Author Archives: Justin

Q&A – 43

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PR Friday is a celebration of training. Let us know how your week went, whether you hit new PR’s, and what upcoming events you’re preparing for. Ignore the timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

The Weekly Challenge asked you to accumulate manly deeds. The person with the most deeds will win a 70’s Big shirt. This includes wearing short shorts as part of The Revolution. Post your deeds to the comments.

Next Week’s Challenge will be directed at the womenz, because I excluded them with “manly deeds”. You gals will compete in a training photo contest — whoever has the ‘best’ training photo will win a t-shirt. Make it funny, make it cool, or whatever. Submit them to the Facebook Fan Page or Twitter.

Week In Review: It started with a clarification post about the lack of neuromuscular efficiency in females. There’s a difference between the gender result of not being as efficient and the ability to improve a given efficiency in training. On Tuesday I talked about the benefits of warming up, specifically for athletic endeavors (I pulled my hamstring because of a lousy warm-up). Wednesday took a look at why the Anglosphere population is fat and what we can do about it. Thursday celebrated 70sBig.com’s third birthday (which is actually Saturday, the 22nd); thank you all for the kind words.

Q&A

This question comes through a friend of a friend (female):

“My blood results show high cholesterol and high triglycerides. I eat mostly Paleo and train heavy 3-4x/wk. I will tighten up the Paleo and reduce cheats, but what else should I work on?”

 Dear Friend of Friend,

First, I want to point out that having a poor looking lipid profile may or may not be a bad thing. It’s more so the composition of the types of fats you have. I highly suggest you read Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution. He goes into depth on this issue. I’d also recommend The Great Cholesterol Con by Anthony Colpo as well as Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. Wolf’s book will give the simple “this is what the situation is, and this is what you do”. Colpo and Taubes will give you a tons of background explaining why the fat hypothesis is just flat-out wrong. Let’s assume you’re on par with the last two books.

Second, I don’t have much information on you. If you have a more unhealthy body composition (i.e. you’re a bit fat), then fix that.

Third, I don’t know what “mostly paleo” means. If you’re not actually doing it, then it’s pretty easy to see why your lipid profiles aren’t where you would want them. Again, check Wolf’s book because he actually gives some ranges on what they should be (the medical doctor’s ranges will probably blow). If the lipid profile concerns you, then commit to 30 days of no shit paleo, then get re-tested. If they improve significantly, then there ya go.

Fourth, are you consuming quality fats? Fish oil is a standard recommendation for a reason as it’s rich in Omega 3 fatty acids and helps the 3:6 ratio. If you’re eating lots of nuts and seeds, then decrease that stuff and increase the fish oil, coconut oil, and olive oil. I’d have to guess that “mostly paleo” means you’re still eating bread or other non-paleo things more than once a week. Give it a month and see what happens. Don’t bullshit the month otherwise you’re wasting your time.

rburak asks:

Joustin’,

Have you ever done specific neck work? Do back squats really isometrically work the neck? I want dat yoke.

Thanks

 

Dear rburak,

I’ve only done specific neck work a couple of times, and it was playing around with light bands to see if they could be used. I would say that back squats are not enough to have a significant effect on your neck thickness. Instead, things like power cleans, deadlifts, and shrugs will. If you didn’t have a neck harness (I do not), you could try using light bands to extend your neck (I’ve stood on the bands, bent over, and worn a hat to keep the band on my head). Note that lots of reps are recommended since the neck muscles are postural and usually activated throughout the day.

An Australian friend, named Stuart, does neck bridges. You can bridge on a bench or couch, but I recommend ensuring that the neck is in neutral alignment (i.e. not extended back). You would push your heels through the floor (like you’re doing a hip thrust for the glutes) and get the whole torso horizontal as the back of your head is on a surface. My Aussie friend, however, would do bench presses from this position and told me he worked up to 70kg. His neck got too big to fit in shirts, so he stopped doing them. I probably should start doing neck bridges.

 

Stonewallwells asks:

Anyway, I have been working on the TM for about 6 months now and have made some pretty decent progress. Recently I have only been hitting the Volume day and the Intensity day due to the birth of my son and not having the time to do much else. I am fine with this for now because I am still making progress; however, I am intrigued by the Smolov squat program and would like to give it a shot in the next few months(when i have more time in the week to lift or have a bar and rack at my house.) My question is if it would make sense to go through a more volume laden program (thinking of Poliquin’s 10×10 idea) for a few weeks to get adapted to increased volume, or should I just forget about the Smolov idea and continue blasting away on the TM?

For reference:
Male / 27 / 5’9″ / 188lb
recent PR lifts (no older than 8/19):
Squat 380×3
Bench 275×3
DL 440×2
Press 187×1

Last Volume squats was 285x5x5 and i would say it was easy to medium difficulty
Last Intensity Squats was 355x3x2 and this was pretty easy as well

Dear StonewallWells,

Before I answer this, I want you to understand my frame of mind. As someone climbs through intermediate programming of strength training, I’m of the mindset that they will need to lift heavy regularly to remain adapted to hitting the big numbers. I’m also not a fan of excess volume (which is the premise behind the Texas Method books and how the model has progressed into the advanced stuff).

I look at Smolov programming as typically having a lot of volume work. Yes there are different cycles of it for different instances, yet the volume does remain high. I also (possibly unfairly) reduce it to a program that is more so benefited from extracurricular supplementation since PEDs use is accepted and prevalent in Smolov’s regional birthplace. Not that it doesn’t work for a raw un-drugged lifter, but that it would be augmented by additional recovery capabilities.

That means that I’m less likely to be supportive of using Smolov. Especially in this situation. You’ve got limited time, man. You’ve got a family and work. Smolov is a rough program. It requires perfect recovery. Sleep. Food. Even soft tissue work to really recover well. I see it as a program that a competitive lifter would use in their off-season knowing that they were going to transition their training too much higher intensity work. Remember that one of the girls that I handled at nationals ran a volume-focused Smolov program and I thin it inhibited her ability to hit heavier loads since she wasn’t adapted to high intensity.

The argument with the TM style of programming is that you can still get that higher intensity work regularly and not have to have that build up period. And you can do it by using relatively less volume (when compared to a hard squat program in Smolov). You could emulate Smolov with squatting higher frequency, but still, you told me that you have a family and limited time.

Does this mean that I think Smolov sucks and that TM is king and I am god? No, but given your life circumstances, I don’t see Smolov as something that’ll be optimal. Especially when you have a lot of progression potential given your numbers (your Volume Day is only 80% of your Intensity Day, and you said the ID isn’t hard). Smolov will work well to boost someone’s squat, especially if it’s lagging, but I’d only recommend it enthusiastically for certain people.

 

Dear Justin,

 

Been a big fan of the site for a few months now and I believe I am fully indoctrinated into the 70’s Big way of life and am quickly becoming less of a hyper-kyphotic, internally rotated douchebag – – But enough about me, this question is actually about my wife…here’s a little background:

 

About 8 years ago, she started experiencing constant pain, soreness, lack of energy, etc…  She was ultimately diagnosed with fibromyalgia AND chronic fatigue syndrome and has steadily gotten worse.  Last week, after a routine blood test, her Doc diagnosed her with full-blown geriatric osteoporosis and a severe vit.D deficiency.  She still has to work (cleaning houses) 5 days a week ‘cause we’re poor and doesn’t have much energy to do much else at the end of the day – – BUT she is willing to try a workout routine in hopes of feeling just a little bit better.  Since I’ve been talking nonstop about the things I’ve been learning on 70’s Big and MobilityWOD, she wants me to tailor a plan for her.  

 

Now, I know you’re not a doctor and you’re one busy dude, but I was wondering if you’d give me some pointers on where we should start out and what she could reasonably progress to.  I was thinking of just starting her out with unweighted or broomstick variations of the main lifts (e.g. – third world squats) and then maybe adding some band resistance as she gets a feel for them.  I currently train at a globo in Gettysburg, PA and have absolutely no weights at home for her to use, but am not averse to purchase some if need be.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Anyway, keep up the great work and stay safe.

 

-Joel (aka. Blister)

 

 P.S. I totally forgot to mention that she is only 32 years old and ~120lbs, since her story makes it seem like she is more like 72 and 240lbs. 

 

Dear Joel,

My mom was told she had fibromyalgia and thoracic outlets syndrome, so I’ve done some reading on this issue. Given the age of your wife, I have to assume that she has some pretty severe nutritional and muscular deficiencies. My stock answer for the fibro and chronic fatigue is to immediately go paleo. Recently my friend Renee sent me this article to forward to my mom. It explores the idea that fibromyalgia is a result of a mineral deficiency. They specifically looked a magnesium citrate, which is in Natural Calm. Magnesium is a mineral that almost everyone is deficient in because of the normal, shitty American diet.

Also, magnesium is critical for bone density (and therefore osteoporosis). Not to mention a lower pH diet (like a paleo diet) facilitates the absorption of calcium and magnesium, which would only help the osteoperosis and fibro. And of course she has the vitamin D deficiency which is going to make all of this worse.

Eat stone cold paleo, supplement with vitamin D and magnesium. I’d have a teaspoon of Natura Calm (it dissolves in water) twice a day. I’d have a gel cap of 5,000 IUs of Vitamin D at least once a day, and I’d consider it twice a day. I’m not a fucking doctor, but if this was my wife, this is what I’d do. She may even feel worse initially if she is used to eating shitty carbs, but she will feel better eventually. I’d say do the 4 week “challenge” and commit to it. I’ll remind you both that complications from these “conditions” are going to be MUCH more costly than buying vegetables and meat.

Your proposal for training is a good one. When she’s ready, you can find weighted objects around the house for her to move around (hold for squatting, press overhead, do push up progressions, hold for lunging, row, hold for RDL/good mornings, etc.). She needs to commit to it yesterday. I’d recommend at least four days a week of at least 15 minutes of this kind of stuff. I’d have her squat, lunge, row/pull, and press in every “workout”. If you need to make it a circuit, then so be it. You could even time it like CrossFit but stress proper technique. Buying PVC and filling it with sand will cost only a few dollars and provide a bit of weight. They also have pipes at hardware stores that you could buy for weight. She will feel absolutely shattered from these sessions initially. Accept it. Fight through it. She will get better. But you and her need to commit to this together.

If you guys need ANY help, any at all, then give me a text or call (my number is in the signature of the e-mail I sent you). I’ll send you Wolf’s Paleo book, send money for quality food, get you some used dumbbells, or just talk to your wife on the phone. She can beat this. It’ll be hard, it’ll take time, and it’ll hurt, but she can do this. I’m going to ask a friend who is a natural physicist to comment — he might be able to be more precise the supplementations. I’ll also be doing a podcast with him eventually, so keep us updated on your situation.

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday 70sBig.com

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On 22 September 2009, this website launched in order to educate people about strength and conditioning, but entertain them at the same time. To boost such a site, services like secure hosting could’ve been availed.

The focus was on being big, muscular, and strong in a time dominated by emaciation. Women were encouraged to train, men were encouraged to pound the calories, and everyone was pushed into competition.

Over the years, the site has evolved due to a combination of getting jaded with the same kindergarten material available across the “training-sphere” as well as an obligation to not only teach people to get strong, but to keep them healthy through life. I always say, we should all aim to bang our significant other when deep into our 80s.

The basic tenants of 70sBig.com remain the same:

– commit to training with reckless intensity
– develop a physique built with performance instead of vanity
– help encourage others in their training
– enter competition for ultimate introspection
– teach and learn about strength and conditioning, nutrition, anatomy, physiology, fitness, etc.
– tirelessly lead the charge to end misconceptions about females and lifting
– actively work towards changing societal body image
– have a gods damn good time doing it

70’s Big crew and friends from USAPL Raw Nationals in August

It’s always been my intention — and my bane — to help people through 70sBig.com. I hope whoever you are, whether you’ve been here since day one or just started reading yesterday, you have gained benefit through this website. I regularly work to improve our knowledge and synthesize material you can implement into your own training and life.

This wouldn’t be possible without all of you. I want to thank all of the readers, new and old. I consider you a part of the 70’s Big Community, one full of crazy assholes who are some of the nicest, hard working, and amusing folks around. The reach of 70’s Big is broad, and it’s comforting to know that we can go almost anywhere in the world, talk about 70’s Big and immediately have a bond with a stranger. One time somebody, who I’ve still yet to meet, told me in an e-mail, “70’s Big takes care of their own.” That’s a comforting thought; we’re building something really cool here. This is as much your birthday as it is mine.

To all of my friends around the world — whether I’ve met you or not, held a seminar in your gym, trained with you, or lectured to your unit — thanks for making this fun. And to my close friends who were integral in the creation of this website: thanks for being there for me with your absurd, unique, and borderline irritating personality.

The future is always bright to people who attack it with fervor. 70’s Big will always be around to educate, entertain, and irritate you. The idea of communicating with all of you assholes through old age is, at the very least, a comforting thought.

Train hard, get big. Get 70’s Big.

Happy Birthday

The Fat Epidemic

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Jay Ashman posted on Facebook about and article stating by the year 2030, 39 states will have obesity rates over 50%. Alarming indeed. Don’t forget every state in the U.S. is currently at least 50% overweight or obese. These numbers are based on the BMI, something I abhor. The BMI is just a ratio of weight and height and it doesn’t take into account body composition. It’s a way to quickly get a gauge of a body type from an epidemiological perspective. If you are lean, yet lift, you’re probably going to be overweight or obese. “Overweight” consists of a BMI 25≤x<30  whereas “obese” is x>30 (how many of you sprouted giant boners over that “greater than or equal to” sign? Edit: You probably had a limp wiener since I originally put the signs backwards…jeez louise).

America, reporting for duty, sir!

This topic has been dear to me for years, though I used to be a bit more rabid about it. For example, in my senior English class we studied Jonathan Swift, one of the greatest, most ballsy, and badass satirical writers in history. We had to write our own “Modest Proposal”. I don’t have a copy any more, but my proposal consisted of placing all of the world’s fat people a space vessel and shipped directly into the sun. Despite my logical, well thought out validation, my overly obese teacher was not amused and clearly disappointed.

The truth hurts, yet truth is real. We don’t have to tip-toe around this subject; “overweight” and “obese” are faulty versions of saying “fat”. It isn’t offensive to state someone has a particular characteristic, especially when it’s something they can control. If your friend is being an asshole, then tell him politely he’s being an asshole and discuss how you can mitigate his assholeish tendencies. If someone is complaining like a baby, then explain to them why whining about it isn’t going to help themselves or the group. Note that you shouldn’t say, “Cry me a river you fat fucking baby,” to adolescents dressed like gangsters in a dark parking lot, even if it’s a quote from “Varsity Blues”, because then you’ll get punched in the back of the head like I did when I was in high school.

Sugar coating the fat issue is only going to make it worse (oh my GOD I’m on fire!). It’s not derogatory, because it’s fact. Not to mention there are scientific tests like “body FAT measures”. I’m not suggesting we go around declaring people fat and insulting them, but we shouldn’t have to feel obligated to search for a less “hurtful” term. If anything, being objective will act as a motivating factor.

Why is western civilization so fat? It’s undoubtedly a combination of many factors. Since the ’70s, the government has recommended carbohydrate rich diets. Each decade arrives with more unhealthy processed food. With technological advancement, more people have un-active, white collar jobs resulting in low activity levels. The lengthy work weeks and numerous forms of entertainment mean people don’t take the time to exercise. And even if they do, the fitness industry had adapted to try and bank on achieving results by “quick and easy” short cuts. Desirable body image has been reduced to frail, gaunt celebrities — possibly as a result of the white collar and technology societal shift. Society’s mindset has lost the concept of hard work and revolves around the “gimme now” mentality.

Regardless of the underlying cause, people simply don’t care. If they did, then they would do something about it and not be fat. Sure, it’s not easy; nothing of worth ever is. The lack of care and effort is my biggest issue with the fat epidemic. People are so irritatingly quick to say, “Well, some people can’t help it.” That’s bullshit. There might be a tenth of a percent of people that legitimately can’t help it (I think it’s much lower); everyone else is just making an excuse. Type II Diabetes is a result of destroying proper hormone function through poor habits. Can there be lasting damage? Definitely. Does it prevent the person from exercising and eating healthy? In almost all cases, no. If a kid grows up with an unhealthy family and is fat by 11 years old, he is definitely in a hole, but eventually has the autonomy to make a decision to live a different life.

I honestly think that society has bred a helpless mindset that looks to other people to resolve problems. As a result, motivation and habitual change are nonexistent. I know; I’ve been a trainer for a “Biggest Loser Challenge”. It’s so hard for a very fat, unhealthy person to do make a change like removing soda from their diet. It’s so hard to not sit on the couch and eat snacks. At the end of the day, some people are just not willing to do what they need to do to change their life. This is why Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped personal training; you can’t help someone who isn’t willing to help themselves.

What are we supposed to do? Honestly, there isn’t much you can do. Perception across an entire society is dependent on decades of change and influence. We can’t save the world at once. The best we can do is educate and help people that enter our social circles. Facilitation is always brought up when trying to motivate behavior change, but facilitation means precisely dick. It’s easy to spend 15 minutes, three times per week exercising. There are 96 blocks of 15 minutes in a day; 672 in a week. When someone can’t take 3, 6, or 9 of those 672 weekly blocks, they just don’t care, no matter how much you facilitate it.

Instead, do your best to educate in very simple and direct ways. Don’t create a mountain, just a hill. For example, suggest going for a walk around the block on a daily basis and tell the person to mark it on their calendar. Consecutive days make a chain on the calendar, and suggest that they don’t break the chain. Give them smaller goals in their diet. Stop drinking soda. Eat breakfast. Suggest simple things instead of lecturing them about insulin sensitivity and the paleo diet. “Crawl-walk-run” them through the process, but be concise and supportive. The support is probably most important. This “me generation” cares what other people think. It’s not common for someone to generate their own resolve and determination, but it can be contagious in groups.

Support is the only way you can help your family and friends. Don’t preach; ease them into it. Coaches and gym owners have even more responsibility to reach out to new clients and retain them. This, of course, is normal “business duty”, but you should only be in this business if you care. Shit heads that own local gyms that thrive on signing un-used memberships are only part of the problem. Be a part of the solution. Make a difference in helping people lose fat. Teach the basics, but be personable. Welcome them, make them laugh, and challenge them as much as their personality can handle. Give every client a chance. You’ll always have a few that aren’t ready to commit, but you can always help the folks on the bubble.

For the ladies.
You don’t have to be a monster like Vince Urbank to set an example.

Gym owners and coaches also need to set an example with their physiques and lifestyle. No, you don’t need to be a bastion of rippling fitness, but you shouldn’t be a frumpy mess. The same goes for all of you other readers, trainees, lifters, and competitors. About 60% of this nation is at least “overweight”. Don’t allow yourself to represent this unhealthy, lazy part of the population. 70’s Big has never been about sheer mass due to fat accumulation, even through the “Adult Males > 200 lbs” phase. It’s not a mistake when the guys in the Hall of Fame are lean and jacked. Unless you’re highly competitive in your sport, you’re not doing anyone any favors by carrying excess fat. I’m not suggesting you work to be under 10% body fat, but aim to look like you’re strong while being strong. It’ll set a positive example, even if you don’t actively help people. For example, I’ve had many people over the years tell me, “I started exercising and lifting weights after seeing you around here.” You can’t complain about the problem if you look like you’re part of it.

Yes, the development of fat acceptance in the Anglosphere is disgusting, unfortunate, and even scary. There are always complaining discussions attributing blame, but the truth is that real change starts within the mind. It isn’t easy to be lean, strong, powerful, or fit. It isn’t easy for a fat person to change their habits and behavior. It takes hard work, will power, and commitment. Pride yourself on the ability to do these hard things and set an example. There will soon come a time when you meet someone that says, “I can’t.” Become a part of the solution, as you wear short shorts, and teach them this foreign phrase: “I can.”

 

 

Warming Up

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In the three year history of this website, one of my main sources of writing material has been learning from my own mistakes. If I educate you about why something I did was stupid, then hopefully you won’t make the same mistake. Today is one of those days.

I strained my hamstring in the first couple minutes of a flag football game last night. I had done a couple of movement prep exercises, kick swings, some sprints, but it was all condensed into a several minutes. I returned a kick off with a full sprint. Then on the first play, I ran an out route, caught a pass, and was sprinting along the sideline when the left proximal (upper) hamstring yanked. I’ve never pulled a muscle during a sport. This was the second game and we’ve had a few practices, so it’s not like I just got up and started sprinting without any adaptation. I blame my lack of sufficient warm-up.


There is a traditional school of thought that says a good warm-up can prevent injury. There is another school of thought that would say the warm-up only serves a performance enhancement purpose and does not prevent injury or improve flexibility (this is actually the view point of Dr. Kilgore in the “Getting Ready to Train” chapter of FIT). It’s accepted in the physical therapy world that warm-up and mobility work can prevent injury. There are also many studies that show a decreased rate of injury after warming up (though the studies could be crappy or irrelevant). My experience in sport, sport coaching, and strength and conditioning coaching gives me the opinion that good warm-ups can prevent certain types of injury. At the very least Kilgore would have to concede that dynamic stretching can improve flexibility, because he experienced an increase in ROM after doing kick swings in the 4 week case study we conducted on high intensity conditioning!  

Warming up for a sport like flag football is different than warming up in the gym. Let’s briefly discuss the benefit of warming up, general warm-up methods, and some specific methods dependent depending on what activity you are about to do.

Benefits of Warming Up

The first part of a warm-up is a general warm-up. Traditionally this involves yogging, jump roping, or rowing and aims to physically warm the body up. At rest, the body holds most of the blood volume in the visceral cavity — primarily the trunk. The blood focuses on all of the organs and the digestive processes. This is why if you eat a meal in cold weather, you feel even colder after eating. It’s because the focus of the blood flow is in shifts to the gut area reducing the blood (i.e. warmth) in the extremities. During a warm-up, the body starts shunting blood to the extremities in response to their increased use and activity.

Adrenaline is released to increase the heart rate and dilate the capillaries to allow for more efficient oxygen transfer to the muscles. It increases synovial fluid production, which acts as a viscous lubrication between joints. There is a lot more going on — like increased metabolism, glycogen being broken down for readily available energy, and increased enzymatic activity — but the result is that the body is better prepared for movement and activity. Most importantly, it increases the extensibility and pliability of muscle fibers and increases force production and speed of contraction.

This can all occur from several minutes of general warm-up. Let’s look at a few different activities that would qualify as a general warm-up.

General Warm-up

The beginning of a warm-up doesn’t have to be limited to running or rowing. Anything that increases the body temperature and takes the joints and muscles through a full range of motion (ROM) will  work. Calisthenics are often used since they aren’t too stressful and usually include full ROM movements. Doing a short circuit of some push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and maybe some jumps will prep the body nicely. Personally I like to foam roll first, do whatever mobility I have planned (which isn’t a lot at this point), some movement prep, and then dynamic stretching.

Mobility is the term that means any specific manipulation that improves ROM or function to achieve better positioning for the workout (i.e. stuff like MWOD). Note that the ability to hit proper positioning, AKA efficient mechanics, is probably the single most important factor to reducing chance of injury. If you are sprinting, lifting, and moving with inefficient mechanics that place lots of stress on structures that aren’t designed to accommodate them, then it’s no surprise that injury will result. Good mechanics start at the feet and travel up through the body.

Movement prep is a term that I’m using to refer to non ballistic movements that would take joints and muscles through a full ROM. This would include stuff like walking and side lunges. I would include an example video, but almost everyone who teaches movement prep stuff is so god damn annoying and I don’t want to give them the traffic. (Edit: Here is an example from the USTA — just ignore all of the idiosyncracies).

Dynamic stretching refers to a stretching method that uses momentum to move the segments through the full ROM the joints would allow if it were done passively, but not exceeding the passive ROM (which would turn into “ballistic stretching”, which is forced beyond the passive ROM). This is pretty similar to movement prep, but faster. This would refer to torso rotations, shoulder circles, and kick swings (front/back and side-to-side). I’ve seen dynamic stretching poopoo’d, probably because it is interpreted to be ballistic stretching (which can be harmful). However, I’ve done it every training session for over a decade and have only once pulled a muscle in sport activity (which was last night). N=1 is irrelevant, but I think static stretching is effective at acting as that general warm-up through a full ROM, and I have always liked the way my muscles have felt after doing it. If there were a physiological explanation, I would expect the mechanism to be related to the muscular innervation associated with the fibers being stretched at speed followed by their immediate contraction. It’s not like it’s a training tool to improve the stretch-reflex, but in my opinion it helps prep that system for activity.

In reality, any of the above stretching techniques could probably be used by itself to act as a general warm-up. I pride myself on my mobility, how it allows for proper functioning, and how it acts as a preventative measure during activity, so I go through a few minutes of each of these phases. Again, n=1 doesn’t matter, but the length and type of your warm-up will be dependent on a) how sore and stiff you are, b) how immobile you are, c) the type of activity you are about to perform, and d) your adaptation to that activity.

Specific Warm-up

There is a lot of variability in what to do in a specific warm-up, because it’s relative to the planned activity. Barbell training will only require the standard light and progressive warm-ups with the bar. Even the strongest people in the world will begin with light barbell warm-ups. The number of warm-ups will be dependent on the person. For example, I know that I benefit from having a couple more warm-ups in my press and bench compared to my squat or Olympic weightlifting movements.

There are stories of guys walking up to a bar and deadlifting 600 pounds with no warm-up whatsoever, but consider them the exception. Warm-ups can’t prevent every injury, but they are still necessary for optimal performance. I remember a quote from either Starting Strength or Practical Programming that said, “If you don’t have time to warm-up, then you don’t have time to train.” This was in reference to the specific barbell warm-up, but good advice nonetheless.

Shari Onley of the Australian Lingerie Football League sprints in tryouts. American football has a good history of comprehensive warm-ups.

Whereas preventing injury in lifting activities is probably more dependent on general mobility, sports with aggressive movements (i.e. sprinting, starting and stopping, changing direction, etc.) are probably more dependent on a good warm-up to prevent injury. A structure like the hamstring is subjected to many more stresses and demands in a football, soccer, or rugby play than it will be in a back squat.

Specific warm-ups will need to include pieces or variations of the contested movements in a progressive manner. Start by using active movements in a controlled setting. Line drills are typically done in football or track and consist of walking frankensteins, high knees, butt kicks, and short sprints. Ladder drills could be used to prep the lower body for lateral and ballistic movements. (As a side note, I love the idea of programming ladder drills as a general warm-up. It helps maintain or improve athletic ability and allows a ballistic adaptation in the lower legs.) Follow these activities with short sprints, lateral shuffles that turn into a straight ahead sprint, and making cuts (i.e. changing direction) that turn into sprints. Had I had more time, I would have progressed my pre-sprint warm-up a little better (general warm-up, back pedaling, side shuffling, etc.), ran some passing routes (that include change of direction and sprinting), and done a few more sprints.

The drills that are used should be relevant to the sport or activity. A warm-up for volleyball would include more shorter, agility-focused foot work drills, jumping, and sport specific practice (passes, digs, hitting, etc.). Martial arts will probably have more movement prep and mat work before specific strikes or throws.

Note that the above strategy is the basic approach to every football practice and game warm-up. Good coaches combine “warming-up” with “skill practice”. Sure, injuries still occur in sports despite comprehensive warm-ups, but you can’t put a number on the injuries that are prevented. Not to mention many injuries are the result of external force trauma (e.g. a player falling into the side of a knee) or poor mechanics (e.g. player twisting their knee when the cleat is stuck in the turf). And who knows, perhaps if I would have warmed up better, I still would have strained my hamstring. However, are you willing to jump into aggressive movement without prepping the pliability and power production of your structures? It’d be stupid to do so.

Why Females Lift Less Efficiently

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In “Peculiarities of Female Training” I talked about how females respond to training differently than males. Specifically I looked at how women tend to more efficiently grow muscle with higher reps or volume and how they can lift a greater percentage of their max for reps.

The following statement was made in the last post: Women can lift more reps with higher percentages than men because they aren’t as neuromuscularly efficient as men. It left some people scratching their heads. If women are less efficient, why can they do more? These terms are relative.

You don’t have to fully understand the physiology behind “neuromuscular efficiency”. The concept of it is a gauge for how efficiently the nervous system innervates muscles to contract to apply force. When it’s genetically efficient, the process is an orchestra that results in fast, powerful, and strong athletes. When it’s genetically inefficient, it results in people who can’t jump well or gain strength slowly. Despite genetic predisposition, this physical attribute can be influenced through training. A person with poor neuromuscular efficiency may not ever have a 40 inch vertical, yet they can still improve their vertical jump several inches.

Neuromuscular efficiency also has to do with the fluidity and skill of movement. When someone hasn’t played sports throughout their life, they lack the motor programs to execute gross movement patterns. Squats or power cleans will usually be “herky jerky” and awkward, but after accumulating experience in training (i.e. practice), they become more efficient. Lastly, neuromuscular efficiency is relative to recent training adaptation. If someone is sedentary for years, they won’t have a symphony of muscle contraction during a squat.

All of that being said, females have a lower neuromuscular efficiency than males. This is a result of the hormonal differences between males and females. It doesn’t mean that females need special training programs, it just means that their program may need to be modified to achieve their goals.

When a female is less neuromuscularly efficient, it means that her nervous system cannot innervate muscles properly to achieve her true 1 rep max (1RM). True max is what she could do if she had the hormone profile of a male. Actual max is what she can do as a result of not having the hormone profile and neuromuscular efficiency of a male.  Note that this inefficiency primarily affects maximal force production or power, because it is under these circumstances in which the body will try to maximize the utilization of motor units (nerves and their associated muscle fibers). In other words, the limitation due to neuromuscular efficiency is seen when a female is trying to complete a 1RM. This causes the actual 1RM max to be lower, so when she performs a 5RM, the weight is closer to her actual 1RM than a man’s. Observe the figure below.

1. A female’s actual max is lower than what her true max is. The true max is theoretically what she could lift if she had a male’s hormonal profile and neuromuscular efficiency.

2. Therefore, a female’s 5RM is a greater percentage of her actual max compared to the percentage of a man’s 5RM and his max.

This is why we conclude, “Women can lift more reps with higher percentages than men because they aren’t as neuromuscularly efficient as men.” For example, if a guy’s 5RM is 87%, then a female’s 5RM might be 92%. No, this can’t be altered through training because it’s a result of a female’s biochemistry. Experts from detox in Los Angeles has stated that this quality could probably be effected by hormonal steroids, but I would still assume a female on drugs could not emulate the hormonal profile of a man.

In “Peculiarities of Female Training” I noted how this would affect a female when they are going for 1RMs, especially in a meet. The above explains why a ten pound jump is the difference in a smooth rep and a miss at a meet — there’s a small window between what a female can lift for reps and a 1RM. It also explains why females would need to use higher percentages on volume work. I alluded to how a female’s Volume Day on the Texas Method would approach 90% of her Intensity Day (not her 1RM) whereas a male wouldn’t typically go over 85%.

Yet this also makes sense as to why higher reps or volume is necessary for a female to grow muscle. The observation of females gaining muscle from lots of reps with sub-maximal loads is also result of the disparity in neuromuscular efficiency (e.g. doing CrossFit makes women muscular). In order to receive the same relative amount of work as a guy to grow muscle, she will either need to use more reps or more sets because she is handling a lower percentage of her true max than a male. Sub-maximal training isn’t affected by neuromuscular efficiency like maximal force or power production is.

If the female’s goal is to get stronger, she will either need more volume or more intensity (heavier weights) on her volume work. The same is probably true for power development. If the female’s goal is to gain muscle, then she will need sets with higher reps and/or more volume compared to a male. These are important points to understand regarding female strength and conditioning program.

Hopefully this post clarifies the confusion on this issue. If you have any questions, please drop them in the comments below.