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Should You Train The Same Off Season As Pre Contest?

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Eric Johnson

Contributing Writer

Should You Train The Same Off Season As Pre Contest?


Training styles are different for everyone.  I’ve found through my years of lifting, that not all programs are suited for everyone.  I generally have an On-Season, and Off-Season lifting routine, which can vary depending on what body parts I want to bring up.

When training for a show, you are operating at a calorie deficiency, which can take away energy from your lifts. This could lead to workouts with less reps and less weight. The key to optimizing your workout is to listen to your body. If you are having a low energy day, go heavier and less reps. If you are feeling good stick to your normal routine and really get after it. Now, the main thing I’d like to make clear is,  just because you are in prep mode doesn’t mean you can’t go heavy.

 

Eric Johnson is a NASM CPT and Team JBT Athlete

Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/EJohnsonFitness

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ejohnsonfitness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How many times should you train per week?

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Eric Johnson

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How many times should you train per week?


When it comes to training and working out, set realistic goals as to how often you would like to go to the gym. The amount of time you spend in the gym should be realistic for the personal goals you have set. If you want to compete in a bodybuilding or a physique show, you can expect around 7-10 gym visits a week. However, lets say you are just exercising for general health, 3-4 times a week would be sufficient. Keep in mind that weight training is the best way to promote fat loss, and help keep it off. With that said, I always say a minimum of 3 times a week. I would do a split like:

Chest/Shoulders/Tris

Back/Bis, Legs/Core.

On your rest days a cardio exercise, of some sort, would be good to help burn excess calories.
In my off season, to gain muscles, I generally follow a pattern of 4 days on with 1 day off. The off-day involves intense cardio.  It is important to give your muscles proper rest and recovery.
Again, remember, your actions should reflect your goals. Don’t over-train, and run your body into the ground. Also, don’t expect that working out once every so often will produce any type of results.

 

 

Eric Johnson is a NASM CPT and Team JBT Athlete

Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/EJohnsonFitness

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ejohnsonfitness

 

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Should One Perform Mild or Intense Cardio Post Weights?

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Eric Johnson

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Should One Perform Mild or Intense Cardio Post Weights?


When it comes to a cardio regimine, many want to know what type of cardio is best to do post workout. The key is to give yourself the proper nutrients to prevent muscle wasting and catabolism. Between your weight session and cardio take a few minutes to get in a protein shake and some carbs to prevent the wasting. How intense should the cardio be? It is believed that a lower intensity will prevent muscle wasting, however, high intensity sprints actually incorporate aspects of lifting (by recruiting the same muscle fibers).  Simply look at a sprinter vs marathon runner.

In the end listen to your body and mix it up.

 

Eric Johnson is a NASM CPT and Team JBT Athlete

Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/EJohnsonFitness

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ejohnsonfitness

 

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Milk or Water?

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Eric Johnson

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Milk or Water?


So, let’s say you’re getting ready to mix up some Amino Influx, which should you go with, milk or water? The answer is, it depends.
Let’s take a look at several factors that you should consider before choosing.

1. Adding milk adds calories and other Macro-nutrients

2. Adding milk adds insulin from natural sugar lactose.

3. Adding milk can add flavor and a more desirable taste to your shake.

With that said, let’s take into consideration a couple different scenarios.

Scenario #1: You are on a fat loss diet, attempting to drop fat rapidly.

In this situation, you’d want to avoid extra calories and insulin for the most part, so it’s best that you choose to mix your shakes with water most of the time.

That said, there are a couple situations in which using milk is acceptable, and perhaps even desirable.

One such situation is in the morning, as insulin sensitivity and carbohydrate tolerance are at their peak. A little extra insulin and calories won’t be a big deal at the beginning of the day.

The other situation is post workout. You WANT some extra calories, carbohydrate, and insulin after a workout to help shuttle nutrients to your muscles for growth, repair, and recovery, so using milk in this situation is perfectly acceptable, even on a fat loss diet.

Scenario #2: You are on a muscle building diet, attempting to gain muscle rapidly.

With this scenario, it is perfectly acceptable to mix the majority of your meal replacement shakes with milk, and a great way to add extra calories to a meal.

Believe it or not, many people actually struggle to get enough calories when attempting to build lean muscle–drinking more calories is a great way to increase your daily caloric total without having to stuff yourself with large volume meals. Here are a few more things to consider.

Does the protein shake your currently drinking already contain substantial carbohydrate?

If it’s just a straight “protein powder”, then that gives you a bit more leeway to add calories via milk. If it’s a higher calorie “meal replacement” however, you may want to just go with water.

Are you drinking a meal replacement shake prior to bed?

Doing so is a great way to avoid catabolism, while shuttling nutrients to muscle tissue throughout the night. However,  you’re definitely going to want to avoid milk in this situation because of the insulin surge.

Eric Johnson is a NASM CPT and Team JBT Athlete

Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/EJohnsonFitness

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ejohnsonfitness

 

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Weightlifting Belts?

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Eric Johnson

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Weightlifting Belts?


Pros

Use of a weight lifting belt during weight training will help protect the lumbar portion of the spinal column (low back) from needless injury. Those in favor of using the belt also suggest that it can prevent possible muscle damage as well. Additionally, the belt will serve as a reminder the weight lifter not to bend or arch their back when lifting. Obviously when there is poor form, there is an increased chance of injury. You’ll see most power lifters or heavy lifters use
a belt to protect them selves for the sheer amount of wight they are using. The belt may also come in handy when you are going for your 1RM on such a lift as barbell squat or deadlift.

Cons
Some will argue the use of a weight lifting belt is counterproductive in building up the muscles of the lower back. They point out that any dependence upon the belt will weaken the small of the back rather than allow for its strengthening. When the muscles are constricted by the belt they become inactive. Thus not strengthening the lower back
ideally.

I personally only use a weight belt when I’m facing heavy heavy weights, or when I am doing a certain lift, very fatigued and my risk of poor form is increased. Regardless, be sure to strengthen your lower back so it can hold the stress of the weight you are loading.

 

 

 

Eric Johnson is a NASM CPT and Team JBT Athlete

Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/EJohnsonFitness

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ejohnsonfitness

 

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Resistance Bands And The Contrast Method

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Eric Johnson

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Resistance Bands And The Contrast Method


Resistance bands provide one way to incorporate what’s often called the “contrast method” into your program. This means the weight changes at different points of the lift.   In the case of bands, the weight constantly increases throughout the concentric movement, sometimes called accommodating resistance. Bands make the eccentric portion of the lift considerably harder as well. They are great tools for learning speed and acceleration, maybe through a sticking point in your lift, or just to increase your starting strength or lockout ability. To sum it up, bands increase the time of maximal or near maximal force and increase the eccentric load which lead to increased strength. They also decrease deceleration so the movements are more like the movements in sports and allow you to work at close to maximum power output throughout the entire range of motion.

 

 

 

Eric Johnson is a NASM CPT and Team JBT Athlete

Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/EJohnsonFitness

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ejohnsonfitness

 

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How Often Should You Eat To Maximize Muscle Mass?

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Eric Johnson

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How Often Should You Eat To Maximize Muscle Mass?

My general rule of thumb for a “bulking cycle” or keeping muscle mass, is to eat every 2 hours.  I generally try to eat 6 times per day.  It is crucial to give your body the proper nutrients to allow optimal growth and recovery.  Not only does eating every 2 hours allow your body your body to receive nutrients, it will also keeps your metabolism active.  Thus, allowing for muscle mass while keeping your BF% lower.  Here is a sample of what a normal, off-season day would look like.

Meal 1  – 7:00am-  6 eggwhites, 2 Wholegrain rice cakes
Meal 2  – 9:30am-  1/2 cup almonds, 1 cup sliced cucumber  2 scoops amino influx
Meal 3  – 12:00pm  8oz lean ground turkey, 8 spears asparagus, 1 yukon potato
Meal 4  – Pre Workout  2 Whole Grain Rice Cakes, 2 tbsp Natural PB, Anabolic FX
Meal 5  – Post Workout  Amino Influx,10 oz Chicken Breast, 1 cup broccoli, 1/2 cup quinoa
Meal 6  – Before Bed  1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 rice cake, 1 tbsp Natural Peanut Butter

 

 

Eric Johnson is a NASM CPT and Team JBT Athlete

Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/EJohnsonFitness

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ejohnsonfitness

 

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My Favorite Biceps Routine

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Eric Johnson

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My Favorite Biceps Routine

Exercise #1
Straight bar curls with resistance bands (4 sets of 12  reps)
Exercise #2
Bent over concentration curls (3 sets of 10  reps)
Exercise #3
Hammer iso curl (4 sets of 12  reps)
Exercise #4 – Drop set
Cable tower front double bicep (3 sets of 15  reps)

 

Eric Johnson is a NASM CPT and Team JBT Athlete

Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/EJohnsonFitness

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Slash Body Fat, Spare Muscle

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Eric Johnson

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Slash Body Fat, Spare Muscle

Many people want to lose extra fat, however, for the serious lifters, we want to keep as much muscle mass as possible.  To do that, the old phrase, “slow and steady wins the race,” rings true.  It is important to keep muscle mass and that we don’t drop too much weight, or put our body through too much catabolism.  Ideally, you’d like to operate at about a 500 caloric deficit each day, and do some slow steady state cardio 3-4 times a week.  This would have you losing 1-1.5lbs a week of mostly body fat.  Here is a sample of my diet:

1,900 Calories per day

30-40g Fat

150-170g Carbs

180-200g protein

Three times per week,  45-minutes of Cardio -  Treadmill -10%incline, 3.7MPH

 

 

 

Eric Johnson is a NASM CPT and Team JBT Athlete

Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/EJohnsonFitness

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ejohnsonfitness

 

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Benefit of High Rep Squats

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Eric Johnson

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Benefit of High Rep Squats

High rep squats offer benefits for a variety of fitness goals. Endurance athletes can use high rep squats to improve performance and endurance. Bodybuilders can perform these to achieve the best muscle definition and even build muscle mass. You can also use high rep squats to control your weight and aid in fat loss.

High rep squats are one of the better exercises for your legs. That’s because squats stimulate the most amount of muscle fibers in your legs. They work your quadriceps, calves, glutes, hamstrings and lower back muscles. Your legs consist mostly of slow twitch muscle fibers, which are designed for performing contractions over long periods of time. Try targeting slow twitch muscle fibers by using an amount of weight that exhausts your muscles within 20 to 25 repetitions per set.

High rep squats can also help you burn more fat. Your muscle cells use stored body fat and oxygen to produce energy, for low-intensity, high repetition activity.

 

 

 

Eric Johnson is a NASM CPT and Team JBT Athlete

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/EJohnsonFitness

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ejohnsonfitness

 

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