What Is ‘Heavy’?
You can often hear such phrases: "To get big you need to lift heavy!" or "Lift heavy stuff to get strong!". Many personal coaches preach this approach nowadays. Arguments are hard to beat:
- Heavy lifting strengthens tendons and ligaments
- Heavy lifting ends with more muscle growth response
- Heavy lifting even brings more metabolic cost
- Heavy lifting is badass
- Oldtimers lifted heavy
- Etc
They say: "Bust your ass off in the gym!" or "Train heavy as hell!" You name it. It's all cool but average trainee can become little confused. He starts to add weight every workout, he 'busts his ass off' every workout, he adds as much reps or sets as he can, he feels exhausted and beaten after every workout. And his progress stalls in matter of weeks. He tries new program but after couple of weeks he becomes even weaker. And on and on.
What's the Problem?
Deadlifting at Home
The Deadlift. Exercise that involves pretty much all the muscles in your body into action while none of them go through full range of motion. One of the most productive exercises on earth while one of the hardest. One of the simplest exercises in setup. Benefits of the deadlift are endless. Besides, it's one of my favorite exercises (:
You will always notice a good deadlifter in the crowd. Good deadlifter is a lucky possessor of massive traps, shoulders, lats, forearms and legs. And these are just visible bonuses. Good deadlifter (not stupid deadlifter) is a possessor of strong and healthy posterior chain. And posterior chain is one of the main muscles in your body if your goal is strength and performance. Strongmen use to say: "If you want strength then train your back". Forget about curls and crunches. Leave them for sissies. Build your back and get big and strong!
Wondering how? Read on.
Mixing Training Implements for Ultimate Results
There's so many debates on what implement is the ultimate training tool ever. Barbells? Dumbbells? Sandbags? Kettlebells? Bodyweight? You name it. People tend to oppose them to each other. One say: "Barbells are the best because you can always make micro adjustments in weight". Others say: "Sandbags or kegs are the best because they rock stabilizers big time what barbell cannot offer". Third say: "Kettlebells are the best because they fun and versatile and can offer unique exercises". Fourth say: "Forget about weights! Old school bodyweight strength training is the king because you learn to master your own bodyweight".
So who's right and where's the truth?
How to Make Your Kettlebells Heavier
Kettlebells are one of the best implements out there when talking about gaining strength, building muscle, getting lean and attaining superhuman endurance. No matter what your goal is you can benefit from kettlebell training big time. Besides, these tools are the least place consuming (after your bodyweight, of course). You can even use them as part of your room decoration.
As you probably know, the heavier the kettlebell you use the more benefits you will reap. Heavier kettlebell = more strength, more muscle, more fat loss. So you need to aim to lift heavier bells with time. If your weight is 80 kg (180 lbs) and more then you will need a pair of 40 kg (88s), 44 kg (97s) and maybe even 48 kg (105s) in your training. For example, Double Front Squat with a pair of 32 kg (70s) kettlebells became ridiculously easy for me very quickly at the weight of 180 lbs. Heck, squatting with 40 kg kettlebells is not a problem any more. But there's one nuance with kettlebells...
Supplements. Do You Really Need Them?
The buzz about supplements nowadays is hilarious, in my opinion. You can read about them everywhere.
"Gain 20 pounds of lean muscle with our brand new protein!"
"Scientifically approved supplement will scorch your fat away in 4 weeks! Especially at the belly region!"
"Only our NO-booster will give that skin-tearing pump and your arms will grow bigger and 900% faster!"
How many times have you heard that? Some claims are pretty ridiculous. But people will believe those claims again and again and support supplement manufacturers. It's business after all.
But What's the Problem with Supplements?
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