Setting Yourself Up to Win: A Body By Science Approach
It is with great pleasure that I bring you today’s guest post. As you may know, I’m big on identifying and implementing Primal lifestyle hacks that deliver max results with the least amount of pain, suffering, sacrifice and time as possible. So when someone comes along saying they have a research based approach to fitness that will get you amazing results in just 12 minutes a week I listen up. If you are not yet familiar with authors Doug McGuff and John Little‘s Body By Science read on to get a great overview, and check out the BBS website.
Before we get into it let me point out that I agree with Doug’s position that before you start throwing stones or dragging heavy rocks you should achieve a certain base of level of fitness. That’s why I developed the Primal Blueprint Fitness protocol that scales for all fitness levels, emphasizes injury prevention and prepares people for more natural, functional movement patterns. But, as they say, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Doug’s methodology is one such way – a way that I encourage you to test in your experiment of one.
Enter Doug McGuff…
When one is first beginning to make the change to a Primal lifestyle, the dietary approach can seem a little intimidating, but the exercise portion can seem hopeless to those who are significantly out-of-shape. Much of the exercise in the Primal approach is a functional activity-based approach. In essence, you are trying to recreate the types of movements and activities that our ancestors might have carried out. In the process of doing so, an exercise effect is achieved as a byproduct of the activity. This is how it occurred in our distant past, and it is what our bodies are evolved to do.
The problem when starting out is that the Primal approach to diet can be challenging because we have suffered metabolic damage that makes it challenging to revert to our genetic default state. There are addictions to overcome, and new metabolic trails to be blazed. This is the beauty of Markʼs 30 day challenges…they help you to navigate through the transition period.
While the dietary changes can be challenging, the challenge of exercise can be almost insurmountable for those just starting out. The one significant problem with a functional approach to exercise, is that it assumes a given level of fitness…a level that may not exist. Further, the activity is simply a re-enactment of what a human should be capable of with an exercise effect occurring as a by-product or side-effect. Also, functional movements (running, crawling, jumping, dragging heavy objects) all involve encountering significant forces. Without an appropriate level of conditioning, these forces can produce injury, and sometimes the injury can be bad enough to permanently sideline any effort at achieving fitness.
Do not get me wrong, these functional activities are an important part of a Primal lifestyle, but they should (in my opinion) be the joyful expression of a body fully capable, not an artificial mimicking of the past as a means of producing an exercise effect. So before trying to throw stones or drag heavy rocks, let us discuss how the beginner can start to establish a degree of fitness that will actually make these activities what they are supposed to be: a joyful expression of a strong body.
Setting Yourself Up to Win Step 1: Decide How Much Time Per Week You Can Honestly Spend on Fitness
Be realistic. Most people shoot themselves down with too much enthusiasm. Donʼt think in the realm of 6 our 8 hours, because you know this will not work out in the long-term. Remember, we are looking for a lifestyle change. If I could convince you that you could make major changes in your fitness with just 2 total hours per week I suspect this would make you feel like this is doable. Once you have some hope, you are on your way. So 2 hours it is….120 minutes out of a whole week. Perfect!
Setting Yourself Up to Win Step 2: Take Your Answer from Step 1 and Divide by 10
Yup. You heard right. Divide 120 minutes by 10 for a grand total of 12 minutes. That is all Iʼm going to give you to get into condition to become a functional human animal. Do not let yourself become skeptical. Do not say to yourself “there is no way 12 minutes is enough”. Simply embrace the fact that there is NO WAY that you will be unable to carve 12 minutes out of your week.
Setting Yourself Up to Win Step 3: Be Willing to Be Shown a Way of Exercising That Is So Hard That 12 Minutes Is All You Can Stand
This is where the catch is. If you do this properly, 12 minutes will be all you can stand. The thought of extending this to 13 minutes will not cross your mind. In fact, within the first 90 seconds you will start to think “how much longer till this is over?”.
Setting Yourself Up to Win Step 4: Do No Other Formal Exercise for the Rest of the Week
Thatʼs right…no other planned exercise. But what if you get antsy and want to work out 2 times per week? Fine, but if you do, it needs to be two 6-minute sessions AND they need to be so hard that 6 minutes is all you can stand. In the initial weeks it is perfectly acceptable if you do nothing else. In fact this is encouraged…up to a point. After 4-12 weeks (depending on your starting level of conditioning) you will get the uncontrollable urge to do something active. When (and only when) this happens, you should cautiously go out and do something. It can be as physically demanding as you like, but it must NOT be formal exercise. This activity should be experienced as PLAY…even if others define it as functional exercise. As you become better conditioned, the active genotype that is deep within your DNA will wake up and it will drive you to be more and more active. Once you are at this level, continue to do your once a week workout with ever-increasing intensity, progressively improving your strength and metabolic condition. As you become ever more conditioned, then you will be well-protected as you learn the skills of a fully functional human.
How To: Getting Started
Your 12 minutes of exercise should be composed of 4 or 5 movements. These movements should be basic compound movements that require very little skill to perform. You should aim for low skill movements because all of your attention needs to be focused on effort and rapid fatigue not performing a complex movement that requires a lot of concentration. If you have access to a commercial gym, performing these movements on quality machines will allow you even more focus on effort as opposed to the movement. The best equipment available in commercial gyms would be from Med-X or Nautilus. Plate-loaded equipment such as Hammer Strength or Pendulum is also a good choice. Cybex and other common pieces can work as well, but are generally not as good as the ones listed above. The movements to perform are as follows:
- Pulldown: A palms up, slightly narrower than shoulder width grip is best. This can also be done as a chin up (weight assisted chin-ups are available at many gyms).
- Chest Press: Set up so starting point is hands just below nipple level and not too deep (hands even with the front plane of chest-shoulder and elbows at about 90 degrees).
- Compound Row: A pulling motion in the horizontal plane.
- Overhead Press: Use a palms facing each other grip as opposed to palms facing forward which externally rotates your upper arm and impinges the shoulder joint.
- Leg Press: Starting point should be leg and hip joint at about 90 degrees. An extremely deep starting position is not necessary.
Each of these exercises should be done until you cannot produce any further movement of the weight. You should perform them in a way that keeps the muscle under constant stress. Here are some tips: Start the movement very slowly. Take at least 3 seconds to crack the weight stack and 3 seconds to move the first inch. After moving the first inch, just try to keep the movement going along smoothly. Done properly the cadence from that point should take you 5-10 seconds to complete the lifting phase of the repetition. On a pulling movement, hold the contracted position for 2-3 seconds if it feels harder to do so, if it feels easier to hold, simply begin the lowering portion smoothly. On a pushing movement end the positive about 10-15 degrees before your limbs fully straighten. If you fully straighten your limbs the weight will be resting on a bone-on-bone tower and the muscles will unload and get a respite. When you reach the point of 15 degrees before your joints lock, smoothly reverse direction and lower the weight at about the same speed you lifted it or slightly faster. As you approach the end of the lowering phase…slow down. If the weight stack touches at the bottom of your movement, you should allow the weights to barely touch without completely setting them down. Once you barely touch, you should barely start the next repetition, allowing 3 seconds to cover the first inch, then just try keeping the movement going. By about the third repetition you will be pushing as hard and as fast as you can, but you will only be able to go fast enough to move the weight through the positive in about 7-12 seconds. Once you fail or get stuck, do not heave or jerk in order to get another repetition, simply keep trying to produce movement (even though no movement occurs) for another 5 seconds or so. A properly selected resistance will allow between 4 and 8 repetitions. Once you have gone through this procedure on the first exercise, move briskly to the next exercise. You should not rest any more than 30 seconds between the end of one movement and the start of the next. Ideally, once you become more metabolically conditioned, you will have about 5-10 seconds between movements. If you would like to see this workout on video, it can be seen at www.bodybyscience.net. Look for the videos of the Big 5 workout. You can also check out the directory section which lists the personal training centers around the world that use the BBS approach. The most ideal way to experience this approach would be under professional instruction. Most facilities do not require a membership. Even a single workout would provide a great benchmark for you to shoot for when on your own.
If you cannot go to a commercial gym, you can get started with simple free-hand exercises that I will describe to you now.
- Chin up: This can be done with a chin-up bar that mounts in a door jam, on a sturdy tree branch or rafter board or playground equipment. If you are not strong enough to do chins, you can set the bar height so you can assist with your legs. If this will not work, simply do them negative only by jumping or climbing to the finished position and lowering yourself as slowly as possible.
- Pushups: If you are too weak to perform strict marine pushups, do them from your knees. If you are too weak to do them from your knees, then do only the lowering portion, lowering as slowly as possible. If you are strong enough to do classic pushups, do them with a few modifications. First is slow movement. Start the first inch very gradually, taking 3 seconds to move the first inch and then keep smooth movement going. Divide the movement in halves. Do the first half (bottom position to elbows bent at 90 degrees) until complete fatigue. After you have exhausted the bottom half, do the top half until complete fatigue (elbows from 90 degrees to almost complete extension).
- Squat: Start first by doing a static wall squat. Place your back against a wall and descend to a seated position where your hip joint and knee joint are both at 90 degrees. Hold this position for as long as possible. You are done when you start to slide down and cannot hold the 90 degree position any longer. Once you are worn out on the static, do a deep knee bend but with the movement divided in half. Do the first half until fatigue (from hips and knees at 90 degrees/thighs parallel to floor, up to the halfway up point where knees are about 45 degrees). Once you canʼt do the bottom half any more, then do the top half of the movement until you canʼt go on. Remember to not straighten your legs completely, but to turn back around when your knees get to about 15 degrees.
- Static Lateral Raise: This movement is done using a door frame. Stand with your feet just outside the door frame and bend slightly forward at the waist. Place the backs of your open hands in the opening of the door frame with your elbows slightly bent. You should be positioned like you are going to a lateral raise with dumbbells. With your hands in the door frame, begin to slowly and smoothly press laterally against the frame. Gradually build up to a 50% effort and keep up a 50% effort for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, gradually ramp your effort up to 75% effort and continue for another 30 seconds. After this 30 seconds is up, gradually ramp your effort to 100% and continue for a final 30 seconds. When you first start you will think “this is silly”. However, by the end you will realize that this is probably tougher than anything you could do on a weight machine.
Setting Yourself Up to Win Step 5: Rest, Recuperate and Repeat
Finally, realize that the exercise you have done does not directly produce any physical changes. Rather, it simply stimulates your body to produce an adaptation. For your body to produce the physical change you desire requires rest and time. Simply follow the Primal Blueprint in your diet and lifestyle and wait at least 5-7 days before you perform this workout again. Do not incorporate any other deliberate forms of exercise. Be as active as you like, but keep the intensity low. After 6-8 weeks you will start to develop the urge to become more physically active in ways that are more vigorous and challenging. This will tend to occur lock-step with your increasing strength. At about this time you will notice that you are now performing unexpected feats of strength. A common example is lifting a heavy bag of dog food or cat litter into a shopping cart with one hand and suddenly realizing “hey…did I just do that?”. Once these sort of things begin to happen your active genotype that is locked inside your skeletal muscle will “wake up” and you will have the natural tendency to become very active. It is at this point that you can start to incorporate functional exercise and experience the joy of a body fully capable.
Setting Yourself Up to Win Step 6: Don’t Forget What Got You Here
Functional exercise by its very nature is of higher risk. The forces are higher and less controlled. The exercise that occurs is a byproduct of the activity rather than its direct goal. Despite these realities, it is very tempting to forget what got you here and simply transition to this form of exercise permanently. In my opinion this is the wrong thing to do. At this point you are actually strong and capable enough to bring about forces high enough to exceed your enhanced capabilities and get injured. No matter how good you think you are, it is always best to survive to play another day. The best way to do this is to continue a program that is focused on delivering high intensity and low force as a way of continually improving your condition. By continuing a BBS style condition program once every 7-10 days, you can be assured of maximal strength and conditioning so that you can play and partake in functional movement with the highest level of performance and least risk of injury.
Grab a Copy of Body By Science and Start Your Own BBS Self-Experiment Today!
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Dr. Joseph Mercola interviews Doug McGuff, MD to help us understand this highly beneficial form of exercise “High Intensity Exercise”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQra-ME7vIo
Any programme will work for someone starting from scratch so it’s not suprising to see people getting results, albeit they sound pretty modest.
But what about the hamstrings and the lower back? They are neglected in the routing prescribed for gym users.
The leg press is the only leg exercise recommended and this is totally quad dominant (and inferior to all varieties of squats) Where’s the concentric hamstring exercise (leg curls, dead lifts??)
Variety and balance are key to healthy long term weight lifting, and this approach is lacking in both areas. I foresee injuries due to imbalances.
If it sounds too good to be true it probably is! Spend an extra 20 minutes in the gym and vary your routine every 3 to 4 weeks, and exercise ALL muscles.
I’ll give this a try, it looks like it will make a good addition to my weekly climbing session. Yes climbing is exercise but I do it because it’s fun!
I’m still rather overweight (5’8″ 200lb-ish) but after a month and a half of weekly climbing I can haul my spare tire up an f6+!
I will not quit the climbing to do this though – the climbing is for fun.
Elanor,
You’ve already done it once, so you know exactly what to do to get back where you were. The good news: it will come back quickly.
WRT to your carpal tunnel and thumb injury, without knowing any particulars, this is most likely due to some sort of repetitive injury. The most common culprit is the computer mouse. It is very unlikely that working out would cause or aggravate this problem. Make certain your computer station is set up optimally (standing desk) and you have an ergonomic mouse. Alternate hands on the mouse so that your dominate or injured hand does not get too much exposure.
Get back in there! You can quickly become a conditioned and strong fat lady….then in a few months you can be a conditioned, strong, not fat lady.
Mark,
Thanks for your post. Mark is a client who has had amazing results combining BBS and the Primal Blueprint. His wife also comes and has made an amazing transformation. Mark is the Band Director at Clemson University, so he is constantly in the public eye. This football season (as compared to last), people did not even recognize him…his transformation was that dramatic.
His wife also comes. She started out already quite lean. As a consequence her results were immediately visible. However, it was her strength that really stood out. This Summer her son was on a knee board being pulled behind a boat when he got dragged under and tangled in the tow rope so that he could not surface. Jani jumped in the lake and was able to push him to the surface. She told me “before BBS I don’t think I would have had the strength to save him”. THAT my friends is “functional”.
Superhuman.
Thank you, Doug, for the suggestions and (needed) pep talk; I AM going to the weight room Monday!
Actually I injured the thumb-nerve (I think it was a crushing/pinching injury) working in the company (tapping screw holes in gauges {eye roll}. Has to be done by hand to control the speed or the plastic melts… I’ve since bought some better tools that help without hurting). And it IS barely better: the dead spot at the tip of my thumb is starting to get a little feeling back.
Thank you — and anyone considering Doug’ BBS — do do DO! I can’t tell you how fantastic it made me feel, and how much (and how quickly!) it made me WANT to go lift weights…
Funny how desperately the proponents bash the sceptics… I didn’t say it doesn’t work. My main gripe with the concept is that it is by no means new. Also, HIT (which it is) was originally intended as a bodybuilding protocol which IMO goes against primal ideas about functionality. If you do leg presses, you neglect stabilisers in your hips and core which you would engange if you squatted. Mark once recommended 5×5 as a strength training protocol and these two are complete opposites. Again, it does serve certain purposes, but it isn’t a)new b)extremely functional.
And NO, I have no intention of reading the book… I don’t care enough to do so.
More and more I have found that body weight exercises like pullups and squats make up the core of my exercise routine. Makes keeping up while I’m on the road much easier.
i’m curious enought o give it a try, but i had a question or two.
1. can i continue to go on walks/hikes?
2. how much weight are you supposed to start with, or how do you figure out how much weight to start with?
3. for a begininer should you get a trainer, or is this something you really can do on your own?
thanks in advance!
1. Yes you can go on walks and hikes.
2. This will be easier to figure out if you are already doing these exercises, if not it will be trial and error. If you don’t get 4-8 reps, you’re using to much weight. Body weight wise I did a lot less repetitions than I thought I would do.
3. Depends on your fitness level and experience. If you’re experienced you probably don’t need one, although it would be wise to have a friend watch the stop watch. If you’re inexperienced, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a good trainer show you proper technique.
Do you have a video or diagrams/pictures showing the door frame exercise?
I can’t visualize how this works.
Also, what can you substitute if you don’t have a chin-up bar?
Thanks.
Got some good videos of Doug and Drew talking about training
You find them here :
Doug – http://youtu.be/2PdJFbjWHEU
Drew – http://youtu.be/4rNm4kSl3Og
Good demo video of HIT training with drew
http://youtu.be/4iTQttnNyXk
Thanks for the videos : The 21 Convention
I started SuperSlow with a trainer (to ensure I was doing it correctly) Feb 14 of this year in San Jose. I have gone from leg pressing 165 to 255 – lost 15 lbs (130 lbs to 115)- and went from a size 14 to a 4. Working out this way creates lean/long muscles, not the bulk of typical weight lifting. I tried “regular” exercise, but could not get smaller, even with Paleo eating, so I love SuperSlow. My boyfriend had been a traditional weight lifter. When he switched to SuperSlow, he began getting stronger and he prefers the new look of his muscles. Yes, it is difficult to walk and steer a car after the workout. I usually have to rest awhile and recover before managing to open my car door. I still walk/hike and my boyfriend uses Yoga to stretch.
Always thought that the “workout 3 days a week/rest in between” was the gospel truth but now I’m going to have to rethink it.
It is amazing to see how vehement people can be in their opposition to a concept without bothering to trying to understand it.
1- Dr. Mcguff never claimed genesis of these concepts was completely orginal.
2- He didn’t come up with the catchy idea of “the 12 minute workout” then back engineer a program to fit it. He came to it through years observation and research.
3- The basic concepts are really not that radical. He simply suggests that you remove that which is superfluious from your workout, rest adequitely and eat real food.
4- If you doubt one can become extremely strong using these concepts watch a Doug Holland video on Youtube.
Great Posts!!
Just to weigh in here. I’ve worked for Doug at UE for over 5 years. When I first started I too was a skeptic.
During the hiringn process he made two comments…”try it yourself for 6 months”…and “listen to the clients”
Well, it didn’t take 6 months for me to see incredible strength gains over my convential workout protocol that I had used for over 30 years.
And it certainly didn’t take 6 months for the 100+ clients to let me know how this protocol and UE had changed their lives.
But on the downside, we have many friends in this area that came to find out where I was working. And in the beginning I would explain very excitedly how fantastic the program was.
And to almost a person, I would get nothing but pushback on how it just couldn’t work. And sometimes it actually became argumentative.
So I learned to avoid this potential conflict by, when asked, simply getting it down to 25 words or less and then saying “if you want to know more, come try it” and then I walk away.
Because I hate to say this, but in my minds eye, if you haven’t tried it but still feel you’re qualified to put it down…that’s stupid…and you can’t fix stupid.
Kamila,
For static lateral raise you just want to push against an immovable object with your arms 45 degrees from your side. You can do this with a doorframe or even a belt or a towel wrapped around your hands (you just have to lean forward slightly so the belt or towel clears your thighs).
I do not have a chin up bar, but a tree branch from the tree at the end of my driveway serves me well. Wal-Mart sells door frame chin-up bars (“The Perfect Chin-Up” is a great choice).
Ed,
Thanks for your input. He is on the payroll, so his comments may be biased. Seriously though, Ed is now in his mid 60′s and is stronger than he has been at any point in his life. He is a poster child for what being in your 60′s should be. His wife Barb has also made an amazing transformation combining BBS and the Primal Blueprint.
Seems like a typical debate about exercise protocols – lots of people with strong opinions based on their own personal experience and reading, which they want to generalize to everyone else, regardless of circumstances.
First thing to acknowledge is that not everybody has the same goals for a strength program. A 20 year old kid whose primary goal in life is to get big, and loves being a gym rat may think nothing of spending 2 hours a day at the gym. (He might even have the recovery capacity to hit it hard 6 days a week without resorting to steroids.)
But if you are a middle aged working professional, making a lot of money in a high stress job, with a tight schedule, and a family, then a little more thought has to be given to the time efficiency of the workouts that you do. (McGuff, by the way, is an MD, works as an ER physician; I think that is his primary profession.)
Likewise, if you are past 60, and are mainly interested in maintaining functional strength into your retirement years, then your priorities are likely biased toward avoiding injury, and working within your more limited recovery capacity.
Exercise protocols like HIT seem to be tailored more toward time constrained people who want to develop sufficient strength and conditioning to maintain health while minimizing the time investment.
Superslow is a variation of HIT that was developed by a guy who was working with elderly people with severe osteoporosis. His challenge was to build up their strength without overloading fragile bones, and this is what he came up with. That history suggests that such protocols might be more suitable for those who place a higher premium on safety and injury avoidance.
Whether or not HIT and SuperSlow are suitable for those with aspirations to be elite or professional athletes, or a champion body builder is of only passing curiosity to me; I don’t have a dog in that particular hunt…
Speaking just for myself: Even when I was young, I found out that working out 3x’s per week with weights just didn’t feel that good. I’d be fresh for the first workout, then flat during the second, and burned out for the 3rd. As I got older, I generally settled into a twice per week schedule.
Lately, I’ve scaled it back to one hard weight session (heavier weights, to failure), and one easy session (circuit training, higher reps, light weights, like a cross fit MetCon). This approach probably says something about my own natural limits in terms of recovery capacity. Others might be able to go flat out 5 or 6 times a week for an hour and a half and not end up with over training issues. Good for you! I ain’t you!!
While I do get some cardiovascular benefits from my two weight training sessions, I also throw in a couple more traditional cardio workouts just to help keep my blood sugar stable: Once a week, I do a 20 minute workout with wind sprints on a stationary bike (High Intensity Intervals), and once a week I do an easy 20 minute run. So overall, my exercise program takes less than 2 hours a week, all at home with no travel time.
Years ago, I did belong to a Nautilus facility, and did the circuit using the prescribed exercise cadence. If I pushed I hard, and didn’t rest between machines, I could pretty well burn myself out in 20 or 25 minutes. I felt like I was getting a pretty good workout, and it did help my strength. But it wasn’t magic – I didn’t turn into Arnold S. or Clay Matthews.
When I have the chance to workout on machines these days, I still like to take the same approach – pick weights that are challenging to do for 8-12 reps to failure, using a fairly slow and controlled movement. I can pretty much fry myself in about 30 minutes, and that is about all that I really want or need.
One thing that I have changed when I do machine exercises: I now pretty much avoid the single joint isolation machines. For me, at least, those kinds of machines seem to have a tendency to cause joint and tendon issues, once the weights get heavy. So I prefer compound movements.
Mostly, though, I workout at home with free weights and body weight exercises. I’ve found that an HIT approach is harder to do under those circumstances, because control of the weight becomes an issue as you fatigue, and because of sticking points in the exercise. So at home, I find it takes more exercises and a longer time to ‘fry’ my muscles. My typical approach it to doing a series of supersets, each targeting a particular muscle group. Within each superset, I just do one set of each exercise, and to failure if there are no safety contraints. As an example, my “push” superset would be: dumb bell bench, following immediately by weighted dips, and then push ups until I can’t life myself off the floor, even from my knees.
In general, I find that when I do shorter, more intense exercise routines, I’m more likely to do them regularly, and it seems like I suffer less overuse injuries. I’ve settled in on a weekly routine that leaves me feeling good, keeps me in reasonable shape, offers quite a bit of flexibility, and doesn’t chew up vast amounts of time.
My advice to others: Try a lot of things, stick with the things that work for you and leave you feeling good. Avoid things that cause injury, or leave you feeling burned out. Don’t get dogmatic or fanatic about any particular system or approach.
This looks almost like a typical bodybuilder routine. Plus he is saying: “If you can use machines, do it” – that’s total BS. Didn’t he say earlier “Oh, well this is how you’ll become a functional human animal again” ? I think he did!
So how are machines functional and natural!?
Machines provide resistance. Working hard against resistance, resting, and eating properly, build muscle. This allows you to be more functional.
Barbells by the way aren’t “natural”, any more than shoes are, even “five-fingers” (made of synthetics), nor even chin-up bars.
Craig,
Good post.
My opinion only!!
My takeaway from it is you need to do what works for you…physically and mentally.
HIT is certainly not for everyone. It is certainly not fun and can be borderline painful (the burn)…and there is no “social” time that some folks enjoy about a gym.
The endorphin rush only happens once a week instead of 2-3 times.
And for some folks it is mentally challenging since the brain tends to push-back due to the intensity of the program.
At UE we don’t advertise much for one simple reason…when folks come in from referrals thay have an idea of what it’s about and what they can expect…and they’re hearing from an outside source that what seems preposterous to many is in reality not so.
So you’re right…folks need to do what they feel is appropriate for them. IMO any exercise is good exercise…we just feel some is better than others.
Plus the economy can’t afford to have Curves fold!
BTW…some folks have had problems posting on the BBS site. If what you’re posting doesn’t go up, e-mail your post to me at egarbe@bellsouth.net and usually I can get it posted.
Thanks and hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday!
Ed
Yeah, there’s tons of WordPress blogs where I have no difficulty posting — I’ve had LOTS of trouble posting at BBS, which is regrettable. That was part of why I haven’t commented for months. It also made me mad, until I figured out it was technical, and angers other readers as you see.
Somehow or another, by adjusting your spam filter or whatever (Askimet is GREAT), you folks should fix that! Would also save you some time personally, despite your kind offer to help posters out.
Great comment. May your fastball always be straight and true, and your curveball never so.
Glad to see Body by Science get some attention on this site. I noticed some informed and unfortunately uninformed comments regarding the article.
I have a couple comments for all.
-Anything that makes you stronger, makes you more “functional”
-Every muscle in the body could be called a “stabilizer”
-Everyone has a certain phenotype, you can’t change your body/phenotype. Genetics plays the largest role in how you look/muscle build/height/etc.
-A Big 5 workout with super slow protocol, gives athletes a large edge over others. In traditional workouts, say 3 times a week, the fast twitch muscle fiber is burned out and will see none or extremely limited growth, as it never has time to recover. Body by science allows the adequate recovery period for these motor units and fibers. The fast twitch muscle fibers are the most important for athletes, because they are the motor units recruited for all athletic movements. The slow twitch muscle fiber that many programs are geared towards, has the least chance for growth and really has little benefit on athletic movement.
-Injuries are so prevalent in athletics. The reason: Overtraining.
-You don’t have to workout “explosively” to be explosive. Skill training is where you work on those techniques not your exercise program.
About myself: I am a college baseball pitcher with a 90 mph fastball. I’ve done Dr. McGuff’s program for over a year and a half now. I’ve personally seen the results and the difference between other programs. This is definitely the way to go. It is smart, goal oriented, and safe.
Merry Christmas to all and Happy Holidays!
Austin
Twitter: @BuetMan
Great comment. May your fastball always be straight and true, and your curveball never so.
Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/setting-yourself-up-to-win-a-body-by-science-approach/#ixzz1iEoL081G
This promotes mainly sarcoplasmic hypertrophy/muscular endurance. The longer the time of lifting the less myofibrils are recruited. The long recovery is interesting, based around a wound healing model. In CF we have a lighter days to keep muscle pathways open and not training to absolute falire keep a nice reserve in our recovery bank.
MUNN, J., R. D. HERBERT, M. J. HANCOCK, and S. C. GANDEVIA. Resistance Training for Strength: Effect of Number of Sets and Contraction Speed. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 37, No. 9, pp. 1622-1626,2005.
Does anyone know of a video showing the Static Lateral Raise as described here? I couldn’t find it on the Body By Science and a google search showed nothing. I feel like a fool for asking, but I just want to make sure I’m doing it right.
Honestly, this is a great article. I agree with it all 100 percent, but I absolutely love doing long workouts, but sometimes I just get that urge to sprint or go out for a 2 hour walk, whatever works for you is good.
I do not like gyms. I also do not possess weight machines. I do however want to try the at home modifications mentioned in the article. I am wondering if there is a way to get some video or still pics of the exercises being performed because while the directions are well done, I feel like perhaps I am in the wrong body position. The BSS site and the youtube vids I have seen so far focus on the weight machine exercises, not the at home maneuvers.
have a question: how much weight do you use for these slow workouts? is their a formula for how much weight to employ?
Select a weight that allows 4-8 reps or 90-180 seconds set duration. Generally this is about 75-80% of your usual weight when you start out.
thanks for the info. hard to gauge the weight. for instance, my first time was a chin up . but I had to do it in reverse, but no way could do 4-8. could only manage 2 1/2, but nowhere near 90 sec, I weight 230 lbs, now way would my arms do that for 90 sec!
I may try a gym to see if a pull down is better for me. the wall squats, were killer, could not walk for awhile.
Dr. McGuff,
I’m preparing to train during the off-season at home with dumbbells (5-50lbs max)in place of the leg press, would squats work? I can come up with exercises for arms, shoulders, etc.
I’d love to have a picture of the lateral raise doorway exercise. Can’t picture it… I got the push ups, pull ups, squats, but can’t see the lateral raise one. Thanks!
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Click my name to see the video while its still at the top of my blog.
I have used the Body By Science workouts for the last 3 months. (12 workouts on Nautlius Nitro and 1 workout using adjustable dumbells…) So, in the last 3 months I have spent approximately 180 minutes strength training.
I have absolutely no complaints. I am certainly stronger, and look forward to ski season. (If it ever snows…)
So, I feel no need to go out into the streets to rumble, read Dinosaur Training, nor buy a GI Joe.
And, to answer NSWM’s question, yes it does change your physique.
I have a back injury that prevents me from doing much regarding strength training and so cardio. If you are able to follow the basic MDA instructions with regularity you are going to be fine. I consider all the other stuff to be suggestions. Take what works for you, your abilities and your schedule, and leave the rest. Your mileage may vary and that’s okay!
Hi everyone.. I have a question, if we follow this 12min intense training program by Doug McGuff, does that mean we should also drop sprinting as well in order not to interfere with the recovery process? Or within one week, can we still do this 12min intense workout and 1 sprint session within the same week?
Many thanks
Chad
Chad,
No problem doing sprints 1/week, just leave it a couple of days after your workout.
This has come up on Doug’s website before.
I’ve being doing BBS for 2 years now, with occasional sprints (on an ergo) and I’m very happy with the results I get.
Dan
I worked for a little while at a gym that did only the BBS workouts–known also as H.I.T (high-intensity training) and “Super SLo-Mo”. I also was put through the workouts that I put my clients through.
This is the most intense workout I have ever experienced. The bulk of the training is in the mind, however. You quickly learn how easily you give up mentally, when you’ve got lots more in the physiologic tank. It’s not the be-all-end-all, and anyone who claims this for any exercise protocol should be viewed with skepticism. But, for the time spent (around 15-20 minutes including quick water breaks between exercises) I’ve never worked harder in my life, or felt so totally muscularly spent after a workout.
If you are put through this workout properly, and stick with it for a couple of months, your brain starts to catch up with what your body can do, and you can get yourself totally spent in 15 minutes. I highly recommend trying this for a few months as another great tool for a healthy lifestyle. The best benefit is realizing how to truly challenge yourself, something you can apply to any workout protocol. Good luck everyone on your fitness and health goals!