Rest

How much time in the gym should be spent resting between sets? How much time should be spent sleeping outside the gym?

Dear BBQ,

Good questions, as you know rest is one of the four key components in an effective lifting regime (the other three being fuel intake, consistency, and intensity) and it is the most easy, but excepting consistency its the most often done wrong. 

How much rest should you get in the gym? 

As little time as possible. 

Seriously, its hard to find time and often you spend only an hour in the gym each day leaving 23 hours to rest up. You don't need to rest in the gym. 

My philosophy is that the time it takes to change weight or machines is more than enough rest time. I basically workout with one big drop set (a drop set is where you immediately drop the weight and start the "drop set" or next set with no rest. This allows you to work every layer of your muscles). Super sets (to "superset" exercises A and B you do sets in the following order: A,B,A,B, etc with no rest) also work well. Currently I superset my lifting with sixty seconds of cardio which keeps the heart rate up and makes you wish you were never born. Sometimes for a break I switch the cardio for another weighted exercise. Once I actually did six sets of three types of pull-ups and six sets of straight arm pull downs (total of 24 sets) in under 10 minutes. I recommend that for emotional therapy... 

How many sets should you do each day? Well, obviously it varies but I do at least 24 and often up to 48. I usually hit 2-3 body parts per day so thats about 8-10 sets per muscle group. It takes me about an hour and 15 minutes using cardio supersets and maybe 50 minutes with just double weight sets. 

Ok so what about rest outside of the gym? 

Sleep is key. Sleep at LEAST 7 hours a night (unless you are a teenager, then you should be sleeping 8-9 hours minimum). Your muscles grow when you sleep, not when you actually are lifting. Make sure to get slow digesting protein (like casein) before bed too. 

Power naps are golden too. Technically they should be between 15-25 minutes (or more than 3 hours) to prevent that awful feeling of death and tiredness that comes from napping sometimes. 

Ryan

Comparisons

Dear BBQ,

Its not a good idea to compare yourself to other people. Whether in the gym or in life, or the Christian walk. 

There will always be someone better, faster, stronger, harder, more dedicated, or more perfect than you, so constantly comparing yourself to them will cause depression. 

The fact is its not a bad idea to watch people who are older and better training to see what they do and how they lift, but don't worry if the other guy had bigger guns. Contentment is one of the keys to happiness, and its impossible to be content while judging how good you are  based on other's achievements, even if you are the best and biggest in your gym you will always be worried about losing that status. Just don't go there. 

Determine your fitness based on your past self, compare yourself to you a week ago, or a year ago, or ten years ago. Strive to improve always, but measure success by your personal achievements, whether or not everyone else has achieved bigger and better things. Be excited when you run that mile for the first time since 8th grade, when you deadlift or squat your weight for the first time ever, or when you make it up that mountain (literal or figurative). 

Ryan 

Jack LaLanne

Article from a British Mag

Jack LaLanne was a pioneer in the world of fitness.

The gyms that you see all over town? He opened one of the nation's first fitness gyms in 1936.

The machines that fill those gyms? He invented dozens of them.

All of those home workout videos and television weight loss shows? He was the man who first brought fitness into your living room. The Jack LaLanne Show was the longest-running television exercise program of all time. It was on television for 34 years.

And that's just his business career.

If you really want to be impressed, take a look at a handful of his personal fitness achievements.

Here are a few of the fitness feats that LaLanne accomplished:

• He swam from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco while wearing handcuffs.

At age 42, he set the world record for pushups by doing over 1,000 in 23 minutes.

At age 45, he did 1,000 jumping jacks and 1,000 pullups in one hour and 22 minutes.

At age 60, he swam from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf for the second time. This time he not only wore handcuffs, but also towed a 1,000 pound boat.

LaLanne was in such remarkable shape that he could do one-armed fingertip pushups while in a completely stretched-out position. Here's a video of him doing them on his television show. (You'll notice his dog, Happy, in the background. Happy was a longtime partner on the show with LaLanne.)

Click here to watch the video.

Ready for something really incredible?

To celebrate his 70th birthday, LaLanne swam 1.5 miles along the California coast from the Queen's Way Bridge to Long Beach Harbor. And he did it while wearing handcuffs and shackles on his arms and legs and towing 70 row boats holding 70 people.

What Made Jack LaLanne Different?

In some ways, LaLanne's accomplishments are so out of the ordinary that it's hard to translate them into our own lives. (I mean, I love doing fitness challenges, but I'm not planning to tow 70 boats anytime soon.)

Thankfully, there is a lesson you can learn from Jack LaLanne that applies to nearly everything in your life. You won't discover it by looking at his accomplishments, but rather by examining his daily habits.

The Daily Routine of Jack LaLanne

"The only way you can hurt the body is not use it." -- Jack LaLanne

LaLanne was a big believer in rituals and routines. He realized the power that consistent daily actions could have on his life.

Here are a few of the habits that Jack LaLanne reportedly did every day for decades:

• Lift weights and do strength training for 90 minutes.

Swim or run for 30 minutes (in addition to his strength training).

Eat 10 raw vegetables.

Eat two meals: a late breakfast and an early dinner (hmm... that sounds familiar).

Wake up at 4:00 a.m (in his later years, LaLanne "slept in" until 5:00 a.m)

Look at that list. It's not overly long, but imagine doing those things not just for one day or one week, but for 60 years like Jack LaLanne did.

Even at age 94, LaLanne was still exercising for two hours every day. Ninety minutes of strength training. Thirty minutes of swimming or walking. Ten raw vegetables. Every. Single. Day. For 60 years.

When we see someone who accomplishes something incredible, the easy way out is to discount it, chalk it up to natural talent or genetics, and claim that they were born with something you could never have. It takes the responsibility off of you. But the truth is that most incredible people -- even the ones who accomplish superhuman feats -- are simply more consistent than everyone else.

It was his incredible consistency that made Jack LaLanne superhuman.

When you look at Jack LaLanne's life, it's easy to focus on the big accomplishments and overlook the daily habits. Similarly, in your own life it's easy to spend all of your time focused on transformations, big goals, and rapid changes, and forget that it's the daily habits that lead to long-term success.

Success is any field is about lifestyle choices, not life-changing transformations. It's your daily routine that will carry you to wherever it is you want to go.

If Something Is Important to You, Schedule It

How did Jack LaLanne stick to his daily habits with such consistency?

Do you think he just waited until he felt motivated to workout each day? No way. His consistency has very little to do with willpower or motivation. Nobody is motivated every day for 60 years.

LaLanne knew what was important to him and so he scheduled it into his life. He started every day with strength training. Then he did his swimming and walking. Then he has his breakfast. Same order. Same time. Every time.

If you look at LaLanne's daily habits, everything had a time and place when it was going to happen. Can you say the same about your goals?

So often we tell ourselves things like "I'm going to eat healthier," or "I'm going to work out more," or "I'm going to start writing more" -- but we never say when and where these things are actually going to happen.

Carve out some time. Pick a date. Choose a place. Give your actions a time and a space to live.

LaLanne didn't rely on his willpower or motivation. He just stuck to his daily schedule. That's how all professionals approach their work.

Lessons from LaLanne: Keeping Life in Perspective

In his later years, Jack LaLanne was fond of saying, "I can't afford to die. It would ruin my image."

Eventually, he passed away at 96 years old. And in all of those years, I think one of his greatest accomplishments was holding onto his happiness as much as his health. Even with all of his fitness achievements, LaLanne didn't ruin the rest of his life in pursuit of a particular goal.

The balance between achievement and happiness is something that I think about often -- not just in my own life, but also in what I write on this site. I'm still working on it, but I believe that you don't have to be dissatisfied to be driven. There's no reason you can't love the life you have and want to make it better at the same time.

But it's not easy. Happiness and gratefulness require constant tending, much like diet and exercise.

Check out this three-minute clip from The Jack LaLanne Show where Jack LaLanne explains the importance of happiness and health, and the connection between the two.

Do you see how old that clip is? And do you notice how applicable the advice is even today?

Your happiness and your health form the basic foundation of your life. There's nothing new or complex about this -- despite what the newest commercials for health products, new drugs, and fitness programs want you to believe.

This balance between happiness and achievement is something that I'm working on getting better at, myself. WhatJack LaLanne showed us -- not just in his words, but also through how he lived -- is that you can do incredible things and have a wonderful time while doing it.

Basic Nutrition

Dear BBQ,

Here is the quick but NOT exhaustive list of basic nutrition that you asked for last week:

1. Eat naturally.

It doesn't matter as much what you eat as where it came from and whether or not the ingredients list is smaller than your thumb and does NOT contain the words: "enriched" "bleached" "white" or "corn syrup". 

2. Drink water and lots of it.

Get your calcium from plain greek yogurt instead of milk. Most of the sugar is drained out of the yogurt. Watch out foe flavored yogurt though. 

Its called a beer belly for a reason and its more than the calories in beer. Stay away from alcoholic beverages for the sake of your abs! 

Pop (or soda for you crazy confused people) is basically the devil himself. 

3. Eat a lot but not all at once.

Total consumption is not as important as timing. Eat frequently (every 2-3 hours) and eat till full each time, but no need to go hog-wild. 

Make sure to get around 20 grams of protein every few hours no matter what your goals are. 20 grams is about as much as the body and break down at one time (unless its fast digesting like whey). 

4. Don't avoid fats. 

Eat good ones though such as olive oil and cocoanut oil. Eggs also have good fats. 

5. Take a multivitamin.

No one gets all the nutrients they need. 

Ryan

Proper Form

Dear BBQ,

I know what you mean, we all get bugged by having to see those teenaged wanna-be's workout every day in the gym using awful form and half-hazard sets cycles. 

Proper form is absolutely essential. Period. 

I will go over some common mistakes people make:

1. Bad bicep curls.

Obviously the most common. People will swing their hips to get momentum to pull the weight up. Other times they don't straighten their arms all the way, and often they make a horrible combination of the two. The goal of curls is not to lift the most about of weight, that is for bench press and deadlift, the goal is to get a ripped set of guns. To correct this follow these steps:

A. Extend to joint lock. 

B. Go slowly and isolate each arm.

C. If necessary use a pulpit to do preacher curls. 

Now remember, it is perfectly ok to pull a cheat rep or two at the end of a brutal set to get some extra pump, just do most yours reps right. 

2. Not squatting all the way.

Ok so everyone thinks that they squat deep enough, but if your knees are parallel that only counts as half a squat. To squat full you should be practically sitting on the floor. These types of deep squats are called ATG squats. Don't ask what it means... 

I tried out ultra deep squats for the first time today and it was actually really cool. Just make sure to stop if your knees start to come apart. 

Remember to keep your back straight too. 

3. Bent back Deadlifts.

Keep your back ramrod straight or you will regret it when you turn 32... 

Workout near a mirror to check your form.

4. Partial Rep Bench Press.

Touch your solar-plexus (not sure if thats how its spelled) with the bar each rep and go slowly so you feel your muscles squeeze. Remember, you get stronger when your muscles work, not when you move a heavy weight. Knock down the weight and do it right. 

If you notice all but the deadlift, done wrong, allow you to move more weight. This causes problems because young weightlifters like to brag. Trust me, you gain muscle much faster when you do the exercises with proper form, and you also don't break your body to pieces. 

Ryan

Balance Your Physique

Dear BBQ,

You mentioned in your last letter how many people you see with chicken legs and massive upper bodies. 

You are correct, that is not how bodybuilders should look. 60-70% of your muscle mass is in your legs and no one should be called a bodybuilder if they only work on their "guns". 

No one has ever missed a chest and triceps workout, but every day thousands of traps, calves, forearm, and even back and leg workouts are pushed under the rug. 

Having a balanced physique not only makes you look much more "ripped" than someone who is unnaturally upper-body focused, but it makes your whole life easier because all your muscles are strong. 

 Go ahead and workout your arms and chest, but don't forget to do your squats, shrugs, forearm curls, deadlifts, pull-ups, and rows. 

You will notice on that list at least 3 of the 5 exercises that I have mentioned that everyone should do, but the deadlift rack is almost never occupied, squatting cages are usually taken by teenagers doing curls with ten lbs on each end of the bar, and the poor pull-up bar us often neglected. 

If you think about it it makes sense. People train the muscles that they can see. Arms and chest are obvious, but the back is harder to notice. 

Another majorly neglected muscle is the rear deltoid. People train the front deltoid excessively with presses, but the face-pull is rarely used. Training like this makes you look like a neanderthal-like C. 

Take time to make sure you are working your whole body equally and look like a beast! 

Ryan

Motivation

It happens every year... People set New Years resolutions only to break them eight days later. Often people try to commit to going to the gym, but why are so few successful in consistency? 

Good question BBQ:

It starts with the wrong definition of "going to the gym". People assume that unless you are lying on the ground in a moaning pile of sweat and blood then your trip was not successful. 

I'm here to say that unless you are training for a long distance racing event or want to be in the Superbowl its entirely unnecessary to kill yourself. 

That being said, it is important to try hard, just don't kill yourself, you won't be able to keep coming back if its THAT painful. 

The second problem is what exercises people always think of as "gym exercises". You know them: jogging, biking, elliptical-ing, etc. Let me tell you... If thats what I could expect to be doing for a few hours each time I went to the gym I would stop right now. So what do I do? 

You know I'm a firm believer in everyone lifting weights, and this just drives my point home more. Lifting weights is fun in a way that dull endless cardio is not. Cardio is monotonous and boring, weight training is explosive, quick, constantly changing, and really fun. What is the big difference? Well for one when you lift weights you can see obvious and satisfying improving when you pick up that heavier barbell, or get those extra few reps. When running all you have is a time and a distance. Perfectly good if you want to compete or if you just want to run able to run forever and ever, or if you enjoy that sort of thing, but its not very motivating to end up feeling dead.

As I mentioned before you do need both cardio and weights, but do HIIT cardio or something explosive and changing that also happens to burn a ton of calories. Have you ever noticed how good sprinters look? They train weights and sprints (the cardio equivalent of weight training). 

So to sum this all up BBQ, lift weights, lift hard, do new exercises every month, keep it exciting and fun, and you will both get into great shape and stay motivated much longer. 

Ryan

Running?

Dear BBQ,

You recently sent me a question:

"Is running good for you?"

My first reaction is yes, of course! I mean its so painful its gotta do something good!

But is that right?

The act of long distance or endurance running actually does have some benefits such as calorie burn and bragging rights (not to mention incredible endurance and ability to do something really boring for hours on end), but do the negative side effects make it worth while to skip the marathons?

The first problem with running is obviously the damage it does to your joints, and your knees especially. People who run long distances consistently are much more likely to have knee problems, ankle problems, foot problems, or even back problems if not running with correct form.

The second bone I have to pick with LDR actually applies to all forms of slow cardio such as biking, elliptical, jogging, running, etc. Loosing weight with low intensity, long duration cardio is actually neither very effective (average calorie burn of 100 per mile when running) or very good for you. It results often in being "skinny-fat" or losing lots of weight, but not getting really lean or toned and having "loose" skin, especially if you have lost a significant amount of weight.

This is a result of the body needing lots of calories and burning both fat and muscle in its search for fuel. True you lose weight, but its not just fat that you are losing, and I'm pretty sure we all want more muscle as well as less fat, if only so we can move easier.

"So running isn't the best option, but what can I do instead?"

Good question blog-beast-of-questions... (or BBQ for short)

First of all I should say that everyone in the united states should start lifting weights. Now before you start to rip my head off, hear me out...

Lifting weights is not only a great way to burn calories, but it also provides stress to the muscles making the body not want to catabolise  them for fuel. In addition it can also build some muscle making your life easier in every respect and making you look much better overall. The secret that lifting weights has is the long term benefits. When you run on a treadmill you get a pretty decent calorie burn while you are on it, but when you get off it stops. You get a slightly higher metabolism rate for perhaps 15 minutes, however when you lift weights your metabolism is boosted for up to 48 hours! This means that not only do you have to spend less time working out, but you actually burn more calories than strait cardio.

Now I know what you are saying... (If you are a woman)
"Lifting weights will make me bulky and I don't want all that extra muscle!"

Look... If lifting weights made you gain a ton of muscle magically then every single guy on the planet would be a ripped machine! In reality its extremely hard for a man to build muscle, much less a woman. It takes extreme dedication and an enormous amount of calories to gain a large amount of muscle.

Notice how must gym rats are really not very cut or large? It takes more than weightlifting to become big.

The second thing that all people should at least dabble in is HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training. In normal interval training you do a short section of intense exercise followed by several minutes of low intensity cardio. In HIIT you flip it on its head by doing several minutes of intense exercise followed by thirty seconds of total rest.

The calorie burn generated is staggering. Your heart rate skyrockets and stays high for a LONG time (up to 24 hours) after the workout.

"Well thats all well and good, but what about you? What do you do?"

Well I'm actually trying out something new right now, its called cardio acceleration. Its a program designed by Jim Stoppani, who holds a PhD in Sports Psychology or something like that and designs programs like this one. Normally I don't trust anyone who has a PhD in anything relating to exercise, but this guy actually tests his products out on himself, and the results are obvious.

Basically cardio acceleration is a weightlifting program designed to burn a heck of a lot of calories in a very short time while still hitting the weights HARD. What you do is start with a set of some weight exercise, such as the bench press, and then do a minute of cardio. Then you do another set of weights, and another round of cardio, and repeat that for however many sets you are planning on doing that day. Usually its about 24. This method keeps the heart rate high and provides a lot of cardio in addition to a lot of weight lifting in a very short time.

For more information or a workout calendar of his plan visit this link: Click me!

To recap I believe that low intensity cardio is not very useful, but if you enjoy it it still provides good exercise and at the very least it keeps you moving which is 100,000% better than nothing.
Start lifting some weights! Even if its not very much, but don't do it randomly. Look up on Bodybuilding.com some good exercises, follow a good plan (pick a good rep range) and get some crazy results!


Get results, or get out,

Ryan