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Working Out With an Injury
WORKING OUT WITH AN INJURY Whether a steely-eyed, barrel-chested freedom fighter, regardless of branch of service, or aspiring bodybuilder (though I could just as easily make the same claim for powerlifters, hockey players or endurance athletes, respectively), having to at some point work through an injury is probably more inevitability than possibility. It’s not “if” we get back to the grind, but “how”, because let’s face it; most of us gym rats will happily weather hurricanes, hail or high water to hit the gym. That being said, let’s talk strategy because working through an injury means changing your mindset, changing...
Compound Lifts vs. Isolation Lifts
Hello Everyone! Too often in the gym do I see people hitting standing single arm curls expecting their arms to grow. Standing single arm curls have their place, but for beginner lifters and also some intermediate lifters I can tell you there are better alternatives. Today we'll be discussing compound lifts and isolation lifts. We'll talk about what separates them from each other, we'll talk about the importance of form, and most importantly, we'll discuss how to implement them in your workout routine. Compound lifts are exercises that include multiple muscles, sometimes even entire muscle groups. These include flat barbell...
Rest Periods in Between Sets
Hello Everyone! This week's Training Room post will be centered around rest periods in between sets. We'll cover how much rest a person needs in between workouts in a future Training Room update. The reason rest in between sets is so important is because it's different for every training style. The first thing a person must do is establish goals for their individual workouts and their overall fitness. If you are a strength athlete, then you'll need to follow a different rest schedule in between sets than someone who is training strictly for hypertrophy. Alright, let's do a quick recap of our previous blog...
Busting Through Plateaus
Hello Everyone! Unless you just started weight lifting yesterday, you have all experienced hitting a plateau. Whether it’s in regards to your maxes, the amount of reps you can bust out, or no longer seeing the muscle growth you desire, hitting that wall is no fun. If there is one good thing to say about hitting a plateau, it’s in the fact that at least your body is making physiological adaptations to the physical stress you are imparting on the muscles. Our goal is to completely avoid these roadblocks though and continue getting bigger, stronger, faster. Let’s quickly discuss why...
Fundamentals of Hypertrophy (Building Muscle)
Hello Everyone! This week we’ll be talking about what most of us care about when it comes to working out, building muscle mass! When lifting for muscle mass, the ultimate indicator is how much size we're putting on. The mirror and the scale compete for our attention as metrics to keep track of our progress. Stay on track, crush the gym, and we hope you learn something here. First we’ll get the chart out of the way early because they are boring and as we discussed last time, these recommendations are to reference and they aren’t laws, just recommendations. ...