I often receive these questions many times from friends and/or prospects:
"What exercises can i do to...get a six pack / burn off the fat / flatten my tummy?"
"What exercises can i do to make my arms / chest / lats bigger?"
"What exercises can i do to train the core?"
Well, what these questions essentially assume is that:
-There is some magic with some exercises,
-Perhaps exercises that they do not know or have never seen before,
-And doing them, regardless of how they do them,
Would give them the results that they want.
To tell you the truth, i am here to burst your bubble. You already know the Exercises (Technique). The how is more important that the what, therefore we say in TACFIT: "the Time is more important than the Technique, the Technique is more important than the Tool".
Every Exercise is a Core Exercise
As it has been said "every Exercise is a core Exercise". Somebody asks "what exercise can work the core?" So which Exercises are you going to pick? Done properly a Push Up is a very good core Exercise. Those from the heavy lifting camp would tell you Squats and Deadlifts are the best core Exercise or something to that extend. I can't help you answer the question unless you furnish me with more information. I can choose any arbitrary Exercise but is that what you want?
Two people may be doing the same Exercise but with totally different (and opposite) goals. One person does 10RM barbell Squats for 20 reps without time limit for mass, another may be doing bodyweight Squats with Tabata Protocol for conditioning / fat loss.
Confusing the Time (Protocol) with the Technique (Exercise)
Many times i hear people say "i run / swim / cycle / lift weights three times a week (or even five / six times a week, two hours a day), but i am still flabby, should i switch to High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)?"
Firstly you need to ask yourself, are you using a Protocol that i suited for your fitness goal(s)? Run / swim / cycle / lift weights are Technique, not Protocols. As mentioned above two people can do the same Exercise but have totally opposite goals. A sprinter runs and a marathon runner runs, but their training Protocols are totally different.
If your running / swimming / cycling are done with Long Slow Distance (LSD) Cardio Protocols, then for sure you will not see any impressive fat loss results. Note that i am not saying running / swimming / cycling are not good Exercises, they are.
If you are an adult and lifting weights mean for kids, thinking you can tone your muscles, you are sorely mistaken. No matter whether you are doing the best Exercises or not.
You don't need to change the Exercises, you need to change the Protocols.
Are You Getting It or are You Getting Confused?
In other words, even if i give you an encyclopedia of a million Exercises, if you don't know how to structure them in a proper program design, it is useless. Do i even need to prove this point? Since the advent of the internet, more people know more about more Exercises than ever. There are even online exercise encyclopedias available for free. Yet there are still many people who design crappy programs.
The How is More Important than the What
The Protocol refers to how the program is structured. This is much more important than the Exercises you choose. Well, unless your goal is to be good at specific Exercises, then you have to practice those Exercises. If you want to be good in Weightlifting and Powerlifting, not only you have to do the Protocols specific for the sports' requirements, but also the Exercises for them.
Consider these variables:
-How often? Once a week or less is a joke. Don't even bother to train if you think you can "exercise" once in a while and get "fit".
-How much? This can be further broken down to how many reps, how many sets, resistance, effort / intensity etc.
Implied also are your recovery exercises and schedule. There are other questions to ask but just these will do for now.
Sample Program
Ok, i don't want to go too much into the technical details here. I just want to share with you and show you how some simple and widely known Exercises can be used simply and effectively in a program design. This program is for fat loss / toning / explosive strength / endurance.
The Exercises i pick are: Lunge, Pull Up, Push Up and Spinal Rock.
Granted, Spinal Rock is not so common an exercise for a training program, but Sit Up is. And the Spinal Rock is a Sophistication of the Sit Up.
Granted, designing Levels 2, 3 and 4 may not be easily evident to some people not well versed in program design. But at least you should know what goes into Level 1. And i am giving them to you as a bonus
The Protocol we are using would be the infamous Tabata Protocol. Nothing new also.
In fact, there is nothing new in this program. Novelty is good, but if you don't know how to use it, you don't have to use it. Stick to the tried and true stuff.
Tabata: 20/10 x 8
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
Forward Lunge | Backward Lunge | Lunge Jump Switch | Airborne Lunge |
Pull Up (Jump) | Kipping Pull Up (Mixed Grip) | Kipping Pull Up (Underhand Grip) | Kipping Pull Up (Overhand Grip) |
Push Up (Knee) | Push Up (Ball of Foot) | Arm Screw Push Up | Plyometric Screw Push Up |
Spinal Rock (Tuck) | Spinal Rock (Pike) | Spinal Rock (Straddle) | Spinal Rock (Drop) |
That's it, a short and simple, yet innovative program design available to anybody. And since this is a free program, i am not going to give you any video instructions, search Google or youtube for them.
In the next instalment, we'll look at the second half of the statement "the Technique is more important than the Tool".
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