Focus on What Matters: Muscle vs. Movement

Hope everyone here in the U.S. celebrated a Happy Thanksgiving with  friends & family yesterday.

As the infamous “Black Friday” is now upon us, I would encourage those brave shoppers who dare venture out into the “savings wilderness” to shop safe.

Alternatively,  to some of you who might be heading to the gym, might I suggest making it a “Back Friday.” (Pun Intended)

Nevertheless, today’s  post is the latest installment of the Golden Eye for the Adonis Series. 

Here is another  guest post from Eric Weinbrenner.  Better know by his True Insider Handle, “eweinbrenner.”

EWeinbrenner: True Insider and One of our Top Bloggers in the Community

EWeinbrenner: True Insider and One of our Top Bloggers in the Community

Focus on What Matters:

Muscle vs. Movement

I struggled through a few more reps, dropped the dumbbells, and sat up.

Having just finished my third set of Incline Dumbbell Press, my chest (especially the upper portion) should have been fried… but as I sat there thinking about the set I had just performed, I realized I couldn’t really feel any specific muscle working.

Sure, my arms, chest, and shoulders were fatigued- but as far as feeling a specific muscle?- nothing.

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated case: this was a system-wide issue. With nearly every exercise, be it biceps curls or seated rows, I could lift “heavy” weights, but getting a pump and really feeling the target muscle work just was not happening.

To make matters worse, I felt like my muscles were lacking that hard, defined look that I was after. I had put on a decent amount of size, but even at a pretty low body fat (near golden waist), definition was not what I wanted, especially in my chest and arms–where I struggled to feel the muscles working the most.

How a Set Should “feel”

When you are lifting to achieve a certain look–note: I said “to achieve a certain look”; not “to get strong”; not “to improve conditioning”–each set you perform in the gym should feel a certain way.

At the most basic level, during each rep of each set, you should feel the target muscle working. There will be stabilizing muscles contributing, but overall, on any given lift, there should be one muscle (or muscle group) that you feel above all else. When you set the weight down, you should know, without a doubt, that you just worked the target muscle.

But… wait… what does that feel like?

Feeling the target muscle work produces a significant “pump” in the muscle; you should be able to squeeze the muscle and feel tension in the “belly” of the muscle, rather than in the joints around it; you should be able to isolate and flex the target muscle without feeling distraction from surrounding muscles.

In addition to describing what a good set feels like; it is also helpful to describe a bad set. Let me use the biceps curl as an example.

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Focus On What Matters: Muscle vs. Movement
At the most basic level, during each rep of each set, you should feel the target muscle working.

When you do a biceps curl, you should get an insane pump in your biceps and you should have limited contribution from any other muscles. Every guy in the world who has ever been in a weight room has done curls. For some guys, their workout looks like the following:

Monday: Curls

Tuesday: Bench press, curls

Wednesday: Think about doing legs but actually do curls

…You get the point.

I’m using curls and this ridiculous example to show that everyone knows (or thinks they know) how to do a curl.

Yet, I know guys, and have personally experienced doing curls and struggling to actually feel the biceps doing most of the work. For a long time, I would do curls and feel my front deltoids getting a lot of the action and notice that my elbow joints would hurt the next day.

It wasn’t that I was doing curls wrong–I just didn’t know how to target the biceps muscle and make it do the work. I’ve noticed this is especially true, for a lot of muscles, when people have a background in powerlifting or working out primarily to get stronger. They come over to Adonis, where it is about working the muscles, not the movement, and find that they struggle to do that efficiently.

 Work the Muscle, Not the Movement

If you find that you struggle to really feel the muscle working on any given exercise; you have joint pain following certain movements; or you lack the hard, fully developed look in any of your muscles– you very well may be focusing too much on the movement and not enough on the muscle.  

This often stems from the “more weight = more muscle” mantra preached so often in the fitness industry. There are also a lot of experts that suggest things like, “you must lift heavy weights in order to build muscle”, and that “lifting light weights will never stimulate enough muscle for growth.”

There are two major problems with both of these ideas: First, “heavy” and “light” are relative; a weight that is “heavy” to me may be “light” to someone else, and vice versa. Second, this kind of thinking places tends to cause focus to fall on lifting maximum weight, thus focusing more on the movement, rather than the muscle.

This whole idea of working the muscle is not new to the AGR community, but it is so important, it is worth repeating–this is THE focus of our workouts. John Barban himself has described the ability to contract and relax each muscle at will as the “key to full muscle development”– this is how important working the muscle is.

So how can you get better at working the muscle and avoid just slinging weight around?

There are a few ways to do this and nearly all revolve around improving your mind to muscle connection. The best way to do this without overcomplicating things is to align your lifting with your breathing.

This means you will need to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n and use light(er) weights. Remember: “light” weight is relative, choose a weight that allows you to complete the prescribed amount of reps with perfect form using the target muscle.

When I say “slow down”, I am referring to the tempo of each rep. AGR members know that this is built into some of the more advanced programs where specific tempos are prescribed. If you are following one of those programs, just stick with the tempo as written. 

During each rep, lower the rep while inhaling and counting  1 one thousand, 2 one thousand; pause for a second at the bottom of the lift; then complete the “lifting” portion of the lift while exhaling to the count of 1 one thousand, 2 one thousand. The entire motion should be controlled (i.e. you controlling the weight; not the other way around).

 Final Thoughts

The strategies above can be applied to any and all exercises where you struggle to feel the target muscle work or simply as a way to improve mind to muscle connection overall and refocus on what is most important during our work outs: working the muscle.

Be careful to assume that this is for “beginners” and that you are too advanced for this. Remember: John Barban has noted the ability to target a muscle at will is the advanced stage of muscle building–this is something that will take years or practice and consistency to achieve. I can personally attest to the difference this has made for my physique as I have made improving mind muscle connection the focus over the past year or two–I have noticed a much more dense, hard look to my muscles and my ability to work the target muscle has noticed incredible improvements.

 While I wanted to make sure I provided some applicable strategies that you can use at the gym within this article; I also want you to use this article as a way to adjust your mindset, if need be. Becoming distracted and getting caught up worrying about lifting heavy enough weights or feeling like you must “prove” yourself will distract you from what is truly important.

-Eric Weinbrenner

eweinbrenner's Transformation Pics

eweinbrenner’s Transformation Pics

Traditional Bodybuilding Approach vs. Reverse Taper Dieting

Here’s the next episode of the UNCENSORED Podcasts Season 3.

Traditional Bodybuilding Approach vs. Reverse Taper Dieting

Whether you Forward Taper or Reverse Taper to achieve your final look. Rest assured there's some hard work and effort involved.

Whether you Forward Taper or Reverse Taper to achieve your final look. Rest assured there’s some disciplinek and effort involved. Are you working SMARTER or HARDER?

Today’s podcast with John Barban and Brad Pilon compares the two dieting styles of traditional bodybuilding’s  “Forward Tapering” to the Adonis approach of “Reverse tapering.”  The key discussion points of the podcast were provided via a research paper studying natural bodybuilders preparing for an upcoming competition. Other items of interest that were measured caloric intake, exercise time, body fat levels, hormonal levels, etc.

The data from the research paper on the bodybuilders was fairly comparable to the data submitted by our prior Adonis Transformation Winners.

 

Traditional Bodybuilding Approach

“Forward Tapering”  is when you begin dieting at a HIGHER calorie level and continually DECREASE your calorie intake as you get leaner.

This is the traditional bodybuilding approach to preparing for competitions.  Most contest prep plans span between 12-20 weeks.  The goal is for the bodybuilder or competitor to “peak” or look their very best on the day of the show.  There are several tricks a person can perform to hit their “peak” or final look.  It normally begins with drastically cutting calories and increasing their cardio to resulting in depleted glycogen and fat levels.  More advanced preps might include sodium loading/depletion, water and/or carbohydrate cycling.

However most of these efforts are short-lived and hard to maintain because the effort it took to achieve that look is not easily sustained.  Unfortuately, if a competitor does not have a post-contest gameplan they are at risk of  the dreaded “post-contest rebound.”  Some have even ended up looking worse than before they started their prep.

 

Reverse Taper Dieting

“Reverse Tapering”  is the OPPOSITE,  you begin dieting at a LOWER calorie level and continually INCREASE your calorie intake as you get leaner.

 This Adonis Lifestyle approach is SIMPLE, but it’s not EASY.  It requires discipline upfront, when there is no deadline looming in front of you.  Your hard work is done in the begining and provides more room for you to make adjustments as you progress in your transformation.  The Reverse Taper  approach also focuses more on  calorie deficit through eating LESS food as opposed to eating MORE food and doing MORE exercise.

 

It’s Not a Competition, It’s a Lifestyle

Most people who would be opposed to this approach simply have to win the “mental” battle in their mind to believe that this process is more efficient and sustainable.  If they trust the process they can avoid the longer exercise periods needed to create a caloric deficit with the traditional bodybuilder approach. 

John and Brad truly deliver in this podcast, discussing the in’s and out’s of the “Fitness Competitor” lifestyle.  In conclusion, both of these approaches have proven results.  But the question you must ask yourself, are you working SMARTER or HARDER towards the pursuit of you fitness goals?

 IMMERSION Clients May Login and Download Podcast Here

(If you are using Adonis Index Mobile, go to the left menu -> My products -> right menu -> Uncensored Season 3 -> enjoy, you can assign star to add it into Favorites for easier access next time, if you don’t have access to Uncensored Podcasts you can purchase Immersion Package inside the App Shop)

Not an Adonis Index IMMERSION client? Click here to find out more… and hear a weird story too

“State of the Adonis Union” Inaugural Address by Allen Elliott

“The State of The Adonis Union is getting stronger.  And we’ve come too far to turn back to the couch.” – Allen Elliott, Adonis Lifestyle Ambassador

My Adonis Lifestyle Journey began when I made the Watch List in Contest AT3. I received tremendous support from members of the AI/VI community to pursue my fitness endeavors. After winning the AT7 Open Level 2 Contest Category I'm inspired to support and motivate others to begin their own Adonis Lifestyle Journey.

Hello, my name is Allen Elliott and I’d like to share my “Adonis Lifestyle” Story with you. While stumbling upon the Adonis Index website over three years ago, I could’ve never imagined the incredible amount of success and personal satisfaction this system has provided for myself and my fitness endeavors. As an ex-athlete, I’d hear the horror stories’ of guys who started off in great shape only to be de-railed later in life & never recovering.  Now that training for performance was no longer a goal or requirement, I was desperately looking for direction.  I found the Adonis Index Systems  to be straightforward and applicable to anyone desiring to improve their overall “Look” as opposed to specific performance training.

After completing the First Week of Workouts, I took the plunge and never looked back.  Training exclusively with Adonis Index Systems, I have competed and placed with top honors in Natural Bodybuilding/ Men’s Physique Fitness Competitions, graced the runway in several prominent fashion shows, and have published work as a fitness model. Following the Adonis Lifestyle has given me unstoppable confidence to pursue my fitness goals with a relentless tenacity.

Allen Elliott | Fitness Model Comp Card || Credits: N3K Photo Studios | Bertron Anderson Photography | Michael Martin Photography

When John contacted me and asked if I would like to become a guest blogger on the site, I was deeply honored and graciously accepted his offer. My Goal while giving back to the Adonis Index Community is to: Supply, Train, and Build.

Supply–As a guest blogger, I will post helpful tips for contest preparation, provide insight on making the transition from an AI Contest to a “Live Show”, and share updates from my Journey in the World of Fitness Modeling.

Train–I’ll also be active in the AI forums to chat with members about training styles, body-part specialization within the AI system, and any other topics that may arise that I can help with.

Build–Preparing for the road ahead, John and myself are masterminding to bring you the next Adonis Index workout.  This advanced workout will show you how I prepare for Fitness Competitions and Model Photo-Shoots, Adonis Index Style.

As we carry forward the plans and programs to better help you achieve your fitness goals I’d like to remind you to enjoy your fitness journey, the results are worth the effort. Stay Tuned! The best is yet to come.

Allen Elliott

The Limits of Muscle Growth

There are multiple factors that contribute to your ability to grow larger muscles.

Factors that can be rate limiting are:

Even the Hulk stops growing at some point.

1. Nutrition – Severe malnutrition or starvation will limit your ability to grow your  muscles to their full potential.

2. Exercise – Progressive resistance training will stimulate muscle growth beyond what your natural level of muscle mass is without working out.

3. Muscle Tissue – Your genetically predetermined muscle mass.

In most cases nutrition and exercise will not limit your ability to grow. Your genetically predetermined muscle size and tissue architecture will be the rate limiting step.

Even bodybuilders who use copious amounts of drugs eventually revert back to their predetermined genetic muscle mass limit once they stop using drugs.

It appears that the body has a very tight control on muscle mass and this would lead us to believe that it’s happening for a very good reason.

It might be that going above and beyond this limit is not a good thing for your body overall.

We propose that the golden Adonis Index ratio is likely a close estimation of what the upper limit of potential muscle mass is on any given person.

Exceeding this limit is definitely possible with drugs, but considering the strict control the body has on this limit, it might not be the healthiest thing to do.

In today’s uncensored podcast, we discuss this limits of muscle growth and why it is likely set the way it is.

John

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For more information as well as how to get access to Adonis UNCENSORED, click the link below:

Adonis UNCENSORED Premium Podcast

 

How Big Can Your Muscles Grow

Creating your best looking physique requires two things:

1) Low bodyfat  &  2) Well Developed Muscles

Most of us can't workout at work like Ron Burgundy Does!

 

Lower bodyfat levels are a matter of diet and to some degree genetics, but todays post is about the second issue, developing muscle.

The muscle size that you can eventually develop is based on many factors including:

Genetic starting point – Somatotype

Durability – How resistant you are to injury

Emotional Disposition – How easily you become stressed and anxious

Mental Focus – How much and how long you can focus on your workouts and your intensity level in the gym

Available Time – How much time you have available to dedicate to training

Rest and Recuperation – The time and ability you have to rest, recover from your workouts and unwind from the other stresses in your life

Other Lifestyle Factors – There are a number of other factors that get in the way of your training including work responsibilities, traveling, family responsibilities, school, social events etc.

In today’s podcast we’ll discuss the rate limiting steps that are determining how big you can grow your muscles.

In most cases the amount of muscle you can ever develop is not limited by your genetics but rather by your lifestyle.

John

LISTEN:

What does “Building Muscle” Mean?

Most men want bigger muscles…it’s the reason most of us go to the gym, it’s the reason men continue to experiment with new workout protocols, new supplements and even drugs…bigger muscles.

Eugen Sandow vs Schwarzenegger

How did Schwarzenegger get so much bigger than Sandow?

A quick glance around any gym will reveal men with vastly different sizes of muscles. So what makes one guy that much different than the other in a given group?

The factors that contribute to the muscle size of any given person you might come across include:

Genetics

# of years weight training

Type of program followed

Intensity of training

The age you started weight training

Supplements

Drugs

Money – how much supplements or drugs you can afford

Time – The amount of time you can spend working out

Stress – How much stress you are under in the other areas of your life

All of these factors contribute to the amount of muscle any given person has, and this is also why you can’t really compare yourself to anyone else.

This is all part of understanding muscle growth and what to expect.

At this point you might have noticed that I haven’t said anything about ‘building muscle’ but only muscle ‘growth’. That is because it’s incorrect to use the word ‘build’ to refer to muscle.

Or at the very least, the word ‘build’ makes us think of muscle growth in the wrong terms, and as long as we think in terms of muscle ‘building’ we will always be susceptible to marketing scams about muscle growth.

The first step to really understanding how to create bigger muscles is to first start thinking about muscle growth as it truly is, and that is hypertrophy, not ‘building’.

DEFINITION: Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells.

The definition of the word “build” can mean many things, but none of it’s meanings are the same as the word ‘hypertrophy’.

Hypertrophy can most closely be related to the concept of filling up a water balloon and perhaps making a slightly bigger balloon to fill.

Making this distinction in the way you think of muscle growth is a key step to developing the body you want and namely, bigger muscles.

In todays podcast we discuss how to correctly think about muscle growth and how this fundamental shift in the way you think and speak about muscle growth will change the way you view working out for both muscle size and definition.

John

LISTEN:

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