The Master Race Super Trainer: A few years back I interviewed one of the world's most famous personal trainers for a nationwide muscle magazine. This guy trained celebrities and was tanned and lean and rich and related off the record and not for publication that "out of every ten new clients, only one or two make it." On average only 10 to 20% of those seeking his very expensive services ended up with the renovated body they sought to begin with.
What a pathetic success rate.
Not surprisingly this high profile "expert" was a scream-and-yell type dude and advocated a "one system fits all" approach. He used a lot of weird exercises and exotic machines and devices to differentiate his system from the equally weird and ineffectual systems championed by other experts. He routinely beat the living hell out of clients and used what he called a "disciplined approach." He was big on discipline and his system required clients "be perfect" from day one. Anyone that was unable to do so was dismissed as "not wanting it bad enough" or "weak minded" or "undisciplined."
How easy is it for a trainer to demand that clients "be perfect" 24-7-365? This guy insisted his mindless minions train five to seven times per week for 90 minutes at a shot and these supervised sessions were a little slice of hell on earth. Galley slaves had it easy by comparison.
He used brutal "giant sets" and loved to administer forced reps to beat the client down further. He insisted the most out-of-shape client start every session with a run on a treadmill during which he exhorted out-of-shape clients to 'pick up those knees!' Morbidly obese folks were told to run as if they were being chased by Jeffrey Dahmer waving a butcher knife. The Perfection PT told his clients to eat skinless, tasteless chicken breasts or $10 a pound fish, steamed broccoli and brown rice five times a day, seven days a week for the rest of their lives. Any deviation or questioning was evidence of "mental weakness."
No wonder Super Trainer had a pathetic 10% success rate. This sadist was at the apex of a Personal Trainer fitness pyramid: he had a legion of sycophant PTs spread across the country and they all used his cruel methods and tactics.
Savage Personal Trainers need to be great talkers. They make their living by being persuasive and compelling. They have silky smooth sales pitches and are experts at convincing prospective clients to join up: they relate that all that is keeping the client from undergoing a complete physical renovation is a few grand of disposable income. The gullible sign up and unknowingly commit to a modern version of the Bataan Death March. Bright-eyed eager-beaver clients predictably drop out of these non-refundable programs within a month or two. Not to worry: those "undisciplined losers" are instantly replaced by a new crop of fresh-faced eager-beaver recruits. Thus the process begins anew. This approach is definable and identifiable by its "one-size-fits-all" approach: be perfect from day one and stay that way, ad infinitum.
My approach differs dramatically. I have a near perfect renovation success rate that I attribute to only working with highly motivated individuals. I use a customized approach that is based on the premise that everyone's situation is different and everyone needs a different program, one that melds with differing physiological and situational realities. I establish easy initial benchmarks in three legs of the fitness triad and over time use "creeping incrementalism" to improve benchmark performances. Here are a few snapshots of some of my varied clientele. You'll note that each uses a differing tactical template. If you are interested in phone and personal training with me, contact me at the e-mail address provided at the end of the article...
Justin in Iraq: In my rural Pennsylvania neighborhood, the boys coming out of high school don't go on to college: they go to Iraq and Afghanistan and fight. I have a special place in my heart for the American warrior. When Justin approached me about e-mail training (no phone calls from the front lines) I took him on. Naturally this was free of charge. As a young 20-something soldier, Justin wanted to gain muscle and power and take advantage of a lot of free time between missions. We devised a five day a week rolling split wherein he would blast legs on day 1, chest on day 2, back on day 3, shoulders on day 4 and arms (biceps and triceps) on day 5. The military makes sure he gets plenty of cardio and provides him with plenty of calories. When not on maneuvers, he can eat often and can eat surprisingly healthy. His diet is Purposefully Primitive all the way: lots of protein and vegetables. Justin stands 5-9 and weighs 175. Here is a typical dispatch from him to me...
Last nights workout was awesome. It was the best one to date. I had someone watch my squat depth and all squats were well below parallel - 2 inches or more and all were paused. I really like this 'tri-set cycle' - my legs get a great pump. I took 8-10 mins rest between tris-sets. I will try to get someone to take a pic on the next leg day of my squats.
3 squat sets at 185x5, all paused and all super deep
3 leg curl 66x12 reps
3 calf raises 145x12 reps
After the workout I was pretty hyped up and excited. I would pause the squat for a split second then explode upwards. My form felt a lot better last night then it has so far. I love this stuff! Later!
Beck: Beck was an out-of-shape 59 year old determined to do something about his devolving physical condition. His goal was to weigh 199 by January 1. He stands 5-10 and started off with me weighing a biscuit shy of 230 pounds. I had him power-walk and perform the three lifts thrice weekly. He went on our lean protein/fiber diet. He came to visit on his first day and I walked him around the farm. Beck had to take a lot of breaks to catch his wind. In the gym he managed to plate squat 45 pounds for 5 reps and deadlift a 135 pound barbell for six reps. Fourteen weeks later Beck had shed 31 pounds of body fat, added five pounds of muscle and hit his goal of a 198 pound bodyweight 30 days ahead of schedule. He recently deadlifted 225 for a triple, bench pressed a pair of 55 pound dumbbells for three sets of 10 reps and has squatted 205 for reps. Here's a recent progress report...
Here's what I did to pre-empt Thanksgiving dinner:
Exercise sets Reps Weight
Deadlift 1 3 135
1 3 165
1 3 225
Lat PD (curl grip) 2 10 130
Lat PD (bench) 2 10 120
Lat PD (Behind) 2 10/8 100
I added some rear delt work plus T-bar rows for mid back. Did an hour of power-walking. The back of my left knee is still a little sore, but did not affect deadlifts - an old running injury. The three reps deadlifting 225 were heavy but doable. I find it interesting that 135 pounds (my first workout deadlift max) is now my warm-up weight in both the deadlift and the squat. That means the gains are consolidating as I go. Excellent! Proven results! Also interesting is that now I'm part of the unofficial "club" of serious weightlifters at the gym - not muscle heads, just guys that know what they're doing. Your program is recognized without my saying anything.
Jim V. Jim is 53 years old and sits at a desk all day long. He sought my services twelve weeks ago and when we commenced he weighed an out-of-shape 205 pounds standing 5-9. He immediately took to our limited menu of resistance training exercises and power-walking. Jim cleaned up his food selections, reduced his gourmet vino intake and in the first seventy days lost 35 pounds of fat and added 5 pounds of muscle: he now weighs 175 pounds. Initially Jim struggled with a 45 pound plate in the ultra-deep pause squat. A 54 pound kettlebell taxed him nicely in his deadlifts in session one. This past week Jim participated in a single-rep "report card day" and managed a deep 205 pound rock bottom-squat, a 195 pound paused bench press and a 265 pound deadlift. His cardio capacity has skyrocketed. Jim V and Beck are not atypical for our over-50 year old trainees.
Hey Marty, you wanted to hear from me as I performed the new workout
routine. The template for Day 1 was as follows....
I squatted 100 pounds for 1 set of 20 reps after warm-ups. I completed all 20 in good form. They started to really burn around rep 13 and everything past rep18 required willpower. I could have gone on and done 3-5 reps more if my life depended on it. I walked out of the garage looking like a young Steve Reeves. Calves: rep-out on each calf: rest, then a set of 20 using both calves. Good burn; 12 reps on left calve. 13 on right. 20 for a set using both calves. Man, when the calves quit, they quit! Overhead barbell Press: 45,55,65,75 pounds, all 8 rep sets - then 85 pounds for 5 reps. I did cardio this AM. Knees felt fine and it felt good to be outside again. The one problem I have is that the polar heart monitor gauge is not back lit so I have to stop under street lights to see where I am in terms of heart rate and cals. (It's dark at 5:00AM).
Bruce the Attorney: This 47-year old attorney started with me a month ago and was already lean as a steel post: possessing an 8% body fat percentile. Bruce was seeking to add muscle and we decided on adding one pound of muscle per week. At 5-9 he started off with me weighing 159 pounds. Four weeks into the program he now weighs 163. Bruce is a cardio machine: a multi-time Iron Man participant, he is a human anatomy chart. He indicated that he had never gotten any significant traction in resistance training but nowadays that is a thing of the past. To hit our goal of adding one pound of muscle per week for 6-10 straight weeks, Bruce needs to continually "feed the machine." As an experienced cardio athlete, he knows all about hard and sustained work. Here is a recent e-mail from Bruce...
Week 4; Day 1...Marty: here is the summary of today's workout:
*SQUAT - 3 sets of 10 reps @195; no problems
*BENCH - 3 sets of 10 reps @ 145; no problems; last reps on last set were hard!
*SUMO DL - 3 sets of 10 reps @ 215; no problems
Bodyweight is back up to 163 and fairly steady there. Due to some unexpected child related events, I did not get to do my 4 mile run but will probably do that tomorrow.
The Kiwi Doctor: I was approached by a medical doctor in New Zealand about personal training and I jumped at the opportunity. He heads a private firm and lives on a small farmette. This guy is no skinny-fat doctor lecturing you about health: 47 years old, he stands 6-3, weighs 245 pounds and had very specific and realistic ideas about where he was and where he wanted to get to. His goal was to hit 90 kilos (198 pounds) while improving his strength, muscularity and cardio capacity. He wanted me to 'look over his shoulder on a weekly basis' to keep him on track and focused. We converse weekly and he shoots me an e-mail three times weekly updating me on lifting and cardio sessions. His goal is to lose 2 pounds of fat per week for 10 consecutive weeks - while adding 5-10 pounds of functional muscle. He is dead on course currently.
Marty
Quite pleased - I made my 1.1 kg bodyweight reduction again. The resistance training is good - I can feel the effects after a workout but nothing is hurting. The cardio is good - I made a 1,000 calorie burn yesterday climbing on quite a steep hill nearby. Climbed about 1500 feet and jogged slowly downhill in 73 mins. Might try this once a week
Friday morning
Front Squats: 3 sets of 9 reps with 50 kilos. OK but wrists a bit uncomfortable at first - came right by 3rd set
Overhead Press: 3 sets of 9 reps w/ 30 kilos Last rep on 3rd set a bit hard, otherwise OK
Sumo Dead Lift 3 sets of 9 reps w/70 kilos. OK but breathing hard!
Slight tweak in my side neck muscle after the weights - maybe did a rep with bad form of something - pretty sure it was on the Sumo Dead Lifts which are the heaviest.
I have developed a shuffle/jog for cardio which works well. A full jog raises my HR to 80-85%. A fast walk on the flat is about 60%. The slow shuffle/jog is stable at about 72-74% and I can do 30 minutes non-stop. I will try for a longer session at the weekend - maybe 90 minutes and should be able to do this non-stop
Don from Dallas: With three young boys and a fulltime job, this man's most precious commodity is time. Weighing slightly less than 300 pounds, standing 6 foot, this former athlete had fallen victim to the "sedentary job" syndrome. Sitting at a desk behind a computer for 10 hours a day creates the ideal situation for adding body fat. Consuming fast food loaded with estrogen-inducing chemicals adds to the toxic stew; throw in the metabolic slowdown that infects men in their late 30s and you have a recipe for adding fifty pounds of body fat in five years. Don has been on the program for three weeks. Don echoed the New Zealand Doctor, 'I like being accountable each week and having specific - yet obtainable goals - this approach is workable for me."
Most heavy men learn to love weight training. They grow to enjoy the outdoor walking cardio using the heart rate monitor and predictably have problems with the food portion of the fitness equation. Don is highly motivated and by triggering some of that athletic muscle memory we'll get him squared up in short order.
Marty,
Came back today per your advice. Felt very strong for all of the benching - so I added 10 lbs to the last set...all very good paused reps. The three sets of 20 reps in the ultra-deep, weightless pause squats were all completed - but it was still a challenge. I felt good on the first set. 2nd set required some concentration and the third set was difficult. Sumo dead left weight feels good. All 5 reps on all sets were controlled. I used the water rowing machine for cardio and went for 35 minutes. I took breaks in order to let my heart rate come down to the 140's...Here's my most recent workout session...
Bodyweight squat - set 1 20-reps; set 2 20-reps; set 3 20-reps
Bench press - set 1 155x7; set 2 155x7; set 3 175x6
Sumo deadlift - set 1 165x5; set 2 165x5; set 3 165x5
Joe: This 240 pound athlete is a club level flag football player and sought my services in order to improve his innate athletic abilities. Joe bought an unusual set of problems to the table: quick and agile, he had developed chronic back pain that flared up when he weight trained or performed cardio. He feels his condition was undoubtedly linked to his high-impact all-out running during games and practice and the innumerable body blows.
Our problem was that orthodox weight training was triggering back-pain flare ups. I instituted a radical approach: on the squat and sumo deadlift I had him do three to five single rep sets. My old training partner, Mark Chaillet, built unbelievable size, power and strength on an exclusive diet of singles in three lifts: back squat, bench press and conventional deadlift. While no Personal Trainer on the face of the earth would prescribe single rep sets, being a counter-intuitive Purposeful Primitive, I know factually that singles can and do work in certain circumstances. This unorthodox road is working quite well so far....
Marty,
AM Training:
Front Squats: 195 x 1; 195 x 1; 195 x 1
Flat DB Bench (paused reps) 75 x 1; 75 x 1; 75 x 1
Sumo Dead: 225 x 1; 225 x 1; 225 x 1
Today was great! I finished the session in 30 minutes. Everything went up explosively. Squats are getting heavy but are still doable. Bench press is fine and I can't wait to hit the hundred-pound bells. Sumos were good. Every rep went up fast. My same day PM cardio work-out was as follows...Hill Sprints: 5 reps x 70-80 yards per sprint. 40:26 minutes duration and burned 541 calories. Avg HR was 146 - 78.9% of my Age-Related-Heart-Rate Max. High HR was 167 which is 90% + of my ARHR Max. My sixty second drop times were all 12-15 Beats Per Minute. I have been drinking an "energy drink" before I run and I think they were contributing to my low 60-second drop times. The drinks are loaded with caffeine and "fat-burners" and really elevate my HR. My partner noticed the same low drop times when he had caffeine before running. I will run "caffeine free" the next few runs to see the difference. Just for kicks I reset the heart rate monitor after the workout and kept it on until I got home. Here are the results: In 41 minutes I burned another 418 calories! My avg HR was 125bpm or 67.6% of ARHR max. Well that's it! Let me know what you think.
John the Coach: Big John stands 6-3 and weighs 350 + pounds. He is an offensive line coach at a small college and like so many football coaches John let his bodyweight get away from him. He had a successful college career and his playing weight was 275 pounds.
Our long term goal was to whittle him down to his old playing weight. John visited me last week and I put him through our ultra-basic no-weight squat, dumbbell bench press and sumo deadlift routine. He could not get over how difficult a proper, no weight squat could be. Despite years of squatting, he had never been shown how to squat correctly and the difficulty was eye-opening. His back muscles are much stronger than his leg muscles and he was allowing his hips to rise up at the start of every ascent. By forcing his tailbone to stay underneath his massive torso, no-weight pause squats gave him the thigh workout of his life. He power walks in his neighborhood every morning. Propelling his mass up and down hills allows him to easily attain the requisite 70-80% of age-related heart rate maximum. His cardio sessions are 30-minutes. Our goal is to lose 3-pound per week for ten straight weeks while simultaneously adding 10 pounds of muscle.
Marty,
Monday my bodyweight was 349.6 pounds. I got in 30 minutes of cardio.
Ultra-deep weightless pause squats:
Set 1, I made 20 reps, felt relatively easy, got tired on last couple, still relying on the hands to pull me upward a bit...
Set 2, I got 15 reps - the first 15 felt really good - so I thought I'd do 16 with hands out straight. . . Bad idea! I bottomed out!
Set 3, I used my handholds and made 18 reps. I may still be lifting my butt up a bit coming out of the hole - but I am definitely feeling it in the thighs! I am concentrating on pushing upward off the heels. Set 3 felt pretty good. I'm definitely getting low enough and improving. Not sure if technique is where it should be yet. But definite improvement!
Pause and stretch Dumbbell Bench press:
Set 1 - 40lbs dumbbells - 10 reps - really felt it on reps 9 and 10, but no problem.
Set 2 - 50lbs dumbbells - 7 reps - felt the bells were in the front of my shoulders.
Set 3 - 50lbs dumbbells - 9 reps and just couldn't get 10 up. Definite improvement.
Sumo Deadlift:
Set 1 - 5 single reps. First 3 were definitely best, last 2 bent a bit at the end.
Set 2 - 5 single reps. May have been over bending a bit, not sure, my legs were tired!
Set 3 - 5 single reps. Much better. Feeling it in thighs and lower back - to a lesser extent.
Still bending over a bit on the uplift; less so on the descent. Thanks again for your time.
If you are a motivated individual seeking to lose fat and add muscle, find out more about Marty's phone/e-mail personal training services by contacting him at MGSO@embarqmail.com
What a pathetic success rate.
Not surprisingly this high profile "expert" was a scream-and-yell type dude and advocated a "one system fits all" approach. He used a lot of weird exercises and exotic machines and devices to differentiate his system from the equally weird and ineffectual systems championed by other experts. He routinely beat the living hell out of clients and used what he called a "disciplined approach." He was big on discipline and his system required clients "be perfect" from day one. Anyone that was unable to do so was dismissed as "not wanting it bad enough" or "weak minded" or "undisciplined."
How easy is it for a trainer to demand that clients "be perfect" 24-7-365? This guy insisted his mindless minions train five to seven times per week for 90 minutes at a shot and these supervised sessions were a little slice of hell on earth. Galley slaves had it easy by comparison.
He used brutal "giant sets" and loved to administer forced reps to beat the client down further. He insisted the most out-of-shape client start every session with a run on a treadmill during which he exhorted out-of-shape clients to 'pick up those knees!' Morbidly obese folks were told to run as if they were being chased by Jeffrey Dahmer waving a butcher knife. The Perfection PT told his clients to eat skinless, tasteless chicken breasts or $10 a pound fish, steamed broccoli and brown rice five times a day, seven days a week for the rest of their lives. Any deviation or questioning was evidence of "mental weakness."
No wonder Super Trainer had a pathetic 10% success rate. This sadist was at the apex of a Personal Trainer fitness pyramid: he had a legion of sycophant PTs spread across the country and they all used his cruel methods and tactics.
Savage Personal Trainers need to be great talkers. They make their living by being persuasive and compelling. They have silky smooth sales pitches and are experts at convincing prospective clients to join up: they relate that all that is keeping the client from undergoing a complete physical renovation is a few grand of disposable income. The gullible sign up and unknowingly commit to a modern version of the Bataan Death March. Bright-eyed eager-beaver clients predictably drop out of these non-refundable programs within a month or two. Not to worry: those "undisciplined losers" are instantly replaced by a new crop of fresh-faced eager-beaver recruits. Thus the process begins anew. This approach is definable and identifiable by its "one-size-fits-all" approach: be perfect from day one and stay that way, ad infinitum.
My approach differs dramatically. I have a near perfect renovation success rate that I attribute to only working with highly motivated individuals. I use a customized approach that is based on the premise that everyone's situation is different and everyone needs a different program, one that melds with differing physiological and situational realities. I establish easy initial benchmarks in three legs of the fitness triad and over time use "creeping incrementalism" to improve benchmark performances. Here are a few snapshots of some of my varied clientele. You'll note that each uses a differing tactical template. If you are interested in phone and personal training with me, contact me at the e-mail address provided at the end of the article...
Justin in Iraq: In my rural Pennsylvania neighborhood, the boys coming out of high school don't go on to college: they go to Iraq and Afghanistan and fight. I have a special place in my heart for the American warrior. When Justin approached me about e-mail training (no phone calls from the front lines) I took him on. Naturally this was free of charge. As a young 20-something soldier, Justin wanted to gain muscle and power and take advantage of a lot of free time between missions. We devised a five day a week rolling split wherein he would blast legs on day 1, chest on day 2, back on day 3, shoulders on day 4 and arms (biceps and triceps) on day 5. The military makes sure he gets plenty of cardio and provides him with plenty of calories. When not on maneuvers, he can eat often and can eat surprisingly healthy. His diet is Purposefully Primitive all the way: lots of protein and vegetables. Justin stands 5-9 and weighs 175. Here is a typical dispatch from him to me...
Last nights workout was awesome. It was the best one to date. I had someone watch my squat depth and all squats were well below parallel - 2 inches or more and all were paused. I really like this 'tri-set cycle' - my legs get a great pump. I took 8-10 mins rest between tris-sets. I will try to get someone to take a pic on the next leg day of my squats.
3 squat sets at 185x5, all paused and all super deep
3 leg curl 66x12 reps
3 calf raises 145x12 reps
After the workout I was pretty hyped up and excited. I would pause the squat for a split second then explode upwards. My form felt a lot better last night then it has so far. I love this stuff! Later!
Beck: Beck was an out-of-shape 59 year old determined to do something about his devolving physical condition. His goal was to weigh 199 by January 1. He stands 5-10 and started off with me weighing a biscuit shy of 230 pounds. I had him power-walk and perform the three lifts thrice weekly. He went on our lean protein/fiber diet. He came to visit on his first day and I walked him around the farm. Beck had to take a lot of breaks to catch his wind. In the gym he managed to plate squat 45 pounds for 5 reps and deadlift a 135 pound barbell for six reps. Fourteen weeks later Beck had shed 31 pounds of body fat, added five pounds of muscle and hit his goal of a 198 pound bodyweight 30 days ahead of schedule. He recently deadlifted 225 for a triple, bench pressed a pair of 55 pound dumbbells for three sets of 10 reps and has squatted 205 for reps. Here's a recent progress report...
Here's what I did to pre-empt Thanksgiving dinner:
Exercise sets Reps Weight
Deadlift 1 3 135
1 3 165
1 3 225
Lat PD (curl grip) 2 10 130
Lat PD (bench) 2 10 120
Lat PD (Behind) 2 10/8 100
I added some rear delt work plus T-bar rows for mid back. Did an hour of power-walking. The back of my left knee is still a little sore, but did not affect deadlifts - an old running injury. The three reps deadlifting 225 were heavy but doable. I find it interesting that 135 pounds (my first workout deadlift max) is now my warm-up weight in both the deadlift and the squat. That means the gains are consolidating as I go. Excellent! Proven results! Also interesting is that now I'm part of the unofficial "club" of serious weightlifters at the gym - not muscle heads, just guys that know what they're doing. Your program is recognized without my saying anything.
Jim V. Jim is 53 years old and sits at a desk all day long. He sought my services twelve weeks ago and when we commenced he weighed an out-of-shape 205 pounds standing 5-9. He immediately took to our limited menu of resistance training exercises and power-walking. Jim cleaned up his food selections, reduced his gourmet vino intake and in the first seventy days lost 35 pounds of fat and added 5 pounds of muscle: he now weighs 175 pounds. Initially Jim struggled with a 45 pound plate in the ultra-deep pause squat. A 54 pound kettlebell taxed him nicely in his deadlifts in session one. This past week Jim participated in a single-rep "report card day" and managed a deep 205 pound rock bottom-squat, a 195 pound paused bench press and a 265 pound deadlift. His cardio capacity has skyrocketed. Jim V and Beck are not atypical for our over-50 year old trainees.
Hey Marty, you wanted to hear from me as I performed the new workout
routine. The template for Day 1 was as follows....
I squatted 100 pounds for 1 set of 20 reps after warm-ups. I completed all 20 in good form. They started to really burn around rep 13 and everything past rep18 required willpower. I could have gone on and done 3-5 reps more if my life depended on it. I walked out of the garage looking like a young Steve Reeves. Calves: rep-out on each calf: rest, then a set of 20 using both calves. Good burn; 12 reps on left calve. 13 on right. 20 for a set using both calves. Man, when the calves quit, they quit! Overhead barbell Press: 45,55,65,75 pounds, all 8 rep sets - then 85 pounds for 5 reps. I did cardio this AM. Knees felt fine and it felt good to be outside again. The one problem I have is that the polar heart monitor gauge is not back lit so I have to stop under street lights to see where I am in terms of heart rate and cals. (It's dark at 5:00AM).
Bruce the Attorney: This 47-year old attorney started with me a month ago and was already lean as a steel post: possessing an 8% body fat percentile. Bruce was seeking to add muscle and we decided on adding one pound of muscle per week. At 5-9 he started off with me weighing 159 pounds. Four weeks into the program he now weighs 163. Bruce is a cardio machine: a multi-time Iron Man participant, he is a human anatomy chart. He indicated that he had never gotten any significant traction in resistance training but nowadays that is a thing of the past. To hit our goal of adding one pound of muscle per week for 6-10 straight weeks, Bruce needs to continually "feed the machine." As an experienced cardio athlete, he knows all about hard and sustained work. Here is a recent e-mail from Bruce...
Week 4; Day 1...Marty: here is the summary of today's workout:
*SQUAT - 3 sets of 10 reps @195; no problems
*BENCH - 3 sets of 10 reps @ 145; no problems; last reps on last set were hard!
*SUMO DL - 3 sets of 10 reps @ 215; no problems
Bodyweight is back up to 163 and fairly steady there. Due to some unexpected child related events, I did not get to do my 4 mile run but will probably do that tomorrow.
The Kiwi Doctor: I was approached by a medical doctor in New Zealand about personal training and I jumped at the opportunity. He heads a private firm and lives on a small farmette. This guy is no skinny-fat doctor lecturing you about health: 47 years old, he stands 6-3, weighs 245 pounds and had very specific and realistic ideas about where he was and where he wanted to get to. His goal was to hit 90 kilos (198 pounds) while improving his strength, muscularity and cardio capacity. He wanted me to 'look over his shoulder on a weekly basis' to keep him on track and focused. We converse weekly and he shoots me an e-mail three times weekly updating me on lifting and cardio sessions. His goal is to lose 2 pounds of fat per week for 10 consecutive weeks - while adding 5-10 pounds of functional muscle. He is dead on course currently.
Marty
Quite pleased - I made my 1.1 kg bodyweight reduction again. The resistance training is good - I can feel the effects after a workout but nothing is hurting. The cardio is good - I made a 1,000 calorie burn yesterday climbing on quite a steep hill nearby. Climbed about 1500 feet and jogged slowly downhill in 73 mins. Might try this once a week
Friday morning
Front Squats: 3 sets of 9 reps with 50 kilos. OK but wrists a bit uncomfortable at first - came right by 3rd set
Overhead Press: 3 sets of 9 reps w/ 30 kilos Last rep on 3rd set a bit hard, otherwise OK
Sumo Dead Lift 3 sets of 9 reps w/70 kilos. OK but breathing hard!
Slight tweak in my side neck muscle after the weights - maybe did a rep with bad form of something - pretty sure it was on the Sumo Dead Lifts which are the heaviest.
I have developed a shuffle/jog for cardio which works well. A full jog raises my HR to 80-85%. A fast walk on the flat is about 60%. The slow shuffle/jog is stable at about 72-74% and I can do 30 minutes non-stop. I will try for a longer session at the weekend - maybe 90 minutes and should be able to do this non-stop
Don from Dallas: With three young boys and a fulltime job, this man's most precious commodity is time. Weighing slightly less than 300 pounds, standing 6 foot, this former athlete had fallen victim to the "sedentary job" syndrome. Sitting at a desk behind a computer for 10 hours a day creates the ideal situation for adding body fat. Consuming fast food loaded with estrogen-inducing chemicals adds to the toxic stew; throw in the metabolic slowdown that infects men in their late 30s and you have a recipe for adding fifty pounds of body fat in five years. Don has been on the program for three weeks. Don echoed the New Zealand Doctor, 'I like being accountable each week and having specific - yet obtainable goals - this approach is workable for me."
Most heavy men learn to love weight training. They grow to enjoy the outdoor walking cardio using the heart rate monitor and predictably have problems with the food portion of the fitness equation. Don is highly motivated and by triggering some of that athletic muscle memory we'll get him squared up in short order.
Marty,
Came back today per your advice. Felt very strong for all of the benching - so I added 10 lbs to the last set...all very good paused reps. The three sets of 20 reps in the ultra-deep, weightless pause squats were all completed - but it was still a challenge. I felt good on the first set. 2nd set required some concentration and the third set was difficult. Sumo dead left weight feels good. All 5 reps on all sets were controlled. I used the water rowing machine for cardio and went for 35 minutes. I took breaks in order to let my heart rate come down to the 140's...Here's my most recent workout session...
Bodyweight squat - set 1 20-reps; set 2 20-reps; set 3 20-reps
Bench press - set 1 155x7; set 2 155x7; set 3 175x6
Sumo deadlift - set 1 165x5; set 2 165x5; set 3 165x5
Joe: This 240 pound athlete is a club level flag football player and sought my services in order to improve his innate athletic abilities. Joe bought an unusual set of problems to the table: quick and agile, he had developed chronic back pain that flared up when he weight trained or performed cardio. He feels his condition was undoubtedly linked to his high-impact all-out running during games and practice and the innumerable body blows.
Our problem was that orthodox weight training was triggering back-pain flare ups. I instituted a radical approach: on the squat and sumo deadlift I had him do three to five single rep sets. My old training partner, Mark Chaillet, built unbelievable size, power and strength on an exclusive diet of singles in three lifts: back squat, bench press and conventional deadlift. While no Personal Trainer on the face of the earth would prescribe single rep sets, being a counter-intuitive Purposeful Primitive, I know factually that singles can and do work in certain circumstances. This unorthodox road is working quite well so far....
Marty,
AM Training:
Front Squats: 195 x 1; 195 x 1; 195 x 1
Flat DB Bench (paused reps) 75 x 1; 75 x 1; 75 x 1
Sumo Dead: 225 x 1; 225 x 1; 225 x 1
Today was great! I finished the session in 30 minutes. Everything went up explosively. Squats are getting heavy but are still doable. Bench press is fine and I can't wait to hit the hundred-pound bells. Sumos were good. Every rep went up fast. My same day PM cardio work-out was as follows...Hill Sprints: 5 reps x 70-80 yards per sprint. 40:26 minutes duration and burned 541 calories. Avg HR was 146 - 78.9% of my Age-Related-Heart-Rate Max. High HR was 167 which is 90% + of my ARHR Max. My sixty second drop times were all 12-15 Beats Per Minute. I have been drinking an "energy drink" before I run and I think they were contributing to my low 60-second drop times. The drinks are loaded with caffeine and "fat-burners" and really elevate my HR. My partner noticed the same low drop times when he had caffeine before running. I will run "caffeine free" the next few runs to see the difference. Just for kicks I reset the heart rate monitor after the workout and kept it on until I got home. Here are the results: In 41 minutes I burned another 418 calories! My avg HR was 125bpm or 67.6% of ARHR max. Well that's it! Let me know what you think.
John the Coach: Big John stands 6-3 and weighs 350 + pounds. He is an offensive line coach at a small college and like so many football coaches John let his bodyweight get away from him. He had a successful college career and his playing weight was 275 pounds.
Our long term goal was to whittle him down to his old playing weight. John visited me last week and I put him through our ultra-basic no-weight squat, dumbbell bench press and sumo deadlift routine. He could not get over how difficult a proper, no weight squat could be. Despite years of squatting, he had never been shown how to squat correctly and the difficulty was eye-opening. His back muscles are much stronger than his leg muscles and he was allowing his hips to rise up at the start of every ascent. By forcing his tailbone to stay underneath his massive torso, no-weight pause squats gave him the thigh workout of his life. He power walks in his neighborhood every morning. Propelling his mass up and down hills allows him to easily attain the requisite 70-80% of age-related heart rate maximum. His cardio sessions are 30-minutes. Our goal is to lose 3-pound per week for ten straight weeks while simultaneously adding 10 pounds of muscle.
Marty,
Monday my bodyweight was 349.6 pounds. I got in 30 minutes of cardio.
Ultra-deep weightless pause squats:
Set 1, I made 20 reps, felt relatively easy, got tired on last couple, still relying on the hands to pull me upward a bit...
Set 2, I got 15 reps - the first 15 felt really good - so I thought I'd do 16 with hands out straight. . . Bad idea! I bottomed out!
Set 3, I used my handholds and made 18 reps. I may still be lifting my butt up a bit coming out of the hole - but I am definitely feeling it in the thighs! I am concentrating on pushing upward off the heels. Set 3 felt pretty good. I'm definitely getting low enough and improving. Not sure if technique is where it should be yet. But definite improvement!
Pause and stretch Dumbbell Bench press:
Set 1 - 40lbs dumbbells - 10 reps - really felt it on reps 9 and 10, but no problem.
Set 2 - 50lbs dumbbells - 7 reps - felt the bells were in the front of my shoulders.
Set 3 - 50lbs dumbbells - 9 reps and just couldn't get 10 up. Definite improvement.
Sumo Deadlift:
Set 1 - 5 single reps. First 3 were definitely best, last 2 bent a bit at the end.
Set 2 - 5 single reps. May have been over bending a bit, not sure, my legs were tired!
Set 3 - 5 single reps. Much better. Feeling it in thighs and lower back - to a lesser extent.
Still bending over a bit on the uplift; less so on the descent. Thanks again for your time.
If you are a motivated individual seeking to lose fat and add muscle, find out more about Marty's phone/e-mail personal training services by contacting him at MGSO@embarqmail.com
Dear Marty:
Your methods are wonderful as are the latest book from you. I am 39 and have a "tendency towards hypertension" or am midly hypertensive. BP around 150-140/100-90 (resting HR at about 85) is the norm, without medication. I weigh 78 kilos and height is 174 cms or 5'10 almost.
What suggestions would you have in such a case? Would squats and dls be recommended for such a person?
Your comments would be highly appreciated.
Many thanks for the great insight on health and strength.
Don