No Such Thing

One of the first few questions a personal trainer would ask his client is regarding his goals from training. And most of the time, the client would respond with the same generic answer e.g. to improve health and build muscles, or to "tone" his or her body. As a beginner, and usually without prior knowledge of resistance training, its really hard to gauge what they would really want to gain from it. Basically any form of resistance training, be it strength or power training, can yield these results in good time with sufficient effort and proper lifting methods.

One example would be for building muscles. Any form of resistance training can build muscles, the only question is to what extent and for what end purpose. Beginners wouldn't usually ask too many questions, assuming that there isn't much variance in training methods, and that you usually can't go wrong with the trainer's advice. I won't go into the intentions of the trainers, as some may be altruistic in nature and actually care for your well being, while some are just useless meatbags that spew inane drivel and empty promises in their attempt to swindle hapless old you. There aren't really any wrong training styles (with the exception of wrong lifting techniques), but there is a significantly different end result with each of these styles.

For instance, power training is a method which typically emphasizes short, intense workouts with short rest periods and with exercises that improves strength and athleticism. This training style is usually performed by athletes which want to increase their strength without sacrificing flexibility or mobility. Other benefits would include increased muscle size, and of course improvement of health. In the end, the trainee's initial goals are met, with the additional advantage of increased muscular power, strength, and athleticism.

On the other hand, some gym goers would go with a workout plan that involve heavy weights, high training volumes, and exercise movements that don't go the usual full range of motion. This usually would yield greater muscle growth than the power training described above, but the trainee's flexibility and mobility would be jeapordized if he continuously trains without going for the proper range of motion for each exercise. He'll look bigger, but his body would eventually be stiff as a log.

As you can see, both training styles yielded muscle growth, but to different extents and with a significantly different end result. So in the end, it really depends on what you really want to gain from training. Yes, you'll build muscles and lose fat. But ask yourself another question, do you want to be a stiff musclebound freak? Or a Flexible, semi-musclebound freak who can run, jump and move like an athlete. Think about it.

EPOC!

Its interesting to note that if we look at the immediate effect of resistance training, we would only encounter muscle damage in the body. If we didn't look at the after effect of training, we would assume that lifting weights is counterproductive to gaining lean muscle. Of course we know that isn't true. After the muscle damage has been incurred, the body starts releasing anabolic hormones which promotes muscle repair and hypertrophy.

A recent article by Alwyn Cosgrove highlighted this issue with respect to comparing aerobic workouts with high intensity resistance training. If we look at the immediate effect of aerobic/cardiovascular activities e.g running on the treadmill, the amount of calories burned would be higher than that of resistance training. Most people would not look into the after effects of these activities, therefore assuming that only aerobic training would allow them to lose as much calories as possible and expedite the sexy body attainment process.

Little did they know that after working out, there is an effect called the Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) that takes place. This process takes place for 1-2 days post high intensity training as the body requires to repair, maintain itself and re-attain equilibrium. This, of course, requires energy and the body would burn calories for that purpose. A research study by Schuenke MD, Mikat RP, McBride JM in Alwyn Cosgrove's article reported that high intensity resistance training would elevate this effect and burn more calories post-workout.

To expedite the fat losing process, do take advantage of this phenomenon and perform high intensity resistance training. Cardio singularly won't lead to the results that most people want. In addition to that, it does not increase your resting metabolism like high intensity resistance training does. As some may recall, the resting metabolism accounts for approximately 70-80% of calories burnt per day. Increasing this would result in more calories burned to maintain the additional muscles. Combining the resting metabolic increase and post workout EPOC would be potent mix in keeping the excess fat at bay.

Supplemental Journey

Bodybuilding supplements always had a bad rep, especially with all the advertisements strewn across the typical muscle magazine with big roid-heads promoting it. People assume that these supplements are equivalent to steroids, or give excuses that it isn't natural or will make you look like Arnold! I don't blame them, with the way bodybuilding and the gym was previously portrayed, people will tend to err on the cautious side.

Well supplements aren't as bad as it seems, and when you actually get down to the science behind it, it actually is incredibly beneficial to your training and recovery efforts. Yeah its true that a lot of the research done to prove the efficacy of these supplements are performed by the same companies whom produce them, but of course you would personally want to perform your own due diligence and ensure its legitimacy. Personal advice is to avoid all the products with bullshit advertising, and to just look out for hard facts and legitimate brands with a proven track record.

Here are some of the typical supplements I use regularly and have yet to disappoint me:

1. Creatine. Use of it is widespread and proven to increase your workout volume. Naturally found in beef, and used by the body in the form of Creatine Phosphate to generate energy for ATP formation.


2. Omega 3 (Fish) and Flaxseed Oil. Classified as essential fats that increase your HDL count, and sufficient fat in diet is required to maintain a healthy testosterone level. Also known to help reduce post workout inflammation for quicker recovery.


3. Beta-Alanine. Research has proven it to be useful for increasing training volume by reducing effect of lactic acid buildup in the body. Literature has looked into combination of Creatine + Beta Alanine, and initial results has shown greater workout volume, increased muscle mass and fat loss in research participants.


4. ZMA. Combination of Zinc, Magnesium, and Vitamin B6. Healthy Zinc levels in body help maintain testosterone and IGF-1 levels for anabolic muscle growth. Magnesium helps give people a deeper sleep at night.


5. BCAA. Branched Chain Amino Acids contain amino acids like Leucine which are building blocks for muscle fibers in the body.


6. Multi-Vitamins. Ensures that all nutrient and vitamin daily requirements are satisfied.


7. Whey Protein (Isolate). Perfect for post- or pre-workout consumption when high protein meal isn't easily available. Easy absorption into body and prevents body from breaking own muscles for energy. Preferably coupled with fast acting carbs like dextrose/maltodextrin which spike insulin levels and increase amino acid uptake by the body.