Benefits of cold exposure

Discover the health benefits of being cold

Benefits of being cold

Cold exposure is good for your health. It challenges the body to adapt and become stronger - much like exercise. A process that challenges the body and makes it stronger in the long run is called hormesis.

Examples of hormesis

There are many types of hormesis. Here are a few of them:

1. Exercise
2. Heat exposure
3. Cold exposure
4. Fasting
5. Mental challenges
6. Sun exposure

Adversity creates strength.

1. Cold exposure reduces muscle pain and speeds up recovery from exercise

Cold water immersion reduces muscle soreness when done within 24 hours after exercise. The cold acts as an anti-inflammatory agent within muscle tissue. This reduces swelling and speeds up the healing process.

Cold showers reduce muscle pain

I use cold exposure to speed up the healing of a certain muscle group if it takes too long to heal on its own. Cold exposure prevents blood from pooling in muscle tissue.

Blood pooling stops new blood with fresh nutrients from reaching the muscle and stops old blood with by-products of the healing process from circulating away to be cleansed.

Inflammation isn't always a bad thing. It is the signal that tells our muscles to grow and get better. Exercise produces the inflammation that eventually leads to an increase in muscle size and strength.

Cold therapy to speed up muscle recovery

If you need to recover as soon as possible (like from a strenuous sports event and there's another one coming up shortly), I'd recommend using cold therapy as soon as you can.

If you want to increase your fitness level, I'd recommend using cold therapy a few hours after exercise so that your body can learn to deal with inflammation on its own.

Cold therapy is also good to speed up muscle or joint recovery because of its anti-inflammatory effects.

Use cold for exercise performance.

2. Cold showers reduce depression and increase energy levels

This study investigated whether cold showers could be used as an effective treatment for depression. The results were astonishing. Depressive symptoms were reduced almost instantly and the cold showers showed no indication of dependence or addiction.

The study proposes that one of the major causes of depression is a lack of hormesis that challenges our brain and body (just like how exercise reduces depression). Cold showers challenge the brain to switch on certain areas that aren't stimulated enough with our current, comfortable lifestyles.

A 2-3 minute cold shower of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) was done once to twice a day. This was enough to elicit the mood-enhancing effects of cold exposure.

The same study showed that cold reduced pain in the same way as pain medication (via an analgesic effect).

A short, cold shower has lasting benefits.

Cold exposure activates the sympathetic nervous system

The study showed that cold exposure (in the form of cold showers) activated the mechanisms in our bodies that cope with physical stress. These are the same mechanisms that are activated during exercise. Increased energy production throughout your body creates an energizing effect.

Hormones released through cold exposure

Cold exposure increase blood levels of beta-endorphin and noradrenaline. This leads to a mood-enhancing, euphoric and energized feeling. These hormones explain why some people claim that cold showers wake them up better than coffee.

Cold showers are better than coffee.

3. Cold therapy increases metabolism

Cold exposure can increase your metabolism by 16%. It costs energy to warm the body up or cool it down. Your body will take this energy from fat stores. The increased energy levels and activation of the sympathetic nervous system, as we have discussed in the previous point, will also increase your body's energetic burn rate.

How much weight can you lose in one cold shower?

Not much. The amount of fat that you burn in a single cold shower is minuscule. You can't sit in a cold shower until you've lost a certain amount of body fat. You will enter into hypothermia before you lose any noticeable amount of fat.

The weight loss effects of cold training are adaptive. This means that your body will burn more fat mass per cold session over time as it adapts by learning to burn more fat to create heat. The more often you take a cold shower, the more fat storage you can burn per cold shower.

The metabolism-boosting effects of cold exposure persist afterwards because of sympathetic nervous system activation and the release of endorphins and noradrenaline.

Do it regularly (like exercise).

Benefits of cold exposure

The above findings tell us that cold exposure has the following benefits:

1. Better ability to respond to stress
2. Decreased recovery time for muscles and joints
3. Prevents blood pooling from strenuous exercise
4. Better elimination of the by-products of muscle recovery
5. Anti-inflammatory: Reduce pain and swelling
6. Increased ability to turn fat into energy
7. Increased energy production
8. Better mood and a sense of euphoria
9. Protection against depression

Cold is good for you.

It seems like we have been too successful at making ourselves comfortable. Doing things that make you uncomfortable from time to time will help your body to stay strong and fit. It is okay to feel cold from time to time.

Remember to never push your body further than it can handle. You can want to strengthen your body - not break it down.

I stop my cold therapy as soon as I start to shiver. Your body will get stronger and be able to endure more cold before it shivers as you go on. Stay Strong!

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Not all forms of exercise benefit the brain in the same way

Exercise seems to improve almost everything from physical health to emotional and mental well-being. Today, I would like to look at how different exercises improve brain function.

Different kinds of exercises affect the brain differently

This study investigated how exercise affected memory in 52 students between the ages of 11 and 12. The test was to memorize 20 words and recite them back immediately - and then after a delayed amount of time. This was done in 3 sessions: One after playing team games, one after doing cardiovascular (circuit training) exercises and one after no physical activity at all. Immediate memory was highest when followed by team-game forms of exercise, and delayed memory was higher in both forms of exercise. The results showed that exercise rapidly improved memory, but also that different forms of exercise will affect memory in different ways. Team sports, which stimulated the brain along with the body, had a greater effect on short-term memory.

This highlights the importance of the fact that exercise should be performed according to individual goals. In other words, 'why exercise' should determine 'what exercise'.

Personality determines what kind of exercise is the most enjoyable

Personality will determine what kind of exercise you enjoy the most. My personal, most enjoyable form of exercise is long distance running or walking - most probably due to my inherently relaxed nature. If you are currently looking for the form of exercise that will give you the most benefit, try thinking about what you want your mind to get out of the activity. Do you want your exercise routine to spice up a boring routine or provide a mentally relaxing escape? You could also balance out what you currently don't like about your mental environment. For example, steady-state cardio can provide for a time of mental peace and relaxation if you constantly feel rushed from one task to another, while bodybuilding can give you something to work towards of you feel like you need more goals to motivate you. A social form of exercise is great for people who need a little push to get started, get bored easily or who are more competitive in nature.

Aerobic exercise may increase memory and learning more than resistance training

This study tested the effects of different forms of exercise on verbal memory and learning. 86 women between the ages of 70 and 80 with probable MCI (mild cognitive impairment) were designated to 3 different styles of training: Aerobic training, resistance training and balance/toning training. The training programs lasted for 6 months. Their brains were scanned (using MRI scans) and their verbal memory and learning skills were tested using Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Test. They concluded that aerobic training increased the size of the hippocampus (the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory) more than the other forms of exercise in their test subjects.

Why does cardio-vascular exercise improve brain learning and memory more than other forms of exercise?

More research is needed to determine why aerobic exercise, or cardio, is better at boosting memory and learning. There are, however, a few theories. These are the two most common ones.

Oxygen

Aerobic exercise trains the body to process and use oxygen more efficiently. VO2 Max is the measurement of how much oxygen your body can use. The greater your VO2 Max, the more oxygen your body can draw from every breath and the more of it can be used to create energy. Cardio-vascular exercise increases VO2 max because this form of exercise uses oxygen as its primary fuel source. Increased oxygen availability may increase mental well-being and performance.

Blood circulation

Blood circulation is extremely important for both mental and overall health. Your body depends on blood to eliminate toxins and by-products and transport nutrients throughout its entire system. The brain is no different - oxygen (and carbon dioxide), water, hormones and other chemicals are constantly being needed and be transported to and from the brain. Exercise that requires more blood circulation will, therefore, stimulate greater ability for it to serve the rest of the body.

All forms of exercise will benefit the brain in one way or another. For example, check out how body building improves cognitive performance. It is better to do a form of exercise that you enjoy, compared to none at all. If you are exercising for the mental health benefits, choosing a form which you enjoy and which benefits your brain the most can yield greater benefits than one that doesn't meet these two important criteria. Stay Strong!

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The Central Nervous System

The central nervous system is like the electrical circuit system that runs your body. It controls all muscle movements and is responsible for neurological messages that get passed from the brain to the rest of the body. The central nervous system is important to bodybuilders because it determines the amount of stimulus a muscle can take, plays key role of muscle recovery and growth and sets the physical bar as to how much a person can train before reaching a level of over training. The more you train, the greater your mind-to-muscle control becomes. This means that you can consciously force your muscle to perform at a higher percentage of its maximum output than before. The most common risk for bodybuilders regarding the central nervous system is over training.

Over training the central nervous system

Every time you exercise, you overload your central nervous system. It will grow stronger as a response to this, just like how a muscle grows as a response when being stimulated. However, the central nervous system does not get enough rest, unlike muscle groups, because it is 'trained' every time we work out. For example, in a 5 day split you might only work the chest muscles once a week, but you are working the central nervous system 5 times a week. The rate of which the central nervous system recovers is often (almost always) at a slower rate than it is stimulated through intense training like weight lifting. This means that over time, the central nervous system will have a cumulative stress that it needs to recover from. This is one of the main reasons why it is recommended to take a rest week every two months.

Signs of an over trained central nervous system

If you have the following symptoms, there is a high probability that your central nervous system is being over trained.

Decreased immune strength

You immune system and your central nervous system are two totally different systems, but they are very closely interlinked regarding the extent to which they affect each other. It is common for you to notice that your immune system is low before noticing that you central nervous system is causing the weaker immune response. A stronger central nervous system (because it stimulated to improve via exercise) supports better immunity, which is one of the reasons why people who exercise get sick less often. If you are getting sick more often than usual, it could be that your central nervous system is the one that needs a break.

Decreased physical performance

If you simply can't do what you usually can in the gym, even though you have been doing the exact same thing, it could be the central nervous system as it gets weaker from more stimulus than rest. Of course, the central nervous system is not always the cause of this symptom alone. It could also be a lack of sleep, poor diet and supplementation, stress etc.

Longer recovery time

The central nervous system has such a great role in muscle growth and recovery that when it gets weaker, it impacts your muscle directly. If it is taking your body longer to recover from the same exercise, the central nervous system probably needs a break. This symptom is not always present in cases of central nervous system over training though, as muscle often get more time to recover than the nervous system does.

Muscle twitches

Muscle twitches are common and occur with almost everybody; even people who don't exercise at all. It is also hard to figure out what they are caused by because it could be a variety of things like stress, muscle damage, hypertrophy (muscle growth), atrophy (muscle breakdown), a lack of minerals or a whole host of other possible reasons. It is, however, a common symptom associated with over training or stress of the central nervous system.

Energy levels

Energy levels are very largely determined by your central nervous system. Stimulants like caffeine actually stimulate the central nervous system in order to provide your body with more energy. Decreased energy levels are a good indicator that your central nervous system needs to recover.

Mood

Because energy levels are closely affected by your central nervous system, your mood will be affected as well. Symptoms of mood changes from a weakened central nervous system can be anger or frustration, depression or sadness, lack of motivation or will power and decreased 'zest for life'.

Sleep

The central nervous system requires sleep to recover. If you find that you need more sleep or are more tired during the day, it could be a symptom of central nervous system over training. Some people also experience trouble falling asleep as a result of central nervous system over training.

Boosters and hampers

Other things can also affect your central nervous system. Stimulants like caffeine will temporarily boost it, but too many stimulants over long periods of time can negatively impact your central nervous system as it is forced into a roller coaster of up-down-up-down motions without being able to naturally regulate itself. Minerals and electrolytes like sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium are needed by the central nervous system to function properly. Glutamine can also help support and speed up recovery of the central nervous system.

Look after your central nervous system and it will look after you. STAY STRONG!

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Do or Don't: Separate Shoulder days?

Should you have a separate shoulder day dedicated to training shoulders, since they are already being trained on chest and back days? This is often debated among weight lifters, trainers, physiologists and sportsmen alike. Here are the most common arguments raised for both sides. Read on about the benefits and downsides and decide what is best for you.

You should have a separate shoulder day

This is why some say that you should have a separate shoulder day dedicated to training shoulders:

By neglecting shoulders, you are limiting your other lifts

By neglecting to do shoulders on their own, they are dependent on other lifts to be stimulated to grow. An example would be the front shoulders (anterior deltoids) that work with the chest muscles (pectorals) during a bench press, primarily used as a chest exercise. Since shoulders are not trained on their own to be stronger, they might grow at a slower rate than the chest. This means that your bench press will be limited to the amount of weight and volume that your shoulders can handle instead of the weight and volume that your chest can handle, limiting their growth. This can be so for other muscle groups as well like triceps, biceps and back.

Not having a shoulder day could cause injury

Similar to the point above, by not training shoulders on their own they won't be as strong as the other muscles. This means that they will probably get injured during lifts where other muscles are capable of handling weight that the shoulders aren't able to. Using the bench press example again, when the chest muscles can lift a heavy weight but the shoulder muscles can't stabilize the movement properly, injury can occur within the shoulder joint.

Shoulder size won't be in proportion

Just like calves that need to be worked separately to have legs that look in proportion, shoulders need to be worked separately to have the best looking upper body. By ignoring this muscle group (or by stimulating it indirectly only), it is not given the chance it deserves to grow in proportion to the rest of the body.

You should not have a separate shoulder day

Already convinced you should have a separate shoulder day? Take a look at the other side of the argument before you decide for yourself:

Overuse: Working the shoulder too much can cause injury

Overuse is one of the most common causes of shoulder injury. They are already used during almost all compound exercises like the bench press, dumbbell fly, dip, pull up and the dead lift; and during many isolated exercises like elbow extension and contraction exercises. Overuse can not only damage the shoulder joint directly, but indirectly as well because constant, strenuous use of the shoulder muscle will make it weaker. Weaker shoulder joints will therefore not be able to support their joint counterparts, leading to further injury.

When are shoulders supposed to rest?

The bench press (which does stimulate the shoulder muscle) works the shoulder really well already. Most chest exercises work the front shoulders and most back exercises work the back shoulders (posterior deltoids). Since shoulders are already being worked twice per typical program cycle (on chest days and on back days), they are not getting enough time to rest and fully recover if they are being worked again in isolation, when the chest and back muscles are resting. If other muscle groups are only being stimulated once a week, for example, and shoulders are being worked more than once, then the rest they get to recover will be a fraction of the other muscle groups. Without sufficient rest, they will not be able to grow and strengthen the best they could and will inevitably lead to weakness and injury.

They get enough stimulation

Shoulders don't need a day dedicated to them because they get all the stimulation they need from other exercises like chest and back movements, as discussed in the previous points above.

So should you have a separate shoulder day or not?

The answer to this question varies from person to person. Some people need an extra shoulder day because their shoulders are not getting enough stimulation from other exercises that involve them. On the other hand, some people do not need to dedicate a day specifically for shoulders because they are already being stimulated enough. The genetic makeup of everybody is different. Some people are chest dominant during the bench press (meaning that their chest does most of the work), whilst others are shoulder dominant (their shoulders take on most of the work). A dedicated shoulder day will help some to get further towards their physical goals, but will limit others. It depends greatly on your body type, genetics and training style.

The best way to figure out whether or not you should have a separate shoulder day is through trial and error. Try adding a shoulder day and see how your body feels. Try subtracting it and see how that feels (you will definitely see the difference and know what is best for you). For example, I have found that not having a separate shoulder day, but isolating front shoulders after chest exercises on chest day and isolating back shoulders after back exercises on back day works best for me. STAY STRONG!

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High Intensity Interval Training

High intensity interval training is a favorite form of fat burning exercise for many bodybuilders for a few reasons. It is one of the quickest ways to shed fat, does not decrease muscle size, takes less time than standard cardio and is considered less boring than most other cardiovascular exercises.

What is high intensity interval training?

High intensity interval training is a form of cardio where you alternate between extreme bursts of exertion and less intense bouts of activity. This can be done with running, swimming, rowing, skipping and other exercises. The typical timing is 1 minute to 30 seconds of extreme exertion and 2 minutes to 1 minute of lighter exercise respectively. For example, someone who is performing high intensity interval training while using running as their method will sprint as fast as they can for 30 seconds, jog at a medium intensity for 1 minute and repeat for 10 to 40 minutes without taking a break, depending on their fitness level. The lower intensity period is almost always double the amount of time as the high intensity period, acting as the form of active rest while keeping the heart rate up. It is important to push yourself as hard as you can (running as fast as you can, for example) during the high intensity part, while you almost catch your breath during the lower intensity period.

Benefits of high intensity interval training

High fat burning capability

Pushing the body to perform at its maximum possible energy output burns more calories in a shorter period of time than any other form of exercise. The body is also put into a fat burning mode for a longer period of time after exercise as it tries to recover from the cardio at such a high intensity. More fat is metabolized (broken down and used) one to two days after this form of exercise than when it is actually performed. It is because of this extreme fat burning state that makes high intensity interval training such an effective way to burn fat.

High intensity interval training does not harm muscle mass as much as other cardio forms

Another reason why this form of exercise is loved by many is because it does not decrease muscle size as much as other cardio forms like standard steady-state cardio. Muscle is comprised of fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers. Slow twitch muscle fibers are used for longer periods of time and result in decreased muscle mass. This is why marathon runners have skinny bodies. Fast twitch muscle fibers are used for shorter periods of time that require a higher level of intensity, like weight lifting. These fast twitch fibers are the ones that are responsible for increased muscle size. Stimulating slow twitch muscle fibers too much will result in decreased muscle size as the body adapts to the new stimulus (yes, running a marathon will cost you some gains). High intensity interval training, on the other hand, puts the body in a fat burning zone, but stimulates the fast twitch muscle fibers instead of the competing slow twitch muscle fibers, as maximum output is reached in a shorter period of time. This means that it won't affect muscle size the same way as traditional cardio.

It takes less time

This is one of many people's favorite things about high intensity interval training. A simple 30 minute training session can burn more calories, overall, than a 2 hour standard cardio training session. For people who have limited time to train or who want to dedicate most of their training time to weight training, this form of cardio is ideal. It is also less boring than standard cardio. Some people dread the thought of idly walking on a treadmill for long periods of time.

Things to consider regarding high intensity interval training

Every form of exercise has its pro's and con's. Here are a few things to consider about this form of training.

High intensity interval training pits a lot of stress on the central nervous system

All exercise stresses the central nervous system. The central nervous system becomes stronger as a response, just like muscles get weaker during training but stronger when they have the time and nutrients needed to recover. The greater the intensity of an exercise is, the greater the stress that is placed on the central nervous system. Putting too much stress on the central nervous system leads to negative symptoms like a weaker immune system, decreased ability to recover from and perform exercise, and over training syndrome. High intensity interval training stresses the central nervous system more than most exercises because of its intensity. This is why it is recommended that high intensity interval training should not be done for more than 3 times a week for most people. If your current weight training program is already putting a lot of strain on your central nervous system, then adding high intensity interval training might not be the best idea. If your central nervous system can handle the extra stress placed on it by adding high intensity interval training to your program, this won't be a problem.

Increased nutrient need

The body will respond to this exercise by scrambling to recover, even until long after the exercise is done. It will not only burn more fat cells because of this, but will also need more nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, oxygen etc.) to recover. Make sure that your body has enough of the nutrients it needs so that the body does not end up breaking down muscle for those nutrients. 

Higher chance of injury than standard cardio

Because of the high intensity, the risk of injury is greater than most other exercises. This does not mean that high intensity interval training is particularly dangerous, but that caution must be taken to make sure that injury is avoided. Higher intensities (of any exercise) put more pressure on joints, for example, than lower intensities.

It takes a lot out of you

High intensity interval training takes a lot of energy. If you do it right, you will feel drained afterwards (and possibly for the next few days afterwards!). This needs to be taken into consideration when deciding when to perform this exercise. Doing it just before weight training, for example, will lower the amount of energy you have left for your weight training session.

High intensity interval training is a great way to burn fat, increase fitness and add a level of intensity to your program but will require extra energy, nutrients and planning. STAY STRONG!

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Beginner and Standard Muscle Gaining Training Programs

2 Different training programs you can use to grow muscle. It is good to alternate between programs when you plateau or every 3-6 months for muscle confusion to keep growing muscle at a faster rate.

1. Beginner's Warm-Up Program

This workout program is great for beginners who haven't lifted weights before. It is lighter and has a lower intensity that 'wakes up' the major muscle groups and preps the body for harder programs that can follow it. It can also be used as a high-rep program to recover joints and ligaments after workout programs that have put a lot of strain on them (low reps), or to strengthen joints before heavier workout routines. Muscle growth is achieved here by working muscles more frequently, but less concentrated.

Day 1: Lower Body:

Exercise 1: Squats (3 sets of 20)

Exercise 2: Knee Extensions (3 sets of 20)

Exercise 3: Hamstring Curls (3 sets of 20)

Exercise 4: Calf Raises (3 sets of 20)

Exercise 5: Weight Crunches (3 sets of 20)

Exercise 6: Weighted Incline Back Extensions (3 sets of 20)

Day 2: Upper Body

Exercise 1; Bench Press (3 sets of 20)

Exercise 2: Dips (3 sets of 20)

Exercise 3: Pull Ups (3 sets of 20)

Exercise 4: Barbell Curls (3 sets of 20)

Exercise 5: Dumbbell Side Bends (3 sets of 20)

Tips:

• Each exercise is performed with 3 sets of 20. The weight used is the same with each set. For example, when you perform barbell curls, use a 20 kg barbell for all sets.
• If you are just starting a weight training program, follow a day 1, rest day, day 2, rest day, day 1 pattern until you are able to alternate between day 1 and day 2 without taking rests in between days (6 days a week = 3xDay.1 and 3xDay.2 per week).
• If you can perform 20 reps in all three sets, then increase the weight. Work until you can do 20 reps of each set before increasing the weight again.

2. Standard 5-Day Split

The standard 5- day routine is most commonly used in weight training. This routine is a great program to move onto after the beginner's warm-up program above. Instead of splitting workouts into 2 days, the 5-day split separates workout days into 5 major muscle groups and supporting muscles. Each muscle group is focused on and worked harder in this program, but is also given a longer time to recover before being stimulated again.

Day 1: Chest and Triceps

Chest

Exercise 1: Incline Dumbbell Bench Press (4x12)

Exercise 2: Dumbbell Bench Press (3x8)

Exercise 3: Close-Grip Bench Press (3x8)

Exercise 4: Dumbbell Flies (3x10)

Note: exercise 1 and 2 use dumbbells because barbells can often be hard to get a hold of during rush hours at the gym. If you are more comfortable using barbells for these exercises, that is OK.

Triceps

Exercise 1: Tricep Dips (3x20)

Exercise 2: Skull Crushes (3x12)

Exercise 3: Pull Downs (3x12) 

Day 2: Back and Biceps

Back

Exercise 1: Pull Ups (3x20)

Exercise 2: One Arm Row (3x8)

Exercise 3: Bent Over Rows (2x12)

Exercise 4: Low Row (2x10)

Exercise 5: Chin Ups (Machine) (3x8)

Biceps

Exercise 1: Barbell Curls (3x8)

Exercise 2: Hammer Curls (3x8)

Exercise 3: Incline Curls (3x12)

Exercise 4: Concentration Curls (3x8)

Day 3: Core

Lower Back

Exercise 1: Stiff Legged Dead Lifts (3x20)

Overall Core

Exercise 1: Weighted Planks (3x2 minutes)

Exercise 2: Cable Wood Choppers (3x20)

Ads

Exercise 1: Weighted Crunches (3x20)

Exercise 2: Bicycle (3x20)

Exercise 3: Captain's Chair

Obliques

Exercise 1: Side Planks (3x 2 minutes)

Exercise 2: Dumbbell Side Bends

Note: When doing weighted planks, build up until you can hold each set for 2 minutes, and then increase the weight by putting a plate on your lower back, increasing the weight of the plate as you get stronger.

Note: For cable wood choppers, swing the cable from the top handle down to use more of your core. Swinging from the bottom up will use shoulders.

Note: For bicycle, increase weight by holding a dumbbell behind your head.

Day 4: Shoulders and Forearms

Shoulders

Exercise 1: Machine Shoulder Press (3x15)

Exercise 2: Dumbbell Lateral Raises (4x8)

Exercise 3: Dumbbell Reverse Flies (3x8)

Exercise 4: Dumbbell Military Press (3x8)

Exercise 5: Upright Rows (2x12)

Forearms

Exercise 1: Reverse Dumbbell Wrist Curls (4x20)

Exercise 2: Barbell Wrist Curls (4x20)

Note: With forearms, the first exercise has palms facing down and the second exercise has palms facing upwards to target different parts of the forearms

Day 5: Legs

Upper Legs

Exercise 1: Squats (10, 8, 6, 6, 4)

Exercise 2: Knee Extension (3x12)

Exercise 3: Hamstring Curls (3x12)

Calves

Exercise 1: Standing Calve Raises (4x15)

Exercise 2: Seated Calve Raises (4x15)

Note: with squats, the reps should decrease as the leg muscles start to fail. Once you can do the amount of reps specified in the 5 sets above, increase the weight.

Tips:

• Even though this is a 5-day split, it can still be done 6 times a week. For example, week 1 can have day 1-5 Monday-Friday and day 1 again on Saturday, so that week 2 starts with day 2 on Monday
• If you miss out on a workout, don't skip that day's muscle group. For example, if you missed Core on Wednesday, do them on Thursday when you are back in the gym instead of moving over to Shoulders and Forearms. This way, every muscle group is stimulated a day later than usual, instead of one muscle group missing an entire week of training.

For an advanced training program, called the GARRY bodybuilding workout program, click here.

The beginners program is a great introduction to weight training for beginners and helps strengthen the joints and tendons. The standard 5-day split is a great workout program to use regularly. It is also beneficial to alternate between the standard 5-day split and other weight training programs to keep muscles on their toes, growing as much as possible to adapt to new stimulus. STAY STRONG!

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The Perfect Rest Day

Regular rest is important to maximize muscle growth. It prevents over training, gives your body a chance to grow and adapt to the stimulus you have put on it and ‘catch its breath’ so to speak. It also makes sure that your central nervous system and immune don’t fall behind. Most of us don’t like rest days, but they can be a good mental break to come back in full force. Additionally there are things you can do on your rest day that will help your body recover to its maximum potential.

Here is a list of things you can do on your rest day:

          Total Rest

Total rest is good for the body to recuperate. It gives your muscles the time to recover on a deeper level, refill their glycogen stores and grow in strength without rushing to recover before being worked again. Most workout splits work a certain muscle once or twice a week so that they can recover before their next session, but their recovery is sometimes limited because even though they are not being put under a physical stress, they end up competing with the other muscles that are working in the other sessions for nutrients. The body can only do so much at a single time, and occasional rest days that involve complete rest with any stimulus allows it to focus more of its resources on rest and growth instead of performing at the same time.

          Replacement

Those who are really dedicated to the iron often feel lost during the time that they would be pumping things up. It is also possible to also feel depressed because you don’t feel the endorphin release that exercise brings. Others even feel guilty for not pushing their bodies to the limit all the time. This can make some hate rest days, but some use this extra time as an opportunity to do things that they don’t usually have time for or don’t think about doing. These things can include taking a walk, going for a swim, spending time with family and friends, watching a good movie, cleaning out the house or eating at a fancy restaurant.

          Steam Room

The steam room is a favorite among those on rest days because they have an excuse to go to the gym (force of habit) even though they are not working out. The steam room also compliments rest and recovery because of sweating that helps remove toxins and waste products. Additionally, the increased blood flow from the heat and widened blood vessels increases the availability of nutrients to muscle for optimum growth.

          Stretching

Stretching is also a good option because it elongates the muscles, increases blood flow and relaxes them. The benefits that stretching provide not only help to get the most out of rest days, but offer additional benefits like improved range of motion and flexibility and decreased injury risk.

          Light Cardio

Light cardio is a popular form of rest (often called active rest) because it allows people to still exercise when they are ‘resting’ from their prioritized form of exercise. Light cardio can benefit rest and recovery because it increases blood flow, which will help take away toxin and waste products from recovering muscle and at the same time increase the rate at which required nutrients are delivered to these muscles. Cardio at a higher intensity or for a prolonged period of time, however, can actually inhibit muscle growth because this could cause the body to redirect resources (energy and nutrients) from muscle to cope with the new stress placed on it.

These things can help to maximize your rest days. It is best to try a combination of these. For example, doing light cardio on some rest days will contribute to a balanced health and fit body, but rest days with complete rest (no exercise) are also necessary for the body to dedicate all of its resources to growth and development alone. STAY STRONG!

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