Specialization for Lagging Body Parts: Grow Your Weakest Muscles

Editors Note: This post is written by strength and body shape specialist JC. JC is a writer, fitness enthusiast, former athlete, strength training and diet consultant. He has over 10+ years experience in the field of fitness and athletics and he began strength training at the age of 14. You can read his full bio on the About page  or visit his blog www.JCDFitness.com.

Have you experienced a setback or injury that caused your training to take a back seat for a while? Ever had to lay off of pressing or another particular movement and noticed a significant reduction in muscle size? Perhaps you have been training for a while and notice that certain muscle groups have developed or are developing faster than others.

Everyone is different and genetics play a huge role in how we all develop in terms muscle growth. For instance, my quads and glutes will grow if I just dream about squatting, however my shoulders and calves are a different story. I have to give them some extra attention and effort when planning my training to ensure a proper stimulus.

In todays article I will cover body part specialization and how you can use it to your advantage when building a well rounded physique. I have been a student of Lyle McDonald’s work for about 2 years now and what I am presenting today is an assemblage of information I have gathered from his forums about training and in this case, specifically for hypertrophy.

Who Should Do A Specialization Routine?

Intermediates and advanced level trainees. This method is not suitable or even necessary for the beginner. Newbies should be doing a simple, full body strength training program to build a solid foundation first. Once they get stronger and have the fundamentals in place, then they can up the volume and switch to an upper/lower split more so focused on hypertrophy. Once they have progressed even further, they can opt to do a specialization cycle when necessary.

How To Set Up A Specialization Routine

Pick two body parts only: When setting up this type of programming you should only pick two body parts to specialize at any given time, no more. Your focus, intensity and volume must go towards the areas you want to improve. All you have to do for the rest of your body is low volume maintenance work. Each cycle will last about 6 weeks in length, then it’s time to back off the volume and work on bringing up another set of muscle groups.

Work the lagging body part first: and your goal is to provide the best growth stimulus possible for the following 6 weeks. You do this by aiming to add more weight to the bar each workout. The goal is to progress as much as humanly possible during this time frame (whilst maintaining great form of course).

Your first movement will be a heavy compound: Use either 5×5 or 4×6-8 with controlled reps. Rest about 3-5 minutes in between sets, then follow up with an isolation type movement for 3×8-12 with 60-90 seconds rest in between sets. By doing it like this you accomplish 2 goals: heavy tension stimulus + fatigue stimulus.

When doing your maintenance work, stick with 2-3 sets x 6-8 reps: This is enough volume to maintain what you have previously built without overtaxing your body. Remember, you want the excess nutrients consumed to go toward building the muscle groups in which you are aiming to improve.

Let’s say you wanted to bring up your chest and hamstrings for the first specialization cycle. I would set up your training using an upper/lower split.

Chest and Hamstrings Emphasis

Your training schedule would look like this.*

Monday – Upper

Tuesday – Lower

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – Upper

Friday – Lower

Saturday – Rest

Sunday – Rest

*If you are pressed for time, you could of course make this an every other day routine split up over two weeks:

Week 1 – Upper/Lower/Upper

Week 2 – Lower/Upper/Lower

Repeat

 

Here is what your workouts would look like.

Monday/Thursday – Chest Emphasis

Bench 5×5*

Dumbbell Flyes 3×8

Row 3×6-8

Lateral raises 2×8-12

Bi/Tri 2×8-12

*Repeat on the following upper day or swap out with another movement such as incline presses or weighted dips. Movements shouldn’t vary much as you will need to track progress.

 

Tuesday/Friday – Hamstring Emphasis

RDL 5×5 – These will make your glutes grow too.

Leg Curl 3×8

Leg Extension 3×8-12

Calves 3×8

Trunk 2-3×10 of whatever abdominal movement.

 

Remember, this should be done for no more than 6 weeks. Your first few workouts should be slightly submaximal to ensure you continually ramp up the weight over the specialization cycle. Once the cycle is over you would pick another 2 body parts you want to bring up. So on the next cycle you might focus on lats and quads and drop the previous specialization movements to maintenance work as per the workout example.

After you get a few specialization cycles under your belt, rinse and repeat or if you are satisfied with the results, you can always move to a regular hypertrophy training split such as DC Training or Lyle’s Bulking Routine etc.

Nutritional Requirements During A Specialization Cycle

This part of the equation is just as important, if not more important than the training portion.

We can go about this two different ways: Carb/calorie cycling ala structured overfeeding or the traditional dietary approach.

Structured Overfeeding*

On your training days you will be in a caloric surplus, while on your off days you will simply eat at maintenance. Training days will be higher carb and rest days will be moderate carb/fat. This method seems to be the most popular with the guys I work with due to their fear of gaining any amount of fat. I must say that this method may not yield the maximum rate of muscle gain due to limiting calories on rest days but you cannot have your cake and eat it too (you can with the traditional method).

Here is a sample of what a typical training and rest day would look like for a 180lb(81kg) male with a maintenance intake of 3000 kcal.

Training Days 3600 kcals(+20% maintenance)

240g protein(3g x kg bodyweight)

480g carbs

80g fat(20% kcals)

Rest Days 3000(maintenance)

240g protein

240g carbs

120g fat

Rest days are set to zone proportions for ease of calculation. I am not too concerned with the macro nutrient ratio you opt for on rest days as long as your protein intake remains static.

*This dietary approach is more suitable for females due to lower rates of muscle gain, but your total daily calories will differ depending on the individual. To determine your daily caloric allowance click here.

 

Traditional Dietary Approach

This is easy and does not really need any explanation. You would simply eat 500 kcals over maintenance daily in hopes of gaining about 1lb(~.5kg) per week.

Daily Intake 3500 kcals(+500 over maintenance)

240g protein

455g carbs

80g fat

So there you have it, a detailed approach to body part specialization.  When you begin your first training cycle, make sure to follow the guidelines and allow plenty of time for rest and recuperation; you will definitely need it!

You can read JC’s full bio on the About page  or visit his blog www.JCDFitness.com. 

Eco Friendly, Mercury and Omega-3 Levels in Fish: Which Fish are Best for You and the Environment?

Eating fish is good for you. But when Jeremy Piven (Ari from Entourage) suddenly left his broadway show due to high mercury levels from fish,  questions have been raised about which fish are best to eat. 

In my recent article on the best meats to eat, white fish came in second on the list, with salmon fairing quite poorly due to its high fat content. Salmon, however contains a lot more essential Omega-3 fatty acids, so how do we choose which fish to feast on?

What are the considerations when choosing a fish to eat?

Mercury levels

The lower the better (see chart below). Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and can also be released into the air through industrial pollution. Mercury falls from the air and can accumulate in streams and oceans and is turned into methylmercury in the water. Fish absorb the methylmercury as they feed in these waters and so it builds up in them. It builds up more in some types of fish and shellfish than others, depending on what the fish eat, which is why the levels vary. Older, larger fish tend to have more mercury in them beacuse they have eaten the smaller fish which also contain mercury.  Swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish seem to be the worst offenders. Salmon, cod, sole, and canned tuna have much better (low) mercury levels. Pregnant or breastfeeding women should be particularly wary of mercury consumption. 

Essential Omega 3 fatty acids

The higher the better (see chart below). These unsaturated fats have been shown to increase the health of the cardiovascular system. They lower LDL (lowsy) cholesterol and increase HDL (healthy) cholesterol levels. They have also been shown to help lower blood pressure, prevent blood clotting, not to mention the many memory boosting benefits (what were they again? I seem to have forgotten!)

This chart compares mercury levels and Omega-3 levels in common fish

* ND – mercury concentration below the Level of Detection (LOD=0.01ppm)

This Chart shows fish containing the highest amount of mercury

*Source: American Heart Association

Environmental impact

Wild caught or farmed? In the quest for sustainability we must really consider the environmental impact of the fish we eat. For example for every kilo (2lbs) of prawns (shrimp) we eat, it is estimated that there are 4-10kg (8-20lbs) of ‘by-catch’, which can include dolphins and turtles. There is also significant damage to the sea floor from net usage. This Chart outlines the eco friendly fish to eat which are caught wild. The jury is out over farmed fish. There are questions about adding chemicals, fish being damaged due to overpopulation, and the pollution to nearby estuaries. It is known that farmed fish to avoid include salmon due to their over population, and chemicals can leak into the ocean as well as damage to local sea life as they are caniverous.

The best eco friendly wild fish to eat are squid, anchovy, albacore tuna, garfish, whiting and herring. The worst; sea perch (orange roughy), ocean perch, Gemfish (hake), flake (school shark), travella, marlin and, bluefin (sashimi) tuna (oh no!!!) . The below chart outlines these. Download a wallet sized chart to take to the fish markets here

*Source Australian Marine Conservation Society

Freshness of restaurant fish

 Choose freshly caught fish or flash frozen for the fattier fish like salmon and chillean sea bass. Lean fish have a lot of water in them and when frozen the water expands, breaking cell walls which causes the fish to turn mushy when defrosted. Fatty fish such as salmon tend to hold their shape very well when frozen. In fact when eating raw fish, such as salmon sushimi parasites will have been killed if it’s been frozen for a minimum of seven days. Cooking, of course kills parasites also.  To find out more read this interesting article on to freeze or not to freeze.

Choosing fish at the fish market

Get up close and examine him. Signs of a fresh fish include; his fins are flapping and his mouth is moving (just kidding!); eyes crystal clear and protruding (not sunken and cloudy), open the gills and make sure they are a vibrant red (not green, brown or grey), scales should be shiney and white (not discoloured or brown), poke the flesh (or ask the fishmonger to), it should be firm, elastic and bounce back. Fattier breeds may leave a small indentation which is fine. Finally the fish should not smell too fishy or like ammonia, if he’s on the nose, move along.

The Final verdict

Depending on your preferences, ie low mercury, low fat, high omega-3s or eco-friendly, you must really study the charts for yourself. However after researching for this article, my choices for seafood will now be;

• Tinned tuna (dolphin friendly) 
• Octopus/calamari/squid
• Wild caught salmon, black back (watch the fat content),
• Flathead
• Catfish 
• Sardines
• herring (watch the fat content)

Do you have any fish preferences that you know are good for you and the environment. I’d love to hear about them. Note that various regions of the world have different names for their fish, so be sure to google your local catches and compare mercury and omega-3s.

What Is the Best Meat to Eat? Meet Your Meat!

When you are rushing through the supermarket trying to decide what meat to cook for dinner, do you really know what you are looking for? I’m sure you know what tastes great, or what you are comfortable cooking, but what about the health benefits? It is possible your habitual choices could be damaging your health and waistline. I have examined our most popular (and some less popular) meats, and you might find the results surprising!

And the winner is…

Kangaroo meat!!!  For the Aussie readers out there, we grew up watching ‘Skippy’, so now it can be hard to come to terms with eating him! Kangaroo meat has less calories and fat per serve than white fish yet as much iron as red meat and almost as much protein. Skippy really packs a punch in the nutrition stakes! Click here for a Bill Granger marinated kangaroo recipe. They say to treat it as you would beef, however I prefer stews, casseroles and marinades to plain steaks.

Second Place:

White fish. Also extremely low in fat and high in protein, white fish will provide you with some iron, minimal cholesterol and lots of healthy omega 3 fatty acids.

Third and fourth place:

Ostrich, closely followed by chicken breast. I’d like you to note on the chart the vast difference in nutritional value of chicken breasts without the skin versus a BBQ chicken. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that just because it’s chicken, that it’s good for you!

The Healthiest Meats (Best to Worst)

How I came up with the winners:

These statistics are collected mostly from the calorie king website, both the US and Australian versions. This has been a reliable source of nutritional information, especially for fat and calories. In collating the results, the best cuts of meat are ones that will be;

•          Low in fat, especially saturated fat
•          Low in calories
•          Low in Cholesterol
•          High in protein
•          High in iron

Interesting findings:

•          Ostrich is the US version of Kangaroo, an excellent meat choice. It’s usually in the frozen section of the supermarket and can be cooked exactly the same as beef. I also prefer this in a stew but I have eaten the steak and it’s especially nice marinated in soy sauce.
•          Most elite sports people requiring endurance eat kangaroo or ostrich due to the high iron and protein component. Body builders especially like this meat because it is so lean yet so high in protein.
•          Chicken breast with no skin contained the highest protein on the list with saturated fat remaining nice and low.
•          Pork tenderloin, chicken breasts and bison are very similar nutrition wise. But be sure to eat the right part of the pig because other parts such as pork belly (many people’s favourite!) and roasted ham are extremely fatty.
•          Notice that beef and lamb fall low on the list. Don’t despair, just eat sparingly. Especially lamb. The main problem with these two red meats is that they are high in fat including saturated fat. On the positive side they are also the richest source of iron (behind Kangaroo).
•          Salmon came in a surprising 12^th. This is mainly due to its high fat content. Interestingly it is quite low in saturated fat, it’s just the unsaturated fat that tips this fish over the edge. On the positive side, salmon contains a lot more essential omega 3 fatty acids compared to other fish. To compare it to other fish as well as mercury levels, click on this chart. Sword fish and shark are a great alternative to salmon, almost as high in omega-3s yet really low in fat.
•          You have been warned about those greasy BBQ chickens! Check out their stats, 300 calories, 14grams of fat.  Steer clear if you value your health!

The best meats for you:

If weight loss is your goal: The first six on the list. Go for kangaroo, white fish, ostrich, chicken breast, pork tenderloin, or bison (in that order).

If increasing muscle size but staying lean is your goal: Chicken breast, ostrich, white fish, pork tenderloin, or beef.

If you have high cholesterol: White fish, ostrich, kangaroo, or ham.

If you need more iron (intense exercisers, mums to be, tired, pale, and elderly): Kangaroo, beef, or lamb. Click here to find out your daily iron intake recommendation as well as other foods rich in iron.

I suggest finding some recipes and experimenting with your three healthiest meats until you find a dish that’s easy to prepare and tastes good. Remember a good rule of thumb is to eat  red meat no more than twice per week. UK Newspaper, The Independent has written a really interesting article on red meat and its effects on your health. Hopefully this will open your eyes the next time you reach the meat section of the supermarket!

Got any recipes you love? Maybe you’ve already converted to the healthier meats. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Choosing a Diet Plan for Weight Loss: What’s Right for You?

 

Editors Note: This post is written by weight loss expert (and former couch potato) Meg McFarlane. Meg has experienced the weight loss journey first hand and has chronicled this in her blog, Spud On The Run.  She has a Bachelor of Science from Sydney University is currently working in IT.

You have decided that you need to lose weight, but with the hundreds of diets out there, how do you choose the one that is right for you?

If you are like me than you have probably tried hundreds of “fad diets” which were successful until you started eating normally again and then the kilos piled back on and brought a few of their friends with them.  If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to choose a diet that you can stick to long-term.  Think of it more like healthy eating rather than a “diet”.  Therefore, you need to stay away from diets that have you eating only soup or fruit for a period of time and diets that involve meal replacements.  Yes, you will lose weight on these diets but as soon as you go back to eating normally, that weight will return.

Stay away from diets that have you consuming a very low amount of calories:

 Women need at least 1200 calories a day, whilst men need at least 1500 calories a day.  Anything less than this will drive your body into starvation mode which will make it extremely difficult for you to lose weight.  If you are not consuming enough calories then you will not have the energy you need to exercise and to get through your busy day.

Watch out for diets that drastically restrict your intake of carbohydrates or fats:

Diets that are very low in carbohydrates or fats are not ones which will keep your body in optimum health.  Your body needs the right amount of carbohydrates, good fats and protein to keep you healthy and strong.

Pick a diet that allows you to have a cheat meal once and a while:

 The occasional cheat meal is part of a healthy diet and you don’t want to miss out on celebrating special occasions with your family and friends as you lose weight.  Just make sure that these cheat meals don’t happen every day and that you don’t go overboard.  Enjoy your cheat meals, like you do alcohol, in moderation.

Don’t choose a diet just because it worked for a celebrity or a friend:

 Everybody’s bodies are different and can respond to the same foods differently.  Just because a diet worked for someone else, doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for you.  You may need to play around with your food intake until you hit upon your golden combination.  Don’t be afraid to experiment, the worse that can happen is that you gain a couple of kilos.

Consult a professional:

 If you are totally confused about what you should be eating and in what amounts, then consult a nutritionist.  A couple of sessions with a qualified nutritionist will have you well and truly on the path to healthy eating and weight loss.

If you can’t find any diet out there that suits you, then there is nothing wrong with designing your own.  Just make sure you follow these golden rules.

The golden rules of a diet:

1.  Make sure that the majority of your foods are fresh whole foods like vegetables, meat (if you eat it), some fruit and some dairy.  If it comes in a box or lasts more than week (with the exception of frozen vegetables), then it shouldn’t form a major part of your diet.
2. Reduce the amount of refined carbohydrates you are eating.  Try to remove sugar, white breads, pastas and rice from your diet.  Kick your habit of drinking sugary drinks (including those so-called vitamin waters) or switch to the diet versions if you absolutely must have them.
3. Exercise portion control.  Even if you are eating healthy food, if you are eating too many of them, you will still put on weight.  If you don’t know your portion sizes, then head to ninemsn and view the chart to find out.
4. Remember that you cannot out run the fork.  Diet forms 80% of your weight loss efforts and unfortunately, you can exercise off all the bad foods you consume.  Keep your diet as healthy as possible and with regular exercise you will see results.

With the right diet, regular exercise and determination, you can lose weight and keep it off.  The trick is to find an eating plan that you can stick to for the rest of your life. Don’t be scared to experiment with your diet as you lose weight and increase your physical activity as your food intake requirements will change, so have a play around and see what combination works for you.  Just stick to eating lots of fresh whole foods like vegetables as the basis of your diet and cut down your intake of sugar and other refined carbohydrates and you will see results.

You can read Megs full Bio on the About page or visit her blog  http://spudontherun.wordpress.com

Track Calorie Intake To Lose Weight Permanently!

Thunder thighs? Jiggly bum? Flabby tummy? Double chin? Cottage cheese cellulite? Fat arms?

If any of those phrases describe you, then it is time you found a scientifically proven, natural and healthy approach to losing weight.

If you feel that you need to lose some unwanted flab, then you are not alone! A recent study reports that over 60% of Americans today are overweight, and 27% of Americans are categorized as “obese”.

Of those 60% of over weight Americans, the majority of them feel exactly like you do right now. They feel hopeless and confused about which weight loss method will work best.

There are so many options out there! The weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar a year money maker because the weight loss giants know that people will go to any length to lose weight as easily and painlessly as possible.

Well, it is time that you are let in on the cold, hard fact:

The truth is that there is NO magic pill, shake, program or pre-packaged meal scheme that will make you lose weight. Scientific studies repeatedly reveal one universal truth:

To lose weight quickly, naturally and for FREE, you must track calorie intake to lose weight. It’s that simple.

The only natural and permanent way to lose fat and inches is to track calorie intake to lose weight! If you reduce your calorie intake, and track the calorie intake to lose weight, then you WILL succeed.

The best part of all is that you can eat whatever you want to, as long as you account for the calorie intake to lose weight, and keep your meal sizes in moderation!

Imagine that! You can eat a piece of pizza if you want to! You can eat chocolate too! You just have to be aware of your calorie intake to lose weight!

In order to really learn how to listen to and do best by your body, here are some very important pieces of information that you need to know.

• What a realistic goal for your body type is (what will you weigh at your optimal healthy weight?)
• How many calories does your own body need for calorie intake to lose weight?
• What is the difference between calories? They are not all created equal!
• How many calories does your unique body need in order to reach your desired weight?

In order to learn about how your body uses calorie intake to lose weight, you need an informative, up-to-the-minute tracking device and book of sound and scientifically proven advice. You need a source of correct, scientifically proven information!

So act now! Learn to answer the important questions for your body! Learn to track calorie intake to lose weight now and take the mystery and money out of weight loss once and for all!

For important recommendations about best techniques to get my ex back – dig into hyperlinked page.

Learn How Velasmooth Can Aid You With Your Cellulite Troubles

Cellulite is a awfully common dilemma in the females of the species. Very nearly 80% of women who are over the age of 20 go through from terrible cellulite problems. The cellulite is not anything except the fat cells which are placed in the deepest tier of the skin and they steadily become inflated with the undue water retention or storing of fat.

These inflated fat cells create a lumpy appearance over the skin which seem quite dreadful and stops most of the females from dressing in revealing clothes. The most affected areas of the body are the thighs and the butt.

Velasmooth is a practice which helps in taking away the cellulite lumps from the body and creates a smoother impression. Various women prefer to go for this as there are no convoluted surgical processes caught up here.

This method requires the ground-breaking technology of “electro optical synergy” and helps substantially to cut down the excess cellulite of the body. This is in essence a unique amalgamation of the “bi-polar radio frequencies”, Negative pressure techniques and infrared light energies.

The necessary tools that you call for to smooth the skin are rollers, vacuum suctions and the heating part with the use of the ELOS machinery. These are utilized to break down the fat cells of the body which are exceptionally tenacious.

These broken fat cells are flushed from the system via the lymph nodes of the body and they are got rid of in a natural means. As the count of fat cells decrease and the intra-fat structure of the body is treated effectively, the treated region becomes level and flat.

This is enormously a non-surgical manner and it is also accepted by the FDA. There are lots of women who have felt this is valuable and satisfactory as an alternative mode of management for the cellulite lessening.

There are a mixture of advantages of the velasmooth cellulite treatment process. This is dreadfully apparent that this process is rather effective and involves no surgery. The people who are fearful of the invasion this is a excellent alternative for them.

This treatment mode will not immobilize you from doing any of the standard actions and you can keep doing everything yet after the process.

There is no documentation of problems in this system. This will take maximum half an hour to finish. Now if you are apprehensive about the costs of the process then this will vary depending on the clinic where you wish to get it done.

The number of sessions necessary to obtain the best results is about 6 and at times can go up according to the need of an individual. A thorough session may cost you about 0 which is somewhat inexpensive for the general public.

If you are involved in the subject of your healthiness then you may perhaps also wish to read about healthy benefits of tea and detoxing the liver with lemon juice.

Access realistic ideas to height weight calculator – your own knowledge base.

being enthusiastic about your fitness and fat loss goals

Achieving your fitness and fat loss goals should not be approached from just a workout/nutrition perspective, but also from the mind/body perspective. So much of what determines your success in any endeavor you choose to pursue has to do with your mindset and the perspective you take in achieving your goals. The battle is truly won or lost inside your own head.

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