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Trainer of Champions - August 2005 |
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Written by Charles Glass
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Thursday, 26 April 2007 |
I've been doing squats for about a year and just recently started getting a pain in my upper thigh. It feels like a strained muscle in the area where my upper quads meet my pelvis/hips area in the front. I feel it when doing squats and also deadlifts. Reading your articles in MD, I can see that my form is definitely in need of tweaking. But can you think of anything else that could be causing this strain? My leg workout lately has been squats, leg presses and extensions one day, and squats, deadlifts, lunges and stiff-leg deadlifts the next time I train legs. I'd appreciate any help.
In any case like this, I always advise seeing a doctor to get the injury thoroughly checked out, which may involve an MRI. But just from what you're telling me, it sounds like you have suffered a pull or strain of the quad at its origin, which is really a minor tear of the muscle. You need to avoid movements that have you getting a very deep stretch of the quadriceps. Let's run through what you're doing now, to see what should stay in your program and what needs to go.
Stiff-leg deadlifts are fine, since they don't cause the quads to stretch. Squats, particularly full squats to below parallel, are another story, as are deadlifts from the floor. They put a lot of pressure on the quad at its origin up near the hip joint, so stop doing those immediately. Lunges would fall into the same category. And as innocent as they seem, leg extensions are particularly hazardous with an injury like yours. Doing them heavy and starting them from a deep stretch position where your feet are actually slightly behind your knees, could cause you to turn this slight tear into a total detachment of the quad- which you do not want! You can do leg extensions, but keep the weight light, meaning a weight you can handle for at least 20 reps, and only do the top two-thirds of the movement. That means your lower leg should start at about a 45-degree angle from your thighs and come up to a straight-leg position.
Your main mass builder for the time being should be the leg press. You should find that the angle of this machine allows you to still use heavy weights without aggravating your injury. Of course, take it slow and easy and gradually try heavier weights. You don't need to descend super deep to the point where your knees are in your armpits, either. Just take the weight down until your legs are bent at a right angle. These injuries generally take a couple of months to heal, and at that point you can start bringing the other exercises back into your routine, being very cautious to use perfect form and start with very moderate weights. And again, if the injury persists, see a doctor. Good luck!
I have recently begun lifting seriously again for the first time in about two years. During my time in high school I never used any type of supplement, I just drank tons of water. Most of my friends say I should use some type of whey protein and that I should slow down on my running which is now usually three miles about four days a week- a habit I picked up in the military. My current training schedule is done three days in a row: chest on day one, triceps and shoulder on day two, and biceps on day three, then two days off and start the cycle over. And I do legs on my biceps day. I believe this allows for a good amount of rebuilding time and limits the potential for overtraining. So my questions are: 1. Should I take a whey protein, and if so, what do you believe is the best brand? 2. Should I let up with the distance runs and turn to shorter distance cardio, such as sprints? 3. Is the training frequency not frequent enough for each group, which is about four days of rest between them? I look forward to your reply.
The first thing I noticed was that you aren't training back, which is a huge mistake. The back is the largest muscle group of the upper body and not training it is bad for two reasons. One, you're missing out on a lot of potential muscle mass and bodyweight by not developing the area; and two, you will eventually have a major strength imbalance between the pushing and pulling muscles of your upper body, one side effect of which is a slumped forward posture like an ape. But let me handle your three questions:
1. You didn't mention anything about your nutrition. Often I get questions about which supplements to buy and I find that the person isn't even eating four to six quality meals a day. Before you even think about whey protein, Creatine, or anything else you might find at GNC, get your nutrition in order. You should be eating every two to three hours, with plenty of lean proteins like chicken, fish, egg whites, turkey, or lean red meat, and complex carbohydrates like rice, potatoes and oatmeal. Once you're doing that, you can start adding in whey protein to boost your total protein intake. I am partial to MuscleTech because I work for them and I know their products are of the highest quality. So for a whey protein, I would recommend Nitro-Tech. Pump-Tech and Thermo-Gain are also two excellent products anyone looking to gain muscle mass should invest in if they are able to.
2. The long distance running you are currently doing is definitely hampering your size and strength gains. It's almost impossible for your body to recover and grow from your weight training workouts with so much intense cardio. Try doing some brisk walking on a treadmill instead, or outside if you prefer.
3. I wouldn't be so concerned with whether you're training your muscle groups frequently enough. What I see when I look at your current program is that you're cramming too much into three consecutive days and not allowing enough rest. You have to remember that not only do the individual muscle groups need to recover, but your entire system as a whole must recover. What I would recommend is that you continue with a three-day split, but let's get the back in there and have you training every other day to maximize your recovery and also allow you to have a lot more energy and intensity during your workouts. Try this on for size:
Day one: legs
Day two: OFF
Day three: chest, delts, biceps
Day four: OFF
Day five: back, traps, rear delts, triceps
Day six: OFF, repeat cycle
What do you think about fruit as part of the bodybuilding diet? I know back in the old days, bodybuilders used to eat apples and bananas like they were going out of style. I think it was Steve Reeves who used to carry bananas around everywhere he went for an easy, healthy snack. But nowadays, I don't see or hear about guys eating fruit so much. I hear fructose can make you fat, and also, with all the low-carb diets, there's no place for fruit. Personally, I eat apples, oranges, bananas and grapes all the time and I feel fine. I'm far from fat. What's your take on fruit, Charles? How often do you eat it, and do you recommend that others do, or not?
For a bodybuilder on a contest diet who is trying to get down to three or four percent body fat, there really isn't room for much fruit in the diet, because fructose, or fruit sugar, will spike the body's insulin and cause you to store fat. As for carbs, they want to stick to the most complex sources possible, such as brown rice, sweet potatoes and oatmeal, as well as fibrous carbs like raw broccoli, green beans and carrots. For everyone else, fruit is healthy and fine to eat in moderation; just don't go overboard. I do recommend not eating fruit by itself, again for the high insulin response it elicits in the body. Instead, have it with a protein shake (a banana or a cup of strawberries or blueberries are also good to mix in), or as a dessert at a normal meal. Personally, I don't eat much fruit at all.
Charles, I was reading somewhere that in regard to chest training, flat presses, dips and decline presses all work the same parts of the chest, meaning the middle and lower parts. The author of this article said if you do one of those exercises in any chest workout, it would be a waste of time doing any of the others because it would be redundant. Then I watched Ronnie Coleman's DVD "The Cost of Redemption," and he only did three exercises for chest, all with barbells: flat, incline and decline presses. I have been doing that workout for a month and I feel like my chest has grown. Are flats and declines really that similar, or should I keep doing what I've been doing and hitting my presses from all three angles?
Keep doing what you are doing, hitting all three angles, though I would also add in some dumbbell flyes or a pec flye machine. All these exercises hit the chest from different angles and work a different aspect of the muscle, so you need them all for complete development of the pecs. I want my chest to have a well-rounded look and be developed from side to side and top to bottom, so I will press from the three angles you mentioned, and I will also always include a flye movement, usually flat or incline dumbbell flyes.
I do switch up the order in which I perform the movements all the time, and I will also rotate using barbells, dumbbells and Hammer Strength machines. That way, I have dozens of possible effective chest workouts to choose from and I can keep my chest "guessing" with slightly different types of stimulation. Lately, I've also been doing power presses inside a power rack. I will set the pins so the bar is resting at a point about four inches off my chest, and I start each rep from a dead stop. Man, do those bust up the muscle fibers in the pecs! Try those for variety; I think you'll like them. But to sum it up, go with your instincts. If you feel all those exercises working the chest in different ways, then they are certainly not all the same exercise.
I'm curious about footwear during leg training. I know a lot of guys wear what look like combat boots or lumberjack boots on leg day because they feel like it gives them a lot more support around the foot and ankle for heavy presses. Then you have others who wear high-top basketball sneakers, and others who wear the light running shoes like Nike Shox or Adidas A3s. Of course, you see pictures from the ‘70s with Arnold squatting barefoot with over 400 pounds! So do you think it matters what you wear on your feet when you train legs, and if so, do you ask your clients to conform to that recommendation?
A lot of my clients, like Chris Cormier, like to feel the support of heavy combat boots. It just makes them feel more secure to handle heavy weights. Maybe another part of it is that the boots make them feel like a soldier going into battle. But the boots are definitely appropriate footwear for heavy squats and deadlifts, which is why you see a lot of powerlifters training and competing in them. There is yet another advantage to boots that most people aren't even aware of, and that's the elevation of the heel. Many trainers lack the flexibility in their Achilles tendon to get into a deep squat position without rising up on the balls of their feet. That's the reason people squat with 10-pound plates under their heels. The heels on the boots do the same thing. Obviously, Arnold and anyone else who can get into a deep squat position with bare feet of flat-soled shoes has flexible Achilles tendons. As for my clients, they are all different and I don't push any particular type of footwear on them. Chris likes either boots or Air Jordans on leg day, while others will wear running shoes. I do find that the clients who are into really heavy leg training tend to gravitate toward boots or sneakers with more ankle and toe support.
Journal: May, 2005
Real Deal May Skip the Olympia, or He May Not
I have been training Chris three or four times a week and right now he is considering whether or not to compete in the Mr. Olympia this fall. It's tough to skip the greatest show in bodybuilding when you're qualified for it, and I am guessing he will end up doing it. Will this affect his ability to be his best at next year's Arnold and win after all these years? That I can't say.
IFBB Clamps Down on Distended Bellies, Synthol-Filled Muscles
I was very pleased to hear about the IFBB finally making an official statement against the big bellies and Synthol that have put a black eye on this sport for years now. It should have been addressed 10 years ago when all of this was starting to get out of hand, but better late than never. I only hope they enforce this. When a man's stomach sticks out past his chest, I'm sorry, but his symmetry is destroyed. I am sick of seeing these ridiculously huge shoulders and small arms, and all these overblown muscles with no separation and hardness to them because they are full of oil. To me, that's a mockery of what bodybuilding is all about, which is size, but also shape, condition and proportion.
I Finally Saw My Own DVD!
Last week I finally sat down one night and watched the MuscleTech DVD "Secrets of the Pros" that I'm featured in. This is part of a trilogy out right now, as I'm sure you know by the ads. "Secrets of the Pros" is a roundtable discussion about various topics related to training and nutrition. The production values were top-notch. My only critique would be that a lot more issues should have been addressed, and at times the discussions got too technical for the average viewer to follow. MuscleTech and I are now in the process of talking about training manuals I would be writing, but that's all I can say for now. I will let you know more as the project continues.
Return of Ephedra?
Ephedra may be coming back and I think that's a good thing. So many people used it and saw great results in terms of fat loss and increased energy, without any deleterious side effects. A few people were reckless in how they used the product, and ephedra itself got the blame when they got sick, or worse. I mean, you had out-of-shape people taking it and then going out into the hot sun for intense exercise and not drinking any fluids, like that poor baseball player who died. But there are plenty of things out there than can be as dangerous or worse when abused.
Appearances All Over the USA and Europe
I have been doing seminars all over. Recently, I was in Seattle and New Jersey, and MuscleTech is sending me to their headquarters in Toronto for product training soon. I am also in negotiations to do weeklong seminars in Italy and Austria, so I expect to be racking up a lot of frequent flier miles.
Don Youngblood, RIP
I just found out today that Don Youngblood, the 2002 Masters Mr. Olympia champion, died from a heart attack at just 51 years old, a year older than I am right now. My heart goes out to his family and friends. The last thing I want to do is sound like I'm putting any blame on him for this tragic event, but I have to make one comment. The last time I saw him compete, which I think was at the 2003 Mr. Olympia, he was far too heavy and did not look healthy to me. We bodybuilders can sometimes get so obsessed with size that we forget about our health. Don was trying to compete with all the young guys and felt he needed to be ever bigger to do that.
There comes a time in your life when you just have to let it go and stop worrying about being huge. I had my fun competing, but I am not interested in trying to keep up with the young guys who try to be as big as Ronnie. I want to live a long, healthy life, so I am content now to just enjoy watching the guys like Chris, Ronnie and Jay. I get a full check-up with blood work every four months, which might sound a little paranoid, but I would much rather be safe than sorry, and catch any possible problems sooner rather than later. All bodybuilders should do this. Again, it was not my intention to disrespect Don in any way or make an example out of his untimely passing. I'm just saying we all need to be extra careful as bodybuilders and try to remember that our families want us around for a long, long time.
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Performance Nutrition 