Part 1 Fitness Myths

Fitness Myth #6 – Training the abs last.
Many people believe that you must train the abs last to avoid fatiguing the stabilizing muscles of the core. Although this sounds like a fair statement this has never been scientifically proven. If you think about which section of the body is the most important (the core) and what is most peoples biggest weakness (the core) it doesn’t make sense to train the core last when you’re already fatigued.

Fitness Myth #7 – Bodybuilding programs for fat loss.
Bodybuilding programs are for bodybuilders. Unless you are using drugs these programs will not work for you! It still amazes me how many people are still reading bodybuilding magazines, following their programs using “body-part splits” and “blitzing muscles”. The people writing most of these articles are’ nt even bodybuilders, they’re marketers from the supplement companies trying to deceive you, what looks like an article is probably an ad, look closer!

Fitness Myth #8 – You can out train a poor diet.
No matter how hard you train if your diet is poor, you will not see the results your training for. With the right nutrition you will be able to fuel your workouts far more effectively giving you a greater return in results.

Fitness Myth #9 – More is better.
Too much of a good thing can be detrimental to your training.
If you’re training;
• Too frequently
• For too long
• Without enough rest
This will lead to overtraining. Overtraining can lead to sickness, depression and injury.

Fitness Myth #10 – High reps cut.
There is no such thing as a “cutting phase”.
If you progressively lift heavier weights your muscles will grow, if you lift the same size weight as your previous workout your muscles will stay the same size, if you lift less weight than your previous workouts your muscles will get smaller. The only thing that determines whether you get the “cut” look is the size of your muscles and how low your body fat percentage is.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit

                        

If so use these guidelines as a blueprint for your strength training program.

There’s a lot of misunderstanding as to how beginners should begin their strength training program.

For some reason most people begin strength training using machines then progress on to free weights when they have ‘mastered’ machine weights. There is no need to ‘master machines’ because they take no learning – anyone can push a fixed weight up and down.

The reason we start beginners with a break in program is to prepare your stabilizing muscles for free weights. Your body needs to learn how to control, stabilize and then move your own body before lifting external weights.

Always train with your bodyweight first, (i.e. push up’s, bodyweight squats) before adding any type of external weight! (The only exception to this rule is if you have poor strength to bodyweight ratio).

A beginner will increase strength much faster than a seasoned lifter, use total body workouts or upper/lower body splits (training the upper lower body on separate days) There is no need to “blitz” individual muscles using bodybuilding routines (unless you’re a bodybuilder training 6 days a week and using a concoction of performance enhancing drugs).

Always perform large multi-joint exercises, which are exercise’s that use multiple muscles at one time.

Begin your strength training program with a ‘break in program’ using high reps (12-15) to prepare the muscles and tendons for the following programs which will increase in intensity. A beginner usually does not need to use any more than 2 sets per exercise, there’s no need to do anymore as your body has made very few adaptation’s to exercise.

Train movement patterns instead of body-parts and incorporate functional exercises into your strength training routine where you;

Push
Pull
Twist
Bend
Lunge
Squat

Don’t try to lift too heavy too soon and give your body at least 48 hrs recovery between workouts to let your body recover and adapt to the load your placing it under. Make sure you eat a meal high in carbohydrates 3 hours before your workout and be sure to consume a mixture of both carbs and protein within 15mins of finishing your workout. Eat a well balanced diet with plenty of fruits, veg’s and wholefoods and get plenty of rest.

If you have any questions please feel free to post them below.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit
Personal Trainer Sydney

                        

Just wanna ask you a question… Usually from what I have read, when you do exercise you
combine CHEST + TRICEP and BACK + BICEP in your workout routine.

(since triceps are used
as helpers on chest and it hits triceps secondarily)…

But is it okay If I will do BICEP
+ CHEST and TRICEP + BACK instead? Because every time I finished my workout on my chest
my triceps is getting tired already what more if I will do my triceps exercise I cannot
lift weights any more… My another concern is if I will do biceps is there will be a
problem or contraction between my triceps and biceps?

Because when I do the chest
exercise it warms up the triceps (also for back + triceps).

Hope to hear from you soon….

Jerome

A. Hi Jerome,

The type of workout your’e talking about is a relic from the bodybuilding days, unless you can train 2-3 hours a day 5-6 x per week are genetically gifted or using steroids there are definitely better ways for you to train.

If you’re the average guy training 3-4 x p/w for 45 min to an hour you’re much better off focusing on exercises that work more than one muscle at one time.

Instead of training chest and triceps or back and biceps or whatever else train the push and pull movement.

By pushing and pulling movements I mean horizontal push (i.e bench press), horizontal pull (i.e seated row), vertical press (i.e shoulder press), vertical pull (i.e chin up), lower body pull (i.e deadlift) and lower body push (i.e squat).

If you break down your upperbody day you’ll be training chest, back, shoulders, biceps all in one workout.

This system of training is very effective for getting the most out of your workouts because each muscle gets more exposure to training, and the more exposure a muscle has to training, the more adaption your muscles will have(be sure to give every muscle 48hrs rest between workouts) .

Core training should be included in every workout.

Here is a sample of one of our strength training workouts.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
www.dangerouslyfitpersonaltraining.com
www.personaltrainersydney.com

P.S If you have any questions please feel free to post them here on my new blog.