Trajan Magazine - v01.i03 - State of Confusion
08
State of Confusion by Abigail Ekue-Smith Abigail Ekue-Smith says constant change in your exercise routine is like breaking the snooze button on your body's alarm clock. You ever notice that when you do the same workout for too long it becomes way too easy? Ever feel you're just going through the motions? It's not all in your head - it actually is becoming automatic. There's science behind this phenomenon. Your muscles learn and adapt to exercise. Think back to when you first learned how to ride a bike. At first it was difficult, but you made great advances till it became easy to steal your buddy's bike for a while. Your muscles, along with your brain, remember how to do certain motions till they become second nature. That's your muscle memory kicking in. When you start a new workout plan, you make quick gains in strength and power in the beginning. That's because your muscles are learning how to lift - burning off energy and fat in the process. Once the squat or bicep curl is mastered, then you can lift heavier. Your body isn't "concentrating" as hard on the form. When your regular weights become too light, that's due to the SAID principle - Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands. As you stress your muscles they adapt to the weight and the exercise and at some point stop changing. It's important to change your routine every 4-6 weeks to keep increasing strength and muscle mass. A new workout will keep you motivated and keep your muscles guessing. So, how can you avoid hitting that plateau? Throw More Weight Around That's self-explanatory. As the weights become too easy, increase it by 2-5 lbs or 5 percent. That means if you can curl 55 lbs, after 34 weeks, up the weight to 60 lbs or increase about 3 lbs if using the 5 percent rule. Or if you bench 215 lbs increase to 225 lbs. Do not increase your weights too fast, you can do more damage than good and set yourself back with injury.
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Trajan Magazine - v01.i03 - State of Confusion (cont'd)
09
State of Confusion by Abigail Ekue-Smith Cross Train Weights are not the be-all and end-all to working out. Don't laugh at the guys you see sweating it up in kickboxing class or chanting Om's in the yoga studio. Sure you can bench 250lbs or pump out one-arm push-ups, but can you hold yourself up in plank position, do downward dogs, T-stands, and crane poses over and over again for an hour? Many yoga postures build strength and endurance. Yoga is not for wimps. Pilates isn't for pussies. Last is First Don't bore your muscles doing your exercises in the same order every time. If your workout goes squats, leg press, hamstring curl, rows, lat pull down, chest press, push-ups, bicep curls and triceps extension, reverse it or change the order of your workout. Maybe do all your upper body work first, and then do your lower body. Don't Waste Time Waiting Take your usual workout and throw in bursts of cardio or anaerobic exercise. Interval training is effective for muscle development. Let's take the sample full body workout from the previous tip - between your squats and leg presses do a set of walking lunges. Do a set of jumping jacks followed by a set of hamstring curls then run in place, etc. Interval training is also a good way to stay in your target heart rate zone.
The view in yoga class can be quite nice, actually.
Lift like an Egyptian Pyramid workouts are a great way to shake up your workouts. For example, for your first set of leg press, do 8 reps at 250; second set, 12 reps at 220, and third set of 15 using 180 lbs. That's considered half a pyramid. When your legs aren't quivering like Jell-O at the end of your third set, try a full pyramid; up the weight while dropping the reps. Choose a weight that will be difficult to lift for the last 2-3 reps, without sacrificing your form. Slow and Steady Changing the tempo of your reps really challenges the muscle in different ways and can help get you cut faster. You're probably used to a two-count up, two-count down sort of tempo. Adapt the rule of 8. One full rep should be eight counts. How you break that down, into the concentric (the "up" or "squeeze" part of the rep) and eccentric (lowering the weight) muscle contraction is up to you. You can probably pump out 25 push-ups without breaking a sweat but try this: starting in the up position, with your arms straight, lower yourself for four counts till your shoulders and elbows are parallel, hold for 2 counts, and return to starting position for 2 counts. Play with different counts. Try it in Reverse The SAID principle doesn't just relate to how much you lift, but also the way you use your muscles. Triathletes do brick workouts because running stresses your quads and hamstrings differently than cycling will. You can mimic those workouts or try walking on the treadmill in reverse. Increase the incline and you'll work the glutes and quads differently as well. Abigail Ekue-Smith, ATC is a NYC-based freelance writer specializing in health, fitness, and nutrition. She is also an NATA Certified Athletic Trainer and former personal fitness trainer. Photograph on previous page by Marquita Angelina. Photograph on this page by Bryce Prevette
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