Surprise Surprise

It is always nice to know what other people say or think, especially if you are working hard to gain on that Last 10 Pounds. As I’ve said in a number of previous blog entries, if you work hard and do your best, others will notice and they will compliment you. These are your best indicators that you are on the right track.

The first of these latest complements came in an e-mail from one of the Japanese engineers I am currently working with. His name is Hihara and the day before his e-mail we had a quick discussion about the K-Fit gym in Kakegawa. He is also a member of that gym. So apparently, after our little discussion, he talked to the staff at the gym about his American colleague. His e-mail is quite fun to read;

Dated 3 April 2014 Hi　Mark-san I went to K-fit Kakegawa sports GYM yesterday. K-fit staff and me talked about you. You are a gentleman and looks sportsman. / She said! When you joined, I think that it was serious. Because the staff cannot communicate in English. You leave a sports GYM in around this autumn??  When SK documents, procedures and training materials making was completed in future. Sports GYM staff said (woman) Please fill out a “secession agreement book” by 20th of the month if time to leave a sports GYM comes. Example------When you leave on August 31, please fill out a contract by August 20 at the latest. Thanks, Kiyoshi Hihara Facility engineer Facility Service Maintenance and Facility

The term ‘sportsman’ as I discovered later means athletic or muscular. And besides making sure I received this compliment from the K-Fit staff, he also wanted to make sure that when we finished up in Japan, I correctly terminate the contract. Bless his heart.

And right around May 30^th, there was a massage therapist in the K-Fit demonstrating her technique and as I walked by her to get over to the weight area, she blurted out ‘nice body’; WOW!!!! What an ego booster.

More Homework………….

Most recently I have read 2 new books that were heavily advertised in Men’s Health.

The first is Keep It Up: The Power of Precision Medicine to Conquer Low T and Revitalize Your Life by Florence Comite, MD. In my opinion the book is basically a giant advertisement for statins, hormone replacement therapy plus a myriad of other supplements. The author hides the sales pitch behind the term Precision Medicine or Proactive Health Care. In this book, they have you look at yourself as a metabolic machine and establish a baseline as far as existing condition. Metabolic, hormonal and genetic indicators are measured plus your ancestry is assessed for general disease and mortality facts. Once you have all of the initial data, you categorize yourself based on what is considered a normal range and then initiate lifestyle changes plus a medication and supplement regime to reduce your risk of serious illness or death; e.g. improve longevity and more specifically stay healthy longer. The book does include diet and exercise as part of the solution, but it is not the focus.

Basically, I agree with the concept; keep track of your metabolic parameters. Establish your Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and integrate lifestyle changes to make improvements. However, I do not agree with lifelong meds and replacement hormones. If you are pushing 60 like me, lose the gut and go lift something heavy on a regular basis (plus go run, or swim or bike, or whatever…….). As you approach and after you reach ‘normal’, wean yourself off of as many medications as you can and I guarantee, your metabolic processes and hormones will eventually stabilize. It may take several years but you will be rewarded. And as you work hard to eat whole food instead of crap, exercise instead of being a couch potato, manual labor instead of ultimate automation and convenience, 3 deep breaths and finding your chi instead of stress; e.g. shifting your lifestyle to a more physical culture, you will gain on those…..……masculine feelings and of course, that Last 10 Pounds.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the supplement rundown on Arginine; the book touts it as a proactive supplement for training and male dysfunction. I can pretty much tell you that the author has never tried it. And yes folks I have, I drank the cool aid thinking that it would open up capillary passages in leg and arm muscle and fat stores. I couldn’t tell you if there were any beneficial results because after several weeks I found myself looking for a toilet every time I took off for a run. You see not only does Arginine dilate your arteries (by production of NOx) it also loosens up your bodies various sphincters, All of your Sphincters. I don’t think I need to describe this any further, you should get the ideal.

The second book, The Body Fat Breakthrough by Ellington Darden, PhD is not too bad and is written like most other lose the fat gain muscle books; lots of nutrition advise, recipes and basic exercises techniques. Plus the good doctor has included several Fat Buster techniques that you can add to your tool belt. One technique that caught my interest is what the author describes as Negative Accentuated Training; e.g. slow negatives.

Slow negatives really aren’t anything new and provide another variation when working with heavier weights. Generally you have a spotter help with the lift and you slowly drop the weight. Quite often you can do this by yourself by cheating the weight up. In fact if you follow Mike Chen on YouTube (6 Pack Shortcuts fame), I have heard him say that cheating with a heavier weight during a contraction is O.K. as long as the negative is in correct form.

In this second book, they are using (again; more like selling you on) new weight machines from a Swedish company that add approximately 40% to the eccentric (negative). Basically, you lift lighter than do a slow controlled eccentric with a 40% increase in weight. The author also has you doubling up on the negatives (1 ½ reps) plus gives you a 30-30-30 tempo; 30 seconds down, 30 seconds up and 30 more down. WOW! 1 ½ minutes under tension. I have been doing 30 to 45 second iso holds on the Osaka tiny tiny gym’s leg press machine and believe me, even at something like 40% 1RM these are pretty tough; lots of muscle twitching, lots lactic acid build up.

After reading this book, it looks to me like loaded isometrics and occlusion training (Kaatsu or tourniquet training), are functionally the same as the slow negatives. All of these methods, to some extent, restrict blood flow thus restricting oxygen and allowing for the buildup of waste products in the muscle (lactic acid, etc…).

For loaded iso’s and occlusion training, a lower resistance (lighter weight) is used. Occlusion training advertises that 20% 1RM will get the same hypertrophy results as lifting in the 70 to 90% range. WOW! And we’ve discussed loaded iso’s in previous blogs; e.g. holding a 60% lift. Basically the lack of oxygen plus the buildup of metabolic waste stimulates the release of muscle building hormones; growth hormone, insulin growth factor-1, adrenaline…… etc… And if we combine this with the correct diet and nutrient timing, you can’t help but metabolize fat and build muscle.

However, if you really want to gain strength along with muscle size, e.g. improving muscle, nervous system, tendons and ligaments; you need to lift heavy during the contraction and extension. I can pretty much guarantee, if you lift as heavy as you can for multiple rep’s or sprint it out in multiple bouts, you will feel a very intense lactic burn; e.g. the buildup of metabolic waste. Plus when you lift heavy, you engage more neuromuscular communication and beef up your ligaments and tendons. Not so if you’re dinking around with smaller weights.

That being said, slow negatives along with loaded iso’s are something to remember when heavier weights just aren’t available; e.g. the tiny tiny gym in Osaka. I haven’t tried a tourniquet yet but it could also be in my future. And as my leg returns to normal, I also see a few ‘Widow Maker’ (Lyle McDonald’s Stubborn Fat Protocol 2.0) run routines in my future; that will pump in the lactic acid.

And finally, the only real issue I had with this second book is that the good doctor used fairly childish explanations in tabloid exposé format. First and foremost, mature adults do read at better than a 4^th grade level and screaming out ‘headlines’ may work for CNN, but a serious book on fat loss does not need to be that dramatic. This ain’t new science doc, you’ve just repackaged it.

More on Kaatsu Training…………

I have finally spotted someone using occlusion training (Kaatsu training) here in Japan. It was at the K-Fit in Kakegawa. An older gentleman had a couple of D-Ring straps and tightened them up on each leg up around the groin area. Then he did a simple leg sequence (circuit) on the gyms collection of cable machines (leg extinctions, hamstring curls, leg press, etc…) then off to the treadmill to walk for 45 minutes or so.

And about 2 weeks after that sighting, a certified Kaatsu trainer was at the K-Fit gym showing off his equipment. He actually strapped my upper arms into the gear and allowed me to complete a couple of sets of concentration curls. It was not what I had expected. The equipment consists mainly of an air pump and several sized pneumatic cuffs (similar to blood pressure cuffs). Once the cuffs are in place, the trainer sets the pressure and you complete the exercise with very very light weights. The pressure is about twice what you would see with a blood pressure cuff, almost to the point of being uncomfortable. During the curls, there was a pump but because the weights are so light, there is no associated ‘burn’, e.g. the buildup of lactic acid.

Compared to my normal bicep routine, it just doesn’t feel like you are accomplishing much of anything. When I’m done with one of my normal supersets, my biceps feel like they’ve been put through a meat grinder; very pumped, lots of lactic acid. It dissipates rapidly but still, you feel like you have gained on it.

An example of one of my more common bicep routines;

  

Triple Bicep Superset (15 to 20 Minutes)

Muscle Group; Strictly Biceps, with a Lat Burn Down.

Exercises Included; - Barbell Curl (straight bar) - Dumbbell Preacher Curl - Standing Dumbbell Curl - Row (Dumbbell, Barbell, Machine - doesn't matter,  just heavy)

Exercise Procedure; This is a superset of 4 bicep exercises and consists of a barbell curl, dumbbell preacher curl, standing dumbbell curl and a row. My favorite is a reverse grip barbell row (hits the bicep's even harder). This exercise should be your second group of lifts after any of the listed chest routines (Triple Chest or Bench Press Drop). Each set will be at target weight for 8 reps each exercise. For the dumbbell exercises, you can adjust up/down within a few pounds depending on fatigue level; just want to make sure you can make the lift with correct form. For this group, we start out at target weight. The barbell curl should be at a weight that at your 8th rep, it is difficult to maintain form. The barbell lifts are also a 'Drag' curl; dragging the bar over the abs to up over the nipple line keeping elbows tight to your trunk area. You can play around with grip width to catch the biceps at various angles. The dumbbell preacher curls should also be at a weight where it is difficult to maintain form on the 8th rep. You can do these seated or standing, I prefer standing using an adjustable bench at 45 degrees to isolate the bicep. You could also drop in a concentration curl for variation. During the 2nd and 3rd sets, I like to go up a few pounds in weight then back to the target weight on the final set. The standing dumbbell curls should use a locked elbow (keep the elbow at one position locked into the trunk).  Again, use a weight that you will be struggling with on the 8th rep and remember to squeeze the bicep when fully contracted. For the row, go as heavy as you can. And for all 4 of these exercises, when you lower the weight, try a ten count as the weight is lowered. - Barbell curls are 'Drag' curls, the bar is dragged over you abs to just above your nipples. - Barbell curls; keep your elbows planted to your trunk. - Preacher curls, try 'Holding' the lift just off full extension for a few seconds, then complete the contraction. - Dumbbell Curls, use alternating arms, keep elbows planted to your trunk and keep palms forward. - Row, as heavy as you can pull. The rest period between exercises is zero and between sets should just be long enough for any 'burn' in the muscle to dissipate. Since your heart rate and breathing will be quick to recover, the ' burn' should be the best indication of when to start the next set. Since your biceps are a pretty small muscle set, there should be a fairly quick overall recovery; no heavy breathing, no profuse sweating.

How You Should Feel After the Exercise; Your arms should be heavy and initially well pumped, e.g. pumped to the point where it is actually difficult to complete a full curl (bicep interferes with the full contraction. There may be a minor shortness of breath after the rows, but it should pass quickly. DOMS may set in about 30 to 40 hours after the workout. If soreness sets in earlier or is greater than a minor annoyance, lower the weight of at least one exercise; I prefer to adjust the weight of the standing dumbbell curls.

May 2013, Standing Barbell, 27kg. Preacher 15kg. Standing Dumbbell 10kg.

And finally, on April 17, 2014, I finally ran a Split 20, my favorite run for the first time since January when I sprained my calf. WOW! 75 days for a full recovery. I’m glad it was a minor sprain. Anything longer could put a real hold on the Last 10 Pounds. 

MMJennings