In fact, you too might be looking at your stomach in the mirror and thinking “Wow, this is pretty solid and I can hardly grab any fat.  If I crank up the training and diet hard for 12 weeks I’ll be ready for the beach”.  Or maybe you’re not worried too much about it at all because you’re going to smash a new total at your next meet and being a little thick through the middle isn’t really your biggest concern.

Whatever the case, I feel it is my duty to tell you that you and your friend from the party are freaking ticking time bombs!  Abdominal obesity is a killer and you can only ignore this fact for so long before it comes up to bite you in the ass.

In the photo below you can see a cross section of the abdominal cavity of a person who has low levels of visceral fat (left) and a person who has a high level of visceral fat (right).  The white stuff inside of the abdominal wall is the fat and you can see clearly that it has essentially surrounded each and every organ in that cavity.

 If you’re thinking “shit, that can’t be good”, you’re right.  Take a look at the liver of a normal healthy person (left) and someone with a fatty liver (right).  Keep in mind, of course, that the liver plays a role in the elimination of insulin in the body and if it is not functioning properly because it is encapsulated in fat, you’re on an express trip to a date with type 2 Diabetes. 

Of course, if your liver is covered in fat, your heart is probably affected too right?  You’re damn right it is!  Take a gander at the two hearts below.  Notice that the heart on the top (front and back views) is smaller and has few fat deposits.  The heart on the bottom, on the other hand, is hypertrophied and is covered in fat.

Interestingly, but probably not surprisingly, liposuction can only remove the fat beneath the skin.  It can’t remove the fat inside of the abdominal wall so even if you look better and manage to reduce your waist circumference, you’re still just as dead as you were before.  In the picture below you can see the reduction in the subcutaneous fat (below the skin), but the visceral fat is the same.

It seems that now, the only plus side to liposuction (for men at least) is that about 34% of women who have liposuction in the abdominal or hip region experience an increase in breast tissue amounting to approximately one cup size.  I’m not even kidding.  You can check out the abstract HERE.

Basically what I’m getting at here is that if you’re the typical off-season bodybuilder who just gets fat and calls it “bulking” or you’re one of those guys who espouses the get big (i.e., fat) to get strong mentality you might want to change your game plan.  Otherwise you might end up pushing up daisies instead of barbells.

As usual, drop me a comments below to let me know your thoughts.  More importantly, please share this with those you feel could benefit from this information whether they train or not.  Obesity is an epidemic that affects all of us.

“In 4 (FOUR!) sentences or less, name your favorite resource for strengthening, conditioning, health, OR rehabilitation information. This can include books, journals, seminars, websites (NOT GOOGLE), or anything else you can think of. You can only include ONE resource my friends, so make sure it is your favorite.”

Now THAT is a tough question.  Check out the list of answers HERE and then swing back by to let me know what your favourite resource is in the comments section below.

PS: Don’t come back and tell me your site is the best site on the internet you arrogant buggers.   

Let’s face facts for a second here.  The vast majority of people that lift weights do so for primarily aesthetic reasons.  Sure, many of us want to be stronger, faster, and healthier.  And there are certainly those who train exclusively to improve their sports performance, but in the end I’d be willing to bet that training to simply look better is the single biggest motivation for the average trainee.

So why do many strength coaches crap all over bodybuilding?  I could speculate that it has something to do with the rampant steroid use among high level competitors or the fact that some of them have more oil in their muscles than I do in my car.  Or it could be the mental image of a bunch of oiled up, tanned, men and women posing on a stage in their bathing suits.  I can’t really say for sure.

But what about people who aren’t interested in competing?  What about those who are purely interested in gaining the leanest, most muscular physique possible within their own biomechanical and physiologial framework while keeping an eye on structural balance and joint health?  Is bodybuilding training really so bad for the body that we need to crap all over their methods?

I guess the question I’m really asking is whether it is possible to create a lean and exceptionally muscular physique without sacrificing structural balance and joint health.

And in line with that question, is there room for exercises that are deemed my many coaches as unfriendly for the joints (such as the guillotine bench press) or useless (direct arm training)?

As with everything, I think it comes down to assessment.  If you’ve read my blog you’re probably aware that I am a big fan of movement based testing with such as Assess and Correct, but beyond that I feel that it is really important to use the appropriate assessments to inform your decisions for each individual goal.

For dealing with obesity I use the Edmonton Obesity Staging System, for performance I look at the demands of the sport, and when training for aesthetics I like to do a true visual assessment to direct training.  I should note here that I don’t care much for body fat testing in leaner individuals as this is less important than the physical appearance changes.  I could care less what the number says if a client’s appearance doesn’t reflect it.

Here is a sample of a simple client assessment I use for evaluating a physique in which I can comment on muscle size or relative proportion:

- Upper traps:
- Front delts:
- Lateral delts:
- Rear delts:
- Biceps:
- Tricep long head:
- Tricep lateral head:
- Forearms
- Lower chest:
- Upper chest
- Upper back width:
- Upper back thickness:
- Lower/Mid back erectors:
- Abdominals:
- Obliques:
- Quads:
- Glutes:
- Hamstrings:
- Calves:
 
Highlights:
 
Needs Work:

General Impression & Plan:

Combining this with the movement based screen I should now know what muscles need to be worked (yes, I sometimes work muscles not movements…I know…blasphemy) and which movements should be contraindicated for that person.  If arm training is warranted, I’ll do arm training because I’m not in the business of sticking to a “training arms is for wussies” paradigm because it is popular.  I’m in the business of getting results.

Would I use the guillotine bench press, sissy squats, or upright rows?  Probably not.  But this is primarily because these are not the most effective movements in the first place and I can find exercises to hit the same muscle groups with less risk.

Are joint health and building a muscular physique mutually exclusive?  I would have to say no.  Do you agree?  Feel free to share your thoughts below!

And thanks to my blog reader Rob for putting the idea for this post in my head.  I hope I answered your question.

In this interview I talk a lot about why I’m sometimes viewed as being overly skeptical of many things in the fitness industry and exercise science.  I also get a chance to talk a little bit about some of the ”big rocks” in my training philosophy. 

Drop by and check out the interview HERE.

Have some questions you’d like me to answer in an upcoming blog?  Leave me a note in the comments below.

As many of you know, I’m a huge advocate of reading (or learning) for at least an hour per day.  Since my beautiful daughter was born almost 8 weeks ago she and I have been putting in our time reading and watching some great stuff.

Outliers - By Malcolm Gladwell

This book provides a very insightful look at what makes people successful in their respective fields.  Despite what you might think about working hard, Gladwell suggests that this is only part of the equation.  Although I’m not 100% sold on every single assertion that was made, it certainly was enough to open my eyes to the possibility that there are other factors at play.

More importantly, Gladwell’s writing style is interesting and easy to read which is refreshing if you’re looking for something thought provoking, but not overly intense.  If this isn’t enough to convince you, consider that I’m now reading another Gladwell book called The Tipping Point and have his other books Blink and What the Dog Saw on my bookshelf already.

Fast Food Nation - By Eric Schlosser

Honestly, I could probably tell you all about this book and how it explains the production, flavoring, and marketing of your food, but it really wouldn’t do justice to the vast amount of information that is covered about the effects of corporate power on our food supply.

Consider that companies like Nestle make baby formula (Gerber), food (Cheerios, Lean Cuisine, Stouffer’s), coffee (Nescafe), chocolate (Kit Kat, Smarties), and then when you get good and overweight they can sell you food replacements like Boost, Powerbar, Jenny Craig, and even the medically managed weight loss product called Optifast.  Need some water for that shake?  No worries, they sell that too.  Pure Life, Perrier, Vittel, and S.Pelligrino are all Nestle products.  And by the way, they are also feeding your pets.  Nestle makes Alpo, Friskies, and Fancy Feast.   Once they start making caskets they’ll have us covered from cradle to grave.

Imagine what would happen if the goverment tried to mandate changes to the foods we eat to make them healthier.  Imagine the power of corporations to resist.  Although the observations about Nestle are my own, I’m sure you get the idea.  Fast Food Nation is well worth the read.

Note that this book led me to investigate further the treatment of animals during the commercial production of the food we eat.  Check out the galleries on THIS SITE if you’re interested.  Consider this fair warning that the images there are graphic and disturbing.  They also are not intended to convey that I think all industry operates like this…but it certainly opens your eyes.

StrengthCoach.com

Recently I’ve spent a fair bit of time on Strength Coach.com and I really enjoy the content.  The weekly articles are great, but I have to admit that the forum is really where it is at.  

Unlike many other web forums that are chock-full of nonsense by written by any idiot with a keyboard, here you can often read and participate in discussions bright folks like Mike Boyle, Bret Contreras, Mike Robertson, Alwyn Cosgrove,  Nick Tumminello, Charlie Weingroff, and many others that I’m probably forgetting to name.

Personally, I’ve read some people’s responses in the advanced forum and had to look stuff up or ask questions just so I could understand what they’re talking about.  As a result I’ve learned a ton of new stuff in a short period of time.

I think this is an incredible resource and totally worth checking out.  It’ll cost you a buck to try it for 14 days and if you don’t like it you can bail.

Oh yeah…while I’m on the Mike Boyle front I should also mention that I just watched Functional Strength Coach Volume 3 and think this is a great resource for any up and coming coach.

Fat Is Not Your Fault

After interviewing Dr. Bryan Walsh a few weeks back I decided to check out his Fat is not Your Fault Program.  Frankly, I’ve grown a little tired of the overhyped rapid fat loss programs that are basically just some variation of a low carb diet which is why I think this program is so interesting.  Dr. Walsh not only emphasizes the importance of diet, exercise, and mindset, but he also identifies several other possible roadblocks to fat loss success that you’re not going to see in your typical fat loss program.

I’ve already read the manual and am currently about half way through watching the videos and am loving the information so far.  Never have I really given as much thought to adrenal health and gastrointestinal function as I have since seeing this product.  If you’re successfully navigating the fat loss world, I’m not sure you’re absolutely in need of this program, but if you or a client have ever had difficulty losing fat despite being totally on plan, this would be a worthwhile investment.  Personally, I’m thinking of making Dr. Walsh’s screening questionaire (which is included) as part of my battery of forms for my clients.

Z-Health R Phase Manual

At the persistent enouragement of Mike T Nelson I’m checking out the Z-Health system.  To be honest, I have yet to start reading/watching this, but it is next on my list so hopefully I’ll steal a few pearls of wisdom from this as well.

What great stuff are you reading right now?  What’s next on your reading list?  Drop me a comment and let me know.

Last week I logged in to my Facebook homepage only to see  colors popping up all over the place.

Black, white, pink, red, blue, and so on. 

At first I was confused, but shortly afterward I was informed that this was a fun little game where women posted the color of their bra as status update to promote awareness of breast Cancer.  Although this possibly played into some men’s fantasy of women listing their bra colors as they danced around their rooms with friends having pillow fights, I’m curious to know how many of the women who participated actually did a breast exam that day.  Moreover, I’m curious to know how many of those women have done an exam in the past month.  My guess is that this little game (although fun) probably did little to actually help in creating awareness of breast Cancer among participants.  I would also hazard a guess that it didn’t generate much in the way of donations either.

I think the problem with this overall campaign is that, while it hit thousands of people, it didn’t force people to actually do anything that would force them to discover anything about themselves.  It didn’t remind them to do the two critical things…do an exam or donate.

But what if we could get people to spread the word about another global epidemic and learn something about themselves at the same time?  What if the game itself required the participants to do something that highlighted their own personal risk and alterted them to the problem with a brief dose of reality?

What I’m talking about is that we know now that men with a waist circumference greater than 40 inches (102cm) and women with a waist circumference 35 inches (88cm) are at greater risk of obesity related illness and death.

Can we as intelligent fitness oriented men and women create our own viral message to actually alert those to their own risk?

Even if this doesn’t apply to you, there are probably a few people on your Facebook who need a reality check.  Please post this as your status and let’s see how far this goes.

“Men with waists above 40 inches and women with waists above 35 inches are at risk of obesity related illness and death.  If you’re brave, list your waist measurement.  If not, please repost anyway and raise obesity awareness.  Mine is 32.”

If you’re on Twitter, please retweet.  Let’s change the world one click at a time.

When I was back in university I have to admit that I was a little bit of a biomechanics geek.  These days I like to think I’m just more of your normal all around kind of geek, but I digress.

Having spent a lot of time in a biomechanics lab I had the opportunity to do my fair share of EMG analysis.  And although it has been quite some time since I’ve done any hands on EMG work, I’d still consider myself versed enough to share a little bit about it.

But why are you going to bore us to tears with all this EMG crap?

Because I think that recently there has been a lot of talk about EMG for the determination of optimal training movements and I don’t think the general training public completely understands this enough to make a decision about whether this is valuable or not.  Instead, I think most people just believe that you slap on the electrodes, contract, and look at which muscles were most active.

Here’s a typical rundown on how EMG testing is really done in a biomechanics lab.

- EMG electrodes are placed on or in the muscle belly of the muscle group to be recorded.  Note that you can use either surface electrodes that just stick on the skin or fine wire electrodes that actually stick right into the muscle.

- The segment to be examined (leg, arm, etc)  is strapped into a jig of some kind to allow the researcher to measure the torque created when the muscle contracts.

- The muscle is contracted through a certain range of motion or for a certain amount of time and the EMG and torque are recorded.

- Since the EMG signal is recorded in millivolts it needs to be amplified before it is recorded.

- At this point, the raw EMG signal is atually quite messy looking and if you were to try and make any conclusions from this you’d be completely out to lunch.

- To make the EMG more usable it needs to be full wave rectified which basically means taking the absolute value of the signal.  This will put the whole signal on the positive side of the line.

 -  Then the signal needs to be filtered to take out all noise that might be impeding you from seeing the actual signal you’re trying to get at.  A filter is often used to filter out electrical noise (introduced by the electrical equipment), electromagnetic radiation, and motion artifact(often introduced by swaying wires as the limb moves during the trial).

- Once you’ve gotten this far you SHOULD have a relatively clean EMG signal, but you’re still not done.  In many cases people will average or integrate the EMG to get a clearer picture of muscle effort.

In the picture below you can see the progression from the raw EMG, to full wave rectified, to filtered, and then integrated.

 This signal can then be compared to the torque measured from the limb to establish a relationship between the amount of muscle activity and the amount of force that can be generated. 

So more EMG activity is equal to more muscle force?

Not exactly.  And this is where the problem lies.  Unfortunately the relationship between muscle force and EMG is not linear.  In other words, when EMG goes up, muscle force does not necessarily increase at the same rate.  One does not clearly relate to the other.

Why does this happen?

There are a few things about EMG that make it tricky (even for the best researchers). 

1.  Crosstalk between muscles often occurs when an electrode covers an area where several muscles are located.  For example, electrodes placed over the bicep will record bicep activity, but they can also pick up the signal of the brachialis which is deep to the bicep.  Fine wire electrodes that go directly into the muscle can decrease this, but many studies opt not to use these.

2. EMG best predicts muscle forces during isometric contractions.  Of course, when it comes to exercise, we want to look at movement so this creates problems.  When the arm moves, the muscle can move beneath the electrodes which means that different parts of the muscle are being picked up for the EMG signal.  This can make the prediction of muscle forces difficult.

3.  The real truth is that when you’re measuring the force of the bicep curl, you’re not really measuring the force of the bicep muscle itself.  You’re actually measuring something called torque which is a product of the force of the bicep muscle and its moment arm with the force at the hand and its moment arm.

Say what?

In non-geek terms, it means you have to calculate the muscle force of the bicep because you can’t really measure it directly unless you were to attach some sort of transducer to the muscle itself.  (I should note that a researcher named Paavo Komi used to do this buy surgically implanting a buckle transducer on his achilles tendon).   Sadly, since other muscles cross the elbow and contribute to flexion, the calculation of muscle force is damn near impossible without an elaborate computer program.  If you’ve ever seen the math behind Dr. Stuart McGill’s muscle force predicting model you know how crazy this can get.

But what if we had such a program, could we compare the EMG to other exercises?

You sure could, but again, you need to remember that when you’re comparing different dynamic exercises that are near maximally loaded with surface electrodes you’ve already introduced all sorts of potential error.  If you did want to do it though, you’d need some way to standardize the results. 

What researchers typically do is have the person do a maximal voluntary contraction and compare all EMG results to this.  For example, if you were doing two different bicep exercises you might say that the dumbbell bicep curl yielded 90% MVC whereas a pronated curl produced 65% MVC or something of the sort.

Not doing this can actually lead to erroneous results.  One such case was when it was reported that certain exercises hit the upper abdminals and others hit the lower abdominals to a greater degree.  However, after the signals were presented as a percent of MVC the differences disappeared.  In other words, this demonstrated that you cannot differentially train the upper and lower abs.

I guess my main point here is that while EMG is an incredibly useful tool in the hands of some researchers, it can lead to terrible confusion and inappropriate recommendations in the hands of others.

Always be open minded, but maintain some degree of healthy skepticism of whatever you read…except my blog…which is perfect.  

As many who deal with those in youth sports know, there are an increasing number of kids with repetitive strain injuries and that just shouldn’t happen.

Fortunately, my good friend Mike Scott has pulled together 15 therapists and coaches (myself included) and asked what we thought was causing these issues.  Given the vast array of professional experiences I think the answers all pointed primarily towards the same thing.

Make sure to check it out HERE.

Recently an old friend contacted me on Facebook and asked me the following question:

“What are your thoughts on the 5/3/1 Program? I ask because I’m thinking of completely changing my program to focus on strength, and I’ve read some rave reviews about that program. “

Now honestly, I own the 5/3/1 Program, but have yet to read it so I can’t really make a fair assessment of the program (although I hear it is really good).  I have some degree of ebook ADD and I tend to purchase a lot of them and it takes me a long time to read them all.

However, after reading this question it got me thinking about how people go about choosing programs and it occurred to me that a lot of people have it ass backwards.  They pick a method or program first and set goals from there.

When someone decides to work with me I do the opposite.  I ask them to set out their goals from the very beginning to help me with the overall direction and design of the program.  Instead of choosing a type of training and then setting goals to suit the method, I like to define the goal and select the training methods that are best suited to helping the person reach them.

If strength training happens to be necessary to achieve the goal then I’ll include it as a block of training. However, if it is not necessary to produce the goal, it won’t appear in my client’s program no matter how good the material out there is at at time. Instead of being focussed on the method, I think it is important to focus on the results you want to obtain and select the ideal methods to bring those about.

One question I always ask new clients is ”Where do you want to be in a year from now?” The answer to that question tentatively dictates all blocks of training up until that point. If you’re training primarily to look better, then doing a strength block for no reason other than because a program sounds good, probably isn’t the best way to go.  That is not to say that there is no place for strength training in a physique based program, but you need to plan it accordingly.

Now that it is officially 2010 I urge you to look ahead to where you want to be next year at this time.  Pull out your calendar and work backwards by tentatively planning training blocks all the way through.  And whenever you include something all you have to ask is “does this take me closer to my stated long term goal”?  If the answer is no, your time would be better spent on something else.

A while ago I had the opportunity to check out Nick Tumminello’s CNS Activation DVD and it got me thinking about how specifically to use the various forms of warm up for different types of workouts.

Fortunately, when I was chatting on the phone with Nick a couple weeks later he mentioned something to me that I hadn’t really considered.  He suggested that when doing a strength/power workout it might be better to do mobility work, muscle activation, and do the CNS activation last to optimally prepare for the CNS intensive activities to follow.

On the other hand, a hypertrophy based workout might begin with dynamic mobility work which would be followed by CNS activation.  Muscle activation would be kept until last to create the ideal environment for hypertrophy based training.

I think this is a great point and it is one that I am definitly going to start implementing in my programs.  If you haven’t had the chance to check out Nick’s CNS progressions DVD I’d highly suggest picking it up.  The movements are simple, but can take your workouts to a higher level than mobility or muscle activation alone.

*Note that I’m not making a cent for endorsing this product*