I’m talking about your level of arousal to complete the task at hand with the utmost enthusiasm and vigour. The fittest athletes in the world have many attributes in common contributing to their wellness. Sure, they have a high level of motivation, great discipline, exude great diligence in completing tasks but they also make sure that every workout is met with the highest level of arousal possible. So just how do they accomplish this and why are most of us in the dark about this seldom talked about, but crucial element to one’s training program?

Before I get into what it means to be aroused during your workout, I want to point out that I’m speaking to the trainees who want to get the most out of their gym experience. These are people who have a targeted goal to be a lot better physically than they currently are. For those who are only interested in “general fitness” and just go though the motions of exercise to feel good about themselves then high levels of arousal may not be necessary.

Establishing heightened arousal means to look within one’s mind to find those motivating factors that will increase performance and an adrenaline reaction. 

By definition, the word arousal means to stir up into activity or  elicit excitement. It can range in intensity from low (sleeping) to high (as experienced during a natural disaster).  A low level of arousal does not permit a high level of focus or concentration since it allows too many external distractions to enter your mind. Annoying gym music, excessive conversations in the training area, t.v.’s in every corner of the gym and pushy salespeople are all common examples. What happens is that low arousal inhibits adequate stimulation of the brain’s neurotransmitters, and the result may be a weak nervous signal that can affect yourworkout intensity. At this point it should be obvious that relaxation, deep breathing, and meditation are mental practices one should do before and after a workout, but not during.

Conversely, too much arousal can increase adrenaline, anxiety and muscular tension to such a degree that coordination difficulties can result. You may even find yourself oblivious to other important information; namely, a potential for injury while proper biomechanics deteriorate. This is especially true in highly skilled sports, such as hockey and football, where too much aggression ultimately results in error or injury. Therefore it should stand to reason that for a serious exerciser, their state of arousal should be one step below the highest level to avoid this problem.

A Question Of Sex

To achieve the best results from exercise, you must invoke a certain level of aggression or anger in order to become sufficiently aroused. It’s very common to see men displaying their aggression in the gym through their facial expressions and their grunting and moaning symphonies. Women, on the other hand, prefer to “suffer” in silence. Most women are raised to be “lady-like”, polite and different from men. Passiveness must be avoided if women want to achieve optimum results, whether it is to add muscle and strength or to lose fat. Just look at seasoned female athletes, they are very aggressive and they need to be aggressive to be competitive and to reach the pinnacle of competition. Regardless of your training experience or gender, aggressiveness and intense mental focus (without being concerned about what others in the gym think of you) takes practice.  I’ll offer some suggestions of how to do so shortly .

Are you not properly aroused?

Most people can identify when they aren’t  adequately aroused prior to a workout. Your mind wonders and you become easily distracted. You lack concern about how well the workout will proceed or how you will perform. You  lack enthusiasm or don’t not look forward to the exercise session. You may feel heavy in the limbs with no “bounce” in your step. If the goal is to maximize workout productivity, then you should watch for those signs and deal with them accordingly.

How to get aroused in the gym

You can increase your state of arousal , and the results of your training, by following a few simple guidelines. First, increase the rate of breathing, and focus on being energized. Eliminate any feelings of fatigue from the mind. Next, act energized; sustain good posture and perform some shadow boxing or household chores with vigour before exercise. Think of positive words or statements, like “energy”, “power”, “I can do it”, or “no pain, no gain”. Energized imagery can help to improve positive feelings, such as visualizing well-developed muscles, or an explosion of fireworks. Some people prefer to listen to upbeat rock music prior to exercise. Energetic music with 60 beats per minute is ideal during exercise since the music selections act as a metronome to maintain rep cadence. My personal preference is testosterone fueled hard rock of the 80′s to get things pumping.

It’s important, like anything in life really, to be cyclical in your approach. Your level of arousal should coincide with the demands of that particular workout or phase of your training. When the training is more demanding, these techniques can be used and backed off a little when the training demands are lower. For example, due to a lack of available energy and nutrients, it is hard to engage maximum mental fortitude when you’re in a fat loss phase . Conversely, an intense strength or muscle building program (where heavy weight and exhaustive workouts are used) would allow for a much higher level of concentration as the diet will likely supply the body with excess energy and nutritional support. In addition, you will find it easier to sustain your motivation long term on an exercise progam if you cycle or fluctuate your mental effort to avoid “mental burnout”.

As I always tell my personal training clients before each session, use your anger, resentment, jealousy or any other destructive emotion to facilitate the productivity of your workout. Not only will you release a lot of tension but you will have accomplished more than you ever thought possible.

Please leave your comments below!

Today’s post is based on an experience I had at the gym today while observing a fellow fitness professional spotting their client on the bench press. The end result was an unnecessarily awkward and dangerous failed attempt. These days I train my clients in a private studio, in part because I believed it would prevent me from witnessing the kind of  gym stupidity  that is quite rampant in commercial gyms. This isn’t surprising since most people don’t have personal trainers and those that do are usually receiving a lower quality of instruction. In a private studio I don’t see things like this too often but it still occurs. The kind of stupidity I’m referring to is trainees using inappropriate exercises or loads in respect to their current needs. When someone has a trainer guiding them, their common sense goes out the window and they pretty much do what the trainer says. Unfortunately this can have dire consequences.

The example I bring you today is the all too common, failed attempt on the bench press. Too much testosterone can elicit a false sense of invulnerability and when combined with an out of control ego you have a potential problem. Add to this an instructor that shares these same traits and it’s only a matter of time before he is referring you to his physio-friend or worse, to the emergency room. Here’s a case in point.

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Ouch!!!! There is no doubt that the Barbell Bench Press will probably always be the go-to exercise for developing raw upper body strength and muscle size. This is for good reason. Since the 1950′s, has become the most widely-recognized resistance movement in the world the one exercise most representative in the public mind of barbell training, the exercise the vast majority of people are most likely to want to do, and the exercise most often asked about by most people if they are interested in how strong you are.

Once you’ve been lifting for a while you will undoubtedly reach a level where you’ll want to challenge near maximum loads. Or maybe your lifting confidence is not where it needs to be because the exercise is new to you just need some insurance. Whatever the reason is you’ll eventually be seeking a spotter to satisfy these needs. Most people just ask the biggest guy in the gym to come, tell them how many reps they want and try to eek out those extra forced reps that are so popular among novices ( enter sarcastic tone  here). This can usually result in the scenario illustrated in the above video. You need to find someone you can trust to spot you and communicate well with them on your intent or your probably better off skipping the lift that day.

In case I didn’t get your attention earlier here’s another example. This guy actually has 2 spotters.

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How To Be A Competant Bench Press Spotter

Know your role.

Spotters should be there for safety, when there is a question of safety. Spotters should not be there to help with a set. Make this your rule in the weight room. No rep counts that is touched by anybody other than the lifter. If the spotter puts his hands on the bar during the first rep, and keeps them there for the rest of the set, then who really lifted what? If you and everyone you train with follows this simple rule, all the personal records you set will be honest ones.  Spotters should stay away from any rep that the lifter might finish alone.

The Handoff.

A good handoff is one of those rare commodities — there are more bad ones than good. A bad handoff interferes with the lifter’s timing, balance, view of the ceiling, and concentration, by attempting to participate in the rep. A good handoff spotter is experienced and appropriate with the timing and amount of bar contact, respectful of the mental requirements of the lifter, and, above all, conservative about when and how much to help.

Proper positioning.

The bench press spotter stands behind the head of the lifter, in the center of the bar. This position can be adjusted a little if necessary. The primary requirement of the position is that it is close enough to grab the bar, but far enough back that after the handoff so the lifter has an unobstructed view of the celling. From this position the spotter can do whatever might be necessary at the end of the set, from just watching the lifter finish the set, to securing the rack by shadowing the bar as it meets the uprights, to taking the bar out of a sticking point ( about the midpoint of the lift for most people).

If your lifter fails in his attempt.

The bar is stuck when it reaches a point of zero upward movement. Sometimes the lifter may be able to tell you to take the bar, and sometimes they won’t. This why the set termination point should be determined by the spotter. After you decide to take the bar, the amount of help you actually provide will depend on the situation and your correct assessment of it.

Identify your lifters experience level. 

When spotting an intermediate lifter with the last rep of the fifth set of five, the situation will warrant a different amount of help than in the case of an experienced lifter being spotted on a maximum single rep, or the case of a novice trainee doing the first heavy work set of his third workout. Each instance requires a different response in terms of how fast to react, how closely the bar should be followed, the amount of weight to take off, whether or not to help maintain bar velocity, or whether to take the bar to the rack or the safety hooks.

**A Note To All Lifters

A good spotter is hard to find and is probably more interested in doing their own workout than supervising yours. You don’t need every bench press set to be spotted. This is inefficient, unnecessary, and bothersome to other people in the gym who are trying to train. But if your gym contains mostly people who can’t be bothered to help you when it is legitimately necessary, you need to find a better gym. Get a spot when you really need to, and know when this is.

When done correctly and responsibly the bench press is arguably the best way to develop upper-body strength and a valuable addition to your strength and conditioning program. Train Hard Train Responsibly!

• It’s not just a man’s exercise you know. . .

   

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To expand on the use of supplements in a physique transformation, I’d like to focus on one of the most popular performance enhancing supplements of the last 20 years; creatine monohydrate. So why would you use creatine supplements? Lets first look at what it is and what it does:

Creatine monohydrate has always been known as a “bodybuilding supplement” because many users of creatine claim a 6-10 pound gain over a few weeks of creatine use. It is also widely reported to improve muscle strength and help weight lifters improve performance during resistance training. This occurs mainly when taken prior to exercise where creatine tops off CP (creatine phosphate) stores to better regenerate ATP. This enables the muscles to sustain more work at higher intensities with an increase in lactate threshold, i.e., less muscle burn and fatigue. Creatine consumed after exercise replenishes lost stores more quickly, and this enhances recovery ability.

I’ve used many forms of creatine in the past but I only want to focus on how it fits in to your own workout regimen. It is generally recommended that athletes take 20-25 grams per day for five days to load the system, then to maintain with 5 grams per day. The consumption of 5-10 grams per day starting two weeks out from a  physique transformation ( or any program peak period) will produce similar results. The latter method is less stressful to the stomach, with less gas and bloat. If you find that 10 grams per day causes stomach distress, reduce the dosage to 7 grams, then 5 grams then finally 3 grams until symptoms are no longer experienced. Many individuals can sustain optimum levels after a load-phase with as little as 2g per day.

A common side effect to creatine intake (particularly a high load period) is cramps. This is most likely due to the increased muscle water content that has diluted electrolyte levels. If cramps occurs, reduce creatine intake slightly, avoid drinking excessive water, and make certain to obtain plenty of electrolytes through the diet (and supplementation, if necessary). Often a reduction in creatine will do the trick.

Creatine does not need to be part of an advanced trainee’s off-season diet regimen since this class of athlete usually trains with less frequency ( but more intensely). Infrequent exercise provides sufficient time to build and replenish muscle creatine stores. Creatine consumption should also terminate after a physique transformation since the effects of increased stamina and muscle water retention are soon lost after 12 weeks, and this reduces any benefits of further creatine usage until the next transformation. Creatine stores also tend to remain high two weeks after discontinued use.

I should point out that the muscular results may not be noticeable for everyone. It has been shown that 20 to 30 percent of creatine users are actually non-responders and will see no benefit.  I would caution men from believing that creatine is a magic bullet that will  build muscles or make you a better athlete. Creatine supplements do not take the place of a well organized exercise program and diet.

Remember that supplements are just that; a supplement to meet your current needs that cannot be satisfied with conventional means.

If this post was useful leave a comment. . . .

I hope everyone is having an excellent afternoon and ready for another installment of the 12 week body transformation series.

This week you will focus on three things: Learning to train to muscular failure, continue with moderately intense aerobics and moderate calorie restriction. As you can see week 2 will be pretty much like week 1 but with a few adjustments.

Weight Training

Your weight training program now becomes a little more serious and intense (in terms of effort). More time will be spent on learning to feel the muscles contract to help achieve this increased perception of intensity. Remember that increasing ones lifting intensity requires extreme mental focus and determination. I often tell my clients to get a little angry when they lift weights.

The reason is because an angry person is a strong person because of the increased adrenaline production. This may be one reason men tend to be more intense with exercise, since, perhaps, women are raised to be calmer and nurturing and their demeanor reflects this. I believe this is why women often find it difficult to be aggressive when they train, particularly if it means grimacing or exerting themselves in public.

Regardless of your gender, you must make an effort to increase your level of effort this week and during subsequent weeks as well. I do realize that if you are new to exercise, any stimulus can be overwhelming at first. Don’t let this distract you from what you are capable of doing. When the muscles can no longer contract against the resistance then you’re there. Just because it gets uncomfortable doesn’t mean you should terminate the set. This is the zone you want to encourage and extend as long as mechanically possible.

Now that you’ve had some decent practice in the first week, it’s now time to adjust the number of sets you perform to match the level of exertion ( as described above) that you are experiencing. This means that the harder you work, the less sets that are needed to get the job done.

Once this number has been determined you will begin to increase the demands each week until your tolerence to weight training is at it’s threshold. For now however,  just focus on adding reps to each exercise every workout. It doesn’t need to be a lot, just more than you are accustomed to.

You will also need to change your routine to 3 workout split to allow for greater focus and volume per muscle group. If you follow a Monday/ Wednesday/Friday schedule ( as most do) you’d be advised to use something like this:

1. Mon- Back and Chest
2. Wed- Lower Body
3. Fri- Arms,shoulders,abs

or another option would be

1. Mon- Chest, shoulder and triceps
2. Wed- Lower Body
3. Fri- Back and biceps

Aerobic work and nutrition.

Nothing much changes here. Keep your heart rate around 60% of your HRmax. Trying to do more while simultaneously increasing the weight training demands will only result in sub optimal recovery and eventual burnout. The aerobics are best done on your off days, between weight training session to facilitate recovery and not hamper it. If you must perform it on the weight training days, understand that your strength and muscle building potential may suffer.

Your calorie consumption also must not change, in order to cope with the aforementioned training needs.

This should get you through week 2 of your 12 week body transformation. We”ll pick things up from here in the next post in the next post.

Please share your comments and progress if you’re giving this challenge a try….

Today I want to write about a subject that is closest to my heart.  In fact, it is the inspiration behind my Vancouver personal training business and the main focus of this blog - the art of transforming your body in 12 weeks.

First, let’s define what a body transformation is :  A body transformation is an intensive period in which an individual attempts to achieve the greatest change in body composition (loss of fat and increase in muscle) in a predefined time period. Why 12 weeks you ask? This just happens to the traditional time-frame used for most physique transformations.  This can certainly be set to a 6 week, 8 week or even 16 week body transformation depending on your goals and physical condition.

The popularity of transformations was established about 20 or so years ago when supplement companies enticed the public with expensive prizes in exchange for their dramatic before and after photos which were used to sell more supplements.  Since then, the 12 week body transformation has been the standard in demonstrating what someone is capable of achieving if the proper motivation and work ethic is applied.

One factor that helps make these transformations so impressive is that they are usually carried out by absolute beginners or recreational intermediate trainees.  Someone more advanced, who is already lean and closer to their genetic potential, has much less potential to make dramatic changes in their appearance.  Beginners respond well in part because their muscles have atrophied from disuse.  Their bodies overall have adapted to a sedentary lifestyle and when the muscles are “awoken” with exercise, the response is almost immediate.

If you have been training for a while let me ask you this question: when did you see the most dramatic results from your efforts in the gym? You’ll probably tell me that you got the best results near the beginning of the program.  This is when your potential for change is greatest, when you are most sensitive to the benefits of exercise and nutrition. You see, supplement companies aren’t stupid.  They set up campaigns to draw in the untrained, sedentary population (who are more easily influenced by quick fix solutions) and consequently end up with the best results in the 12 week program.  Was it the supplements that transformed their body? Of course not, although that is what the the supplement companies would like you to believe.

Ok, now that you know what a body transformation is, I’m going to set you up with a 12 week plan to help you achieve your best body.  I should note that this will only work for those who are new to vigorous exercise or have been seriously training for less than 6 months. More advanced individuals require a different protocol and wouldn’t likely tolerate the demands of a 12 week program.

Week 1- Starting Point

At this point you need to take some “before” pictures. Front, back and side profiles work best. Capture and store in a safe place until after the transformation. Next, take measurements of the waist (at the narrowest part), hips (at the widest part) and thighs (at mid thigh). Why these sites?  Because they are generally where you will see the most dramatic changes in girth. You can certainly measure other body parts if you desire.  If you have access to a body composition scale or caliper, then you’ll want to determine your body fat levels as well.

The first week will be characterized by 3 components: skill practice, moderately intense aerobics and moderate calorie reduction. Let’s look at each component . . .

Skill practice

You may need to devote about an hour a day for the entire first week (4-5 days) learning to lift weight properly so that your movements are smooth and controlled and learn to isolate the targeted muscles more effectively.  Make sure not to use more than 10 exercises per session to work the whole body while performing 3 sets of each for 8-10 repetitions.  Your exertion level should only  be  moderate and your lifting speed slow.  Use a cadence of 2 seconds as you raise the weight and 4 seconds as you lower it.  This will ensure maximum concentration on your part. Your exercise choices are highly individual, but try to balance your pulling and pushing movements (in the sagittal and frontal planes) as well as the upper and lower body parts.

Moderately intense aerobics

This week we’ll be focusing on calorie burning through an increase in activity rather than extensive calorie restriction.  Is initially difficult to increase activity levels AND reduce your intake at the same time without being hungry.  Include low impact aerobic activity for 30-40 minutes at a moderate effort level on a treadmill, bike, elliptical trainer or brisk walking. If you are really out of shape, you may need to start with 10-15 minutes.  Heart rate should be kept around 60% of your maximum heart rate (MHR).

You should also include low-effort activity as often as possible to enhance your metabolism and the fat burning process. This means using stairs instead of elevators, active stretches while watching T.V., flexing and  tensing your muscles whenever it’s convenient and walking a little faster all add up to more calories burned at the end of the week. Just move!

Moderate calorie reduction

The number of calories in a physique transformation is specific to the demands of the exercise and the current needs of the individual. Sorry, but you’ll have to figure this one out for yourself unfortunately. You must ensure that you eat enough food to get enough nutrients. So food quality must be high. Women should never go below 1200 calories and men should avoid less than 1600. Too few calories will not permit proper recovery from and execution of your exercise. It is also very hard to obtain all the essential nutrients your body needs if food intake  is excessively low and if exercise demand is high. So for this week we want only a 250 calorie deficit from your maintenance levels.  This because we want the exercise to do most of the work in the first week. There are many formulas out there to help you find the number but you’ll have to experiment to find your true maintainence calories and subtract the 250 from that.

Week 1 expectations

Your fat loss should not exceed a 1/2 pound per day for the obese, 1.5-2 lbs per week in the overweight, and 1-1.5 lbs/week in the relatively fit and lean. Losing anymore weight than this is usually the result of excessive fluid and muscle loss. This is to be avoided at all costs if you are to be successful in the long run.

In my next post I’ll give you the rundown for week 2. I do realize that I haven’t done everything for you since the processs is more complex than I can address in one post. Do your research and apply this plan and you should do just fine. Good Luck!

If this post helps you transform your body please leave a comment.

Well I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far. So what am I doing this weekend? Writing more content for you, my loyal readers of course. As always my goal for updating this blog is to give you some insight and practical strategies to make your workouts more productive. So let’s get started!

I am no different from most people who exercise, in that I like strong muscles and being healthy, but my prime objective and motivator to exercise is to look good. I enjoy seeing my abdominals, the vascularity in my arms, the detail and separation in my thighs, and the feel of pumped, firm musculature. It is a mental rush. I should note that I am not just speaking to bodybuilders but rather to anyone trying to promote an increase in lean muscle mass whether you are trying to improve your body composition , building strong bones or just increasing your overall longevity.The same rules apply to you too, if you are trying to achieve the optimal workout.

My personal obsession has inspired me to experiment with any and all types of muscle building training methods, to discover what works best to optimize development. Today I’d like to focus not so much on what a productive strength training workout looks like, rather on an almost forgotten but crucial element; what it feels like.

How does one know that a workout is optimal? There are several things that must be considered, but something that should not be ignored is the ‘feel’ of the workout. A productive workout (one that is deemed productive from the overall euphoria of a good mind-muscle connection) often is characterized by a skin-tight muscle pump and for the muscles to pump quickly and optimally.

“The Muscle Pump” is the tight, blood-congested feeling in a muscle after it has been intensely trained. Muscle pump is caused by a rapid influx of blood into the muscles to remove fatigue toxins and replace supplies of fuel and oxygen. Anyone with sufficient exercise (bodybuilding experience) is well aware and has experienced unusually good workouts, in that you can ‘feel’ when a workout was productive, that growth will occur from that workout (or is more probable), and always that feeling is accompanied by a very good muscle pump.

This is only reflected in those who are able to achieve or experience a pump, a phenomenon that is uncommon with many neophytes and some female trainees, perhaps because of lack of muscle tissue to allow for the muscles to ‘inflate’ sufficiently in order to sense a ‘pump. Different techniques tend to increase muscle pump better than other techniques or styles of lifting. The degree of muscle pump also seems to vary among individuals, exercise selection and  muscle groups. Beginners have a hard time feeling muscle contractions as they are still adapting to the neurological demands of learning a new skill.

It really comes down to experimentation whereby you need to find the best exercises, workout volume and load that allows the greatest pump. I should note that cycling for 2 hours has given me the best quadricep pump I’ve ever had but it hardly resulted in increased muscle mass since the other important muscle building factors were not present; load and time under tension.

The winning combination in optimizing building lean muscle mass, then, is to produce intense muscular contractions, which require a sufficient load that is controlled throughout the intended range of motion.All the while aiming to achieve an optimum muscle pump for whatever number of sets is required to achieve that “pump effect”. The directive of ‘intense muscular contractions’ is served best by trying to flex the muscle throughout the intended range, as if to squeeze into the movement, rather than merely lifting a weight without intentional flexing or squeezing of the muscle.

Many trainees lift weights, but they rarely forcefully flex the muscle being trained, and there is a difference in quality of control and net effect when the goal is to produce results with as few sets as possible. The squeezing of a muscle is an important point when performing  reps, since it is that squeezing that improves quality of movement and control over the exercise environment.

It’s wonderful that just about everyone from the media to your family doctor are promoting weight training, but you should now have a good idea that it is not enough to just go through the motions of lifting a weight ( although some is better than none) if you want to achieve the optimal workout for increasing lean muscle mass.

Share your thoughts on this post . . . .