My article at Captain Jacked

Deadlifting for the leverage disadvantaged

http://captainjacked.com/deadlifting-for-the-leverage-disadvantaged/

The squat glute myth

It seems like when people talk about building glutes you can't get past finishing the word "glutes" before someone immediately interjects "squats" as the answer.

Apparently, if you want to develop your glutes, squatting is the alpha and the omega of developing the glutes.  I mean it has to be.  I've read it on the internet more than a million times.

And yet, I personally know, have trained, and talked to lots of people who did squats religiously that did not develop big glutes from it.

"Blasphemy!  There's a whole "yeah, she squats" page that shows all these great asses from worshipping in the squat rack."

Ok first off, a lot of those asses that I've seen are on women that don't look like they train at all.  And second, it's actually a myth that squats are the be-all end-all of glute developers.  If they were, then everyone who squatted properly, would develop an incredible ass.  Yet as noted, I've known lots of people who are great squatters, or squat a lot, and don't have incredible glute development.

There are a few factors here to consider about squatting and getting no ass.


1.  Maybe you don't have enough "ass" to have an ass

Everyone can build their musculature into "more" of what they have.  However there will be a limitation on how big certain musculature can grow, based on the number of fibers that the area is comprised of.  If you look at bodybuilders across the board this should become apparent.

It should be evident that Arnold, regardless of how he trained, was going to have a massive chest.  And what was Arnold's favorite chest exercise?  The bench press of course.  He loved it.  He said it built a big, massive chest.  Yet there are lots of bird chested bench pressing mother fuckers out there.  So why can't they lay down on a bench, and press the bar like Arnie did, and get some big ass chesticles?

Everyone has a unique make up of muscle composition in their body.  I probably have a greater than average number of fibers in my delts and calves than the average joe.  As I do very little work for them, and they grow quite easily and stand out fairly well compared to my other bodyparts.  On the flipside, my chest is not very big despite years of bench pressing (and doing so correctly).  My delts always jumped in and took up a big part in benching.  It's also the reason why overhead pressing came easy to me.

So the reason why not everyone can lie down on a bench and build a huge chest (or one of the reasons) is because they may just not have enough fibers in their pecs to build a massive chest.

From a purely anecdotal perspective, I have noticed that taller people tend to have less glute development, even in lifters, than short women or manlets.

So the bad news is, if you are having trouble building a big set of glutes you may just fall on the end of the spectrum with people who don't have a lot of ass muscle to build in the first place.  So you can probably hang up ever having an ass like Eva Andressa.

The good news is, as usual, you can still improve on what you have through proper training, and put some junk in the trunk.

2.  You may not have learned how to fire your glutes yet

I've read that if you squat, that no matter what, your glutes are going to fire.  To a degree, this is true.  The glutes are indeed going to be engaged, however the degree to which they are engaged is largely dependant on your ability to actually "feel them".

I believe there is a massive advantage to getting to a place where you actually develop that "mind muscle" connection, and can actually make the muscle do the work, rather than move the weight through space.

Moving weight through space is exactly what it implies.  Your concentration is more on getting the weight from point A, to point B.  Making a muscle do the work is more about feeling it stretch and then contract against the resistance, and the weight being used is mostly secondary.

Dave Tate made a beautiful note of this when he wrote about his evolution in training and talked about the time he spent in bodybuilding.  Mainly, that he didn't have an adequate mind to muscle connection to actually build certain parts of his body.

From Dave....

Whenever I pissed and moaned about seeing my poundages plummet, Rick would remind me that the muscle doesn't know if it's pushing or pulling 400 pounds or 40 pounds; all it knew was if it was getting trained or not.

At first I had a real hard time with this, but after a while it was cool to see how I could absolutely destroy my chest with 70-pound dumbbells when before I was blasting away with the 150s. And I started to grow, big time.

Suddenly, I had biceps, triceps, hamstrings, and calves. My chest started to get shape and I could finally feel my lats working during chin-ups, pulldowns, and rows.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/dave_tates_iron_evolution_phase_2_bodybuilding_1&cr=

I do believe that from a top to bottom standpoint, that overload and progression are going to be the two biggest factors in building more OVERALL mass.  However when we are talking about isolating an area to develop, you have to be able to consciously make that area fire during certain movements.  

Gillian, for example, can out squat a lot of men.  She squatted 400 in competition at 148.  Glute development?  Severely lacking.  

You may need to spend time just learning what it feels like to get your glutes to fire when performing certain movements.  A very simple way to start this, is to actually just contract your glutes for sets of 10 at various times throughout the day, and hold the contractions for 3 seconds each.  

3.  You are relying on the squat too much

The great majority of people who have great glute development don't "just squat".  They do lunges, step ups, good mornings, deadlift variations, ass machines, and use other machines not meant to be ass machines and turn them into ass machines.  

If you watch any video made by the women competing at a high level in figure/fitness etc, that have great asses, they tend to do a myriad of movements for their glutes.  

This should be no surprise really.  A limited number of lifts are going to give you a limited amount of development.  The people who tell you that just squatting, bench pressing, and deadlifting will garner you a great deal of development are really speaking a half truth.  

Yes, you can get incredibly developed from just doing those three things.  However you will not maximize your overall development by being so limited in your movement selection.  If someone told you that they would give you a million dollars if you added an inch to your calves in one month do you think you'd just do one calf movement and think that's enough to maximize growth?  Probably not.  

So relying on the squat for completely glute development is probably not a good idea either.  

4.  You're not built for squatting as a glute developer 

This will irritate some people as I've read many times that everyone can squat to build leg and glute mass.  And for the most part, this is true.  

However it's not true for everyone.  If squatting was the single answer for lower body development, then professional bodybuilders would just squat, and shit would be taken care of.  However, even Tom Platz, who was more properly built for squatting than possibly any bodybuilder ever, did other movements outside of squats to further maximize his lower body development.  

Dorian Yates figured out a few years into his career, that he just didn't get the quad development from barbell squatting that he wanted.  So he switched to smith machine squats (yes I know, blasphemy to some), put his feet more forward, and was able to more effectively target his quads.  And guess what?  They grew.  

It's very possible that due to your own leverages, squatting may not be the best movement for you as a glute developer.  If you have been squatting religiously and efficiently (from a technique standpoint), and you know how to engage your glutes in other movements, then it's possible that your leverages may mean squatting isn't a great choice for you.  If you don't plan on competing in competitive powerlifting, then don't squat.  I know, this article is filled with blasphemy but sometimes the truth is hard to swallow.  

5.  You don't know how to squat correctly

I probably could have put this first.  

I see so many people that don't know how to squat correctly that I wonder how they ever squatted more than a plate.  

A very big misconception in lifting and physique development, is that if someone can lift X number of pounds, then they have to know what they are doing.  

This is a complete lie, and based on ignorance.  

I have two friends who both deadlifted 750.  Incorrectly.  

By incorrectly, I mean that they were absolutely in some of the worst possible leveraged positions to deadlift.  Both of them are capable of deadlifting 800 pounds if they fix their issues, and both have recognized that their technique was wrong, and are working on it.  

Just because someone is strong, or relatively strong, doesn't mean they know what the fuck they are doing.  It also doesn't mean "it works for them".  It may be working against them!  I read this all the time on the net and it's a pile of bullshit.  Lots of people are strong, but limit themselves by using poor technique.  So no, it doesn't "work for them" and just because they can move X amount of weight doesn't mean what they are doing is "correct."  

I see people teaching the squat incorrectly all the time, and they never get checked on this.  

"Arch hard, chest out."  

This makes me cringe.  So you want to purposely put yourself into a position that looks like lordosis, then load the top of your spine with a heavy weight, and squat it like that?

I hope not.  

If you don't fix your squat technique so that you distribute as much of the load as possible across the lower body, then it probably means you are doing something wrong.  

Do you break at the hips first, or knees first?  Because you should break at the hips and knees almost simultaneously.  

Do you get bent over?  This means you're not stabilizing correctly through your core.  

Do you have excessive "butt wink" (where your glutes tuck under you at the bottom)?  This relates to core stabilization as well.  

Are you cutting your squat high?  This means you are hip locking in the squat, and the glutes aren't getting carried through a full range of motion that the squat can provide.  If you watch someone that does know how to fire their glutes, and doesn't have excessive butt wink, and does do full squats, you will see that the glutes become VERY involved at the bottom of the squat.  This doesn't mean you have to put your ass on the floor, as the exaggeration goes.  It just means to do a FULL squat.  Not cut your ROM high (above parallel).  

Conclusion/High level overview:

• Learn how to engage your glutes.
• Don't rely on squats only for glute development
• Do a myriad of movements for glutes
• Learn how to squat properly 
• Be open to the idea that squats may not be a great movement selection for you in regards to glute development

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Jaco De Bruyn is a thief - Stole from John Meadows (video)

Intensity increasing techniques

There are literally countless numbers of ways to increase perceived intensity in a training session.

I distinguish the difference in "intensity" (percentage of 1 rep max on the bar) and "perceived intensity", which would be the amount of effort given via a certain method.  

For example, drop sets, rest/pause, giant sets, supersets, etc.  Those I call perceived intensity techniques (PIT).   They aren't measured in load, but rather how hard you are training (this also has nothing to do with rate of perceived exertion, RPE).  

A few PIT that I like to use from time to time.  

Elevator presses - 

This is a great way to finish training if you just did chest and shoulders.  

Set the bench upright, and start with seated db presses.  You are going to pick a weight you can do about 12 reps with here in the seated shoulder press.  

Do 5 reps in the seated shoulder press, put the weights down, and lower the bench so that it's now a high incline press.  

Pick the weights back up, and do 5 reps.  

Lower the bench so that it's now at a medium incline, around 45 degrees, and do another 5 reps.  

Lower the bench again so that it's flat, and grab the dumbbells.  This time doing as many reps as possible.  

Do two rounds of this.  For the second round, you will probably need to lower the weight a bit.

Reversing this technique (going from flat to overhead) doesn't work as well because obviously you're stronger in a horizontal plane than a vertical one.  This is why you start by pressing vertical, then adjust downwards.    

Add 2 technique - 

This is a cool technique to use to finish on smaller bodyparts, to get a lot of volume in, in a short span.  You can use it for any movement, of course, but I prefer it for movements like curls, upright rows, so forth and so on.  

The reason being is because the weight you pick for the Add 2 technique is going to be the same, from warm up to finish.  If you wanted to do this with a big movement like squats or bench, you'd just need to warm up to your working weight (you will see why).

For example, on upright rows, I pick 115 pounds.  

I do a set of 6.  Rest 1 minute.  I then do a set of 8 (adding 2 reps), and rest 1 minute.  I do a set of 10, and rest 1 minute.  Do a set of 12, and rest 1 minute, etc.  

Add 2 reps to every set until you're at or hit muscular failure.  Once you do, you go back down the rep range.  So you subtract 2 reps on each set.  So if you worked up to a set of 18 before you hit failure, the next set you'd shoot for 16.  Then 14, 12, 10, 8....etc.  

As noted, this could be done with big movements, but you would want to warm up first.  With smaller movements, you can just grab a weight that serves as both the warm up and the working weight.

Shoulder giant set - 

This will be going in a new mass building book I am working on.  

You will emphasize each head of the deltoid, and then finish with something that also involves a bit more of the traps along with the shoulders.  All of these are done in non-stop fashion. 

Front plate raises - 25 reps

Rear Delt Machine or Bent Laterals - 25 reps

Side Laterals - 25 reps

Upright Rows - 25 reps

If you're really a glutton for punishment you can do a second round of this for 200 total reps.  If you've already done an actual shoulder session you will definitely pay for it if that is your choice.

Add these techniques in at the end of sessions to help maximize growth.  These are all great ways to add a lot more volume to your training using as little time as possible.


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Gillian Ward - Goal setting myths and realities

As a fitness industry professional most people seek out my guidance, knowledge, and hands on coaching with the hope that I can provide the tools and motivation to help them make their goals a reality.  Essentially they are making an investment with a “wish” coming to fruition.  These goals run the gamut from lowering blood pressure and improving bone density, to losing 30lbs or squatting 500.

Most of the goals could be summed up by saying that people want to look better, feel better, and be more capable.


As a coach it is my responsibility to manage the expectations of my clients (if I want to keep them). The most critical aspect of this is to take an honest look at how realistic the goal is by examining limitations of the client, and the effort they are willing to put forth.

It is as simple as saying that you get out what you put in.

I remember a coach that I admire greatly, Mark Rippetoe, once saying something along the lines that people with great builds did not get that way by accident – a great amount of discomfort went into creating that form. People like that are “generally uncomfortable” a great deal of the time. You can interpret that as you wish but my interpretations is that those people have been willing to suffer when it comes to diet and training in a manner that most could not comprehend.

Women, and the myth of “bulk” - 

The most obvious misconception out there is that weight training; specifically heavy weight training makes women bulky.

99% of the time this is a fallacy; one cannot become bulky without a caloric surplus under any training conditions.  Additionally, women do not have the hormonal profile to gain large amounts of muscle mass easily.  Not wanting to get “bulky” is one of the biggest excuses in the book. I hear that statement as “I do not want to work hard”.

This brings me to the point of the article - examining goal setting so that we can be successful.

Goal setting steps - 

When I do interviews with clients, I ask them to write down their goals on any order. I ask for short term goals that I consider to be 3 months or less, mid-tem goals for the next year, and long term goals which are things they desire to accomplish or dream of in this lifetime.  I have them focus more attention on the short term but the long-term stuff allows me to have insight into what drives them and where they place value. I tell them that the goals can be anything they want – aesthetic, performance, weight loss, etc.

Next I make them work a little bit and ask them to quantify their goals so that we can track measurable data. For instance, if the goal is upper body strength, the quantifiable goal may be to do a strict pull-up and 10 push-ups within 12 weeks.  Lastly I ask them to prioritize their goals in numerical order from most to least important. This is where I have to break it to people that they can’t get “huge and ripped” at the same time.  Typically I give people a week for this assignment.

Next, it’s time for a sit-down chat. I have the client make a list of the obstacles that get in the way of reaching the goals. This can be things like work schedule, travel, family responsibilities, finances (budget for food, gym fees, coaching, etc).

Here’s a scenario - a 42 year old over-weight male client comes to me and wants to “have a 6 pack” before a spring break trip in three months but works nights (hardly sleeps), has 3 small children at home with limited childcare resources, and has an achilles injury which limits weight bearing activity. Additionally, his wife does not want him spending time at the gym.  He eats mostly fast food and is unwilling to touch a fruit or vegetable.  How likely is it that he will succeed at reaching his goal? The question becomes how much can he or how much is he willing to give up in other areas of life? What can be changed and what can’t?  He’s still going to work nights, still has three kids, and still has an Achilles injury.  Maybe he’s willing to give up the fast food and broaden his palate to healthy selections? Maybe his wife will come around?

Only this client knows what he is willing and able to do. Only he can answer the above questions honestly. This is where I explain to him that there is no magic pill and his results will correlate exactly with his ability to adhere to the program – his effort, his preparation, and his dogged consistency.  People don’t want to hear this and may decide not to hire me but I tell it like it is –

1. Great athletes are not born, they are made. Yes, there is genetic potential but it must be honed and cultivated. Skills must be learned and practiced thousands of time.
2. If you are not willing able to follow the program, you will not get the results that you are seeking
3. “Bulky” does not happen by accident. If by “bulky” you mean fat, you ate too much. Putting on muscle takes hard work and not everyone is cut out for it.
4. If you want to be super lean you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Sustained low levels of bodyfat take enormous discipline, effort, and a general overall discomfort. Additionally, social situations can be difficult as food is an enormous part of our culture.
5. Getting “huge” is very uncomfortable too – it is expensive, time consuming, extremely difficult, and may not be the healthiest thing for you. This too does not happen by accident or by following a workout plan in a magazine and drinking some weight gainer.
6. If you are driven enough to pursue your goal, you will sacrifice in other areas of your life. Some damage and or neglect in other areas cannot be reversed.

At this point most people have glazed over and just stare at me. Now it is time for the honest talk. I ask them to re-evaluate their goals based on their lifestyle and what is realistic and achievable for them. This is not a judgment of their efforts or character. It is purely a way to set individualized, realistic, achievable goals with all of the cards on the table. It is a method of encouraging people to examine their priorities. There is no correct answer.  I for one am guilty of having tunnel vision when setting a goal. I have allowed my single-minded drive to accomplish a feat to come in the way of other areas of my life including personal relationships and professional growth. I do not condemn or condone this, it is merely an observation that we are individuals and prioritize in our own way.

At the end of the discussion the client leaves my office with a new set of goals. A set of goals that matches what they are willing and capable of putting forth. These goals provide structure and direction, which are necessary for long term adherence and satisfaction.  Additionally, these goals then become more than wishes because they are achievable.

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Benefits of lifting for females (that men don't get)

I really hate all these fitness memes.  I really fucking do.

Everytime I see one, I envision a pack of rabid females that just entered the club, high on friendship and drunk on self absorption, brofisting each other after a round of shots.  Like they just scored a touchdown by running over a 250 pound linebacker with 3 seconds left on the clock for the go ahead score.

Women always love these, and I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's an identification thing.

"I lift weights.  So my shit is fantabulous.  High five, fellow lifting chick!"

Then they sort of, high five or brofist each other through the internet by liking the fitness meme.

Usually it's the "what's your excuse?" meme, with some scantily clad female, wearing nothing more than dental floss as workout gear, in some kind of pose that involves as much ass cheek or cleavage as possible, while hoisting a massive 7.5 pound dumbbell.  Grimace included.

No.  Grinding my ass groove into the couch as I type this.

I get it.  Lifting and association with other female lifters makes you feel cool.  Grinding in the gym is awesome, and finding a whole new wardrobe just for gym days is god damn exciting.

But what else does lifting do for women in regards to feeling better about themselves?  Both physically and emotionally.

I have to preface the rest of this by throwing out that, I'm not a woman.  I don't even play one on TV.  So I took the time to research some nifty shit that lifting does for women.  Maybe it does it for men as well, but that doesn't matter.  It's a gender specific article.


Sex life - Well let's not waste any time here, shall we?

Not only do women orgasm harder, and more often after lifting, they apparently can do so WHILE training.  

So that is definitely a benefit women who train have over men.  I mean, maybe a dude could orgasm while training but I don't see how, and I don't want to see how.  Ever.  Not even once.

Anyway, a study showed that women taking antidepressants get more aroused after exercising while watching porn, than women who take pills and watch porn without exercising.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3422071/

Maybe I'm breaking my arm reaching here, but I would think that the same data would apply to women who don't take antidepressants.

Squat day?

What I want to know is, what kind of porn was it?  Maybe they didn't get the porn right for each women and that skewed the results.  I mean, women tend to like female on female porn quite a bit, even if they don't want to admit it, or let their neighbors and friends know.  They like that shit.

Where was I?

Oh yeah.

Anyway, I think that is a benefit men don't get either.  I am generally not in the mood after a hard training session, but apparently for women it gets them lathered right up.  Two big scores for lifting and sex life for women.  But make sure you watch porn after as well.  You know, for science.


Posture improvement - 

For women whose bra size goes beyond normal cup sizes, and simply has a tag that reads "over the shoulder boulder holder", this is a huge plus.

Losing fat and building a stronger posterior chain means less back pain for women that are sporting boobs that flat out make life uncomfortable.  For them I mean.  I generally don't see support groups for men that are upset over breasts that are too big.  I feel that is a market that doesn't have a dollar signs associated with it.

So for those that are contemplating breast reduction because of such pain, it's possible you can avoid surgery by getting into the gym and getting those traps, rhomboids, lats, and lower back stronger, while shedding some fat to reduce said discomfort.

Now I want to be CLEAR HERE....you can't lose giant boobs because of lifting.  There is no exercise to shrink your boobs.  That will come from a reduction in bodyfat.  However you have to remember, that even if you lose weight, and they shrink, it's likely you do suffer from poor posture because of a lack of strength and muscular development in the back.  So combine both lifting and a reduction in fat to get the desired effect here.

For women who work desk jobs but aren't going to be challenging Dolly any time soon in the boob department, you still probably suffer from poor posture.

When I used to do before and after pics of female clients the one thing that always stood out to me was the overall posture change that happened with them.  They went from being slumped over (some almost hunch back), to standing tall with great posture.

If you're a dude with big tittays, I simply advise dropping the soy, and basically all food type products until those go away.  Oh, you should lift as well.

That big, round, ass - 

So yes, men can get this too.  But let's face it, there is a premium right now on women with great butts.  Maybe I hang in the wrong circles but I don't see such a market for men.  I suppose it exists.  I mean there is literally a market in porn for men who like to watch women pop balloons.  I'm not making that up.  It's real.

I don't care if she lifts.  HNNNNG!!!!

Anyway, this is how the whole "real women have curves" memes started.  The problem that happened there is, chicks who did NOT have curves (you know who you are) thought it was about them.

How do you know if you fit the bill?

Hip to waist ratio.

Lifted from this cheesy, but spot on article.....

http://www.scienceofrelationships.com/home/2013/11/11/curves-ahead-the-science-of-female-waist-to-hip-ratio-and-at.html

Women with a waist-to-hip ratio near .70 have a curvy figure. As ratios climb higher toward .80 and .90 curves become less apparent. For example, men generally have waist-to-hip ratios close to .90. The interesting part about the waist-to-hip ratio is that it works for different-sized bodies. Someone like Beyoncé is heavier than Mila Kunis, Adriana Lima, Jessica Alba, or Megan Fox, but they all conform to the magical .70.

Read that one part?

"The interesting part about the waist-to-hip ratio is that it works for different-sized bodies."

So small women can have curves, and big women can have curves.  But women that go over that .70 ratio do not have curves.  They have fat.  

Great news here!  The same principle that applies to the boob reduction thing can also get you into that .70 "sweet ass" ratio.  Lose some fat + gain some ass = .70 magic.  

So we can effectively kill the whole "real women have curves" bullshit, because tiny women can have curves too.  It's not about size, but about ratio.  

But we can't leave it there.  Once again, I have to make note that there are no exercises to "slim your waist" or make your abs appear.  That happens in the kitchen.  There is no such thing as "spot reduction" i.e. doing a movement for a certain area to make it more slim.  Slim comes from following a proper diet for fat loss.  The ass comes from doing a lot of heavy squats, lunges, 1 legged squats, and glute bridges.  

Also from that article....

Essentially, the researchers wanted to know where men look when checking out a woman.3 To do this, researchers showed men naked images of women in upright poses from the front or back. Importantly, the women represented a range of waist-to-hip ratios. Regardless of pose, the results indicated that men rated women with a .7 waist-to-hip ratio as most attractive. Results also indicated that men paid most attention to women’s midriff and buttocks when the image depicted the woman from the back. When depicted from the front, men focused more on the breasts and then shifted attention to the midriff. Thus, the eye-gaze results demonstrate the important of waist-to-hip ratio, especially when viewing a woman from behind.

 So if you've been scoring low in the dating department, this is a great way to start improving your chances of catching the eye of dude.

Conclusion - 

Easy.  Lift.  Enjoy.  Don't post fitness memes.  Or do.  I don't care so long as you're happy and kicking ass at life, because that's really all that fucking matters.

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