I’m constantly surprised that so many people are reluctant to get involved in weight training; especially individuals over 30 years of age. Your health and longevity are linked directly to your muscles.
When I ask individuals if they do weight training the response is usually the same, “oh, well I do bodyweight exercises and yoga and that’s enough for me.” Well, after the age of 30 it’s NOT ENOUGH; everyone loses muscle mass and bone density as they age, and lose the ability to regenerate new cells, from your early 30’s, you lose about 90% of your stem cells.
Why so Much Pushback on Strength Training?
I believe it’s a deep misunderstanding and a lack of knowledge about the subject. Many people, especially women, purposely avoid lifting weights because 1. They are lazy, 2. They don’t want to make the time, 3. They have medical issues, 4. They assume that they will start gaining large muscles and look like the Hulk. However, no matter how many hours you spend in the gym you will never achieve large muscle mass unless you are taking steroids, growth-hormone, insulin and a plethora of other enhancing substances.
Weightlifting – From the Muscles to the Bones
Your greatest defense against aging is maintaining muscle and bone mass. Strength training helps to slow muscle shrinkage
and offset age-related declines in bone density. Strength training stresses bones through pushing and pulling exercises, which activates bone-forming cells, this leads to denser and stronger bones. Strength training improves bones in the hips, spine, and wrists, which are most likely to fracture if you don’t maintain them.
Muscle size increases when a person continually challenges the muscles to deal with higher levels of resistance or weight. This process is known as muscle hypertrophy. Muscle hypertrophy occurs when the fibers of the muscles sustain micro-damage or injuries.
The most important muscles are in your thighs and legs. It helps to maintain your mobility, as you get older; to be able to walk anywhere, to drive a car, to easily go up and down stairs and that all depends on your lower body strength. The sooner you plant the seeds – the better.
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*Before we continue, these recommendations are intended for time constrained individuals that want to prepare themselves for defense training, however they can also be used by anyone to increase their health and lifespan. We will be following the Pareto Principle – getting the most benefit in the least amount of effort and time.
6 Types of Weightlifting
There are six major types of weight training: 1. Olympic, 2. Power Lifting, 3. Kettlebells, 4, Bodybuilding, 5. Strength Training, and 6. Static Contraction. In terms of getting the most ROI for your time and effort, Progressive Strength Training and Static Contraction are the way to go.
4. Why Bodybuilding Won’t Help Your Defensive Game
Bodybuilding and progressive strength training are not the same thing. Yes, bodybuilders gain strength and size, however it’s a time-intensive workout. Many bodybuilders spend 3-5 days in the gym. In addition, you will need to load the weights, do numerous sets and reps then break the weights down. Also, individuals with medical issues or older individuals may not have enough strength and stability to lift multiple 45 lb. plates onto an Olympic bar.
When it comes to self-defense or competitive fighting, there are no real advantages to being huge. I’m not talking about muscular fighters but massive competitive bodybuilders. Having taught several large bodybuilders, I found their reaction times were slower, they had diminished flexibility (especially in grappling)
And then there are the drug – when taken in large amounts – anabolic-androgenic steroids can affect the internal organs in different aspects. They can induce or aggravate acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, and glomerular toxicity.
5. Progressive Strength Training
Progressive Strength Training (PST) is a type of exercise where participants exercise their muscles against a type of resistance (free-weights or machines) that are progressively increased as your strength improves, this type of training is best for combat defense and general health. Note: once your sets are completed rush to the next exercise set. This will become HIIT exercises.
6. Static Contraction
Static Contraction is an isometric exercise that can lead to rapid increases in strength. Since there is no movement in static holds, the targeted muscle group is in constant contraction for the duration of the position, giving the muscle little to no relief. This not only helps to fatigue muscle faster, but results in increased muscle fiber activation leading to improved strength and endurance. An advantage to static contraction is that even though you are only doing a contraction of one point of the muscle, it also benefits the remainder of muscle by a large percentage.
For example: Leg Press Machine
Sitting in a leg-press machine, you will release the weight from
the top/far position and allow it to descend downwards to your strongest leg position then hold it there for 10 seconds. If you can hold the weight longer than 10 seconds, add weight. Advantage:
you only need 1 set, if you can go to the gym when it’s least crowded, you can turn these exercises into a HIIT modality by jumping from machine to machine.
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Should you Use Free-Weights or Machines?
Free Weights
It’s long been thought that training with free weights are a better alternative to using machines in gaining strength. The advantage: 1. more muscles are used, and 2. you are also balancing the weight. However, this may be a problem for individuals with medical issues and/or injuries.
Machines
Machines can also produce great results, many famous world champion bodybuilders have won titles using only machines: these include: Casey Viator, Mike and Ray Mentzer, Sergio Oliva, Boyer Cole Dorian Yates, and others.
There are several advantages to using machines for strength training: 1. You can set them up in a few seconds, 2. Individuals with injuries or poor physical condition can rapidly build strength safely, and 3. You can easily perform all your main muscle groups within 20-30 minutes.
Full ROM vs. Partial ROM (ROM = Range of Motion)
The secret sauce for strength = heavy weights, less reps, partial movements. A Full ROM exercise is when you take the muscle through its full range of motion. For example, when doing a normal bicep curl you start with your arms stretched down in front of you and lift the weight up to your chest.
There is a pseudo-myth that full reps are better than partial reps for muscle growth, that may be appropriate for bodybuilding, but I have found that Partial ROM exercises are extremely effective for strength building in a short amount of time.
The Method of Strength Training I Use
I usually go to the gym twice a week (minimum, twice every 10 days) and my strength training workout lasts about 20-30 minutes. I focus on compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, bench/shoulder presses and pull-ups. My exercises engage multiple muscle groups and mimic the demands of combat conditions and enhance overall body power and stability.
My Routine
A. I use mainly machines. My routine: perform 1 light warm-up set with a 90% ROM (range of motion) for 8-10 reps, followed by 1 or 2 sets of 5-6 reps with the heaviest weight I can handle,
B. Partial Motions
*After eight weeks of carefully supervised and controlled training, physiologists found significantly better muscle growth in the partial group (nearly twice the gains by keeping constant tension. SC).
I use only partial ROM movements, for example: when I do a bicep-curl, I don’t start with my arms stretched out. I begin by bringing up the bar close to my chest quickly, and then let the weight down to about halfway, even though I am stressing only a part of the muscle, the weaker part of the muscle still benefits, the concept is similar to static contraction.
Additionally, I bring the weight up quickly, and lower it very slowly emphasizing the negative movements, and/or you can also lower the weight to one fixed position and hold it there for 10 seconds e.g. static contraction. The common myth about partials is that the muscles become shorter – this has been wholly disproven. How do I know this method works? I increase the load every week, and I compare the results with increasing free weights comparisons.
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Coming Soon
The Discrepancy Between Martial Arts and Increasing Street Violence
