Fat Loss – Body Transformation – Advanced Nutrition

Hey everyone,

After I posted yesterday’s workout for my client Jonah, I received a few comments about that type of training – let me qualify a few things.

-The type of training he is getting ready for is VERY calisthenic based.

-He spends up to 2 hours per day in the pool, as that is the most difficult part of AF PJ/CCT Training

-He runs over 40 miles per week

-He is 5’10″ 165lbs

One thing that a lot of people who cruise blogs may not understand is that not everyone is training to lose weight or to look like a bodybuilder. Jonah’s top priority is to be ready to take whatever they throw at him at his selection school, and our training days are drastically different from that of say, a Bikini or Figure Competitor.

Unfortunately, most personal trainers don’t get this: a specific workout depends on:
-the client’s condition (to include injuries, pains, strengths, weaknesses, and abilities)
-the client’s goals

There’s no one size fits all!!!

Working out is more than breahting hard and breaking a sweat – there has to be a method to the madness and every movement, every set, every workout must have a purpose!!!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Obviously, this is outside the realm of why many people come to my Fitness and Fat Loss Blog. I totally get that. However, many people know that I’m an avid sports fan and love most anything that is based on competition, and after another teammate spilled the beans on Lance, I received several messages via Facebook, Twitter, email, text and other means asking me what I think about the accusations and if I believe them.

First and foremost, I was inspired by the Lance Armstrong story. Guy was an “ok” cyclist, beat cancer, and then became one of the most dominant American athletes in history. With that being said, it would be foolish to believe that he did that in a sport that was overwhelmingly “dirty” and he remained the only “clean” athlete.

Of course, the media over-sensationalizes the entire steroid and performance enhancing drug phenomenon. I personally could give a rat’s ass what he or Barry Bonds or anyone else took (while I am entertained that many of the same people who crucify Bonds in the media are the same talking heads on ESPN that are defending Lance to the death). In today’s culture, with the money paid to athletes who dominate, I am more shocked if an athlete is clean.

Many of the people coming out against Lance are doing so before they write a book, so they have motive. But understand, Armstrong has shown that he will sue for slander, and that isn’t stopping these guys.

One of the most ridiculous defenses I heard today was that he didn’t bulk up like a steroid user. It’s not quite that easy: steroids do not make you magically gain insane amounts of muscle. Muscle growth is a product of proper training and nutrition: anabolic steroids obviously aid in that, but if the subject isn’t training in that threshold (and in Armstrong’s case, biking 200 miles per day isn’t the type of training to put mass on), you’re not going to turn into a hulking giant. Also, there is much more to performance enhancing drugs than anabolic steroids: oxygen shuttling/delivery agents, enhanced recovery, super-compensation of glycogen (fuel for muscle contractions), improved/deeper sleep etc – much more than muscle growth.

Please do not throw up the fact that he has been the most tested athlete in history or that he has never failed a drug test: the cheaters are far ahead of the testers. These tests aren’t binary (cheated/didn’t cheat): the exact molecule or a metabolite of that molecule must be located. If it isn’t even known to be used, they cannot test for it, period. And as the BALCO situation proved, there’s big money in being ahead of the game for those looking for an edge.

Sure, Barry Bonds is an arrogant jerk. He’s easy to hate. And Lance has raised millions for cancer research and many other charities. Bonds is smug and Lance is just an All-American boy from Austin. But don’t bury your head in the sand: if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck – it’s a duck.

I don’t think I’m convincing people that felt one way or another to see my point, but thought I’d at least comment on a popular topic!

Control what YOU can control!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey everyone,

I have several irons in the fire at once. I own my personal training studio and train full time. I train several people online and advise athletes and competitors all over the world, so sometimes, my schedule conflicts with others so I have to multi-task often.

I’m also an Agency Director for a mobile marketing company and had an important business call to tend to at 10:30am yesterday with my national director. Only problem with that was that clashed with my workout time. So, I took the call, contributed my information while asked, and manged to stay busy during the call.

While I absolutely hate when people don’t focus in the gym and chat it up on the phone instead of working out, I didn’t have much of a choice but to be on this call.

Here I am, fielding a question on my business call:

Life doesn’t wait, and weights don’t wait. I could’ve found an excuse, but it is up to me to take care of my body and my responsibilities.

Efficiency is key! ;) Make your life work around YOU!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454
Text BOYD to 90210 for my mobile business card!

Hey everyone,

As I pursue my ultimate goal of the raw world bench press record of 715lbs, I find myself answering a lot of questions about the bench press and what guys can do to help themselves increase their bench. As of Wednesday, my last bench session, I was able to do 7 sets of 615lbs for one rep. My goal for mid-March is a one rep bench press in the mid-600s. I’ve wanted to take the time to write an article on bench pressing, and now, I’ve done just that.

While I do train a few females that enjoy trying to improve their bench, I’ll admit that this post is mostly for the guys. I haven’t written directly to my fellow males in a while, so let’s do this for the weekend, guys.

The primary focus of the general public today is fat loss, as well it should be – as a whole, we are the most obese society in the history of the world. There’s a huge focus on self-image in today’s society, and the paradigm has shifted for most gym-goers today – in the 80s, guys wanted to be strong, big and muscular like Arnold, Rocky and Hulk Hogan. Now, many guys would prefer to slide into the skinny jeans and stand in front of Abercrombie with no shirt on invite people in.

Somewhere along the line, people really believe that there is a different way to train when it comes down to being lean and defined versus “being big”. Truth be told, you either gain muscle or lose it, and nobody in the world is able to get insanely large over night, totally out of control without being able to stop it. The best way to look more defined and toned and ripped and (insert whatever term you like), increase lean body mass. I’ve always said: “You can’t ‘rip’ skinny”.

When someone finds out that you train with weights, they will always have one question for you: “So, how much do you bench?” For most, it isn’t a concern or something they even know the exact number to. Most guys lie about it. Others go in the gym, do a partial rep or bounce the bar off of their chest and claim they can bench a weight that they really can’t. And many, many people? They became frustrated with it years ago because it never seemed to increase outside of their first few months of training. Or even worse, they injured themselves doing it. 99% of these instances were simply due to form and training mistakes.

I hear a lot of guys say things like “I’m just not built for bench pressing”. This is absolute bullshit, period. If you increase the density in your back and chest, you’ll have a much less distance to make the weight travel. I’m NOT what you’d think of when you think of one of the world’s best benchers. My arms aren’t insanely huge (they’re bigger than average at almost 19″ around, but most guys with my bench press are in the 20s), and they’re long. I’m not shaped like a barrel with legs – I actually focus on staying somewhat lean, and my abdominal circumference does not go over 34″ (at the belly button). In fact, I look more like a bodybuilder than a world class power lifter (I do compete in both). So throw stereotypes out the window!

Also, don’t hide behind genetics. I was, by no means, born a great bench presser. I was about as “lanky” and awkward as one could be in my late teen years. I do intend on writing a post about what I’ve done very soon, but understand, this is something I have worked very hard on. In fact, bench pressing was actually a weakness for me as little as 5 years ago. Not anymore. My point? If you want to be have an impressive bench? Do not give up – it has required much more work for me than it probably would someone who was born looking like an NFL linebacker, but the fact that I’m now one of the best bench pressers on the planet makes it so much more worth it. Anything is possible with hard work, discipline, consistency and effort.

So, how do you increase your bench press?

First and foremost, learn the proper form. Most people think there is a difference between how “a power lifter benches” and how “a bodybuilder benches”. This myth was probably developed by some bullshit magazine or full of shit pro bodybuilder that has no idea how he became insanely large, but really believes it has something to do with his ability to “isolate” a certain muscle group and “feel the pump”.

-Feet on the ground! I see guys with their feet up on the bench all of the time. EVERY major lift starts in the feet. Aside from looking like an idiot and risk moving left to right and killing yourself, you’re taking away a lot of your ability to push through the ground and move serious weight. Remember, proper form is always first. Handling the most weight you can handle with proper form is the signal for muscle growth. What’s more, they should not be relaxed on the ground – get the feet up under you to where your body is in a “coil”. The glutes and shoulders must be on the bench with a slight curve in the lower back.

-Elbows tucked. Remember what I said about a power lifter bench versus a bodybuilder bench? This is where they typically deviate. There is not a PL vs BB method: there’s a right way to bench and a wrong way to bench. The “BB” method is the way you tear your pectoralis major. When you see a lot of people bench, there arms at 90 degrees out from their sides. The elbows should be to the side, and in most cases, the pinkie or ring finger (or maybe the middle finger for longer arm guys) should be on the lines of the bar. If you are too close, most of the leverage comes from the shoulders and delts. Too wide and you put most of the pressure on the pecs. The key is to utilize all of the muscles in their most advantageous position. When you pull the arms in, the shoulder blades should be “pinched together” – shoulders back, chest forward.

-Don’t bounce it, period. The descent is slow and very controlled, with a pause at the bottom.

-Use a full range of motion. I don’t know why I see guys moving the bar an inch. And I don’t know why a lot of guys don’t touch their chest. THAT is how you tear your shoulders and elbows up. Touch the bar, every rep.

-Most guys touch too high on their chest. You should actually be touching the lower part of the chest, near the upper abdomen. THIS is where you’re keeping the pecs at the most advantageous position and will be able to generate the most force for the concentric portion of the lift.

-As you are lowering the bar, focus on breathing into the stomach – learn to exhale using your diaphragm.

-Don’t overdo it. I see guys that want to bench 3-4 times per week. That’s simply too much. Why I do have several different strategies I like to use to focus specifically on improving my bench, none of those strategies has me performing the bench more than 2 times per week, period. Remember, the body changes at rest, not during training.

-Considering the previous bullet, understand that to become a better runner, you must run. To become a better swimmer, you must swim. To be a better bench presser, you need to perform the bench. There’s no “Well, if I can db bench press this much, I should be able to bench ___”. Sorry, it’s not like that whatsoever. Train specifically for your goals.

-Perform the different variations of the bench (decline, dumbbell, etc), but always remember that the flat bb bench press should be the basis of your bench workout.

-Put the same effort in heavy exercises such as dead lifts, squats, and rows. There are a few reasons for this.

First, by lifting heavy, you make the body acclimate to, well, heavy weight. I do believe there is a transfer over from deads, squats and rows to bench press. You’ve trained the central nervous system on heavy weight response. By no means am I saying that anyone who can squat 750lbs can bench press 600. There are many huge squatters in the world but very few 600+ pound benchers. Really, there aren’t that many 500lb bench pressers. But if you train heavy, your entire body will respond positively.

Also, remember that the body is symmetrical (top to bottom, left to right, front to back). I really believe that training the muscles in the posterior of the body (lats, rhomboids, etc) play just as much a role in being a great bench presser as having a powerful chest, shoulders and tris. It goes without saying that strengthening the triceps and shoulders will improve the bench press, but don’t discount the importance of having a wider, thicker back for having a big bench press. Bent rows and db rows are key, because both are performed on nearly the same plane as the bench press (chest/back parallel to the ground).

-No exercise progress is as dependent on a spot as is the bench press. I cannot tell you how important having a training partner that I trust is for helping me bench press. I don’t need a partner for any other lift. I have no problem performing heavy squats or dead lifts by myself. However, being able to train at maximum capacity on bench press demands a good spotter.

Just any spotter won’t work. If I have 500 or 600 or more on the bar, there’s no way I’m just hitting just any guy in the gym up for a “lift off” or to “keep an eye on me”. When you’re at maximum capacity, the stakes are high, and when I’m benching the kind of weight that I need to train with, the slightest mistake can result in serious injury or worse. I’m leaving nothing to chance. I know that most people have a lot of trouble finding a serious workout partner to work with, but it is absolutely essential if having a big bench is one of your goals. Trust is key!

Communicate with your spotter. It’s important that your partner understands exactly when it is time to let go of the bar, grab it, assist, etc.

-Train all parts of the movement, but only when it is time. If you’re benching your bodyweight, there’s no reason to start doing board presses, floor presses, bands, chains, etc. There is quite a lot of progress you can make by simply learning how to bench and taking the time to actually progress before you begin focusing on the different parts of the movement.

When it IS time to start using partials, pay attention to where/why you’re having issues with increasing your weight. Is it a form issue? Is it due to stability in a certain part of the lift? Are you lacking explosion? Identify issues and correct them (another great reason for an experienced partner). I use video for this purpose. Once I see a video of myself, I know exactly what to work on and improve.

If you’d like an experienced bench presser’s opinion, feel free to send me a link to your video and I’ll gladly critique it.

-Remember, Training Specificity. If your goal is to increase your one rep bench press, you need to train near that rep threshold. Laying out a specific bench press routine is beyond the scope of this article, because the reasons that people are limited in bench varies greatly from one person to another. I do believe that the greatest benefit comes from volume. Understand that you cannot max out each and every week and expect to make progress, intensity must be cycled. A typical bench session for me consists of warming up and acclimating to a certain weight range, and then performing 7-12 work sets at a particular rep range. While most progress will be made in the 1-3 rep range, the 4-5 rep range (at lower weight, obviously) has it’s place as well. I work with slightly different hand placements in each workout as well.

Rest between sets is important too. For some reason, people feel the need to rush when their in the gym. When you are focusing on becoming extremely strong and you’re training at or near maximum capacity, it’s important to have complete rest between sets. You aren’t going to go from a 185 bencher to a 405 bencher overnight, especially if you’re resting 1-2 minutes between sets. If you are training at 3 rep max capacity, you’ll need as much as 4-5 minutes rest between sets. Stop thinking that more is better and that you need to do as much as possible. You’re working to introduce your body to a new form of overload: HEAVY.

-Until you’re near your maximum capacity, you have no business working with a bench press shirt. I had to include this, because I see guys that can’t bench 365 raw working with a bench shirt. While raw benching is my focus, I totally understand shirt training, but 99% of the people in the gym that are breaking out their bench shirts have absolutely no business in doing so.

Bench pressing is a science, and to be honest, this is just the tip of the iceberg on what to focus on to become an elite, or even a very good bench presser. It takes a lot of effort and a lot of focus, but is completely doable, no matter what your current bench press is right now.

In the future, I intend on writing much more on this topic, and have toyed with writing an eBook designed to help individuals improve their bench press.

Until then, don’t hesitate to ask any other questions you may have on how to improve your bench press!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

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Of course, most of my questions are fat loss and body transformation related, but occasionally, I get a question on athletic performance, which is what I have here. Great question left in the comment section from a Division 1 College Football Player about squats. Too good not to share on the main page of the blog!

Hey Boyd – love the blog man. I’m a sophomore football player at Nebraska and realize the importance of training optimally. I have to say that your blog is one of the best fitness resources that I’ve come across and I thank you for your time and effort on producing such a high quality product. Trust me, me and several of our guys read it on a regular basis.

D

Thanks for the write in! Comments like that always make me more motivated to keep working hard on this blog. This thing is definitely my baby, and I’m always happy when someone finds it useful.

Let me explain something that I often delve into when someone asks me about one exercise versus another exercise – view each exercise as a specific tool. You can use many tools to get a job done, so there’s no reason to ever throw away a tool that has use. Hack squats, split squats, front squats, back squats: they are all phenomenal tools.

In this case, both squats are great tools for developing explosive power and strength when done in the proper rep range (sub 6 reps). Reason is that other supporting muscle groups are more apt to tire out then the major leg muscles, and that obviously puts the trainee at a higher injury risk.

In the case of football, I believe that the front squat is a bit more “transferable” to the gridiron, form is paramount, and the lower extremities bare the load more so than the lower back does, allowing for better recruitment in the quads and hamstrings.

The key to getting max benefit out of any squat? Depth. I see some people doing them to 90 degrees or higher. If you can’t bury it, as I say, “ass to the grass”, you’re doing too much weight. Drop the poundage, and take your butt to the floor.

Again – utilize all the tools you have available, but for developing strength, speed and explosiveness, make front squats (deep) one of your primary training tools.

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454