Strength

Is it possible to increase strength/mass ratio without gaining excessive weight?

Build Strength Without Bulking: Maximize Strength to Mass Ratio

Hi Fletcher. Here's your question is it possible to increase strength to mass ratio without gaining excessive weight? Absolutely. You can definitely do that. Listen, if you're going to be training to try to gain weight and your training, more of a hypertrophy style of training program, that requires you to have an excessive amount of calories in your diet in order to make that happen. So not only do you have to train really hard, but you also have to eat quite a bit. So, Orders for me to gain excessive weight. I've got a lift lots of weights and I have to do it quite frequently with high volumes and I have to eat quite a bit of food. Here's the deal. If you keep your calories the same and you train for strength endurance and you do relative strength training and you continue with your sport, you will probably improve your strength to mass ratio without excessively gaining weight. Hope that answered your question if you have a more clarifying question. Please drop it below in the discussion.

You can increase your strength to mass ratio without gaining excessive weight by focusing on strength endurance and relative strength training rather than hypertrophy style training.

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Yes, it is possible to increase strength-to-mass ratio without gaining excessive weight. If you train for strength endurance and focus on relative strength training while keeping your calorie intake the same, you can improve your strength without adding excessive weight. This approach allows you to prioritize strength gains without the need for a high-calorie diet typically associated with hypertrophy training. By maintaining your current calorie intake and focusing on specific training techniques, you can achieve an improved strength-to-mass ratio. If you have any further questions or need clarification, feel free to ask.

What is one of the most under utilized lift or exercise in your opinion for swimmers?

Unlock Hidden Potential: Underutilized Lift for Swimmers

Hi. I really love this question. So, what is one of the most underutilized lifts or exercises in your opinion, for swimmers? Well, one of the things that I like to think about is well, what planes of motion are those individual spending, a lot of their time in what are the movements that they're doing most of and then how can we kind of offset that in the gym? So I'm going to demonstrate one where we're doing a pressing movement because the experts mentioned some presses and I completely agree but we're going to do Reciprocating press. It means when one is going out, the other ones coming down. At the same time, we're going to do a frontal plane motion at the pelvis because we don't get too much of that in the water. So we're going to start here and then dry and I'm doing a staggered stance, which takes a little bit of pressure off your lower back. So I'm going to do it with one leg further forward than the other for a set. And then on my next setting is stagger my stance. The same idea. There you go, try that one out. See if you like it.

One of the most underutilized lifts or exercises for swimmers is a Reciprocating Press. This exercise involves pressing two weights out and in at the same time while also engaging the frontal plane motion of the pelvis. It can be done with a staggered stance to take pressure off the lower back.

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One of the most underutilized lifts or exercises, in my opinion, for swimmers is the reciprocating press. This exercise focuses on pressing movements while incorporating a frontal plane motion at the pelvis, which is not commonly experienced in the water.

To perform the reciprocating press, start with a staggered stance to alleviate pressure on the lower back. As one arm extends out, the other arm comes down simultaneously. You can alternate the leg position in each set, with one leg further forward than the other.

Give this exercise a try and see if it works well for you as a swimmer. It can help offset the repetitive movements and planes of motion typically experienced in the water.

Properly reducing body fat: Exercise, nutrition, and balance

How does one reduce body fat properly? This is a subject we could talk hours on. But what we will say is that there's a combination of exercise that we do in a structured format, there's exercise we do in the form of physical activity frequently throughout the day that will help reduce body fat. There is looking at your nutrition and talking to some of the registered dietitians on this channel. They can give some very good insight as to how we balance out the amount of macronutrients that you have the proportion of Nutrients that you're putting into your body for fuel how those macronutrients work for each individual. I know for myself, I need more protein in my diet than I need carbohydrates. And that's just how my body responds to energy. So trying to find the right biochemical makeup for you and how your body uses nutrition to simulate and and fuel the activities that you're going to be doing. And the other part to that is I think just being more active more Frequently. So I mentioned improving your, the amount of physical activity that we do. But just being cognizant of the fact that fat has a very vital role in her body and having an excessive amount of fat around the abdominal area and around your Visser is not a good thing, but having fat on the body is a very good thing. It is a, it is storage. It is something that aids in our movement, it's something that Shields us. So having an An optimal amount of body fat is a very healthy thing. And I don't think that we should be concerned with trying to get super lean. If you're an athlete, I think we need fat on the body and I think it's one of the things that we could talk about for hours is to as to how to maintain that. But those are some of the big key factors.

Reducing body fat requires a combination of structured exercise, physical activity throughout the day, balanced nutrition, and understanding what macronutrients work for your body. It is important to maintain an optimal amount of body fat as it has vital roles in the body such as storage and shielding.

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Reducing body fat properly involves a combination of structured exercise, regular physical activity throughout the day, and mindful nutrition. It's important to find the right balance of macronutrients that work for your individual body and provide the necessary fuel for your activities. For example, some individuals may require more protein than carbohydrates for optimal energy.

Additionally, increasing overall activity levels is beneficial. While it's important to be mindful of excessive fat around the abdominal area and visceral fat, it's also important to recognize that a healthy amount of body fat serves vital functions such as storage and protection. Striving for extreme leanness may not be necessary or healthy for everyone, especially for athletes who require some level of body fat.

The topic of reducing body fat can be extensive, but these are some key factors to consider in the process.

What difference is there doing overhead shoulder presses with dumbbells vs barbells?

Flexibility and Variety: Overhead Shoulder Presses - Dumbbells vs Barbells

So the question is, what difference is they're doing? Overhead shoulder presses with dumbbells versus barbells. Well, the barbell is, you know, we're in a fixed position with the arms. So because of both hands are moving, they will be moving at the same time or what we say in a bilateral motion. So, both arms are moving together. We call that bilateral motion, the difference with dumbbells is that while I could also mimic having a barbell and pressing overhead the benefit to Using dumbbells, I can create some variety so I can change the angulation that I'm even starting at. So instead of being in this position with a barbell, I can now turn my hands just a little bit and press, which will give me a little bit more freedom of motion at the shoulder complex itself. But here's where variability gets really cool. I can go one at a time. Right, so we go, single press, we can go one, then the other, so we call alternating shoulder press which we can do with the bar. But what would happen is the bar is going to tilt side to side. And that's a really cool way to doing it too. We could do a reciprocating press. So as one's going up, the other one's going down. Okay, and then we can do things where we're moving one at a time through different planes of motion and pressing in different directions. And we can now start to incorporate more parts of A body with an overhead press so I can do an overhead. Press going behind me a little bit more, one at a time to share the load through this oblique system or the functional front line so I can load and take my overhead press not only just straight vertical but vertical and post here at the same time. So lots of variability that you can get with a dumbbell that you can't necessarily get with the barbell.

The difference between overhead shoulder presses with dumbbells versus barbells is that with dumbbells you can create more variety and incorporate more parts of the body, such as the obliques and the functional front line. You can also do alternating, single arm, or reciprocating presses.

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The difference between doing overhead shoulder presses with dumbbells versus barbells lies in the range of motion and variability. With a barbell, both hands are fixed in a bilateral motion, moving together. This limits the range of motion and angulation.

On the other hand, using dumbbells allows for more variety. You can change the starting position and angulation, providing more freedom of motion at the shoulder complex. Additionally, you can perform single-arm presses, alternating shoulder presses, or reciprocating presses, which are not possible with a barbell.

Dumbbells also offer the opportunity to incorporate more parts of the body into the exercise. You can press in different directions, move one arm at a time through various planes of motion, and even load the oblique system or functional front line by pressing behind you or in a vertical and posterior direction simultaneously.

In summary, dumbbells provide greater variability and versatility compared to barbells when performing overhead shoulder presses.

How many reps and sets do you recommend for squats?

Customizing Squat Reps and Sets: Tailoring for Strength and Goals

All right, how many reps and sets do I recommend for squats? Well, it's going to depend on a few things. The first thing is, what is your goal is your goal to improve strength in the squat. What type of squad is it? Because a back, squat is a little bit different than a front squat, we're going to look at. Are we doing a split squat? Are we doing a lateral, squat? All these have different qualities in the acute variables that we're Choosing. So let's go back to the goal. Are we looking for submaximal strength or am I working towards maximal strength? Those two are going to have more. If I'm doing submaximal we're looking for more repetitions with less sets. If I'm doing more maximal, efforts of three to five reps. I'm probably going to train in the area of having more sets because I'm doing less reps. So so the relationship between reps and sets is usually the heavier that, I go, the less reps I'm doing, but I'm probably going to do more sets of them. If I'm working for strength endurance, I'm going to do more repetitions and less sets. Now if we're thinking of the number of exercises that I'm going to do of squats in a particular workout that depends on the goal and the individual. So if you have somebody that's just starting out an exercise, we're not going to do as many repetitions. Ends and as many exercises because they're going to get pretty sore. But if you're someone that has a big exercise experience, someone like myself who might just do a squat day, then you will be able to tolerate greater number of reps and greater amount of sets. That's what we call the total volume of activity. So, there's a lot of nuance this, a lot of variety and each individual is a little bit different, but that gives you a bit of an idea as to how we might cut. Customize this experience for each individual.

It depends on your goals and the type of squat. If you’re looking for submaximal strength, you should do more reps with less sets. For maximal strength, you should do fewer reps with more sets. The number of exercises and total volume of activity will depend on the individual.

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The number of reps and sets I recommend for squats depends on several factors. Firstly, consider your goal. Are you aiming to improve strength in the squat? Additionally, the type of squat you're performing, such as back squats, front squats, split squats, or lateral squats, will influence the recommended reps and sets.

If your goal is submaximal strength, focus on higher repetitions with fewer sets. For maximal strength, aim for three to five reps per set and include more sets. The relationship between reps and sets typically involves fewer reps with heavier weights and more sets for maximal efforts.

When training for strength endurance, prioritize more repetitions and fewer sets. The number of squat exercises in a workout depends on the individual and their goals. Beginners may start with fewer reps and exercises to avoid excessive soreness, while experienced individuals can handle a higher volume of reps and sets.

Customizing the squat routine for each individual involves considering their exercise experience and adjusting the total volume of activity accordingly. Keep in mind that there is nuance and variety in designing a squat routine, and it's important to tailor it to the specific needs and capabilities of each person.

What is a good modifier for a med ball slam when you are at a gym that doesn’t allow slamming?

Silent alternatives to med ball slams at the gym

So your gym doesn't like med ball slams. It's probably because it makes a heck of a lot of noise. So there's two things you can do. One you can dampen the sound by putting more, something underneath it to make it have a better surface. So you might slam on the turf, that might be easier. But a lot of the balls that we get aren't designed to be slammed. So one of the things that most gyms will do is they'll protect against damage to their equipment. Now there's no reason that we have to do a med ball slam. We can repeat the exact same pattern without the slam. We call this the med ball chop. So I can do a vertical chop like this. Just put on the brakes. Put on the brakes. Put on the brakes. And there's an excellent way to still do that movement pattern loaded, but we're adding a huge deceleration component to it. So give it a whirl, go light, because it's a much more challenging drill than slamming it.

Jim likely does not like med ball slams because of the loud noise they make. One way to still execute the movement pattern without the loud noise is to do a med ball chop, which involves putting on brakes at each point of the movement. This drill is more challenging and should be done with light weights.

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If your gym doesn't allow med ball slams, it's likely due to the noise they create. There are two options you can consider. Firstly, you can try dampening the sound by placing something underneath the ball, like slamming it on turf. This may provide a better surface and reduce noise. However, it's worth noting that many med balls aren't designed for slamming and may not hold up well over time. 
Alternatively, you can modify the movement and perform a med ball chop instead. This involves a vertical chopping motion without the slam. Simply imagine putting on the brakes as you perform the movement: put on the brakes, put on the brakes, etc. This modification allows you to maintain the same movement pattern with added deceleration, providing a challenging exercise. Start with lighter weight as this modified drill is often more demanding than traditional slams. Give it a try and see how it feels!

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John Sinclair is an experienced sport and training management professional with a bachelors degree in physical education and sport performance, 15 certifications, and 20+ years of coaching experience. He has authored articles, created a programming algorithm, and is a programming consultant. His other achievements include inventing, being a master coach and educator for 7 different companies in the fitness industry, competing and training in 11 different sports, and coaching amateur hockey and baseball. 