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John Christy's Fifty-two weeks of training
Hierbij plaats ik het trainingsprogramma van John Christy, genaamd "Fifty-two weeks of training". Dit is een trainingsprogramma van drie jaar. Het is gebaseerd op Beyond Brawn. John Christy van John Christy, Bodybuilding, Strength Training, Nutrition heeft drie jaar lang een gast Craig Rasmussen (nu personal trainer) met dit programma begeleid. Craig is in twee jaar tijd van 82 naar 112 kg gegaan met spectaculaire krachttoename. Precies wat ik ook wil. Mijn gedachte is: als ik hetzelfde doe, dan kan ik dat ook. Ik heb niemand anders gevonden die dit ook gevolgd heeft. Dat kan een nadeel zijn, maar ik weet zeker dat het werkt en misschien kan ik anderen er een plezier mee doen.
Feedback is welkom. Ik ben blij met de frequentie van 2x per week basisoefeningen, want het is met onregelmatige uren wel praktisch als je maar 2x per week moet gaan. Hoeveel en of je cardio moet doen, staat er niet in, maar ik wil 's morgens voor het ontbijt 3x per week 20 minuten intensief gaan trainen op de hometrainer.
Voedingsplan werk ik deze week nog uit en ten laatste op 1 september wil ik beginnen. Ik denk aan het anabolic diet of aan de info die Anita Bean geeft, in haar boek over krachttraining.
Hieronder een weergave:
Craig Rasmussen - Updated
(Authors Note: This is a continuation from the article "52 Weeks of Training")
Craig has been a consultation client for three years and eight months to the day of this writing. Please read 52 Weeks of Training, and Strength Weekend 1999 to get the background on Craig’s journey. This article will provide a summery of that journey and update you on his progress since then and lessons that he’s learned along the way.
In that first article I chronicled Craig's first year of training under my guidance. Here's his first program, which was performed twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, started late February 1997.
Workout A
1. Crunch: 1 x 15
2. Squat: 2 x 15
3. Stiff-legged deadlift: 1 x 15
4. Bench press: 2 x 5
5. Supinated pulldown: 2 x 5
6. *Static Dumbbell grip 1 x 60-90 seconds: 100 pound dumbbell
*Craig is genetically gifted with long fingers which help him to excel at gripping. Most trainees have to start with 35-40 pounds on this exercise.
Workout B
1. Side bend: 1 x 15
2. Sumo deadlift: 2 x 15
3. Standing military press: 2 x 5
4. Close-grip bench press 2x5
5. Dumbbell curl: 2 x 5
This is just a basic program that allows for optimal recovery. What made it special (and made it work) was that Craig was progressive in adding weight to the bar and he was consistent in making workouts. If you think you've been consistent in your training, I challenge you to match it against the following. In his first year, Craig completed 104 workouts in a row, without a miss-twice a week, just like clockwork. Craig isn't an "oddity" when it comes to consistency, many of my clients make one year of consistent training. In that time Craig went from 180 pounds to approximately 210. He actually went on to make 74 weeks of training without missing a single workout. That's 144 progressive workouts in a row. At the 74th week mark he tipped the scales at 223 pounds. The only changes I made to his program during this time were the additions of an exercise to strengthen his external shoulder rotators, calf work, and some additional work for his wrist flexors and extensors. His workout remained virtually unchanged for almost a year and a half. This is what it looked like in February 1998.
Workout A
1. Lying L-fly (for the external rotators) 1 x 20: 11 pounds
2. Crunch 1 x 10: 101 pounds
3. Squat 2 x 5: 280 pounds
4. Stiff-legged deadlift 1 x 10: 257 pounds
5. Bench press 2 x 5: 259 pounds
6. Supinated pulldown 2 x 5: 231 pounds
7. Wrist curl 1 x 20: 78 pounds
8. Reverse wrist curl 1 x 20: 22.5 pounds
Workout B
1. Lying L. fly 1 x 20: 11 pounds
2. Side bend 1 x 10: 90 pounds
3. Sumo deadlift 2 x 5: 302.5 pounds
4. Military press 2 x 5: 149 pounds
5. Barbell curl 2 x 5: 112 pounds
6. One-legged calf raises 2 x 10: 40 pounds
7. Static grip 120 pounds x 72 seconds
Craig was finally forced to take a week off after coming down with an illness. He missed two workouts then started another streak that lasted about 30 weeks.
At this time he put together a gym in his garage, so I had to change a couple of exercises due to lack of equipment. I put him on the following program. The weights listed are the ones he was using 30 weeks later. Since he'd been sick for a week, I started this program with weights that were approximately 85% of what he'd been using previously. Some of the new exercises were started from scratch.
Workout A
1. L-fly 1 x 20: 16 pounds
2. Crunch 1 x 5: 148 pounds
3. Squat 2 x 5: 315 pounds
4. Bench press 2 x 3: 286 pounds
5. Dumbbell row 2 x 5: 103 pounds
Workout B
1. Lying dumbbell triceps extension/press 2 x 8: 40 pounds
2. Lying posterior delt fly 1 x 15: 11 pounds
3. One-legged calf raises 2 x 8: 71 pounds
4. Static barbell grip 2 x 60 seconds with 226 pounds
5. Horizontal back extension 2 x 5: 39 pounds
Workout C
1. Side bend 1 x 5: 130 pounds
2. Sumo deadlift 2 x 5: 345 pounds
3. Military press 1 x 3 with 165 pounds, and 1 x 8 with 141 pounds
4. Barbell curl 1 x 3 with 117 pounds, and 1 x 8 with 96 pounds
As you can see, I changed his program to three workouts per week. I added one workout specifically devoted to assistance work for Craig's weak points. When the assistance workout started to push him, we went back to two workouts per week, thus rotating the three routines over two workouts each week; A on Monday, B on Thursday, C on Monday, A on Thursday, etc.
Craig wanted to try back extensions instead of stiff-legged deadlifts, and found the former to be much more beneficial for his lower-back strength. He performed a type of "triceps extension." This isn't what many of you know as a traditional triceps extension which can be very hard on the elbow. It's a "hybrid" exercise that's very easy on the elbow joint.
The "lying posterior delt fly" can be set-up several ways, but the performance is the same. One set-up is to sit on the end of a bench with the torso bent over until the chest and abs are resting on the thighs. A second set-up is to stand, bend at the waist so that the torso is parallel to the ground with the forehead resting on an elevated surface to help maintain the parallel position. A picture of this set-up precedes the chapter (from my book REAL STRENGTH REAL MUSCLE) Biomechanics Basics Part I. A third set-up is to lay face-down on a bench that is elevated enough so that when your arms are hanging straight down they won’t touch the floor.
Once you are positioned here is how to perform the movement. Dumbbells are held in each hand and the arms are hanging straight down from the shoulders. While keeping the arms completely straight they are lifted out to the sides till the arms are parallel in relation to the floor. Again please refer to the picture mentioned above. It's promoted in the "mainstream" bodybuilding world as an “isolation” exercise for the rear delts, which is erroneous because you can’t isolate any muscle. Anyway the reason I utilize it is to improve the strength relationship between the front of the shoulder and the rear, and also to improve the functionality of the entire posterior shoulder girdle. This movement helps with retraction and hence stabilization of the glenohumeral joint. Stabilization of this area is critical for generating leverage, and increasing safety on all pressing movements. It helps the trainee to "pin the shoulders back." It does a tremendous job when a rowing type exercise or pulldowns / pull-ups aren’t getting the job done. Most trainees (especially beginners) don't need it-rowing or some form of pulldown/pull-up will do the job.
You'll also notice that on a couple of the exercises I had Craig do one set of low reps followed by a set of higher reps. I wanted him to experience this, as I've had great success with this on intermediate level trainees. The "back-off" set of higher reps helps to create more hypertrophy (muscle growth). This in turn provides more muscle tissue for the lower-rep set to innervate. As you can see from the weights he was using on the basic movements, he continued to make steady progress.
This brings us to the end of January 1999. Craig flew in to Indianapolis at this time, so I got to see first hand his transformation after 23 months of training. At 6-1 and 247 pounds I measured his arms at 18 inches; his chest was over 50 inches and his legs 29. These measurements were performed without any "pump." The leg measurement made him chuckle because after many years of squatting (incorrectly) his legs were still very skinny, so he thought he would have "bird legs" all his life. Well, since he has learned to squat properly within a productive training program the bird legs are gone.
In about 23 months of training Craig had gained over 60 pounds. His bodyfat was 17%. This indicated that Craig was carrying 42 pounds of fat and 205 pounds of lean body mass. Lean body mass is the composite weight of muscle, water, organ and bone mass. It's used as the indicator to determine if a trainee is gaining or losing muscle. I'll come back to the significance of these numbers later. At this time he decided to drop bodyfat but wanted to continue getting stronger, with an eventual goal to compete in a powerlifting meet in the fall of 1999, at the 220 pound weight class.
In the light of his new goals, I made some adjustments to his program. I increased his rep target on all his big basic movements to 10, with the goal (as always) of adding a little iron to the bar every workout. This rep target would help him expend more energy while he was training. I increased his aerobic work to 3-4 days per week, and decreased his caloric intake by 500 calories per day (from approximately 6,000, (down to 5,500) for the first several weeks. As he lost fat I would slowly drop the caloric intake further. At the start of September I would drop his reps (to 5, 3, and then singles) in preparation for the powerlifting meet.
The update
Approximately nine months after his "fat**** loss" decision, Craig tipped the scales at 217 pounds. His weight-training program remained virtually unchanged except for the rate of poundage progression on the bar-which I slowed down-and his training rep range (which as, I mentioned earlier, was increased to expend more energy and then, later on, was decreased to prepare for the powerlifting meet).
The greatest modification, however, was in his diet (slowly decreasing his caloric intake) and an increase in his aerobic work. His strength continued to increase throughout his weight loss period. So, everything was going great, at least that’s what I assumed from the information he was providing me.
At this time Craig made his fourth trip to Indianapolis. At first sight I knew everything hadn't gone as great as I'd thought, and his bodyfat test confirmed it. I measured him at 13%. This represented a 14-pound loss of fat but it also indicated a l6-pound loss in lean body mass. Realistically, of these 16 pounds, 2 or 3 were water, which left about 14 pounds. In other words he'd lost muscle – 14 pounds worth! Craig looked "cut," and still had plenty of muscle tissue (his arm measured about l7)-but he could have done better, much better. He shouldn't have lost any of that hard-earned muscle.
I had to get to the bottom of this. Craig confided in me that he hadn't followed the dietary recommendations, and believed that he lowered his calories too much, too fast. Some of you may be wondering how his strength went up while he lost muscle.
The answer is innervation. Even though he was losing muscle, his nervous system was becoming more efficient and was learning to recruit more of the muscle that he had. Most of this took place during his contest preparation, when I lowered his training rep range. Another reason was that he maintained a good protein intake, and was very consistent in his training.
Another thing which was interesting was that up to this time in our relationship, Craig had suffered only one injury-a minor one. He sustained a minor quad pull in his 21st month (which could have been avoided with more concentration on his stretching). This, along with the fact that he completely transformed his strength and physique in less than two years, is a testimony to utilizing proper progression and great technique. But, as I mentioned earlier, he could have done much better if he'd gotten all the elements of successful training right (namely his eating, stretching and aerobics).
The powerlifting meet
Craig did very well at his first meet despite all that he could have done better during his weight-loss program. Our goal at the meet was to complete all attempts, abiding by the strictest of powerlifting rules. Specifically, we wanted to make sure his squats were well below parallel and that he benched with a ‘true’ pause on his chest. I made sure that Craig was not under any illusion about the amount of weight he would lift. Our goal was to improve on his previous bests (which were performed at a much heavier bodyweight).
In retrospect, I may have been too conservative with his attempts, for after witnessing his performance he could have lifted much more. Craig squatted 420 pounds. A lifter only gets three attempts at a meet. If he had another I’m confident that he’d made 440 pounds. He benched 315 pounds, and deadlifted 460. The 460 was so easy he could have done 3 reps with it, indicating a near 500 pound maximum. So, with the strictest of form, in a competitive environment, Craig reached two of three of his long sought after goals - a 300 pound bench press and 400-pound squat. He also came very close to getting number three, a 500-pound deadlift.
Even though I know he could have lifted more, if we did it over again I would have him attempt the same weights. Almost all powerlifters make the mistake of going to their first meet with false hopes of lifting weights they couldn't complete even in their dreams. By playing it conservatively and making all the lifts, the first-time powerlifter leaves the meet feeling a great sense of accomplishment and confidence, and really looks forward to the next meet.
Up to November 1, 2000
After the meet we discussed Craig's goals for the coming year. He really enjoyed the contest and wanted to enter another. He wanted to compete in the 220-pound weight class, and to stay lean for his upcoming wedding. So, this meant keeping his weight down while trying to get as strong as possible. This can be done (as Craig did before-albeit incorrectly), but it's much more difficult to do than if he had decided to gain weight. Also, it increases the risk of injury and illness.
I don't like recommending that any trainee try to do the above combination for a long period of time (over several years), because there comes a point when the body has a very difficult time innervating its current level of muscle mass, and strength gains slow to a crawl. So, if the trainee is already very lean (and therefore can't replace fat weight with muscle weight), and won't or can't gain new muscle tissue (due to weight classification in a sport), gains in strength will stop or slow to a miniscule rate. Also, due to the lack of essential calories, injuries and/or illness generally occur. There are techniques (manipulation of rep ranges, partials, dynamic training, etc.) that one can use to try and sustain progress in the strength department while maintaining a lean physique and without a gain in muscle mass. But, in my experience, these stop producing results after a while. Don't misunderstand me here. I'm not saying that every trainee has to gain 30 pounds in a year to make sustainable long-term progress. What I'm saying is that there has to be some addition of muscle tissue (as little as a half pound per month, which on a low-fat physique will show on the scale) to continue to get stronger past a certain point. For instance, I'm currently training a client who has very low bodyfat and who doesn't want to gain anymore bodyweight. He has gained only 8 pounds of bodyweight, yet has gotten much stronger over the last two years under my tutelage. This trainee understands and accepts the fact that his strength progress is going to be painfully slow relative to the trainee who wants to gain strength and bodyweight. But if someone has 10 pounds of fat to lose and can replace that weight with an equal amount of muscle tissue, then this trainee can stay at the same bodyweight and continue to get much stronger but with a smaller risk of injury or illness.
You can probably guess what all this is alluding to. Over the last 12 months or so Craig was plagued with several injuries and became ill much more than usual. These events disrupted his training consistency on several occasions. If you can't be consistent, you can't make progress. On his wedding day (a little over a month ago from the day of this writing), Craig tipped the scale at 214 pounds. He'd lost quite a bit of strength since he'd just recovered from another bout of illness. This was a far cry from the 104 weeks of consistent training that Craig was used to.
Lessons learned
Here are the main things that Craig learned during the three years and eight months under my guidance, in Craig's words.
"I've had some great experiences and learned a tremendous amount in the last three years and eight months of my weight training journey. I would like to highlight some of the major things I've done which have been "right" and also those things that I've done which have been "wrong," in the hope that all this will help others achieve success and avoid making the same mistakes I did.
Major things I did right
1. Consistency: In weight training, consistency is everything. Don't miss
workouts.
2. Progression: Weight was added at a rate that my body could adapt to,
using Micro-loading.
3. Form: I learned and practiced proper biomechanical exercise technique.
4. Effort: I learned to demand full effort from myself in each workout.
Major things I did wrong
1. The major mistake (I'm ashamed to admit) happened twice-once while I was gaining, and also when I was trimming down. That mistake was not monitoring my calories closely enough, and eating too inconsistently. If I'd done a better job of keeping tabs on my calories, I know I'd have done even better when gaining bodyweight (gained more muscle tissue) and would not have lost as much muscle when trimming down. I certainly don't plan to make this mistake again. Keeping tabs on your calories is critical.
2. The other major thing I did wrong was that I didn't do my aerobic work on a consistent basis. In fact, I did none at all for the first year and a half, and only very sporadically after that point up until the point I got to 245 pounds. John had stressed the value of aerobic work on a couple of occasions, but for some reason I didn't think it was that important and I never really followed up or asked John much about them. He'd always assumed I was doing them on a consistent basis. I was under the mistaken belief that any aerobic work would not allow me to gain muscle, and would hinder my strength and size gains, so I simply didn't do them. This was a big mistake and I really heard it from John when he asked how my aerobic program was going. He broke it down and explained the importance of a proper amount of aerobic work and how it would actually aid my recovery and minimize fat gain, along with other benefits. I then began an aerobic program, started to see these benefits, and realized how much of an error I'd made. In my next building cycle, aerobics will be a vital part. Aerobic work is a huge aspect of a total program."
The future
Craig wants to gain as much mass and strength as possible for the next year. Here are his goals for December 31, 2001:
1. Bodyweight: 250+ pounds
2. Military press: 220 pounds
3. Bench: 350 pounds (with legal pause)
4. Squat: 500 pounds (belt only)
5. Deadlift: 550 pounds (belt only)
6. Perform two low-level aerobic sessions per week for one hour each.
7. Perform one mid-level aerobic session (running) per week for 30 minutes.
8. Track caloric consumption on a consistent basis.
Authors note
Throughout the following six issues of the magazine that this article appeared – which covered the next year - I gave updates on Craig’s progress. Please see the chapter Craig’s’ Vision Quest (in REAL STRENGTH REAL MUSCLE) to get this valuable information. This includes his training weights on the lifts mentioned above, his routine, caloric intake, and bodyweight and bodyfat percentage. This will give you the opportunity to see the effects of Micro-loading, combined with a nutritious diet and consistent aerobic work. It will also show you how to handle your training when life throws you a curve-ball. Remember, that this book is about ‘real training’ for ‘real people with real lives’ – not about trainees who can live ‘in a bubble’ and just concentrate on their training. How many people, who love to train, and have big goals, can have a life like that? Very, very few. That’s why all training information that is derived from those trainees that “only live in the gym” won’t work for real people with real lives.
Feedback is welkom. Ik ben blij met de frequentie van 2x per week basisoefeningen, want het is met onregelmatige uren wel praktisch als je maar 2x per week moet gaan. Hoeveel en of je cardio moet doen, staat er niet in, maar ik wil 's morgens voor het ontbijt 3x per week 20 minuten intensief gaan trainen op de hometrainer.
Voedingsplan werk ik deze week nog uit en ten laatste op 1 september wil ik beginnen. Ik denk aan het anabolic diet of aan de info die Anita Bean geeft, in haar boek over krachttraining.
Hieronder een weergave:
Craig Rasmussen - Updated
(Authors Note: This is a continuation from the article "52 Weeks of Training")
Craig has been a consultation client for three years and eight months to the day of this writing. Please read 52 Weeks of Training, and Strength Weekend 1999 to get the background on Craig’s journey. This article will provide a summery of that journey and update you on his progress since then and lessons that he’s learned along the way.
In that first article I chronicled Craig's first year of training under my guidance. Here's his first program, which was performed twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, started late February 1997.
Workout A
1. Crunch: 1 x 15
2. Squat: 2 x 15
3. Stiff-legged deadlift: 1 x 15
4. Bench press: 2 x 5
5. Supinated pulldown: 2 x 5
6. *Static Dumbbell grip 1 x 60-90 seconds: 100 pound dumbbell
*Craig is genetically gifted with long fingers which help him to excel at gripping. Most trainees have to start with 35-40 pounds on this exercise.
Workout B
1. Side bend: 1 x 15
2. Sumo deadlift: 2 x 15
3. Standing military press: 2 x 5
4. Close-grip bench press 2x5
5. Dumbbell curl: 2 x 5
This is just a basic program that allows for optimal recovery. What made it special (and made it work) was that Craig was progressive in adding weight to the bar and he was consistent in making workouts. If you think you've been consistent in your training, I challenge you to match it against the following. In his first year, Craig completed 104 workouts in a row, without a miss-twice a week, just like clockwork. Craig isn't an "oddity" when it comes to consistency, many of my clients make one year of consistent training. In that time Craig went from 180 pounds to approximately 210. He actually went on to make 74 weeks of training without missing a single workout. That's 144 progressive workouts in a row. At the 74th week mark he tipped the scales at 223 pounds. The only changes I made to his program during this time were the additions of an exercise to strengthen his external shoulder rotators, calf work, and some additional work for his wrist flexors and extensors. His workout remained virtually unchanged for almost a year and a half. This is what it looked like in February 1998.
Workout A
1. Lying L-fly (for the external rotators) 1 x 20: 11 pounds
2. Crunch 1 x 10: 101 pounds
3. Squat 2 x 5: 280 pounds
4. Stiff-legged deadlift 1 x 10: 257 pounds
5. Bench press 2 x 5: 259 pounds
6. Supinated pulldown 2 x 5: 231 pounds
7. Wrist curl 1 x 20: 78 pounds
8. Reverse wrist curl 1 x 20: 22.5 pounds
Workout B
1. Lying L. fly 1 x 20: 11 pounds
2. Side bend 1 x 10: 90 pounds
3. Sumo deadlift 2 x 5: 302.5 pounds
4. Military press 2 x 5: 149 pounds
5. Barbell curl 2 x 5: 112 pounds
6. One-legged calf raises 2 x 10: 40 pounds
7. Static grip 120 pounds x 72 seconds
Craig was finally forced to take a week off after coming down with an illness. He missed two workouts then started another streak that lasted about 30 weeks.
At this time he put together a gym in his garage, so I had to change a couple of exercises due to lack of equipment. I put him on the following program. The weights listed are the ones he was using 30 weeks later. Since he'd been sick for a week, I started this program with weights that were approximately 85% of what he'd been using previously. Some of the new exercises were started from scratch.
Workout A
1. L-fly 1 x 20: 16 pounds
2. Crunch 1 x 5: 148 pounds
3. Squat 2 x 5: 315 pounds
4. Bench press 2 x 3: 286 pounds
5. Dumbbell row 2 x 5: 103 pounds
Workout B
1. Lying dumbbell triceps extension/press 2 x 8: 40 pounds
2. Lying posterior delt fly 1 x 15: 11 pounds
3. One-legged calf raises 2 x 8: 71 pounds
4. Static barbell grip 2 x 60 seconds with 226 pounds
5. Horizontal back extension 2 x 5: 39 pounds
Workout C
1. Side bend 1 x 5: 130 pounds
2. Sumo deadlift 2 x 5: 345 pounds
3. Military press 1 x 3 with 165 pounds, and 1 x 8 with 141 pounds
4. Barbell curl 1 x 3 with 117 pounds, and 1 x 8 with 96 pounds
As you can see, I changed his program to three workouts per week. I added one workout specifically devoted to assistance work for Craig's weak points. When the assistance workout started to push him, we went back to two workouts per week, thus rotating the three routines over two workouts each week; A on Monday, B on Thursday, C on Monday, A on Thursday, etc.
Craig wanted to try back extensions instead of stiff-legged deadlifts, and found the former to be much more beneficial for his lower-back strength. He performed a type of "triceps extension." This isn't what many of you know as a traditional triceps extension which can be very hard on the elbow. It's a "hybrid" exercise that's very easy on the elbow joint.
The "lying posterior delt fly" can be set-up several ways, but the performance is the same. One set-up is to sit on the end of a bench with the torso bent over until the chest and abs are resting on the thighs. A second set-up is to stand, bend at the waist so that the torso is parallel to the ground with the forehead resting on an elevated surface to help maintain the parallel position. A picture of this set-up precedes the chapter (from my book REAL STRENGTH REAL MUSCLE) Biomechanics Basics Part I. A third set-up is to lay face-down on a bench that is elevated enough so that when your arms are hanging straight down they won’t touch the floor.
Once you are positioned here is how to perform the movement. Dumbbells are held in each hand and the arms are hanging straight down from the shoulders. While keeping the arms completely straight they are lifted out to the sides till the arms are parallel in relation to the floor. Again please refer to the picture mentioned above. It's promoted in the "mainstream" bodybuilding world as an “isolation” exercise for the rear delts, which is erroneous because you can’t isolate any muscle. Anyway the reason I utilize it is to improve the strength relationship between the front of the shoulder and the rear, and also to improve the functionality of the entire posterior shoulder girdle. This movement helps with retraction and hence stabilization of the glenohumeral joint. Stabilization of this area is critical for generating leverage, and increasing safety on all pressing movements. It helps the trainee to "pin the shoulders back." It does a tremendous job when a rowing type exercise or pulldowns / pull-ups aren’t getting the job done. Most trainees (especially beginners) don't need it-rowing or some form of pulldown/pull-up will do the job.
You'll also notice that on a couple of the exercises I had Craig do one set of low reps followed by a set of higher reps. I wanted him to experience this, as I've had great success with this on intermediate level trainees. The "back-off" set of higher reps helps to create more hypertrophy (muscle growth). This in turn provides more muscle tissue for the lower-rep set to innervate. As you can see from the weights he was using on the basic movements, he continued to make steady progress.
This brings us to the end of January 1999. Craig flew in to Indianapolis at this time, so I got to see first hand his transformation after 23 months of training. At 6-1 and 247 pounds I measured his arms at 18 inches; his chest was over 50 inches and his legs 29. These measurements were performed without any "pump." The leg measurement made him chuckle because after many years of squatting (incorrectly) his legs were still very skinny, so he thought he would have "bird legs" all his life. Well, since he has learned to squat properly within a productive training program the bird legs are gone.
In about 23 months of training Craig had gained over 60 pounds. His bodyfat was 17%. This indicated that Craig was carrying 42 pounds of fat and 205 pounds of lean body mass. Lean body mass is the composite weight of muscle, water, organ and bone mass. It's used as the indicator to determine if a trainee is gaining or losing muscle. I'll come back to the significance of these numbers later. At this time he decided to drop bodyfat but wanted to continue getting stronger, with an eventual goal to compete in a powerlifting meet in the fall of 1999, at the 220 pound weight class.
In the light of his new goals, I made some adjustments to his program. I increased his rep target on all his big basic movements to 10, with the goal (as always) of adding a little iron to the bar every workout. This rep target would help him expend more energy while he was training. I increased his aerobic work to 3-4 days per week, and decreased his caloric intake by 500 calories per day (from approximately 6,000, (down to 5,500) for the first several weeks. As he lost fat I would slowly drop the caloric intake further. At the start of September I would drop his reps (to 5, 3, and then singles) in preparation for the powerlifting meet.
The update
Approximately nine months after his "fat**** loss" decision, Craig tipped the scales at 217 pounds. His weight-training program remained virtually unchanged except for the rate of poundage progression on the bar-which I slowed down-and his training rep range (which as, I mentioned earlier, was increased to expend more energy and then, later on, was decreased to prepare for the powerlifting meet).
The greatest modification, however, was in his diet (slowly decreasing his caloric intake) and an increase in his aerobic work. His strength continued to increase throughout his weight loss period. So, everything was going great, at least that’s what I assumed from the information he was providing me.
At this time Craig made his fourth trip to Indianapolis. At first sight I knew everything hadn't gone as great as I'd thought, and his bodyfat test confirmed it. I measured him at 13%. This represented a 14-pound loss of fat but it also indicated a l6-pound loss in lean body mass. Realistically, of these 16 pounds, 2 or 3 were water, which left about 14 pounds. In other words he'd lost muscle – 14 pounds worth! Craig looked "cut," and still had plenty of muscle tissue (his arm measured about l7)-but he could have done better, much better. He shouldn't have lost any of that hard-earned muscle.
I had to get to the bottom of this. Craig confided in me that he hadn't followed the dietary recommendations, and believed that he lowered his calories too much, too fast. Some of you may be wondering how his strength went up while he lost muscle.
The answer is innervation. Even though he was losing muscle, his nervous system was becoming more efficient and was learning to recruit more of the muscle that he had. Most of this took place during his contest preparation, when I lowered his training rep range. Another reason was that he maintained a good protein intake, and was very consistent in his training.
Another thing which was interesting was that up to this time in our relationship, Craig had suffered only one injury-a minor one. He sustained a minor quad pull in his 21st month (which could have been avoided with more concentration on his stretching). This, along with the fact that he completely transformed his strength and physique in less than two years, is a testimony to utilizing proper progression and great technique. But, as I mentioned earlier, he could have done much better if he'd gotten all the elements of successful training right (namely his eating, stretching and aerobics).
The powerlifting meet
Craig did very well at his first meet despite all that he could have done better during his weight-loss program. Our goal at the meet was to complete all attempts, abiding by the strictest of powerlifting rules. Specifically, we wanted to make sure his squats were well below parallel and that he benched with a ‘true’ pause on his chest. I made sure that Craig was not under any illusion about the amount of weight he would lift. Our goal was to improve on his previous bests (which were performed at a much heavier bodyweight).
In retrospect, I may have been too conservative with his attempts, for after witnessing his performance he could have lifted much more. Craig squatted 420 pounds. A lifter only gets three attempts at a meet. If he had another I’m confident that he’d made 440 pounds. He benched 315 pounds, and deadlifted 460. The 460 was so easy he could have done 3 reps with it, indicating a near 500 pound maximum. So, with the strictest of form, in a competitive environment, Craig reached two of three of his long sought after goals - a 300 pound bench press and 400-pound squat. He also came very close to getting number three, a 500-pound deadlift.
Even though I know he could have lifted more, if we did it over again I would have him attempt the same weights. Almost all powerlifters make the mistake of going to their first meet with false hopes of lifting weights they couldn't complete even in their dreams. By playing it conservatively and making all the lifts, the first-time powerlifter leaves the meet feeling a great sense of accomplishment and confidence, and really looks forward to the next meet.
Up to November 1, 2000
After the meet we discussed Craig's goals for the coming year. He really enjoyed the contest and wanted to enter another. He wanted to compete in the 220-pound weight class, and to stay lean for his upcoming wedding. So, this meant keeping his weight down while trying to get as strong as possible. This can be done (as Craig did before-albeit incorrectly), but it's much more difficult to do than if he had decided to gain weight. Also, it increases the risk of injury and illness.
I don't like recommending that any trainee try to do the above combination for a long period of time (over several years), because there comes a point when the body has a very difficult time innervating its current level of muscle mass, and strength gains slow to a crawl. So, if the trainee is already very lean (and therefore can't replace fat weight with muscle weight), and won't or can't gain new muscle tissue (due to weight classification in a sport), gains in strength will stop or slow to a miniscule rate. Also, due to the lack of essential calories, injuries and/or illness generally occur. There are techniques (manipulation of rep ranges, partials, dynamic training, etc.) that one can use to try and sustain progress in the strength department while maintaining a lean physique and without a gain in muscle mass. But, in my experience, these stop producing results after a while. Don't misunderstand me here. I'm not saying that every trainee has to gain 30 pounds in a year to make sustainable long-term progress. What I'm saying is that there has to be some addition of muscle tissue (as little as a half pound per month, which on a low-fat physique will show on the scale) to continue to get stronger past a certain point. For instance, I'm currently training a client who has very low bodyfat and who doesn't want to gain anymore bodyweight. He has gained only 8 pounds of bodyweight, yet has gotten much stronger over the last two years under my tutelage. This trainee understands and accepts the fact that his strength progress is going to be painfully slow relative to the trainee who wants to gain strength and bodyweight. But if someone has 10 pounds of fat to lose and can replace that weight with an equal amount of muscle tissue, then this trainee can stay at the same bodyweight and continue to get much stronger but with a smaller risk of injury or illness.
You can probably guess what all this is alluding to. Over the last 12 months or so Craig was plagued with several injuries and became ill much more than usual. These events disrupted his training consistency on several occasions. If you can't be consistent, you can't make progress. On his wedding day (a little over a month ago from the day of this writing), Craig tipped the scale at 214 pounds. He'd lost quite a bit of strength since he'd just recovered from another bout of illness. This was a far cry from the 104 weeks of consistent training that Craig was used to.
Lessons learned
Here are the main things that Craig learned during the three years and eight months under my guidance, in Craig's words.
"I've had some great experiences and learned a tremendous amount in the last three years and eight months of my weight training journey. I would like to highlight some of the major things I've done which have been "right" and also those things that I've done which have been "wrong," in the hope that all this will help others achieve success and avoid making the same mistakes I did.
Major things I did right
1. Consistency: In weight training, consistency is everything. Don't miss
workouts.
2. Progression: Weight was added at a rate that my body could adapt to,
using Micro-loading.
3. Form: I learned and practiced proper biomechanical exercise technique.
4. Effort: I learned to demand full effort from myself in each workout.
Major things I did wrong
1. The major mistake (I'm ashamed to admit) happened twice-once while I was gaining, and also when I was trimming down. That mistake was not monitoring my calories closely enough, and eating too inconsistently. If I'd done a better job of keeping tabs on my calories, I know I'd have done even better when gaining bodyweight (gained more muscle tissue) and would not have lost as much muscle when trimming down. I certainly don't plan to make this mistake again. Keeping tabs on your calories is critical.
2. The other major thing I did wrong was that I didn't do my aerobic work on a consistent basis. In fact, I did none at all for the first year and a half, and only very sporadically after that point up until the point I got to 245 pounds. John had stressed the value of aerobic work on a couple of occasions, but for some reason I didn't think it was that important and I never really followed up or asked John much about them. He'd always assumed I was doing them on a consistent basis. I was under the mistaken belief that any aerobic work would not allow me to gain muscle, and would hinder my strength and size gains, so I simply didn't do them. This was a big mistake and I really heard it from John when he asked how my aerobic program was going. He broke it down and explained the importance of a proper amount of aerobic work and how it would actually aid my recovery and minimize fat gain, along with other benefits. I then began an aerobic program, started to see these benefits, and realized how much of an error I'd made. In my next building cycle, aerobics will be a vital part. Aerobic work is a huge aspect of a total program."
The future
Craig wants to gain as much mass and strength as possible for the next year. Here are his goals for December 31, 2001:
1. Bodyweight: 250+ pounds
2. Military press: 220 pounds
3. Bench: 350 pounds (with legal pause)
4. Squat: 500 pounds (belt only)
5. Deadlift: 550 pounds (belt only)
6. Perform two low-level aerobic sessions per week for one hour each.
7. Perform one mid-level aerobic session (running) per week for 30 minutes.
8. Track caloric consumption on a consistent basis.
Authors note
Throughout the following six issues of the magazine that this article appeared – which covered the next year - I gave updates on Craig’s progress. Please see the chapter Craig’s’ Vision Quest (in REAL STRENGTH REAL MUSCLE) to get this valuable information. This includes his training weights on the lifts mentioned above, his routine, caloric intake, and bodyweight and bodyfat percentage. This will give you the opportunity to see the effects of Micro-loading, combined with a nutritious diet and consistent aerobic work. It will also show you how to handle your training when life throws you a curve-ball. Remember, that this book is about ‘real training’ for ‘real people with real lives’ – not about trainees who can live ‘in a bubble’ and just concentrate on their training. How many people, who love to train, and have big goals, can have a life like that? Very, very few. That’s why all training information that is derived from those trainees that “only live in the gym” won’t work for real people with real lives.
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