Here are some interesting articles we’ve recently viewed regarding the science of training and supplementation.

Enjoy:

Neuroplasticity Exercise-Induced Response of Peripheral Brain-Der….

Cool article stating cardio at an above moderate intensity will definitely increase your brain power/mental acuity.

The Authenticity of Sports Supplements -An Interview With Our Journal’s Founder,
International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2010, 20, 264-269
Professor Mel Williams
Louise M. Burke

Your special area of interest has been the effect of supplements on sports performance, and your own research activities have included studies on creatine, inosine, phosphate,and Eleutherococcus senticosus. What intrigued you about supplements for athletes? How have you seen the industry change and what do you think athletes and
researchers should be doing to respond to this?

Based on my doctoral dissertation with alcohol, my initial research interests involved the effects of drugs and related ergogenics on physical performance, and
several of our first research projects at Old Dominion University involved not only the potential ergogenic effects of alcohol but also those of amphetamines, caffeine,
hypnosis, and the technique of blood doping.

The ACSM roundtable also notes some possible medical applications of creatine supplementation.  Creatine has received considerably more research
attention than any other sport supplement, possibly with the exception of carbohydrate/fluid supplementation and prolonged aerobic endurance performance. Research suggests that both may be effective ergogenics under specific exercise circumstances.

However, as noted above, such as the tea and honey use by wrestlers, dietary supplements have been available to athletes for a long time. As athletes in high school, we
would read Scholastic Coach, a publication marketed to coaches and young athletes. I recall reading about wheat germ oil, then being touted as a wonder fuel for
athletes. Other nutritional supplements such as vitamins and ginseng were also marketed to athletes, and most marketing claims were based on personal endorsements
by athletes or low-quality research. When doing research for my doctoral dissertation on alcohol, I was exposed to a variety of articles involving the use of nutritional ergogenics
and noted the absence of high-quality research. This motivated me to conduct research in this area.

The sports supplement industry today is a multibillion-dollar entity. Check out sport magazines targeted to specific athlete groups such as runners, cyclists, and triathletes.
These magazines are replete with advertisements extolling the ergogenic virtues of specific supplements. The vast majority of sports supplements are supported
not by a sound body of scientific evidence but, rather, by personal endorsements or improper extrapolations from scientific study.

In the United States, most supplements also contain the disclaimer, “This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA.” Athletes should be awareof the limitations associated with sports supplements.  Some sport organizations, such as the Australian Institute of Sport and other national sport-governing bodies, do educate athletes on the use of dietary supplements, noting that although a few may be effective under certain sport conditions, most are not.

There are some reputable companies marketing sports supplements, but many, particularly Internet-based operations, are not. As has been demonstrated repeatedly, some sport supplements contribute to a positive doping test, and some athletes have claimed this rationale for their being tested positive.  Researchers need to evaluate the ergogenic efficacy of such purported sports supplements and not only publish the findings in acceptable journals but also write reviews for lay magazines targeted to athletes. Educating athletes about the truth underlying the efficacy of most sport supplements is the key to minimizing their sales and use.  Such has been the case with popular sport supplements
of old, a good example being the mineral chromium.

You have been involved with the story of creatine supplementation in sport, by undertaking original research, writing a whole textbook on this supplement, and being
a member of the panel of the American College of Sports Medicine who wrote the position stand on the physiological and health effects of oral creatine use. What are
your comments on the potential application of creatine supplements for sport and medical uses? Why did the ACSM position stand take such a conservative view of
the performance benefits of creatine?

As documented in our book Creatine: The Power Supplement(1999), we (co-authors J. David Branch, PhD, andRichard B. Kreider, PhD)presented data generally supportive of the use of creatine as an effective ergogenic aid for certain types of exercise tasks, particularly very high-intensity repetitive exercise involving the use of phosphocreatine as an energy source. We also highlighted some of creatine’s possible beneficial medical applications.  Several previous and subsequent reviews and meta-analyses have also presented a synthesis of the available data supportive of beneficial ergogenic effects and medical applications.

Given the data available when the ACSM roundtable was held in 1999, the conclusions regarding creatine supplementation and exercise performance appear to be reasonable. The conclusion in the published abstract notes that “although Cr supplementation exhibits small but significant physiological and performance changes, the increases in performance are realized during very specific exercise conditions. This suggests that the apparent high expectations for performance enhancement evident by the extensive use of Cr supplementation are inordinate.”

This statement may appear to be conservative. However, the main points in the abstract are not conservative. For example, one statement is “Exercise performance involving short periods of extremely powerful activity can be enhanced, especially during repeated bouts of activity.  This is in keeping with the theoretical importance of an elevated PCr content in skeletal muscle.”  The summary also notes, “Cr supplementation is associated with an enhanced accrual of strength in strength-training programs, a response . . . may be related to a greater volume and intensity of training that can be achieved.”  These statements support an ergogenic effect of creatine supplementation.

Can Exercise Make You Feel More Full?

Fascinating article about how regular exercise can actually increase feelings of satiety.

Derick Bownds’ MINDBLOG

This site is an incredible wealth of information about the mind and human behavior.  You should check it out on the regular.

Increasing Speed and Explosiveness-Interview with John Goodwin

This is one of the best and most authoritative articles we’ve ever seen on increasing explosive power output and speed for athletic performance.

MIHWCS

The Muscle Couple is posting our last training day videos.(Legs and Abs)

The leg training video is pretty amazing.  These leg workouts also included video of fitness competitor Kini Kim and they were done about 8 days ago.

You will see the sheer intensity and force of will necessary to push through certain leg training sets.

Once you commit to performing the set as intended and can learn to control your central nervous system(CNS) response to training with this kind of intensity, it becomes much easier to perform than it looks.  (I know that sounds kind of silly, but it’s true)   You have to learn to control your bodies desire to spasm, freak out or just quit/give up.

Initially, when we first started training this way 4 weeks ago, we’d get cramps or involuntary muscle spasms in our middle and lower backs.  These are now gone.

Also the crazy desire to grip hard, tense up or to stop breathing in a controlled fashion has also lessened.

Being able to control all of these things leads to faster and quicker improvements in your physique.  Once this is under control, you will be able to focus all your energies on contracting the targeted muscle fibers utilizing the proper cadence and technique necessary for a perfectly executed HIT set.

We’ll offer some more videos in about a month so everybody can see the visible changes occurring to our physiques.

HIT Leg Training Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw96NYReL5Y

HIT Ab Training Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNq6i2121ko

MIHWCS

The Muscle Couple has finally gotten all of our initial videos edited.   It’s amazing  how much our physiques have changed in only 4 weeks!

IN OUR HUMBLE OPINION, NOTHING is AS PRODUCTIVE as HIT TRAINING DONE RIGHT!

Here are the bicep and shoulder videos!

Please ask questions or comment about anything you see related to any of our HIT Training.  For those of you planning on performing HIT, listen closely to Markus as he coaches and offers tips and pointers.

Delt HIT Training Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJwaJiPzzio

Bicep HIT Training Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuxlt83QICY

Have a great weekend!

MIHWCS

The Muscle Couple with HIT video #2!

You gotta love weighted negative chins.

Please don’t hesitate to ask questions about anything you see in the videos.

We’d also request you listen to Markus coaching us during our sets.  He is giving out incredible information and there are plenty of tips to be gleaned.

Enjoy!

HIT  Back Training Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7E6x1xkcnI

MIHWCS

As promised, TMC is dropping our newly edited HIT Chest and Triceps Training videos. (Day 1 of Our 4 Day A Week Program)

We’re pretty confident the video’s do enough talking.

For those of you contemplating doing HIT, we’re offering a Primer on what to pay particular attention to in all our videos.

• The Cadence of our Sets. A “Normal HIT Rep” is incredibly controlled and smooth with a 4 second lowering phase(eccentric) with a 1.5 to 2′ second up(concentric).  Markus varies the parameters usually from session to session.  Some of the intensity principles he’ll add include, Static Holds, Negatives, Partial Reps, Assisted Reps, Forced Reps and Isometric Contractions. (We will have a Blog discussing and showing all of these principles in full detail within the next 3 weeks.  Understanding and applying these kind of variables can make a dramatic difference in your physique)

• Contracting the Muscle Fibers.  Listen to Markus in the videos as he coaches us.  He’ll say things like “Stop swinging, gripping, or using momentum, slow down, breathe”.  What he means by this, is as your mind starts to tell your body to stop, your concentration can lessen and momentum/adrenaline/fear can overtake your targeted muscles from contracting as intended.  As we stated previously, the focus required to continue is ENORMOUS and must be learned.  Once you can do this and make every repetition contract the intended muscle fibers hard for 2′, the changes to your physique become shocking.

• Markus spotting us at the right point in the movement.  As we’ve already stated, having a Master HIT Trainer to help, coach, inspire and demonstrate is INVALUABLE!  To those of you who can’t find one proximal to your location, the next best thing is a training partner also committed to getting the most out of HIT.  As much as we’d like to say HIT Training can be productive with one person focused like a “Yogi Walking on Hot Coals”, it’s unlikely you can do everything necessary to maximize the full technique arsenal of an HIT protocol without assistance.  Can HIT Training still be productive solo?   ABSOLUTELY!  It will require some modifications and hopefully some tutelage with an HIT Master Trainer when starting out.

• The focus and will to continue and finish the set.   This is the hardest thing about HIT Training.  As Markus is fond of saying, “C’mon, you only get this one set, you need to, you have to, MAKE IT COUNT”  Even the most focused and calm can become distracted.   In commercial gym settings this is very commonplace.   When training in HIT Fashion, many people will stop what they are doing to watch you- wondering what the hell is going on.    You have to be able to ignore everything but your task at hand.  This is much easier said than done.  You will see in many of these videos, our mind forcing us to give up before our target muscle has actually reached failure.   When you see physical gyrations, or extreme facial contortions, and Markus saying “keep going” or “Hardcore, you can do it”, “one more-focus” “you only have one set” etc and then we stop the set, you know our brain melted down before our targeted muscle did.

TMC Chest Training HIT Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd2-NH_qvrY

TMC Triceps Training HIT Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH8peKHVm6E

MIHWCS

The Muscle Couple has now done three weeks of HIT Training provided to us by  Markus Reinhardt.

OMFGx1000!

High Intensity Training (HIT) is the hardest, intense, and focused type of training we’ve ever done!   And so far, the MOST PRODUCTIVE!!!

An entire session lasts no longer than 30 minutes!! (And that’s with TMC training together)

The feeling you have over your physical being is just incredible.  It’s as if all the blood in your body is flowing into the targeted muscles you’ve just trained.  The feeling lasts for hours afterward.  In fact, our BMR is so jacked up, you feel energy for hours after the session ends.  We recommend you don’t train in this style after 8PM if you want to sleep at night!

When you train in HIT fashion, every single rep of every set must count.  You must be able to focus on each repetition utilizing proper form and cadence.  The mental fatigue produced in concentrating so intently is something you have to get used to.

TMC is now learning through first hand application the HOLY GRAIL to PHYSIQUE ALTERATION is PROPERLY CONTRACTING MUSCLE FIBERS.  Your body must become neurally efficient at squeezing the target muscle for 2 seconds(enervating every cross sectional fiber)consistently rep after rep to build skeletal muscle.  If you can learn to do this on every set and every rep, you won’t believe how fast your appearance will change.

If you’re an advanced trainee, you probably think you understand this already.  Think again.  It’s not easy.  Things get in the way.  Using too much weight, improper cadence and tempo when performing reps, or just a momentary loss of focus and before you know it, you’re flying through the set not even close to contracting the fibers as intended.

As we will repeatedly say, training in HIT fashion requires enormous self discipline, focus and neural coordination.  None of it is learned until  you train this way for a while.  We’ve only been training in HIT fashion for 3 weeks now and we still learn something new on every set.  Often times the slightest distraction can cause a loss of focus and before you know it, you’re not training in the fashion necessary to make HIT work.  It’s why having a Master Teacher to offer assistance is a must.

We’re trying to capture all the finer nuances and subtleties offered by our HIT Master Trainer- Markus Reinhardt.  Markus was personally trained by Mike Mentzer himself.  Mentzer was known as one of the original voices of HIT training and wrote the seminal book HEAVY DUTY.  At the time it was written, its theories were in direct opposition to most established weight training principles and lore.

Mentzer was a prolific independent thinker and we recommend reading his book or any of his many writings on training and life.  (We will have much more on this widely debated and discussed topic of “multiple set vs single set training” in future blogs)  Suffice it to say, we think there is a lot of dis-information and confusion over true HIT training and how it compares to multi set training.

We need to emphasize what kind of incredible resource Markus is regarding his training knowledge and intellect.  He has been practicing HIT for over 12 years and he is a master at not only teaching the principles but also demonstrating them. Markus is a stickler for getting the most of out every rep.  He will gently assist and spot to make sure you learn to contract your muscle fibers to positive failure.

Again, even advanced trainees can sometimes struggle with learning how to do this on every set.  His skills and advice are just invaluable.  (Much more on Markus soon as he is coming out of retirement at 40 to defend his Muscle Mania Title from years ago-TMC is also entering this same competition(our very first one)

In TMC’s humble opinion, you have to train with Markus for a week to realize the effort and skill necessary to train in HIT Fashion.  Markus showing  you is much better than him telling you on the phone or by email.  And much of it, no matter how advanced your training capacity, is something you have to see and hear to actually learn and apply.

Markus is truly an amazing trainer.  WE RECOMMEND HIM TO ALL OUR READERS.

He is available for Online Consultations and one on one sessions in Los Angeles or Las Vegas.

There are other HIT Master Practitioners around the world we’ll be identifying and referring to in future blogs.

<TMC Side Note> Jay attempted to perform HIT when he was 24 years old after reading Mentzer’s book.  He always believed the science behind the methodology, as it stood out from “accepted dogma”.   He didn’t have the benefit of a JEDI HIT Master to teach or demonstrate how to do it at the same time period. Eventually he just gave up believing only “Genetically Gifted Bodybuilders” would ever attain success utilizing the principles espoused.  He is very thankful(even though 15 years later) to have figured out he was DEAD WRONG!

<TMC NOTE>We have been editing a bunch of videos of our HIT Training and will post them in a series on the site emphasizing everything regarding the science of HIT:

• the HIT Master Practioners
• the Best Websites
• the Forums
• the Objectors
• Single Set vs Multi Set Debates

Our goal is to give HIT Training it’s proper due.  And we believe we will.

We are also firmly convinced anyone can use this style of training to attain their physique goals.  And in all honesty, who wouldn’t want to have an awesome physique in only 90 minutes of training a week?

HIT Training is perfect for busy professionals, and other people whose time is incredibly valuable.  For folks who train in a home gym, this program can also be adapted to conform to your equipment.

The Muscle Couple needs to set the record straight regarding HIT Training:

If you can learn to make each and every set count.  If you can perform the exercises in controlled fashion, putting all your focus and energies into every second of every rep(no matter how much your body is telling your mind to quit)with a goal of  increasing your reps or weight from week to week(training session to training session), the gains you will realize will shock you.  SHOCK YOU!

We are both blown away with what is happening to our bodies.   As many of the readers of this blog understand, we don’t make statements like that very often.  But don’t take our word for it.  Just check us out our pics as we progress week to week.  We’re in contest preparation now and we both believe we’re going to take our physiques to a whole new level by contest time in early November. (More on that soon)

There is no doubt, LESS IS MORE when it comes to HIT Training.

<TMC HIT NOTE>We don’t want any of our readers to think this type of program is too hard. Not even close.  We’re also not using “too much weight” or “loading our spine” in potentially harmful ways.  Our training is challenging but definitely fun.  We look forward to every session.   In reality, we’re reducing workout session time by HALF.  Sure we’re increasing the intensity, but isn’t TIME really what matters to most of us?  It definitely means a lot to us with the Muscle B’s. (Alexandra and Gabriella)

Less time in the gym gives you more time in your personal life to spend with family, friends or surfing the world wide web.  And at the end of the day, the results you will achieve training in this fashion, will not be rivaled.  That’s our opinion, but we’re confident anybody who ever gives this type of training 3 months of effort,(also utilizing the tutelage of an HIT Master Trainer) will wholeheartedly agree.

To give you an idea of the intensity of our efforts, we’ve inserted some photos(some are video stills) from all 4 days of the training from the first couple of weeks.  Take a look at our faces and you should be able to grasp how incredibly intense our sessions are. (This will also be detailed in fully edited video soon,  so WE CAN SHOW WHAT HIT TRAINING IS ALL ABOUT!)

TMC’s HIT WORKOUT

Day 1 Tuesday:

Chest

• Nautilus Chest Press warm up and then 1 Set (4′ Eccentrics)till Failure and then 3 Negative 10 Sec Holds(You must learn to maximally contract chest fibers as you finish the concentric portion of the movement-Once you can fully “fire” or enervate your deep wall chest muscles, your chest musculature will CHANGE-Male or Female)
• Nautilus Chest Fly Machine-No Warmup 1 Set 1 Full Rep and Quarter Rep to failure
• Hammer Incline Press with 10′ Concentric and 10′ Eccentric

Triceps

• Dip Machine-1 Warmup Set + 1 Set til Failure with 3 10 Negative 10 Second Holds
• Cable Pushdown-1 Warmup Set + 1 Set + Quarter Rep til Failure

Abdominals

• Nautilus Crunch Machine 1 Warmup Set + 1 Set and Quarter Rep till Failure, then 5 second rest and continue with normal reps until failure again
• Reverse Ab Thrusts til Failure super setted with Ab Crunches (Holding plate behind head)

<TMC NOTES> Every workout Markus will change certain parameters.  Sometimes we’ll superset to pre-exhaust the chest fibers. ie Do the fly Machine til positive failure and then immediately into one of the chestp resses.  Markus is a big believer in focusing on the down(eccentric)as he says this is where the “growth zone” occurs.  He will vary the eccentric from anywhere from 10-60 seconds!  Until you perform 60 second Negative Holds in successive fashion, you haven’t trained as hard as you thought you could. 

Abdominal training with Markus completely dispels all rumors about anything you’ve ever thought you knew or understood about training abs.  If you can do 10+ “Contracting Your Rectus for 2 Seconds” ab crunches on the Nautilus Crunch Machine with 200 pounds or more, you’re abdominal wall is thick, etched and hard.

Day 2 Wednesday:

Back

• Bent Over Barbell Rows or Hammer Rows- 1 set of 6-12 reps to failure plus static hold to failure on the last rep.
• Nautilus Pullover Machine or Dumbbell Pullover on decline bench- 1 set of 6-12 to positive failure followed by a 1 set of Reverse Grip Pulldowns at 6-8 reps to failure (important here is to do them in superset fashion with less then 5-8 second rest if possible!)
• Negative Chin Ups-1 Set til Positive Failure utilizing body weight and then 2-4 Negative 10 Second Hold Chins(videotape will prove how amazing this exercise is for your entire upper back and core-This is amazingly hard but productive)
• Lower Back Hyper Extensions- 1 set of 8-15 reps to positive failure-utilizing resistance of up to a 25 pound plate behind the head (this exercise is a little too delicate in order to perform negatives or static failure due to potential lower back injury risk.)

<TMC NOTES>We are growing to love training back in HIT Fashion.  Wow!  This workout will change anybody’s back musculature quickly.  You can’t imagine how crazy 10′ Negative Chin’s are after your back has already been blasted from 3 previous HIT sets.

Day 4 Friday

Delts

• Side raise machine or dumbbell laterals seated (Markus prefers machine) – 1 set to failure, 6-12 reps..make sure to hold the static at 2 seconds each and lower slow of course – reach positive and static failure then ..
• Superset with Shoulder press machine…6-8 reps to positive failure plus a slow 10 second negative!
• Upright Rows with Rope-1 Set Til Positive Failure focusing on the 4′ eccentric and 2′ positive.  Smooth and controlled contracting the rhomboids at the peak.
• Rear lateral raise machine or dumbbell rear laterals….8-12 reps to positive and static failure.
• Add Shrug Machine if Traps need improvement (same reps and tempo as Upright Rows with Rope)

Biceps

• Straight Bar Curls or Hammer Machine Curls 6-12 reps to positive failure plus static failure.
• Reverse Grip Bar Curls to failure using a cheat/preacher bar (6-12 reps) If you’re not getting stronger each workout, drop it. You might already over train your arms because they are used on all exercises.  Over training with regards to biceps is very common.

<TMC NOTES>This is our favorite HIT workout due to the amazing upper torso pump in every region of the shoulder capsule.  If you asked 95% of trainees if they believed a shoulder workout with only 3 sets in it could CHANGE THEIR SHOULDER LINE APPEARANCE COMPLETELY, they’d answer emphatically, “NO”!  We challenge anybody who reads this blog to come train Delts with us to find out.

Day 5 Saturday

Quads and Hamstrings

• Leg Extensions (8-15 Reps) supersetted with Leg Press (6-8) reps to failure.
• Squat Machine or Hack Squat Machine 8-15 reps to failure.
• Leg Curls seated or laying 8-12 reps to failure with static failure. (60 Second Static Holds on Leg Curls are “Interesting”)

Calves

• Seated raises 8-15 reps to failure and static failure plus some partial reps till your calfs basically fall off…lol…supersetted with…
• 1 set of standing calf raises 12-20 reps to failure..also add static failure set to the end.

<TMC NOTES>This workout is amazingly intense but productive.  Your quads and Hams are pumped for two days afterward.  The first couple of leg training sessions give you DOMs (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) for a couple of days afterward until your body gets used to them.(GET STRONGER as FIBERS GET THICKER).  Training legs intensely is a prerequisite for HIT Training.  You can always customize your approach  based on your own unique wants and needs.

Example: If you don’t want your legs to explode out of your pants requiring you to buy expensive new work clothes<GRIN> you will back down the amount of weight you lift or potentially do a heavy leg workout every 3rd workout.  Markus understands the importance of adaptation to training around your lifestyle and unique situation.(As will any competent HIT Trainer)

We hope this post will serve as a modern day guide in understanding how to practice HIT Training.  Hopefully dispelling some of the rumor and innuendo when it comes to training in real HIT style.

We believe all folks regarding of training level or condition can train in HIT Fashion.

We will be writing often over the remaining portion of this year and going forward about how it’s changing our physiques and lives.  Videos are also coming soon along with a resource post pointing everybody to the main sites to read and learn more about HIT Training.

We encourage all of you to give it a try or to reach out to us with questions regarding anything related to HIT Training.

Check back every week to watch our bodies undergo an HIT TRANSFORMATION. 

As always, thanks for reading and viewing our blog!

MIHWCS

The Muscle Couple is really busy these days working two jobs and dealing with a newly emerging 7 month old who throws herself out of bed.

None of that will stop us from descending into the REALM of HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING with MR. HIGH INTENSITY himself:

MARKUS REINHARDT

"I Am a True HIT Jedi Master-Let Me Make the Force Strong In You

As many of you know we’ve been performing Rest Pause Training for much of the last year and have made significant gains and physique improvements.   Markus has consistently told us “we’ve not seen anything yet” and won’t “until we actually train in true HIT style” which “can only be learned from watching him train.”

Or better yet, training with him ourselves.

So TMC after much consideration (and prodding from Markus) has decided to go all out in preparation for our first Bodybuilding Show in November. We’re going to train in true HIT Fashion learning and watching from Markus himself!

We are very excited to say the least.  We plan on video-taping many of our training sessions so our readers and the world can see just how difficult training in TRUE HIT FASHION can be.

For a brief glimpse, check out the video of Markus below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuaBHAJ6yTM

And yes, you just did read that.  TMC is going to compete for the very first time!  (More on that later)

We’ll be back soon with an update on our first week of HIT Training with Markus.

And of course we’ll lay out the entire program, meticulously detailing all the tweaks and unique twists Markus has created with his customized style program for TMC!

Stay Tuned!

MIHWCS

The Muscle Couple has been asked for years by many people from all walks of life on the quickest way to attain “6 Pack Abs”.

We’ve wanted to do a blog to set the record straight.

It really is possible for anybody to attain 6 pack abs.

What is required is determination, focus, and a scientific approach practiced over a lifetime.  We define this scientific approach as the TMC 3 PRONG AB SOLUTION (revealed in full detail below)

Maybe the best way for us to write/explain how to achieve this look is to analyze this incredible video from Scooby found on youtube.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=95xRTID478I

Scooby has done an excellent job dispelling 6 myths about attaining 6 pack abs in the video.

TMC offers our own unique commentary expounding upon and digging deeper into his myths and even adding one of our own.

Without further adieu.

• Myth #1-You Only Need to Perform Regular Ab Exercises to Get 6 Pack Abs-

Scooby’s advice here about lowering your body fat to see your abs is essentially right on the money.   You absolutely must create a negative caloric balance (net caloric deficit) from either eating less calories, doing more cardio or optimally a combination of both.

There is much debate in health and nutrition circles about the type of diet best to reduce body fat the fastest.  Low Carb, High Fat, Iso-Caloric (Zone), Mediterranean all provide studies proving their effectiveness.

In truth, it’s all about the amount of kcals you consume more than the type observing the all important rule of 1 gram of protein per # of lean body weight. This allows for peak metabolic efficiency and maintenance of muscle even when eating below maintenance kcals.

• Myth #2-You Can Get Abs in 8 Minutes a Day-

Again, Scooby’s advice is solid.  Anybody who says you can get abs in 8 minutes is a day is complete charlatan and to be avoided.  It takes years of practicing the TMC 3 PRONGED AB SOLUTION

1. Daily, intelligent clean eating (observing periods of below maintenance calories)getting 1 gm of Protein per pound of lean body weight, high EFA consumption, and carbs from green vegies and low glycemic sources
2. Daily HIT/or intense cardio
3. EOD productive ab training contracting your rectus on every rep

Without all 3 of the above, 8 minutes a day of any form of ab training won’t get you anywhere.

• Myth #3-You Can Spot Fat Reduce

We’re going to go against a bit of Scooby’s advice here and tell you it is physically possible to “spot fat reduce” through the usage of drugs and specialized training protocols.   His advice about “cardio and caloric reduction” eventually leading to gradual fat loss and even pulling off the last bit of stubborn fat is however correct.

There have been a few studies performing incredibly high reps targeting the resistant area shown to accelerate fat loss and increase lipolysis at the stubborn sites.  By in large, spot fat removal is a complete myth for all but a select few.

Only an advanced dieter/athlete utilizing growth hormone and/or newer chemical agents injected at the stubborn site, combined with advanced thermogenic and lipotropic lotions (designed to work through trans-dermal absorption) can achieve any success of preferentially reducing adipose/visceral fat from the stubborn area. (Realizing these are only ancillaries to speed up the process when the dieter is still maintaining a significant net caloric deficit and probably consuming additional multi-phasic thermogenic supplements)

• Myth  #4-To Get Abs, You Have to Buy Something-

It is impossible to disagree with Scooby’s advice here.  You don’t need to buy anything to achieve abs.  You just have to maintain a NET CALORIC DEFICIT  and consistently observe the TMC 3 PRONGED AB SOLUTION.

You should not underestimate the importance of using thermogenic supplements in order to boost metabolism and dull appetite.  These would be the only “recommended ancillaries” to buy when embarking on a rigorous diet designed to shed body fat to attain noticeable 6 pack abs.

• Myth #5-To See Your Lower Abs, Requires the Performance of Special Exercises-

Scooby is right for the most part. It’s impossible to effectively isolate the “lower abs” as the rectus abdominus is one muscle and is recruited as one unit in full force.

Where he errs is in not explaining differing lower abdominal muscle fiber appearance.  Hopefully the pictures displayed of lower ab muscle hypertrophy show the various and different structures based on genetics.

All of these pictures portray maximum body fat reduction and intelligent ab training.  Unfortunately, not all men/women are created equal when it comes to having visible, defined, ripped midsections.

GENETICS plays a HUGE ROLE in lower ab development/aesthetics even when a NET CALORIC DEFICIT and the TMC 3 PRONGED AB SOLUTION is utilized effectively.

“6 Pack” of normal abdominal musculature

“8 Pack” Abdominal wall of genetically blessed

“5 Pack” of a “Diverse” Abdominal Muscle Structure

“4 Pack” of genetically inferior lower ab structure

• Myth #6-You Need Long, Grueling Ab Workouts to Get 6 Pack Abs-

This is completely false.  As Scooby reiterated multiple times in the video, caloric reduction and cardio creating a continual “net caloric deficit” will shed the body fat over your midsection.  What will then be visible is your genetic abdominal wall. In order to reveal a “6 pack abs look” you must train your abs with purpose and intensity to make them hard and etched.

Your rectus abdominus although much smaller than larger body part muscles, still needs to be effectively trained in order to develop full, thick and rigid (ripped)muscular walls.  You must learn to contract your rectus and utilize the principle of progressive overload when training.  Train your abs to be bigger, thicker and harder(utilizing weights or progressively harder resistance) just like you were training any other muscle group.

• Myth #7-This Image is A Realistic Portrait of “Everyday Walking Around Abs”

Folks this is a picture of a Contest Ready Bodybuilder/Physique Competitor who has dieted down to the last remaining day or two before his contest.  This requires enormous sacrifice, water and electrolyte restriction, carb depletion and a multitude of other restrictive practices and nutrient increases/decreases like diuretics etc.

Nobody on this earth save for the MOST GENETICALLY BLESSED MUTANT MESOMORPH can actually walk around looking like this on a day in day out basis.  Also remember most of the pictures you see of “ripped abs” are guys flexing or isometrically contracting their rectus to make it more pronounced and noticeable.

Please don’t ever believe the pictures of bodybuilders and athletes you see in the various muscle mags depict a realistic every day condition of somebody who has great abs.

Even somebody performing all the work to get a great 6 pack still holds a bit of water, sodium and skin over the top of them “most of the time”.   Think of that natural look as something like this:

TMC trains abs “at least” 4x a week.

Usually we finish our rest pause lifting programs with either 3 sets of hanging leg raises til failure by themselves or sometimes super-setted with rope cable crunches til failure.  This is determined by our level of fatigue from the prior training session.

When we’re dieting down really hard for a show<HINT-HINT> or photo shoot, we will also perform abs at the end of our cardio workout.

We’ll provide much more in an upcoming article detailing the type of diet and cardio necessary to maximize the TMC 3 PRONG AB SOLUTION.

We hope this helps clear some things up for many of you.

As always, we’re available for questions or commentary about any of this.

Have a great weekend!

MIHWCS

The Muscle Couple was given this workout from Pro WBFF Fitness Model/Competitor Rob Riches.

• Hanging Knee Lifts (using Aboriginal arm supports): 3 x 30 reps

• High-Pulley Rope Crunches: 3 x 30 reps

• High-Pulley Rope Single Arm Oblique Twists: 3 x 30 reps (each side)

He performs all of these exercises in one Giant Set and does it 3x in succession.

It’s an incredibly intense Ab Burn.  Give it a whirl for a couple of months and tell us how much tighter your midsection becomes.

Rob is one of the more passionate and charismatic voices in the global Fitness Community.

He has an amazing physique and is only 26 years old!  Look for him to become much more prominent in the Fitness scene both online and off in the next five years.

Check out his video demonstrating his ab training.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIN3IkNsNfk

Rob’s website provides a wealth of information on Contest Preparation, Diet and what it takes to live the life of a Successful Fitness Model.

He is also an excellent video choreographer.  His training and interview videos are some of the best ones we’ve seen on Youtube.

Check out his site today for some inspiration and motivation in living a healthier lifestyle.

Rob Riches Fitness

MIHWCS

The Muscle Couple has been promising to get some videos of our New Rest Pause Training Program uploaded to the site.

Finally they’re here!

They are very random and in no particular order.

A couple of things to pay attention to when trying to understand and assess the intensity.

• Notice the Cadence of the Eccentric(Downward movement)and Concentric(Upward movement)
• Reps aren’t “perfect” but are slow and trying to maintain proper form and control
• Rest intervals try to be maintained between 10 and 15′-sometimes it’s too grueling and we’ll space out to 20′
• The intensity being applied ‘most of the time’ is every rest Pause Set should be performed til full muscular failure(not one more rep can be achieved without assistance from a spotter or cheating)

Cable Flyes

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kOoLo9Z6oI

Incline Press Machine

www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4ihCBjAtUs

Wide Grip Pulldown Machine

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Cohyi5uvY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mztp8FZofY

Biceps Preacher Machine

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAqwQ5WHr3c

MIHWCS