GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

Lee Crompton - 5′10, 158lbs

Three attempt 1 RM

Squat - 300 lbs = 1.898xBody Weight - Very happy with.

Strict Overhead Press - 130 lbs = .823xBW - Not happy with.

Deadlift - 350 lbs = 2.215xBW - Satisfied but should of went for 360lbs.

Total = 4.94xBW=780.5 lbs.

The results from all contestants who competed canada wide are posted at http://steelcitycrossfit.com/crossfit-total-national-results/

For info. on the Crossfit Total as well as the rules and reasoning to the lifts click here http://www.crossfit.com/journal/library/52-2006_CFTotal.pdf

http://nymag.com/health/features/46213/

A chin-up specialization program will not only build impressive width and thickness to your back but will also pack solid inches on your arms by promoting growth on your biceps, brachialis, brachio-radialis and pronator teres. Learn how and why!

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By: Charles Poliquin

Chin-ups involve the sternal portion of the pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, teres major, posterior deltoid, the rhomboids, the middle and lower portions of the trapezius, and the elbow flexors. A wide variety of sports require strength in these muscles, particularly sports that require powerful upper body pulling action such as judo and wrestling.

A chin-up specialization program will not only build impressive width and thickness to your back but will also pack solid inches on your arms by promoting growth on your biceps, brachialis, brachio-radialis and pronator teres. You only have to look at the arm development of Olympic gold medalists in gymnastics Andreas Wecker (GER) and Yurij (ITA) to be convinced. These individuals are not known for their volume of training on the Scott bench, but more for their countless volume of pull-ups and chin-ups on the various gymnastics apparatus.

I already can hear the people say, “I will just substitute pulldowns instead of chins”. Sure go ahead but you will not get the same results, and you will still have the lat spread of a cigarette. The neuro-physiological reasons why chin-ups are superior to pulldowns are beyond the scope of this article. But to put it briefly: a classic example of the difference between chin-ups and pulldowns is the fact that a chin-up is a close-chin exercise (body moves towards resistance) and a lat pulldown is an open chain exercise (resistance moves towards the body).

These two types of exercise (open vs close chain) require completely different recruitment patterns although the exercises may look similar visually. But the fact that is clear, a great back is built much faster through chins than through pulldowns. Very much the same way that squats and deadlifts cannot be matched for lower body development.

Chin-Ups vs Pull-Ups: What Is The Difference?

In kinesiologese, and throughout this article, pull-ups are chin-ups done with a pronated grip (palms down grip) and chin-up are done with either a semi-supinated (palms facing each other) or with a supinated grip (palms facing you grip). What is the best grip for chins?

There is no such thing as a best grip for performing chins. Empirically speaking, the people I know with the best upper back development use a myriad of grips to recruit as many back muscles as possible. You just have to look at the upper back development of the gymnasts who medalled recently in the still rings event at the Atlanta Olympic Summer Games.

How To Perform Chin-Ups Properly…

Your most basic chin-up is the supinated chin-up. This type of chin-up have the greatest range of movements from all chin-ups for both the lats and upper arms. The starting position begins with a bar grasp in a supinated or palms up position. The hands should be held at shoulder width or slightly narrower. The arms should be straightened in a fully extended position with the torso in line with the upper arms. To begin the ascent, the relatively strong upper back and elbow flexor muscles will be used, as the elbows are drawn down and back.

Click To Enlarge Supinated Chin-Up!

The ascent should continue until the chin clears the bar. It’s important to remember that before initiating the ascent, the athlete should inhale. During the ascent, the pulling action and leaning back action must be done simultaneously. Upon descent, exhaling begins and the trunk should come back to an upright position. As the descent is completed, the arms should be fully extended and the shoulder blade should be elevated. (THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT) To complete the range of motion, the upper arms and scapulae adductors must be stretched on every repetition. The legs should stay in line with the torso as much as possible. There should be no flexion of the hips, as this will lower the quality of the exercise.

Wrist straps can be used by trainees who have weak forearm strength and risk losing their grip, or for trainees who find that their forearm muscles are fatiguing before the upper back. However, I prefer if the trainee does not use straps, as in the real sporting (i.e. judo match) you will need to use your lats without the help of the crutches that straps are.

Progressions Of Chin-Ups

Undoubtedly, the chin-up requires a certain amount of strength. For novice trainees, starting a strength program, using a series of progressions will help build up the strength level.

The first progression starts with the athlete hanging from the chin-up bar. The knees should be bent. Then a spotter should support the athlete at the ankles during the ascent. If extra assistance is required during this phase, the athlete can extend the legs against the spotter’s base of support. Once able to perform 12 repetitions in this style with minimal assistance, the athlete is ready to move on to the next progression.

In this progression, the same position is used, but this time only one ankle should be in the spotter’s hands. The extra weight of the free leg will increase the overload on the muscles, providing you are overcompensating with the other leg. That is the reason a good spotter who gives you just enough help at the waist is a much better alternative.

When 12 repetitions can be performed with minimal assistance, the athlete can move on.

Here the position is the same, but this time the spotter will hold the waist. As the athlete strengthens, he or she will require assistance only in certain parts of the range of motion.

During this portion of the movement, the spotter should offer only enough assistance to help in clearing the bar.

Once to this point, the athlete will be able to perform the full range of movement without any assistance.

The athlete is now ready to use additional loads. An increase in overload is accomplished by one of the following:

• Placing a dumbbell between the ankles
• Wearing a power hook attached to a weightlifting belt.
• Wearing a chin/dip belts with weights attached to it.

Variations Of The Chin-Ups & Pull-Ups

As gymnasts, wrestler, and judokas have shown throughout the years, there are many effective variations of this exercise that can be used to boost your level of back mass and strength.

Narrow Parallel Grip Chin-ups

For instance, to provide a greater overload for the shoulder extensors, use a narrow parallel grip. Many gyms are equipped with V-handles chin-up stations, which are set 6 to 8 inches apart. Focus on bringing your lower chest to the handles as you pull yourself up. This variation is for the more advanced bodybuilder.

Narrow Supinated Grip Chin-ups

In this variation the grip is supinated but you will leave only 4 to 6 inches between the little fingers, this will increase the overload for the elbow flexors. In fact, it becomes an exercise where the load is shared almost by the torso and the upper arms. Which makes it a great arm exercise for those of you who have a Milwaukee tumor hanging off your torso.

Medium Parallel Grip Chin-ups

Arthur Jones, of Nautilus fame, was a strong proponent of this variation of the chin-up exercise. In this variation the handles are 22 to 24 inches apart, In fact, you can have access to this exact grip on all Nautilus multi-station machines. In this variation, the hands are semi-supinated (palms facing each other, also known as neutral grip).

At this grip you have the best leverage, as both the elbow flexors and the shoulder extensors are in their most effective line of pull. You will find that this grip has the least amount of stress on your wrists, elbows and shoulders. It is the form of chins where you are most likely to be able to use additional loads.

Sternum Chin-ups

This variation popularized by Vince Gironda, involves keeping the torso leaning back throughout the entire movement. In this variation, the lower portion of the chest should touch the high bar. You can use either a supinated or a pronated grip. The grip varies from narrow to shoulder width. The latter being more indicated for the stronger trainee.

As you pull yourself to the bar, have your head lean back as far away from the bar as possible, and arch your spine throughout the movement.

Towards the end point of the movement, your hips and legs will be at about a 45 degree angle to the floor. You should keep pulling until your collarbones pass the bar and you make contact with the bar with your lower sternum. By the time you have completed the concentric portion of the movement, your head will be parallel to the floor.

I would consider the king of compound movements for the upper back, because it works more than the lats, it creates a great overload on the scapulae retractors. The beginning of the movement is more like a classical chin, the mid-range resembles the effect of the pullover motion, and the end position duplicates the finishing motion of a rowing movement. If you are an advanced trainee, and you are pressed for time, I would make the sternum chin-up a staple of your back routine.

Narrow Pronated Pull-ups

Use narrow pronated grip where the spacing between both hands is roughly 4 to 6 inches. This grip increases the amount of overload on the brachialis and brachio-radialis muscles because in this anatomical position, the biceps brachii have a rather ineffective line of pull. For many individuals this grip is easier on their wrists than the supinated grip. It is another very effective upper arm builder, particularly if your brachialis muscles are under-developped.

Warning: At the bottom of the range of motion, the hanging position, if you are experiencing shoulder discomfort it is a warning sign that you may have less than optimal shoulder mechanics. You may want to consult a shoulder specialist that can evaluate and correct your shoulder mechanics).

Mixed Grip Chin-ups l

In this variation the trainee uses a mixed grip: one hand pronated, one hand supinated, for example on your first set, with the left hand use a supinated grip and with the right hand use a pronated grip. With this variation, a greater portion of the load is on the trainee’s left arm because the brain will shift the arm to the more mechanically efficient arm. The stronger the trainee the wider the grip. Make sure to equal sets and reps by reversing the grip on each alternating set.

Mixed Grip Chin-Ups II

The last variation is an even more advanced version of the mixed grip chin-up. This has the support hand placed on the working arm’s wrist. The stronger the athlete, the lower the hand is placed on the working arm.

The Subscapularis Pull-up

Probably what Professor Mengele would prescribe if in charge of a gymnast’s training. In this variation, you assume the starting position of the wide grip pull-up, and pull yourself to the bar until the upper pecs make contact with the chin-up bar. The nuance being that at the top of the movement, you push yourself away from the bar, and lower yourself under control. Believe me, your subscapularis muscles will curse you the next 3 days, as they are strongly activated to control the descent. Add a kip using your hips for another variation and to develop explosive power and make it more full body and to add cardiovascular aspect to it.

The Gymnast’s Extended Set Back Routine

This routine is for the advanced trainee only, it is inspired by the routines that Olympic gymnasts do to condition their enormous backs. You must be able to do 12 strict form shoulder width supinated chins, to do this routine.

1. Wide grip Pull-ups , as many reps as possible
2. 10 seconds rest pause
3. Medium grip Pull-ups , as many reps as possible
4. 10 seconds rest pause
5. Medium grip Chin-ups , as many reps as possible
6. 10 seconds rest pause
7. Narrow grip Chin-ups
8. Rest 3 minutes
9. Repeat steps 1 to 8 twice, cry and curse me.

Click here for a printable version of ‘The Gymnast’s Extended Set Back Routine’!

André The Flying Squirrel Routine

This routine is named after André Benoit, holder of the fastest in Luge double at the Lillehammer Olympics, who could do wide grip pull-ups with a 120 lbs dumbbell for a set of 3 reps on a 401 tempo. It is reserved for people who can chin-up with at least 33% of additional load for 8 reps (supinated grip shoulder width grip.)

1. Sternum Chin-ups 5 x 4-6 on a 601 tempo, rest 4 minutes between sets.
2. Subscapularis Pull-ups 3 x max reps on a 501 tempo, rest 3 minutes between sets.
3. Negative Close Grip Chins 3 x 4-6 rest 3 minutes between sets, use additional loads if possible, lower the body for a 6-8 seconds count on every rep.

It is sad that these great movements hardly exist anymore in the training programs of the West. Those who are performing Olympic weightlifting still have a clear-cut advantage over those who are not in improving performance. How often do you walk into a gym and you see somebody snatching, or clean and jerking a barbell? Not often, if ever. Many people are dragged into fearing these lifts because of the words of a few. Over time these lifts have been credited as being the most dangerous form of exercise. What people don’t understand is that: exercises do not injure people, improper technique and loading beyond ones capability injure people. It’s the uneducated lifter using poor form and inadequate warm-up that results in injuries. The safety of Olympic lifting has been documented in several studies. One study has shown that Olympic lifting has the lowest number of injuries per 100hrs trained compared to both bodybuilding and powerlifting (1). Olympic lifting is often trained very intensely and with a much greater frequency than a bodybuilding routine. The Bulgarian’s train 4-6hrs a day in the gym spread over several sessions, working Olympic lifts for 6 days a week. (2). The Chinese also train in a similar manner. In the Eastern European countries Olympic lifting is virtually the national sport and being a weightlifter is a full time job, with bodybuilding a distant second. Far from being the safe option, traditional bodybuilding methods can be very hazardous to athletes in speed and strength sports such as American football or soccer. The reason for this is Olympic lifts use a much greater range of motion, which exposes the connective tissues, tendons, ligaments and muscle fibers to various angles and degrees of resistance. This helps the body become more functional, in that it can learn to cope with a variety of forces and activities without becoming injured. Whereas bodybuilding uses isolation movements that can often make the body imbalanced. In addition to this, bodybuilding exercises slows you down. Having a great deal of muscle mass does not necessarily make you slow, but if you gained that muscle mass through bodybuilding style training it is not functional. If you look at the best Athletes in the Olympic Games 90% of them will have one thing in common, ranging from pole vaulters to shot putters, they all have some form of Olympic weightlifting in their program. Even if that ranges from the traditional power clean to the much more complex snatch. These athletes understand the importance and benefits of these movements and the carry over to their sport. Olympic lifts train the athlete to explode and use the maximum possible force. They develop a high Rate of Force (RF), a key point in sports training. Olympic lifters train fast twitch muscle fibers, the fibers that are employed to give you speed, explosiveness and power. It has been shown that the percentage of fast twitch fibers in the body directly contributes to the vertical jump, the more you have the higher you are able to jump (3), and this is the best indicator for athletic ability in American football athletes (4). The jumping and running abilities of Olympic lifters were documented in the Mexico City Olympic Games where they out ran and out jumped the jumpers and sprinters in the vertical jump and 25m sprint! This is an amazing feat considering these men do not train specifically for jumping or running.There are also many other great benefits of Olympic lifts that help athletes. They develop great amounts of flexibility, a key factor in sports. They teach an athlete to coordinate their body. They teach discipline in studying and mastering the technical challenges of the lifts. They have also been used for helping athlete’s recover from older injuries. In a study done by Stone, Wilson, Blessing and Rozenek (5), athletes performed an Olympic lift for eight straight weeks, and it was found that the athletes’ resting heart rate decreased by 8%, systolic blood pressure decreased by 4%, lean body weight increased by 4% and body fat dropped by 6%. It is a very sad fact that there are only around 1,500 competing Olympic lifters in America today. If I could I would change that, but there is very little one can do but to open up people’s minds and help them realize the benefits. Perhaps one day we will walk into a gym and we will not see dumbbells or bench press machines, but we will see men on platforms moving huge amounts of weight from the ground to above their head like it was nothing. Hopefully I have shown you the benefits of the lifts and cleared out some of the negative factors that people use to knock down Olympic weightlifting.How should we train the Olympic lifts?In Olympic lifting there is no typical routine as there is in bodybuilding. We can’t use a training split because we are not attempting to work each muscle in isolation. We are working at developing power and speed, which requires a completely different training concept. Don’t be scared of training Olympic lifts more frequently than a typical bodybuilding routine allows, despite the level of effort involved in it is surprisingly hard to become over-trained. Although it does take a toll on the body’s fast twitch fibers, Olympic lifts are more concerned about developing the body’s central nervous system (CNS) than the musculature. Because there is no eccentric element to the lift, because the lifts are completed so rapidly, and because the few reps are performed in each set, there should be little soreness the next day (delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS). In training for Olympic lifts, break down training into core lifts and assistance lifts. You will notice in the above routine that core lifts (snatch/clean/jerk and variations) are first, in order to train them whilst you are fresh, and assistance lifts afterwards. Assistance lifts are in place to help the body deal with the strains imposed by the core lifts, to create a basic level of hypertrophy and to develop absolute strength. Hypertrophy does have a role to play in Olympic lifting, a larger muscle is a stronger muscle, if this wasn’t the case it wouldn’t be divided into weight divisions at the Olympics. But obviously training for CNS development is our main purpose. It is the central nervous system that inhibits us from using our full potential in sports. I’m sure you have heard of the old lady finding superhuman strength to lift a car off her child. This is an example of CNS inhibition being completely neutralized. The body’s musculature is actually capable of a great deal more strength than we can tap into, but if we constantly used our whole potential we would constantly injure ourselves. What Olympic weightlifting does is increase the strength of signals to our muscles, creates greater synchronization between muscle fibers and allows us to recruit more muscle fibers by reducing inhibition. References and Work Cited:

• (1)Source: Brian P. Hamill, “Relative Safety of Weightlifting and Weight Training,” _Journal of Strength Conditioning Research, Vol. 8, No. 1(1994): 53-57
• (2)Zatsisorsky, VM “Science and Practice of Strength Training” Human Kinetics, 1995
• (3)Bosco C & Komi (1979b) Mechanical characteristics and fiber composition of human leg extensor muscles Eur J Appl Physiol 41:275-284
• (4)Sawyer D, Ostarello J, Suess E, Dempsey M. (2002). Relationship Between Football Playing Ability and Selected Performance Measures. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: 16(4), pp. 611 - 616.

(5)Stone, M.H., et al. Cardiovascular Responses to Short-Term Olympic Style Weight-Training in Young Men. Can. J. Appl. Sport Sci. 8(3): 134-9.

The majority of women involved in fitness or trying to acheive weight loss are going about it all wrong. Sorry to break it to ya, but it comes from seeing a lot of failed efforts from women who are truly getting frustrated with their bodies and the information available to them.

Because of outdated stereotypes and myths, womens fitness has suffered  unnecessarily. The truth is that women who practice the same well-designed strength training programs as men benefit from bone and soft-tissue modeling, increased lean body mass, decreased fat and increased self esteem in exactly the same way as a man would. The only difference is that a man will put on muscle mass faster and easier because of hormonal differences, higher testosterone levels. Strength training for women should be the same as for men.

Women should strength train in the same ways as men, using the same program designs, exercises, intensities and volumes, relative to their body size and level of strength, so they can achieve the maximum change to their bodies in the shortest possible time.

It’s All About The Hormones - The role of testosterone and its effect on strength or power and size development is huge. This is why many men and athletes looking for an edge artificially increase there testosterone through the means of anabolic steroids. If a man artificially increased his testosterone to grow large muscles and the “normal” woman on average has about one tenth the testosterone of the “unassisted” man, then the theory that women in fitness shouldn’t lift hard because they will grow huge muscles has no merit. However the level of testosterone varies greatly among women. Women who have higher testosterone levels may have a greater potential for strength or power and size development than other women, but this is not a bad thing. The advantages of having muscle are numerous and if you ever do reach the point of not wanting any more size in a muscle group, then it is a simple matter of backing off in the intensity and load variables for that muscle and possibly reducing calories.

So what are the benefits of lifting some heavy weight once in a while and actually breaking a sweat?

- Enhanced bone modeling to increase bone strength and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

- Stronger connective tissues to increase joint stability which helps prevent injury so that you can train hard, stay active and burn calories!

- Increased functional strength in women for sports and daily activity. It doesn’t matter if you’re sprinting across the finish line or picking up your little one, it always gets easier and more enjoyable with strength. “Train hard so you can play easily.”

- Increased lean body tissue and decreased body fat; that is, you get to look good in whatever you wear.

- Higher metabolic rate because of an increase in muscle that is metabolically active and requires fuel to survive. That fuel comes partly from fat oxidation and calorie consumption. Because of this, even when you’re watching TV, you’re going to burn more calories daily because of your new found muscle.

- Improved self-esteem and confidence. Don’t we all want this? Looking good feels good.

In order to reap the benefits of weight bearing exercises, you must do just that — bear weight. If you rely solely on weight training machines, lift so lightly that you’re barely out of breath or never increase your weight or intensity, then your body will not respond to your training.

Making changes to your body is going to require some work. It can be difficult to skip the temptation of buying into the latest exercise fad that looks effortless and quick. If you stick to the basics and base your training around large multi-joint exercises that turn your body into a calorie-burning machine the rewards will be much greater and long lasting.

Examples of some multi-joint exercises for the lower body are lunges, walking lunges, step-ups, squats and deadlifts. For the upper body use multiple muscle groups in exercises like the bench press, push ups, shoulder press, pull-ups or pull downs, and for even more intensity and metabolism boost try the more explosive multi-joint exercises such as the variations of cleans and clean and jerks. There are many more than the above. Form, technique, posture and body positioning are all extremely important with the more advanced exercises as well as the not so advanced exercises.

The purpose of strength training in your fitness schedule is to put a demand on your body that causes it to overcompensate (get stronger, leaner, faster, etc.) so it won’t be caught off guard again. This process of overcompensating not only makes you stronger, but also by default, makes you look great. This theory is called the SAID principle – specific adaptation to imposed demands, AND this will only continue to happen if another principle is adhered to – Progressive Overload. You must give your body a reason to get stronger/change, as 12 reps at a given weight gets easy and 16 or 18 becomes possible it is time to increase the weight, the speed, the reps or the exercise itself. Increase the intensity!

By Lee Crompton - CPT, RHN